Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 40 I've never been like this before

The Emperor learned the whole story, and the fog before his eyes cleared, allowing him to see everything that had happened in the Warp.

Doom! His essence must have ended up in the warp! It was discovered by the four Chaos Gods, and after some time, it returned to the real universe.

The four gods, in the subspace, explored its mysteries for millions of years without success.

The Doom Slayer's hatred for demons has been elevated to a concept, a hatred that is inherently resistant to demons and even the four Chaos Gods cannot desecrate its essence.

The emperor walked briskly through the desert, humming an ancient tune with a smile on his lips, as innocent as a child, yet tears welled in his eyes.

In the illusion, endless information entered his mind, revealing universes beyond universes and a highly developed human civilization.

The Four Gods are not insurmountable. Great beings from the multiverse have descended upon this universe, even if they are only fragments. Their essence is powerful, and they are born with infinite possibilities.

As the emperor proceeded, he proceeded cautiously, constantly gathering his own power, fearing that he might break the trial barrier released by the gene seed.

He was observing demons he had never seen before, which, though different from warp demons, were far more dangerous.

The demon chanted blasphemous words, and the memetic infection continuously corroded the surrounding environment, eroding the souls of the test subjects.

If the subject fails and does not complete the trial before their soul is contaminated, the gene seed will destroy all infection.

In the middle of the wasteland, Li Tang's frail body was locked in a fierce battle with demons, surrounded by a circle of demon corpses. He was panting heavily and dared not relax for a moment, constantly repelling the demons.

Death! Rebirth! Death! Rebirth!
Demons are reborn when killed, and he is reborn when killed.

He and the demon seemed trapped in a time loop, doing meaningless things.

Sometimes, he didn't even want to kill demons anymore, because it was completely pointless.

"This is a great trial."

A clear, youthful voice entered the ear, carrying a hint of timidity from not having spoken to anyone for a long time, as well as a godlike majesty.

In the brief moment between killing the demon, Li Tang looked up and saw a black-haired boy sitting on a rock, emitting a faint golden light. The demon ignored him, swept past him, and rushed straight towards him.

The golden light was familiar to him; it was the majestic golden figure from the laboratory.

Tears welled in the black-haired boy's eyes, yet he was filled with joy. Looking at himself, however, he saw no sorrow, no joy, no pity: "Only by passing his trial can you gain recognition."

"That power that can traverse the universe and is unstoppable!"

After saying that, he left without giving Li Tang any hint that he could get help.

"Gene Sorcerer." The Emperor's consciousness returned to reality. Seeing the body convulsing on the operating table, he said in a flat voice, "Disconnect the life support device. It's not working."

"Generous strongmen give everyone a chance; if you can't even pass a simple trial, you're not qualified to receive that generosity."

How many gene seeds can be cultivated from the genetic material of No. 21?

"My lord," the sorcerer lowered his posture and reported truthfully, "there are only three hundred."

The Emperor was somewhat surprised that the genetic material from the Primarchs of other legions produced several times more seeds.

"Gene sorcerers, the Imperial Guard has taken over the work here, and you have done a great job."

As he spoke, the Emperor waved his hand, unleashing a burst of psionic light: "After you leave here, you will forget all your memories."

The gene sorcerers, their bodies hunched over, left, their robes billowing in the breeze; they had no need to question the emperor's decision.

"Imperial Guards!" The Emperor's majestic voice suddenly rose as he ordered his most loyal servant, "Activate all three hundred gene seeds and cultivate qualified warriors at all costs!"

Regardless of cost!

Even with their strong mental fortitude, the Imperial Guards couldn't help but tremble when they heard those four words.

Currently, out of 30,000 men, not a single one is qualified. A simple calculation shows that at least 100 million lives will be sacrificed for just 300 soldiers of the 21st Legion!

"Prepare for the worst." The Emperor saw through the servant's heart, and his next words shocked and even made the Imperial Guard jealous: "A billion people, a hundred billion people—even if it takes the entire population of the world, I will have them."

The Imperial Guard has always been created by the Emperor himself, who also personally bestows weapons upon each member.

The Emperor now seems somewhat unfamiliar to the Imperial Guards. Is he still the rational Emperor he once was?
Like a child who sees something they love, they want to get it at all costs, without thinking about the consequences.

The Emperor used his psychic powers to write incantations in the operating room, creating a psychic barrier to shield himself from the omnipresent gaze of the warp's powerful beings.

Having done all this, he strode away with one of the Imperial Guards.

"I will help you forget all of this." The Emperor stepped forward and said to the Imperial Guard following behind him, "Alpharis!"

"Father! Why?"

The man in golden armor was not a member of the Custodian Guard; he was one of the twenty-one Primarchs, a Primarch who had been blown to Terra by the warp storm. Alpharis, the Genetic Father of the Twentieth Legion!

"You and Makado taught me to keep secrets. Don't I have the right to keep secrets?"

In the operating room, Alpharis witnessed everything and knew nothing more than that his father had asked the Imperial Guard to accept the training of his brother's offspring.

He had no idea what the Emperor saw within the barrier of the gene seed, or why he made that decision.

Now, he is asked to erase memories from his brain for a secret that no one knows.

“Of course…” Alpharis, clad in golden armor, said hesitantly, “If it is your request, or if I am not qualified to know right now, you may proceed.”

The moment Alpharis finished speaking, the Emperor's hand pierced through his brain without causing any damage, extracting a memory and shaping it into starlight.

Alpharis then realized that his father wasn't consulting him, but rather issuing a notification he couldn't refuse.

"What have I forgotten?" As the starlight faded, Alpharis realized that a part of his memory had been erased.

"A secret you don't need to keep."

The father's voice came from ahead. The Primarch turned his head and looked at the operating room guarded by the Imperial Guard and protected by a psionic barrier. He suppressed the curiosity that he shouldn't have had, and then turned and left.

"How could you issue such an order?"

Macardo, sounding annoyed, pushed open the door and entered the Emperor's private room, where he saw his old friend standing by the window, looking into the distance through the stained glass.

A fragrant aroma of wine wafted from my nose. On the table was an open bottle of red wine, and a goblet was filled with its rich, aromatic flavor.

Shouldn't you explain?

Macado quickly realized that the Emperor already knew of his arrival and had even calculated the time of his arrival, preparing a glass of his treasured Guterres red wine.

He was working himself to the bone! For this newborn empire! For all those diverse departments that seemed never to be enough!
The man in front of him was still enjoying his fine wine and the scenery, looking completely at ease. Macado even wanted to whack him on the head a few times!
"My old friend!"

The emperor turned around and smiled as he faced his old friend, his ancient ally who had fought alongside him for a long time!
The smile that had gradually faded over tens of thousands of years of distrust reappeared on that face.

It's a bit stiff, but it looks good.

Makado stood frozen in place, tears welling in his eyes, gazing at the genuine smile on his old friend's face.

The former emperor was a very talkative and lively person. He had smiles, expressions, and emotions on his face.

As his psychic powers grew stronger, he foresaw humanity's decline. He shared the prophecy with his friends, hoping to join the immortals in extinguishing the dark future.

Unfortunately, some people, still caught up in the glory of the Golden Age, do not trust what the Emperor says and even suspect that he has gone mad under the influence of psionic powers.

Gradually, the emperor distanced himself from them.

He stopped talking about language in public, his facial expressions became increasingly fewer and colder, and he began to nervously prepare for the future he predicted, gathering all the technological resources that could rebuild humanity.

Now, Macado saw his old friend smile again, a genuine smile from the heart.

Stiff, but happy.

“Macado, my old friend!” The Emperor’s hand trembled slightly as he picked up the wine glass and handed it to him, his eyes also filled with joy and tears.

"I've never been so happy, I don't know how to describe it to you..."

The emperor's face was slightly flushed, whether from the alcohol or from excessive excitement, he didn't know. His speech was a little slurred, he wanted to tell you everything he had seen, but he stammered in his eager excitement.

"I can't wait to share this with you..."

“Don’t share this with me!” Makado’s expression changed, and he abruptly interrupted his old friend: “I have too many secrets on my back, they’re making my back bent.”

"Just tell me, what did you see?"

The Emperor lowered his head, his fingers lightly rubbing together his wine glass, remaining silent for a long time. When he finally looked up, his eyes were firm, his tone resolute, and he uttered two words that shocked Macardo:

"hope!"

"Crack!" The wine glass shattered, spilling priceless imperial treasures onto the ground. Macardo was truly shocked.

In a dark universe teeming with evil gods, the word "hope" is both the most illusory and the most precious.

The Emperor embraced Macardo, both of them with bloodshot eyes.

"Though we are small and frail now, hope has truly arrived!"

(End of this chapter)