After inspecting the Necron breeding tower and pressing the Silent King about the matter of the C'tan shards, Zeke found the heavily preoccupied Guilliman and urged him to go together to the planet where the Lion was awakening.
"The Imperium's governmental affairs are overwhelmingly busy, and Sanguinius is not adept at handling them. If I leave..."
"You can't possibly tell me you can't even spare half a day." Zeke had long seen through Guilliman's thoughts and rummaged around in his backpack.
When Zeke pulled his hand out, he was holding a human head. This was one of the heads Zeke had farmed using the Harlequin's Kiss.
"Don't worry, the Imperium has plenty of unforgivable death row inmates. That's where I got it from."
"Wear it."
Zeke watched Guilliman. The face belonging to the Imperial Regent rippled, and his entire skeletal structure let out a series of clicks and clacks.
When the transformation stopped, standing before him was a middle-aged man with a slightly shrewd, worldly appearance. There wasn't a single trace of a Primarch left.
Guilliman raised his hand, flexed his fingers, and touched his new face.
The feeling was incredibly wondrous; even the subtle changes in his physique were clearly conveyed to his consciousness.
He could immediately think of at least a hundred political uses for this item.
"Now there's no way the Lion will recognize you." Zeke circled him once and nodded in satisfaction. "First, we fish for information, test out his true attitude towards you, and then decide our next move. How about it?"
Guilliman looked at the unfamiliar face reflected in the observation window's glass and nodded.
As the Imperial Regent, coming into contact with the returning Lion was only a matter of time.
Now, with this opportunity for disguise provided by Zeke, it was the perfect time to test the waters and see exactly what this amnesiac brother of his thought about the current Imperium and about him.
"So Sanguinius isn't coming?" Zeke asked.
Guilliman recalled his earlier conversation with Sanguinius.
"Sanguinius already went ahead of us to the Lion's homeworld, Caliban. On the way, he ran into a World Eaters army. Dante is accompanying him, anyway it shouldn't hold them up for too long."
Zeke's footsteps paused.
Caliban, World Eaters army... these two familiar terms put together stirred some memories in Zeke's mind.
"What's wrong?" For something to make Zeke reveal such an expression, it was definitely no simple matter.
"Nothing much, just your fallen Primarch brother, Angron."
"With the Great Angel's martial prowess, nothing should go wrong. If you're worried, we can drop by to take a look on our way."
Zeke said as he and Guilliman headed to the Emperor's Palace together.
The Emperor's true body's condition had indeed improved quite a bit. Zeke noticed He even had the leisure time to modify the rim of His Golden Throne.
He claimed it was to better seal the Webway beneath it, but Zeke felt this was just an excuse; the Emperor absolutely just felt the 'toilet' was uncomfortable to sit on and secretly tweaked it.
"You have arrived." The Emperor's voice echoed in the empty, vast hall.
"Father." Guilliman took a half-knee, still feeling lingering trepidation from the sensation of the Emperor possessing him during the Plague Wars.
The Emperor nodded slightly, then looked at Zeke and casually waved His hand. A massive kite shield appeared in His grasp.
It was gorgeously decorated, carved with an eagle wearing a laurel wreath.
The Emperor's Shield. This shield was merely a small part of the Emperor's armor—more accurately, an attachment hung on the pauldron—and it possessed the ability to reflect most attacks.
"Emperor, what is the meaning of this? You're being too polite." Zeke waved one hand repeatedly, declining the Emperor.
Meanwhile, his other hand had already grabbed the shield before it was even fully offered.
"Zeke, this is not for you." The Emperor sounded helpless.
"Then who is it for?" Zeke looked around. Guilliman had the Emperor's Sword, which was temporarily under Zeke's care.
Sanguinius was not adept at using shields. That left only one answer.
"For the Lion?"
The Emperor nodded and continued speaking,
"Lion's memories have not yet recovered. He is like a blank piece of paper waiting to be written upon. I have arranged a trial for him. This will help him regain his memories while teaching him more things."
"So, this is a late father-son educational session, and you've even prepared a gift for him?"
"Not too late." The Emperor handed over the kite shield.
"If you truly desire the Emperor's Shield, I can forge another one for you. But this one, I hope you will give it to Lion at the appropriate time."
"The 'appropriate time'? When is that?" Zeke asked. "If the time is never right, then I'll gladly accept this shield for myself."
The Emperor smiled slightly. "When that time comes, you will naturally know."
–
Through the Nether Portal.
After transferring through a few stations and hopping on a transport craft, Zeke arrived at the destination planet.
The river water flowed with a babbling sound, the brisk and noisy rushing water like an endless melody.
Giant trees towered around them, reaching for the sky. The thick trunks were so wide that one, two, or perhaps even six or seven people linking arms wouldn't be able to encircle them.
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
A curious little bird stood on a branch, staring at Zeke and Guilliman.
"Guilliman, relax a bit. Every day you're either transcribing important governmental affairs or fighting Chaos forces. Having a spring outing to relax once in a while is pretty nice."
Zeke excitedly wandered around, chopping down a few blocks of wood that looked like Jungle Wood as proof of his visit to this planet.
Hearing this, Guilliman's shoulders relaxed slightly. He raised his hand and touched the Player Head mask on his face.
Wearing the head provided by Zeke, no longer appearing as the Imperial Regent, Guilliman was momentarily transported back to the days before he had assumed the mantle.
Guilliman shook his head. It was time to look forward. At the very least, with Zeke's help, the Imperium of Man was thriving, and the future would be much brighter than the past.
The sound of chopping echoed through the forest. The thwack-thwack noises pierced through layers of the canopy, startling countless birds and also awakening a slumbering listener.
This listener gradually began to gain consciousness, slowly awakening from a dark, deep slumber, crossing the shallows between dreams and wakefulness, and opened his eyes.
Who am I? Where am I?
Lion asked himself these two profound questions as he stepped out of the cave of his long slumber.
The lush canopy overhead blocked out most of the sunlight, but there was still enough light for him to clearly see his surroundings.
He was about to ponder further when a human scream shattered the silence of the entire forest.
Birds flew from their branches, fleeing the source of the sound.
Within the forest, the Lion, Zeke, and Guilliman all looked towards the cry for help.
Guilliman followed closely behind Zeke, rushing towards the location of the cry.
Three green dots were surrounded by four red dots. Zeke deduced that people who had gotten lost in the forest were being attacked by wild beasts.
The surroundings were filled with purple grass, and vines with sharp barbs hung from the trees, constantly threatening to scratch the faces of anyone passing by.
Zeke's expression remained unchanged as he downed a Potion of Swiftness, accelerating his pace.
--
IMP ANNOUNCEMENT: Since we've stockpiled quite a few chapters now, I've decided to do another powerstone event like before! So only for this week:
EVERY 150 Powerstones = 1 BONUS CHAPTER (NO LIMIT for this week.)
Please donate powerstones as I hope to reach TOP 3 this week!