If Isha was a maternal, ornamental captive to Lucius, then Erda was the master technician. As a Perpetual who had followed the Emperor since he ruled humanity's first city, Erda's technical prowess was nearly equal to that of the Master of Mankind himself.
Had Erda not betrayed the Emperor, even if the Webway project had ultimately failed, the Imperium might not have fallen into such a tragic state. Now, thanks to the Emperor's lack of humanity, this Perpetual belonged to Lucius.
"This… this is the gestation pod used for the Zero-th Primarch? How did you obtain this?" Erda asked in astonishment, staring at the familiar, gargantuan containment device before her.
This was the very pod she had used to forge the first Primarch. It should have been sealed within the deepest vaults of the Imperial Palace. How could it have been stolen?
"Do not underestimate the things that dwell in the dark, Erda. Though the rats are small, they have never been eradicated... even the deepest vaults cannot escape the claw-marks of the vermin."
Erda traced the unfamiliar metal alloy of the pod's shell, a device she knew intimately, yet which now felt alien. She began to grasp the true extent of Lucius's reach.
"I have brought the materials you requested. Complete the work as quickly as possible," Lucius said, handing her the raw components. This included the genetic markers of every Aeldari sub-race and even a portion of Isha's divine ichor.
Lucius refrained from explaining the details to avoid unnecessary complications; Isha's divine blood was a treasure beyond measure.
Erda had traded her desert nomad robes for a scientist's sterile white coat. Combined with her Central Asian beauty, she exuded a sharp, professional allure. After a thorough inspection, she nodded in approval. Even the Emperor had not started with such perfect conditions; after all, the Emperor was merely a warlord on Holy Terra back then, hardly comparable to Lucius, who held dominion over the Forge of Souls.
"Will my daughter truly live again?" Isha asked, her face a mix of hope and dread. She naturally leaned her slender yet curvaceous, snow-white form against Lucius.
"Of course. Never doubt my vision," Lucius chuckled. His hand rested naturally on Isha's firm, rounded hip. The Mother Goddess of the Aeldari offered no resistance, instead shifting slightly to better accommodate his touch.
"Once my daughter is reborn, what will you do with her?" Isha asked pleadingly. "I hope you will not destroy her soul. Let her stay with me... even if she must be a captive like I am... I am willing."
Lucius pursed his lips... Mother and daughter, eh? But looking at those sparkling eyes, you're the one most looking forward to this, aren't you?
Unfortunately, Lucius had his own designs for Lileath. While he might indulge such fantasies after his grand plan for the Aeldari was complete, now was not the time.
He offered a comforting word to the now-submissive Isha: "I will have her accomplish a much greater task. She will lead her race to strength, starting with the Aeldari. One must lead so that others may follow."
"I will have Lileath... your daughter... serve as the Primarch of the Aeldari to unify her entire race. She shall establish a Second Aeldari Empire to stand as an equal to the Imperium of Man. This will force the decadent humans to realize they are no longer the sole masters of the galaxy. I believe Roboute Guilliman, though he follows the Emperor's teachings, is a rational man. He will understand what must be done."
In truth, Lucius had a much simpler way to describe it, though they wouldn't understand: he wanted Guilliman to act as the Karl Franz of the Imperium. Given Guilliman's limited cooperation with the Ynnari, he was certainly qualified.
However, hearing of a "Second Aeldari Empire" did not bring Isha joy; instead, she fell into a melancholy silence. She remembered the sheer, hedonistic madness that had gripped the Aeldari Empire on the eve of its Fall.
To Lucius, this was irrelevant. Whether it was the madness of the Aeldari or the cruelty of the Imperium, both were symptoms of self-destruction caused by a lack of a balancing external enemy. Had the Necrons not taken their long slumber and instead remained locked in a stalemate with the Aeldari, would the pointed-ears have ever fallen so deep into depravity?
Lucius then assigned Chrot and other technologically-inclined Rat Greater Daemons to assist Erda's research. Meanwhile, the vermin of the mortal realms, specifically the members of the Council of Thirteen, were driven into a frenzy by the promise of daemonhood from the Great Horned Rat.
They did not know that the list for ascension had already been decided. Morskittar, leader of Clan Skryre, and Verminkin, leader of Clan Moulder, were Lucius's chosen candidates. One worshipped the aspect of Malevolent Artifice, the other the aspect of Formless Distortion; both were vital to his cause.
As for Clan Pestilens... Lucius had not yet extended his schemes to Nurgle.
"Yes-yes, my Lord. I shall cooperate with this human-thing," Chrot hissed obsequiously, rubbing his mechanical arm. He hoped to steal some secrets from this human woman whom even the Great Horned Rat favored.
With the aid of countless mad scientists and equipment gathered from across time, Erda proceeded smoothly. She successfully forged a Primarch's vessel, a body born from the confluence of Aeldari genetics and the blood of Isha.
Just as Lucius had envisioned, it was a female infant. She was as perfect as carved jade, possessing none of the "simian" awkwardness of human infants. Instead, she radiated the innocent, dream-like purity of a young maiden.
"This went more smoothly than I anticipated," Erda remarked, looking at Lileath's form.
"That is the advantage of the Warp," Lucius replied. "I can simulate every moment and condition you require. Where you once spent a century to finish a Primarch, I need only an instant."
Lucius smiled and reached out, grasping Lileath's soul in his palm. He had already purged the corruption and the parts of her soul that had been digested by Slaanesh.
"Come, Lileath, Goddess of Dreams... it is time to return," Lucius said, casting the soul directly into the body.
Instantly, a terrifying surge of power erupted, the violent resonance of a true deity's soul entering a mortal vessel. Lucius, following the Emperor's example, used his own might to forcibly suppress the reaction. He held the soul in place until the divine essence yielded to his will and adapted to its new physical prison.
With both hands, Lucius channeled the power of Formless Distortion, successfully anchoring Lileath's soul, which instinctively sought to flee its mortal coil.
Slowly, the universe's first Aeldari Primarch began to stir within the Zero-th gestation pod.
"Hoo... success."
Isha rushed forward, looking at her newborn daughter with maternal tenderness. Erda, however, shot a wary look at Lucius, the meaning in her eyes unmistakable.
"Rest easy," Lucius said magnanimously. "I am not like that human Emperor, whose emotional intelligence is lower than a slave-rat's. You are both Lileath's mothers; you may raise her until she reaches maturity."
Both Erda and Isha were relatively stable beings; Lileath was unlikely to stray too far under their care. She merely needed the status of a Primarch to eventually unify the Aeldari.
Until then, Lucius could enjoy the time spent raising a daughter.
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