Chapter 563: No Xenos! All Human!

"Necrons grow machine souls," Guilliman's expression turned slightly strange.

He himself held a nuanced view toward "machine souls," toward the notion of mechanical spirits—clearly tinged with animism.

Guilliman had occasionally sensed the presence of machine souls, but such perceptions were vague, weak, indirect, and could not directly prove their existence.

He was well aware that many Mechanicus priests also failed to understand the mechanism of machine souls, their cognition of them remaining at a primitive, irrational level of faith.

In other words, Guilliman's view of machine souls leaned more toward superstition—or perhaps an Aetheric effect?

After all, most machines ought to be isolated from the Aether.

The Necrons themselves were an example: this mechanical race was entirely severed from the Aether.

Yet now Zhou Yun told Guilliman that one Necron had grown a machine soul.

This made Guilliman feel his worldview cracking slightly, felt materialism once again collapsing.

Guilliman sighed inwardly; it seemed that since some point in time, materialism had frequently ceased to exist.

"I can confirm—I traveled across the galaxy for years alongside Anarkiel. I believe Anarkiel possesses a soul."

Fulgrim offered a faint smile.

"It is not feigned, nor false emotion born of the Necrons' fragmented obsessions—it is a true soul."

"I have seen Anarkiel gaze alone at the stars in the dead of night. How could a soulless machine be drawn to the night sky?"

Guilliman placed little trust in Fulgrim's words; he turned his questioning gaze toward Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun, of course, knew exactly what had happened.

In tens of thousands of simulations, he had long since studied it thoroughly.

While in Asford, he had already established an initial link with the Domain of Malicious Craftsmanship; Anarkiel had been born under its influence.

The Aether mirrors the emotional tides of all living beings, and among these emotions naturally arise various forms of creativity—creativity that directly forms the Domain of Malicious Craftsmanship, which, born from the creative force behind those machines, inevitably encompasses the machines themselves.

Like bacteria and viruses—simple life forms lacking emotion, not meant to connect with the Aether, not meant to possess souls—

yet fear of disease, dread of decay, longing for survival are all intrinsically tied to these microbes; at the moment these emotions gave birth to the Nurgle Domain, these microbes naturally became linked to the Aether and acquired souls.

The reason machine souls are not yet true souls is simply that the Domain of Malicious Craftsmanship has not fully manifested, and the connection between the Aether and these machines remains insufficient.

If the true deity of the Domain of Malicious Craftsmanship were to be born, perhaps every machine in the galaxy would awaken a true soul.

Zhou Yun explained these points simply to the three semi-Primarchs.

This caused Guilliman to raise his eyebrows slightly; he felt Zhou Yun's understanding of the Aether had deepened considerably—was this the meaning of his slumber?

Sanguinius's gaze, however, lowered slightly, as if burdened with sorrow and self-reproach.

"Do Necrons desire to obtain souls?" Guilliman's eyes flickered faintly as he spoke: "Could Anarkiel represent the Necrons in cooperation with humanity?"

Guilliman did not ask whether Trazyn could represent the Necrons—he had heard enough from Kael to know Trazyn was reviled even among his own kind.

"Indeed, a large portion of them yearn for souls."

Zhou Yun nodded in agreement.

"Most Necrons still see themselves as the ancient Fearful Ones, believing they were forcibly implanted into these cold mechanical bodies, stripped of true perception of the world, their minds left with only endless emptiness."

"They crave the warmth of the living, crave souls to fill their voids; they wish to reverse the life-transformation and become Fearful Ones again—because now they realize that hollow, lonely eternal coldness is more tormenting than a brief, vivid life."

"And I, Qiahao, possess the ability to grant them souls."

Zhou Yun's words stirred the room, as if hope had surfaced.

But Zhou Yun quickly doused them with cold water: "A few centuries ago, Anarkiel might have represented some Necrons—but now, he cannot."

"The Silent King, for all else, is undeniably skilled in internal political struggles; Anarkiel's political influence has been entirely dismantled by him."

"What of the Silent King himself? Is there any possibility he might cooperate with us?" Guilliman frowned.

"There is… but you do not understand the Silent King," Sanguinius hesitated. "I forged a degree of friendship with him ten thousand years ago."

"What?" Fulgrim blurted out in undisguised shock.

Leman and Guilliman both turned sharply toward Sanguinius, disbelief etched on their faces.

You, with your honest face—you secretly conspired with an alien?!

Consorting with an alien was bad enough—but with the Silent King, one of the top-tier aliens?!

Consorting with the Silent King was bad enough—but you kept it hidden from everyone?!

Sanguinius! What a calculating mind!

Leman placed his hand on the table, tilted his head slightly, and opened his mouth to speak—

"Leman," Zhou Yun interrupted him the instant before he spoke, "I hope you've thought through how you'll explain the Dark Watchers of Caliban."

Leman's expression froze; the words died on his tongue. After a moment of silence, he said: "I understand Sanguinius—not every Legion is like the First Legion, devoid of secrets."

Guilliman's lips twitched at Leman's words, yet he felt a quiet unease: ten thousand years ago, Sanguinius had friendship with the Silent King? What about during the Second Empire? Did the connection persist? And what of the Pharos Lighthouse—wasn't that a Necron ruin? Was the Silent King involved in that?

In an instant, Guilliman's mind filled with suspicions, beginning to speculate on what exactly Sanguinius and the Silent King had done together.