Warhammer [524-526] (Patreon)

Chapter 524: Aisha's Worry, Rhodes's Eldar Daughters

Aisha had been carrying out her method to sever herself from her own Chaos divinity. Though it would strip away over ninety percent of her power—reducing her from one of the cosmos's top deities to an ordinary god of Order—she felt it was worth it.

Chaos Dark Gods are powerful, but their divinity corrupts them, turning them into monsters driven by vestigial instincts.

And the Chaos Dark Gods had essentially hit their ceiling. Though they called it an eternal game, Aisha knew very well:

That eternal game would never end. As long as the Warp existed, as long as Dark Gods existed, it would never end!

Even if a fifth, sixth, seventh, all the way to an eighth Dark God were born, the eternal game would go on forever—an endless, meaningless existence.

Their power might inch upward, but they would never break past that boundary. The Chaos Dark Gods would forever be slaves to the Warp.

They could only extend their awareness from the Empyrean Heights to observe the material universe, never to set foot in it.

Only their Greater Daemons, and the demon hosts under the Demon Princes, could act within realspace.

As the former bearer of Slaanesh's Chaos power, Aisha could clearly sense who Slaanesh's current Chaos divinity had chosen as its host.

Fulgrim—once her Demon Prince, her sycophant, her little toy.

She intended to discuss this with Isha. To be honest, the choice of host made her rather displeased!

But at present, he was the most suitable candidate in the entire material cosmos. Perhaps the only other option was that Ace Killer—the Slaanesh's son she had infused with a portion of her divinity.

"Aisha, you were looking for me?" After a flash of light, Isha, in an emerald gown, appeared in the palace.

"Isha, my Chaos godhead has found a new host. We need to find a way to inform Rhodes," Aisha said.

"How could it pick a successor so quickly? By rights, it should choose after fully separating from you!" Isha asked, surprised.

"I'm the first one to sever myself from my own Chaos power, so no one knew what would happen!

I was guessing before, but now it's certain: the moment I truly intend to break away from the Chaos sovereignty, it begins searching for a new host. When I'm fully separated, the Chaos sovereignty will fuse with that host and make him the new Dark God," Aisha said.

She was the first to choose separation from Chaos power; there was no precedent—everything she did was exploratory.

"Isn't that a good thing? Let him slowly gain your power and become the new Slaanesh!

You can finally get the freedom you dreamed of. As for telling Rhodes, let's inform him after you give birth," Isha said.

"It's not that simple! This could trigger a terrifying consequence, so I must tell Rhodes," Aisha said.

"What do you mean?" Isha asked.

"When I became a Chaos Dark God back then, I annihilated ninety-nine percent of the Eldar in an instant and absorbed their souls to forge the Chaos godhead," Aisha said.

After that, she devoured the Eldar pantheon to obtain the Chaos god-seat. Although that seat had been established, it had been forged by herself.

If a new Chaos God is born—even if it's still her godhead—it must be reforged, and reforging requires the sacrifice of a race.

"You mean—he'll do what you did, absorbing the souls of his entire kin? Who is this chosen one?" Isha blurted as she realized the implication.

If true, that would be horrifying!

"It's Fulgrim, my former Demon Prince. He's human, so his apotheosis ritual will likely bring disaster upon humanity," Aisha said.

This was what she feared most. In at most a few years the Chaos godhead would fully depart her, so meticulous preparation was essential.

Otherwise, if an entire species were sacrificed, Rhodes might fly into a rage—

Potentially triggering a chain reaction. For instance, the Emperor standing up from the Golden Throne in fury, no longer suppressing the Dark King,

Because there'd be nothing left worth suppressing.

"Don't overthink it. That's only your conjecture! It might not happen. Your Chaos godhead is already fully forged. This time it's just choosing a new owner," Isha offered comfort.

She felt Aisha was being alarmist. Sacrificing a species had forged Slaanesh's godhead, but if humanity—the current hegemon of the galaxy—were sacrificed, in theory that should yield a fifth Dark God, not the successor to the fourth.

That's the worst-case outcome.

"Plan for the worst—that's what I learned from Rhodes. Whatever we do, we must be fully prepared. I don't dare gamble on this!

 Isha, do you dare? If we lose this bet, you know what a nightmarish scene the entire universe will face.

And we can't determine that the possibility is zero. If it can happen, it's a danger," Aisha said.

Fulgrim was twisted and perverse; once corrupted by the Chaos godhead, he would become even worse.

At the moment he ascended to Dark God, some law of the Warp would link him to the material universe.

Then he could do what she once did—devour all human souls, become even stronger than her former self, perhaps surpassing Khorne to become the most powerful Dark God.

She had devoured the Eldar gods; as for humanity's gods, they were not entirely gone—their soul fragments had become the Primarchs, with some remnants still scattered in the Warp.

"Alright, you're right—we should inform Rhodes. What's your plan?" Isha exhaled deeply.

The two of them could barely hide their conditions anymore. She herself wasn't pregnant; the truly pregnant one was Aisha.

This was a good opportunity to reveal both ladies' identities completely so there'd be no barriers between them and Rhodes.

"I'm ready. Isha, please bring Rhodes here," Aisha said.

Isha nodded and left the palace to find Rhodes.

…

At that moment, Rhodes was with two other children—newborns from Yvraine and Lelith.

They weren't boys but two girls. Lelith and Yvraine had each borne Rhodes a daughter.

Following some Eldar traditions, Rhodes gave them his own name as their surname: Lelith's daughter was Kasha Rhodes; Yvraine's was Jaliya Rhodes.

 Rhodes doted on them greatly.

Like their two older brothers, the girls were super lifeforms from birth and had nurtured their own cosmic phantom beasts: one a wind-aspected giant bird, the other a lightning-aspected serpentlike beast.

The two little girls had been gestating for over a decade before birth, and to reach adulthood would take at least one to two centuries.

And since they were super lifeforms with phantom beasts, there was no Slaanesh soul-binding involved.

"Take good care of your sisters from now on," Rhodes patted Sterne's shoulder.

Elena smiled beside him. This time, she had won decisively. She'd borne two boys, while the two Eldar ladies had given birth to girls.

Her sons had an absolute edge!

 "Of course, Dad. I'll protect my sisters," Sterne said.

"The girls' psychic talent is excellent. They might be the ones protecting you someday," Yvraine said, cradling her daughter and smiling.

These two children were extraordinary—beyond their imagination. They had even consulted the Mother Goddess.

The Mother Goddess praised them and said that once fully grown, they would become new gods of Order—embodied gods of Order.

"If that day comes, I'll be thrilled to have such powerful sisters," Sterne grinned.

As a Primarch, he wasn't dull.

"What a rare moment of peace. I wish days like this could last forever, and we could stay here," Lelith said.

The Phantom Beast planet was perfect for the Eldar: lush, vibrant, teeming with life, with no industrial pollution. Various small creatures lived here, and the powerful energies emitted by the cosmic beasts formed a barrier against the Warp—daemons couldn't survive here.

"The second phase of the Indomitus Crusade will take decades, so I can stay with you for at least that long.

Let the subordinates fight the battles," Rhodes said, lying on the grass.

His two subordinates, Barbarue and Zarab, would do just fine.

If needed, he could teleport at any time. Rhodes didn't want to sit in a fleet commanding battles; it was far better to enjoy a vacation on the Phantom Beast planet!

 "Father! Before long, my brother and I can join the expeditionary fleet," Sterne said.

Unlike his father, he'd been raised on warships, following Rhodes's crusades for over a decade. He yearned to launch a campaign.

Elena stood proud—this was her well-trained son.

"You have youthful fire. Fine—once your Astartes are established, take them to war!

You and your brother together—there won't be many who can stand against you," Rhodes said.

Once the two fully matured—super lifeforms, plus their phantom beasts, plus hundreds of thousands of Astartes—bringing them down wouldn't be easy.

When they'd had their fill of war, the pastoral life would beckon!

As Rhodes savored the rare serenity, the Goddess of Life approached in a green gown.

The two Eldar ladies rose and bowed slightly to the Mother Goddess.

Rhodes also waved a greeting to the Life Goddess—they were more than familiar,

the hold-each-other-to-sleep sort of familiar.

By the way, hadn't Isha been pregnant for over twenty years? Why wasn't there a baby bump?

 Rhodes remembered seeing a slight swell before, but now her abdomen was flat again.

"No need for ceremony. Rhodes, I've come because there's something important to discuss. Can you come with me?" Isha smiled at the others, then looked to Rhodes.

"What's so important? Can it wait until after today's gathering?" Rhodes asked.

"It's very important—about the Warp," Isha said.

"Oh! I see. You all keep playing. I'll go talk with Isha."

Seeing how serious she was, Rhodes didn't stall. He bade his wives goodbye and left with Isha.

When it concerned the Warp, Rhodes dared not be careless.

"What's happened, Isha?" Rhodes asked.

This time, Isha seemed to be deliberately avoiding Elena, Lelith, and Yvraine.

"I want to introduce you to someone—or rather, an Eldar goddess," Isha said with a mischievous smile.

"Oh? I thought you were the only Eldar goddess left," Rhodes said.

Where would another goddess come from?

"I told you before—I have a sister who governs love, beauty, and all things beautiful in the cosmos, the Eldar's goddess of love," Isha led Rhodes into the palace.

As they entered, Rhodes's eyes widened. On the bed sat a curvaceous woman with purplish-red hair.

Her face was identical to the Life Goddess's. Her lower abdomen was slightly swollen, and by a certain bond, Rhodes knew it was his bloodline.

"You are…?" Rhodes was stunned.

"Actually, we've always been two people," Isha said.

Chapter 525: I De-Corrupted Slaanesh! The Chaos Godhead

"Rhodes, I am Aisha—formerly Slaanesh," the purple-haired woman said, gently stroking her rounded belly with a complex smile.

"Strictly speaking, I am the split off from the Chaos godhead—the true Eldar goddess."

Rhodes looked to Isha in shock; she nodded. "We shared one body for so long we nearly forgot we were originally two separate beings."

"Wait—so for the past twenty years, every night—" Rhodes suddenly realized.

He wasn't an idiot. In a flash he pieced it together: I've been sleeping with Slaanesh for over twenty years—no, I've been corrupted by Slaanesh for over twenty years.

Cold sweat beaded on Rhodes's back. A Chaos Dark God had lurked at his side for twenty years and he hadn't noticed?

But had he truly been corrupted by Chaos power? Probably not.

He could use spatial force, but that came from the Emperor evolving him with psyker power, and he rarely used psyker power anyway—he mostly relied on kaiju strength.

"Don't overthink it. I had no intention of corrupting you with Chaos power. Strictly speaking, you used the Order power of cosmic phantom beasts to corrupt me," Aisha rolled her eyes.

At first, leveraging Isha to get close to Rhodes, she had entertained the idea of making him her Demon Prince.

But after witnessing Rhodes's potential and encountering the cosmic beasts and their positive power, she changed her mind.

So in truth, Rhodes's Order power and the cosmic beasts had corrupted her, not the other way around.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Rhodes asked.

If she'd hidden at his side so long and even had a phantom beast, then surely one of his subordinates had done something.

And the most suspicious one—he already knew who.

 "My apologies, master! It was all by your future self's command," Tartarus appeared beside Rhodes at some point, dropping to one knee.

"You're saying it was an order from my future self?" Rhodes asked.

"Yes, master. Your future self told me to tell you: 'Aisha will be your virtuous consort; Aisha is the Eldar goddess of love and beauty,'" Tartarus said.

He helped conceal it not just because of the order, but because Aisha bore no malice toward Rhodes. Otherwise, he would have protected his master at once.

This day was bound to come—by the future master's will. Tartarus was willing to bear it.

"I understand. Since it was my future order, and you're confessing now, I'll forgive you. But no next time," Rhodes said.

What else could he do—drive a pregnant woman out?

After twenty-plus years, there were real feelings. And in several past battles in the cosmic star realm, Isha must have secretly helped; otherwise Rhodes wouldn't have had it so easy.

"So were you two sharing a body, or swapping occasionally?" Rhodes asked.

"Sometimes me, sometimes her. At first we shared Lelith's body; later we used the giantess's body.

As for your cosmic beasts, our divinity could perfectly fool them—they knew nothing," the Life Goddess Isha said with a playful wink.

Rhodes nodded.

Against gods, phantom beasts were still outclassed—being fooled by two goddesses wasn't surprising.

So, he'd slept with two Eldar goddesses.

What a thrill. In the grimdark, to reverse-corrupt Slaanesh into the Order camp—probably only he could do that.

 "Yes and no. The giant I used was Dark Faust, but Isha didn't—she used Camearra," Aisha said.

The first giant was for the Life Goddess—a pure shell with its consciousness gone.

"Camearra? I don't recall having that giant," Rhodes said.

 "Great master, the giantess Camearra's body was something your future self specifically gave me to carry back to the past timeline.

When you sent me to the past, you required I bring that body," Tartarus said.

So that was it. He felt played by his future self—now each Eldar goddess had a giantess body.

"Then, whose child is it?" Rhodes asked.

"The pregnant one is indeed Aisha. Strictly speaking, I helped a little, but it's your and Aisha's child," Isha said.

"That won't do, Isha. When I rescued you, you promised me a child. You still owe me one," Rhodes said.

"No problem—if you like," Isha answered with a gentle smile.

"So you called me here just to tell me this?" Rhodes asked.

"Rhodes, I'm severing my Chaos godhead. Soon I'll only have Order power left, with over ninety percent of my strength gone," Aisha said.

"Good to ditch that thing early. Order power can be trained—you'll grow stronger. And you have me," Rhodes said.

Aisha smiled and stood. The silk gown outlined her evident bump. She looked at Rhodes solemnly: "Rhodes, I must tell you something urgent: my Chaos godhead is seeking a new host, and it has chosen Fulgrim."

"That treacherous Phoenix?" Rhodes snapped to alertness—this was bad news.

Aisha laid out her inference about reforging the godhead. Rhodes's face grew darker as she spoke.

When he heard it could mean sacrificing all human souls, he turned livid. He should have had the Slaanesh-killer finish Fulgrim. Humanity had suffered enough. He'd just optimized the Emperor's situation and indefinitely delayed the Dark King's advent—yet now something else threatened to devour mankind.

And given Fulgrim's nature, he'd relish it.

"We must resolve this before the godhead fully transfers," Aisha said.

"Rhodes, don't worry too much—that's the worst case. Things may not mirror ten thousand years ago," Isha said.

Rhodes paced, then stopped. "Wait—if the godhead is semi-detached now, does that mean—"

Isha's eyes lit up. "You mean we can tamper with it during the transition?"

"Exactly!" Rhodes snapped his fingers. "Since it hasn't settled on a new owner, we can assign it a suitable host."

"A controllable puppet?" Isha mused.

"Or a better option—" Rhodes smiled mysteriously.

If they could meddle with the Chaos godhead, he'd choose one of his own. He had an ideal Slaanesh-killer—imbued with Slaanesh's Chaos power, amped to the limit, combat strength far beyond typical Demon Princes.

What was Fulgrim? On what grounds should he inherit the godhead? Hand it over—you can't handle it!

"Rhodes, this is extremely dangerous. The Chaos godhead is an intensely corruptive power. Whoever gets it will be corrupted," Aisha said helplessly.

The Chaos godhead was uncontrollable—otherwise she wouldn't be trying to sever it.

"Trust me. My subordinate can absolutely control the Chaos godhead," Rhodes said.

Once his subordinate obtained it, control wouldn't be too hard.

It was strong, sure, but not above the System. The strongest monsters the System could summon could even defeat Dark Gods—like Dark Zagi, Delacion, the Mysterious Four Ultras, Hyper Zetton.

He had complete control of the Ace Killer. Even if that one inherited the godhead, he'd still be under Rhodes. Rhodes would gain a controllable Dark God as a subordinate.

"Worthy of the master. It's a perfect plan. The System can absolutely do it," Tartarus said.

"Aisha, the key is you. Can you divert the godhead into my Ace Killer?" Rhodes asked.

"If you're absolutely sure, I can help. But we should bring the Emperor in. With his psyker power we can suppress the godhead. Also, someone must distract the other three—while we seize the godhead, no one can be allowed to interfere," Aisha said.

They needed the Emperor's help, and they also had to guard against the other Dark Gods. If they detected the godhead vacant, they'd rush to snatch it.

"This needs careful planning. By the way—does the Emperor know who you really are?" Rhodes asked.

"Of course. Don't underestimate him—he's crafty," Aisha said.

Chapter 526: How to Win Over The Emperor

At first, Aisha planned to conceal her identity completely—only Isha knew.

In Holy Terra she hid herself carefully,

Even using the strange energies of the phantom beasts to mask her Chaos power, posing as a god of Order.

It worked for a while, but over time the Human Emperor noticed things.

At first, he didn't realize she was a Dark God. He thought she was an Eldar goddess—one hidden away.

Aisha went with it, claiming to be the goddess of love and beauty. On Holy Terra she would never dare display Chaos power.

"That's the situation. The Emperor knows I exist but not my true identity—and I don't intend to use that identity anymore," Aisha said.

"So he knows you exist but believes you're Order, not Chaos—right?" Rhodes nodded.

As he thought—if the Emperor knew she was a Chaos Dark God, and Slaanesh at that, he wouldn't sit idle.

Which raised another problem:

How to persuade the Emperor to help. After all, the reason he sits on the Golden Throne is that the Four Chaos each have a hand in it.

Frankly, were he the Emperor, Rhodes would never help Aisha.

"Correct—he knows I exist but not who I am," Aisha said.

"Is the Emperor indispensable? If not, forget it. We don't have the leverage to recruit him," Rhodes said.

"Or we could ask other Eldar gods—like the death god or the Laughing God Cegorach," the Life Goddess Isha said.

"No!" both said at once.

 Rhodes and Aisha rejected it immediately. Rhodes knew those Eldar gods well enough.

With a Chaos godhead at stake—the chance to step into the top echelon of the universe—

He couldn't trust they wouldn't scheme. The only one likely to help and be trustworthy was the Human Emperor.

"We can reframe it. I won't reveal myself at all—and we can stage a play," Aisha said.

"What kind of play?" Rhodes asked.

"Known facts: the Emperor, and the other Dark Gods, believe I'm sealed. The seal is draining my power.

Fulgrim, for unknown reasons, has stolen Slaanesh's fount and now seeks to devour all humanity to become the fifth Dark God.

He's kidnapped Lorgar and Crux. Now, Rhodes, you have a way to stop him, and it requires the Emperor's help—so he'll agree," Aisha said.

She had been a Dark God; of course she had stratagems.

When she proposed calling on the Emperor, she'd already formed a plan. The Emperor's love for humanity exceeds all else. If he learned Fulgrim meant to consume all human souls to ascend, he would stop it at any cost.

As for how Fulgrim got Chaos power—that could wait. The sealing explanation sounded plausible.

Back then, Tartarus couldn't have sealed the entire Palace of Pleasure without the future Rhodes's help. Even the other Dark Gods were helpless.

"You're saying Lorgar and Crux were kidnapped by Fulgrim?" Rhodes was surprised.

"Yes. Through the godhead I can sense that both Primarchs are in his hands.

Lorgar followed him willingly—he's now a Demon Prince under Fulgrim. The other is imprisoned," Aisha said.

If they could seize Fulgrim, the fragmented godhead would be whole. Then she could transfer it into Rhodes's subordinate to elevate him into a true Dark God.

"Alright. I'll contact the Emperor and explain. One last question—how do we find Fulgrim?" Rhodes asked.

Even a Dark God couldn't command the entire Warp. Pinpointing and seizing Fulgrim wouldn't be easy.

"We can lure him out of the Warp," Isha said.

"Impossible. He's about to receive the godhead. He won't risk it. He'll hide in the Warp, waiting for the final moment," Aisha said.

"Leave it to me. I can draw him out," Rhodes said.

For apotheosis he'd need a suitable vessel; his current body couldn't bear a Dark God's power—Fulgrim should know that.

Rhodes would dangle bait: the Slaanesh-killer. Its attributes were perfect for the Slaanesh godhead.

Even without extra setup, Fulgrim would try to seize it.

He'd want that body. Rhodes would have the Slaanesh-killer leak to his minions that a new Ace Killer had been born; he'd go convert it to Slaanesh's side to bolster the faction.

Those Slaanesh Greater Daemons embedded around him would ensure Fulgrim learned—and he'd come to seize a blank assassin body.

"That could work. Also, you can use Lucius. He's Fulgrim's gene-son, but he has zero loyalty to his Primarch—same type as Typhus," Aisha said.

As her former chosen, Aisha knew Lucius well. Send him back to Fulgrim—at the key moment, he'd betray him.

After hashing out the details, Rhodes contacted the Emperor on Holy Terra.

He didn't use a Warp call or have Guilliman relay it via a phantom beast. He had Tartarus open a portal and went straight to the Imperial Palace.

This he had to discuss in person—to show sincerity and the urgency.

When the Custodes saw it was Rhodes, they escorted him to the throne room, where the Emperor sat upon the Golden Throne.

The Emperor looked much improved—he could even eat on the throne and savor being human again.

 "Rhodes, why are you back? Is something wrong?" the Emperor asked.

No one comes to the Inner Palace without cause. If it weren't important, Rhodes would relay through Guilliman.

"Emperor, we have a crisis. Fulgrim is about to ascend to Dark God. If he succeeds, he'll devour all human souls!" Rhodes said gravely.

"Come again? Rhodes, you're not joking? Fulgrim wants to become a Dark God and devour all human souls?" The Emperor was first surprised, then half amused.

"Exceptions happen. You know Slaanesh was sealed by some mysterious force.

The seal has been weakening Slaanesh's power, even blocking Warp intake. The Chaos godhead seems ready to abandon its current owner

and select a new host to become a new Dark God—and it chose your son, Fulgrim.

Fulgrim has also corrupted Lorgar and captured Crux," Rhodes recounted everything.

"Hold on—I'll check." The Emperor sank his mind into the Warp from the Throne, seeking his son Crux.

He found Lorgar's fortress gone. Crux and Lorgar were missing. Residual Slaanesh power lingered all around.

"If this is true, we're in serious trouble. If it's Fulgrim, he'll devour humanity without hesitation," the Emperor said, face darken.