NOVEL NEXT Chapter 110: Chapter 110
--- Victor POV---
Finding myself floating in an all too familiar darkness, I cursed myself for not being better prepared for the fortress. Believing I was about to be reincarnated again, this entire predicament had me experiencing a wave of different emotions. I felt angry and upset that I was not strong enough to withstand the recoil, distraught that I had potentially left three of my wives and allies to die in that fortress, and heartbroken that I would never again see my wives' beautiful faces again. They had placed their future and lives in my hands, and I went and inadvertently killed myself trying to protect everyone.
'At least this time I did not die because someone messed with my stuff. I am still salty about that bullshit twenty years later.', I thought, chuckling to myself as I waited for the Reincarnation Deity to speak with me.
"You are not dead, Descendant of Klordius Aremus. I have brought you here to speak with you.", a commanding voice said, from somewhere off in the abyss.
Before I could respond, a blinding golden light enveloped the area around me. Appearing out of the darkness, a familiar face revealed himself to me with an almost grandfatherly smile. Unsure why the Emperor of Mankind wanted to speak with me and who this Klordius Aremus was, I was admittedly very confused.
"My apologies for doubting your words, but I am almost certain that my homeworld and nation have no connection to the Imperium of Man. Are you certain you have the right man?", I asked.
"I assumed you would say as much, but I can assure you, you are very much related to my son Klordius Aremus. You are the spitting image of my son, albeit a good two feet shorter than him.", the Emperor of Mankind told me, "Allow me to show you."
Projecting an image of his son before me, I was unsettled by how similar the two of us were. As the Emperor had said, Klordius and I looked identical to one another with me just being shorter than him. If Roboute Guilliman had picked up that fact as well, it must have been the reason he was so willing to trust me when I told him I had a plan to resolve their issues.
"You have convinced me that we look identical, but I have never heard of Klordius Aremus before. Is he one of the two Erased Primarchs?", I inquired.
"That is correct, he was the Primarch of the Second Legion. Klordius and his brother, Varrim Zephrim of the Eleventh Legion, are the two Primarchs who were stricken from the records under my orders.", the Emperor of Mankind stated, with a saddened expression, "As you are Klordius' descendant, you deserve to know what happened back then, so you understand your heritage."
Offering me his hand to help me get back onto my feet, the two of us began to walk alongside each other. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, the Emperor of Mankind began to speak again.
"As I am sure you are aware, my twenty sons were stolen from me during the earliest days of their birth. They were cast out into the Warp and eventually landed on various worlds throughout the Imperium of Man. Finding them one by one during the Great Crusade, I tried to impart my knowledge and wisdom upon them, but many were too affected by their upbringing to listen to me. Klordius Aremus and Varrim Zephrim were the most vocal opponents of my plans because they believed I would lead our people into utter ruin.", the Emperor of Mankind said, with a dry laugh, "Eventually things came to a head, and both left my side to find their own solution to ending Chaos. Varrim Zephrim flew into the Eye of Terror believing the solution to stopping Chaos was held within the Warp itself, while Klordius Aremus left the Imperium and searched for answers among the countless galaxies out there. As punishment for their act of betrayal, I had them scrubbed from the archives and forbid those who knew them from ever uttering their names."
Stopping for a moment and looking off into the void, the Emperor of Mankind let out a pained sigh. Seeing how history ultimately played out, I understood that he likely regretted not heeding their warnings more. The Imperium of Man was arguably in an even worse position than it had prior to the Great Crusade. Given the immense psychic power he possessed, the Emperor of Mankind had seen it all crumple down around him almost completely helpless to stop its downfall.
'If that is the case, I wonder why I could not find any traces of them anywhere on world. There were no Imperium Vessels in Davy Jone's Locker, so their ships never landed on our world. Does that mean someone, or something cast them onto our world?', I thought, very perplexed by this realization, "So then, I assume you have some sort of request for me, right? I doubt this was just a social call to tell me about my heritage."
"I do, yes.", the Emperor of Mankind acknowledged, as we continued walking, "The Imperium of Man has regressed back to what it once was during the Age of Strife but maintains the façade of a dignified nation. My people are being bled dry by nobles and politicians using my name and vision as a beating stick. Before Roboute took up my mantle, leadership used religion and superstition instead of logic and reason to guide our nation. I have been forced to sit back and watch them ruin and tarnish everything their ancestors built, no longer can their corruption go unanswered."
"Hold on a moment…Lion and Roboute are doing a great job chipping away at things. Do you really need me to step in?", I inquired, honestly believing the two men would eventually rein things in.
"Both of them operate perfectly as military men and politicians, but what our nation needs right now is an engineer, inventor, and scientist. As you have correctly stated on multiple occasions that scientific and technological advancements have all but stopped during my internment upon the Golden Throne. Our people need a leader that will put them back on the right path and improve the lives of everyone in the Imperium.", the Emperor of Mankind said, looking over at me, "Lion El'Jonson and Roboute Guilliman are not suited for that work, but you are."
"I am uncertain if I want to work with the Imperium outside of sealing the Great Rift. The Imperium of Man's hatred for xeno races is inexcusable when so many other nations have demonstrated that most of us can peacefully coexist. All your neighbors are multiracial nations, I cannot fathom why you felt human supremacy was the right choice.", I stated, looking back at him.
"You must understand, the Imperium of Man's hatred for xenos stems from our personal interactions with our intragalactic neighbors over the millennia. I readily admit that peaceful coexistence would work, but hardly anyone in our galaxy wants that. Some of the Eldar, Necron, and Tau might accept peace, as a majority though, our agendas are simply far too different to coexist in the same galaxy.", the Emperor of Mankind remarked, "If peaceful coexistence was an option, I would have readily joined hands with them to fight our shared enemy."
Understanding where he was coming from, I could see why the Imperium was like this. Their xenophobia stemmed from the repeated slaughters humanity had endured at the hands of the local xenos, at least in the beginning. The way things were now, there was an honest chance that they might consider peaceful coexistence to prevent their own extinction. Even the Necrons might be willing to negotiate if the benefits were high enough for them.
'Hmm…I could potentially bring peace and stability to this region of space permanently from this position. Once that was achieved, nothing would stop us from traveling the stars like I have been wanting too.', I thought, "If you are not against me trying to sue for peace, while simultaneously improving the Imperium's situation, I will agree to help you."
"So long as you are acting in the best interests of the Imperium and our citizens, I will not prevent you from doing as you see fit. Peaceful coexistence, while unlikely, would be a great boon for the Imperium of Man as it would allow us to focus our military might toward defeating the forces of Chaos.", the Emperor of Mankind stated, offering me his hand, "Is this satisfactory for you?"
"It is.", I agreed, shaking his hand.
"I will ensure the way forward is made clear for you so you can begin your work.", the Emperor of Mankind assured me, as he gave me a hug, "Welcome home, my Lost Son."
As he let me go, the world around us began collapsing in on itself. Bidding me farewell for the time being, he left me floating in a pleasant warmth I had come to cherish. Opening my eyes and looking up at the ceiling of our tent, I could hear the peaceful breathing of my three wives close to me. Lifting my head to have a look, the three women were pressed up as close as possible to my bandage body.
"Good morning, Luxion. How long have I been unconscious?", I inquired.
"I can imagine, I doubt they liked the thought of becoming widows so soon after our wedding.", I stated, "How many people did we lose?"
Giving me the full after battle report, we had lost twelve Heavy Troopers, four Sister of Battle, three stealth units, two Skitarii, two Eldar, one Automaton, one Tech-Priest, and Zapdakka. In addition to the losses, five Sisters of Battle had lost a limb, and two Heavy Troopers were in critical condition. Understanding the situation, I was happy that we had not lost more troops in that shitshow. Thankful that my wives had escaped unscathed, I began to gently rouse them from my sleep.
"Sorry for waking you, but I would like to get up and move around a bit.", I said, as they began to stir.
"Mmm…five more minutes…", Mylene pleaded, opening her eyes slightly.
Seeing me smiling at her, she immediately awoke and began showering me with kisses. Calling me every insult she knew, Mylene began to cry thanking whatever deity existed out there that I had come back to them. Joining in with her, Lucoa and Roxanne began lecturing me on not overdoing things like that again. Promising to be more careful in the future, I pulled the three of them into a big hug and told them how much I loved them.
"I…I suppose we can forgive you.", Mylene stated, as I wiped the tears from her face.
"Did you enjoy waking up to the three of us like this?", Lucoa teased me.
"Of course I did, what man would not enjoy seeing his wives like this.", I chuckled, kissing each of them, "We should get dressed and go speak with everyone about our plans moving forward. While I can understand if you want to regroup and try this again later, we have come too far to turn back now."
"We knew you would say that.", Roxanne said, her tail wagging happily under the sheets, "That said, I believe we have other things to attend to right now."
Looking down at what was pressed up between her legs, she gave me quite a seductive smile. Even though I was still a bit sore from overexerting myself, I was not going to say no to my gorgeous wife while she straddled my waist. Casting a barrier around the tent to block noise from leaving the tent, the four of us took some time to express our love for one another.