Soon, Samuel Young's consciousness slowly withdrew from the edges of those distant, suffering parallel universes like a receding tide, firmly anchoring itself once again upon the Golden Throne.
The consumption brought about by perceiving across endless barriers countless times and making subtle interferences required even him to take a brief respite to calm the subtle ripples in the sea of psychic energy.
In the tranquility, he began a rapid review and deduction of the many worlds he had made contact with.
First was that Earth shrouded in the bizarre fog and dream corruption, which was the world where Emily and Roy were located.
It was initially determined that the Earth in that universe was suffering from the intrusion of an Outer God whose type leaned towards mental erosion and reality distortion.
Samuel Young analyzed the fragmented information he had obtained and concluded that the essence of this entity's power leaned towards utilizing the dreams of intelligent life and their subconscious fears as a breakthrough point to carry out mental pollution and physical mutation.
Its power level, within the scale of a single universe, could be called an irresistible natural disaster for a human civilization that had not yet broken through the barrier of a Type I civilization and whose technological level was roughly equivalent to the early twenty-first century of the main universe.
The humans of that universe still had weapons stuck in the stages of chemical energy and nuclear fission, and knew almost nothing about concepts such as souls, dimensions, and the warp. Facing this kind of attack that directly acted upon consciousness and the laws of reality, they naturally had no power to fight back and could only passively endure mutation and extinction.
However, the survival or extinction of other intelligent races over there had nothing to do with the Empire.
Samuel Young's mission was solely to ensure the continuation of the human compatriots in that universe.
Even though he could not descend with his true body at the moment, as long as a wisp of consciousness knew his name and harbored trust and hope, it could serve as a faint beacon and conduit.
This was the core of his strategy—using faith and cognition as a bridge.
Even if it was just like Emily, praying to a painting in despair, as long as this thought was pure enough and pointed to the concept of Emperor Samuel Young, he could expend a considerable amount of psychic energy to penetrate the barrier and intervene.
Dispelling nightmares, granting mental barriers to resist corruption, or even, as he did with Roy and the others, meeting them on the level of the collective subconscious (the void realm) and bestowing seeds of basic power.
Although these interventions could not directly obliterate that fog Outer God, they could preserve the spark of hope for humanity in desperate situations and establish rudimentary resistance strongholds.
That Outer God seemed to not yet fully understand his essence and intentions.
It was still focused on the process of eroding and corrupting that Earth, reacting slowly to his sporadic interventions or viewing them as anomalous resistance generated locally.
This was considered an advantage.
It meant he had more time to lay out plans in secret and accumulate strength.
And what made him feel that the efficiency was improving was sensing that among the humans in that fog world, the number of people who knew of and were beginning to trust the concept of Emperor Samuel Young was increasing slowly but firmly.
From Emily alone, to Roy, Alan, and a few other police officers, and then to other survivors who might be influenced by them...
Every expansion of cognition, every cohesion of conviction, added a tiny weight to his sense of existence in that universe.
When this sense of existence accumulated to be powerful enough to pierce through the chaotic dimensional barriers and form a relatively stable faith anchor point, that would be the time for him to mobilize the Empire's forces, officially open a spatial portal in that universe, launch a thunderous purification, and execute the Moment of Execution.
Aside from this fog world, Samuel Young's vast perceptive tentacles had also swept past tens of thousands of parallel universes in various stages of suffering like a scanning radar during his journey just now.
The fates of human civilization in these universes formed a heart-palpitating picture of suffering: some Earths were swept by out-of-control zombie viruses, leading to the collapse of civilization and survivors lingering on their last breath amidst ruins and tides of corpses;
Some worlds harbored dark races of vampires and werewolves that viewed humans as blood food or prey, twisting society in fear and hunting;
The rules of some universes were infiltrated by indescribable eldritch horrors, causing the logic of reality to collapse and humans to gradually go mad amidst incomprehensible terror;
Some Earths frequently suffered from attacks by humanoid monsters—which were often created from human mutations or special existences—or by giant monsters from underground, the ocean, or outer space, reducing cities to ruins and keeping armies constantly on the run;
There were even worlds invaded by demon armies from other dimensions, where humans retreated in defeat under magic and sharp blades, losing their homelands...
Only an extremely small number of parallel universes, as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns, could still maintain relative tranquility and stability on their Earths or major human settlements, but who could guarantee that the seeds of disaster had not already been planted?
Facing this massive amount of suffering in various forms, Samuel Young did not feel inadequate; instead, it aroused his deeper resolve as the guardian of humanity.
Using his total amount of psychic energy—which was so massive it was hard to measure by conventional scales—as a foundation, he began an unprecedentedly large-scale, silent sowing and intervention.
His methods remained indirect and low-profile.
Through network information disturbances, hidden hints in ancient texts, and unconscious implantations in specific dreams, he quietly spread fragmented concepts about the Human Empire and Emperor Samuel Young within the information layers of various universes, attracting those souls struggling in despair and longing for salvation.
Once these souls established a preliminary cognitive connection and displayed qualities that met his standards—such as the will to protect others, unyielding courage, and a sense of responsibility toward their own kind—they would become candidates to receive a blessing.
And these blessings were not all the same.
Samuel Young would provide differentiated and precise empowerment based on the types of threats faced by different universes and the characteristics of the human civilizations themselves.
Against worlds of the fog corruption type, like Emily's world, the primary blessing was peaceful sleep protection—granting the ability to resist dream erosion and maintain a clear mind, ensuring that the recipients could fall asleep safely and recover their energy.
Secondary was basic physical enhancement, such as improving strength, speed, reflexes, and recovery abilities, enabling them to fight ordinary mutants more effectively, without granting individual combat power that excessively surpassed conventional firearms, focusing instead on survival and organizational capabilities.
Against worlds of the monster/kaiju type, merely improving basic physique would be no different from trying to put out a burning cart of firewood with a cup of water when facing monsters that could easily destroy buildings or giant beasts the size of mountains.
Therefore, Samuel Young would grant a much more powerful form transformation ability.
These recipients generally had to undergo stricter screening of their willpower and character to ensure they would not abuse their power or betray humanity. When necessary, they could activate the blessing to transform—their bodies might be covered by a layer of psychic armor made of energy with a distinct Imperial aesthetic style, greatly increasing their defense.
In their hands, they could condense energy projections of standard Imperial weapons like chainswords, power spears, and bolters, possessing power far beyond conventional weapons.
Even when facing giant monsters, some recipients could temporarily gigantify, gaining a size and strength comparable to the monsters to fight them head-on.
Most crucially, these transformed states themselves were the most intuitive living advertisements.
When such warriors fought against monsters in city ruins, their armor styles, weapon characteristics, and even the psychic light that naturally radiated during combat would deeply brand the visual symbols and powerful impressions of the Human Empire into the hearts of all survivors who witnessed them, thereby rapidly catalyzing the generation and gathering of the power of faith, and accelerating Samuel Young's anchoring process in that universe.
Against otherworldly invasions, such as demon races or high magic type worlds, there often existed systems of supernatural power like magic in such worlds.
Samuel Young's blessing would integrate into the local systems, appearing more localized.
He would select heroes among the many humans possessing potential and bestow upon them powerful psychic seeds, which might be locally referred to as holy power, ancestral blessings, or the source of awakening.
These heroes could use this to release powerful elemental magic, acquire extraordinary martial skills and defenses, and become the mainstays of the resistance against the invasions.
The source of this power pointed to the Emperor, and as the heroes became active and their legends spread, faith in the Emperor would also quietly permeate.
This was a silent, grand layout spanning across the multiverse.
Samuel Young was like a chess player sitting before the chessboard of space and time, using endless psychic energy as chips and faith and hope as pieces, quietly making his moves in countless worlds on the verge of destruction or deeply mired in darkness, laying the foreshadowing for human civilization to continue and ultimately return to the rule of the Empire.
Every bestowal of a blessing was the realization of a strategic investment for the future.
And when these scattered sparks gradually grew into a prairie fire, it would be the time for the Empire's iron cavalry to trample through the barriers of space and time, bringing the glory of humanity to shine once again upon all the heavens and myriad worlds.
6
After an unknown amount of time, Samuel Young's thoughts slowly withdrew from the macroscopic examination and strategic layout of the multiverse's picture of suffering, sinking into a deeper level.
Those worlds ravaged by fog, zombies, monsters, and demons were indeed microcosms of human suffering that required his intervention and guidance, but they were perhaps only the tip of the iceberg floating in the endless multiversal ocean.
There were still more universes, yet to be perceived and with forms that might be even more bizarre or ancient, waiting for the Human Empire to set foot in.
The Empire's journey was essentially the gathering and integration of the tributaries of humanity's destiny scattered throughout endless space and time; this path was destined to be long and boundless.
And within this complex multiversal picture, there was one special cosmic coordinate that always remained like a glaring red spot in a gloomy background, constantly keeping him on high alert—the Warhammer 40k universe.
That dark place eternally coveted by the Chaos Gods, where the Imperium of Man struggled in despair and the galaxy burned without end.
That was the ultimate mirror to all his efforts and his greatest potential threat.
Those warp demons and their servants had remained silent for decades since their last large-scale erosion event was thwarted.
Recent observations showed that their activity level had dropped to an unusually low point, almost never crossing the boundary to cause trouble.
This kind of tranquility was by no means a good omen.
Chaos never truly sleeps.
This abnormal silence might mean they were accumulating strength, plotting a conspiracy far surpassing the past;
Perhaps they were waiting for a specific timing or a rift;
Or perhaps, it was because the strong rise of the main universe's Human Empire and the existence of Samuel Young himself had altered the balance of power on certain levels, forcing them to lie dormant temporarily and re-evaluate.
No matter what, vigilance against Chaos could not be relaxed for even a single moment.
Ending his considerations regarding external threats, Samuel Young had a slight thought, and a massive hard-light screen with data streams flowing along its edges materialized out of thin air in front of the throne.
The center of the screen clearly displayed a line in standard Imperial font: Imperial Calendar: May 28, 0064.
Time had quietly slipped by.
Five years of time had already passed since the simultaneous initiation of the integration operations for Universe Two-One (Half-Life 2) and Universe Two-Two (All Tomorrows).
In these five years, the Empire did not continue its high-intensity expansion as some radicals had hoped; instead, it entered a crucial period of strategic integration and steady development.
Universe Two-One:
The Salamanders Legion, led by Vulkan, thoroughly destroyed the Combine's dimensional core with the momentum of a thunderbolt and purged its main armed forces.
The remnant forces of the Combine either fled or were successively exterminated.
Earth and several dimensional worlds once controlled by the Combine had been completely brought under the rule of the Empire.
The surviving human compatriots who had not been excessively modified were liberated and resettled.
Advanced technology and management systems from the main universe were introduced, and the reconstruction work proved highly effective. The haze of once being ruled by aliens completely dissipated, replaced by stability and development under the order of the Empire.
After strict purification and analysis, some of the bio-adaptability modification technologies from the Combine's twisted bio-mechanical technology were cautiously absorbed by the Empire's biology department and utilized in the fields of medicine and ecological restoration.
Universe Two-Two:
The expeditionary force led by the four Primarchs—Lion, Mortarion, Perturabo, and Curze—began a long and systematic galactic combing operation after thoroughly purifying the main forces of the Qu civilization in the Triangulum Galaxy.
Hundreds of millions of star systems were explored, and the remnant Qu individuals and creations were ruthlessly eliminated. The various alien species modified by the Qu were mostly evaluated and subsequently subjected to purification or limited management.
At the same time, the Empire also began to make contact with other native intelligent civilizations in that universe, adopting different strategies ranging from cooperation to deterrence and even annihilation based on their attitudes toward humanity and their potential threat levels.
The Empire's territory and influence expanded steadily in that universe.
Meanwhile, the trillions of compatriots personally redeemed by Samuel Young, reborn led by the souls of the Colonials, had fully integrated into Imperial society after five years of adaptation and development, displaying vigorous vitality in many fields.
Their faith in the Emperor was particularly devout, becoming one of the most steadfast cornerstones of the Empire in that universe.
Overall, the situation in the two newly integrated universes was stable, and everything was moving in a positive direction.
The Empire took five years to digest the fruits of these two large-scale cross-universe wars, firmly weaving the new territories and new populations into the Empire's massive net.
Technology advanced through exchange, and culture enriched through integration. The Empire's volume and foundation were solidly strengthened during these five years.
Moving his gaze away from the date on the hard-light screen, the corners of Samuel Young's mouth raised slightly, almost imperceptibly. In another two standard Earth days, a special day would arrive—the Birthday Ceremony.
This was not the commemoration of his true birth, which had long since faded into the dust of time, but an official holiday established by the Empire to commemorate his descent and the founding of the Empire.
For countless Imperial citizens, this had long surpassed simple commemorative meaning, becoming one of the most anticipated grand ceremonies every year.
There was no other reason than this: this Emperor genuinely gave out red envelopes to all registered citizens of the Empire.
It was not a symbolic small favor, but a rather substantial amount of credits calculated based on the Empire's overall economic indicators for that year and the weighting of the individual's basic welfare.
Although under the support of the Empire's perfect social welfare and highly developed productive forces, poverty had long become a term found only in history textbooks and basic living needs were greatly guaranteed, the joy and happiness brought by unexpected wealth was a human need that no system could erase.
This Emperor's Birthday Gift could allow an ordinary family to plan a rare interstellar trip, allow enthusiasts to purchase long-desired technological products, and allow artists to have more abundant creative resources...
Like the sweet rain that fell once a year, it evenly nourished every corner of the Empire, strengthening the citizens' gratitude and sense of belonging toward the Emperor.
Everyone was happy to temporarily put aside their work on this day, celebrate the holiday, and look forward to that surprise from the supreme ruler.
And this year, Samuel Young had other plans in mind.
It had been six years since all of his Primarch descendants had gathered together last.
Scattered across different universes, shouldering the heavy responsibilities of integration and guarding the borders, it was time for them to come back for a visit.
He needed to personally listen to their more detailed reports over the past few years, evaluate their growth and state, convey new strategic intentions, and use this rare reunion to further consolidate the bonds between the Primarchs...
Even though the relationships between certain brothers remained complex.
At the same time, all Primarchs appearing simultaneously at a moment of worldwide celebration like the Birthday Ceremony would be a massive encouragement to the Imperial citizens, and also the most powerful display of the Empire's strength and unity.
"It is time to summon the children back."
Samuel Young chanted silently in his heart, and an invisible summons carrying the Emperor's will began to cross the barriers of space, transmitting toward the locations of Lion, Vulkan, Mortarion, Perturabo, Curze, and the other Primarchs.
The center of the Empire was about to usher in an unprecedented grand gathering due to the return of the Primarchs and the Emperor's birthday.
And beneath the galaxy that had been peaceful for five years, new ripples might also be brewing...
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.
Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.