Lachi once heard from her uncle that Amir was once a prosperous planet where people lived and worked in peace and happiness. Until the Great Darkness descended, and the people were enslaved by evil and controlled by sin.
Countless days and nights passed before the missionaries of the God-Emperor finally arrived in their starships. They revealed the Truth to the masses and showed them the beauty that humanity was meant to possess. Even now, knowing she had been deceived and had strayed far from the path she sought, Lachi still wept for the emotion she felt when she first heard that story.
"Why are you crying? Is it because of your own stupidity, or because of the fate you are about to face?" Yuki asked her.
Lachi did not answer.
The armored forces of the Vostroyan Firstborn were no match for a full-scale Tyranid invasion. Their biological armor was no more fragile than the finest steel plates of the Imperium.
"What are you weeping for?"
Finally, Lachi spoke. "I once chose a path that seemed right, and I stood by it with unwavering conviction. Now I realize the mistake I've made. May the God-Emperor forgive me."
Yuki tilted his head, not quite understanding. "But it was a correct path. Do you still think of yourself as human? You are a Genestealer. You are a biological entity born from the fusion of Tyranid and human DNA. The Tyranid genes within you dictate that you should return to us. We are like farmers; what is wrong with a farmer reclaiming the fruit grown from the seeds he sowed?"
"We are human! We are the Emperor's children!"
"Only in your own mind," Yuki stated the cold truth without mercy. "Admit it, Lachi. You and your kind were born for the sake of destruction. This destruction isn't 'death' in the usual human sense; your destruction represents a return to the Great Devourer, the annihilation of the individual to return to the glorious Swarm. Your so-called betrayal and shattered illusions are all built on a human foundation. It was the humans who deceived you, making you believe you were one of them."
"Then what about you? Sporting a human appearance... what are you?"
Yuki answered very seriously, "I have been Tyranid for a very long time."
Lachi understood completely then. The ideological gap between different species was so vast it could never be bridged. For the Tyranids, killing organisms and consuming them was simply the most correct thing to do.
"What are you waiting for? Do it!"
Yuki looked to the side. The consumption of the Hive city was continuing. There wasn't much organic matter on the planet's surface, so there was no need to plant capillary vegetation. Once all mobile organic matter was consumed, they could move on.
"I am merely passing a small fraction of my infinite boredom. Lachi, you are too small. You haven't seen the vastness of the universe, nor do you know the length of a life." Yuki then smiled and added, "However, you did provide me with some amusement."
"Bastard."
"Alright, it's time for you to go back." Yuki waved his hand, and Lachi was cast into the reclamation pool. "Be grateful; at least this is a reclamation pool and not a spawning vat."
Yuki turned toward Yuno. "How is the processing going?"
"Almost finished. The Genestealers on this planet were truly remarkable. In human terms, they 'packaged' the entire planet for us; all we had to do was come and eat."
Yuki nodded. Such sensible and proactive Genestealers were a rare find.
"However, there is a bit of bad news," Yuno reminded him. "We might have been discovered. A scout fleet on the edge of the system noticed a small Imperial fleet approaching, but they suddenly changed course and left."
"How long ago was this?"
"Three hours ago."
Yuki pondered for a moment. "Pack everything up. What we haven't finished, we'll take to eat on the way. We're going to rendezvous with the remnants immediately."
Yuno cautioned, "Yuki, once we enter the Five Hundred Worlds, it won't be so easy to get out. Compared to the loosely connected, isolated planets of the Imperium, the sectors of the Five Hundred Worlds are like five fingers on a single palm."
"Do we have another plan?"
Yuno rested her head in her hand. "We could wait a few decades until the scout tendrils of Kraken or Leviathan arrive and attack together with them."
Yuki thought it over but gave his answer: "No, that's too long. I can't rely on other fleets for everything. Besides, I don't know why my main fleet can't cross over even though the physical universe seems stable. This must be the narrative weight of those Nottingham-based 'rural entrepreneurs' at work."
"If you put it that way, won't the events of the universe follow their scripted plot until—"
"Until we reach a timeline those 'lazy dogs' haven't written yet."
"You mean, a certain stage of the Pariah Nexus?"
Yuno nodded. "Probably. I suspect a sudden, massive event will occur then, perhaps changing the entire state of the galaxy."
Yuki understood what Yuno meant, and he felt a surge of excitement. What would this world become? Only heaven knew.
"We're getting sidetracked. Let's finish the task at hand first." Yuno reached out and opened a star map. Scattered red dots appeared between the various blue-marked planets. "These are the remaining fleets I can barely sense. I suggest we first consume the fleets that have lost their Norn Queens and are racing toward extinction."
"Let's go." Yuki's mood was somewhat subtle.
"You seem to be thinking about things you shouldn't be."
"Yes, I am."
"You are not allowed to go see Guilliman."
"Is it really off-limits?"
"When he wakes up, there will naturally be a chance to fight him."
"But a sleeping Guilliman has a certain... flavor to him."
"Is it possible that's Roboute Guilliman and not 'Roboutina' Guilliman?"
Yuki grinned. "Doesn't matter. I want both."
His reward was Yuno fiercely pinching a piece of flesh from his arm. "Greedy. Let's move; we will be passing near Macragge."
Yuki took one last look at the surface of Amir. So far, he had visited several planets and accomplished much. The universe was vast, and the world was wonderfully mesmerizing. However, this universe was also cruel. Once a certain path was chosen, there was no turning back.
It is never too late to turn back, yet it is already too late.
He paused for a moment, then followed Yuno.
"I'm serious, can we really not go see Guilliman?"
"No."
"Then how about a date on Macragge? It's one of the few habitable planets in the universe."