Aisha's lips curved into a mysterious smile as she gently placed her palm on her flat abdomen. The light of Order flowed from her fingertips, forming a soft halo.
She shook her head, mockery shining ever brighter in her eyes.
"Join hands? With you? A so-called 'Death God' who couldn't even protect his own people—and you dare speak of revival? My son will be the new hope of the Eldar."
This idiot actually thinks he's the savior of the Eldar? The savior of the galaxy?
No. He was gravely mistaken. The only one who could save the universe was her husband—Rhodes.
Rhodes's cosmic beast could evolve even the powers of the Warp. His strength was still growing, and that was the true foundation of everything.
Without Rhodes, Aisha would rather have remained under the corruption of Chaos, still a supreme deity of darkness.
Without Rhodes, she would never have forsaken the dark divinity to embrace Order. Rhodes alone made that possible.
Ynnead's face froze. His pupils contracted, as though he had just heard the most absurd joke in existence.
"You… what did you just say?" His voice trembled with disbelief. "You've only just been reborn. How could you possibly—"
He could not comprehend her logic. How could this newly born goddess already be pregnant? It was utterly impossible.
But Aisha only smiled brighter, her gaze shining with the glow of motherhood and the pride of victory.
"Why not? Who do you think freed me from Chaos? Who granted me new life? Do you think I was just born now? No—I've existed for over ten thousand years.
I was always meant to be the goddess of love and beauty for our people. Slaanesh's birth delayed my awakening, but I was never without awareness.
I witnessed everything. And I chose the one man in this universe with true hope as the father of my child.
And you—you owe even your presence in reality to this man. Without him, you'd still be cowering in the Warp, without a body, without form."
Her words turned Ynnead's face ashen. His black robes stirred in unseen winds, and the aura of death raged uncontrollably from him.
Unlike mortals, gods were not bound by the same cycle of birth. In truth, Ynnead had never been born. Rhodes had forcibly drawn him into reality and given him a vessel.
By prophecy, he should have emerged from Slaanesh itself, shattering it at his birth. But that destiny was gone forever. He would never rise to the level of the four great Chaos Gods.
Especially now that Aisha had changed everything, and Slaanesh's divine shard was soon to be destroyed.
"You… you actually—" His voice was squeezed out through clenched teeth. "You gave yourself to a human?! A lesser, filthy, short-lived—"
Only now did it dawn on him. Just like Isha, this new goddess too had chosen that man.
He had worked with Rhodes, yes, and those collaborations had been fruitful—but to lose both of his kind's goddesses to him? It was intolerable. The Eldar had only two goddesses left, after all.
"Silence!" Aisha's power erupted, Order flaring like a tidal wave. The sacred brilliance forced the Death God back several steps. Her eyes were blades of ice.
No one could insult her man. Where had this fool found such courage?
"Mind your tongue, Ynnead. That 'lowly human' you despise is the one who rescued you from Chaos itself.
Without him, you'd still be trembling in some corner of the Warp, not standing here spouting arrogance at me."
Ynnead's face twisted, shame and rage making his deathly aura surge wildly. His gaze locked on Aisha's belly, as though he could strangle the unborn child with his eyes.
"You've betrayed our people!" he roared. "Your child will be nothing but humanity's puppet! The future of the Eldar cannot be entrusted to a half-breed abomination!"
His fury boiled over, drowning out all reason. He had come to win her favor, but instead, he was humiliated.
And worse, yet another Eldar goddess had chosen that human.
To him, the child was proof enough: she had given herself to Rhodes and now carried a godling.
Aisha's expression turned utterly cold. Slowly, she raised her hand. In her palm, the light of Order condensed into a shining spear.
"It seems we have nothing more to discuss," she said, her voice calm and terrifying. "Leave, Ynnead. Before I lose my restraint."
The Death God wanted to retort, but when he saw the killing frost in her eyes, he faltered.
Though newly reborn, Aisha's divine power of Order naturally restrained his deathly might. And behind her stood Rhodes—the terrifying human he dared not provoke.
He remembered Vigilus: how Fulgrim, even armed with Slaanesh's shard, was mercilessly beaten and captured. Rhodes himself had hardly lifted a hand; his subordinates had been enough.
"You will regret this, Aisha," the Death God spat, retreating into the Warp's shadows. "The Eldar's future must not be destroyed by you. I alone am the true savior of our people!"
As he vanished, Aisha scoffed, touching her stomach gently, her eyes filled with tenderness.
"Don't worry, my child. Mother will never let those rotten old gods harm you. Your father will create a new age for us all."
…
Meanwhile, in the Black Library, Cegorach buried his face in his hands.
What the hell is that idiot doing?
"You're only here in reality—alive and with a body—because of that man's help. And you went and hit on his wife? Are you insane?
What you should've done was fall to your knees, beg forgiveness, and say, 'It was a misunderstanding, I'm sorry!' Then maybe they'd have spared you.
Instead, you throw threats around? Where the hell do you get this confidence?
I worked so hard to build ties with the humans—saving the Lord of the Salamanders, cooperating with the Emperor—and you're out here wrecking it all. If not for me discovering Rhodes's potential early, you'd still be drifting helpless in the Warp, you moron!
Still… Lady Aisha is no meek little goddess. No wonder she once bore the mantle of a Chaos god—her temper is fierce indeed."
Cegorach quickly entered the Warp himself, seeking out Aisha.
"Don't misunderstand, goddess," he said smoothly. "The clown comes to apologize. Don't let that idiot spoil relations between the Eldar and humanity. You know he's not right in the head."
"I am a goddess of the Eldar, after all. And Rhodes already has several wives—this won't harm our alliance.
But as for that Death God, I don't think he'll hold his title much longer," Aisha replied coldly.
Her child would still be half-Eldar. This quarrel wouldn't shatter the bonds between their races.
Besides, every Eldar highborn had seen with their own eyes who had truly crushed Slaanesh. It had nothing to do with Ynnead.
All he had done was get beaten up, then scamper off with a few scraps of benefit.
"That's a relief," Cegorach said with a dramatic sigh of relief. "That fool nearly made me think our pact was doomed!"
Aisha's eyes narrowed with thought.
"Clown, Rhodes may not be pleased with Ynnead's actions. Perhaps you can help smooth things over. Search the Webway for the missing Jaghatai Khan. That shouldn't be too difficult for you, right?
If you find him, Rhodes will be pleased. And if Rhodes is pleased, he won't waste another thought on the Death God."
"No problem at all, Lady Aisha!" Cegorach said eagerly. "I have maps of the entire Webway. I can find him easily—he's still racing through it.
I'll send the Harlequins to fetch him and deliver him to Holy Terra personally!"
For him, it was child's play. With the Black Library, he knew every corridor of the Webway. And in the Webway, time did not exist—Jaghatai likely didn't even realize he had been racing for ten thousand years.
Aisha nodded in satisfaction. After speaking with the Laughing God, she immediately reached out to Rhodes and recounted everything.
…
In the Imperial Palace on Terra, Rhodes could only shake his head with weary resignation.
Aisha had now thoroughly offended Ynnead. But anyone who dared covet his wife deserved no mercy anyway.
Thankfully, the Laughing God had stepped in, salvaging the situation. And recovering Jaghatai Khan was indeed important.
The Death God could not disrupt the alliance between Eldar and humanity. That bond rested with Isha.
And with their son yet to be born, that bond would only grow stronger.