The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"Yes, Your Highness, they carry the souls of our greatest prophets of the past."

Anaris's voice, typical of the dead, lacked emotion, but Sotha Nul could still sense the sorrow within. Nothing is more painful than seeing everything one knows turned to ruins.

"Are they still there?"

"Your Highness, thanks to proper protection, the souls of all the Titans are still here, merely in slumber."

"That's good, a slight comfort at least."

Reaching the end of the passage, they arrived at a hall filled with scattered facilities and crystals, evidence of a past emergency. In the center of the hall, a beam of light shone from above onto the floor, revealing six crystal statues within the beam. They were men and women, dressed in prophet's robes, holding hands in a circle, heads slightly raised, seemingly performing some kind of ritual.

"Elliot, Bales, Circe, Viglin, Borges, Fork. I'm back… I'm late…"

Anaris spoke the names of the six prophets in a trance-like tone, then staggered forward, finally collapsing to his knees with a loud thud.

"I'm late…"

The Wraithseer's entire spine seemed to lose its strength, bending downwards, head drooping, arms resting on the ground.

Sotha Nul watched quietly, guessing that these six prophets had used all their power to seal the Titan Temple at the moment of the Ark's doomsday, isolating it from the outside world both physically and in the Warp. This was indeed quite poignant.

Dolar had told him that countless Arks were scattered during the Fall, and with the population base of the Aeldari Empire at the time, even if only one percent were self-exiled, it would still be an enormous number. Even now, there is no accurate estimate of the specific number of Arks. The number circulating from Commorragh is over ten thousand, while the ancient Alaitoc Ark's library records over five thousand. But in any case, it is far more than in this era.

The Fall was just the beginning; the subsequent turmoil and crises meant that even among the survivors, only one in ten remained.

After a long silence, Anaris slowly raised his right arm towards the beam of light.

The moment of contact shattered the six prophet crystals into dust, and six soul stones fell to the ground. Only then did Sotha Nul see that they were also surrounding something in the middle: a delicate hexagonal box.

Anaris collected the soul stones of his former companions and friends, then picked up the box and turned to bow.

"Your Highness, this is the beacon for the Eldar Path and the route map explored by our predecessors."

Duran took the box and walked to Sotha Nul, slowly opening it.

Inside, nestled in white velvet, lay a golden orb, a common Aeldari storage method.

Sotha Nul nodded, looking at Anaris.

"Does the Eldar Path have a separate entrance?"

"Your Highness, the Eldar Path is the main webway that runs through the galaxy, and its protective measures and concealment are exceptionally high. Our ancestors once speculated that perhaps the gods deliberately hid this webway route, but the reason is unknown. It is like the aorta in the body, accessible from any branch, but it requires special methods, because our race's means of webway navigation do not seem to work well in the Eldar Path. To this end, we modified a webway gate to directly probe into the Eldar Path, and this beacon points to the location of that special gate."

"You still need to modify the webway gate? Is it complicated?"

"Not complicated, just need to understand how to break through the Eldar Path's protective maze, like secretly prying a brick from a wall."

Sotha Nul nodded, expecting that things would not be so simple. Then he asked another question.

"Regarding the disposal of Lunasad, I would like to hear your opinion, since you are now the only native who can communicate. Generally, for Arks with severe corruption and damage, the court's disposal plan is either to dismantle them, taking the useful parts, or to push them into a star for complete destruction. However, the corruption of this Ark has been dealt with by me, but the damage is even more severe. I have sent people to check the keel, and I estimate that the main keel spine has been damaged, which has a great impact on the overall structural stability of the Ark. What do you think?"

Anaris was silent for a moment, then replied:

"Your Highness, Lunasad is still useful to you and the court. It was built for long voyages and exploration, so I guarantee that its power must be the best of all Arks. When it sails at full speed, no ship of any inferior race in the galaxy can catch up with it, and its maneuverability is also very good, not a slow-moving pack animal."

Sotha Nul believed what the other party said, as he had guessed from Lunasad's arrow-like sharp shape that the Ark must be very fast.

"…In the years before the Fall, our ancestors traveled to every corner of the galaxy and the webway, finding many lost webway routes, as well as sealed webway gates and secluded paths through the heavens. Therefore, the Ark has 119 gates of all sizes, which is definitely the largest number of all Arks. These gates connect to many secret realms and reclusive barbarian kingdoms. Even if some were destroyed in the Fall, a considerable portion should still be preserved. Lunasad is the only platform to reach them."

After hearing these two points, Sotha Nul was basically persuaded, and the last point made him determined.

"…Lunasad is also the fastest in the webway. It is also the only Ark that has entered the Eldar Path. With a little modification, it can become an excellent tool for exploring the Eldar Path. This route has been hidden for too long. Our race has only explored a part, and the rest needs to be explored further."

"I understand, but repairing a severely damaged Ark is not easy, given that many of its facilities are damaged, it will take even longer…"

Suddenly, Sotha Nul thought of something and asked:

"Anaris, do you mind if it is settled by others?"

Anaris shook his head.

"Our race is dead. If Lunasad can accommodate new compatriots, I will be very gratified."

"Prophet is righteous."

Sotha Nul already had a plan in mind. After the shattering of the Biel-Tan Ark, they can now only exist in the form of a fleet. Although they have always said that they want to rebuild the Ark, the Biel-Tan Ark was originally pieced together with ships, and it is not so easy to piece it back together. Without a fixed home, the population of Biel-Tan has been declining. Many people either run to the Death Guard or go to the court to find a stable life. If Lunasad is used as the territory of the court for them to settle, the displaced Biel-Tan residents will gladly accept it. In this way, the repair work can be done by them, and this powerful Ark world can be completely brought under the court.

It can be said to be a win-win situation, perfect in every way.