The Emperor’s Angel of Death

In the distance, the massive black pyramid-shaped structure stood before Sorkhayn, towering into the clouds like a magnificent edifice above paradise. It appeared solemn and dignified, devoid of any superfluous ornamentation, yet its outer walls bore deep纹路 and numerous attached small palaces and towers, covering every corner as if to affirm its authority as the center of the human Imperium.

Then Sorkhayn realized it was not the Throne Room itself; the Throne Room was merely the uppermost part of it. It was a colossal complex built up from countless structures.

For this immense complex, day and night seemed indistinguishable, as it was perpetually illuminated.

Yet Sorkhayn could imagine that, if night did fall, this grand architectural ensemble would become even more mysterious and sublime.

Even standing hundreds of kilometers away, Sorkhayn could still feel the solemn aura emanating from this mountain-like complex, and he realized how small and insignificant he was.

"The area where the Throne Room is located was called Everest in ancient times."

Valeрий, standing beside him, provided Sorkhayn with a rare bit of historical information.

"It is the highest peak in the Himalayas. Legend has it that when the Emperor created the Primarchs, he fought against terrible destructive forces on its summit."

Upon hearing this, Sorkhayn suddenly recalled what Lee had once said.

This seemed to fit the description of Xerxes' birth.

Sorkhayn pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

"Facing such a sacred place, is there anything I should do?"

"No need, as we are quite far away."

"Will I have the opportunity to behold the God Emperor?"

"That depends on Marshal Trajan. He decides who can be granted an audience with the Emperor, but the last time seems to have been during the Age of Apostasy."

As the Emperor's Forbidden City, the area surrounding the Throne Room was filled with a vast complex of buildings, gardens, and unique palaces, distributed along roads and corridors in a well-organized manner. Various marble statues in different poses were inlaid among them, as if narrating the commemorations of historical figures.

Here, the Custodes were ubiquitous, while servants were fewer, and most of them walked with their heads lowered and in a hurry.

The area of the Forbidden City is said to exceed 2,000 square kilometers, and its main buildings include: the Throne Room, the Gate of All Nations, the Hall of a Hundred Pillars, the Central Hall and the Palace of Glory, the Sun Palace, the Azure Water Palace, and 108 other large palaces.

Among them, the Azure Water Palace is the most unique. It is built on a small artificial lake, with a total circumference of over 5 kilometers. It is built on a high platform in the lake, with stone pillars and rockeries stacked layer upon layer, reaching straight into the sky. From a distance, it looks like a thriving garden suspended in the sky.

The entire palace is divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower, with pavilions and towers built on each layer, and many exotic flowers and plants from foreign lands are planted. There are eight gates around it, the main gate is 20 meters high, surrounded by huge stone pillars and ancient statues, and dozens of papyrus boats are always moored there.

However, the origin of this palace has always been a subject of much debate, because it does not conform to the aesthetics consistently displayed by the Emperor, and there seems to be no record of its use. Even the palace's servants have not left any records.

But for ten thousand years, people in the Imperial Palace have still made some guesses, such as that the palace may have been built by the Emperor for someone, at least not for his own use, and that person is very important, but it will never be Макарий, because the Imperial Regent has always been known for his hard work and busyness, he would not have time to enjoy such a palace.

In addition, some people learned from some old servant log files that were about to be processed that the mysterious Azure Water Palace used to have only female servants, not male servants. Generally speaking, there is only one place in a monarch's palace that uses this type of servant—

That is to say, the former owner of the Azure Water Palace was likely a woman, and a woman who was very important to the Emperor.

But all rumors came to an abrupt end.

The Sun Palace is the main audience hall used by the Emperor, used to receive military commanders and representatives of all subordinate institutions and organizations of the Empire. It was also the location of the Emperor's court when he unified Terra. The last court meeting before the Great Crusade was held again, announcing this important decision to establish the human Imperium.

As for why Sorkhayn knew these things—

Because he was lost.

Yes, lost.

In fact, the whole process surprised him very much. At that time, the Custodes led him through a woodland, which was not uncommon in the Imperial Palace. In fact, those bushes only reached Sorkhayn's waist, but this place was always shrouded in a layer of mist. Valeрий explained that this was psychic smoke, discharged from huge pipes under the soil, but he did not explain the specific source to Sorkhayn. The gray-white coral-like bushes planted in this woodland were very special, able to absorb psychic smoke during the day and flow out a thick purple sap at night. The sap was a substance needed by some mysterious devices in the Forbidden City, but there was no record of who planted it.

This place was also called the Mirage Forest. Ordinary people who walked into it might get lost, but the Custodes would not, so it also became a defense facility in the Forbidden City.

But in such a theoretically "safe" place, when Sorkhayn walked past, the smoke suddenly rose sharply, instantly engulfing the team, and then Sorkhayn found that he had lost contact with the Custodes, and he did not dare to use Gray Matter in this place, so he could only carefully follow the road forward, trying to find a way out.

However, he did not walk out, but he saw a stone table and two stone benches under a strange tree, and beside it stood a puppet made of clay, very rough, almost like a prehistoric artifact, even without facial features, only an E written in gold on its forehead.

When Sorkhayn approached, it suddenly spoke to Sorkhayn in a very monotonous and rigid, almost robotic tone about the Imperial Palace, but Sorkhayn was not sure what this thing was and what was the purpose of saying these things.

The thing on the table was a clay tablet, which looked very old, with vague writing engraved on it. Sorkhayn looked at it carefully for a while, and was shocked in his heart. This seemed to be the same as the writing Sorkhayn saw on Valeрий's back, and the content should be the same—if his memory was correct.

In addition, there was a very small clay figurine on the table, but it was no longer possible to see its original appearance. There were also some objects that looked almost tiny to Sorkhayn, such as rattles and bracelets.

It seemed, like things used by babies.

"Can you take me out?"

When Sorkhayn asked, the primitive clay man suddenly turned around and started walking, and Sorkhayn could only follow.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the clay man suddenly raised his left hand, then turned around and walked back into the fog.

Sorkhayn walked more than a hundred meters forward, but there was still no way out. The surroundings were still misty, only those pale bushes close at hand surrounded him, making him feel as if he was in a wasteland of white bones.

Suddenly, a quick figure flashed past the corner of his eye.

"Who!"

Sorkhayn immediately turned around and chased after it. In that fleeting moment, he seemed to see a small figure, like—

A little boy?