The ten billion Aeldari who survived also underwent a change in their form of existence. As their souls and bodies were torn apart and pieced back together, Ynnead bestowed a small blessing upon them.
It allowed the Aeldari to become partially energy-based beings. Those with the greatest psychic gifts could even transform into beings of pure energy.
Becoming energy beings had its advantages, and quite a few at that. First came their remarkable adaptability to different environments: the Aeldari no longer needed water or air to survive.
Second, each Aeldari's combat prowess increased further. Their high-energy bodies could not only withstand more lethal wounds, but also inflict greater damage on their enemies.
Finally, and most importantly, the Aeldari regained their privilege of immortality.
During the War in Heaven, the Aeldari had been immortal. When an Aeldari died on the battlefield, their soul flowed into the Warp. Once a new body had been made, the dead Aeldari would be reborn within it.
Thus, although the Aeldari population was nowhere near as staggering as that of the Orks, they could still sustain the intense fighting of the War in Heaven.
After the War in Heaven, the Warp became a heap of shit. The Aeldari could no longer use it as a reservoir for their souls. Instead, it became the Four Gods' dining hall.
Now that Ynnead had fully awakened and become one of the chief gods of Chaos, the souls of the new Aeldari would return to Ynnead upon death and be stored within the god, before being reborn in a new form of half flesh and half energy.
All these new racial advantages could be counted among the benefits Ynnead's ascension had brought the Aeldari.
Yet although the Aeldari had escaped Slaanesh's prolonged consumption of their souls, their race's future remained