Liu Zhipeng's expression turned serious. He waved his hand, and the room's holographic projection changed instantly. The comfortable backdrop vanished, and the Emperor and Malcador found themselves seemingly standing amid a vast sea of stars.
"First, some good news. I took a vacation in the Aeldari Pantheon. With a little... well, extremely 'friendly' persuasion, I successfully invited Asuryan, the Phoenix King of the Aeldari. That arrogant pointy-ear has agreed that the Aeldari will ally with humanity."
The Emperor frowned. "Xenos cannot be trusted. Humanity's resurgence must never depend on their mercy."
"Don't jump to conclusions, brother." Liu Zhipeng sighed. "The reason I forced the Aeldari into an alliance is that unless we unite the forces within the Milky Way Galaxy, we'll soon face a genuine catastrophe."
"Chaos is like flies feeding on the Milky Way Galaxy's wounds. Disgusting, but not fatal yet. True despair, however, is approaching."
Liu Zhipeng swept his finger sharply across the star map.
The holographic image instantly crossed the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, entering a lightless void of absolute, deathly silence.
The Emperor's pupils dilated.
He saw a shadow. It was no ordinary darkness, but a terrifying entity composed of countless, immeasurable masses of biomass. Like a swarm of interstellar locusts blotting out the heavens, they crawled slowly but inexorably toward the Milky Way Galaxy with an absolute rationality untouched by emotion. This was the Great Devourer, the ultimate cataclysm capable of consuming every scrap of matter and energy in the entire Milky Way Galaxy.
"See that? The Tyranids." Liu Zhipeng's voice echoed through the silence. "This is the real apocalypse. They have no fear, no mercy, not even souls that Chaos can corrupt. They're simply hungry."
"If we're still fighting those xenos to the death over a few planets in the Milky Way