"Guilliman, you had better give me a good explanation." Yvraine's voice carried a chilling edge, her right hand already resting on the hilt of the Cronesword at her waist. "In our original pact, it was never mentioned that a second human would be hiding here."
The moment she had stepped into the sanctum, Yvraine's psychic senses caught Zeke's trail. She abruptly drew her sword, pointing it at the shadow where Zeke was hiding. "Step back, human. Even though you and I have cooperated before, it does not mean you can play such a clumsy ambush."
Before her words even faded, the two Ynnari elites following her also drew their weapons.
"Guilliman, do you wish to personally tear up the alliance between the Aeldari and the Imperium?" Yvraine's eyes were filled with sorrowful indignation. "You should be very clear about how much of a price I paid to convince my arrogant kin to cooperate with the Imperium."
Facing Yvraine's questioning, Guilliman's face remained like an iron mask.
He knew full well that the Imperium could afford to lose the Aeldari, but it absolutely could not afford to lose Zeke. To resurrect Malcador, even if he had to turn this room into a bloody slaughterhouse, he would not back down.
"The current Imperium is no longer the dying behemoth lingering in the shadows of your memory," Guilliman said, absolute resolve in his eyes.
Seeing the situation escalate to this point, Zeke felt no need to hide anymore. He slowly walked out of the shadows, the Emperor's Sword in his hand pointing diagonally at the ground.
Even though Zeke's side had fewer people, the sheer aura exuded by the Emperor's Sword forcibly pushed the numerically superior Aeldari back half a step.
"To be honest, Yvraine, I don't think the Cronesword in your hands is being put to any real use at all." Every word Zeke spoke was meant to pierce her heart.
"What do you know, foolish mortal?" Yvraine gritted her teeth.
"I know more than you think. For instance, you want to gather all five Croneswords in a vain attempt to awaken the God of the Dead, Ynnead, to fight Slaanesh." Zeke spoke with composure. "With all due respect, it's an absolutely impossible task."
"One of the Croneswords is located deep within Slaanesh's palace. To retrieve the sword, you have to defeat Slaanesh, but the prerequisite to defeating Slaanesh is retrieving that very sword. It's an endless dead loop. With just your forces, you won't be able to break it in this lifetime."
The expressions of the three Aeldari warriors drastically changed. The truth Zeke revealed hit upon the deepest despair hidden within the hearts of the Ynnari.
"Since you guys can't do it, why not give the sword to me? The chances of gathering all of them in my hands are much greater than in yours."
"If we Aeldari cannot deal with the God of Desire, then what possible method could you have?" Yvraine showed no mercy.
"Then there's nothing left to talk about."
"Human, if you intend to take it by force, the Aeldari will fight to the bitter end!" Yvraine shrieked.
At her signal, one of the elites stepped forward, tightly gripping a massive red diamond on his chest that looked like a dripping drop of fresh blood.
A violent and scorching killing intent flooded the entire hall. Zeke felt as if a sea of blood was churning before his eyes, as a phantom bearing ancient divine majesty rose from the ground behind him.
He stood thirty-three feet tall, his skin like churning waves of fire, his face like tempered iron. He wore an iron helm and chainmail made of overlapping steel leaves.
It was Khorne's nemesis, the Aeldari God of War, Khaine.
Of course, it wasn't the real deal—it was likely just a projection or something similar.
"You want to do this the hard way?" Protected by the God of War, Yvraine warned in a chilling tone.
However, what made her feel uneasy was that the human named Zeke before her didn't show the slightest hint of fear. On the contrary, he was looking at the ruby in the elites's hand with great interest.
Was it summoned through that piece of equipment? Worthy of the Aeldari, they really have a lot of good stuff.
Zeke turned to Guilliman behind him. "If a fight breaks out here, can this hall of yours handle it?"
Guilliman stared at the tyrannical projection of the God of War, entering the highest state of combat readiness.
But just at the absolute peak of this explosive tension, Yvraine's tone suddenly softened, carrying a hint of cunning:
"If you want to forcefully seize the Cronesword, we have no choice but to fight to the death. But if this is an equal exchange, then that is a different matter entirely."
"An exchange?" Zeke raised an eyebrow, smelling a conspiracy unique to these pointy-eared Riddlers.
"I have heard that you hold a realm of absolute purity in your hands." Yvraine stared at Zeke. "A sacred place that can completely isolate the Warp, where even the whispers of Slaanesh cannot reach."
Zeke was momentarily stunned, then chuckled dumbly, slowly sheathing the Emperor's Sword.
It seemed this fight wasn't going to happen. These Aeldari Farseers truly lived up to their reputation. They absolutely knew about Yvraine coming to Macragge, and had already perfectly calculated Zeke's psychological expectations.
So they were waiting for me here. Zeke sighed inwardly. Sure enough, as long as the benefits were massive enough, even their gods... these Aeldari were willing to trade them away.
Light flickered in Yvraine's eyes, and her two guards gradually lowered their weapons.
"So, you've got your eyes on the Nether?" Zeke rubbed his chin.
It wasn't entirely impossible, Zeke calculated in his mind. The Nether dimension was boundless. Carving out a piece of territory for the Aeldari would not only earn him the Cronesword, but would also, to a certain extent, completely tie the strongest fighting force of the Aeldari to his own war chariot.
It is exactly as the Harlequin kidnapped by him said. That place truly exists in this human's hands! Yvraine rejoiced, her elegant demeanor showing cracks in the face of such massive temptation.
"That is only one of the conditions!" Yvraine took a step forward. "We have one more demand."
"There's more?" Zeke's expression darkened.
"The second condition also holds immeasurable rewards for you," Yvraine said rapidly, forcing herself to maintain her imposing aura. "I need you to enter Slaanesh's Palace of Pleasure and bring back the Cronesword lost within it."
"In exchange, once you successfully return, the Ynnari will consider giving you the other Croneswords currently in our possession."
Yvraine's heart was pounding. This demand, which to anyone else was an obvious suicide mission—would the human before her really agree to it, just as the Great Farseers had predicted?
These Aeldari Farseers even calculated that I plan to visit Slaanesh's domain. Zeke actually was planning to make a trip.
Not just for the Cronesword, but because he wanted to sit down and have a chat with a Chaos God to verify a thought he had in his heart.
Why choose Slaanesh?
Because relations with Nurgle had already completely broken down. Tzeentch was full of wicked schemes all day long. And Khorne went without saying—his brain was all muscle.
But he still had to put on an act so Zeke laughed out of 'extreme anger' and shouted furiously:
"How can you Aeldari say such shameless words? Do you really think the Warp is a place you can just come and go as you please?!"
Yvraine didn't back down. Her slender hands clenched tightly together. "The burning of Nurgle's Garden has long since spread across the universe. That is already proof enough of your capabilities."
"If you refuse, you will not get the remaining Croneswords," she added.
"Not necessarily. It would just take a bit more effort," Zeke replied. "But saving that effort by taking this deal is fine too."
"You... agree to this exchange?" Hearing Zeke's tone, Yvraine felt the deal was done.
"No."
This single word of refusal instantly made the newly relaxed atmosphere tense up again.
Seeing Yvraine's increasingly anxious face, Zeke knew he had guessed right. When it concerned the future of the Aeldari, there was still plenty of room to raise the price.
"What exactly do you want? We can discuss this further." Seeing Zeke stay silent for a long time, Yvraine ultimately couldn't afford to drag it out and asked first.
"Hmph, do you really think you can convince me with just that?" Zeke put his hands in his pockets.
Yvraine felt that this cooperation was probably going to be declared a failure.
"It's gonna cost you extra."
As soon as these words came out, the three Aeldari looked at each other in dismay.
"What I mean is, you gotta pay more."
--
Next Goal = 1000 Powerstones.