Warhammer 40: Doom

Chapter 257 Learning About the Past
Mauribas Solas. He seemed like an outsider, with very little interaction with the human empire.

When they first heard about it, they thought the brother was low-key and didn't know much about him, but now it seems there's more to the story.

Having no knowledge of Mauribas Solas, Guilliman and Vulcan chose to remain silent out of respect for their brother, waiting to hear the Emperor's response.

The emperor fell silent for a moment, put down his wine glass and looked at Doom, where he saw an unyielding persistence.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Instead, it was the Imperial Guard beside him who spoke.

“Moribas Soras. I met him on an expedition, on the edge of the Eastern End Starfield, on a ship full of passengers heading towards the center of the Eastern End Starfield.”

The Emperor did not explain himself, but instead had the Imperial Guard speak on his behalf, an attitude that greatly surprised Doom.

The Lord of Mankind is taciturn and rarely speaks in front of mortals or others; he is usually represented by the Imperial Guard.

But there are always exceptions.

When speaking to his son, the Emperor spoke very little and very briefly, requiring the Primarch to understand on his own, yet he chose to speak himself.

When discussing Mauribas Solas, his choice to have the Imperial Guard speak for him suggests that the Emperor himself did not particularly approve of him.

It even reveals a certain signal—the emperor is unwilling to mention him.

Doom narrowed his eyes, sensing that their encounter was not pleasant and that a conflict was likely to have broken out.

"A ship filled with passengers, a mix of aliens and humans, and extremely filthy."

The Imperial Guards' words revealed a clear sense of disgust; it is unclear whether this was an expression of the Emperor himself or the personal opinion of the Imperial Guards.

"I sensed a blood connection, led the Imperial Guards to board the spaceship, and witnessed a scene that enraged me!"

Doom saw the Emperor himself clenching his fists and trembling facial lines under the golden light, filled with rage at the memory.

"I don't want to mention him!" the emperor said, his calm tone barely concealing his anger.

He gently raised his hand, flicked his fingers, and shot out three golden beams that pierced the foreheads of his three sons.

The Emperor, unwilling to discuss it, shared fragments of his memories, implanting them directly into the original beings' brains, allowing them to comprehend them on their own.

Guilliman and Vulcan closed their eyes and reviewed their memories. After a second, their expressions turned horrified.

The two men looked extremely grim and fell silent, offering no comment.

"What exactly is it?" Doom asked, puzzled. The Emperor's golden light had indeed hit him, but he hadn't received any information.

The emperor looked at him, his face showing helplessness.

The two brothers also looked at him, even more puzzled, not understanding why Doom had not received the memories.

The instant the imperial golden light struck them, Guilliman and his companion felt an irresistible force enter their minds.

Deep within his mind, he had etched unforgettable memories, as if he had experienced them firsthand.

The Emperor knew the reason; he knew he was becoming stronger and wanted to test the effects of psionic energy on Doom.

The result left him shaking his head in frustration; the psychic message had vanished without a trace.

This discovery filled the Emperor with mixed feelings of sorrow and joy. He was saddened by Doom's resistance to psychic energy, which prevented the transmission of any messages; yet he was also pleased that Doom's resistance meant he could not shake him, and Chaos was powerless against him.

The Emperor was still not giving up. He reached out and grabbed Doom's arm, increasing the output of his spiritual power and squeezing it forward with his own will.

The sudden movement made Doom frown.

He did not retract his arm, but instead looked directly into the emperor's shining eyes, trying to figure out what he was going to do.

A powerful pressure appeared in the garden, and all was silent; time seemed to stand still at that moment.

A golden sun rose from the garden deck!
The emperor's power was like that of a god, like a supernova explosion; his eyes blazed like two stars, and his body emitted a dazzling light.

Vulcan covered his eyes with his hands; all he could see was golden light, and his eyes, inherited from Nocturne, were nearly burned.

On the other side, Guilliman turned his face away, his heart pounding rapidly, urging him to escape.

The Imperial Guards stood silently, as upright as pine trees; the power emanating from their master was enough to make the galaxy tremble.

The soldiers of the Thirteenth Legion trembled, cold sweat pouring down their power armor and overloading their servo systems.

They stopped exchanging toasts and froze in place, as if attacked by a weapon of time.

In the garden, the flowers and plants folded their leaves, the trees drooped their branches, and the butterflies trembled. Even these lowly, unconscious creatures felt a primal fear.

Around the Royal Majesty, the turbulent subspace receded, and amidst the filth and distortion, a golden ocean appeared!
From people to things, nothing exists without being subject to this powerful force.

Amidst this terrifying pressure, only one person remained unaffected, sitting beside the golden sun, his expression completely normal. Doom saw the Emperor suddenly glow, and in the dazzling golden light, the middle-aged man, as if constipated, gripped his hand tightly, straining repeatedly.

He asked the emperor, utterly bewildered, "What do you want to do?"

"..." The Emperor remained silent, withdrew his spiritual power, and released Doom's arm.

He picked up the empty cup in front of him, gestured for the servant to refill it, and looked calm as if nothing had happened.

Guilliman was astonished; he was amazed by his father's immense power and felt no desire to rebel.

Vulcan turned around, his eyes quickly adjusting to the normal light, and looked at the Emperor with a thoughtful expression.

They looked at the two people opposite them, one their father, the other their blood brother, and a thought arose in their minds—

The two people in front of us may not be gods, but they are already far removed from humanity!

The Emperor displayed a power capable of turning the stars upside down with every gesture, and Doom faced this immense power without a single hair bending.

"What exactly happened?" Doom didn't delve into the Emperor's sudden erratic behavior, but continued to press him about what exactly happened when he met Solas.

The Emperor remained silent, but the Imperial Guard shouted, "Mortals and Space Marines, step aside!"

Their deep voices resounded throughout the land, conveying the emperor's will.

The court attendants slowly departed, and the Space Marines closed their eyes and used their own methods to avoid revealing the secret.

After confirming that the surroundings were safe, the Emperor flicked his finger again, and golden threads of psionic energy appeared, displaying exactly what he had seen at that time.

Doom saw the truth, everything the Emperor had gone through.

The Lord of Humanity led the Imperial Guard to board the spaceship, and he used his immense power to instantly teleport to the ship's deck.

In the ship's party hall, the Emperor and the golden-armored warriors suddenly appeared, stunning all the crew members.

The crew was a diverse group, including human slaves and all sorts of bizarre and grotesque aliens.

The maddening and terrifying scene was enough to shatter the hearts and souls of mortals, as if they were in a den of demons.

In the center of the hall, amidst the alien horde, stood Mauribas Solas.

He held a cheap wine glass in his hand, wore makeshift armor, yet smiled genuinely and brightly. His silver-gray eyes were full of surprise and doubt, but the smile on his face gradually froze.

The screen trembled slightly, showing the emperor's surging rage, which was almost about to explode.

Having read this far, Doom understood somewhat why the Emperor was unwilling to mention Solas...

The Lords of Mankind have two great taboos: aliens and omnics.

Solas's carefree and unrestrained behavior with the aliens violated the Emperor's taboo.

If a mortal were to collude with an alien, the emperor would not be so furious, and in special circumstances, he might even grant a pardon.

However, his son, the Primarch who continued his bloodline, mingled with the filthy aliens, defiling the glory of the Empire.

Therefore, the Lord of Humanity did not hesitate to take swift and decisive action against the aliens.

While the alien was at a loss, the Emperor did not send the Imperial Guard to intervene; he wanted to personally purify the alien's filth.

The emperor raised his arm, his golden arm forming a fist, and an invincible force was applied to the numerous aliens.

As he moved, the entire spaceship trembled, and the alien body began to twist in every visible and invisible corner.

Their bones were broken, their bodies were squeezed by an invisible force, yet no blood flowed out; their skin, flesh, and bones began to be squeezed inward.

"Please spare them, they are my friends." A plea broke the silence as Solas knelt and begged the golden giant to spare the aliens.

He knew the man before him had come for him and hoped that he could plead with the golden-clad soldier to spare his friends.

broken!

Doom inwardly cried out that Solas's plea was like adding fuel to the fire.

The emperor hated the aliens, and seeing his son not only mingling with them but also kneeling down to plead for the filthy creature ignited his fury.

“Friends? You have no human dignity whatsoever!” he shouted, clenching his arms.

As the Emperor moved, all the aliens and humans on the ship were compressed into atoms by psionic energy and completely disappeared into the universe.

Then, he took Soras away, like dragging away a walking corpse.

(End of this chapter)