Chapter 412: The Feeling of Fullness Never Lies

"Emperor." Leina's finger pointed at Hua Daxiong; her words were brief, but Zhou Yun understood their meaning.

Zhou Yun looked calmly at Hua Daxiong standing in the corner—or rather, Hua Di Huang, Neo Daxiong.

He had sensed something off from the start.

During his sparring with Saint Gilles, Zhou Yun had noticed an odd sensation within Hua Daxiong's body, as if another will were hidden inside that flesh.

Later, Zhou Yun occasionally felt faint traces of foreign energy seeping into Hua Daxiong's body.

But the sensation was unclear; at first, he even wondered if it was his imagination.

Yet even if those mental anomalies didn't exist—even if they were all his delusion—

wouldn't the damn feeling of fullness tell the truth?!

Zhou Yun's will swept through Hua Daxiong's body, sensing the heavy load of dorayaki stuffed inside, and he was left speechless.

Did Hua Di Huang really think Zhou Yun wouldn't notice his belly full of dorayaki?

Ah, old man of the Domain of Corrosion and Annihilation, your digestion just can't match ours in the Domain of Greedy Dissolution.

Zhou Yun had noticed his presence but stayed silent because he wanted to secretly observe Hua Di Huang, to confirm his condition.

The Emperor had long ceased to be an independent entity; his consciousness was crammed with billions of human souls—he was the King of Vast Ages, the collective of humanity.

And most of those human souls were filled with violent self-destructive impulses: mad, shattered, agonized.

Zhou Yun wasn't sure whether the Emperor's will now lodged in Hua Daxiong's body leaned closer to the 30k Emperor or the 40k God-Emperor.

If it was the 30k version, he was a piece of trash.

If it was the 40k version, he was a demon god.

Judging by this, the old bastard clearly leaned closer to the 30k trash.

Zhou Yun glanced at Hua Di Huang and sent his will surging into that body.

A faint glimmer of light flickered in Hua Di Huang's hollow eyes.

"I am neither the 30k Emperor nor the 40k God-Emperor."

Hua Di Huang gave Leina, who had unhesitatingly betrayed him, a weary look, then spoke to Zhou Yun:

"Perhaps because your subconscious believes I resemble Hua Daxiong, I can, to some extent, force my will into this body—though my priority is lower than yours."

"But this body is your Great Demon; its form has been shaped entirely by your subconscious, molded completely into your image."

"Only the will that matches your subconscious image of me, fits this Hua Daxiong shell, and passes your screening can enter."

His tone grew bitter: "In a sense, I am the Emperor of your stereotype—the Emperor you believe in, the Hua Di Huang your subconscious conjured."

"But Your Majesty," Leina spoke softly before Zhou Yun could reply, "this body only filters—it doesn't create. The will itself is still yours; you already possessed these thoughts, not Zhou Yun altering them."

Leina hesitated slightly: "At least I believe Zhou Yun filtered out your worst parts—you can now speak rationally, clearly."

"Not like before, when you were mad, terrifying, acerbic, grotesque, and contradicted yourself constantly."

"Exactly! If you hate this body, I can take it back." Zhou Yun glanced at Hua Di Huang.

When Zhou Yun's will occupied Hua Daxiong's body, the Emperor's will was merely an intruder; Zhou Yun believed that with conscious effort, he could expel it.

In fact, he had already begun doing so.

Have you paid rent?! Just move in like this?!

"How selfish are you?!" Hua Di Huang stepped back sharply, waving his hands.

Zhou Yun gave him a disgusted look: "When exactly did you realize you could enter this body? During my sparring with Saint Gilles?"

"Around the time of the Gate of the Lion," Hua Daxiong's gaze flickered slightly.

That was right at the beginning?!

Zhou Yun suddenly remembered all the hard work he'd put in these days, while this damn thing had been hiding inside Hua Daxiong, watching—his temper flared.

Dammit, you can move now, and you still won't get up and help me swing the whip?!

"How lazy are you?!" Zhou Yun snapped. "Don't you know the Empire still has countless tasks waiting for you?!"

"I wasn't born to work!"

Hua Di Huang replied instinctively, then added:

"Besides, I can only let a sliver of my will seep into this body when I'm in relatively good condition—I'm nowhere near as free as you imagine."

"Most of my will is projected into the Warp, resisting the waves the Four Gods stir across the Warp and the material universe. The will that squeezes into this body is already degraded—not better than Guilliman's."

"And I've been working nonstop on the Golden Throne! Unlike some blue cat just whipping my Imperial Guards in a dungeon!"

"Hey! You!" Zhou Yun's brow shot up. "Do you think my work is easy?! Then go feed all of Terra's population! Why can't you do it?!"

"The Lord of Terra can't even make Terra self-sufficient?! Is this your work ethic?!"

"Do you think I don't want to?!" Hua Di Huang raised his voice. "Do you know how much Warp energy the beasts of North Africa and Ursh released on Terra during the Unification Wars? The gods manipulated them into a magical arms race, forcing them to slowly sacrifice Terra's land—this damage is nearly permanent. Without me, Terra would be overrun by even more demons and monsters!"

Hua Di Huang retorted.

Beside him, Leina quietly picked up the fainted Ye Ruite and laid her on the bed.

The sight of the Emperor arguing with Saint Doraemon was too shocking for a young child.

The Emperor and Zhou Yun watched silently.

"Don't ask me to help Guilliman with state affairs—anything else, I'll do!" Hua Di Huang sighed.

"You're overestimating yourself. I know exactly how terrible your administrative skills are. Back then, the five stellar regions and a million worlds were carried on Macarthur's shoulders," Zhou Yun said with disdain.

Even before the Great Crusade fully ended, the Emperor's abrupt removal of the Astartes from the Imperial administration spoke volumes.

It wasn't wrong to remove the Astartes from governance—but the Emperor did it too obviously, too crudely, inevitably making the Astartes feel like the bow was discarded after the rabbit was killed.

"Whatever you want me to do, remember this: I can only enter this body when I'm in good condition—not constantly."

"Or rather, you shaped this body to allow only my clear, rational consciousness to enter—my chaotic and fractured states are barred."

"Lastly, I ask you not to reveal my existence. A body that lets me move is far too valuable. If we can hide it from the gods' sight, perhaps we can replicate our last operation—breaking the Blood God's knee."

"As long as they dare expose their domains before this body's eyes, I'll have my chance."

"Then…" Zhou Yun's lips curled slightly as he pulled a pen and a stack of blank parchment from his fourth-dimensional pocket.

Outside the Inquisition Fortress,

the cold wind from the Antarctic ice cap brushed against Inquisitor Els's face, offering her weary mind a sliver of relief.

Els often felt grateful for her position—not because of the power it granted.

In truth, all Inquisitors within the Inquisition were theoretically equal; the Grand Inquisitor was merely an honorary title, and Inquisitor Representatives held no more authority than Grand Inquisitors within the Inquisition.

An Inquisitor Representative was merely a representative—the Inquisition's voice in the High Lords' Council, nothing more.

Els was grateful precisely for this: the term of an Inquisitor Representative lasted at most five years. She wouldn't die suddenly, be assassinated, or be dragged into political conspiracies—she could retire peacefully and resume her duties as a regular Inquisitor.

Several High Lords had privately expressed envy toward Els.

But future retirement couldn't ease her current exhaustion; she remained weary from her present duties.

There were two main reasons:

First, the Inquisition theoretically held limitless power and could theoretically oversee the Primarchs—but the problem was that a faction within the Inquisition took this theory literally, genuinely believing they could monitor the Primarchs.

Second, the conservative faction within the Inquisition—the Amaras Faction—believed the Emperor had already laid out a grand plan for the Empire, and the Inquisition's sole duty was to maintain stability, ensuring the Emperor's grand design unfolded exactly as foreseen, eliminating all possible deviations.

The Amaras Faction was the largest within the Inquisition; in fact, Els herself belonged to it.

But now, even within the Amaras Faction, a split had emerged: whether the return of the Primarchs and the appearance of Saint Doraemon were harmful deviations or part of the Emperor's plan.

Els devoutly believed they were part of the Emperor's grand design—after all, both the Primarchs and Saint Doraemon had visited the Emperor's palace. Wasn't that obvious?

Yet many in the Amaras Faction couldn't see this. The faction fractured into Els's Doraemon-Amaras Faction and the Purist-Amaras Faction, led by the current Fortress Master.

The Fortress Master now stood beside Els, waiting with her for the arrival of the two.

Saint Gilles and Saint Doraemon were coming to the Inquisition Fortress—Els understood it was to suppress internal opposition to the Primarchs and Saint Doraemon, to silence the Purist-Amaras Faction.

But Els still felt dread, fearing the escalation of conflict, especially if the two might demand to interrogate certain prisoners—

A sharp click echoed across the pale Antarctic ice. A pink-tinged wooden door appeared before Els and the Fortress Master.

(End of Chapter)