"Letting Psykers grow unchecked was far too dangerous, but blindly suppressing them with cruelty would not solve the problem either."
"If those people already lived in hell, how could anyone expect them to resist the temptations of the Warp?"
"No one would protect a world that brought them nothing but pain. They would only destroy it by any means necessary."
"If we wanted them to reject Chaos, we had to show them what kind of happiness they could attain by doing so."
"As time passed, humanity would inevitably produce more Psykers, until the entire species transformed into a new psychic race."
"We needed to establish academies to guide those with psychic talent and teach them to control their own power."
"When Psykers gathered together, trouble could easily arise." The Emperor pointed out the flaw in Raven's suggestion. "Their souls would shine in the Warp and attract those fiends."
"Then gather them together and send them to barren planets, guarded by the Night Watch. We could also deploy extermination weapons such as Cyclone Torpedoes in orbit."
"Once an academy lost control and became a nest for Warp creatures, we could use those devastating weapons to cleanse the entire planet."
"That way, even if the Psykers went out of control, they would not cause much harm."
"If those students graduated successfully, we could recruit them into specialized positions and strengthen the Empire."
"Warp navigation and astropathic communication both relied on psychic power. The Empire's development required such special talents, people capable of wielding the Warp's power and authority."
The Emperor stared intently at Raven. A trace of struggle showed in his deep eyes, and after a long while, he finally nodded.
"Very well. I'll adopt your suggestion."
"Nice, Big Guy," Raven said excitedly.
The Emperor asked, "What do you think psychic academies should teach?"
"Obviously, they should teach them how to control magic and techniques for fighting Warp fiends."
"They should also learn divination, as well as how to brew magical potions and forge enchanted weapons and equipment."
When asked about plans for the academy, Raven became especially excited.
"I've even thought of a name for it. We'll call it Hogwarts."
"We can also get a Sorting Hat and divide the students into different houses according to their personalities and talents."
"We'll bring in some harmless magical creatures for the students to practice on, select promising candidates to train as Witchers, and teach them how to hunt monsters and play Gwent."
"Of course, every academy must offer one very important class: researching how to use magic to make the world's most delicious ketchup and fries."
"A wizard who does not know how to make delicious ketchup and fries is not qualified."
As the Emperor and Waldo listened, a string of black lines appeared across their foreheads.
Good grief, everything before this had just been buildup.
Ketchup and fries were your real goal, weren't they?
The Emperor adopted Raven's suggestion. While establishing the Silent Convent and the Night Watch, he also began building psychic academies across various barren planets.
Professional teachers were sent to guide kind-hearted children with psychic talent.
Students with strong wills were selected to form Witcher orders.
Branches of the Silent Convent and the Night Watch would also be built near those psychic academies.
If any problems arose, they could be dealt with immediately.
After the Petacanas System was fully liberated, the Emperor had some of the accompanying bureaucrats work with the resistance's core members to establish a new government.
At the same time, he arranged for members of the Adeptus Mechanicus to provide technical support to the new government.
The system was ordered to resume production as quickly as possible and rebuild a civilized society, so it could join the Great Crusade and serve the Empire.
Once all that was done and the relevant personnel had withdrawn from the planet's surface, the expeditionary force prepared to set out once more.
Under the gaze of countless citizens, the ships in low orbit ignited one after another, bursting with radiance as brilliant as stars.
When the ships left low orbit and moved away from the planet, many people wept.
They knew full well that they would never again have the chance to see the monarch who had saved them and sworn to protect them.
The fleet would need two days to reach the system's Mandeville Point.
Raven calculated that it was enough time for them to visit a new universe.
Traveling to a new universe allowed them to anchor the flow of time.
No matter how much time passed in the new universe, only one day would pass here.
"Big Guy, we've stayed in this universe long enough. It's time to set off and complete a mission to change fate in a brand-new world."
"That's fine." The Emperor did not object. He needed more technology to make up for the Empire's shortcomings.
With Raven's help, the Emperor's plans had gained much more room for error.
He no longer needed to rush to conquer the entire galaxy.
He could proceed steadily and take things slowly.
"Bring Big Corn Cob along too. Let him see more of the world."
Raven had not forgotten the promise he had made to Waldo before.
Waldo's eyes widened. He had not expected Raven to remember that promise.
He had always thought it had merely been something Raven said in passing.
The Emperor looked at Waldo, sensed the expectation he was showing, and nodded.
"Then bring him along."
"Good, then let's set off now!" Raven shouted.
With a bang, his black body turned into spreading light, forming a tunnel through time and space.
"Go." The Emperor waved a hand, signaling Waldo to follow.
After the two entered the swirling ring of light, they traveled through time and space and arrived in a brand-new universe.
The Chaos Gods sensed it.
The changes in the universe's predetermined fate had long drawn their attention.
Yet they had never been able to find the root of the problem.
When the Emperor traveled through time and space, they sensed something. One after another, they unleashed their power, trying to find the source of the problem.
Terrifying power churned the Warp, creating storm after dreadful storm.
Yet they found nothing.
The warped sensation of traveling through time and space faded.
Regaining his senses, the Emperor looked around.
Yellow sand filled the air, and the sky was gray and murky.
In the distance stood several old buildings buried beneath thick layers of yellow sand.
Just like the first time he went to the Super God Universe, his size had been reduced by half. He was only two meters tall now.
The weapon in his hand and the armor on his body were gone.
In their place was a set of slightly loose ordinary clothes.
He tried to use his Psionic Power.
But he found that the ether seemed frozen, making it difficult to manipulate.
In his original universe, with a mere thought, he could summon psychic fire powerful enough to destroy an entire city.
Here, he could only summon a few sparks.
"Are this universe's physical laws really this strong?" The Emperor tried several times before giving up.
"Waldo," the Emperor called out. "Raven."
"Big Guy, I'm here."
Raven flew over from not far away, flapping his wings as he landed on the Emperor's shoulder.
"Have you seen Waldo?" the Emperor asked.
"Over there." Raven pointed in a direction.
The Emperor walked over and found Waldo, who had shrunk as well.
The commander of the Adeptus Custodes had become a two-meter-tall, muscular giant.
He was lying facedown on the ground, sleeping soundly.
Raven explained, "It's a side effect of traveling through time and space. His body needs a few hours to adapt before he can move freely in this world."
"Where are we now?" the Emperor asked.
"We're on Earth in the Three-Body Universe. This is the point in time known as the Great Depression, when most regions began turning into deserts."
"What do we do now?" The Emperor continued, "How do we change the Destiny Node?"
"We need to head to the nearest human city first," Raven replied.
"How far is it? Is there any transportation nearby?"
The Emperor looked at Waldo sleeping on the ground, then at Raven.
"About thirty to forty kilometers. I found a vehicle."
"If you lubricate the chain with engine oil, it should still work."
Raven led the Emperor to a human-powered tricycle inside an abandoned house, along with some expired engine oil placed beside it.
The Emperor looked at the rusty tricycle, and a string of black lines appeared across his forehead.
"Raven, I am the Master of Mankind, the Empire's supreme ruler, conqueror of the galaxy, the Omnissiah, the Machine God, and the Emperor of all humanity."
Raven hurriedly cut him off. "Stop reciting titles, Big Guy. The tricycle can't carry that many people."
"Stop complaining like a woman. Even if you immediately transformed into a Chaos God, you'd still have to pedal that tricycle and get Waldo out of this godforsaken place first."
The Emperor looked helplessly resigned and accepted reality.
He tossed the unconscious Waldo into the tricycle's cargo bed.
Then, panting with effort, he pedaled the tricycle toward the nearest human town with Raven in tow.
Before you continue