In Warhammer, please don’t mix Doraemon with the Omnissiah.

"That's your Warp essence."

On the streets of the underhive, Zhou Yun walked alongside Rena.

The Ninth District had been corrupted by Tzeentch, and there were likely still corrupted individuals lurking there. Now the PDF had sealed off the entire district and begun a purge together with the Ecclesiarchy's priests — it was even said that Battle Sisters would soon join.

But before the Battle Sisters arrived, Zhou Yun and Rena had already returned to the underhive, using the passes provided by Augustus Flax.

Rena held the ancient star route records in her arms, her eyes shining with eager excitement.

Zhou Yun, however, was distracted by something else. When he'd been corrupted by Tzeentch, he'd faintly glimpsed his reflection in the Warp.

It was a vague, round, blue figure… and it didn't seem to have ears.

Even after he'd sold the black book through his dimensional pocket and completely severed the corruption, Zhou Yun could still catch glimpses of that blue, round figure — in the reflection of glass, in the flicker of flames, in the haze of twilight.

It was as if that figure was his true reflection.

The winged figure of white light said that was his Warp essence.

"I'm not a primarch," Zhou Yun retorted.

He'd heard of Warp essences — the true face of a primarch's soul, hidden behind humanity.

Some speculated that the primarchs were actually minor Warp gods that the Emperor had stuffed into human bodies. Awakening one's Warp essence was tantamount to becoming a minor god once more.

Corvus Corax, the Ravenlord, had awakened his Warp essence and gained the power to suppress even the daemon primarch Lorgar.

Zhou Yun wasn't sure if that was true, but he certainly wasn't a primarch — and definitely not some minor Warp god.

"Don't be as stubborn as Guilliman," the winged figure sighed.

"You saw it yourself — your reflection in the Warp is not human."

That was true. Zhou Yun scratched his chin, recalling his Warp reflection — blue, round, earless…

It was… familiar. Very familiar.

Wasn't that… Doraemon?

Could his Warp essence actually be Doraemon? A cat-shaped childcare robot from the 22nd century?

Zhou Yun's expression turned strange. "I think I know what my Warp reflection is now."

"But I didn't awaken any Warp essence or anything."

He spread his hands.

When the Ravenlord awakened his essence, he gained the power to crush Lorgar. Zhou Yun, on the other hand, didn't feel any different.

"Knowing and awakening are two different things," the winged figure said, shaking his head. "Even if you grabbed Guilliman by the ear and shouted, 'Your essence is in the Warp, you're a demigod,' he still wouldn't awaken it."

Zhou Yun nodded, as if half-understanding.

"The key is your sense of self. You have to find your place in the Warp," the winged figure continued.

"Tzeentch's corruption stimulated your survival instincts, letting you faintly realize your Warp essence exists. That's at least a blessing in disguise. You should already have gained some abilities you didn't have before."

Zhou Yun's expression grew more and more strange. "Abilities? What kind of abilities?"

"Uh… maybe flight, emotion sensing, spatial warping, being handsome, innate knowledge, numerology, turning into a raven, merging with darkness, precognition, psychic talent… you know, things like that."

Hearing this, Zhou Yun couldn't help frowning. "Why are you so familiar with all this?"

The winged figure chuckled. "I was among the first of my brothers to realize I wasn't purely a product of the material world, and to crudely comprehend my Warp essence. No need for Father's genius — simple common sense sufficed."

He looked over his shoulder at his own wings.

"These wings could never possibly allow me to fly by air dynamics alone. Obviously they rely on the Warp."

Zhou Yun couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Your next step is to find those new abilities and use them to better understand your Warp essence," the figure instructed.

"I don't feel like I've gained any abilities," Zhou Yun shook his head.

The dimensional pocket had been with him since transmigrating, clearly not a product of his Warp essence. He really had no idea what the figure meant by "new abilities."

He shrugged, pushing aside those complicated thoughts for now. He just felt tired — he wanted to get home and sleep.

Speaking of home…

"Hey, big dummy Rena — that thing I asked you to handle before we went topside. Did you do it?" Zhou Yun turned to her.

His house had already been visited by the Eager Thief once, though he'd driven them off. Still, there was no guarantee they wouldn't come back. So he'd paid Rena to arrange for Ark Gang members to patrol the area, just to be safe — even though his valuables were all in his dimensional pocket.

"Don't worry, it's done," Rena said, patting her chest.

Then she frowned. "Wait, what did you just call me?"

"Want some sunflower seeds, ojou-sama?" Zhou Yun chuckled, passing under an arch of scrap metal.

Rena huffed angrily, then couldn't help asking, "What exactly did you do back there? I only saw you take that book, then stuff it into your clothes…"

Recalling that night, she looked confused.

"Just think of it as one of my handy little tools," Zhou Yun smiled.

Passing under the arch and squeezing through a crowd, he could already see his home ahead.

"You're trying to fool me again," Rena muttered.

"Me? Hmm?"

But before he could respond, Zhou Yun froze.

He stopped just down the street from his house, staring speechlessly at the door.

"I think you're the one who's fooling me," he finally said.

He pointed at the iron door of his home.

It had a smooth, perfectly cut circular hole melted through it. Hardened rivulets of molten metal trailed down from the edges, like twisted vines.

The lock itself hadn't been touched at all.

Zhou Yun could only marvel at the Eager Thief's skill.

Rena also gaped. "This…"

Had Zhou Yun's house been hit by the Eager Thief again?

She'd clearly arranged for patrols to guard it — so where were they?

"Tonight, you'd better explain this to me," Zhou Yun said through gritted teeth, "or I'm blocking that hole with your psychic ass."

"Wait, let me check who was on duty today…" Rena hastily flipped through a little notebook.

"…Oh!"

Her eyes lit up in realization. "It was Rag on duty today!"

Hearing that, Zhou Yun also showed a look of sudden understanding.

"Oh… it was Rag. No wonder. That guy screwed me over again!"

(End of Chapter)

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