Chapter 546: Saint Doraemon Above

The holy song of Saint Doraemon rang clear and bright, like a breeze over Mount Makurag's peaks, like children's joyful laughter,

The Emperor's holy song was solemn and grave, like the statue of a monarch overlooking marble streets on Makurag, like the moving orations of the Primarchs,

Grelinna moved through corridors carved with scenes of Saint Doraemon and the Emperor's past deeds, her heart pounding uncontrollably,

This was a chapel belonging to the Battle Sisters; after the Pilgrim Vessel arrived on Terra, they were received and examined by the Battle Sisters,

The sisters praised their courage and devotion, welcomed them with twenty-two hymns and tested their loyalty with twenty-two questions; finally, their faith was confirmed in the exorcising incense, allowing them to step into the outer halls of the Imperial Palace atop Mount Ximalaya,

This was the most magnificent structure Grelinna had ever seen—not a single building, but a hive-city layered with administrative spires, government bureaus, parchment warehouses, and countless chapels,

It was magnificent, yes, yet undeniably chaotic,

Grelinna felt a quiet disappointment in her heart at Terra's appearance—it was not as grand as Makurag,

Under the guidance of the aged Battle Sister Magda, Grelinna and the other pilgrims entered a quiet little chapel,

Inside stood a towering statue of Saint Doraemon with his round hand raised high, and beside it were carved several smaller statues,

These smaller statues fell into two groups,

Grand Sage Belisarius Dora Caul, the Pure One Leina, and the Holy Maiden Jeanne—these were the small group, mortals chosen by Saint Doraemon,

Beyond them stood five slightly larger statues: the Divine Voice Fat Tiger, the Sea Emperor Noby Dora, the Archangel Saint Guilliman, the Regent Primarch Guilliman, and a figure clad in a hooded dark green power armor,

Grelinna's gaze lingered on the hooded figure; during their pilgrimage to Terra, their vessel had been saved by this being,

It was said this was a Living Saint awakened by Saint Doraemon before His slumber, Doraemon's blade, the hunter of the Shadowed Woods, the Imperial Protector,

This being spoke little, leading a band of equally silent Space Marines through the galaxy; when villains ran rampant, demons appeared, traitors tormented the Empire, this silent figure would emerge from mist-shrouded forests with his Astartes to punish all evil and protect the weak, then vanish without trace once his task was done,

Grelinna had spent decades aboard the Pilgrim Vessel and had been uncertain whether this being truly was a Living Saint of Doraemon; now, seeing his statue standing beside Saint Guilliman and Primarch Guilliman, she finally believed with certainty that he was indeed a Living Saint of Saint Doraemon,

Grelinna also noticed that this being stood shoulder to shoulder with the statues of Saint Guilliman and Primarch Guilliman, as if forming an unbreakable trio. Could this Living Saint also be one of the Primarchs who had died and been resurrected by Saint Doraemon?

Could it be…

Grelinna harbored a faint suspicion: this being must be the Primarch Leman Russ,

Her reason for this guess was that, when she was still a noble of Makurag, her family's secret chamber held an ancestral antique carving,

The carving depicted Saint Guilliman, Primarch Guilliman, and Leman Russ seated side by side on three thrones,

Though history recorded no such thing, Grelinna judged from the carving that the three Primarchs must have once been close,

But when the claws of the Great Devourer breached their lands and her family's holdings fell, and she was rescued by Saint Guilliman, the carving vanished without explanation,

Later, Grelinna returned to her family's ancestral home to search for it, but found nothing. Perhaps it had been destroyed by traitors,

The Battle Sisters brought food to Grelinna and the pilgrims,

Sweet juice pressed from leaves, a dorayaki, rice, and roasted locusts,

All common foods across the galaxy today,

The leaf-pressed juice and dorayaki need no explanation—they are the holy meals of Saint Doraemon,

As for rice and roasted locusts, they had been seen on many planets during the pilgrimage,

It was said these were among the blessings left by Saint Doraemon before His slumber: a miraculous artifact called the Holiday Agriculture Set, carried by the Indomitus Crusade fleet to every world,

Every reclaimed world received vast quantities of the Holiday Agriculture Set; no matter how hostile the environment, the artifact could grow rice and locusts, feeding countless souls,

Grelinna tasted the rice—it tasted much the same as what she had eaten on other worlds,

Yet she had once heard a rumor that the rice on Terra was grown only by the Emperor's Imperial Guard; surely that was just a myth,

Today, as always, she followed Saint Doraemon's teachings, wasting not a single grain, and ate her fill; she devoutly gave thanks to Saint Doraemon and to those who grew this food,

Sister Magda told the pilgrims they could rest in this chapel tonight, and tomorrow they would be permitted to pilgrimage before the Eternal Gate,

But only before the Eternal Gate—they would not be allowed into the true heart of the Palace; that was reserved only for the Imperial Guard, the Primarchs, Saint Doraemon, and those chosen by Him,

The pilgrims softly chanted the names of the Emperor and Saint Doraemon; Grelinna, her heart pounding, prayed to Saint Doraemon,

She had long noticed that the closer she came to Terra, the clearer her dreams became when she prayed to Saint Doraemon,

Grelinna, with a sliver of hope, longed to feel Saint Doraemon's clear and definite will during her prayer,

She softly chanted Saint Doraemon's name twenty-two times, then began to hum His holy song,

Saint Doraemon is the Primordial Force, the source of motion for all beings, spirits, machines, and stars; all unceasing drive, all creative love for beauty, points toward Him,

Saint Doraemon is the Eternal Dragon, the whip and the grain that nourish and satisfy all life; every satisfied fullness, every joyful meal, every reverent emotion toward food, points toward Him,

Saint Doraemon is the Chosen of Death, the warm slumber, the end of all suffering, the guide to the eternal peace of the twenty-second century; every longing to return to the twenty-second century, every peaceful death, every yearning for rest amid pain, points toward Him,

Grelinna seized the satisfaction in her belly after dinner, seized this moment of peace, seized the unyielding drive of her lifelong pilgrimage, and devoutly prayed to Saint Doraemon,

Her faith was sincere; nearly every prayer granted her a connection to Saint Doraemon,