I was whistling the tune "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" when I came to the realization I was having another nice Oz dream as I walked down the Yellow Brick Road. Oz dreams were always so welcome. Nothing bad ever happens in Oz, and that was where I could go to relax.

I realized that I was being guided by the hand down the Yellow Brick Road by a strange man. I wasn't exactly sure who he was, but he felt safe, so I just let myself be led along as I took in my heavenly surroundings. The sun was high and beautiful in a brilliant cobalt sky, and the air smelled fresh and clean. The landscape around me was a healthy light forest filled with sycamore and maple trees that swayed gently in the soft breeze. The stranger walked slightly ahead, pulling me along by the hand. When I tried to focus on him, I realized that the sun was now directly ahead of him, and its bright glare made it difficult to make any details of his body out. "Follow me," he said without turning around to look at me, his voice deep and mellifluous. "We need to talk."

A whisper deep within me diverted my attention from the lovely afternoon. 55% Void Shields, it said. What did that mean?

I somehow knew that something large and sharp had struck my right shoulder. Reality glitched, and I was now falling through a swirling storm of black boulders that resembled obsidian. My shoulder was hurt, and with another tug by the man ahead of me, I had evaded another strike. As quickly as I had seen this, I was back on the Yellow Brick Road, and it was a perfect sunny day once again.

The idyllic landscape was very pleasant to walk through. As the stranger pulled me along, I felt as if we were being watched, and I turned to look around us. I further studied the trees as we walked briskly along the road, suspicious. Ahead of me, the stranger holding my hand slowed. Again, without turning around, he said in a softer voice, "Forgive me for this, but I have to know for sure, and you won't survive if you are trying to deceive me..."

I was confused as to what he meant, but then, I was violently pulled backwards away from Oz along a corridor of fire. Images of battles, defeats, conquests, and joys from unknown people filtered through my mind at the speed of light. Suddenly, the sensation of trillions upon trillions of eyes were upon me, scattered across existence as I was hurled through time and space. The eyes were drawn to the light of the Astronomicon, which had surged and was now blazing right through the Great Rift!

Something else grabbed me, and I found myself thrown into in some kind of strange metal chair. Immediately, the sensation of millions of electrified needles directly inserted into my very being jolted in my body, every single nerve on fire! The pain was absolutely unfathomable, and I attempted to scream, but found myself completely unable to move. Alarms screamed around me as a strange man removed a cup from my eye, and triumphantly announced that he got two tears. I sensed many invisible gold shades floating around me, and I felt a consensus among them.

I was blessedly torn away from the metal torture chair, and I was now thrown forward, back along the corridor of fire. As if none of that had happened, I was now walking behind the stranger. A tired sigh escaped from him, and he stopped, but was still holding my hand. In shock at what I had experienced, I fell to the road, traumatized. I wasn't in Oz; I was somewhere else! I looked up at the stranger before me. I realized that I could now make out a few details of his body. He looked like he had a ponytail, and that he was a little taller than I was. Instead of the sun making it difficult for me to look at him, I then realized that a golden halo surrounded his body like ball lightning.

"Sorry you had to experience that. I needed to absolutely confirm it. You would've been snuffed out had there been any deception or taint," he said as a casual statement of fact. "You're still alive, so it must be true. I'm sorry that it's true," I heard a familiar English voice explain sadly. He shook his head, and pulled me to my feet as I remained trembling, unnerved by the experience. We continued to walk, but he did not turn around.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He stopped again, and I saw his shoulders slouch. "We've met before. I'm the Weeping King," he responded. "You're the Omega, and it's all coming true. I didn't write it this way. I'm not sure why its like this. It wasn't supposed to be this way."

My memory abruptly came back to me. This wasn't a dream, and I knew who this was. I looked ahead at the man who was leading me along. I felt my blood run cold.

"Is your name Sebastian?"

The stranger continued walking. "Yes," he answered quietly, a choke in his voice. At the edge of my hearing, I could hear many other voices as they observed me. They whispered things like, Omega, Empress, Inheritor, and even, Anathema, but I could not see where they came from. I heard Sebastian begin to speak again. "Or, at least I used to be him a very long time ago. I don't know what I am now. I am a singular personality split from a vast whole of my greater self." A pause as his steps slowed. "You're from my universe, aren't you?" I saw his head slightly turn, and I could now see some of his facial features from here. His hair was dark, and his eyelashes were thick.

"I think so. Maybe. I'm from New Jersey, and the year 2018," I replied.

"2018?" he asked, and I could hear slight surprise in his voice. "Slightly ahead then. I'm from 1997. I'm from Bristol, England, if you know where that is. Right now, I am testing the connection between the two of us. Time has slowed down so that I can see properly."

"You're... the Emperor?" I finally cautiously asked, watching him with both fear and awe.

He simply nodded, "What you see before you is a mere piece of myself broken off to speak to you in this lost area of space, a shadow of who I used to be. Sebastian is one of my most humble and human personalities, modeled on who I once was in my home universe. As I said, what you see before you is a small fraction of a greater whole."

I was stuck in a peculiar space between fangirling and mortal terror as we continued to walk along the Yellow Brick Road as if everything was just fine. I looked down at the hand guiding me along. It was a normal-sized hand. I honestly was so stunned at being in close proximity to the Emperor I did not know what to ask him, so of course, I blurted out the first thing to come to mind. "So, uh, I thought your name was Neoth. The lore in my universe said your name was Neoth, and that you were the product of thousands of shamans committing suicide."

"Lore? In your universe?" Sebastian laughed darkly. "Incredible. I suppose we do indeed come from different points of origin. Similar enough, though it appears," he observed. "Neoth existed, yes, but he was the Alpha, the first one of the high Holy Bloodline of perpetuals. He convinced many people to sacrifice themselves to him after he discovered the Key in ancient Anatolia, and his strength was the product of thousands of shaman souls. As he held the Key, the ritual transformed him, and made him into the first immortal, the first perpetual on top of being the first Inheritor. From him, all other perpetuals originate. A rare few of these perpetuals are chosen for the lofty purpose of housing a Traveler's soul. The body I found myself in when I got pulled into this universe came from his line."

"And who brought you in to this universe? Why did they do that?" I asked.

I could hear a weary, frustrated sigh escape his lips. He still had his back turned to me.

"The question of who brought me here remains a mystery. Concerning those responsible I only found scattered rumors of an ancient occult order devoted to progressing mankind's spiritual evolution. But, I discovered another perpetual who had belonged to the periphery of the order, so I know they existed. He went on to become my dearest friend, my closest confidant. Even he was not able to supply full answers to what I sought." Sebastian paused, weighing what he would say next as he shifted his weight. "As for why, the closest answer I was able to discern was that a unifying figure for humankind's future was desired, and since the Key and the Divine Intervention would not accept a soul native to this corrupt universe, I was 'imported' using an unknown ritual. Perhaps they still exist, as you also are here now, little sister."

He stopped. Sebastian then took a deep breath, and turned around so that I could fully see him. While he still had that bright halo, it wasn't overwhelming, and I could now make out his features.

He wasn't huge, wearing gold armor, crowned in gold laurels, or wielding a giant sword. Here, he was a tall, lean muscular man with high cheekbones, and thick dark hair bundled in a ponytail. He wore a plain black t-shirt, and a pair of jeans. His skin was fair, and he wore a contemplative neutral expression as he regarded me. While he wore a different body than when I had seen when I had first interfaced into the Divine Retribution, I could intuitively tell that this was the same man. This was the same form I had seen him wear on Nubua, when he had cursed the Heart of Worlds. He was decidedly normal but for one thing:

His eyes were bright, inhuman gold. The same eyes that scared me in my own reflection. Between his unnerving gaze and his halo, he was still difficult to look at directly.

"Tell me, what is your name, little sister?" he asked me, letting go of my hand. I was shaking.

"Erika," I answered.

He nodded. "How did you find my ship?"

I felt a slight compulsion as he held me under his eyes, and I knew that I had to tell him the truth. Information began to fall out of me. "I woke up in a new body on a planet called Levant way on the eastern side of the galaxy right before the Great Rift formed. I was guided to a Necron pylon a short distance away. There, I found an archmagos who was sitting on top of a dig site with a bunch of servitors. He told me he had been studying the 'Great Eagle' that was buried here for a thousand years, but that his Exploratory Fleet was gone. I'm actually pretty sure he sabotaged his fleet, so they all died. The archmagos said that on top of researching the buried ship, he'd been researching what he called 'Travelers', people from different dimensions. It's a long story, but I then got plugged into the ship, a Warp rift happened, and we escaped the area." I took a breath. "Why was it buried there? What happened?" I dared to ask.

Sebastian nodded thoughtfully, taking in what I said. "The answer is... complicated. We buried the Divine Intervention on Levant in a flood. She was supposed to be intentionally 'rediscovered' some years after the Great Crusade, and flown through the stars once more as a great herald of Imperial achievement once our conquests were nearing completion. Sadly, this never occurred, and she was forgotten. The Divine Intervention's rediscovery would have triumphantly soared through media and propaganda outlets as proof of mankind's supremacy and bright future."

"You intentionally buried it?" I asked, incredulous.

"Propaganda can be a powerful tool. Everyone enjoys stories of discovery, especially if they align with political and spiritual interests. It was all very intentional, all planned. I hated seeing her drown, but I knew that I see her fly again in all her glory. I didn't know that it would be so many years away."

"It's called the Divine Retribution now," I informed Sebastian.

"A new name?" A short chuckle. "Interesting." He did not elaborate further.

I felt like I probably wouldn't have an opportunity to ask questions like this again, so I quickly got curious. "So, you came from another universe, and then became the Emperor here. Did you ever find the opportunity to leave? Why are you still here?"

He didn't answer me at first, but I could feel a sadness from him. "I and my friends discovered a Gate through the Deep Warp to my home universe, but circumstances changed, and I decided to stay here. I had an opportunity to go, but my choice was to remain." There was something evasive in that answer, I could definitely tell.

"A Gate through the Deep Warp?" I quietly wondered aloud. Why did that sound really important? Wait, was that the Warp Gate on Molech? That was my eventual destination! Had Sebastian met the Wizard? Maybe he had information that could help me get home?

Excited, I began to rattle off my questions in earnest. "Are you talking about the Warp Gate on Molech? Do you know about the Wizard? Who is he? Can he help me get home? Please tell me! I want to go home!" I quickly asked, almost frantic.

Sebastian did not answer me, and turned away from me, his gold eyes searching. Great conflict once again crossed his features. A small quake rocked below us on the road, and the sky started to darken. "It seems we don't have much time left already, and I'm sure you have a lot of questions. But, listen," he stood there once again very conflicted as to what to say. "When I thought you were a hallucination, I told you to get away from here as soon as you could. I... I am amending that suggestion." He took a deep breath. "We are avatars of hope to mankind here, and our power is unique. Because we came from creator universes, we can create and bend fate along our paths. This universe, it needs hope, little sister. I don't know how long I have left, but you might need to be the person that picks up the pieces. Do you know far along you are in your change?"

I looked at him curiously. "Change?"

His expression fell. "You don't even know, do you?"

"I don't understand."

He closed his eyes, and shook his head. The sky was continuing to darken, and I could hear thunder in the distance. "I need access to your body on your throne for a short time, little sister. I need to see something before my light fully dims in this region again. I will also guide you away from the disintegrating space here. There isn't much time for me to explain this, but you'll have to trust me."

"You mean possess me?" I looked at him, intimidated. Sebastian's Corona flashed like a matchstick for a moment before dimming.

"Only for a short time. I will leave knowledge behind in your mind that will help you in this dangerous universe. I can't stay here and talk to you. Time is dilated here, but it still passes."

I cringed back from him.

He regarded me heavily with his incredible eyes, and slowly walked to stand very close to me. His gold Corona began to contact my shoulder, and I could actually feel my own energy respond to his in a short electric crackle, which briefly frightened me. He reached out to touch my arm. "We're the same, you and I. Since we are linked to the same intelligence, and the same eldritch power within the Great Eagle, we carry the same energy. All you need to do is let me in, little sister."

The darkening sky glitched, and once again, black boulders careened through the air, one nearly striking us on the road before the Yellow Brick Road came into being again.

"Okay, fine, just... just help me!" I said, frightened.

The false land of Oz fell dissolved into golden dust, and I found myself sitting on my throne again.

I startled awake, and discovered the peculiar sensation that I was now two people. It isn't something one can articulate in any way, but I felt as if a second intelligence had settled within me, and I was not the personality in the driver's seat. Animate rays of preternatural radiance streamed from the throne below me, and I realized that I was now casting two distinct shadows on the metal floor of the bridge. I briefly panicked.

Trust me, I heard his voice, and I instantly relinquished command to the other within me.

I then became someone else as Erika stepped aside, still aware and awake within herself. Not wanting to be distracted by her words or any fear that may come from her, I first silenced her voice inside of me.

I took a breath. Then two breaths. I was in flesh again. I pulled one of my hands off the throne, and briefly observed it. An astartes groveled on the floor, completely overwhelmed by my presence. A hologram spasmed in light before winking out altogether, unable to handle my proximity. The light of the bridge was now likely overwhelming to anyone here.

Well, time to get to it, I thought. I cracked my knuckles. Here I go.

I closed my physical eyes, and pushed my willpower forward through the great golden eagle I was attached to, remembering the luxurious feeling of flying this marvelous archaeotech. This vessel retained its own intelligence, and its willpower was indomitable, unwilling to be tamed even by myself. It represented something ancient and wild that had come from an earlier time in the galaxy, all the way back during the War in Heaven. It wasn't precisely an 'eagle', but merely resembled one to humans in this age, and thus it was called so. Nostalgic rose-colored memories of my early years in this universe briefly filled my mind, but I did not have time for reminiscing.

I searched for where my light had come from in the Warp, and easily found it. Quickly, I visualized how successful my endeavor to bisect the Great Rift had been. Right now, a hot corridor of holy light split the galaxy in twain, and my efforts had been successful. Good. Erika, within her own body, watched me in awe. She tried to say something to me, but found that she was silenced. With a step back, I took stock of how much time I had back on Terra.

Psykers were draining at a rapid pace, each turning to dry powder as my voracious touch immolated their souls from within. Alarms screamed and adepts barked orders. That was to be expected.

I calculated that I had about ten seconds remaining in proper time. Should be enough, I thought. Time means very little when in the Warp, and since my Sight had domain over temporal flow, I could just bend time around further if I needed. Being in a fleshy shell and having physical resources definitely helped here. This would require me to make a formal request in normal time on the state of the body I was in though, and that would eat up a few seconds.

"Divine Retribution, progress on bodily Captain Ascension?" I quickly called out in a strange voice that was both male and female. As I felt the ship study my body, I looked down at the throne that I sat on, noting its craftsmanship and current size, quickly studying it and committing it to memory. I stretched, watching my own arms and hands move, pushing psychic energy and my Sight through them, examining how deviant this body was from human. I felt a sense of relief at being able to move around a little again. I felt brief frustration that I couldn't just possess her forever and leave my husk on Terra behind.

Erika responded to that thought with alarm, and I silenced that too.

...7

The ship hummed. "3 out of possible 9. Minor physical changes. Sight: low. Potential: Alpha+"

I nodded, and inhaled sharply. Good. Full potential, but awhile to go yet, little sister, I thought. Whoever summoned her into this universe had made an excellent judgement call.

...6

"You aren't Erika," a strangely accented voice responded to my right. I turned, and felt great distaste to find that it was some kind of bird mutant, and he was fully integrated as a copilot! His feathers were black, and his beak was short and hooked, like a falcon's. He essentially looked like a feathery long limbed human with a bird's head. A sense of irritation washed through me. How could a mutant have access to this majestic vessel? I sensed trepidation through the bird man as he looked at me, his ears pulled back and his blue-gold eyes wide. "What are you?" he quickly asked me. I didn't have the time or patience for speaking with this fool.

...5

"A friend," I growled impatiently, continuing to prod this vessel with my Sight, studying its changes, its imperative, everything I could in the short amount of time I had. I prepared myself to kill this mutant, but an urge within Erika stayed my hand.

...4

"You're a daemon aren't you?" the mutant accused me.

I glared at him. "Furthest thing from a daemon, ignorant filth."

...3

To stop any issues with his interference without killing him, I rendered him unconscious. Idiot.

...2

Alright, time to get to business. Using her soul reserves fixed into both her and the Parson Shield, I pulled into my Sight, and willed physical time to obey me, and it did, slowing down considerably. I felt great strain on Erika's soul, but she had to learn. Her Sight was a small fraction of my own, but luckily, it was existent, allowing me to bend the rules of reality a little, and permitting our escape.

I willed my consciousness to the front of the vessel, and I became the Divine Retribution once again, flying through the slower Warp. Carefully, I reached out with my Sight and manipulated the state of reality and time around the Parson Shield, allowing us to move quickly in the manipulated Warp.

Watch and learn, little sister, I instructed the native soul within myself. She watched.

Black boulders of ruin that threatened to smash me now flew much more slowly in the Warp, and I could now easily fixate on the light that held my consciousness sparkling ahead. For an easier time seeing the corrupted space before me, I operated the heading beacon, which projected ahead of us in a radiant corridor of holy light, similar to the way the Astronomicon functioned, but with far less potency. Because the connection to the Astronomicon was now quite good, I felt a few more of my personalities slip into this borrowed body, empowering me further. A lost Chaos Fury was struck by the light, and it screamed as it was burned. The heading beacon pulled from Erika, who groaned with the strain.

A brief glance back on Terra, and I could taste the panic in the Imperial Palace and the bowels of the Astronomicon. Tech-priests were frantically praying and weeping on the floor, pleading for the machine spirits within the Throne to calm so that the light that came from me wouldn't burn out.

A boulder appeared quickly in front of me out of nowhere. No problem. Divine Retribution, Phase Shift left. I instantly phased out of existence and reappeared aside the boulder as it swung harmlessly away. Erika responded in surprise, and I decided to open myself up to conversation once again.

How are you doing this? Did we just teleport? she asked me.

I used the Sight and manipulated the Parson Shield skin around us to bend reality, allowing for both faster travel and a short phase shift. The Parson Shield is actually a sort of reality-altering skin emanating from your own Traveler's soul, more potent and useful than a standard Gellar Field. With enough skill, it can do many things. You have the Sight as well, but you are not strong yet to do this alone. You must consume more souls to become more powerful. Feast on those who would subdue you, little sister.

I willed a map to appear in my mind's eye, and pushed the engines onboard the Divine Retribution into overdrive, willing us to follow the light ahead. We were going so fast that it now looked like we were skipping through the Warp on the map. I felt a trickle of blood fall from Erika's nose and one of her eyes. She was experiencing great psychic strain from this. Behind me, I could see that the Warp was tearing further. The entire area was being annihilated, both Immaterium and Materium. This was quite a danger, I was forced to admit. Why was she on Nubua on the first place anyway?

I projected the thought casually to her, and she was slow to respond. She explained to me that a Lord of Change transported them there. Of course that happened, I shook my head. Yet another meddlesome action by Tzeentch. Even Erika weakly laughed.

You must not trust Chaos in any capacity, little sister. Your charge is to protect humanity, and none of the Chaos Gods wish mankind to have a good end. Being who you are as a beacon of hope, you are especially at risk for being manipulated by Tzeentch, so you must be wary, I instructed as I steered us through the Warp.

Yeah, well, too late for that, Emps... she responded weakly as I continued to bleed from my eyes.

Emps? I questioned for a moment. Oh. I allowed myself a rare laugh. She was funny. Blood began to flow more heavily through my nose, flowing down my neck and onto my chest.

I sensed many eyes were now watching this region from many alignments. No doubt, the disintegration of the vast Broken Desert of Nubua was now also an astronomical event that was being curiously watched on top of the Astronomicon's power surge. That would probably be a problem later concerning unwelcome attention. I wondered how this was affecting the dreams in this region? If they were ignorant of her before, they certainly wouldn't be now.

Skipping along through the Warp, I sensed metaphorical color and light begin to filter through the area once again, and the black nothing boulders became less frequent.

...1

We were almost out, and I was almost out of psykers to devour. Pity, I had actually begun to enjoy myself. I briefly examined Erika's body, and found that this had taken a heavy toll on her. The Parson Shield and heading beacon were both burning up her soul at a quick pace. I turned off the heading beacon, concerned. She was slouched and motionless on her throne, even as my consciousness still clung to her. She'd probably not feel well after this.

We're almost out, I reassured her. She didn't respond.

The Warp was now filled with blessedly normal nightmares and typical surreal terrors, and I saw that many of them were fleeing in the same direction I was. A frightened newborn void whale was flying close to me away from the cataclysm. It had been blown away from its pod, and was crying out in fear as it fled from the devastation behind me. I worried about the captain's health, and made a decision. With a rapid diving turn, the Divine Retribution rammed the unlucky creature's head with a perpendicular slice of its sharp wings, carving through an essential nerve cluster near its brain. I registered a small hit to the void shields from this action, but this would help the us. The newborn whale screamed in agony in the Warp as it died, and its life energy was greedily consumed by the Divine Retribution.

"We're losing power!" An adept shouted as they started to frantically force more screaming doomed psykers into the Astronomicon's machinery. The very instant these pitiful individuals were plugged in to their vestibules and coffins, they were consumed in a flash of energetic light. Piles of dusty human remains were now swirling on the floors, and the air was so hot that servitors fell, their systems overloaded beyond functionality. Death cries and screams of madness blended together in a cacophonous symphony. That was probably my cue to go home. With an easy command, we translated to realspace, and I commanded the Divine Retribution to land on a rocky dead world orbiting a nearby star at a modest distance. A few rapid calculations, and a safe landing area had been chosen. It could regenerate there using solar winds. The vessel began adjusting its trajectory to land on the planet. There, all finished.

I sat thinking for a moment in Erika's incapacitated body, clinging to her in a Corona separate from her own. She was bleeding from her ears now. Hopefully, they had a doctor on board, but even if not, the perpetual nature of her body would slowly regenerate any damage. I now recalled just how difficult it actually was to be the pilot of such a willful soul-greedy transformative machine, especially early on. As wonderful the eagle was to fly, the toll on the body could be severe, and it didn't exactly come with an instruction manual. Once she was strong enough to take a more powerful form, things would get easier, I reassured myself.

Through my Sight, I critically observed her again. Already, I could see signs that Erika had shifted away from baseline human. The distinctive gold Corona was already there, along with some minor physical manifestations. Sharper cheekbones, smoother skin, and more idealized features were evident. The mental changes the Eagle would inflict upon her would see to that her moral compass would eventually be appropriately aligned, trammeling her soul into the creature she would become. Humanity needed to have hope in something in this grim universe, no matter how unlikely.

And for humanity's sake, she could not depart this reality. Erika had to stay here, and not flee through Molech's Warp Gate. I had neglected to tell her of the Wizard, the trials she would face, and the impossible favors he would request of her. In time, she would come to understand that humanity needed her here. The Great Eagle would make sure of that.

Through my Sebastian personality, I then felt strange pity. Conflicted, I found that I still wanted to tell her to run away, that every moment of my existence had been a torment for over ten thousand years, even after all my efforts. A dark part of me whispered that it was all useless, and it was all going to come to nothing, no matter what I or anyone else did. I discovered that I could not voice my fears to my new probable successor. It was impossible. Even with the heightened humanity of the part of me that was Sebastian, my warnings remained unspoken.

Instead, I found myself reaching out with an astral hand, and I softly cradled her as she bled, feeling terribly sorry for her eventual plight, but not able to implant a warning in her that she should flee from this doomed plane the moment the opportunity presented itself. As Sebastian, I suddenly felt very human here, and the sensation of genuine human empathy toward one singular individual surprised me. Even when I had spoken to the people of the Independent Empires a short time ago, the feeling wasn't nearly as strong as it was now. A quiet part of me still so deeply missed being human, even after all this time. There really was no place like home...

Far away, a man shouted with glee that he had captured a third tear from my cheek.

She'll do alright. I did alright, didn't I? I wondered with that guttering spark of genuine humanity as I began to feel myself drawn back to the Golden Throne.

Didn't I?

My conscience was then silent, and within the well of my vast soul, I remained cold, detached, and utterly inhuman, a cheap gold-plated simulacrum of God in the shape of a savior.

Wake up, little sister, I whispered to her, and I gifted her with an embrace of additional soul energy and knowledge from my own light, causing the Key on her chest to brighten. That should ensure that she regenerated fully. I felt the heart in her chest jump to life as I was once again pulled backwards through the corridor of fire, and back to my tortured body on Terra.

I startled awake and back to life. Blind, bleeding, and screaming, I became Erika once again.