Lumina Crusade

by ColinHayworth

In the 42nd Millennium, there is only war. In the Hive World of Twilight where the promise of technology and understanding still remains but the corrupted and rotten bureaucracy in its place is threatening to destroy all of it slowly but surely. And when the threshold has finally been broken, it will take only a spark to burn all of it down. And there will be retribution...

2. Dusk unto Night

Warning: This story doesn't exactly follow the suit of grimdark because of the way the story may develop. If you still enjoy what you are reading then go ahead.

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Chapter 1
Dusk unto Night

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Macragge, Guilliman's Office.

A mournful silence emanates through the office room, he has seen it too many times during his time active. He has attempted oh so many times to prevent things similar to what happened. He already knew that it won't stop all of these from happenings but he attempted to anyway. And yet... The news of what happened is still too much to bear.

Guilliman wished that he was there. Wishing that he could have averted that disaster from occurring but in the end... He can only give out those useless condolences.

30 billion death... That was also the reported population of the Hive Sector 11 back a few years ago thus the number can potentially be much bigger as well. He is no doubt that his disciple Libert is also suffering immensely from the aftermath and having to deal with the endless amount of paperwork because of it. The only responsible normal man that he knew and willing to put himself responsible for all that may happen.

He was too good of a human to deserve a world that never care about him.

Twilight was a Hive Research World of the old Federation thus a lot of techs and means to produce survived there. Even the Adeptus Mechanicus or AdMech for short also placed their full-time stationing. But the bureaucratic lunacy that took place there is a nightmare that only the Great Enemies in the Warp could dare to conjure up and along with the old-fashioned and terrifyingly outdated superstitions persist to reign over what could be potentially the greatest assets the Imperium has. And just looking at them slowly pushing that planet to the brink gives Guilliman irrational hatred.

Another mountain of paperwork, a cup of recaf. Some more additional changes and establishment to make administration much easier. It's ironic that he has all the time in this world and yet none of the time to do things he wanted for himself. He steps to the balcony of his office room that looks out to the rest of Macragge, it was night time and the city lights flicker from afar, seeing civilians' lives are better than ever thanks to his unparalleled governance skills. At least in comparison to Hive Citizens.

He sips his recaf then starts to pour one out as sentiment for the victims who died in that disaster which could have been prevented hadn't negligence gotten in its way. It was the only prayer he could dare to make and it was a useless one that is just to vindicate himself that he did something even when he knew otherwise. Guilliman sighed once more that he shouldn't have wasted the recaf like that but the deed is done and there is nothing more to it.

"Maybe I should send some Ultramarines to help him". Guilliman said to himself before returning to his office and continuing his work.

In other news, Cato Sicarius wonders where the hell the recaf comes from pouring on his head as he takes a break at the entrance of Guilliman's Administration Hall.

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Twilight, Vespera Spire, Hive Governor Office.

To say the weight that is on him is immense is a clear understatement of the millennium. The Hive Sector 11 which was where a large majority of plasma reactors that Vespera relies on were destroyed in a catastrophic manner from critical meltdown and fusion explosions. Not to mention the 30 billion deaths that he could have prevented in time had he got to it. But now, there's nothing he could do about it anymore.

Libert was assigned his job as Hive Governor 3 years back by Guilliman's commendation. But Vespera runs on a cruel superstition that shouldn't have existed or long phased out ago. Ages and legacy length speak of authority, not the positions. The Noble Hives have been around ever since everyone and their mother and grandmother's on this planet ever could remember and thus their rules are ironclad and unbreakable. His position as Hive Governor means he could reign in some changes but they will often not be enacted or twisted so much to the ploys of the Noble Hives.

The Noble Hives often enact proxies war with each other in an endless vying for power while disregarding the collateral damage or citizens that were caught in between the conflicts. But if there's anything they hate more than each other, that would be Libert because he is threatening their status quo with his policy and changes for the betterment of the people. Then suddenly, all grudges are off and they work together as best as they could to make Libert's work as hellish as they could before he has to temporarily remove these policies and the Nobles went to fight each other again.

"Power output of the Hive Vespera reduced 85% in comparison to before Crisis. Hive manufactorums production output was reduced by 45%. Auxillary generators and power plants are now in function to keep up with the demands of the Hive but these power sources will eventually run out". One of his accountants of his reported to Libert about the damage done to the Hive.

The power plants sector was held in the monopoly of House Noctis of Lower Hive. Every single watt of it is at a premium cost to the nearby citizens of Lower Hive because not many others than that house could create that many power plants in a cheap and efficient manner like this particular house. It disgusted Libert to no end because it is very likely that the Noble Houses are withholding pieces of important knowledge and using theirs to secure their own privilege and positions unfairly. The AdMech has no wind of this and they won't take drastic measures because of Twilight's position as a major Forge World. The intervention of that scale will render it asunder and a loss of a Forge World is unacceptable to AdMech no matter what.

Libert started to suspect that all of these disasters and deaths were a ploy of other Noble Houses to destroy House Noctis's assets and 30 billion death is a cheap price they thought of. So self-centered they were that they are willing to commit genocide and blatant self-destruction to gain an edge against their nonsensical authority control.

Looking at the literal mountain of paperwork in front of him, he felt despair run across his core and fiber of existence. If that pillar ago took 3 Terran months to complete then this will take literal decades and he would die in the first week. The Ultramarines however have come to help him with administration and paperwork so that this impossible task will become a Herculean one. Not much of a difference but there's now a visible light at the end of darkness. They just have to hold it all out and pray that they can undo the damage done to this Hive.

"Let me tell you something. Between fighting a horde of heretics or dealing with administration or paperwork. I would rather face the heretics because at least my mistakes at worst can only bring my death. But here, these papers are dictating the fate of the Hive at large and most likely Imperium also and one mistake will potentially cause the deaths of millions if not billions of innocent folks". An Ultramarine nearby said as he carefully examines the content of the paper before administering the right method.

Libert collapsed onto the desk and he just wants all of these to end already. No amount of wealth could dampen the mental agony he is feeling at the moment. His uncontrollable sobbing could be heard but the Marines decided to let him to his own. He will eventually stop and begin to focus on his work after the mood is clear but that even he knows is the most pathetic he has ever been.

Being the disciple of Guilliman, he knew that he can't fail his Primarch no matter what. But... he just can't help himself with this burden... He just wants to let it all out before solemnly beginning his work in earnest.

Only in death does duty ends...

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Flickers in Darkness

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They have died in that crash and that's it... that's just supposed to be it. With speed nearly exceeding sound into a downward spiral toward the ground, from the Middle Hive straight into the Underhive. They crashed with such a force that even those at the bottom could hear it happening.

However, this isn't where their story ends. This... is their new beginning. A spark that could be smothered at any moment noticed but in the right moment and right condition, they will become a blaze that will purge everything that has condoned this cruelty and evil to them. For when the threshold of tolerance is broken, there will be retribution that will return what was inflicted upon by billions fold upon billions.

They have done this to themselves and now the price is about to be paid for their sins and what's gone unpunished.

...

...

Alphric opened his eyes and saw only darkness around him at first but then he noticed Mika appeared suddenly out of nowhere in confusion much like how Alphric was. Kang was also there in the same confusion as him and apparently, the three were in the same situation just now. Is this afterlife? An abyss of nothingness where they have nothing but solace in each other.

Suddenly, a bright light appears and Alphric tried to look at it only to find its blinding radiance too much for him to gaze directly. The same could be applied to Mika and Kang as they did the same as Alphric did.

Alphric doesn't have the words in his vocabulary to really describe what's in front of him. It was volatile, it was stable, it was inhospitable, it was warm, it was cruel, it was kind. Contradictories and consistencies meld with one another like two sides of one same coin. When he understands it, he was as if speaking to a star. A power so vast and unimaginable that one can't really detect any humanity without such critical focus.

"Dost thou desire power?" A booming voice blasts across the emptiness around to the point all three of them could feel it despite being nowhere near.

Against the vicious tides of astral power that pour and overpower them, Alphric stood up against it with all he has and looks at it. He has no idea of what it truly is nor the perfect description.

"Dost thou seeks to change this world?" Another voice was said but this time is calmer than the last like a gentle wave.

Whoever this was, it was an artful and all-powerful being which Alphric somehow could feel that way. But what remained is nothing like it. There was no subtlety or anything to mask such a powerful presence that felt like a beacon of light within depths of grim darkness. The closest thing that Alphric could describe was that it was like conversing with a star. Its words burned them.

"Dost thou wishes to change the grim darkness of this reality?" The star in front of them said once more in their heads but the astral energy emanated felt like tearing their essence of beings apart.

Alphric stood his ground or what he imagined as once more.

"Tell me! What is it that you desired of us! And why are we chosen to be!" Alphric said out loud to the star but he didn't expect the star to reply to his question.

"All of you are here because you are an exemplar of what humanity should have been. Not a mess of zealotry and ignorant. Not self-vindicated individuals or those who fail to see their own potential. Not those who willingly accept their fate to eternal struggle nor stay in complacent greed for eternity. Not those genocidal tyrants who believed themselves doing the right thing nor the tricksters who are willing to do anything for their own gain. All of you stood for the virtues that man once has and now has fallen so low that such quality is now like a diamond within the rough. Like small candles in a vast sea of darkness." The voice said to them as they could feel the corona of light daring to incinerate them and yet such a thing never happened.

"Mika Apocrypha, the daughter with a heart of gold. You stand for the unconditional compassion man once has, now the world has become a hostile mess of self-driven desire and disregarding of other beings in general. Groups can fall apart for the most simple reason, Organizations will collapse over the most trivial matters. All because almost no one in this Imperium ever once thought as a group and work for each other in long term. Your compassion for everyone went unchanged even if your disdain and hate of the way Imperium functions linger on your mind. Your guilt upon seeing billions of nameless death yet saddened by the same is the proof that your compassion is real and nothing shall deny it from existing". The celestial body spoke to Mika as if a divine being is judging them.

"Kang Jeremy, the son who sought redemption. You stand for the will to redeem and betterment of oneself. You may once have a bloodstained past and a record of carnage and slaughter behind. But that didn't stop you when a chance for an honest life present itself and took it in stride. That is the proof that you are immensely better than almost all of Imperium for you don't let the past dictates the action of tomorrow. Those who wallow and condemn themselves to a fate that they could have tried to avert. Those who continue to live a life of condemnation and crimes justify that such existence is necessary. Those who have willingly fallen into the kind of outlaw because they let their desire control who they are. Those who punished the good men and women because of their past regardless of the deeds they do now. You are the proof that redemption exists and it can and will happen to anyone who sought it." Kang thought the celestial body is turning towards him and said in such a voice that it felt like he is going to be blown away by the torrent of energy.

"And you, Alphric Alpheus... You are the Sane amongst the Insane. In a galaxy that has gone mad, you dare stand for yourself and not follow the herd towards what you deem as irrational for its sake. You saw the people for what they were, you understand them from how they act. And you saw the hypocrisy of the people and that of the entire Imperium has run itself on into a perpetual cycle of hatred and short-sighted desire. The line between sane and insanity has been blurred and its consensus swings around like a pendulum clock. Your act and gesture of normalcy are deemed as lunacy by others because they have surrounded themselves with only hatred and irrationality. The Imperium now is fueled by hatred and fear."

Fear of the paradox.

Fear that sanity is decreed by consensus, and that any mind may, therefore, at any time, without any say, be decreed to stand outside their norms.

Fear of those outside the norm because they are unpredictable.

Fear of being perceived as unpredictable and dangerous.

Fear of being perceived as subhuman.

Fear of being dehumanized.

Of being animalized.

Fear.

Alphric has seen and understood fear itself as its most basic component. And that is what frightens everyone else but his friends. He understood what fear really is and can't be controlled by it. And he who can no longer be controlled must be disposed of. And when he no longer can be disposed of, the whole system that it ran on will be proven to be unideal and thus it will be the system that must be disposed of. Thus, the existence of Alphric means the Imperium must go... It must be torn down and rebuilt.

The Imperium converted fears into reality. The conditions are dire: they're fed with corpses of those who perished before them. The air is polluted beyond hope and protection against it is scarce. People live in a cycle of boredom and tedium where nothing will change and all is a cog within a broken-down machine without hope of repair.

Paradox

An insane person can be made to stand out from a multitude of sane people, like a blotch of vivid color standing out on the grey background. On the other hand, a blotch of grey on a colorful motley background is just another blotch, which might superficially explain why detecting sanity amongst the insane is difficult.

Worse still, when a healthy mind is surrounded by abnormal circumstances, will it too not turn to abnormal behavior, just to survive?

Few willingly want to find out. And Alphric was that few.

Alphric has finally understood. Fear and violence were indispensable tools of control that the Imperium used on its populace. Deaths of billions mean nothing to them. But when there is an individual that can't be subdued from fear nor be silenced through violence, the Imperium's only tactic will immediately fall apart. And Alphric is the only thing that can make such a reality come true. This isn't a battle to overthrow humanity, this is a war to reform it. They have the mean... and all they need is the conviction to follow it through no matter what.

"What you see of me is a shadow... a fragment of what once used to be great. The difference between us may have been immense but now I shall grant unto all of you the ability to become who I once was. To fix the past mistakes and the atonement for the people I supposed to protect". The celestial body spoke to them in a voice of sincerity cleans of any contempt from before.

A stream of ethereal energy then flows toward them. It was searing hot yet at the same time is a familiar warmth that felt like a part of them once. As his visions started to brighten up, the darkness clears away into a blistering white that felt like the universe is rebirthing anew. Soon, the light went away and all seems to return to normal once more.

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Underhive

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Alphric slowly opened his eyes again as he found himself sprawling across the rubbles that were once what used to be Middle Hive, Lower Hive, and probably the Underhive itself. These mountainous size rubbles that they crash-landed on top of are nothing short of staggering. He wonders if what he saw in his mind is a hallucinatory dream or is real. Even then, there's a general consensus that goes on regardless. They should not have survived that crash.

Alphric stood up and saw Mika and Kang were in the same condition as he is. As he picks the two of them up and they stabilized themselves. No physical changes in their bodies' appearance, no hallucinatory visions, not even anything that the three of them could tell.

That's when they realized something, it was already nighttime as they looked above and saw only the darkness. Their bodies... it's luminescent. It's glowing in a hazy golden light as if veiled and protected from whatever is around them.

The poisonous smog in the Underhive would have crippled those of above even in one breath but here they are... breathing as if this is a paradise world. This is the fittest they have ever been in their life... or afterlife. They tried to turn off the light itself in their mind but no matter what they think, it just doesn't disappear. This aura of light is now a part of them from this point onwards.

"So... what do we do now?" Kang said as he doesn't have an idea of how to proceed. He didn't expect himself to live through this.

"Maybe we should try to get back to the Middle Hive. Don't know the precise steps for sure but that's our best goal in mind right now." Alphric said as he looks down at himself and this newfound power.

And so they try to climb down this mountain of rubbles that formed from the disaster before. They noticed the flickering light of the Underhive from afar and wondered just what exactly will this place present to them. But based on how rumors of the Middle Hive go when it is about Underhive, it won't be anything nice. Hell, expecting fierce resistance and combats even just the first step here.

"I don't even smell anything disgusting... Have we... changed?" Mika said as she could harshly believe the fact that they are not just immune to any disease, they are also immune to the bad smell.

If any dweller of Underhive ever sees people wearing normal clothes and without a gas mask, there's a good chance that they will freak out because anything that doesn't use a gas mask is a mutant and if there's no visible external mutation, well... they would just shoot at it until it is no longer moving. And Emperor... The collapse of the Hive Sector 11 is a disaster of a level that the entire Underhive is aware of and now coming for it in its attempt to loot for anything of use.

Gangs, mutants, Xenos, cultists... Three of them will be hard-pressed just to find a way out of this hell.

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Twilight, Vespera Middle Hive, Eventide Merchant Guild HQ

"So... Alphric is gone... I assume... The best man for the job is one of the victims of the fall of Hive Sector 11". The man in formal dress said to the remaining Guild members.

"I... I shouldn't have sent him to the job..." The woman accountant next to the formal man said as she trembled in guilt and was on verge of crying.

"None of us could have foreseen this. I have seen too many of these cheap tragedies and being part of it no less. But... Never in this life would I hear and see of such disaster like this in my lifetime..." The formal man said as he placed his hands on his deck yet with a stern but sorrowful expression.

"So what do we do now? Sir Harry?" One of the Guild Merchant said.

"The least we could do is give them the mournful resting they deserve for the service they have given us. A proper send-off is the least we could do..." Harry said as he knew that the Hive is entering its phase of the beginning crisis.

With the destruction of the majority of power plants of the Hive because someone decided to put all eggs in one basket. The Hive will fall into anarchy regardless because the living condition will ultimately devolve and decay until the Hive become inhospitable. At that point, not even the Guild will survive nor anyone here but the very top of this Hive.

He has just received this position of Guild Master from his father after his death only a year ago and the Guild continues to function as it is. But most people preferred him because his father was nothing short of a very close to a tyrant. He would often send off new trainees to deliver in the most dangerous parts of the Middle Hive and he has no care for the casualty. He would often praise how much of a miracle for a trainee to survive the first day but never point out why he is enabling such unnecessary deaths in the first place.

"As the Guild Master of Eventide Merchant Guild, we shall never forget the deeds of Alphric of what he has done for the guild. Let our last memory of him being a happy one!" The Guild Master stood up as he yelled and shout for everyone in the guild to hear.

Everyone then shouted and cheered in turn to alleviate the mood. Even if Alphric never has seen anyone appreciate him, there are still people who would have supported him regardless of how he is. A reliable man in a world filled with deception, it was a quality that none could replicate.

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Gunfires blitz across the atmosphere as the exchanging fire rages on. Underhive Gangers were often a level threat on their own but there's one thing that Alphric and his gang have over those Gangers they are fighting. Having healthy physical fitness that the human body can have while Underhive Gangers were often malnourished and only holding on barely to their stature. Not just that but Alphric and his crew are unrestrained from any ailments, disease and just that fact alone makes them a far more effective fighter than just through sheer attrition and number.

Alphric grabbed a ganger that he managed to get close by their head and slammed straight into the rubbles causing blood and brain matter to splatter onto it. Healthy human strength is no laughing matter as those who trained to hone their body with no implant and modification could easily lift their own weight. Of course, there are obviously people stronger than them but the Underhive Gangers are actually as much as disappointment they truly are right now.

Whatever is considered as healthy in Imperium may be really all over the place but the level of battle performance that they put on right now is definitely in there somewhere.

After Alphric killed that Ganger, he noticed how their corpses started to dissipate into light, the same thing that is surrounding their body right now. How ironic that the path of greatness is still paved with blood all the same. But Underhive Gangers right now are nothing but a menace to him and his friends.

Armed himself with the Stub Rifle that he looted from the deceased Ganger, he quickly join the battle for their way out of here with his friend.

Mika who was already having a close-to-timid personality with little self-defense training of her own makes her an obvious target back when she was alive on the Middle Hive, but now? She is a deadly sharpshooter even with how limited and weak the Stub Pistol on her hand is. That thing wouldn't be able to hurt anyone with decent armor but her eyes start to see clear chinks in their defense and then proceeds to hit where it hurts the most. Shoot in the eyes, shoot in the kneecaps, double-tap into the head. A determined melancholic look on her face would be the Underhive Gangers' last image that will burn onto their minds as a single Stub ballistic precisely pierce into their skulls. The image of her in the past and now is a far cry of its own.

Kang moves with a speed that is faster than how he ever remembered that he could. He was ailed by many things throughout his life and only through sheer sake of will and determination to keep moving is what motivated him to fight for a better life. One could expect a Guardsman to move that fast but a Middle Hiver is not what they have in mind. They expected him to be more complacent since its Middle but his experience as a Ganger once again never failed to prove his mettle. With fleeting footsteps, Kang managed to approach the Gangers faster than how he expected to when the image of a shotgun closes up to their faces will be the last thing they saw. The armor he wore allowed him to keep up more in close-quarter combat as someone tried to shank him only to have their face crushed into a pulp by the wooden stock of his shotgun. He was plagued by the constant weakness on his path but now... he is nothing but short of a revenant. You see him once as an enemy, you are as good as dead.

Alphric is whole another batch entirely. He assumed leadership command of the crew and is the only one that could effectively lead them to break through the enemy's ranks. The no-bullshit and no-nonsense attitude make him an adversary to be aware of. His fighting skill is nothing special but it is no slouch at all. Those who failed to see just how devastating the blow of a proper and healthy person to a malnourished Ganger would quickly learn about it the hard way. As Alphric's fists thoroughly explore the Gangers' faces and his war on their joints and bones prove that he is pragmatic when it comes to battle and war.

The Middle Hive has shown him just how apathetic people can be and he expected Gangers to be worse than that. Guns are not an answer to violence, but it is a question and its answer is yes. Alphric knew that a gun has to be easy to use or else it wouldn't be a gun or anyone would use it and thus the dropped guns of the slain Gangers make for some really rude awakening when they half expected Alphric to ignore those drops due to lack of knowledge of operations. If it has a barrel and a trigger, aim it at the enemy. And when they went out of ammo, they immediately collapsed into light itself.

And now the elephant in the room is the power of light that they awakened to. They have no idea of what exactly this light is. But this thing emanated from the heat of battle, slain enemies, and dropped war gears and loots when they were no longer of use. And when they absorb the light, they didn't feel any differences at all at first but something in their minds tells them that they are definitely going to need those light essences.

They managed to get distance closer to the edge of the chasm that formed from what was once Hive Sector 11. And as they get closer, the Gangers' resistance is no doubt becoming greater. They have now been reduced to firefight and ranged combat as the local Gangs now start to fight alongside each other against this new threat. One of those Gangers has Heavy Stubber emplaced to suppress and pin Alphric and his crew from moving closer. As powerful as the Light they have right now, they can't and will not survive the direct fire of Heavy Stubber.

"What do we do now? How are we going to take out that gun?" Kang said as he hid behind a pile of rubbles as large-caliber stubs flew past him.

Alphric thinks for a moment before he remembered the old quote that one of his coworkers back when he was still working once said.

"Go big or go home"

"Gamble it is then..." Alphric said as he prepares his stance.

"What are you doing?" Mika said as she seems confused by Alphric's tactics.

"There has to be a moment where they have to reload. Or overheating. Such a weapon of rapid-fire like that is bound to create a lot of thermal energy as its side effect" Alphric said as he seems to be prepared to run.

"He's right you know. As an ex-Ganger, I know that there has to be a moment where you stop firing belt-fed rapid-fire weapons because you could potentially melt the gun barrel if you hold it down too long. And guns like that don't come easily even when you're in a manufacturing world like this. And this is the Underhive thus that thing will literally worth more than someone's life, an entire gang's existence even." Kang said as he assets the situation.

"And they are intending to flank us here. Someone is obviously trying to get here but the mountain of rubbles will literally give very small room for error. One misstep and you're dead as fuck." Alphric said as he looks at the surrounding.

"I'm going to give it about 3 more seconds. I know it from experience because one Ganger once never thought that gun could overheat and melted his Heavy Stubber because of it. Fucking dead in seconds afterward." Kang said as he times his moment.

The surface of the rubbles here was originally the Middle Hive layout. Underhiver never once knew of the land above thus this was all alien and strange to them. Alphric and his crew lived their entire lives there and thus that is one advantage that they have over the Underhiver. Another thing here is that the aura of light that Alphric, Kang, and Mika emanates is definitely visible toward each other but for some reason, the Underhiver never seems to take notice of it thus it is impossible for them to lose each other.

The reason that Heavy Stubber was placed there is that the land in front of them was once a park of Middle Hive. The relatively flat land of it creates a killing ground for the Heavy Stubber to work. Except that the target it has is literally three people that gonna flank it.

The Underhive has long gone out of power and the only thing that gives them visibility is the flashlight they equipped with their guns. The Heavy Stubber emplacement is having a floodlight placed to illuminate what's in front.

The general battle plan is selected and thus they quickly prepare for the next moment to enact. They either have to stop or reload, no amount of belt-fed cartridges would enable such sustained fire alone.

Much like how Kang expected, the barrage of bullets ceased and Alphric spurred into action first. Seeing that they formed a team around it, whoever is the leader of them must have some discipline drilled into them so that they can work together like this because not even Kang has seen any long-term alliance between individual Gangers let alone between Gangs.

The loader quickly attempts to reload the Heavy Stubber and the spotter quickly raises their weapon at Alphric. Mika took advantage of it and fired a shot of her Stub Pistol and knocked the gun out of their hands. The shooter tried to raise their close-quarter weapon only to be blindsided by Kang fired his slug round straight into their arm and disarmed them. The three of them worked together in such perfect sync that the Heavy Stubber team couldn't react in time nor counter successfully.

With the shooter crippled, Alphric fired the Stub Rifle he scavenged one-handed into the head of the shooter and finished him off. The loader abandoned reloading the Heavy Stubber to find a weapon and found out that he was too late either way as Kang bashed the loader's head in with his shotgun's stock. The spotter tried to raise their weapon once more at Kang got shot right in the palm by Mika and the shock delayed the spotter enough that Alphric lunged into him and pummels the sod's head repeatedly and fast until their head is nothing more but a paste of blood and brain on the ground.

And just like that, they completely dismantled the Heavy Stubber team in quick succession faster than the Gangers that were trying to skirmish around to flank them just now. With the table turned against, the Underhive Gangers will now have a taste of their own medicine.

Alphric admits though that plan of theirs has too many steps that depend on their luck and some of them have a huge chance of failure like Mika shooting the Ganger's gun off their hand, Alphric lands the killing blow with his Stub Rifle one-handed, and many others but they made it and that's what important.

Kang examined the Heavy Stubber and check just what model this thing really is. It's a belt-fed Heavy Stubber that fires 7.65mm long rifle cartridges. In fact, someone like Alphric could carry the thing. The Gangers will definitely not be able to fire this thing on their hip for sure without breaking their own spine.

The Gangers that were sent to flood them out finally reach their location before and now trying to rush toward them. Kang has already loaded Heavy Stubber up and quickly let Alphric let the thing loose. With his finger on the trigger, he then holds the thing down and watches as the stream of bullets rushes toward them.

Those Gangers who run too far ahead were unable to turn back and ended up being butchered by the stream of bullets. Those who are aware of that Heavy Stubber quickly hide behind a cover to protect themselves. They quickly pick their moment to take a potshot but the coordination of the three of them creates a sum far greater than their parts.

Mika could nearly tell which Ganger just peek their head out and Alphric would bust them off before they even managed to return fire. And when the gun ran out of ammunition and needs reloading, Gangers will instantly take their chance and rush while the gun is down. Kang's experience with Heavy Stubber enabled him to reload it far faster than how Gangers used to or expected thus they were taken by surprise when Alphric mowed them down while they are exposed.

Mind that they do fire at them while Kang was reloading, it's that Alphric and Mika also returned fire and stayed in cover while doing so.

Now that the Gangers strike team was reduced to small stragglers. The rest tried to desperately hold their position and fire from distance but tried as their might, Mika puts their aim to the shame with her deadly precision that was thought unreal before in her previous life.

The last Ganger of the strike team tried to snipe from afar with a scoped Stubber Rifle. Hope that they would at least bring one down with them, as they aim their sight down upon Mika, Mika gazed at them straight in the eye as if she is aware of them then aimed her Stub Pistol and fired at the last Ganger in a swift moment. The bullet pierced straight through the scope and burst through the Ganger's eye. With the bullet completely lodged into the head, the Ganger's last dying thought was wondering who in this world they were before darkness completely befalls upon them and their corpse collapsed into the light.

The gun barrel of the Heavy Stubber sizzles as its heat emanates. They have managed to kill every Ganger that was basically on their way here. As Mika steps forward into the bloodied killing field and the light then flows toward her and their corpse completely dissipates. Mika wonders if there is some sort of ulterior motive to this power but they would have died already if it weren't for this power. Alphric and Kang felt the same but if they dare cast off this power even if possible, they will instantly perish due to the condition of Underhive.

They decided to cast off this thought of their away. If it ever comes to that point, they will face it together.

"By the way... I don't think that I remember that I bring that much ammo with me today". Mika said as she twirls around the empty magazine she unloaded from her Stub Pistol.

It was clearly empty the last time she checked it but when she did so again, she noticed that the magazine is now full of ammo again. She checked the empty magazines that she put into the separated pouch for her gun and ammo and saw that they were fully restocked again as if they have never fought.

"Un... unbelievable... It's supposed to be empty!" Mika exclaimed as she tried to make sure she doesn't hallucinate.

Kang instantly checked his shotgun shells pouch when he realized what Mika is attempting to get them at. He remembered that he bring about 25 shells of slug and buckshot but this whole battle and fighting would have exhausted his stashes long ago. But when he did so, it was still full as if none were fired.

They were already manipulating light itself into material items. This power is their alone, with no ulterior motive, no backhand, no side effect. It has all happened passively and they didn't even realize it. The power of light goes beyond just shielding them from hazards and ailment. They have the ability to manipulate and convert materials into light and vice versa. Even the immaterial things such as emotions when become excess and turned to light too.

"Hold on... how much light do we have right now?" Alphric said as he tries to find a way to discover the light quantity that they obtained so far.

Everyone else shrugged, this power was all new to them and they have absolutely no idea of how it functions.

"That probably will have to wait, because we need to get out of here now!" Kang said as he noticed an enclave of Gangers approaching their position.

Alphric instantly grabs the Heavy Stubber and fires it at the group to suppress them from getting closer. Mika and Kang quickly trace a route for their escape. In a short matter, they managed to get away from the Gangers for now but they are definitely pursuing. As they navigate through the ruins that once made up the Middle Hive district, Alphric noticed something that seems to emanate the light essence that they have in the distance. Quickly gesturing to his friends, they then approach the light pillar and felt the familiarity in it.

"You think it could be something?" Alphric said to Kang as he looked into the pillar close up.

"Don't know but maybe we should touch it. After all, this thing is made up of the same essence that flows through us right now." Kang said as he approaches closer.

The foreign footsteps reverberates closer and the three looked at each other and nodded. They placed their hands on the pillar and suddenly, they felt as if their vision turned bright and their sensation as if turned into flux. All was white for a few moments before the sense of normalcy returned.

They found themselves in a dim-lit room with streamlined metal walls and floors. In front of them are three human-sized pods that they don't know their purpose. While in confusion, a voice said to them telling the purpose of the pods.

"Greetings... Wielders of Light... This area here is the collective Light and willpower that you three managed to obtain until this point. However, all of you have just only gotten used to its power. These pods right here are to attune your physical abilities with the Light along with the necessary compartment to make your ability to use Light more effectively" The voice said as the three tried to hear attentively for details.

"Should we do it?" Kang said suspiciously after the announcement.

"The atmosphere here... it is similar to the Light we wielded. Go big or go home they said... Sometimes we just have to gamble..." Alphric said as he decided to enter the pod because he knew his two friends won't unless he proved to them.

Kang and Mika also followed. Each of them placed themselves in the pods and when the pods finally activated, they released a white cryo gas that puts them into hibernation and obscured what was happening in there. Moments later, the light started to shine through the frosted glass and the pods opened once more. The three steps out after the procedure are confirmed to be completed.

Alphric looked at his finely toned muscle and felt tremendous power beneath. Mika doesn't have any visible appearance changed but she does feel the same as Alphric did, she felt more energetic, less tired, and felt even more powerful than how her body did back in Middle Hive. Kang said the same as the lack of ailment was a blessing but to feel like being at the apex of human strength is even more exhilarating than how it should.

The three noticed something on their wrists and the knowledge of it instantly appeared in their minds. A holo-watch... Alphric touched the surface of the watch and suddenly, it shows a hologram statistic of his to him. The overall evaluation of his strength is now Athletic Human. The two of them did the same and their evaluations also said the same thing.

"So this is the power of an Athletic Human?" Alphric said as he runs and quicksteps around in a much swifter and more effective manner than how he was.

"Yeah... This is like having something forbidden, something that people will kill for..." Kang said as he throws a punch toward nothing and Mika said that she could actually feel the air in the atmosphere shift from his punch.

"The power of Light, this... really is unbelievable. I've heard of stories from Rogue Traders where there are super soldiers that are 2 meters tall, move really fast, and are super strong. Don't know if I could verify it or not but this is probably the first step into something like it". Mika said as she performs an acrobatic jump that she never once thought in her life could pull successfully.

"I think we should call ourselves something else. As we progress, we may end up becoming stronger and at some point, we may inevitably face more enemies, people who wanted us dead much like why we crash-landed in that flyer. And at that moment, we may have already transcended humanity itself." Alphric said as he looks and reads his statistic.

The three of them looked at each other and looked at the wonder that the power of Light has created. In that moment of shared unity, they together come toward one name.

Luminary...

This will be the beginning of their crusade. The battle to reform the dredge that mankind has inevitably turned itself into. It will be one harsh journey and ultimately filled with many setbacks and adversaries but it is a far better fate to continue their existence as nothing but a bleak reminder of ignorance. They have seen too much to stay silent and their voice will be heard no matter what may try to shut them.

The three continue to interact with their holo-watch for more information. They come across their shared Light quantity which is now said as 1,456. Of what? They don't know but they probably will soon find out. And new area expansion is at 2,000 written right beneath it.

Another flick and they found out about the equipment list that they have. Right now, it is just as simple as it is. Shotgun, Stubber Pistol, Heavy Stubber... They have a feeling that they will come back more to this as the crusade picks up pace.

The next one however is really important... Military Science and Technology. There is finally a means for them to create new weaponry instead of being stuck with primitive weapons. However right now, the only thing it has for research is... very limited. It will expand if they have more weapons and armor to analyze and the few war gears that they recycled into lights were classified á one of the archetypes... Autogun... Its design and mechanical system are streamlined and refined. This Autogun is no doubt of Mastercrafted quality even if the external appearance is nothing the like. One thing though, the workshop is locked out due to lack of Light and it is the next thing they will unlock.

"Guess that we are about to keep the fight up". Kang said as he turns off the holo-watch.

The pillar of light at the corner of the room appeared once more and the Luminary reaches out and placed their hands toward it. In a matter of moments, they returned back to where they left and it seems that the pursuit squad of Gangers is nowhere to be found. Thankfully...

"Welp... time to continue our journey out of here". Alphric said as he decided to make sure everything is in order.

As Kang and Alphric proceed, Mika steps behind them while still using the holo-watch to examine her statistic. There is one stat that she is unsure what it is about...

Spiritual Resolution: Baseline

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Last Train Home

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---

Twilight, Vespera Middle Hive, Hive Sector 9

The nighttime has fallen upon Vespera and no doubt that Gangers activity will skyrocket in its shadow. But if there's anything that Reinhardt couldn't pass up on, it would be looking down the transit lines that thread itself throughout Vespera beneath the few incandescent lights that this district has and not looted by Gangers. While sipping on some amasec while the sounds of transit trains occasionally move across. Partly of a past-time or meditation, and part of it is reminiscent of where he once come from.

The amasec of Middle Hive was more of a mix of water, alcohol, and artificial flavoring produced in mass quantity thus its taste could easily put off someone. But to Reinhardt, it was something of nostalgic value that he can't ever cast out for some reason.

A transit train ran across the rails as he looked down through the fence that separates the road and the train lines. One would think that he would put up more of a guard when it comes to nighttime in Hive City when crimes increase exponentially that not even Arbites could hold them all off. But that's the thing with Reinhardt for the night is when he thrives.

The badge of Eventide Merchant Guild flashed from the yellow light of the incandescent bulbs. Night Delivery is one of the most sure-fire ways to die a horrible death at the hands of the criminal even in Middle Hive and because of that, Rogue Traders of more opulent wealth and tight schedules would be willing to pay an arm and a leg for any delivery made in the nighttime. Even one trip could probably pay off weeks in advance.

Another sip goes as another train came from the opposite direction. This time though, a sorrowful sensation is pervading his mind. Someone he once looked up to is now gone from this world. Death was a constant part of Hive City regardless of one's position or power. There was an unspoken rule of the Hive City is that one shouldn't be too attached to anyone so that when their sudden demise came, you won't feel as bad. Reinhardt at one point once took this to heart but after the collapse of Sector 11, he started to think that whoever created this rule only wanted to justify why they shouldn't be so sorrowful. And now instead of feeling sorrow about his death, he instead sorrowful that he should have interacted more with that person.

That person was Alphric.

Alphric at the time when Reinhardt first join was considered a legend amongst his colleague for his insane feats and strength of will and determination. Even in the most desperate of times, Alphric and his crew would prove themselves successful where many have failed. He sorted of seeing him as an aspiring figure to strive to be but that was where the contradiction between his belief and his heart started to manifest.

And like many of his colleagues despite Alphric's best interest for everyone, they treated him with indifference at best and Reinhardt was of no difference. On one hand, he wished to be part of his crew and fight alongside but on other hand, the deeply ingrained philosophy that helped him survive until now held him from this decision despite what he may think otherwise. In the end, he couldn't bring himself to speak to Alphric about it and it goes on until now when he has forever lost any chance to interact with Alphric once more.

"I'm really that indecisive, aren't I?" Reinhardt spoke to himself as he sits on his motorbike while continuing to sip on his amasec.

He has personally visited the Collapsed Zone itself and seeing its aftermath, has forever cemented the fact that Alphric can't and will not survive such a disaster on such a horrifically proportional scale. And as the dusk approaches, he took out for the closest edge of the Collapsed Zone and where Arbites have yet established a perimeter to take a mournful prayer for his senior whom he never had the chance to be personally with.

As he takes one flask of amasec and pours one out for him, he recollected why he joined the guild in the first place.

Much like Kang, it was a promise of a stable livelihood. Even in Middle Hive, sustainable life even in a modest modicum barely could get you anywhere and the Eventide Merchant Guild is always in need of people. But back then, he was a but a teenager that barely could keep up with the danger the Middle Hive presented, and the old Guild Master at the time seemingly has a boner for sending young people to struggle for their lives against situations that could have been avoided. Many trainees and aspirants like him perished under the tyrannic control of the old Guild Master. The only reason he got to be a full-fledged merchant is only thanks to Alphric's guidance at times and they stay useful even then.

Reinhardt took another sip as he remembers his graduation to become a merchant. While many colleagues congratulate him, it felt more like a half-hearted attempt to be done with it than actually glad. These people were so done and fed-up with just their lives that they couldn't even try to be honest for once. But the only exception to it was Alphric. He actually invited him to have a drink to celebrate Reinhardt's graduation with his already limited pocket money. And this amasec was the same thing that Alphric bought that day, the nostalgia of the past that he never be able to taste without regret anymore.

As he downs on the last piece of amasec, he turned toward and looked down on his motorbike. This thing is his livelihood and he'll live and die with it. Unlike most other Merchants which use armored trucks, Reinhardt uses the custom-modified motorbike that he managed to build pieces by pieces by kitbashing many parts of others together. It is mostly physical with minimal electric parts, it was something he could fix by himself.

If Alphric's reputation is his reliability then Reinhardt's would be his speed. Those who are in short-time or emergence called out to him with a more premium price than normal and the nighttime serves as a gambit that multiplies his earnings by multitudes. Because of it, he is often known as the Eventide Raider, a legend that now is going to one day surpasses Alphric's. But Reinhardt doesn't feel glad of it but in fact the opposite, he felt that he couldn't dare to overtake someone who looked up so much to. That someone was why he even got to this point.

No matter how many would praise him or turn him into a legend. All he feels is that he is a disappointment. Disappointment that failed to be there by his own figure when it was the last time he could.

While he may not have directly been there, he still wished and supported Alphric no matter what. And now that he's gone, all he has left in him is an emptiness that he has no idea of how to remove.

The vox-cast installed on his motorbike blares and it seems that he received another client who is willing to pay big Thrones for his service. Reinhardt sighed before he puts on his gear. With a turn of his key, the motorbike turned to life as he answer the vox-cast and its inquiry. There was a saying that he once remembered of Alphric paraphrased.

Go big or go home...

As the motorbike drives away into the distant night, the sound of another train comes across. Much like how things may be vast beyond comprehend, there are still some things that connect everything even as just an afterthought.

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Murder on Dance Floor

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---

When the Middle Hive collapsed along with the Lower Hive and Underhive, the aftermath formed from the three platforms created an uneven and mountainous-like terrain where traversal is limited and the terrain could suddenly collapse with a single step causing more havoc and destruction.

The Luminary however no longer has to deal with such hassle as much thanks to the power of Light and the recent attunement with it. This grants them what is essentially vision statistic of themselves and the area surrounding such as minimap of area, Lights accumulated so far, injury and health, the amount of ammo the weapon has right now, and the enemy marker that they managed to spot. They can be toggled by pressing the temple of the head with two fingers. Combined with Athletic Human power, they made far greater progress than how it was before.

Right now, what is stopping them from progressing right now is a massive cliff wall that has no feasible way of climbing and the only way to get over is the remaining hab-blocks that still stood nearby which they instantly noticed. It seems that whatever the damage was there in the structure, it was already bad enough that some damage is far more severe.

Some Gangers are standing guard there which means that the way forward is effectively the only thing that is enabling them to travel down here in the first place. As the Luminary slowly approaches, Alphric threw a chunk of broken rockcrete to lure or at least distract the guarding Gangers. At least one of them noticed and started to check where that noise come from. And instantly from the blind spot, Alphric grabbed one by the mouth and dragged them to somewhere they will be hardly heard. Right the moments later, Alphric just pummeled the Ganger to death.

Even with Athletic strength, snapping someone's neck is still too out there. The last time he attempts almost got the group busted and they have to murder the rest with their guns.

As the corpse of the killed Ganger dissipated into light, Alphric noted that he just earned 50 Lights from that kill, and additionally, 13 more of it is from the emotions extraction. It seems that killing someone in melee range gives more light because of the emotion bonus.

Kang and Mika quickly dispatched the rest of the guards and proceed to enter the hab-blocks entrance. The rundown infrastructure reminded them of just how deplorable the conditions of living the people can be and now after the collapse, it just become oh so more visible.

As they slowly made their way and stealthily through the broken and collapsed corridor. The elevators are obviously broken without power and now they have to find the staircase to climb up. The Gangers guarded this place for a reason so there has to be a way up here.

The dim-lit lights that their aura gave off are barely noticeable. At least compared to the flashlight that the Gangers taped to their guns which gave them the idea of where their enemy is. It was rather simple to stealth through the place when most Gangers don't even do their job properly beyond walking down the corridor. This Underhive, which is already notoriously dark becomes pitch black at night time. And in the Collapsed Zone, you will be hard-pressed to even find a light source here.

"You know what else do I wish? A proper stairwell to climb and be done with this..." Kang said as he started to feel bored of looking for the non-broken parts of the stairwell to proceed.

This floor here has a strangely huge hall for some reason and while they try to examine the place, a bunch of loud footsteps are approaching their location. Suddenly facing new threats, both Kang and Mika quickly hide the best they could in the closest thing nearby. And while Alphric was trying to get somewhere, both he and the Gangers are about to learn some really surprising thing in the next second.

Turns out, the energy supplies within this hab-block are still functional and when Mika skitters to hide, she ended up kicking the central power outlet at the music mixer table and reactivating the whole place again. Vivid colorful lights from the ceiling and the floors activated and flashed all over the place, it ended up revealing Alphric's location to the Gangers.

And as for the place itself, the Luminary finds out that they have ended up moving into a recreational hall that was repurposed into a dancing place. And as the Gangers were alerted by the flashing lights and surrounded Alphric quickly with their guns aimed at him while mostly unaware of Kang and Mika still hiding somewhere. Think that Alphric is an easy prey because they have encircled him with nowhere to break out, their fingers twitching in anticipation just to see what he is trying to do.

Alphric being an easy prey while being encircled by many is a partially true thing taking at a factual context. But they failed to recognize that it is not him that will be a danger to him but rather it is they themselves. Without sparing a second thought, they fired at him with their guns only to find out that he managed to dodge all of them by timing their firing to evade their aim. And because they just all fired while encircling him ended up causing more damage to each other through friendly fire than actually him, with some ending up fatally injured or dead by the first shot.

After that disaster of a circular firing squad, Alphric took advantage of the situation to break out while he could even knowing that it is might impossible with this many Gangers presenting in one place. However, something unexpected happened. Mika ended up kicking the central outlet again out of twitch reflex from the gunshots before and caused the music player to start playing.

Music records... are those things that only a Hive Noble or Upper Hive Citizens could afford feasibly. There are some that were found at the Lower Hive and scavenged and collected overtime resulting and often they are fervently worshiped and often praised as something divine. Mainly because of the lack of understanding of it and deliberately misunderstanding of its meaning.

In Middle Hive, there were music bars to alleviate the everyday stress and Gangers often operate a few of them as revenue for cash. Thus some music records were the reasons that caused a few major Gang wars in the Middle Hive just because someone got their hand on the good shit and others demanded to hand it over. The tech to even play it can be haphazardly between vinyl player straight to Emperor-knows sound systems the Hive Nobles have.

The music that the mixer is playing right now belongs to a bygone area. One probably went so far back that nobody could tell exactly but ironically enough, it fits for what Alphric is about to do.

Alphric is no stranger to killing and death but Emperor does he know how to murder a dance floor.

Playing: Koi no Disco Queen (Yakuza 0)

The Underhive Gangers never once know what music is and the loud sound blaring from where they can't even discern is disorienting and irritating them. What they hear isn't music but just sets of random noises that they can't stand, their minds were so occupied with struggling day by day for the sake of surviving so much that they don't get just what relaxing is.

Alphric looks at the encirclement around and noticed that they discarded their guns so that they can capture him. They learned of the mistake of using guns in close-quarter while surrounding their objective and perhaps a bit too late now but they finally learned. Seeing the horde of Gangers prepared to overwhelm him by sheer numbers, Alphric lets out a smirk before cracking his knuckles.

"Showtime!" Alphric yelled to the Gangers so that they shall know what they dealing with.

The Gangers rush in trying to swarm him only to find out the hard way that their bodies couldn't hold a candle to what Alphric could muster. In fact, their swarming together ended up resulting in more people trampling each other and receiving the wide arching blows of Alphric and thus tactics were changed once more, they will come toward him one by one and they will try to flank him when he is focused on one.

There was a saying in the Underhive that anyone who lives long enough to pick up a language and hone it will say about it. It is where the strong endure and the weak suffer. The fact that the strongest of the Gangers presented here barely gave him trouble before he just pummels their faces and hits them until their body is no longer able to stand up which he will execute them with a curb stomp and those who are too frail and malnourished to the point a hard headbutt could straight-up crack their skulls or a single precise punch make a hole through their head just perish immediately right in first contact.

As bodies litter the dance floor with blood and light essence scatter across. The remaining few Gangers decided to grab their guns and open fire at Alphric, but unfortunately for them, by the time they could point it in his direction, Alphric has already put their distance close as he bashes the guns away from their arms which broke their hands in the process. Afterward, Kang and Mika joined to finish off the rest of the remaining Gangers before any real harm could take place.

If there is an equalizer when fighting against a larger number, enclosed space and quarter... That's the best bet should it ever comes to that. They may luck out that the Gangers are already weaker than average humans with only aggression to balance it out, and the fact that the Gangers caused more harm to each other than even Alphric did to them in the initial move they did.

Guess that Kang's stance that Gangers physically can't work with each other long term was right down to a T and not a pretentious remark.

When the music finally died down, Alphric toggled the HUD on and noticed that the amount of Lights they have right now is 4,356. There is no record list of how Lights are obtained sequentially but by estimation, he had killed at least 80 Gangers but that wouldn't even make sense even with intense emotion bonuses because Alphric doesn't think that there is enough space to even contain that many people in the first place.

It starts to baffle Alphric more than how he should and he just can't figure that part out until Mika's pointing out at the music mixer.

"Alfric... I... I actually read the Lights quantity during your fight and... it's the music... it multiplies the Light gains..." Mika said as if she had just faced a new revelation.

"Yeah... I... actually keep track of how many you killed just now and... it was 45. I don't know what's going on or how Light is generated but... if that's the case then..." Kang said as he approaches closer to the mixer.

"Killing is a good way to gain Light and killing in style gains even more Light. I honestly have no idea what is going on with this power of ours... The more we experimented with it, the stranger it just felt like to us". Alphric said as he try to understand what kind of power it really is.

"First... I thought it was mystical in nature when that celestial being talked to us. But the technological things that are beyond my comprehension and understanding popped up then I thought it was scientific but then emotions were used as a means to create Lights then it goes back to mystical again. I... I don't understand..." Mika said as she felt like she has a hard time trying to understand if this was tech or mystic.

"Don't look at me, I'm much in the same boat as Mika here. But let me tell you something though, that science that is sufficiently misunderstood enough can be mistaken for magic. And that magic that is sufficiently understood is no different than science." Kang said as he steps out of the dance hall.

Mika followed his suit and left Alphric behind in the hall. Alphric intended to follow them too but he has a feeling that the music mixer is too important for later parts of the Crusade no matter how ridiculous its functionality may be. He approaches closer to the mixer and suddenly light starts to manifest around his palm and envelopes it. A moment later, the mixer returned to normal.

Alphric checked he holo-watch and noticed that it appeared in Military Science and Tech tab and can be created in a handheld version with no effect lost, for a price of Light much like how their ammunitions are.

"Heh, guess that we can finally craft something". Alphric said as he unlocks the workshop so that they can create their own weapons. They have the spare light to do things now.

Alphric however noticed something on his vision HUD that he didn't know has been there, a gauge that is split into 5 sections but only the first is filled while the rest are blackened. The gauge is slowly dwindling which he guesses that it decreases during non-combat.

But what was written about it gave Alphric an unexplainable feeling.

Emotion Level: 0.34

"That's it?... All of that intense combat is 0.34? If that's 0.34 then what is 1? or even 5? And how do I even unlock beyond that?!" Alphric said to himself as he becomes intrigued by what lies in the emotion gauge and what may entail.

But no matter how much thinking he puts on his mind, he couldn't figure out what it is. All he could do is to watch it unfold when that moment comes.

---

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Conundrum Ultima

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Twilight, Vespera Spire, Hive Governor Office.

Another drop of sweat dropped from Libert's forehead, he is in deep desperation to find a way so he could save Vespera from the imminent disaster that going to follow after it. He looked out to the window and saw some ships of non-standard Imperial designs flying away from Twilight, most Spire Citizens don't care anything about the squabble of those below them nor do they really care much other than the scheming of each other.

The Ultramarines told Libert to take a break and continue whenever he felt like it but Libert did that once and he just continuously falls into nightmares with no control of it. He saw Vespera destroyed from the infighting of the Hive Nobles that took control of the rest of the Hives and their disregard of his orders and judgment continues to damage the Hives until the flame of it consumes everything Twilight once stood for. The bastion of technology and hope of progress was consumed by barbaric and backward superstitions. It was an irony that was so out there that Libert just can't help but let out a bitter wry on his face. The sardonic and hopeless feelings that wish to consume all he has left.

Libert cried for a moment before completely collapsed and blacked out. The Ultramarines decided to gently carry him back to his room so that he can finally rest properly. The man was as much as an advocate for proper work and rest hour much to the chagrin of the manufactorums' foremen who for some reason don't understand the concept of diminishing return.

Hell, after hearing so much of the inane work hours of the worlds that Guilliman listed. It is no surprise that Libert came to scorn people like that. Where is the time for them to wind down? Where is the time for them to take care of their kind? Where is the time even for them to copulate? The fact that these worlds that enabled such cruel methods still have their population made him almost have a brain aneurysm.

And often enough, things have gotten so bad that he has to intervene as Guilliman's spokesperson and reformed all the insanity that was enacted upon which partly as a necessary evil but most of them were of malicious intentions and wanton cruelty at best.

With all of that journey and learning under Guilliman, he finally made it to Twilight in an attempt to reform its political structure and working system. But the stubbornness and malice of the Hive Nobles continue to astonish him in a bad way to no end. The fact that Vespera still exists after all of these infightings and tyrannical ruling of them is a surprise that not even Libert could fathom.

"Brother... all of these about power issues and failure. I have a feeling that not even auxiliary power plants could hold the Hive intact anytime soon." An Ultramarine said as he examines the data in the paperwork.

"The Spire has its own power system and treatment center so they will most likely be exempted from the coming disaster but I couldn't say the same to the lower area from here." Another battle brother said as he looks over the report so far.

The majority of the Plasma Reactor Power Plants were destroyed because of what happened. Vespera will fall into darkness incomprehensible, crimes will rise with no limit. Power will have to be routed and rationed with no mercy. The Ultramarines could understand it easily but it doesn't make that prospect less horrible.

They could even imagine later into this crisis and soon, Vespera will fall... There's no possible way to prevent such a thing anymore at this point. No amount of delay could hold it off indefinitely and they have the misfortune of seeing it coming.

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the office's door and the Ultramarines come to open it. Behind the door is a figure wearing a trench coat and carapace armor. But the first thing that caught the eyes of the pair of Ultramarines is the insignia that is worn on the figure.

The I of Inquisition... And whenever they go, trouble must be afoot.

"Inquisitor... Mind telling us what is your purpose here?" The Ultramarine tried to inquire the inquisitor about his reason of presence.

"My name is Chavin, Ordo Civtatis established under Guilliman's order. I came here to inquire of Libert about what's happening here in Vespera." The Inquisitor said his mission to the pair of Ultramarine in the expectation that they will help him.

"I'm afraid that you came at the most inopportune time possible. He is right now resting from all the previous paperwork." The Ultramarine said to the Inquisitor in the most respectful tone although wary at best because of how radical and extreme Inquisitors can be when nothing holds them accountable or reeling them back from causing unnecessary destruction.

"I see, I have the time for expend so I shall wait for his awakening". Chavin said as he sat on the nearby guess couch and just continues to read over the paperwork pile that Libert managed to work on.

Guilliman is basically working the job of 18 godlike people like him, alone. And because of it, he tries to expand his influence in pre-existing Adeptuses so that the Imperium can function much better with less necessity for cruelty than how it should have. Just because it worked doesn't mean it can't be done better.

Ordo Civitatis was established with the backing of Guilliman and is used to make sure that the worlds they investigated can be functioning at the most optimum level that they can by themselves. Getting rid of self-sabotaging policies, corrupted individuals who deliberately ruin stuff to monopolize assets and industries. Setting up proper workplace conditions and environments and etc... Guilliman's policy is that any positive investments made will have exponential results which in turn makes things go more smoothly for the Imperium in general. Assuming that no one tries to coffer said investment into their hoards.

And unfortunately for Ordo Civitatis, they saw too many attempts to do that and each punishment for it is subsequently worse for each offense and there are still cases of it repeating despite warnings. And Guilliman despite his godlike status can't be everywhere at once thus he has to leave it up to his subject to enforce his influence.

"Greed has become a too apparent fact of life". Chavin said with a scowl as he continues to read the report of the current situation that Vespera is having both before and after the Sector 11 Collapse.

And when the situation has earned the eyes of the Inquisition, it won't ever be just one that appears.

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The Line That Was Never Crossed

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"So... In the end... the evacuation didn't even matter..." Mika said as she felt a deep emptiness sink into her.

The parameters that the Guard built for the evacuation before... are also here. The extent of the collapse was far greater than how one expected and even the evacuation line and temporary refuge camps have also fallen into here. They managed to save no one at all and now there is also additional collateral because of this fact.

They could no longer smell the stench of death or rotten corpse and blood but just from the sickened stain that splatter already tells the whole story to them. Even the vehicles used to set up the perimeter before were also fallen and although the emplaced weapons are more than enough, survived the fall unlike its occupant though.

"A moment of silence for them... and for me too". Alphric said as he approaches the vehicle to check for any guns that still survive.

"Too bad... So sad..." Kang said as he does the same as Alphric.

Mika sulked because of how heartless they were when they decided to prioritize the armaments instead consoling over the fallen here but she decided to cut the slack either way because they too were victims in all of these and survived by a mere stroke of impossible luck.

"The Heavy Stubber seems to be undamaged... at least from what I could tell. Can you tell me about it more Kang? You come across more guns than I did, right?" Alphric said as he tries to turn the emplaced gun on the Guards' broken armored car.

"That thing is a 12.7 mm Heavy Stubber, belt-fed. That thing is too heavy to carry around or fired in a standing position without additional support. I have one guy who tried to fire it not being in an emplacement or on a stationary tripod and the guy's arm literally ripped out from its sockets from the recoil so really powerful stuff, I supposed?" Kang said as he is in gun scholar mode.

Alphric checked the gun to make sure that it isn't chambered with anything left. In which he found some heavy stubber cartridges with chainlinks intact. He then analyzes the gun and it immediately gets added to the Tech tab.

"Cool, shall we venture deeper? Because there have to be at least some weaponry stockpiles here". Kang said as he lets his intuition and common wisdom do the work.

The three of them venture around the perimeter, they managed to discover an armored truck that was carrying a crate. The written tag on the crate said "PDF's weaponry".

"Let me tell you something, do you know that most Hive Cities don't have an actual defense force other than conscripted Gangers? Because it would be a horrendous nightmare just to manage something on such a scale that giving guns to Gangers and bribing them just seems like a much better idea in afterthought. That's what some of those Rouge Traders tell me about" Kang said as he tries to pry the box open

"But... Twilight was different than most for some reasons and it was the newly established regiment of Twilight Crusaders. Although for some reason, they aren't allowed to be armed with anything more powerful than a Lasgun at best. Most of them are just Autoguns or Heavy Stubbers and the like with more auxiliary and support weapons on demand." Mika said as she has often come across some of their garrisons and often traded her medicines for ammo and weaponry which mostly don't extend beyond her Stub Pistol.

"Wanna make a bet that it was most likely someone's intervention or twisting policies to their advantage?" Alphric said as he also together with Kang attempted to break the lid of the box to access the contents.

"Nah... We know damn sure that is the norm". Both Kang and Mika said as they knew that was too true for their disbelief or displeasure.

After a much grueling effort despite their latent power, they managed to pry the box open, and much to their surprise of them, the content of the box actually survived the fall intact.

"I know that shit has to be built to be sturdy and reliable in war but this is goddamn too much," Kang said as he finds it nearly unbelievable that something could survive such a fall, and not in pieces.

"Let me see here... Ballistic vests, Autoguns, Autopistols, grenades, Combat Shotguns, Heavy Stubbers, PDFs' attire... Even if it's just one step ahead in terms of tech, this is still one giant leap in terms of combat capability we could have" Alphric said as he couldn't believe the treasure trove that they desperately needed to keep up with literally appeared in front of them.

"Let us be quick, we don't know if any Ganger may actually come across this place but I'm going to assume that it will be," Kang said as he analyzes the Combat Shotgun and the armor he wanted to replace what he has right now.

"I'm certainly going to miss my old gun but our survival is it then". Mika said as she took the Autopistol and some ammo for it. It actually came in 2 models, the sub-machinegun and the pistol but Mika took both either way with no differences.

"Yeah... But now that we got proper gears until we could find another Light beacon and then we could be able to refine our things into better quality." Alphric said as everyone suits up properly with the most gear they could. Then they turn the rest into Lights because leaving such a thing unsealed may bite them in the asses later down the line.

And when they didn't even walk more than a hundred meters, they found another Light beacon obscured by the ruins and structures. All of them sighed because they didn't expect it to be here so soon but they are thankful that it is here because it proves that Light beacons aren't a one-time occurrence but scatter across the Vespera., at least in Underhive.

With all three of them touching the Light, they were once more transported back into the collective Light structure that they gathered so far. With more than enough Light to spare, Alphric used the holo-watch to unlock the Workshop and suddenly a door appeared to the right side of them.

"Well, well... I'm interested to see what is beyond that door". Kang said as he then approaches the newly-appeared door.

Alphric also followed Kang and the two of them entered it, leaving behind Mika who doesn't know what she should do. However, a chime sounded from her holo-watch which caught her attention and it said something.

"Spiritual Resolution Enhancement Requirement reached. Head for the pod to begin procedure."

Mika turned around and saw one of the pods open up. She doesn't know if she should do this or inform the two about this turn of events but since there is only one pod open, she assumes that this has to be done by herself. But the fact that this is about a test doesn't bode too well for her since she doesn't know what it is testing her at all.

She chose to enter it by herself either way. It called out to her so there has to be something that demands her presence. When she placed herself in it, the pod closed itself and puts her into cryosleep. From an outside perspective, nothing of interest is happening but from the inside, is a battle that will demand all she has.

Enlightenment Protocol Initiated. Begins the reception of Broken Hope.

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Yeah, this is my first time writing 40k fic and I'm still somewhat of an amateur to the complete lore but I know the settings of 40k itself decently enough. If you have anything to say then drop a comment or a reply if you want to.