"So this little one is Lileath. Not bad at all," Lucius remarked, looking at the Aeldari child. Clad in the traditional white robes of the ancient Aeldari Empire, she appeared as if carved from the finest jade and ivory.
When the Primarch-equivalent Lileath was released from the gestation pod, she already possessed the physical stature of a five- or six-year-old, resembling a mastercrafted doll. Her skin was as white as alabaster, and her long golden hair shimmered like sunlight – she looked as though she had stepped straight out of a mythic folktale.
"My daughter…"
Isha watched with overwhelming emotion as her daughter was returned to life. Though this was not entirely the daughter she once knew, the soul within was more than enough.
Erda, too, looked on with a mixture of maternal pride and satisfaction. She shook her head and sighed, "Back when I served Neoth, I always wanted a daughter. But that man was a tyrant. His Imperium had no need for a beautiful princess; it only required generals to bleed for his ambition."
It was clear that both Erda and Isha were deeply enamored with the resurrected Lileath.
The reborn Lileath was no mindless infant. She looked around with wide, startled eyes, her soul and latent psychic might telling her that before her stood her mother and... another mother?
Countless psychic fragments flashed through her mind, fragmented prophecies similar to those of a Farseer or the sorcerous visions of Magnus the Red. Memories of the Pantheon era and the horrifying tide of the Warp when she was consumed by Slaanesh rushed back in shattered shards.
"Mother… I... what has happened to me?"
"You have been granted a new life, my daughter," Isha said, her voice thick with tenderness.
Erda was quick to step forward, eager to establish her presence. "I am also your mother, Lileath. My blood and genetic legacy flow within your veins."
Seeing these two women, one mortal, one divine, competing for custody, Lucius scratched his head and spoke to Lileath with practiced nonchalance. "And I am your stepfather. Be honored, you have received the protection of the Lord of Distortion, and you are destined for greatness."
Erda shot him a sharp glare, clearly displeased by his phrasing.
"I will not allow my daughter to become a mere piece in your game of ambition. You promised I would be the one to raise her!"
"Of course. I never intended to break my word," Lucius nodded, reaching out to pat little Lileath's golden head. "But she cannot be treated like a child forever. Right, Lileath-chan?"
Lileath's eyes, like brilliant blue gemstones, flickered toward Lucius with sharp intelligence. She stood up, her voice sounding innocent and playful rather than overtly cunning. "My dear father, thank you for the gift of life."
"Uh..."
Neither Erda nor Isha had expected this. Erda even began to wonder if Lucius had spliced some sort of "father-complex" gene into her, similar to what Horus felt for the Emperor.
"It seems you are not so foolish as to mistake who truly liberated your soul, Lileath," Lucius nodded with satisfaction. He hadn't actually tampered with her mind.
It was simply that neither Erda nor Isha truly understood Lileath's nature as a manipulative strategist.
Lileath bowed slightly to Lucius, then turned to her two mothers. "Naturally, my two mothers provided me with this new vessel, but it was you who liberated my soul, allowing me to find the light again after that terrifying darkness."
"You have a silver tongue. I appreciate your honesty," Lucius replied. "The Great Horned Rat keeps his word (mostly). Now, enjoy your childhood with your mothers. Later, you shall rebuild the Second Aeldari Empire."
With that, Lucius turned and left, making no move to intrude further upon their reunion.
"Daughter, what do you remember?" Isha knelt, taking her daughter's hand.
Lileath replied in a voice that was innocently sweet yet carried a hidden edge of calculation. "Mother, I do not have full memories of the past, but I can feel the fragments flooding into my mind... I never wish to be swallowed by the darkness again. Therefore, I want a father strong enough to protect me, not that useless father I can no longer remember."
Hearing this, Isha's spirit sank. Asuryan, the Lord of the Gods, had been powerful yet strangely impotent; when the Pantheon fell, he had perished as silently as a stray dog in the street, faring worse even than Khaine, who at least struggled to the end.
Thus, even without her full memories, Lileath, guided by the influx of past shards and her own psychic foresight, had decisively chosen herself a new "Daddy."
"It seems I can look forward to some 'filial piety' from Lileath," Lucius chuckled as he walked out of the Black Bell Tower.
He only needed Lileath to establish a Second Aeldari Empire; the rest was of no concern to him. She was merely the first step.
…
In the mortal realm, the Aeldari were experiencing a total reversal of fortune. Not only had Isha returned, but Ynnead, the God of Death, had been born. With their Eternal Enemy, Slaanesh, captured, their greatest fear had been removed.
Predictably, the Aeldari hawks began to rise in prominence.
Most notably, the Craftworlds of Iyanden and Biel-Tan, led by figures like Iyanna Arienal, began to advocate for the immediate reclamation of lost Aeldari maiden worlds and colonies.
The Aeldari, freed from their constraints, immediately began to grow overconfident.
In response, Yvraine, now the High Priestess of Ynnead and a chosen of the gods, found herself no longer a beggar-leader of a ragtag Ynnari host. She had become a power player who, despite having fewer troops, possessed a status sufficient to stand as an equal to any Aeldari Autarch or Seer.
Yvraine refused to support large-scale military action, especially anything that would tear up the alliance with Roboute Guilliman.
"What is it? Are you afraid of hurting your old lover's feelings? Hahaha~" Lelith Hesperax laughed, mocking her.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Yvraine snapped. She had been called Guilliman's "pet" and "lapdog" more than once by others, including The Visarch.
"The Imperium of Man is still a gargantuan entity," Yvraine analyzed calmly. "Even if the Aeldari are showing signs of a renaissance, we should not strike out recklessly in all directions. Furthermore, I have realized that the Warp is far more complex than it appears. Let me speak with Guilliman first. Chaos remains our primary foe!"
Though the Aeldari had not yet fully ascended, they were already split into two camps: those following Malys, who revered Isha, and those following Yvraine, who worshipped Ynnead.
Aurelia Malys, a woman of such daring and intellect that she sought to sit at the same table as Tzeentch, the Emperor, and the Great Harlequin, had already gleaned a secret through her devotion to Isha.
Isha's return was the work of a supreme power within the Warp. In fact, everything currently happening to the Aeldari was part of that entity's grand design. Though she could not see the whole picture, Lady Malys intended to align herself with His plan to ensure her own survival.
Soon, the Imperium began to receive reports of increasing Aeldari xenos harassment. This time, they didn't come because of some vague prophecy; they came with newfound confidence to reclaim their ancient colonies by force.
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