Chapter 258: Humanity

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker leapt through the gaps between realities, her body shaped by the Blessing of Xigao and her Eldar physiology, making her a shadow beneath the veil of reality.

As a jester capable of entering and exiting the Black Library, Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker knew the fortress's internal structure intimately.

She moved between patrols of Cadia Warriors and Blood Angels, following the rhythm of the famous play "The Fall of the Eldar."

Even these elite warriors could not detect her presence.

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker, therefore, grew smug, taking petty diversions as she slipped through the fortress.

She drew pictures on the faces of sleeping humans, stuck notes reading "I am a Ghoul" on the backs of Blood Angels' power armor, and stole Lho-sticks from the 184th Cadia Regiment.

The universe was so dull; it was the jesters' duty to add color to the stars.

Of course, the important mission could not be forgotten.

Euphrine wanted Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker to infiltrate the fortress, investigate the "Death of Mankind," and probe the Expeditionary Force's intentions.

This mission originally did not require Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker.

All it took was for the venerable old seer and fraud, Eldrath Ulanser—the oldest living Eldar seer—to perform a prophecy.

In fact, Eldrath Ulanser had intended to do exactly that.

But just as he was about to begin, all Eldar psykers involved in the ritual, including Eldrath Ulanser, instinctively sensed danger.

To prophesy about the "Death of Mankind" would inflict harm beyond their capacity to bear.

Thus, the Death Cultists could only rely on gathering information within the material universe.

And the will of Xigao had also been conveyed.

Xigao was deeply interested in the "Death of Mankind."

So Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker had to complete her mission before her pranks were discovered.

As she thought this, Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker leapt downward, attempting to evade the approaching Blood Angels—

CRACK!

A door suddenly opened in midair; at the instant Hilarandri leapt, a reddish-pink wooden door appeared diagonally before her.

Inside the open door, Hilarandri saw a figure indistinguishable from a human, with a white pocket on its abdomen.

"The Death of Mankind!"

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker was startled—she had no idea how she had been detected.

She twisted midair, trying to evade the floating door.

But then gray nanomachines surged from the pocket, instantly wrapping around Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker.

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker immediately recognized these nanomachines as designs from Humanity's Golden Age.

On the ground, she might have evaded them.

But trapped in midair, her movement was restricted; she was snatched into the door almost instantly.

The reddish-pink wooden door closed. Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker found herself dragged into a narrow conference room.

"The Death of Mankind," Grand Sage Belisarius Cawl, and others were all inside.

The moment she hit the ground, Hilarandri twisted her body; sharp monomolecular threads shot from her jester weapon, "Jester's Kiss," spiraling around her and tearing the nanomachines into silver-gray mist.

She tapped her toe, her form shifting—she was about to vanish.

But the Blood Angel Terminador Captain named Kaelen, standing beside "The Death of Mankind," moved.

Though clad in heavy Terminator armor and wielding a massive power hammer, his speed was sufficient to match Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker.

This was clearly absurd.

Yet in the blink of an eye, Kaelen stood before Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker; his power hammer crackled with energy and slammed down upon her.

The Curtain-Walker shifted, her slender jester blade clashing against the Hammer of Bal; a blazing blue energy field erupted in the air.

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker leapt lightly.

She used her psychic energy to activate the flip-belt at her waist.

This belt was a product of Eldar grav-tech, allowing the wearer to manipulate gravity within their immediate vicinity.

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker attempted to reduce her own gravity, to move faster—

Then she realized something was wrong.

The flip-belt did not obey her command!

Instead of becoming lighter, she grew heavier; gravity clamped onto her like chains.

Not only the flip-belt—her dazzling holographic suit flickered erratically, its performance plummeting.

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker had no time to react.

Kaelen's Hammer of Bal had already raised a thunderous energy field and smashed into her mirrored mask.

Hilarandri felt a force far exceeding that of a standard Astartes; she was flung backward, her head crashing into the wall.

All this happened in an instant. Enhanced by acceleration gears, Captain Kaelen could now match the speed of an Eldar jester; Zhou Yun had silently used the power he gained from the Domain of Malice to disrupt Hilarandri's gear, slowing her down and capturing this elusive jester.

Zhou Yun manipulated Thirsting Water, coalescing the nanomachines into ropes and yanking Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker from the wall.

Her helmet was cracked, yet still intact after taking a direct blow from the Hammer of Bal—proof enough of Eldar craftsmanship.

"Fate's dance is always so unpredictable. I serve the Eldar Death, yet I am captured by the Death of Mankind."

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker, fighting dizziness, lifted her head slightly to look at Zhou Yun:

"Greetings from the greatest trickster, jester, madman, and god of laughter in the galaxy—Xigao."

Zhou Yun looked at the bound Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker and shook his head.

"First, I am not a god."

"Second, Xigao ranks only fourth among the galaxy's greatest tricksters. As for the title of 'greatest jester,' there are too many competitors—and he certainly doesn't deserve 'greatest madman' either."

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker paused, then nodded in agreement: "A trickster god who isn't enough of a trickster, a jester god who isn't the smallest jester, a madman god who's actually the most reasonable— isn't that the most ironic joke of all?"

Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker was not in a hurry.

Clearly, these humans had no intention of killing her.

If they merely imprisoned her, no cage on Earth could hold Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker.

She would find a way to escape—

Agh! By Xigao's hook, how painful is this?!

Sudden pain erupted within Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker's body.

She felt something phase-shift into her.

"Lockheart Sacred Beetles?!" Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker shrieked.

She realized a swarm of necron nanomachines had entered her body—the very Lockheart Sacred Beetles used by the Necrons to control other species.

Though the Eldar possessed technology to remove these necron nanomachines, it required specific machinery and environments, and caused immense pain.

For now, Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker had no way to deal with the Lockheart Sacred Beetles inside her.

"How can you control Lockheart Sacred Beetles?!"

"Are you not merely 'the Death of Mankind'—but also a god?"

"First, let me emphasize: I am not a god."

In the Eldar fortress, behind Zhou Yun stood Grand Sage Belisarius Cawl and others; Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker, bound by ropes of Thirsting Water, lay nearby under the watch of Captain Kaelen.

After Hilarandri the Curtain-Walker's capture, the Expeditionary Force formally condemned the Eldar Death Cult, accusing them of shamelessly and corruptly sending spies to assassinate high-ranking Expeditionary Force members.

This was utterly unforgivable, causing deep unease among the Expeditionary Force's human leadership: frail, pitiful, physically weak, and psychically underpowered humans—

Including but not limited to the utterly ordinary human Zhou Yun, the feeble-willed Inquisitor Greifax, the pitiful and fragile Living Saint Caelestine, the psychically weak Leina, and the physically weak Belisarius Cawl.

Their lives had been gravely threatened by the profane aliens.

If the Eldar wished to negotiate, they must abide by the Expeditionary Force's terms.

Thus, the Expeditionary Force successfully lured the Eldar Death Cult's high-ranking members into the fortress they controlled for further negotiations.

They now held the home-field advantage, with hundreds of Blood Angels surrounding the area.

"I am not 'the Death of Mankind.'"

Zhou Yun emphasized to the Eldar negotiators:

"I was merely forced by the Emperor into becoming the Chosen of Death."

He believed this was true.

Death was the Emperor's domain; he had merely been forcibly granted a portion of that power, gaining only a fraction of it.

He was at best a Chosen of Death—or a Chosen of the Emperor.

Upon hearing this, the Eldar elder seer Eldrath Ulanser nodded slightly.

This soul-seer, whose life spanned eons, had already been ten thousand years old during the Great Crusade and had once conversed with multiple Primarchs and even the Emperor, forming bonds barely deserving the name of friendship.

His reputation was renowned both within and beyond the Eldar.

He was roughly equivalent to Tarsis among the Necrons, Tzeentch among the Chaos, or the Blood Ravens among the Astartes.

In other words, his reputation was at its absolute nadir.

Currently, this elder seer had been exiled by the Craftworlds for desecrating the corpses of dead Eldar seers to use as ritual components.

"Can you distinguish between a Chosen and a god?" Zhou Yun asked sincerely.

Eldrath Ulanser nodded again.

Then he turned to Euphrine beside him and said:

"Confirmed. This is humanity's god!"

"This is how humanity's god is!"

(End of Chapter)