["One last question: how do you plan to have your servant come and absorb my dark energy? I currently cannot command the Custodes,"] the Emperor asked.
"My servant can just disguise himself as a human and come in, right?"
["You and that scientist of yours can enter without issue, but as for others, I'm afraid it won't work—they'll be detected through genetic screening. Besides, when absorbing the power of darkness, the commotion it will cause is impossible to ignore. The Custodes will undoubtedly notice,"] the Emperor replied.
Absorbing his dark energy would undoubtedly cause a massive disturbance. The Custodes would not stand idly by—they would immediately launch an attack.
"What if I simply claim to be your chosen one? Or I use telepathy to communicate with the Custodes?" Rhodes suggested telepathically to the Emperor.
["No! You're overthinking it. The Custodes only listen to my direct orders.
I've chosen others as my 'chosen ones' before, but have you seen the Custodes ever care about their lives or deaths?"] The Emperor's mental tone carried a trace of helplessness.
He had indeed chosen 'chosen ones' in the past, hoping to convey his will through them. But without exception, all those chosen ones were eliminated by the Empire's upper echelons for various reasons.
If he could communicate his will directly to his subjects, he would have done so long ago. He had even tried to intervene personally to save the Empire, but all those attempts had ended in failure.
The Custodes were the Emperor's personal guards. They would only obey his commands, while the 'chosen ones' merely received the Emperor's blessings—they had no authority to order the Custodes.
This was one of the Emperor's greatest frustrations: though he was the supreme ruler of the human empire, the Master of Mankind, he could not command his subordinates.
"Are you Rhodes?" Suddenly, a voice interrupted Rhodes' thoughts. A Custodes, clad in ornate golden armor and standing about 3.5 meters tall, walked in.
This man's armor was vastly different from that of the other Custodes. It was larger, more imposing, and far more magnificent. Even the Shield-Captain who had been standing beside him earlier now appeared deferential.
Rhodes nodded. This man didn't seem like an ordinary Custodes at all.
"Trajan Valoris, what brings you here?
We're just performing routine maintenance on the Golden Throne; there's no need to trouble you to come in person," said the three Imperial High Lords nervously as they approached Trajan Valoris, the Custodes' Captain-General.
"I'm not here for you. Continue inspecting the Golden Throne. You, come with me," Trajan said calmly, his gaze returning to Rhodes.
["Trajan Valoris—he's my seventeenth Captain-General of the Custodes. After Andros Randall fell in the Black Pyre, Valoris succeeded him,"] the Emperor introduced Trajan to Rhodes.
Things were getting complicated. The Emperor hoped Rhodes could handle it.
"Captain-General Trajan, this man is merely a young apprentice.
If you have any orders, you can just relay them—there's no need to take him away privately," the three High Lords' anxiety was palpable now.
What was going on? Was Rhodes's genetic purity so exceptional that even the Captain-General had come in person?
"You three are acting suspiciously. Normally, when performing maintenance on the Golden Throne, all you need is a Mechanicum Tech-Priest and their adepts.
But this time, you brought only one Tech-Priest, accompanied by two apprentices, and even came along yourselves," Trajan said, towering over the three High Lords.
"You must be joking, Captain-General Trajan. This is just routine maintenance, and these two apprentices are exceptionally talented, so we brought them along," one of the High Lords replied nervously.
"Exactly, Captain-General Trajan. Do you suspect us High Lords?" another added.
"If not for the fact that the two of them are human, and one of them has extraordinarily pure genes,
they would already be dead by now. Tell me—where did you find these two?" Trajan's voice grew stern.
The High Lords could no longer maintain their earlier composure. As a Captain-General of the Custodes, Trajan Valoris held a position equivalent to theirs. In this palace, no one wielded greater authority than him.
"I've roughly assessed the machine's condition. I can repair it, but I'll need some special materials," said Salome, who had finished inspecting the Golden Throne, clapping her hands as she spoke.
This machine was beyond anything humans could create. Some of its materials even resembled those used by the Eldar, though they were far more advanced.
"She can repair the Golden Throne? What's going on here? You'd better explain yourselves," Trajan demanded, his tone sharp.
Around them, dozens of Custodes had already surrounded the group, weapons raised, trapping the three High Lords, Rhodes, and the others in the center.
"I must apologize for concealing some details, Captain-General Trajan. These two are not from the Martian Mechanicum but from elsewhere.
This lady is one of the most brilliant scientists, and the man named Rhodes is her bodyguard.
They were invited to repair the Golden Throne. You should be aware of its current state," said Kania stepping forward to explain.
"This is outright treason! I could execute all of you right now," Trajan declared coldly.
"But what happens after you execute us, Captain-General?
Will you just let the Golden Throne continue to deteriorate like this? And then humanity will meet its end—this is how you show your loyalty to the Emperor?"
Kania raised his voice in protest.
"This machine is extremely complex! You've completely misunderstood its purpose.
But I can repair it. I can restore its functionality, and even enhance it further," said Salome confidently.
"How do you plan to repair the Golden Throne?"
Ignoring Kania and the three High Lords, Captain-General Trajan walked directly to Salome.
Salome smiled confidently and began explaining how the Golden Throne could be repaired.
"First, I will remove all the components added by the Mechanicus and replace them with new parts.
Not only do their components fail to improve the operation of the Golden Throne, but they also burden it.
This machine has existed for tens of millions of years. If it were going to break, it would have done so long ago.
The reason it's in this condition now is entirely due to the reckless repairs of those Mechanicus," Salome said.
"Have you figured something out? Do you believe this machine wasn't made by humans?"
Captain-General Trajan turned to Salome and asked.
As the Custodes, they were privy to certain secrets and already knew the true origins and purpose of the Golden Throne.
The Golden Throne was an ancient machine discovered by the Emperor in a desert in Asia; it wasn't something created by humanity.
It was an ancient device built 60 million years ago by the Old Ones, the creators of the Eldar race.
"Humans 60 million years ago couldn't have created something like this.
And, in reality, it's a device for construction—intended to excavate some kind of special warp-space pathway.
If I'm not mistaken, it was originally used to carve out webway routes, though sadly only a portion of it remains," Salome explained.
"You've truly surprised me! You're correct—the true purpose of this machine is to carve out webway passages.
This is a secret known only to the Emperor and each successive Custodes Captain-General.
But you've deduced it on your own. Can you repair it?"
Trajan's tone revealed his excitement.
For so many years, the only ones who knew this secret were the Emperor himself, the former Regent Malcador, and the Custodes Captain-Generals throughout the ages.
The true function of the Golden Throne is to serve as a device for carving webway passages, a machine created by the Old Ones for that very purpose.
As a tool for opening webway routes, it can naturally also seal or tear them apart.
When the Emperor acquired this machine, he added certain components to it, allowing it to link with the Astronomican and project its immense light.
Salome nodded confidently, giving Trajan an affirmative answer.
"Captain-General, do we all need to have our memories erased?"
One of the Custodes shield-captains asked.
Since this secret was known only to the Emperor and the Custodes Captain-General, it was likely that none of the other Custodes could retain this memory.
For security reasons, they might even be required to collectively end their own lives.
Trajan did not answer the shield-captain's question but instead turned to Salome.
"How will you perform the repairs? What materials or assistance will you need?" Trajan asked.
Finally, someone truly understood the purpose of the Golden Throne, and now they had found someone who could repair it—crucially, a human.
"I have my methods.
But perhaps you should ask those three individuals over there.
I think it's about time they revealed their true identities," Salome said.
She wasn't worried. If any danger arose, she and her master could immediately use the teleportation bracelet to escape. It all depended on whether these Custodes were truly loyal to the Emperor.
"You three seem to have hidden many things from me, High Lords.
Tell me everything now—my patience is running out," Trajan demanded, addressing the three High Lords.
"Very well, Captain-General. At this point, we have no choice but to tell you the truth," the three High Lords sighed helplessly.
They explained how they had instructed Inquisitor Damnz and the rogue trader Kania to venture into the Dark Eldar capital of Commorragh in search of someone capable of repairing the Golden Throne.
The shield-captain, who had just allowed them to pass, looked furious—he had been deceived by these individuals.
"I understand. Since your actions were for the sake of the Imperium and the Emperor,
and you've brought someone who can truly repair the Golden Throne, I will forgive you this time," Trajan said.
The three High Lords' actions could be forgiven, as everything they had done was for the repair of the Golden Throne and for the Emperor.