Herriman immediately became vigilant, though he soon realized that vigilance was of little use here.
Beside Yuki stood a Void Dragon, an entity constantly distorting the laws of physical space around it.
If the two of them wished to kill everyone present, it would take little more than a single thought.
In fact, that was precisely what the Void Dragon intended.
"Come, Yuki, hesitate no longer. End these fools right here, right now."
Yuki ignored the Void Dragon's words entirely. Pointing at Hopper's body, he asked, "Who killed her?"
"Who else could it be? Time, naturally."
This was an outcome Yuki found completely unbearable.
Hopper—that self-righteous, steadfastly faithful fanatic who shared an inexplicable bond of destiny with him and had sought his death at every turn—how could she perish like this?
She should have fought him in a grand, final duel, unleashing every ounce of her power, whether borrowed from the Emperor of Mankind or Khorne. Only then, forced under his overwhelming might, should she have met her end. That would have been the proper conclusion to their dark fate together.
Not fading away naturally under the erosion of time!
Yuki felt as though something vital had slipped through his fingers.
Of all those who had been with him from the beginning, everyone he had ever known—whether friend or foe, those on his level—not a single one remained.
He had thought that perhaps by killing Hopper, he could convince himself that he had achieved something worthy of praise over the past century. But now—he truly had accomplished nothing at all.
Yuki fell silent, looking upon the group before him, who stood braced for battle.
No matter what he did, it always ended up like this. No matter how many he slaughtered, how cruel he feigned to be, or what atrocities he committed, these people would inevitably raise their weapons in defiance. He had never truly eradicated anything. The Imperium of Man, the T'au Empire, the Aeldari... no matter how grievous their casualties, they would reappear day after day as if constantly respawning.
He lowered his hand.
"Let's go, Void Dragon."
"You're not going to kill them?"
"They held Baal. Consider it a reward for the valiant. Besides, far greater horrors await them in this galaxy. Why should I be merciful enough to strip them of the right to endure those horrors?"
Yuki felt weary. He looked at Herriman.
"Tell Dante that he has plenty of work left ahead of him. Struggle to your heart's content—just as I have. But perhaps your suffering will find an end when the main fleet arrives."
Without another word, Yuki turned and departed.
Herriman already had his suspicions. It seemed this individual was indeed a special entity within the so-called Astraeus Fleet.
How extraordinary—that the Warhammer universe held yet another novel fleet.
Herriman lay flat on the ground, feeling a surge of profound relief.
Regardless, he had survived the Devastation of Baal, hadn't he? Haha! He had fretted over this for over a century. Now, all that remained was to await Roboute Guilliman's relief force, ask the Primarch for a generous batch of Primaris Space Marines, and rebuild the chapter.
Herriman had long felt that the Warhammer timeline had not undergone any drastic shifts. Even with the emergence of a new Hive Fleet, major events remained largely intact.
If so, any true alteration of the future would likely have to wait until after the Great Rift.
Contemplating their future predicament, Herriman knew he had to find fresh methods to ensure the Imperium's continued survival.
'Ah, whatever, I won't overthink it. As a transmigrator, doing this well is already pretty damn good.'
Then, he indulged in a thoroughly irresponsible guess:
'That guy, Yuki... why do I get the feeling he might be a transmigrator too?'
---
"What a grand spectacle indeed."
The Void Dragon observed the Hive Fleet consuming the specialized flora across the planet's surface.
These seeds had been planted while they were locked in fierce combat at the Fortress of Angels. It appeared Yuno had long prepared for the possibility of failing to fully capture Baal, ensuring the Ripper Swarms and other organisms stripped the surrounding regions of resources beforehand to offset their losses.
"So this truly yielded nothing. The humans still hold Baal."
"Don't put it that way. This campaign claimed at least twenty-seven thousand Space Marines, crippled three of Szarekh's legions, wiped out two Harlequin Masques, and annihilated countless daemonic hosts of Khorne."
"So what? Cawl will bring endless waves of Primaris Space Marines, the number of sleeping Necron dynasties remains uncertain, and as for the Aeldari—they always claim to be on the brink of extinction, yet constantly field host after host of foes out of nowhere."
"Aren't you the same? The Hive Fleet is infinite. No matter how many are slain, the next wave arrives to force humanity to keep fighting. This is simply the nature of this world."
"I might as well find a quiet spot to retire. Mindlessly devouring everything across the cosmos achieves nothing."
"Come now, don't be like that. Don't you still have plenty to do? For instance, you haven't met Abaddon yet."
"So I should treat this whole thing as a giant fan meetup now?"
The Void Dragon offered some council to Yuki:
"Think about it: isn't the Great Devourer preparing to strike at Terra? Don't you want to see the Emperor of Mankind for yourself?"
"Now 'that' sounds like a fine idea."
Yuki relinquished his obsession with the thought that 'he must accomplish something'.
He stopped overthinking and left everything to Yuno. After all, once the main Hive Fleet arrived, all would be well.
With that thought, the heavy weight in his heart lifted. Once more, Yuki recalled Eleven.
"Ah, life and death are simply thus. I suppose I can somewhat understand why the Necrons feared death so deeply now."
"The death of the Necrontyr was agonizing beyond measure, plagued as they were by afflictions far worse than cancer."
"Heh, then why did the Necrontyr have such genetic flaws in the first place?"
"That wasn't my fault."
Exchanging banter, the two returned to the Hive Fleet.
Upon his return, Yuki reconnected to the Hive Mind, only to instantly sense something amiss.
It felt as though the entire Tyranid fleet was attempting to conceal something from him.
Yuki found the sensation odd, and the Void Dragon picked up on it as well. Even without being connected to the Hive Mind, the C'tan Shard could tell something was off from the expressions of the sub-conscious entities nearby.
"Come, Void Dragon, let's leave the couple to themselves."
The four sub-conscious entities escorted the Void Dragon away, leaving a utterly bewildered Yuki to be carried by the bio-ship's inner tentacles into their chamber.
There sat Yuno, dressed in her finest attire.
"Um, Yuno... it isn't bad news, is it?"
Yuki was reaching his limit. If it was something terrible—like Yuno leaving him—he would truly lose his mind.
"My love, you must be the first to know. Though every hive fleet became aware the instant it occurred, since I 'am' the Hive Mind, you remain the second person in the universe to learn of this."
Yuki was completely lost.
"What is it, exactly?"
"I am pregnant."
"Huh?"