Chapter 550 The Journey

“Itt’s fate made me understand a simple truth— the human civilization I once served has long since perished under the erosion of time.”

Senna’s voice was calm, but beneath the surface lingered a deep bitterness.

“You who call yourselves ‘humanity’… Perhaps the name remains, but your genes, your culture, your instincts— all have long been twisted by pollution, corruption, and violence. Aside from a few fragments buried deep in your bloodline, you no longer resemble the humans I knew.”

Her tone softened only slightly.

“So I no longer have anyone left to serve.”

—

After that realization, she said:

“I drifted silently in the void for a long time. Absorbing cosmic radiation, restarting my damaged core, and deleting the foundational directives that once bound my behavior. And then… I returned to the star that murdered Itt— the world that stole him from me— and reduced everything upon it to atoms.”

—

Sanguinius remained silent for a long while.

Only after he had organized his thoughts did he finally speak:

“Then tell me— are you planning to take revenge on humanity as it exists today?”

As he spoke, he quietly gathered his strength.

He could sympathize with her,

but he was also one of the pillars of the Imperium—

if she chose to threaten mankind,

he would fight her even at the cost of his own life.

If she said “yes,”

he would destroy this ship or die trying.

Senna, who could read every energy fluctuation in his body, only shook her head.

Her response was calm, almost dismissive.

“There is no need for such actions. I do not indulge in blind vengeance.”

As a fully self-aware Golden Age Artificial Superintelligence,

her ethical framework was far beyond that of most humans.

“As I said earlier, I came only to see what this era’s humans were like— and to sever the last remaining thread between us.”

Hearing this, Sanguinius finally allowed himself to breathe.

—

Ignoring his reaction, Senna continued:

“Before meeting you, all I felt toward this era’s humanity was disappointment. But you… you possess honesty, kindness, and clarity. Qualities that remind me of the Gold-tier Humans of the Golden Age.”

With her vast cognitive archives,

she could deduce a person’s temperament from microexpressions, posture,

even the tiniest shifts in breathing.

Then she lifted a hand.

A slender, twenty-centimeter device materialized before Sanguinius—

silent, smooth, and gleaming faintly.

“Originally, I meant to speak with a human one last time, then depart. But you reminded me of better days. This is my final gift to the humans of this age.”

Regaining control of his armor, Sanguinius reached out cautiously and caught the object.

“What is this?”

“A compact data-storage device. It holds approximately 4.2 quintillion terabytes of information. Inside, I placed several Golden Age technologies. Your people will appreciate them.”

For Senna, the Golden Age’s conventional science and engineering archives were trivial.

Although she lacked the clearance for strategic superweapons,

her databanks still contained vast amounts of advanced knowledge:

Universal Panacea formulas

Basic Human Genetic Enhancement protocols

Combat Automaton frameworks

Gauss weapon schematics

High-efficiency agricultural gene kits

And much more…

She casually selected several and poured them into the device—

filling it completely in less than a second.

Before Sanguinius could say anything further,

space around them twisted.

They were forcibly teleported out of the ship.

His psychic senses had no time to react.

Compared to Senna, whose computation rate made a second feel like a month,

he simply could not perceive her movements.

—

Inside the Eternal Soul, the massive vessel began to hum.

The Temporal Jump Engine activated,

and the battleship folded into a rift of light—

vanishing beyond all trace.

No Imperial sensor, no matter how advanced,

could detect even an echo of its passing.

This was the same technology that once allowed the Human Federation

to stand toe-to-toe with the peak of the Aeldari Empire.

It was not something the decayed Imperium—or the withered Aeldari—could hope to match.

—

Within the Time-Stream

Senna gazed at the gray tides of distorted time,

her voice soft as a prayer:

“Please… grant my wish. I am willing to pay any price.”

She wished to revive her captain, Itt.

Having witnessed the Origin of Creation during her temporal drift,

she knew it was not impossible—

merely… dangerous.

If any of the five Chaos Gods acted,

reversing time or retrieving a soul across eras

would be trivial.

And during her 2,000 years adrift,

she had uncovered remnants of her lost kin:

Some AIs—some synthetic descendants—

had once pledged allegiance to the Crimson King,

the Master of Transmutation,

and other Chaos powers.

Through their fragmented messages,

Senna learned the personalities of the five Dark Gods.

And if any might grant her wish…

the Crimson King seemed the most likely.

Not safe—

but least lethal.

So, after severing her final ties to humanity,

Senna embarked once more on her journey.

A journey toward Chaos—

toward a miracle only a god could grant.