A sudden awakening… It feels as though a hurricane has swept through your head…

You regain consciousness with a groan.

Your body is still lying on the sand, which is heating up under the sun's rays.

Waves of pain continue to pulse through your body…

Especially in your head…

However, the intensity of the pain is gradually subsiding.

You slowly get to your feet.

You feel moisture on your face…

You wipe your face with your hand and realize the fluid is blood…

It seems you were bleeding heavily from your nose and even your ears…

But for some reason, the bleeding has stopped now.

Your left forearm is covered in wounds with dried blood and some sort of inflamed, painful sores.

A "gift" from a fucking sandhopper.

"Fucking vile, stinking vermin! Piece of shit!" - you curse bitterly.

Only answer is the strong wind blowing in your face - a wind that has long roamed back and forth across this dangerous desert…

You don't understand what happened to you or why you are still alive, despite all these wounds and other "surprises".

But there is no time to ponder that now: you simply grab the barrel and start rolling it again toward the place that has been your home for every moment of your life that you can remember.

Ironic…

That predatory sand-worm…

"Sandhopper" - that’s what such local creatures are usually called…

You unleashed a torrent of foul curses at that worm.

Yet, it was the venom from its spines - the very poison that entered your organism - that helped you survive. The toxic substance quickly entered your bloodstream and mingled with something else…

That gas you inadvertently inhaled in the ancient underground laboratory…

It was a huge mistake to underestimate that shit.

Hour by hour, the gas was taking its toll on your nervous and circulatory systems.

The outlook was clear: you were going to drop dead soon, just like so many other visitors to that ill-fated ancient lab.

It was only a matter of time…

Your robust supermutant physiology was able to hold out longer against the super-potent toxin that was relentlessly ravaging your insides.

But now, two dangerous substances had entered into an autocatalytic reaction with unpredictable results.

Yet one of the most immediate and obvious consequences was this: you were still alive.

The recent weakness and nausea had vanished…

So, you press on with determination.

Soon, you reach your destination.

The Great Olcor…

The howling of direhounds serves as a welcome.

You smile - before you lies the majestic sight of the sacred city.

A defensive wall rises some five meters high; armed sentries patrol the ramparts and spot you immediately.

You wave to them and keep rolling the barrel forward, carefully steering around craters filled with bubbling greenish liquid.

You are now right up against the metal gates, which slowly creak open with a long, grinding sound.

A squad of supermutants - armed with heavy weaponry like flamethrowers and miniguns, and clad in impressive-looking metal armor - surrounds you.

"We... I’m from the northern search party... Everyone but me died... But I made it... I found what The Sovereign desired!" - you declare loudly.

Strange...

For some reason, you feel none of the euphoria that usually accompanied fulfilling the Deity's Will.

"Grr... Only the northern squad succeeded... The warriors sent south never returned at all... The eastern search party came back empty-handed... And the western search party managed to bring in only a few captives..." - squad's warboss scrutinizes you, then the barrel.

You shift awkwardly from foot to foot.

"Where’d you get that wound?" - warboss points to your left arm.

"Fucking sandhopper! I crushed that piece of shit!" -you reply.

The warboss nods at you and says: "My guys will escort you... I hope the Sovereign of Existence rewards your efforts!"

Several massive supermutants lift the heavy barrel, which contains a mysterious substance sealed airtight.

Then the two of them, you, and the rest of the squad head toward the center of the settlement - to the Sacred Palace of The Sovereign!

As you gaze at the smiling, joyful faces of the other supermutants, you realize with growing unease that your mind is experiencing a strange, inexplicable sense of detachment.

It is as if you have stepped outside the familiar mental unity of the vast group...

As if the Voice of the Great Deity no longer echoes in your mind, and His Gaze no longer bestows His Sacred Attention upon you...

You walk past massive, rusty, cylindrical tanks...

Then, past the shells of concrete buildings; their basements have been converted into holding areas for captives (some of whom are screaming pitifully right now).

From somewhere nearby, you hear the growls and howls of familiar beasts - direhounds (fine creatures that serve as both combat allies and beasts of burden).

Passing supermutants look at you with reverence; one guy is so surprised he even drops a half-roasted "hummie's" leg.

Such reverence is hardly surprising: you are about to appear before the Deity and report on the fulfillment of His Sacred Will!

So, you and your companions slowly ascend the steps leading to the settlement's tallest building.

The structure stands some thirty meters high; several large pipes protruding from the roof spew forth crimson smoke.

Massive, four-meter-tall gates made of dingy brown metal sheets slowly swing open before your group.

Soon, you step inside...