Location: The Bunker Sigma-7, Northern Wastes of Vyrion-9

Kael Veyne awoke to the smell of rust and ionized air. His head throbbed, as though someone had driven a railroad spike through his temples. The floor beneath him was cold, metallic, and streaked with dried blood that wasn't his. Flickering lumen-strips cast jagged shadows across the bunker's walls—walls etched with faded Imperial aquilas and warnings in Gothic script he couldn't read.

Where the hell am I?

His last memory was of a blinding light—a subway tunnel in Chicago, the screech of brakes, then… nothing. Now, he wore a frayed black bodysuit, his palms calloused and scarred. A neural chime rang in his skull, sharp and synthetic.

[SYSTEM INITIALIZED.]

[USER DESIGNATION: KAEL VEYNE.]

[PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: RECLAIM VYRION-9.]

"What—?" Kael staggered to his feet. A holographic interface flickered into view, glowing crimson. Columns of text scrolled past his eyes:

<< LEGION ARCHITECT SYSTEM >>

Legion Strength: 0.01%

Territory Controlled: 0%

Threat Level: Catastrophic (Vorath Swarm Detected)

A crate materialized in a burst of static, its metal surface stamped with a winged skull. The lid hissed open, revealing a pistol, a combat knife, and a silver circlet. The System's voice echoed again:

[NEWBLOOD KIT DEPLOYED.]

[ASCENDANT LEGION (T1) x1: BLOODMARKED NEOPHYTE.]

[IMPERIAL REGULARS (T1) x10: CONSCRIPT HUSKS.]

The air rippled. Ten gaunt soldiers materialized, their faces hollow, their flak armor cracked and stained. They clutched lasguns with trembling hands, their eyes glazed as if half-dead. Behind them stood a giant—a warrior clad in charcoal-gray ceramite armor, his helmet marked with a single crimson stripe. He lowered a chainsword the size of Kael's leg and spoke in a voice like grinding steel:

"Neophyte Gideon, bound to your command."

Kael's throat went dry. "What… what are you?"

"Your sword," Gideon replied. "Until the Emperor's Light reclaims this world… or we die."

[FIRST MISSION: SURVEY THE PERIMETER.]

[ELIMINATE HOSTILE LIFEFORMS.]

[REWARDS: 50 SYSTEM CREDITS, FOUNDRY CORE (T1).]

The Ruins

Kael stepped outside, Gideon at his side. The sky was a sickly green, choked with ash. Ruined spires clawed at the horizon, their skeletons wrapped in vines that pulsed like veins. The Conscript Husks fanned out, their boots crunching on glassy black soil.

"Movement," Gideon growled.

A chittering echoed from a collapsed hab-unit. Shapes surged from the shadows—Vorath Spawnlings, their carapaces glittering like obsidian, jaws snapping with needle-teeth. The Husks opened fire, lasbolts tearing through the swarm, but the creatures were fast. Too fast.

A Spawnling lunged at Kael. Gideon's chainsword roared to life, reducing the beast to gore. "Stay behind me," the Neophyte barked.

The Husks weren't so lucky. One was dragged down, his screams cut short as a Spawnling burrowed into his chest. Another lost an arm to serrated claws, collapsing as his comrades trampled him in their panic.

"Fall back!" Kael shouted, firing his pistol blindly. The recoil nearly dislocated his shoulder.

Gideon carved a path through the swarm, his armor slick with alien ichor. "The hive's probing us," he said. "This is nothing."

By the time the last Spawnling died, only three Husks remained.

[MISSION COMPLETE.]

[REWARDS CLAIMED.]

[SYSTEM CREDITS: 50.]

[NEW STRUCTURE UNLOCKED: FOUNDRY CORE (T1).]

The Bunker

Kael collapsed against a rusted console, his hands shaking. Gideon stood vigil at the door, his armor dented but unbroken. The surviving Husks stared into the dark, their lasguns empty.

The System chimed:

[FOUNDRY CORE READY FOR DEPLOYMENT.]

[REQUIRED MATERIALS: SCRAP METAL (200kg), POWER CELLS (x3).]

"We need to scavenge," Kael muttered.

Gideon nodded. "The ruins hold corpses. Their armor. Their weapons. We strip them."

[DAILY SPIN UNLOCKED.]

[RETURN TO THE BUNKER AT 0000 STANDARD TIME TO CLAIM YOUR REWARD.]

Kael's vision blurred. This isn't a game. Those things butchered my men like cattle. He glanced at Gideon. "How do I win here?"

The Neophyte's helmet tilted. "You don't win wars, commander. You survive them. One battle at a time."

As night fell, Kael studied the Foundry Core's schematics. The structure could forge weapons, armor, even vehicles—if he fed it enough scrap. But beyond the bunker's walls, something howled. A resonant, psychic shriek that made his teeth ache.

Gideon stiffened. "The Vorath aren't just beasts. They're a hive. And now… they know we're here."

[DAILY SPIN AVAILABLE IN: 02:59:57…]