Zeke chewed on his food, his eyes wandering, clearly not listening to a word. His gaze had already drifted past Haemotalion's shoulder, locking back onto Guilliman.
Haemotalion's eye twitched, and he gritted his back teeth. "The cuisine provided at the salon... its rarity is far beyond what this public banquet for the masses can offer."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Zeke swallowed the food, unable to stand this man's pestering any longer. He grabbed the card and stuffed it into some random corner of his backpack.
Mumbling a perfunctory response, Zeke sped up, trotting toward Guilliman. The Primarch was heading toward the Imperial Palace to seek an audience with the Emperor, and Zeke wasn't about to miss this opportunity.
–
Haemotalion stood rooted to the spot, the smile on his face finally vanishing completely, replaced by a layer of gloomy frost.
He watched Zeke run up to Guilliman with zero decorum, pat the Primarch's power-armored arm, and look up to say something. The latter tilted his head slightly to listen, a trace of almost helpless amusement actually appearing on his face.
Haemotalion straightened his already immaculate lapels and returned to his companions hidden in the shadows at the edge of the banquet hall.
"Well?" the companion who had spoken earlier asked in a low voice.
"Trust my judgment." Haemotalion took a sip of wine laced with an excessive dose of sedatives, his tone certain. "That ordinary human is greedy, vulgar, and crude. Most importantly, he does not know fear."
He paused. "He does not fear those in high positions, he does not fear Imperial protocol, and he doesn't even know how to conceal his own desires."
Haemotalion recalled the look in Zeke's eyes when he repeatedly ignored him. He suspected that this human treated even the Primarch the same way.
"Such people are often the easiest to manipulate and the easiest to use for our own ends at critical moments."
He downed the wine in one gulp—a dose strong enough to knock an ordinary man out for a day. The cold liquid, mixed with drugs, slid down his throat, finally bringing a measure of false calm to nerves that had been taut since Guilliman's return.
Ever since learning that the Primarch was returning to Terra, Haemotalion hadn't had a single peaceful night's sleep. Unlike the masses shouting about the return of hope, all Haemotalion saw in Guilliman was a bottomless despair.
Haemotalion clearly realized that Guilliman's return would thoroughly alter the current political landscape, and these changes would inevitably be accompanied by a shift in power.
How much blood and sweat, how many years did I spend climbing to this position...!
Haemotalion's fingers tightened, making the wine glass creak.
"Why should I hand all this over to a genetically modified superhuman?! Guilliman is just a Primarch; he knows jack shit about the Imperium!"
Haemotalion forced himself to relax and turned to his companion. "Of course, I chose him not just because he's easy to buy."
The companion was slightly stunned. "Is there another reason?"
"Exactly. The most important point is that he is a human—an unarmed, ordinary human who hasn't undergone any augmentation."
He extended two fingers and made a slicing motion across his own neck. "If the soft approach doesn't work, we can always use the hard one. Against an ordinary human, we have plenty of ways to make him cooperate."
Haemotalion adjusted his bow tie, resuming the composed demeanor of a politician. "We need to rope in more people. The Departmento Munitorum, the Adeptus Arbites, within the Ecclesiarchy... find our allies."
"By the way, there's news from the Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum," the companion shared.
Haemotalion revealed a rare smile. He clinked glasses with his companion.
"For our shared Imperium!"
They drained their glasses.
–
The stairs leading to the Emperor's Palace were layered upon one another; walking to the very top would take at least thirty minutes.
The Golden Gate of the Throne Room was located deep within a towering sanctum, with many roads extending outward with this building as their core. Huge stained-glass windows projecting golden light depicted the Emperor's past feats and great achievements.
Zeke walked side by side with Guilliman, followed by Archmagos Cawl, with the Fallen Angel Cypher bringing up the rear.
"I am coordinating the Primaris Marines and transferring them here to commence the modification plan Zeke mentioned," Archmagos Cawl spoke up.
Recently, Archmagos Cawl had been busy dealing with the "Cawl Inferior." The Cawl Inferior had expressed a desire for the position of Fabricator-General of Mars to Guilliman more than once, causing great trouble for the Primarch.
The Cawl Inferior could be viewed as one of Cawl's personalities. Guilliman wasn't sure if this was the Inferior's idea, or if Cawl himself was voicing his desires through the Inferior. Zeke kept fanning the flames from the sidelines, giving Guilliman a headache.
Whichever it was, the current situation on Mars couldn't withstand the turmoil of changing the Fabricator-General, so Guilliman stalled. The matter of Mars would have to be dealt with sooner or later, but not now.
"By the way, Tieron, summon all the High Lords," Guilliman ordered Tieron beside him. Tieron acknowledged the order and began his work.
Chatting as they walked, they finally ascended to stand before the massive golden gate.
Captain Sicarius, Grand Master Voldus, and the mysterious Cypher stood to the rear left; Belisarius Cawl, Greyfax, and Saint Celestine stood to the rear right.
Everyone except Zeke and Guilliman stopped, silently watching the two of them. Being mysterious and possessing numerous abilities, Zeke naturally had to follow the Primarch inside to witness the Emperor's visage together; this had been agreed upon beforehand.
Time to see the Emperor?
Zeke took out an Enchanted Golden Apple and took a bite, looking at the Cherubs fluttering in the air, chanting hymns dedicated to the Master of Mankind.
Climbing such a long staircase, blocked by a gate, plus the stirring BGM... it felt just like a boss fight.
I wonder if the Emperor has a health bar.
Zeke glanced back. Standing on the towering staircase, he could take in half of Terra in a single view. These past few days had been non-stop: from Cadia to Ultramar, and then to Terra.
Zeke had a premonition that he might be staying on Terra for a while. It would count as a break, a chance to properly develop his Minecraft mods.
Before the Golden Gate, the Custodian Shield-Captain of the Aquilan Shield, Kalim Varanor, stood guard with his Guardian Spear.
Since the Emperor's confinement to the Golden Throne, the loyal Adeptus Custodes had guarded Him sleeplessly, acting as sentinels and wardens. Every single Custodian was a hero in their own right, their strength and speed surpassing that of the Astartes.
Guilliman locked eyes with the Custodes leader. After striking the ground three times with his spear, the Custodian introduced himself in perfectly articulated High Gothic:
"The Emperor's Aquilan Shield, Kalim Varanor. Visitors, state your names."