Zhou Ye didn't immediately turn his attention to Fulgrim. Besides, the Primarch's focus had already been drawn away by another presence.
"FULGRIM!!!"
With a furious roar, Rylanor charged at Fulgrim like a god of war. To prevent the Ancient from losing his head in a blind rage, Zhou Ye had deliberately teleported him a bit farther away. But now, the Dreadnought was charging back like a runaway dump truck, wielding the master-crafted power sword Zhou Ye had made specifically for his chassis. The miscellaneous Slaaneshi daemons in his path were no match for him.
"Well, if it isn't Rylanor. My dear Rylanor. I am truly so happy to see you. Look at that broken body of yours. Come, join me. I will grant you a perfect form, and together, we shall enjoy eternal pleasure."
Just like that, Fulgrim charged forward to meet him.
It had to be said, one really couldn't have high expectations for anything related to Slaanesh. They were completely driven by whimsy, abandoning the battle halfway through to seek pleasure. It was no wonder he had fought Rogal Dorn for so long, only to flee the moment Dorn left. At least Angron had the decency to die once. This one was simply a disgrace.
Still, this worked out well for Zhou Ye. He began to operate with great speed.
"Ai-chan, help me lock onto Quintus Hive, target: the Cathedral."
Since he was on a battlefield, he still needed Ai-chan to confirm the coordinates for teleportation. In Warhammer, a failed teleportation that got you stuck in a wall could actually kill you; it wasn't just a simple glitch. So, Zhou Ye needed the assistance.
In the next moment...
"Off you go!"
In a flash, the little girl vanished. She disappeared in a ray of golden light, though no one on the chaotic battlefield noticed.
Seeing the girl disappear, Zhou Ye finally let out a sigh of relief.
Damn it, I ran into the Yellow Fiend trying to possess someone. Just now, he had acted purely on instinct to save her. When he turned around, he realized she was a chosen of the Golden Fiend, and what was worse, the Golden Fiend was already in the process of possessing her.
Frankly, he had arrived just in time. Any later, and the little priestess would have been burned to death by the Emperor's power. Only a Primarch could withstand a divine descent from the Golden Fiend without being harmed. Look at the psychic blank, Guilliman; after the Golden Fiend descended upon him, he was perfectly fine.
This little priestess, however, would have become nothing more than kindling, ignited to bear the Emperor's power.
---o---
Meanwhile, Aiswei'er stared blankly at the familiar yet strange hive city before her. She turned her head and saw the massive Ecclesiarchy Cathedral. She saw the faithful, who, upon recognizing the vestments she wore after her sudden appearance, began to prostrate themselves frantically. She was lost in a brief moment of confusion.
All she remembered was that just as she was about to die, a tall, handsome figure in magnificent black-and-gold armor had saved her. But for some reason, the giant Astartes flickered in and out of existence, one moment before her, the next gone.
At the same time, a feeling of pure, unadulterated bewilderment welled up from within her, but that was all. She just remembered a flash of light, and then she was standing before the Hive Cathedral.
As for...
"???"
Aiswei'er felt countless questions flooding her mind. The questions piled into a mountain, then flowed into assembly lines. And then, the questions transformed again, into a feeling of being utterly flustered and exasperated.
Emperor be praised, that Lord clearly saved me, so why do I feel so flustered? This must be blasphemy, yes, blasphemy...
But as Aiswei'er prayed silently, the feeling of exasperation only grew stronger.
And with it came another emotion... You just wait. This isn't over.
---o---
"It's been a long time, my dearest Rylanor."
Just as he had on Terra all those years ago, Fulgrim's old habit flared up again. The moment he saw something interesting, he lost his head and completely ignored his actual objective. It was no wonder Slaanesh was considered the most pathetic of the Four Chaos Gods; these people had no concept of restraint. The moment he saw Rylanor, he charged out like an obsessed fangirl, heedless of everything else.
Rylanor, for his part, was like a dump truck, and at his side was a smaller black figure.
It was Ashira, the only Emperor's Children Astartes who had accompanied him in the boarding assault on the Battle Moon.
But...
Just then, a sword light flashed. Ashira felt a sense of foreboding, and then...
Clang.
A crisp ring of metal on metal sounded. The incredibly cunning attack had been blocked by Ashira, but only just barely. He then saw a twisted figure standing before him: the Champion of Slaanesh, Lucius.
"My brother, that is a war between our Father and Rylanor. Why don't you come over here and play with me?"
Lucius, longsword in hand, was looking at Ashira with a twisted, ugly gaze. He could tell that among this new batch of the Phoenix's sons, this one was the strongest. It had been a long time since he had last drunk the blood of his brothers. Of course, if he could make this brother of his fall, that would be even more perfect. The Prince of Pleasure would grant him more blessings, and it would be so, so joyous.
And for some reason, these Emperor's Children gave him a very strange feeling.
"The noble purple and gold has rotted into a festering pink. You are nothing but a hollow and twisted monster," Ashira said coolly, looking at the creature before him.
"You..." Hearing this, Lucius paused, then flew into a rage.
Seeing this, Ashira drew his twin blades and slowly leveled them at Lucius.
This familiar posture made Lucius freeze. It was a scene he was all too familiar with—or rather, a scene that no Emperor's Children from that era could ever forget. A figure began to dance wildly in his mind, a mind already soaked in the indescribable.
Then, that figure slowly superimposed itself onto another...
Akurduana.
First Sword of the Emperor's Children's court, eldest son of the Legion. That most perfect and most imperfect of the Emperor's Children, the one they had all admired.
He was supposed to be dead. Dead for ten thousand years. But why was this person's form now merging with that of such a being?
"You're dead! You've been dead for ten thousand years! You profane creature, you are not worthy of imitating him!"
For some reason, the already agitated Lucius charged at Ashira. His longsword struck like a viper, attacking from every conceivable angle. The treacherous cunning of his swordsmanship completely suppressed Ashira, leaving him no room to maneuver. Even with the best resources from Zhou Ye and a significant amount of "I thinks" and "muttering" modifications, Ashira was still too young. He had not yet reached his full potential.
Worse still, Lucius was a true veteran of ten thousand years of war. The constant shifts and feints of his longsword forced Ashira onto the defensive.
"Why, why, why are you so slow? Why, why, why must you imitate him? You are not worthy, you profane thing!"
Lucius attacked frantically, and then...
Clang...
With a sharp crack, Ashira was sent flying backward. A large gash was torn across his black-and-gold chest plate, and blood flowed freely. His helmet had been knocked off, revealing a young, handsome face. His features made Lucius's mind go blank for a moment.
"Huff, huff..."
But it was Lucius, the one who had wounded and sent his opponent flying, who was now panting heavily. It was not from exhaustion, but from the violent turmoil of his emotions.
"I see now. Is it Ferrus?"
Temporarily suppressing his emotions, Lucius remembered something.
"Hahaha, who would have thought. That fellow Ferrus had such thoughts. He actually preserved Akurduana's gene-seed. Good, very good, excellent."
"What are you talking about..." Ashira looked at Lucius, completely bewildered. He had no idea why this man was acting so insane. But his Lord had once said not to try and understand the thought process of Slaanesh's followers. In that case, he didn't need to understand.
But...
"Cough, cough..."
Ashira couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. The Slaaneshi Chaos Space Marine before him was unprecedentedly powerful. To him, he was an insurmountable peak. If he were allowed to act freely, he would be a massive threat to everyone present. If he couldn't defeat him, then neither could his brothers. Against this foe, they would face only one outcome...
A merciless slaughter.
Therefore...
"I must hold him here!"
At that moment, Ashira made his decision. Even if it meant death. This scum of Chaos, this great enemy of mankind, must be destroyed.
But...
"The surgery has twenty-three steps for you. You have one more than the others. I don't know how stable it is, nor what its limits are. This final gift I give you, never use it. Otherwise, you may cross the boundary of what it is to be human."
The words from that day echoed in Ashira's ears. He remembered what his master had told him. This was the true power buried within him, a power he had been constantly trying to control.
"My Lord, please forgive my transgression."
Ashira slowly closed his eyes in prayer. The power within him began to surge wildly. A potent force was being unleashed from his body. A massive wave of Imaginary energy instantly washed over the psionic energies that defined him.
"You court death!"
Seeing Ashira drop to one knee and begin praying, Lucius roared and transformed into a streak of light. His longsword slashed down toward Ashira's neck. He intended to end it with a single blow, just as Fulgrim had done to Guilliman ten thousand years ago.
But...
Clang.
A crisp sound of impact rang out. To his horror, Lucius found his attack had been blocked. Ashira's slowly opening eyes now shone with a golden light that was almost tangible.
CRACK...
The power armor on his back split open, and golden wings unfurled.
"Artificial Honkai Collapse..."
This moment instantly drew the attention of the entire field. Even Fulgrim and Rylanor paused. Because of Zhou Ye, he had thrown the two of them a little too far apart. He had been worried Rylanor would lose his head. But this worked out as well. It completely captured Fulgrim's attention, giving him time to do something else.
Namely, deal with the corruption that his Titan legion had suffered. They had dared to use Vashtorr's power to corrupt his Titans.
And now, Ashira had forcibly activated the Honkai factor within his body. This factor came directly from Zhou Ye himself. He had used a portion of his own genes, added some Honkai energy, thought about it for a bit, kneaded it together, and then injected it into Ashira as an experiment. Ashira was, to date, Zhou Ye's only such creation, still in the experimental stage. Limited by energy constraints, Zhou Ye hadn't made any others.
But he hadn't expected that, perhaps due to the warped rules of this world or some other reason, he could now seemingly possess Ashira directly.
So, Zhou Ye, who was currently mobilizing his Authorities, decisively sent his power and consciousness into Ashira's body.
"Interesting... You thought it was the Emperor, but it was me, Zhou Ye da!"
"That man..." A look of shock appeared on Fulgrim's face. He saw something in that figure that was familiar, something that had even obsessed him. Before, the other Emperor's Children hadn't engaged in melee, opting to shoot from a distance, so Fulgrim hadn't recognized it. But now, seeing the dual blades and the sword style, he finally realized something. Unfortunately, he was a bit too far away, and Rylanor was still blocking his path.
But Lucius, who was face-to-face with Ashira...
"False Emperor..."
Looking at the eyes that were now completely covered in gold, even a being as profane as he felt a tremor in his very soul. The massive golden wings spread wide. They were different from Zhou Ye's. Zhou Ye's wings were a cosplay of Sanguinius's, but these were entirely different.
As the wings unfurled, in Lucius's eyes, he saw a newborn, dazzling golden phoenix. It was so holy and noble that he couldn't help but cover his own, long-twisted eyes. He even felt a sliver of... shame.
"May this journey lead to the stars. May the glory of humanity endure forever."
A voice, as calm and still as an ancient well, came from Ashira's lips...
---o---