The Emperor’s Angel of Death

The moment he gripped the sword hilt again, fragmented chants echoed in Solzhenitsyn's mind, like broken stones rolling down a hillside, leaves blown away by the wind. Before, its voice seemed to contain only chaotic rage, but now, Solzhenitsyn felt a harmonious melody.

"Solzhenitsyn, what—what is this?"

Soon after, a slender black figure fell from the breach in the dome. It was Jain Zar, and she was immediately startled by the sight.

"Solzhenitsyn?"

Suddenly, she noticed something was wrong with Solzhenitsyn. His entire armor was distorted, and he was standing on the back of this thing, the Sunsword in his hand having also changed its appearance. If it weren't for the faint traces of his aura, she would have thought it was a different person.

He was gripping the sword, the tip of which was embedded in the giant monster's head, not moving at all.

"Hey?"

Seeing that he didn't respond, Jain Zar thought something had happened. She leaped, preparing to reach Solzhenitsyn's side.

However, the behemoth suddenly moved, an arm sweeping through the air. Jain Zar dodged it, but could only choose to land, then accelerated, her spear pointing directly at its head.

"Lord Jain Zar, it's alright, don't be alarmed."

Solzhenitsyn's voice rang out, and Jain Zar stopped, seeing him return to his original appearance, and the behemoth standing up from the ground.

"What's going on? What is this?"

Solzhenitsyn withdrew his sword, looked at the rapidly healing breach, and then hung the weapon back on his waist.

"It's the Norn-Emissary that destroyed Malan'tai."

"What!?"

Jain Zar was well-traveled, but she had never seen anything so bizarre.

But clearly, Solzhenitsyn knew.

"How did it become like this?"

"Well, it might be a bit complicated, and what I say might not be entirely accurate. It is indeed that Norn-Emissary, but it isn't."

"When did you start speaking in riddles too?"

Solzhenitsyn shrugged.

"I am the Phoenix King of the Aeldari, shouldn't I be a riddle master? Fine, I'll just say it directly. It should have been a very special Norn-Emissary individual. After absorbing a large number of Aeldari souls, its brain structure changed. If it were just that, it wouldn't be enough to fundamentally alter it, but due to the later appearance of the daemons, it had to use wraithbone to isolate itself and seal its mind for self-preservation. This also prevented the strongest part of the seer souls in the Malan'tai craftworld from being 'digested' in time. These seer souls, combined with other remaining souls, gradually merged into a collective consciousness, and gradually eroded and changed the Norn-Emissary's mind, severing its connection with its distant kin. I've seen examples of this. Gradually, a structure similar to the Infinity Circuit even formed inside the Norn-Emissary."

After listening, Jain Zar pondered for a few seconds, then said softly:

"So, it is now Malan'tai itself?"

"It's easy to talk to smart people. That's right, it's no longer a Norn-Emissary, it is Malan'tai. It is also for this reason that it used wraithbone to create its new body in the image of the Aeldari Dragon in its subconscious, which is what we see now."

"Can those souls still be released?"

Solzhenitsyn shook his head.

"There are no souls left, it is them, they are it."

"So, you've controlled it?"

"Well, sort of. In its subconscious, it regards itself as an Aeldari and acknowledges the Fire of Asuryan in me."

Jain Zar stared at Solzhenitsyn through her mask, then said meaningfully:

"Extraordinary things are always happening around you."

After saying that, she turned around.

"The battle outside is basically over, you'd better go up and report that you're safe, otherwise Veronica will be worried."

Before her voice faded, she disappeared with a few leaps.

Solzhenitsyn coughed lightly, and the Malan'tai Dragon spread its wings, its body once again filled with powerful psychic energy. Then, it turned into a stream of light and rushed out of the layers of wraithbone decks.

"What's that!"

The Aeldari and other races who were cleaning up the battlefield only felt a slight tremor, and then a behemoth flashed out from the original breach in the craftworld. It didn't even flap its wings, gliding over everyone's heads in a supernatural manner, bringing a psychic storm, and then heavily landed on the damaged seer dome of the craftworld, its claws gripping the edge of the wraithbone framework, and roared towards the sky, echoing in the hearts of all Aeldari—

Malan'tai!

Many Aeldari immediately surrounded it, their weapons ready to attack, but many also noticed the person standing on the monster's back.

"It's the Prince!"

"Don't attack! The Prince is on it!"

At this time, the Warlocks and Seers also arrived. Solzhenitsyn had the Malan'tai Dragon land in the plaza, and then jumped down.

At first glance, he saw the former Malan'tai Seer, Wintheras, who had been very nervous.

"Your Highness! I thought this thing was."

He looked at the monster's head, then seemed to recall some bad memories, taking a few steps back, and muttering with a pale face:

"It's the end of Malan'tai! It's it—"

Solzhenitsyn walked over and gently pressed on his shoulder.

"Seer Wintheras, don't be nervous, it is, and it isn't, now it is Malan'tai."

"What?"

Solzhenitsyn then explained its origins, leaving the surrounding Aeldari commanders and seers stunned.

"There's such a thing."

"Can a monster produce such a change by devouring souls?"

"But its soul does have the feeling of an Aeldari."

"No wonder the previous impact was just a shock, but no substantial damage."

Seer Wintheras was somewhat incredulous, he looked in shock at the monster that had devoured the souls of his relatives and ancestors, shaking his head slightly.

"That's impossible."

At this time, the other survivors of Malan'tai also arrived here. Solzhenitsyn took off his mask and looked back at the dragon.

"You'll know when you feel it, go ahead, Seer Wintheras."

The Malan'tai Seer hesitated for a moment, then moved his feet and carefully approached the monster, his eyes fixed on it, seemingly guarding against any possible movement.

But the beast did not have much action, and even lowered its head slightly as he approached.

Realizing that this might be a friendly gesture, the seer's expression became very complicated, he slowly reached out and touched the head bone of this former Tyranid creature.

After a moment, tears welled up in his narrow eyes, he let go of his cane, knelt on the ground, covered his face with his hands and let himself cry, and the creature even touched his shoulder lightly with its head, as if expressing comfort.

When the seer shared everything he felt with his people, the remnants of Malan'tai also burst into mournful cries, and the surrounding Aeldari also felt this sadness.

Tomorrow extra chapter…