Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor
Chapter 400 - 401: The Savior’s Chaotic Private Life

Several months later, in the Eye of Terror.

The tides of Warp storms surged, distorting space into bizarre shapes. Occasionally, one could see daemonic entities being swept up or swimming freely through the maelstrom.

Even void whales hundreds of kilometers long slapped against the tides.

In this chaotic region, one could witness cosmic sights more magnificent than anywhere else in the galaxy.

But hidden among that magnificence were deadly dangers.

There was no doubt—this was not a place where human ships should tread.

Yet at this very moment, a golden, dreamlike warship was sailing through the storm. Massive chains trailed behind its hull, dragging a string of space fortresses, docks, and colossal abominable hulls.

Among them was even a Chaos daemon's corpse, the size of a fortress, exuding terrifying power.

It was a little surprise the great Savior had picked up along the way—an unexpected bonus.

His flagship, Dreamweaver, remained unshaken amidst the storm, steadily forging ahead.

...

Dreamweaver, Observation Dome

"This ship really is a relic from the Golden Age... compact and fierce!" Eden sighed.

Though Dreamweaver was less than ten kilometers long, its core was astoundingly powerful. The engines provided immense propulsion, and multiple layers of shielding blocked out most Warp calamities.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Redeemer Fleet couldn't endure such perilous navigation.

So, after the plunder at Savalgar, all ships aside from Dreamweaver had promptly withdrawn from the Eye of Terror to avoid the coming risks.

They carried back Blackstone, Blackstone tech, and ancient relics—rare and priceless loot—through the Webway to the galaxy's commercial hubs for repair and reconstruction efforts.

Meanwhile, Dreamweaver dragged the remaining Chaos spoils, scouring the Eye's edge for a suitable location...

A base for the Savior's new Chaos force.

It was no simple task. The site had to offer secure routes, be defensible, and far from major powers and war zones.

Only that way could they safely develop during the early stages.

More importantly, they couldn't be discovered by Abaddon or other Chaos factions—otherwise, they'd be crushed before even starting.

That would be game over.

Szzzzz—

Eden took a swig of ice-cold cola and shifted into a more comfortable position with Karina in his arms, but his eyes stayed fixed on the chaotic void outside—not on her supple, fair skin.

Out in the void, dazzling, multicolored celestial bodies whirled past. Some were grotesque, some ring-shaped, others connected by warped flesh and mycelium in complex patterns.

Some spun and leapt, towering mountains formed of countless human bodies stacked together.

The Chaos corruption in this storm zone was extreme, leading to more bizarre celestial phenomena. Nothing here followed any kind of logic or consistency.

Normal physics or time had no meaning here. What mattered was willpower, imagination, and mastery over Warp energy.

These nightmarish, exaggerated phenomena constantly pushed the boundaries of Eden's imagination.

He had no doubt: once he returned to the galaxy, he could easily become one of the greatest abstract artists in history—producing masterworks of cosmic surrealism.

The only issue was that these works might cause the Inquisition to work overtime—or worse, drive junior Inquisitors insane and into Chaos servitude.

Hiss—

Eden suddenly sucked in a breath and covered Karina's eyes.

A Chaos planet had just passed by, and the sight was too stimulating: it had already evolved into a humanoid Chaos lifeform with twisted limbs and a body riddled with lotus-pod-like breasts.

Within each of those countless holes, pulsed reproductive organs.

That living Chaos planet continuously moaned and wailed, caught in a state between pleasure and pain. It even posed seductively, sending an invitation in their direction.

Even Eden, a Primarch, felt nauseous and dizzy—barely able to endure it.

There was no doubt—it was the result of Slaanesh's corruption. The perversion of the Prince of Pleasure had once again exceeded Eden's expectations.

He found these grotesque creations revolting, but couldn't afford to look away.

He had acted as a human-shaped observation tower for days, without rest.

He had no choice. Though Dreamweaver boasted powerful defenses, Warp storm zones were still far too dangerous.

As the strongest psyker onboard, he had to constantly detect threats along their route and help the ship avoid them in advance.

Particularly those chaos currents where physical and temporal laws twisted beyond recognition.

If Dreamweaver accidentally entered a temporal rift, who knew how long they'd be trapped inside—and how many years would pass in the galaxy while they were gone?

By the time they emerged, everything might be over.

He had no intention of finishing the voyage only to find out the Imperium had fallen while he was away.

Fortunately, the voyage didn't last much longer.

Soon, Dreamweaver exited the Warp storm zone and entered more stable space, though the void around remained dark and murky.

A reminder: they were still in the Eye of Terror.

But this region seemed desolate, with very few stars in sight.

"Savior, can we finally rest now?"

Karina's large eyes blinked as she playfully whined. She even seemed a bit impatient.

"The wardrobe attendants just designed another beautiful dress—made of a very special material. You're definitely going to love it~!"

She'd been stuck here with the Savior for over two weeks—bored out of her mind.

"Alright, then let's—"

Eden was just about to agree when he received several messages—all from the dark forge world of Galyum.

The sender: the Black Mechanicum Empress, Karashia.

Data traces revealed she had persistently sent dozens of communication requests over the past few days.

"You go on ahead. I have work to do. I'll join you in a couple of days."

He changed his mind, coldly declining Karina's invitation with a tone that brooked no argument.

After the red-haired lady left in a pout, Eden casually opened the comms, projecting a goddess-like virtual image.

When the Black Mechanicum Empress saw the Devourer, the Chaos Reaver, she immediately leaned forward, revealing a glimpse of pure snow-white underneath.

Her worried gaze turned to joy:

"Lord Devourer, I finally reached you... Are you all right?"

Realizing her tone was too forward, she quickly composed herself.

"That matter you entrusted me with—I've completed it."

Before the plunder of Savalgar, the Devourer had predicted the flood of Chaos goods that would hit neutral markets like the dark forge worlds.

He asked her to use the opportunity to purchase specific Chaos materials for him at low prices.

Now, the acquisitions were complete—she just needed him to pick them up.

Eden replied calmly, "Your Majesty, all is well here. Once I've finished arranging things, I'll send you the delivery coordinates."

He still had to settle on a base location before he could retrieve the goods.

And it had to be done discreetly.

Then he reviewed the list Karashia sent him—and found the volume of Chaos resources far exceeded what they'd agreed upon.

Several times more, in fact.

It was clear the Black Mechanicum Empress had half bought, half gifted the goods, generously providing far more than expected.

"No wonder she's the queen of the dark forge worlds... a real rich lady," Eden mused.

Karashia was among the highest-ranking leaders in the Black Mechanicum. Her power rivaled any faction in the Imperial Mechanicus.

In fact, before she left the Imperium, she had been a prominent figure—an overlord within the Mechanicus. Even High Lords had tread carefully around her.

But once she entered the Eye of Terror, her teachings and records were declared heretical and purged.

What little was known about her traced back thousands of years. Earlier history had vanished.

In short—she was an ancient lady, thousands of years older than Eden.

Of course, Eden himself, not even a hundred years old, had encountered countless galactic and Warp entities far older than him.

Still, thanks to her strength...

Karashia had managed to keep her forge world, Galyum, alive in the Eye of Terror. And that was just the core—behind her lay a vast alliance of Black Mechanicum forces.

That's why she could produce enough Chaos resources to leave Eden speechless.

Even Abaddon had visited her multiple times, hoping to form an alliance.

Too bad for him—this dark cybernetic goddess had already chosen her side.

Now, with her voluntarily providing such lavish support, it was all thanks to Eden's... seductive efforts.

The Devourer, infamous across the Chaos realms, was secretly the man Slaanesh desired most—his charm was off the charts.

And Karashia just happened to fit Eden's aesthetic—dark, cybernetic, and ice-cold.

Doing business with a wealthy woman like this wasn't shameful—it was making soft rice into hard-earned gains.

Especially since Eden had paid his dues.

After all, she worshipped the Machine God and needed divine blessing to further her research.

Of course, considering how things had developed... their relationship was getting a bit complicated.

The Empress of the Black Mechanicum worshiped the Machine God, prayed for her blessings—and the Machine Goddess, Webby, called Eden her father.

Which meant… technically, the Machine Goddess should call Karashia "mom"?

That would certainly complicate faith a bit.

It was probably best to keep the true nature of his relationship with the Machine Goddess hidden.

Eden didn't think there was anything wrong with forming a political alliance—or even a romantic one—with the Empress of the Black Mechanicum.

The Imperium of Man was essentially an alliance of powerful factions. Its overall direction was to resist and reject all heresies and xenos…

But in reality, many of the higher-ups secretly dealt with heretical and alien forces.

For instance, when the Golden Throne began to fail, the Imperium's leadership even contacted the Drukhari—xenos and heretics both—in a desperate attempt to repair it.

They even allowed one of the Drukhari's most deranged and blasphemous flesh-sculptors, the Haemonculus known as the Masque-Sculptor, to be brought into the Golden Throne itself. Utter sacrilege.

Even Huron Blackheart, Chaos Warlord and the Blackheart of Badab, had once saved the Regent Guilliman in the Maelstrom for his own mysterious reasons.

In the end, faction leaders often act freely out of interest or necessity.

As for his private life...

Eden admitted his was a bit chaotic. Not only did he frequently deal with Slaaneshi hallucinations, but he'd also turned the Empress of the Black Mechanicum into a lover.

Still, most of it was forced by circumstances or political deals.

And to be fair, many galactic bigshots and high-ranking nobles had even worse private lives—some downright insane.

Even our Holy Emperor had… less-than-glorious past experiences.

The Emperor's history was full of chaos and mystery. In some forbidden rumors, He had a wild phase during ancient Rome—transforming into a she-wolf, among other inexplicable acts.

He was quite literally a rogue, an artist, a wanderer.

After roaming for countless centuries, this immortal suddenly decided one day to fight for humanity's destiny. He unified Terra, Luna, and Mars, then launched the Great Crusade to dominate the galaxy.

In that light, Eden saw himself as quite restrained—practically a conservative in galactic terms.

"Karashia, thank you for your efforts…"

After reviewing the resource list, Eden's tone grew softer. His usually hoarse voice now carried a hint of affection.

He couldn't help it—she had given him so much.

To gather this volume of Chaos materials and Black Mechanicum support on his own would have taken ages.

His sudden shift from coldness caught Karashia off-guard, but more than that—it warmed her.

She quickly recovered her grace and calm: "Lord Devourer, this is my duty as an ally. I hope we can continue to work well together."

Eden nodded. "Naturally."

As expected, the high-cold empress was still a bit shy in public.

He returned to a more professional tone, exchanged intel with her, set up the next trade agreement, then neatly ended the call.

But just as the call ended, another message came through: an invitation from the Empress herself.

She hoped her ally could visit Galyum's royal palace after finishing current tasks—she looked forward to his arrival.

Eden glanced at the message but didn't reply right away.

The Empress, especially when in a certain uniformed mode, was indeed quite… appealing.

But unfortunately, he couldn't afford to show up in such high-profile areas—especially not Galyum, a neutral zone where Chaos factions roamed freely.

After all, Abaddon's Black Legion base had just been looted down to the bedrock—he was penniless.

That guy was probably red-eyed with rage right now, sharpening his blades for revenge.

Showing up so openly would be idiotic.

Eden slouched on the sofa and projected a document into the air.

It was the intelligence report Karashia had just sent—updates on the Eye of Terror.

Thanks to the neutrality of Galyum, intel flowed abundantly there, and the details were very thorough.

As he scanned the report, Eden wondered if he should spread some false information to redirect Abaddon's fury elsewhere.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

He didn't need to do anything.

According to the report—

After the plunder of Savalgar, countless rumors had flooded the region, many of them absurd.

They nearly overshadowed his own role as the mastermind.

For example:

That the mighty Warmaster Abaddon had been looted by Chaos factions themselves, losing his fortress and all his wealth, plunging into poverty.

A total humiliation and blow to his reputation.

In response, several warbands publicly declared independence from the Black Legion, no longer willing to associate with such shameful defeat.

Other Chaos coalitions took the chance to poach those struggling ex-Black Legion warriors.

They offered full sets of armor and bolt weapons to anyone who joined.

Some Tzeentchian warbands even bragged about tricking Abaddon in person, declaring the plot's mastermind a cunning fiend—before supposedly fainting and coughing up blood, even their braids exploding from rage.

There were other reports, like:

Black Legion had traitors who colluded with raiders;

The whole war had nothing to do with the Chaos Reaver (Eden), and he barely got anything;

The Chaos Reaver got robbed midway and defected to Chaos again, etc.

Truth and lies mixed together in glorious chaos.

Slaaneshi cultists even released spicy gossip: Abaddon was so heartbroken he cried daily until comforted by a hermaphroditic Slaaneshi champion.

Apparently, this led to… intimate events on the Black Throne.

The rumor was absurdly detailed, complete with illustrations.

One self-proclaimed participant from the Slaaneshi cult even publicly confirmed its truth.

Hiss~ That's just disgusting…

Eden squinted at the high-res image titled "Chaos Warmaster and the Pleasure Consort", then immediately deleted it.

Just in case the file was embedded with Slaaneshi corruption that could affect his psychic network.

What could he say?

Those Chaos followers really knew how to stir up drama—each more outrageous than the last.

Still, it made sense. Chaos worshippers were chaotic and insane by nature, and acted out according to their twisted beliefs.

That was the very source of their power.

The one who created and spread the Pleasure Consort image had likely gained a tremendous boon in Slaaneshi power thanks to their wild imagination and scandalous artistic style.

As for the copycats, unless their works were even more explosive, they probably wouldn't gain much.

Especially the Slaaneshi and Tzeentchian cultists—those two groups were the ultimate drama queens.

By comparison, Khorne and Nurgle followers seemed downright normal.

Eden was quite satisfied with the situation.

All these flamboyant distractions had successfully diverted everyone's attention.

The heat on him, the true mastermind, had cooled significantly.

Better yet, since Abaddon couldn't find Eden, he'd likely turn on the loudest culprits instead—and try to reclaim his lost treasures.

Eden read on.

As expected—

A week after the silence, Abaddon had reorganized his forces, recalled some elite troops from other campaigns, and launched a purge within the Eye of Terror.

He swiftly conquered several major Chaos worlds.

In response, Chaos factions pulled back from the Obscurus sector to brace for the coming assault.

This would undoubtedly relieve pressure on the Indomitus Crusade forces still engaged in the Obscurus sector.

What's more—

Several warbands that had plundered vast loot and grown stronger began waging war against old enemies, seizing territory and resources.

All across the Eye of Terror, war broke out—threatening to turn the entire region into a swirling stew of conflict.

"This… is what I call a loyalist war."

The situation had escalated far beyond Eden's expectations—what a delightful surprise.

The more the Chaos factions fought each other, the better it was for the Imperium.

And for Eden himself, it was the perfect cover to quietly build his own Chaos power base in the Eye of Terror.

After finishing the report, Eden rose and headed for the lower decks.

There were still many things to do before the chaotic flesh-bodies in the lab reached maturity...

(End of Chapter)

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