Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

Free extra: Night talk around the stove about finality and death (3)

+++The Primarchs in this article read the extra chapter "End and Death 3", which has nothing to do with the main text, and the last chapter mentioned chapters 9-18+++

+++Appearing Primarchs: Except missing Primarchs+++

+++No translated fragments without the permission of the translator+++

"Look, who is this who has condescended to step their glorious feet into our shabby and pitiful house? It is really glorious." Conrad Coates said as the door opened inwards, The other Primarchs also looked towards the door, looking at Lion El'Jonson, Jaghatai Khan, Mortarion, Lorgar Aurelion, Corvus Corax and the Second The twins of the Tenth Legion send their regards.

"So, there are indeed two of you." Ruth said, his voice like the cold currents surging under the ice when the seasons change. "The whole father indeed kept some secrets from us, alas, it was not unexpected."

The Primarchs greeted each other, and Lorgar and the Alpha twin calmly chose a place to sit down. Khan and Covos sat next to Magnus, making the Red Primarch a little flattered. Mortarion did not grab the Jaghatai in his seat, but sat alone and depressed.

The Emperor's eldest son sat calmly with Sanguinius, perhaps because it was far away from both Russ and Horus. The angel folded his wings, took the fruit plate to the side, and invited the lion to taste a few grapes.

"Yes." Leon said, "Bar's land improvement has been very effective."

"Oh, actually it was from Prospero." Sanguinius smiled. "We are talking about Malcador, let's listen together."

It was everything the Emperor dreamed of, and he destroyed it all.

Perturabo continued to turn the book back. “Verses 9-20, seal.”

"I thank him," Sanguinius said softly.

Perturabo nodded slightly. There was an uneasy undertone in Curze's words, and everyone - anyone who understood people's hearts well enough - could hear his hidden advice. Of course this includes Rogge.

Perturabo's reading paused for a moment, and then the Iron Lord's voice became heavier.

[The throne is a curse. It's the poisonous Holy Grail...

"Emperor," Vulkan said the word with a sigh.

Jaghatai Khan shook his head slightly. Before entering the room, they were informed of the story already told here, perhaps by their father's handiwork.

Terra descends into the night, and we follow it. I don't know what this night is about, nor what it holds. I just know that it is darker than the old night, darker than the long evening, especially the night that almost wiped out my kind. My king, my old friend, once led us out of the darkness.

I lost my words.

"Heresy!" Lorgar shouted, and gritted his teeth to suppress his emotions. A furious and violent look burst out from his golden skin, and his hands tore his own sleeves. He closed his eyes suddenly, teeth chattering.

He couldn't help but think, if Horus had never betrayed him, would the Emperor have to sit on this instrument of torture one day? From the first day he stepped on stage, was he already prepared for his own dedication and death?

But at this moment, beyond the boundaries of mortal life, I find that I still have a lot to say. On this golden throne, I saw a lot and learned a lot. Horrors and miracles that I could not imagine are coming one after another, such pure truth...]

He continued to read, and the Seal Holder once again mentioned his pain, his destruction, and everything about him being swallowed up by the throne.

It was so rare that Horus Luperkar felt a drop of guilt towards the regent of the Human Empire, and this guilt immediately poured out like a spring, wrapping up more people. The Emperor, Malcador, even Constantine Valdor, the brothers betrayed by him, the Astartes whose lives were ruined by his actions, and even all mortals...

"No." Horus spat out one syllable.

Under his father's blazing gaze, Horus Luperkar saw his dreams and imagination of recognition and victory torn apart, for there he could taste no pain, anger or hurt, no shock or despair. He met it all with chaotic rage, the resentment of an abandoned child, and insane joy. Because he will seek his own satisfaction. 】

The guiding star has faded.

Leon was a little surprised. The current Horus was far from the high-spirited commander in his impression. He looked away silently, took off the golden ring that Horus gave him to tie his hair, and put it in his hand.

Peturabot paused: "You are right."

Always let the old man have a dream...]

"And love is collapsing," Fulgrim said sadly, his face dimming.

["...When my father saw me, his face turned pale instantly. I can hurt him, so I was chosen by you."

[Other things are breaking too, they are harder to define. All the ties of blood, loyalty, and past history that bound these two beings together snap like overstretched cables, and with them the edifice of family, empire, and legacy they held up collapses like a tower. Or a house of cards, crumbling and shattering.

Perturabo looked at Rogal Dorn, and the Terran Guard looked at the Nightghost Bloodlord thoughtfully.

Or, a man dies, and the victor stands over the body, enjoying the joyless victory.

"Listen to my words, brothers," he said softly, as if singing a ballad, "The Emperor has won. The great Human Empire has defeated the fallen Emperor's Angels. This is the end. What else can happen? No more. Continue reading in order, dear Perturabo."

With each new piece of information revealed, the pressure on his mind increased. He already knew that he would be the final destroyer, and not long ago he also knew that millions of souls would burn in the Star Torch. And all of this is not enough to save the situation of infinite decline and collapse. Even the Imperial Regent had to lament here, and Malcador was never one who was willing to give up.

Malcador, he once taught mankind to deceive themselves in the face of the enemy. Now, does he really believe what he says in his heart? If that was the case, then he almost felt pity for the tragedy. The Milky Way has burned, and the scar of raging fire stretches across the world, and there is no room for turning back.

Horus wanted to say something, but felt that he did not have the position or qualification to comfort the True Speaker on this matter. Finally, Luojia calmed down and said slowly: "Pagans deserve death." There was venom in his eyes.

[Horus Luperkar was a reasonable man, a good man, who loved his father. If my king could reach the emotional core that he was sure still existed in the heart of his beloved son Horus, Horus might listen, no matter what. They might still be able to emerge from the eternal storm side by side, with peace and understanding. From this seat, knowing what I know now, I can see how within reach this understanding is, and how easily the clutches of Chaos can be pried open, freeing Horus Luperkar so that he can see clearly Lies and deceptions that deceive him and reject them. But they don’t know what I know.

Curze sneered, stood up, walked behind Corvus Corax, and pressed his arms on the top of the back of the chair behind the Crow King to support his body.

He counseled Vulkan in his heart, comforted him, and told Vulkan that they still had a future and that nothing had fallen into an irreversible state. But he knew that Vulkan couldn't hear him. He begged and comforted in his heart, telling Vulkan that he still had one breath left and not to give up his last hope.

"Is Horus the victor?" Dorn asked directly. "You are holding a book, Perturabo, and we can read the ending first."

【Before my first death——】

Forgive me, I think the winner will be Horus. 】

Malcador continued his narrative, mentioning that Vulkan, the child with the purest and best conscience of the Primarch, was still with him.

No, really?

Taking a step back and thinking... Horus's heart began to tremble again. Even if he would rather die than hurt the Emperor now, did he really not hurt anyone else? Malcador, Custodes, Brothers, Astartes, and mortals. Did he never arrogantly consume their lives and ideals? Have you never looked at them from a high position based on your own identity, power and responsibilities?

From this perspective, even if he will not betray, how different is he from the fallen Horus Luperkar? The mistakes he has made to get to this day will not only exist in the future.

[He can't hear my voice.

"We will prevail," said the Lord of the Red Sands.

There was a low response in the room, and Lorgar recited some hymns in a low voice. Ever since he entered the room, he had not been willing to look at Horus, other brothers who had been confirmed to have betrayed him, and even Petula. Bo. The violet eyes of the man who holds the truth word are always lowered, and the angry storm is engulfed in it. He can only rely on his precarious sanity and the emperor's order before he came here to restrain him.

The voice of calling has faded away.

"...Are you still alive, Sealbearer?"

Doesn’t the imperial prime minister distrust him? Aren't there always conflicts between them? Why couldn't he accuse him more, scold him, curse his shameless betrayal, so that he could make up for one thousandth of the punishment he deserved?

No, Malcador praised him, missed him, and hoped that one day he would repent. What he saw in his eyes was such a good returning son, a Wolf Shepherd who was too trustworthy and pitiable. But all this is long gone, no, no more, all that is left is a crazy broken body, and the demon who died thousands of times and brought torture to the Emperor.

The Fire Dragon Lord's nostrils twitched, and a trace of water slipped from his bright red eyes, soaking his dark face. Angron connected with him emotionally. He breathed deeply and slowly, trying to convey some basic comfort to him.

"It can't be you," said Leon, staring into Horus's bewildered face. "You can't defeat father. You can't do it, Horus Luperkar."

Horus weakly squeezed out two words, not wanting to refute even one word: "I know."

That's not him.

"Is he dead?" Horus said blankly. Even though he saw Malcador as an enemy to some extent, he never wanted him to die.

[They may both die.

Everything is still now. Everything was silent. The winds of Chaos raged wilder than ever, rumbling until they were no longer audible. The driving storm obscures my old friend, my Lord of All Ages... The Emperor and Horus face to face. The father and the returning son. Now, they may be at war. Or perhaps in conversation, a dialogue between wise men, as the embodiment of harmony and discord, searching for common ground in order to reach agreement and end conflict. This is possible...]

Silent whispers flowed from Lorgar's lips as he prayed silently, his hands folded together like shackles that bound each other.

If... if Malcador was dead, why was he still on the throne; if he was on the throne, why was he in pain - what was the throne?

Was the throne that was always being repaired in Horus' memory the golden throne described in the text? The chair that his father made for him seemed to be more than just a simple holy throne that demonstrated imperial power.

Mortarion nodded and said his first words after arriving here: "I will."

"Curze must have a reason to say that," Sanguinius sighed, "I support him."

Nothing.

I can't hold his hand anymore.

And Loken, he saw the struggle between the Lord of Mankind and the Great Treason, but the scene was broken and distant. Then, he saw the crackling fire on the throne.

He tried to look around for the other two people, but found nothing. Then, in the raging wind of the warp, he saw the angel.

In Perturabo's description, Loken, Litu and the Custodes were thrown overboard by the explosions, but still tried their best to do something. Kycaltus Dusk recalled the many years he had spent at the foot of the Golden Throne. As long as he could move even a finger, he would transcend the boundaries of death and approach his master. Litu witnessed the transformation of Horus Lupercal, who was twice as tall as the Emperor, brutal, terrifying, but superb in martial arts.

In the bloodshot eyes of the First Son, the Emperor watched all His sins being dismembered, all His dreams, plans, all His arrangements and configurations, all the painstaking efforts of thousands of years being wiped out. But He said nothing, felt nothing, because the humanity that could have made Him feel the loss had been abandoned and disappeared by Him.

They didn't care. They didn't pay attention.

As he finished speaking, the Primarchs put away their smiles one by one and returned to the serious atmosphere. Horus raised his head from his contemplation, his eyes dim, and nodded to Perturabo: "Go on, my brother."

Things burst or disappeared in an instant, completely annihilated as if they had never existed: pity, restraint, respect, sympathy, love.

Horus felt only the stinging ice flowing through his veins. Every time he told himself that this was not what he would do, and it would never happen at any time, and drew strength from his own comfort, the new plot would once again tear apart the psychological defenses he had built.

Silence.

【No, before I sacrificed my life here, sat on this futile throne, and fulfilled my unappreciated duties, I left a will to my chosen ones. It was not a complete will. I acted in a hurry. But I shared with them everything I could think of, my unfinished plans, unfinished agendas, secret legacies, and the wisdom I left behind in my long career of seeking knowledge.

"Malcador..." Leman Russ was rarely moved. This wild wolf in the cold wind will eventually reveal his true feelings.

And I no longer believe he can save us from this catastrophe. ]

"9-20, fragments," Perturabo continued as they prepared. "The treason and our father are still fighting."

【No light.

Countless Unborn materialized around the angel's corpse, trying to gnaw at the angel's relics. He immediately began to guard the remains of Sanguinius, doing his best to prevent the desecration.

The Imperium of Man ends here. ]

"A child," Ferrus said, a word he had not expected, but it made sense. A person's body can grow over time, but the mind is another matter entirely. The mind changes, but not necessarily grows.

"Does Malcador sit in his father's seat?" Horus judged the situation, feeling incredible.

【...Four men, the Four Ancients, retreated from the conflict. Their bones trembled and their flesh blistered and whipped by the atrocities before them. But they leaned forward, craned their necks... 】

There was no answer. He raised the sword, pointing the tip at the dancing fire on the seated man, and after a second or two, the blade glowed and the flames shifted. When Loken retrieved the sword, the entire sword of Rubio was burning. 】

"He is right," Horus said, "He can hurt me. He will complete the Emperor's mission, better than I can. He will be the blade of the end, piercing the fire at the heart of the Great Treason. Gaviel Loken, he can be trusted."