This Is a Good Thing

Guilliman did not answer again, but he also did not refute.

Asuryan's expression told him that there was a part of this suggestion to be a joke and a part to be serious, but in the end it would all amount to the price of a cup of tea.

Guilliman frowned. He thought of his adjutants still frantically revising documents, and of his own future, still struggling amidst mountains of parchment.

He felt that the Imperium might go bankrupt.

Just as Guilliman was considering whether to offer the Eldar a discount on their Webway access fees, his communicator vibrated.

Guilliman looked down at the glowing blue-gold badge.

That was the signal from the Macragge's Honour, the highest priority; only truly important messages were transmitted through this channel.

He frowned and reached out to press the answer button.

The communicator crackled with Titus's voice, a suppressed rage he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Father, the swarm has acquired Smart Atoms."

Guilliman stopped moving.

His fingers tightened slightly around the communicator, and his blue-gold eyes sharpened instantly.

His lips pressed into a thin line, and he remained silent for a full three seconds.

"Explain yourself." His voice was calm, but that calmness was more unsettling than any anger.

"After fighting me, the Swarm Prince extracted a sample of Smart Atoms from my body."

Although it is not fully mastered, it has completed the initial injection.

The swarm is analyzing that power and trying to integrate it into its own evolutionary system.

Countless images flashed through Guilliman's mind at that moment.

The swarm's terrifying reproduction rate, its endless tides, its ceaseless devouring.

He thought of the worlds destroyed by the swarm in the southern border of the Imperium, the planets turned into living matter, and the warriors who left no trace.

Smart Atoms are the Imperium's greatest trump card, the key to its resurgence from Imperium of Man.

As the source of Smart Atoms, Guilliman knew all too well what kind of force it was.

What would it mean if the Zerg swarm also gained this power?

This means that the Tyranids warriors will possess the same speed, strength, and reaction capabilities as the Space Marines.

This means that the evolution of the swarm will enter a completely new and unpredictable phase.

Although he was quite certain that the insect skirt couldn't possibly do that in the short term.

Smart Atoms are a product ahead of our time, but what if it happens? Even if the chance is only 0.1%, he wouldn't dare to gamble.

Guilliman tapped his fingers on the railing twice more, twice as fast as before.

Asuryan noticed the change in his eyes; his pale golden eyes narrowed slightly.

"What's wrong?" Asuryan asked.

Guilliman looked up at the Webway that was being finished in the distance.

His voice was a little hoarse. "The swarm has acquired Smart Atoms."

Asuryan was taken aback. "A swarm? You mean those creatures from outside the Milky Way that you mentioned?"

"Yes." Guilliman nodded, a seriousness in his blue-gold eyes that hadn't appeared since he returned from Nurgle's Garden. "They might be more troublesome than we thought."

Asuryan remained silent for a moment, a thoughtful glint flashing in her pale golden eyes.

He had seen many terrible enemies, the creations of the Old Ones, the war machines of the Necrons, and the corrupting power of Chaos.

But he had never seen anything like Guilliman's description—a pure devourer devouring without a soul, without culture, and without any possibility of negotiation.

"How strong are they?" Asuryan's voice was calm.

"Now? It's not scary yet."

But their growth rate is the fastest I've ever seen.

Given enough time, they can evolve to a degree that exceeds everyone's expectations.

Guilliman paused, "If they gain complete control over Smart Atoms, they will become a far more terrifying threat than the Chaos Warp."

At least Chaos still has rules and follows some kind of logic.

There is no swarm.

They just eat, then keep eating, then keep eating.

Asuryan took another sip of tea, and a light that Guilliman had never seen before appeared in her pale golden eyes.

"Next, the Eldar will work with you humans to deal with this insect hive."

Guilliman turned to look at him. "Are you willing to participate?"

"Of course." Asuryan's tone was relaxed, as if she were talking about what to have for dinner. "Although the Eldar are not good at head-on warfare, our Psionic Energy technology has a natural advantage in dealing with purely biological enemies like this."

Moreover—he paused, a complex glint in his pale golden eyes—"If the swarm is allowed to continue growing, they will eventually threaten the security of the Webway."

I will not allow anything to threaten this path on which I have finally found hope.

Guilliman looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

Then he smiled.

"That's good."

I will mobilize the entire power of the Imperium to deal with the Zerg swarm.

Their threat is no less than that of Warp; at least at some point in the future, they will become an enemy even more terrifying than Chaos.

Asuryan nodded. "At least for now, we're in a pretty easy situation."

If all else fails, we can get the Necrons to help too.

In any case, their technology is best suited for dealing with purely biological enemies.

Guilliman's lips curled into a slight smile. "That's what I think too."

Asuryan casually tossed the empty cup of black tea aside; the cup dissolved into tiny specks of light in mid-air and vanished.

"Let's go then."

Guilliman paused for a moment. "Where to?"

Asuryan did not answer.

He simply stretched out his hand and made a light sweeping motion in the air.

A pale golden light flowed from his fingertips, coalescing in front of the two into a door made of light that was slowly opening.

"I'll take you to see the true power of the Eldar."

They found themselves on a ruined planet.

That planet was once an Agri World, but after the insect swarm passed through, it became a barren desert where nothing grows.

The sky was a grayish-yellow, as if it had been wiped clean by some giant rag, spotless, without a single cloud left.

The earth was cracked, the fissures were bottomless, like wounds torn open by an invisible hand.

The wind was strong, carrying sand and gravel that lashed against my face like knives scraping my skin.

Guilliman stood on the cracked earth, looking down at the parched land beneath his feet.

His boots made a soft, crackling sound, like shards of broken pottery, as he stepped on them.

He squatted down, reached out, and grabbed a handful of sand.

The sand slipped through my fingers, dry as if it had been baked in an oven countless times.

"Here..." Guilliman's voice was heavy.

"There was once life." Asuryan stood beside him, her pale golden eyes sweeping across the desolate land. "In your Imperium of Man's star map, the number was 317 - Agriculture."