I did say this will release very soon, so here it is
...
"Long time no see, my old companion."
Spoke a feminine voice.
Gilgamesh saw a child. Faint golden hair flowing that reached all the way to the shoulders, an elegant braid traveled to the back and the bangs were thin and neat.
The child had a fair complexion covered by a clean white robe while carrying what can be described as feminine features. But what caught the eye and mind was the small halo floating above the child's head with the grace of a feather cloud, bathing the small cave in gentle gold luminescence. The child's head turned, looking at him with eyes that he had already seen before, but never expressed in this light.
Gilgamesh did not need any more doubt.
His right knee kissed the ground, his right arm formed a fist on his chest and his left hand planted the spear on his other side. His head was lowered, not daring to look anymore.
"My King of Ages."
Gilgamesh spoke. His voice is steady as a rock but as passionate as the lively waves of the sea. The Custodes barely felt any emotions, they were stripped of that, no different than a servitor. But that seemed to change in front of The King. Everything can and will change with that presence, that's how drowning it was.
The child chuckled.
"Ehh~ that thing on that Throne really liked extravagant titles huh?"
"M-My Liege?"
The child walked closer to Gilgamesh, and the demigod's height was so massive that even in his kneeling state and bowed head, the child could walk under him and look up.
This time, Gilgamesh could not avoid the golden eyes of the child that stared at him.
"Oh, you lost one of your eyes."
"Yes, my Liege?"
"And no mechanical replacements?"
"I-, I did not think they were necessary."
The child smirked, and the Custodian found that hard to make sense of.
"Hey now! Don't move your head, stay still and be obedient."
"Your order is my will. My liege."
The child tiptoed to try and reach Gilgamesh's forehead, but was lacking by a number of inches.
"Lower!"
The custodian followed, lowered his head with his eyes closed, and then he felt the touch of a finger, like the embrace of a morning sun amidst a November dawn.
"Open your eyes."
He followed, and the demigod could finally see in total completion. Regaining what was lost.
"My great gratitude, my Lie-"
"Anyways," the child interrupted. "Do you have any questions for me, Gilgamesh?"
The Custodian contemplated, but it only took a fleeting moment.
"What do I have to do, my Liege?"
The child's brows raised, and then her mouth formed into a warm smile. "Aha, I thought you'd be more curious y'know? Like why I look like this, or who I really am, and why I sought you out!"
Gilgamesh was entranced by the smile, but like a gyroscope, he quickly stabilized his mind back to perfect motion.
"You are the Emperor, my Liege. No matter what form you take, be that a titan of Nile gold and Sumer bronze or a simple human girl, you will always be my King of all Ages. Every single Custodes will immediately recognize you, no matter how you present yourself, My Liege."
The child's eyes widened, she came closer and patted the knees of the Custodes.
"That thing on the throne, my past self, had made a lot of mistakes." She looked back at Gilgamesh with a smile. "You and all the Custodes are not one of them."
The demigod could smell the saline scent of a tear. It took a moment to notice that it came from him. The child saw her Custodian's little break in form, finding it quite the amusing sight, but then her eyes strained, as if remembering a memory of struggle ages ago.
"Ra, how is he?"
Gilgamesh froze, and old wounds from the War in the Webway resurfaced. She surely knew what happened, so why was she asking? No matter, he must answer.
"My Liege, there is no doubt that he still runs to this day."
The child chuckled lightly. Her eyes slightly cast downwards
"That surely is the case."
"But, my Liege. You are correct, I am curious. Why do you choose to take the form you do now? Also your personality and the way you speak, it is not how I remember it."
The child casually waved her hand.
"I thought you'd figure this out on your own Gilgamesh, I am but a part of that thing on that throne, but since I am reborn with humanity as my trait, I am my own being."
"That, thing?"
The child sighed.
"That thing, the corpse on the throne. Which I hate."
"My Liege? You hate yourself?"
Gilgamesh put effort into not stammering while he spoke.
"I was but a man, Gilgamesh. You know that. When I first appeared on the rocks of a ruined Terra, I had a dream. A dream that no man could achieve, so I had to become something more than a man. Some parts of myself I discarded and buried, and at the bridge of the Vengeful Spirit, I completely cut of some parts of myself. Now, my dear companion, what does that tell you?"
Gilgamesh breathed a second but failed to answer. The child continued.
"I am Him as He is me. But I choose to differentiate ourselves by nothing more than my emotional whims of spite, Gilgamesh. That thing on the throne is my past, my mistakes, and my regrets."
"Your mistakes?"
The child bitterly smiled.
"Yes. Mistakes. Do you really think I planned to sit down and see my Imperium rot to ignorance? To see my sons rebel against me?"
She shook her head.
"No, no. Those are mistakes. My mistakes."
She looked Gilgamesh in the eyes.
"What do you remember of me, my past self? Me that sat on that Throne and fought by your side on the Webway?"
"My Liege, I remember a man. I remember a titan. But still a man. A man who had everything, and nothing that he wanted. So He reached for the stars. You knew everything and nothing. You were a man of necessity, everything you did had a reason. You were a tyrant and a king, to guide humanity to its psychic awakening without the missteps of the Aeldari and old humanity. You had the capability, the will, and dream to save humanity from chaos, to starve Gods of their worship. With the face and armour of a king you dedicated each facet of your soul to achieve what you thought was the best option for the survival of humanity. A mere man with the determination to face the universe with its horrors and strike it in its eye with effortless confidence."
The child laughed.
"Effortless confidence? Are you trying to make me laugh, Gilgamesh? Even in my state, I know what you truly want to say. So say it."
The Custodian almost choked.
"My Liege, arrogance. I meant arrogance."
"You are finally honest. You were made to be loyal, not to be a jester."
She smiled lightly.
"But You are right. My arrogance was my failure."
She laughed dryly.
"Oh arrogance, the beginner and ender of man."
She looked away from Gilgamesh, staring into the dark ceiling of the cave, where even the light of her halo could not illuminate.
"I had my reasons. Some say I was too rushing. Some say my choice to appear as a golden king was not the right choice. But my thoughts were always different from the others."
She turned back to glance at the Custodes.
"I saw the future Gilgamesh, I saw it. A future where we succeeded. A future where man bowed to no one. To this hour, I still swear I saw it. So every act I committed myself to, whether it be mercy or the genocide of a hundred planets, I did not think of them as decisions. No. Instead they were necessities, fail-safes, safeguards. And if my foresight wasn't convincing enough, then my enemy was."
Now Gilgamesh could not comprehend the emotion on the Child Emperor's face.
"The moment they titled me Anathema. The moment those four regarded me with eyes of hesitation and dare I call it, fear.
That was the moment I knew the future I foresaw had a chance of being true. That was all the confirmation I needed. All the arrogance and hubris I needed to burn planet after planet, flood star after star. Because, wouldn't you kill a hundred stray dogs, or a thousand, so that your own shall not just live, but for the entire species to continue existing? To let the blood of a thousand nourish the soil from where life would grow?" She paused for a moment, her eyebrows dropping down.
"Greater good, that was it. But unlike the similar arguments of the past, I had seen its future. I thought I knew I was right. Before then, I had seen countless others before me try their own methods and fail. You can't even imagine how many humans from the old ages that had survived the collapse tried to shepherd man themselves, and failed to meet its struggles. I had seen humanity collapse twice with the Rebellion of Iron and the sins of the Eldar and don't forget the lesser-known betrayal by the alien. I saw it all. I lived through it all. I am very old Gilgamesh, but my brain is not like yours. I just wanted to do what was best for us, for humanity."
The child looked to Gilgamesh, then quickly glanced away.
"Look how that turned out."
Gilgamesh felt an urge arise. An instinct to say something, anything to his king.
"My Liege…" he said slowly. "I- I do not think it is fully hopeless."
The child lightly chuckled again.
"Trying to comfort me? Custodian?"
"My Liege…"
"Don't worry my companion. Now I understand where I misstepped, where I overlooked, and where I horribly misjudged. That man, that thing in that throne, my past self, the one you remember, had failed. His- no, my arrogance, had resulted in all this mess.
All this failure, all this- this senseless mess."
Gilgamesh breathed in and out.
"But, this galaxy, we can still save it-"
"Our galaxy is a tragedy, Gilgamesh. A senseless one. A meaningless disaster initiated by our own mistakes that we had formed a delusion that poisoned our minds that it is our only way of life, therefore the same generational slips are repeated over and over as tradition and nobody considers the fact that one day it's suffocating weight of our combined sins will inevitably bury us in absolute dark, never again fated to see the light."
An ingrained instinct activated inside the very genes of Gilgamesh, the urge to argue back.
"And yet there still remain surviving remnants of those who are educated to our slow and voluntary march to our final hour and choose instead to stop and stand defiant. Your son Roboute Guilliman is a prime example, many more of these sparks exist in the galaxy, even without your guidance."
"You are right." Said the child "But a spark remains a spark. Short-lived with little to no effect on grander scales. My son, as capable as he is, only keeps his soul and healthy heart only because of my interventions. In the vastness of it all, It is not enough Gilgamesh, all of them, even with the Lion, they are not nearly a fraction enough."
Gilgamesh immediately responded, ignoring the revelation that the Lion was apparently walking somewhere unseen by his eyes for years.
"So you accept that the countless sacrifices, all the tears, and human determination to continue trudging along a spiked road carved of their own bones in the hope of brighter futures are all wasteful efforts? My Liege?"
The child's eyes grew distant in its gaze.
"Yes. That is what I feel."
Gilgamesh stayed silent. They both did for a moment.
"Our galaxy had never felt right. I do not know where this conviction of mine comes from, but there is a hidden flaw that is deep like an aberration within our world's veins. Can you feel it too, my dear companion?"
"My Liege? A flaw?"
She smiled.
"Nothing ever seems to go right. Do you agree, Gilgamesh?"
He nodded.
"At each attempt to turn a benefit comes an unexpected outcome. Logic is what I preached, that it is the only way for mankind to live. But the Immaterium does not agree with logic. And each minute the Material and the Immaterium mold as one. You see me now, in flesh and more, reborn and reformed into the physical, did you think logic and science formed this possibility?
"Please enlighten me, my Liege." Gilgamesh replied.
"Science nor logic has no hand in my life. I only live through the collective faith of the Imperium reflected through the warp. Isn't that funny? That this backward empire of hate, ignorance, and fear which turned their back against the logic I preached to embrace faith and religion instead, the values that I swore to destroy, used them to effectively immortalize me? It's a funny irony I think."
She started walking around the kneeling Custodian.
"The Warp. The Immaterium is one of the many flaws of our world. Because it does not care about the logical, nor the how and the why. It's the reason why the deamons are better felled with a sword in hand and why it is immune from a bomb from afar. Because it is a reflection of our thoughts and emotions. Rarely are those rational." She smirked.
"Other than that, there are more outside the banners of the Immaterium that curse our world. It is a place where no good deed goes unpunished, and where mercy is replied with disaster. Whether the causality of our reality is broken from the great death of the Flayer, or something else, we may never know. There is an old name for an old idea in ancient Terra called the Murphy's Law, have you heard of it?"
Gilgamesh's atom-perfect memory responded.
"I have encountered the term in the Unification of Terra once, my Liege. I understand it."
"Good. We are living it."
She stopped walking when she met the face of the Custodian once more.
"Our galaxy is doomed, The Imperium is doomed, Gilgamesh. Nothing can change that fact anymore. You should know that when we saw the Titans, the great God-Machines crucified along the Ultimate Walls. When my space marines, tear and eat their own oath-sworn brothers. When hive cities are turned into flesh-pieces by my once most favored. When things get better, life always finds a way to make it worse. All the Imperium is doing, is screaming its dry lungs out to the uncaring void."
"But my Liege, how can you say that? All that you have said may be wrong, as you were once before."
She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head as if she was amused.
"I hope so. I hope so too, my dear Custodian. But our future in this accursed world might have already been lost."
"But why? Why must it be so?"
"Now that I have failed, the future is set. There are more terrors lurking in the future that will match the dark past. The great devourer is one, the orks are two, but there are always more. Though the Infinite Empire had blunted in its sleep, they are no less as dangerous. And do not forget our greatest archenemy, Chaos. Remember the star of eight points. Eight Ætheric dominions. Eight thrones of hell. Of those eight, four are vacant. They will not be forever."
Gilgamesh replied.
"Even when the future is bleak and broken, how can we give up all that we have worked for? The hope of man is not easily shaken, my Liege. Even in the face of overwhelming impossibility, it does not lay there standing to be devoured. It will fight, and even if that hope is lost, there is more than hope that guides man to a path of action. You see this in the Imperium of today, where hope has died, then hate shall guide their blades in its absence."
"You are mistaken, I did not mean we should give up. But let us not let hate guide our will, it is a double-edged sword that bleeds its owner as much as it bleeds its foes. But don't worry Gilgamesh, I may have given up on our galaxy, but I have not for humanity. Not at all." she smiled.
Gilgamesh could not find the need to argue anymore. He listened instead.
"Now my, dear Custodes. Now that you have lent an ear to my laments and my problems, now do you understand?"
Gilgamesh answered immediately.
"I understand, My Liege. But you are reborn. Whatever new path you desire to embark on, or what form, I shall always be by your side."
"Oh? I think you're misunderstanding something, dear companion. That titan of void black hair and bronze skin still exists. I am but a mere rebirth of one of His many scattered souls."
"I-I see."
The child nodded.
"Actually, I am a manifestation of His goodness, His love and His mercy, made true by the nature of the warp. While He is preserved by sacrifice and worship, I am made life by each good a human makes. That is who I am. But I must admit, the sacrifices, the worship, and The Throne, have powered each and every shard of all souls to a ludicrous strength I would have never reached myself."
"My Liege, your scattered souls, will they become one again?" Gilgamesh asked.
"Maybe one day, we'll return as one, but for now I can't unite with that part of me until I have done all that I can do. Also, He is busy with keeping the Imperium in one piece- err, well actually in two pieces, but He's also staving off our current archenemies. So while I walk, I shall mend what can be mended, atone for what can be atoned, as my duty as His last remaining piece of humanity."
"How do you plan to achieve that?"
"Hmm." She closed her eyes.
"I will take the blame. Each sin a human hand makes, I will carry it in their stead. After all, that's what I deserve, and for how? Maybe I shall tell you when it is right."
"I understand, My Liege, No-"
"But-" interrupted the child.
"If He on Terra were to command you against me, which Emperor would you follow?"
The Custodes for the second time, could not find an answer.
"Speak, my dear Custodian." she demanded with a smirk of white.
"I- my Liege, you are one of the same, you are His Humanity made manifest. Him on Terra is also you, if there are two of you, who oppose one another, I- cannot imagine what will happen."
The child looked at him, then laughed childishly after a moment. "You took it so seriously Gilgamesh. That question is nothing but a trick. My other self, no matter how much I hate Him, is still myself. His acts are mine, no matter how separated I am in the decision-making process."
"I see, my Liege."
These were the only words Gilgamesh managed to produce.
"I can still see some unanswered doubt in your form, dear companion. What is it?"
The Custodian took the opportunity.
"One last thing my Liege, your form. Why is it so?"
The child chuckled, her soft voice was something Gilgamesh already had gotten used to, maybe even comforted by.
"My dear companion, you are smart. Maybe you could figure it out on your own?"
Gilgamesh mentally took a step back to focus on what his king suggested, hastily forming an answer.
"My Liege, you were always one that believed in the power of symbology. You first took on the form of a king so that humanity would follow you. More than that, you decided to build the Capital Palace in the Himalayas. A steep mountain of naked rocks that spiked all the way to the heavens and where the air was so thin, that normal humans couldn't breathe in it. Yet you remain steadfast in your will to build it in such an illogical and cold environment, but only after a while did many people understand why. It was a symbol of strength, to beat back the remaining warlords into submission not with blood but with a glorious construction to make them heel voluntarily. It was a symbol of a new age, to announce the birth of The Imperium, and its arrogance to build a Palace in a heaven it was never meant to live in. It heralded our journey back to the stars."
The child looked like she was listening carefully, but Gilgamesh could not know whether her smile indicated that he was on the correct path to the maze of a question, but he still continued.
"And it was a celebration of the unity of mankind. Everything you did had meaning. From the lightning that marked us Custodians to the two-headed eagle of the Imperium. Therefore I believe your new form is to indicate your new rebirth. It is the complete opposite of your kingly form. If your old form symbolized leadership and strength to conquer the galaxy, now you symbolize hope and humanity to redeem all mankind. That is my thoughts, my Liege."
The child left the Custodian in silence for a while. If a Custodes can sweat under pressure, now was the time.
"Hmmm… Good!"
"Was I on the correct path? My Liege?"
"Maybe!"
The Custodian choked again.
"But my Liege, what about your change in personality? Will I have to form my consensus on it as well?"
"Yup." There was a slight pause. "Because I'm not sure why I had my mentality regress either!"
Gilgamesh did not know if she was joking or not. He chose to remain silent.
Now seeming satisfied, the child finally stopped her jubilation, and fixated on her precious Custodian.
"So, I have a task for you, Gilgamesh. Do you know why you were chosen?"
"Only conjectures, my Liege."
"Actually, it's simple. It's because you're the only Custodian I could reach, and you are unique. Do you know why, Gilgamesh?"
Gilgamesh observed his Liege's face, and formulated a conclusion.
"You said you are made life by good deeds, so I assume you could not manifest in Terra due to its lack of humanity and happiness."
"That's not all, but yes, you were spot on my dear companion! You would not believe how impossible it was for me to form into being across the past 10,000 years due to everywhere being poisoned by inhumanity! I had to find a new universe where the warp was uncorrupted to even manage myself into existence!"
The child took a small breath and continued.
"Honestly, if there were a bit more happiness in Terra, I would've manifested at Sanctum Imperialis, slapped that thing on the throne, and talked to whoever's Captain General these days! Actually, I don't even know where Valdor went! That rascal always does something I never expect when I'm not looking! It's a miracle that you were here at Ultramar, a much nicer place, and at a time when a festival of actual smiles takes place! Ah, my son, Roboute, sometimes I think he deserves not just one flaming sword, but two! Damn, do you know why Ultramar works but the Imperium does not? It is because Ultramar is an actual kingdom. I never built the Imperium to be a kingdom, or a working society for that matter. Honestly in truth, the purpose of the structure, form and very matter of the Imperium was never meant for living. I molded it's core with one single purpose which is conquest. It was made for war and battle and nothing more, not with Chaos, but with the xenos. Now I planned for stability too after but, oh well, y'know that happened. I thou-"
The child's ramblings went unto valleys and mountains. Gilgamesh listened to all of it. Heart and soul cared for each syllable like a mother, but the mind was puzzled.
"-And that's why the Imperium is a silly place!"
There was a slight silence before anyone spoke a word.
"My Liege, I would depart to Terra now and convince my brothers and Primarch Roboute Guilliman to burn the High Lords, nobles, and the Ecclesiarchy if you command it."
The child sighed.
"Hey, I said I'm not repeating any more mistakes! Especially making Guilliman burn a city dedicated to me again! It's my fault anyway. Even if we burn the Imperium now, the faith and religion that has taken root will still endure as it is human nature. And I have to admit, Lorgar had some truth to his points, the faith and worship not only kept me breathing without need for rebirth, but also gave rise to my saints."
Gilgamesh nodded.
"Then, what would you have me do, my Liege?"
The child's eyes glowed, as well as her halo.
"Right, remember the other universe I said I found?"
She continued before letting Gilgamesh speak.
"It is the only other hope we have. When I found it, I already realized that it was way better to escape than to try and pour a cup of water over a burning house. Actually, I have a small group of our people I have managed to send to accomplish our first objectives, unfortunately by the way they usually do things, they'll make themselves the target of the entire universe and get snuffed out immediately like a moth flying to fire, so I'll be sending you there with my blessings to set them straight and make sure they won't get themselves killed! Got it?"
Even with the prospect of going into a completely different universe, Gilgamesh immediately accepted the mission in a heartbeat.
"Is there anything I have to be aware of?"
"Here, let me show you!"
She snapped her fingers and the cave turned to a thousand lights and a thousand images as the space around him gradually morphed into a recognizable picture.
"A tree?"
"Yes, this universe is best represented as a tree. For some reason, I do not know. Weirdly enough, each leaf has some form of similarities to each other."
Gilgamesh saw forms of various galaxies slowly mend their way to reality, all of which are connected and tethered to the tree like webs.
"This is what I found. Quite the sight, isn't it? Anyways, here!'
Then suddenly, the environment changed. This time various symbols and what can be described as entities with varying forms floated across the Custodian, he raised his head to look at them all.
"This is what we have to deal with. Things with the power of the old gods and more, holding powers over so-called paths. Similar to the Ruinous Powers and the C'tan, they preside over ideas, but unlike the Ruinous Powers, they are more restricted, more specific. And unlike the C'tan who are the ideas themselves, which means if they die, the ontological idea they represent also breaks and malfunctions or just ceases to exist, but for these new ones, the idea can exist without them, but they cannot without the idea. You understand what I'm saying righ- wait, are you even aware of the C'tan?"
Gilgamesh nodded his head carefully.
"I didn't before all this. But now I do when you have started your discussion. It seems you have unconsciously transferred the needed knowledge straight to my brain. My Liege."
She had her eyes go wide. "I forgot I can do something like that… Anyways!" The child continued on.
"Now, I must admit I do not know how they become godlike in their power that can rival even the multiversal ideas of Chaos, but embodying an idea grants them energy, Imaginary Energy from the tree in vast amounts. And what is Imaginary Energy? I don't know. But they are like Psychic Energy of the Immaterium, meaning they can do anything and no physical laws bind them. Sometimes I wonder if science really means anything anymore, I wonder if a word exists without all these... these, macguffins? "
She said the last part as a whisper, Gilgamesh heard it but did not comment on it. He simply observed the unique shapes floating around him.
There was a half horse, half human, with a bow in hand. The Hunt, it called itself. Information appeared in his brain like cosmic explosions. Spite and vengeance.
Another figure came next, a collection of masks and assortments of circus paraphernalia. The Elation, it called itself.
Laughter and joy. One more greeted his eyes. A fractured man, golden dust pouring out from his insides. The Destruction, it called itself. Simply, destruction.
The Custodian knows the meaning of these concepts and these emotions. He understands them, he was educated after all. He understands the what, he understands how chemicals influences the limbic pathways of the brain and what they do. He knew all that, and yet deep inside he cannot ever hope to feel them in soul. Another symbol arrived to his senses, a formless black hole of nothingness. It was like him.
Stagnant and muted. But where they differed was that he still had purpose, he still had a will that forced him to march ever-forward no matter what. Even if that will is not even his.
Gilgamesh felt the touch of the warm sun again. She was looking at him with eyes he would have never imagined to have come from his king. Sorrow, regret, and shame.
"When all of this is done, I promise to return what was stolen."
She said, her voice lacking the usual inflections of aloofness and vitality. Instead, it was steady and undisturbed in a way that combined to a sincerity.
"I will be waiting for that day. My Liege. But for now, I am ready for any task that you will send my way."
She nodded looking downwards. Her eyes are now seemingly unable to meet his.
"So, you understand that we have to operate in universal proportions now?"
"Yes, my Liege. Gods, great empires, great technologies, great enemies. Even the Imperium in its Great Crusade can't hope to match all this."
"Hmm. Did I accidentally spill information on your head again?"
"Yes, you did, my Liege."
"Huh. At least I don't have to explain everything now. So, do you know what to do?"
"I do. It will be difficult, maybe even impossible. But consider it done, my Liege."
"Thank you! My dear companion, and actually, I'll be there! If I can."
"If you can? My Liege?"
The child sighed.
"I have already influenced that universe to such a degree that my energy is at its low. Some good and some umm, ehh- basically! That's also why I'm only sending you in, and not another entire army. So, after you find yourself there, Gilgamesh, I'll probably be fast asleep. But it's only for a moment! So, just go there and don't let them do stupid stuff, got it? Oh, and if anyone asks, call me Sol!"
"Sol? My Liege? Why-"
"Actually, my dear companion. I'm running out of energy as we speak, so I'll be sending you off right now, alright? And if everything goes well, you shall wake up on a planet of snow and ice!"
Sol once again took tiny, feathery light steps to the custodian like she had little to no weight at all. Gilgamesh, still on a knee, saw this and instinctively lowered his head to be touched.
"Are you ready? My dear companion?
"For my king, always."
Gilgamesh felt the warm touch of the sun's caring surface upon his forehead. Its gentleness was a creative contradiction of its destructive power, hidden underneath. A star will always be a star, no matter how gentle it presents itself to be. At that moment, Gilgamesh felt it, that even this little girl, the humanity and love of The Emperor made manifest, still yearned for vengeance unmatched.
Then he felt her fingers curl, and with a force simply indescribable, she flicked his forehead.
"Oh, one last thing! The new eye I gave you is pretty special! Don't lose it!"
Sol's screaming voice was only barely audible from the distance he was thrown by his king's finger flick. At that moment, he was sent flying with his back cracking hundreds of meters of rock as his body was thrown towards the cave walls.
Gilgamesh grunted, feeling the brutal ache on his back as the new cave he was carving out finally led to the outside skies. He was still flying, he tried to adjust his position until he saw clouds under him, he looked up and the darkness of space finally took the demigod away.
…
There will be no victories for them, only opportunities.
There will be no conclusions to them, only continuous improvement.
There will be no arrogance in them, no pride or fallacy shall dull them.
They are blades forever honed without end.
Each failure learned and each experience lived.
These blades sharpen and sharpen with each and every iteration.
There will be no stopping, there will be no rest.
Not until they become sharp enough to cleave apart the heavens.
But until then, they will be tested. They will be hammered. They will be forged in sunfire.
They will be stripped out of everything that made them until no more can be taken away. Until no more remains. Until what is left in the dust is a flawless soul. A prideless gold. A masterpiece without end.
They are my Custodes, and they shall know no despair.
...
Gilgamesh felt heavy. Tons heavier than before, but it did not bring him unease but comfort. A familiar weight, a familiar feeling encompassed his body like the sun's light showering his skin.
Gilgamesh opened his eyes.
He noticed he was returned in his gold Auric War-plate, undarkened by his time as a Hetaeron and a Watcher, but the very same one he first wore when he first felt the sun's embrace on the tall balconies of an incomplete palace in the Himalazian mountains as a Talon of the Emperor. The same armor bloodied many times by human mutants and even the ancient Cataegis. The same armor that saw the first of the High Lords and the first of the angels. The very same one where He had a hand in crafting. His gauntlets were heavier than all, but instinct and familiarity alone were needed to identify why.
He grinded his Guardian Spear on the smooth rockcrete-like floor of the new environment around him. His pointed helmet which held a crimson plume that flowed like a red river gently swayed as he moved. The technologies of his visors already fed to him every single piece of information in the room.
He was not on a planet of snow and ice.
'Murphy's Law.'
He repeats the thought in his mind.
Artificial gravity. He was in space. Grey concrete walls and floors and fluorescent light above. He was in a space station.
In front of him was a short pathway where one side had digital portraits of numerous faces each titled a genius and a number. He heard all the talk and bustle outside the room and more. Speech, human speech. Topics related to science, research on numerous different topics, and a wubbaboo? He was in a research space station manned by humans, in a different universe. The entire analysis took less than a second, because the coming seconds would need more thought, he heard the tips and taps of footsteps that would reach the room in under another ten seconds.
Gilgamesh used three seconds to think, to act upon the situation. Use his armor's stealth and cloak to avoid detection? Arm himself and kill whoever opens the door? Break the walls of the spaceship and enter space? Use an explosive to destroy the entire station? Or release a forbidden toxin to incapacitate all living cells?
Only two seconds were used to finally choose a decision, and for the remaining seconds, he simply waited.
In his waiting, he thought about things. How The Emperor was alive. How He, or now she, wanted to save humanity from her past self's failings. How he was in another universe now.
Another universe. He dragged that thought again in his head. He was a Custodian, he never really felt any emotions except for the exceptions that included the aura of The Emperor, and the occasional dry humor from time to time, but outside of that, he was like a machine. He had freedom yes, he was an artist as he was a philosopher-warrior but that never really meant anything in front of his true duties. Sometimes he wonders if he is just a servitor but in gold.
He had slain many enemies that crowned the titles of champions and kings. He never felt any pride or accomplishment upon standing over their last breaths. He can not feel satisfaction or dismay even when the most extreme scenarios present themselves to him. It was ironic that the so-called Lions of the Emperor clad in the armour of Gods, the pride of the Imperium, could not feel pride themselves.
Which makes it the more interesting that he, Gilgamesh, a Custodian, had felt the faintest aching of tension deep in his soul.
Excitement.
He named the emotion.
Was this by her design? He would have to ask again next time.
The person was now right outside the door.
…
Herta, the esteemed 86th Member of the Genius Society. As a proud human, she was female, young, beautiful and attractive. But she was also terrifyingly intelligent.
She immediately noticed an irregularity in her personal space station. Usually, the cameras and hundreds more sensors situated in every room would do the check just fine, but they were somehow interrupted by some unknown energy fluctuation leading to an unprecedented flood of errors to fill their servers.
She would have to check this herself, and in an instant, she was in one of her dolls. A smile formed which the doll naturally mirrored because they were now one.
She was at the door of the Simulation Universe room, and she did not hesitate one second to enter. The doors opened, and in front of her was a giant of pure unfettered gold, a crimson river as a plume, and a great cape on his back. His armor was shaped more like a monument with ornate designs that would compel her to compliment the artist, also his tall helmet especially had a sculpture of a beautiful two-headed eagle with one blind eye on one side.
She wanted to say something, but the giant spoke first. "Miss Herta." The giant started with a noble yet raw voice, modulated by his helmet's speakers.
"The legendary 86th member of the Genius Society, Master of the Station, I hope you could spare the mercy to forgive me for my untimely intrusion."
Herta's lips crept into an amused smile.
...
(A/N)
one of my favorite themes in warhammer is that people who tries to do good would only makes everything else worse, or is pointless in the end. (russ sparing horus, Guillimans hospital planet, MAGNUS THE RED, kryptman, lamenters and more)
since big E is practically impossible to justify, have a smoll e instead. (this may or may not be inspired by dark imperium and fanart)
thank you for all the support so far!
(in AO3) i removed the approval thing in comments so it'll be more free like the upcoming ruaner and the luocher
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What is a global passive?
