Corleon was in terrible condition.
Am I going to die?
She could not help thinking that.
She was not afraid of death. Or rather, as a wandering scavenger orphan, she had long since grown accustomed to it.
And there was not much worth remembering about these days of hunger and cold.
Perhaps if she died, her brother's burden would become a little lighter.
Having lost all hope of living, she slowly sank into the boundless Sea of Souls.
"No, not yet."
She clearly remembered what a beautiful and towering goddess she had been, the one who had saved her from hunger and freezing cold.
She had given them warmth, water, food, laughter, names, and a beautiful vision of a future filled with hope and salvation.
She had colored their world.
With the colors of ideals.
Something she had never possessed before—an extravagance.
But she would never see any of it again.
Ever since she had been struck by that Psychic Lightning, her already pale skin had turned even whiter, while several fine purple veins beneath it stood out with startling clarity. Her golden-black eyes were tightly shut, and anyone watching could have seen her pupils gradually losing focus with every passing moment.
Once again, she stood on the brink of death.
But this time, she wanted to live.
She was no longer the numb walking corpse she had once been.
She wanted to watch starships sail through the heavens. She wanted to become a captain and cross the sea of stars.
She wanted to live.
Like a drowning person, Corleon struggled with every ounce of strength she possessed.
She wanted to live!
Live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live, live.
At last, within that vast and silent Sea of Souls, she tried to grasp the final straw that could save her.
Corleon, I can save you.
"Who are you?"
She asked instinctively.
Corleon, I am your dream, your—hope.
That was how it answered.
She woke up.
Aboard an enormous, magnificent vessel, she opened her eyes once more.
What a captivating starship it was.
The entire vessel was covered in beautiful purple and pearl-silver paint, glowing with a faint golden radiance beneath the protection of its Geller Field.
She did not know how she had instantly understood all of this, but as the captain, she did not question her own common sense.
Outside the ship stood 1,296 lifelike statues meant for decoration, each radiating its own light from the battlements of the structure. Carved from marble and countless precious jewels, they had clearly come from the hands of the most artistically gifted sculptors.
And her command deck was even more beautiful.
The throne beneath her was woven from agate and silver. The exquisite leather seat was as delicate as a baby's skin.
The air was fragrant, utterly unlike Chemos's atmosphere full of toxic radiation. With only a light breath, a sickly sweet scent, as lush and cloying as honey, instantly filled her nostrils.
It brought her an ultimate pleasure that made her soul tremble.
There were also countless diligent crew members aboard the ship, providing her with the finest food and service.
Trembling, they knelt and offered her candied fruits on one gilded platter after another for her enjoyment.
More than that, she could even sense that her twin brother was here, aboard this ship.
The Crown.
That was the vessel's name.
"Where is this?"
Seated at the center of the bridge, Corleon looked around and asked cautiously.
A corner of the distant future.
A voice answered within her heart.
Within the vast Empyrean, the dimension of time does not exist.
"Who are you?"
I am the Illusory Dream of Disillusionment.
I am the ideal that can never be attained, a reflected flower and a phantom moon, and the ugly, unwilling struggle at the moment of ruin.
I am you, Corleon.
I am The Poison of Hope.
The voice spoke a great many things she only half understood, leaving her bewildered.
"What do you want? I want to go home."
Though the unfamiliar surroundings were incomparably beautiful, Corleon still felt a thread of unease deep within her heart.
This was not normal.
Though she could not say what was wrong, she still felt afraid.
I bring you a bargain.
I need your body as a vessel to fulfill the great mission bestowed upon me by my lord.
And in return, I will fulfill your long-cherished wish of becoming a captain, halt the decline of your body, and free you from the miserable cycle of life and death.
From now on, you will no longer be oppressed by hunger and cold, nor will anyone dare insult or mock you again.
You will pilot your beloved ship freely through the universe, laughing as you please. Day after day, year after year.
Guided by that voice, she saw many more things.
She saw her twin brother achieve his own dream as well, becoming a powerful swordsman and cutting down countless enemies with his magnificent, flowing peerless swordsmanship.
She saw herself piloting her ship and sharing countless "candies" with suffering people wherever she went, just as she had once hoped to do.
And those candies were tens of thousands, hundreds of millions of times sweeter than those Sister Fulgrim had once given them.
Having tasted such joy, the people all howled and danced in delight.
Some were even so happy that they clawed open their own bodies and faces.
Even as blood splattered and their entrails were torn out, they refused to stop.
How happy they were.
"I..."
The grand blueprint of her dreams from the future had already unfolded before her.
But she still hesitated.
Corleon, what is there left for you to be dissatisfied with?
To become a captain—is that not the hope that has kept you alive, your ideal?
The voice sounded profoundly sincere.
My bargain benefits us both. Why refuse it?
Yes, why not?
Other than the resistance in her heart, which she did not know the source of, Corleon could find no reason to refuse.
Hesitantly, she slowly reached out toward the voice in her heart—
"Enough!"
At that moment, a voice from behind stopped them.
"This ends here, demon."
With that sharp shout, Corleon felt clarity return to her, a clarity wholly unlike the hazy, muddled fog from before.
A long-lost sense of reality filled her mind once more.
Damn it, who exactly are you? Why are you ruining my plan?
The voice shrieked in displeasure.
Corleon withdrew her hand and turned around curiously.
It was a mass of blazing Golden-Red Holy Flame.
"A disciple of Slaanesh, reduced to sustaining yourself by deceiving a three-year-old child."
"You make me feel sorry for you, demon."
Corleon did not run.
For some reason, that indistinct mass of flame always made her feel an overwhelming sense of familiarity and closeness.
And it seemed to be looking at her as well.
"Corleon, remember this."
"Dreams are not handed to you on a silver platter. They are forged through long years of effort and sweat."
"Do not believe these demons' lies. Every brick and stone of the future will, and can only, be built by our own hands."
Corleon nodded.
Before this flame, she felt warmth.
Along with a little real pain and burning.
But it was still warm.
"As for you, demon."
"Disappear forever from every timeline."
With that, the flames surged forward.
Though she did not know how she knew it, Corleon understood one thing at that moment:
This was a flame that touched the very origin.
Once devoured by the inferno, she would be annihilated, never to be restored for all eternity.
And she was one with the voice in her mind.
This flame would burn away that voice, but it might kill her as well.
The Accursed?! No, impossible! This is not the power of The Accursed!
The voice cried out, filled with disbelief.
You! You are—
"Who I am has never been for you to decide, demon."
The flames rushed toward her and devoured everything before her eyes.
Her hopes and dreams would be shattered from this moment on, vanishing like smoke.
But she did not regret it.
"Corleon."
At Kasgar's soft call, she opened her unfocused eyes.
She woke up.
She woke from that beautiful, illusory dream.
She saw Kasgar smiling as he stroked her little head, and her brother beside him, visibly relieved.
"Welcome back, Corleon."
Had everything she experienced just now been a dream?
Confused, she rubbed her eyes.
What a strange dream it had been.
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