[Stoll] Grandfather Syllax was dead.
The moment it died, the psychically powerful Sorcerers all exploded and died with its passing, their spines snapping backward, bursting into clouds of blood mist in their immense agony.
The rest of Grandfather Syllax’s ignorant army had no idea what was happening; they were disoriented and stunned by the psychic storm that had suddenly erupted from the Immaterium.
Before they could even react, the fanatical Stollians charged in, driving their crudely built tanks and warhorses.
This had been Zelo’s plan all along.
The Primarch anticipated that Grandfather Syllax’s death would inevitably cause chaos, and that moment would be the perfect opportunity for a counterattack.
Led by the Stollians’ acting leader, Roland, the Stollians launched their counteroffensive.
At first, the advance held a rough order: prepared formations of warhorses and tanks led, followed by the infantry.
But then, everyone surged out from their cramped, narrow hives.
The Stollians could not find Zelo among the wreckage after the great explosion, and they believed he had been sacrificed.
The acting leader, Roland, tried to calm the agitated crowd, but he failed.
He was blind, and in the past, he had worked alongside Xavier, who had lost both legs.
They had lived together.
Roland was reasonable, but Xavier was not.
Xavier stole a warhorse from the stables, grabbed his twin blades, and hauled himself away on his arms, not forgetting to give Roland a sharp elbow to the face before leaving, knocking him into a deep sleep.
And so, even the workers ran out from the assembly lines, clutching wrenches, knives, and screwdrivers, screaming and running behind the warriors, their hearts filled with rage.
The poets and scribes also ran out.
They stopped writing.
They should have been the most rational of the lot, but now they too were infected by the collective frenzy, picking up weapons with their broken limbs.
In that moment, what these people wanted was not the future at all.
They had been tortured to the brink, filled with pain.
They only wanted to see blood, only wanted to hear the agonized wails of the Daemons and slavers.
They were not afraid to die.
They were ready to pay with their lives for even one draught of Daemon screams.
Because Grandfather Syllax and the sorcerers were dead, and with the Warp receding, the confused xenos and Daemonic Legions were momentarily scattered and thrown into chaos by the surging crowd.
By the time the Imperium’s armies truly landed on the planet’s surface, the people were already seeing red, roaring among the piles of Daemon and human corpses, chasing the fleeing Daemon armies mindlessly.
Then an army like something divine descended from the sky.
Massive landing craft dropped from the sky like iron rain from the heavens, and with a crash, they smashed and crushed a great number of Daemon forces.
The hatches opened, and out stepped those fully armed, superbly equipped soldiers.
The Stollians were startled.
They had only ever fought xenos or Daemons; they did not understand what these people were or why they had come.
Some tried to attack them, and some tried to communicate.
Until the Adeptus Custodes began slaughtering the Daemons.
Their killing was efficient and spectacular.
The people, who had never witnessed such a scene, stopped, shocked by everything they saw.
The Tech-Priests descended from the ships.
Servo-skulls fitted with vox-amplifiers rose into the air, skillfully beginning to direct the crowd and herd the Stollians back towards the City of Hell.
Before Zelo descended, the Stollians had already been herded back into the city.
The people were frightened by all that was unknown and unfamiliar to them.
And so Roland, the acting leader who had been lying on the stable floor, was elbowed upright again by Xavier.
The poor blind man didn’t even have time to get angry.
He had to force himself to pull his wits together, dizzy and disoriented, as the people described to him the divine soldiers descending from the heavens.
Fortunately, the Stollians had not completely lost their heads.
Led by the acting leader Roland and the worker leader Nora, they made contact with the Imperium and finally understood what had happened.
In short, beyond the Stoll System, there existed a mighty human Imperium, one that was reclaiming lost territories and establishing a unified kingdom.
And the master of this great Imperium, the Emperor, had a son named Zelo.
Now the Emperor had found his son and promised to bring him back to the Imperium.
“I always said Zelo wasn’t an ordinary person.” Listening to the chief Imperial official’s explanation, Nora shrugged with her arms crossed, as if her earlier speculation had been validated.
“Wait, what about the Stollians?” But Roland caught the implication.
The chief official had only mentioned Zelo, but had said nothing about the Imperium’s plans for the Stollians.
“As long as Zelo is safe, that’s enough.
Grandfather Syllax has been killed.
No matter what happens, the Stollians will live better than before.” Nora said dismissively, but Roland grew anxious.
The Imperium obviously could not simply ignore Stoll Star, but what were their plans?
Would they be angered by the Stollians’ neglect of the Primarch?
“What will the Imperium do with the Stoll System and the Stollians?” Roland asked, but received no serious answer.
The Imperial official only told them to wait, that the higher-ups would deliberate and reach a suitable conclusion.
But the Imperium’s actions made Roland uneasy.
They forbade the Stollians from leaving the city, trapping them inside, and that unsettled him.
No one answered his unease.
They could only withdraw into the city, waiting with a mix of excitement, hope, and fear.
Roland did not sit idly by.
Though the bruise from Xavier’s elbow was still on his face, he quietly arranged for Xavier and the others to instruct the elite teams to remain ready for battle and a breakout at all times.
At the same time, Roland also organized a team that could secretly evacuate from the city at any moment.
The Imperium discovered his quiet preparations, but the Imperium did not seem to care.
[In orbit above Stoll Star] Zelo could hardly contain himself.
He couldn’t wait to see his people, his warriors.
He didn’t know how long he had slept, whether he had missed too much, or whether the Stollians were safe now.
Did they know that Grandfather Syllax had been slain?
If they knew, would they cheer?
Or weep tears of ecstasy?
Zelo did not know, but he could already sense, from afar, the tidal wave of emotion formed by the crowd, fervent and surging.
He quickened his pace aboard the ship again and again, leaving the Custodian escorting him behind.
This forced the golden warrior to break into a quick jog just to keep up with the Primarch’s stride.
Zelo reached the landing pad ahead of the Custodian guiding him.
There, a squad of Adeptus Custodes was already waiting, along with some administrative personnel and mechanical beings in red robes.
The knowledge in Zelo’s mind told him that those red robes belonged to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Except for the Adeptus Custodes, everyone else bowed reverently to Zelo.
Then they all entered the Stormbird landing craft together.
The engines roared.
The small landing craft detached from the mother ship, carrying Zelo down as it glided, slowly slicing into the atmosphere, trailing a beautiful white line behind it, down, and further down.
Red dust flew.
Layer upon layer of heat waves rushed up from the surface, the sky thick with smoke and dust.
With a heavy thud, the small craft touched down, landing outside the City of Hell.
The area had already been swept clean by the Imperium’s armies.
The Adeptus Mechanicus teams worked tirelessly to clear the open ground, collecting usable scrap while establishing a temporary landing field.
The Stollians were not permitted to leave the City of Hell.
The crowd packed the city walls, crowded beneath the wide-open gates, craning their necks in eager anticipation.
Through the dust, the people first saw figures as tall as ordinary men stepping out of the Stormbird, taking their positions on either side of the lander.
Then came the towering Adeptus Custodes, their golden armor dyed crimson by the setting sun.
And then came that man.
“ZELO!!!!
ZELO!!!!
ZELO!!!!” The black-haired, blue-eyed giant raised his hand cheerfully, waving to his people.
The people responded with an even fiercer tide of acclamation.
“Grandfather Syllax is dead!” Zelo shouted.
He saw the jubilant crowd, the people excited, fervent, they had entrusted him with their faith and their lives, and he had not failed his mission.
“I promised each of you a future!
As far back as I can remember, I made a vow to lead the Stollians out of the pain that has tormented us for millennia!!!” Within the Immaterium, Zelo felt power.
The trust of the crowd filled him.
He tried to release his psychic abilities, to attune the souls of the crowd, to make them believe in him even more.
He was the sovereign of the Stollians, the leader who showed them the way.
Under crushing pressure, the people grew confused and fled in disarray.
But he gathered them, reforged them, and shaped them into a blade.
Zelo took a deep breath.
“Now!” He stared at the people looking up at him.
“I swear by my name: I will give you an even more glorious future!
To the fearful among you, I promise a safe fortress.
To the brave, I promise grand wars!” “To those who aspire to greatness, I will lead you among the stars.
To those content with the present, I will build you a home.
I will do everything in my power to fulfill my promise and duty to the Stollians!” The crowd cheered.
“Zelo!!!
You’ve already done enough!!!
Don’t worry about us!!!” On the city wall, above the deafening roar of cheers, the workers’ leader Nora screamed at the top of her lungs.
Beside her, Xavier, who served as Roland’s eyes, glanced at her, then turned his head and bellowed, “Zelo!!!
Lead us to glory!!!
The Stollians will follow you forever!” Roland, who was carrying Xavier on his shoulders, also shouted, “Wait!
Wait!
Can someone describe what the hell is going on?!
Zelo is back, and what about his father?!
Has the master of the Imperium arrived?!” No one paid any attention to the poor blind man.
Among the Imperial forces, they had received a message from the Emperor, and they opened the blockade around the City of Hell.
The crowd surged forth like a tidal wave.
“You can’t act so recklessly next time.” Inside the main command chamber of the City of Hell, Zelo sat at his desk with a stern expression, hands crossed beneath his chin.
The small room was packed densely with every surviving high-ranking commander of the City of Hell.
Outside the office window, a flash of golden light flickered.
The city was in chaos, with countless Imperial troops and Adeptus Mechanicus forces busily organizing and directing the Stollians in an orderly evacuation.
“Xavier, I need an explanation.” Zelo said calmly.
Before him, the legless Xavier sat in a chair.
The Primarch’s gaze was searingly intense, and Xavier had to turn his head away guiltily.
“Everyone was thinking about liberating Stoll Star.
I saw Roland hesitating…” “That was a tactic Roland and I had agreed upon.” Zelo’s eyes blazed with light as he swept his gaze across every commander in the room, all of whom had disobeyed orders during the previous battle.
They had chosen to lead their troops out of the city, making the Daemonic Legions, who rarely tasted pain, suffer in turn.
Every person caught by Zelo’s gaze lowered their heads in shame, unable to face the Primarch’s fiery stare.
“We were so close to victory.
I don’t want us to fail because of a single oversight or impatience.” “I think you all need some punishment,” Zelo said.
“I’m still considering the specific form of punishment, but I believe this time it will leave a lasting memory for all of you.” The Primarch’s calm fury was such that no one dared face it until the weary blind man spoke.
Roland swallowed, his voice weak but firm.
“My Lord,” Roland said.
Zelo looked at him, almost amused to see the bruises still lingering on his face, “This might not be entirely the people’s fault.” “Are you saying that defying me, disobeying my orders, even knocking me unconscious was not their fault?” “Roland, I chose you, a man without sight, because I believed you could see and perceive far more than others, and I believed you were the most rational one.
When did you become so merciful and weak?” Roland was one of the few Stollians with exceptional judgment and insight.
That was why, even though he was blind, he was more suited than anyone else for the position of acting leader.
The Primarch’s words nearly suffocated everyone present.
Xavier kept his head low, stealing glances at Roland, but Roland did not lower his head.
He only calmly “looked” straight ahead.
“My Lord, I am quite certain that after Grandfather Syllax died, or after you were gravely wounded and unconscious, people fell into a kind of frenzy, not simply because of the imminent victory, but because of something else.” Roland swallowed, as if weighing each word.
“Some kind of abnormal frenzy.
As though some switch had suddenly been flipped.
This feeling was very much like when I stood beside you before and could sometimes feel a sudden surge of exhilaration.” It was like an ant death spiral: once the lead ant is drawn into a circle, the rest follow, marching round and round.
Obedience to command is a trait of large groups.
“…” Zelo fell silent.
He suddenly recalled the final surge of excitement and willpower just before his charge.
At that moment, had he unconsciously influenced the Stollians?
“Even I felt a certain impulse at that moment, as if I would gladly trade my own life for an enemy’s.
It took a great deal of willpower to overcome that urge.” “Good.
I understand.
Your report is crucial.” Zelo began to think.
He realized he could influence the crowd far more than he had imagined, and the emotional surge he had produced at the brink of death had directly stirred the people into restlessness and defiance.
It seemed the problem wasn’t solely theirs; his own was just as great, Zelo mused.
He looked at his hands.
He needed to control his power.
He needed to learn.
He wondered if the brother the Imperium had sent for him would teach him such knowledge.
“I will consider mitigating their punishment.
As for Roland, won’t you all thank him?” The people in the room, who had barely dared to breathe, suddenly relaxed, crowding around Roland with effusive thanks.
The atmosphere loosened.
Seeing their embarrassed smiles, Zelo found it hard to remain harsh.
These people had been suppressed and suffering for far too long.
If this act of disobedience hadn’t been so serious, he wouldn’t have wanted to punish them at all.
“The Imperium has already explained the next steps to you,” Zelo said, once again examining each person in the room with a stern gaze.
He would be sent to another Legion for training, while the Stollians would be temporarily taken over by the Imperium.
The Imperium would perform memory wipes on most Stollians to erase their memories of the Daemons.
Most would remember only that they were psychic xenos, not Daemons.
After that, the Imperium would subject suitable Stollians to Adeptus Astartes transformation, the nineteen gene-seed implantation procedures that would turn them into superhuman warriors.
Meanwhile, the Adeptus Mechanicus would seal off Stoll Star and establish a new stronghold for the Stollians on the third planet of the Stoll System.
“I will be leaving for a while.” “For now, I will delegate full authority to Roland and Nora for liaising with the Imperium and the preliminary negotiations on construction.” “Promise me, don’t bully Roland anymore.
No more saying yes to his face and doing the opposite behind his back.
And Roland, stop tolerating them.” Roland laughed.
He spoke: “I swear to you, my lord, I will never again betray your trust.
Especially not by being betrayed by Xavier.” The blind man seemed to grit out that last sentence through his teeth.