"Personalized Seasoning Powder!!"
"What a weird item name."
Driven by curiosity, Datch clicked to view its details.
[Item Name: Personalized Seasoning Powder]
Effect: When applied to a target, allows the user to edit memory, personality, and behavioral logic, creating a personality customized by the user. The effect lasts around 24 hours, after which the target gradually returns to normal.
[Comment: "Like delicious cuisine, personality can be carefully crafted."]
"This item's effect is really incredible!!"
Datch's eyes shone with excitement.
After reading the full description, scenes of how to use this item flashed through his mind. Just imagine sprinkling this powder on Abaddon and instantly making him absolutely loyal:
"For the Emperor, I will never coexist with Chaos!"
Imagine a Chaos Warmaster, raising his daemon sword, proclaiming such loyalty! The Chaos Lords of the Black Legion might collapse on the spot, perhaps even want to end it all.
Or use it on that evil Erebus—as soon as it's applied, he would furiously denounce Kor Phaeron and Logar as traitors, swear absolute loyalty to the Emperor, and claim irreconcilable opposition to the four Chaos gods. When Erebus came to his senses, he'd probably bang his thigh in endless regret. Just thinking about it made Datch smirk. What a thrilling scene—everyone would become Alpha, and everyone would turn loyalist.
"All right, I'll go show you the sea and grassland," Datch nodded at Gino, accepting the task. He left the medbay and stepped outside Angel Castle.
Under a dark crimson sky, the desert stretched endlessly, and the horizon shimmered with heat haze. The foul stench of decaying corpses mixed with the hot, sand-laden wind as it whipped around. The Battle of Baal had been unimaginably brutal—countless dead, wounded, and mountains of dead Tyranids.
Even the job of collecting and neutralizing the dead had become exhausting and tedious.
Taking Gino, the Astropath, on a round trip to another world to see grass and ocean would be too time-consuming and troublesome. In any case, this desert planet Baal was due for a transformation. The beloved Archangel was the Emperor of the Second Empire, after all—why should he live in such a barren desert? Baal's transformation must be part of the larger change.
As long as Baal had grasslands and seas of its own, there'd be no need to take anyone elsewhere.
Datch opened his inventory and took out the Weather Cube. With a simple command, six weather sprites, representing different elements, burst from the Rubik's Cube, whirling happily around him.
Next, Datch took out a different monster ball and tossed it into the air. The life spirit, Life spirit—transformed from Nurgle—appeared out of nowhere. "Pu, pu," it always chirped. Datch had named it 'Pupu.' Oddly, Pupu was growing at a startling rate; it began about the same size as Nurgle, but soon was almost a meter tall. Flowers and grass flourished atop his head, glistening dew rolling over their leaves, becoming ever more vibrant.
"Rain must fall until oceans are born, life spreads, and the desert turns into grassland," Datch declared, pointing at the parched sky and wasteland, giving both the weather sprites and Life spirit their mission of transformation.
The sprites answered with bright, bell-like notes, then swirled together, lifting Life spirit into the sky. Thanks to their combined efforts, thick masses of dark gray clouds suddenly appeared over what had been clear, dry Baal. The clouds grew from every direction, thickening until they covered the sky like a vast, leaden velvet blanket, plunging Baal's cities into an uncanny gloom. Jagged streaks of lightning flickered among the clouds, thunder growing louder.
Boom—!
Blinding lightning split the darkness; then, as if the Milky Way itself had burst, a downpour started. Thick raindrops clattered down, linking heaven and earth, beating the sand that had lain dry for millennia and raising swirling white mist. The scent of rain mixed for the first time with Baal's dusty air.
Rain lashed down in torrents, turning everything a foggy white. The surviving Baalites emerged from shelters, staring in shock. Rain streaked their faces with sand and dust; armor cracked, the endless patter filled the air. Many held out trembling hands to catch the raindrops, watching water gather in their palms. For most, it was the first rain they'd seen in their lives.
"Is this rain?" The water vendor's voice shook with excitement. Before Tyrian's invasion, he used to extract drinking water from urine and sewers to sell—water on Baal was so precious not a single drop could be wasted. Now, that precious water poured from the sky. His simple-minded son, Tills, like the rest, ran out to dance and leap in the rain.
Then, an even more incredible sight: within the damp sand, tiny green shoots fought upward, at first scattered, then in clusters, spreading rapidly. It was as if an invisible artist was painting the earth with colors of life. Grasses, vines, unknown saplings broke from the soil, unfolding leaves and tangling as they spread with visible speed. The desert cast off its yellow-brown cloak and began to don verdant robes.
…
On the watchtower of Arx Angelicum, Dante, Mephiston, and other high-ranking Blood Angels looked out incredulously over the transformed desert. Where once they had trained and bled upon endless sand—now, under the rain, life returned thick and wild.
Representatives from other Blood Angel successor chapters, like Seth's Flesh Tearers, were equally stunned, some unconsciously tracing the Aquila on their chests.
It was a miracle.
Those who had come to support the battle on Baal likewise stood in awe. After all, Baal was legendary for its frequent sandstorms and bone-dry desert climate—rain was unheard of, and for it to bring such rapid greening was beyond belief. Baal, once a wasteland, was transforming into a vibrant garden world.
"Is that a spirit of life in the sky?" Guilliman was first shocked, then suspicious. He squinted at the faint, gentle green light peeking through the clouds—round, adorable spirits appearing and disappearing.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Cassian delivered detailed reports on the restoration of planet Kalides. Survivors raised statues for the Nameless Ones, each one with a tiny angel of life on their shoulders. Wandering bards turned the stories of the Nameless and the little angels into songs sung everywhere.
"Didn't this thing morph from the lowest Nurgle? Why can we now reshape an entire planetary ecosystem?" Guilliman frowned deeply, at a loss.
"It is faith. The power of faith," replied Eldar Seer Illiyanne Natasé, easing the Primarch's bewilderment.
"Faith? What is happening here?" Guilliman asked.
"Human faith strengthens this changed spirit of life every day," Natasé explained. Having followed the First Expeditionary Fleet, he knew Baal's situation. Many worshiped the Nameless Ones—those lucky enough to transform from Nurgle daemon to spirit of life by their blessing. With faith behind them, today those spirits possessed the power to reshape the world; this was just the start. With time, the spirit of life would only grow stronger.
Natasé grew increasingly curious about the Nameless One—he had seen him summon a radiant giant embodying primordial concepts like Hope and Miracle, unleashing unmatched, unsullied power. If only the Eldar could gain such power, their race might truly revive, and Slaanesh could become irrelevant. But the Nameless One's actions were unfathomable to him; he didn't know how to communicate.
"Strengthened by faith?" Guilliman murmured. The more he learned of the Nameless One, the less he could grasp him—what other strange powers awaited discovery?
The rain showed no sign of ending, going on for days and nights. The transformation of Baal was astounding.
From orbit, aerial views revealed rapid changes: ochre chaos replaced by lush green, rivers and seas gradually formed as the deserts vanished. Mechanicus adepts released stored seeds and embryos, their growth accelerated a thousandfold by life energy pouring from the spirits. Forests took shape, young birds flitted through budding treetops, insects buzzed in the grass.
When, at last, sunlight broke through the clouds, it lit up a refreshed world. Outside Arx, yellow dunes had become grassy plains, wet wind carrying the fragrance of wildflowers to the fortress walls. A weak Gino, helped by companions, staggered outside, blinking in the new light. Staring awestruck, mouth hanging open, he saw grasslands roll to the horizon, rippling in the breeze like ocean waves. For a long time, he could not speak, just stood there, seeming to lose his soul to the sight. In truth, it was even more beautiful than the books had described, and suddenly, tears welled up—tears of joy, of witnessing a miracle, and of relief that future Baalites need not suffer the desert.
Soon, Gino was also brought to see the sea. Though the water was still muddy and empty of fish, he was overjoyed—for the first time, he witnessed so much water in one place. Surely, this sea too would become beautiful in time.
Having completed these tasks, Datch received a mission completion notice:
[Mission Complete: Congratulations for fulfilling the wish of powerful psychic Gino and showing him the sea and grassland.]
[Quest Reward: 1300 exp, 1300 points, Reputation +500, Personalized Seasoning Powder ×1]
…
Arx Angelicum.
Inside the solemn and tense great hall, arguments were at their peak—topics: the implantation of Primaris Space Marines and the world-altering changes on Baal. The various successor chapters struggled to agree, always bickering.
"This is a complete betrayal of Sanguinius's will!" bellowed a captain, slamming his fist on the heavy stone.
"Baal's harsh environment is the grindstone the Archangel left his sons! Only by struggling amidst wind, sand, and lack can we forge the toughest bodies and wills! This 'garden' world will soften our bones, corrode our souls! The original Primaris methodology will only further taint our bloodline!"
Another chapter master stepped forward with angry, shining eyes.
"Refuse the Primaris upgrades! Revert Baal's changes!" someone shouted.
"If you Blood Angels can't honor Baal's traditions or the Archangel's benevolence, you should disband right now!" declared Gabriel Seth, master of the Flesh Tearers. His brutal tongue was legendary, and even hoarse, his voice resonated fiercely under the arched ceiling.
"Let us, who truly understand sacrifice and hardship, rule Baal."
Dante, disguised by his majestic blood-red mask, listened in the main seat, hands gripping the armrests so hard their knuckles whitened—betraying his inner fury and pain. The Primaris Space Marine project was a lifeline for the chapters, Baal's renewal a deep-seated wish for many. Yet these two blessings threatened to tear brotherhood apart—some warbands now announced intentions to replace the Blood Angels as Baal's stewards.
As with previous meetings, it ended in deadlock; over half the chapters refused Primaris upgrades and demanded Baal's restoration.
Unwilling to give up, Dante adjourned the meeting to find new ways to persuade the dissenters.
As he left, a mysterious figure—the Nameless Man—blocked his path.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Dante asked, fixing his gaze.
Datch spotted the golden question mark above Dante's head and selected the dialogue option.
"Chapter Master Dante of the Blood Angels, what can I assist you with?"
Dante paused for a long moment before answering:
"If you truly are as omnipotent as the Primarchs and Custodians say, then help us resolve these differences among the chapters."
Immediately, a mission prompt appeared before Datch's eyes:
[Mission: Help legendary Imperial hero Dante resolve discord among the various angelic chapters.]
The war against Baal was over, and though the angels had won, heavy losses meant the chapters should have been rebuilding and fighting for the Imperium—now, though, due to both the Primaris project and Baal's transformation, discord and near-split threatened everything. Dante hoped you could help.
[Quest Reward: 1200 exp, 1200 points, Reputation +300, Random Summon Card—Giant of Light ×1]
Why did he keep getting these random Giant of Light summoning cards?
Datch scratched his head; he still had a magic wand in his pocket. The rewards really weren't that great, but maybe he'd get lucky—four mystical artifacts to draw would be a jackpot, those were legendary gold items.
"All right, I'll help," Datch agreed, skipping away without bothering about Dante.
As Datch pondered how to resolve the dispute, a majestic, clear voice sounded in his mind:
"Welcome to Baal, stranger."
Datch stopped. Warm golden light appeared before him, out of which stepped a tall, slender angel in majestic golden armor, mask radiant, wings spread.
Datch scanned him, pulling up an info bar:
[Archangel's Messenger, Saint Sanguinor]
"Great look, cool design, all shimmering gold," Datch muttered, walking past, uninterested in NPCs without quests. Sanguinor's shining figure froze momentarily at being avoided—at the very least, one should wait politely for someone to finish before leaving.
"Listen to me," Sanguinor insisted, reappearing by the next pillar.
But Datch still ignored him, even humming off-key as he circled away.
Suddenly, another, gentler voice, rich with profound compassion, resounded—bringing pure, dazzling light that filled the corridor. A tall, perfect figure appeared, wrapped in warm radiance, golden hair flowing, handsome features marked with scars of sacrifice, grand white wings outstretched.
"Welcome, noble guest, to Baal."
Seeing the golden question mark floating over the new arrival's head, Datch paused, quickly calling up an info panel:
[Fragmented Soul of Saint Sanguinius.]
Datch frowned. In the Soul Wars, Horus had shattered the Angel's body and gravely wounded his soul, scattering it into pieces. If only the revival coin was powerful enough.
"Sanguinius's shattered soul, is there anything I can do?" Datch asked, following the quest procedure.
"I hope you may journey deep within Baal, to the body's resting place, guide my soul fragments, restore my body, and let me return to the material universe," said the Archangel, eyes full of hope—the stranger's mystery and power clear to him. With such help, even a shattered soul might be made whole and reborn.
As the voice faded, a new quest panel popped up:
[Mission: Follow the guidance of the lingering soul to restore the Archangel's body and allow resurrection.]
During the Battle of Terra, Horus not only destroyed Sanguinius's body but severely damaged his soul, scattering it across the galaxy. Find a way to restore his body and reunite the soul.
[Quest Reward: 1500 exp, 1500 points, Reputation +600, Super Voice Changer ×1]
...