Eden cautiously regarded Bishop Doni. "Your Excellency, if there's something you need, just say it."
Bishop Doni's attitude became even more fervent. "Governor, the statue of the God-Emperor needs to be restored. However, the Church lacks the manpower and resources to complete this task, and we require your help..."
The statue of the God-Emperor had been desecrated by heretics, and the Church did not have the means to repair it.
For this, Doni felt deep shame—such desecration was a grievous affront!
Restoring the towering hundred-meter statue of the Emperor would require significant manpower and resources.
However, the entire upper hive was currently in a dire situation, with supplies, including food, critically low.
In times like these, no ruler would willingly divert resources to such a demanding and seemingly unproductive task.
The Church had requested aid from the Governor's office multiple times before, but they were always rejected.
The Church was left powerless.
Due to the Warp storms, the Astronomican beacon in the Gorye sector had long since dimmed. The Emperor's light no longer shone upon Urth, leaving the Church's influence drastically diminished.
Now, strength dictated who was in charge.
"Restoring the statue?" Eden frowned. He was no fanatic and didn't fully grasp Doni's obsession.
Moreover, the situation in the Governor's district was terrible, and he couldn't afford to waste resources on something that wouldn't yield immediate benefits.
He opened his mouth, prepared to refuse. "I'm sorry, but the district is unable to—"
"Governor!" Doni urgently grabbed Eden's hand, fearing another rejection.
"I understand this is a difficult task, but in such dark times, the faithful need the God-Emperor's guidance more than ever!"
At these words, Eden felt a spark of inspiration—an idea to dispel the despair among the populace began to take shape.
"What did you say?" Eden tightened his grip on Doni's hand. "Please, repeat what you just said..."
"Faith shelters all beings. The people long for salvation!" Doni's expression was resolute. "Only the Emperor's light can pierce through this darkness!"
That sentence struck Eden like a bolt of lightning, clearing the fog in his mind.
He had found the solution to his problems!
The answer was to use the power of faith to banish despair!
As someone from a modern world, Eden had overlooked the importance of faith—he had not experienced the trials of his forebears.
But in the grimdark universe of Warhammer 40K, faith was not something to be ignored.
It could be said that worship and faith in the God-Emperor were the true foundations of the Imperium.
The more desperate the times, the more people would need the strength that came from their faith.
Otherwise, they would soon succumb to hopelessness and turn to the dark gods for salvation.
"Governor?" Doni's voice broke through Eden's thoughts, concerned by his silence.
Eden snapped back to reality, suppressing his excitement as he nodded in agreement to Doni's request.
"The district will fully support the restoration of the Emperor's statue. Once it's completed, the Holy Plaza will be opened for all to gaze upon the magnificence of the God-Emperor!"
Not only would the statue be restored, but Eden planned to make it a grand project, one that would rally the people.
He would gather all available resources and stage a "miracle."
And when the time came, Eden would present himself as the chosen of the God-Emperor, the savior of Urth, to reignite hope in the hearts of his people.
This was the broad outline of his plan; the specifics would require careful planning.
"Your Excellency, the God-Emperor will bless you!" Doni beamed with joy upon hearing Eden agree to the statue's restoration.
He enthusiastically recited several blessings, some of which seemed to have benefits related to, well, improving certain aspects of life.
The Church certainly knew how to appeal to people!
In truth, Eden appreciated the Church's skill in rallying support—it was exactly what he needed for his plan. But the challenge now was figuring out how to fully bring Doni to his side.
Convincing Doni wouldn't be easy.
Priests of the Imperial Cult operated independently, and in terms of legitimacy and sanctity, they were often considered above local rulers.
In general, they focused only on spreading the faith of the God-Emperor and building grand churches to honor Him.
They avoided political matters unless a ruler's disloyalty or interference with the faith became an issue.
For the Church, disloyalty was absolute treachery.
A disloyal ruler would be branded a heretic, and the priests would act in the name of the Emperor, judging and executing such traitors.
Of course, this only applied when the Church had sufficient military power to back it up.
If the ruler was strong and backed by Chaos or xenos, the priests could end up crucified on inverted crosses beneath broken Emperor statues as a mark of defiance.
In short, these priests were fanatical and difficult to win over.
Drawing Doni fully into Eden's fold would take time.
But now that Eden had agreed to the restoration, there would be plenty of future opportunities to work on it.
With a smile, Eden felt this visit to the Church had been extremely fruitful. Not only had he dispelled Bayev's doubts and solidified his position, but he had also found a way to break the people's despair and reignite their hope.
Having accomplished his mission, Eden bid Bishop Doni farewell.
The bishop personally escorted Eden to the church doors, and before he left, he pressed several bottles of valuable holy water into Eden's hands as a parting gift.
"Your Excellency, once the restoration plans are finalized, I will return to discuss them with you."
Feeling overwhelmed by Doni's enthusiasm, Eden hurried into the hovercar.
"The Church awaits your return," Doni said earnestly.
He watched as Eden's hovercar disappeared into the distance, heading toward the spire of the Governor's district.
Once the car was out of sight, Bishop Doni's smile slowly faded.
He stared at the empty plaza outside the church, feeling an overwhelming sense of exhaustion. "God-Emperor, your loyal servant seeks your guidance—what should I do?"
Ever since the catastrophic Warp storm had cut off Urth from the rest of the Imperium, the Church's connection to Terra had been severed.
Even the Emperor's guiding light had flickered and gone out.
Then came the heretics and Chaos cultists. They had dared to desecrate the statue of the Emperor, and the Church's priests had been slaughtered nearly to extinction.
Doni could feel it—the world was being swallowed by darkness.
Something unspeakable and terrible was brewing, slowly consuming the life force of Urth, draining its last vestiges of hope.
For days, he had prayed countless times, yet received no answer.
Would he ever be able to rebuild the Church?
Did the people of Urth still have a future?
Had the God-Emperor truly abandoned them?
Sometimes such dreadful thoughts crept into Doni's mind, but he quickly stamped them out.
They were blasphemous thoughts!
Doubt was betrayal. The God-Emperor was the only protector and shelter of all living beings.
He would never abandon his loyal servants!
With a deep breath, Doni reaffirmed his faith. His hawk-like eyes regained their sharpness, filled once more with resolute light.
He would fight the darkness to the end and give everything for the God-Emperor!
With renewed determination, Doni climbed the grand steps of the church, his cherubim hovering behind him, singing hymns of praise to the Emperor...
(End of Chapter)