59: Chapter 59 The End of the War in Heaven, The Rise of the Aidalings

Within the Warp, which had been thrown into turmoil by the War in Heaven, a type of Warp entity known as the Enslavers was born. By enslaving the races created by the Old Ones, they dealt a heavy blow to the Old Ones' strength, with the Orks and Aeldari causing irreversible damage. This led to the Old Ones' eventual defeat and even extinction in their war against the Necrons and the C'tan. To be destroyed by the very creatures they created—how ironic. Sigh, this reminds me of a Chinese saying: "He who rises by this, shall fall by this."

During this time, the Necrons also launched a campaign of vengeance against the C'tan. Due to the previous battles with the Old Ones and infighting among the C'tan themselves, their numbers had drastically dwindled. Coupled with some technological legacies belonging to the Old Ones, an uprising led by the Silent King Szarekh broke out, shattering the C'tan into countless shards.

Among them, The Outsider was driven to madness as the lingering fragments of consciousness within him from the many C'tan he devoured tormented him incessantly. He exiled himself to a Dyson Sphere located outside the Milky Way. He also became the only surviving C'tan.

Furthermore, another C'tan was completely obliterated: The Flayer. However, as the C'tan were the physical manifestations of the laws of the universe, at the moment of his death, he cast a curse upon the Necrons. This curse caused some Necrons to develop an insatiable hunger for flesh and blood, maintaining a sort of terrible balance.

Damn, that's just too brutal.

"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me."

And they imprisoned them within Tesseract Vaults to prevent the C'tan Shards from escaping.

The shell of a Tesseract Vault contains layers of hyper-advanced node matrices and a set of Necron Canoptek Leeches. These constructs are designed to redirect a portion of the shard's energy back into the cage imprisoning it, creating a cycle—the more powerful the shard, the stronger its binding chains. The vault is also filled with Scarab Swarms, Necron constructs that can repair the Tesseract Vault even if it is torn apart; they continuously fix damage caused by the energy erosion of the C'tan Shards. Additionally, Tomb Sentinels hovering above the C'tan Shards suppress the intense aura emanating from the "captives" within the Tesseract Vaults, ensuring they remain subservient to their Necron masters.

Truly, "what goes around comes around"? With all this, how could a C'tan escape? They are likely to be enslaved for all eternity. All I can say is: "They deserve it!"

At the same time, the decline of the Old Ones paved the way for the rise of another power—the Aeldari. As the primary heirs to the Old Ones' legacy, the Aeldari inherited almost all of their technological knowledge, allowing them to leapfrog into becoming the next galactic hegemon after the Old Ones. Heh, this is what they call "one generation plants the trees, another enjoys the shade."

In just 1,000 years, the Aeldari established a vast empire spanning the galaxy, becoming the undisputed masters of the Milky Way. Meanwhile, the Necrons inevitably fell into decline during their battle with the C'tan. Out of options, they had no choice but to collectively enter a deep sleep within their Tomb Worlds, waiting for the Aeldari Empire to weaken before reclaiming their status as galactic hegemons. "Avoiding the brunt of the enemy"? Utterly ridiculous! Asking me to avoid their brunt? Entering a deep sleep just to avoid a war with the Aeldari Empire seems really ill-advised, truly ill-advised.

In this way, the Aeldari Empire ruled the Milky Way for as long as 59 million years. However, beneath this prosperous age lay a hidden crisis capable of destroying the entire Aeldari Empire. This crisis not only affected future generations but also dictated the fate of the entire Aeldari race, thereby changing the course of the whole galaxy.