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Chapter 316 - 317 – Tyranid Traces, A Millennium-Old Relic?
A colossal, sacred battleship, shimmering like a star, slowly sailed out of the Namiya Atoll Corridor, radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure.
It was the Savior's flagship — the Dreamweaver — leading a massive fleet into the heart of the Tau Empire's territory.
Yet this fleet was not here for war. It was more like a grand parade celebrating victory.
The Savior's fleet passed unopposed through one defensive line after another, sailing directly toward the Tau Empire's capital, the sacred heart of the Tau people.
Following the Supreme Ethereal Council's orders, the Tau defense fleets did not dare resist. Instead, they moved aside voluntarily, as if welcoming the Savior's arrival.
For many Tau fleet commanders, it felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.
Not long ago, a powerful Imperial fleet had broken into the Tau Empire's core systems. Though they were outmatched, the Tau commanders had still fought valiantly to resist.
Soon, under General Shadowsun's leadership, they assembled overwhelming forces, ready to crush the invaders at any cost. These brave commanders, unafraid of death, charged forward with the determination to destroy the enemy or perish trying.
However, at the critical moment, the Supreme Ethereal Council issued an order to cease fire and retreat. No attacks were permitted.
It was an order that filled the commanders with confusion and shame. Yet, they obeyed without question.
Then came even worse news: for the sake of the "Greater Good," the Tau Empire would negotiate with the enemy — with no conditions.
Everyone understood what it meant.
It was an outright surrender.The Tau Empire had lost.
Still, it was the will of the Supreme Ethereals. None could defy it.
On the bridges, the fleet commanders watched helplessly as the human fleet passed grandly before their eyes. Something deep within them shattered, and tears streamed down their faces. Some fell to their knees, wailing. Others ended their own lives.
Inside the Dreamweaver, in the Savior's private study, Eden sat at his desk reviewing detailed battle reports.
This victory had come so abruptly, almost confusingly, and he needed to understand exactly what had happened.
By normal expectations, it should have taken years of grueling war to conquer the Tau Empire. Even the Ministry of War's most optimistic projections anticipated a long, bloody campaign.
Unless, of course, they had been willing to abandon every other front, pulling all forces into one massive assault. But that would have been too costly.
Yet here they were.
Without even officially declaring war, Volradi's Third Fleet had forced the Tau Empire into unconditional surrender — and barely paid a price.
Eden studied the reports carefully.
He couldn't help but hiss through his teeth.
"Volradi... you madman."
According to the data, the Tau home fleets still outnumbered Volradi's forces by at least five times. Reinforcements were already rushing in.
Had Volradi failed to seize the initiative, he would have been crushed.
But he didn't care.
Armed with superior intelligence, Volradi completely ignored the odds, charging straight toward T'au itself.
Upon arrival, he attacked the wormhole near the planet.
It was a desperate move. If the wormhole collapsed, the entire Third Fleet would have been doomed along with T'au.
But Volradi did it anyway.
Of course, destabilizing a wormhole wasn't easy. It required enormous firepower.
Success was uncertain.
According to Volradi's own explanation, he simply wanted to scare the cowardly Tau leadership. Even if the attack failed, he believed he could still break out.
Unexpectedly, after just one salvo at the wormhole, the Ethereal leadership panicked.
The Supreme Ethereal immediately came forward to negotiate.
Initially, they still maintained a semblance of dignity.
But after a few more attacks, they broke down completely, begging for unconditional peace and ordering all fleets to withdraw.
Thus, victory was sealed.
Eden leaned back, understanding now how the war had been won.
Volradi had combined intelligence superiority, deep understanding of Tau psychology, excellent judgment, and bold, risky actions. Coupled with favorable timing, he achieved an overwhelming victory.
And seized unimaginable rewards.
"Volradi... you're a true war hero," Eden murmured.
He immediately added Volradi's name to the list of top-priority figures for cultivation.
True, Volradi's style was risky. But he had both the guts and the results to back it up.
Each of Eden's commanders had their own style. He didn't try to constrain them.
Take Arye, the commander of the Storm Titans, for example — a man who once stripped down and barehandedly fought Daemon Engines, even piloting a Knight to charge against Chaos Titans.
What was there to argue with men like that?
His role was to reward and empower these commanders, allowing them to reach their full potential.
Trying to control everything would only limit them — and Eden had no desire to become yet another overbearing micromanager like the fools of the past.
As the report confirmed that the Dreamweaver had reached T'au, Eden closed the files.
With the assistance of his maids, he donned a magnificent dark-gold ceremonial robe.
The war was over.
Now it was time for the Savior to formally accept the Tau Empire's surrender.
Awesome!
...
T'au.
Equatorial Capital.
Several Redeemer-pattern Titans stood tall in the sacred districts of the Tau, their presence alone enough to intimidate the inhabitants. War Angels patrolled everywhere, ensuring no chaos would erupt.
Alemane was leading the Savior's diplomatic team, negotiating with the Ethereal caste about the details of the surrender ceremony.
Though to call it "negotiation" was generous — it was more like issuing orders.
The Tau had no room to refuse.
They would accept anything now to survive.
Normally, the Tau Empire had formidable potential for war.
Even if entire planets fell, even if fleets were annihilated, their military spirit would not falter.
Under Ethereal leadership, Tau armies would fight to the death for the "Greater Good."
But all of that depended on one thing:
that the Ethereals themselves remained safe.
To the Ethereals, the loss of colonies or armies was nothing, as long as they themselves survived.
Only then could they continue to command, to inspire, and to eventually win.
This was how many of the Tau's toughest wars had been fought in the past.
The Ethereal caste was supreme, and their survival was the highest priority.
They could sacrifice everything else —
— planets, armies, civilians —
so long as they themselves lived.
Years of privilege had stripped them of the courage needed to fight to the bitter end.
Even when there was a real chance of victory, they lacked the will to gamble.
Alemane watched these once-proud Tau leaders bow and scrape, unable to hide her disbelief.
It had all happened so quickly.
Barely half a day earlier,
the Savior's diplomatic team had been surrounded by Tau armored units, preparing to die gloriously if necessary.
Then the Savior's fleet arrived.
The Tau soldiers laid down their weapons without a fight.
Now Alemane's job was to manage the surrender arrangements.
Even Creekwhisper? two other diplomats who had been captured earlier, were released and brought in to help.
It was a shameful task.
But even they accepted it.
They knew the terrifying power of the Savior.
Perhaps this was already the best outcome the Tau Empire could hope for.
As Alemane finalized the last details of the ceremony—
—solemn sacred music spread across T'au.
And the Great Savior arrived.
...
Elemental Council Hall.
High above, the sky was still marred by the giant black wormhole, now torn by a crack stretching down toward the planet.
Below the scarred heavens, a ruined starport lay in pieces, having been torn apart by chaotic spatial distortions.
Inside the grand council chamber, War Angel Terminators now stood guard in place of the Ethereal guards.
They held the Savior's banners high, their presence alone radiating unstoppable force.
Rows upon rows of thrones filled the hall.
Half were occupied by Tau representatives from various clans.
The other half were occupied by the Savior's delegation — senior officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of War, and others.
They were here to begin the postwar transformation.
As solemn hymns filled the air, all representatives rose to welcome the great figure approaching.
Yet on the faces of the Tau, there were visible marks of humiliation.
Tears brimmed in their eyes.
Even the Supreme Ethereal rose.
In the past, such a scene would have been held in his honor.
Now, he was the one standing in submission.
Without power, his once-noble figure looked almost comical — small and pitiful.
The Supreme Ethereal bowed humbly, knowing that his survival depended entirely on the attitude he displayed today.
The grand hall doors opened.
The heavy thudding of armored boots echoed through the hall.
Under the escort of his Honor Guard, Eden stepped into the chamber.
All eyes focused on him.
It was he who had conquered the Greater Good.
He who had conquered the Tau Empire.
Without any unnecessary gesture, Eden walked straight to a small table placed before the Supreme Ethereal.
He looked down at him and said calmly:
"Sign it."
The chamber was deathly silent.
The Supreme Ethereal finally responded:
"By your command, Savior."
Trembling, he signed the surrender documents and treaties.
Then, bowing at a full ninety degrees, he respectfully offered the papers up to Eden with both hands.
After a few heartbeats, Eden took the documents and passed them to a nearby Internal Affairs officer.
It was done.
The surrender ceremony was complete.
Eden then calmly swept his gaze across the hall, turned, and left under the guard of his Honor Guard.
His role was finished.
The ministries would now take over the transformation of the Tau Empire.
As Eden departed, faint weeping filled the hall.
Some Tau representatives broke down entirely, wailing loudly.
The dream of the Tau Empire dominating the galaxy had shattered into dust.
Eden listened to the crying without resentment.
He understood their sorrow.
A surrender without full-scale war was the best possible ending for both sides.
Suddenly, he caught a few particularly loud wails.
Curious, he extended his senses slightly—
—and discovered that the ones crying most miserably weren't the Tau,
but the human collaborators who had served the Tau.
In truth, this was the first time these human traitors had ever set foot in the sacred Elemental Council Hall.
Without this surrender, they would never have been allowed inside.
Eden blinked in confusion.
"Why are the traitors crying even harder than the Tau themselves?"
He shook his head, not bothering to think about it further.
His work here was done.
Soon after, Eden boarded the Dreamweaver again and departed T'au.
The ministries remained behind, overseeing the reconstruction and restructuring.
The Savior's control over the Tau Empire had begun.
Meanwhile, far away—
one Tau fleet fled desperately.
It was General Shadowsun's personal guard fleet.
She had killed the Ethereal elder assigned to monitor her, seized command, and escaped.
On the bridge, Shadowsun gazed at her fading homeworld.
"Farewell, my homeland..."
A single tear slid down her cheek.
In her heart, she knew.
It was not the Tau people who had fallen —
it was the Ethereal caste and the corrupted Empire they controlled.
The pure Tau spirit still lived.
The Greater Good still lived.
"We will survive," Shadowsun whispered.
"We will rebuild."
Her fleet sailed toward the forbidden zones of the Tau Empire.
Toward the Farsight Enclaves.
Toward the future.
...
One Month Later.
T'au.
The Dreamweaver and its fleet set course for the Charalton sector.
Unlike when they had first arrived,
this time the fleet was fully laden with spoils.
They carried away the Tau Empire's technologies,
especially the Battlesuit tech and its related manufacturing infrastructure,
rare exotic metals,
and even Tau children from the Ethereal caste.
Behind them, massive engineering vessels worked furiously.
Around the wormhole near T'au, they constructed new defenses.
But these defenses hid something different: huge amounts of high-yield explosives.
Enough to collapse the wormhole instantly and annihilate T'au and the surrounding systems if needed.
The Savior now controlled the lifeline of the Tau Empire.
If ever necessary, the wormhole itself could become a doomsday weapon.
...
Dreamweaver.
Savior's Sanctuary.
Eden sat at his desk, studying postwar governance plans for the Tau Empire.
After their surrender, he had two options.
One was to dismantle the Tau Empire slowly,
utterly destroying it.
The other—
was to seize full control, but preserve it as a tool.
In the end, Eden chose control.
Wasting such power would be foolish.
Besides, the Tau Empire could serve an important role:
a buffer zone against the endless threats lurking along the galaxy's Eastern Fringe.
Ork empires, Tyranid hive fleets, Chaos incursions,
and countless xenos species unknown even to the Imperium.
The human Imperium itself had long tolerated dangerous xenos in the Eastern Fringe,
allowing them to flourish—
—to act as shields against even deadlier horrors.
Thus, the Tau Empire would serve as a perfect meat shield.
Meanwhile, Eden desperately needed more strength.
He intended to fully dominate the Tau Empire and use the "Greater Good" ideology to absorb and command countless alien forces.
Reviewing the Internal Affairs Ministry's plans, Eden noted that:
Human garrisons now controlled all vital locations.
Ethereal power was being dismantled.
Vaan, a Tau noble, had been installed as the new Supreme Ethereal, a loyal puppet.
New governing councils would replace the old Ethereal caste.
While outwardly maintaining the "Greater Good" system,
Eden's ministries would slowly erode the old power structures,
opening new opportunities for the common Tau.
A small mercy left behind by the Savior.
Eden sighed softly.
"Shadowsun escaped, huh..."
It was regrettable.
Losing a legendary figure like Shadowsun would weaken the Tau Empire further.
But such heroes were never easily subdued.
Better to let her go than risk rebellion later.
For now, Eden was patient.
The deeper transformation would take decades.
Already, young Ethereal children had been sent to the Loyal Sons Academy for "special education."
One day, they would return—
—completely loyal to Eden.
And then, the Savior would have a fully integrated, fully loyal Tau Empire under his command.
Cut off from the human domain, to preserve humanity's purity.
Turning his attention to the technological spoils,
Eden smiled.
The Battlesuit technology and manufacturing infrastructure
would give the Savior's armies a massive boost.
Projects to adapt Battlesuits for human use had already begun.
It would take time,
but when completed,
the Storm Group Titans would reach new heights of power.
All in all—
a staggering harvest,
achieved at minimal cost.
Volradi, the architect of this victory, would be heavily rewarded.
He would be elevated to a prestigious second-tier citizen rank,
and gain real influence within the Ministry of War.
A hero well worth nurturing.
Satisfied, Eden rose from his desk.
He headed toward the Sanctuary's grand dining hall.
It was time to properly reward Volradi and the heroes of the Third Fleet.
...
Savior's Sanctuary Dining Hall.
Maids polished the long starwood table,
wiping it clean until deep, shimmering star-patterns floated across its surface.
Soon,
the table was laden with the finest dishes from across the galaxy,
ready to please every taste.
When Eden arrived and sat,
the commanders were ushered in and seated.
The banquet began.
Eden didn't make a grand speech.
He simply raised his glass in silent tribute to these heroes.
As the meal continued,
he laughed and joked warmly,
asking about their homes, their travels, their dreams.
He was genuinely pleased.
With a grand gesture,
he announced that the entire Third Fleet—
from commanders down to common crew—
would receive a one-week vacation.
They could even bring their families.
Their destination: the paradise world of Raida.
An endless chain of lush islands scattered across turquoise seas,
Raida was a top-tier resort world — a precious gem in the cruel galaxy.
There, they would enjoy beaches, sunshine, fine food, and relaxation.
The commanders erupted in excitement.
They could hardly wait to share the news with their crews.
Later, Eden chatted privately with Volradi,
asking about his family.
When he heard the name "Arila,"
Eden smiled in recognition.
Arila—
once a humble factory worker whom he had rewarded decades ago.
Now her son was a fleet commander.
"Not bad, kid," Eden thought again.
Volradi seemed like he wanted to ask something—
—but held back.
In truth, Volradi had wanted to ask if the Savior would meet his mother.
But he felt it would be too presumptuous.
Maybe one day,
after earning even greater glory,
he would dare ask.
The banquet ended joyously.
Eden returned to his quarters.
He mused to himself:
"I haven't had a vacation in ages either..."
Maybe he would join the fleet on Raida,
enjoy the islands and beaches himself.
The idea was tempting.
But—
Ding!
A high-priority email alert interrupted his thoughts.
Eden froze.
Bad news?
He opened it cautiously.
Relief.
It wasn't an emergency.
In fact, it was good news.
The Ministry of War's search teams—
—had found traces of the missing Sons of Man Chapter.
And even more bizarre—
they reported the discovery of a human world where Tyranids were being bred...
And...
A relic of the Savior?
Eden's eyes narrowed sharply.
(End of Chapter)
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