Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

When Vulkan defeated the Salamander and teetered in the crater at Nocturne's volcano, Konrad Curze was not present.

Of course he wasn't there.

Judging by time, theoretically speaking, he should be floating in the orbit of Nostramo, peeping at the suffering of the entire world in the nursery.

In practical terms, he was walking through the Street of Long Knives at the bottom of Gomorr that day, fetching a modified organ for the Haemonculus from the slaughterhouse painted with marigolds.

However, when the battle in the world of Ibsen began, when his nails scratched Vulkan's arm, Curze saw the moment when Vulcan was about to fall into the lava of the volcano.

The lava is rolling, sulfur is rising, and ashes and smoke are lingering around.

Vulkan was infinitely close to falling. He was on the crater, fighting against his own weight and the hardness of the earth and rocks on the edge of the cliff, struggling to resist falling into the heart of the volcano and not being burned into coke in the lava.

Curze wanted to know why the prophecy had to bring this vision to him. But rather than being curious, he was more worried about the destruction of the battle.

Every time he falls into an unexpected prophecy, no matter how short or long the process is, he will fall into a state of despair for a moment. The physical pain would grip him hard, ravage his flesh, tear out his nerves, and leave him staggering.

In the duel between the original body and the original body, if there is anything that can prevent him from dying because of this blink of an eye, then it is only Vulkan's endless kindness - he actually wants to take advantage of Vulkan's compassionate heart. Moment!

However, the pain did not grip his soul. He returned to reality in an instant. Not only was there no discomfort in his body, he even felt clear and comfortable after being tested.

He concealed his surprise and continued his narration while recalling the scene at the last moment of the prophecy——

A stranger climbed to the edge of the cliff, stretched out his hands, and grasped Vulkan's arms tightly.

"Let's do it..." he muttered, pulling Vulkan out of the crater with astonishing strength, saving the Primarch's life.

Then, the stranger suddenly turned his head from his memories, looked accurately at the suspended perspective of Conrad Coates, and smiled slightly, his ordinary face exuding the glimmer of psychic energy he allowed to exist.

This is not a prophecy.

This is telepathy.

Curze felt the cold psychic energy surge through his veins.

That kind of power penetrated his body like a needle, carefully testing every cell in his body, sifting through his bone marrow and plasma, and seemed to finally get a satisfactory result. Before the power began to burn and expand, Leaving gracefully.

Curze understood something immediately. Even though the results were excellent, the speed and irresistibility of the process still sent chills down his spine. Later, his reason dispelled this last resort fear.

As the battle continued, he looked at Vulkan and heard the words from his mouth. On the face of the Fire Dragon Lord, as calm as a dormant mountain, he read that Vulkan had calmed down.

Curze knew that Vulkan took his words to heart, and so did the other Primarchs, and even the Space Marines here... Then let them listen, he didn't want to hide anything anymore, and he couldn't lie to cover it up.

After all, he is here.

As the fight continued, he stated his theory as simply as possible, repeatedly deducing whether there were any errors or omissions in his words.

As he ran his fingers across Vulkan's neck, a second round of memories followed.

Still a crater. The lava is rolling. Thick fog is steaming.

But at this time, Vulcan was out of danger, lying on the rocks beside the volcano with the strangers, facing the high sky of Nocturne stars, resting quietly.

Curze's perspective is fixed in the air.

This means that the stranger is facing him directly, and the words from his mouth will be directly transmitted to his ears.

"It seems we can't go back the way we came." said the stranger.

Vulkan's phantom patted the stranger on the shoulder. Curze ignored Vulkan's small movements and listened intently to his words. Among them, there must be a secret that outsiders want to hint at.

"You saved my life." Vulcan said to the stranger, and Curze curled his lips.

He knew best how many lives Vulkan had.

Emperor... The stranger still looked at the sky, caressing Curze's face with his eyes, which made him shudder and shrink.

"If you hadn't held on long enough," the stranger told him, "I wouldn't have had a chance to save you, would I?"

Kurtz gritted his teeth and suddenly had the idea of ​​​​escaping from the illusion.

After thinking together, he returned to reality. At this time, his body was still in the air, and his nails had just slipped away from Vulkan's neck.

He felt his fingers become stiff involuntarily, and a strange, bitter feeling surged through his mind.

He couldn't say whether he was happy for this recognition from a stranger, maybe. he thinks.

Maybe earlier, he would have been moved by the recognition, but he had already come to this point, relying on his friends, relying on his brothers, relying on himself. Yes, he has come this far.

He should be happy with himself. When he realized this, his soul lifted. He also has such a complacent day.

In addition, why did he talk to himself in such a cryptic manner?

Doesn't he want people to know that he is here? No, that was too obvious. Even if Luojia's blind arrogance came here, he would definitely be able to identify his true identity.

He didn't want to acknowledge him publicly. Coates tentatively concluded. Okay, maybe hooking up with an alien is just too much of a punchline.

The Lord of Mankind, the King of the Empire, the King of All Ages who is at the peak of racist mysophobia, has absolutely no chance of hooking up with an alien.

The sound of fighting wind blew in his ears, cool and fast, sweeping away his thoughts. Curze danced with Vulkan's hammer, speaking and pouring out his thoughts at the appropriate moments of battle.

This is also a challenge for him. No matter how merciful Vulkan was, it was too much to use three weapons in the center of the battle.

Fortunately, the illusion never returned to his brain until the end. He successfully completed the narrative and was about to end the battle.

It's time, he can't hurt Vulkan, even if he believes that he has proved that by giving him a pair of usable lightning claws, he has taken at least one of Vulkan's lives - although Vulkan also spared a hand. Then it is no longer necessary to let the battle drag on.

Curze spread his arms, waiting for the attack to be terminated. He will be injured a little, not much, not enough to leave a scar that cannot be healed, but it can get him invisible compensation and a dramatic ending.

This was what Victor's cunning behavior taught him. Now every time he recalled the panic in the bloody rain at midnight, he felt sincerely annoyed.

The sudden shelter from the mortal Faas was indeed unexpected by Konrad Coze.

When the thundercloud anvil struck the layer of golden light, the majestic force was weakened and erased in circles of golden ripples. Conrad Coates only felt that his body was also struck. This was not caused by A physical attack from the outside in, but a feeling that goes straight to the heart.

He stepped forward and stopped hiding. Konrad Curze bowed to him, awaiting his judgment, or rather, sentence.

When His palm touched Curze's face, the last illusion flowed into his mind along His hand, leaving a touch of coolness on his skin.

Using Vulcan's memory, what would he say?

Some comfort? Some encouragement? About His joy in finding a son? Or some warning? What is a behavior that crosses the line?

"But I will have a lot of questions." Vulkan said in his memory, smashing Curze's chain of questions. He felt a little ashamed of the coincidence.

"You will get the answer," He said, playfully and innocently, with fire dancing in his eyes. "It's just that you haven't got it yet. You can go after it yourself first."

The vision ended in a flash of golden light, and Curze couldn't help but ask questions.

I can?

Cozz asked silently, letting his voice follow the rough hand to complete a communication between spiritual languages.

He looked at his face and summarized Curze's words today.

His summary was accurate and clear, proving that He had indeed listened to every word of Conrad Coates, instead of being like a busy parent who said all the words of support without even knowing what he was supporting. Nothing is known.

Kurtz stared at this ordinary face in shock, unable to believe that he could obtain this.

"I just see a possibility in this that must be pursued." He said anxiously.

"This is your path, then," the Emperor sighed.

+I give you permission to set out on your own. +

——

Conrad Coates seemed a little too excited. thought Pertura.

He didn't understand why Curze was even more excited after being touched in the face by the Emperor than the day he killed the Skolevok family in Nostramo. He never knew that Conrad, who pretended to be an emperor, actually cared so much about the emperor.

Well, Perturabo admitted, he felt like laughing.

"He understands Eldar, Viktor," Curze warned. "You'd better show some respect."

The mortal Faas smiled and greeted Victor, who was supervising the wild Eldar to put down their weapons after the Eldar's barrier had been opened.

The black-armored Eldar didn't know what they saw in the eyes of mortal Fas. The entire Eldar trembled, and then they bowed briefly, reluctantly and well-aware of current affairs.

The red-haired female world singer followed Cozz uneasily, not daring to get too close or appearing distant.

"I...convinced them." Shanador admitted with difficulty, feeling that she was becoming a traitor to her race.

"Very good." Curze nodded with satisfaction, and even patted the head of the Eldar who was quite different from him in height. "After that, I will draw up a simple treaty. I hope you can put forward the restrictions you are willing to make and the contribution you can make. Then, I will decide whether it is passed. Do you understand?"

"Yes, the Lord of Youdu." Shanador accepted his name obediently, and the second time he said it was much smoother than the first time.

Mechanical Perturabo gave up on watching the happy interior of the barrier and walked towards the three brothers he had never met before.

Vulkan, Fulgrim, Ferrus Manus; he just roughly summarized their respective personalities from the performance of these blood relatives in recent days. He doesn't understand them.

He didn't understand them—a curious comment that struck Perturabo as unfamiliar.

He had such an in-depth understanding of his brothers twenty years ago, but now, these glorious Primarchs seemed to be dozens of light years away from him.

"I'll announce the result of the battle," Perturabo said. "A draw, what do you think?"

"You are a notary, Perturabo." Fulgrim shrugged, "Just be a part-time referee... Although I don't understand why you are here, you can design a 'Memorial Hall for the Signing of the Declaration of Cooperation between Konrad Curze and the Eldar on Planet 154-4' for this place."

"I am so keen on memorial halls?" Perturabo joked calmly.

Fulgrim was about to speak when a huge shadow suddenly approached the ground, and a small black dot enlarged in the air, crossed the atmosphere, expanded into the shape of a flying bird, and then quickly fell down.

A Stormbird. The landing point is within a mile of where they are currently. Just take a look at the bright yellow paint to know which legion it is from.

Fulgrim continued: "...You should know that the mysterious memorial halls you build everywhere are very famous, Perturabo. Although no one except the Iron Warriors has entered, the memorial hall is there."

After the battle, Vulkan was still immersed in the aftertaste, as if thinking about something.

Ferrus pointed his silver finger at Perturabo's green-glowing chest: "What kind of energy source is this?" he asked. "Unheard of. And your metal skeleton technology."

"I got it by chance," Perturabo said, "I plan to place this energy core on my ship."

Fulgrim clapped his hands and laughed: "You mean your Iron Wyrm? It has been floating in orbit for ten years, and you just found the energy source?"

Not a bad name. Perturabo thought.

"I am still curious about the origin of this energy source," Ferrus was quite persistent when it came to technology.

"He can keep secrets, Ferrus."

Rogal Dorn came from behind Perturabo. His footsteps were so familiar, as if he hadn't heard them for only a few days, but also as if he hadn't heard them for many years.

"Dorn." Perturabo turned his face to the side, just showing the half of his face in front of him. "You are here."

He asked cautiously, not sure why there was a hint of retreat in his voice.

Dorn patted his shoulder, his eyes calmly sweeping over the green light on Perturabo's chest.

"This is a fruitful work." He said. "You did it again."

Perturabo was stunned. In the past twenty years, has he obtained other fragments of the Star God?

"Yes." Considering that there were three brothers who were not familiar with him, he decided to answer like this first. "It's my job, Dorn."

Dorn nodded. "How did you subdue the Eldar?"

"... No, I didn't subdue the Eldar, where did this conclusion come from?" Perturabo frowned.

"Oh, sorry. So, how did you form an alliance with the Eldar and borrow their webway?" Dorn said. "This is a topic."

"No!" Perturabo came back to his senses, "What does this have to do with me? You might as well ask Curze!"

He just participated in the duel at midnight of death, not subduing the Eldar! Obviously, Conrad Curze was the Muse of the Dark Eldar with a group of mental problems.

Dorn hesitated, as if he wanted to ask something else, but finally held it back.

"Okay, I'll ask Curze," he said.

Fulgrim laughed. Ferrus was thoughtful.

"No, wait, this whole thing was done by Conrad Curze, and I don't want to take credit for it." Perturabo's mechanical arm grabbed Dorn.

"Okay." Dorn blinked. "I understand. You're not..."

He thought for a moment, "I can't deceive myself." He said regretfully.

"What are you going to deceive yourself about?" Perturabo raised his voice.

"Okay," Fulgrim smiled, "Perturabo, I believe you are important in all these events. After all, you have always played a big role in the growth of your brothers. But I won't tell anyone, you can rest assured."