Chapter 2:- The Imperium Of Man: Part 1
Summary:- Humanity's Greatest Bastion.
"The Imperium of Man is the main Empire of the Human race. All of Humanity is United under this one flag called the Imperium."
Fury and the S.H.I.E.L.D agents looked at the screen enviously. Oh how much they want an United Humanity. A single Political entity without any petty squabble. But alas! The politicians are more concerned about maintaining their own powers than protecting humanity as a whole.
"In the 30th Millennium, nearly about ten Thousand years before this setting, there was a man. He was the Emperor, The Emperor of Mankind. A 12 foot tall Psychic Demi-God, who led humanity across the stars, conquering thousands of Worlds through either diplomacy or war, create Super-Human Soldiers and really bring Humanity into a Second Golden Age."
They all looked at the Emperor in awe. Clad in golden armour, a Halo, with a flaming sword, he looked every inch a God. His very Aura screams divinity and the human audience couldn't help but feel an extreme urge of kneeling in front of this powerful being that is the Emperor.
Even the Asgardian Gods, like Odin and Thor could feel the man's power even from a Picture. While Sorcerers like Frigga and Loki trembled feeling the Aura of the man
"Behold the pinnacle of what humanity can become" D spoke softly.
"This man the Emperor of Mankind was a Psyker and a Psyker is like a Magician/Sorceror of sorts."
The Warriors Three tensed at that.
"Sorcery!" Sif muttered scornfully, causing Odin to shook his head at their idiocy. Did they forget that, he, their King, himself is a powerful Sorceror with the power of Odin Force flowing through his viens.
"How foolish!" Odin thought with narrowed eyes. They scorn his son for using magic but it was the same magic which had saved their lives so many times. They also forgot that it was Magic of Asgard, which gives the Asgardians their long life, their durability and strength compared to the mortals.
"In the Dark Millennium Universe there is the Warp also known as the Immaterium. It is kind of like Hell or a purgatory Dimension of Hell."
They sighed. Of course there will a hell in this Universe.
"And a Psyker is someone who can take the Power and manifest it through their minds and use it to stuff like Witchcraft, Spell casting and lots of other stuff."
"So there powers literally screams 'Go to Hell!'" Tony quipped.
Odin stroked his beard thoughtfully "Interesting" He thought "So there powers comes from a alternate dimension thanks to some mutation".
Loki too looked thoughtful. His powers over Seidr comes from the Universe itself, while this Warp powers comes from an alternate Dimension. Like the Dimensional Magic which some Midgardian Sorcerors used.
He wondered how this Warp Magic will compare to his own.
"A trained Psyker is deadly in combat. They can throw around lightning, fire and can alter the very reality itself. They can turn a person inside out and flay there very skin with a glance in their direction. With a muttered spell they grind entire Mountains into powder or mindrape entire armies and turn themselves to fight one another."
There eyes widened and jaws dropped at hearing that.
"Grinding entire mountains!" Rocket exclaimed in awe.
"Mindrape entire armies?!" Clint gulped sending a duscreet look towards Loki, before looking at their Host "Is it like the Scepter?".
"No" D shook his head "The Sceptre merely changes loyalties and a good concussion to the head may break the Mind Stone's influence. But being Mindraped by a Psyker is like tearing one's brain appart, effectively turning a person insane and Psycothic"
This caused others to shiver. Wanda looked at her hands, fearing if she was like a Psyker.
"No Wanda you are not" D, who had noticed her discomfort, said gently "Your mind attacks are temporary and they don't damage a person's very soul like a Psyker does".
Wanda nodded sadly, while Pietro squeezed her shoulder in comfort.
"Some can even destroy entire Star Systems if their powers gets out of their control. Or become a living Gateway to the Warp and allow Deamons to invade some unsuspecting planets".
Once again their eyes widened in shock at the amount of raw power a Psyker can wield. The Asgardians meanwhile were feeling uncomfortable at hearing how strong a Human Sorceror can become. To destroy entire Star Systems, which is something not even Odin All-Father can boast of.
Loki looked in awe at hearing how much power that Warp Sorcery can provide. If only he can implement this technique with his Seidr.
Steve, however, was the only one focused on the last part of the sentence.
"Wait! Living Gateway? What does that mean?" Steve asked with dread.
D sighed "That's the major disadvantage of using Warp sorcery" D explained grimly "Only someone with very strong willpower can handle so much raw energy. But if their minds and willpower is weak then the Daemons of Warp will take control of the user's body, turning him into a beacon and a living Portal to the Warp, from where they can invade the Material Universe".
Loki's excitement vanished as soon as he heard the explanation. Nope! He is okay with his Seidr. He wants his brain and will intact, thank you very much. Not turning into a living portal is also a bonus.
"Damm! How much grimdark is this Universe! " Quill excalimed in disgust and frustration. All this time there isn't a single good thing he has heard about this Universe.
"Well it's called Dark Millennium" Gamora said in a 'Duh' tone.
"The Emperor here is the greatest Psyker in Human History. He is top tier, Alpha maybe ever more."
"How powerful is the Emperor?" Loki asked.
"Very powerful" D said before smirking "One of his Soul shards is powerful enough to stop time at a Universal Scale and destroy the essence of Daemons permanently".
"Damm!" Tony whisteled, as all looked awed by the Emperor's powers. The Asgardians once again looked uncomfortable at how strong a Human can become.
"Now the Emperor created a bunch of sons. Yes you heard that right, he created a bunch of sons, known as the Primarchs. He created 20 of them to have them lead the different legions of Humanity across the Galaxy as his Conquerors, Explorers and Diplomats
They all looked at the Primarchs with awe.
"Look at them! " Sam spoke with awe, as he looked at the Primarchs, especially Roboute Guilliman and Fulgrim "They look... I can't even describe. They look...
"Perfect" D supplied helpfully, making Sam nod.
"No offence Thor, but they look more Godly than you all" Rhodey spoke looking at Thor, who waved his hand.
"None taken" Thor spoke grudgingly "Even I must confess, they look more regal than us"
Meanwhile the Science bros examined the Primarchs carefully.
"So the Primarchs are basically less powerful vat grown clones of the Emperor himself, with each of them possessing on his qualities" Bruce deduced.
"And not only that" D said shaking his head "The Primarchs are also minor Warp Gods in mortal skin".
"Warp Gods? What are they?" Natasha asked confused "I thought that humanity sees The Emperor as the only God? ".
"You will know about them soon enough" D said grimly.
These Primarchs are like the little versions of the Emperor. Not all of them are Psykers but all of them were very powerful. They led the Emperor's Space Marine legions."
"Then this giant cluster-fuck happened called the Horus Heresy, where the Emperor's most favoured son Horus ended up betraying the Emperor by joining the Dark forces of Chaos and leading nine of his brothers directly to Earth to fight the Emperor himself."
"Of fucking course!!" Fury groaned "Nothing good lasts for Humanity".
"Now you all are wondering what Chaos is? Remember earlier what I said about the Warp, the hellish Dimension. Well in there reside four Chaos Gods. Imagine them like Satan and three other Satans. The Warp being kind of Evil is because of those Chaos Gods, that's the reason."
They all, especially Steve (who was more religious than the others) felt a chill up his spine. While the Sorcerers amongst them felt a spitting pain coursing through their minds and soul.
"What are they?! " Steve asked shakily looking at the chaos gods.
"They are the Gods of Chaos, Ruler of the Warp and Enemy of humanity for over 10,000" D explained grimly "The Red one is Khorne, God of War, Violence, Slaughter and Murder. The One with bird features is Tzeentch, God of Sorcery and Changer Of Ways. The one with Rot and decay is Nurgle, God of Stagnation and Disease. And the last one is Slaanesh, The Dark Prince of Pleasure and Excess".
They all looked at them in fear and horror.
"So the Chaos Gods manipulated Horus and Horus helped by manipulating his brothers, in a giant coup directly to the Emperor on Earth.
And they fucked up shit!!"
"Shouldn't it be 'fucked shit up' instead of 'fucked up shit'?" Tony muttered weakly, raising a brow.
"Really?! That's the thing you're focusing on" Nick sounds disgusted, as he looks at Stark.
"After this huge Civil War, Horus Died but not before brutally wounding the Emperor and right at the end of his life, the remaining loyalists put the Emperor in this giant Golden Throne on Earth. The Golden Throne acts as a giant life support system for the Emperor. It keeps him alive but just barely and in the 10,000 Years ever since his body is slowly rotting away."
"If the Emperor is so powerful, why did he lose against his less powerful son?" Rocket asked, confused.
"Forget about losing. Why couldn't he heal himself using his magic Voodoo?" Quill asked "I mean it has been 10,000 years. He could have healed himself, right? ".
"It's because Horus had been the Emperor's favorite son, and he couldn't bring himself to kill him. He was fighting halfheartedly. Not to mention that all four Chaos Gods were empowering Horus during their fight" D explained sadly. "And as for the second question...
"Now you are wondering why the Almighty Emperor couldn't heal himself. Well the first thing is that the Emperor's wound is not just physical but spiritual because of the Dark Gods empowering Horus during his fight with the Emperor."
"Second the Emperor is using most of his powers in powering something called the Astronomicon which is an immense Psychic Beacon which guides the ships in the shifting tides of the Immaterium."
"So like a Lighthouse guiding Sailors on the sea" D nodded at Pietro's statement.
"You see the Immaterium is ever shifting. Laws of Physics don't work there. And the Astronomicon acts as a North Star, helping the navigators by guiding the Ships across it without going lost."
So long as the Emperor is alive and being fed 1,000 souls a day to stay alive, you can do that. The moment he dies however..." He gave a grim smile "Interstellar travel is gone for all of humanity. You are so fucked!!".
"Now I understand why you said that 1000 Souls a day is a small sacrifice" Nick said grimly "Without that, the Empire would collapse".
"Well since the Horus Heresy 10,000 Years ago. Humanity had stagnated and fallen from grace substantially. All the technology has started to dwindle and die and there are now giant fundamental religious extremists now the Emperor of Mankind is the God, a true deity.
It's funny actually. The Emperor is a hard-core atheist who promotes belief in science and logic. So turning his teachings into Religion Dogma is the last kick at his skeletal crotch."
"Wait does that mean.. " Steve began slowly.
"Yes" D nodded looking at Steve with pity "There is no religion except worshipping the Emperor. All religions, be it Abrahamic or Pagan, were destroyed by the 31st Millenium".
Steve looked crushed at hearing the end of Christianity, causing Sam to pat his friend's back in concern.
"So now you have the Ecclesiarchy, which is a giant Church, entirely devoted to spreading the Good words of the Emperor. He is now the God Emperor of Mankind and all of Imperium have taken up worshipping him to the fullest extent and killing anything that isn't humanity in his name."
"The Imperium has this futuristic Gothic tone to with and a hefty religious zealotry.
If you think anything against the Emperor that's Heresy and you deserve to die. That is called being a heretic." The video showed a man being slowly flayed alive. "Yeah see this. He is a heretic who is being punished".
"Bastards!!" Steve growled clenching his fists. First his religion was destroyed, now freedom too is taken. Both things, which filled his body with righteous anger.
The Avengers looked at Steve in shock.
"Did Cap just use a swear word" Tony asked with both shock and giddiness.
"Not a word, Stark" Steve warned.
"Heretics die in 40K. There is nothing such as religious freedom or freedom of speech or tolerance. So long as you are against the Emperor you deserve death. Everyone is a religious zealot, cracked up to 100.
So if you are a heretic who doesn't believe that the Emperor is God. You are a filthy heretic and you deserve death. If you believe in the Chaos Gods then also you are heretic and deserved death."
The Avengers clenched their fists in anger.
"If you are an alien race of any kind then you are a filthy Xeno scum then you deserve death too."
The Asgardians, Gamora, Drax and Groot shifted uneasily. They are glad that this Imperium doesn't exist in this Universe. Even The battle hungry Asgardians, who prided themselves as the Universe's most advanced Civilization, knew that they have no chance against this alternate humanity.
"So long as the War, Carnage and Murder continue and Humanity expands through the stars and spreads the Holy light of the Emperor. The Imperium of Man is very, very happy."
"Of course they would be happy" Fury scoffed before sighing tiredly "Humanity never changes. In this Universe or the other, we always find ourselves killing others or each other over petty reasons".
"If they think that it's only Humanity who loves War, then I wonder how they would react to Orks" D thought grimly, before starting the next video.
Up next:- The Imperium Of Man: Part 2