Warhammer: The Worst Start There Is (40k) - Chapter 1: Crisis of the Apocalypse

“For humanity! for the emperor!”

A captain, who had been transformed into a half-human, half-mechanical being under the technology of the Adeptus Mechanicus, roared hysterically.

His prosthetic limb slammed onto the control panel in front of him as he glared at the power supervisor and the Mechanicus in charge of maintaining the power chamber, his eyes bloodshot.

“Channel all the energy into the propulsion system. Even if it means death, I’ll make them pay.”

This warship was already done for.

The void shield reactor was overloaded, explosions rippled through the hull in multiple places, a few more hits and it would be completely done for.

After issuing the order, the captain revealed a fanatical smile, roaring once again the oath he had taken countless times before.

“For humanity! for the emperor! forward!! forward!!”

Following the captain’s command, the warship, now stripped of its void shield protection, erupted in a powerful light at the rear, and its speed increased, charging towards the flesh-covered Chaos battleship, attempting to take the enemy down with it.

The universe and fate share one common trait: they are both cold, ruthless, and cruel.

Unfortunately, the courage of the captain and the entire crew received no reward from fate.

Lady Luck didn’t even cast a glance at this man full of courage and the spirit of sacrifice.

Accompanied by the dazzling light spear released by the Chaos battleship, the massive warship’s hull was pierced directly through.

The plasma reactor, already under immense pressure, was hit, triggering an explosion, flames surging through the pipes.

The colossal warship, stretching over five kilometers, was engulfed in a sea of fire, fragmented and shattered in space.

Over ten thousand human crew members on the ship perished, not a single one survived.

“For humanity! For the emperor!” In the midst of the inferno, the captain shouted his oath with all his remaining strength.

The destruction of the warship appeared insignificant in the grandeur of the space battlefield.

In the vast expanse of the space battlefield, thousands of warships were engaged in combat.

Countless light spears, plasma beams, torpedo-sized containers, high-yield nuclear missiles turned space into a deadly forbidden zone.

The war had reached its most desperate moment.

The Imperial Fleet launched counterattacks time and again, attempting to regain control of the orbital space of the planet Macragge, so they could provide support to the ground forces.

They had to deliver reinforcements before the ground forces were completely defeated, otherwise, the trumpet of humanity’s apocalypse would sound.

The day of reckoning was bound to arrive.

The resilient human race was also marching towards its destruction.

The surface of Macragge had already plunged into the flames of war.

Cities across the planet were subjected to unimaginable firepower.

Near-orbit was taken, artillery positions fell, and tank formations had been obliterated.

Airborne fighters still fought tenaciously, struggling to retain the last shreds of air superiority from the Daemonic vehicles.

Mighty legionnaires were withdrawn to protect sanctuaries.

Only the Macragge Guard remained in desperate combat, defending the cities and civilians.

Civilians shivered behind the battered lines of the guardsmen, and able-bodied men and women were all drawn to the battlefield.

Women and children awaited the arrival of doomsday, silently praying that the Emperor would save them and take their souls after death, sparing them from the torment of the dreadful warp, ultimately turning them into monstrous entities.

Within the sanctum of the Ultramarines, an equally brutal war erupted.

This place would determine the fate of this planet, and even the destiny of the entire galaxy.

“Stop them.” Clad in black, exuding a strong scent of blood, a Chaos Space Marine’s gaze oozed cruelty and malice.

He swung a chainsaw sword that no longer revolved, effortlessly killing off the ordinary soldiers attempting to provide support.

Those ordinary soldiers were cut down like wild grass before a sharp scythe, sliced in half directly, their shattered bodies falling to the ground, staining the sanctum’s surface with blood.

“For humanity! for the emperor!”

The brutality and bloodshed didn’t deter the soldiers behind; they shouted the only slogan that could give them courage. Armed with Lasgun, they charged forward, attempting to halt the sacrilege of these shameful traitors against this sacred structure.

The Chaos Space Marine didn’t cease, he brandished his chainsaw sword, shattered limbs flying freely, his face beneath the helmet exhilarated by the slaughter.

“Blood for the Blood God! Skull for the Skull Throne!” After shouting his allegiance to the deity of Chaos, he pounced on the ordinary soldiers, mercilessly reaping their lives.

Soldiers pressed on one after another, their purpose was to buy time for humanity to survive under the Emperor’s gaze.

The battle within the sanctum raged fiercely and hopelessly.

The remaining Ultramarines, Black Templars, the Army, and Adepta Sororitas, had been pushed to the brink.

Saint Celestine’s pure white wings were broken, and one of her hands was severed.

Her armor was shattered, and gruesome wounds oozed sweet blood.

The Adepta Sororitas, sisters in arms, either disintegrated under the concentrated attacks of plasma cannons and explosives or were torn apart by Chaos Space Marines and Daemons.

“Grant me strength, grant me victory, I shall serve you, walking in your name on this earth.”

One of Celestine’s eyes bled, yet in her heart, she continued silently invoking the Emperor’s name.

Chaos Space Marines and Daemons charged forward, but Celestine held the holy sword without a hint of wavering.

“For the Emperor! for humanity!”

With her furious cry, a surging golden light burst forth, the blessing of the Emperor.

Countless Daemons were sent flying by the radiant burst.

Yet soon, even more Daemons and Chaos Space Marines surged forward.

Amidst the chaotic battlefield, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, Calgar, roared in fury.

His azure power armor stood out prominently on the chaotic field, marking him as a prime target for the encircling enemy.

His explosives had been exhausted, his war sword broken, and only a power gauntlet remained functional.

Bang!

An Ultramarine before him was blasted to pieces by a Chaos Space Marines heat melt gun.

The surviving limbs emitted burnt odors and foul heat.

“Traitor!!”

The death of his comrades caused Calgar’s eyes to bulge, roaring like an enraged lion.

Watching his comrades fall one by one, he too became consumed by madness, wielding his power gauntlet to meet the onslaught.

After tearing apart a Chaos Space Marine alive, he turned his head to the elevated platform.

Beside the inert structure, the Mechanicus Cawl and those cursed xenomorphs continued their operation.

“Is it still impossible after all?”

Despair surged within Calgar; they couldn’t revive the genefather of the Ultramarine, the Primarch Roboute Guilliman.

Was everything coming to an end?

Is this the conclusion of their mission?

A millennium after the first ruler of the Empire, the God Emperor of Mankind, ascended the Golden Throne, the second Warmaster of the Four Chaos Gods, Abaddon, launched the 13th Great Crusade.

Utilizing the Blackstone Fortress, he succeeded in obliterating the Cadia Fortress that held back the Eye of Terror, unleashing the power of Chaos of the Great Rift upon the entire galaxy.

The age of the galaxy’s decline had arrived; the scars of the curse tore through the entire galaxy.

Countless daemons surged out from the rift, leaving nothing but death and destruction in their wake.

The nightmares of ancient darkness returned to countless worlds, ushering in boundless slaughter and brutal annihilation.

The power that can bring destruction upon the world gathered unprecedentedly in history, leaving no place safe, no corner to escape the impending doom.

Countless worlds fell, and in the face of the ravaging and torment inflicted by Daemons and the Primarch of Chaos, countless mortals screamed and perished.

Humanity faced its greatest crisis; once they failed again, the eternal night would shroud the entire galaxy.

A grand final battle was imminent, between good and evil, Chaos and order. The war would tear apart the stars, destroying everything known and familiar.

Psyker with the ability of foresight had already shown signs of despair; this dark and cruel galaxy held no future for humanity anymore.

This world would plunge into the abyss of despair, and humanity would become playthings for the wanton cruelty of the dark gods.

With the rumbling of earth-shaking sounds, the sanctum was once again struck violently.

The second wave of Chaos drop pods crashed into the sanctum, engulfed in flames.

With eerie sounds, the drop pods opened, and hundreds of renegade interstellar warriors poured forth, joining the battle.

They were the ace in the hole for the Chaos side.

They were a one-time drop on the battlefield, shattering the defenses of the loyalists.

Despair utterly shrouded all the warriors.

“For humanity! for the emperor!”

They let out their final desperate roars, facing death calmly, and swearing to take as many traitors attacking the sanctum with them as possible.

Darkness had completely enveloped them; humanity’s final trumpet was about to sound, and the end of all things was approaching.

As the ultimate struggle between life and death was about to commence,

With a resonating clang, a pure and crystal-clear note illuminated the surroundings.

From an automated mechanism, music-like melodies resonated, as a dome opened like petals of a giant carnivorous flower.

A tall, imposing figure appeared before them.

After ten thousand years of slumber, the last redemption of humanity, the final hope of the Empire, the Emperor’s 13th Primarch, representing loyalty, hope, and benevolence, the genefather of Ultramarine- Roboute Guilliman, opened his eyes before the tense forces on both sides.

He gazed upon everything before him, his expression showing confusion and being utterly lost.

The last thing he remembered was playing a game, so what the fuck is he seeing right now? What’s with this chaotic and bloody scene?

A tide of memories surged forth, instantly making him understand everything.

In his heart, a hundred thousand grass-mud horses galloped.

What the fuck!

How could this ridiculous thing happen??