After thoroughly trashing me, Niandra left soon after.

Accompanied by Veritta, I was on my way returning to the library when Herlindya intercepted us before we got onto the lift.

‘I heard Maylin had prepared questionnaires for you,’ the throne agent said to me and then she turned to Veritta. ‘I am taking over and joining the session, just in case.’ Veritta nodded and so I returned to the library with Herlindya.

We found Welminah and Maylin having a discussion in a corner. Both girls stood up the moment they saw me and I was soon dragged over to answer their questionnaires. I provided little information about myself other than arriving via a Mechanicus ship on a divine mission, forsaking all other details using the excuse of memory loss, and just went with the flow under the supervision of Herlindya. Unable to gain much on my personal nor important information, to my annoyance Maylin started asking about the details of my song.

‘What is the title of the song? Is it true that its lyrics are in ancient Terran languages?’ Maylin asked with an unhealthy level of enthusiasm without noticing Welminah giving her a quick side eye. The scholar’s surface thought was clear to me; Of course it is, I worked on the translation for days, then verified it with multiple other experts.

Wow, Welminah could understand English and Japanese. I had totally forgotten that sisters of the Order Dialogous were usually linguistic experts.

‘Do you remember your singing on Miracle Day? Hold on, I have it here…’ Maylin said and reached for her data-slate.

‘No need.’ I stopped her. No way was I going to let her repeat that painful memory. ‘I had seen the recordings and knew the song, but Miracle Day?’

‘That’s the unofficial name people had started using for the day when Nusquam narrowly escaped damnation,’ Welminah chipped in.

‘Then can you please confirm its title? People have been guessing for a while now,’ Maylin said excitedly and handed me her data-slate. On it was a news article discussing my solo performance and a number of speculated titles to go along with it.

I looked through the article and the proposed title list, caught a glimpse at the accredited translators names and saw Welminah Maeyer was listed as one of the primary contributors. I then read into the details, gasping internally at how close they came to guessing and before finding “Beautiful World” amongst the top contenders for proposed title, they had nailed it.

I pointed with a finger at it. ‘Yes, it is in ancient Terran languages. Whoever did the translation and guessing of its title did a great job. This is the correct title.’

‘I knew it!’ Maylin exclaimed while Welminah’s face lit up upon receiving my indirect praise for her hard work. Looking at the happy preacher and scholar, I thought for a moment before deciding to properly honour the song’s creator.

‘It is not my song though, I have no idea why I remember this but, I knew for a fact the original artist is from Holy Terra a real long time ago.’ Maylin’s eyes widened upon hearing my explanation.

‘How long?’ She asked.

Should I give a proper date? Nah.

I thought for a moment before giving her a vague but truthful response. ‘When Holy Terra was still known as Earth and the seven oceans were still around,’ I answered and watched as her expression went from ecstatic to blank, unsure of what to make of my comment.

Ignoring a speechless Maylin, I activated the notepad function of her data-slate and wrote down the name, Hikaru Utada, before passing the device back to her.

‘Please properly attribute credit to the real artist.’ It was the least I could do for cross dimensional piracy.

It was near the evening when they booted Maylin out of the monastery with the excuse of visitors’ hours being over and they could not provide accommodation on such short notice. In truth I knew the Sororitas were just messing with the new preacher.

I was having another round of checkup done by Veritta, supervised by Magos Balpradus and oddly just another senior looking sister hospitaller who I had seen a few times. Usually there were more of them around, I remembered seeing a few of them during my previous sessions.

‘Just you two today?’ I asked Veritta, trying to jump start a conversation in the silence.

‘From now on, probably so.’ Veritta replied. ‘All the others except Sister Juliah here had voluntarily submitted themselves to partial memory wipe.’

‘Mind wipe? Volunteer?’ I stood up, a mixture of shock and outrage washing over me as I instantly understood what had happened. As my caretakers during my rehabilitation, most of the personnel involved would have known what I really am. But without a high enough security clearance, they were forbidden to keep their memories of that information.

So that was why the psykers were here too -

In the grim darkness of the far future, serving the Imperium meant not even your memories belonged to you. Viewing this as a private citizen from a mostly democratic country of the twenty-first century, such infringement was sacrilege to the basic human rights of the highest order.

WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Thaberus’ words echoed in my mind as I stood still, contemplating the impact on the lives of people around me with my existence alone. What I didn’t anticipate was the effect of my response, in front of me both sister hospitallers had knelt down while the Magos had become completely motionless like a statue. From the reflection of his lens I saw myself, icy face and eyes gleaming with power.

I was angry. It showed, and people got scared. I could see while Veritta who knew me better was still relatively calm, the senior hospitaller was trembling slightly.

Throne please, I am no Angron.

I let out a soft sigh and sat back down. ‘My apologies, I am not angry at any of you. It is just… I find it difficult that people are losing their memories because of me.’

Magos Balpradus took a deep bow before he spoke. ‘As expected of the one who was created by the Omnissiah and is closer to the divine source, your vexation is comprehensible. Denying the sisters of their recollections of your true identity is equivalent to theft of their knowledge, robbing them of a portion of divinity’s manifestation, thus rendering the memory wipe an act of sacrilege. Nonetheless, I assert that the compromise for improved information security is advantageous and well worth it.’

Did this guy just do a runabout version of “sasuga” boot licking?

Nonetheless, the magos did provide me with a nice exit ramp, so I nodded in acknowledgment. ‘I am sorry for my emotional display, but it was upsetting. Personally I view all personal memories as sacred.’ No one had any further comment so I then turned to the senior hospitaller, ‘Sister Juliah, we have met but never been introduced.’

‘Yes.’ The senior hospitaller quickly lowered her head as she introduced herself. ‘I am Hospitaller Superior Juliah Palmith, ranking sister for the Order Hospitaller on Nusquam. I am beyond blessed to be making your acquaintance, Holy Daughter.’

‘I will be in your care.’ I nodded and tried to be approachable but felt only religious veneration on Juliah’s surface thoughts. I realised it would be very difficult if not impossible for me to establish an interpersonal relationship with her at this point.

We concluded the checkup and Balpradus gave me the report. ‘While I am far from able to divine the grand design created by the Omnissiah, but even with my limited knowledge it is my belief that you are as healthy as can be. Daily checkups would not be necessary from this point.’

Finally it was official, I was fit for duty.

Later that day, I received news that Canoness Diadinah had delayed her scheduled return, chasing after more heretic nests.

It was around dinner time when I noticed some news about the heretic hunts. Due to newly uncovered leads, hundreds of people had been arrested and many more executed. I wondered if that had anything to do with what happened today as my eventful second day of living in the monastery was coming to an end.

Dinner was a dull solo “I don’t feel like eating the nice food in front of me” affair. I had Solace, my servo-skull, scan the food for poison and toxin beforehand, a procedure Veritta had insisted that I should make into a habit. Speaking of dinner, I just realised having eggs around meant that chicken, our poultry friends back from Earth, had made it to the stars with us. I wondered if they were still considered the most abused domesticated species around at this time.

Soon after dinner Herlindya visited to get a detailed report of the psychic interrogation on the space marine. She was also staying at the monastery for the time being. I was half-way narrating my story when it occurred to me. Can I fully trust the inquisition? As much as my natural inclination to just leave everything to people like Thaberus and Herlindya, something was bugging me.

The way the inquisitor had asked me not to dig too much into their business was a dead give away that I was not fully trusted by them either. Then that vision of an inquisition rosette held by dragon claws burning in a fire flashed before my mind and I decided on my course of action.

I need to look into this myself.

I skipped the most crucial parts, finished the report and was left alone after that. Finally free, I was going to sort out my gift for Welminah when a scene outside the window caught my attention. My room had some large curtained windows directly overlooking the gated entry of the monastery compound, where a crowd much bigger than the one I saw had gathered.

Religious fanatics. I shivered and closed the curtains.

I then took the time to pick an outfit as the promised gift. Totally clueless on fashion, I selected a ceremonial gown which looked formal enough for most occasions. I remembered Welminah did pause for a second longer when she came across this particular piece the last time. Fingers crossed that she really did like it.

Talking about fashion, I was wondering where to get a sample of the mundane life on this planet when the television unit in the room caught my sight. Huh, why didn’t I think of that?

After some fumbling with the remote control, I managed to operate the ultra high resolution TV and spent some time watching their programs.

The first programme I came across was a documentary called “The Glory of Humanity”, celebrating the achievements and accomplishments of humanity. It showcased the technology, culture, and warfare that have made the Imperium of Man the current greatest power in the galaxy. In pure propaganda fashion, it could not stop singing praises to the Emperor the whole time.

Flipping through the channels, I next came across another show called “Loyalty unto Death”. It highlighted short stories of incredible feats of known ordinary soldiers and citizens during trying times to showcase their unbreakable loyalty and dedication; only a few featured figures survived their ordeal to personally tell their tales.

Feeling uneasy about watching a show about martyrs, I changed the channel again and landed on an interesting show called “Imperial Justice”. It followed a local law officer on his adventures of dealing with crimes on Nusquam while working with the Arbites, literally a space age, grimdark cop show.

That said, these programs were not subtle in their pushing for the themes about loyalty, self sacrifice and dedication to the Imperium. My initial impression was that for the average citizen, their way of life was very rigid, there was an emphasis on class status and how people need to know their places.

Suddenly my servo-skull, Solace, signalled an incoming call with Welminah shown as the caller. I picked it up with a flick of my mind.

‘Hello, Welminah?’

‘My lady, sorry to disturb you at this time. I just received confirmation on the list of Ecclesiarchy visitors tomorrow and, uh…’ Even through the voice chat, her tenseness and hesitation was apparent, so I decided that I might as well ask her to come over.

‘Something to discuss? Just come to my place.’

Welminah arrived soon after, I recognised her footsteps and unlocked the door remotely as she reached the entrance, then Solace welcomed her into my living quarters.

It was far easier to read the mind of others when the other party was willing and wanted to share. Even before Welminah was seated, I was already receiving information by casually skimming her surface thoughts.

Tomorrow, important Ecclesiarchy big shots are visiting… archdeacon, deacons, prominent priests and preachers. Seemed like the whole elite high-hat gang would be coming.

‘We have some very important guests from the Church coming tomorrow, yes?’ I asked preemptively, not wanting to waste time nor make her job difficult.

‘Oh, yes!’ Welminah answered happily, truly glad that I opened the topic for her. ‘His Grace Archdeacon Ricene will head a prominent delegation for a visit tomorrow.’ Then I sensed multiple worries that hung heavily on her mind; presentation and arrangements.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I played along. ‘Thank you for handling all the red tape and formalities. Should I wear something more formal for the occasion? Would you like to pick an outfit for me again?’

‘That would be great.’ Welminah bowed and smiled from the bottom of her heart as almost all her hurdles were immediately solved. We dug into my luggage again and went through the collection quickly, eventually settling on an outfit. I tried it on and the scholar sister nodded approvingly, satisfied that I looked formal enough for the important guests tomorrow.

‘Speaking of outfit, I believe I still owe you a gift.’ I said while taking out the folded ceremonial gown. Welminah went pale upon seeing her gift, and she raised a hand to cover her mouth.

‘I am sorry it is overdue, please accept it.’ I pushed it to her.

Welminah grabbed hold onto the garment respectfully with both hands, her dizzied mind eventually blossomed into a spring of gratitude and she finally said, ‘I will treasure this greatly.’ She even lowered her head slightly to hide her teary eyes.

Awww.

Anyway I should use this opportunity to ask questions about some issues that were bugging me.

‘Welminah, I was informed that some of the sister hospitallers who oversaw my recovery had their memories wiped. Who exactly in the Sororitas currently knows of my true identity?'

‘About that… as far as I know, beside me and all the palatines, only the canoness and her retinue, plus Sister Hospitaller Juliah, knows the whole truth.’

‘Not even Zharphia?’

‘Well, technically she won’t be in the list. But I am not sure if Canoness Diadinah had kept up with the code of secrecy with key figures like Sister Zharphia.’

‘Why?’

‘The true prophecy foretold the danger about proclaiming your identity to the world and we had kept the number of people in the loop as low as possible. However it is not beyond the canonness to disclose such information to trusted individuals to boost morale. At times I could tell she couldn’t wait to inform the whole world that the Emperor had sent his hidden daughter here for something truly massive.’

I winced internally, silently praying whatever was in that vault would be worthy of such high expectations.

‘Tell me about the Cardinal.’ I switched topics, hoping to know more about this infamous individual from a local. Welminah’s expression became visibly grimmer with the mention of the cardinal; she gave off the impression of talking about a black sheep in the family. ‘Well, His Holiness Paudinith IV might be too ambitious for his own good as the Cardinal of Nusquam.’

‘Why is that?’

‘You see…’

It was a fascinating story. In essence, a “nearby” shrine world, Sanctitas Primus, was the primary religious hub of the sub sector. A long time ago, after a particularly savage power struggle for the Cardinal throne on Sanctitas Primus, the losing faction who were on friendly ties with the nobles of Nusquam fled to the planet with the victors high on their tails.

Caught in the middle, the Nusquamese leadership then made a deal with the Church. It was agreed that Nusquam would remain a secular world permanently, forever keeping the Church out of its central political power structure to prevent the rise of a competing shrine world. And thus the exiles were allowed to live the rest of their lives in peace and a unique political structure was born.

‘Paudinith IV is a man who has great interest in power but is stuck in the impossible local political landscape to expand his influence.’ Welminah explained, ‘so at times he vented his frustration in an… unruly fashion.’

‘I see…’

We went quiet after that, in the ensuing silence I felt something slowly building up in Welminah’s mind. A while later she finally built enough resolve to ask her question.

‘Please, can you… tell me about the God-Emperor?’

Surprised, I took a closer look at Welminah. The Dialogous sister exchanged stares with me without flinching, but her pupils had dilated from the sheer mental pressure she must have experienced just to bring out the question.

She really did want to know.

As for me, for the briefest of moments, I felt like a person who just discovered my new best friend was way more interested in my “celebrity dad” than myself.

Not very cool, but totally understandable.

‘What do you want to know?’ I finally asked after a while.

‘Anything and everything.’

‘Hmm… I am sorry, my only memory of Him is beyond words…’ I started saying and sensed Welminah’s mood dipped sharply upon hearing my words, but she did a good job on keeping a neutral face.

What was I supposed to tell her? That for a psyker the Emperor looked like a sentient sun and His current mind was too shattered to hold a simple conversation? I only had second hand memory about seeing the actual Big E and it was quite a traumatic experience. It would be so much easier to show than to tell.

Hold on, this could be done just like that psychic interrogation, right? I can do that!

I became excited by the idea, it felt like discovering a new world. In theory I just needed to create a virtual vision and guide her synapses into my simulation. It should be a much easier process since she was a totally willing subject in comparison to the space marine.

The very notion of being able to give visions to others was utterly intriguing to me, so I decided to give it a chance.

‘There might be a way. Would you like to try?’

‘To do what exactly?’

‘For you to see Him yourself.’

Welminah’s face tightened up just by my mere suggestion but she nodded eagerly and consented. ‘I do not understand, but if it can deepen my connection with the God-Emperor, I am willing.’

Well, in that case I need to prepare the scene first.

‘Allright, give me a moment.’

[Psykana Activa] activated-

[Cogitatio Acceleratio] activated-

[Simulatio] activated-

Gathering my powers, I closed my eyes and began the massive internal calculations on recreating the mind-blowing psychic impression of the Emperor inside my mind. The work was not easy, to do this I had to push into the deep recesses of my memory which were heavily entangled with emotions. From there I painstakingly reconstructed my impression of the Emperor in that fateful reunion.

Running thought acceleration on overdrive, I tweaked and adjusted, then modified and improved the scene thousands of times inside my head. It was a doubly difficult process as most of the involved elements were not even physical in nature.

Nevertheless I persevered with brute computation strength and pushed forward many adjustments until finally, a satisfactory level of closeness of what I remembered was achieved in vivid three dimensional information.

Then it occurred to me I did not catch a glimpse of the actual golden throne in Syrine’s memory. That darn throne was so prevalent in all the lore, an Emperor sighting experience would be incomplete without it.

Luckily I had seen the throne on the cover of an official novel and went to work with the sanctioned source. As usual there were many blanks to fill, but these were much easier work when compared to the reconstruction of the Emperor in His full psychic glory. Soon with the throne settled, I just needed to put the virtual Emperor on to the throne in a seated position and everything was good to go.

‘It is ready.’ I opened my eyes, happy with the preparation, but nevertheless felt the need to lower Welminah’s expectation with some disclaimers beforehand. I smiled and extended a hand to her.

‘No promises but I will do my best. Hold onto my hand.’

* * *

What am I doing?

Asking the Emperor’s daughter to provide glimpses of the Master of Mankind? Is this not an act of sacrilege and an abuse of position of the highest order?

Welminah had been asking herself such questions a lot in the past minutes. Her pulse quickened just by reviewing her own actions, surely this was bordering on blasphemy.

But this might be the only chance she will ever have, plus Lady Syrine has been so kind and accommodating. Welminah had an idea of what was coming in the near future, this rare event of being alone with the Emperor’s daughter probably might never happen again.

So when she finally built up her courage and made her request, Welminah watched in mortification as Syrine abruptly went silent. Just as the sister believed a grave mistake had been made, to her surprise Syrine had turned around and agreed to her selfish petition.

More shockingly Syrine even spoke of a way to let her see the Master of Mankind. Not knowing what to expect but obviously unwilling to miss out on this, Welminah eagerly agreed to whatever Syrine had in store. Syrine then spoke of having to prepare for the experience and closed her eyes while the sister waited with bated breath.

A while later when the Holy Daughter opened her eyes again, her once depthless silver pupils glowed gold with divine light. Welminah had seen this phenomena a few times now, however this was the first time she was witnessing it up close. In the next instance Syrine extended a hand to her and Welminah took it without hesitation.

There was an explosion of light, and suddenly, Welminah found herself in a strange place. It was foggy all around, like a scene in a dream but her senses were vivid. As she battled with the incongruity, a child-like voice called out to her.

‘Welminah?’

Startled, the sister looked up and saw a small figure appearing from the dense fog. To her relief, it was Syrine, except strangely, she was a child here. Both her appearance and attire were the same, just that she had shrunk and looked to be no more than five years of age in this impossible place.

‘Can you hear me?’ The little Syrine asked as she approached, her tone and mannerism was as Welminah remembered, full of warmth and friendliness.

Relieved, she bowed and answered. ‘Yes, my lady. Where is this and why are you… a child?’ The little Syrine smiled and looked kind of embarrassed about her situation, patting her own head while dropping a statement. ‘Sorry, I am new to this vision thing and might have overlooked certain issues.’

Vision. So this is one of the many divine visions Welminah had read about, to think she was experiencing it herself and the idea that she was about to receive divine revelation shocked the sister.

Hold on, I just wanted to know more about the Emperor-

‘Anyway, let’s proceed.’ Oblivious to her inner struggles, Syrine pushed forward before she could protest.

Suddenly an explosion of light burst into existence as Welminah felt like a sun had materialised behind her. Accompanying the intense illumination was the rising heat on her back and an overwhelming presence indescribable with words.

IS THAT…?

Welminah had a hunch of who had appeared behind her and started to shake uncontrollably. Wanting to confirm with her own eyes, she was about to turn around but found her legs unable to move. Confused, she tried again but found her shaking body refusing any directive.

Feeling helpless, she turned to Syrine, only to see the latter glowing like an adorable little angel under the intense light, though she was no longer smiling.

Slowly the little Syrine started walking forward, her sight locked into the far distance behind Welminah. With every step Syrine took, the suffocating pressure from the unknown presence intensified. Up and up the pressure climbed until eventually it became difficult for Welminah to even breath. She was about to cry out for help when Syrine spoke again.

‘Welminah, turn around.’

That broke the petrifying spell and Welminah found herself able to move again, but only barely. Trembling, the sister started to turn, feeling the intense heat climbing onto her face as she did so. With a final colossal effort, Welminah spun around to face what was behind her.

The scene awaiting the sister was beyond her imagination and Welminah struggled to make sense of what she was seeing. At an indeterminable distance away was a pyramid shimmering in golden light, it was huge, clearly occupying a space far away yet it stretched and swelled to fully occupy her vision.

On top of the pyramid was a colossal throne covered with impressions of golden filigree that weaved through intricate circuitries, pulsating with a subtle energy hinting at the immense psychic forces that swirled within. Countless banners with powerful symbols and glyphs hung from the heavens atop of the throne.

While the overall scene was out of this world, it all paled in comparison to the illuminating figure that was seated in the middle of it all. Welminah’s mind went into overdrive, she simultaneously could not get enough of looking at everything, yet at the same time she found herself lacking the courage to look directly at the shining entity who she believed to be the Master of Mankind.

But this was what she had asked for, and Welminah resolved to not let this miracle go to waste. Under suffocating pressure, she steeled herself and forced her eyes to focus upon the figure that dominated the entire space, the source of all the intense lights in this strange place.

And finally, she saw HIM.

Seated atop the Golden Throne was an awe-inspiring glowing figure that transcended her mortal comprehension. Fully clad in an ornate golden armour that was embellished with intricate patterns, was a vision of divine majesty that radiated an impossibly regal aura. Obscured by the radiance of a titanic halo that was many times larger than the ones Syrine ever manifested, the figure’s facial features were impossible to define, yet paradoxically a distinct mixture of sternness and compassion could be felt with the weight of a million lifetimes.

Surrounding the figure was an ethereal storm of divine energy that danced in spellbinding patterns. The very air itself crackled with raw power, casting an otherworldly glow upon the entire space. As the sister’s eyes darted all over the unfathomable sight, she traced where the outgoing lights were heading and noticed for the first time the vast darkness surrounding Him.

The entire scene felt like a glimpse into the unimaginable scale of the Emperor’s existence, a testament to His sacrifice for humanity, a monument to His psychic might that protected all His people from the malevolent forces, and a symbol of defiance against the encroaching darkness that threatened to consume all.

Witnessing the whole divine spectacle, Welminah could not nor dare not move, her heart hammered like silent thunder, even the act of breathing felt like a sacrilege.

Then the little Syrine who Welminah had all but forgotten until now uttered a single word.

‘Father.’

Welminah felt every fine hair on her stood on their end as her God in the distance seemed to turn to the calling, and she herself was in the spot where His attention would land.

A feeling of an all-knowing, all-powerful force settled on her and the pressure Welminah had been feeling until now intensified many times over. Utterly petrified and having nowhere to hide, she stared back, and felt herself immolating from the sheer intensity.

His divinity… it burns.

Welminah wanted to scream, just as she opened her mouth a sensation that could not be anything else but being struck by lightning hit her and -

* * *

‘Welminah! Please wake up!’

The fainted sister’s head was resting on my lap while I gently slapped her face. She had a rapid pulse and last I checked, enlarged pupils.

I screwed up.

Except for the unforeseen situation of me turning into a child in the vision due to the impression from Syrine’s memory, my little experiment was going smoothly and everything was working as intended when disaster struck.

The simulated vision was so realistic, without realising it I uttered “father” like how the Horus Heresy audiobooks always played with the word, only for me to witness Welminah dropping like a sack of potatoes moments later in the vision. Our little sightseeing psychic tour had flopped hard as Welminah suddenly fainted from shock.

After I hurriedly ended the simulation, I found a fainted Welminah back in real life. It was my fault, I should have anticipated this.

While for me it was like a fun virtual tour, for the sister it must have felt like the ultimate communion with her god. I even did some on the fly adjustments to let her experience the sheer presence Big E exuded and it proved too much.

Just as I was about to bite the bitter pill and summon medical assistance, to my relief Welminah finally opened her eyes.

‘Welminah. I… I am really sorry. Are you feeling alright?’ I asked, sensing the jitters on her mind which could mean that I might have caused some unknown damage. Welminah turned her eyes on me as she struggled to speak. At first it was all gibberish but eventually her words came through.

‘I saw Him,’ she said, sniffling as tears started streaming down from her eyes, but smiling as she repeated her statement softly.

‘I saw Him.’

That was enough adventure for today.