40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 423 149. Terra (twenty-three)

I am going to kill you. he said, and then he repeated. I will kill you from now until the end.

There are a lot of people who have said similar things and none of them have succeeded. Ambition can be turned into nothingness in an instant under your sword, and no lie can survive under the edge of the sword, but Ferrus Manus is different.

The reason those losers failed was because they were weak, but your brother Ferrus Manus is different. He can do this. He can really kill you and end all this.

But the thing is, he said he was going to kill you.

It is completely reasonable and completely in line with the law of development of things. He was supposed to kill you, wasn't he? Don't forget what you've done - Ah, yes, yes. I know you are going to argue that those things are not from your heart.

However, is this really the case?

Think back carefully, my gem. You kill him and you indulge in pleasure. At first you loathe yourself and feel that you don't deserve to be alive. As a result, you soon begin to learn to find happiness in this pain and guilt.

You begin to sink into a brand new realm. Many people have wandered in this happiness like you, but only you entered so quickly and fell so quickly.

You even start to evoke his shadow over and over again to experience this ultimate self-abuse.

No, I didn't lie, I didn't tell you a single lie.

Lies do have a place in the palace of pleasure, but I will not tell you lies. Because you are a gem, and I don’t like to let gems gather dust.

So here's the thing, he should kill you, and you willingly want this to end and be killed by him.

Until you see another self.

How beautiful.

I know, this is your first thought. You were shocked by him - you had admired your appearance in the mirror countless times, as early as when you were just 'Fulgrim'.

After becoming my gem, you became even more powerful. However, you know in your heart that you are not as good as him. He is something you can never be again. This alone will make you crazy with jealousy, let alone other things.

For example, he was still firm when swinging his sword, he went through pain and danger, and was bruised and bruised without betraying him, and he could still stand beside Ferrus Manus with his head held high.

He is far better than you. You were shocked, you fell in love with him immediately, just like you fell in love with yourself when you first saw the mirror.

Then, you start getting jealous.

But it's okay to be jealous, my love. Love is selfless, but love is also possessive. In the final analysis, what you are jealous of is not him, but everything he has - everything you once owned, but lost.

Feeling bitter in your heart? Do you think that if you go back to the past, you can correct it and never do it again? No, my love, some things only happen for the first time and countless times. You've tasted pleasure, and you know how addictive it feels.

So if you could go back in time, you wouldn't change. You only love yourself. When you were young, you saw the mirror for the first time, and Fulgrim was the only one in your eyes.

You love yourself more than anything else in the world. Don't refute. He who holds the sword of wrath can refute, but you are not worthy. You begged Ferrus Manus for forgiveness, but you only did it for your own sake.

You want to taste a new kind of joy, and you deceive yourself because you sincerely repent.

But stop lying to yourself, Fulgrim.

Your love for him was gone long ago, evaporated long ago when he refused to enter the chaos with you. What you love is just the phantom of the past in him, and what you love is just the self that was once perfect and stood side by side with him.

And I like this love very, very, very, very, very, very much.

Look here, Fulgrim.

Look - do you see it? See this gem? I found it for you. This is the memory of the Ferrus Manus you are familiar with, the memory before his death, the memory of him being killed by you, the memory of him returning from death, and the memory of being killed by you again and again.

He hates you, and hate has its way. He is an upright man, so if he kills you, kills you completely, then this hatred will be over, and then he will feel satisfied for a moment.

And then it was my moment.

how? Do you like this plan? Do you like turning him into the person you knew and taking him away from you?

If you love this plan, let's get started, we have six minutes left. This is my time and I will do anything for you in these six minutes if you want it, my love.

In the darkness, the monster with a body and a snake's tail trembled and held up a mirror.

The face in the mirror did not belong to Fulgrim, the face in the mirror belonged to a monster, a monster that had long become the enemy of mankind in its joy.

It shed tears in pain, and it understood that it was no longer qualified to call itself that name, just like what its owner said. It's not asking for forgiveness at all, it just wants to experience a new kind of happiness

Even apologizing can be treated as a form of enjoyment, it’s really a despicable thing.

But, but.

The snake demon shed tears silently, slowly released his four hands, and smashed the mirror into pieces.

But I don't feel happy now, Master.

Cupid responded gently.

"I have already said that now, you are my master. So, make your decision."

——

Countdown: 06:00

The serpent stood up from the ground.

It was faster than light, and its four arms danced in a straight line. It was dead, but it was alive. It had cut open its own chest with its own hands, but now its body was intact.

A god created this wonder with his endless desires, and he was using his power without regard for the consequences - so Ferrus Manus could see the dark gem.

It should not exist, it was actually just a possibility that had never happened until now, until the god named Slaanesh personally pulled it out of the tide of chaos. The serpent held it with four hands and inserted it deep into the Gorgon's chest.

There was no resistance, no resistance, nothing.

It was too late, too late at all. Time was distorted, the serpent fell at 08:23, and it was 06:00 when it stood up.

At this moment, Fulgrim was still charging, Jaghatai was still drawing his gun, and their time had not yet passed - a laugh came from the darkness, with soft footsteps, as if feathers were rubbing against each other.

"Don't thank me." He said politely. "It's not much use keeping this time anyway."

Ferrus Manus fell backwards, he shouldn't be so fragile, he should have the strength to resist - if the gem was not wrapped by four arms and buried deep between his heart.

Many images and memories began to surge, he didn't know how long it had passed, it felt like a second in the body, but it was ten thousand years in the spiritual world.

Like water flowing backwards, everything is starting over again. Fighting the behemoths, surviving in the wilderness, returning to the empire, commanding the legion, and meeting Fulgrim

He lay on the ground, with a sharp pain in his chest, the basilisk murmured in satisfaction, Fulgrim roared in the distance, and Jaghatai drew his pistol.

He was standing side by side with his best friend on a terrace, looking up at the night sky together. His best friend had a childlike innocence, raising his arm and pointing at the stars above his head, telling his dreams.

Everything was still quiet, the breeze blew from the other side of time, and his best friend's long white hair swayed slightly.

Then everything fell into pain.

The war burned, and the great ideals inherited from the Emperor collapsed in an instant. He was betrayed, he was killed, his soul saw the empire collapse, his brothers died, his legion was broken, and he went further and further on the wrong path.

People lost their dignity and lingered in the doomsday of moral decline. He had tried his best to fight for more living space for the empire and mankind, but he had to watch them sink into darkness little by little.

He heard his father's painful screams in his ears, he could hear his father breaking apart little by little in torment, but the murderer still shamelessly entertained himself with his shadow, and fell deeper in pleasure.

Is there any pain that can compare to this?

No, maybe there is.

Ferrus Manus opened his eyes.

In the power of the evil god, the world before his eyes began to shatter. Love, hatred, betrayal, these things grabbed him tightly and tore him apart alive. He saw a smiling face, a face full of love - he saw Fulgrim of Chemos.

Boundless hatred began to boil in his chest.

How dare you appear before me? How dare you smile? How dare you act as if nothing happened, as if it were normal? You destroyed everything, Fulgrim, you helped the evil, you betrayed us. How many people died for you? How many people screamed in pain for you?

He raised the Hearthbreaker tremblingly.

Countdown: 06:00

The sound of feathers scraping began to grow louder and louder.

"This is the moment." Fulgrim, with four arms, said. "But you cannot kill me."

Countdown: 05:59

Countdown: 06:00

Ferrus Manus roared and the Hearthbreaker was raised high.

"Don't do it." Fulgrim said. "Killing me won't solve the problem." Ferrus Manus swung down the Furnacebreaker, but he failed to hit anything. "There is only one way to truly solve this." Fulgrim stretched out a trembling hand. He wanted to touch Ferrus Manus, but he didn't do it after all. He closed his eyes, tears bursting and falling to the ground drop by drop. "There is only one way to forgive myself." The god of love covered the heart of the body in the darkness with satisfaction. "Do what you want, my love." He said, and gave some kind of permission. Time began to collapse, and the power of the gods played with it unscrupulously, rolling it into a circle and flattening it. The countdown that was frozen for a long time finally began to flow. Countdown: 05:00 Fulgrim lowered his head, and his four arms slowly opened, and a dark flame of anger ignited under his feet. It was still dark all around, and musky mist and corrupt miasma filled the dangerous battlefield, and the corpses and demons were threatening. The weapons on the hoverbikes roared, Ferrus Manus roared, Jaghatai Khan was galloping, and there was a man holding a black giant sword, his face twisted, already caught in a tide of rage.

And all this had nothing to do with Fulgrim. There was only one thing left for him to do, and nothing could stop him.

When the corrupt hedonism and selfishness were stripped away by the gods, he could finally call himself Fulgrim again. Although this was still under His control and His permission, did free will really exist?

It doesn't matter anymore.

In the heart of Hell, the once-fallen Phoenix begins to cry out for vengeance.

Guess what happens?