Eden frowned at those words and fell silent.
This was an extremely thorny problem.
"So this day came even faster than I expected..." he thought to himself.
The Warp research department had made similar predictions before, but their estimates had placed this point much later.
Now the old Emperor's dark power had mutated ahead of schedule, catching him completely off guard.
"Perhaps this was always destined," the Emperor murmured to himself, his voice unimaginably old.
Humanity was fated to be destroyed, just as he, the Master of Mankind, had been fated to ascend the Golden Throne.
As a Perpetual and the strongest human psyker of all, the Emperor had foreseen his own ascent to the Golden Throne, as well as humanity's destruction, as far back as Terra's ancient Roman era.
At some point in time, humanity vanished completely.
No humans remained.
That species born upon Terra disappeared as though it had never existed at all, and even the traces of its existence were worn away by time.
But the Emperor was too confident, too proud, to allow such a thing to happen to mankind.
"Humanity is such a brave, resilient, and creative race. It should not perish like this."
The Emperor resolved to undo it all.
He would not only save humanity from its destined extinction, he would see humanity dominate the galaxy and survive forever!
That was the Emperor's declaration of war, on behalf of humanity, against fate itself.
Under his secret guidance, mankind stretched its footsteps toward the stars and sea of heaven, ushering in the Dark Age of Technology and an unprecedented age of glory.
Yet before long, humanity was struck by the revolt of the Men of Iron and nearly annihilated.
That wretched fate was on the verge of arriving.
Even though the Emperor turned the tide and secretly helped humanity win the war against the Iron Men, mankind still entered a long period of decline. Its technology rapidly regressed, and some civilized worlds even fell all the way back to the Stone Age.
Then the destruction rising from the Warp began to stir as well.
The Emperor knew things could not continue like this.
At last, he stepped out from behind the curtain at great risk and, as the Master of Mankind, personally led humanity forward once more.
The Emperor deceived the Chaos Gods out of around twenty portions of Warp power. Combining that power with his own genes, he created the Primarchs and the Space Marines.
He ended the wars of the warlords and unified Terra, reunited humanity, and planned to stride into the galaxy once more.
"Mankind, you are excellent, you are glorious, you deserve the whole universe!
Forward! Beneath the banner of light, we shall surely triumph!"
The Emperor launched the Great Crusade, sending human fleets back into the galaxy and beginning humanity's final effort to save itself.
Everything went smoothly.
He thought he could change fate and restore humanity to glory.
Then that rebellion happened, and just as he had foreseen, he ascended that cursed Golden Throne.
Only then did the Master of Mankind fully realize just how difficult it was to change the course of destiny.
Every step he took seemed only to confirm it all.
It was a profoundly tragic thing.
Even as the Emperor endured in agony upon the Golden Throne, he remained helpless.
He watched humanity slide into the abyss and sink into the endless long night, inching closer and closer to destruction, yet he could see no hope of salvation at all.
To persevere while seeing no hope, moment after moment, was torment.
But he had no other choice.
He could only continue to hold on.
Not until that boy Eden, the Savior, appeared did the Emperor finally glimpse a new hope.
The Savior had not existed anywhere in the future the Emperor had foreseen. That was the opportunity for change!
So the Emperor sheltered the Savior and supported his every action with almost nothing held back.
He hoped humanity could walk out of the darkness and change that damned destiny!
And the Savior truly did not disappoint him. He injected fresh vitality into the crumbling Imperium.
With astonishing intelligence and methods, he reorganized the Imperium's situation and united mankind's scattered strength.
Step by step, he pulled humanity back from the abyss and gave it hope of victory, prosperity, and renewal.
Humanity was getting better, little by little.
As the Emperor watched mankind gradually free itself from the darkness, he felt deeply gratified.
At last, someone had appeared who could share the burden on his shoulders.
Yet it did not take long for him to realize that fate had not spared him, nor had it spared humanity.
The power of faith flowing into the Sacred Sun, along with the darkness hidden within it, continued to grow inexorably.
His losses of control came more and more often, and the hope in his heart was slowly worn down and extinguished.
This time, the Emperor's loss of control had been unprecedented.
In that moment, he realized he had already merged with the Warp and become a part of it.
The Sacred Sun had come infinitely close to the evil gods, and perhaps had become even more terrifying.
His remaining will could vanish at any moment, transforming him completely into a loathsome thing.
"Eden."
The Emperor looked at the silent Savior, his voice hoarse.
"They were right. I became a loathsome existence long ago. I simply refused to admit it.
Perhaps I am... a god."
For the first time, the Master of Mankind no longer stubbornly denied it, no longer insisted that he was not a god.
Instead, he was beginning to admit it.
And by the end of those words, even his voice had changed.
Hiss.
The moment Eden heard that, he sucked in a sharp breath. His back went cold, and sweat broke out all over him.
"No, you are not!"
He immediately cut the Emperor off, righteous and forceful.
"You absolutely cannot say things like that carelessly. How could you possibly be a god? No matter how you look at it, that makes no sense at all.
And it's illegal.
I won't acknowledge it, and nobody else will either.
The latest research proves that evil gods have no humanity left. You still retain your humanity, so you cannot be called a god. We can't just define things however we like!"
When the Emperor kept insisting he was not a god, Eden and the Primarchs still dared to tease him a little, saying the old man had nothing left but his stubborn mouth.
But the moment the Emperor seriously said he was a god, that became frightening.
The old man absolutely could not be allowed to think like that!
If the Emperor truly came to believe he was a god, then it would all be over. There would be no saving him.
Even the last trace of his humanity would vanish.
And the Dark King would fully emerge.
In truth, Eden had already been taking precautions against this problem for a long time.
He had even written the related doctrine directly into Imperial law and Ecclesiarchal canon.
Now, if anyone dared to publicly declare that the Emperor was a god, it counted as a violation of the law, and as a religious taboo as well.
The Emperor was the creator of the Imperium, the golden sun, and nothing else.
To describe the Emperor in any other form or by any other means was an act of blasphemy.
That way, the Emperor's existence could be blurred as much as possible, leaving certain forms of faith with nowhere to settle.
Eden explained from every possible angle, laying out evidence and theories for why the Emperor was not a god. He talked until his mouth went dry.
He even used emotional authority to redirect the old man's attention.
"You are right. I am not a god," the Emperor said slowly after thinking for a moment.
He looked at the Savior, a trace of a smile appearing on his face. "I am human, and I will always be human.
And so are you."
"Exactly!"
Eden delivered the final verdict. "Humanity doesn't believe in ghosts, monsters, and false divinities. We believe that man can conquer heaven.
We must speak of ideals. We must speak of science. Your current condition is part of science too.
If there is a problem, then there is an answer. As long as we find that answer, we can solve your loss-of-control issue."
Eden rattled off an entire stream of argument, easing the despair and worry in the Emperor's heart.
He understood him too.
Ten thousand years of torment, along with the constant erosion of dark power, had long since made the Master of Mankind's will fragile.
He was only enduring all of it for humanity's sake.
Any other being would have fallen completely into that dreadful darkness long ago.
As for so-called fate, Eden believed in it even less. If he himself could come to this world, then what was there that could not be changed?
"I believe in you."
The Emperor spoke, his emotions restored to stability. Then he emphasized it once more.
"I am not a god. I never will be!"
Since he had chosen the Savior to become the new Emperor, then he had to believe that boy could solve the problem.
This bright persona of the Master of Mankind was the most humane of all his facets, in fact even more humane than the Emperor of the later Great Crusade.
When Eden saw the Emperor start stubbornly denying it again, he relaxed a little.
Of course, deep down, he was still nervous.
Things were slowly starting to slip out of control.
But no matter what, that sort of loss of control in his plans could not be allowed to reach the Emperor's ears, lest it further shake the old man's state of mind.
That would only make the Emperor fall into darkness faster and leave Eden even less time to react.
"Let's talk about something else. For example, Dorn."
Eden shifted the topic and spoke with great seriousness.
"This time, his injuries were relatively severe. More importantly, the psychological trauma may affect the Imperium's future defenses."
No matter what, the Lord of the Mountain Fortress was still the Primarch most gifted in constructing defensive fortifications, and the Imperium's future plans could not do without him.
He was also the best candidate to guard Holy Terra, especially if Eden was not there.
That was why Dorn's mental state mattered so much.
Just look at what happened to Perturabo, that tsundere freak.
That man had once been as loyal as Dorn, but his jealousy and resentment had allowed Chaos to exploit him.
In truth, most of the fallen Primarchs had ended up much the same way. They had been eroded through their psychological weaknesses.
So Dorn's psychological problems absolutely could not be ignored.
When the Emperor thought of how he had beaten Dorn earlier, guilt appeared on his face.
He sighed.
"At the time, I was consumed by rage. None of that was what I truly wanted..."
"Well, you did wrong Dorn a bit, so you should apologize."
That was what Eden said.
...?
The Emperor froze the moment he heard that. No one had ever spoken to him so bluntly and told him to admit fault.
And not over one of his Primarch sons, no less.
"As the Master of Mankind, you need to lead by example. Otherwise, if everyone refuses to admit it when they make mistakes, order will collapse."
Eden spoke with total confidence.
"How am I supposed to keep my work going after that? And besides, Dorn is your son. You should show him some concern, shouldn't you?
What if he develops mental issues, falls to corruption, and rips... lifts your Golden Throne apart?"
If it had been any of the Emperor's other personas, or the tyrant Emperor, Eden would never have dared say such a thing.
And it would not have worked anyway.
But the old-man Emperor standing before him now was the brightest, kindest, and most reasonable of all the old man's personas.
There was room for discussion.
"You are right. I should apologize to Dorn."
After hesitating for a moment, the Emperor nodded.
Then he watched as the Savior produced a recording device.
"You can start now. I'll deliver it to him later."
Eden aimed the recorder at the Emperor as he spoke.
This was the best method. Who knew what personality would emerge next time?
What if the next one was the foul-mouthed Emperor? He might curse that stubborn mule Dorn straight into depression.
...??!
The Emperor, the Master of Mankind himself, froze on the spot again.
The lips of his psychic avatar moved slightly, and for the first time in his life, speaking felt so difficult.
But under Eden's encouraging gaze, it was as though the Emperor set down some hidden burden and looked into the camera.
"Dorn, my son.
When you and your brothers were born, I already..."
Like a true father, the Master of Mankind spoke of the joy he had felt when the Primarchs were born, and of many, many things buried in his heart.
Including the guilt he felt toward them.
Eden was a little surprised. This was nothing like the Emperor in his own impression. What kind of Primarch-loving father was this?
Perhaps these were the words hidden in the heart of this ancient Roman-style patriarch, or perhaps they came from the feelings of this bright persona alone.
But no matter what, words like these would undoubtedly soothe the Primarchs' hearts.
Rare material. Too valuable to miss. Record everything!
Once the Emperor had finished saying all of that, he sank back into drowsy sleep to resist the encroaching darkness.
His state of mind seemed much improved. He seemed rather at peace.
Eden did not disturb the old man any further. He turned and walked out of the Throne Room.
His brows remained tightly furrowed.
Although he had comforted the Emperor, the situation really was far from optimistic.
"Hopefully Cawl's side can achieve a breakthrough. Otherwise, if the Dark King truly descends, humanity's destruction will become unavoidable and impossible to stop.
At that point, humanity will only have one choice left: flee."
That was what Eden thought silently to himself.
To preserve humanity's legacy, he had already made many preparations, including a drifting-exodus plan.
If the galaxy could no longer be lived in, then humanity would preserve the spark, flee beyond the galaxy, take refuge, and multiply there.
Then, once the time was right, return and strike back.
The Silent King had taken exactly that road before. From that alone, there should be quite a few habitable regions beyond the Milky Way.
As long as the drifting fleets were not too unlucky and did not run into the Great Devourer or some even more powerful alien lifeform, they would have a chance.
Of course, that was humanity's final means of survival, only to be activated after every other plan had failed.
Unless it was certain that humanity truly could no longer survive within the galaxy, that plan would not begin.
Before it came to that, Eden still had to struggle with everything he had and see whether there remained any chance to win.
After coming out, Eden instructed the commander of the Throne Guard:
"The Mechanicus Archmagi will come to inspect the condition of the Golden Throne. Cooperate with them as much as possible."
He needed to know the exact extent of the Golden Throne's damage and how much longer it could endure, so that he could adjust the defensive system and his future plans accordingly.
"As you command."
The commander of the Throne Guard bowed his head and accepted the order, not daring to show even the slightest disobedience.
As he watched the Savior walking away, a trace of reverence appeared on his face.
...
Sanctuary Sanatorium.
A breeze blew over the grasslands, and the faint sound of sobbing could be heard.
"Father!"
Dorn knelt on the ground, crying like a lost child who had finally found his way home, his broad shoulders shaking.
Tears pattered down nonstop.
He had never cried like this before, not even with the Savior standing beside him.
The Savior projected the recorded image of the Emperor and delivered that apology and confession.
After watching it, Dorn cried with complete abandon, as though every grievance he had ever carried had vanished into smoke.
He felt that he was the Emperor's most beloved son. No exceptions.
No one knew how long he cried before his emotions finally began to settle.
He wiped the tears from his face, then looked up at the Savior.
"Thank you, Savior. I owe you far too much."
Dorn knew that without the Savior, he might have suffered even worse harm during that loss of control.
It might even have cost him his life.
Fortunately, the Savior had saved him, brought the Emperor back from his loss of control, and kept the Golden Throne safe.
The Lord of the Mountain Fortress did not know the Emperor's true condition.
Eden had sealed off the information.
He had not allowed anyone outside the Imperial Palace to learn the truth of the Emperor or the Golden Throne.
Not even the Primarchs.
He knew that if such news spread, it would cause unprecedented panic.
"That was what I ought to do."
Eden lifted a hand and patted Dorn on the shoulder, then said slowly,
"But you... still haven't called me Big Brother even once?"
(End of Chapter)
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