The Automated Sentry-Troopers began returning to the hive world's landing zones in successive waves. Beyond the psykers surrendered to the Imperial Black Ships as the psychic tithe, tens of thousands of additional psykers remained. This staggering number was primarily due to the fact that the Black Ship League's prescribed routes frequently traversed the galaxy's most treacherous reaches. Of the many tithe fleets, every single convoy escorted by the machine fleet had reached its destination unscathed.
Many Imperial worlds, some having failed to pay for nearly a century, surrendered multiple cycles of tithes at once. Consequently, a vast number of Planetary Governors were summarily purged by the Inquisition for prior tax evasion. With the rare protection of a machine fleet, these tithe armadas grew immense; alongside the Black Ships of the Inquisition, vessels from the Departmento Munitorum and the Adeptus Mechanicus joined the procession.
While the Inquisition collected its toll of psykers and materiel, the Munitorum arrived to levy tithes of weaponry and manpower, and the Mechanicus to claim their due in machine-tithes. Newly appointed Planetary Governors naturally inherited the debts of their predecessors. The most convenient export to settle such arrears was cheap human capital. Countless Imperial citizens were reduced to mere "costs," sold as debt-slaves to more prosperous worlds or to the Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, where their labor would compensate for their home world's deficient tithes.
The psychic tithe is a monumental burden, often demanding up to a tenth of a hive world's population. Naturally, not every hive can meet such a quota. Local Imperial authorities periodically audit the psyker population of a world, striving to formulate a "reasonable" tithe.
For the many rogue psykers of the Imperium, being cast into the hold of a Black Ship does not inevitably mean becoming Kindling. Upon returning to Terra, all psykers undergo a secondary screening within secret fortresses beneath the Hive. Nearly half will find the opportunity to become true peers of the Imperium. Various Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes hold limited rights of selection, scouring these hidden bastions for suitable "seeds" to be trained as future Librarians.
The remaining psykers are further categorized and distributed among the various institutions of the Imperium, the Astropaths, the Navis Nobilite, and the Ordo Psykana. Only those who fail every screening, those whose psychic grades are insufficient or whose powers are dangerously unstable, are ultimately condemned to become automated, refined fuel.
They spend the remainder of their lives in secret bases beneath the Throneworld, studying and honing their psychic strength to fulfill the daily duties ordained by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica. One day, a high official or Inquisitor will inform them that the Emperor has need of them. They are then led into the deep subterranean vaults, where psychic extraction machinery drains their very essence to sustain the Great Master of Mankind. They become, in the truest sense, the fuel that feeds the Fire.
The psykers selected by the Imperium and handed over to Axion could not yet be called fortunate or damned. Following their return, they awaited a life of long-term stability. The price, however, was their own psychic power.
To house these psykers while exploring the Webway, Axion had commissioned the construction of another Titan-class super-vessel: the Void Sword. The cost of its creation was a full eighth of the Leviathan Mining Planet, carved away in a single operation. Its design templates were derived from experimental Titan-class ship data.
Unlike the Titan's Spear, every weapon system on this vessel would attempt to utilize psychic energy as its primary power source. Within the ship, alongside massive life-support systems and artificial biomes, lay a vast psychic extraction network. Every psyker would be permanently fitted with nanite-constructed extraction devices, siphoning psychic energy from their bodies every second of their existence.
Beyond this, their movements within the ship were not overly restricted. The artificial environments yielded ample resources, supplemented by external supplies to maintain internal operations. Here, all psykers would be stripped of their power. Billions, perhaps tens of billions, would live out their lives here until the end.
Any offspring born to these psykers would be immediately tested. If they lacked psychic talent, they were returned to the Imperium. If they possessed the gift, they remained on the Void Sword. Compared to the purgatory of the wider galaxy and the harsh Imperial worlds, life on the Void Sword meant no toxic fumes and no endless, grueling labor. A psyker needed only to remain healthy and provide Axion with energy for as long as possible to enjoy a stable, tranquil environment.
Yet, they also bore a terrible risk. The Void Sword was, fundamentally, a Titan-class warship. Should it be destroyed in battle, every soul on board would face immediate annihilation.
Once the psykers were boarded, the extraction would begin. After sufficient Psychic Crystals were stockpiled, Axion would initiate the next phase of testing. Every weapon module would be independently constructed and subjected to psychic substitution trials. Only after passing these tests would the Void Sword's final armament be determined. Once the outfitting was complete, Axion would possess his first fully functional Psychic Titan-ship.
However, Axion remained unaware of the massive chain reaction that would be triggered when such a vast quantity of psychic energy began to be refined. The disaster it would invite was steeped in the mockery of the Warp's Great Powers.
…
While the Iron Men acted as enforcers, accompanying the tithe fleets across countless Imperial worlds, the escalating slaughter and war inevitably began to swell the power of Khorne.
Though Khorne himself felt no satisfaction in the emotionless culling performed by the Iron Men, he could taste the fury and hatred of those they butchered. The spray of blood and the pervasive death spreading across the galaxy acted as a violent stimulant to the Blood God. The rage and hatred woven into the souls of the countless dead drew Khorne's gaze directly toward the concentration of Axion's power.
Deep within the Webway inside the Sol System, the direct power of Khorne tore through a section of the shimmering tunnels. A massive host of Daemons, bolstered by Khornate divinity and led by a newly resurrected Angron, fell upon the Iron Men forces exploring the Webway.
The standard Automated Sentry-Troopers possessed no viable defense against this supernatural Greater Daemon of the Warp. Swaths of Sentry-Troopers and Armored Wardens were reduced to scrap. Even with continuous nanite repair protocols, these conventional units were meaningless before a Daemon Primarch empowered a thousand times over by the Lord of Skulls.