Chapter 96 My World (Bonus)

“Look at that, Big E. They’re singing your praises again.”

Vane pointed at the fanatically prostrating Tech-Priests, playfully elbowing the Emperor.

The Emperor completely ignored the teasing, instead bringing up the topic of the Red Tear.

“I am genuinely curious. How exactly did you manage to do that? Granting a mechanical construct a biological human body and actual emotions is simply unheard of.”

Hovering nearby in its chibi form, the Void Dragon immediately perked its non-existent ears up. It was deeply invested in learning the secret behind the Red Tear’s miraculous birth.

“Your realm of comprehension is simply way too low. Even if I broke it down, you wouldn’t get it,” Vane replied, throwing his hands up in a casual shrug.

That blunt shutdown felt like a physical knife twisting into both the Emperor and the Void Dragon’s chests.

He didn’t even try to explain it before deciding we were too stupid to understand! That hurts!

“Are you two planning to go over there and shake hands with your adoring fans?” Vane asked, changing the subject.

He had only come to the transit platform to inspect the Mobile Fortress and Steve’s construction progress. He wanted to make sure they hadn’t deviated from the blueprints. After doing a quick visual sweep and confirming everything was up to code, he planned to head straight into the Fortress’s control room to input the next set of highway expansion blueprints. His ultimate goal was to construct a massive Warp Highway network connecting every single star system in the galaxy.

Taking one look at Fabricator-General Raskian and his fellow cogboys frantically kowtowing and chanting litanies, the Emperor and the Void Dragon shook their heads in perfect unison.

Dealing with fanatical ultra-fans was an absolute nightmare. Once they latched onto you, shaking them off was practically impossible.

“Since you don’t want to do a meet-and-greet, let’s get down to business.”

Vane pulled out a Linking Book and used it to instantly teleport himself, the Emperor, and the Void Dragon straight into the Mobile Fortress’s control room.

Through the massive observation windows of the control room, they could see the Fortress’s internal architecture: gargantuan mechanical pistons, churning gears, and sprawling crystal matrices crackling with blinding arcs of electricity.

“How does a design like this even function? The fact that this Fortress can actually move is completely absurd.”

The Emperor echoed the exact same sentiment the Void Dragon was radiating. To them, the entire mobile structure felt incredibly bizarre and fundamentally broken. The Void Dragon could visually identify thousands of completely illogical, impossible engineering flaws, yet the massive machine was still somehow running perfectly.

Vane just shrugged, completely unfazed. Literally everyone who encountered Minecraft physics and redstone engineering for the first time had the exact same existential crisis as Big E and the Void Dragon.

“First up on the agenda: pave a direct Warp Highway straight from Terra to the Eye of Terror.”

“Abaddon’s been stuck out there for ten millennia; the poor guy’s gotta be homesick! I’m just building him a nice, fast road so he can pop back home for a visit.”

“After that, we’ll run highways directly to all the Primarchs’ homeworlds, and finally, string together all the major core worlds.”

Vane rapidly drafted a hyper-complex, sprawling highway network, ensuring every single relevant star system in the galaxy would be physically connected by obsidian tunnels.

“Alright, all set. Let’s get back to the main quest.”

Having locked in the highway blueprints, Vane flipped open the Linking Book and teleported himself, Big E, and the Void Dragon back to the Throne Room on Terra. He immediately ordered a Custodian to fetch Eldrad Ulthran so they could prep for the Webway trip to Medusa.

—

Meanwhile, back at the Warp Highway transit platform.

Having finally managed to extract himself from the suffocating swarm of Terran bureaucrats and Martian Tech-Priests, Sanguinius suddenly realized something. There was a portal frame sitting right in the middle of the platform, and Vane was absolutely nowhere to be found.

“A portal? Why is there just a door sitting here? Where did the Forefather go?”

Sanguinius walked over to the portal frame. A handful of trailing bureaucrats and curious Tech-Priests immediately crowded behind him, staring at the arcane gateway with intense fascination. A few of the braver Tech-Priests even reached out, tracing the obsidian pillars framing the portal.

Curious, Sanguinius stepped through the glowing threshold. The space-time continuum warped violently for a split second, and he suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a toxic, barren wasteland.

A second later, several bureaucrats and Tech-Priests stumbled out of the portal right behind him.

“Huh… Why in the Emperor’s name are we on Mars?!” one of the Tech-Priests gasped, his vocalizer static-laced with pure shock.

“This gateway instantly transported us from the absolute edge of the Sol System directly to the Martian surface!”

“What an unbelievably advanced method of teleportation,” a bureaucrat muttered in awe. “Under normal circumstances, crossing from the edge of the system to Mars via ship would take days!”

“Lord Sanguinius, I humbly request permission to dismantle and study this holy artifact,” one of the Tech-Priests eagerly requested.

“Honestly? The Forefather clearly left it behind, so if you think you can figure it out, knock yourselves out.”

Sanguinius was well aware of Vane’s habits by now. To Vane, these reality-bending portals were basically single-use, disposable items. Once he built one, it stayed there permanently, but Vane almost never used the same portal twice. He preferred to just instantly slap down a new one right where he stood rather than walk a few feet to use an old one.

—

Terra, The Imperial Palace, The Throne Room.

Guided by the Custodes, Farseer Eldrad Ulthran strode into the Throne Room.

“Honored Forefather of Humanity. Respected Master of Mankind.” Eldrad bowed deeply to both Vane and the Emperor. “May I ask why I have been summoned?”

Having personally witnessed Vane’s completely terrifying, reality-breaking abilities, Eldrad was utterly and entirely humbled. Every single trace of Aeldari arrogance and superiority had been violently scrubbed from his soul. Right now, his only goal in life was to cling tightly to humanity’s impossibly thick thighs and pray he could secure a small, safe corner for the Aeldari race in this terrifying new era.

“I’m heading to the planet Medusa. I need you to navigate the Webway for me.”

Hearing Vane’s request, Eldrad agreed immediately without a second thought.

“Honored Forefather, it would be my absolute privilege to serve you. Shall we depart immediately?”

“You’re going to Medusa?” The Emperor turned to look at Vane.

“Yep. Going to go resurrect Ferrus,” Vane nodded. “By the way, make sure you don’t forget to call your other sons back.”

“I have already projected psychic dreams to Dorn, Vulkan, and Corax, guiding them back to the Imperium.”

The Emperor moved remarkably fast. He wasn’t just recalling his lost Primarchs; he was also secretly laying the groundwork to resurrect old, trusted friends like Malcador the Sigillite and Ollanius Persson.

“Good job,” Vane nodded approvingly.

“Allow me to accompany you to Medusa.”

Hearing the Emperor’s sudden request, Vane turned to stare at him, his face twisting with suspicion.

“You’re coming with me? Who’s gonna run Terra?”

“Let Guilliman handle it. He’s incredibly gifted at bureaucracy anyway,” the Emperor replied casually, completely unconcerned. “I never actually desired absolute power to begin with. I only forged the Imperium and claimed absolute authority because the monumental tasks I needed to accomplish demanded it.”

The Emperor only ever had one singular driving motive behind everything he did: to completely free humanity from the poisonous grip of the Warp and secure a genuinely bright, prosperous future for his species.

Forging the Imperium, creating the Primarchs, and launching the Great Crusade—everything was entirely subservient to that one ultimate goal. As for wealth, status, or dictatorial power? The Emperor couldn’t care less.

Throughout human history, the Emperor had adopted countless guises, shifting shapes entirely based on what was required to save humanity at that specific moment. Over his impossibly long lifespan, he had played the role of a thief, a conqueror, a knight, a politician, and even manifested as the mythical she-wolf that nursed the founders of Rome.

He would constantly shift his personality and appearance based entirely on whatever the situation demanded.

Right now, the absolute hope for humanity’s salvation rested entirely on Vane’s shoulders. Naturally, the Emperor’s attention had completely shifted to him.

As for how the Imperium would function without him? Let the Thirteenth Son deal with that headache. Guilliman loved politics and administration anyway. Whether it morphed into the Imperium Secundus down the line didn’t matter in the slightest. As long as the four Chaos Gods and the Warp were permanently dealt with, his mission was completely accomplished.

“Works for me,” Vane shrugged casually. It’d be nice to have some company anyway. “Let’s roll together then.”

“By the way, what is your actual name?” the Emperor asked. “I can’t just keep calling you ‘Forefather’ forever, can I?”

Hearing the Emperor bring it up, Eldrad’s ears instantly perked up. He was dying to know the true name of this human Forefather too.

“Just call me the Traveler. I’m just a passing traveler in this world.” Vane decided to drop a classic, edgy quote.

“A passing traveler in this world?” The Emperor looked genuinely curious. “Then what world do you come from?”

“From My World, obviously,” Vane deadpanned, slipping in a blatant double-entendre since the phrase was the literal translation for Minecraft. (TL/N: The official Chinese title for Minecraft is “” (Wǒ de shìjiè)—which literally translates directly to “My World” in English)

“Your world. Quite the humorous deflection. If you prefer to keep your secrets, so be it.” The Emperor didn’t push the issue.

Standing nearby, Eldrad felt a pang of disappointment. This human Forefather was unbelievably cautious, refusing to drop even a hint about his true name or origins.

“Let’s go. Next stop, Medusa.”

—

OR