Suitable Candidate 14

Macragge's Honour underwent three intermittent weeks of Warp travel before finally locking onto the realspace coordinates of the Thalassa System and translating out of the Warp.

Before coming here, Guilliman had not ordered anyone to send a message to Thalassa.

Such a massive fleet entering realspace from the Warp immediately triggered the system's defensive alarms.

The fleet responsible for defending the Thalassa System thought Chaos traitors had arrived to free the imprisoned Daemons and seize the sealed artifacts. They had nearly launched an attack.

Only after both sides presented their Imperium transit codes and exchanged identities was the misunderstanding avoided.

Guilliman's fleet entered the Thalassa System and headed straight for its destination—Thalassa.

Thalassa was a fortress world, heavily modified by the Inquisition for security.

The entire planet was surrounded by Weapon Platforms, space mines, and launch silos.

Without paying a grievous price, no Chaos fleet could possibly seize this planet.

The Thalassa System was the base of operations for active Inquisitors in the Ultramar Sector. Vast numbers of Daemonhosts and Warp constructs were sealed here.

Daemonhosts were highly unusual. After humans with special constitutions were selected, Inquisitors would inscribe specific marks, runes, and protective incantations upon them.

They would then purge the original owner's soul and turn the body into a special vessel of flesh and blood.

Once everything was ready, mysterious rituals and the Daemon's true name would be used to bind it inside the flesh vessel and imprison it.

It was a highly effective sealing method.

Yet Inquisitors of the Radical Faction often took dangerous shortcuts in order to better deal with Daemons.

They would create a Daemonhost to fight other Daemons and extract intelligence from them.

Of course, such conduct was extremely dangerous. Once discovered, it would be deemed treason, and they might be declared Excommunicate Traitoris.

Contact and dealings with Daemons were among the things the Imperium could tolerate least.

Once exposed, they would often invite suspicion and attacks from multiple factions.

This was also why Guilliman wanted to find White Gloves. He could not leave behind any leverage for others to use, especially while he still could not control the Imperium as a whole.

Radical Inquisitors were his best cover.

If things became impossible, he could also sacrifice the lesser to preserve the greater and protect himself.

It was not because Guilliman was cruel or treated people as tools.

It was because the Chaos Gods were everywhere, and he had to make comprehensive preparations.

Horus had grown dissatisfied because the Emperor excluded him from the Council of Terra. When Chaos tempted him, he ultimately chose to betray humanity.

The Imperium of Man's greatest enemies were the Chaos Gods, but their control over the material universe was limited. They could only choose agents to sow disorder within the Imperium of Man.

Guilliman could not predict whether there would be another Horus.

And if there was, who would become the next Horus?

Calgar?

Cawl?

The Adeptus Custodes?

The High Lords?

No one could foresee who the next traitor would be, or what form they would take to bring about the Imperium's Destruction.

Guilliman could only do his utmost to ensure that he held a good hand.

To hold a good hand, he had to occupy the moral high ground.

To occupy the moral high ground, he could not allow any stain upon himself—at least none that others could seize upon.

He wanted reputation, and he also wanted intelligence about the Warp.

The White Glove Project was a top-secret plan he had to carry out.

The Daemonhosts were things the Inquisition had reclaimed after purging those Radical Inquisitors. They were imprisoned deep within the fortress-city and, barring accidents, would remain sealed there forever.

Apart from Daemonhosts, the origins of Warp-sealed artifacts were far more complicated.

The Milky Way had existed for 13 billion years since the birth of its first star.

Countless civilizations had risen and fallen, their structures erased without trace by time.

Even the Necrons had existed for less than a hundred million years.

One could only imagine how many secrets this ancient sea of stars concealed.

The Aeldari were not the first race to touch the Warp. Not even their creators, the Old Ones, were.

Many ancient races had once risen, studied the Warp, sought its ancient and forbidden knowledge, and created countless artifacts with mysterious powers.

As those civilizations declined, their creations were lost amid the ruins.

Countless so-called divine artifacts were buried in unknown places, those ancient and evil things waiting to be discovered once more.

Such things often carried pure malice. They would stop at nothing to tempt the ignorant into lifting their seals and setting them free again.

The Inquisition collected and sealed these things to prevent them from poisoning ignorant humans.

Guilliman's arrival caused a tremendous stir. High-ranking Inquisitors emerged from their respective residences and lined up at the Spaceport to welcome the Imperial Regent.

In scale, the Inquisitors' welcoming party was nowhere near as extravagant as the Ecclesiarchy's.

After all, there was still an enormous gap between their financial resources.

The Ecclesiarchy's wealth was renowned throughout the Imperium. Aside from Forge Worlds controlled by the Adeptus Mechanicus, recruitment worlds controlled by Chapters, and special worlds like Thalassa that housed Daemons and sealed artifacts—

all worlds of the Imperium had to pay religious taxes.

Another important reason for the smaller ceremony was that Thalassa's fortress-city had very few ordinary people. Nearly everyone was a servant of the Inquisition.

From birth, these servants were destined to work for the Inquisition, learning the relevant knowledge and rituals as they awaited becoming Daemonhosts or preparing to accompany Inquisitors on missions to purge Xenos and Daemons.

Their numbers were small, nowhere near those of the ecclesiastical worlds.

Guilliman did not care about the mysterious welcoming ceremony.

He had not come to Thalassa for vanity.

The airtight hatch opened, and surrounded by the Honor Guard, Guilliman stepped out. Under countless watchful eyes, he walked down the red carpet toward the many Inquisitors.

All Inquisitors not currently on missions had gathered here.

The Imperial Regent's arrival greatly inspired them. In the dark Milky Way, a ray of light had appeared that could not be ignored.

"Primarch."

A high-ranking Inquisitor Lord named Covenant led the other Inquisitors in kneeling to greet him.

"Rise." Guilliman looked at Covenant, whose jaw had been fitted with an artificial device, and said, "I have come to bring order to the Inquisition's chaos, and I will need your full cooperation. Submit the records of every Inquisitor to me. I need to conduct a review."

Guilliman used another pretext to conceal his true purpose.

Of course, untangling the Inquisition's chaotic structure was also something that had to be done.

The Inquisition's disorder was beyond imagination.

In name, all Inquisitors were equals.

That meant one Inquisitor had no authority to interrogate another, nor any right to demand explanations for the other's plans.

More frighteningly, their authority was immense. They could mobilize the Imperial Navy and planetary defense forces, and if they knew how to handle people, they could even mobilize Space Marines.

What would happen when such vast power went unmonitored went without saying.

On Guilliman's orders, the records of every living Imperial Inquisitor active in the Ultima Segmentum were delivered to him.

"You have accomplished a great deal."

Guilliman looked at the documents piled into a small mountain, then spoke to Covenant, the high-ranking Inquisitor Lord of Thalassa.

"It is our duty, my lord."

Covenant lowered his head, and the internal artificial device emitted a faint hum.

He had lost his jaw during an operation and had no choice but to use Adeptus Mechanicus technology to implant a mechanical replacement.

After a brief exchange, Guilliman began reviewing the records.

A Primarch could rapidly read an unimaginable amount of information in a single second and process it at the same time.

With such ability, Guilliman spent only a few hours reviewing every Inquisitor's records and identifying the candidate he wanted.

"This Eisenhorn has summoned Daemons several times? Is he a Loyalist?"

Guilliman looked at Covenant, his brow creasing slightly as he revealed an expression of dissatisfaction.

"Yes, my lord. He never summoned Daemons deliberately; circumstances forced his hand. The enemies of the Emperor he faced were too powerful. To destroy those terrible foes, he had no choice but to resort to such extreme methods."

Covenant explained desperately.

"Is he currently serving at the Inquisitorial Academy?" Guilliman asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"Then have him come see me. I must examine him personally, lest some shameful heretic be lurking within the Imperium and become a future danger," Guilliman said.

Eisenhorn's timeline has been adjusted. His active period was changed from three hundred years into the 41st millennium to seven hundred years later.

The numbers are terrible. Feels like this is doomed.