"Praise the Father of Machines.
"The forbidden artifact you are monitoring—the Shadowlight—has undergone deep scanning and resonance testing. According to the data, the artifact's core matrix remains intact and is in a state that can be awakened."
The Archmagos's projection appeared and reported the condition of the ancient artifact to Eden.
With the Dark Mechanicum's unreserved assistance, they had quickly grasped the relevant knowledge concerning the ancient artifact and confirmed that it could suppress the Golden Throne's runaway energy.
Fortunately, the Dark Mechanicum had spent decades researching this ancient artifact. That was the only reason the relevant research institutes had been able to take over so smoothly and cooperate with them in advancing the next stage of the plan.
"Since the Shadowlight artifact can still be used, transport it to the target site and activate it according to the plan."
After hearing the Archmagos's report, much of the worry between Eden's brows faded.
With this, the repair plan's chance of success had increased significantly. It was far more stable than the Imperium's original plan.
"Hah. That traitor Horus really did a good thing with bad intentions. Not only did he deliver an ancient artifact right to my doorstep to help the Imperium, he even gave me an entire fortress world."
Eden sighed with emotion, his words cutting straight to the heart.
The Chaos Gods and traitors like Horus had racked their brains and invested enormous resources into researching and repairing the Shadowlight artifact. They had saved Eden so much trouble.
Otherwise, if he had had to research it from scratch, who knew how much time it would have taken?
Of course, judging from the current situation, relying on the ancient artifact alone would not be enough. They still needed the support of more related technologies and powers.
That was also why the Chaos Gods had decisively abandoned Horus and handed the ancient artifact over to Eden. Their plan could no longer succeed.
They could only rely on him, the Savior.
Mmmph! Mmmph!
Horus's hearing was extremely sharp.
After hearing those words, he felt deeply humiliated and began struggling again, as if he were viciously cursing the Savior. Unfortunately, his mouth had long since been sealed, so he could only let out meaningless muffled cries.
"Traitor! You still dare try to defy His Majesty the Savior?"
The veteran Custodian Wardens were not about to indulge the culprit who had forced the Emperor onto the Golden Throne.
They pinned Horus down and gave him another brutal beating. Their relic spears stabbed into his body, unleashing fierce arcs of electricity that shocked him until he shrieked and thrashed.
The Dark Emperor had already regained consciousness. His heart was dead, and tears flowed amid the humiliation.
Facing the gazes directed at him, he could not help lowering his head to avoid them. He even hoped the false Emperor's Custodians would put a helmet on him. A hood would have been fine too.
Bzz—
Eden turned toward the Chaos camp.
Warp power radiated from his body, shaping a phantom thousands of meters tall. Around him, the phantoms of the gods wreathed the air like mist.
It was a silent intimidation, and also a display of an oracle from the Warp.
Clang, clang, clang—
The Chaos Space Marines and daemons no longer dared show the slightest defiance, especially after seeing the Dark Emperor's miserable state.
They dropped their weapons and half-knelt on the ground, displaying their submission to the Savior.
According to the oracles of the supreme Chaos Gods, before the dark calamity ended, these Chaos worshipers were all required to obey the Savior's orders and were forbidden from resisting in any way.
"Blood God, why must we submit to the Savior? What exactly happened in the Warp…?"
Some high-ranking Chaos daemons quietly exchanged messages, unable to understand what had happened to make the Chaos Gods issue such a decision.
It was equivalent to an outright surrender.
"Perhaps this is only a scheme by the Changer of Ways. Maybe He has seen the path of fate and is waiting for the chance to stab the Savior in the back with a blade of betrayal."
"The gods want to sabotage the Savior's plan?"
Even with the Chaos Gods' oracles, these daemonic beings still felt resentment in their hearts. They were nurturing sparks of rebellion, preparing to find an opportunity to create new chaos.
"The dark calamity… Could the legendary Dark King truly have awakened?!"
A certain great Tzeentchian raven seemed to think of something and muttered to itself.
They were in the Sol System, on New Dragonwood, a world controlled by the Lord of Hell and the location of the ancient artifact. They could not learn the latest situation in the Warp in time.
Only those who were stronger and more perceptive could sense the arrival of the dark crisis through the fluctuations of the Warp.
Caw!
The next moment, that great Tzeentchian raven's face filled with terror, and it let out an incoherent shriek.
Anyone could tell that this Weaver had been scared witless. The terrifying future it had foreseen had frightened it so badly that it could not even form words.
"Grandfather, your beloved children beg for your protection…"
The Great Unclean One of Nurgle, massive as a mountain of flesh, was also somewhat frightened after hearing this. It instinctively began praying to the Plague Lord.
It hoped that merciful being would send down sevenfold blessings to protect it.
At first, the Chaos entities had still been seething with resentment. But after hearing words like the Cursed One and the Dark King, they all calmed down.
They feared the Cursed One. That legend of the Dark King was far too terrifying.
They feared that loathsome, accursed being even more than humans did.
Rumble—
Suddenly, a violent tremor came from the Warp. The previously faint black cracks rapidly expanded, forming enormous scars.
They spread toward New Dragonwood, as if they were about to devour everything.
In the void, countless lingering souls let out shrill screams, calling the name of some loathsome being. A few unlucky daemons were swallowed by the black scars and vanished amid their wails.
Irrepressible fear began to spread.
"The Dark… the Dark King! It's the Dark King! He's here!"
The great Tzeentchian raven screamed, both of its beaks shouting at once. It could no longer even spare the effort to lie.
As for the other Chaos daemons, they were terrified, trembling amid the spreading unrest.
They looked at the approaching black scars with utter despair, realizing that if those things covered New Dragonwood, no one would have any path of escape.
Even the authority of the Chaos Gods could not stop the Dark King's arrival. The disaster would devour everything.
The Chaos daemons were scared out of their wits. How desperately they hoped someone could stop this calamity.
And it was not only the Chaos daemons. Even the warriors of the Imperium felt a deep helplessness because of those black rifts.
They were far more terrifying than the previous Warp rifts.
At that moment, every region of the Warp descended into chaos. Facing an irresistible natural disaster, Chaos entities could only pray for the gods' protection. Yet they received little response.
The supreme Chaos Gods were too busy saving themselves. They no longer had the mind to spend energy responding to their followers.
The beings of Chaos longed for someone—anyone—who could resist this dark disaster and allow them to escape their destined deaths.
Whether in the galaxy or the Warp, all were terrified by the Dark King's descent. Countless hopes gathered together, yet had nowhere to settle.
"Father…"
Guilliman, Mortarion, and the other Primarchs were deeply worried as well. They did not know how to stop their father from falling into darkness.
This matter had exceeded the limits of their abilities.
"Brother. Brother must have a way, right? He planned all of this long ago!"
Rogal Dorn spoke anxiously. He had learned about the Golden Throne repair plan.
Although the situation before them was no longer something the previous plan could resolve, he believed that his eldest brother must have made other preparations.
Otherwise, he would not have formed an alliance with the Ruinous Powers.
Guilliman and the other Primarchs all looked toward that unmoving figure, that back which seemed to have everything under control. A sliver of hope rose in their hearts.
The Savior's existence gave the Primarchs and the warriors of the Imperium peace of mind.
All these years, that Emperor of the Imperium had always handled every problem. His record was there for all to see. He had never failed.
"Hiss… This is trouble. Those things aren't going to destroy the Chaos tower, are they?"
In truth, Eden was drenched in cold sweat as he looked at the spreading dark rifts.
His entire body felt numb.
The location of the rift created by the Emperor—or rather, the fetal version of the Dark King—was far too deadly.
It happened to be right near New Dragonwood. Judging by its path, it was about to pass through this Chaos fortress world.
If the dark rift swallowed and destroyed the Chaos tower along with the ancient Shadowlight artifact inside, then wouldn't Eden's subsequent plan be doomed halfway through?
Fortunately, although Eden was somewhat panicked inside, it was not as if he had no way to respond. This rift was a natural disaster formed from dark warp power. The best method was to suppress it with blackstone technology.
With Eden's help, the Blackstone Research Institute had always been studying the dark side of the Sacred Sun. They had conducted many experiments and achieved results, and had long since produced dedicated suppression devices.
Now, these devices were being expanded and constructed on a large scale to cooperate with the later suppression plan, cutting off the Dark King's tendrils as he drew in faith-based warp energy.
In other words, they would cut off those dark rifts.
That would stop him from continuing to grow stronger.
"Those engineering units had better not be late. Otherwise, I won't be able to keep the situation under control."
Eden looked at the ever-approaching dark rifts, feeling some tension in his heart.
This counted as his first confrontation with the fetal version of the Dark King.
Although he had formed an alliance with the Chaos Gods and held the initiative, correspondingly, he also needed to prove to them that he could handle this problem.
Otherwise, they would likely scatter in an instant and each find their own way to survive.
Not only that, the Chaos entities in the Warp had also fallen into terror. Who knew whether they would go mad from despair and swarm into the galaxy to flee the disaster?
For those Chaos entities, as long as they could delay their deaths, they would do anything. They might even slaughter humans and offer them to the Dark King in exchange for a chance to survive.
Even if they knew they would ultimately be devoured, if they could live a little longer…
Who would not be willing?
That was why Eden had to prove to the Imperium and to the realm of Chaos that he was "the whole village's hope"—the Savior of the galaxy and the Warp. Only then could he unite all beings and solve the problem.
Only with everyone united as one could they fight for the greatest possible chance of victory.
Eden worked hard to maintain his composure, silently calculating the time.
As the dark rifts tore through the atmosphere and spread toward them, the chaos on New Dragonwood also reached its limit. The daemons fled in the opposite direction with reckless desperation.
They were even willing to slaughter anything blocking the way in front of them.
Eden did not intervene. In a situation like this, even the Chaos Gods would not be able to stop these despairing daemons.
Guilliman, Mortarion, and the other Primarchs looked at the daemonic tide rushing toward them and tightened their grips on their weapons, extremely tense.
The elite warriors of the Imperium also reformed their lines, creating one human wall after another.
They had to stop these daemons to prevent those abominations, driven mad by fear, from charging into the colossal Chaos tower ahead of time and damaging that ancient artifact.
The arrival of the dark rift and the unrest it created pushed everyone's nerves to the breaking point. Only the figure of the Savior, the Emperor of the Imperium, remained standing tall and unmoved.
Finally, a new fluctuation appeared in the void.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Several Mechanicus arks arrived, towing massive blackstone fortresses behind them. Then, force-field fluctuations spread outward from the blackstone fortresses, surging in the opposite direction toward the dark rifts.
A report also came through Eden's communication device.
"Zzt… zzt…
"Your Majesty the Savior, Redemption Engineering Unit Thirteen has arrived. The blackstone devices have been activated. Suppression units are operating smoothly…"
The blackstone fortresses towed in by the Mechanicus arks activated immediately, suppressing the invasion of the dark rifts.
After receiving the message, Eden finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He raised his head and looked into the void. The ripples of the blackstone field collided with the dark rifts, creating a vacuum region.
Even more gratifying, the field had stopped the rifts' spread and was steadily weakening them.
It worked!
Cheers erupted across the communication channels. The elite Imperial warriors on this Chaos planet also began cheering.
Even the Chaos Space Marines and daemons, seeing this scene, could not help cheering too, as if they had also achieved victory.
At that moment, countless gazes turned toward the being who had remained fearless before danger and had planned everything from behind the scenes.
He was—
The Savior, the Emperor of the Imperium, the Daemon-Eater, the First Chosen of the Lord of Hell, the Void Storm, the Sun of Hope, the Father of Machines, and more.
Countless beings across the galaxy and the Warp called out his sacred titles. They all knew who had stopped the Dark King's tendril.
Although he had only stopped a single dark rift, it was an excellent beginning.
Hope had appeared!
The Chaos Gods were even more excited.
The Savior had found a way to stop the Dark King's authority in the shortest possible time. Perhaps they would not have to face the Dark King after all.
"Ah, I saw the path of fate long ago. I saw everything.
"The plan to attack the Webway was doomed to fail, and the Savior would find a new path. What perfect technology…"
The Changer of Ways excitedly tried to peer into the technology inside the Savior's blackstone fortresses, hoping to obtain knowledge he had not yet mastered.
That way, he would be able to organize his own response plan. Perhaps he could even use this to recover his losses, or even gain some benefits.
In short, after seeing hope of stopping the Dark King, that big blue bird began itching to make a move.
"As expected of the Warp's number-one clown bird. You're already trying to start trouble again?"
Eden's Sun of Hope was extremely sensitive and detected the Changer of Ways' movements immediately.
This was not a good thing.
Everyone knew how terrifying Tzeentch's schemes were. When he got ruthless, he even sabotaged himself. His destructive power was immense.
But after discovering the Changer of Ways' little move, Eden was not worried at all.
He smiled.
Caw!
The next moment, the Changer of Ways was pinned down by the other supreme Chaos Gods. The Plague Lord's rotting hand clamped tightly around his long, slender neck.
"You knew from the beginning that our plan to attack the Dawn City Webway would fail, and you also knew the Savior would launch a sneak attack?"
Grandfather Nurgle was furious.
He remembered that when the gods had used the Abyssal Spiral to attack the Webway, it had been the Changer of Ways who first went on alert, only to then say that he had found nothing and declare it safe.
Afterward, they had been ambushed by the Savior—or rather, the Dark King—and suffered catastrophic losses.
Perhaps at that time, the Changer of Ways had already discovered the Savior waiting to launch his ambush, but had not revealed a single piece of information. Just thinking about the other gods being ambushed had likely made him want to laugh.
The God of Schemes was extremely likely to do something like that. He would rather be injured himself if it meant he could watch the show, or perhaps he had seen the future ahead of time and gone along with the situation's development.
But Grandfather Nurgle and the other supreme Chaos Gods did not care about any of that. All they knew was that this God of Schemes had deceived them, making him even more hateful than the Savior who had launched the ambush.
They pinned down the Changer of Ways and beat him viciously, making him shriek and caw.
"That's more like it."
Eden's soul-consciousness watched the situation in the Warp, and he nodded in satisfaction.
He could not resist controlling the Lord of Hell to kick the Changer of Ways twice as well, teaching this being who had tried to undermine unity a lesson.
After Eden controlled the Lord of Hell and joined the other supreme Chaos Gods in beating up the Changer of Ways, their mutual relationship and attitude improved quite a bit, as if they had developed a certain comradeship.
This was highly beneficial for cooperation.
In truth, Grandfather Nurgle and the other supreme Chaos Gods were threatening and warning the Changer of Ways not to cause trouble, and not to scheme again.
They could not allow him to affect their alliance with Eden, the Savior, and even less could they allow him to affect the relevant plans.
Right now, Eden might be the only hope of stopping the Dark King. They were terrified that this clown bird would court death and drag all beings into the abyss.
After Eden's cooperation with the Chaos Gods stabilized, his attention returned to his main body.
He had to seize this opportunity to announce something important to the galaxy and the Warp.
(End of Chapter)
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