Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

"I'm alive……"

These were the first words spoken by the old man, now allowed to be called St. Marduk, after a long coma.

In the eyes of everyone who didn't know the secret about him, this was a declarative conclusion, but in the ears of Calvin, who came specially to visit him, it was a question.

Waving his hand to everyone in the room, Calvin said to Marduk seriously:

"you are still alive."

Marduk, who struggled out of the amniotic fluid tank, raised his still old face when he heard the sound. In Calvin's eyes, there was an indescribable contradiction between his body, which belonged to a mature human being from the neck down, and that face.

"What are you?"

This is a question from Marduk.

The fluctuations of souls spread subtle resonances between the two, and the bond between the two beings in the subspace allowed Marduk to clearly observe Calvin's existence.

He knew that the giant in front of him could deprive him of his soul with just one thought.

Since the two signed the "deed of sale," their identities have undergone earth-shaking changes.

"what do you?"

This is the second time Marduk has asked, and this time the questioning comes from the soul link between him and Calvin.

The communication between soul and soul is complex and efficient that acquired language cannot achieve;

This question that faces the soul, and the complex questions contained in it, are all vividly expressed in this simple message.

"I learned pretty quickly..."

Calvin touched his nose and looked at the old man in front of him who was stubbornly seeking the truth.

Only those who truly face Calvin's soul can gain some understanding of his existence from that inhuman shock.

Only after facing the star-like existence whose head and tail could not be seen, Marduk understood that the existence he was facing at this time was far from being explained by the identity of a primarch.

"A good question."

Calvin's rare wry smile and an unexpected rescue gave him an unplanned soul relative.

The connection between the two parties is so tight that what he has to face now are questions that even the Gray Knights have never had the chance to ask.

Well, the Gray Knights who died in battle are not within this range.

In the soul hall of his spiritual world, those comrades who have lost their mortal bodies can understand the idealistic buildings, the rituals expressed and the stories in them the moment they see the essence of his soul.

The spread of his identity as an outsider and the emperor's "wage boy" among these deceased comrades is not a big deal.

But the old man in front of him is an exception. He is still alive, and will continue to live well after knowing Calvin's secret.

Do you want to be honest with him?

This was an unavoidable question. Calvin struggled for a moment, and then he smiled casually and issued a soul-level invitation to Marduk.

"bring it on……"

The world was spinning, and Marduk's already weak body instantly fell to the ground.

His soul has entered Calvin's spiritual world along the contractual bond between the two;

The soulless body was disgustingly pale after being soaked in amniotic fluid for a long time, but the heartbeat representing life was still abnormally coming from his chest.

Calvin, who witnessed this strange scene alone, did not hesitate. After placing Marduk's body on the bed beside him, he also closed his eyes and entered his own spiritual world.

"As you can see..."

A thunderous voice came from above Marduk's opened eyes again, accompanied by waves of majestic air.

He raised his head with great effort, and happened to see the huge and terrifying face revealed from the clouds.

Have you ever seen a scene where one eye is enough to compare with the lake?

Have you ever seen that tooth as big as a Titan?

If it weren't for himself being connected and supported by this world, if it weren't for the rules of this world firmly fixing his soul;

Marduk swore that he would completely lose his mind and go crazy as soon as he saw this horrific scene.

"The Emperor's blessing..."

He groaned and recited the names of the gods he believed in, and the perspective brought by his limp body made him realize as if waking up from a dream:

The huge square where I am standing right now is the palm of this giant spirit...

"Ahem, the angle is wrong, sorry."

After regaining consciousness in a daze, Marduk finally saw Calvin standing next to him.

The location where he was at this time was on a dirt road in the countryside.

At one end of the field of vision, there are rural buildings looming among the farmland, while at the end of the horizon on the other side, there is a majestic city-state.

"Come on, let's go there and have a look."

Calvin pulled him up from the ground, and their figures disappeared from the land in an instant.

Following Calvin's thoughts, the two appeared inside the city-state. In front of the steel hall, the Gray Knights who had closed their eyes in meditation opened their eyes.

Now this team has begun to take shape, from the first two champion swordsmen to nearly a hundred people.

They stood quietly on both sides of the main road of the hall. After sensing Calvin's arrival, they opened their eyes one after another and gave him a gentle smile.

"this is not!"

Marduk pointed to a gray knight at the end of the team in surprise, then turned to look at Calvin.

Not long ago, in the Battle of Colkash, he had witnessed the sacrifice of this Gray Knight in the battle.

"Be patient..." Calvin calmed Marduk's mood, and then led him into the towering palace.

In the tall cloister, huge murals, representing the most unforgettable part of Calvin's memory, are placed on both sides of the main hall cloister.

From the moment he became conscious, he wandered for a long time in the endless darkness of subspace;

From his fateful encounter with the cold star to the three questions of his soul that determine his future destiny.

Marduk staggered forward with tears in his eyes. At this time, he no longer needed Calvin's guidance.

The intuitive memories carried in these murals gave him the privilege to witness the growth of a soul in a foreign land.

What shocked and moved him even more was that he finally saw the existence he had always believed in.

The scenes of exchanges between man and God were repeatedly scrutinized and remembered by him, and the origin of Calvin's existence and the relationship between him and the emperor were also clearly described in these scenes.

He finally stopped at the end of the hall.

Under the mural of him being pulled up by Calvin and striding away from the battlefield.

He turned around and saw Calvin's gentle smile on the other side of the corridor.

"In the name of the Emperor! I am willing to contribute my meager life to your cause!"

Facing Calvin who was striding forward, Marduk knelt down on one knee;

In the pure white light beams cast down from the dome of the hall, under the witness of the statue of the Emperor representing the human spirit at the end of the hall;

He made his first oath to his future lord.

Second update. Asking for votes.