Chapter 295: Two God-Emperor
"Lord Hades, long time no see."
Hades blinked, staring at the Magos before him, falling into deep thought.
He remembered that… Jin didn't look like this, did he?
Hades had just finished having a blast at the Techmarine Base, enjoying the spotlight and the grand scene of a big shot's arrival. Before he could savor it, Malcador dragged him straight toward Magma City.
At a corner of the vast city, before Hades could react, Malcador slipped into a massive building. The next moment, the old man stepped back out and motioned for Hades to enter.
Puzzled, Hades walked inside—
Now, standing before him was a beast of iron and steel, bowing respectfully. Compared to the once-thin and nimble figure, Jin was now even larger than Hades after his modifications.
Layer upon layer of crimson silk hung down, studded with star-like black grains that shimmered. Threads of gold embroidered hymns, singing the mercy of the god. Upon that towering frame of steel and bone, candlelight and dripping wax burned silently.
And in the darkness of the hall, Hades glimpsed Charon and Sister Nera.
Hades blinked again.
Perhaps his silence was too deafening, because Jin's electronic display screen lowered, showing a familiar emoticon smiley face.
":) Lord Hades?"
Hades swallowed hard.
Even if Korklan himself had come here today, Jin's transformation was enough to make him bow.
"Jin… what are you now?"
On the screen, a laughing face appeared.
"Thanks to Lord Malcador's guidance, I have found my place among the many sects of Mars—to better serve the Imperium, and the Omnissiah."
Jin bowed deeply, like a great beast lowering its head before Hades.
"For the Lord of the Underworld—"
"Stop!!!"
Hades nearly broke out in goosebumps. Something felt horribly wrong, especially as he recalled Malcador's earlier words…
"First of all, I am not a god. Secondly, Jin, I remember you weren't like this? You're learning Korklan's routine too?!"
Jin looked at Hades, silent for a moment.
Then, he extended his screen so close it nearly brushed against Hades' ear. A faint crackling of static buzzed right next to him.
"Lord Hades, I believe you are not a god."
Hades' left eyelid twitched. Somehow, this was even creepier than Korklan declaring to his face that he was a god.
"Since the moment you first set foot on Mars, I have followed you. Before that, you were more human than anyone I had ever met—ah, forgive me, perhaps that sounds ambiguous. What I mean is: you are a person. If I were to define what humanity is, I would faithfully use the records of your behavior in my database as the definition."
As Jin's screen hovered close, Hades noticed a doodle in one corner—a little dog chasing its own tail.
"But,"
Symbols flickered across the display, that smiling emoticon looking more sinister and unnerving the longer one stared at it.
"Lord of the Underworld, Lord Hades—this era, this species, needs a place to anchor its faith, a refuge to rest its emotions. And only a Perfect Man can bear such a mission."
Jin's whisper was like a devil's temptation, echoing in Hades' ear.
Words hovered at the tip of Hades' tongue as he began to think. Malcador knew about the cult of the Underworld King—that meant the Imperium, the Emperor himself, knew.
And Malcador had helped Jin secure his footing on Mars…
…no way.
Hades belatedly realized… it seemed like he was being draped in the yellow robe, set on the pyre to roast.
Could he—could he even refuse?
Sweat poured inside him. As a bona fide Earthling, though he knew that Warhammer was different from his original world, where the Warp and gods really did exist, he could accept that much—
But that didn't mean he could accept a bunch of people going insane over him. Just take the current Martian cults as an example: those devout Magos would actually build servitors specifically for prayer. Just imagining those empty-eyed servitors muttering his name—Hades—under their breath…
Or think of the cases in the original canon—after the Emperor became the God-Emperor… those ignorant zealots who sought inner peace through mortification and blind devotion…
Perhaps Hades' examples were too extreme, but when you mix religion with Warhammer, the odds of extremity skyrocketed.
Besides, Hades himself didn't want to debut as some kind of deity (?). Losing his privacy, becoming the subject of bizarre rumors, with people tossing every wild story onto his name—no thanks.
Hades' brain raced at full speed. Clearly, the Imperium wasn't going to care about his personal likes or dislikes. As long as it aligned with their interests… that was enough.
He swallowed hard.
"Jin, if what you said just now is merely about humanity needing a vessel for its faith… then perhaps someone far more perfect than me already exists—and has been doing that all along."
Jin stared silently at Hades. Then, from beneath the crimson robes, a secondary limb slowly extended, holding a heavy tome inlaid with golden filigree—Lectitio Divinitatus.
Jin raised it reverently toward Hades, and Hades clearly saw the signature of Luojia on it.
"Lord of the Underworld, one God-Emperor alone is not enough. For humanity, your gifts are not the same."
Wait—-?! God-Emperor?!!!
Hades snapped. Was he even in 30k anymore? Or was this already an early build of 40k? Or some sort of beta-test server?!
If it weren't for seeing Charon and Sister Nera present here, Hades would honestly suspect Jin had joined the Word Bearers.
Then what about the Perfect City? Was the Emperor going to admit he was a god?
Even though inside he was frantically ranting about how this script was nothing like what he'd signed up for, outwardly Hades forced himself to stay composed.
"Jin… just now you said… God-Emperor?"
Jin's enormous screen retracted, and once again he bowed deeply to Hades.
"I may have never met that great man, but I think he too must be someone helplessly bound, yet burdened with much for humanity."
"…Yes. The God-Emperor is human. The Omnissiah is human—whichever one it may be."
Jin spoke calmly.
Hades stared at him. He muttered something under his breath—
"Then why…"
But the words quickly trailed off and vanished.
Right. Why?
Of course Hades knew why—humanity's faith in gods gave them certain benefits, but more importantly, it prevented stray thoughts and emotions from being consumed by the Chaos Gods.
But wasn't the Emperor's policy in 30k the Imperial Truth? To have humanity embrace scientific truth en masse, thereby throttling the Warp's influence?
So when had the Emperor changed his mind? Why had he changed his mind? And what role exactly was Hades himself supposed to play in all this?
His head was buzzing. He hadn't even brainstormed this hard when he was persuading Mortarion. Countless possibilities swarmed his mind at once.
Hesitantly, Hades glanced at Jin.
Forget it—he hadn't met the Emperor himself. Odds were, he really didn't know the real reason either… and Malcador… that guy only ever spoke in riddles.
Noticing Hades had been silent too long, Jin spoke again, the same fixed smile displayed:
"Lord of the Underworld, perhaps you needn't worry too much. From my perspective, this is merely a new title—and in the Warp, nothing more than a ripple."
—Jin's words jolted Hades awake again.
If a religion really did form around him, then his Black Domain would inevitably swell under the influx of faith, wouldn't it? Right now it could barely be suppressed by the Emperor's psychic might—but in the future?
Wouldn't they just throw him into some desolate, uninhabited star system?!
Seeing Hades sink visibly into gloom, Jin realized his attempt at comfort had only backfired. Still, it didn't matter. Malcador had only instructed him to prepare Lord of the Underworld psychologically, to inform him of the path he might soon tread.
As for the rest—Malcador said Hades had to understand it himself.
That task, Jin had clearly accomplished well. Though guilt pricked faintly within him, once he recognized that this was ultimately for Hades' own good, Jin chose to mute those guilt-signals.
His expression settled back into calm, while he felt the cluster of candles upon his frame burn in silence.
Truthfully, without Hades, there would be no Jin-306 as he now stood. From a discarded outcast of Mars, he had clawed his way to a rank surpassing even the Korklan…
And Hades had never mocked him like the others, never sneered. Instead, he had shown unimaginable kindness, and even in idle moments, offered a helping hand.
The people Jin had met in his life—most had the habit of casually kicking a man when he was down.
Jin did not believe in gods. He believed in people. He believed in the human being, Hades.
When Korklan praised Lord of the Underworld, Jin praised the man, Hades.
Such a perfect man—even to found a religion for him, it was still… reasonable.
Jin felt the symbols flicker across his display once again, forming a friendly, gentle expression.
"Lord of the Underworld, what's done is done, and cannot be changed. Perhaps you should come and see the new equipment I've prepared for you—so that you'll be ready for what lies ahead."
"If you act merely as a commander of the Death Guard—forgive me, I mean no insult to the Death Guard—but clearly, that title cannot match the crown you are about to wear."
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