Chapter 303: Inard and the Emperor

【Item Name: Infernal Map (Fake)】

【Origin: Webway - Black Library】

【Evaluation: The Infernal Map was crafted during the Webway War by Mechanicus members trapped within the Webway, using the skin of Silent Sisters as a Webway navigation system. This one is one of nine counterfeit versions meticulously forged over a century by Xiang Gaoqi. It only guides users to the Blood Artisans' Guild at the Bottom of Gamo, making Xiang Gaoqi, one of the oldest and most historically knowledgeable entities in the galaxy and the God of Deception, a unique master of artifact forgery. This is also one of the funding sources for the Jester's daily operations.】

【Production Date: 705. 37】

【Status: Purely Aeldari craftsmanship, yet not fabricated】

【Value: 168, 00 credits】

Zhou Yun's face darkened instantly,

Fake. Of course it's fucking fake.

Who the hell is Xiang Gaoqi, some galactic treasure syndicate?! He made nine of these fakes?!

"This is a fake." Zhou Yun said, looking at Xiang Gaoqi.

Xiang Gaoqi's expression froze, then he whirled to face Xilan Deli. Veilwalker: "How did you handle this?!"

"I repeat: this is my dearest friend. You dare hand him a fake? Xilan Deli, as the God of Laughter, I am deeply disappointed in you!"

Xilan Deli. Veilwalker stared blankly at herself,

Should I have brought the real one? Was I supposed to bring the real one? Does the God of Laughter actually want to give Zhou Yun the real thing?

Xilan Deli. Veilwalker was full of question marks,

but she still rushed into the library to retrieve the true Infernal Map.

Watching Xilan Deli. Veilwalker depart, Xiang Gaoqi quickly flashed a brilliant smile at Zhou Yun,

"My apologies, my apologies. I once created nine fake Infernal Maps to divert attention and prevent others from spying on the Black Library."

"Xilan Deli must have grabbed the wrong one."

"Was the one taken by Judge Chevak also fake?" Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow curiously.

Judge Chevak was an Imperial Inquisitor who once entered the Black Library and took the Infernal Map as a Webway navigation device, only to be hunted down by the Chaos Champion Aliman, who longed to enter the Black Library.

But now it seemed Chevak's acquisition of the Infernal Map was too smooth—almost as if the Black Library's master had deliberately arranged it.

Moreover, Chevak's copy bore an unnaturally potent anti-psyker field, as if specifically designed to target Aliman.

"Hehe, you not only have keen eyes, but you're also well-versed in galactic affairs."

Xiang Gaoqi bowed slightly, lavish with praise:

"The Infernal Map in Chevak's possession is my specially crafted version. It incorporates a powerful anti-psyker field and my own divine power."

"Anyone who approaches or seeks that fake becomes more susceptible to deception, more reckless, prone to absurd acts."

"Of course, the one truly deceived is not me, nor my forgery."

Here, Xiang Gaoqi grinned slyly:

"Aliman destroyed his own legion with red-script spells, turning his brothers into puppets trapped in armor-shaped ash urns. He yearns to undo his mistake."

"Even if he suspects it's fake, his overwhelming psychological burden leaves him unable to dismiss even the slimmest possibility."

Zhou Yun nodded in approval,

Among the four Champions—Aliman, Karn, Lu Xiusi, and Mota Taifeng—Aliman, the psyker lunatic, was leagues stronger than the rest.

But just as Karn was driven by vengeance for Angeal Tai, Aliman's weakness was the chance to reverse the red-script:

Any opportunity to undo the red-script would cause this supposedly wise Champion to abandon reason and risk everything.

In contrast, Lu Xiusi and Taifeng, shameless as they are, have no such weakness.

Moments later, Xilan Deli. Veilwalker returned, clutching a massive book nearly identical to the previous one, and placed it before Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun took the thick metal-bound book and shoved it straight into his fourth-dimensional pocket.

【Item Name: Infernal Map】

【Origin: Terra - Imperial Webway】

【Evaluation: Crafted after the Webway War by Mechanicus members trapped within the Webway, using the skin of Silent Sisters as a Webway navigation system. The self-sacrificing Silent Sister never died biologically—her flesh and skin remain physiologically active, circulating blood. The intricate network of arteries, veins, and capillaries on its surface symbolizes the labyrinthine paths of the Webway.】

【Production Date: 018. 31】

【Status: Still biologically active】

【Value: 13, 00, 00】

This one is genuine.

Zhou Yun's gaze flickered. He withdrew the heavy book from his fourth-dimensional pocket and gently opened its metal cover.

Before him lay layer upon layer of skin and flesh stretched nearly transparent, veins and capillaries densely interwoven like a labyrinth.

The flesh still retained warmth, trembling slightly in Zhou Yun's hands; a pump-like device along the spine supplied it with oxygen.

Zhou Yun's skin prickled—not from the book's appearance, but from the instant his fingers touched the flesh-pages: he felt a hollow void.

That sensation unsettled him. Clearly, the Silent Sister sacrificed to become this Webway map remained biologically alive; her Unapproachable nature still functioned.

As if sensing Zhou Yun's touch, the veins on the map suddenly shifted, weaving together like the Webway forming in the Warp.

"Terra," Zhou Yun said to the shifting veins of the Infernal Map.

The veins gradually stabilized. Scars formed on the skin, revealing patterns, annotations, and text.

The Solar System—once familiar to Zhou Yun—was etched into the skin, planets and stars roughly marked.

Veins extended toward the Solar System, converging into a gate at the Moon. One vein strained to reach Terra, but always snapped just before contact; blood seeped across Terra's location.

The touch felt hollow, yet from that vein straining toward Terra, Zhou Yun faintly sensed emotion—a resonance.

Bring me home. Bring me back to you.

Terra. Terra. Emperor.

My homeland. Humanity's homeland.

Fragmented voices echoed in Zhou Yun's ears—like one voice, or many in unison.

Zhou Yun's heart beat once, gently, as some emotion within him resonated with the map.

He wondered what the Mechanicus members and Silent Sisters trapped in the Webway had endured, and where they had acquired such unimaginable technology.

Perhaps they had wandered for eons within the Webway; perhaps the Mechanicus sages had labored endlessly to find a way to navigate it. One Silent Sister had willingly offered her body, becoming the first human Webway map—the Infernal Map.

The Infernal Map was not a map to Hell—it was a compass to escape Hell.

Yet in the end, they failed. They never reached Terra, dying within the Webway.

This precious Infernal Map thus entered the Black Library.

Zhou Yun placed his hand on Terra's mark on the Infernal Map.

"I will take you home," he whispered. "I will bring you all home."

"To Terra. To Earth. To our homeland."

For a moment, the hollow sensation on the map faded. The voices ceased echoing in his ears.

Yet some emotion remained—worry, a question about the Empire's current state.

"Sanguinius has returned," Zhou Yun said softly. Instantly, the unease in the map nearly vanished.

"Roberto Guilliman has returned," he added.

New unease surged within—the map warned Zhou Yun to beware Guilliman's ambition.

Zhou Yun's lips twitched.

"This," Xiang Gaoqi, who had been watching Zhou Yun's reaction, hesitated before speaking: "Since I've already presented the Infernal Map to you, might I ask if you'd consider…"

"Presented? This Infernal Map is clearly human property. I haven't even settled accounts with you for stealing it!" Zhou Yun shoved the map back into his fourth-dimensional pocket.

Xiang Gaoqi opened his mouth to speak, but realized Zhou Yun's words made perfect sense—he had no rebuttal.

The Infernal Map, as a Webway navigation system, differed from the Aeldari Codex of Labyrinths.

The Codex was a painstakingly recorded map, built over millennia by the Aeldari. The Infernal Map was entirely human-made. They were not the same.

But Zhou Yun did not press further. Instead, he softened his tone, speaking with patient persuasion:

"I'd like to discuss Inard."

"You know that you, I, and Inard are all fundamentally of the Domain of Corrosion and Destruction. My dominion over it came entirely from the Emperor's gift."

"The only original, autonomous claimants to the fifth position were the Emperor and Inard. Though now, if the Emperor wished, he already holds it."

"One is the true God of Mankind. The other is the God of the Aeldari."

Xiang Gaoqi frowned slightly—he didn't grasp Zhou Yun's point.

"I'm merely curious: what would happen if the Emperor successfully ascended?"

"Mankind will die. Total extinction," Xiang Gaoqi replied. "After the Siege of Terra, the Emperor *is* Mankind itself—the collective of all human souls not claimed by the Four Gods."

"Then tell me," Zhou Yun smiled, "how was Inard born?"

"Inard was born within the Aeldari Infinity Circuit, which holds the pure Aeldari souls untouched by Slaanesh."

Xiang Gaoqi faintly understood Zhou Yun's implication.

The Emperor and Inard. Mankind and Aeldari. There was a correspondence.

"Do you recall the two conditions for Inard's resurrection in Aeldari prophecy?"

"All Aeldari die. All five Old Hag Swords are gathered. You seem to believe achieving either one suffices to resurrect Inard."

Zhou Yun pulled from his pocket a red circle and a blue cross.

"But according to Aeldari prophecy's logic—could these two conditions actually be one?"

(End of Chapter)