In the eyes of 10 million people, the emperor of mankind may have 10 million images.

He may have been a majestic giant, with sallow skin and long shiny black hair, and he was dressed in the richest golden armor, and the light on his face alone was enough to illuminate the deepest darkness.

He may have been a short and wise pedant, wrapping himself in an off-white fully enclosed dust-free suit, with only his dark blue and brown eyes exuding memories and reason from a great era.

He may be a warrior king, with the appearance of a barbarian, but he speaks of his invincibility with the banner of laurels and eagles, and he stands there more feared than a million legions.

But in the eyes of the Lord of the First Legion, these were misguided fallacies, pathetic visions of incompetence and vision, and they depicted a far cry from what the Emperor really was.

Only what he saw was what the emperor really looked like.

——————

Johnson waited, and when his brothers returned to the Emperor Dream by the Emperor's orders, he followed the instinctive guidance of some unspoken tacit understanding to a dimly lit cavern.

The ancient doors may not have been opened for thousands of years, and Johnson's intrusion awakened the working automatic lights, and in the dimest light, he could see the paintings on the walls on either side: those from the glory days of antiquity, black and white, telling the story of how the first colonists dispersed the herds and miasma, wiped the swamps and snow-capped mountains from the face of the earth, and built glorious cities.

In the paintings that followed, there were still movements of conflict, intrigue and war, but Johnson was not in the mood to look at it, so he walked briskly through the place, pushing open one door after another, and finally stopped in a bright light.

It was a naturally formed patio where light from the sky poured in through the rift, carving out a dazzling realm in the endless darkness.

Johnson stood in the light, and in his sight, in the looming shadow ahead, a shadow slightly taller than him was slowly appearing.

The Emperor is coming.

The Lord of Humanity was dressed in an emerald armor, the scales trimmed with gold and silver threads, shining a soft dark green glow in the dim shadows.

He concealed himself with a robe of gold, shabby and gloomy, with the texture of eagles, swords, and laurels woven with black silk threads.

His eyes are not visible to outsiders, and the high bridge of his nose and smooth jaw tell of his youth, but when he speaks, it is a natural stability and vicissitudes.

This is what the Lord of Humanity looks like, and when Johnson first meets his genetic father in the depths of the Caliban forest, he is sure that what he sees is the true side of his father.

What his brothers witnessed was nothing more than false masks, and he alone witnessed the truth.

Johnson, my knight. 】

"Father."

The Lord of the First Legion performed the most standard knightly salute, and the Emperor waited quietly and politely until the ritual was complete, and then spoke slowly again.

[You have a question, even if you cross the interstellar and cosmos, you still want to get the answer? 】

Johnson did not reply, he waited for the emperor's permission.

It wasn't until the Lord of the First Legion felt a silent consent in the air that he raised his head, and after a slight hesitation, spoke cautiously.

"Yes, father."

"It may be a secret, but I think it's important to report it to you."

The emperor closed his eyes, as if sighing silently.

[Say it.] 】

Johnson raised his head, his pupils flickering like a breeze blowing through the pool, showing a more or less nervous emotion in his heart.

"I want to know ......"

"When you shape us, do you create a ...... or more ...... Female individuals. ”

——————

The air seemed to be quiet for a long time.

It's been a long, very long, incredibly long difficult time.

The tiniest dust drifted slowly in the ragged rays of the sun, and danced in mid-air in irregular dance steps, fluttering, falling above Johnson's head, at the feet of the emperor.

The emperor just closed his eyes.

Eventually, Johnson seemed to hear another sigh, but he didn't seem to hear it.

So, you met her? 】

"Morgan."

After receiving an accurate answer, Johnson whispered the name in a somewhat trembling tone.

[Morgan, she still chose to accept the name, which is good, and erases a trivial annoyance for me. 】

The Emperor's tone was like discussing a long-lost book, and he was somewhat relieved, but that was all, the eyes of the Lord of Humanity were still closed, and only the smile on the corner of his mouth loomed over the edge of the hood.

[She took the initiative to find you?] 】

"She came to my Legion as a mortal advisor to the Fifteenth Legion, a henchman of my brother Magnus."

【…… Magnus? 】

——————

The Emperor's eyes opened.

——————

Johnson heard footsteps, wandering footsteps.

His lord seemed to be thinking about something, and the Lord of Humanity raised his head and looked at the rift where light was pouring in, reshaping his thoughts, reasoning from the short words what he wanted.

[That brother of you, who sent her to your legion as a part of enough to replace the heirs of your own legion? 】

"Yes."

The Emperor turned his head, facing the darkest shadows, as if thinking of something.

Johnson raised his head and looked at his father: the Lord of Mankind stood at the junction of light and darkness, his dark golden robe shining in the light, but his face was completely hidden in the darkness, and more dust and haze were falling and rising under his feet, like a dirty snow wave.

"Are you worried that she will be misled by Magnus, father?"

【…… No, I'm worried about the opposite. 】

The Emperor turned to look at his heir, and in the pupils obscured by the shadow of the hood, Johnson felt that his secrets and thoughts had nowhere to hide.

He wasn't going to get mad about it.

[In your eyes, what kind of person is she?] 】

"As mortals?"

[As mortals. 】

The lion of Caliban pondered for a moment.

"Powerful, calm, cautious, somewhat reverent and hidden, but also greedy and reckless."

【…… In detail. 】

"She is indeed calm and cautious, accustomed to making a lot of preparations and plans, but when this caution is prepared for the recklessness of her heart."

"She has an almost beastly instinctive obsession with exploring the wilderness at the edge of her abilities and consciousness, always wanting to know more, but not blindly navigating the unknown."

"She's not going to go in, but she's not going to stop."

"She won't lose her mind, but she'll not stop either."

"She carries out adventure and exploration activities within her ability, even if she is injured, it is only the slightest flesh injury, she has the least protection of her will, she will not voluntarily set foot in danger, but she is not willing to give up adventure and exploration."

"In general."

"Be cautious, your desires are hard to fill."

"Step by step, bold."

——————

The Emperor listened quietly.

He then asked Johnson to tell more, about all the information that the First Army had about Morgan's past, about what Morgan did during his time in the First Army, about every move, word and move of Morgan, some of which he might have forgotten even Morgan himself.

The Emperor listened carefully and carefully to every word, and then fell into a deeper, longer silence.

Until Johnson, with an inexplicable anxiety, asked.

"Do you need me to bring her, father?"

【…… No, you don't. 】

[Not for the time being.] 】

[I don't have any extra time and energy. 】

The Emperor thought for a moment, then looked at Johnson.

[For the time being, until this war is over, let her stay by your side.] 】

[Until Ran Dan is erased, I will let her come back at an appropriate time, and until then, it will be her by your side to learn everything as an original body. 】

[You should have an assistant, Johnson. 】

[I have handed over this war with Randan to you, because you are the only one who can complete it, this war is destined to be nameless, will disappear in misunderstanding and oblivion, and its victors can only get their own rewards in the shadows of the wilderness, that is, trust and loyalty. 】

[Some people always need light and applause.] 】

But there are also some people who don't. 】

[However...... Mark my words, Johnson. 】

"One day, she will leave us. 】

[It is an established fact, my will, your will, and even her will cannot change this, completely, cannot be changed. 】

You have to be enlightened and prepared. 】

[She will eventually leave the empire of mankind, leave me, and leave you, this separation is not destined to be a parting between friends, it will be played in blood and fire, and it will go to the killing and ending that will not be recorded in any epic. 】

[Remember it, remember it, execute it.] 】

[My knight, this is your mission. 】

Johnson breathed in silence, and he lowered his head.

——————

"I'll reserve a sword for her, father."

"I'll promise that this sword will work best for her."

——————

The Lord of the First Legion had forgotten how he had left the cave.

In fact, apart from the emperor's words and instructions, he could not remember a single detail of that meeting.

He was silent, departed, and boarded the Emperor's ship, just in time for the belated brotherly meeting.

His brother Horus, as before, was a hopeless man, eager to imitate the torch of the sun, and he thought that the lion did not know his thoughts, that he did not know the ridiculous tangles and chagrins in his heart.

There was another brother, the Chagatai Khan from Chogoris, with whom Johnson did not communicate much, but from those short words and clear pupils, he saw a sincere person worthy of respect, which was extremely rare among his brothers.

As for Vogrim......

Not everyone is worth analysing and remembering.

Johnson declined further invitations, believing that he had shown as much respect to Horus as tactfully as possible, and asked to leave the table.

Although in the eyes of others, the Lord of the First Legion simply stood up and looked directly at Horus, expressing the urgency of his legion's military affairs and not allowing the extravagance of killing time.

His turquoise pupils swept through everyone, so that the three brothers could see that even if they continued to invite Johnson to sit down and chat, although he would not refuse, he would not participate in any more conversations.

He still remembered the flickering color in Horus's pupils, which seemed to be an emotion called [embarrassment], and he somewhat understood Horus's situation, but he really had no more reason to stay there and do nothing.

Thus, the fleet of the First Legion became the first Imperial contingent to leave the Moro system.

The lion of Caliban drove his sons and crew almost harshly, and he refused all reasons to stay except for necessary supplies, and the fleet of the Dark Angels operated with the most efficient posture, returning to the front line without stopping.

Johnson was not at ease at the front, he was not at ease with handing over the power of war and command to anyone, not even Coswayne, his most trusted heir, had never really proven his ability.

Johnson's ship returned from Moro at a speed no one had imagined, and the Dark Angels assembled on the Indomitable Truth to meet them were even in a bit of a hurry, but luckily their Father of Genes didn't care about this, and as soon as he landed, he grabbed Coswayne and asked about the front line during his absence.

After repeatedly confirming that Ran Dan had indeed not taken the opportunity to launch an offensive that could turn the tide, the biggest stone in Johnson's heart was lowered, and then, he turned his head, and saw his disguised blood relatives walking towards her with a slow pace.

She stopped in front of him, saluted him, saluted, and addressed "Lord Johnson" respectfully.

The lion of the Caliban even felt a sense of absurdity.

Then, she turned sideways and stood to the side, only to notice another creature hovering at her feet.

It was a cat-like creature, about the length of a mortal's forearm, a snow-white fluffy coat, and a pair of blue-blue pupils like an ocean, and wisps of brownish-yellow and black light scattered around the pupils, extending all the way to its nose, forming a kind of mental decoration, which complemented the same brown-black ears.

It was as lazy as its master, rubbing the tips of Morgan's boots a little slowly, and then simply curled up in a ball, domineering at her feet.

Johnson's gaze stopped on Morgan's face, but he saw only an insincere smile.

[I decided to pay a return visit to Sisyphus to reminisce about the relics and insights of our battle, and it is just a wonderful souvenir: a once-wild strong-brained cat is beneficial for a psyker like me. 】

Johnson's gaze was on Asmodeus again.

The poor think tank unconsciously took a step back under this gaze, and then nodded cautiously.

Caliban's giant cat turned its head again, his gaze lingering long enough on Morgan's face, but he got nothing but a bland, insincere and defiant smile.

In the end, Johnson simply left it alone.

Now, he should think about something else.

About that sword.

About Duran.

About his brother, whom he has not yet met: Riemannus.

(End of chapter)