Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 489: Upstream

"That's me." Perturabo's words made the others feel abrupt. The tall Primarch leaned down slightly, approaching Morse, Valdo, Orlaneus, and John who was hiding in the corner. His eyes swept over these different extraordinary people.

Deep troubles were still engraved on his face, making his facial features hard and a little gloomy. A kind of contemplation resided in his gemstone-like eyes.

"I didn't know you looked for your father before you were born," Morse said.

"I thought it was an illusion," Perturabo crossed his arms over his chest like a circle of iron locks. He breathed in silence for a moment, then continued: "In Ultramar, Sosa's Pharos Lighthouse, with the power of a fragment, I saw some fragments, including the laboratory where I was born, and some things I spent in Olympia in my early life."

Morse raised his eyebrows: "But you really crossed time at that moment, so the Emperor suddenly came to help you grab the fragment that day. It's very unusual."

Valdo said confidently: "The master saw it, so he built..."

"You just said it again, the palace for the original body, the commander-in-chief. There is no amnesia here." Morse said, examining Waldo's body.

After the battle with Erda, the commander of the imperial guards seemed to have undergone some essential changes. No, it has nothing to do with his personality and appearance. Some of his elements that are closer to the source of his birth are no longer the same. Morse couldn't tell what it was for the time being.

"The master does not do things without reason, and every action must have a basis." Waldo made a cold and direct summary.

"Excuse me, several... big shots," John Grammaticus, who was at the back of the queue, raised his hand to attract the attention of several people, "You know that I worked for Erda for a while, right?"

"I'm not sure." Or said.

"Don't," John slowly stretched out his hand and weakly pressed the Spear of the Sun God that Waldo suddenly put against his throat, "Don't, I have turned over a new leaf. I even accepted the commission and brought Orlaneus here with great difficulty. I have worked hard."

Waldo's eyes returned to him with only indifference.

"You'd better be frank," Or said tactfully. During the time he spent with the head of the Alpha Legion, his temper had been tempered by the mystery of the Hydra.

John cooperated and swallowed a mouthful of saliva, hoping that this would make Waldo feel that his deterrence was effective.

"Erda often said that your master changed after Morro..."

"The master did change. He had no intention of granting the Primarch free will at first..."

"Sir Constantine, we know you want to chop Aurelion into pieces. Why don't you be quiet for a while?"

John cast a grateful look at Morse: "Erda said that the Emperor had no intention of using the Primarch. Then according to what you said, he must have a basis for doing things. What is the basis here?"

"He saw the shadows he had seen." Or repeated.

"Yes, yes, so who is the shadow reflected in the cave?" John's eyes stayed on Perturabo, "Why do some people think that the Emperor seeing you is the same as seeing the shadow, what do you think, Waldo?"

Waldo was silent for a moment.

"Once again." He lowered his eyes, "The master said 'once again' after seeing the fourth of Pharos."

"So..." John spread his hands and scanned the people who were staring at him inquiringly. The dripping water in the cave where they were fell quietly from the stalactites and hit the ground with a light slap.

"Continue." Perturabo looked down at John Grammaticus and gave his order. He stood here almost as a monarch.

"Well, I think you understand what I mean. You immortals - except for Mr. Morse who unfortunately knows nothing, you all know that your emperor said his revelation came from the beginning of the thirty-first millennium, isn't that now?

"Elda came to guard the gate for this, and General Constantine Waldo came here for this. It just so happens that we have two extra people here, and they came here by coincidence. What do you think?"

"Continue." Morse said, staring at John. John began to feel that he had been pierced by his eyes.

"I don't know what happened before, everyone, I think it's time to listen to Orlaneus." John decisively handed the position of narrator to the next person.

Three pairs of eyes moved to the old soldier mentioned at the same time.

Ol Persson's fingers trembled: "What else do you want to hear?" He sighed.

"His transformation. "Morse said, narrowing his eyes slightly, and found some things in his memory...something he had never paid attention to for many years, those possibilities he had seen in the library deep in the Crystal Labyrinth. For example...his birth. This was almost an accidental event. Among the countless stories told by the Lord of Change, he was the only one who relied on the spell to be reborn.

Another example is Neos's transformation of the concept of the warp...He is the founder of too many sects, the Tree of Life took shape in his writing, the analysis of "Ka" and "Ba" day and night, the celebration of Lugnash Day and the return of the elves, the legend of clinking glasses in Valhalla, the snake shadows swimming on the long steps of the temple tower...He went to a thousand places, until one day he suddenly sent that short note to Or Persson...

"Nios has changed his mind," he said at last. "Tell us what you know."

"I can't list them, you know there are too many, Remus..."

"Then tell me why I was reborn, Orr." Morse stared into the eyes of the veteran. He knew that this was the emperor's first warmaster, and perhaps the only one he truly chose. Even though he favored Perturabo, he still had to admit that in the Emperor's heart, the Lord of Iron was the second choice.

"That was an agreement." Orr recalled slowly, gradually walking to the front of several people, as if he was unconsciously chasing someone in front of him. "At the Tower of Babel, he swore before the lightning that he would not use this dangerous power."

The veteran's fingers clenched and unclenched, as if he had stepped into those extremely ancient times again, and a dagger that almost stabbed him fell out of his hand. He shuddered silently, and even though he was just remembering, guilt still came to him again.

"He once said that he would find an individual who could keep the curse, and that this power would not be used by him without restraint. I swore to him that I would never have any more betrayal intentions." Orr shook his head, "I then I'm so lost, I can't imagine if I had hurt him at the Tower of Babel..."

"Of course, you didn't do anything," Morse's eyes became even more distant. "From this point of view, I should thank you."

"Oh, Neos said that you would have been an immortal," Orr said honestly. "You just hadn't died at that time and didn't know about it."

"By all means, accept my thanks," Morse repeated.

"And there's Waldo," John boldly interjected, betting that Waldo wouldn't kill him in front of the group. In fact, he smiled at Constantin Waldo and said, "I'm afraid the birth of the Commander of the Forbidden Army is also one of the things that my old boss never forgets, such as 'He created another killer', something like that."

The mere presence of Waldo's eyes was threatening enough. "I can kill an immortal," he said nonchalantly.

"Yes, just look at Erda and you will know. Then, having said that, you can't be born specifically to murder the immortals, right, Commander?" John shrugged, and they had already reached the depths of the cave. The light behind him was distant and dim, as if he were at the other end of time.

Constantine Valdo clenched the Spear of the Sun on his side without leaving any trace. "I will inform you of the orders I know after you make your decision. This is also the Lord's request."

The seriousness on his face relaxed slightly.

"The Emperor is not easily trusted, and he will not participate in bets that have little chance of winning, but what he sees can make him change his mind and place the bet. Even the Imperial Chancellor was surprised by his decision, but he did not know that he had seen clearly The consequences of his decision. Although he has great ambitions to conquer the stars, he is by no means a reckless person. "

Constantine Valdor said that he rarely commented on the Emperor, or he was still repeating the orders and voices that had already been given: he would always be the Emperor's arm, even if the Emperor had temporarily left. .

"However, the prelude of the past still has not dropped the final note. The right to choose is not in my hands, because only the ignorant can become that shadow, and in those eyes that have not observed the truth, the world has not yet been cast. Take shape.”

They were approaching the end of this long passage, and the contemplation on John's face became more and more obvious. "Hey," he turned to Morse, "are you..."

"Be quiet, Grammaticus," Morse turned his head, his eyes flashed with the light of a large number of runes, and the overflowing power attached to the words instantly made John unable to make any more noises, and the man in black robe realized that he He made a mistake and casually untied John's restraints. "I need to calculate feasibility."

John raised his hands in surrender, found the next person who was meditating, and lowered his voice: "This respected Primarch, do you want to think about it again? We really have to rely on these five minutes of discussion to decide the fate of mankind. Going?"

"What do you mean?"

"No, I just feel... oh, it's a bit awkward." John said, "I have indeed guessed it a long time ago, but in the end we don't know the truth about the past. These are..."

"My dictation," Orr said, "I can hear it."

"Then let's chat together," John patted Orr's shoulder affectionately, "Let's first assume that the imperial craftsmen over there really figured out a way to go back to the past here..."

"The stone of the Hrud...the warp..." Morse said softly, falling into his thoughts again, floating gently in the passage. He reached his hand into the void, and a stasis box fell into his palm. He stared at the iron box glowing green in his hand, his expression condensed.

"Look, he's got some results," John whispered. "I'm just going to assume this is really possible. What I'm trying to say is, are you really satisfied with where things stand now?"

He glanced at Perturabo's gloomy face in awe: "If we really do it the way we think, then the result we get will probably be like this - I see that you are sad, the original body Petu Rab, I'm not sure what you've lost, but it's not a good thing. Let's see what we gain."

"Olanius, I guess you don't know anyone else, but you must also know that the emperor you knew is no longer there. In the current situation, we have lost your emperor. This is our present ”

Orr looked at John blankly, as if he didn't understand what he was saying for a moment. "Isn't he still..."

"I told you in the webway that the Emperor was dead, and you interrupted me," John said quietly. "Don't think again that he is still on Terra waiting to reunite with you, soldier."

Orr was silent.

Waldo ignored or acquiesced in John's behavior, even though John felt for a moment that the commander was chewing him in his mouth with gnashing teeth.

"And the original body, Perturabo, I think the current situation is not what you want. Many people have died, and those who died must be important people, otherwise the Dark Throne would not be where it is today." John said, he also said It's unclear why he had to say this. Maybe he just felt that he had done something wrong before, so he was now obliged to propose a second possibility. "Do you accept this?"

"You mean, all this can be avoided." Perturabo said, his eyes fell on the back of the black-robed man in front, and the golden runes wrapped around Morse became brighter and brighter.

"The past has not yet been determined, and we can still modify it to change the future." John said, "The only thing that is truly determined is your meeting with the Emperor in the laboratory, and everything going forward is not certain. For example, you In fact, if you don't show the Emperor what the Webway can do, you won't be created as a fixed node, and the Emperor won't ascend the Dark Throne."

"It sounds like Erda is obsessed with that day," Perturabo said sharply.

"You are right, my lord, I have heard it many times. Of course, the power of choice is yours." John's voice was filled with sighs, "If the Emperor had only stolen the fire to create the Primarch on that day, what would have happened? What happened? I don’t know.”

"There will be no Tyrant Planet," Morse's dreamy voice joined the conversation. It was just a small, almost instinctive fragment of his thinking. He was thrown into them, and he himself was still immersed in complex calculations. middle.

"Warmaster Horus will be crowned... We will return to Olympia, my child... You will not be hurt, and I will not let the old enemy blade be stolen... No, there is no reason for Omegon to take action..."

He could not forget the fact that Perturabo was injured by the power of the Dark Lord in the Temple of Devon. The many futures he had seen flashed before his eyes one by one. He picked out ten thousand possibilities of hope. The nature of the story calls for a better, unwritten story.

"Aurelion will continue to worship the Emperor himself, a mad believer, but Nyos will keep one eye on him..."

Another voice also came from Morse, and the second fragment peeled off gently from his mind, "In the established history, if everything returns to normal... we just need to never show up, then the world will Return to the original track...I have seen that kind of future...you have to make choices and make decisions."

The third voice was liberated: "As Waldo said, I think he never told us his experiences in the past. He did so intentionally... because by doing so, the unnoticed past became visible in our eyes. There is room for change, this is the bifurcation of time... Ha, he still left too many traces, but we have not seen all the fragments..."

"As for you, Orr, if you hurt him at the Tower of Babel, he will forgive you, and the curse will no longer be used by him. As you said, I am still the eternal one... Oh, I am still here I don’t know where my lost arm ended up... Make a decision, Perturabo, maybe you also want to try to meet a more... craftsman in Olympia who has no resentment and cannot forget his past destiny..."

At the end of the passage, the vague light hidden in the depths of the planet became increasingly clear, and the surging glow pierced the mirror-like door with a sharp blade of light. The surrounding reality was eclipsed by the brilliant light of the Warp, and the pure golden light undoubtedly came from the former Emperor himself.

"What do we have to lose?" asked Perturabo at last, looking straight into the light. "What do we have to deny?"

"The choice is yours, Perturabo. I will not accompany you," Morse said, speaking fully this time.

He waved his hand, and the fragments returned to him, blending into his broken, swirling void of soul. His physical body has been broken down as he progresses, used to maximize the use of his power.

He stretched out his invisible hand, and the outlines of the scattered stone bricks became clearly visible. The dark coal-like stones were painted with zigzag golden lines, and the luminous door was framed in the lines.

"...It's your turn," he said, murmuring to Perturabo. "What a beautiful seal. No weapon can disarm this place except one thing. Perturabo, you have the Emperor in your veins. Blood, this door is destined to be opened only by the emperor’s own children.”

"What about you?" asked Perturabo.

"This is your journey. I will shine on you and reflect your shadow on the other side of the curtain of time. I will be the light outside the cave." Morse said, the Hrud stone was suspended in the His empty palm. "Relax, you can still hear my voice."