Warhammer 40,000: Echoes of Divinity

"Whatever this place was originally built for, it is now nothing more than an obstacle—one more ancient relic standing in our way."

Qin Mo's voice was cold, his gaze fixed on the titanic passage ahead.

It was a monument to forgotten Imperial engineering, a megastructure of such staggering proportions that even a Titan-class war engine would seem dwarfed beneath its vaulted ceiling. The reinforced plasteel and adamantium walls, corroded by millennia of neglect yet still unyielding, bore the scars of past conflicts. Faint traces of sigils, predating even the Adeptus Mechanicus, lay obscured beneath layers of rust and grime, a testament to the lost knowledge buried within these corridors.

Klein crouched down, his fingers tracing precise lines across a schematic sketched into the dust-covered ferrocrete floor.

"As far as I know, this passage is lined with an ancient self-destruction mechanism embedded within its structure.

It's nothing fancy—but it's reliable and effective."

His voice was measured, technical, the careful cadence of an engineer who understood the gravity of his words.

"The mechanisms are embedded demolition charges, linked to a self-repairing detonation switch."

He gestured toward specific points in the blueprint.

"Once activated, the first layer of charges detonates—massive slabs of reinforced plasteel and ceramite collapse inwards, blocking the tunnel."

Qin Mo folded his arms. "That's not the real issue, is it?"

Klein's expression darkened.

"A second layer of thermobaric charges follows—equivalent to a melta strike.

The initial collapse is just the beginning. What follows is a molten flood of superheated liquefied metal, seeping into every crack and fusing the wreckage into an impenetrable mass—sealing the entire 900-kilometer passage. Once sealed, this tunnel might as well have never existed."

He sighed, shaking his head.

"By the Emperor, I can't even fathom what kind of madman designed this."

With that, he handed the schematic to Anruida.

...

"You know quite a bit about these self-destruction mechanisms."

Qin Mo observed, his tone inquisitive, though not without suspicion.

Klein grinned, tapping his chestplate with mock pride.

"Of course. My family is the oldest engineering dynasty on this planet.

In fact, my family's entire rise to prominence is tied to these self-destruction systems."

He chuckled, recounting a tale woven into family history.

"Roughly 1,700 years ago, one of my ancestors was entrusted with a classified project by the Planetary Governor himself.

It took him thirty years to extract a single ancient melta charge from these walls."

Qin Mo raised an eyebrow.

"Impressive. What did the Governor use it for?"

Klein smirked.

"Tyrone Hive was in the middle of a rebellion—an uprising led by an unknown cult against the planetary defense forces.

Everyone assumed the Governor would use the charge for military purposes against the insurgents.

Instead, he detonated it inside a rival noble house's district—melting their entire estate into slag."

Qin Mo snorted.

"Seems such treachery is tradition among Governors, then."

"Oh, their family has plenty of traditions," Klein laughed.

....

The three men stood together, staring at the collapsed passageway.

Qin Mo exhaled slowly and raised a hand—

Focusing his power.

Klein, however, wasn't hopeful.

He had seen Qin Mo's fortress construction firsthand—a structure built by manipulating metal in sections.

Compared to the sheer scale of this blockade, that fortress was nothing more than a hut.

But—it was worth trying.

Qin Mo channeled his will, and the metal obeyed.

The solidified wreckage began to flow, liquefied plasteel and adamantium slithering like molten rivers, sliding down the slope of the blockade—

Only to reform, fusing back into the walls.

The damage was reversible, but the scale was insurmountable.

Qin Mo gritted his teeth.

This wasn't construction—this was excavation.

And excavation required a different kind of precision.

At that moment, Qin Mo recalled what the Shapeshifter had told him.

His power was indeed "returning".

....

After half an hour, he stopped.

"Pointless."

Qin Mo shook his head.

"This is like trying to fill an ocean with stones."

Anruida frowned, not understanding the metaphor.

But Klein did.

And he nodded, grimly.

"Is the entire blockage fused down to the last gap?"

Qin Mo muttered, his mind already racing.

"If I could get inside and plant melta charges in the gaps…"

His form distorted, the air around him warping as he phased through the metal, passing through solid matter as if it were air.

Klein and Anruida watched as Qin Mo disappeared into the wall—utterly unfazed by the display.

....

Ten minutes later, he re-emerged.

"No gaps. The molten metal filled every last crevice. There's no way through."

Klein sighed.

"What if we don't dig?"

Klein's mind raced.

"Instead, we have people walk in formation around you—just like how you phased through the metal.

Every kilometer, we'd create resting chambers. Would that work?"

Qin Mo raised an eyebrow.

"You don't seriously think I'm going to be available at all times, do you?"

He gestured toward Anruida.

"What happens when I'm not here? How do they phase through then?"

Klein sighed in defeat.

"Fair point."

Qin Mo fell into deep thought.

Excavating the Passage—Or Not?

The simplest solution would be to construct excavation machines.

Two options:

Small-scale mining units with high-efficiency metal-cutting tools.Massive macro-drills fitted with focused energy beams to burn through the wreckage.

But—just as he was about to design the schematics, an idea struck him.

Why not start developing an alternative to the Warp Travel now?

If he was going to create a non-Warp method of interstellar travel anyway—

Why not begin with the fundamental research here and now?

Start with basic principles.

Develop foundational technologies.

Expand them into a full-fledged scientific field.

Until he had mastery over the entire technological tree.

He stared at the collapsed passageway.

It was no different from the distance between star systems.

There was always a way to cross it.

Qin Mo turned to Klein.

"Not only am I not going to excavate this tunnel—I'm going to reinforce it.

I will make it impossible to breach or destroy."

Klein's face paled.

"Are we going to be trapped in the Underhive forever?"

"No."

Qin Mo turned toward a nearby railcar.

"We will still be able to enter and exit.

But not through this tunnel."

He turned to the nearby soldiers.

"Stop wasting time here.

If the regiments can't find Rebels to fight, they should begin training drills instead."

....

Back at the Fortress

Qin Mo had decided.

He was going to dedicate himself to a long-term research project.

But first—he had to ensure the hive was properly secured.

If the Shapeshifter's warnings were just a little bit true, and there was a greater conspiracy at work, then—

It was not enough to simply leave the Underhive.

They had to prepare to remain here for the long haul.

Qin Mo issued orders to the KI-core, directing the logistics drones to construct a new city.

A fortress-city, designed as an Imperial stronghold.

Massive foundries and munitions factories.

Defensive turrets covering every sector.

Civilians would live beneath the fortress turrets, working in the factories by day and—

Manning the defenses during wartime.

The central districts would house a bunkers—

A school during peace.

A refuge for children during war.

No luxuries like sports or fine arts.

Only lessons in warfare and survival.

Qin Mo wasn't building a utopia.

But he would make sure his people had what they needed—

Food and clean water—freely given.

With everything set into motion, Qin Mo finally turned to his research.

And he knew exactly where to begin.

Humanity's Version of Necron Phase Technology.

A means to traverse alternate dimensions.

To cut across reality itself.

To end reliance on the Warp—forever.