The commotion over the Battle Sisters quickly subsided, and Guilliman did not continue his teasing.
His mind had moved on to another matter, though it wasn't a particularly major problem.
"The Night Lords' actions this time have had a terrible impact. Although Curze has already executed them all, there is a large group of children who have been left psychologically traumatized."
Guilliman's expression darkened as he spoke. Those men had been too depraved.
The children were now trapped in a state of recurring nightmares. The best course of action for them was to leave Macragge and start a new life elsewhere.
It wasn't a huge issue. Just as the Emperor was fond of children, so was he. But after seeing those cherub-automata, Guilliman no longer dared to claim he liked children.
Still, he had noticed this particular issue among the tens of thousands of documents in the administrative system Zhou Ye provided and intended to resolve it personally.
"I heard about it. Almost made Curze blow a gasket. The guy has brightened up a lot since his psychosis was cured. Though I still have no idea how that happened. But his cubs spent a long time repenting before the Emperor's statue."
Zhou Ye was aware of the situation. A contingent of Knights of the Night had remained on Macragge to care for the large group of children.
"Bring them to Trailblaze."
"Alright. After the parade, have them return with the Battle Sisters. They will be well cared for."
Zhou Ye agreed without a second thought. They were just children; it was no problem. As for the chaplains and priests, if any of them dared to try any of their medieval traditions in front of him, Zhou Ye would throw them directly to Curze and let them see the Night Lords' traditional craftsmanship firsthand.
As the two were talking…
RUMBLE.
"WOAH!!!"
The ground began to shake. The cheers, which had been tinged with the tones of perverts, vanished, replaced by a profound sense of shock.
The enormous body of the Emperor Titan had begun to move. Ever since the battle for Macragge had ended and it had been moved to this spot, the Titan had remained in a standby state.
Now, as the Titan moved again, its colossal frame began to lumber forward.
A one-hundred-meter-tall behemoth, the size of a thirty-story building, standing still is one concept. But seeing it move is another concept entirely. As the decorated Emperor Titan began to walk, the perverts in the crowd all fell silent. Everyone stared, speechless, at the massive form.
Every step made the earth tremble. The giant sword, radiating immense light, sent a feeling of soul-deep fragmentation through all who beheld it.
In that instant, the scene fell quiet. Then, led by a group of Tech-Priests, many people knelt, paying homage to this incarnation of the Omnissiah. Although, in their eyes, this modification bordered on blasphemy, it no longer mattered.
Everyone has a flexible bottom line. And this was the world of Warhammer. Mere beauty meant little, but this Titan, representing absolute power and destructive force, was different.
"Praise the Omnissiah!!!"
At the call of a Fabricator-General from one of Ultramar's forge worlds, everyone knelt in unison.
"There's something not quite right about your Emperor Titan."
Guilliman also stood up, his brow furrowed as he looked at the massive machine. He felt a chill run down his spine as he stared at its terrifying twin blades. This was the machine that had, in close combat, shattered a Khornate Abominable Emperor Titan with absolute, direct force. And it was a Titan of Khorne—one that specialized in melee, bloodshed, and brutal fury.
Guilliman turned to look at Zhou Ye. No wonder Khorne's laughter had been so full of excitement that even a psychic dullard like him could sense it.
This fellow was a natural-born champion of Khorne. It was just a pity that Khorne could never have him.
However, Zhou Ye was not paying attention to Guilliman. His eyes were glazed over, so much so that he didn't even notice the Recaff spilling from the cup in his hand.
Because…
[Twin-Blade Titan]: In such a glorious moment, who among you is not participating!!!
[Titan-01]: NO!!!
[Titan-02]: I can improve too! I can do melee!!!
[Legion 1, Warlord Titan 1]: You twin-bladed heretic! What are you so proud of?
Just a moment ago, he had received an invitation from Prometheus and had been inexplicably pulled into the internal chat of his AIs. He looked at the god-like Emperor Titan in the distance, then at the completely mismatched tone of this chat group.
Zhou Ye perceived the unevenness of the world. He had connected these Titans to the Path of Trailblaze to increase their resistance to Chaos corruption. After all, on the space hulk, one had been taken offline by a casual blow from Vashtorr (in his understanding). This had made Zhou Ye realize that in this universe, there was always a higher mountain.
But he had absolutely not intended for them to engage in such abstract nonsense. Were these still Titans?
"Are you alright…?"
Seeing Zhou Ye spill his Recaff without even noticing, Guilliman asked with some concern. For a Primarch to show such an expression, it likely wasn't a small matter.
"It's nothing, not a big problem. Everything is going according to plan. Ahem, I don't actually have a plan for this. Right, Guilliman, aren't you going back to Terra?"
"Yes."
Guilliman nodded, then looked at Zhou Ye, waiting to see why he had suddenly brought this up.
"What do you think of Ahriman? Want to take him with you? I suspect your journey back will not be peaceful. Bringing a powerful psyker along would be an excellent choice."
"…"
Guilliman fell silent, then…
"Ahriman, the Chosen of Tzeentch? Are you serious? What I mean to say is, isn't it a bit unwise to have him around?"
"It's fine. He can't cause any trouble under my watch, but he is a menace in the long run. And…"
Zhou Ye's expression became meaningful. Seeing this, Guilliman's mind began to calculate at high speed. There was no hiding the look of someone watching a play unfold on his brother's face, so…
"Magnus."
"Correct."
"Then I absolutely cannot take him."
Guilliman said slowly. Zhou Ye shrugged with theatrical disappointment. He had been hoping to see a famous scene of father-son filial piety.
And so, with a rather speechless expression on Zhou Ye's face, the victory parade officially concluded.
---o---
On Trailblaze.
Inside Zhou Ye's Wonder Workshop, a tall, curvaceous figure with green hair appeared.
This was the body Zhou Ye had promised to give Ai-chan. He had been busy before, but now he had finally found some time. As promised, he had built a body for Ai-chan. Of course, this was an adult version.
"Captain, I finally have one!"
Ai-chan's voice echoed in his ear. As the ship that had transmigrated with him, the two of them were completely bound. As long as Zhou Ye existed, the Hyperion existed.
"Try it out."
After confirming there were no issues, Zhou Ye nodded. He saw a flash of light, and the tall, green figure stood up.
Zhou Ye had acquired his own ship-girl. She moved and began to sway her hips excitedly. Compared to the previous chibi-style Armed Puppet, this was an entirely different concept.
"Hmm…"
Looking at the ship-girl before him, Zhou Ye nodded. His creation was indeed perfect. Unlike Prometheus, Ai-chan had truly accompanied him on his adventures in Warhammer.
The two of them had eaten shit together in this broken place. Now that she wanted a body, Zhou Ye would certainly give her one.
"Captain, what are you thinking about?"
Seeing the distracted look on Zhou Ye's face, Ai-chan asked with curiosity.
"There's a problem. I've discovered something rather troublesome. Those people… their worship has finally caused an issue. It's a bit of a mess now."
"What is it?" Ai-chan asked, seeing the pained look in Zhou Ye's eyes.
"It wasn't exactly caused by their worship. It was bound to happen one day. Because they have all been 'corrupted' by me, their final destination is not the Golden Throne, nor the Warp, but me…"
Zhou Ye slowly raised his hand, and a special mark appeared in his palm.
This was not something from Warhammer, but a product of Honkai.
The Stigmata Space.
This Stigmata Space, built upon the foundation of countless heroic souls… for those who were corrupted by him and died bravely in battle, Zhou Ye had sheltered their souls, protecting them from the torments of the warp. They had all now gathered upon Zhou Ye, and through his own power and laws, they had become a new existence.
Now, within this space of consciousness, the souls of all those he had corrupted would return here.
In the past, he hadn't known how to handle it. Simply crushing their souls felt wrong. But he didn't want to disturb their eternal rest either. Now, the quantity was sufficient. Combined with his own power, it had formed a unique space.
It was a place at the boundary of soul and consciousness, existing independently of this world. It was neither the warp nor Imaginary Space. The memories of those souls had now converged within it, forming battlefields where countless past enemies could be recreated.
"A Stigmata Space? Isn't that a good thing?" Ai-chan's eyes lit up.
"Yes, it's good. I can even implement the Stigmata Project and pull all of my people directly into the Stigmata Space. But it's a mess in there right now. I need an administrator for the Stigmata Space."
Zhou Ye said with uncertainty. The properties of his Stigmata Space were rather peculiar.
He could project the souls of those within his Stigmata Space back into reality to fight for him again. As long as he continued to pay the energy cost, they could continue to fight. Even if they were killed, it was only temporary; their souls would return to the Stigmata, and he could summon them again at any time.
But the problem was that this ability was a bit useless. The amount of Imaginary energy required to summon them was terrifying. Unless absolutely necessary, it was a losing proposition for him. But if he left it unattended, the negative emotions within those thoughts would accumulate and produce chaotic changes.
This was what frustrated Zhou Ye the most. It was, one could say, a price to be paid.
"Tell Klee and Prometheus that I will be entering a period of slumber for a while. I need to cultivate an administrator for my Stigmata consciousness. No matter who comes, do not disturb me during this time."
"Understood."
Ai-chan nodded without another word and departed once more.
Zhou Ye slowly closed his eyes. His consciousness plunged deep within himself, into a space formed from endless scorched earth.
This was the nexus where various memories and souls intersected. At the same time, countless daemons rose up around him. These were not true daemons, but manifestations formed from the condensed negative emotions within those souls.
Now, Zhou Ye intended to project his will into this place. Golden flames erupted once more.
The powerful flames consumed all the manifestations of negative emotion. This place was connected to him; if he did nothing, it would eventually become a problem.
In an instant, the entire space began to boil.
Time passed, drop by drop. Finally, at a certain point…
"Very good. I have now traveled through every node of this Stigmata Space and left my mark. All that remains is to create my representative… an administrator."
Feeling the change deep within his soul, Zhou Ye mobilized the origin of this space. In an instant, a figure appeared in his hand.
He clenched his fist, and a young girl with wings on her back and an eight-pointed star above her head slowly materialized.
With the girl's appearance, the entire Stigmata Space instantly stabilized and finally took its complete form.
"In the name of the Origin and the Finality, born from the cry of humanity in despair, I bestow upon you the name: Alaya, the Will of Humanity's Collective!!!"
At the same time, all of Zhou Ye's followers paused for a moment, feeling a special, profound connection. Zhou Ye himself felt countless points of light connecting to him, which made his eyebrow twitch.
"Although you are weak for now, I hope you can be of some use in the future."
Looking at the young girl before him, Zhou Ye's consciousness slowly dissipated, leaving this place. He now had more important things to do.
--