Dawn City.
The dying sun had been reignited, shining down upon this throne world.
Layer upon layer of towering buildings, some dozens of kilometers high, glittered beneath the sunlight.
In the great parks between the towers, colored banners and flags of honor hung everywhere, and the crowds were packed shoulder to shoulder.
Under the sacred hymn of the Savior, countless fireworks burst into the sky, painting a scene of peace and celebration.
An unprecedented festival was underway. The Imperium would celebrate for thirteen consecutive days, commemorating humanity's resistance against the Black Tide and its great victory over the Dark King.
Humanity would gain a new Savior Victory Day, and it would be the most important day of victory of all.
It meant that mankind had been completely freed from the threat of extinction and had begun a brand-new journey.
Of course, for ordinary Imperial citizens, the greatest benefit was gaining one more paid holiday.
That was an extremely rare thing, and they were overjoyed.
On the first day of Victory Day, an important trial was held on the execution platform of Dawn City.
"In the name of the Savior, by the oath of humanity's survival—
"Here in Dawn City, beneath the witness of the sun, the Tribunal declares:
"Horus Lupercal, once a son of the Emperor, Warmaster, and Legion Master of the Luna Wolves.
"Yet his heart fell into the dark abyss. His soul was devoured by the Chaos Gods. He betrayed the Imperium, slaughtered his brothers, and brought war to sacred Terra.
"…
"Therefore, this court rules:
"The name of Horus shall be stricken forever from the Roll of Humanity's Heroic Dead. His body and soul shall undergo final judgment!"
Upon the execution platform, the Lord High Judge passed sentence on humanity's great traitor, Horus, the Dark Emperor.
That being was so proud that he refused to repent or make amends for the crimes he had committed, much less submit to Diablo, the King of Hell. Thus, the Imperium could only execute him.
Otherwise, the Chaos Gods might once again use this traitor to harm humanity.
After the Lord High Judge announced the verdict, a pillar of blue flame rose.
Extreme heat spread outward, burning Horus, who was bound to the blackstone pillar, to nothing. Even his soul was seized and destroyed by a special array, denying it any return to the Warp.
Neither the Savior nor the primarchs attended this important execution.
Their absence expressed their utter rejection of that traitor.
The footage of the execution was broadcast through the psychic network to the major segmentums in order to dissolve the hatred of the people.
This execution was only one part of the ceremony. Afterward came more than ten days of celebration.
These included all manner of sacrificial rites, parades, and other events.
The celebrations were not limited to Dawn City. Every civilized world within the Imperium's domain held them at the same time, even the disaster zones still undergoing reconstruction.
Humanity had suffered too much harm during the Black Tide. Their hearts needed comfort.
At the ports on the outskirts of Dawn City, ships flowed in endless streams, converging upon this region.
People from the great segmentums and sectors came to make pilgrimage and offer their worship to the great Savior, the Imperial Emperor.
Of course, most governors from those sectors and planets were not qualified to meet the Savior.
Only the great nobles of the segmentums, the leaders of Legions, and the heads of churches were qualified to briefly meet the Savior.
Even then, they were received collectively. The great Savior was occupied with countless affairs and had no energy to grant individual audiences.
The relevant reception work was mainly handed over to the Hand of the Savior, Imperial Regent Bayev, and the secretarial department.
Aside from the audiences and reports of these high-ranking figures, a large number of honored Imperial citizens had also been invited to Dawn City to participate in this grand celebration.
For citizens who were not registered residents of Dawn City, this might be the most wonderful trip of their lives.
"Oh, Throne, those are the lords of the Salamanders!" Olk said excitedly as he watched the warriors passing nearby.
At that moment, he wore a presentable formal outfit similar to work clothes. Several honor badges were pinned to his chest.
One of them was forged from gleaming gold and was the most eye-catching of all. It bore the pattern of a throne and shield.
This technical worker from the planet Ormus had made outstanding contributions during the resistance against the Black Tide and had been awarded a special honor badge.
Not only that, he had also earned the favor of the Lord of the Salamanders and gained the opportunity to study at the Nocturne Artisan Academy. That meant personal instruction from a primarch.
But all of that would come later. Right now, he had to properly enjoy this thirteen-day celebration journey with his family.
The moment Olk's family arrived in Dawn City, they were stunned by its splendor and holiness.
A city larger than a planet exceeded everyone's imagination. It gathered together everything beautiful in the galaxy.
Here, you could enjoy the scenery of many famous garden worlds, taste renowned foods and wines from across the galaxy, and buy anything you could imagine.
In the trade district, people could even see merchants from various species, such as Drukhari, T'au, Leagues of Votann, and others.
In some amusement parks, one could even see daemon circuses. Of course, the ones performing like trained monkeys were the daemons. They worked hard to please the humans in order to avoid being whipped.
Olk's two children were eating colorful candies shaped like snotlings, savoring them with great interest.
"Oh, honey, what a beautiful bag. My coworkers at the office are going to die of envy.
"This is legendary Aeldari merchandise…"
Marian held a stylish shoulder bag, unable to let go of it, while leaning against her husband.
It was a handmade item sold by an Aeldari merchant, made from special leather and adorned with tiny gemstones. Its aesthetics were remarkably refined.
In this xenos trade district, there were quite a few Aeldari from backward Maiden Worlds. Most of them had spent years fleeing from place to place, and their lives were not easy.
Fortunately, the Aeldari Savior had formed an alliance with the Imperium, allowing them to travel through the Webway to designated locations in Dawn City for trade and earn some credits through the craftsmanship of their tribes.
Those credits were the galaxy's hard currency.
With them, these poor Aeldari could buy human industrial goods, weapons, and even spirit stones, improving their lives.
They could also better resist the corrosion of the Prince of Pleasure.
At present, that was the general state of the Aeldari in the galaxy. Some groups had already nearly regressed into tribal conditions.
Even so, many of their resources were also needed by the Imperium.
Supposedly, the Department of Culture and Tourism was also planning to open a number of Aeldari-related tourist sites, allowing people to visit Aeldari worlds and experience a different culture.
That could also deepen friendly relations between humanity and the Aeldari.
In truth, more and more species from across the galaxy were coming to Dawn City to trade, or to seek audience with high-ranking figures of the Imperium—or even the Savior himself.
The Savior's goal was mainly to shape the image of the Imperium of Man as vast, wealthy, and capable of embracing all things, thereby achieving the sight of ten thousand peoples coming to pay court.
That being did not like endless killing. Humanity could tolerate other species and was willing to share the galaxy with them for common development.
Of course, those species had to obey the principle of one galaxy and recognize humanity as the galaxy's sole overlord.
However, there was also a deeper purpose behind all this. The Savior hoped to establish the financial hegemony of the Imperium of Man and use trade and a currency system to extract resources from other species.
That was far more profitable than war.
After all, the galaxy was enormous. If humanity wanted to exterminate every xenos species, it would be extremely difficult and cost far too many lives. Establishing hegemonic rule was better.
Because of these changes, the cultures of different species had begun to communicate and interact.
Even an ordinary mortal family like Olk's could encounter xenos cultures and even purchase goods made by other species.
At the market, Marian had taken one look at that pink Aeldari handmade bag inlaid with tiny gemstones and had been unable to move her feet. But after seeing the price, she did not dare say a word.
In the end, however, Olk waved his hand generously and paid the Aeldari merchant for the bag.
Ever since he had earned merit in the Black Tide disaster zone, he had received a large credit reward, and his base salary had also been raised.
Simply put, he had become part of the Imperium's middle class, with the ability to afford some spending beyond basic survival.
That would have been unimaginable in the old Imperium.
Because the New Imperium had removed the mountain known as the Eleventh Tithe, vigorously developed trade, established a system of monetary hegemony, and extracted resources from xenos races, the Imperial economy had developed rapidly.
Meanwhile, the latest comprehensive poverty relief policies allowed more citizens to escape poverty, feeding back into the consumer market.
This also gave rise to more Imperial middle-class citizens, to say nothing of an emerging technical-worker class like Olk.
If he could successfully complete his studies at the Nocturne Artisan Academy, he would become a high-ranking technical worker and leap directly into the ranks of the higher citizens.
"Throne, these Ankes psy-brain hounds are way too expensive."
Olk had originally wanted to raise a pet, like certain wealthy families.
But after seeing the price of the pets, he immediately backed down and hurried away from the stall of the bowing and scraping T'au merchant.
This technical worker from the lower levels of Ormus still could not bear to spend such a large sum of credits on something outside basic survival.
But once he grew used to his new life, he would naturally contribute to the Imperium's consumer market.
Olk wandered around a while longer with his wife and children. After buying two small toys for the children, they headed toward the Webway train station that led to the pilgrimage site.
Soon after, they got off the rail train and headed toward a gigantic square.
"Savior above!"
Like the other pilgrims, Olk was stunned by the sight before him the moment he stepped out of the station.
It was the central pilgrimage square of Dawn City, where a sacred statue of the Savior, hundreds of kilometers tall and piercing into the clouds, stood upright.
The sacred statue was coated entirely in gleaming gold and decorated with the most expensive gemstones. The materials alone had consumed the mineral resources of dozens of planets.
The incomparably grand and holy statue of the Savior overlooked the entire city. No matter which district or direction people looked from, they could see that great sacred image.
This was the newest sacred statue of the Savior. The section at its top had already been adjusted, replacing the Sacred Sun with the image of the Hope Sun.
After all, the Sacred Sun no longer existed. In the Warp, the only thing humanity could believe in and worship was that Hope Sun.
The Imperium of today had only one sun, the sole sun, and that was—
The Savior, the Imperial Emperor!
Olk, together with his wife and children, stepped onto the path and began their pilgrimage.
However, this pilgrimage differed from the old Imperial pilgrimage process on Holy Terra's Ecclesiarchy sacred grounds.
In the old Imperium, pilgrimage paths took months to complete. People had to face hunger, thirst, and scorching sunlight, and could collapse at any moment.
In the New Imperium, this pilgrimage path took only a day or two. The climate was pleasant, and various sacred foods, sacred drinks, and rest stops were provided free of charge along the way.
At night, they could stay in five-star sacred-site king-bed rooms at the rest stops.
They could also transcribe the Redemption Scripture at the rest stops, allowing them to better understand the mercy of the Hope Sun and the Savior.
"Praise the Savior!"
After walking for two hours, Olk and the others finally reached the first temporary blessing point.
Devoutly, they received the sacred bread and sacred drink from the priest to comfort their hungry stomachs.
"Wow, this tastes even better than the sunwheat crisps we bought!" the children said, eyes bright as they bit into the sacred bread.
Not long ago, they had bought the famous Imperial sunwheat crisps produced in Ultramar's Five Hundred Worlds.
The wheat came from local agri-worlds, where it flourished under abundant sunlight. Its grains were plump and rich in nutrients.
The sunwheat crisps made from that wheat were crisp and carried a faint wheat fragrance, with a trace of sweetness. They tasted like sunlight.
Yet Olk and the others had never expected that the sacred bread provided at the pilgrimage path's blessing point would taste even better than the sunwheat crisps.
The outer layer of the sacred bread was crisp, while the inside was soft and fluffy. The combination of unknown spices, honey, and cream released a special fragrance.
It was intoxicating.
When people tasted truly delicious food, they could cry. As Olk and his family ate heartily, tears glimmered in their eyes.
The sacred drink was even more refreshing, icy, and sweet, soothing the heart.
As they ate and drank, they seemed to see holy light shining down upon them.
That was only natural.
This was one of the Imperium's most important sacred sites.
Even the sacred bread had to be made with the finest ingredients and the most expensive spices, such as premium wheat and seasonings produced by garden worlds.
It was also prepared by the very best chefs. These were things even some petty nobles could never enjoy.
But in this sacred place, every blessing point prepared different kinds of sacred food. They were free, and people could eat as much as they wanted.
In short, they could eat to their hearts' content. Otherwise, if beings from other species learned of it, they might think the Savior could not afford to feed them.
Olk's family's pilgrimage was basically a journey of worship and eating all the way through. There were all kinds of delicacies, and their stomachs were full.
They fully experienced the Savior's grace.
As for those old Imperial pilgrims from the frontier, who had drifted for a long time before arriving, they were completely stunned.
When these old-school pilgrims had made pilgrimages before, it had been almost the same as wilderness survival, meant to temper their will and strengthen their loyalty.
But how was this a trial of pilgrimage now? They barely walked a few steps before reaching another blessing point, and each one offered sacred foods with different regional specialties.
They ate their way down the path, tasting delicacies they had never had before. Even the sacred drinks had healing effects.
Anyone who did not know better would think they were in Throne Heaven.
In truth, this pilgrimage site also received believers from other species who came to worship.
Most of them belonged to humanity's vassal species and were not well known in the galaxy.
These species had long since regarded the Imperium of Man as a sacred lighthouse. They worshiped the Savior fanatically, with a devotion closer than kinship.
"Oh, our supreme Hope Sun!"
Those vassal-species believers, spiritual Imperials, wept as they walked the pilgrimage path. They wished they could kowtow with every step to show their loyalty.
After eating the sacred bread, they were so happy they fainted.
…
Dawn City, the Sanctuary of the Savior.
Warm sunlight shone down. The special emerald grass was so soft it felt like feathers.
"Ah, I already told them not to send me local specialties anymore. Why don't those fellows ever listen?"
Eden sighed with feeling.
He wore a white bathrobe and walked barefoot onto the soft grass. From the grassland ahead came pleasant laughter and playful voices.
Those voices rippled out one after another: clear, soft, sweet, and bright. They overlapped into a warm, gentle tide, drifting over with the wind.
(End of Chapter)
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