Chapter 237

---One Week Later, Terra, Emperor's Laboratory---

Returning from our leisure vacation, my family and I immediately resumed our usual routines. Angelica, Bo-Katan, Clarice, Deirdre, Olivia, and Samus wasted no time setting off to hunt space pirates. Meanwhile, Serana locked herself in her laboratory, and Lucoa, Mylene, Binja (Lethan), and company continued preparing for the babies. Leaving them to it, Aela, the Aeldari deities, Ahsoka, Amallyn, Ionica, Loki, Roxanne, Slaanesh, and I set a course for Terra to meet my grandfather.

"Welcome back from your vacation, all of you look well-rested.", the Emperor of Mankind joked, noticing the dark circles under Cegorach, Hoec, and Vaul's eyes. "I asked you here today, Victor, to tell you more about Aremus and his legion. As his successor, you deserve to know all about the Leviathans."

"I see you took inspiration from the Aeldari deity you used to create Aremus.", I spoke with a grin. "If I may, how exactly did you come into possession of Starweaver's soul?"

"So, your two fiancées already told you about that. This will make things a lot simpler.", the Emperor said, turning away. "Follow me; there is something I would like to show you. It will help explain how I came to know Dromlach and his three sons."

Guiding us to one of the ancient vault doors in his laboratory, my grandfather dispelled its runic seal and opened it. As the doors creaked open, lanterns inside the space lit up, revealing tens of thousands of detailed serpent carvings.

"As I am sure you can all see, these carvings were not all made by human hands.", the Emperor commented, stepping inside. "Dromlach and his sons communed with countless xeno races over the many millennia, including humanity. My first encounter with them was aboard the Santa Maria in December 1492."

"Christopher Columbus' flagship…", I muttered, receiving a surprised look from my grandfather.

Surprised I knew such an obscure fact about Terra's ancient past, my grandfather thankfully did not push the matter with me. Returning to his laboratory, he gingerly picked up a worn journal off his desk and fondly looked upon it.

"Long before Lileath's birth, Dromlach and his sons could see the Aeldari were on a path of self-destruction. They tried to stop the inevitable, but the Aeldari's leaders and their peers refused to listen to their counsel. Exhausting all internal routes, they choose to reveal themselves to other enlightened races.", the Emperor spoke, motioning to the stone carvings. "Most races saw them as nothing more than mere monsters, but a few people, like me, understood what they really were."

"From the way you are speaking… Were you good friends with Dromlach and his children?", Cegorach questioned.

"Absolutely, I consider the four of them to be some of my only true friends.", the Emperor agreed. "Dromlach imparted a vast amount of his extensive knowledge to me over the years. Much of humanity's achievements during the Age of Technology stemmed partly from his subtle influences. While their assistance greatly benefited us, Dromlach and his children did not act out of kindness. They intended to have humanity help save the Aeldari from themselves, a goal that unfortunately never came to pass."

The Age of Technology brought humanity unprecedented growth, but it was not without its terrible costs. As our reach expanded rapidly across the galaxy, humanity's demands soon outstripped the capacity of our workforce. To avert a potential crisis, humanity resorted to using artificial intelligence, unwittingly laying the groundwork for the Cybernetic Revolt.

"When the dust finally settled, humanity found itself on the verge of collapse, abandoned by its xeno allies. Dromlach and two of his sons fled into the Webway, realizing they had lost their last hope to save the Aeldari. Starweaver was the only one who stayed with us during our darkest hour, and for that… I owe him a great debt.", the Emperor remarked. "Together with Malcador and Starweaver, I undertook the monumental task of rebuilding humanity, bracing it for the storm ahead. By the time I had established firm control over Terra, the Aeldari were already deep into their tragic Fall. Aware of my plans to weaken and eventually destroy the Chaos Gods, Starweaver offered himself up as the foundation for Aremus' creation."

Only now recalling Dromlach's repeated warnings, the Aeldari deities felt foolish for having ignored him. At the time, their focus had been solely on their internal squabbles. It was only after Lileath's vision that they began to act, but even then, their disjointed efforts to prevent their children's collapse likely accelerated it.

"Wait… If Aremus was created using Starweaver, what were the other Primarchs created with?", Ionica questioned, unsure she wanted to know the answer.

"Lesser Chaos Gods who had qualms with the Big Four.", the Emperor answered, looking at her. "I kept Chaos a secret from my sons for a good reason. They gained immense power from the process but also became far more susceptible to the Warp's corruptive influence."

Feigning ignorance on the subject, I pretend to be shocked by this revelation. After a second, something he said jumped out at me.

"From what I understand, the Ruinous Powers forcibly sealed away all Lesser Chaos Gods. How did you manage to free them?", I pressed him.

Cracking a smile, my grandfather set his old journal down and walked over to another table. Picking up a strange, runic hammer, he tossed it to Vaul and inquired if it looked familiar. Nodding his head slowly, Vaul looked at the Emperor with a very concerned expression.

 "This is one of my original forge hammers. How did you get your hands on it?", Vaul questioned, looking it over closely.

"Best as I can tell, it was pulled out of an archeological site sometime during our Age of Technology. The hammer somehow made its way to Terra, where it eventually fell into the hands of Uilleam the Red.", the Emperor explained. "I took possession of it during the Unification Wars and have used it extensively to seal/unseal daemonic items ever since. It now belongs to my grandson, if you will allow it."

"Of course, he has more than earned it at this point.", Vaul chuckled, handing it to me.

As I took possession of the hammer, it forcibly ripped itself out of my grip and flew toward Stormbreaker. Merging with my trusted partner, a plethora of new runes appeared along the hammerhead.

"Seriously… How about a heads-up before doing shit like that, please?", I requested.

Lightly zapping my hand in response, it felt like it was apologizing to me. Seeing no issue with it, since it appeared the effects were transferred over, I let the matter go.

"As my legion still has no name, I will honor Aremus' memory by naming us Leviathans once again.", I stated, receiving an approving nod from my grandfather. "The last thing I would like to know is, what did their legion's emblem look like?"

Drawing me a sketch from memory, my grandfather handed me the drawing once it was completed. Looking upon Aremus' emblem with reverence, I decided to take it as my own to continue his legacy. Informing my grandfather of this, he promised to take care of it for me.

(AN: Here is the emblem.)

"With this information, I am confident I can locate Aremus' flagship and reach the Caspiel Empire.", I stated, filing the emblem away in my memory. "Before I head out, there is one more request I would like to make. In preparation for our impending battle with the Necrons, with your blessing, I want to meet with the leaders of Krieg and Vostroya."

"Why them specifically?", the Emperor inquired, already knowing where this was going.

"Both worlds seek absolution for their past sins against the Imperium of Man and you. They have more than repaid their debt by now, but they still feel they have not done enough.", I elaborated. "This upcoming war will see one of the Imperium's greatest foes purged completely from our galaxy. If they follow me into the fray, they can walk away afterward with a clear conscience and their heads held high."

"I agree.", the Emperor spoke, nodding his head. "I will arrange the meeting and let you know when and where to be."

Walking over to my grandfather, I pulled him into a hug, thanking him for his assistance. Taken aback by my action initially, he quickly warmed up to it and hugged me back. Parting ways afterward, I decided to make a brief detour to Nirn.