As the dim and fleeting daylight of Barbarus approached, the weary inhabitants slowly awakened from the nightmares of the night.
Sounds of activity began to emerge within the outpost.
Yet, none of this concerned Hades.
Inside Hades' mud hut, he sat cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed in meditation, utterly still. Even his breath was barely perceptible, making him seem almost dead.
After his sudden experience with the sub-space, Hades began to sense his own "power."
He felt "whole."
Just as a psyker can sense their psychic energy and soul, Hades could now feel his "Untouchable power."
Psykers can sense and, with training, manipulate psychic energy. Similarly, Hades, as an Untouchable, felt a power unique to him.
He could clearly "see" black rays emanating from him in a spherical pattern. The further these rays extended from him, the lighter they became, eventually dissipating and revealing the normal world. Closer to him, the world became monochromatic, and right next to Hades, it turned into a void of pure black.
He tried to sense himself and found that he too was a void.
Is this what it means to be an Untouchable?
Hades continued to focus, and as he did, the black rays emanating from him began to fade. However, they also extended further.
He tried to shape these black substances, but he couldn't replicate the state he was in during the battle. His black domain remained spherical.
As his black domain expanded, Hades could "see" faint white lights in the distance.
But this was the furthest his black rays could reach. Beyond this, Hades couldn't sense anything.
When his black rays barely touched the white light, they began to erode it. Due to Hades diluting his black rays to their limit and the distance, this erosion was almost negligible.
But Hades could clearly sense himself "devouring" this white light.
He was a bit puzzled by this white light—
—Wait, based on its position... was it his neighbor, Lazael?
So, was he eroding a human soul?!
Hades immediately retracted his "black domain." He tried to compress his black domain further, but to his dismay, he found he could only control it within a radius of five meters. Beyond that, the blackness seemed to form a tangible void.
Hades' eyes snapped open, drenched in cold sweat. He realized why people instinctively disliked him, kept their distance, or even harmed him.
Was it because he had been unconsciously eroding their souls?
Wait, what about Herilla, who had always been close to him?
Hades didn't dare to think further.
Stay rational.
Hades began to recall his past, realizing that his power back then was much weaker than it was now after his battle with the Xenos Lord Lazael.
This meant that he might have caused some soul damage to others in the past, but not to the extent he could now.
Hades sighed in relief.
But a sense of regret lingered. Those who were kind to him, those close to him, were the ones most at risk from his unconscious harm.
Is this what it means to be an Untouchable?
In the lore, soldiers fighting alongside an Untouchable might lose their will to fight, or even convulse and faint. Prolonged exposure to an Untouchable's power could even drive someone mad.
Even if his power was weak before and unconsciously maximized, the cumulative effects of being around him could still be harmful.
Damn it.
Is this the so-called cheat of a transmigrator? Why did it become a double-edged sword for him?
Hades futilely tried to compress his black domain again, but it merely trembled without any noticeable change.
Maybe he should practice more?
As Hades was deep in thought, there was a sudden knock on the door.
"Hades, it's me~ Why haven't you gone to work in the fields? Is your injury still bothering you?"
"I made some porridge for you. Open the door."
Herilla's voice echoed from outside. Hades sensed a small white light and, alarmed, immediately ran to the corner furthest from the door.
The door was now out of his range.
Damn... what should he do?
Hades, sweating profusely, cleared his throat, "Uh... Herilla, just leave the bowl outside. I'm not feeling well and don't want to get up. Thanks for the porridge."
Herilla sounded concerned, "Are you sure you're okay, Hades? Do you want me to check on you?"
"It's fine, really. I'm just tired and have been sleeping. I don't want to get out of bed to open the door."
"Alright," Herilla, though worried, didn't press further, thinking Hades was just exhausted. "I've left the porridge on your windowsill. Drink it while it's hot."
"Okay, okay."
"I'll be going then. Rest well."
"Goodbye, goodbye."
Only when Herilla's footsteps faded did Hades cautiously open the door. The bowl of steaming white porridge was on the windowsill, filled with more rice than a typical breakfast serving.
Hades remembered the dimmer white light from Herilla compared to Lazael's.
His heart clenched.
Damn it, what's going on?
Should he avoid contact with others?
Filled with anger and despair, Hades tried again to compress his domain, exerting himself to the point of exhaustion. Yet, the domain remained unchanged.
Damn it!
Hades collapsed back into his hut, holding his head in frustration.
There was only one option left: to leave the human outpost.
In fact, if he didn't consider interacting with others, his "Untouchable" ability was quite useful.
Every creature on Barbarus had a soul. While Hades knew he couldn't instantly devour them, if he compressed his blackness enough, he should be able to suppress them to some extent.
Powerful Untouchables could even make soul-bearing creatures unconsciously "erase" their existence, achieving a perfect "invisibility."
Hades pondered. If he chose to stay in the outpost and didn't want to harm anyone, he couldn't engage in combat. Deathwatch squads required at least two members. He could only take on tasks that kept him away from crowds and combat.
Like extensive farming.
Hades didn't want to stay and till the land until the Emperor's arrival.
Although he always considered himself the master of slacking off, and his previous combat tasks were just skirmishes with minor foes, Hades couldn't just passively wait for disaster.
He had to seize every moment to become stronger.
He couldn't wait passively!
Hades looked around his simple hut, the neatly stacked notes on the table, the farming tools hanging on the wall, the rope he made himself coiled next to the door. These mundane items represented his life over the past few years.
Hades stood up, his mind made up.
*Author's Note: Sorry for the oversight in the setting. Please consider the protagonist as "similar to an Untouchable," akin to a system-based cheat. He'll have two cheats, sorry about that. My limited imagination couldn't figure out how to tackle the Warhammer world without cheats. It's too grim
dark. But there will be times when the "cheats" backfire. As long as I don't change the plot. Oh, I think I can sign a contract now. Let me figure out how. The first step to success!*