Chapter 123
On Planet Godzilla, a brief period of peace arrived.
Even though the planet itself now drifted within the Warp, there were surprisingly few twisted creatures roaming about. It felt oddly out of place in such a cursed dimension.
Godzilla finally took the chance to rest. He lay down beside a Lizardman temple and fell asleep, his massive body slumbering like a mountain.
The Lizardmen continued their rituals, burning incense around him, offering prayers and worship.
Captain Wade, meanwhile, was speaking with the few surviving Cadians, recruiting them as new crew for his battered ship. In the battle for Cadia, even the battleship Genesis had been reduced to near-ruin by the Black Legion's fleet.
Katata led a group of Lizardmen, working alongside them to repair the vessel.
Among the Cadian survivors were several Tech-Priests of the Mechanicus. One of them eyed the repairs suspiciously and asked the Tech-Priests already serving aboard the Genesis:
"Are you just going to let these xenos tamper with the sacred machinery of the Imperium?"
"Mind your tongue, brother."
Though the Tech-Priests of the Genesis still worshiped the Omnissiah, their reverence for Godzilla was no less than their devotion to the Machine God.
"While I would normally say that these hulks remain property of the Imperium, these so-called 'demi-humans' have aided the Emperor's cause greatly. I doubt the Master of Mankind would object to their service, at least temporarily."
"Yes, don't dwell on such details. Remember—they even rescued one of the Emperor's own Custodians. If you have complaints, perhaps you'd like to voice them to him."
The Cadian Tech-Priests fell silent. In the distance, the towering golden figure of the Custodian still lived. His auramite armor was scarred and battered, but it still gleamed.
No one dared address him directly.
In the Imperium, you could ask the name of anyone—even the Emperor or the Ruinous Powers themselves. But you never asked a Custodian his name. A Custodian carried his name as his burden; to speak it was no trivial matter.
"…I suppose I don't need to ask," the Cadian Tech-Priest muttered, wisely holding his tongue.
The Custodian himself said nothing. He only stood, gazing at Godzilla's colossal form in silence.
"I've never seen such a beast before…" the Custodian finally murmured. "Yet, why does it feel… familiar?"
"That is no illusion."
Isis stepped forward, answering his unspoken thought. "Long ago—around forty thousand years—my god still dwelled upon Earth."
"Earth?!" the Custodian's eyes widened. "You mean… Holy Terra?"
The notion was unthinkable—that such a being had once walked upon Terra itself.
"Yes. Before Mankind had even risen, before most life on Terra had taken shape—my god already lived."
The Custodian fell silent, his conviction shaken. He could scarcely believe an alien's words, yet there was no deceit in her tone.
"Then why did he not remain upon Terra?"
"How would I know? I cannot guess at my god's thoughts—no more than you could presume to grasp the Emperor's."
''…''
The Custodian fell into silence again. There was no need to speculate about those so far above. He had heard whispers that the Emperor and Godzilla knew one another—but until the Emperor himself commanded him, he would not act.
Perhaps Trazyn's vaults lacked a functioning noosphere link, for he had no knowledge of what state the Emperor now sat in.
"…Regardless, you have my thanks," the Custodian finally said. "It is my duty to die for the Emperor—but I am grateful for your aid."
"Think nothing of it," Isis replied casually. "The Imperium will keep you busy soon enough."
"???"
The Custodian did not understand. He had little knowledge of what the Imperium had become. Custodians seldom left the Imperial Palace, though in recent history even they had been forced to march abroad. Once, a team of merely six or seven Custodians had survived for months under endless Tyranid assault.
At that moment, several wounded Space Marines approached, accompanied by battered Cadian soldiers.
"Priest," one Marine asked Isis, "can you return us to Holy Terra?"
Isis smiled.
"This is the Warp, not the lift in your hive-city. Whether you reach Terra or not depends entirely on fortune."
"…True enough."
The Marines were not from the same Chapter—evidence of how many Chapters had bled and burned over Cadia. Some may have been wiped out entirely.
"Then is there no way home?" another asked.
"Not directly. But I can send you to Macragge."
"Macragge—the realm of the Ultramarines. That will suffice. It is one of the few places where the warp-lanes remain somewhat stable with Terra."
Since the expansion of the Eye of Terror, almost all safe routes in the galaxy had vanished. The Warp had split the galaxy into east and west. Macragge lay in the east, Terra in the west. Only a rare, stable channel connected them.
"But not now. You'll have to wait."
"Waiting is the hardest part," a Space Wolf grumbled. "Isn't there some warp-scum we can kill to pass the time?"
Isis chuckled. "I suppose you could call me warp-scum too. But most of your brothers fell at Cadia. There's little sense in chasing battles for the sake of it."
"Cadia is not dead!"
A wounded Cadian soldier leaned on his crutch, eyes blazing. "Our home still stands! One day, we'll rebuild our armies and reclaim it!"
Isis almost laughed aloud. Such cries echoed across the galaxy, not only from humans but every race beaten down by war.
The Lizardmen, too, had suffered losses—but many of them had grown stronger, their size doubled through battle. For their kind, combat itself was a path to evolution.
"Then I wish you luck in reclaiming your home," Isis said. "But for now, you will stay here. Wait until the ship is repaired. If you insist on sailing through the Warp unchecked, we will not stop you—but your survival will not be our concern."
Everyone knew better. To sail blindly against the Warp was nothing but suicide.
At that moment, golden light fell from the sky. Descending with it was none other than the Living Saint Celestine, her two attendants at her side.
The Cadians tensed, wary.
"Be calm," Celestine said gently. "I mean you no harm."
"You should not be here," Isis frowned.
"There are no foes here. Shouldn't you be bound for Macragge?"
"I felt the will of the Emperor," Celestine replied softly. "He commanded me to seek Godzilla's aid."
At that, Isis's expression hardened.
"If you wish to ask for aid, at least show the humility of one making a request. My god fought at Cadia because he willed it—not because Humanity is worthy of his help. Remember that."
Humanity, in any age, was never owed Godzilla's aid.
*******
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