Warhammer: I don’t want to be a can of worms! ! !

Chapter 444 2.24 Cocooning

Butterflies, moths, or most Lepidoptera, will go through a long and painful pupation period.

This process is not as peaceful as it seems on the surface. The caterpillars that are full of memories will melt in the pupa, their bodies will turn into a thick pulp, only a few organs will remain, and everything else will turn into nutrients for the new insects.

Those organs will develop again, absorb the nutrient pulp transformed by the caterpillar's body, grow a new body, grow new eyes, grow wings...

Finally, what crawls out of the pupa will be a life that is completely different from the past.

Some people have asked whether the new butterfly is still the caterpillar it once was, or is it another unique life that parasitizes on it?

Others have hypothesized that caterpillars themselves cannot be considered a life, they are just some kind of "self-moving" eggs before they transform into butterflies.

Just like a fish that steps on land can no longer be called a "fish\

,"a caterpillar that gets rid of gravity may not be itself.

But it must learn to fly.

——————————

A long time ago, when Mortarion was still unable to get used to the poison gas, when he was still imprisoned by his adoptive father,

Mortarion would smell that special stench, and every time the alien adoptive father came out of his laboratory, the smell was particularly strong.

It was not a pleasant smell. Even the poison gas of Barbarus was more accustomed to by Mortarion than it.

Mortarion had carefully peeked through the crack of the door, and he saw those puppets that were randomly sewn together with human body parts.

That was the stench of human corpses rotting.

Mortarion thought, and for a long time afterwards, he still thought so.

But when he knelt on the ground of Barbarus, trembling with his hands to dig out the bodies of the Revolutionary Army, Mortarion did not smell that smell.

Yellow-black pus dripped from between his fingers, carrying with it pale bone residue. He smelled the smell of Hades' vomit behind him, and the fishy and salty smell of the tears of the corpse's family members, but not that smell - the smell that was deeply engraved into his bones with the atrocities of his alien adoptive father, which made him disgusted and terrified. The stench of corpses brought by high corruption was also easier for Mortarion to accept than that. Later, when Mortarion hit a alien lord with his sickle, he smelled the familiar smell again with the sharp wail of that guy. It was... the smell of psychic energy. Mortarion took a deep breath. After that, this smell always accompanied him, floating from the think tank of the Death Guard, from Malcador, and from the Emperor... No matter how many gas masks he changed, no matter how strong the gas he used to stimulate his nasal cavity, Mortarion could always smell them - this was the smell of the soul, and he could not get rid of it. In addition to the long torture, it also really provided convenience for Mortarion. Even the smallest spark of psychic energy would not be ignored by Mortarion.

Mortarion raised his hand, and pus slid down. Under the scythe, the ridiculous, poor imitations of the Death Guard were emitting an unbearable stench.

They thought that these poor imitations could shake him, but they were wrong.

Even if it would make him painful, it would not shake him.

Mortarion had been prepared for this.

He was now standing in this dense forest. The branches that were roughly cut down and the purple-red organs hanging on the branches all showed the cruelty of the battle just now.

Mortarion stared at his broken armor. He hesitated and slowly raised his arm to the tip of his nose--

He smelled the smell.

From himself.

Mortarion was silent. For Hades, he silently chanted, trying to delay this process.

A faint feeling of powerlessness responded to him, but in this sea of ​​green pus, this pitiful, almost dried darkness could not save him.

He remembered that he had fallen into a dream called the Death Guard, and it was the water of the Styx that saved him.

But now... Mortarion clenched his fist, then loosened it, and the brittle armor fell off his hand.

Everything here was attacking him, those that were big enough to be seen, those that were small enough to be imperceptible, the real battlefield was in the dimension of microorganisms, where billions of creatures withered.

He could no longer rely on his old friends.

Even though Mortarion had been pleased with the scene of Hades taking down Magnus.

He could no longer rely on the Death Guard.

Because he was alone at this moment.

This was his fate, this was Mortarion's fate, and this day had finally arrived, and he faced it alone.

... He needed to become stronger, even stronger.

Strong enough to survive.

Mortarion took a deep breath, staggered up his feet, and began to trek through the dense forest.

There were no visible enemies to stop him, and they left the victory to bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Time stood on their side.

For Mortarion, this was a dead end.

But he needed to survive,

Only by living could there be other possibilities.

Survival, this is the law of Barbarus, the supreme law that can never be shaken.

Only the strong can survive.

And if life passes away, it proves that they are not tough enough.

Mortarion trudged, and the weeds with abundant tumors on the branches hit his legs. The tumors stuck to his leg armor and emitted a foul smell.

Even heavy rain cannot wash them away.

Mortarion had no inclination to take them off;

He felt tired, but for him who was good at long-term battles, tiredness was just the simplest feeling.

Buzzing, black-headed flies covered with fleshy flesh came around. They sang happily around Mortarion, landed on his shoulder armor, tilted their heads, and rubbed their heads.

Mortarion ignored them, and the heavy rain poured down. The turbid raindrops slipped from his neck and poured into the gap between his body and the armor. The circulatory system and power system of the armor had long been destroyed.

He was like a drowned rat walking in the dense forest.

This planet is alive.

Mortarion thought that this was a huge, living incubator, catalyzing him, catalyzing the original body to become another existence.

Everything here, every plant, every tree, every creature, is prepared for him and is applauded by him.

This is a dead end.

Mortarion thought again, and that feeling of despair came over him again, like maggots eating away at the bones.

"boom!"

A huge sound of falling to the ground was heard, and the original body hit the ground heavily, splashing the smelly liquid in the rain pit.

Mortarion vomited, spitting out sewage mixed with organs and blood. He struggled to raise his upper body so that his exposed face would not come into contact with the ground.

In a daze, Mortarion returned to that rainy night when he was a child. His alien adoptive father threw him off the cliff and ordered him to climb back to the top of the mountain before dawn.

He falls downward -

Mortarion took a sharp breath, coughed violently, and began to climb forward.

He needs to live...

He needs to live...

He can't die yet...

Those unfulfilled long-cherished wishes, those previous vows, those beautiful memories - he can't lose them, he can't just give up.

Mortarion... think of it quickly...

He remembered the prophecy he had seen. On that strange Eldar planet, Mortarion saw himself.

That's not him, but that's him too.

That was...the original him, and also...some kind of monster that emerged from Mortarion's body in the past——

A monster that cannot be accepted by the Death Guard, Hades, Calastiphon, or humans.

The smell is extremely fishy.

Everything here is aimed at Mortarion, this is a dead end - but for the other him, it is not.

But how should he reach that other shore, and how much should he sacrifice? What should he do?

Mortarion climbed,

Seeing the giant fall, those green sarcoma-like creatures ran out of the grass with chirping sounds, like bloated potatoes. They were small, huddled together, and screamed softly.

They pushed and shoved their way to the prostrate Mortarion, following him as if to marvel at his tenacity and embarrassment.

Mortarion stared at those entities with his deep eyes, but they did not try to attack him, but followed him closely.

...Mortarion, what else have you forgotten?

Mortarion took a deep breath. He needed to live... He needed to remember all that...

The truth before life is born——

He needed to...accept himself.

Mortarion gasped in pain, and the stench became more intense, tearing at his soul and making him dizzy. He couldn't help but scream,

As Mortarion struggled, a faint layer of smoke floated around him.

Macragge's Calamity Day Culling Barbarus The Burning of Prospero The Judgment of Nikea The Warmaster's Celebration The Battle of Urano Ibsen's Great Crusade The Atrocities of Conrad Curze Horus Killiman's Banquet Randan Barbaru The Purge of Sri Lanka The Betrayal of Karastifon Mars Terra Malcador Illusion Space Marines The Emperor The Last Alien Lord Death Guard Hades Karastifon Mortarion Alien Adoptive Father Nakre Barbarus Drop Pod Warp Space laboratory--

It floats in the vast ocean.

Always silent, always present.

Always hating, always devouring, always withering.

It is the cloud -

He is a wizard! ! !

Mortarion tumbled back to reality, struggling and screaming in the mud.

The primarch's deafening scream scared away the participating Nurglings around him, and they ran back, hiding themselves under the leaves.

The desperate scream tore through the sky, almost tearing away the rain curtain, and could not stop for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, the screaming giant fell into sleep again. They stuck their heads out and looked curiously at their upcoming new master.

After the seven raindrops fell, the Nurglings tried to gather around Mortarion again.

They curiously poked at the giant's pale and thin face, tried to raise his helpless hands, and wrote and drew on his armor with pus.

You need to...re-accept yourself.

All of this...armor, weapons, body, language, customs, likes and dislikes...all of these are binding you and imprisoning your existence.

[Mortarion], this is the name given to him by his alien adoptive father. In Barbarus, it means [Son of Death].

The Emperor had once told him that he would have had a name with a better meaning.

He refused.

Mortarion refused.

Collapsed in the heavy rain, Mortarion's hand twitched twice.

The Nurgling at his hand screamed, but after seeing that the giant had no other reaction, he boldly came over again.

…This is the planet He prepared for you, Mortarion.

...He...

…Who is He?

Mortarion breathed slightly, this was the last difference between him and the corpse, Mortarion... think about it...

In the coma, he began to run - no, spread, he ran towards that place, and he saw a corner of the garden.

Mortarion stood up unsteadily, but there was no light in his eyes, and his soul seemed to be in another world.

Ominous gray smoke rose from the cracks in his armor. Mortarion lowered his head and panted, puffing smoke from his mouth.

There was a scream in his hand, and a Nurgling playing with his palm was caught, its short arms waving, trying to pry Mortarion's hand away.

Mortarion saw the garden, which was not as lush as it had been before,

A few new shoots sprouted from the barren land. The soil that had just been plowed was soft, and breathing seeds were sleeping there.

At the edge of the garden, a place of darkness slumbers.

This is Nurgle's garden,

Parts of it withered, lost - the being was trying to reassemble them, making Him vulnerable.

And that's what Mortarion wants.

In his final moments of sanity, Mortarion could even tell who had done this.

He chuckled at the end, tears streaming from his eyes.

This is the god they have to face and fight with.

Humans cannot defeat the gods...unless...

Come to think of it...Mortarion...

Mortarion raised his hand unconsciously. The Nurgling in his hand struggled, and the Lord of Darkness spoke -

Beside the giant, all the Nurglings stopped in shock. They looked at the monster in disbelief, with pus overflowing from its mouth and juices exploding.

...He remembered.

【Nurgle】

+Nurgle! ! ! +

Mortarion roared, and his body propped up in the jungle began to collapse layer by layer like a skeleton.

If you want to regain everything you had in the past, you must abandon what you have now——

Even if it anchors you in this beautiful world, in this physical world where your comrades, your regiment, and your laboratory exist.

Gray mist rose up layer by layer, swallowing everything in an instant, spreading to all directions, swallowing everything.

Mortarion roared, and the corners of his mouth split open, revealing the white bones.

+ - You're not the only one! ! ! +

This was the planet Nurgle had given him - it was his planet, even if it was stained with Nurgle's psychic powers, even if they tried to pull him into the Garden - but he owned it.

Dark clouds rose in a corner of the garden, and he heard angry roars coming from that section - now Mortarion knew why He chose him, and their compatibility was indeed excellent.

The clouds and mist greedily devoured the corner of the garden that had just been plundered. He came - Mortarion felt like he was rotting, but then -

He shouted to the existence that made him tremble, the clouds rolled, calling and leading the existence that made him feel deep fear just by looking at it,

It was a greedy black monster, rolling and squirming. It followed Mortarion's gray cloud closely, like a beast driven by hunger.

ha……

He needed to sacrifice a part of himself, but he still needed power, and Mortarion threw away what he had accumulated in his lifetime - leaving behind the only part he needed to keep.

Throw it out into the garden.

Darkness and life are entangled, but the tide of darkness is quickly receding. Mortarion has obtained what he wants, and the fog has begun to recede.

The small corner of the garden finally disappeared, and the soil where the seeds were buried faded away with the mist, as if it itself was shrouded in mist.

Under the clouds, the desolate land was silent.

Mortarion suddenly let go of his hand.

The Nurgling Remnant in his hand crackled and exploded on the ground like a ripe fruit.

He began to collapse. This body could no longer anchor him. Dark clouds surged out, and the armor creaked and fell downwards.

Father Rain screamed, but the gray cloud had already risen, greedily devouring its mist.

This planet belongs to Mortarion.

Dark clouds loomed over everything.

Everything that was originally vibrant became mute, and hundreds of millions of creatures were silent in the fog. They still exist, but...but...

No one knows what happened.

Except for the steady breathing.

No more, yay!