Marneus Calgar's expression darkened as he looked at the Archmagos of the Mechanicus with visible displeasure.
If Belisarius Cawl had said this privately, Calgar might have believed him and led him to his father, the great Lord of Ultramar, Roboute Guilliman.
But the composition of this group was too strange, especially with those two xenos present. How could such a matter be revealed to evil aliens?
"It is the Emperor's will," declared Saint Celestine, waving the longsword in her hand. "The great Lord of Ultramar, the son of the God-Emperor who has slept for ten thousand years, will awaken. It happens today, and it happens here. So, Calgar, take us to see Lord Guilliman."
She was only here because of the Emperor's command; otherwise, after the Fall of Cadia, she should have returned to the Warp to await the God-Emperor's next instruction.
The others present, including the High Marshal of the Black Templars and Inquisitor Greyfax, looked at Belisarius Cawl in shock.
The reason was simple.
On the journey here, the Archmagos had not told them the true purpose of their mission.
They had assumed from the beginning that Cawl had merely come here for resupply before returning to the Imperial Capital, Holy Terra.
"Fine. Those two xenos stay here, and I will take the rest of you to see the great Lord Guilliman," Calgar said.
Because this concerned the awakening of his great Father, he had to treat Archmagos Cawl and the Living Saint with caution. Taking them to see the Father was acceptable, but he refused to let those two aliens take a single step closer to the Primarch.
"Believe it or not, we are here to help. And without our assistance, Roboute Guilliman cannot awaken," Yvraine stated.
They had come to the five hundred worlds of Ultramar to fulfill the task given to her by Ynnead, the God of the Dead.
The Ynnari had just been established and the Eldar needed humans to stand on the front lines to attract the attention of Chaos.
This would buy the Ynnari time to collect the five Croneswords, successfully fully awaken the God of the Dead, and defeat the great enemy of their race.
"Impossible! I will never let you two xenos enter the Fortress of Hera. The fact that I didn't execute you immediately is mercy enough. Now, get out. Immediately," Calgar roared.
"Chapter Master Calgar, this is the Emperor's will," Saint Celestine insisted. "For the great Primarch to be resurrected, he requires the help of these two. Otherwise, the great Primarch cannot awaken properly."
Belisarius Cawl stood aside, deep in thought. Strictly speaking, his Armor of Fate should have been enough to save Guilliman.
However, he vaguely recalled his meeting with the Emperor in the spiritual realm and noted the presence of the Living Saint.
Furthermore, the Emperor's sword had fallen into his hands before this, and guided by fate, he had brought it to Macragge to be used by the awakening Primarch Guilliman.
Regarding the Primarch's resurrection, it seemed best to follow the Emperor's arrangement.
"That is absolutely impossible! If that is the case, I will not let you near the Primarch," Calgar insisted.
Just as Calgar was about to angrily expel them, Chief Librarian Tigurius, standing nearby, spoke up.
"Chapter Master! Please believe me this once. This is the Emperor's will, and what we do now is about to save the entire Imperium of Man," Tigurius said.
He knew it was incredibly hard to believe, especially allowing two xenos near the Primarch, but all of this was the Emperor's command and arrangement.
Calgar's face was ashen as he looked at his battle-brother. Tigurius had served almost as long as he had, and the two had been companions for hundreds of years.
He knew his old friend well. The Chief Librarian's psychic power rivaled even Mephiston of the Blood Angels.
Before the Chaos fleet attacked Macragge, it was this old friend who had foreseen the event, allowing the Ultramarines time to adjust their forces for a defensive counterattack.
Therefore, his old friend's words carried more weight and effectiveness than anyone else's.
"I understand, my old friend," Calgar said. "But you all must remember this. I will be watching you. If any of you dare to make a move out of line, believe me, my power fist will be the first thing to smash into your skulls."
"That is hard to say," Yvraine smiled.
Her method of saving people was quite unique, and this group of mon-keigh would definitely try to stop her.
There was no helping it. For the primarch to be reborn, he had to die first.
Suddenly, a golden light descended. Saint Celestine froze in place, suspended in mid-air. Everyone sensed a powerful, holy will descending.
Everyone present trembled physically and knelt on the ground. Some mortal soldiers with weaker wills simply fainted.
"Great... Great God-Emperor, is... is this true?" Celestine's expression turned very strange, her face flushing red.
It seemed the Emperor was conveying a message to her. Everyone present assumed it must be regarding the Primarch.
"I... I understand. Great God-Emperor, I will obey your will," Celestine said, dropping to one knee.
The Living Saint felt incredibly conflicted. As a Living Saint who had served the Emperor for a thousand years, every mission from the Emperor had been to go somewhere to support a front or rescue Imperial warriors.
But this time, it was a marriage. Or rather, two marriages. One was her own, and the other... Celestine looked toward the Prophet of the Ynnari.
It did not seem entirely problematic.
If the Emperor had indeed reached an agreement with the Eldar Death God and the two sides were truly to form a union, then these two were indeed the most suitable candidates.
"Great Living Saint, was that... was that the God-Emperor just now?" Inquisitor Greyfax asked excitedly from her knees, her eyes gazing frantically at the Living Saint.
"Great God-Emperor!" The High Marshal of the Black Templars, along with Chapter Master Calgar and everyone else, knelt on the ground shouting, "The Emperor Protects!"
Celestine nodded, answering their question, which made their expressions even more fanatical.
The only ones who remained standing were the two representatives of the Eldar.
The Prophet of the Dead, Yvraine, and her personal bodyguard.
"Living Saint, what are the Great God-Emperor's instructions?" Tigurius asked.
With the Emperor's decree, he would be more confident in persuading Calgar. Otherwise, according to the visions he had seen, Calgar would never let those two Eldar near the genetic father.
"The Great God-Emperor conveyed two... two messages," Celestine stammered, her face slightly flushed.
This expression confused the crowd. What was going on? Why was the Living Saint suddenly acting shy?
"Lady Celestine, please convey the God-Emperor's decree to us!" Greyfax urged.
"His Majesty intends to form an alliance with the Eldar. Therefore, this time, the two Eldar may accompany us to see the Primarch. And... and..."
Everyone looked at Saint Celestine with confusion. And what?
'Say it! The suspense is killing us!' they thought.
"The Emperor decrees," Celestine announced loudly, "that upon his awakening, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman, shall marry the Prophet of the Ynnari, Yvraine."
The entire hall went deathly silent.
Calgar looked at the Living Saint before him with disbelief, denial, and fury.
Even the face of the Black Templar High Marshal turned grim, and Greyfax placed her hand on her hip, ready to draw her gun.
Even Tigurius, who had been vouching for the Living Saint, looked astonished. Was there a mistake?
This was absurd! Beyond absurd!
"Silence! You heretic! How dare you? How dare you speak such words?" Calgar raised his Power Fist and aimed the integrated bolter at the Living Saint.
Damn it, she dared to blaspheme his FATHER!!.
Even Yvraine, standing to the side ready to watch the drama, looked bewildered. What was the situation?
What was the human corpse-emperor planning?
Meanwhile, the red-armored warrior guarding Yvraine was seething with rage, his chest heaving visibly.
The reason was simple: Yvraine was his student, and as her swordsmanship instructor, and their relationship was complicated.
He had taken the alias of the Visarch, silently coming to his disciple's side to guard her.
"That has nothing to do with me. I am just here to revive Guilliman. Don't think too much, I have no intention of marrying a human," Yvraine said.
"I know it is hard for you to accept, but this is the Emperor's will, and I haven't finished conveying the Emperor's decree!" Celestine said.
"Shut up! You damned..." Calgar prepared to fire.
Suddenly, a warp fluctuation tore through the room.
A massive rift opened, and a pair of large feet descended from the sky, interrupting the Chapter Master's speech.
Three strangers appeared in the center of the room—two men and one woman.
The man in the lead was currently stepping on Calgar, pinning him to the floor. No matter how much Chapter Master Calgar struggled, he could not make the foot on his head move an inch.
"Quiet! Now I will convey the Emperor's will. Everyone, listen to my command," Axis said.
...
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ps?