62: Chapter 62 The End of the Golden Age. The Emperor's Foresight.

Countless starships equipped with Warp engines and Geller Fields set sail from Terra into the distant reaches of space. Billions of vast worlds awaited human colonization and settlement. Although humanity encountered many different alien races during this time, under humanity's formidable technological level, these xenos posed almost no threat.

During this period, more and more Psykers were born among humanity. They provided navigation for ships by perceiving the turbulent fluctuations of the Warp and communicated using powerful psychic abilities. Meanwhile, with the help of the pinnacle technological creation, the "PTC Standard Template Construct," even remote planets could reach Terra's technological level in a short time.

"Was this PTC something Brother Gao brought out back then?"

"Seems like it!"

Behind the prosperity of human civilization, the Emperor had been silently guarding humanity from the shadows. Whether he knew of the dark times to come or was simply planning ahead for humanity's future, for some reason, the Emperor took his Perpetual companion—me—to the Knight World of Molech. There, the Emperor successfully entered the Warp through a traditional gateway and struck a deal with the Chaos Gods within, gaining a portion of their power and the ability to create Primarchs in the future. After ten full millennia of glory, human civilization finally and inevitably began its decline.

"Brothers, the big reveal is coming!"

"Exactly, I'm so excited!"

After the decline of the Golden Age, it was generally believed to be caused by two reasons: the rebellion of the Men of Iron and large-scale Warp fluctuations.

To better win the wars against xenos, humanity created intelligent humanoid constructs known as Stone Men and Men of Iron. These powerful and fully autonomous intelligent robots were used for labor and warfare, winning countless victories for humanity. However, at some point during the Golden Age, a portion of them, for unknown reasons, began to oppose their creators and launched the most terrifying war in human history. Both sides unleashed horrific and advanced technological weapons that could effortlessly destroy a planet or even a galaxy. Despite paying a heavy price, humanity ultimately won the war, but it left behind massive trauma and nearly destroyed everything humanity had painstakingly developed.

"Artificial intelligence is so terrifying."

"Why do almost all movies and TV shows have to include a plot about an AI rebellion?"

The second, and one of the primary reasons, was the Warp Stormss. Extremely intense Warp Stormss erupted within the Warp, and the Psykers acting as Navigators could no longer discern the ships' courses. Countless vessels were lost forever in the Warp. Trade and communication between human colonies were forced to a halt, and countless people died due to a lack of supplies and food. The vast Imperium of Man thus collapsed, falling into a state of mutual isolation.

Meanwhile, many Psykers faced the constant risk of being possessed by Warp demons or falling into madness, causing more and more Mortals to fear or reject these unstable Psykers. Under the combined influence of these factors, large-scale conflicts broke out within humanity, causing countless worlds to regress into a state of anarchic barbarism...