Published at 20th of August 2026 7:41 am

Chapter 1943: Dreadful Thought

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The night was long, and it gave Adam a lot of time to think about.

He had slept for seven days straight, so he did not feel the need to get some shut-eye any time soon. What he had needed was food, and he’d had kilos of it — thanks to Luca.

Speaking of Luca, the man was pretending to be asleep.

Adam scoffed silently, realizing that. There was no trust between them, so it was understandable that the Lone Wolf wouldn’t let his guard down in front of him.

But to pretend to sleep so stupidly was mildly amusing.

Adam laughed in his heart. Valerian lay on his lap, peacefully sleeping while purring. He gently stroked the little fellow’s back.

Valerian had mostly been awake — and hungry — throughout the past seven days, keeping vigil over Adam. Now, he finally got time to rest.

His back to the wall, Adam gazed at the crimson moon through the glass window. Outside, the savage howls and shrieks of monsters raged on, but Adam’s heart was calm and still as an ancient lake.

The sheer scale of it all gave him pause.

From the God-Emperor and His First Sons, to the Holy Crusade, the Five Epochs, the Age of Reclamation, and now the Great Noble Houses.

Everything fit together into a single, coherent narrative. It was more than history. It was an identity shared by an entire civilization spanning more than a hundred thousand years.

Is this truly propaganda... he thought quietly.

Then it is on a scale unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

But to what end?

He calmly considered the possibilities.

On one hand, every nation glorified its founders to some extent. Heroes became legends. Victories were embellished. Defeats were forgotten. There was nothing unusual about that, really.

A common history gave people purpose, fostered unity, and inspired loyalty. In a civilization spread across countless worlds, perhaps such a narrative was not merely useful; it was necessary.

On the other hand, unquestioning reverence carried its own dangers.

The God-Emperor was invoked to explain nearly everything. His words were treated as absolute. His motives beyond question. The line between history and faith had become so blurred that Adam struggled to tell where one ended, and the other began.

Still, he lacked information. Luca was only one man, an ardent believer. Judging an entire civilization from a single conversation would be foolish.

Adam quietly set the matter aside. Whether the stories were true, exaggeration, or carefully crafted myth, time would reveal the answer, and he would be the judge of it. Until then, he would keep listening, keep observing, and draw no conclusions before the evidence warranted them.

Still, there was something that bothered him a little.

"Which world are you from?" He couldn’t help but ask.

Only the sound of firewood crackling echoed in the great hall. A few moments later, the silence was broken by Luca’s quiet voice.

"Invicta."

Adam’s brows furrowed slightly. He hadn’t heard of such a planet even in all the memories.

Luca continued, "It is a high-tier planet, one whose conditions are capable of producing Emperor Magi and Paladins. It is similar to Myrrandor in that regard. However, it is inhabited exclusively by humans."

As I thought, Adam mused.

A planet where only humans live!

"Then why are you here?" Adam asked curiously. "Shouldn’t you be out there somewhere, on some distant world, fighting for the Imperium?"

Luca remained silent for a long time after listening to that question.

"If you knew who I was, you’d never think to question my loyalty to the God-Emperor and the Imperium," Luca said in a flat voice, as though stating an undeniable fact.

"And I am no craven either," he added.

"I came to Myrrandor because it is the birthplace of our God-Emperor. This world holds a special place in the hearts of all humans. Every year, people from the farthest reaches of the Imperium embark on a pilgrimage here.

"And as I’ve said before, I wish to see the Seven Wonders. Legend has it that the God-Emperor once visited each of those seven sites and left behind inheritances for future generations of mankind."

"What!" Adam perked up, almost waking little Val from his slumber. "Is that true?"

"Heh!" Luca sneered, sitting back up from his reclining position. "Look at you, getting all excited over the mention of the God-Emperor’s inheritance."

His expression soon turned solemn.

"But yes, I do not lie. There are indeed inheritances left behind by the God-Emperor at those seven sites, and they can only be accessed by humans. Whether our people uncovered them long ago, I cannot say."

His lips curled into a grin. "But it’s worth a try."

It was more than worth a try!

This was the Human Emperor, without a doubt the strongest Magus in the history of mankind. And he had left behind seven inheritances in Myrrandor.

How could Adam not be moved?

"So that’s why you were traveling to the Wall," Adam murmured in understanding.

"Yes." Luca nodded. "That was my first stop. It may take me decades, perhaps even a century, to explore all Seven Wonders, but as I said, it is worth it."

"As for why I’m not fighting in the war," he continued, "it’s because, honestly speaking, I am too weak to make a difference."

"In the wars raging across the known universe, unless you’ve reached at least the Transcendent Rank, you’re simply too weak to matter."

He let out a long sigh. "We should consider ourselves fortunate, Constantine. We had the luck to set foot on this world. In a peaceful planet like Myrrandor, we can bide our time and grow stronger. And when we’re ready, we can fight for the Imperium.

"Others aren’t so fortunate. There are countless worlds where children are conscripted the moment they come of age. They are trained their entire lives, then sent to distant battlefields to fight for our glorious cause. So many of them die... simply because they aren’t strong enough."

He slipped into silence. For the first time since they met, Luca’s face held something other than pride and conviction.

It was sorrow.

But Adam had completely ignored that, his mind stuck on something the Paladin had just said.

"What do you mean luck to set foot on this world?" he asked. "Elaborate, please."

Luca turned to him, eyeing him strangely. "You did come from the Outerverse, yes?"

Adam nodded.

"Then you should have arrived through Carina," Luca said matter-of-factly.

"Representatives of many factions are stationed there. Some recruit newcomers into their organizations here on Myrrandor. Those are the real fortunate ones. But most simply conscript them into the Imperial Army."

Don’t tell me...

Adam’s heart sank as a dreadful thought crossed his mind.

Were Anna, Eddie, and the rest conscripted into the Imperial Army?!

Seeing the raven-haired youth fall silent, Luca couldn’t help but ask with a light frown.

"What’s the matter?" he asked.

Adam hesitated a moment before answering.

"I... didn’t arrive through the moon."

Luca blinked. "What?"

"I was thrown into the Sea of Storms."

For a long moment, Luca simply stared at him, dumbfounded. Then his eyes widened.

"You were what?!"

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