40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 38 38.Light (3)

"You're not human," Khalil said.

He chose to start with this statement, which, frankly, was not a good choice—in fact, it was a terrible choice.

However, his tone was calm, as if he was stating a fact.

"Neither are you, then," replied the Emperor.

He responded with equal calm.

"This means we have begun formal communication."

Khalil nodded calmly. "So, is there anything that you have to get rid of before you can tell me?"

"There are many," said the Emperor.

He did not deny the idea of ​​'spending'.

Then, the giant took another step forward and stretched out his right hand.

The hand covered in golden armor hovered in mid-air, maintaining its posture steadily. The double-headed eagle gleams in relief on the arm armor, and even the darkness cannot conceal such a dazzling splendor.

In fact, the darkness fears him.

Since before he appeared, all the beasts in the wasteland had left. Their inferior intelligence cannot understand this, but their instincts can.

Leave, or die. Their instincts say.

"What does this mean?" Khalil asked slowly.

"A greeting, a necessary ritual, or a covenant. It all depends on your choice."

Khalil laughed.

"I guess you didn't give me a choice - not to mention, we've already shaken hands once."

"That time it was about saving."

"But you didn't mention the price."

"The cost doesn't matter right now."

"Really? I want to hear it."

The giant among giants slowly lowered his noble head, his eyes shone with bright golden light, and the laurel wreath shone on his forehead.

Khalil was unmoved.

He was completely indifferent to the godlike visage - or mask. There was even something stirring at the bottom of those dark eyes.

".You want to know the truth," the Emperor said slowly. "But the truth may not be to your liking."

Khalil Lohars stared into his eyes, and the golden light did not change the darkness at all.

Then he took a step forward and took the hand that was too big for him.

"I have nothing to fear," he said.

——

The world is spinning.

Sanity is torn to pieces and then glued back together.

Memories that were too old rushed towards me, and the countless darkness buried in them turned into choking dust and hit me. Their fingers were wrapped in bandages, their bodies had been eviscerated, and a special herbal smell began to fill Khalil's nose.

He breathed.

Then breathe again—deeply.

"Mummy?" he asked.

"Yes." A man in a white robe stepped barefoot on the floor tiles and answered Khalil's question.

The tiredness on his face was the same as last time. He no longer wore the laurel crown or the golden armor, he just stood there like an ordinary person.

"Egypt?" Khalil asked again.

"Yes."

"So, you were once a certain pharaoh?"

"Yes." said the man.

Khalil shook his head and walked inside the burning pyramid, his voice still calm: "The last time we met, the place you showed me was a primitive tribe, and you said it was located at the junction of the Eurasian continent. "

"indeed so."

"So, you lived from a barbarian to the Pharaoh of Egypt?"

"No, it's not just those. I have had many identities and many names."

The man paused for a moment, his tired face looking dazed. He seemed to have noticed something and said: "You can call me Neos."

"I dare not call you by your name - your armor indicates something. If I guess correctly, you should be an emperor."

"Emperor," Neos corrected. "I've designed many identities for myself and then played them. Normally, I wouldn't do that unless something terrible was happening to humanity."

Khalil chuckled, turned around, leaned against the Pharaoh's tomb and crossed his arms: "How many?"

"countless."

"What kind?"

"Gods, men, madmen, kings, prophets. Men, women, old men, children. I have experienced every life you have ever known."

"Eternal life?" Khalil asked.

Nios did not answer, he knew that Khalil had already got the answer - the ghost from the long past was staring into his eyes, and at this moment, he was not wearing a mask.

The man named Khalil Lohars was not blind, so he could see clearly.

"Eternal life." Khalil nodded. "What a cruel punishment. Is it nature, or is it punishment?"

Neos smiled, showing his first signs of emotion.

"I'm glad you can call it a punishment - but I'm afraid humans don't have the ability to punish a person in this way."

"Perhaps you are not punished by humans." Khalil said calmly. "Maybe it's them."

"They can't do this. Besides, you seem to have known something about me before we met. Did they tell you that?"

"Prometheus." Khalil slowly spit out an ancient name. "The god among gods, whose name means foresight, Titan, steals the sacred fire and brings fire to the earth and mankind."

He squinted his eyes, looked at the ordinary and tired man in front of him, and shook his head.

"What have you been through?" Khalil asked softly. "What have humans experienced again?"

"Disaster." Nios answered briefly, a deep mark appearing between his eyebrows. "A huge disaster."

Khalil shook his head.

"What a riddle-like exchange. And you seem to be enjoying it?"

"Some things are meant to be buried, so yes I do enjoy letting you get to the truth without having to touch the dust of history."

Khalil smiled again.

"Let's get down to business," he said shortly. "What's going on with my body?"

"This has something to do with your essence." Nios responded to his question in a calmer tone. He was very focused, and his eyes showed this.

"Nature?"

"You and I both know that a ghost floating behind that curtain is unlikely to be human."

Neos said lowly, his voice bouncing back and forth between the ancient walls. "As for your body, I just made it come alive and made some small changes. What really made it change is your essence."

Khalil nodded noncommittally: "What is my essence, Mr. Nios?"

"I can't answer that question," Nios said.

He's not saying no, he's simply stating a fact. His eyes were so sad at this moment, as if he was pitying the inquirer's future.

Khalil waited calmly.

As he said - he has nothing to fear.

"Words have power, and I have made a pact with your body to bring it back to life. If I speak, your spirit will be transformed by your flesh - they are already intimately connected, Khalil Loha Erls. You can no longer be that ghost."

"I couldn't ask for more," Khalil said. "That was not a good experience."

Neos smiled again. "Are you disgusted by this feeling?"

"There's no way I could like it if I still considered myself human."

"What about eternal life?"

Khalil also smiled, with obvious contempt in his smile - Neos was not angry, he knew who the contempt was for.

"If this is a test, then your verbal communication skills are too terrible."

"Maybe, maybe this is really just a test, or maybe it's just an indifferent question of mine - but these are not the key."

Completely dark eyes met a pair of tired and ancient eyes, no one escaped, they were all trying to dig into each other's inner emotions and buried answers.

It's like two people holding the same sharp knife, trying to cut open the heart of the other person in the struggle to find out what's going on.

"The key is." Nios stood up slowly and his body changed.

He grew taller and became like a god, thunder and lightning surrounded him, flames surrendered under his feet, and the darkness retreated instantly, shivering and turning into dust in the air.

The scene inside the pyramid dissipated in an instant and turned into a winding river. They stood in the river and stared at each other.

"For what, Emperor?" Khalil asked calmly.

"It depends on whether you are willing to sign this covenant."

The Emperor replied ruthlessly and indifferently. "Tool No. 8 has regarded you as his de facto father, so if I need his knife, I must obtain your consent."

Khalil didn't answer immediately, just remained silent. He stared at this ruthless face, and a trace of pity flashed in his dark eyes.

"First of all, he's a human being."

he said slowly. "Secondly, I will not direct any of his actions. At most, I will only make suggestions. His future should be decided by himself."

"He is a Primarch," the Emperor declared coldly. "It's one of my futures, so he has to play by some rules."

"He makes his own rules, Emperor."

"You can't really leave his future up to him to choose. You know as well as I do what's hiding in the darkness."

Khalil just smiled slightly: "Yeah, so I don't think the Midnight Ghost-or Konrad Curze will lose to them."

He laughed loudly, his laughter full of contempt and coldness.

"Humble, twisted monsters who dare not even see the light can fool him."

"."

Silently, the Emperor nodded.

"So," he began slowly. "Welcome, Khalil Lohars."

"No need," Khalil said.

He stared at the god-like man, and then slowly shook his head. "This heartless mask of yours is hurting yourself, you're bleeding, can't you see?"

"I know," said the Emperor. "But I have to hurt myself so that humanity can survive."

"Sooner or later, it will hurt someone else, Emperor." Khalil said softly.

Let’s add another chapter. There shouldn’t be too many chapters in the new book issue, but I can’t help it. It’s not good to be stuck here.

Although the update is not good for my archive (sad)

I'm trying to create an Emperor of my imagination. I hope you enjoy watching it.