Prince's Fleet, the Rock Fortress... Five days after the battle... The Many-Eyed Warband, having lost Serafax, fractured into countless factions as warlords vied for power.
The Lion should have been satisfied as his increasingly powerful human allies began to hunt down and eliminate these remnants one by one. But he couldn't help but wonder if the pure energy he had wielded was also an echo of the power that protected the Imperium after the Emperor was interred on the Golden Throne.
The Lion remained calm regarding Serafax's words; his rationality told him to dismiss everything the Chaos traitor said as nonsense.
However, emotionally, The Lion also began to observe every move of this "Uncle Kaiser"... Kaiser was very young, vibrant, and his mind was full of all sorts of strange ideas.
Many of Kaiser's hobbies and lifestyle choices, like radiation, continuously "radioactively" altered the way Imperial citizens lived. And strikingly incongruous with this... was that terrifying power.
"Gods"
Although in The Lion's eyes, Uncle Kaiser's current power might not yet rival that of his father ten millennia ago, it was... already heading in a terrifying direction.
The die was cast; The Lion could not change the past, but the current world was another matter.
The Imperium as a whole was being rekindled, and this process was more about using the opportunity to cleanse its internal problems rather than expanding, continuing to gradually absorb more and more star systems.
This was the "national policy" set by Uncle Kaiser and his father, and as the new Warmaster, The Lion had far fewer major battles to fight. What was even more infuriating was... his Legion of over a hundred thousand! It had been split into Space Marine Chapters! And the substantial wealth The Lion had accumulated during the Great Crusade was now stretched thin, even on the verge of bankruptcy, due to the destruction of Caliban, the codex astartes, and ten millennia of "living off old reserves"!
After the Horus Heresy, the loyal Legions found themselves in varying circumstances. With Guilliman's promulgation of the codex astartes, which broke down "Legions of an average of over a hundred thousand" into "Space Marine Chapters of a thousand men," each Legion maintained itself differently after the split.
The Ultramarines, thanks to Guilliman's "master of operations" gene and the vast wealth of Ultramar 500 Worlds, were practically the landlords among the Astartes.
The Space Wolves and the White Scars, whose Legions had already operated on a "divide and conquer, self-sufficient" model during the Great Crusade, found that the split made little difference.
The Imperial Fists and their successor Space Marine Chapters served as the "Second Imperial Guard" guarding Terra, receiving special appropriations from the High Lords. Plus, they were never short on money, often taking on engineering projects in their spare time.
The Iron Hands had their own equipment production lines, and their relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus was quite good.
The Salamanders, due to their Primarch's benevolence, followed a "mass line," deeply loved by the local populace, who welcomed the Imperial Forces with food and drink.
The Blood Angels relied on their Chapter Master's tireless dedication, working until his last breath. For example, Dante, despite his age, still had to go out daily to peddle his old face, becoming an "old-face salesman."
The Raven Guard? They were like a criminal organization.
Therefore, if not for the Dark Angels being a First Founding Legion, and having the reserves left by their Primarch to live off, they would have long since joined The Lamenters, given how they'd squandered their resources over the past ten thousand years.
Although The Lion now held the position of Warmaster, he... had no fiscal authority! Where was the fiscal authority? Was it with Kaiser? No, the fiscal authority was in Sanguinius's hands.
And Sanguinius had explicitly told Kaiser: "Do not give them things casually! Especially STC!"
So, The Lion wanted to launch large-scale campaigns to reclaim more Imperial territory, combat xenos and Chaos threats, and accumulate resources from planets, just as he had ten millennia ago... a "sustainable overfishing" approach.
...However, he had no money.
Thus, The Lion and the Dark Angels could only try their best to "work" under Kaiser, going to various planets to collect as many resources and equipment as possible.
He was literally transformed from "The Lion" into "Customer Service Xiao Xiang." Once, on his way to Malcador, he encountered a Forge World occupied by Genestealers.
It contained many "ownerless Titans" and "ownerless general cannons." The Lion had just finished clearing the planet when he was informed by a Tech-Priest that all these Titans were unusable due to battle damage. Even if they were to be repaired, the cost of repair would be more than ordering new ones from Mars.
The Lion stood in the heavy rain on the planet's surface with all the Dark Angels, disheveled and having just endured a brutal battle. But they hadn't acquired any equipment; instead, they had lost quite a bit of their own.
At that moment, The Lion felt like "someone had stolen his painstakingly ordered 'pre-made meal' delivery." The old man was completely withdrawn... The Lion, dragging his weary body, returned to his Lion El'Jonson's quarters. This room was in the tower of the Rock Fortress, furnished for him by his adoptive father, Luther, during his time unifying Caliban before his return.
After The Lion's return, it, along with the entire Rock Fortress, was redecorated in the Astartes style, with advanced materials and smart devices replacing the original wood and stone.
In the later stages of the Great Heresy, Luther's betrayal and the Caliban civil war saw the entire planet Caliban blown apart, with only half remaining, and the fortress shattered, yet this particular area was perfectly preserved.
The Lion had ordered no one to disturb him and locked himself in his room, once again returning to the ethereal forest so similar to his homeland.
He had begun to master his Warp essence, and the Dark Angels outside noticed thin branches and mist continuously seeping from the cracks in the Lion El'Jonson's door.
This time, The Lion did not go looking for the injured old man and the beautiful woman again.
He felt he did not belong there and was not welcome. If the Dark Watcher spoke the truth, then there was no point in visiting again until he found the right answer.
But something else stood amidst the towering trees of the ethereal forest, and this was what he was currently seeking.
It didn't take him long to find it. In the past, he could even glimpse it in the woods without actively searching. Everything in the ethereal forest seemed to respond to his needs and thoughts to some extent, but this unique landmark remained steadfast. He didn't know what it was, but since it appeared so repeatedly, it meant he should at least investigate it.
The path's beginning was as before: a winding path of green grass laid between bushes and tree trunks. In the distance, he could still see the white stone dome. And standing beside the path was the Dark Watcher.
The Lion: "You said before that I wasn't strong enough."
"That's right."
The Lion: "And now?"
"Then let's wait and see."
The old man nodded. He didn't know what awaited him ahead, but this path didn't challenge him. Compared to the surrounding forest, this path was ordinary, safe, and even somewhat enjoyable.
The Lion soon reached the end of the path, finally having the opportunity to look up and carefully observe its appearance.
Beneath the pure white dome stood a building constructed of square stones, but this building was vastly different from typical castles. It was a structure that blended seamlessly with its surroundings, serving a purpose not unlike the fortresses built on Caliban to protect people.
But its style was distinctly different. Finely cut stones, overhanging eaves, and tall stone columns guarding a black archway: this was not a Caliban building; it belonged to the Imperium. It did not belong here.
The Lion cautiously approached it. He didn't know why such a building would appear here, but he also couldn't explain exactly where "here" was.
His theory was that it was a space adjacent to the Warp, a boundary where one could, to some extent, traverse space and time, but these were all just his conjectures.
Nevertheless, this building must have been used to preserve something, and The Lion intended to uncover its mystery.
The building had no visible doors, yet it was so pitch black inside that even The Lion's eyes could not penetrate it. Only when he was close enough did he catch a fleeting glimpse of light.
The interior style of the building was starkly different from its exterior, as if crossing a boundary between two worlds. The external Imperial grandeur and stability were completely erased, replaced by a minimalist and rational geometric aesthetic.
The Bauhaus-style interior design was fully showcased here.
The hall was immensely spacious, devoid of any superfluous decoration, only a perfect fusion of function and form. Smooth metal beams supported the soaring ceiling, and rows of recessed linear light fixtures along the walls and ceiling illuminated the entire space, casting a soft and even light.
The floor was dark, polished concrete, reflecting the intersecting black and white geometric patterns on the walls, which were precise and restrained, without any redundancy.
Black steel stairs floated on one side, winding upwards, without handrails, secured only by a few slender steel cables, appearing light yet exceptionally sturdy.
In the distance, a long table was set along the wall, its surface a cool frosted glass, its legs a simple metal frame, exuding the rational beauty of industrial aesthetics.
An ineffable tranquility permeated the air, as if the existence of this building was not merely to house an object, but rather to serve an idea.
The Lion could feel that the design here was identical to the design on Uncle Kaiser's battleship: precise, calm, absolutely rational. Yet, someone was stepping out of the building's darkness...
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