Magnus sat on the open-air high platform of the Pyramid of Photep, overlooking the pristine city of Tizka below.
The evening breeze ruffled his crimson long hair, and his silhouette exuded an unyielding loneliness.
Levi walked to his side and said softly, “Lord Magister, I have a method that can permanently suppress the Flesh Change.”
Magnus abruptly turned his head, his eyes full of disbelief.
“Really?”
“It is true.” Levi nodded, and then his tone became serious.
“However, this method requires something, and this something is only possessed by His Majesty the Emperor.”
“What is it?”
“A drop of His Majesty the Emperor’s blood.”
Magnus’s expression changed instantly.
He stood up abruptly, the psychic energy around his entire body suddenly surging, and all the crystal railings on the open-air platform began to shake violently.
“No!
Absolutely not!” he growled low, with no sense of humiliation in his voice, only a heavy resolve.
“I will absolutely not let my father shed blood for the sake of my sons!”
He strode in front of Levi, looking down at him from above, complex emotions churning in his amber eyes.
“You do not understand.
My father and I have known each other in the Warp for decades.
I am clearer than anyone about the burden on his shoulders.”
“He is the Emperor of all mankind, not the father of me, Magnus, alone.
He cannot show favoritism to any single son; this precedent must absolutely not be set.”
“If I ask him to offer his blood today, the other Primarchs will follow suit tomorrow.”
“When that time comes, what should my father do?
Whom should he refuse?
Whom should he agree to?
The foundation of the entire Imperium will be shaken because of this!”
Levi was stunned.
He hadn’t expected this to be the reason for Magnus’s refusal.
He had always thought this crimson Magister was merely proud, but he never expected him to be so considerate of the Emperor’s predicament.
“Then what do you plan to do?” Levi asked softly.
“Watch your sons turn to ash one by one?”
Magnus’s fists clenched until they cracked.
He turned his head away, the decisiveness in his eyes gradually replaced by pain.
“I…” He opened his mouth but could not say anything.
The evening breeze blew past again, ruffling his messy red hair.
This normally omnipotent Magister was now like a helpless child, standing at the crossroads of family and duty, torn between two options.
“Let me think about it.
Give me one night.”
That night, Levi did not return to his residence.
He stood by the window of the library, watching the lights at the top of the Pyramid of Photep burn for an entire night.
The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into the city of Tizca, Magnus found Levi.
His eyes were bloodshot, as he had obviously stayed awake all night, but his gaze was unusually firm.
“I’ve thought of a way.” He leaned close to Levi’s ear and lowered his voice.
“Today, the Emperor will come to check on the treatment progress.
At that time, I will tell him that it was you who found the method to completely suppress the Flesh Change.”
“Under the name of ‘rewarding a meritorious servant of the Imperium,’ I will request that he grant you an Emperor’s Blood gene-seed.”
Levi was stunned for a moment.
“An Emperor’s Blood gene-seed?”
“Exactly.” Magnus nodded.
“An Emperor’s Blood gene-seed is cultivated in advance using the Emperor’s blood and can promote the stable development of a gene-seed.
This contains the blood of the Emperor himself, which is enough to satisfy your requirement.
And asking for it under the name of rewarding a meritorious servant is completely reasonable.”
He paused, a complex light flashing in his eyes.
“This way, my father will neither have to break precedent and bleed for us, nor will he gain a reputation for favoring his sons.
Even if the other Primarchs have opinions, they will not be able to say anything.
After all, a meritorious servant who saved an entire legion deserves any reward.”
Looking at Magnus, Levi felt a wave of emotion in his heart.
This proud Magister, for the sake of his sons and to avoid putting his father in a difficult position, had actually managed to come up with such a comprehensive method.
“Alright, we will do as you say.”
In the morning, the Emperor arrived at the first-floor hall of the Pyramid of Photep as scheduled.
Accompanying him was Malcador, who wore a gray robe and had a haggard face.
The Emperor was still in that magnificent golden armor, wearing a golden laurel wreath on his head, his divine aura sweeping across the entire hall.
Malcador stood quietly behind him, his cloudy eyes sweeping across the first floor of the pyramid’s hall—
Those over a thousand Thousand Sons warriors had long since donned their crimson power armor neatly, standing in strict, orderly formations on both sides of the hall.
Their eyes beneath their helmets were sharp and bright as they waited, full of spirit, for the Emperor’s inspection.
His gaze slowly swept over the standing formations of the Thousand Sons.
Seeing these warriors who had originally been on the verge of collapse now rejuvenated, he nodded slightly.
Subsequently, he fixed his gaze on Levi, who was in front of the Thousand Sons formation.
The instant Levi and Malcador’s eyes met, Levi’s heart trembled.
Malcador truly deserved to be the Sigillite of the Imperium, in charge of the Imperium’s government affairs.
His gaze was as sharp as a knife, and his prestige was exceptionally heavy.
“Magnus, how is the situation?”
The Emperor arrived in front of the formation and asked, his voice calm and majestic.
“Scholar Levi has found a new method that can permanently suppress the Flesh Change of the Thousand Sons.”
He stepped aside to reveal Levi behind him.
“Scholar Levi is the most outstanding genius of my five great schools and also the greatest contributor to this treatment plan.
Without him, the Thousand Sons Legion would probably no longer exist.”
The Emperor’s gaze fell on Levi.
It was an extremely calm gaze, yet it felt as if it could pierce through the soul and see through all his secrets.
Levi only felt his entire body stiffen, as if he were standing stark naked before the Emperor, with absolutely no secrets to speak of.
“Oh?” The Emperor responded indifferently.
“Therefore, I beg you, Father.” Magnus knelt on one knee, his tone incomparably sincere.
“Please grant Scholar Levi an Emperor’s Blood gene-seed as a reward for his great merit to the Imperium.”
As soon as his voice fell, Malcador behind him took a step forward, bowed slightly, and said,
“Your Majesty, this does not comply with the rules.
The Emperor’s Blood gene-seed is a treasure reserved by the Emperor’s gene-forges.
It cannot be granted casually, much less granted to a mortal.”
“Rules are made by people!”
Magnus abruptly raised his head and retorted,
“Scholar Levi saved the entire Thousand Sons Legion.
The merit he established is enough to deserve any reward!
If even a meritorious official like this cannot be rewarded, then who will be willing to serve the Imperium in the future?”
Malcador frowned and wanted to say something more but was stopped by the Emperor raising a hand.
The Emperor’s gaze still lingered on Levi.
He looked for a very, very long time, so long that Levi’s back was soaked with cold sweat, before he finally spoke slowly.
“Very well.”
He extended a finger, and two drops of golden blood condensed at his fingertip.
Those two drops of blood floated in midair, radiating a warm and sacred light.
“Take it,” the Emperor said calmly.
Magnus was stunned.
He had originally thought the Emperor would give one drop at most, but he hadn’t expected him to actually give two drops.
Levi was also stunned.
He looked at those two drops of golden blood, then looked at the Emperor’s unfathomably deep eyes, and his heart abruptly sank.
He already knew that of these two drops of blood, one was to be used as the core of the array to radically cure the Flesh Change, and the other was a reward for himself.
He suspected that the Emperor, this old fox, might have been peeking at his conversation with Magnus yesterday.
In his previous life, he had long known that one of the Master of Mankind’s greatest hobbies was to slip among the citizens of the Imperium under various identities and silently observe everything.
Peeping on him and Magnus was perfectly normal.
(t/n: dirty old slag *blushes profusely*)
much appreciated!!