Warhammer 40k: Rise of the Great Horned Rat

Chapter 181 181: Isha’s Proxy Purchase — The Aeldari Species Bundle

A post-coital smoke is better than being a living god.

Lucius really wanted to do just that, but he had never smoked even before his transmigration, and as a Chaos God, there was nothing mundane enough to stimulate his ethereal senses.

Within the layer of the Black Bell Tower, composed of fragments from the fallen Aeldari Empire, Isha's delicate, porcelain face bore a faint roseate flush, though her expression remained stoic. She propped herself up on the silk-like Aeldari bedding with one hand. The smooth, soft cloud-weave quilt slid from her alabaster skin, revealing a glimpse of her divine form, yet she remained indifferent to her exposure.

To a god, such things were trivial. Her daughter, Lileath, often danced unclothed before her followers... Hmph. Thinking of that daughter made Isha's mood sour again. That Aeldari Goddess of Dreams had been swallowed by Slaanesh, just like the rest of the pantheon.

Isha inspected her own body. She truly could no longer feel the sharp, piercing gaze of the Dark Prince. Perhaps Slaanesh had not yet recovered from that crushing defeat.

Indeed, only a Ruinous Power could contend with another Ruinous Power. Perhaps she could use the strength of this new Chaos God to bring back the Aeldari Pantheon?

And frankly, compared to the eternal, soul-shredding torment of Slaanesh, this was far more comfortable than Nurgle's Garden. In Isha's eyes, the actions this new god, who looked like a primitive human mon-keigh, had just performed were quite conservative. By human standards, his behavior was almost restrained, which she found... somewhat endearing.

Thinking this, Isha's gaze toward Lucius softened slightly. One should never underestimate the latent desires of a beautiful widow whose husband has been dead for ten millennia.

Lucius didn't notice, or rather, didn't care to. At this moment, he was marveling to himself: "Whew... I guess I've achieved a legendary feat. I've never seen a transmigrator actually bed Isha before. I suppose I'm the first man—no, the first God, to do it."

He prepared to rise from this warm nest of tenderness. Now that his lower urges were satisfied, he wanted to satisfy his higher ones, namely, the hunger for power. To hold the world in one's wakeful palm and rest in a beauty's lap when drunk; Lucius could proudly say he had achieved both.

"Wait, where are you going?" Isha asked with a hint of alarm.

"Oh, to fulfill my promise, of course," Lucius replied, looking back at her. "The Great Horned Rat is a god of betrayal and despair, but whether or not I keep my word is entirely subject to my own will."

At this moment, Isha looked like a newly born Venus, her perfectly curved body half-veiled, a sight more seductive than total nakedness. If not for his power as a Chaos God, he certainly wouldn't have been able to restrain himself; he would have stayed in the Black Bell Tower for an eternity.

"Oh... then... I leave my children in your hands." Isha bowed her head like a resigned Elven Queen. She knelt and moved her shapely, porcelain legs toward him, draped the ancient black robes, which stood in stark contrast to her radiant skin, over his shoulders.

"Getting into character already? Hmm, I'm satisfied." Lucius chuckled, his hand sliding over Isha's long, fair neck before tilting her chin up. He leaned down and pressed a kiss onto her dew-pink lips.

"Nngh... as long as you are pleased." Isha did not resist, adopting an air of submissive grace. Between the birth of Slaanesh and her time in Nurgle's Garden, she had long ago learned the art of endurance.

Whether for gods or mortals, everything is a matter of comparison. For now, Isha would remain obedient.

Lucius walked out and addressed the vermin gathered outside: "No rat is permitted to enter that level, nor shall any harm her. Otherwise..."

"Oh... of course, of course, Mighty Great Horned Rat!" Kritislik hurriedly bowed, head bobbing as he promised never to defy the Great Horned Rat's decree.

Upon exiting, Lucius expanded his senses toward the mortal realm. He could feel the frantic Aeldari pouring out their desperate prayers to Isha. Though the Aeldari had survived this ordeal, their losses were catastrophic. Every faction that had "invested" in this venture had suffered immensely.

The Commorragh forces had lost over a hundred Kabals. Wraithknights and Wraith Titans had been lost in droves. Had Isha not been recovered, the Ynnari would have become pariahs among their own kind, hunted by every Aeldari alive.

"Good. Praying to Isha is the same as praying to me." Lucius nodded. He immediately linked the souls of those praying to Isha directly to her, allowing their Mother Goddess to shield their spirits just as she had in the ancient days.

The Craftworld Aeldari didn't notice the change immediately, but the Drukhari felt the miraculous shift instantly.

Iyanna Arienal, the Angel of Iyanden, was one of the stakeholders in this mission. Seeing her already depleted Iyanden forces ravaged once more, her fury boiled over, and she directed it toward Yvraine.

Amidst a flurry of blades, the two Aeldari women clashed. Iyanna swung her blade at Yvraine, screaming, "I should never have trusted you! Yvraine, you are a blight!"

Yvraine parried frantically, not daring to strike back. "We succeeded! I felt the Mother Goddess's hand myself! She has left the rot of the Garden!"

"But she fell into the hands of another Chaos God, didn't she?! How is that any different?!" Iyanna roared, her attacks growing more vicious.

"Aren't you going to stop them?" Eldrad Ulthran nudged Lelith Hesperax with his elbow.

Lelith, bored, barely lifted an eyelid. "It's no wonder you're unpopular. Has no female friend ever told you not to get involved in a fight between two women? Stopping them now would just be adding fuel to the fire... Wait?!"

As she spoke, Lelith felt an anomaly, one she had never dared to dream of.

As a Drukhari, the moment she stepped out of the Webway, she was exposed to the gaze of Slaanesh. The Dark Prince, the "She Who Thirsts," would relentlessly drain her soul. Thus, the Drukhari inflicted agony on others to replenish their own fading spirits.

But now, she felt a sensation of warmth in her very soul. It was a radiant light, like a mother's protection. The speed at which her soul was being consumed slowed drastically, reaching a point where it was almost imperceptible.

Though it hadn't stopped entirely, it signaled one undeniable truth... their Mother Goddess truly had returned!

"What, is your jump-generator malfunctioning?" Eldrad glanced at Lelith's scantily clad, perfect physique, teasing her before predictably dodging her lightning-fast punch.

Simultaneously, all the Drukhari present fell to their knees. These deranged killers began to wail with relief, crying out the name of the Mother Goddess, Isha.

"She's back… Isha has returned! I can feel her embrace!"

"Hahahaha!!"

The Drukhari were the first to react, followed by the Craftworlders and the Exodites. Feeling Isha's power, the Aeldari broke into jubilant, tearful celebration, claiming the Aeldari restoration was at hand.

Lucius watched them with amusement. He had no intention of telling them that they had simply become the second "Species Bundle" acquired by the Great Horned Rat. By controlling Isha, he held total dominion over the Aeldari.

While managing them through a proxy goddess was a bit of a hassle, that very hassle, and the little schemes Isha or the Aeldari might cook up, was part of the fun.

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