The arrival of a Living Saint is a momentous occasion worth celebrating for any Ecclesiarchy World.
Rostov II was no exception.
Although Saint Celestine had already departed, both the Ecclesiarchy faithful and priests present immediately and spontaneously began a grand mass to celebrate her arrival.
Countless fanatical believers rushed to the spot where Saint Celestine had just descended, attempting to kiss the ground she had stood upon.
If it weren't for the Kasrkin Guard and Battle Sister Squad forming a human wall around Alex to block the zealous believers, they would have even tried to rush to Alex, attempting to touch this newly born Living Saint.
"Governor, please enter the cathedral." Old Bishop, supported by Williams, returned to his anti-gravity platform and immediately invited Alex into the cathedral.
After all, this was the Ecclesiarchy's holy sanctuary, and no matter how fanatical the believers were, they wouldn't dare trespass into it.
This would allow Alex to remain undisturbed for a while, and Old Bishop also hoped to have a good talk with him as soon as possible.
Many things had changed with the arrival of Saint Celestine, and the Ecclesiarchy needed to readjust its strategy in light of the current situation.
Alex naturally hoped to use this opportunity to have a good talk with Old Bishop, preferably leveraging the influence brought by Saint Celestine to get the Ecclesiarchy to cooperate with his actions, rather than continuing to act recklessly on its own.
However, before that, Alex contacted the Orders of the Sacred Rose and the Ebon Chalice, requesting them to dispatch a large number of Battle Sisters to maintain order.
The believers who had witnessed the Living Saint's arrival were extremely fanatical; without enough personnel to maintain order, stampedes and accidental casualties were bound to occur.
The priests of the Ecclesiarchy cathedral alone were far from enough to maintain order.
Originally, Alex should have called in the Defense Force, but considering that this was an Ecclesiarchy city, and to be mindful of appearances, he instead called in the Department of Justice's enforcement team.
By the time the Department of Justice's grav-tanks and Avro transports carrying Battle Sisters arrived at the plaza outside the cathedral, Alex and Old Bishop were already seated in a secret room inside the cathedral.
Old Bishop dismissed all his attendants and deacons, sending them to handle the believers and the mass.
Alex also did not bring any attendants into the secret room; even Williams could only wait outside the door, leaving only Alex and Old Bishop in the room.
After Old Bishop shakily activated the secret room's soundproofing and other anti-eavesdropping devices, he finally asked Alex, "Your Majesty... No, what exactly is your mission?"
Old Bishop originally intended to ask what the Emperor's plan was, but then changed his mind and asked what Alex's mission was.
After all, the God-Emperor's grand plan was not something he should know, but he could know the Governor's plan.
"The dark millennium is about to end, and the Age of the Indomitus is about to begin." Alex spoke like a riddle, not explaining directly, only uttering a prophetic statement.
Connecting it with Saint Celestine's words just now, Old Bishop couldn't help but make a connection and asked, "What will happen to the Imperium?"
"A rift will tear the entire galaxy, and the Imperium will fall into an unprecedented darkness." Alex saw Old Bishop's face change drastically at his words, so he quickly added, "But his sons will return."
Upon hearing this, Old Bishop immediately pressed his hand to his heart; the twist was simply too stimulating for an old man to handle.
He operated his anti-gravity platform a couple of times, and after a few injections were administered into his shriveled, aged body, Old Bishop finally stabilized himself, took a moment to compose himself, and then asked, "Which one?"
"Not just one." Alex thought of the returning Guilliman and the Lion, as well as the possibility of the Black Templars, Khan, and Wolf Lord waiting in line, and truly wasn't sure how many Primarchs would return.
But he was certain there would be more than one.
Hearing this, Old Bishop's face broke into a smile, and he quickly prayed, "Praise the Emperor! For sending his divine sons back to us!"
"Don't think this is a good thing; if the Primarchs return, I think you should be very clear what that implies." Alex reminded Old Bishop.
While the return of the Primarchs was a good thing for the entire Imperium, it also signaled that the Imperium would face unprecedented severe trials.
Otherwise, why would the Emperor's sons need to return to the Imperium?
Indeed, Old Bishop realized that the prerequisite for the return of the divine sons was the Imperium's calamity, so he looked at Alex and asked seriously, "What price will we pay?"
For the Ecclesiarchy, if they could guide the divine sons back, paying a small price was acceptable.
After all, just like the question circulated online in the 3k era: if sacrificing a planet could bring the Emperor to mankind for thirteen hours, what would the Imperium do?
Alex wasn't sure what the Department of Internal Affairs and the High Lords of Terra would do, but the Ecclesiarchy would definitely go through every Imperial World to maintain the Emperor's prolonged presence.
"The galaxy will be torn open by a rift until we find a way to sew this wound shut again." Alex knew how to close the Great Rift, but the Imperium clearly couldn't do it.
In fact, the Great Rift was not caused by Abaddon blowing up Cadia; it was a scar left by the ancient War in Heaven between the C'tan and the Old Ones.
The war between the Old Ones and the C'tan tore the veil between the real universe and the Warp, which caused this galaxy-rending wound.
However, after the War in Heaven, the Necrons used Blackstone technology to sew up this wound, until the Aeldari created the youngest god, which caused this wound to burst open again.
It's just that before, there was still Blackstone technology left by the Necrons; they were like sutures on the wound, holding it together from completely tearing open.
But Abaddon, through his twelve Black Crusades, systematically removed these sutures or anchors, plunging the wound into the crisis of reopening.
Currently, the only thing still holding this wound from bursting open is the Imperium of Man's first line of defense against the Eye of Terror—Cadia.
Once Cadia is destroyed, Warp energy will pour out of the Eye of Terror, following this wound to tear the entire galaxy apart again.
"Does Your Majesty wish you to prevent this rift from being torn open?" Old Bishop asked tentatively.
"His Majesty has no such request, and I am also powerless; I am just a Planetary Governor, without enough strength or enough time to accomplish this." Alex sighed helplessly; if he had three hundred years instead of thirty, he would indeed have enough confidence to stop Abaddon from destroying Cadia, after all, the Twelfth Black Crusade hadn't even begun three hundred years ago.
But now it's 974.M41, and there really isn't enough time.
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