Chapter 138: The Capital and the Alliance
Holy City - Capital of the Human Empire
The Unification War ground onward. Vast streams of resources and talent flowed from conquered territories to the Holy City. The floating metropolis transformed rapidly into a marvel that defied mortal comprehension.
Within the strategic command centre, the Emperor and Malcador reviewed intelligence reports from across their expanding domain. Maps covered every surface. The double-headed eagle's advance was marked across continents and planes.
"The Northern Dwarf Kingdoms, conquered. The Island Nations were conquered. The Sea of Moons and its valleys, conquered." Malcador's voice carried quiet satisfaction as he catalogued their victories.
The Empire's expansion had become an unstoppable avalanche. Each conquest added momentum to the next. The double-headed eagle banner replaced countless heraldic devices. It became the most recognised symbol across all Toril.
In every corner of the world, scribes and storytellers recounted the Emperor's great works. All who possessed wisdom recognised the truth. Toril stood on the threshold of its first true unification in recorded history.
The Emperor studied battlefield reports. Then, power suddenly coursed through His consciousness. These were rewards from the cosmic forces that governed fate itself.
[Fate Node altered by 20%. Acquired: Nether Scroll [Lower Portion], Legendary Spell Analysis, Faith Conversion to Divine Power, principles and applications.]
Knowledge flooded His awareness. Understanding that had been lost for millennia accompanied it. The Emperor absorbed the Nether Scroll's contents instantly. He also gained the fundamental techniques for transmuting mortal faith into divine energy.
"Fascinating," He murmured, examining the new knowledge. "This bears remarkable similarity to the Dream Converter technology from the Ultraman universe. The process of converting mortal thoughts and beliefs into usable power."
With the Nether Scroll's wisdom, even without Mystra's cooperation, the Emperor could weave His own magical framework. Upon returning to His original domain, He would immediately construct a Weave capable of filtering and isolating Warp energies.
Such protection would allow humanity to ascend to psyker status without the catastrophic corruption that had plagued His original timeline.
Valdo's approaching footsteps interrupted His thoughts.
"Your Majesty. Lord Malcador." The Captain-General of the Custodian Guard entered. He offered proper respect to both figures.
"Report," Malcador commanded, looking up from his tactical assessments.
"Primarchs Perturabo, Mortarion, and Lorgar await your audience in the main hall, my Lord."
Malcador glanced toward the Emperor. He set aside His strategic charts with deliberate care.
"Come. We shall receive them."
....
The Hall of Offerings
In the grand hall, an unusual scene was unfolding.
Raven found himself surrounded by three of the Emperor's gene-sons. Each presented offerings of the Empire's sacred foodstuffs with the solemnity typically reserved for religious ceremony.
"Perturabo, your work exceeds all expectations," Raven declared between enthusiastic bites of crispy fries. "Potatoes and tomatoes irrigated with Elven Holy Spring water possess a truly divine flavour."
The Lord of Iron had swept through the ancient Elven forests. He forced the proud woodland dwellers to submit to Imperial might. Among their tribute offerings was a supply of blessed spring water. Perturabo had immediately put it to agricultural use.
"Your satisfaction brings me great joy," Perturabo replied. His scarred features showed rare contentment.
"Gale has established contact with several Fire Elemental Lords. He believes we can cultivate specimens directly within the Fire Elemental Plane. Imagine, lava-flavoured fries."
"Encourage his efforts," Raven nodded approvingly. "When we eventually depart this realm, I believe Gale would make an excellent regent for the Human Empire."
"Mr. Raven, you must sample these," Lorgar interjected. He presented a plate of translucent fries that gleamed like crystal. "Cultivated by the deep-sea races, they possess a perfectly subtle oceanic essence."
"No, try these instead!" Mortarion countered. He brandished his own offering like a sacred relic. "Grown in the Shadowfell itself, the flavour surpasses mortal comprehension!"
The Emperor paused in the doorway. Malcador and Valdo flanked him.
'These damnable, corrupting influences.'
He was preparing to stride forward and demand proper military reports when reality itself suddenly froze.
Light stopped mid-ray. Sound died in the air. Even the mighty Primarchs stood motionless as statues. Their offerings hung suspended in temporal stasis.
Only the Emperor and Raven retained the ability to move.
Radiance bloomed in the hall's centre. From that luminance stepped a figure of impossible presence.
He moved as though traversing space and time with each casual step. He arrived before them from distances that spanned eternity itself.
The newcomer's appearance defied easy description. Neither young nor old, neither beautiful nor plain, but possessing a perfect symmetry that seemed almost featureless. Pale hair and beard framed features that might have been carved from cosmic concept itself.
His ceremonial robes appeared woven from the night sky. Deep black adorned with thousands of stars and moons. They were arranged in patterns that created harmony from chaos.
"Ao," Raven breathed. Surprise colored his voice.
He recognised the being before them, Ao, guardian of the D&D multiverse, the Overgod whose authority superseded even the mightiest deities.
Like the One-Above-All in Marvel's cosmology, Ao was pure cosmic consciousness made manifest, a being who should never appear before mortals.
Yet here He stood.
"Greetings, outsiders. Mr. Raven," Ao inclined His head with formal courtesy to both the Emperor and Raven.
"You can perceive him?" the Emperor asked. He indicated Raven with imperial curiosity.
"Naturally. Without Mr. Raven's unique nature, how else could you have entered this universe?" Ao explained with patient clarity.
Raven's eyes widened. Guilt flooded his features. His inherited memories from the Mist Space remained fragmentary. He understood neither its true nature nor the mechanisms by which it enabled interdimensional travel.
"You are this universe's controller? Its sovereign?" the Emperor inquired with the directness of one accustomed to absolute authority. "Do you appear now to expel your uninvited guests?"
The question carried no fear. He had already obtained the complete Nether Scroll. Even expulsion would bring no loss to His greater plans.
"Quite the opposite," Ao replied, shaking His head. "Your presence has catalysed beneficial changes throughout this universe. These modifications promote evolution and development. Why would I seek to remove such positive influences?"
"Then why have you manifested before us?" the Emperor pressed.
"To propose an alliance."
The words struck like thunderbolts. Raven's expression shifted to pure disbelief.
'An Overgod, the supreme being of an entire universe, seeking alliance with mortals?'
"Yes, an alliance," Ao confirmed. His voice carried the weight of cosmic necessity. "The entities that drift through the Eternal Void grow stronger with each passing epoch. My knowledge indicates that multiple universes have already fallen to corruption. They have been transformed into breeding grounds for beings that defy comprehension."
"No single universe possesses sufficient power to resist them. Only through unity can we hope to preserve existence itself."
"These entities in the Eternal Void explain their nature," the Emperor commanded.
Ao nodded gravely.
"The heavens stretch infinite and boundless, without beginning or end. They contain countless universes within their vast expanse."
"Each universe emerges from nothingness and, at its appointed time, returns to that same void. Destruction."
"However, at some unknown point in cosmic history, beings appeared in the spaces between realities. Their origin remains a mystery. Their purpose is unknowable. They exist beyond death, beyond time, eternal."
"Perhaps they have endured too long, or absorbed excessive negative emanation from dying universes. Regardless of cause, these beings have all transformed into Sources of Contamination."
"Even should they bear no malicious intent, their very existence corrupts reality itself. Like drops of black ink, regardless of their moral nature, they pollute any clear water they touch."
"Which universes have fallen?" Raven asked. His voice was tight with concern.
"Many," Ao replied solemnly. "Some whose names I no longer recall."
The Overgod raised His hand. He gestured through the air. Reality shattered around them like breaking glass. Fragments of the hall fell away to reveal something far more terrible.
The scene transformed. Ao brought both the Emperor and Raven into the ruins of what had once been a magnificent universe.
Horror filled the cosmic void.
Grayish-white, mucoid behemoths larger than solar systems drifted through space. Their surfaces were covered in ever-burning incense that would never be extinguished. Their impossible anatomy contracted and expanded in patterns that hurt to observe.
Titanic creatures of living flesh sat in meditation postures. They were crowned with halos formed from thousands of unblinking eyes. Bizarre godlings spawned from madness itself.
Bloated masses trailing countless umbilical cords floated as though through amniotic fluid. Their surfaces were dotted with eyes that opened and closed in synchronised waves. They triggered primal revulsion in any observer.
Such abominations filled the endless void. Their presence was accompanied by colours that shifted in impossible spectrums. They painted reality in hues that should not exist.
The entire universe had been transformed into a realm of distortion and abnormality. It radiated malevolent wrongness that defied comprehension.
Power stirred within Raven's consciousness. Lines of fate concerning this corrupted realm automatically manifested in his vision. They were chaotic and broken, yet still yielded crucial information.
"This... this is the Taoist Universe?" Raven's voice carried shocked recognition.
He had once considered that realm as a training ground for the Primarchs. Later, sensing its bizarre and terrifying nature, he had abandoned the idea. He feared it might drive the gene-sons to madness. Instead, he had chosen the relatively safer Marvel universe for their trials.
"Its former designation is irrelevant," Ao replied with supernatural calm. "What matters is its current state. Reason and order have been entirely consumed."
"Both deities and mortals within that reality have suffered complete corruption. They have been transformed into entities that mock the very concept of existence."
"What caused this contamination?" Raven asked, though he suspected the answer.
Ao's gaze turned toward him with cosmic weight.
"Those things that wander the Void passed through that universe. This was the result."
[End of Chapter]
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