"In the name of the Emperor, go in peace and live your life in honor of his name." I said to the soldier who'd previously suffered burns across the breadth of his entire body, his flak armor melting and joining into his skin in numerous places and other places where the skin had been burned off entirely, alongside a great number of his muscles. Honestly, the man had been on death's door by the time I got to him. No amount of medicine could've saved him, minutes away from dying as he was. He couldn't even properly breathe.

And then, with the barest effort on my part, I restored all that he'd lost in the flames of war. After that, I offered him a curt and simple prayer, thanking the God-Emperor, who saw fit to use me as a tool to aid his people, I sent him off and it was only when no one else came forward to be healed did I realize that I might've healed just about everyone who couldn't find immediate treatment, which was... a lot of people. Athulhum's gift really helped me here; otherwise, I would've just ran out of [Biomass Reserves] outright. And a quick look told me that, indeed, I pretty much only had around fifty kilograms left, which was honestly a dangerously low amount.

"Sweet," Khars walked up to me and tossed a water bottle for me to drink. I caught it, though didn't need it, but I took a gulp anyway as... I couldn't even recall the last time I drank anything, actually. It's been a while. Huh, wasn't that a strange revelation? As long as I had biomass, then I didn't even need to drink. Khars shrugged. The others stood around me, like golden statues, which was, I suppose, the one and only reason why not a single soul even tried to stir trouble. Garahm had walked off about an hour or so ago to speak with what little remained of Praxtor's governing body or, in his own words, to make one up on the spot if it simply didn't exist anymore. "I suppose that's the last of them. But, if you want to, I'm certain there are still quite a few injured mortals in the actual refugee camps. Also, you might want to do something about... this."

Khars vaguely gestured at the one thing I'd been trying really hard to ignore for the last several hundred hours, the people whose heads were on the ground and on their knees, bowing to me, it seemed, either due to a miscommunication on my part or they simply were not listening when I said that I was merely a tool for the God-Emperor to impart his miracles upon humanity. One did not praise the blacksmith's hammer, but the blacksmith himself, for creating a magnificent work. But, I hadn't known what to expect; and so, one by one, they fell to their knees, their numbers growing with every passing moment until they grew so numerous that all I could do was ignore them and hope they walked away. But, apparently not.

"Urghhh... have you any suggestions?" I asked. The Custodes surely had some experience with something of this manner. After all, they were the God-Emperor's own guardians, the caretakers of the throne, surely there were many who looked to them and found them worthy of veneration and worship. Maybe. Though, I can't imagine it'd disturb them as much as it disturbed me. I'd never been in the spotlight before. I was always just another cog in the machine, just another face in the crowd, just another man among billions. And now, there were thousands who bowed their heads to me. And I wasn't sure how or what I should be feeling.

And, worst of all was the fact that I could feel, from [Concept Shaping], that I could metaphysically reach out and take their faith and absorb it as raw [Warp Energy] or to do something else with it, something I still wasn't sure of. After all, faith and worship were just concepts, things that I could now toy with apparently, to a certain extent.

"You could just ignore them," Khars shrugged and both Eshidisi and Whamuu grunted in agreement. I still found it hilariously strange that I could talk to the Custodes as easily as I could talk to other 'normal' human beings, which was honestly a very weird thing to even consider, unlike the Carcharodons Astartes who didn't seem like they were at all interested in talking. And I still wasn't sure what I thought about that little nugget of truth. "These mortals are grateful for your aid, but leave them alone and I'm sure they'll forget all about it within a year or two. It's either that or you'll find a statue of yourself right here when you return. A bunch of mortals once built a marble statue in my honor; they couldn't quite capture the length and girth of my guardian spear."

"Indeed, Shield-Brother Khars," The one known as Eshidisi added. "I have seen the statue firsthand and it could hardly compare."

Right. To preserve what little sanity I still had left, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of that. "Well, that's done. I suppose we should just wait for Lord-Commander Garahm."

"We used to refer to him as Kitten, before his promotion." Eshidisi said. "You can call him that, instead."

I raised a brow. That word was... strange. I had no idea what a kitten was, but it certainly didn't seem to inspire any amount of fear or awe. In fact, it sounded almost like the name of something that was particularly adorable. And calling the Lord-Commander of the Aquilan Shields 'Kitten' seemed like a good way to get my head sliced right off my shoulders. "No thanks, I'm not gonna do that."

"Tsk, eh, worth a shot." Eshidisi reached for something in... his waist? And then tossed what seemed to be a golden coin over to Whamuu who caught it immediately.

"Told you it wouldn't work."

"Fair."

With nothing to do until Lord-Commander Garahm, or Lord-Commander Kitten Garahm Thomson, returned from whatever meeting he was currently in, I figured I'd just wait. And what better way to pass the time than by meditating on the One-Hundred Psalms of the God-Emperor? Just as my parents taught me and just as their parents taught them. Faith ran deeply in my blood, I figured. Though, admittedly, it'd been a while since I prayed properly. And so, I knelt down, pressed my hands together, and kept my eyes firmly on the ground. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw Duncan doing the same thing, which made me smile. It was always good to be in the presence of the faithful.

The people who were bowing to me definitely did not count. And I was almost kind of tempted to call it out as heresy by Idolatry if not for the fact that doing so would be rather pointless and, ultimately, self-destructive. If they believed in me for what I did, if they placed their faith in me because of what they thought I was capable of, then who was I to judge them for it? Who was I to tell them otherwise?

But, it was weird.

Whatever the case, I continued on with my meditation.

And not five minutes later, I was roused from my meditation by someone nudging me on the shoulder. With a soft sigh, I turned to my right and found Katarinya looking at me with boredom. "Can we do something else?"

I raised a brow. "Like what?"

Katarinya shrugged and held out her hands. "I don't know!"

Behind me, Duncan snickered, his meditation similarly disturbed. "Children will be children, my lord. They're little balls of energy that run around and play until they tire themselves out and fall asleep."

Yeah, I figured as much, but... I had absolutely no experience with taking care of young ones. I honestly don't even remember having a lot of friends when I was a child, which would've, at least, shown me a template for normalcy. As it was, all I knew as a child was how to be a devoted servant of the God-Emperor and the Imperium and not much else. Children, I figured, required plenty of physical activity and proper nutrition; the latter was easy to take care of, but the former might as well be an alien planet to me. So, I turned to my left and glanced at Duncan. "You've had children of your own?"

"None, my lord. But I did raise my own siblings, growing up." Duncan answered. "Shall I deal with her?"

I nodded. "Just to be clear; you mean to exercise with her, yeah? Make her burn off her energy?"

Duncan nodded back. "Of course, my lord."

"I actually have experience with children." Khars said and just the very idea of a Custodes saying that would've been unbelievable if I hadn't been here to hear it firsthand. "I know how to calm her down quickly."

Duncan shrugged and turned to me. And I turned to Khars and nudged Katarinya towards him. "Alright, what do you suggest?"

"Check this out." Khars said, grabbing Katarinya by her armpits and hoisting her up to his full height, which was around nine feet. Katarinya merely giggled and held out her hands in clear enjoyment. Something didn't feel quite right. My eyes narrowed. What was Khars going to do?

"Oh boy, you just had to give him a kid." Eshidisi said, shaking his head. "Well, this should be fun to watch."

I gulped. Maybe, this was a bad idea. "Why? What's going to-"

"WEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeee!" Katarinya screamed as Khars tossed her right into the air, sending her right towards the clouds, while the Custodian himself howled with laughter and the other two joined him, the golden giants holding onto each other for support as they laughed at Katarinya's expense.

"By the Emperor. What have you done?!" My eyes and my mouth alike widened immensely as Katarinya, quite literally, disappeared into the clouds, her scream becoming more muted with every passing moment until I couldn't hear her anymore.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Perry." Eshidisi said in between fits of laughter. "I'm sure she'll live through this... probably. It'll be a learning experience for the both of you: do not leave Khars with children. He will most likely toss them off of something, usually without putting them in danger, but his record is not perfect."

"What?!" Did the golden madman simply plan on catching her on the way down? Did he not care at all for the life of a child? Probably not, but still. My mind raced. And I could think of very few ways to save Katarinya from what the blasted Khars had done. "He's killed children before?"

"Heh, of course not." Khars chuckled. "Worry not guardsman. For this is the solution to the problem that ailed her. She cannot be a ball of energy if she's unconscious. Do not argue. My logic is undeniable and sublime, like my beautiful golden self."

What

"Huh, I guess that makes sense, my lord. Most efficient solution and all that. Oh, look; she's coming down." Duncan said, his gaze turned upwards. I followed his eyes and found a small shadow bursting through the clouds, still screaming. By the Emperor, she was going to die. Before I could do anything rash, like sprout wings from my back, Khars then leapt upwards tapped his spear three times against the ground, before he jumped high and caught her in his arms. The Custodian Guard then landed right in front of us, with Katarinya sitting on his shoulder.

"I don't know how she got there." Khars said, looking as though he wanted to scratch his head, but can't because his helmet was in the way.

"Again! Again! Again!" Katarinya laughed, her hair now resembling a dried bush. There was no fear or hesitation in her eyes, however, which was a fascinating thing to note. Was she a fearless child or was she simply the sort who craved excitement, even when exposed to mortal danger? I suppose time would tell.

"Wow, that didn't work?" Duncan muttered.

"This usually words." Khars shrugged. "50% of the time, it works 100% of the time."

What.

"Khars," Lord-Commander Garahm Thomson appeared behind Khars when he... definitely wasn't there before. My eyes widened. Did he just get here or has he been standing there the whole time? Just how fast were the Custodes? The Astartes were already inhumanly and freakishly fast, but even I – a lowly guardsman – could perceive their movements if I focused enough. But Garahm wasn't there one moment and was suddenly present the next. "Damn it, I leave you alone for a few hours and this is what you get up to? Do you not remember what happened thelasttime you hurled a child up into the atmosphere?You're grounded – no body oil, tanning booths, or walking around in the nude for the next two months."

"No, you can't do this! Am I supposed to just wear my armor all the time, like a basic bitch custodian? What about all the adoring masses who will miss my oiled abs?"

"Anyway," Garahm cleared his throat and turned to me and took a single step forward, briefly disappearing and then suddenly reappearing immediately in front of me. And I'd been at least fifteen feet away. Astounding. The Lord-Commander of the Aquilan Shields loomed over me, though I sensed no hostility or malice from him. "We're leaving this world ASAP; there are several things that we need to discuss. Garrekk awaits."

AN: Chapter 36 is up on (Pat)reon!