Chapter Seventy-Nine: Edwina Niels

"Wait, please, esteemed lords!" Chloe Srein’garl, seeing the twenty Astartes approaching him, cried out desperately, his voice sounding just like a girl about to be violated.

The transmigrators did not pause at his scream. One of them even took out a psy suppression chain, ready to tie Chloe Srein’garl up completely.

"Esteemed lords, I am an Inquisitor of the Tribunal. You cannot treat me this way!" Chloe Srein’garl stared in despair at the psy suppression chain, shouting at the transmigrators.

They ignored him entirely. The transmigrator holding the chain rushed up to him and, before he could protest further, swiftly wrapped the chain around Chloe Srein’garl, binding him tightly.

Just as with the psyker, Wang Lei injected Chloe Srein’garl with a sedative, and the last transmigrator slung him over his shoulder, carrying him away alongside the subdued psyker.

"Damn, how long have I been asleep?"

Within the Governor’s Palace, in a room prepared for the Primarch, Wang Ming sat up in bed, confusedly surveying his surroundings.

Beside his bed stood Jose and ten ordinary auxiliary troops, guarding Wang Ming.

"Jose, how long was I asleep?" Wang Ming looked at Jose and asked.

"Thirteen Terra hours, my lord. How do you feel now?" Jose, clearly excited to see Wang Ming awake, replied promptly.

"Thirteen hours... It’s you again, Emperor, making me dream." Wang Ming thought to himself upon hearing he had slept for thirteen hours.

During his unconsciousness, Wang Ming had witnessed in his dreams the Four Gods and vile xenos committing countless atrocities against humanity over millennia—acts so heinous that both men and gods would be outraged.

These visions filled Wang Ming with immense anger, and throughout, the Emperor’s psychic might ceaselessly battered his soul.

"I still feel quite dizzy, Jose. Bring me some tea." Wang Ming shook his head and addressed Jose.

"Yes, my lord." Jose left the room and soon returned, carrying a hot kettle filled with Moers tea.

"The task I entrusted to Wang Lei—has he completed it?" Wang Ming took the kettle and poured himself a generous mouthful of Moers tea. The mildly sweet flavor revived his spirits.

"Wang Lei has already returned, my lord. His mission is accomplished." Jose reported the situation in detail.

"Tell him to bring the 'item' here." Wang Ming instructed Jose.

"Of course, my lord." Jose used his communicator to contact Wang Lei and relayed Wang Ming’s order.

Moments later, Wang Lei and the transmigrators entered Wang Ming’s room, bringing with them a man and a woman, both tightly bound.

"This is the Emperor’s old friend’s 'item'? A woman?" Wang Ming stood up and approached the bound woman, examining her with curiosity. She, too, looked at Wang Ming with intrigue.

Wang Ming checked the coordinates in his mind provided by the Emperor—yes, right in front of him, this woman.

"Who’s he?" Wang Ming noticed the bound man and asked Wang Lei.

"A psyker who claims to be a Demon Inquisitor," Wang Lei replied, glancing at Chloe Srein’garl.

"I really am an Inquisitor!" Chloe Srein’garl shouted loudly upon hearing Wang Lei’s words.

"Enough. While you were unconscious, we searched you thoroughly. You have nothing on you to prove you’re an Inquisitor." Wang Lei rebuffed him.

"Still, he did give us some information. He said this woman is a Child of the Stars," Wang Lei told Wang Ming.

"Child of the Stars"—the Emperor’s true offspring. Unlike the gene-primarchs, created by genetic manipulation, the Children of the Stars are the Emperor’s actual progeny, born through biological reproduction. They carry the Emperor’s bloodline.

The Children of the Stars inherit some of the Emperor’s abilities: powerful psychic talents, immortality, strength and intelligence beyond human limits—among other gifts.

Wang Ming gazed at this Child of the Stars, at her pale face, wondering why the Emperor had him seek her, and why the Emperor referred to her as his old friend’s 'item.'

"Keep her by your side. She will be useful to you." Suddenly, the Emperor’s voice sounded again in Wang Ming’s mind.

"Damn it, Emperor, could you stop startling me like this? Are you trying to scare me to death so I end up in the Warp, suffering your psychic lashings?" Wang Ming protested internally.

"This is the most convenient way. You can’t expect me to rise from the Golden Throne and walk over to speak with you, can you?" The Emperor—or perhaps Niels—replied.

"So it is Niels, then."

Wang Ming, hearing the Emperor’s somewhat humorous tone, concluded that this more human-like Emperor must be Niels.

"Is she your daughter?" Wang Ming looked at the woman and asked the Emperor.

"Edwina Niels. She is my daughter from the third millennium, when I used the name Niels on Terra," the Emperor revealed her name and origin.

"The third millennium? Around the year 2000?" Wang Ming asked, curious.

"Yes, to be precise, 2015. She inherited my immortality. Keep her with you—she will be useful," the Emperor explained.

"Alright, and who is this 'Inquisitor'?" Now that he knew the woman’s identity, Wang Ming asked Niels about the self-proclaimed Inquisitor.

"He is also an immortal. Beyond that, I am not certain."

To the others, Wang Ming’s conversation with Niels appeared as if he were simply standing there, lost in thought. Edwina Niels watched Wang Ming, who stared at her in a daze, and felt distinctly uneasy.