My Claim as God Emperor

The crowd kneeled before the newly proclaimed god emperor. Fear and awe awashed their hearts as they waited for his commandments. Pertinax looked over all of them, his irises turning from his originally common blue to a soft, golden hue that shone more pure than any gold. "Warriors of Epidamnos, execute every last aristocrat in the city. Execute that captain there, and then the highest ranking officers are to report to me after this is all done. Finally, no ships are allowed to leave the harbor. " Turning to the crowd of civilians, "People of Epidamnos, within a day's time, I assure you, the lives you live now will be nothing compared to what I shall bring you. Return to your homes, spend time with your loved ones, and gather any precious metals your household may have so that you may bring it here to the plaza tomorrow morning."

The warriors rushed forth, quickly grabbing the aristocrats and the hoplite captain Pertinax had pointed out before beheading them all and then rushing out to complete the god emperor's orders while the citizens quickly made their way home, spreading the word to those who had not been in the plaza to witness The Decree.

"Y-You dare defile the god king's temple?!" A haggard voice resonated behind Pertinax, forcing him to turn and look upon the old priest of Cronus who fiercely glared at him. "You are no god! But a demon! A Witch! I see you for what you are, falsifier! The God King will strike you down!"

The few remaining people in the plaza looked upon the old priest with pity before remaining to curiously watch how their new god emperor would react before surprise caught their hearts as they watched him laugh.

"Your so-called god king won't do shit my friend. After all, he's going to be too busy eating his children to keep his throne instead of wasting time bothering with mere mortals. And a demon? I am no demon, but I have faced many in the multiple millennia I have lived. I have faced the Eternal Night. The darkness that devours all mortal souls. It is why I stand as the Keeper of Souls." 

Pertinax climbed the last few stairs before standing before the old priest, his golden eyes gleaming as his face contained a leisurely grin. "Let me show you the truth."

Golden flames burst forth, consuming his entire body before growing in height to nearly 2,000 meters before it dispersed, leaving a large muscular man with flowing long black hair, golden radiant eyes, silver power armor with golden decals radiating light, and a massive halo and wings radiating divinity and psychic might. His deep voice resonated out, causing the very ground to rumble in resonation. "Now do you believe?" 

The old priest dropped to his knees in fright. The city all paused as they gazed upon the true appearance of their new god emperor. For kilometers around, local villages and passing merchant ships saw the mountain sized titan standing within Epidamnos, filling their hearts with both fear, awe, and wonder, pushing many of them to make their way to the towering god, even as they watched him begin to shrink and disappear from their vision.

Finally, those still in the plaza found themselves looking upon a shrunken version of the god's appearance, though now Pertinax stood nearly 20 feet in height, dwarfing every human within the city's known world.

"Now then. My final truth for you, my friend." With a wave of his hand, the air shimmered and warped until an appearance took form within the air. Though the people did not know what manner of beast it was, the fact remained… terror had taken the deepest parts of their hearts. The old priest flung himself back, crawling across the ground as his eyes widened in unabashed despair and fear while staring upon the image of the Khornate Daemon, before watching it shift into that of an Unclean One of Nurgle, a Daemonette of Slaanesh, and finally a Horror of Tzeentch before the mirage disappeared.

"Those are daemons. Soul eaters. The very monsters I, my family, and my people have fought to destroy, to keep at bay in the eternal depths of the Dark Night. And now, you all shall join me in this war." Glancing at the few stragglers, his radiant golden eyes felt like a warm breath upon them. "Fear not, for even in death, I protect. Just as my father before me. Put your faith and hearts in me, and you will exist for eternity. Those filth will never be able to devour your souls and cease your existence under my gaze."

"W-Why! Why would you drag us into your war!" Tears flowed down the old priest's face as he shivered while in the fetal position, his eyes wild with near madness.

The warm and gentle presence that Pertinax had been portraying broke then, quickly darkening as a scowl marred his face and his voice became like that of a blizzard's bite. "My war?! This is not my war. It is a war that all of creation fights! My father, my brothers. My sister, nieces, nephews, and the people we ruled all laid down their lives and existences to keep the Eternal Night at bay so that fools like you could live a decent life in relative safety away from the nightmares. And now, the endless tide of Hell has come for the world you know. The world you call home. It is only right that you take up the mantle of responsibility and stand against the darkness, not for the rest of creation like my family and people did, but for all that you love. For your home itself."

Pertinax marched towards the cowering man, the pressure of his feet crushing the very stone he walked upon before he stood above the despairing priest. "How is this war any different from the ones your people already know? All that is different, is the fact that you can now see the true appearance of the monsters you face. Instead of letting that frighten you like they so desperately crave, use that fear, their appearance, their very monstrosity to remind yourself that now you face against monsters that can't be reasoned with. And they will take everything away from you if you don't fight back against them. Feel the conviction burn inside your soul and light a blazing fury that stands strong in the silence that would see your spark snuffed out to the point that not even a memorial wisp of you remains."

 Turning back around, Pertinax noticed that the hoplite captains and commander had returned before him. "Now then. I want all the blacksmiths within the city to know that they are to report here tomorrow morning alongside all the precious metals for I will need their assistance in forging some items that will be needed for this holy city to truly flourish. I also would like all of the guards watching over the port and the gates to allow the entry of newcomers but that no one is to leave except for the peasant farmers so that they may tend to their fields. We will be needing every able bodied man and woman in the coming future, and vast amounts of food to feed them all."

Pertinax began walking towards the ruins of Cronus' temple. "Also, I'll need several guards. I must conduct a meeting with an old friend and so I may be unresponsive for the next coming hours."

The hoplites glanced amongst themselves before nodding. The commander stepped forth, directing four of the captains to join him as they took the mantle of guarding their new god while the others took leave to complete the remaining tasks.

Finding a large enough block, Pertinax sat upon it before closing his eyes, once more finding himself within the warp. Turning away from the line, he gazed out at the swirling madness of clashing colored warp storms and soul lights. With a gentle, shuddering whisper, Pertinax's warp sun called out, "Cegorach."