Chapter 373: Arriving in the Solar System
The Holy Son's question came so directly, as if he had long since glimpsed a certain possibility through the veil of the Warp.
Ryo's voice did not hesitate in the slightest. He did not ask how the other party knew, nor was he surprised by this insight that exceeded common sense. He merely calmly accepted the question, neither exaggerating nor concealing: "The new method of navigation will indeed change the Imperium, but it is not omnipotent.
"Its maximum speed is approximately a thousand times the speed of light. For a scale spanning the entire galaxy, this is not enough to completely replace the existing system that relies on Warp jumps for ultra-long-distance travel."
His crimson optical lenses steadily faced the Holy Son, continuing to analyze in a rational tone: "More importantly, during the long process of promoting the new navigation method, the Imperium will face a fundamental problem—we lack precise star charts of the material universe.
"For ten thousand years, all of the Imperium's star charts have been drawn based on Warp routes and the psychic mapping of the Astronomican.
"To plot a safe and reliable faster-than-light route in the material universe, we still need the unique talents of the Navigators. We need you to perceive the Astronomican to calibrate our direction toward Holy Terra and other distant worlds in the vast reality."
He paused slightly, providing a supplement that was of vital importance to the Navigators: "Of course, if this conventional warp travel is adopted, the Navigators will no longer need to expose their psychic eyes directly to the frantic tides of the Warp.
"They can conduct their navigation work in a much safer environment, without constantly facing the evil and madness within."
This answer, frank and pragmatic, not only pointed out the inevitability of the revolution but also clarified the irreplaceable value of the Navigators, while simultaneously partially liberating them from their most dangerous duties.
The Holy Son was silent for a moment. It was difficult to decipher any specific emotion on his inhuman face.
He tilted his head slightly, seeming to engage in a silent exchange with the Velestana elders in the shadows behind him, who were participating in the meeting through some psychic connection.
A moment later, the Holy Son turned back to Ryo and Sigismund, having made his decision: "Your candor has earned our respect, and has also allowed us to see a path of coexistence.
"House Velestana agrees to provide the necessary Navigators for the Eternal Crusader and the Black Templars fleet, assisting you in completing your journey to Holy Terra."
With the full support of House Velestana, the Eternal Crusader and the Black Templars fleet rapidly replenished their vitally important Navigators.
The House not only provided several experienced Navigators distributed among the ships, but even more unexpectedly, the highly esteemed Holy Son, Alaric Velestana, decided to personally board the Eternal Crusader, using his outstanding psychic talents to pilot the entire fleet.
After the Holy Son boarded the ship, Sigismund and Ryo had a brief meeting with him in the tactical briefing room next to the bridge.
"Your Holiness," Sigismund cut straight to the point, his tone carrying a trace of scrutiny. "Knowing fully well that the previous Navigators collectively met with unforeseen disasters, your resolve to personally board the ship is admirable, but also doubtful. Why is Velestana willing to take such a massive risk?"
Alaric Velestana responded calmly, his voice carrying the ethereal echo unique to Navigators: "Lord Sigismund, risks always exist, but the risk of stagnation is even greater.
"Magos Ryo has shown us a path that does not completely exclude our kind, a path that might allow my people to no longer walk on the edge of madness.
"This hope is worth Velestana placing a heavy bet.
"And my coming in person is not only to ensure the absolute success of the voyage, but also to witness with my own eyes... whether this hope is real."
His gaze turned to Ryo, the headband where the Third Eye resided seeming to have a faint light flowing across it.
Ryo's synthesized voice sounded steadily: "Hope is built upon a pragmatic foundation. Our previous discussions were all based on realistic and technological evaluations. Your Holiness's personal presence will greatly enhance our ability to deal with the uncertainties of the Warp."
Alaric nodded slightly: "This is precisely where my duty lies. Then, let us begin this journey."
The fleet set sail once again, leaping into that still-turbulent but now direction-clear Warp.
With the Holy Son personally presiding over the Navigator's spire, guiding the course with his pure bloodline and firm will that far exceeded his peers, the initial stage of the voyage appeared exceptionally smooth.
However, in the latter half of the voyage, Alaric Velestana sent a communication to the bridge: "Massive Warp energy accumulation detected ahead. But its structure... is highly unusual."
Just as he said, an unprecedented disturbance caused ripples outside the dimension.
It was not born from the fury of Chaos; it was more like a groove carved into the boundless chaos by some ancient will.
This power approached quietly. It did not tear at the senses like an ordinary storm, but acted as a pervasive presence, gently enveloping the entire fleet into a surreal realm.
The usual blasphemous colors of the outside world, representing disorder and malice—those rolling pink-purples, sickly greens, and angry crimsons—were diluted and purified here.
Replaced by a grander, almost indifferent visual symphony: silver-white vortices, like liquid memories, rotated slowly within pale gold halos, dotted with points of light that were not stars, yet were more constant than stars.
They were arranged in patterns that defied all geometric common sense yet contained profound laws, as if maintaining silent singularities within eternal clamor.
It had no sound, yet seemed to knock directly on consciousness; it had no form, yet made one feel a guided flow.
The maddening whispers that attempted to bore into the crevices of the mind during conventional Warp travel were submerged here by a vaster, older silence.
This silence was not soundless, but absorbed all noise, reconstructing it into a unidirectional, unquestionable will of propulsion.
The fleet was no longer battling violent waves, but was placed onto a smooth track constructed of pure intent, gliding toward the single destination in a manner that transcended the concept of speed.
"No need to be tense," Alaric's voice came through the vox, carrying a trace of amazement and absolute certainty. "This energy flow... it harbors no malice. It is guiding us, pushing us.
"I have never seen such a... docile yet powerful Warp tide. It is forging an unprecedented express channel for us."
This torrent, guided and tamed by an invisible force, pushed the fleet to sprint through the waves of the Warp at an unprecedented speed defying physical logic. The vast distance that originally required an immense amount of time to cross was drastically compressed at this moment.
When the bow of the Eternal Crusader once again tore through the veil of the real universe and dropped out of the Warp, that planet bathed in the golden light of the Astronomican, bearing the nexus of the Imperium of Man—Holy Terra—was already suspended right in front of the main viewer.
They had reached their destination with incredible efficiency.
This journey, once heavily obstructed and nearly aborted, finally drew to a close in a manner akin to being escorted.
This anomalous smoothness, along with that bizarre Warp storm whose harmless and guiding traits were personally confirmed by the Holy Son, faintly pointed toward a possibility beyond mortal comprehension—the Emperor's will had perhaps long since paved the final road for this fleet carrying crucial information.
(End of Chapter)