Not going to lie, this will likely be an unusual story due to the mechanics of the Celestial Forge. To be honest, with how overpowered it is, Warhammer40k may be one of the only settings the forge won't instantly dominate everything.
My head hurt. Too much whiskey maybe? And since when was my bed so hard...
When I opened my eyes, instead of the beige ceiling of my bedroom, I found myself looking up what looked like vast stone arch. Adrenaline took over my grogginess melted into raw panic. Was I kidnapped?!
I shot to my feet immediately and looked around me. This place was a church of some sort. The entire place was obviously a beautiful cathedral in the past, but ruined stonework could be seen around me alongside old pews made of faded fabric and broken wood. A faded purple carpet with a golden trim ran through what was once the central walkway. Despite how ruined the place was, it for the most part seemed dry and intact.
"Hello?!"
My voice echoed through the old structure with little resistance. The only other noise was sound of wind and creaking typical to old, abandoned structures. I gulped down a glob of saliva, clearly I was alone.
Or my kidnapper didn't feel like replying. Not sure which is worse when you're in an old cathedral in the middle of who knows where.
As I looked around, I began noticing something strange about this place. While the decor was familiar, the symbols here did not belong to any faith I recognized. Many looked vaguely Christian but were still different. Deciding I had nothing to lose, I decided to explore the old building.
Let it be said the trip was not pleasant.
My tennis shoes were terrible for walking through this place as they did nothing to prevent the brunt feeling of the rocks pushing up on my foot. While many rooms were intact, the floors were still covered in broken furniture, rocks, and other foot killers. I pretty much confirmed no one had been here for a long time, or that whoever brought me here was terrifyingly good at covering their tracks.
More importantly, I found something on me. While I still had my wallet, phone, and pocketknife, my key chain had a strange key attached to it. The key was truly exotic in appearance, resembling the old fancy keys you saw in fantasy films. Instead of being a golden thing with hoops and jewels though, it was a stark iron hammer with a key on the end.
I haven't found any locked doors in this place, so no clue where it goes. Truth be told, this whole building might as well be one room as everything was opened up. There were no doors aside from a closet on the place the priest would run the procession. Yet, I could feel an itch in my mind.
It was as if the key was telling me to use it on one of the doors, despite none of them having locks. Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to do it. Maybe it would answer some questions I have. As I brought the key to the closet door, a silver overlay of a lock appeared, and the key entered it. After a moment's hesitation, I turned it and opened the door.
Instead of a dilapidated closet, I found myself looking in utter disbelief at a large room. The room had stark white walls, and a clean concrete floor. In the center, numerous support pillars like you'd see in parking lots jutted though. Despite having no apparent light source, it was well lit just enough to be comfortable on the eyes.
After internally debating the dangers of stepping into something that looks like a part of the Backrooms, I walked in. It was almost as if I walked through a barrier. The air went from the humid cold to a comfortable temperature with just enough humidity for comfort. The room was not quite as big as I initially thought and was about large enough to park a few cargo trucks. Still big, but not huge.
The room was still stark, but it seemed significantly more habitable than the church. I walked over to the doorway and stuck my hand through. I could literally mark a point where the two "atmospheres" end. So I decided to do something stupid.
Will the door lead to the same place if I close it?
After closing the door, the key reappeared in my hand. Praying a bit, I opened the door again to see the same exterior. I stepped out and closed the door again. Opening it without the key revealed the closet. Putting the key in revealed the room.
At the very least, I had a portable safe house assuming I can access a nearby door. Aside from that, all I got from this was more questions. I still had no clue where I was, who brought me here, and how I got some interdimensional key. Left trying to ponder why I got into this situation, I just let out a deep sigh when I noticed something.
The bright light from the dimensional room lit up the lectern placed on the platform. As a result of the dim lighting, I missed the cabinet it had. With it illuminated, I decided to open it.
There I found a helmet with a yellow and white mane and ruby red eye lenses. With an otherworldly sheen, the helmet almost seemed to be alive in a sense. More importantly, the beautiful craftsmanship and style was distinct to a very particular race.
Dread pooled in my heart as I realized just what race this helmet belonged to. More importantly, what place this race lived in.
"Eldar."
As if my mind was speaking to everything else, my body caught up in less than second. I began to hyperventilate and shake.
Warhammer40k was the kind of franchise where fates worse than death are handed out like candy, and even the weakest mass produced shitbox of a gun can blow a human to pieces in seconds. Where the "good guys" are crazed fanatics that commit atrocities as if they were the latest fad at a mall. Where people like me die in the trillions in a terrifyingly varied amount of ways.
More importantly, chaos exists.
As if on cue, the doorway of the dimensional room flashed.