Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 362 The Jemenga Starry Sky Megalith
In the fourth month of 844, in the Limitless Star Region, the Attila Galaxy.

After emerging from subspace, the Shadow of Reigns headed straight for the massive, satellite-like Jemenga Sky Monument.

"Open the protective shield."

As Ninglu gave the order, the motor hummed and the blinds on both sides of the window rose.

Under the silent command of the machine servant, the machine spirit exerted its influence on the glass, causing it to darken.

The Primarch's gaze pierced through the window, crossed the void, and looked at the ancient megalith.

No subspace storms occurred in the neighboring galaxy, and the Jemenga Sky Monument remained unaffected and unactivated, standing quietly in the void like other celestial bodies.

The Primarch's superhuman vision allowed him to see the spiderweb-like runes covering the surface.

He could recognize a small portion of it as being identical to the runes on Medusa that bound the Burner fragments.

There were more runes than he had ever seen before.

Two sidereal hours later, Nimrod, Alsena Dunne, Gabriel, Thomas, and Miguel Cuesta boarded the Stormbird and flew toward the base of the monolith.

On the stone steps, he met Sanchez, who had rushed over after hearing the news.

Ninglu led the group forward. The portico of the giant stone monument was about 100 meters high, with a smooth and flat surface, as if it were carved from a single piece of agate.

It is outlined with intricate circles and lines, which together form a bizarre composition.

Arsena, the "deduction student," looked at the composition and said:
"It appears to be a emblem."

“That’s right,” Ninglu affirmed his judgment.

The emblem features a central ring connected vertically, surrounded by a crescent-shaped outer ring that tapers inward. These rings are joined together, with a horizontal straight line bulging outward from the center on each side.

"It's time to tell you about the existence of an ancient race."

Ninglu then transmitted his knowledge of the space necromancy and the Sotek dynasty to everyone via telepathy.

The emblem on the gate is the symbol of the Sotek dynasty.

Alsena and the others quickly absorbed the information flooding into their minds.

The Space Necromancers, an ancient race that possesses advanced technology beyond our comprehension.

The powerful Sotek dynasty.

Gabriel, who possesses a superhuman brain and has undergone three mental enhancements, was the first to receive the flood of information entering his mind, and he exclaimed in amazement.

“Those who fear death are somewhat similar to technical priests, but there are also differences.”

"The higher-ups of the Fear of Death were fooled by the Star God Deceiver and forced the entire race to transform into machines in order to prolong their lifespan."

"Technical priests view machines as the sacred form of the god of all machines, believing that flesh and blood are weak and that mechanization is a way to get closer to the Om Messiah."

Alsena, a dual-elemental psionicist, underwent two significant mental and physical enhancements. While receiving the information, he also fully understood its meaning. He gazed at the emblem of the Sotek dynasty.

"The Sotek dynasty was already one of the most powerful dynasties during the time of the Deathfathers."

"As a powerful necromantic empire in space, it possesses over eighty tomb worlds."

"The Yemenga Starry Sky Stele is located on the edge of the territory of the Sotek Dynasty and is a sacred artifact of the dynasty."

Thomas, a mind-based psychic who had received three minor mental enhancements, was the third to finish receiving the information stream and spoke.

"The space necromancers possess anti-psychic technology; I can sense it, and my consciousness cannot penetrate the door."

Ninglu had a similar feeling. Although the anti-psychic field was not activated, the Yemenga Starry Sky Stone Tablet used some Blackstone technology, which suppressed his psychic energy to a certain extent.

The difference is that, as the original genetic entity, his psychic power was not completely suppressed, and his consciousness was barely able to penetrate the layers of obstacles at the gate.

Miguel, a tech-based psionicist who had received a mental enhancement, finished processing the information in his mind slightly faster than Sanchez. He stared in amazement at the giant stone creation before him.

"The greatest function of the Yemenga Starry Sky Monolith is to make complete physical copies; it can even completely copy the warships of the Necromancers in space."

"What I mean is, Father emphasized that it is a true replication, thousands of replicas of warships, each one existing in the real world and fighting, just like the originals."

"This... is simply a technological marvel. I cannot comprehend how the Sotek dynasty's tomb engineers managed to do it."

"They used the power of the Star Gods," Ninglu said with certainty. Even the Necromancers of space could not achieve complete physical replication simply through technology. The technology and power required to replicate thousands of warships would be astronomical.

"The Space Necromancer's hypercube labyrinth can bind the Star God, using the energy of the tentacles surrounding the Star God fragments to generate an energy field."

"Sotec is one of the best among them; their legendary artifact, the Energy Shackles, can bind the Supreme Star God."

Among the many space necromantic dynasties, the Sotek Dynasty ranked among the top in both military strength and technology.

The crowned general Imotek, who will awaken in the future, will unify the Sotek dynasty and dare to challenge the Silent King Szalac.

“Each fragment of a supreme star god is an aggregation of dozens or even hundreds of fragments, and their power far surpasses that of those fragments.”

"Fortunately, the fragments of the Supreme Star God here are bound by Sotec and cannot escape."

Ninglu remembered that the Yemenga Starry Sky Stele was only activated after the Great Rift unfolded ten thousand years later.

He also knew that Hannibal had escaped unscathed and even gained a considerable amount of wealth; otherwise, he wouldn't have risked coming here to explore.

Sanchez gripped the sword forged by the Fenris sea monster—a reward from the wolf king for winning the fight against the wolves—and surveyed the building before him with predatory eyes.

“I’m more interested in the space necromancer warriors, especially the scorpion-shaped constructs.”

Ning Lu shook his head slightly and said with a smile.

"This is not a tomb, so there won't be a large number of space undead. You can only hunt some guardians."

"What's even more dangerous are the numerous traps and the protective defense system."

"You now understand the purpose of this trip; it's time to begin your exploration."

After Ning Lu finished speaking, he led the five men and the members of the Honor Guard forward.

Upon reaching the gate, the group began to examine the closed entrance.

A moment later, Sanchez spoke first, having inspected the gate in a "hunter's" manner.

"The traces of the entrance have been washed away by tens of millions of years, leaving no trace."

"I can't find the key to the door, so I can't open it by making minor damage."

“We cannot resort to violence,” Gabriel continued, “although I still don’t understand the technology used to build the gate.”

"But according to my Lord, it contains enormous energy, and violent destruction could lead to catastrophic consequences."

Arsena used his psychic senses to probe the runes on the gate, attempting to deduce the pattern within them.

"My understanding of the runes of the Necromancer is still superficial, and I am unable to deduce the patterns to open the gate."

“I probed the gate and learned some of its technology, but there’s a force within it that’s repelling my psionic energy,” Miguel said after a few seconds of silent calculation.

"It is estimated that it will take at least ten years to open the door."

“My ‘Eye of Secrets’ can see some things, but its spiritual energy is consumed very quickly, and it takes a long time…” Thomas pondered for a moment before continuing.

"It will take about ten years."

“It won’t take that long,” Ning Lu said.

In the eyes of the "Corrupted Baron," the gate was disassembled into geometric shapes: rectangles, circles...

He could also see lines of rules, red, black...

"The Corrupted Baron" noticed that all the patterns and all the different colored threads had the same point of intersection.

That intersection point is at the center of the circle below the Sotek emblem, where there are mandala-like runes.

Ninglu knew that the capital of the Sotek Dynasty was on Mandala Star, and that rune should be the control rune of the entire gate.

He spread his golden wings and instantly flew to the rune, raising his right hand and patting it.

The ground beneath everyone's feet trembled as the hundred-meter-high gate slowly opened.

(End of this chapter)