NOVPUBSavior's Sanctuary.
Private Quarters.
Eden sat at his desk, scrolling through the files sent by the search teams regarding the traces of the Sons of Man Chapter.
He opened one image and projected it into the air.
The image showed a weathered, ancient stone slab, clearly bearing the marks of time. Yet the sacred figure carved upon it was still distinctly recognizable.
Around the icon, a group of primitive natives knelt, holding stone weapons, seemingly engaged in some form of worship ritual.
The technicians in the search team had conducted spectrographic analyses on the slab, confirming it was carved by some form of life over a thousand years ago.
Eden sucked in a sharp breath as he studied the carving.
"That's... that's me. How could this exist a thousand years ago, being worshiped on some distant planet?"
The figure on the slab matched the Savior's standard depiction from the Redeemer's Scriptures, with almost no deviation.
Curious, Eden pulled up another image.
This one showed a different scene: several figures resembling Space Marines standing before the sacred image, offering swords and weapons to kneeling natives.
Seeing this, Eden could already guess what had happened, though he continued patiently reviewing the detailed records from the search teams.
The discovery was made by Search Team No. 55.
After receiving the mission, they had spent years combing through the region where the Sons of Man had disappeared, searching system after system with no success.
Only recently had they found the faintest signal.
It came from a barren desert world nearby, detected by a locator beacon embedded within a slab of stone—
—a beacon that was unmistakably of Redeemer manufacture.
Excited, Team 55 descended to the planet and discovered not only the beacon embedded in an ancient arena but several stone slabs depicting various scenes:
Worship of the Savior.
Space Marines interacting with the natives.
Humans battling Tyranids.
Natives feasting on Tyranid meat.
However, before the search team could conduct a full investigation, they were attacked by a group of chained Tyranids and were forced to retreat into orbit, reporting their findings immediately.
Eden stared at one particular slab depicting a massive cauldron cooking Tyranid meat. A surge of familiarity welled up inside him.
That was no ordinary cookware.
It was a high-grade, ultra-durable alloy cooking pot —
—designed by Eden himself decades ago for Big Barrel and his men.
"There's only one truth here," Eden muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Big Barrel must have fallen into a Warp storm and ended up a thousand years in the past on this desert planet."
It made sense.
The Warp was a realm of thought, a place with almost no physical laws. Time and space there were chaotic, flowing unpredictably.
Since the Great Rift, the material universe had suffered increasing temporal distortions under Warp energies.
Some regions even experienced severe time mismatches.
It wasn't unheard of for ships to spend a few months in the Warp, only to emerge centuries later, or sometimes, paradoxically, to arrive even before they had left.
Tales of such bizarre and terrifying incidents circulated widely among the fleets.
In extremely rare cases, ships could even travel back in time.
There were already Imperial records of such occurrences.
For example, a vessel named the Eternal Soul from the Dark Age of Technology had entered the Warp during M24.
Caught in a massive Warp storm, it somehow traveled across time to the era of the Horus Heresy.
The surviving crew claimed they had sailed through the Warp to the end of time itself, witnessing the birth and eventual destruction of the galaxy by Chaos.
Sadly, the ignorant and superstitious Imperium of the 40K era condemned them as heretics and burned them alive.
There even existed a secret Inquisition order known as the "Chrono-Court," dedicated to monitoring time anomalies and preventing threats from time distortions caused by Warp travel.
In truth, humanity had achieved some limited research into the mysteries of time.
One famous scholar, August Hayden VII, even wrote a treatise titled Avoid Becoming Your Own Grandfather and Other Paradoxes That Forced the Creation of the Ministry of Unnecessary Documents.
Eden closed the data slate.
Now that they had found traces of the Sons of Man and Big Barrel, the situation was much easier to handle.
He leaned back, chuckling to himself.
"A thousand years... I wonder what Big Barrel and the others have become. Hopefully, they didn't go backward."
He felt a genuine flicker of anticipation.
He decided to personally travel to the planet and bring them home.
...
Half a month later.
Far among the stars, space rippled.
The Dreamweaver emerged from a Warp passage, slowing to a halt.
On the bridge, the captain reported respectfully:
"Savior, we have arrived at the destination."
"Mm. Still quite far out," Eden said, removing his eyepatch and stretching as he rose from his seat.
He approached the observation dome.
Ahead lay a brown, barren desert world. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝔲𝔟.𝔠𝖔𝖒
According to translations of the slab inscriptions, its name was Danus.
A half-desert planet, it possessed only a few oases where humans could survive.
It was near one of these oases that Search Team 55 had found the ancient arena and the stone slabs.
No other human signs had been detected nearby.
At that moment, Intelligence Officer Tacco approached.
"According to the latest intelligence," Tacco reported, "Search Team 55 found a human kingdom on Danus. They are currently making contact."
The native civilization had entered a feudal monarchy era, calling itself the Kingdom of Kairn.
They had achieved a rough level of technology and demonstrated notable combat prowess.
However, much of their technology was crude—
obviously derived from the Redeemer's technology, albeit in distorted forms.
From Tacco's description, it was clear.
Big Barrel must have influenced the local civilization, artificially accelerating certain technological developments while letting others lag behind.
In matters of faith, though, there was no distortion.
The Kingdom of Kairn's belief system mirrored the Savior's faith almost perfectly.
Undoubtedly Big Barrel's doing.
"So pure..." Eden murmured.
From the moment he arrived, he could feel it.
The entire planet's faith was focused upon him with immense intensity.
Many individuals possessed faith strong enough to receive divine blessings.
Some were even capable of undergoing a second benediction.
If he wished, Eden could easily annex the planet.
Still, he frowned slightly.
He sensed no trace of the Sons of Man Chapter or Big Barrel here.
They must have left Danus at some point.
Fortunately, they had left behind clues.
Eden turned to Tacco and ordered, "Let's go down and take a look."
Shortly after, Eden boarded a landing craft.
Their destination: the Kingdom of Kairn.
He needed to understand what had happened to Big Barrel and his warriors during these long centuries.
...
Kingdom of Kairn.
Savior's Sanctuary.
Dust storms swept across the ochre plains.
A towering golden sun blazed overhead, and beneath it stood a massive stone square, dominated by an enormous statue of the Savior.
At this moment, tens of thousands of faithful were gathered on the square.
Under the leadership of King Kairn XVII, they were conducting a grand ceremony in honor of the Savior.
According to legend, the Savior had once sent a divine angel — Big Barrel — to aid the people of Danus.
Big Barrel had led the angels against the monstrous Tyranids from beyond the stars, saving the Danusian people from destruction.
He had taught them how to fight the swarms—
—and even how to cook and eat the Tyranids.
Thanks to his teachings, the Danusians had grown stronger, able to survive in the harsh desert.
Although the Tyranids were no longer an existential threat,
the ancient tradition of hunting them remained.
It was the ultimate rite of passage for a warrior.
After the ritual prayers, ranks of muscular young men, clothed only in rough linen shorts, ascended the central platform.
These were the Newblood Warriors preparing for their sacred trial.
Their mission was to venture into the desert, hunt down Tyranids,
return with blood and bone as offerings to the Savior,
feast upon their kills,
and fashion trophies from the Tyranid remains.
Those who succeeded would earn the title Tyranid Hunter —
—one of the highest honors on Danus.
At the front of the formation stood Prince Salo.
He turned to glance at his father, King Kairn XVII, who proudly wore armor and ornaments crafted from Tyranid carapaces and bones.
Salo's eyes shone with admiration.
His father had once singlehandedly slain a Sand Serpent—
a monstrous Tyranid nearly eight meters long,
a feat no Newblood had achieved in decades.
"I will slay one too," Salo vowed fiercely in his heart.
He had trained for this day for over a decade,
honing his body, mastering combat skills,
studying every Tyranid species, their patterns and weaknesses.
Sadly, the angels had long departed.
If they had remained, exceptional warriors might even have earned a second trial—
—becoming angels themselves.
It was every Danusian's dream.
A priest, adorned with Tyranid bones, approached.
He smeared dark green paint across Salo's face—
—the sacred color of the angels.
"Good luck," the priest said solemnly.
Hunting Tyranids had always been dangerous.
But the people of Danus yearned for the chance.
It was their way of life.
Only the strong survived.
The weak became food for the swarms.
The Newbloods collected their weapons from the sacred racks:
Alloy spears, chain swords, lasguns.
No armor was allowed in the trial.
Only flesh and steel against the Tyranids.
More powerful relics, like bolt pistols or power swords,
were kept locked in the sanctuaries—
only wielded in dire emergencies by kings or top hunters.
Just as the Newbloods armed themselves—
—a commotion rippled through the crowd.
People pointed skyward.
A massive shadow swept across the Savior's Sanctuary, blotting out the sun.
Salo looked up.
A gigantic ship was descending.
Yet, the young prince felt no fear.
His body trembled with excitement.
"Could it be... the prophesied Holy Ship?"
Before leaving Danus, the angels had foretold:
One day, the Holy Ship would return,
and the people would once again be reunited with the Savior.
They would see the angels again.
And more importantly—
—they would be offered the chance for a greater trial—
—to become angels themselves!
Before Salo could react further, the priests collapsed to the ground, shouting with zeal:
"Faithful ones, the Holy Ship has arrived!
The Great Savior descends upon Danus!"
The square erupted.
Tens of thousands of believers knelt as one.
King Kairn XVII and his guards knelt in warrior salutes.
Across every oasis on Danus, prayers and cries of joy rang out.
Wherever the ship was seen—
—people dropped to their knees.
Welcoming the Holy Ship.
Welcoming the Great Savior.
Soon, a smaller craft detached and landed gently on the square.
With a hiss, the ramp lowered.
Eden stepped down, dressed in his dark-gold ceremonial robes, radiating majesty and holiness.
As he descended, he was greeted by the sight of tens of thousands prostrating before him.
Even Eden, who had expected loyalty, was surprised by the sheer intensity of their devotion.
Clearly, this was Big Barrel's doing.
Professional as ever.
After all, the entire methods of fostering faith in the Redeemer's territories had originated from Eden himself.
"The Savior has descended!"
The High Priest shouted, banging his forehead on the stone slab in fervent worship.
Eden winced slightly.
"They're a little too devout..."
Thinking quickly, he instructed the Dreamweaver to broadcast sacred hymns across the planet's atmosphere.
The Savior's first appearance had to be proper.
Under the soaring hymns, Eden addressed the people of Danus, blessing them and telling them to rise and return to their lives—
—lest kneeling too long cause harm.
He sighed inwardly.
"Big Barrel... you've done well. You didn't let me down."
Later, he accepted the formal audience of King Kairn XVII and the High Priest.
Through their words and the records they had preserved, Eden pieced together the events of the past millennium.
A thousand years ago, Big Barrel and the Sons of Man, caught in a Warp time storm, had been thrown back to the past.
They crash-landed on Danus—
—and were immediately pursued by a Tyranid Hive Fleet's escort ships.
Thus began the infestation.
Fortunately, Danus' desert environment slowed the Tyranids' growth.
Big Barrel and his brothers fought a bitter war for centuries,
helping the natives survive,
spreading the faith,
teaching them how to hunt,
and even how to cook the rather sour but edible Tyranid meat.
He left behind many "holy books," such as:
One Hundred Ways to Stir-Fry Tyranid Meat
The Best Way to Boil a Tyranid
How to Easily Kill Tyranids
What to Do During a Tyranid Swarm
He introduced limited technology, helped found kingdoms, and became the Danusians' angel.
Through centuries of battle, the Danusians became a fierce people.
Two centuries ago, a mysterious rift appeared in the sky.
Big Barrel and his forces seized the opportunity and left, hoping to return to their rightful time.
"Two centuries ago, a space rift..." Eden mused.
"So they were waiting for a rift in time itself.
They must have left then, hoping to find their way home."
At that moment, King Kairn XVII knelt again, his eyes shining with reverence.
"O Great Savior," he said, voice trembling with hope,
"The Holy Trial is about to begin. Would you honor us by witnessing our warriors' battle against the Tyranids?"
(End of Chapter)
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