As those words echoed, the hall fell into a stifling silence even deeper than before.
The two previously overbearing Necron Phaerons simultaneously went silent.
They stood stock-still like wooden posts, looking for all the world like machines stripped of their souls and power.
Evidently, this bombshell announcement had left both Phaerons completely stunned.
Naturally, it followed then that the true authority would step forward to address it personally.
Upon the massive blackstone throne, the holographic projection that had been standing silently suddenly moved.
The virtual image of the Silent King leaned forward slightly, turning his head toward Adam. The emerald green pupils of his eyes flickered with a light entirely different from before.
"—Unknown, mysterious entity. Now that you have appeared in person, I shall no longer remain silent."
The Silent King spoke.
His voice seemed to echo from an ancient tomb, deep and solemn.
"Greetings to you from the Silent King."
"Oh? You're actually speaking? Abandoning your so-called tradition?"
Adam nodded with great interest and offered a casual greeting in return.
The title "Silent King" was easily understood in a literal sense.
It originated from the Triarch, the highest governing body of the Necrons.
Of course, while named a council, it was essentially a one-man show run by the Silent King himself.
The two Phaerons were merely puppets of the Silent King, literal mouthpieces.
In formal diplomatic settings, it was usually the Phaerons who spoke on his behalf, while the Silent King maintained a striking silence to emphasize the inviolable majesty of his sovereignty.
Yet now, the Silent King had made an active exception to speak directly.
Clearly, the Necrons placed the absolute highest importance on this matter.
"This is because you are worthy of such honor. After all, regardless of what you are or where you hail from, you are an unknown deity. Even among the most powerful C'tan I witnessed in the past, whose power reached heaven and earth, they could hardly compare to you in certain aspects. Such an entity demands the highest respect from me—and indeed, from all Necrons."
"It seems Necrons can speak like civilized beings after all," Adam smiled and nodded before shifting the conversation. "However, since the atmosphere has reached this point, I'd like to ask a side question first. Before we begin, can you tell me how you learned I could reverse biotransferral in the first place?"
Upon hearing this, the Silent King did not hesitate for a single moment and provided the answer directly.
"Trazyn. Through certain means, I observed that he has undergone a transformation unknown to me. He now possesses a living body of flesh and blood, existing once more as a human in the galaxy. Logical deduction dictates he must have received assistance in some form from you."
The Silent King's voice remained calm as usual.
In truth, however, he was deeply displeased by this.
That freak among the Necrons had actually accepted such a thing with equanimity.
Transforming himself from a noble descendant of the Necrontyr into a human body of flesh and blood—and actually enjoying it, no less.
To be frank, the Silent King felt a genuine disgust toward it.
Yet this disgust would not sway his judgment; he simply suppressed the emotion back into the depths of his consciousness.
"I see, another question resolved," Adam nodded.
It seemed that old trickster Trazyn hadn't left his museum entirely without trace. Though considering his usual antics, the fact that the Silent King hadn't dismantled his museum directly was already quite restraint on his part.
"Very well. Now that you have a thorough understanding of this matter, we can get down to business."
The Silent King's focus sharpened: "Yes, precisely. Then allow me to ask—how do you intend to help us reverse biotransferral?"
"Well... it's actually quite simple. The main difficulties you currently face come down to two aspects: the body and the soul. As for the physical body, I've already tested it several times. Your Trazyn is perfect proof. So long as you don't mind, I can act right now to help you complete a reality-warping conversion."
Adam thought for a moment and added a few more details:
"There is one thing, though. I will transform you back into your original form—that is, your former appearance as Necrontyr. This is out of respect for a civilization that has stood for so long in the galaxy, and also for the good of both our sides."
Because, frankly speaking...
Transforming the entire Necron race into humans and integrating them into the Imperium was a plan Adam had considered before.
However, the downstream consequences were completely unpredictable.
Executing it would be far too complex.
The sheer scale of the Necrons was vastly larger than that of the T'au—spanning the entire galaxy, numbered in the trillions.
Turning so many machine skeletons into humans and stuffing them into the Imperium would have an immeasurable impact on humanity as a whole.
It was better to play it safe; no need to throw a winning game.
Besides, anyone could guess that the Silent King would never agree to such a scheme anyway.
Regarding the condition Adam proposed, the Silent King remained silent for a moment before speaking in an even more solemn tone:
"Then there is the other issue. The souls of the Necrontyr—do you have a way to resolve that?"
Adam's expression turned slightly more serious as well. He knew this was the true core issue.
During that ancient biotransferral, under the meticulous deception of the C'tan—in order to rid the Necrontyr of their innate genetic defects and gain true immortality and healthy bodies—the Silent King had agreed to the biotransferral plan proposed by the C'tan.
Yet it was all a trap.
They were forced into bodies of living metal, while the flesh-and-blood bodies belonging to the Necrontyr completely collapsed within the bio-furnaces.
Even more fatal was that their once-brilliant souls were treated by the C'tan as a grand feast the instant the conversion was completed.
Those arrogant star gods greedily devoured the soul of every single Necrontyr.
As deities of the material universe, devouring souls yielded no tangible benefit for the C'tan, but to them, souls were the most delicious treat in existence.
Much like grabbing a snack just because you have a craving.
Thus, the Necrons lost their original souls, leaving behind only cognitive copies imprisoned within living metal.
A collection of soulless AIs.
"Indeed, that is a very thorny matter," Adam admitted. "However, I have a method for that as well."
"What method?" The Silent King's tone turned distinctly grave.
He raised his head slightly, a sharper light flashing in his emerald eyes as if casually probing a sensitive topic: "Could it be that you intend to reverse the entire timeline—much like what you did with those blue-skinned xenos—to completely alter history, deceive reality, and make it so biotransferral never happened in the first place?"
Facing the Silent King's pressuring query, Adam naturally shook his head.
"How could that be possible? Your history is far too ancient—a full sixty million years—with countless events occurring in between. The War in Heaven, the extinction of the Old Ones, the rise of the Aeldari, the birth of Slaanesh, the shaping of the Four Chaos Gods... Any manipulation of that era's history would trigger an unpredictable chain reaction. Even I cannot fully foresee the consequences. Therefore, I will never interfere with the past in such a manner."
The Silent King's holographic projection visibly relaxed slightly.
"—Heh, good then."
The Silent King quietly crossed out a worst-case assumption in his mind.
If nothing else, he could never tolerate an unknown deity reaching out to manipulate Necron history.
Though that past was filled with pain and humiliation, it was nevertheless the past of the Necrontyr—the very foundation that supported their existence as a species.
"Then how exactly do you plan to solve the problem of our souls?"
"It's simple. Since your souls were chewed up and swallowed as snacks by the C'tan, the method is for you to help me collect all the C'tan shards. I will devour them one by one. But this consumption will not be absolute—during the devouring process, I will strip those soul fragments belonging to the Necrontyr from the C'tan energy bodies and use reality-warping abilities to restore them completely."
Adam raised a single finger with full confidence.
"I guarantee that the restored souls will be one hundred percent original—the exact souls swallowed sixty million years ago. As for the C'tan shards I consume, those will naturally serve as my payment. This is my sole condition for helping you escape the predicament of biotransferral."
Clearly, Adam had already worked out the numbers in his head.
Devouring all the C'tan shards... could that allow him to ascend to that dreamlike realm?
"So, isn't this a very simple request?"
Silence descended upon the room.
The Silent King fell silent for a long time.
He remained silent for so long that even the two Phaerons present began to wonder if their lord had entered an infinite logic loop.
Then, the Silent King shook his head with difficulty.
"I do not trust you."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
Adam seemed to realize something, raising an eyebrow.
This time, it was his turn to exert pressure on the Silent King.
"The terms I stated—do they really lack feasibility in your eyes? Or rather, could it be that you are unwilling to part with those C'tan shards?"
The Silent King maintained his silence for a long while.
Only after a considerable time did his voice sound out once more, deeper than before.
"Sixty million years ago, I too faced a proposal that sounded equally wondrous."
Adam was taken aback for a moment before instantly grasping what the Silent King was referring to.
The Silent King continued: "Back then, by paying just a small price, I could resolve the genetic defects that had plagued the Necrontyr for millions of years in one stroke. The C'tan promised we would ascend into a far greater civilization, making up for all past regrets. That promise bears far too much resemblance to the picture you paint today."
He paused, his glowing green eyes locking straight onto Adam.
"Yes. It is too similar. So similar that I have developed an... unpleasant sense of déjà vu.
"Likewise a deity of the material realm, likewise requiring only a small price to achieve the result, likewise painting a grand and exquisite dream for us..."
There was no anger in the Silent King's voice, only vigilance.
What if this entity left some hidden trap in the contract?
This was not paranoia.
This was lessons learned through experience.
Who would act as guarantor for this transaction? This was a contract struck between an ancient race spanning the stars and a deity of equal might.
Who could guarantee he would fulfill his promise rather than turn hostile after devouring all the C'tan shards?
Turning hostile might even be the best-case scenario.
What if he tampered with their souls during the process?
In his mind, the Silent King methodically listed out these possibilities.
If such a thing were to happen—if he allowed his race to fall into a deity's trap once more—the Silent King would never forgive himself.
'Once bitten, twice shy, huh?' Adam thought to himself.
It was unexpected, yet entirely within reason.
This really is a bit troublesome, Adam calculated internally.
'Let me think about how to persuade him.'
Before he could begin his line of thought, however, the Silent King raised his eyes first.
"Thus, before we begin, I must ask you one question," the Silent King's voice recovered its composure.
"Why do you strive so earnestly to aid the Necrons? Going so far as to offer such generous terms? Even though I frequently compare you to the C'tan in my speech, judging by all indications, I know full well in my heart that you are not an entity associated with the C'tan in any way.
"You and the C'tan merely share similar manifestations of power; at your core, you are completely different beings."
He leaned forward slightly: "Just before this, our astromancers reconstructed your quantum trajectory across the galaxy. The data shows you traveling everywhere during this period. Every choice you made—every single one was to save humanity."
'What is this supposed to mean? Don't tell me you actually consider yourself a human?'
The Silent King desperately wanted to ask this.
Yet he refrained from speaking it aloud.
In the end, he asked the question he truly wanted answered:
"Since you stand entirely on the side of humanity, why would you exert every effort to help the Necrons? You must be well aware that once we successfully complete biotransferral, will the Necrons not become humanity's greatest enemy at that time?"
His gaze locked tightly onto Adam.
"On this matter, what is your view?"
As his voice fell, silence blanketed the grand hall once more.
Instead of being pressured, however, Adam let out a sigh of relief.
Excellent.
This happened to be the exact question he intended to answer next.
"That is because I have a solution that serves both ends."