The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"I know, your uncle wants to marry you off to the fourth son of the Sotek Dynasty's Left Vizier in a year. I think his name is... Imotekh? Well, I've heard he's a very brave and intelligent noble, who has already achieved many military exploits at a young age. He's certainly better than a 'fool' like Trazyn. You should be glad it wasn't his father who requested the marriage from your uncle. The Gydeline family is an extremely prominent direct line of the Necron Lord in the Sotek Dynasty. If they had requested a marriage, your uncle wouldn't have refused.

"Cousin!"

Lana sat up abruptly, but before she could straighten her back, she was pushed back down by the other woman's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't move. It's dangerous. It could tear off your beautiful skin. Everyone praises you as the most beautiful princess in the Dynasty. Many princes and nobles would initiate duels of honor for you. If you were to get hurt, I wouldn't be able to explain it to your uncle and aunt."

The young princess, pinned back into the liquid, glared at her cousin, wanting to say something but unable to open her mouth, forced to wait for the process to finish.

"I know you want to become a Cryptek and escape a life that's been arranged for you, but Lana, you're not like me. I was born ugly. No one wants to marry me, and I don't want to marry some uncouth brute. My parents have many children and don't need me to carry out any political missions, so I can have this choice. Now is a chaotic era of reshuffling. Dynasties either unite or wage war. The strong get stronger, and the weak get weaker. The Sotek Dynasty is now strong and prosperous. Even the Triarch Council has to give them some respect. Currently, the Dynasty is in a tense situation with the Mehnak Dynasty. Our Phaeron, who is also your uncle, urgently needs support from Sotek. You also need to understand your uncle. He is, after all, a Vizier and needs to solve problems for his monarch and family.

Lana remained silent until the cleaning was finished and the liquid slowly drained from the device. She silently walked out, dried herself with a towel, put on a robe, and left without saying a word.

Seeing her like this, Hoteph sighed helplessly and followed her out.

At this moment, Lana was already sitting at her desk, her head slightly lowered. When the other woman walked behind her, she whispered:

"Cousin, did my mother send you to persuade me?"

Hoteph gently placed her hand on the other woman's left shoulder.

"Not exactly, because I haven't finished speaking."

As she spoke, she conjured a calculating board made of several black stone slabs from seemingly nowhere and gently placed it on the table.

"If you are truly determined in your thoughts, then boldly move forward. Whether this marriage will actually happen or not, as long as you remain steadfast, neither your father nor your future husband will make you change."

"Cousin..."

Lana grasped the stone slabs, turned around, and looked at Hoteph with gratitude. The other woman's slightly ugly face formed a smile, and she touched Lana's head.

"From the beginning, the Academic Community had a slogan... Our lives do not belong to any heroes or kings, but only to ourselves and infinite knowledge."

"Yes!"

"Now, let's eat something. I heard from your aunt that you didn't eat anything yesterday."

The two quickly arrived at the huge balcony of the spacious bedroom. There was a gilded round table and two chairs covered in precious fabrics. Immediately afterward, the doors to the room opened, and a large group of female servants walked in. They were wearing simple, plain robes, and each one was holding a metal tray with uniquely styled Necron food. Each dish was extremely delicate but in very small portions, only enough for a small bite. There were also jugs filled with drinks and crystal glasses.

The two noblewomen also ate very elegantly. They only ate a small portion of everything, and then the maids would take the plates away. Hundreds of maids meant hundreds of delicacies.

As a servant filled her crystal glass with a scarlet drink, Lana noticed that part of the servant's left face was covered by diseased, sponge-like tissue. This servant had been with Lana since she was a child and was the oldest of all the servants, but she shouldn't have been more than thirty years old. This made Lana shudder. Although she was in the prime of her youth, she had already been reminded that death would one day come for her.

Outside the balcony, a rising sun was slowly ascending. From this balcony, located on the upper levels of the towering and magnificent Royal Great Pyramid, one could overlook the entire capital of the Mupeket Dynasty.

The entire capital was built in concentric circles around the Royal Great Pyramid. Around it were five smaller pyramids, representing the collateral families of the Phaeron family. The outer ring was surrounded by an ecologically maintained garden, like a silent moat. Next to the garden, the tombstones of ancestors stood shoulder to shoulder, like stone sentinels guarding both sides of the throne. These ancestral tombstones were exceptionally large, reflecting the Necron race's unique belief in and worship of death.

The central part of the city was the territory and mansions of the nobles. Their buildings were also resplendent, but were never allowed to exceed the Royal Great Pyramid. At the edge of the city were countless inconspicuous small mounds. The Necrons were a society with clear class distinctions and strict barriers. The nobles had absolute dominance over the commoners, and the law was limited to disputes within the nobility.

The two chatted as they ate. Suddenly, Lana sighed softly:

"The civil war between the dynasties is intensifying. The misguided war initiated by the Triarch Council is pushing us all to the brink. Cousin, do you think we still have hope?"

Hearing this, Hoteph put down her glass and looked up at the scarlet giant sun.

"I don't know. Those ancient enemies are too powerful. Their technology... is unbelievable. Perhaps this war was indeed too hasty from the beginning."

"Hasty? I think it's a mistake. Father said that the Silent King promised eternal life? An immortal, healthy body? At the time, I asked Father if this was true. Father didn't answer, but instead had someone bring a basin of water and placed it in the garden. Then, he asked me to reach out and scoop the moon reflected in the water. I said, how could that be possible? It's a reflection, visible but unattainable. Father sighed, saying that too few people understand this principle."

Hoteph, hearing this, was silent for a moment, then said softly:

"Lana, don't you want an eternally healthy life?"

"I do... Not to mention eternity, just being able to live a life without being tormented by disease, and to pass away peacefully, I think that would be enough. But eternity... sounds too far, too far away. So unreal, so much like a lie. Cousin, what about you?"

Hoteph's ugly face twitched slightly, then she raised her head, looking at the crescent-shaped aircraft streaking across the sky.

"Not every life accepts its role. Eternity is beyond our comprehension. The history of the Necrons is a poignant poem. We know that all endings lead to death. We know that our relatives, friends, and enemies, and everything around us, will end in destruction. We know every detail of the tragedy, and can even hear the sorrowful melody playing on every stone. But the Necrons did not let civilization take a short-lived path in the face of tragedy. We treat our fellow beings seriously, even though they will undoubtedly die. We spend every day busily building our dreams, even though all dreams will end cruelly. When faced with the choice of fate... everyone thinks differently."

Here, the Necron's image is based on the one in the fan-made comic 'Dark Heart'.