Chapter 25: Anathema pt 1

-M29. 671. Imperial Palace. Terra-

Rory walks around the seemingly endless corridor of gold. She had seen her schedule today, and it only brought her distress as discomfort slowly crept into her mind.

Yesterday she could feel the Emperor's mighty power; even her long distance could not protect her from it. From that, Rory is clearly able to deduce Emperor's true face. He was unmistakably a god, as no other terms describe such immeasurable power. Yet at the same time, he declined his own divinity, choosing to be recognized as a human.

"It doesn't make any sense." She murmured under her breath, burying her palm deeper into her halbert.

As she walked deeper into the corridor, she noticed a golden giant standing around five meters. The aura demands submission, although it was nowhere at the same level as the Emperor, inferior but still mighty. The giant held a spear, taller than him, with a crackling ethereal aura that seemingly could cut everything.

"The Emperor is waiting for you, Rory Mercury." He speaks with power and authority, transcending her as an Apostle.

"Who are you?" She asks the golden-armored transhuman. Even though, on the surface, she was seemingly infected, deep inside, she felt overwhelming distraught.

"My name is Glariodus, Prime Custodian of His Majesty's protector." He proclaimed, his red-colored visor staring deep into Reroy's soul.

"Prime Custodian." She muttered, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Which transhuman are you? I know the rest of your kind, but I never heard anything about Prime Custodian."

"We are his eternal guardian, protecting his existence from any threats, even from other transhumans." The golden man answers with a stern tone that successfully cripples Rory's mental fortitude.

Rory takes a deep breath to regain her composure, bracing herself to stare at the giant. "Very well, lead me to your Emperor."

"Follow me," Glariodus walked first, entering a certain path that the gods knew where would lead her.

The Imperial Palace is an intricate place. Its bizarre structure is something that even Rory's nearly a millennia's worth of experience could not take. How a very distant place can be reached only a few meters of step or even a short distance cannot be reached even after days of walking is beyond her to understand. As an Apostle, her mind had been designed by Emroy to be more than mortals, enough for her to gather a significant amount of data in order to sustain her long-lived body so that her mind did not go insane in the process.

Her immortal body and mind granted her the power to see this palace differently. Rather than a maze, she saw the entire structure as arteries connecting to each other, hiding secrets beneath its impossibly complex architecture.

The deeper they go, the more intense the Anathematic power is. Rory had many questions regarding Emperor's power. It was extremely pure as Rory's connection to her god slowly diminished as if it cleaned her soul by its sheer force.

To enforce her curiosity, the Imperial Palace slowly began to change but not in the five mortal senses.

Something about the walls around her was not right. Something that she could not tell or describe. She can sense the wall twisted and changed in her metaphorical sense as an Apostle. She could not find the right words to utter, as if something blocked her mind.

"What's this... I... What?" Rory muttered, touching the golden wall. It is a solid metal wall, but her magical sense says otherwise. The wall using the Anathematic power bent the reality. From her magical sense, the wall resembles a liquid, almost appearing in the form of a sea.

"I assume you are curious about the Imperial Palace, Apostle." The Custodian asks, turning his body.

"How is it possible? " Rory answered, her eyes staring low. She did not want to stare directly at the Custodian. Not due to intimidation but the strange sensations that linger around the transhuman.

"The imperial Palace was designed by Emperor's wisdom and the Seven Adeptus Logos legions." He answers shortly. His tone forced the conversation to end. "We need to move. I don't like to make His Majesty wanting."

Rory only nodded, following the Custodian in silence. She tried to ignore the strange sensation that washed her body whenever she stepped deeper into the Palace.

This immense power around the Palace struck Rory with a realization about the Emperor. It was, in fact, a simple conclusion but enough to bring her fear.

When she met the Emperor yesterday, is just one of his masks to conceal his magnitude of power. A mask that shields the true might of the Emperor that she did not want to see.

"We have arrived." He speaks with a tone close to a proclamation rather than the usual tone of conversation.

They arrive before a ten meters height Golden Gate, bearing ornaments that put any civilization she had seen to shame. A gigantic twin-headed Aquila with a bolt in its talons.

"Emperor is beyond that gate. Consider your words carefully, Apostle." The Custodian was suddenly enveloped by golden light. "I will be waiting for you as I shall arrive when you are done."

The light disappears, leaving an empty space. The silent suspense reigns supreme. Rory took a deep breath before touching the metal gate with her fingers.

A shimmering psychic power spread across the massive gate. It sent her a shiver due to how massive the energy needed to open the gate. The gate opens, revealing a room made from platinum marble with dozens of bookshelves. Red carpet spread across the floor, adding a grandeur look as golden ornaments were scattered on every room corner.

"Rory Mercury, glad to meet you. Please go deeper into the room. I shall guide you." the Emperor's soft voice speaks in her head.

Did not know how to answer, Rory complied with Emperor's order. She walked deeper into the impossibly wide room. Based on various claims and her initial room, Rory can guess this room is as vast as an entire city.

As she went deeper and deeper, she arrived at seemingly the center of the room. It was surrounded by bookshelves and ornamental decorations. There was a flawless wooden table and a luxurious throne behind it.

But those were not where the majority of her concentration went. Instead, she solely focused on two occupants of the room.

There are two gigantic golden figures. One is helmetless, causing the Apostle to recognize him immediately. It was the Emperor. He is smiling at another figure, a gentle and sincere smile.

"I think my guest has arrived." The Emperor speaks gently, glancing in Rory's direction with a warm expression.

Another golden figure follows his master's glare. His eyes shine red due to his visor. Rory deduced from his ornamental armor that man came from the same order as Glariodus. But one distinct appearance made her frown.

The man is massive, nearly as tall as the Emperor, who stood around six meters tall. This man is closer to divinity than any transhuman she has ever seen, more so than Glariodus, as it was closer to the Emperor himself. Indeed, she had never seen the transhuman at the rank of Adeptus Logos, but this man had made a picture of it.

"You may leave, Valdor." The Emperor gestured at the masked giant.

Valdor nods, and the giant leaves the place using the same golden light as Glariodus. When the light died out, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Greeting... Emperor of Mankind." Said Rory, slightly bowing her body to give the lord of the Imperium.

"Curious. You addressed me honorably, completely separated from your usual self, Apostle of Emroy." The Emperor chuckles, raising his hand. "You can come closer,"

Rory did what the Emperor asked her to do. Yet, she cannot answer the question as it might lead to her own destruction. The mighty being named the Emperor is a being that transcends any of her understanding of gods and their powers.

"It...' Rory tries to find the correct words. "It is because I need to address you with something worthy for a being like you, Emperor."

"I can see your claim and nature as clear as daylight, Rory Mercury. Please, stop refraining like that." The Emperor smiled. Placing his palm on his armor, a brilliant gold enveloped the Perpetual, changing his armor into a regal black attire usually worn by the highest nobility echelon on Terra. The size also changed as now the Emperor appeared at the same height as an average person.

The nearly millennia-old demi-goddess is baffled by her own sight. The sheer magnitude of the Emperor's power is unmistakable as a god. The golden light could not be denied. Thus, Rory steeled herself.

"To answer that question, Your Majesty. I need to ask you one question." Rory inquired, lowering her gaze slightly.

"Ask anyway, Priestess."

"Your power... Your might. They are divine. Your existence is a god, but why deny your right to it? I want to

She had expected many things from this situation. She also expects the Emperor would burn her or do anything to erase her presence from his sight. Instead, nothing is coming for her.

"Raise your face, proud daughter of Sadera." The Emperor demanded with a neutral voice.

Rory raises her face, staring at the eyes of the Emperor with the utmost shock. She did not find any animosity or anger. She only sees a smile. A fond and knowing smile. A fatherly smile that was given when a gentle father taught his daughter to listen to his tutelage.

"Since the Gate opened in my realm, I've seen this moment. Your question has come to me since your world came to my reach. This moment is one among countless that I decide to come to pass." The Emperor said to her, eyes staring deep into Rory's soul.

"Does that mean..." Rory lost any words to say. The Emperor had a vision at this very moment. She was aware that gods possess future sight. But something about Emperor's sentence was wrong, telling her that the Emperor could change his fate as he wished.

Those are things that gods are only capable of.

"I have decided this happen." He says, simply stating without hesitation.

"If that was the case. Then why do you reject your divinity, Your Majesty? Your power... Every inch of your presence screamed power. But why you plundered my gods? Why seek to destroy them? Humanity needs faith to survive, as the Imperium has faith in you as their leader. But you deny them. You deny humanity's deepest desire but still claim the title of Master of Mankind." Rory shouted with rage filling her voice, ignoring who was the person before her. She tightened her grip on her halberd.

"I don't understand any of it. Gods have become part of humanity since our species existed. I have lived for nearly a thousand years. I have seen how humanity grows with their faith in my gods. They act with bravery and valor, pursuing arts and magical power. They built, and they destroyed. Whenever gods add something new from the Gate, we shall cherish it because the new treasure awaits us. Through gods, they shall have salvation in life and the afterlife." Rory says bluntly.

The Emperor did not answer, or he was offended. The Emperor kept his calm demeanor as Rory's outburst did not change his perfect figure.

"You were born an orphan and then devoted yourself to the worship of Emroy. Am I wrong, Priestess?" The Emperor's tone lacks significant sentiment, only rationality mixed with an emotional touch.

"Yes, I am," Rory replies to the question curtly.

"There was one reason I despise religion and gods no matter their forms, Priestess." The Emperor walks closer to the demi-goddess before stopping right in front of her. "It would be my origin."

"Origin?"

"I have lived more than you so-called gods," At this sentence, Rory could not believe her ears as her eyes bulged. "But before that, I need to ask you about that Gate. Did you fully aware of its origin?"

"Gate is a relic that was used by my gods to be their tool for adding new creations to their garden. It was a sacred tool to serve their own purpose." Rory stated without hesitation in her voice. Yet, she did not tell the Emperor one thing.

Whenever she talked with Emroy regarding the Gate, the god only changed the conversation or dismissed it entirely. It led Rory to her own theory, but the fact that the gods themselves were skeptical about the Gate only made her wonder questions.

"I see." Said the Emperor, walking away from her. The psyker directs himself to his table. "I will ask you another question. What are gods to you, Rory Mercury?"

"Gods are benevolent beings that rule Falmart and act as its protector. They are the gardener of the world, transcending from any mortals to comprehend." Rory's life as a priestess had built an inner character about her view of the gods. It molded through the ages as nearly a millennia lifespan had made her witness dozens of empire falls and rises, religion founded and destroyed.

"Benevolent. What a human sentiment to describe gods, Priestess." The Emperor replies with a neutral voice, lacking interest in the conversation. "If they annihilated a country with its innocent citizens, would you still call them benevolent?"

"God's judgment is beyond any mortals can see, Your Majesty," Rory speaks with a trace of sarcasm in her voice.

The ancient Emperor began to chuckle. It was not a dry or hollow chuckle. Instead, it was an amused chuckle, which confused the Apostle.

"When mortal beings face conditions beyond their understanding, they will be given two choices. Either they deny it or simply accept it. All of them are a form of ignorant. Gods are indifferent. They are neither benevolent nor malevolent. If you can call them gods." The Emperor turned his body to directly staring right into Rory's eyes.

Rory did not answer. She was petrified by the Emperor's gaze on her. Something about it made her feel a genuine fear. The golden orbs are staring directly into her soul.

Rory steeled herself, and at this very moment, her temperament had gotten the best of her. "Form of ignorant? Then what about you, Emperor of Mankind? You deny your own power, restricting your citizen from their nature. Isn't that also a form of ignorant?"

In that seconds, Rory realizes her mistake. Yet, she did feel nothing. The Apostle of Emroy gathers any energy left in her body to stare back at the Emperor.

The Lord of Imperium's face did not bear any wrathful or angry sentiments. The Master of Mankind only gave her a neutral look. She had expected the worst, but this situation caused her confusion.

"I have created the Imperium, and by my hands, I guide humanity to its salvation. When I came to the fold, mankind was in peril. They need a champion to guide them." He reveals it to the Apostle bluntly.

"I am here to be their protector, not as a paragon but as the foundation of their ideals of ascension and destiny. That was our difference, Rory Mercury. Ideals live through ages, constantly changing to ensure mankind's future left secured. While you live to become their paragon, enforcing the words of your gods."

Rory did not dare to say anything about the statement. It made her feel scared and curious at the same time.

"We are very different, yet quite the same on the identical side. Your life had been devoted to their service, blind to what humanity is." The statement brought another piqued emotion from the demi-goddess.

"Do you think my entire life and journey are foolish endeavors?" Rory growled. The fact that her blood boils only causes more distress for the Apostle. The Emperor is correct. Rory had become Emroy's messenger for nearly a millennia, bringing her god's holy words for people and becoming an executioner for those who dared to oppose her. If the Emperor's words were indeed the truth, she would be a fool in her entire life.

"You were not a foolish human, Rory Mercury." The Emperor started with his voice, a voice that was crafted with perfection.

"What." Rory's mouth agape open.

"You went through many years in blind obedience. I cannot blame you for being such simple-minded. You are blind but not a fool." Said the psyker to her with a fond gesture.

Rory lost her capability to speak as the situation made her unable to. The Emperor reacted in a way she did not expect. But her instinct told her there was more than that.

"I have learned about your nature. Your gods were once mortals before they ascended into godhood. That shall serve more reason for their arrogance and unworthiness." The tone turned cold, increasing the tense air around them. "No gods are worthy of worship. Furthermore, they are made from mortals. By that, their origin is the same as ours."

Rory did not reply. She chooses to listen further as she has no other alternatives.

"I will give you a chance." The Emperor touches his table, and thus at the center of the room, a giant metallic orb with an iron circle appears from the floor.

"What chance?" The demi-goddess asks, tone filled with skepticism.

"Since your arrival. You keep asking me about the Imperial Truth, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." Rory sighed before taking a deep breath. "The Imperial Truth of yours. It speaks about humanity's ascension and our birthright by abandoning all superstition and religious beliefs. What do you after by that, Emperor of Mankind?"

"Imperial Truth was created to be ideals to unite humanity and reveal to them their greatest enemies." The Emperor speaks plainly.

"Gods are humanity's enemies? How is that even possible?" It was not shocking news for her, but the realization that they were enemies of all living beings managed to send her a shiver.

"There are many hidden truths behind their divine existence. They hinder our progress to become something more like them." The golden man tapped the orb. Glimmering golden light changes the surface of the metal sphere, turning it from flawless metal into a map.

"What? I don't understand." Rory was lost in the conversation, eyes radiating confusion.

"Every human can become like them, even more than their so-called divinity." The Emperor watches the sphere with a nostalgic look, even bordering on a somber expression.

"Do you have any proof of that?"

"My own existence is proof of humanity's destiny." The Emperor turns, standing tall with his psychic corona blared into reality.

"Every human... Can become like you?" The truth baffled the Apostle. She knew that mortal could be elevated to godhood. But the Emperor's own advisor can be scaled above her God; she could begin to imagine how powerful the Emperor was.

"Indeed, they can. But before we enter that realm of explanation. I need you to understand the reason behind the Imperial Truth creation and the true face of gods." Emperor tapped at a certain place on the globe. A bright flash of golden light eclipsed the room, filling it with psychic power.

Rory opens her eyes and is shocked by the sight. It was a vast rocky landscape with a blue sky hanging high above. The place feels ancient and long forgotten.

"This is Terra when humanity is still young." The ancient man told her with a sign of longing in his voice.

"Why did you bring me here?" The Apostle asks.

"To understand the reason why I made this decision."

From the horizon, there is a man with a dirty robe walking with determination in his eyes. This man was not a mortal, as Rory could feel something unusual about him. When she tried to peer into his soul, she thought she had drowned in a bottomless ocean.

"Who's that man?" Rory whispered under her breath.

"Ollanius Persson, the first Perpetual. He is my friend. For what I will show you is part of his journey, a journey that shapes the face of the Old Earth."