Viktor Stahl POV
Roughly 1 month before the prologue - Day 1
I awoke with the soft touch of the sun, the calming waves of the ocean sounding around me, and the soft sand underne- not. I awoke to the sound of gunfire, boots hitting the ground, and the growls of oversized wolves. As I try to get myself up I feel the taste of rough sand in my mouth, and I don't like it. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.
As I get up I feel the mother of all headaches hit me with a sledgehammer, and as soon as it comes it vanishes. However now I know my body straightens immediately, with years of nonexistent experience, my hand reaches to my waist- 'Oh cool, a chainsword' And pulls out a chainsword, with the telltale rev of a starting chainsaw I raise my arm as I look around.
My surroundings look much like the savannahs I used to see on TV, with half-dead trees and dried-out grass marking the landscape. More importantly, though, I see a car-sized pitch-black wolf, with a chalk-white head trying and miserably failing to fight 6 people, all dressed the same, with the uniform of the death corps of Krieg. These are my men, and I am their leader, their commissar. "Kriegsmen! Report!"
As I yell out, I charge forward, my movements holding no flaws which surprises me for all but a second before I reach the large wolf. With my chainsword roaring I swipe at the wolf, as the chains bite into the not!flesh, black blood spurts out with every rotation. In less than a second of my sword making contact, the wolf is horizontally bisected from its chest to its tail.
Turning towards the kriegsmen, I see them standing at attention as one steps forward and reports. "Commissar! We awoke roughly 5 minutes ago, we have fought and killed 4 more of those creatures. The bodies vaporize shortly after mortal wounds are inflicted."
And surely as I glance back at my kill I see black smoke start to come out of its exposed insides. I nod towards him, "Good, pair up in doubles and scour the area, eliminate any creature similar to this one. I want to know every detail of the surrounding 3 miles." with my orders given, they salute and pair up to complete them.
With the kriegsmen gone from the immediate area I relax slightly, however, I do not let go of my chainsword. As the seconds pass by and the immediate adrenaline wears off I grimace slightly. 'Fuck, who would've thought.'
Despite the unnatural experience and poise I now have I can't help but curse inwardly, it's all clear in my mind. Like an undeniable proof, just as the sky is blue, humans need to breathe to survive, or pineapple does not, in fact, belong in pizza. I am now the victim of a ROBbery.
I can feel them in the back of my head, the choices of a CYOA I made last night before sleeping because it was such an entertaining thought at the time, I now have supernatural powers, and while cool I am not too stoked about it. Why you may ask? Well as syndrome said, if everyone is super, nobody is. And according to the events a few minutes prior, I can safely say we are not in Varks anymore.
Now with the shock of the situation wearing off, my new instincts and apparent experience take control, and my mind begins to calculate and plan. I take note of every detail of the powers I now know I hold, and feel VERY thankful to last night me, who had the good sense of acquiring the most useful perks of the CYOA, at the cost of not having a large army or taking crippling detriments.
However, if I knew I would have been in this situation, I would have instead completed a proper CYOA, not what is essentially an addon that does not provide me 'unlimited powa!'. Anyway, don't look at the gift horse in the mouth, or however that saying is, it could have been worse. 'At least I know for a fact we are not in 40K'
I may have an idea of our new apparent location, however, I do not want to make assumptions, my new experience tells me to 'trust but verify'. And I wholeheartedly agree. besides, it will not take too long to find out if my assumptions are right, only until nightfall.
As I finish the mental gymnastics required to take control of myself and have a plan for the immediate future I focus and tug one of the strings I can feel at the back of my head, with what feels like a 'click' in front of me, ex-nihilo appears a tracked vehicle, affectionately known throughout the imperium as the 'dragin' wagon' a 3 meter tall, 7 meters long, and 6-meter wide behemoth.
This is the 'chimera chassis trojan' one of the most used support vehicles throughout the imperium of man. While it is mostly used to carry supplies such as ammo, food, weapons, or spare parts. It can easily also fit about a squad worth of men, 'granted if they are not 9'foot tall walking, talking human-shaped tanks of course' besides the 3 it takes to crew it.
And while it is a support vehicle it's not entirely defenseless, it features a heavy bolter a weapon that fires redbull can-sized bullets in its hull, not to mention that usually, it would be in escort with infantry.
As I climb into the vehicle and check inside, I am immensely pleased to find that it is fully stocked with supplies, be they food, medical, or ammunition. As I pick up one of the cans, I look at the label, '100% plant-based nutrient paste' Reading that, I let out a soft sigh of relief at finding out it's not, in fact, corpse starch. Because while with my new mentality, I would eat it, I have no desire to do so.
After roughly 20 minutes of cataloging the supplies, and occasionally splitting black wolves in half, I hear footsteps come nearby, glancing towards the noise I see 4 kriegsmen make their way here.
As I drop on the ground from atop the Trojan one of them steps forward and reports, "Commissar! While scouting the surroundings we have managed to locate 2 more Kriegers about a mile out."
I nod, "Good work soldier, now split up again and get back out there. I want every one of you to pay attention to your vox-casters, if you find more of your brothers and sisters in arms split up again in even teams." with those orders given I bring my hand towards my ear, where my own vox-caster is located and select an open radio frequency used only by the death corps of Krieg.
"This is commissar Viktor Stahl speaking, if you are within range of this transmission a set of my current coordinates will be included in this message, I want every one of you in my location yesterday. If you encounter black creatures with bone-white protrusions eliminate them with prejudice." finishing my message as the now 2 groups of kriegsmen leave to scour the area one more, I put the transmission on repeat, the vox-caster updating my location in real-time for any listeners to follow.
After that i begin to take some of the camping supplies out of the Trojan, halfway through pitching up a tent another kriegsman comes into the clearing, saluting me and promptly beginning to set up another tent nearby. Like this a few hours pass, and by the time the sun starts to fall down on the horizon, we have a small camp running, including tents, barbed wire, and a trench surrounding it, manned by the kriegsmen that made their way here.
By the time we finished setting up a primitive HQ 22 kriegsmen have reported in and joined the camp, currently standing in front of me lined up and at attention.
As I walk in front of them I begin, "Death corps of Krieg, today we find ourselves in a foreign world," my voice firm and steady, with no hesitation as if this is the thousandth time i have given such a speech. "A world seemingly plagued by creatures of darkness. However not all is lost, by the will of the emperor we are not stranded here without support." at those words some of the kriegsmen grip their lasguns a bit tighter, some straighten their back further, and some have their breath hitch.
"By the will of the emperor you will never want for supplies, for we will never run out." at that they all simultaneously lift one of their legs and stomp, lifting the dust of the dry and sun-scorched earth, "By the will of the emperor you shall die, but you shall also come back whole" with another harsher movement, again they stomp their feet on the ground. "By the will of the emperor we shall never fall!" with another movement, they lift their feet and stomp. ((835) Krieg "WHAT IS YOUR DUTY!?" - YouTube)
reaching the middle of the lined up row, with my hands behind my back I command. "What is your duty?"
As one, they all echo the same words, ""To serve the emperor's will.""
With the same rumbling voice, I ask, "What is the emperor's will?"
Again, as one they chorus together, a monotone voice ringing out. ""That we fight, and die.""
Now in a slightly somber tone, I ask, "What is death?"
As one they echo again, their voice seemingly void of emotion or individuality, making one unable to pick up the sound of one lone kriegsman, ""it is our duty.""
Now I raise my hands to my sides and command with a voice that shall only accept one answer, "What is your duty!?"
As one they respond the same, but now with a hint of pride ""to serve the emperor's will!""
Again I command, "And what is the emperor's will!?"
They respond with more fervor, abandoning the monotone voice as they hold themselves straighter and begin to stomp their feet in a rhythm resembling the sound of a Wardrum, ""That we fight, and die!""
My voice reaching a new crescendo asks, "WHAT IS DEATH!?"
As their rhythm picks up, their feet stomping with a certain zeal, and their voice rising up to the challenge, ""IT IS OUR DUTY!""
As I continue to repeat the questions, only one thought crosses my mind, 'I could get used to this.'
Day 2
As I rise up together with the sun, I am not awoken by an alarm clock, or the sounds of a car driving by my apartment, but by the sounds of gunfire and roars. As if on autopilot, my body rises and gears up, my mind in a state of alertness.
Stepping outside of the tent, I am greeted by a sight that should by all matters make my blood run cold in realization, however, it does not affect me much. All around me, there are kriegsmen moving, like ants in a coordinated yet chaotic manner. I glance at where most of the sound is coming from, looking at 3 kriegsmen operating a heavy bolter mounted on sandbags, making Swiss cheese of an Ursa.
Not paying much more attention to the scene I begin to scour the camp, checking if everything is in order. While doing the menial task I began thinking of yesterday, not finding myself panicking at all. Which while concerning in and of itself is, ultimately pointless to worry about. I do not have time to ponder the ship of Theseus while stuck in a death world.
After the sun set last night I confirmed my suspicions. I am currently in Remnant, the world of RWBY, a 3D show that had an incredibly high potential and was however ruined to some because of the inconsistent animation. Or at least that's what I read about after asking chat GPT that one time.
While this to many may seem like a borderline death sentence, I am not that worried. In large part due to my new experience, instead of wallowing in pointless self-pity, I will grab this opportunity and make something worth out of it. I shall squeeze the lemons so to say.
Sitting down in the command tent, I can see a few kriegsmen working with radio equipment. Some giving directions to our lost comrades, some giving orders to the scouting parties, and some broadcasting and listening to any radio waves that can be picked up.
As I am looking through the reports on my table another kriegsman walks in holding a folder. "Sir Commissar! This is a folder containing a map of the immediate area surrounding us, a report on the kriegsmen that joined us throughout the night, as well as a report on the eliminated enemies." I nod picking up the folder and sifting through it.
A minute later with a nod I place the folder down and say, "Lead me to the bodies of the killed kriegsmen." at his salute I get up and follow after him to a medical tent, inside I can see men being tended to by field medics, or what passes as such for the Krieg corps. On the corner of the tent, out of the way of the medics, are two bodies, one of them visibly missing their left arm and a chunk of their shoulder along with a part of their leg. The other is simply missing their head.
I dismiss the kriegsman that brought me here, he salutes and goes back to whatever task is next in order. Walking near the bodies, I begin to feel the strings at the back of my head. And again, with another 'click' I can see the bodies of the kriegsmen blink into pristine condition. As they begin to stand up, now with a fresh uniform, helmet, and lasgun on their shoulder I am still processing the fact that I brought 2 people back from death.
Granted such a power can only affect the Krieg company bound to me, but it is still an utterly baffling experience. I do not doubt for a second that this conditional immortality is one of if not the greatest boon I currently have. 'But why do I feel like this is gonna be troublesome?'
As the kriegsman get up and salute I tell them, "Report your experience of death soldiers." such an order would have made anyone else seethe in anger, or shrink in trauma, but for a krieg soldier…
With an almost utterly giddy voice, the formerly headless kriegsman says. "Yes, Herr Commissar! while fighting a creature dubbed Ursa I was caught off guard from behind and another such creature managed to grab me by the throat in its bite, the next thing I know is that I woke up from a sleep-like state in the medical tent." I nod at his report and move my gaze to the other soldier.
With a feminine voice the kriegsman… woman? Begins. "Sir commissar, while fighting a pack of the enemy dubbed as Beowolf I was caught in one of their jaws and dragged in the middle of the pack, I remember being torn apart and waking up in the bed of the medical tent much the same."
I nod at them, "You are dismissed, take a few hours to rest and report to me or the medics if you have any troubles." with that they salute and make their way outside of the tent.
As I stay to ponder for a bit about the implications of reviving the dead, one of the medics takes my attention. With a salute he says, "Sir Commissar, could I have a minute of your time please?"
I nod and motion for him to continue, "Sir, seeing as the emperor has brought back those two in seemingly peak condition, could I suggest that we kill our wounded ourselves so that they may return to fighting form quicker?"
Utterly baffled by the medic's question I take a few seconds to compute what he asked. "You want to kill our wounded… so that they can revive at peak health?" seeing him nod as if he wouldn't mind doing it himself so long as I gave the order, I can only think one thing. 'Only a kriegsman would ask that question.'
While a part of me wants to obviously say no, the Commissar part of me is actually pondering over it, thinking of the merits and demerits of doing as such, before answering. "No, we do not know if the revival process will leave any marks on the soldiers, be they physical or mental. If those two show no adverse effects you can proceed, but only with those that are mortally wounded already or have lost a limb."
With a salute, I leave the tent, as I walk outside I hear the iconic sound of a las-pistol firing, and again with a mental tug at one of the strings, I know that the kriegsman is back, and in full health.