The virtual image of Szarekh, the Silent King, flickered violently under the impact of the golden radiance.
It distorted and finally vanished completely, wiped from existence along with his entire fleet in the material universe.
The bridge of the Imperial Flagship fell into a deathly silence, broken only by the hum of energy conduits and heavy breathing.
The Emperor of the 30th Millennium took a step forward. His gaze, substantial and heavy, fell upon Guilliman.
Within that look lay affection, expectation, and a trace of imperceptible regret that made the soul of the Lord Regent tremble, even across the span of ten thousand years.
Guilliman felt as if his hearts were about to burst through his Artificer Armor. He stared fixatedly at the golden giant who radiated endless majesty and the light of life.
His throat tightened, and his eyes grew wet beyond his control. That familiar silhouette, that psychic fluctuation as vast as a sea of stars... it was Him.
It really was Him. This was no longer the silent rotting corpse on the Golden Throne, nor the cold symbol of faith, but a living, breathing father walking among the stars—the Emperor.
"Fa... Father... my Lord!" Guilliman's voice trembled with disbelief. He instinctively moved to kneel on one knee but was caught by a gentle yet irresistible force.
"Stand Proud, Roboute Guilliman. You are forbidden to kneel." The Emperor's voice exploded in Guilliman's mind like thunder.
"I... I want to ask, is it really you, Father? have you truly returned? You... You!" Guilliman had too much to say. A thousand words turned into speechlessness; he had too many questions.
Reason told him that while the being before him was his father, it was also not his father. Axis had once told him about the multiverse.
He knew Axis came from a parallel universe where the Emperor, though also seated on a Golden Throne, was in much better condition and reportedly had the possibility of leaving it.
Coupled with Axis appearing right here in front of him, Guilliman formed a massive conjecture.
"Father... and Axis..." Guilliman finally found his voice.
He looked at Axis, his eyes filled with doubt and immense hope. "What... what exactly is happening? You... didn't you already... why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
He truly did not understand. Their cooperation had been going so well.
Why did Axis, and Sanguinius, after rescuing Rogal Dorn, leave immediately without greeting them? And his father had said nothing about it.
After Axis left, humanity began to suffer again. They had originally gained an absolute advantage over the Tyranids, but after Axis's departure, the Great Devourer had once again beaten humanity into submission.
Only Yvraine knelt respectfully toward Axis, stealing a secretive glance at the Emperor. As an emissary of the God of Death, she actually knew certain things.
Ynnead had vaguely revealed to her that the entity on the Golden Throne was no longer the original Emperor.
She had discussed this matter very obscurely with Guilliman, and Guilliman had admitted that the being on the Golden Throne indeed did not feel like the father he once knew. Although the entity acted very much like him, Guilliman could tell he wasn't the same.
Guilliman believed that after sitting on the Golden Throne, the Emperor had developed divinity due to humanity's faith.
Furthermore, because he had to accept the sacrifice of at least one thousand psykers every day, he absorbed a massive amount of negativity
This led to the Emperor's state being extremely unstable, making some form of mutation possible.
However, Guilliman had never considered that the true Emperor was dead and had been replaced by another terrifying existence.
"As you can see, Guilliman, I succeeded in my reality. I successfully saved the Emperor. Because of his curiosity about your world, I brought him here to take a look," Axis smiled, answering Guilliman's confusion.
"Although I am not the Emperor of your specific world, you may still call me Father," the Emperor said, nodding to Guilliman.
This child had suffered far more than the Primarchs of his own universe.
In fact, if Axis hadn't appeared, Rogal Dorn wouldn't have returned, and the burden of the entire Imperium would have crushed Guilliman's shoulders alone.
"Roboute, my son..." The Emperor's voice was filled with power and warmth, "Ten thousand years of burdens pressed upon your shoulders, and you have done... better than anyone expected."
He slowly raised his hand. A beam of pure, warm golden light crossed the void and instantly enveloped Guilliman.
Guilliman felt an indescribable warm current, containing endless vitality and divine will, surge into his body. The fatigue accumulated over ten thousand years, the crushing weight on his mind, and even the dark wounds left from battles with daemons, Tyranids, and Necrons, wounds that even a Primarch's physiology could not fully heal, melted away like snow under sunlight.
His strength recovered rapidly, his mind became clearer than ever before, and the Emperor's Sword in his hand hummed, its golden flames blazing more intensely than ever. It was as if he had been reborn.
"Father... is it really you?" Guilliman's voice carried a hint of sobbing, an emotional fluctuation he had almost never shown since becoming a Primarch.
Despite knowing this Emperor wasn't his exact father, Guilliman could intimately perceive the truth upon seeing him.
This was the father who had fought alongside them, the Emperor who walked among men. This was the true Master of Mankind, not the withered corpse on the Golden Throne.
"I am just... a little overwhelmed. Axis, it is good that you returned."
"It seems you have indeed encountered some 'minor trouble'," Axis said, nodding at Guilliman.
"Minor trouble?" Yvraine stepped forward, bowed very respectfully to Axis, and spoke. "Lord Axis, that was Szarekh, the Silent King! He controlled almost all the might of the Necrons! You just... The Emperor just..."
The scene of the Emperor acting just now had truly frightened her. When did the Master of Mankind possess such terrifying power?
Szarekh was no stray cat or dog; he was the hegemon of the galaxy, the true victor of the War in Heaven.
Yet the Emperor merely gave a look. His eyes emitted a burst of golden light that diffused into the cosmos.
Nothing happened to the humans or the Aeldari, but the Necrons flashed with golden flames and then vanished.
This wasn't a physical disappearance; it was death in the truest sense. They lost even the chance of resurrection, unable to be reborn through the Necron Tomb Worlds.
It was as if a snap of the fingers had wiped out every Necron in the star system.
The alliance of Aeldari and humans had no power to resist those spacefaring metal skeletons and had been driven to desperation.
"I erased a trivial portion of toys in a single star system. This does not count as great power," the Emperor interjected indifferently.
His gaze pierced through the bridge's viewport, casting into the deep universe. "But the entity calling himself the 'Silent King' had his main body hiding in the deeper folds of the dimensions, like a startled cockroach."
The Emperor's tone carried a coldness and perspective that belonged to a Grand Supreme Kai, a status he now held.
"He offended an existence he should not have offended and blasphemed a majesty he should not have blasphemed. That arrogance must be repaid with his dynasty and his twisted existence itself. This will result in the annihilation of their entire race."
This small scene was indeed nothing to him now that he controlled the power of the Grand Supreme Kai. His combat power was currently at the level of the fully realized Dark King, far exceeding the four Chaos Gods, yet he could walk freely in the material universe.
"Astonishing. So, Axis, and …Father, is there a purpose for your arrival in our world?" Guilliman took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, and asked.
"To reveal the truth of this world to you, and to tell you the truth of why I suddenly left without goodbye," Axis said with a nod.
Previously, he hadn't wanted to provoke the Dark King of this universe, but the situation had changed. Now, it was the Dark King who wouldn't want to provoke him.
"The truth? What exactly is the truth?" Guilliman's expression changed as he looked at Axis.
"I discovered the secret of the Corpse Emperor on the Golden Throne. He is not the Emperor you know," Axis said.
"I discovered this long ago. Ten thousand years of torture gave birth to countless dark personalities within him. Although you erased those dark personalities, Father is no longer who he was. I can feel that," Guilliman nodded.
"No, no, no, Guilliman. I think you misunderstand. My meaning is that the true Master of Mankind, the real Emperor of your world, passed away long ago. The entity sitting on the Golden Throne now is the Dark King." Axis sighed and told Guilliman the ultimate truth.
"The Dark King... what does that mean? Father's dark personality? In a sense, Father's physical body did die ten thousand years ago," Guilliman didn't seem to process the full implication of Axis's words.
In a certain sense, the Emperor had indeed died ten thousand years ago. The dark will he birthed could indeed be called a Dark King.
According to their research with friendly Tech-Priests, the Emperor had nearly ascended to become a Chaos God back then.
"I forgot you don't know about the Dark King. Let me explain it simply. Tens of thousands of years ago in the ancient era... Human shamans captured the soul of the Dark King... The Emperor was born from this... One day, when the Dark King awakens, he will burn the entire universe. The Emperor of my world and I have been fighting against the Dark King... That is how it is... Guilliman, although you may not believe it, your father, the Emperor of this world, is strictly speaking already thoroughly dead."
Axis explained everything, the causes, the consequences, and all intelligence regarding the Dark King.
As for the other humans and Aeldari present, the Emperor had used some ability to hypnotize them.
They could neither hear, see, nor smell anything right now.
"Th-This... how is this possible? Axis, y-you aren't joking, right? You mean my father is already dead! The existence on the Golden Throne is a monster that seized his body?" Guilliman's voice trembled; he seemed unable to accept this reality.
Could there be anything more despairing, more dark than this? Humanity was already miserable enough; he hadn't expected it could get worse.
The other universe seemed to be the exact opposite, everything over there was better, more perfect. A trace of jealousy even rose in Guilliman's heart.
"Regrettably, my child, this is the entire truth. However, strictly speaking, it cannot be considered a seizure of the body. Since the Emperor's birth was due to the Dark King, strictly speaking, the Emperor is an avatar of the Dark King. The Dark King simply took back what was his," the Emperor looked at this world's Guilliman with pity.
"Although I also find it hard to believe... Guilliman, both Axis and Father of Axis's reality speak the truth. Our world's Emperor died long ago," 40k Kasha sighed and spoke.
She had lived in that era ten thousand years ago for a time and naturally learned some truths.
"How is this possible? How? Then why... why have we humans suffered so much? What is the reason for my fight until now? Is everything meaningless? The one I pledged loyalty to doesn't even exist!" Guilliman began to roar loudly, venting the dissatisfaction in his heart.
"Pull yourself together, Guilliman. Will this bit of setback defeat you? Since Lord Axis and His Highness the Emperor have come to our world, it means they have a purpose. Our universe is not without remedy," Yvraine supported her husband and spoke.
"Is that so, Axis? And Father from the other world?" Guilliman looked at the two.
"By rights, I should not intervene in everything in this universe, but I cannot sit idly by. Since I am here, Axis, do you have any way to save the 'Me' of this universe? The real me," the Emperor looked at Axis and asked.
The situation was very troublesome. Unless he was willing to replace this world's Emperor, humanity would fall into despair without the Emperor to lead them.
"I feel perhaps we could let humanity in this universe face reality. Even without the Emperor's leadership, even if the one on the Golden Throne is gone, they could survive," Axis said.
In Axis's view, short pain was better than long pain; it might be better for the human race to break free from the Emperor entirely.
"Don't speak foolish words, Axis. You know how dangerous this world is and how great the threats humanity faces are. The four Chaos Gods here are all hale and hearty. And there is the threat of the Great Devourer. You and I cannot guard this place forever. Only if the 'Me' of this world awakens can the humanity of this world be saved."
Although he had become the Grand Supreme Kai, the human race in his home universe would still be under his protection, though he would no longer interfere directly in human affairs.
But the humans of this world were truly disaster-ridden.
The Dark King would at least protect humanity slightly, but if the Dark King were erased, this world's humanity would truly have no trump cards left.
"Two Primarchs really couldn't accomplish much on that scale.
"Alright, perhaps there is a possibility. I just hope the Emperor of this world hasn't been completely devoured. Hopefully, at least a fragment of his soul remains," Axis shrugged.
Dragon Balls could resurrect the dead, but there was a prerequisite: the soul must exist. Otherwise, the person could not be revived.
"Let's try, Axis. See if we can revive the 'Me' of this world," the Emperor said.
Guilliman listened with a bewildered expression.
He didn't understand what his other-worldly Father and Axis were discussing regarding resurrection. How could resurrection be possible?
Axis smiled. From his portable dimension, he retrieved seven Dragon Balls. He had to use the Dragon Balls again. Honestly, the negative energy generated from resurrecting the Emperor of this world would be massive.
Perhaps he should try using some leftover materials to make a less powerful Dragon Ball later, something with strength comparable to Earth's Shenron. He couldn't bring out his top-tier Dragon Balls for every wish.
However, the wish to revive the Emperor of this world had to rely on this specific Divine Dragon.
A standard Shenron probably couldn't achieve it. After all, the Dark King's strength had reached the Universal level, only slightly inferior to himself.
"These items are called the Dragon Balls. They can summon a Divine Dragon the size of a planet, capable of granting any wish. You may state three wishes. Let's try using this to resurrect your world's Emperor."
Seven orange-yellow spheres, each taller than a human, floated silently in the center of the Imperial flagship's bridge, emitting a soft, mysterious light that was starkly out of place in the cold metal environment.
Guilliman and Yvraine stared dumbfounded at these creations that overturned their cognitive understanding.
"Th-This... these are the divine artifacts... capable of granting wishes?"
"Watch closely. This is the greatest treasure in the world. Come forth, Shenron! Come out and grant our wishes!" Axis roared.
The light of the Dragon Balls surged instantly! It was no longer a soft orange-yellow but transformed into a blinding, dazzling gold.
The light within the bridge twisted, and space itself seemed to ripple. A dragon's roar, one that shook the soul and seemed to originate from the primordial beginning of the universe, exploded in everyone's mind.
"ROAR——!!!"
Golden light shot into the sky, penetrating the layers of the battleship's armor and condensing into form in the icy cosmic void. A Divine Dragon, whose magnitude and majesty defied description, appeared!
Its body was composed of pure golden light, every scale seeming to contain the trajectory of the birth and death of stars. Its massive dragon eyes were like two burning suns, looking down upon the living beings within the bridge.
The massive Golden Divine Dragon spoke.
"I AM THE ETERNAL DRAGON. SPEAK YOUR WISHES. I SHALL GRANT ANY WISH. YOU MAY SPEAK THREE WISHES NOW."
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ps?