Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim

The dilapidated wooden door opened.

The last church on the sacred Terra welcomed its final guests.

An uninvited guest.

A tall figure wearing a scarlet cloak and a hood appeared in front of the Redstone Church.

His face was obscured by the shadow of the hood, but in the next instant, he removed the hood, revealing a plain face covered in scars.

"Welcome to the Church of the Thunderstone. I am Father Uria Oratel, and I am about to begin the midnight service. Would you like to join me?"

"No need."

Upon hearing the word "prayer," a fleeting hint of disgust flashed across his face.

Especially when he saw the large stained glass window depicting the golden-armored knight slaying the silver dragon.

"I'm here just to talk to you."

"Oh?"

"Do you seek confession, or enlightenment?"

"Do not."

"I want to know, when the whole world is abandoning its faith in gods and divinity because of the progress of science and reason, what makes you stay here?"

"This viewpoint is a bit too cynical."

The priest said with a wry smile.

Uria could sense the power and disgust emanating from the tall man in front of him.

"This is the last church on Terra."

He said.

“This kind of place will soon become history, and I want to leave an impression before it disappears completely.”

"Aren't you going to keep it as a souvenir?"

Father Uriah sat face to face with him at the large mahogany table in the chapel, and poured him a glass of pale red wine.

"After all, this place preserves murals and artworks from a thousand years ago. It's rare to find something from this era that still exists amidst war."

The priest remained calm, neither alarmed nor angry at his words.

God had already revealed this to him and foreseen the coming of this day.

“No, the Emperor will not show any mercy,” he said.

"You must have heard of the Emperor and his expeditions. He wanted to eradicate all forms of religion and belief in the supernatural, and his army would come here."

"I know."

"But you're still here."

“I will always be here. Because—I believe in my God, and the power of faith makes me fearless.”

"This is an ignorant idea."

He didn't show the priest much leniency.

“Many times. I’ve seen crazy religious leaders and followers say the same thing many times.”

"But I won't. God will guide our faith and lead us to good."

"Leading people towards goodness always begins the same way."

"But in the end, they all met the same fate."

He shrugged, as if he had anticipated the priest's explanation.

"Wars were waged in the name of religion, innocent people were slaughtered, and countless sufferings and deaths were caused."

"Believe me, Uriah. The history of religion is a series of horrific and bloody events; just look at what humanity has done in the name of their gods over thousands of years."

"Spots and marks, all of them are bloodstains."

"Did you know that in ancient times, some people waged wars in the name of religion? They burned cities and killed people to 'purify' the city's filth. After doing all this, they could shamelessly claim in the name of religion that it was a just judgment given by God."

He became increasingly agitated as he spoke, standing up and pacing back and forth in the cramped Saint Cloth Room.

"A century after this event, in another region, another saint declared war on a sect of his own church. They also conquered and killed all the prisoners, and even pursued those who escaped the siege, leading to the establishment of an organization known as the Tribunal."

"This is a terrifying, utterly hysterical organization of religious fanatics!"

He spoke with deep resentment on his face.

"Its agents are free to stretch, burn, pierce, and break their victims on demonic instruments of torture, forcing them to confess to being heretics and to identify other guilty people!"

As he spoke, seemingly empathizing with all the innocent victims, he sat down with a pained sigh.

"I don't want to see the same thing happen again, over and over again."

"Enough!" Uriah could no longer tolerate the other party's words.

"These damn lunatics have nothing to do with me! I am different from them; I have personally received revelation from God!"

"Divine revelation? That excuse has been used to death, Uriah."

"No! I really have encountered it!"

He vehemently refuted this.

"Right on the battlefield in Gavaldo."

"Gavalo?"

His expression stiffened noticeably for a moment.

"That's right, in Gavaldo. It's a long story."

The priest told him how he had joined the rebels on impulse and how he had been easily defeated by the Thunder Warriors on the battlefield.

Just when the young priest thought he was about to die, a huge golden phantom saved him from danger and healed all his wounds.

—That was the miracle he encountered.

It is absolutely true, a real miracle.

"This"

He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and scratched the top of his head.

He seemed to be thinking about how to refute this point.

“Uria”.

He spoke.

Are you afraid of death?

“No. I have already died once on the battlefield of Gavado. As for now, my life belongs to my God.”

Really?

"But if that's the case, why don't you feel joy for the dying when you come into contact with them?"

"After all, if eternal paradise awaits them on the other side, why wouldn't they feel joyful anticipation? Could it be that, deep down, they don't believe it's true?"

This was his final revenge against those die-hard religious believers.

"Shut up!"

Father Uriah was thoroughly enraged. He turned his back to the shrine, refusing to look at him: "I will no longer pay attention to your arrogant words. If you've said enough, if you've humiliated me enough, then leave!"

"The game is over!"

"Yes."

He replied.

"Game over."

A golden light appeared behind Uria.

It was a tall and imposing figure, clad in golden armor, radiating a dazzling and intense light.

He is a noble example of humanity.

Uria realized that he had seen this divine face before.

Right there on that former battlefield of Gavaldo.

"You are a god, and also the emperor of mankind?"

“I am not a god, Uriah.”

The tall, golden giant shook his head.

"Now, do you realize that everything you've done has been meaningless?"

"You...you're the emperor? This is impossible!"

The priest bent down, repeating the words over and over.

Uria felt as if a piece of his heart was missing.

"Now, it's time to leave."

The flames engulfed the entire Leishi Church.

Golden-armored warriors from behind the emperor used their flamethrowers to set the last church ablaze.

"We will journey to the stars, and it will be your future duty to proclaim the truth of the Empire to the people."

He patted the other man on the shoulder with satisfaction, and under his holy golden light, Father Uriah seemed to lose his sorrow at that moment.

"This will be a step towards a new world, ushering in an era of rational science where we can realize all our dreams."

"No, no, no, the Emperor."

Uria retorted defiantly.

"Since you believe that humans will become as rational as you expect, they will no longer need the guidance of God."

"Then why did you try to persuade me and burn down this last church without leaving a trace?"

"Since you believe that humanity will henceforth uphold reason and science, they will naturally laugh at and despise religion. So why do you still want to erase and cover up all traces of religion?"

"Could it be that, deep down, you also believe that humanity will seek God's solace again in the future and pray for God's descent once more?"

"Deep down, do you not believe you can lead people to a new world?"

"I--"

"No need for explanations, Your Majesty! There is no place for me in this new world. Today, let me depart with my god!"

Father Uriah laughed as he walked back into the flames, facing the dark cave entrance illuminated by the firelight.

This was the priest's retaliation against him for exposing God's lies.

He exposed him.

"I believe I can lead them."

This should have been a very simple yet powerful statement.

But at this moment, he, who was usually eloquent, fell silent.

"god!!!"

Colchis.

These are the words spoken by Primarch Loka when he finally saw the Emperor in the real world, not in the spiritual world.

The moment he descended upon Colchis before everyone else, Primarch Loga knelt down before him without hesitation.

The devout man was covered from head to toe in incense and oil, and his entire body was covered with words of praise to the Lord of mankind written in gold ink.

Including the shiny back of his head.

"god--"

The overwhelming force resembled a densely packed array of devout and faithful believers, all kneeling earnestly alongside the Primarch in the direction of the golden-armored giant.

Colchis is also an extremely remote planet, where various ancient beliefs and numerous religious wars have taken place.