GATE: Thus The Imperium of Man Fought There

Anathema pt 2

The sky of the Old Earth made the so-called Anathema feel relaxed. His entire life had been placed to serve humanity's survival. All roads he takes, the many people he deceives, and much more he kills to ensure humanity's path to ascension.

Now, he traced back his journey. A long-forgotten journey that his old friend started. This era happened long before he was born, long before even the first true civilizations were created.

At first, he did not want to show this truth to the Apostle. She was Warp-born, a being once mortal and cultivated to be their spawn. Yet, destiny spokes otherwise. The timeline that makes up the Skein had shown him something greater. The final usefulness of this scheme would be astronomical. Yet, in fact, this was also one of his pet projects with the Golden Order.

"Ollanius Persson, the first Perpetual. What are Perpetuals?" Rory asks the Emperor with genuine curiosity.

The Emperor did not answer immediately. The only people aware of Perpetuals' existence besides the Golder Order were the High Lords and some high nobles on Terra. This revelation would seal the Apostle on a certain fate.

"We are humans born with immortality and our own special powers." He answers tentatively.

"How many of you out there?" Rory's eyes turned narrow, glaring at the Emperor.

"Not many, but not insignificant either." The Emperor watches his old friend walks on the rocky terrain with his bare feet. His determination that never been slightly eroded.

"You are the Emperor, right? So it would make you their leader. What is their purpose?" The Apostle keeps asking, which receives chuckles from the Emperor.

"You will see."

Ollanius seemingly did not care about his condition, as his burned foot constantly regenerated in a split second. The first Perpetual ended his walk when he arrived at a certain cliff. His eyes darted below, and there he saw a village.

The village itself only housed a hundred people. The buildings were made from mud and had dried wheat as its roof. Not far from the settlement, a river flows. Around that river, several plants managed to grow in this harsh environment.

Ollanius decided to come to their village. Slowly he approaches them, drawing the attention of every person inside the village. Without further ado, the females quickly hid their children while the males armed themselves with primitive spears and knives.

The shouts at the ancient Perpetual, demanding his purpose. To Rory, she wonders why she can understand their language despite this being ancient times and far from her world.

Ollanius explains to them his intention was harmless and introduces himself as a traveler, claiming that beasts destroyed his tribe. After several more arguments, they let the first Perpetual stay in their place.

"Why did he lie to them?" Rory inquired, glancing at the Emperor.

"Time will tell, Rory Mercury. But I assure you, Ollanius never intended to harm them." The ancient man reassured her.

Even though he was a foreigner, the villagers slowly accepted Ollanius as a part of their community. Weeks turn into months, and thus, the barrier between Ollanius and the villagers completely disappears. They lived in harmony, but that was not the case for the Perpetual. He was on eternal caution as if danger was lying behind the darkness.

Days came to pass, and the vigil of the ancient Perpetual was paid.

One day, a man with a robe came to the village. Behind him, there were armies in the thousand. They had swords and spears in their hands, creating destruction in their path. They wore a six-pointed star as their armor.