Author Notes:
I admit, I am having a recaf crashout, given that Mom and I are finally home safe since yesterday, I think? Honestly, it's 12 am right now and I really don't want to think anymore.
So, do enjoy the newest GSS chapter, and the barely hidden (?) Easter Egg(s)? I frankly don't even remember what I wrote in my tonic-fueled crazed.
There are advanced chapters on Pa-treon for both of my fics, with a couple of special bonuses if you read the fine print :D
https://www.patre-on.com/Heartbreak117
https://ko-fi.com/heartbreak117/goal?g=0
Income goal 720/800 USD (The increase to 800 is now set to pay the hospital bills and sequelae)
For my fics:
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/55793/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich/
https://www.webnovel.com/book/reich-marshal-of-the-belkan-reich_23809095505377305
https://photos.app.goo.gl/waZgkRa3UQhqKQBi9
https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1375924/in-the-grimdark-sector-with-a-system/
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Picking up a chicken nugget from my bowl of the good stuff, I munch on the detectably chewy, crunchy, and savory treat after dipping it in a spicy, sweet, and sour sauce. Understandably, it's an explosive taste and experience, one that keeps you coming back for more, so I indulge in it. Next to me, the Emperor is also doing the same, Her hands and mouth never cease as we kick back on a gigantic couch and watch the latest movie made by some souls in a corner somewhere. If you haven't figured it out, we've somehow moved from the bathhouse into this spacious quarter with all the necessities for a relaxing period. I don't know where I am to be exact, but given that it was a towering Custodes who came by and delivered the chicken nuggets then I suspect that I am on Holy Terra... At least spiritually, if not physically.
When the movie is shown reaches the part where the actors start speaking one after another about:
I'm doing my part!
I'm doing my part!
I'm doing my part!
I'm doing my part too!
Hahahahaha!
I start asking questions as I munch softly on a nugget. "You know, I don't mind sitting here, watching a few flicks and enjoying some comfort food. But is there actually a reason for me being here still?"
She smiles, Her fingers moving to pop another chicken nugget into the sauce. It tastes like chicken. It smells like chicken... But is it really chicken though?
"What, are you tired of me already?"
I snicker. "Lady, the day I would grow tired of you is the day when Viola decided to snap existence as we know it blank... For the second time!"
The Emperor giggles in good humor before explaining. "You're kept here for your good companionship, really. I can certainly send you back right now and you will be back in your bunk aboard the Iron Revenant clean and comfortable with little to no time passed in between... But I can do that after we all have chatted and relaxed like normal people. Like, do you have any idea how long it has been for me to finally remember to eat and to truly enjoy chicken nuggets?"
I hum. "Pretty darn sure much you have been missing out on it way longer than me. I at least managed to get some bites of this stuff back in my first life."
The Emperor nods. "Yup!" She even pops the p. "So let's take this opportunity to charge up our battery before getting back into the thick of it. That said, don't hesitate to ask for any serving of nuggets or whatever you need. The perk of having Divinity is that I can abuse the shit out of it to make us able to eat as many chicken nuggets as we want without having to worry about a stuffed stomach after I send you back."
I shoot Her a finger gun. "Nice."
"Thank you, my dear~!" She laughs, playing along.
After a few more bites of nuggets and watching human soldiers blow a whole planet up in the movie, I can't contain my curiosity and ask. "Say, what do you need Pegasus and the other Wisdom Cubes for?"
"Future plans, preferably ones that involve us having KANSENs roaming about as mobile arsenals." The Emperor explains as She licks Her fingers.
"Ah, I see, you're a woman of culture as well." I run my mouth on instinct.
"Guilty as charge." The Emperor admits with a calculating smile. "But let's face it, KANSENs as a fighting force is arguably just as valuable as an entire Astartes Chapter, if not even more so when we can figure out a way to bind them to an Ark Mechanicus equivalent voidship."
I smack my tongue. "Damn, you sure think big, Emperor. If I know my lore correctly, unless critically injured, KANSENs need only consume high-energy food and drinks to regain their stamina, fighting prowess, and even munitions and aircraft. To have them bound to a military voidship, any at all, much less a Battle Barge or an Ark Mechanicus, is overpowered indeed. Especially since, if everything goes as it should be, a KANSEN can personally control her bound vessel, dematerialize it at will, transform it into a personal, compact rigging, and still be able to unleash the full might of her weaponry in small, miniaturized packages..."
I gaze at the Emperor with a deadpan expression.
"Viola forbid, a KANSEN can lob a Cyclonic Torpedo the size of an RC toy and an entire planet will still burn anyway. Their conceptually based capabilities are so bloody broken that it feels like a joke when you think it through. I mean, the firepower and protection of a warship, all condensed into a singular humanoid body? That is the Mechanicus' wet dream. In fact, if we somehow manage to introduce Pegasus in her entirety to the Tech-priests, I am pretty sure some of them will outright kneel and proclaim her to be the Omnisiah's personification."
The Emperor laughs heartily. "Wow, you sure have a lot of things to say about this matter, huh?"
"Can you blame me for being giddy about women with big guns?" I quip back.
"Touche." The Emperor says. "But yes, I am eager to research the miraculous Wisdom Cubes, and even try and bind them to a few vessels worth noting, after I pacify both Terra and Mars, of course. Speaking of..."
The Emperor looks at me. "I think my mind was jolted by the nuggets and I have just come up with some interesting thoughts."
"Care to elaborate, Emperor?" I also look at her. If anyone's wondering, we both are wearing comically oversized shirts, albeit only the Emperor is wearing hotpants beneath.
So yes, the Emperor is Man is hot as fuck and I am naked below. Why? Because it's chill and the shirt was the only thing the Emperor gave me.
The Emperor explains. "I know that you still retain your Upgrade Anything Ticket and that you're wondering about what to use it on."
I nod, not hiding the fact I have some reality-altering material on hand. "Yep. I was thinking about using it on you."
The Emperor smiles gratefully but refuses with a shake of her head. "While there are some benefits to be had, given that I already attained Divinity, the Ticket's effect will prove to be minimal."
"Is that so?" I hum. "Huh, so you can upgrade anything, but there are certain limits to it?"
"Indeed, while it's still an increase, quantitively or qualitatively speaking depending on what you will use it for, it's only a massive boost when you use it on something weaker, not someone like me." The Emperor helpfully explains the unwritten description of my Upgrade Anything Ticket. "It's basically a balancing mechanic to avoid potential abuse... Although that's a bit of a nebulous balancing factor and one can't even hope to understand how the Ticket even works on an existential level. The Shoggoths just refuse to work normally, it would seem."
I smile wryly. "Tell me about it." I am suddenly reminded of how I even received the Ticket in the first place.
Right, happenstances of today really do throw the wrench on me trying to cash in on another Cosmic Cookie. Although it doesn't hurt to do it in moderation as Cosmic Cookies may very well be a very specifically constructed panic button. Rolling Gacha in dire straits seems to be a working trope, according to what I read in past life.
The Emperor continues. "So I suggest you use the Ticket on Skillshare Classroom, if I understand its function correctly, upgrading Skillshare should give you more slots on top of your already available four."
I raise a hand. "You need not say more for I understand where you're coming from... And done."
A purple ticket materializes in front of us, looking no different than a cutely decorated train ticket with Takodachi's smug face splattered on top. The ticket automatically tears itself in half before breaking in motes of dissipating purple lights. And then...
[Detecting the usage of the Upgrading Anything Ticket:
Perk - Skillshare Graduatee is specified as the intended target of the Ticket.
Perk - Skillshare Graduatee is upgraded.
The amount of skill that can be shared remains as one.
However, the number of beneficiaries that can receive the designated skill's effects increased from four to sixteen. A quadruple increase.
Congratulations on making a wise choice, user.]
[Minor increase in Intelligence.]
I whistle at the vastly increased availability of the Perk. "Well, I'll be damned. That perk is way more broken now. I have sixteen slots instead of four."
The Emperor congratulates me. "That's good news then. With this, you won't have to worry much about the taint of corruption approaching your cherished ones."
I giggle. "You're speaking as if I were a dragon or something, but while the idea sounds nice, I have better ideas."
[Skillshare Classroom - Debuff Immunity:
Mama, Elyzabeth Fortier.
Big sister, Tsavorae.
Emperor of Mankind, ######.
Salamander Chapter Master, Tu'shan.
Salamander Chief Librarian, Vel'cona.
The 19th Primarch, Corvus Cora.
The 13th Primarch, Juno Guilliman.
The Rookie, Weiss.
(Pending beneficiary).
(Pending beneficiary).
(Pending beneficiary).
(Pending beneficiary).
(Pending beneficiary).
(Pending beneficiary).
(Pending beneficiary).
(Pending beneficiary).]
The Emperor stares at me silently, already knowing what I just did.
"Oh." That was all she can say.
"Oh, indeed." I chuckle.
The Emperor smiles. "You know, Guilliman will appreciate your gesture, though she will have to be fixed up the normal way nonetheless. She is not like me, a Perpetual. But Corvus..."
"I have no idea how this will affect Primarch Corvus, but I don't think the Warp is ready for what's about to happen next." Both the Emperor and I smirk.
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Elsewhere in the Immaterium.
A golden-skinned giant wrapped in a cloak of throbbing Chaos runes and holding a vicious spiked mace is matching blow-to-blow with a humanoid creature of blades and living shadow. Much like the many times they have clashed and ground their very existence against one another in this rolling sea of chaotic reality, their battle soon ends in the shadowy figure's achieving superiority. Yet, much like the result of their many bouts, the golden-skinned giant was always present a slippery figure to be felled by mere deadly blades.
These two are none other than Lorgar Aurelia and Corvus Cora. One Traitor. One Loyal.
Using her power, Aurelia the Urizen pushes back the mass of darkness that seeks to erase her very corrupted being. Using the brief reprieve from the sister who is now very much hot on her heel, Aurelia turns and closes the proverbial obsidian doors that separate the Traitorous Primarch from the Loyalist one. Barking a laugh, the Urizen taunts, knowing that once again, Cora finds herself lacking in the dark strength it takes to open the dimensional barrier that now exists between them.
"Once more, I have denied you the fate and the pleasure of ending me, sister!" Aurelia taunts as her lips crack a mad grin. "Does your justice feel shame when you can't exact it on me, sister!?"
Aurelia maintains her arrogant visage; her laughter rolls across the Warp in a manner well-known to anyone. Until she realizes that she's the only one laughing and that the usually frustrated bangings and colorful threats that she has grown so used to these past millennia are no more. Instead, what she hears from the other end of the obsidian doors is just silence. Pure, and utter silence.
Curious, Aurelia approaches the doors, nearly placing an ear on the frame just to put forth another jab at the familiar pursuer. Before she can say anything with that grinning mouth of hers, however, a mighty blow strikes the doors that 'Deny fate'. It's once again a familiar occurrence, albeit with a much more different effect this time around.
There's now a fist-shaped dent on one of the doors.
The sudden weakening of her usual retreat is a thing that put Aurelia in a stupor. Perhaps it's only Magnolia who could do such a thing with her myriad of tricks, but most certainly not someone like Cora, right? Being caught in a slump like that, Aurelia nearly jumps on her feet when more and more punches befall the obsidian doors. Faster than even her power can reinforce it, the obsidian doors are broken through, and with it comes the reveal of a very, very furious face.
"HERE'S CORA!!!" The face, a very human and normal face that belongs to none other than the suddenly revitalized and stabilized Corvus Cora, bellows.
Understandably, the only thing Aurelia can even think of doing right now is...
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" She screams incomprehensibly in shock.
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"Anything else?" I ask.
The Emperor replies with. "Give me the UNSC Spirit of Fire. The vessel is a great research object in and of itself with how many technologies it has aboard. I will send it back to you alongside a few bonuses after I am done with it."
"Deal." I agree immediately while taking another bite of a sauced chicken nugget.
Both the Emperor and I opt to ignore the chaos that is ironically happening on Chaos' home turf right now. Chillax first, eh?
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"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! WHAT IN THE WARP'S NAME!?"