The bells had been ringing all day.

Nobody knew why.

Or maybe everybody did.

---

The shrine world felt different.

Not changed.

Waiting.

---

The way the sky waits before a storm.

The way a kingdom waits before the arrival of its king.

---

Mara sat on the edge of a fountain watching pilgrims fill the plaza.

Thousands of them.

Candles.

Banners.

Prayers.

---

Hope.

Everywhere hope.

---

Mara:
Why is everyone smiling?

---

Chibi watched the golden horizon.

---

Chibi:
Because they think something good is happening.

---

People embraced strangers.

Workers shared food.

Pilgrims sang together.

---

For one day—

the Imperium looked almost happy.

---

Mara:
Is something good happening?

---

A long pause.

---

Chibi:
Maybe.

---

Mara:
You keep saying maybe.

---

Chibi:
Because nobody knows.

---

Above them the sky glowed faintly gold.

The sun had already set.

The light remained.

---

Impossible.

Beautiful.

Wrong.

---

Mara:
The priests say the Emperor is waking up.

---

The words felt important.

The sort of sentence that changed how people looked at tomorrow.

---

Chibi:
Yeah.

---

Mara:
Do you think it’s true?

---

Silence.

---

Chibi:
I think people believe it’s true.

---

Mara:
That’s not the same thing.

---

Chibi:
No.

---

The plaza erupted into cheers.

Pilgrims began singing.

Others joined.

Then hundreds.

Then thousands.

---

Hope spread through the crowd.

---

Or fear.

---

Sometimes those sounded exactly the same.

---

Mara:
If he wakes up—

---

She hesitated.

---

Mara:
What happens?

---

For the first time all evening—

Chibi looked uncertain.

---

Chibi:
I don’t know.

---

Mara:
Nobody knows?

---

He shook his head.

---

Chibi:
No.

---

A pause.

---

Chibi:
That’s what scares everyone.

---

Mara:
Everyone looks happy.

---

Chibi smiled sadly.

---

Chibi:
People usually do.

---

Mara:
When they’re scared?

---

He nodded.

---

Chibi:
When they’re hoping.

---

The answer made no sense.

Which meant it was probably true.

---

Mara:
Do you think it’ll be the end?

---

Chibi watched a lantern drift upward into the night.

---

Higher.

Higher.

Toward the stars.

---

Finally—

---

Chibi:
Maybe.

---

Mara groaned.

---

Mara:
Not maybe again.

---

For the first time all day—

Chibi laughed.

---

Then pointed toward the pilgrims.

The candles.

The city.

---

Chibi:
The end of what?

---

Silence.

---

Chibi:
The end of fear?

---

A pause.

---

Chibi:
The end of lies?

---

Another.

---

Chibi:
The end of an age?

---

The bells rang once more.

Rolling across the world like distant thunder.

---

And suddenly Mara understood.

---

Nobody was asking whether the Emperor would wake.

---

They were asking what would happen if he did.

---

Because every ending looks like a beginning from one side.

---

And every beginning looks like an ending from the other.

---

And somewhere beyond the stars—

something moved.

---

Maybe a king.

Maybe a god.

Maybe a judgment.

Maybe a salvation.

---

And nobody alive could tell them apart anymore.

---

🎲 PLAY EPIC. FEEL THE STORY.
Game: Warhammer 40,000 / Wrath & Glory
Campaign: Mythveil Chronicles
Theme: June · The King and the Land · Armageddon

If you remember what this felt like —
you already know what you’re missing.

Step back into it.
Or keep missing it.

👉 https://startplaying.games/gm/dunchan

Want to go deeper?

Then don’t stop at the surface.

The full stories.

The dossiers.

The things behind reality itself —

they’re waiting. Or they’re not.

👉 https://www.patreon.com/c/mythveilchronicles_bydunchanhuntergames