The Warhammer Universe.
Inside the Throne Room's illusion.
The dome of the cathedral remained towering and high.
Golden light poured down through the stained glass, casting mottled holy light onto the cold stone floor.
The murals depicting the Emperor's crusade among the stars looked down silently upon everything in the hall, just as they had for ten thousand years.
The scene here was no different from when Adam had left.
The Emperor stood before the slowly dissipating Astral Bridge, a smile remaining on His youthful face.
However, a trace of concern was still hidden in His eyes.
The youth in white robes turned his head, looking at the Adam who still remained in place.
"Are you sure this is alright?"
"Of course it's fine," Adam replied.
His tone was firm and relaxed, as if he were speaking of the most ordinary matter.
At this moment, the traces of the recently used Astral Bridge, like twisted starlight, were slowly dissipating into the void of the cathedral.
Adam gazed at the bridge of light.
To be fair, as a Class 4 Reality Bender, he was quite interested at this moment in something that could establish a connection between two universes.
What kind of principle did this thing actually operate on?
Who had caused all of this?
Forget it, it was still too early to think about such questions. Adam shook his head and began to consider other, more pressing matters.
Just as he was about to speak to ask the Emperor about the upcoming arrangements—
Even though Adam currently needed to direct most of his reality-bending power into maintaining the ritual that split his main body in two, which temporarily prevented him from using his full strength, it did not mean he was entirely helpless.
However, before his words could be spoken—
Both "people" present simultaneously noticed an abnormal ripple in the air.
The traces of the Astral Bridge began to condense once more.
The Emperor's brow furrowed slightly.
"What is going on? Returning this quickly?"
"Could the timeline flow rate be different?"
Adam was also stunned. "By the way, quick question: when I returned from that side last time, how much time had passed on the Warhammer side?"
"About three Terran days or so," the Emperor replied, His voice carrying a rare trace of confusion. "Logically speaking, this link should keep the time flow between the two universes synchronized. Meaning, for that 'Adam' over there, less than ten minutes might have passed before he immediately returned."
As His words fell, the two exchanged glances and fell silent together.
Ten minutes.
A ten-minute speedrun of the Foundation cosmology?
At the thought, the corners of both Adam's and the Emperor's mouths twitched in unison.
"What is that guy / my other self doing?"
Under their gaze, the outline of the Astral Bridge grew clearer, its light condensing further.
A blurry human figure stepped out from the other end of the light bridge, his pace light and demeanor composed.
Finally, the light faded, fully revealing the person's face.
Under their watch, the light of the Astral Bridge continued to gather.
A figure finally manifested within the flowing starlight.
"Hi."
Adam flashed his usual smile, casually waving his hand. "Kids, I'm back!"
"Who's your kid?"
The Adam standing beside the Emperor rolled his eyes in annoyance, though the corners of his mouth involuntarily curled upward.
He opened his arms as if welcoming an old friend reunited after a long separation.
The other Adam opened his arms as well. The two figures walked toward each other with synchronized steps and symmetrical postures, like mirror images finally stepping out from the glass.
Their bodies met at the center of the cathedral, and then, like two identical drops of water falling into the same pool, they merged silently together.
The remaining Adam blinked, quietly stashing the memories from his other self deep into his consciousness.
The Emperor watched this scene quietly before speaking.
"Why did you return so quickly?"
His tone carried genuine doubt. "What happened?"
Clearly, the Master of Mankind felt more than just surprise at His contractor's rapid return.
As was well known, the contract between the Emperor and Adam was no mere hollow promise.
Relying on the unbreakable contract jointly signed by both parties, the Emperor could faintly perceive Adam's general state in the other universe and hand the "switch" for that cross-universe connection over to his own control.
This design was intended to allow Adam to escape immediately if he encountered danger, preventing him from falling into a desperate situation in an unfamiliar universe.
But the issue was—it shouldn't have been this fast.
The Emperor began calculating in His mind. Could he have actively retreated after seeing things go south? Or was it...
Looking at the white-robed youth deep in thought, Adam smiled once more.
He waved his hand, signaling the other not to worry endlessly about it.
"Relax, nothing bad happened. The matter has been resolved perfectly."
He recounted his absurd experience over there as concisely and quickly as possible.
Yet, after hearing it, the Emperor's brow furrowed even tighter.
What on earth?
A highly subtle expression appeared on the white-robed youth's face.
"So, if I understand this correctly..."
He paused for a moment, seemingly organizing His words, before speaking slowly in a tone reminiscent of an academic discussion.
"You arrived in Universe A, the future you referred to as the 5000 setting, and met the O5 Council member who had dealt with you in Universe A."
"However, on your way there, you were intercepted by an O5 Council member from Universe B. He likewise called you 'Savior' and told you that at some unknown point in time, a future version of you had already saved Universe B once."
"Then, without another word, he stuffed the item you needed into your hands and sent you straight back home."
The white-robed youth paused here.
A rare expression of utter bewilderment surfaced on His young face.
What kind of development was this?
"To think such a thing could happen. But how do you explain the temporal paradox? Now that you know about this development—if you know your future self will go help them, are you obligated to do so? What happens if you intentionally violate this causal law of temporal regression?"
"Probably nothing much," Adam merely shrugged at the Emperor's query. His tone was casual, as if describing the most basic common sense.
"For a Class 5 Reality Bender, this kind of thing doesn't matter at all. Logic, causality—they're all things that can be flipped at will. Even if I deliberately don't do it, the parallel universes and timelines will manage themselves."
"...Fair enough, that makes sense."
Recalling that bizarre and unpredictable reality-bending power, the Emperor fell silent.
Still, as long as the outcome was good, it was fine.
Breathing a final sigh of relief, the white-robed youth slowly cast His gaze toward the unremarkable briefcase in Adam's hand.
"This is 'The Square Peg in a Round Hole'?"
The Emperor slowly read out the name of the item.
"Correct."
Adam's tone turned serious as well. "This is the ultimate weapon capable of resetting the entire universe's timeline."
He lightly patted the surface of the briefcase, as if soothing something asleep inside.
"By leveraging the overlapping effect of these two antimemetic properties, it tears a logical flaw into the structure of reality that the universe simply cannot accept."
"To erase this flaw, the universe will spontaneously execute a large-scale temporal regression to prevent its own collapse."
"In a sense, this is far more dangerous than a nuclear button—in the records, neither the Foundation (Item-5000) nor the extra-galactic aliens could withstand such a temporal regression."
"Furthermore, this temporal regression shouldn't be understood as a standard timeline reset. The universe will directly revert to a timeline where 'The Square Peg in a Round Hole' could never overlap due to such reasons. To an extent, it can be understood as a 'Book of Ages'."
Adam paused, an inscrutable glint flashing in his eyes.
"I have a certain intuition now. This item might be equally effective against the Four Chaos Gods who exist entirely independent of the timeline—enough to truly and completely tear everything down and start over."
"To think it possesses such power," the white-robed youth genuinely marveled.
His gaze rested on the briefcase, unable to pull away for a long time.
Quiet fell over the air for a moment.
Then, the Emperor spoke softly.
"...To be completely honest, I feel like using this thing right now."
Adam remained silent for a short while.
Then he nodded, not avoiding the topic.
"Indeed, it really is a very tempting proposal."
Even a Reality Bender had to admit that much at this moment.
Right now, the state of the Warhammer universe was far from ideal.
The awakening Necrons were crawling out of every tomb world at an alarming rate. Although the main force of the Great Devourer was temporarily held outside the galaxy by the Black Hole Wall, Adam could not guarantee how long that barrier would hold.
The Orks, showing signs of resurgence, were gathering at Armageddon, while the Aeldari remained elusive amidst a fog of riddles and schemes.
Even if the T'au issue had been resolved in an absurd fashion, Adam still felt a headache—how was he supposed to clean up this messy mess of a battle royal?
An extended, drawn-out war was bound to follow. Even if the entire galaxy ended up shattered by the end, he wouldn't be surprised.
What if they used "The Square Peg in a Round Hole" right now?
Relying on the Emperor's ability to hop between universes and his own reality bending, Adam could effortlessly grant immunity from the temporal regression effect.
He could even protect a large group of people who knew about the plan after the reset, allowing them to retain their memories prior to the regression and seize the upper hand on the newly born timeline.
No need to waste effort dealing with Necron Overlords crawling out of tombs, no need to worry about when the Black Hole Wall would be chewed through by the Great Devourer, and no need to get a headache over whatever schemes the Aeldari were cooking up behind the scenes.
Everything would be resolved cleanly.
Yet, Adam suppressed the temptation.
"Let's save it for the absolute end. When the worst outcome arrives, when everything is shrouded under a dark and uncertain future—only then will we use this anomaly."
His voice was calm, as if confirming a resolution he had long since made to himself.
With a wave of Adam's hand, the briefcase vanished into thin air, tucked away into the depths of an unknown folded space.
Having done all this, he clapped his hands, as if setting down a heavy burden.
The Emperor raised His eyes, the white-robed youth's gaze becoming focused once more.
"So, where do you plan to start next?"
Adam turned his head and glanced at the Emperor.
"Does that even need asking?"
His tone was casual, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.
"Naturally, we start with whichever place is currently the easiest to resolve."
---
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Terra.
Office of the Imperial Regent.
Guilliman raised his head.
At this moment, his brain was operating at maximum capacity.
Information far exceeding the usual volume flew toward him like a blizzard. It all entered his field of vision at extreme speed and was resolved by him just as rapidly.
Guilliman almost felt as though he had transformed into some unfeeling paperwork-processing apparatus, which truly gave him a massive headache.
Even so, Guilliman continued to think.
Right now, thanks to the efforts of his two Primarch brothers campaigning outside—Sanguinius and Ferrus Manus—the Imperium was addressing the Necron tomb worlds popping up like bamboo shoots after rain in a whack-a-mole fashion, systematically taking down tomb after tomb.
Those solitary Necron dynasties could not mount any effective resistance when facing immense military forces led personally by Primarchs.
However, the superweapons unleashed by those cornered Necron dynasties indeed presented significant obstacles to the Expeditionary Forces' progress.
Thinking of this made Guilliman feel a wave of worry.
Just as he was about to write something on the data-slate in his hand, he suddenly raised his head in alert.
As a Primarch, that instinct originating from the Warp was fully activated in an instant.
"Come in, the door is unlocked."
Guilliman's voice was cold, devoid of any unnecessary emotion.
His fingers were already resting on the hilt of the Emperor's Sword.
The door slowly opened.
Then, Guilliman saw a tall, slender figure with pointed ears.
The figure possessed an elegant and graceful build, skin pale to the point of being nearly translucent, and deep-set eye sockets housing eyes that gleamed with ancient wisdom.
An Aeldari Farseer who looked exceedingly familiar to Guilliman.
"Greetings, Scion of the God-Emperor."
Farseer Eldrad performed a graceful bow toward Guilliman.
His voice was raspy and exhausted, as though he had just endured a long and grueling journey.
"I come here to ask a favor of you."