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**Toyuko Plain**
Camp of the 112th Regiment, Kadia Assault Corps
Two heavily armed Kashin troops leaped from the transport aircraft, instantly drawing the gaze of every soldier at the base. The Kashin, the most elite force of Kadia, were warriors of unparalleled caliber from each regiment, equipped with the finest weaponry.
The appearance of the Kashin on any battlefield signaled that the conflict had reached its fiercest point. Their presence here now indicated the proximity of a suspected psyker. Psykers had been increasing in number, a trend noticed since a rift was first torn open in the galaxy. The Kadia High Command had prepared for this.
The Kashin would neutralize psykers with their Hellguns, regardless of whether the target was a soldier or officer. Moving unimpeded through the camp, the two Kashin followed the guidance of their avian scanner, reaching a newly erected dormitory building.
They encountered an officer, who quickly approached to report, "We tried to assist him, but no weapon seemed able to hit him..."
"I understand." One Kashin holstered the scanner, raised his Hellgun, etched with sacred incantations, and pushed open a door guarded by three twin-linked autocannons.
Inside, a lone soldier lay resting on his cot.
The dormitory's temperature was markedly colder than outside, frost crystallizing on the soldier's blanket. Such a sudden chill suggested that psychic energy was at work nearby.
"Eli?" The Kashin consulted a document, then softly called the soldier's name.
"Yes... yes, sir!" Eli rose, trembling, and saluted. "Eli... Corporal, 112th Regiment, Kadia Assault Corps."
He quivered, his eyes aglow with eerie blue light, while small objects around him drifted unnaturally in the air.
One of the Kashin sought to explain why they had come and what lay ahead for Eli. But Eli spoke first, his voice strained, "I've... waited a long time for you... Voices keep echoing in my ears... I can't hold on much longer... Kill me... For Kadia, unyielding…"
"For Kadia, unyielding." The two Kashin responded, raising their Hellguns.
As they pulled the trigger, Eli felt as though he had fallen into the depths of a salt-choked sea, the briny water filling his lungs. He coughed violently, only to reopen his eyes and find himself lying back on his bed. The Kashin were nowhere to be seen.
Eli realized then that what he had experienced was a vision of prophecy.
"Why haven't they come yet?" he muttered, clenching his jaw. "I can't keep going like this…"
Outside, his comrades conducted live-fire drills, yet Eli heard no gunshots—only the ceaseless whispers.
"Kadia will fall; you will all suffer eternal torment in hell."
The voices repeated this phrase a thousand times, resonating in his head though only two seconds passed.
"They say the corpse on the throne is your god. This is the truth."
"When your Lord of Mankind once walked among you, he was omnipotent. He did not breathe, he did not eat, he could neither be wounded nor killed... then why does he now sit motionless on that throne?"
"He orchestrated it all. The great rebellion ten thousand years ago, every agony humanity has endured across millennia, is part of his design. You wanted to be an artist, yet you became a soldier for Kadia—this is your suffering, your destiny planned in advance by him."
Flooded by visions, Eli saw the great rebellion led by one of the Emperor's sons ten thousand years ago, with every image pouring knowledge directly into his mind. He learned the names, the events, the betrayals.
More visions surged forth, depicting humanity's rational and prosperous state before the Empire was formed.
"In that time, a god sought greater power. He devised a way to claim his species' devotion… But why would a rational, prosperous race revere a god?"
"You had to be plunged into endless suffering. Only then would you pin your fate to a savior, feeding him strength through your belief."
In Eli's mind, the Emperor appeared—not as a man, but a radiant, golden orb with a twisted, menacing face. The Emperor reveled in the scheme he had crafted.
Every torment inflicted upon humanity over the ten millennia replayed in Eli's mind: a species dragged from prosperity into a pit of despair, the Emperor emerging from this ruin to don the mask of savior. As humanity marched to die in his name, he watched from his throne, laughing at their pitiful ignorance.
"Lies!" Eli bellowed in rage, bashing his head against the wall. "The Lord of Mankind suffers upon the throne! Every soul on Holy Terra hears his cries of agony in their dreams!"
No matter what he did, Eli could not dispel the whispers. But after two relentless minutes, the whispers transformed into screams.
A light appeared in Eli's vision.
Slowly, Eli lifted his head to see a man of unparalleled beauty seated upon a throne.
"Do not heed the slander and lies," the man's words echoed in Eli's mind without a sound. "Fortify your will, my child. For me, and for your world."
Eli sensed a shield of protection fortify his spirit, freeing him from resisting the whispers. Joyful, he reached toward the throne.
The man on the throne reached out as well.
In that instant of contact, Eli's mind flashed with images of Kadia's downfall, the slaughter of all Kadia's sons and daughters.
Before him was no throne, nor a man, but a two-headed bird, its shrill laughter mocking his mortal fragility.
Eli fought to reclaim his resolve, but it was too late. He grabbed the laser pistol beside his bed, bit down on the barrel, and squeezed the trigger, but the gun would not fire.
In the next moment, a drone appeared on the dormitory wall, and Eli was abruptly transported out of the room.
In the last shreds of his torn soul, Eli thought it had all been a hallucination.
Soldiers crowded around his lifeless body, confirming his death.
"He had a gun in his hand. It seems he couldn't shoot himself any more than we could shoot him…"
"May your soul return to the Throne, brother."
"Hey... why did it suddenly get so cold? Did the Tyrone device block the sun again?"