The Emperor’s Angel of Death

#2287 - Millennium changes

After finishing their meal, the two immediately headed to what Tyreon described as the safest and most confidential living room in the Empire, second only to the Emperor's private chambers.

The door to the living room opened, and a faint scent of incense wafted out. Tyreon's female secretary had already lit the incense burner inside and then left.

This was a very unique living room, not overly luxurious or vulgar, but rather elegant and noble. Bookshelves of various sizes lined the walls, displaying historical artifacts and books collected from various centuries. A quaint redwood table stood in the corner, filled with various rare and exotic treasures. The first thing that caught the eye was a glittering golden birdcage, inside which was a colorful little bird. Every time it gently swayed, the delicate bells on it would emit a crisp sound.

On the other side of the table, a white porcelain deer was placed, watching everything in the living room with a smiling gaze. Beside the deer was a graceful statue of a young girl. An antique chandelier hung from the ceiling of the living room, its crystal clear appearance making one wonder which era it belonged to. The copper-gray color at the base of the lamp appeared particularly bright under the light.

The walls around the living room were covered with ancient oil paintings, tapestries, and sculptures. At one end of the living room was a unique armchair, with beast head carvings on the armrests and backrest, giving it a sense of majesty.

"I spent eighty years building this place. Every item here is the oldest and most exquisite. Sometimes, even when I'm in a bad mood, I still like to stay in this room. Every High Lord has their own palace, and the spires of the Senate are the most magnificent buildings in the entire galaxy, but I still prefer this oasis of mine."

As he spoke, he pointed to a huge celadon vase.

"This is said to be from the collection of the former Imperial Chancellor Macador. It flowed out of the palace during the Great Rebellion and was finally found by me after wandering for tens of thousands of years. According to the examination of some scholars and the detection of machines, it is inferred that its history can be traced back to the first millennium of mankind."

Sosyhyan nodded slightly.

"Artifacts are witnesses of history."

"Not just that, every time I sit here, I realize that humans are not just about violence and anger. We are also an ancient race with excellent taste. We have wisdom and interest, and we stand tall in the universe. If our race is only left with war, then what difference is there between us and the Orks?"

Then he pointed to a sandstone fireplace.

"It belongs to the Frankish pre-federal period and is more than twelve thousand years old. It is literally priceless because the Emperor once made an oath with the leaders of the Federation in front of this fireplace. But if it is placed outside, most people will only regard it as a useless stone, smash it or discard it. However, this is exactly the bad situation our race is currently facing."

Then the two found a suitable place to sit. Sosyhyan chose a huge stone chair, while Tyreon chose a sofa. It wasn't that he was disrespectful to the artifacts, but only this thing was suitable for his size.

"This is the chair that Primarch Dorn sat on when commanding the defense of Terra in the fortress. As a result, it was shoveled away as garbage during the post-war cleanup of the Bone Pillar Fortress. When it was found, it was in the deepest part of the underground, in a mutant tribe, being used as"

Tyreon stopped the following words in time, but seeing his slightly awkward expression, Sosyhyan probably guessed that the size of this chair, for mortals, could only be used as—

A toilet?

"Originally, I wanted to return it to the Imperial Fists, but considering that it might cause some extreme reactions, I didn't do so."

"Understandable."

After a brief silence, Tyreon said slowly:

"The Empire needs heroes more than ever, but heroes also mean doing things that ordinary people cannot do, so they must get rid of many constraints. Chapter Master Sosyhyan, if, if there is a day when you need to stand up and become that true hero, are you willing to get rid of those constraints?"

Sosyhyan replied calmly:

"That depends on the specifics."

"In recent years, I have been collecting specific information from various war zones. I have discovered in the numerous chaotic front lines that the number of heretical activities in the Maelstrom Zone is more than twice as active as in the last century, and the number of space derelicts appearing near the Cadian Sector is five times that of the last century! Although these seem to have been dealt with in the end, judging from the summary of general rules, these are by no means accidental."

"Do you mean that the great enemy, or the Black Legion, may be taking action?"

"The Great Raider has always been taking action, but don't laugh when I say it. I always have some bad intuitions and premonitions. The Eye of Terror, the place that the Empire strictly guards, may have problems. Although I have done my best in the past ten years to let the Department of Military Affairs and the Department of the Navy add fifty regiments and two strike fleets in the Cadian direction, is this enough? I often ask myself in the night, are these arrangements really enough? Can we really pass these last thirty years of the forty-first millennium safely? What about the next forty-second millennium? Just like you said before, the Empire is already a dysfunctional old man. Maybe we can still maintain it for another thousand years by patching it up here and there, but what about then?"

After Sosyhyan pondered for a moment, he looked at Tyreon and asked very directly:

"Do you want to carry out a reform?"

Tyreon shook his head.

"Reform? No, I have lived for two hundred years. This is the result of my daily caution and pampering, but I don't plan to use life extension technology anymore. My life is coming to an end soon. In a sense, I am one of the mortals closest to the throne on a physical level, but I am not sure whether my bloated and incompetent soul is worthy of the Emperor's attention. Maybe I can do one last thing that is in line with my duty before I die. If the past ten thousand years after the Great Rebellion have proven the limits of mortal rule, does that mean we have to find a new path? I don't know what this path should be like, but I know that the Empire really needs to change."

Sosyhyan looked at the bloated man sinking into the sofa with complicated feelings.

The other party behaved extraordinarily bravely. Knowing that saying these things in front of an Astartes was quite dangerous, especially since the two were not that familiar. Either the other party had absolute confidence, or the other party thought he knew Sosyhyan well enough to know that he would listen to these things. But no matter which aspect he considered, just opening his mouth required enough courage.

A seemingly weak mortal could make such a courageous decision. What about him? Has he always been too hesitant?

"Chapter Master Sosyhyan, you are the hope I see, a hope for change. The era of the Primarchs has passed, but we do not lack people who are better than them. I will help you, politically and in many places. To put it bluntly, we can form an alliance that is beneficial to each other."

The Imperial Prime Minister extended an olive branch to him. It sounded pretty good, but in fact, it was another very dangerous thing.

"Astartes—"

Sosyhyan paused, then said slowly:

"Cannot interfere in Imperial politics. This is not only the requirement of the Codex Astartes, but also the principle and integrity that an Astartes should have."