A New Chapter in the Imperium of Man's Conquest of the Stars, Marching Toward Eternity

Symbol of a New Chapter

The echoes of the Emperor's declaration of victory seemed to still reverberate through the scorching air above the research platform, bringing the Silicon-Based Civilization's ten-billion-year ambition to a complete end with a single calm verdict that weighed more heavily than a galaxy.

The first to break the momentary silence was concern born of bloodline instinct.

Sui Meng and Vulkan stepped forward almost simultaneously. The two Primarchs, whose bodies could shake mountains, leaned slightly forward before the Emperor, filled with reverence and worry.

"Father," Sui Meng said, his voice carrying an almost imperceptible tension as his golden eyes carefully examined Sui Yang. "That xenos consciousness was exceedingly strange. Your consciousness entered deep into its core domain. Were you..."

"Unharmed?"

Vulkan's deep, resonant voice followed. His lava-like gaze swept over the matrix now glowing with golden light, and his brows furrowed slightly. "Any form of contamination must be treated with caution. Are you certain it did not affect you in the slightest?"

Sui Yang's gaze passed over his two Offspring, and a nearly imperceptible gentleness crossed his calm face.

Before he could speak, Halsey beside him let out a soft laugh. She pushed up the nonexistent frame of glasses on her nose, teasingly familiar in tone.

"Enough, children. Relax. Your father is not as 'fragile' as you imagine."

She placed subtle emphasis on the word "fragile." Her gaze met Sui Yang's in a fleeting, tacit exchange. "Rather than worrying that those cold streams of data might hurt him, you should worry whether that matrix might be 'burst apart' by the sheer force of his will."

That teasing remark, so clearly protective in meaning, allowed Sui Meng and Vulkan to ease their tense nerves slightly.

They naturally knew how powerful their father was, but faced with an unknown