r18novel Chapter 94 Impersonating the Emperor
Chapter 94 Impersonating the Emperor
Within subspace.
An absolutely forbidden area that even subspace turbulence cannot approach.
Beneath a colossal, boundless sun that was perpetually suspended and radiated blinding golden light, a smaller, golden sun suddenly appeared out of thin air.
"This... is the Emperor's warp essence?" Li Wei stared in awe at the vast, boundless golden sun before him, muttering to himself.
Before he could even marvel at it, he suddenly realized that his soul state had also changed, and he himself had become a miniature golden sun.
"Is this right?" Li Wei, still in a daze, looked completely bewildered.
He never expected that by simply passively accepting a wisp of the Emperor's soul essence, he would become a miniature golden sun.
Li Wei, realizing what was happening, suddenly sensed something was wrong. Or rather, after his soul, which had been glowing with purple light, transformed into a golden sun, he noticed something amiss: the golden sun that truly represented the emperor before him had an incredibly stable energy fluctuation, and it didn't look like it had been seriously injured at all.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
While desperately urging his mind to shout, Li Wei followed his instincts and exerted all his golden light to move closer to the huge golden sun.
No matter how much Li Wei shouted or struggled, the emperor's enormous golden sun remained unresponsive, as if it had fallen into a deep sleep.
With no other options, Li Wei reluctantly stretched out a small hand made of golden light and patted the surface of the round, golden sphere.
This was an unexpected discovery made by Li Wei during his repeated harassment of the enormous golden sun; he could now shapeshift at will.
However, it is limited to simple basic shape changes, and there are many restrictions. It can only turn the previous round golden sphere into a small sun person with a round head and short arms and legs.
As for the idea of conjuring up facial features, forget about it. Li Wei tried many times but failed. In fact, those limbs were just formed by Li Wei forcibly binding and condensing the golden light.
After waiting for a long time, the emperor's golden sun still did not react. Li Wei bowed deeply to the enormous sun and respectfully said:
"Your Majesty, since you have fallen into a deep sleep, I will not disturb you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Weixin's soul form transformed into a golden light and disappeared into the chaotic subspace.
Only the enormous golden sun remained, its golden light still burning and extinguishing the surrounding subspace turbulence.
About ten minutes later, a loud shout suddenly rang out, and even the unchanging golden flames flickered.
"Your Majesty, are you awake!"
Li Wei, who had just left, suddenly reappeared here, shouting loudly and recklessly radiating golden light, constantly interfering with the operation of the golden sun that was billions of times larger than him.
Li Wei harassed the emperor for over half an hour, but still received no response. Li Wei lost all interest in disturbing the emperor's slumber.
"Okay, sorry, Your Majesty, I just came to check if you were really asleep."
Feeling guilty, Li Wei pretended to look embarrassed, symbolically rubbed his forehead, and ran away in a flash.
Three minutes after Li Wei left again, the previously motionless golden sun let out a helpless sigh:
"Indeed, I underestimated Li Wei. Even after I bestowed upon him a portion of his essence, he was still able to evade my psionic detection and almost gave himself away."
The next instant, the Emperor's enormous golden sun immediately suppressed all emotional fluctuations, returning to its previous calm state, still quietly hovering in the depths of subspace.
"Your Majesty, I've come to visit you again!"
Undeterred, Li Wei reappeared and continued to harass the emperor who was pretending to be asleep.
He still didn't believe the emperor had really fallen into a deep sleep; he always felt something was amiss.
Especially after the Emperor told him the truth last time, Li Wei always felt something was wrong. He felt that the world was hiding countless secrets from him and that there were schemes against him everywhere.
His subconscious even told him that he had never traveled through time at all; he was merely a pawn manipulated by the Emperor or Tzeentch, or perhaps an experiment of a higher level.
He was annoyed, feeling that the emperor's slumber was all an act, that the emperor was deliberately hiding it from him, so he came here again to find out the truth.
Unfortunately, nothing special was found.
"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore." Completely at his wit's end, Li Wei sighed and left again without saying goodbye.
"Li Wei, wake up! Something terrible has happened!"
With a hurried shout, Li Wei, who had just returned from the subspace, heard the familiar voice.
"What?" Li Wei, who was still delirious, shook his groggy head and asked in a daze before he could even open his eyes.
"Guilliman is here! He's dispatched three entire squadrons of Ultramarines to surround the Imperial Dream. We demand the Imperial be handed over!"
Magnus's urgent voice instantly dispelled Levi's drowsiness. He suddenly opened his eyes and realized that he was no longer in the medical room, but in a brightly lit command center.
Magnus was standing beside him, while he was slumped in a metal chair, and Horus and Macardo were arguing fiercely not far away.
Having just merged with a portion of the Emperor's soul essence, Li Wei's five senses had not yet fully returned to normal. He could not hear why the two core rulers of the empire were arguing so fiercely, seemingly about to come to blows.
After a while, Li Wei was able to barely make out the holographic star map not far away. Suddenly, a densely packed fleet of Ultramarines in blue paint appeared, surrounding the Emperor's remaining escort fleet of only a dozen or so battleships. The situation was extremely critical.
Startled by this sudden scene, Li Wei froze for a moment and asked in a daze:
"What's going on?"
"Liwei, somehow the Ultramarines found out about the Emperor's injury, and Guilliman wants to visit him."
Magnus, looking exasperated, rubbed his temples and said helplessly.
"Then let Guilliman come visit!"
Li Wei, looking completely puzzled, shrugged.
He couldn't understand why they had to escalate the conflict to the point of armed conflict when they could have simply sent Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, to visit him.
"No." Horus, who was arguing with Makado until his face was red, walked up to Levi, stared intently into Levi's eyes, and said in a deep voice, "No one can know that the Emperor is injured and in a deep sleep. Apart from the four of us, no outsiders can know this."
"Why?" Li Wei, who vaguely sensed that something was wrong, subconsciously asked.
He had actually already sensed something was wrong. It wasn't that Horus didn't want to reveal the news of the Emperor's injury and slumber, thus seizing control of the empire.
Rather, it means that the emperor cannot be injured, nor can he fall into a deep sleep, nor can it prove that the emperor is not an omnipotent god, but merely a mortal who can be injured.
The foundation of the empire's rule actually rests entirely on the myth of the emperor's invincibility. If news of the emperor's injury or slumber were to leak out, the empire would instantly disintegrate and be on the verge of collapse.
Just as Livy's thoughts were racing, Horus continued:
"The news of the Emperor's injury cannot be revealed now, otherwise the Empire will be plunged into an abyss of no return. I cannot take even the slightest risk, nor can my brother Guilliman. The more people who know, the more risk there will be. For the mission entrusted to me by the Emperor, this risk cannot be taken at all."
He paused, glanced at Li Wei who had fully recovered, and solemnly said:
"Then I'll trouble you, Chief of the Thousand Sons, Lord Li Wei. I'll trouble you to impersonate the Emperor and deceive my brother Guilliman. Don't refuse. Uncle Makado has already said that the Emperor has given you a part of his essence. Moreover, as the Chief of the Thousand Sons, you are extremely familiar with the psychic secrets of the Bright Feather School, one of the five major schools of the Thousand Sons, which is skilled in changing appearances. With all these conditions, only you can impersonate the Emperor."
Once we return to Terra, and I've gathered enough of the Emperor's offspring and my brothers, I'll be able to announce the Emperor's injury..."
"This..." Levi was stunned and completely dumbfounded. He could no longer hear Horus's next words. Instead, his head was buzzing because Horus had asked him to impersonate the emperor. This was not a question of whether or not to fool Guilliman.
The real issue is impersonating the emperor. That's an act of treason that even the death penalty can't fully describe. Is this some kind of madness? Is the emperor someone that a mere chief of the thousand sons can impersonate?
Moreover, the prophecies of the Black Crow School about the future of Livy exploded in his mind without warning. He saw only a dark universe, deep and dark, without light or future.
Time was too short for Li Wei to see more details, and given the current situation, he couldn't properly analyze this vision of the future. He could only quickly draw one conclusion: if he really agreed to Horus's offer to impersonate the emperor, it would definitely be a tragic and irreversible future.
He felt that he might also be able to sit on the golden throne like an emperor and bet on it for ten thousand years.
"No!" Levi exclaimed, startled by the terrible thought.
He was truly afraid. He couldn't impersonate the emperor, both morally and logically, as it would be a grave disrespect to the emperor.
Livy was well aware of Horus's concerns, and he was right; impersonating the emperor was now the best solution.
It wasn't that they didn't believe in Guilliman, but rather that they, along with Macardo, Magnus, and Horus, had all personally witnessed the Emperor's final decree.
Guilliman, however, was different. If Guilliman refused to believe their one-sided accounts, or if he had even the slightest doubt and leaked the information, the Empire would be plunged into an unprecedented crisis.
Li Wei wondered what crazy things the Emperor's 19 genetically modified offspring, each with their own distinct personality, would do if news of the Emperor's serious injury, slumber, or even feigned death were to spread.
Alternatively, the Church of the Mechanicus, the pillar of the empire and the one that has made a sacred covenant with the Emperor, may not break the covenant and declare independence.
Then the empire will not be able to unify humanity; it will only be mired in endless civil war until it perishes.