met free Chapter 93 The Emperor Feigns Death
Chapter 93 The Emperor Feigns Death
Just as the oppressive atmosphere in the room fell into complete silence, a faint cough was heard.
The voice was so low it was almost inaudible, but everyone present was a powerful being far beyond ordinary people. They all looked up sharply and stared at the emperor on the sickbed.
The emperor, lying on the sickbed, slowly opened his heavy eyelids. His eyes were cloudy and lifeless, and his pale, bloodless mouth was slightly open.
"My children, stop arguing. Don't blame Horus."
The emperor's voice was faint and low, but his tone was unusually gentle, and he had a weak smile on his face.
Suddenly, he coughed violently, looking as if he might die at any moment.
"Father!"
"His Majesty!"
Anxious and distraught, Magnus and Horus rushed forward. Magnus grabbed the emperor's cold hand and held it tightly in his palm, while Horus knelt down on one knee with a thud and buried his head beside the emperor's sickbed.
Sensing the genuine worry and love of his two sons, the Emperor finally stopped his heart-wrenching cough. He gently patted the backs of their hands with his withered palms and weakly said:
"Alright, alright, don't worry, I'm fine. It's just that my injuries are too severe this time, so I need to enter a deep sleep to await rebirth."
As soon as he finished speaking, he coughed up a mouthful of golden blood, which splattered onto the white sheets.
The heart-wrenching cries of Magnus and Horus instantly filled the medical pod.
The emperor, his breath growing weaker, lowered his head with difficulty to look at his two weeping sons. His cloudy gaze slowly swept over Magnus and Horus, finally settling on the wailing Horus, and he said, word by word:
"After I leave, the entire empire will be in your hands, Horus."
"Father, I am not up to the task!"
Horus, with his head bowed, cried even harder, and then suddenly felt a cold, golden ring being placed into his palm.
"Father, this is..."
Horus choked up as he felt the Emperor's last warmth still lingering on the ring.
"Alright, don't cry. I've just entered a temporary slumber. When I wake up, I hope to see a unified and powerful human empire."
The extremely weak emperor reached out his trembling fingers and gently wiped away the tears on Horus's cheek, speaking softly.
After comforting Horus, the emperor turned to Magnus beside him and solemnly said:
"Magnus, my son, I hope you will assist Horus and together we will protect the human empire."
"Hmm..." Magnus, who had little desire for power to begin with, forcefully wiped away his tears and nodded emphatically. "I swear to you, I will certainly assist Horus well and await your return!"
Before he finished speaking, Magnus, who was still sobbing, took a step back, knelt on one knee in front of Horus, and placed his right hand on his chest in the most standard gesture of submission.
Horus, his eyes red-rimmed, quickly reached out to help Magnus up and gave him a tight brotherly hug.
Looking at the united scene before him, the Emperor smiled with satisfaction and said:
"Good...good, brothers united, their strength can break metal..."
Before he could finish speaking, he coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"Father!"
"His Majesty!"
Magnus and Horus, still grieving, rushed forward to support the emperor, but were gently stopped by the emperor's calm demeanor.
After a pause, the emperor said weakly:
"Magnus and Horus, you may leave now. I have something to discuss with Macardo and Levi privately."
"Um."
Magnus and Horus exchanged a glance and reluctantly left the medical room.
Clang!
The heavy alloy door of the medical pod slowly closed.
For a moment, only the dying Emperor, the grief-stricken and silent Macardo, and the bewildered Livy remained in the medical pod.
Silently watching the scene of fatherly love and filial piety that had just unfolded, Li Wei still felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.
He still believed that the emperor could not die so easily, and that he might even need to fall into a deep sleep and be resurrected through the power of immortals.
But seeing the emperor's breath so weak it seemed he could be extinguished at any moment, and the solemn way the emperor had just entrusted his two sons with his final affairs, Li Wei could only confirm that the emperor was indeed on his deathbed.
Is this really normal?
What else is there to do by staying behind?
Li Wei found it very strange, after all, he was just the chief think tank of Qianzi and could not be considered a core high-level official of the empire, but he was specially kept behind by Makado.
With this in mind, Li Wei, filled with doubt, turned his gaze to Macado, who was quietly listening to the Emperor's orders.
Although Macardo's expression was filled with undisguised sorrow, he still listened attentively to every word of the Emperor's instructions, appearing as the Emperor's most loyal servant.
Not long after, the emperor, lying on his sickbed, finished giving instructions to Makado. He slowly turned his head to look at Levi, and said weakly but solemnly:
"Li Wei, your task is even more important. I don't even know how long it will be before I am resurrected. I will entrust the only beacon of the Empire, the Star Torch, to you. I have faith in your psychic talent."
"This..." Li Wei was also greatly surprised that the Emperor knew about his ability to imitate Star Torch.
But then I thought, maybe Magnus told the Emperor this inadvertently during a private conversation, or maybe the Emperor himself was the one who lit the Star Torch and had long sensed the light within him that originated from the same source as the Star Torch, but none of that matters.
Li Wei was indeed the second psionicist in the Empire, besides the Emperor, capable of briefly igniting the Star Torch.
But his psionic power was only slightly stronger than Magnus's, so how could he possibly keep the torches of the entire warp burning year after year, guiding the course of all the Empire's star fleets and giving direction to human civilization?
His face showed reluctance, and he was about to refuse when he heard the emperor's unquestionable voice.
"Li Wei, catch it!"
Before he could finish speaking, a cold sun radiating blinding golden light slowly flew out from the emperor's blood-stained chest and suddenly struck Li Wei between the eyebrows, who was clearly on guard but completely unable to move.
He could only watch helplessly as the golden sun merged into his soul, and he thought in horror:
"This is... the essence of the Emperor's soul, a cold, golden sun, but it's only at the 30k era, how could it already exist?"
Li Wei remembered that in his past life, the Emperor had experienced the Horus Rebellion and was forced to sit on the Golden Throne before this cold sun materialized and manifested in the Warp.
However, none of this matters.
What does the Emperor mean by this?
Is this a way of giving away a portion of one's power to oneself?
Li Wei was stunned as he felt the warm and powerful force of the golden sun, the essence of the emperor's soul, merging into him, his mind a complete mess.
The next instant, Li Wei, who was completely enveloped in golden light, suddenly felt darkness before his eyes and realized that his soul was being pulled into the subspace by an irresistible force.