As it turned out, waiting was, in fact, the right thing to do as the Traitor Astartes walked away, without even bothering to check if there was anything unnatural with my corpse. Though, to be entirely fair, if our places had been reversed, I would not have bothered to check, either. My head was splattered all over the place and I could feel at least a hundred other pieces of my brain, dotted around. Just as I was about to reconstitute myself, however, one of the Traitor Astartes suddenly came and examined my corpse. This one wore no helmet, though he did carry one, revealing the ugly, inhuman, and misshapen face that should've been kept covered.

He then knelt down and scooped up a bunch of my brain matter, before shoving said brain matter right into his mouth. A strange sensation flooded me afterwards, a rush of something, streaming into and from me, before suddenly and abruptly disappearing.

What?

Everything went dark for a moment, afterwards. I lost my connection to the other pieces of myself and I felt myself floating in what felt like an endless darkness.

New Function Unlocked!
[Subsume] – You can take control of any biological creature that eats a part of your brain. This control can be subtle or you can outright take over their bodies should you wish it.

When I came to, not a moment later, I immediately found that I was... much taller than I used to be. And then followed the rush of knowledge and understanding – all provided by the System, apparently. And I knew, then, that the Traitor Astartes died the moment he ate a part of my brain as my personality and consciousness easily overrode his mind. And, thus, I was reborn in the body of a Traitor Astartes. This had the added benefit of purifying his flesh and, more importantly, imparting onto me a genetic blueprint that would, in time, allow me to make use of and perhaps even manipulate the biology of an Astartes – traitor or otherwise.

For now, however, this was just one form among many. I couldn't quite manipulate it as I could my the other generic blueprints – not on any meaningful level, anyway. I could shift my skin and make myself look prettier, make my muscles and joints slightly harder and better, but that's about it.

Hidden Objective Completed: Kill Your First Space Marine!
Reward/s:
1 Epic Gacha Token
1 Uncommon Gacha Token
2000 Kg Biomass

Huh, an Epic Token?

Raising a brow, I took the Epic Gacha Token from my Inventory and crushed it in my hands. I wanted to see just what I'd get out of it, considering it said "epic", which meant I was more likely to receive something of value.

Epic Item Received!
Glass Spoon – Snap this spoon in half to summon Master Mirror, also known as the Man of Glass. Be warned; while this item guarantees you at least one free wish, the Lord of Mirrors is crafty and will always attempt to swindle you out of any deal.

What and who?

Shrugging, I sent the [Glass Spoon] into my Inventory. It didn't seem all that useful, especially considering I had no idea who this Master Mirror was or what he was capable of doing. The mention of a free wish and a deal of some sort seemed... ominous and highly suspicious; at least, this time, however, there was no mention of daemons or the summoning of such foul creatures. Thus, I didn't see the need to cast away or otherwise destroy the item. I decided to keep it with me, just in case.

After that, I took out the uncommon token and crushed it.

Uncommon Item Received!
Entity Card (the Rabbit of Caerbannog) – Simply toss the card into open air to summon the entity held within. The entity will manifest for a total of ten minutes, during which it will attempt to neutralize all hostiles until its time runs out or until it is destroyed.

The what of what?

I shook my head and simply sent the item into my Inventory. I had... absolute no idea what a rabbit was or what a Caerbannog was supposed to be. Though, if it was capable of combat, then it might a useful distraction. But, for now, I didn't need it. I'd just subsumed the body of an Astartes, after all; a traitor he might've been, there was no denying the sheer power that was present in such a physical shell. Bending down, I simply absorbed the remains of my previous body, before standing up and donning the helmet that was just dangling from my waist.

I examined my new equipment – a bolter rifle, a combat knife that was about as long as my forearm when I still in human form, several frag grenades and a single plasma grenade. All of that came alongside the Power Armor. I stood up and noted the raw power I had in every tiny movement, the force that came with mundane actions. Tsk, I never would've beaten this traitorous scum on an even fight. I viewed the world in what I could only describe as slow motion, with senses that extended far beyond what I was used to; I literally caught scents and heard sounds that came from kilometers away. Just as the Cadian said, however, there was a small gap in the plate that covered the torso, close to the head, large enough for a particularly brave guardsman to shove a plasma grenade into. I suppose I could've done that, but the chance of success would've been nonexistent.

Actually, now that I had the body of an Astartes, including his equipment, I suppose I could just forgo the stealthy approach; after all, nearly all the heretics were dead, except for the other Traitor Astartes themselves – five of them remained, since I was now the 6th one. With my physical prowess, I could fight kill them; plus, they wouldn't suspect me of anything, so I'd have the element of surprise on my side.

And, whatever the case, killing them was my duty to the Emperor and to the Imperium. And, if I died in the attempt, I'd just come back and try again until I succeeded; who else could claim to hold such an honor?

So, clutching my bolter rifle, I walked towards the gathered Traitor Astartes, who looked on and laughed as the cultists and heretics burned and screamed and died before them. I too found it funny. Those who turn their backs from the Emperor's light deserved nothing less than the purifying flames of death – only in suffering can their sins be purged, but I doubt they cared about that. They were too far gone from the God Emperor's forgiveness. And so they deserved only suffering and death.

"What did you find, Teranas?" One of the Traitor Astartes asked through our vox communications, but I couldn't tell which one of them spoke as they all wore a helmet and none of them so much as turned to regard me. I stopped and stood still, right next to the one who I'm pretty sure was the one who splattered my brain all over the place.

Shrugging, I made up a story. "A guardsman who thought himself a hero – nothing more."

"Still, to attempt such a thing; I, Telros, commend him for his efforts, if nothing else."

Ah, so I was talking to the one who killed me – fascinating. Looking closer, therewere tiny marks and symbols on the Power Armor that separated one from the other, just that everyone wore the color purple. For instance, the one who blasted my head apart had a gaggle of bleached skulls hanging from his loins; I wasn't quite sure what that was supposed to symbolize. Was it a sexual thing? No idea; Traitors were too far gone from the Emperor's light to recognize the inferiority of their fashion choices. The rest were probably just listening in on our conversation.

I walked past him and made my way towards the Rhinos. The Traitor Astartes did not notice or regard me in any way, which was a strange thing, since I'd half-expected the traitors to never trust each other, existing in a state of constant betrayals, stabbing each other in the back over and over again. But, it seemed there was a level of trust among these ones, at least. And I was going to use that against them.

I glanced at the factory, eyeing the guards there – normal people, a few had cybernetic arms and legs, but nothing beyond my current capacity. The screaming, writhing faces and bodies that seemed to animate the very walls of the structure brought shivers down my spine. What sort of madness were these heretics and traitors up to?

Reaching one of the Rhinos, I was suddenly made aware of the presence of a weapon's crate. I walked towards it and opened up its lid; I'd half-expected it to be locked, but apparently not – that or it scanned my biometrics and was simply fooled into opening. Whatever the case, it opened with a slight hiss and I beheld the cacophony of weapons held inside, ranging from bolt pistols to heavy bolters to power swords, enough numbers to arm six Traitor Astartes. This was for us – for them – I gathered. Six bolt pistols, two plasma pistols, three heavy bolters, and four power swords. And I sent all of them into my Inventory, save for a curved Power Sword, which I grabbed. It hummed in my hand.

It was an awesome weapon; I've always wanted one, ever since I saw our Lord General waving it around during a speech. It was a fine and beautiful weapon. And now I had four of them for myself.

These Traitors wouldn't need them.

Hidden Objective Completed: Acquire Power Weapons
Reward/s:
New skill unlocked!
[Tech Shaping]
[Tech Shaping, level 1, 0% Progress]

My eyes widened as, once more, a rush of knowledge and arcane wisdom flooded my mind. And I became aware of the fact that, at level 1, [Tech Shaping] allowed me to, essentially, fix anything I wanted to by reverting it into its base form, much like level 1 [Self Shaping] allowed me to reconstitute my body or any damaged parts by reverting it into a base form. Level 1 [Tech Shaping] also allowed me to absorb technology, not just random bits of matter, like rocks, turning them into Raw Material, which, like Warp Energy or Biomass, is then stored in dimension that only I had access to.

Amazing. I could use this ability to fix up just about anything as long as I had enough Raw Material.

But, as much as I wanted to try out my new skill, I had something else to do. With the humming power sword in hand, I turned and rushed towards the nearest Traitor Astartes, moving as fast as my body and my power armor could. They all noticed me, of course, all five of them turning at once. However, the one who was closest to me did not have any time to react as I brought down the power sword and sliced his torso in half, killing him instantly. The others, however, reacted immediately afterwards.

A few ran towards the weapons crate and found it empty.

Ha, get fucked, traitors!

I rushed forward as they began shooting at me. Their accuracy meant that, within a few moments, the bolter rounds were already penetrating the armor plates and ripping me apart from the inside with miniature explosions. However, because the armor more or less kept my guts, bones, and flesh from flying around, it became a simply matter of just reconstituting myself again and again, by recycling the Biomass that was already there. I reached the closest Traitor Astartes and sliced off his legs, before decapitating him immediately as he fell. One of them appeared behind me and jammed a combat knife through a hole in my helmet that I didn't even know was there.

I turned and bisected him from one shoulder to the other, before kicking him away.

Weirdly enough, the combat knife apparently counted as a Raw Material, so I simply absorbed it into myself. The rest of them, power armor and corpse alike, I'd absorb later.

"What are you?" One of the Traitor Astartes asked, speaking through our vox communications. Despite that, the remaining two kept on firing their bolter pistols at me, the rounds punching holes through my power armor as I rushed towards them. One died immediately when I sent the power sword into my Inventory and, instead, brought out the two plasma pistols, one for each hand, both of which I then fired directly into his armored chest, simultaneously melting and cracking apart his armor and reducing his insides into a bloody paste. I turned to the last one and breathed in.

I'd need a new power armor after this. The one I was wearing was a broken wreck of what it should be.

The last of the Traitor Astartes was, strangely enough, the same one who splattered my brain, earlier. "You're not Teranas; your movements are clumsy and erratic – untrained. Who are you?"

Idly, I noted that he wasn't firing at me, anymore; though, the guards that stood by the factory certainly were. I grabbed a few frag grenades from my Inventory and tossed it at them; they scattered in panic and a few died in the resulting explosion. And then, I turned back to Telros and shrugged, vaguely gesturing at the bodies of the other Traitor Astartes I'd killed. "Your traitorous kin would say otherwise."

At that, Telros chuckled. "Those fools were little more than bumbling initiates – incapable of wiping their own asses, without someone telling them how to do it. I must thank you, actually, for killing them. Now, the treasures of "

I said no more, mostly because I didn't think I had to speak to this walking pile of filth. There was only one fate for a traitor and that was death. I raised both plasma pistols and fired again. Telros, however, quickly avoided them by rolling away. He then raised his bolt pistol, the same one he used to splatter my brain with, and fired; each bullet found its mark, tearing into my flesh. But, whatever wounds I sustained I healed just as quickly. I sent the plasma pistols into my Inventory and pulled out the power sword, before rushing forward.

Telros did not move away as I'd expected he would. Instead, his armored hands flashed out and, somehow, wrestled the power sword from my grasp in a display of superior skill. I wasn't even sure how he did it. The gap between us was rather wide. He then kicked me away and sent me tumbling into the ground. Telros laughed. "That was a neat trick, sorcerer, but your martial prowess is lacking. You cannot win."

I gritted my teeth as I pulled my helmet off, which, by then, was little more than a useless wreck that got in the way of my vision, and absorbed it, turning it into Raw Material. I stood up and, across me, Telros snorted and removed his own helmet and tossed it aside, revealing a face that was even uglier than the face of Teranas, the Astartes whose body I subsumed. He smiled, revealing hideous, needle-like teeth. "There, now it's a little fair, is it not?"

Did he seriously just remove his helmet?

I sprinted towards him. Telros responded by slicing my chest in half with a single swing of the power sword; however, it sliced through my flesh and bones so quickly and so cleanly that I was able to reattach myself not a moment afterwards. I then tackled him to the ground. In the chaos that followed, I briefly considered shoving a plasma grenade into his exposed head and detonating it. However, I didn't want to loose too much Biomass. So, I came up with the next best strategy.

"Why won't you die?!" Telros roared as he sliced me again and again, rendering even my power armor useless as its internal mechanisms were far too damaged to be of use. I simply absorbed it into myself, alongside the black carapace underneath and all the other bits of technology that was attached to my body. Whenever Telros sliced me up, I simply reattached my bits immediately, rendering his efforts moot. Truly, he was skilled beyond me, but I didn't need skill; I just needed to kill him. "Who and what are you?!"

As he roared once more, likely in a combination of rage and frustration, I reached up and ripped a chunk off my own head and shoved it into his open mouth. I grinned. "I'm just a humble guardsman."

And then there was darkness.