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Eden finally understood which point in time he was in: the end of the 41st Millennium!
The Great Rift!
This was the greatest crisis the Imperium had faced since Warmaster Horus' heresy.
A massive Warp storm had torn reality apart, creating the Great Rift.
The chaotic energies unleashed by this rift caused one Astronomican after another to extinguish, leaving no protection for the Imperium.
The moment the Astronomican lights went out, disaster struck!
Countless ships were torn apart in the void, and innumerable worlds were left exposed, isolated, and consumed by the darkness.
Chaos rampaged, and planets fell!
Cries for help, screams of despair, and final pleas flooded the minds of Astropaths, overwhelming them.
The overwhelming torrent of information drove the Astropaths insane, some even to death.
The Imperium was crippled, and the end of days spread!
Enemies from the darkness launched attacks on the Imperium.
From the distant borders of the Pacificus Sector to the storm-ravaged Charadon Sector, worlds were being destroyed, and trillions of Imperial citizens died in despair.
By the time the Astronomican was reignited, the massive rift had fully formed, dividing the Imperium into two.
Half of the Imperium's domain was shrouded in darkness!
Those worlds trapped in darkness were referred to as the Imperium Nihilus.
They had lost contact with Holy Terra, were unable to request aid from the Imperium, and were left to struggle on their own or perish in the void.
But all hope wasn't lost for these worlds.
If they could hold out long enough for Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman and his Indomitus Crusade to arrive, they would have a chance to return to the light.
If Eden wasn't mistaken, Urth was currently situated within the Imperium Nihilus.
Without the protection of the Emperor or the Imperial forces, Urth was as vulnerable as a lamb, in extreme danger.
The planetary defense forces of Urth were virtually useless.
They might be able to suppress internal rebellions, but to fight xenos or Chaos? They would just be scrubs—cannon fodder among cannon fodder!
If xenos or Chaos launched a significant invasion, Urth's only fate would be annihilation!
However, Eden found some relief in the fact that Urth had lost contact with the Imperium.
This meant that Urth no longer had to bear the burden of the oppressive Imperial Tithe, effectively giving it a chance to survive.
And as the highest ruler of the planet, Eden could act as he pleased without any interference from the Imperium.
With his Little Sun, as long as he had enough time and a proper strategy, he was confident he could protect the planet.
Of course, that was only if they weren't unlucky enough to catch the attention of a large force of xenos or Chaos.
In that case, it would be game over.
"What Great Rift?" Bayev seemed confused.
"Nothing," Eden shook his head.
He didn't want to reveal this matter to anyone. It was hard to explain and far too terrifying—it would only incite more fear.
Eden's mood lightened a bit, and he tossed the documents aside.
There was no need to keep reading—what was the point of paying taxes if they weren't even connected to the Imperium anymore?
"Make arrangements. I want to inspect the lower hive," Eden ordered.
He planned to place the psychic core of the Little Sun in the lower hive to link it to the real world and start absorbing hope energy.
Here, it's worth mentioning the structure of a hive city. A hive city is a massive metallic structure that spans continents, housing tens or even hundreds of billions of residents.
Hive cities are typically divided into four layers: the underhive, lower hive, upper hive, and the spire.
The underhive is located at the very bottom, riddled with pollution, reactors, and decaying structures. Mutants roam freely, making it virtually uninhabitable.
It's a haven for the poorest, the dregs of society, and various criminals, outcasts, and mutants.
No sane person would willingly enter the underhive, so it exists beyond the reach of planetary governance, where only violence and death reign.
The lower hive, located above the underhive, is the industrial zone.
Various industrial sectors are established here, housing tens of billions of workers, making up the majority of the hive's population.
The workers in the lower hive toil day and night, producing food, electricity, and basic supplies to barely sustain themselves.
The upper hive is where the nobles and officials reside, enjoying free electricity and the resources provided by the lower hive.
As for the spire, it's the domain of the planetary governor, who controls everything on the planet.
In Eden's view, placing the psychic core in the lower hive offered the best return on investment.
Workers were the easiest to generate hope from—just slightly improving their living conditions could yield a massive amount of hope energy.
With confidence surging, Eden believed he had a stellar starting hand. He was ready to lead Urth to success with his Little Sun!
Unfortunately, reality was cruel.
Bayev shook his head. "You can't go, the lower hive has fallen..."
Eden: ???
Through Bayev's explanation, Eden learned that after his father's death, many things had happened.
When Eden inherited the title of governor, the negative effects of the Warp storm continued to plague the planet, causing mutants to surge from the underhive.
A large portion of the planetary defense forces had been dispatched to the underhive to suppress the mutants, leaving the spire in a state of extreme vulnerability.
Before long, a faction of nobles, allied with the heretics in the lower hive, rebelled and took control of the entire lower hive.
They organized forces and launched an assault on the upper hive, nearly taking the spire itself.
Countless lives were lost in the upper hive, with many nobles and officials being slaughtered.
It was only after immense sacrifice that Eden's father finally drove the rebels out of the upper hive and sealed off the gates and elevator shafts, completely isolating the upper hive from the lower and underhive.
The spire's defenses were devastated, leaving the upper hive without the strength to reclaim lost ground, and Eden's father fell into despair, drowning in alcohol and debauchery.
Until he was dragged into Slaanesh's Palace and died, only to be replaced by the soul-transferred Eden.
Now, Eden, as the planetary governor, was confined to the upper hive and could barely even control that.
What a disaster.
The perfect start had been ruined!
How was he supposed to improve things now?
Eden had planned to win over the workers in the lower hive by improving their lives, gaining their loyalty, and harvesting hope energy from their positive emotions.
Now, the only source of hope energy left was in the upper hive and the spire.
But that area was full of nobles and officials. How was he supposed to win their favor?
These people already lived privileged lives. It would be nearly impossible to gain their loyalty.
Even if Eden offered them more, they would likely never show him gratitude or loyalty.
He should consider himself lucky if they weren't plotting to overthrow him with their private armies and seize control of the spire.
Upper hive nobles had a tradition of scheming against one another and even resorting to murder.
This stemmed from one simple rule: the Imperium didn't care about internal planetary power struggles.
As long as the Imperial Tithe was paid, whoever ruled the planet was irrelevant.
This meant that anyone who managed to kill Eden and establish their own rule would inherit the planet's supreme authority!
Now that Eden was so weak, weren't those noble houses plotting day and night on how to kill him and take his place?
After barely surviving, was fate throwing another impossible challenge his way?
Eden felt drained and slumped back into his chair.
"What's wrong?"
Eden weakly asked, "How much territory do we still control? How many troops and citizens do we have left?"
(End of Chapter)