The Emperor’s Angel of Death

The next moment, after roaring and venting his inner anger, Duran suddenly felt his feet leave the ground, and he plummeted downwards. ׺°”˜˜`”°º×

In a hasty glance amidst the chaos, he saw in the bottomless abyss a monstrous serpent covered in eyes on its scales, staring intently at him, slowly opening its bloody maw, the intense feeling of hunger almost shattering his mind.

And within the giant serpent's mouth were countless writhing bodies, of all kinds of races, all of whom he had tormented and harmed in the past.

They seemed to be screaming, mocking, yearning, yearning to drag him into the giant serpent's endless maw.

"No, no."

Intense fear gripped his heart. Could this be his end, the worst possible fate for an Aeldari?

咻——

Accompanied by a sharp cry, white heavenly fire descended, burning the giant serpent and causing it to writhe, then a large hand grabbed Duran's shoulder.

In a strong sense of dizziness, Duran staggered, then sat down on the ground. When he looked up, he saw Sorscha, wearing a magnificent robe, smiling at him.

"Phoenix King Your Highness."

Duran was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up.

"Have I arrived?"

Duran looked around, only to find that this was not in the Shrine of Asuryan. They were on the summit of a mountain, surrounded by white clouds and mist. Not far away was a huge, sun-like sphere of fire, burning crimson and peacefully. Looking inside, he could see that the center of the flame contained a drop of pure transparency.

"This is where Asuryan and his people first met."

Sorscha turned and walked to a stone tablet, stroking the inscriptions on it.

"It's on Aeldari's homeworld, called the Mountain of Light. Later, the Aeldari built the first Shrine of Asuryan on this summit."

After saying that, he sighed softly and turned back.

"Duran, I originally thought you were just a Draculas who kills people like flies and has blood on his hands, but your heart really surprised me. Perhaps in the words of the seers, this is fate."

Duran lowered his head, remained silent for a moment, then clenched his fists, raised his head again, his face filled with determination.

"Commorragh is a tumor, not only for other races, but also a tumor parasitic on our race! As long as it exists for one more day, the shadow of the fall of the Aeldari will always linger over our heads. I know you want to remove this tumor, and I am willing to serve you wholeheartedly and assist you! The depravities of Commorragh are only for a few, and the vast majority of slaves are waiting to be rescued!"

"Duran, as a human, do you think I can do it?"

"Yes! Your Highness, you definitely can! And precisely because of your race, it is determined that you will not be as indecisive as those seers. They will not achieve anything, only you can!"

Sorscha smiled slightly and sighed softly.

"I know that many people privately think that I don't understand the Aeldari and the seers' foresight. I don't understand the Aeldari, nor do I understand prophecies, so I don't need to see my homeland gone before I start to panic and feel heartache, and I don't need to wait until everyone is dead before I start to feel heartache and panic. The seers are sometimes very accurate in their words, but when asked about the future, their answers are always wait for the answer, wait for the answer. Do we have to wait until the great enemy comes to give them an answer of national subjugation and racial extermination?"

Having said that, he extended his hand to the other party.

"Duran, what I am about to show you next is a very important secret about the Aeldari race. I believe in my choice, and you must also be prepared to bear this responsibility."

Duran did not hesitate at all, knelt on one knee, and then raised his arms.

"Whoosh."

When he stepped on the last step, the robes on Duran's body had already vanished into ashes. He was now standing naked on the high platform. The few scars on his body in the past had disappeared without a trace, and his slender and long limbs and torso were also slightly bulging, becoming as strong and perfect as finely carved marble, and his long hair had become as pure white-gold as the sacred fire of Asuryan, draped over his shoulders and behind his waist.

The decadent, cruel, depraved, and indifferent Duran of the past had already died and been recast in the raging fire. Now he was filled with a high-spirited, intense, and hateful aura.

In front of him, Sorscha, wearing armor and holding the Holy Grail of Asuryan, was sitting on the brick throne, with the towering Phoenix Herald Mardael standing behind him, and hundreds of Aeldari, also naked, around the high platform.

At this moment, each of them had a serious, resolute expression, and cast respectful gazes at Duran. All the Aeldari, like him, had golden pupils, like a ball of burning flame, and Duran also nodded slightly to them.

He was the first, and also the last.

Step by step, he walked to Sorscha, stretched out his fist, released it, and threw his soul stone into the Holy Grail of Asuryan.

When the flames rose and melted the soul stone, he established a subtle spiritual connection with all those who had passed the test. He felt that the surrounding air was trembling because of the scorching heat, and the sacred fire of Asuryan ignited his soul at the spiritual level, and also ignited his anger. This was precisely the reason He chose him: his hatred for the fallen and the oppressors made him no longer timid or hesitant when carrying out justice.

His soul seemed to be placed on an anvil, and the great god wielded the hammer in his hand, forcefully forging it, dropping glittering sparks and ashes, as if his muscles and bones were being burned and quenched, scorching and painful.

From then on, his soul no longer belonged to him, but belonged to the original fire left by the Father God.

After that, he heard Mardael's low voice.

"Grant you the tempering of true fire, so that the fire of purgatory cannot scorch your body, and the flames of demons cannot burn your spirit, in the name of the original phoenix, with the ability to burn light and dazzle, grant you the authority of starlight, so that you will not be watched by the Great Thirster in the world, and disturbed by darkness."

At this time, Sorscha, holding the Holy Grail of Asuryan, was in a different mood. He finally knew why Mardael was so hesitant about the great sacrifice of the "Ascension Ceremony" before. The soul energy of those Aeldari who had been reduced to ashes was directly absorbed by the flames of Asuryan!

And a considerable part of it was converted into holy power and transferred to the survivors, which allowed them to completely transform and possess power far beyond that of ordinary Aeldari. It was equal to saying that a dozen lives were used to transform a Phoenix Warrior.

No wonder when Sorscha asked why soul stones were needed, Mardael always avoided the question.

Because Mardael never told him the truth!

The strengthening of this Phoenix Warrior was not as highly successful as it had said. Although Mardael explained that the souls of these Commorragh Aeldari were too weak compared to the Aeldari of the past, Sorscha felt that it should have known this long ago, but deliberately did not say it.

But Mardael also said with certainty that the sacred fire of Asuryan was too weak now and could not be compared with the era of the Pantheon, so the only way to transform the Phoenix Warrior was to choose this method. In the past, there was no need for such a sacrifice, but after the fall of Asuryan, there was no way.

After devouring the souls of these thousands of Aeldari, Sorscha did feel that the Holy Grail of Asuryan and the spirit fire surrounding the shrine had become stronger, but this still made him feel strange. Perhaps the only thing that could comfort him was that compared to being devoured by Slaanesh, returning to the fire of the phoenix was a good ending and redemption for those Commorragh people who had lived a life of depravity.