Chapter 26 Stars and Rising Sun
"I will explain your dream!"
Yuki suddenly sat upright in bed.
…then immediately lay back down, pulled the blanket over her head, and peeked out at the Imperial Guard staring at her.
"Ahem… um… where's Dad?"
"The Emperor is overseeing operations at the front," Valdor said as he entered. "You have been unconscious for two days. He has already informed your forces of your condition. You need not worry."
"Then I'll go find him. I have something important to tell him."
She swung her legs off the bed.
Her wounds had nearly closed. Fresh down had begun sprouting along the edges of her damaged wings. More importantly, she could feel something new within herself — a deep, steady current of power, quiet but undeniable.
"Follow me," Valdor said.
The newly constructed command post hummed with quiet efficiency. Tactical hololiths glowed over the central table while Astartes officers and Thunder Warrior commanders discussed advance routes and fire support grids.
As Yuki entered, all present — except the Emperor and the Custodians — offered the Eagle Salute.
They had heard.
They had heard how she shielded an entire hive with her wings.
That act alone had earned a reverence deeper than battlefield glory.
The Emperor glanced at her, then gestured for her to stand beside him. His hand rested lightly on her shoulder.
"Look," he said. "Any thoughts?"
Yuki studied the map.
She stroked her chin.
"We abandon fortress warfare," she said. "Shift to mobile heavy firepower integrated with rapid infantry maneuver. We don't know when the siege engine will redeploy. Mobility is survival."
She pointed to several nodes.
"Stop trying to grind cities down. Use Astartes strike teams for infiltration, sabotage, and command decapitation. Deny them coordination. Collapse their structure. Once the Ursh core command fractures, we eliminate Karagan."
The Emperor nodded.
"Agreed."
No objections followed. Orders were issued immediately.
Within minutes, the chamber emptied.
Only father and daughter remained.
"Father, I—"
"You awakened half of your warp essence."
"…Half?"
Though engaged with the possessed Karagan, the Emperor had never ceased watching her through the empyrean.
Despite direct attention from the Ruinous Powers, she had not yielded.
At the brink of annihilation, she had broken her own limits.
She had awakened.
"Only half?" Yuki blinked.
The Emperor spoke calmly.
"Just as the Ruinous Powers possess dual aspects, the warp nature of the Primarchs contains opposing potentials. What you awakened was one aspect."
"What kind?"
"Pain," he said.
Not physical pain.
Conceptual pain.
A metaphysical agony that scorches the soul itself.
Her white flame did not destroy.
It punished.
Any soul touched by it would experience unending agony — not death, not oblivion — but a perpetual reminder burned into existence.
Even the most numb daemon of Nurgle would feel it.
And it would never fade.
"As long as the soul exists," the Emperor said, "the pain remains."
Yuki's eyes widened.
"So I specialize in demon-hunting now?"
"If the gods intervene directly," he added, "they can sever the afflicted portion of their essence and escape it."
"Oh."
Her shoulders sagged.
"So it's useless."
The Emperor gently patted her head.
"The Ruinous Powers do not intervene lightly. And removing that pain is costly even for them. To do so, they must excise part of themselves."
He paused.
"It is far from useless."
She nodded slowly.
"Then… since I awakened half… will they stop targeting me now?"
Silence.
"…Not necessarily."
She stared.
"Still?!"
The Emperor did not elaborate. Opportunities for corruption would come again. The Great Game never ends.
From somewhere beyond reality:
Slaanesh: May I join the table now?
To the Imperium, Ursh had been a formidable foe.
But it could not halt humanity's destiny.
Under relentless assault by mortal auxilia, Astartes, and Thunder Warriors, the Ursh armies collapsed. Their psionic corps shattered. Their Red Engines proved ineffective against Imperial mobility and precision strikes.
Defeat was inevitable.
Karagan refused to accept it.
He conscripted civilians by the thousands.
He clung to delusion.
But delusion cannot stop destiny.
That night, the Emperor stood atop the command post roof, gazing toward the distant capital hive.
"Father, counting stars?"
Yuki approached quietly.
He did not turn.
"Stars?"
Above them lay only a yellowed haze and a dim, distorted moon. Terra had not seen clear skies for millennia.
People had forgotten the stars.
"Sit," he said.
They sat side by side on the roof's edge.
He pointed upward.
"The Big Dipper."
She saw nothing.
"That is Centaurus… and there…"
He spoke for a long time.
Longer than she had ever heard him speak.
He spoke of ancient skies. Of journeys across Terra. Of ideals, hopes, betrayals, and friends who had fallen away across centuries.
His voice was deep, steady, and distant.
Eventually, silence returned.
Bootsteps echoed below.
"Don't worry, Father," Yuki said softly. "This time we'll succeed."
She leaned closer.
"I'll stay with you. No matter what."
He did not look at her.
He smiled.
Was it relief?
Or sorrow?
She could not tell.
Moonlight draped the rooftop in silver.
At first light, the final assault began.
Astartes and Thunder Warriors led the charge. Auxilia advanced in vast waves behind armored spearheads. Stormcraft carved contrails across the sky while artillery and war engines annihilated enemy concentrations.
The Emperor faced Karagan once more.
This time, there would be no escape.
Yuki cut through the battlefield like a comet of gold and white fire. Siege engines fell beneath her blades. Psionic assaults dissolved against her awakened essence. White flame passed over enemy psykers, leaving them screaming as their souls burned with unseen agony.
By dusk, the Ursh Empire was finished.
Karagan's headless corpse hung from the hive walls.
His pearl armor was claimed by the Emperor.
Imperial forces secured the region.
High above the hive, the clouds parted briefly, revealing a pale blue sky.
The Emperor stood at the summit, watching twilight fade.
Yuki joined him.
"After the Thunder Warriors' genetic defects are corrected," he said, "they will serve under your command."
"Ah? I planned to distribute them among the Legions."
"Yes. But only you can command them."
"…Alright."
He continued:
"Your gene-seed has been stabilized. Compatibility trials have begun."
Her eyes widened.
"Really?"
She had never asked.
She knew she had not been part of his original design.
The Emperor looked directly into her eyes.
"Yes. Really."
He spoke the next words in Chinese.
"From this day forward, your name is Yuki — Yuan, meaning a new beginning… Xi, meaning hope."
Emotion surged through her.
She leapt forward, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind, nearly startling the Custodians.
"Thank you, Father."
The Emperor smiled — a smile none present had ever seen.
Warmer than sunlight.
"Have you chosen a name for your Legion?"
Yuki watched the setting sun.
"Rising Sun Angels."
"Then so it shall be."
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
"Love you, Father. You're the best."