Adam fell silent.
The Emperor's declaration didn't fill him with much passion; instead, it brought a sense of near-suffocation. Anyone with a shred of reason remaining could not stay indifferent when faced with this self-inflicted punishment spanning ten millennia.
Was his heart racing? Perhaps, but it was mostly filled with regretful sighs.
True, the Emperor might not have been a perfect leader. During the Great Crusade, He made countless mistakes, some of them fatal. But in that Dark Age when human civilization was scattered like stardust, falling apart and on the brink of total annihilation, He was the only existence that stepped forward.
After all, the Emperor was a man, not some omniscient or omnipotent god. The saying—that in the eyes of the Four Gods, the Emperor had gone mad playing with chess pieces and eventually jumped onto the table claiming he was a piece himself—was, in the end, just a joke.
At that time, no matter how powerful the Emperor was, He was merely a top-tier psyker, far from enough to challenge the vast power of the Four Gods. More importantly, He never wished to be a so-called player; that would have represented a bleak future where all human civilization headed toward destruction.
"Then, after you ascend to a Level 4 Reality Warper." The Emperor's voice interrupted Adam's thoughts as He spoke again. "If you wish to continue climbing, judging from your previous performance, devouring more powerful essences and authorities will surely be an inevitable path."
She tilted her head slightly, her black hair sliding from her shoulder as the hem of her pure white robe moved without any wind. The expression on that youthful face was terrifyingly calm.
"I am tired enough. If you could be the one to end my journey and take this cursed power and status from me, it would be a fine choice."
A dead silence descended between the two. The colorful light cast by the cathedral's stained glass seemed completely frozen.
"What are you saying..." Adam's expression darkened immediately, his brow furrowing deeply. "I refused to harvest the souls required for my upgrades from humans, preferring to find Orks, T'au, or Tyranids instead. And for the authority needed for ascension, I refused to strike at Guilliman, turning instead to existences like the C'tan or Vashtorr."
He knew what the optimal choice was, but he would never accept that method. For Adam, in a sense, taking the long way around was the shortest path. A person must have their own persistence to be called a human. Otherwise, how much difference is there between a man and a beast?
This was even truer for a Reality Warper. Without his own persistence, Adam wouldn't have been able to master his warping abilities as he did today, instead becoming a slave to power like others.
"...I am not a human," not anymore the dark-skinned girl stated calmly.
"You are a human," Adam sneered.
"I didn't expect that." The corner of the Emperor's mouth seemed to curve upward for a tiny, fleeting moment. "You are actually more of a human supremacist than I am."
"Isn't that tendency normal? Don't tell me the great Emperor of Mankind is going to give me some nonsense like 'if animals can be killed for meat, why can't humans'?" Adam retorted. "Besides, you know my origin. In that universe, 'Humanity First' is one of the philosophies that organization followed."
In the Foundation's definitions of K-Class scenarios (referring to the end of the world), there was an SK-Class scenario, which referred to a Dominance Shift (where another species or civilization takes over humanity's status as the dominant species). Anything involving this would be classified as an anomaly and dealt with thoroughly. "Like SCP-1000 (Bigfoot) or SCP-323 (The Wendigo Skull)."
Suddenly, Adam's gaze became suspicious. He began to doubt the Emperor's motives, though he had no evidence. Is this person saying this on purpose? Trying to take the moral high ground to make me work harder for the revival of humanity?
Adam knew that the Emperor didn't lack "emotional intelligence." Think about it: over thirty years, what did He turn Horus into?
In Adam's view, the problem often lay with the Primarchs themselves—each more eccentric than the last. Lorgar, Perturabo, Curze... which one wasn't a "heavyweight" case?
"That is another matter," the Emperor lightly moved past the topic, turning to say, "There is one more thing regarding your future path."
"You just mentioned a Level 4 Reality Warper. What about Level 5? Do you think the power of a Level 5 Reality Warper is enough to completely solve the problems humanity currently faces?"
Without waiting for Adam to answer, She continued: "The current Four Chaos Gods are already different compared to ten thousand years ago. Faith is a powerful source of strength. More importantly, having suffered a major loss once, they will never again pour the vast majority of their power into a single battlefield in the real universe as they did ten thousand years ago, risking being heavily wounded."
"It is possible that even if you ascend to a Level 4 Reality Warper—a power enough to shake the galaxy—it might 'only' allow you to beat the Four Gods without fundamentally destroying them. Just like me now."
"So, you mean..." Adam's eyes showed a look of disbelief.
"...A Level 6 Reality Warper." The dark-skinned girl uttered the term. There was no hint of a joke on her face.
Adam fell into thought, but his face soon took on an extremely strange expression. "To be honest... I really lack confidence in that."
Even now, Adam was still unclear about the principles of increasing reality strength. After all, elevating oneself from a tiny mortal level to a Level 6 Reality Warper—no different from any deity imagined by humanity... Was that a bit too absurd? So absurd that even a battle-hardened Reality Warper like Adam felt uncertain.
The dark-skinned girl did not answer Adam's doubt directly. Instead, she gently raised her slender arm and waved it at the empty space between them.
In an instant, an indescribable phantom of a "bridge," seemingly woven from pure information, emerged. It wasn't physical; it was more like a direct presentation of a concept. One end seemed rooted in this cathedral illusion constructed by the Emperor, while the other disappeared into the mists beyond dimension and reality.
"This is... an extremely faint 'connection' that I can still barely perceive," the Emperor narrated calmly. "Remember how you were brought to this universe by me? Although the process was near accidental, the channel that maintained that accident has not completely disappeared. Now, it has 'surfaced' again, albeit very weakly."
"What did you say?!" Adam nearly jumped up, his face filled with genuine shock. His previous expression was replaced by intense alertness and disbelief.
Seeing his violent reaction, the Emperor was not surprised and merely nodded slightly. "This connection is so weak that even with my current power, I cannot stabilize it. I am at a loss."
She paused, her golden eyes watching Adam. "But I think if you can ascend to a high enough Reality Warper level in the future, you might be able to fully repair this connection, or even... trace it back and reopen the 'path' to your original world."
"Please, don't ever do that!" Adam immediately waved his hands frantically, shaking his head like a rattle. "I'd have to be insane to want to go back to that hellhole!"
The Foundation universe? Not interested. No muchaco! Nohohoh!
I'm already a Warhammer human! He was stuck between laughter and tears, looking terrified. "At least not until I have the power of a Level 4... no, to be safe, a Level 5 Reality Warper. I will absolutely, positively not consider going back!"
The Emperor watched his exaggerated reaction calmly, seemingly having received some confirmation, and nodded slightly. "Then, I have no other questions or suggestions," She said.
In the time that followed, the two had a brief exchange on specific technical details regarding Chaos movements, the Imperium's current state, and Adam's subsequent plans. Information was passed through their calm dialogue.
"...Unfortunately, your future is shrouded in a mist that even I cannot fully see through." Finally, the dark-skinned Emperor sighed softly. A rare trace of exhaustion and helplessness belonging to an elder appeared on that youthful face. "Even my prophetic abilities cannot provide decisive guidance for your path ahead. And I... after all, am a 'loser' trapped on a throne for ten thousand years. I likely cannot offer you any truly brilliant advice, lest I interfere with your judgment."
Her tone carried a hint of humility as her gaze fell upon her chosen contractor. "Go then, Adam."
At the very end, the Emperor said with true sincerity: "Let the galaxy burn once more."
Real universe, Holy Terra, outside the towering gates of the Throneroom.
Under the focus of countless gazes—some reverent, some fanatical, some inquisitive—the golden gates symbolizing the supreme authority of the Imperium of Man finally slowly opened again. Endless psychic radiance spewed forth, so blinding that many instinctively lowered their heads.
Before everyone could adjust to the light, two figures stepped out steadily, one after the other. Walking in front was Roboute Guilliman. The awakened Regent's face was calm and his steps firm, but the trace of complexity and lingering fatigue he couldn't entirely hide did not escape Adam's perception.
Adam could clearly feel, at such close range, the deep weariness and a certain sense of unfulfilled distance coming from Guilliman.
It seems the Emperor still didn't say anything too pleasant to Guilliman, let alone grant him the 'gentle' communication treatment He gave me, Adam thought silently. He walked half a step behind Guilliman, looking like an "ordinary" mortal who had received the supreme honor of an audience with the Emperor.
Of course, in the eyes of the high-ranking Custodes who knew the truth, the status and importance of these two might need to be completely reversed.
Next, under the watchful eyes of the crowd and the silent, sharp gaze of the Custodes, and before Guilliman had fully adjusted to give his speech to the people outside—
Adam's body suddenly erupted with warm, blazing light!
The light wasn't blinding, but like another rising sun, filled with indescribable vitality and a sense of holiness. Two pairs of massive, pure white wings made of condensed light unfurled elegantly from his back, scattering specks of light dust as they flapped gently. A faint halo rippled outward with him as the center, as if the principle of a miracle was manifesting here.
Of course, this was all just a "light and shadow effect" realistic to the extreme—a visual miracle meticulously simulated by Adam's Level 3 Reality Warper ability, containing no actual psychic or faith essence.
However, almost all the onlookers present—whether they were Ecarchy believers, Imperial officials, or anyone else—were stunned by this sudden, seemingly divine blessing from the Emperor. Then, a mountain-shaking wave of fanatical shouting erupted!
"A miracle! The Emperor has manifested!" "Praise Him! Praise His messenger!"
Amidst this boiling fanaticism, before Guilliman could fully react, Adam had already stepped forward and naturally grabbed the Regent's armored wrist. The pure white wings soared high, and under the focus of countless eyes, Adam raised Guilliman's arm high. His eyes were solemn and soaring as he used his slightly amplified voice to declare solemnly to the entire plaza:
"Behold! The practitioner of the Emperor's will! The Regent of Mankind! Lord Roboute Guilliman!"
He paused, then shouted to the crowd with an even louder voice:
"Command the entire galaxy to kneel before Humanity!"
After a brief silence, an even more fanatical wave of sound was ignited:
"The Regent!!" "The Regent! The Regent! The Regent!!"
The roar-like cheers surged like a powerful tide, echoing through the vast plaza outside the Throneroom and crashing straight into Terra's artificial sky.
Guilliman, his arm gripped tightly by Adam, felt the strong force coming from his wrist. He heard the deafening, yet somehow familiar fanatical cheers, and looked at Adam's profile—which seemed exceptionally "sincere" under the radiance—and those pure white wings...
On his habitually steady and solemn handsome face, the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly and uncontrollably.
A sense of "deja vu"—as if this moment were exactly like that moment—came crashing down upon him.