After delivering his soul-stirring speech about saving humanity, Kenthelion strode confidently toward the women gathered in the main plaza of Terra Aeterna. The distant starlight reflected off his majestic golden armor, as if affirming the long, perilous journey that awaited him. He would be gone for quite some time—years, in fact.
At the front of the crowd stood Yuriko Takagi and Saeko Busujima, alongside the women from High School of the Dead. They had been living on Terra Aeterna—the capital planet of the Imperium Caelestis—for six months now, slowly realizing this place was far beyond anything they had ever imagined.
They once thought the title "Emperor" was just a fancy nickname for some regular soldier. But the truth was, Kenthelion was no mere emperor of a single nation—he was the Emperor of Humanity, the sole ruler of an advanced civilization spanning nearly four universes. One universe was filled with conflict, where they had once fought tooth and nail; the other—Terra Aeterna—was still largely unexplored. Perhaps because Kenthelion was simply too lazy to bother exploring it all himself.
He stopped in front of two little girls, Alice and Airi, now looking elegant in their petite Imperium academy uniforms.
"Alice, Airi," Kenthelion said, kneeling to meet their eyes gently. "You both have to listen to your older sisters here, okay? Don't forget—tomorrow you start at the academy. You have to be strong, so one day you won't be afraid to face aliens or monsters from any universe."
"Got it, Brother Kenthelion! Alice and Airi will wait right here! Don't forget to come back!" they answered enthusiastically in unison, hugging him tightly.
Kenthelion smiled warmly, stroking their heads affectionately before standing tall again. He turned to the women standing formally—Yuriko, Saeko, Resident Evil's Alice, Jill Valentine, and Claire Redfield. To them, he entrusted the highest authority of the Imperium Caelestis during his absence. Kenthelion knew well he wasn't the bureaucratic type. Since these five women had joined, the Imperium's administration and politics had become far more stable… and honestly, he much preferred fighting on the front lines to signing paperwork.
Moments later, the sky above Terra Aeterna split open with the arrival of the colossal Gloriana-class warship, Sanctus Aeternum—the Imperium's symbol of power. Kenthelion boarded the ship alongside his trusted general, Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed. He gave one last wave to the people and women left behind before the ship vanished into the sparkling starfield.
But before truly departing, Kenthelion activated a high-level command. His generals readied themselves: Admiral Speyer from Warhammer, Jim Raynor from StarCraft, Admiral Yularen from Star Wars, General Wallfield from StarCraft, Alexis Stukov from StarCraft, Kylo Ren from Star Wars, and, of course, Castellan Creed. They prepared to enter the dimensional rift toward the Nihilum Aeternum universe—the Imperium's main frontline and the second universe Kenthelion had explored, due to the vastness of this cosmos.
---
In the galaxy's outermost sector, seven Imperium Caelestis expedition fleets maneuvered with precision as they exited the mass relay lanes—constructed by the Imperium's finest scientists. Brilliant blue energy flared as Kenthelion's Gloriana-class flagship emerged first, followed by warships commanded by Jim Raynor, Speyer, Kylo Ren, Alexis Stukov, General Wallfield, and Yularen, one by one from the hypernetwork corridor.
"Status?" Kenthelion asked from the main command room, his voice steady but heavy with resolve.
"Hypernetwork stable. All fleets have successfully exited. No anomalies detected in physical or energy structures," replied a navigator, his face obscured by a tactical helmet.
"Prepare all forces. We are entering lawless territory—Nihilum Aeternum. Ensure the entire fleet is ready to head to Vortex Primus for resupply."
-------
Command Bridge – Warship Speyer, Caelestial Imperium Expeditionary Fleet
> Speyer Crew:
"This is the First Fleet under Admiral Speyer—vanguard of the expeditionary armada. We're just one Terra away from planetary orbit over Noctara. Has the Omega Verge galaxy been fully blockaded?"
> General Wallfield's Crew:
"Affirmative. Not a single alien vessel has breached our perimeter. Six grand fleets are locking down the entire sector."
> Yularen's Crew:
"The enemy has constructed a massive military bastion with heavy orbital defenses, stationed right around Omega Verge's primary star—specifically, in Noctara's orbit. It's a highly strategic position."
> Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed:
"Jim Raynor's fleet will merge with Admiral Speyer's to reclaim that zone. Ground forces are to be deployed immediately."
> "Send in the Aeterna Regiment – 5th Flame of Freedom Legion and the Terra Concordia Legion. Let the rookies have their first taste of alien blood."
> "Meanwhile, Admiral Alexis Stukov and Commander Kylo Ren will intercept all reinforcement routes—regardless of species or universe of origin."
> Jim Raynor's Crew:
"We know they've got heavy firepower and multi-layered defenses. How are we supposed to crack that shell?"
> Creed:
"Adeptus Mechanicus and our top scientists have cooked up a few... new toys. They'll be providing direct support for the landing forces."
> All Fleets (in unison):
"Confirmed." ×6
---
T-minus Minutes Before the Assault
"All units, prep for deployment! We're joining the offensive in five minutes!" the Commissar barked across the general comms channel. "Alien space defenses are currently at their weakest, but don't get cocky! Don't waste your life on a battlefield like this!"
> "YES, SIR!"
Thousands of voices echoed in synchronized thunder across every deck and corridor of the fleet.
---
The Invasion Begins
The first to breach the skies above Noctara were the drop pods of the Space Marines, blazing through the atmosphere like falling stars of vengeance. Their target: the fortress at the heart of Noctara—the command center of Omega Verge's defensive network.
For over a year, the Caelestial Imperium had held back from launching any direct offensive against the Solarhelm Empire. The result? Solarhelm's forces had grown complacent, never anticipating a counterstrike this swift, this savage.
Now, seven full armadas of the Celestial Imperium had converged—each one a titan among fleets—ready to shake the heavens and cleanse Noctara in holy fire.
In an instant, three Space Marines from the Black Legion leapt into the star fortress of Noctara. Solarhelm soldiers reacted swiftly, surrounding the three towering warriors in a tight formation.
The Black Legion Marines looked upon the brown-uniformed Solarhelm veterans with utter disdain. These veterans belonged to two horse-like subraces: some were half-human centaurs with four-legged bodies, while others had undergone a different evolutionary path—humanoid bodies with equine heads, the result of millennia of biological transformation.
"A bunch of fools with a death wish," one of the Space Marines muttered as he scanned the encircling troops. "We've already surrounded you."
"We're back, aliens! Kill the xenos!"
Led by their officers, the brown-clad Solarhelm veterans charged without mercy. The sound of gunfire shook the fortress.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several Lunar-Class Cruisers of the Imperial Navy began purging the civilian ships trying to flee, aided by Mobile Suit units—RGM-89s and Zaku IIs. At that very moment, Solarhelm was hosting a major commercial celebration. People from various races had come to trade, eager to buy their most valuable merchandise: human beings.
What they didn't know was that the warships of Imperium Caelestis had already blockaded the Omega Verge galaxy. The boundless wrath of mankind was about to be unleashed upon them.
"They're coming!!!"
Fierce battles erupted throughout the Noctara star fortress. The Black Legion Marines—infamous for their brutality and savagery—began tormenting enemy souls one by one, striking from the shadows in sudden, merciless ambushes.
"Stop wasting time killing those bastards," grunted a Marine from the Emperor's Children Legion. He looked at his companions—utterly devoid of artistic taste and appreciation for beauty—and shook his head in silent disappointment.
By now, the entire Noctara fortress was engulfed in chaos.
From the shadows, four legendary war legions emerged: the Death Guard, Alpha Legion, Emperor's Children—and two legions long erased from history by the Emperor of Mankind.
Two forgotten legions from the Warhammer 30K era, so secretive that even the Primarchs avoided speaking their names. Their identities had been lost to the fog of time and the burning of Imperial archives. They wore no ornate armor like Fulgrim's followers, but their strange, unnatural presence alone was a living nightmare for the Solarhelm forces.
Their very existence was a cataclysm.
Their presence was a calamity.
And now, that calamity had descended upon Noctara.
"Noctara Star Fortress has been secured! Prepare for planetary deployment!"
"Sound the bell once!"
The Techno-Magisters struck the sacred gong, its echo reverberating across the deck.
"Pull the levers! Engage the pistons and pumps!"
Steam hissed and steel groaned—the cry of machinery awakening to life.
"Sound the bell twice!"
A sacred resonance pulsed through the hangar like a heartbeat from the Machine Spirit itself.
"Press the ignition! Activate turbines, breathe life into the systems!"
A mechanical symphony arose: the roar of plasma, the thunder of reactors, and the crackle of energy surging through massive conduits.
"Sound the bell three times!"
"Sing now! Praise the Omnissiah for granting us this sacred moment!"
The Magos, Tech-priests, and their Servitors joined voices in a binary hymn, their voices harmonizing in coded praise to the Omnissiah and the ancient progenitors of science.
Through sacred smoke and radiant plasma, a colossal figure emerged from the bay—like a god descending from the stars.
> "Warlord-Class Titan — Light of Victory — standing by for deployment."
But this was no ordinary Titan.
The Adeptus Mechanicus had remade this war engine using integrated technologies from every human faction across the Imperium Caelestis.
Every inch of it was forged from millennia of divergent knowledge across countless realities—raw strength, adaptive AIs, psionic fields, hyperdrives, and anti-matter cannons.
It was no longer just a machine.
It was the will of mankind, made manifest.
And now...
it would set foot on enemy soil.