"Is that... the real you?"
"Indeed."
"I understand."
The Emperor took a deep breath, his expression solemn. Though he had not yet abandoned his secret hope of gaining benefits for free, the fatigue in his eyes eased somewhat, as if he had finally been freed.
"You can truly destroy Chaos?"
"I cannot."
The surging multidimensional power flowed across her body. Selene, standing in the [Warp], raised her hand silently, watching the formless aberrant particles smaller than atomic nuclei gathering in her palm. A malicious grin flashed in her eyes—she had already secured her victory.
Taking advantage of the momentary absence of will among the conceptual dominions of Khorne, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh—the gods of battle, madness, bloodlust; of wisdom, deceit, and scheming; of pleasure, indulgence, and love—Selene did not hesitate.
As she often said: "As long as the world exists, the Chaos Gods endure."
Even if you could weaken them until they possessed less power than a child, the concepts would still remain. As long as there is bloodlust, as long as there are schemes and lusts, the gods will never die.
"And why," she smiled faintly, "should I destroy them at all?"
"Khorne, Tzeentch, Slaanesh—are those truly them?" Selene countered softly, turning to the Emperor. "Why not me?"
Whooo—
At that instant, as though responding to the only true god of Chaos, a breeze blew across the dimensionless void—a phenomenon that should not exist in this place. From the highest heavens of the Immaterium, the thick clouds of Chaos parted, torn apart by an invisible force.
Brilliant sunlight—pure and radiant—descended for the first time upon the sea of souls. It shone like dawn upon Selene's outstretched hand, and then upon her entire body. The madness and whispers that once surrounded her were replaced by indescribable purity and light.
For a moment, the Emperor stood dumbfounded.
"I am Khorne. I am Tzeentch. I can be Slaanesh."
"I am Chaos itself."
The light of the [Warp] reflected across Selene's flawless face, her scarlet-gold eyes filled with insatiable desire. She smiled gently toward the Emperor.
She could not erase the concepts—but she could replace the gods. From the very beginning, Selene had never intended to destroy Chaos. She intended to claim it—to become the sole true god of Chaos.
If she destroyed it all, the result would be no different from brute force annihilation. The entire framework of the Warhammer world would collapse. Without Chaos, even the world itself might crumble, sustained only by Selene's own will.
And then, what difference would this world have from the shattered realms she had forcibly stuffed into existence beyond the void? Those broken worlds—either exploded through her own missteps, molded by her hands, or obliterated by her conquest fleets executing Exterminatus—were lifeless wastelands.
No life left behind—not even unicellular organisms. All things had been wiped away through extinction weapons: Halo Arrays, nanoviral bombs, black hole generators, photonic annihilators... total cleansing.
If a world lacked valuable resources, it would be catalogued as a resource reserve or trial world, then thrown into the Honkai dimension for future use.
"Hmm... as for Nurgle, let's forget about that one."
Selene's fingers lightly plucked at the Emperor's fading projection, her invisible power soothing the deep, cursed scars left by his struggle against the Chaos Gods.
The Emperor was powerful—the greatest psyker recorded in human history. Sustained by the worship of millennia, his soul was a near-eternal entity rivaling the Chaos Gods themselves. But even he had limits.
To stand against one of the true gods of Chaos, unascended, and survive—it was no small price.
Selene pointed toward the god she had sealed within the abyss of Honkai Cubes and asked softly:
"Do you want it? I can help you ascend to godhood, rather than remaining in this half-human, half-void state—neither mortal nor of Chaos."
The Emperor finally came to his senses. The cold halo of sunlight wrapped around him once more. He shook his head. "No."
"I never desired godhood. Just as, ten millennia ago, I upheld the 'Imperial Truth.' Even if it was proven false—'a pile of dogshit,' as my sons once said—it was my belief. Ten thousand years later, I still have no interest in so-called divinity. Even with your guarantee."
A complex expression flickered across the handsome man's face.
"Selene, your desire and greed are far greater than I imagined."
His gaze hardened as he looked at Selene's now fully human face. "How do we end this? If we do this, we do it perfectly. I will tolerate no mistakes that could bring Chaos back."
Though he knew that eradicating the four Chaos Gods could allow other chaotic forces to grow unchecked—leading to Finality's absolute dominance—he still chose to help Selene purge these blights that had tormented humanity for millennia and ravaged the material universe for countless eons.
Because the vision Selene had painted for him—he chose to believe it.
In her promise, once the Human Imperium was merged into the Sacred Selene Empire, humanity would gain a new order: where every child would be nurtured, every student educated, every worker rewarded, every illness treated, every elder cared for, and every citizen housed.
An inclusive, glorious, prosperous, rational, and scientific civilization.
As for the prerequisites—
Citizenship, loyalty to the Empire and the Empress, faith in the One God, freedom from crime or treason, passing rigorous screenings to prove one's value—conditions that would seem draconian under the ideals of a free world.
But to the Emperor, they were normal—too normal.
In fact, he thought the standards were lenient.
Were these not the very traits any stable regime required?
"I'll say it again," the Emperor declared solemnly, "as long as you love and protect humanity, I do not care whether you are god or emperor. The title of 'Master of Mankind'—you may have it."
"I will even offer myself to you—my strength, my authority, my everything."
He spoke as though death were nothing, his tone calm and steady.
"No, no, no..." Selene waved her hands quickly, shaking her head. Watching the Emperor's expression—that look that said, if you accept, I'll tear out my heart right now—she frowned. "You've misunderstood me."
"When did I ever say I intended to devour you?"
"Not devour me?"
Now it was the Emperor's turn to be shocked.
Considering the timing of this foreign Chaos God's arrival, her ambitions toward the Imperium of Man, her treatment of the other Chaos Gods, her unveiled desire and authority—he had already prepared for the worst.
He assumed that, in the end, Selene's plan would be to consume him whole—to take everything.
Selene scoffed. "I have no interest in your withered, salted meat. It's not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."
She curled her lip, disdainful.
Do I look like someone who gnaws on anything that moves?
Thunk, thunk—
Her fingers tapped lightly against the Emperor's golden armor—the most perfect, intricate armor humanity had ever forged. Her expression was her usual composed, polite smile.
The Emperor fell silent.
The feeling was too familiar. It reminded him of the Great Crusade, when he had urged his wayward sons to return and contribute to the dream of uniting the galaxy.
"Death is too easy a way out," Selene said coldly. "Such bargains do not exist."
"Master of Mankind, that title no longer suits you. As for a peaceful retirement, forget it. Serve me instead. Seeing is believing, hearing is illusion. Only through direct action can you witness my truth."
Her voice was low—a devil's whisper. Selene's hand pierced the Emperor's psychic flames, flames capable of burning away the Warp itself. Her fingers tapped softly against his gorget.
"Do you not wish to witness, with your own eyes, the day humanity is freed from endless pain and misery, and walks toward prosperity and hope?"
It was a temptation straight to the heart.
"Very well."
As if Selene had just reversed her offer, the Emperor did not hesitate for even a moment.
The Emperor's heart was vast—it held all of humanity.
Yet at the same time, the Emperor's heart was small—holding only humanity within it.
For Selene, that was an excellent breakthrough point.
"Are you certain?"
"Certain."
"Good. Then let us begin your familiarization. I... I, the Empress, shall now formalize our bond as ruler and vassal." Her lips curled upward uncontrollably.
It was the joy of collection, the thrill of conquest.
Selene felt an unparalleled sense of pleasure—a rapture she had long pursued, an ecstasy greater than slaughter or destruction. It was intoxicating, addictive. She could hardly wait to hold the investiture ceremony for the Emperor at the Imperial Court.
"Now then, these are the documents and memorials that have piled up during my inspection tours and dealings with the affairs of the Human Imperium."
The true purpose revealed!
Indeed—that was Selene's real aim!
She had long wanted to acquire some slaves—cough, recruit a few capable administrative aides.
Bzzzz—
"Take a look. Familiarize yourself with the process first. Review, annotate your opinions, and submit them to me."
From her eyes burst threads of blue-white light, data streams flickering like living code. In that instant, Selene's consciousness ran like a supercomputer, spanning voids, linking to the Empire's central administration network. With supreme authority, she accessed a batch of files soon to arrive at her diligence hall.
For now, Sebas was acting as interim overseer.
"What's this?"
His face showed surprise, followed by grave attention, then silence. The governance reports and compiled data that Selene had handpicked flowed into the Emperor's mind—line after line, image after image. Countless possibilities surfaced and faded.
The Emperor quickly entered work mode.
He, too, wished to understand more about the structure and operations of the Sacred Selene Empire.
Soon after, "..." The Emperor frowned, visibly displeased.
The war reports were acceptable. The progress of reconstruction in provincial and colonial worlds, the restoration of industrial output, and the tax ledgers from garden and resort worlds—those he approved of.
But the Sacred Selene Empire's policies toward xenos races deeply displeased him.
At once, the Emperor voiced his objections and offered his own view.
Humanoid species he could tolerate—but such lenient treatment toward non-humanoids? Was this charity? You're giving them a path upward? That was madness.
Xenos cannot be trusted.
Selene replied drily: "I'm already exploiting every ounce of their value under a sustainable predatory framework."
The Emperor retorted, "Why make it sustainable?"
Selene blinked. "What?"
"Too wasteful. Too merciful. You could lower costs, improve efficiency, increase yield. The return on resources doesn't yet match the investment standard."
Selene raised an eyebrow. "You mean to extract even their hair, teeth, skin, and fat as usable materials for exploitation? That would hardly suit my noble tastes."
The Emperor countered flatly, "My point is—it's not enough."
Selene: "..."
So, you are a beast.
I've learned my lesson. Farewell!
"Wait, wait!"
"Hold that thought. You're not qualified to propose reforms yet. This is only the interview. I can't appoint you directly as my Secretariat Supervisor. You'll start in the provincial governorates—the territories reorganized from the former Human Imperium. Assist the Interior Ministry's envoys with audits, tax assessments, and suppression of banditry."
"When you've achieved results, I'll promote you to the central administration. Then you may submit proposals directly. Depending on performance, I may reassign or elevate you to Secretariat rank."
"Understood."
His voice was low but firm. "When do I begin?"
He would not allow the tragedy of the xenos betrayal against the Human Federation to repeat in this new, flourishing human-dominant civilization.
Perhaps there were good xenos once—he had trusted them before—but the betrayals of the Dark Age were too bitter to forget.
"You're not at the ministry yet. Step one: resurrection. Now, come here... yes, there... like that. I must purify and absorb the [Warp], seal the Eye of Terror and the Great Rift, claim all the Chaos Gods' remaining shares, and prevent any new sentient entities from forming. Not even lesser gods shall survive."
"I must also send forth an avatar to handle matters in the material universe. The Necrons, the Aeldari, the Tau, the Orks... all must be dealt with. Even Terra is no exception."
"Give me a portion of your power source."
"...Very well."
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