The son of the God-Emperor in Warhammer Fantasy

"…My lady, I never expected you to come here." Ryan shrugged helplessly, his demeanor also marked with displeasure. The Lady of the Lake had a rather deep involvement in his private life, but since the knightess did not object, he felt it inappropriate to comment further.

"I carefully descended here, thinking you would be done quickly, but you took over an hour to bathe," the Lady of the Lake said in a strange tone, glaring at Ryan. "Didn't you know I was waiting outside? If not for you channeling divine power for me, my descent would have consumed a tremendous amount of divine energy in just ten minutes."

"I wasn't aware," Ryan replied, laying Sulia on the bed and wrapping her in a bathrobe, then cradling her in his lap. "Is there something you need, my lady?"

The goddess shifted uncomfortably, revealing a bare foot under her long dress. Her delicate little foot, painted with pink nail polish and adorned with iris petals, was in view as Sulia wore the bathrobe, disheveled. The Lady of the Lake kept her eyes fixed on Sulia's belly as if trying to discern something.

On the knightess's smooth, jade-like belly was a peculiar heart-shaped beautiful pattern, golden threads encircling a complex 'I' character and a sword, the colors gold and silver each occupying half, secured by a silver ribbon in the middle, and silver wings glowing around the sword. At the moment, the wings were still folded, with only slight signs of opening.

Indeed, what he had given to Sulia was different from what he had given to other women, the Lady of the Lake pondered about Ryan's mark.

The origins of the Lady of the Lake's Chosen Champion were extremely mysterious. He was an outsider, a "god" yet to mature, but also a human of purest lineage without any flaw.

Aside from his powerful bloodline talents, Ryan was the only one in the world who could use subspace spells directly. Not only was he immune to corruption, but he could also dispel it.

What most interested the Lady of the Lake were the mysterious spiritual marks seen on Morgiana, Olica, and the witch Veronica's bellies. These marks penetrated the soul of the bearer, aiding them in resisting various threats of corruption, and would mature over time as contact increased, until the wings fully spread.

The mark on Sulia's belly was different from those she had glimpsed before. What did this mean? Was it a special love from Ryan, a seal of approval from his father as his daughter-in-law, or a special gift from the power of both father and son?

Even with her vast knowledge, the Lady of the Lake could not determine the nature of these unique circumstances; she could only speculate.

"Lady?" Ryan noticed the Lady of the Lake's gaze, wrapped Sulia more tightly in the bathrobe, and said, not too politely, "What are you looking at? She is my wife, not yours, and I won't let you see."

"Ryan~ don't be like that." Sulia's cheeks flushed red, weakly leaning into her husband's embrace and softly speaking to the Lady of the Lake, "My lady, if you have any commands, Ryan and I will comply with your will."

"Ryan, my champion, in your visit to the Empire, it would be best if you could sign a military alliance with Emperor Karl-Franz," the Lady of the Lake finally swept the other thoughts from her mind, gently touching Sulia's delicate face with a smile. "It would benefit our plans moving forward."

"Aren't Britannia and the Empire allies, always aiding one another?" Ryan was puzzled.

"That is between Britannia and the Empire, not you," the Lady of the Lake clarified, shaking her head as her finger touched Sulia's forehead, divine power pulsing under her pale fingertips. Sulia began to regain her energy from the fatigue. The devoted knightess immediately listened intently to the Lady of the Lake's teachings, saying, "What I want is an alliance between you and Emperor Karl-Franz, preferably a military one."

"Why?" Ryan pressed.

"A defensive alliance is one thing," the Lady explained, "it ensures that both sides can join forces in combat, stipulating that if one is declared war upon, both will respond."

"A military alliance is of a higher level called 'joint and several,'" she continued. "Once signed, when the Empire declares war on any force, Ryan, you too must declare war against that power."

"The Empire and the dwarves have such an alliance."

"It is your alliance with Karl-Franz, not between the Empire and Britannia!" the Lady of the Lake reiterated as Ryan finally understood.

"You mean, between my county and Emperor Karl's Richland?"

"Exactly, my prophecies show that in the next several to fifteen years, Britannia will not face a major

 invasion, but the Empire will," the Lady of the Lake stated gravely. "This most powerful human nation in the Old World still faces many dreadful challenges, Ryan. We must not let the Empire fall; Karl-Franz and his army are the hope of humanity, and we must cooperate fully to counter the threats of chaos and the greenskins."

The Lady of the Lake stood up, her beautiful figure swaying in the room, holding a golden chalice in her hand, the liquid inside rippling under her divine will. "As the lord of Charlemagne's city, Karl-Franz undoubtedly demonstrates his steadfast will and his legitimacy to Imperial jurisprudence as the Emperor. He has defeated his enemies time and again with the divine hammer 'Ghal-Maraz.' He will be a wise ally and a trustworthy figure."

"Below the chaos, no one can survive; where the greenskins pass, all withers," Ryan said seriously. "My lady, I understand your point. Before the end of times, we must preserve mortal strength and then weaken the grip of the gods of chaos on the future."

"Exactly so," the Lady of the Lake paused, then slightly embarrassed, added, "Besides that, I need another favor from you."

...

The next day, in the Imperial Royal Hotel, Ryan and Tigris sat opposite each other, with milk, bread, and fried eggs with ham laid out on the table, sharing breakfast together.

"So, we need to steal a treasure from the time of Emperor Charlemagne, the first piece of the Crown of Lilith, from the Church of Justice's heavily guarded and secret basement right under the eyes of thousands of battle priests and over a hundred demon hunters and thousands of zealots in the human Empire's capital?" Tigris still wore a poker face, speaking calmly, "Lilith wants a mage and a warrior to do the work of diplomats and wanderers?"

"A warrior who doesn't want to be a wanderer isn't a good mage, Lord Tigris," Ryan replied, using a knife and fork to cut into a succulent roasted pork chop, all food specially supplied by the Emperor's private kitchen.

"This really shouldn't be our job, whether it's you or me; we're not good at stealth. Lilith always does this kind of thing," Tigris reiterated after confirming the Lady of the Lake's plan, grumbling, "She should have given this task to the Shadow King Aris, or if not, even to Alaros would have been a better choice than us."

"But she can only rely on us," Ryan shrugged.

The Lady of the Lake's influence was minimal among the elves and similarly in the Empire; she could only leverage the power of Tigris and Ryan.

"…Let's think about how to proceed," Tigris said after a moment of silence. "Avoiding the gods' perception isn't hard; my magic can do that, but how do we get past the massive defenses and the zealots patrolling day and night?"

"Let's first confirm if what Lilith wants is really in the Church of Justice's basement, where it is, how to get it, what troubles we might face, and then consider how to get it out," Ryan suggested quietly.

"Mm, let's visit the Academy of Light today," Tigris also felt the weight of the issue. He knew that Lilith could only rely on him and Ryan.

Both men stood up and walked out.

Today, Tigris, along with Ryan, Veronica, and Teresa, would visit one of the Imperial Royal Wizard Academies—the Academy of Light.

Although Emperor Karl-Franz should have been too busy to join the visit, he took great interest in Tigris's visit to the Academy of Light, going so far as to personally accompany Ryan and others.

The Supreme Light Mage Waspasian-Kant and the Dean of the Academy of Light, Odo, were already waiting. All the light mages, dressed in white robes, their skin and hair as pale as snow, were completely enveloped by the power of the wind of light.

"While it's called the Imperial Royal Wizard Academy, it's not 'one' large academy but eight independent schools," Tigris explained, leaning on Lilith's Moon Staff and heading towards the Academy of Light.

The Academy of Light was known as the "first academy" because the first royal chief grand wizard was the Supreme Light Mage Volan.

During the Great Holy War, Tigris managed to convince the savior Ludwig the Spellcaster of the necessity of the war, prompting Ludwig to order the gathering of all spellcasters within the Empire. Volan responded to the call and participated in the Great Holy War as Tigris's apprentice. By that time, Volan was already decades old, his magical talent inherently enabling him to master the wind of light. His control over the magical winds and carefulness ensured he avoided corruption and downfall.

After the Great Holy War, Tigr

is appointed the nearly hundred-year-old Volan as the first royal chief grand wizard and Supreme Light Mage.

Veronica, dressed in a wine-red shiny velvet intelligent-looking dress, and Teresa, wearing a slanted black and red checkered leather jacket and pants, both followed closely behind Tigris, listening earnestly to his explanations.

The Imperial Royal Wizard Academy was divided into eight wizarding colleges, representing the eight main winds of magic. The Academy of Light was hidden in a "planar rift" created by Tigris's great spell, housed within a massive pyramid structure, its semi-transparent exterior as pure as a diamond, the entire building shimmering with the light of thousands of candles, reflecting the solemnity of the Academy of Light.

Deep within the Academy of Light, beyond a labyrinth of tunnels and numerous traps, was the "Pyramid of Light," where the world's most precious treasures were sealed, along with the most threatening chaos creatures and chaotic artifacts. However, due to the corruption and betrayal of the former Supreme Light Mage, the Pyramid of Light had been partially damaged.

"It's a magnificent building; inside the academy, I feel a strong affinity," the light and fire witch Veronica smiled, finding it comfortable.

Teresa merely shook her head, the sorceress very uncomfortable in an environment filled with the wind of light.

Ryan followed behind the wizards, as the Supreme Light Mage Kant and the Dean of the Academy of Light, Odo, reported the situation to Tigris: "We're very sorry, truly sorry, Lord Tigris, your seal allowed Eggrim van Hostman to destroy it, we did our best to rescue most of the treasures, but still, that traitor escaped."

"Eggrim?" Ryan asked, puzzled.

"Eggrim, the former Supreme Light Mage, was once the smartest, most talented, and most gifted light mage," Emperor Karl-Franz explained to Ryan. "However, his excessive thirst for knowledge and power led him to attempt contact with the gods of darkness and, relying on his status as Supreme Light Mage, to enter the Pyramid of Light and peek at a forbidden book, after which he completely fell into corruption."

"At first, no one noticed Eggrim had become a follower of chaos; he carefully hid himself and secretly corrupted the entire Academy of Light. By chance, Kant discovered his mentor Eggrim's corruption and thus found that half of the academy's students had become followers of chaos. At that time, Kant turned to the church for help, and the Grand Archbishop of the Church of Justice, 'The Steadfast' Vikmar, gathered over a hundred demon hunters and several hundred battle priests to enter the Academy of Light, thoroughly defeating Eggrim and his followers, but still, that traitor escaped," Karl-Franz said regretfully. "Eggrim now calls himself 'The Black Mage King' and has established a secret society of corrupted wizards."

"Another corrupted traitor."

The group entered the deep and shadowy interior of the Pyramid of Light, Tigris easily waving his staff to open the seal.

Walking down the long corridor, in the middle of a large table surrounded by burning candles, lay a book with a gray cover, stained with some blue.

"Eggrim was corrupted after reading this book," Supreme Light Mage Waspasian-Kant told Tigris. "Afterward, we strictly forbade anyone from reading this book."

"...The Book of Chaos." Tigris lowered his head, looking at the book, "No wonder."

"This book contains forbidden knowledge and secrets, revealing the truths of the world," Tigris looked down at the book, seemingly pondering something, then reached out to flip through it: "The content of the Book of Chaos changes every day; let me see what Eggrim might have seen that led to his corruption."

A hand reached over to grab the grand mage's wrist: "Let me do it, I'm not afraid of this."

Tigris hesitated for a moment, signaling everyone to step back. The grand mage chanted a spell, a powerful magical shield enveloping everyone: "Be careful."

Ryan slowly opened the book, the text inside in Gothic script.

He read softly, "A bloody era, a dark age, you mediocre beings, merely playthings in the hands of the gods."

"The wild lands, a green wave of evil sweeping across all directions."

"In the darkness, the lord of the dead is plotting his return."

"The heart of the Old World, Karl-Franz, the Emperor of the Empire, must stem the raging tide, proving he is the true heir of Charlemagne."

"The resurgence of the dwarves, merely a shadow of their former glory."

"But the fate of the world is already sealed; the last and most revered Chosen Champion will be sent to the mortal world, Aicharn, the eternal Chosen, already possessing five of the six chaos treasures, his next destination..."

Ryan was about to read further when the text suddenly became blurry, the letters gradually turning

 into a sludge filled with chaotic corruption, sticking to Ryan's fingers. Then, dozens of gray threads on the book firmly bound his hands, and the terrifying chaos corruption tried to use this as a medium to enter his body!

"What is this?!"

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