The Emperor’s Angel of Death

The moment Soshjan locked eyes with the woman dressed in mourning clothes who resembled Veronica, he was immediately pulled into a swirling, almost dizzying vision. He saw himself enveloped by a black star, the armor on his body peeling away piece by piece. He watched in horror as his skin, fat, and muscles were stripped away, everything consumed by some kind of burning passion.

But later he realized that it was not something external, but rather something lurking within himself, the true culprit devouring his heart and hollowing out his soul. The black star in that void was injected with filthy black mist, polluting his body and corroding everything he was.

A god wearing a shattered crown and shimmering with silver light rose from his remains, only to be shrouded in black mist, transforming into a black monarch resembling a twisted black sun. In one hand, He held a twisted spiral black sword, and in the other, a giant claw full of barbs. Then, a face of smoke-like shifting appeared, revealing a massive black hole as if in roaring laughter. Countless souls wailed on the towering body that seemed to occupy the entire world, and those eyes, filled only with hatred, stared at his soul, familiar yet alien. Soshjan would never forget those eyes, because they had appeared behind the Faceless One's mask, and also on the innocent face of the Mortal One—

Soshjan's soul trembled, desperately trying to break free from the black star's light, roaring loudly:

"I am not a pawn to be discarded by fate! Get out!"

The vision vanished, leaving only Veronica in mourning clothes standing before him, but she had transformed into a statue carved from the same black stone. Her eyes still seemed to be watching him.

Soshjan stepped forward, looking at the symbol on the statue's chest. He remembered it; it was the symbol representing Hea, Asuryan's wife.

Then he turned his gaze to the flame in Asuryan's palm, walked over, and reached out to touch it.

He guessed that this was the true target of all the visions.

Sure enough, some knowledge entered his mind, about how to use a new power, perhaps prepared for him long, long ago.

"Sigh."

In reality, Soshjan opened his eyes and sighed softly.

At the same time, the platinum flames began to flow down the pyramid like water, faster and faster, and in the blink of an eye, the entire Jewel Pyramid had turned into a burning crystal tower.

The temperature of these flames seemed extremely high, forcing the Eldar hundreds of meters away to retreat. Only Veronica remained unharmed in the heatwave, curiously looking at Soshjan and waving.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

Holding the Holy Grail, Soshjan looked around, and then he noticed that the phoenix statue had deformed in the high temperature, but not melting. Instead, it had changed into another form, as if it had expanded in size, and fine symbols had appeared on it. At the same time, smaller braziers had "grown" around the steps of the pyramid.

In less than a minute, the flames quickly retracted, shrinking into the small braziers, as well as onto the steps and even inside the pyramid, making it dazzlingly bright.

"The Prince has endured the True Fire! The Prince is the embodiment of Asuryan's will! Forged by the True Fire! The Phoenix is immortal!"

Doral was the first to shout again, followed by the other Eldar, who cheered in unison.

"Forged by the True Fire! The Phoenix is immortal!"

Soshjan didn't know what to say. The visions that had just appeared in his mind flashed repeatedly.

What were they implying? What was that black god?

The symbol of the Eleventh Legion, the burning black sun, suddenly jumped into his mind, as if hinting at some connection between them.

For some reason, Soshjan felt that both the Faceless One and the Mortal One were hiding something very important from him.

Could it be related to the "beginningless and endless" daemon mentioned by Master Shi? The daemon said to be born from Himself...

Although countless strange theories flashed through his mind, Soshjan had already started walking, stepping down the burning steps, one step at a time.

When he arrived in front of Veronica, she floated up with a smile. As she wrapped her arms around Soshjan's neck, Soshjan also put his arms around her slender waist. Then Veronica gently kissed his lips and smiled:

"I didn't expect you to make such a big commotion. Did you prepare this in advance?"

"No... Well, it was an accident, I guess."

After lighting the sacred fire, the Royal Court also designated this day as "Nirvana Day" and made it one of the most important festivals. What followed was celebration and feasting, as well as the usual harlequin dance performances. However, the celebration was only a brief respite, as Soshjan's duties as Phoenix King were far more onerous than they seemed.

First, he held two meetings, one with the Spirit Tree Council. This council discussed an important but not-so-important resolution: merging the Green Vine Council into the Spirit Tree Council. Its membership would consist of representatives from various Craftworlds, representatives from the Maiden Worlds, and bishops, seers, and Bonesingers from various Paths. This resolution passed smoothly because the Royal Court's current size really didn't need that many councils. Even the most conservative Eldar could understand streamlining the organization.

The second council was the Phoenix Council. Soshjan also proposed modifying the selection and composition of council members. The future members of the Phoenix Council would mainly consist of representatives from various industries, guilds, and fields, as well as representatives from the great families or clans directly under the Royal Court's rule, and representatives from the vassal races who had been granted suffrage. It was a very broad council.

This resolution sparked heated discussions. The core issue was allowing non-Eldar to enter the council. Most Eldar expressed their opposition, but Soshjan, taking advantage of the afterglow of lighting the sacred fire, forcibly approved the decision.

Faced with the surging public opinion at the time, he directly dropped a sentence—

"Anyone who opposes this, if they can walk through the flames of Asuryan to the top of the temple, I will give up this proposal. Who is willing to try?"

No one dared to respond, so Soshjan very "dictatorially" ordered the resolution to be passed. Although he knew that doing so would have a negative impact on the political ecology of the Eternal Court, there was no other way. He really didn't have the energy to argue with the council and those Eldar who had plenty of time and energy.

Thus, the Oread became the first non-Eldar race to join the Phoenix Council, but only one. Soshjan also took care of the emotions of those Eldar and arranged for the Oread, a relatively acceptable race, to join.

He still understood the principle of being urgent when necessary and slow when appropriate.

The real goal of reorganizing the councils was to rebuild the Royal Court's political system. In fact, Veronica and Doral had advised Soshjan many times on this matter. After careful consideration, he also decided to break the current situation of excessive decentralization of power.

Thus, a series of laws were quickly passed by the two councils and formulated. First, the form of government of the Eternal Court was clarified—Veronica, as Isha the Mother Goddess's representative and incarnation on earth, was no longer just Isha's highest priestess, or even a mortal, but a god on earth, the supreme leader of the Eternal Court with unlimited power, possessing the absolute power to decide the life and death of any Eldar, not subject to the supervision and restriction of any institution, and her successor was entirely determined by herself. All Isha shrines would be shaped according to her appearance, but her duties would become simpler, merely participating in the formulation of national policies and supervising their implementation.

The Phoenix King, on the other hand, seemed unchanged, still serving as the commander of all armed forces not directly under the Queen's command, possessing the power to declare war, peace, and general mobilization orders. However, many details were expanded, such as the ability to freely appoint or dismiss all commanders and officials, also not subject to the restrictions of any institution, and only responsible to the Eternal Queen. This was significantly different from the ancient Eldar Empire, with a huge gap in the degree of centralization.

More updates tomorrow, please vote for me~