The Emperor had offered humanity His final gift.
He had accomplished an unparalleled feat that even the ancient Eldar had failed to achieve, preventing Terra from becoming a second Eye of Terror.
He hit the brakes for humanity just as the building was about to collapse, allowing mankind to stand unsteadily, yet persistently, amidst the storms for another ten millennia.
Zeke looked at the Emperor. There were always those who harshly criticized the Emperor for doing this poorly or that poorly, but if someone else were put in His place, they truly might not have been able to achieve what He did.
Now, most of the formidable external enemies had been blocked by Zeke, and the surviving Primarch sons still retained their loyalty.
In such a macroscopic environment, it shouldn't be too difficult for the Emperor to properly reorganize the entire Imperium. Zeke was still quite optimistic about Him.
"What do you think the Emperor will say?" Zeke asked Malcador.
"He has never cared to pour out too many words, Zeke," Malcador said. "The most fanatical people will always find a way to misinterpret His meaning. In this era, the weight of action surpasses that of words. His appearance itself is the best speech. As for the rest, I will handle it on His behalf."
Just as Malcador predicted, when the Emperor stood upon that high platform overlooking the Imperium, He did not deliver any lengthy discourse.
"I have returned." After this single declaration, without any superfluous nonsense, the Emperor went straight to the point, gesturing to Malcador beside Him.
"As always, he is the extension of my will," the Emperor announced publicly, granting Malcador authority that surpassed even Guilliman's as Imperial Regent.
However, He did not strip Guilliman of the title of Lord Commander of the Imperium, which made Guilliman a little disappointed.
To be honest, Guilliman would much rather return to his own Macragge to be the Regent there.
"That's it?" Zeke raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Emperor, even if you just threw in a few casual sentences, it would be better than this."
In Zeke's mind, the Emperor's first act should have been to ruthlessly smash those decaying institutions sucking blood from the Imperium's husk—especially that absurd Ecclesiarchy.
Although he also admitted that during the dark ages, the Ecclesiarchy's faith had been the glue uniting humanity, reducing the risk of corruption to a certain extent.
But times had changed now. Zeke's technology was replacing illusory prayers.
Moreover, now that the Emperor could speak personally, this Ecclesiarchy was even more useless.
"Emperor, back when your son Lorgar of the Word Bearers wanted to build a Perfect City and establish a state religion worshipping you, you slapped him straight out of it. If you don't destroy this Ecclesiarchy directly right now, what is your son Lorgar going to think when he sees it?"
Lorgar was probably already crying himself unconscious. If he had just rebelled a few years earlier, the massive Ecclesiarchy of today would be his domain.
"During the Age of Strife, I destroyed all religions on Terra," the Emperor's tone grew sharp. "Of course I know the nature of religion."
The various absurdities the Ecclesiarchy had caused during His years of silence—especially the Age of Apostasy, which nearly pushed the Imperium into the abyss—also infuriated the Emperor somewhat.
In the 36th Millennium, the tyrant Goge Vandire usurped the seat of the Ecclesiarch.
This ushered in the Age of Apostasy, as he attempted to control the entire Imperium through faith. Although he ultimately failed, the damage inflicted upon the Imperium was unprecedented.
"I will personally clean up these messes I caused, immediately." The Emperor turned around. "Malcador, the rest is in your hands."
He walked to the main doors, pausing his steps slightly, as if talking to Himself but also speaking to Zeke: "Also, Zeke, I must make a correction."
"I am not a god."
This sentence was spoken with an almost paranoid insistence.
Behind the Emperor, the believers continued to scream fanatically. This entity who most vehemently denied the existence of gods was now forced to don the armor of a god to save the Imperium.
Following that, the Emperor walked back into the Imperial Palace. Zeke saw the Emperor stagger slightly, His body becoming somewhat translucent.
No wonder He was in such a rush; turns out He couldn't sustain this form for long.
From the looks of it, the Emperor really didn't lie to him, Zeke thought. Should I figure out a way to get the Emperor off the Golden Throne?
Zeke weighed his options, unsure if this was the right choice.
I'll wait and see. At least until I find a method to kill gods.
"Malcador, do you think the Emperor is a god?" Zeke asked.
Malcador stayed quiet. Is that something I can actually say out loud?
"Father is definitely not a god," Guilliman chimed in at this moment.
You, someone who hasn't even awakened to the nature of the Warp, shouldn't join in the fun. Zeke unceremoniously pushed Guilliman aside.
Given Guilliman's straightforward nature, even if his father was a god, Guilliman wouldn't believe it.
After the Emperor left, Malcador took advantage of the atmosphere the Emperor had stirred up and quickly announced a series of news.
"This young man resurrected me, and he also brought Sanguinius and Guilliman out from the crevices of history." Malcador explained the truth.
Before this, the news of Zeke resurrecting the two Primarchs wasn't exactly a secret, but it wasn't known to absolutely everyone either.
Malcador thoroughly solidified this fact, his original intention being to return this glory to Zeke.
Zeke didn't really mind too much, but mainly, if everyone knew he could resurrect people from now on, wouldn't they all come running to him? That would indeed be a bit troublesome.
People live just to stay alive; Zeke's resurrection skill has whipped up stormy seas in the hearts of some.
Malcador continued.
To summarise it; there were essentially three main points he talked about.
First, Malcador officially assumed his position in the Imperium.
Second, Malcador came to the Imperium to do only three things: fairness, fairness, and more fairness!
Third, Malcador wanted to convene a council encompassing all territories of the Imperium. Those who could rush over via the Nether Portals should use the Nether Portals; for those who couldn't, Malcador had his own methods.
When the last sliver of the afterglow dissipated over the spine of the Himalayas, the magnificent heavy doors of the Imperial Palace on Terra—capable of sealing out the clamor of the stars—slowly drew shut.
After Regent Malcador's edict was issued, the boiling crowds and frenzied believers were dragged away one by one by the Sisters of Silence and the Custodian Guard.
The clamor ebbed away.
Zeke walked into the interior of the Imperial Palace, where a faint and abrupt laugh echoed.
He saw the Emperor resting His chin on His hand, while Malcador stood before the Golden Throne. Between the two of them, a chessboard had appeared.
Malcador picked up a piece on the board, and the Emperor smiled, gently pushing another piece.
How are these two playing games right now? Zeke took a closer look and saw that the background of the chessboard was impressively the Imperium and the entire universe, and the pieces on the board...
The Angel, the Invincible Fortress, the Hungry Wolf, the Uncrowned King, the Double-Edged Sword...
...respectively represented their corresponding Primarchs.
Sanguinius, Rogal Dorn, Leman Russ, Guilliman, the Lion...
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