Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 452 The Heaven-Welcoming Ceremony

The town where Luojia is located is located on a gentle mountain slope. After coming out of the chapel, stepping out of the forest, and looking down, a group of floats filled with summer flowers and wisterias circled the path paved to worship the gods. Coming up with fluttering strings and wind instruments, the motorcade was already very close to the chapel.

The car carried many men and women in white clothes, wearing garlands on their heads, of various ages, joining in the chorus of the song according to their own ideas. Rivka has come out of the trance frightened by the prophecy, and the male believer Bondo has also come out of the confusion of being criticized by Lorgar's gentle words, and is now immersed in the festive atmosphere of the summer ceremony. Their smiles are pure and full of heart. Joyful, quietly praising the emperor's greatness.

This calmed Luo Jia's anxiety.

"What does 'dedicating the Summer Ceremony to Black Star' mean, brothers and sisters?" He asked softly, "That also points to the Emperor's gift, right?"

"Of course, Aurelion," Rifka said first, "the true God is one, but his appearance is not unique. His body walks on earth, we see him as the emperor; his holy spirit looks up in the sky, we see him as the black Star—Have you seen Black Star, Aurelion?”

She suddenly came closer, as if searching for some mark on Luojia's neck, and then sat back with some disappointment, "I thought you had seen it too, the golden man."

"Tell me, Rivka, what is that?"

"That was...according to my mother, it was a dark phantom sun that would leave the marks of eagle claws on our bodies. Warriors burning with black fire would come from the bones, and silver angels would soar in the sky. Behind them, the sun is caressing the earth..." Rifka said longingly, "From the hands of the evil enemy, the Black Star saved us, just on a dying summer, just a century ago. "

"How did you know that was also the Emperor?" Lorgar asked cautiously, with some vague joy mixed with fear.

"Because we prayed to the Emperor, He came." Rivka said sincerely, making the sign of the cross on her chest. Lorgar had never seen such burning passion in her pale eyes.

Tyrant Star. Nightmare Sun. black Star. Three nouns flashed through Lorgar Aurelion's head at the same time.

But there were still dark clouds floating over his mind: Why did the Tyrant Star want to destroy his people?

He was summoned by destruction, bringing crazy scorched earth and dust all over the planet. All the rumors from the Holy Grail expansion maintain the consistency of this description.

"To tell you the truth, Aurelion, we were not as pious as we are now. At that time, a four-fold pagan religion was doing evil in our land, and the filthy atmosphere infected Yaxime, until blood and corruption Saturated our world, countless monsters emerge from the cracked sky - how afraid we are!"

They came to the outside of the chapel and strolled along the tree-lined road with the unhurried speed of the float, passing by the low houses with hanging garlands, and walking in the shadow cast by the rotating blades of the windmill.

"But there was a devout man among us who begged the Emperor for mercy during that summer, and petitioned for the Emperor's angels to descend among us and save us from disaster and blasphemy."

"Your plea is sincere, because you can now tell me the story of your conversion," Aurelion said with a smile. "You should ask for forgiveness first."

"We do ask for forgiveness. We have sinned and committed sins, committed evil and rebellion, and strayed from the commandments and laws. This has allowed the disaster of paganism to come to us. So we pray that sin may be stopped, atone for sin, bring in everlasting righteousness, and seal Live in the vision and anoint the Holy One.

"So, the black stars came, and many warriors who were very similar to the Word Bearers, many heavenly messengers, fell to protect us from the evil birds - it was a changeable Disasters are like ravens one moment and evil snakes the next, torturing us in pain.”

The convoy of floats marched towards the cliff. The believers surrounding the convoy gathered around Rivka who was telling the story and Lorja who was listening attentively. The men and women in white robes sitting in the car also waved to Lorja: "This is us. The story of deliverance, Aurelion, is the story of our baptism."

Unknowingly, they had arrived at the edge of the cliff. A single gate stood on the edge of the cliff. The gilded relief on the left door was a man wearing a crown, and the right door was a woman holding a sword, guarding the door together. The door to heaven.

"That day, the sky was dark, and there were four kinds of wild beasts howling at the foot of the mountain, with terrible horns on their heads. Believers said that we must have not been refined, and the evil people still did or will do evil, so we could not get it. Cleansing, we can only rest after passing through the purification of purgatory, because we must rest until we can enjoy our blessings and go to His kingdom.”

Go to His Kingdom.

Along with Rivka's narration, some very vague pictures seemed to flash in the depths of Lorgar's mind, which were difficult to remember clearly, as if they were artificially blocked, leaving only a hazy and bright silhouette.

He remembered that there seemed to be overlapping mountains and waters, cities and cities, everything was new and bright, leading to the high blue sky.

He was very sure that that was His kingdom, he had seen it, as if more than a hundred years ago - no, just in Sifus, on the day when he saw the dark sun coming, he saw it again , the city of God in dreams.

In front of him, a single door opened to both sides. The angle it stood at just framed the sun visible on the mountain top inside the door, and the bright light suddenly filled his eyes.

"So, they went down from here. This was the punishment He wanted, and it was also the first step before His forgiveness."

The convoy of floats continued to move forward. The people on the cars were full of laughter and joy, and they scattered petals that shone and were transparent in the sunlight to Lorgar. Their robes emitted extremely bright light. An unconquerable spiritual power burned in the flames of their eyes.

The floats moved forward peacefully under the incredibly pure golden light, and then one after another fell from the cliff, falling into the roar of death.

The people escorting the convoy sang and hugged each other. Some people ran to hug Lorgar, and Lorgar responded to them one by one, still looking at the golden door in front of him.

Because of this call of death, the world became dark, the shadow of the dark sun covered the light of the scorching sun, the smell of scorched earth caressed the earth, and the omen of the destruction of all things shook Lorgar Aurelian's heart, and in that darkness, the evil with snake bodies and bird claws was swallowed by black flames.

This is the echo of the holy miracle that once descended on Asime.

"Go and wait for the end, for you will rest. At the end of the day you will rise up and enjoy your blessings..." The man with the truth whispered softly, and a bright light quietly filled him. His voice blended into the singing of the crowd, like a drop of water falling into the heavy rain. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they can have the right to the tree of life and can enter the city through the gates." A tear fell from the corner of his eye, and a dusty picture flashed before his eyes. He saw a dead finger bone and his living brother, standing in the light of heaven with his angels, and he embraced him. He recalled everything he had forgotten, which came after the end and death, in the city in the sky. He should have known it long ago. Destruction is the prelude to revelation. There must be destruction first, and people can be freed from the world and wait for the forgiveness they deserve. He should have known it long ago. He has read the scriptures so many times and listened to so many enlightenments. But he only knew it today. "God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. The elements will melt with fire. But we look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells, according to his promise..."

Lorgar silently recited all the scriptures he knew. These scriptures had accompanied him since he was born, guiding him, instructing him, and appearing in his mind in all his confused moments.

Destruction is liberation from the bondage of the world and the only way to true eternal life.

Then everything is clear.

Because the Great Crusade is like this.

Because it was in the Great Crusade of the Emperor that millions of troops marched across the galaxy, destroying everything, burning everything, leaving no mercy, no hesitation, and completely renewing the world.

This is something that already exists, something that He silently supports, and something that He personally leads.

And Tyrant Star was born in this destruction that overturned the galaxy, taking them to a new world that already had a prototype.

There, when the end comes, all those who have been forgiven will be there, all those who have died on this planet of Asime will be there, the Second Primarch will be there, Horus Lupercal will be there, every warrior and priest he died will be there, all those who have been freed from battle will be there, the loyalists who died of paganism and heresy will be there, all those for whom Lorgar Aurelion prayed and cried in the sanctuary will be there, all those who have sacrificed will be there, from the past to the future.

All the dead will come again, in the only new world.

And He will protect them from the hands of the fallen gods, just as they will gather around Him and let Him take all the power.

Only gods will fight against gods, so this is the offering they should give back to Him.

Lorgar heard his heart beating steadily and strongly, and a wave of joy flowed through his limbs along the warm blood, making his body seem lighter.

The best part of his guess was being verified bit by bit - the Emperor was the one who was going to come to protect His children, and the dark star was the Emperor's spirit that had never appeared...

In the Whispering Mountains, in Sivers, he had felt the coming of Tyrant Star, the familiar, cold and burning destruction and anger...

Tyrant Star was the other side of the Emperor. He came to save them, letting some people sleep in the dark purgatory first, cleansing their sins, so that in the final revelation, they could pass through the city gate.

Eleven was a traitor, and his goal was to prevent the Emperor's spirit from coming to the world. Yes, Eleven had already hinted in the previous conversation, "You are too pious to believe it," Eleven replied to him.

Only traitors would stop Tyrant Star.

All this gradually became clear, like locks in the fog gradually opening.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart. Not counting Eleven, Lorgar was not sure if he was the first Primarch to know about this - did Perturabo, his eldest son in his mind, know about this? He probably knows too...

Lorgar's heart, floating in the clouds, suddenly fell to the bottom. The warm touch brought by the Emperor's Wish was lost in an instant, and cold worries quietly climbed up his heart.

If Perturabo knew that the Emperor was Tyrant Star, why would he——borrow the power of the Chaos Crystal Serpent to escape from the call of Tyrant Star?

No, all these doubts must stop, Lorgar cut off his thoughts.

The identity of the Emperor's Spirit has been determined, which is a happy thing. He cannot be blindly deceived at this moment of joy and question the Lord of Steel that he has believed in for more than a hundred years. If he still has doubts, he will wait until he meets Perturabo in person.

He wanted to find him and ask him personally about the matter. No matter what Perturabo said, he was willing to believe him.

"Aurelion, Aurelion?" Rifka called to him, waking him from his reverie. The summer ceremony she just participated in made her burst into tears.

"What's the matter, Rivka?" answered Lorgar, and the fever that arose in him gradually subsided.

"The Black Star is no longer so close to us," the female believer said sadly. "In our past rituals, He will come closer. There will always be a few of us who will receive grace and be chosen in the rituals." , escape from the world, but this time, he didn’t choose anyone to leave - did we make him not satisfied enough, Aurelion?”

"The Great Crusade is coming to an end," Lorgar thought. "The destruction we have wrought is no longer enough to keep the Tyrant Planet near."

Another believer suddenly stopped him. Bondo looked at him and devoutly made a cross on his chest.

"You said, Aurelion," he said, "you said to test the goodness of God, to bear your burdens, to give back to Him in your duty."

"I did say it was good that you remembered," Lorgar replied, leaning over him and noticing with surprise that there were a pair of bird's claw marks on the back of Bondo's neck.

This is His mark, he thought. This is His inspiration.

"So, can we cause more destruction?" Bondo laughed.

"What do you mean?" Lorgar said softly.

"From here on, Aurelion, we voluntarily wait in death for the doomsday and the new world after the doomsday. If He needs strength, we voluntarily welcome Him in the darkness." Bondo smiled, "You are His messenger, You should raise your sword for him, just as you did for Him in the Great Crusade.”

"Use your duty to give back to Him," said another believer who had overheard the discussion. "If you believe in Him, Aurelion."

"Our specialty is fire, Aurelion, if you need advice—"

"Everything obeys you, Aurelion, and you will know how we will enter eternal cleansing, because you can always hear His voice -"

"I..." Lorgar's heart trembled uneasily. It was one thing to think about the connection between destruction and rebirth, but it was another thing to actually do it and consciously bring destruction to the sacrificer.

An unsafe warning brought him a certain kind of mental and physical heat, and Luojia slowly took a step back. His back hit something, which was a pillar of the Golden Yingtian Gate.

From a distance on the hillside, several Word Bearer priests hurried over, and their eyes lit up when they saw him.

"Aurelion?" Layak pushed the crowd away gently, and the crowd made way for him.

When he arrived in front of Lorgar Aurelion, he was sweating a little, breathing rapidly, and his eyes were shaking. When Lorgar was waiting for him to speak, his lips were tightly closed again, as if he was afraid of what he said. To make Luojia angry.

"Speak, Layak," said Lorgar.

"It is Colchis," said Layak, and Lorgar had never seen him so frightened.

"What's wrong with Colchis?" Lorgar asked softly, a tone that contained a hint of pride that was on the verge of being shattered on the edge of uneasiness. A very bad premonition found him, "I only heard about a memoirist. What else happened to Colchis?"

"Aurelion, it..."

"Please tell me, please tell me," said Lorgar.

This moment was stretched long enough for a whirlpool of endless emotions to pass through the heart of the original body.

"Colchis... there is still a temple hidden underground. My lord, it was somehow missed when we destroyed the icon. There..."

Layak trembled. He had never seen the primarch's gloomy confusion and troubled face. The glory and happiness that Xia Yidian brought to him were torn to pieces by the huge gap in an instant.

"Go on," Lorgar said.

"There is still a sect of change of faith there, my lord, it is lurking well, but it... it is where the former High Priest Erebus was born. The people there betrayed the only Lord and brought Blasphemous devils, just overnight - we only got word, my lord, because the communication site was destroyed, the astropaths said, the sky burst -"

Lorgar blinked slowly. His skin had never been so pale, and his purple eyes were as pale as backlit glass.

He conquered so many worlds, destroyed so many pagan planets, and brought countless stars under the Emperor's rule. In all the years he had made no mistake, no traitor had ever manifested himself in the Word Bearers' ranks... except Erebus, except him. But today, at this moment, his own home planet, the place where everything originated, has become a stage of injustice and bloodshed. The world he was once proud of collapsed in an instant.

Isn't one third not enough? He thought hollowly, was it because he only killed a third of them that year?

He fell backward and was barely supported by the pillars of the Golden Gate. Layak immediately knelt before his primarch, as did the other Word Bearers.

The inhabitants of Asime surrounded them, eyes fixed on him, and Lorgar heard the tremor of their hearts, vibrating in the air, silently condemning the failure of those who bore the Truth.

"Listen to me," he said, his voice low, holding back some unimaginable tension. "Listen to me. Let's go back, let's go back."

"Prepare--"

He stopped and heard a whooshing sound from the sand in his throat.

The air a man lives on is sucked out of him, from the sky to the ground to the underground of Colchis to the sands of his memories and the holy city he built and the scriptures of the Bible he distributed and the promises and oaths of the Colchis people to their pious faith and everything he could think of. The vacuum he had was filled with all of this and then shattered again, and the sound was much louder than any thunder that could sound in the world.

Lorgar Aurelion looked down at Layak, with something on his face that was hard to see through, or maybe it was just a smile.

"Prepare for destruction," he said. "Everything will be fine."