"Marian, are you willing to take Sha Si as your wife, to live with her according to the teachings of Imperial law, to become one with her under the Emperor's watch, to love her, comfort her, respect her, and protect her—to love Sha Si as you love the Emperor with your loyal heart, though somewhat less so—until your soul returns to the Throne?"
"I am."
"Sha Si, are you willing to take Marian as your wife..."
The same questions were asked of them both. To Lin Fan, this was all far too strange. Asking Sha Si to pay respects to the Emperor was simply unimaginable. Perhaps even the Emperor felt helpless about it in the Warp.
Sha Si and Marian held hands. Before everyone's witness, they placed rings on each other's fingers, then embraced and kissed.
Cheers erupted as the crowd scattered flowers into the air. Lin Fan looked up at the overcast sky. The weather was not truly suitable for a wedding, but considering that the Emperor himself was about to reveal a miracle, cloudy skies would only make it shine all the more brilliantly.
The clouds churned and split open, and majestic golden light poured down, illuminating Marian and Sha Si as they embraced.
No one doubted the holiness of that light. Not even Krippman could deny that the Emperor's miracle had manifested. As the golden radiance descended, everyone fell to their knees. The civilians formed Aquilas with their hands. The Space Marines knelt on one knee, pressing their hands against the golden Aquilas engraved upon their power armor breastplates.
The people of the hive city had already witnessed one of the Emperor's miracles—the enormous golden flower—so the golden light before them was somewhat less impressive by comparison. They were not so overwhelmed that they wailed and wept,