Chapter 280: Kyriman: Don

Zhou Yun noticed that Robert Kyriman's gaze had turned toward him.

He slowly extended a finger to point at himself.

"Don't look at me—I've got no problems."

"I'm just a trash scavenger from the lower hive levels; if Saint Guilliman hadn't appeared to me in a dream to recruit me, I'd still be picking trash in the hive!"

"That Leina—you've met her too—she's my gang boss; talk to her."

Robert Kyriman patiently waited until Zhou Yun finished speaking, then gently reminded him: "Lady Leina has declared you a saint, and even quietly told me you might be a god."

"Of course, you were present then, and surely heard those words clearly."

"She sincerely shared with me one of the three divine aspects of the Omnissiah—the Primordial Motive Force, the source of all life and machinery's motion, the Great Original Force."

"And there is the Eternal Dragon, the Devourer of Swarms, leader of the Cult of the Dead, the Death-Chosen, the one granted the Power of Death by the Emperor, who brought death upon humanity's enemies under the name of Leman Russ."

At this point, Robert Kyriman could barely keep his expression composed.

In fact, Robert Kyriman had already begun imagining what expressions Leman and Russ would wear upon hearing what Zhou Yun had done.

Saint Guilliman let out a soft chuckle—he clearly had the same thought as Kyriman.

Kyriman heard Guilliman's laugh and turned his gaze toward him, as if asking what kind of being Zhou Yun truly was.

But Guilliman only shook his head, offering no explanation to Kyriman.

Kyriman sighed helplessly and turned his gaze back to Zhou Yun.

As far as Kyriman himself was concerned, he did not believe in gods.

Yet the Warp deities were objectively real—the Emperor had lied about them, but Kyriman would not lie to himself.

Perhaps within this seemingly flesh-and-blood mortal, there truly resided a far vaster, more Warp-bound entity resembling a god?

Kyriman still retained fragmented memories of what he had seen in death.

He remembered the being that molded his body—the blue, round entity—that had granted him death with its round hand, then reshaped him with that same hand.

"But Leina has the same mental issues as Magnus."

Zhou Yun shook his head and swiftly dismissed Leina's claims, attacking the accuser's intellect directly:

"And she's an illegal psyker."

As he said this, Zhou Yun himself struggled to maintain composure—he had never imagined Leina was still an illegal psyker; it was only thanks to Grayfax hastily granting her a special exemption that she hadn't been dragged off by a Black Ship to be burned at the Astronomican.

Hearing Zhou Yun directly accuse Leina and Magnus of mental defects and label her an illegal psyker, Kyriman's expression flickered with barely concealed strain, but he quickly recovered and continued:

"It's not just Lady Leina who claims you are a god—entirely the Cadian 184th, even the Blood Angels, hold similar beliefs about you."

"The Eldar also claim you are the Death God of Mankind."

As he spoke, Robert Kyriman looked directly at Zhou Yun.

"Believe me, more beings in this galaxy believe Robert Kyriman is the Son of a God."

Zhou Yun replied without hesitation:

"As for the Eldar—who in their right mind believes anything the Eldar say?"

Zhou Yun's words caused Robert Kyriman to nod slightly, falling into a moment of thought.

Zhou Yun's rebuttal seemed flawless.

Yet Robert Kyriman could clearly sense a connection established between himself and Zhou Yun, and he felt with certainty that Zhou Yun's true nature was far stronger than he claimed.

This was a being who had pulled him back from death and purged the corruption inflicted by Fulgrim.

At least according to the Eldar, only the Eldar Death God could accomplish such a feat.

"I really am not a god."

Zhou Yun noticed the lingering doubt on Robert Kyriman's face and couldn't help but sigh faintly:

"If you don't believe me, ask Grand Sage Belisarius Cawl."

"I'm certain Grand Sage Cawl will make a rational, wise judgment with the rigor of a scholar."

Robert Kyriman was somewhat swayed—compared to the Eldar and the superstitious masses of the Imperium, perhaps the Belisarius Cawl he knew was a more reliable advisor.

"He is not a god!"

Belisarius Cawl was summoned into the sanctum, solemnly addressing Robert Kyriman:

"In the name of the Omnissiah, the Machine God, and the Primordial Motive Force, the wisdom of the Machine God has revealed to me this Zhou Yun."

Belisarius Cawl took a deep breath,

". e is not a god! He is absolutely not a god!"

"You see, I am a Grand Sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus—can you distinguish me from the Machine God?"

"Then… then Zhou Yun is merely a Grand Sage of the Adeptus Mechanicus stronger than I—surely you can also distinguish him from the Machine God?"

Cawl's words echoed through the temple; Zhou Yun involuntarily cast a look of approval toward Cawl.

Only Robert Kyriman's expression subtly shifted.

The pronoun "He" used by Cawl to refer to Zhou Yun was, in Low Gothic, merely the objective form of "he."

But in High Gothic, this same word was also the third-person pronoun for a god.

Zhou Yun clearly did not understand High Gothic and was not fluent in Low Gothic grammar—so he hadn't noticed this nuance?

But… a being who could reverse death and resurrect two Primarchs didn't know High Gothic?

Robert Kyriman did not believe it.

It was like claiming the Emperor, stripped of his psychic power, was merely a socially anxious, lazy, old dad—no one would believe it.

Was he trying to imply, through Cawl, that he possessed certain traits of the Warp deities, yet refused to admit it for some reason?

Robert Kyriman lightly pinched his chin, then gestured for Belisarius Cawl to step beneath a nearby marble column.

The position was far enough that even a Primarch's superhuman hearing could not clearly catch whispered words across such a distance.

But if Saint Guilliman wished to listen, he need only channel a touch of psychic power; Zhou Yun could likely do the same.

But it didn't matter—Robert Kyriman merely wanted to put on a show, to test his hypothesis.

"Cawl, tell me—is Zhou Yun truly a god?"

Belisarius Cawl, under Robert Kyriman's gaze, sweat beaded on his half-face.

"My lord, I still remember the events of the Perfect City—do you recall them?"

Belisarius Cawl bowed deeply, visibly fearful:

"I do not wish to become Lorgar of the Machine God."

Robert Kyriman immediately felt his suspicion confirmed—he turned to look at Zhou Yun and Saint Guilliman.

The two seemed to be whispering quietly, but the distance was too great for Kyriman, lacking psychic power, to hear clearly.

Still, they must have used psychic means to overhear his conversation with Belisarius Cawl.

"He really does look like Blue Grandpa, with a Blue Dad and a whole crowd of Blue Sprites," Saint Guilliman murmured softly.

"Not just that—he's got a Blue Sister too," Zhou Yun whispered back.

"Ephrael?" Saint Guilliman chuckled: "She really is a sprite."

Watching Zhou Yun and Saint Guilliman whispering secrets, Robert Kyriman grew even more certain his suspicion was correct.

But if he truly possessed qualities of a Warp deity, why refuse to be worshipped? Why deny being a god?

Robert Kyriman's superhuman mind began to work.

From the Emperor's violent aversion to being worshipped, to the destruction of the Perfect City, to the Warp's transformation by mortal emotion—fragmented clues slowly linked together in his mind.

Faith itself was a kind of emotion.

And did such emotion feed back onto the one being worshipped? Clearly it did—the gods drew power from it.

But thinking of the Warp deities' mad, corrupted forms, Robert Kyriman shuddered slightly.

Faith and emotion were primal, chaotic, prone to extremes.

If his suspicion was correct,

what had the Emperor, his father, become?

A sudden terror welled up inside him, but he quickly suppressed it to the depths of his mind.

Many mysteries remained unsolved, but at least now he had solved one: he understood why Zhou Yun and the Emperor resisted being called gods.

He waved for Belisarius Cawl to leave, then returned to Saint Guilliman and Zhou Yun, his face carefully composed to show he now understood everything.

Zhou Yun gave him a strange look—what had he figured out? Had he overheard Zhou Yun and Saint Guilliman calling him Blue Sprite?

"I now understand you are not a god."

Robert Kyriman made his tone as sincere as possible.

He still did not know Zhou Yun's true nature, but he felt the connection between them.

Undoubtedly, his life, death, and very existence were now controlled by this being who claimed not to be a god.

Saint Guilliman seemed the same—clearly, he had been pushing this along too.

But if this was the price required for him and Saint Guilliman to return to the Imperium and fight for humanity,

Robert Kyriman accepted it—he trusted Saint Guilliman.

Yet he also understood that Zhou Yun and Saint Guilliman had come to Macragge for a reason.

They needed the Oltremar Five Hundred Worlds.

"What do you want from me?"

Population? Army? Sacrifice? Planet? Kyriman weighed the limits of what he could offer.

"Money."

Zhou Yun smiled—he loved talking to smart people.

Just as Grand Sage Cawl had explained in three sentences that he wasn't a god, talking to smart people saved a lot of effort.

Guilliman blinked slightly, as if not understanding what Zhou Yun was saying.

"Money."

Zhou Yun emphasized it again, then explained:

"Any valuable resource that can be converted into wealth—anything at all."

At this, Guilliman's expression cleared in sudden understanding.

No wonder they came to resurrect him—no wonder.

Robert Guilliman might not be the most skilled fighter among the Primarchs, nor the wisest, nor even the best commander,

but he was undoubtedly the most adept at operations and producing resources.

"That's simple," Guilliman smiled. "You'll find that even after ten thousand years, Ultramar will still be among the five hundred most prosperous worlds in the galaxy."

(End of Chapter)