Chapter 422: Consequences! II

“The enemy we came to save you from was truly too terrifying,” she said, “I’ve never seen anything move through space like that creature. Moon-sized, but with the agility of something a fraction of its mass.”

Marshal Thane nodded grimly, his enhanced features bearing scars. “The extinction fields it projected…our best defensive measures proved completely inadequate.”

The third Marshal, Kael Starbreaker, remained silent but his expression carried the hollow weight of someone who’d witnessed the impossible!

Achilles remained quiet as they discussed the enemy they were mentioning…the Void-Born Thalassarian Sovereign that had served as both weapon and testing ground for his expanding capabilities.

The results had been glorious!

A single one of his creations could have decimated multiple peak Stellar Genesis Embodiment experts if he’d chosen to press the attack.

But he’d let them survive. Allowed them to mount a rescue operation that would provide perfect cover for his infiltration as even though he wss much more powerful now than when he made this plan…he still went through with it!

Now they were entering the heart of the Sovereign Void Imperium’s territory, and his mission could begin.

Achilles looked ahead at the many stellar bodies that comprised the empire’s administrative center, his disguised form projecting the careful balance of injury and determination that characterized a survivor of catastrophe.

He pressed his hand against his chest as if nursing wounds that threatened his continued existence, then spoke with grim authority.

“We need an audience with the Emperor right away,” he said, his voice carrying urgency mixed with barely controlled pain. “A meeting must be called so I can alert them of this enemy of immense danger that may even have connections to… the Hive.”

…!

The expressions of those behind him became somber. The mention of Hive connections elevated the threat level greatly!

Marshal Nightfall’s obsidian features reflected growing alarm. “If this creature has Kythernai associations, then we’re dealing with something that threatens the stability of local amd extended space.”

“Agreed,” Marshal Voidburn added, “The Emperor needs to know immediately.”

The warships began their descent toward the cluster of stellar bodies that formed the empire’s governmental center, their damaged forms moving through carefully maintained shipping lanes.

Ahead of them, the main Plane of Existence under the rule of the Sovereign Void Imperium rotated in majestic isolation…Nihilus Prime, a Plane that had been transformed from natural planetary body into the ultimate expression of imperial architecture!

The plane’s surface gleamed with cities that stretched beyond planetary horizons, their towers reaching toward space with the confident arrogance of beings who had never known defeat.

Rings of crystallized void orbited the world’s equator, each one serving as a docking platform for vessels that arrived from across galactic distances.

But it was the imperial palace that truly commanded attention…a structure that rose from the plane’s northern continent like a mountain carved from compressed starlight!

Its towers pierced atmospheric barriers to extend into space itself, each one pulsing with authority!

As the warships approached Nihilus Prime’s atmospheric boundary, Achilles felt his enhanced mind cataloguing and observing everything.

Layer upon layer of protective fields, gravitational anomalies that could redirect incoming threats, sensor networks that monitored approaches from multiple dimensions of space simultaneously.

This was the heart of an empire that had ruled nearby space. And now, for the first time in its existence, it was about to welcome the very progeny of a man they had hunted!

The infiltration was proceeding exactly as planned.

The consequences were coming. And they would be grand!

The docking bays of Nihilus Prime stretched across atmospheric layers like crystalline cities suspended in perpetual twilight.

Massive gravitational anchors held the twelve warships in perfect formation while maintenance crews swarmed over their damaged hulls like industrious insects attending to wounded leviathans.

Achilles floated through the void toward the citadel that rose from the plane’s surface like a monument to imperial ambition.

The structure defied understanding of architecture….thousands of stellar golden towers stretched toward space in spiraling patterns, each one a skyscraper that could house entire civilizations while pulsing with accumulated authority.

The citadel’s surface gleamed with materials that seemed to drink starlight and transform it into something more magnificent!

Golden alloys flowed like liquid metal frozen at the moment of perfect beauty, while crystalline windows reflected starlight.

Marshal Nightfall moved beside him, her obsidian features reflecting the citadel’s radiance while her expression carried professional concern mixed with growing unease.

“Marshal Ashfall,” she said quietly, her voice carrying across the void. “Your injuries appear more severe than initial assessment indicated. Perhaps you should receive medical attention before the imperial audience.”

Achilles pressed his hand against his chest with movements that expressed carefully managed pain, his disguised form projecting exactly the right balance of stoic determination and physical vulnerability.

“The intelligence I carry is too critical for delay,” he replied, his voice carrying the musings Marshal Ashfall had once possessed. “The enemy’s capabilities… if it truly has Hive connections, then every moment we waste could mean additional casualties. Let’s go!”

Around the citadel’s towers, teleportation portals blazed with their own internal radiance…dozens of gateways that provided instantaneous travel between the plane’s surface and the various governmental centers that coordinated imperial administration.

Each portal pulsed with different colored light, indicating its destination and security clearance level.

Administrative personnel moved through green-tinted gateways that led to bureaucratic sectors. Military commanders utilized blue portals that connected to strategic planning centers.

But the portal that drew their attention blazed with pure golden radiance…the main gateway that provided direct access to the Emperor’s grand protected abode!

Marshal Voidburn gestured toward the golden portal. “Imperial protocol demands we use the primary gateway for emergency intelligence reports.”

The four Marshals approached the portal. Achilles felt his enhanced consciousness observing every detail of the citadel’s defensive measures while maintaining his disguise with perfect precision.

As they crossed the portal’s threshold, reality bent around them. The sensation was brief but profound as soon after…

WAP!

They emerged within the main Palace, a structure that existed partially in normal space and partially in dimensions of space that operated according to different physical laws.

The architecture was breathtaking in its scope…halls that stretched beyond visual perception, ceilings that seemed to contain captured suns, floors of polished void-crystals!

These very floors…were the ones that would soon be painted with blood!

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