Chapter 217: A message from Type 0 Civilization
When the boarding action failed, the Hrud realized they were powerless to resist the Human Empire's offensive.
They began to flee.
The warships, hidden beneath layers of shifting temporal fields, were nearly invisible; only advanced spacetime detection equipment could discern their faint traces.
The Human Empire fleet intercepted many of these alien vessels, yet some still managed to escape.
Eventually, the Hrud homeworld itself underwent a strange transformation.
The alien cities slowly ascended into the sky, with numerous warships circling around them in a hollow cube formation, their rough hulls lashing out with temporal beams that interwove into a geometric lattice. Spacetime distortions rippled across the entire star system.
All eyes watched as the planet aged rapidly in front of them, billions of years confined in a small moment.
Within hours, the star, which had been in its prime, entered its expansion phase. Terrifying explosions erupted continuously across its surface, its brightness increasing a hundredfold or even thousandfold.
Mortarion recognized the danger. He seized command and brought Raven to the command room.
"Increase the temporal weapon to maximum power and erase all the spacetime fluctuations here."
The bridge crew obeyed without hesitation.
They adjusted the temporal eraser launcher to maximum output. Many areas of the Resilient dimmed as systems entered sleep mode, their entire power capacity funneled into the temporal device.
Finally, a brilliant emerald beam shot out, piercing the void and striking the Hrud world.
In an instant, the Hrud planet was erased entirely.
The alien warships vanished without a trace, thoroughly wiped out.
The Hrud suffered a crushing defeat. But many Hrud still managed to escape into the system's depths.
The Death Guard would need considerable time and effort to hunt down the survivors.
After the battle ended, Raven remained with Mortarion for further discussion before departing.
He still had other kids to visit and talk to.
The next was Vulcan, the Lord of the Salamanders.
When Raven arrived, Vulcan was already negotiating with envoys from the Interex Civilization, strongly advocating for their peaceful integration into the Human Empire.
The Interex Civilization was ancient; they had endured the Age of Darkness and maintained peaceful coexistence with multiple xenos species.
In the predetermined timeline, it was Horus who encountered them. The Blood Angels had discovered the world where the Interex had exiled the Megarachnid, and an entire team was annihilated.
The Sixteenth Legion answered the distress call and clashed with the creatures in bloody combat. Only after a fierce battle did the Interex recognize that Horus had come to their aid, did the negotiations began.
Yet the Interex harbored a profound fear of Chaos.
They had been wary of Horus and his forces, suspecting them of corruption. When Erebus stole their sealed Chaos artifacts—revealing their own ignorance—a devastating war erupted between the two civilizations.
This time, however, the events unfolded differently and on a more optimistic tone from Imperium's side.
Vulcan initially did not understand why the Interex envoys' demeanor shifted between warmth and suspicion, as though he was not a human but an avatar of some primordial corruption itself.
When Raven arrived, he understood the situation immediately and spoke a few clarifying words on behalf of both sides, creating understanding between them, also earning aura points in the eyes of Interex, who marveled at this weird creature.
The Interex feared Subspace. They feared Chaos. They suspected Vulcan of bearing its taint.
But Vulcan, educated by the Emperor himself in the nature of the Contamination Source, presented irrefutable evidence of the Human Empire's dedication to opposing the Warp's corruption.
He spoke of battles fought against the very entities the Interex dreaded, and trust was earned.
The envoys promised to escort Vulcan to the Interex capital, where a formal peace treaty for joining the Human Empire would be signed.
"Thank you, Mr. Raven," Vulcan said gratefully. "Your wisdom has once again illuminated my path forward."
"No need for such formality, little dragon," Raven replied, crunching fries with lazy indifference. "Guiding you is part of my duty and job."
Vulcan smiled, then asked about another matter.
...
Meanwhile, on Terra
The Emperor continued his work upon the Golden Throne.
Using its amplification, he had already established the Warp Web, temporal communication nodes, instant networks, and the Webway he had always envisioned. But his ambitions extended further.
He sought to project his power into other universes; his previous encounter with Guilliman had been merely one experiment.
Now, seated upon the Golden Throne, he projected his consciousness into the void itself, greedily absorbing information.
Only certain transmissions could persist in the void: those born from universal cataclysm, or emitted by cosmic-level beings with creation abilities.
One message seized his full attention.
"Greetings, beings from beyond the universe. We are the Zeroth Civilization. We have developed to the limit allowed by the universe, and therefore we call out to beyond the universe. Beings who receive this message, please establish contact with us. This is our cosmic coordinate."
Is this a trap? A Zeroth Civilization?
The Emperor fell into contemplating silence.
His thoughts were complex; yet excitement coursed through him along with apprehension. Should he respond?
If he did, the Zeroth Civilization, if they are truly as claimed, must be some Type 0 civilization; naturally, their technological superiority meant they would likely track his position.
They had dared transmit beyond the universe itself without any fear of consequences.
Either they were ignorant, just like when Humans send messages in the vast galaxy for years, without knowing the consequences.
Or maybe it was born from absolute confidence in their ability to counter any threats such contact might attract. The latter was far more probable.
To develop to the limit allowed by one's universe required trials beyond mortal comprehension. No naive civilization would survive such ascension.
After careful consideration, the Emperor chose not to respond.
There was no benefit to early contact, only risk. But he recorded their coordinates. One day, those numbers would prove valuable.
"The Warp Web, instant communication network, Webway, and other projects are all proceeding on schedule," the Emperor murmured to himself. "It is time to embark upon new journeys."
Since his trip to the Shrouding the Heavens universe to repair Number Two's soul, he had remained in his home universe, laying the foundations for humanity's rise. Most of that work was now complete. It was time to venture forth again.
Raven also needed new universes to sustain his power. The multiversal campaigns could no longer be delayed.
The Emperor planned to divide his forces: one contingent to conquer other regions of this universe, another to travel to different universes and acquire resources and alien technologies.
The Chaos Gods and the Subspace Contamination Source were eternal threats. The Human Empire needed to grow stronger.
The Emperor had feared what would happen if he encountered catastrophe while traversing other spacetimes—would the Human Empire collapse?
After what happened with 'Shrouding the heavens', he had not dared risk such travel.
But the Primarchs' performance had changed his assessment. It was just as Raven had said, the Primarchs' independence was inevitable.
The Imperium would eventually fragment, yes—but in doing so, human civilization would spread across the infinite heavens.
The Emperor had never been attached to dominion. The empire had always been merely a tool. Once humanity could walk unassisted, the tool's purpose would be fulfilled.
"If I fall," the Emperor considered, "the Human Empire should be governed jointly by the twenty Primarchs, until it breaks free from dependence and moves toward endless glory."
He contemplated contingencies. If he fell to a powerful enemy while traversing other universes, how should the Human Empire be arranged?
Appointing any single Primarch as successor was impractical. Horus and Lion El'Jonson already competed for the title of First Son. Elevating one would guarantee jealousy and conflict among the others.
It is better that the twenty Primarchs govern as one body, ensuring fairness.
The Zeroth Civilization's message stirred deeper meditation.
The vast multiverse might already host many such civilizations, all striving to transcend their universe's limitations. There were also terrifying entities like the Contamination Source lurking in the spaces between realities.
The Human Empire needed more than military strength. It needed psychological preparation to step beyond the boundaries of one universe.
While the Emperor considered the future, Raven sat with Vulcan, eating fries and listening to his negotiations with the Interex envoys.
"Your vigilance against Chaos is reassuring," Vulcan was saying, "but rest assured: the Imperium of Man is not what you fear. We deeply detest Chaos and actively seek ways to combat it."
Unlike in the predetermined timeline, the Emperor had not kept the truth about Subspace hidden from the Primarchs. Raven's guidance had seen to that. Therefore, Vulcan was not ignorant.
At first, he had not understood the Interex envoys' mercurial behavior, with moments of warmth as though addressing long-lost human kin, followed by sudden shifts into dread and suspicion. After Raven arrived, clarity came swiftly.
The Interex feared Chaos. They feared Vulcan might be its servant, an envoy of primordial destruction.
But Vulcan presented irrefutable evidence of the Human Empire's war against Chaos itself. Trust was earned through shared purpose.
They promised to take Vulcan to the Interex capital, where a formal peace treaty for joining the Human Empire would be signed.
"Thank you, Mr. Raven," Vulcan said gratefully. "Your wisdom has illuminated my path forward."
"No need for such formality, little fire dragon," Raven replied, crunching fries with lazy indifference. "Guiding you is part of my job."
Vulcan smiled, then asked about another matter. He planned to create gifts for each of the Primarchs but didn't know their individual tastes well enough. He feared giving something that would displease them.
He wanted Raven's opinion.
"Gift-giving is an art unto itself," Raven mused. "For Lion El'Jonson, forge a Sword of Victory—he has always seen himself as a knight. For the little phoenix, craft beautiful armor; the more aesthetically pleasing, the better. For the skinhead, forge a war hammer and engrave his deeds upon both striking faces. For Chogoris, a scimitar is the inevitable choice."
"Mortarion doesn't need a weapon; he already possesses the Death Scythe. Forge him instead a pair of gloves capable of resisting the Scythe's influence."
"..."
[End of Chapter]
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