40k: Midnight Blade

Chapter 633 16. Interlude: Journey to the Solar System (2)

Hayid thought he would see a magnificent palace.

In his imagination, the residence of the imprinter should be paved with precious marbles everywhere, hung with expensive paintings or the like. Crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and all the windows are stained glass windows that can only be found in cathedrals.

The Seal Holder himself sits on a high throne, waiting for officials and nobles from all worlds.

His servants will bring here from outside the palace those who accept the kneeling of others in their own world. Then, these people will crawl at his feet one after another, and may even be proud to kiss his insteps. .

These things had been told by soldiers in the trenches, and had been treated as jokes. It goes without saying that it is absurd and ironic, but one thing is certain - in the imagination of the soldiers, the person holding the seal should indeed have such treatment.

Hayid was no exception, but he was wrong.

After the door was pushed open, the things that appeared in front of him were completely different from those he had imagined. He didn't see a palace, and what he saw didn't even match the word palace.

Hayid searched his mind, but still couldn't find a suitable word to describe this place. He could only look at everything in front of him blankly. It was too messy for him, but also too big, and it left his imagination far behind.

Even in his wildest dreams, these piles of slates and documents undulating like mountains and spreading like oceans had never appeared. Moreover, there were countless servo skulls.

These little creatures, awe-inspiring and disturbing, buzzed among the slates and documents like a swarm of industrious bees. But, to be honest, Hayid has actually only seen one kind of insect with the suffix "bee" in his life.

Known as the Hathro Killer Bee, they are notoriously ferocious beasts.

Each of these carnivorous insects is the size of an adult man's fist, and the poisonous stinger on its tail shines like a sharp sword in the sun. They will suddenly fly out from gaps in leaves or grass when people are not paying attention, pounce on eyes and other vital organs, and pierce their poisonous needles deeply into them.

The person who is stabbed will immediately go blind, and then be poisoned to the ground within ten seconds, unable to move. The swarm swarms over the victim, biting open the skin and burrowing into every orifice, whether present or created, to feast.

The sound they make as they eat is not unlike the buzz the servo-skulls make when they gather together.

Realizing this made Hayid shudder. He always felt that the 'swarm' in front of him was actually not much different from the Hasro killer bees.

The strange pair of eyes of the palmer flashed before his eyes, which was the biggest reason why he shuddered. Moreover, it was only a residual impression, but it still made him feel a strange pity.

Even he was shocked by the emotion - What am I doing? am I crazy?

Hayid quickly lowered his head and remained motionless in the sea of ​​slates and documents, trying to become a stiff statue - but the lion failed to let him do so, and the Lord of Caliban once again put his right hand on his shoulder.

To be honest, this kind of touch did not actually frighten Hayid. The force used by the lion even felt familiar to him.

Such encounters had happened many times before, when he had often been in the trenches, and represented a degree of friendship. Either to start a conversation, or to give confidence, or perhaps to start sharing cheap wine or low-quality cigarettes.

Sharing usually happens at night, when fighting briefly stops for tens of minutes or hours. The soldiers would gather together vigilantly, and dots of firelight would briefly illuminate every dirty, blood-stained face between breaths.

The smoke lingered and slowly rose. People talked and laughed at each other. Only the political commissars stayed silent and thought. Only after that will the war begin again.

So Hayid totally understands why some people refer to alcohol and tobacco as the mercy of the emperor and so on, what am I doing?

He suddenly woke up and inevitably realized one thing: the memories had not stopped since he stepped into this room.

In the next moment, the lion suddenly spoke. Coincidentally, it was as if he could enter Hayid's heart and learn all his thoughts. His voice was very deep, Hayid had never heard him speak like this.

"I didn't expect you to do this."

"This is necessary, Leon."

The palm bearer replied very calmly. Unlike the lion, there was nothing special in his tone. Hayid had never heard anyone speak like this.

"Maybe, but I don't see the need. Maybe I'm old and have stayed in the material world for too long, so my eyesight has become dim and I've lost my sharpness. Or maybe you've just changed. When was the last time we met? Time, Malcador?”

"Twelve centuries ago," said the one holding the seal. "At that time, Spurr was still the head of the servants of the Government Council."

"Ah, Spurr."

Hayid felt as if the lion was breathing in.

"I remember him, a stubborn person to the extreme. He left a deep impression on me during that meeting. He yelled at me in public, asking me to line up and wait. There was a meeting in front of me. Carry on. He was almost killed for it."

"He stayed in the hospital for two weeks after the incident." The palm print maker said calmly.

"Yes, that's why I said 'almost' - but the instigator also received the punishment he deserved."

"I don't think you need to impose any punishment on Captain Korol. He upheld your dignity as the Primarch in front of everyone. His behavior was fine, both in public and in private."

The lion pondered and asked, "What about Spur? Don't tell me you think he has a problem."

"He is just doing his duty, just like your son." The seal holder said so.

While speaking, he still looked down at a document in his hand, surrounded by an endless sea of ​​gray and white, even making the silver hair look nothing special. After a few seconds, he raised his head and looked at the lion.

"Both parties in this matter are right. Your offspring did what he should do, and so did my servant."

Hayd listened to this secret in silence, his whole body stiff. The lion was the same, but his breathing was so quiet that it seemed as if it didn't exist.

"Spurr was in office for 161 years. During his tenure, no official or noble ever bypassed the schedule of the day to meet with me. The same goes for their so-called gifts, which have never been carefully placed on my desk."

"Therefore, if Spurr were still alive, you would not be able to see me today--" the seal holder raised the documents in his hand. "--unless I finish my work."

Hayid swallowed uneasily and heard the lion whisper: "Respectable man."

"But he died."

"Don't say that."

"Why? This is a fact, Leon. He was respected for his character, and that's why he died. On the night I took office again and swore to become the seal holder, he was assassinated by a group of people who had planned it in advance."

"His successor stepped on his body and walked into my office twenty-one seconds after he lost his vital signs, and told me with a smile that the matter was done."

The lion sighed as Hayid hoped that he did not exist here.

"You did it." He said.

"It was me." The seal holder nodded slightly.

"Why?"

"Because Spur must die." Malcador said. "The rebirth of the Sigillite is an important node in the change of power in the Empire. The entire rebirth will last for a whole month and end on the Emperor's Ascension Day."

"And Spur is too upright. He is so upright that even his enemies admire him. So, if he doesn't die, those insects that are ready to move in the dark will not act."

"He must die, so that I can burn all the idiots to death in the shortest time with the fastest speed and the most appropriate reason."

The lion finally couldn't help frowning, and to Hayd, his voice at this time was almost a roar.

"You can definitely -"

"--Yes, I can, but I don't have time to find out their names one by one and verify their innocence one by one. I don't want those capable and talented people to waste their lives on this sad thing."

"Human energy is limited, just like life, it will eventually run out. They should use their lives for better things, rather than becoming my spies and spending their lives in suspicion, doubt and danger."

Malcador raised his hand and handed the document to a floating servo skull, his tone still calm.

"So, Spur died, and the new sigil took advantage of it, getting a bureaucratic system that can still function after being cleansed, with only loyal people and evil people with bottom lines and abilities left in it."

The lion did not answer.

"This is an endless reincarnation."

Malcador slowly walked towards them.

"Every time I am reborn, this happens once, without exception. Everyone thinks that they are the one who can change the world and get everything. Everyone thinks that they are very special and can master what their predecessors cannot have."

"They are not aware of their mediocrity, or perhaps they are aware of it but are unwilling to accept it. Living in the pain brought by wakefulness will drive people crazy, Leon"

After the voice fell, he stopped. At this moment, he was only a few steps away from the lion and Haid.

Haid had never thought about this, but too many things that "he had never thought about" had happened today. They weighed heavily on his nerves, making them numb. The shock had not even had time to surge, and it had completely dissipated.

He turned his head and looked directly at the lion with unprecedented disrespect, wanting to get permission to leave-he had realized that the next conversation might not be suitable for people like him to listen to.

But the lion did not do so.

Haid saw the pain on his face, and after a long dozen seconds, he heard the lion sighing with sadness.

"Why is it so, Malcador?"

"It is a necessary sacrifice." The Sigillite said calmly, then turned to Haid.

There was an indescribable power in his gaze, and Haid could not help but tremble. Until he heard his voice again.

"I don't think you need my apology, Corporal, you don't need anyone's apology. Even if I do this, you will regard it as an insult."

Tensuring his body, Haid whispered: "Yes, my lord."

"But aren't you curious why it was you?"

His question was very touching, and Hayid was completely helpless. He could only think silently in the direction he gave. In the final analysis, what the seal holder did was just to speak his mind, so he could not refuse.

——Why me? Hayid asked himself.

The waterfall flowed backwards, the meteorite hung upside down, and the real twenty years blasted into his heart without any mercy, and then a question was born: Why me?

This question was asked by two voices, one full of confusion and anger, and the other was completely different, even with a hint of pride.

One was asking: Why me? Why do I have to go through all this?

The other was also asking: Why me? What is so special about me that I can take on this great responsibility?

Hayid clenched his fists unconsciously. He had silently swallowed twenty years of pain, and today he knew that all this was meaningful. His pain nurtured a sword, and this sword will one day cut down the enemies of mankind.

He only knew these things, but it was enough. The worldly honor is insignificant in front of it - even the name of 'Doom Guard', which he truly regards as his life, pales in comparison.

This is the highest honor.

It is meaningless to calculate what he has lost in front of this honor.

Yes, he is innocent and pure. He was deprived of honor and wasted twenty years. But if it is not so, more people will suffer greater pain in the future.

Haid exhaled deeply, deeply.

"I don't care anymore, sir." He murmured.

"Why, corporal?"

Haid did not answer, but laughed.

The seal holder looked at him steadily. After half a minute, he raised his hand and made a gesture, and the mute guards opened the door. A servo skull swung over and handed a slate to him. He lowered his head again and meditated in the mountains and the sea.

"Let's go." The lion said. "I think you've got the answer."

"Honestly, sir--" the corporal sighed. "--I don't think we actually need to come here at all."

The lion was slightly startled, and suddenly laughed. He patted Haid's back, put his arm around his shoulder again, and led him out of the door. The smell of moist soil flashed by again.