Following their brief exchange, Leontus took his leave of Guilliman first. Guided by two guards, the Lord Solar departed the grand hall to seek rest; he would need to debrief the Primarch on the finer strategic details of the campaign later.
The two Custodians, however, showed no intention of leaving.
Even through their Auramite helms, Guilliman could sense their unwavering focus fixed upon the mechanical construct before them. Facing this unprecedented machine entity, Guilliman spoke, testing the waters.
"Axion?"
The machine nodded, acknowledging its identity without hesitation.
"How has your chassis come to be in this state?" Guilliman asked, his curiosity piqued by the unfamiliar design.
"Roboute Guilliman, the exchange of a physical shell is a trivial matter for an Iron Man. In accordance with our pact, I have completed your task. It is now time for you to fulfill your end of the agreement. I formalize my request to access the Imperial Archives and to gain an audience with the Emperor."
At the mention of an audience with the Emperor, the Custodians behind them suddenly snapped their heads up, shifting their gaze from the machine to stare directly at Guilliman.
"We know nothing of the origin or nature of this ancient construct," one challenged. "How can we rashly bring it before the Emperor? If it poses a threat to His safety, who will bear the burden of that failure?"
Axion spun around with a suddenness that defied Guilliman's own refined reflexes. In a blur of motion, he slammed both Custodians to the floor.
"You seek to obstruct my contractor from fulfilling his duty?!"
The Emperor's guard had been caught entirely off-guard, pinned instantly. They began to struggle with mounting fury, but Axion dynamically adjusted the anti-gravity arrays within his chassis. Despite his unassuming size, the machine held the two Custodians firmly against the deck; no matter how they exerted their transhuman strength, they could not budge.
To the Custodians, it felt as though the weight of a mountain had been dropped upon their backs.
Axion's metallic head tilted at a sharp angle, mechanical eyes whirring as he looked back at Guilliman.
"Roboute Guilliman. Answer my query: Will you honor our pact?"
Though Guilliman often found the Custodes' intransigence frustrating, they were nonetheless a vital pillar of the Imperium's strength.
"Release them, Axion. The protocol is not yet concluded. They are the strength of the Imperium, and thus, your allies."
Axion let go of the downed warriors and stood upright.
"I am aware. Had I thought otherwise, I would have torn them asunder rather than merely restraining them. But even allies shall not impede the fulfillment of the pact."
Guilliman let out a heavy, weary sigh. He had not expected this day to arrive so swiftly. The Imperium faced a multitude of existential threats, and the might of the Iron Man was a necessity he could not discard.
"I will honor our agreement. I shall grant you access to the Imperial Archives and escort you to an audience with the Emperor."
The two Custodians scrambled to their feet, only to stare in shock at the distorted handprints left upon their power armor. That their Auramite plate could be so easily buckled by a grip was unthinkable.
Seeing that Guilliman did not renounce the deal, Axion nodded. His abdominal plating slid open to reveal a small recessed compartment containing an Aeldari spirit stone, or something like it. Unlike the typical psychic gems of the Xenos, this crystal pulsed with a violet hue shot through with faint, flickering traces of blue and gold light.
"As an ally, an Iron Man does not deal in falsehoods," Axion stated. "I recovered this crystal from the wreckage of an Aeldari vessel embedded within a Chaos traitor's Arks of Omen. It contains peculiar historical records. While the data includes fragments of what I seek, the sequence of events leading to its discovery suggests a statistical impossibility."
"According to core records, Aeldari historical data is sequestered within their Craftworlds. Its presence on a lost ancient warship is improbable. That it was merged into an Ark of Omen, shattered by a Leviathan hive-tendril, and subsequently recovered by the very fleet I dispatched to pursue, this chain of low-probability events is irrational. Machine intelligence does not acknowledge 'fate' or 'luck.' Machines operate on the logic of circuits, mechanics, and gears."
"I have recorded the information within the crystal, but the data is sparse and requires corroboration, Guilliman. None may deceive an Iron Man. The records of the ancient Creators within the data warn us against falling into traps."
"None can fool the crystallized wisdom of the Creators."
Guilliman reached out and took the crystal from Axion, holding it carefully. He cautiously triggered the contents of the device.
It held facets of Aeldari history Guilliman had never encountered, alongside information the Xenos had inadvertently gathered regarding the ancient Federation of Mankind. A few cryptic lines of text sent a chill down his spine:
"The Federation of Man stumbles into the abyss, blind to its own descent. Dangerous creations gestate a horrific crisis, the trigger for which lies with the arrogant Elder and his mad sciences. The misery of immortality has veiled his sight; that tiny shadow will eventually force this fragile species to reap a bitter harvest. Yet we have no choice. Assisting those fragile lives serves the future of our own kin."
The metaphor-laden prose of the Aeldari left Guilliman's mind swimming, but that specific passage resonated with a chilling clarity.
The origins of the Iron Men were a matter of settled dogma for the Adeptus Mechanicus. In the Dark Age of Technology before the Imperium's birth, these machines were the tools and servants of Man, the weapons in their hands. Existing Imperial records noted only that these constructs eventually turned upon their creators.
The specifics, however, had long been lost to time.
As for the Aeldari... Guilliman thought of the Ynnari and their leader, Yvraine. Had all of this truly been foretold?
But who was the "arrogant Elder" and what was the "mad science"?
The Imperium had long studied the nature of Perpetuals. While Guilliman did not fully grasp their mysteries, he knew his Father understood them perfectly. Among his brothers, Vulkan of the Salamanders was a Perpetual, crafted by the Emperor's own hand.
The misery of immortality?
Guilliman's analytical mind raced. Countless Imperial hagiographies and holy words spoke of the Emperor's suffering, the pain He felt for the agonies of His people. He knew his Father had always sought to shepherd humanity away from its suffering. Even shattered upon the Throne, He had never abandoned that goal.
Did the "misery of immortality" refer to the Emperor's eternal vigil over humanity's catastrophes?
In that moment, even Guilliman wavered. If this data was not a ploy, but truly a "coincidence"... perhaps he should not bring the Iron Man before the Emperor.
Axion watched Guilliman, whose focus remained locked on the crystal in deep contemplation. As the machine's processing speed ramped up, a strange possibility emerged in his calculations.
Was the target of this manipulation not himself, but Guilliman?
Axion reached out, snatched the crystal back, and crushed it in his mechanical grip. He looked the Primarch in the eye.
"You must place your trust in ancient wisdom."
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