Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"You seem to have changed a lot since we first met, Ahriman."

"Really? Why don't I think so?"

The heir of Magnus responded to the visitor's words while constantly busy in front of his collection cabinet. His staff was casually leaned against the corner, and the priceless Blade of Chanabar hung on his waist. .

At this time, Ahriman was humming happily and singing a ballad full of Prospero style. He held up the still intact alien skull with one hand and thought about where to place it. .

"Of course you won't notice, Ahriman."

Not far behind the son of Magnus, Hector was already sitting in his favorite seat with ease, tasting Ahriman's wine as a guest, and couldn't help nodding in praise.

It has to be said that the Prospero people do have some skills in brewing, and Ahriman's brewing technology has indeed improved rapidly in these years, and has even gained a lot of fame among the entire Dawnbreaker Legion.

Hector drank it all in one gulp and continued his story.

"This is normal, because when everyone looks at himself, he is full of blind and slow elements. After all, the eyes are a pair of one-way windows that only open to the outside world. They cannot see the star behind them. Spiritual.”

"You have indeed changed a lot, reliable Ahriman, but you can't see these changes yourself, but I have seen it: but I am a little curious, what is it about our legion that has changed you?"

"..."

"Your words have also changed a lot, my friend Hector. After all, when we first met, you couldn't say such words: What has changed you?"

The words of the son of Magnus sounded like an indifferent inquiry and a simple soliloquy. The Prospero ditty in his mouth was replaced by a low murmur, until his eyes finally searched. Arriving at the perfect spot for his new trophy.

"What do you think of it here?"

Ahriman pointed to the place he chose, looked at Hector, and was satisfied with the affirmative hum. He quickly placed the few remaining skulls of Osiris in the galaxy. It was placed there, among several skulls of other alien races.

The son of Magnus slowly took a few steps back and checked again. After he felt that nothing was wrong, he sat down opposite Hector, chatting with his friends and watching. Your own trophy cabinet.

Seeing his concentration, Morgan's pride couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"When did you start having this hobby, Ahriman?"

"I forgot too."

The son of Magnus took a sip of wine and answered the question casually. Most of his energy was focused on the display cabinet that occupied at least one third of one wall: the three floors were identical with the latest counters. It is carved from fine natural oak and even exudes a certain kind of grassy smell that makes people feel relaxed and happy when they smell it.

Compared with these counters, which can be called works of art in their own right, the exhibits on them are a bit overwhelming: the exhibits that have been carefully laid out and collected through hard work have been carefully washed away one by one. The total number of skins and flesh, bleached and polished horrifying skulls seems to have exceeded thirty, and each one is different. They all come from the various tribes that the Dawnbreaker Legion has destroyed over the years. Alien civilization in the realm of psychic energy.

As the most ranked psyker in the entire human empire, Ahriman will naturally not miss these harsh battles that require long spiritual confrontations. He made great contributions in these tragic extermination battles, and even saved many sons of Morgan. Life: Therefore, many Dawnbreakers already regard him as half the son of Morgan, and he has become a celebrity known throughout the Second Legion.

It was during this period that the son of Magnus developed this strange habit: as he followed in the footsteps of the Second Legion and mercilessly wiped out a new race of psionic xenos and their home world, In the last few seconds when this civilization declared its demise, he killed those opponents who could resist to the end, and took away the skull of one of them as a souvenir.

Unknowingly, the descendant of Magnus had collected more than thirty skulls. Although most of them did not leave a deep impression on him, this did not affect the Thousand Sons veteran from continuing to use them as a gift. Le even specially collected various opinions and gave his collection a touching name.

The death of civilization.

Hector was very satisfied with the name and felt that it was full of hypocritical cruelty. But when he once again looked at the skulls that could even sparkle in the dark night, he also looked at the picture under the display shelf where Ahriman used to rest. When making the bed, he still had a question.

Could it be that Ahriman fell asleep looking at these skulls every night?

…

He has indeed changed a lot.

Hector sighed secretly in his heart, and when his vision swept across the various weapons displayed in the corner of the room, as well as the [Arena Grand Slam] trophy that had been wiped repeatedly, this emotion could not help but become more intense. deep.

"You think I've changed a lot too, Hector?"

Beside him, Ahriman's soft question came to his ears unknowingly, which made Morgan's big brother think for a moment before giving a vague answer in a circumstantial way.

"At the very least, when you first arrived here, none of us could have imagined that you would become a senior member of the arena and become the champion of the last sword fight."

"This is nothing, Hector. After all, the championship is not worthy of its name. Many of the real elites of Dawnbreaker did not participate. Swordsmen like Terra Veterans are basically spectators and referees of the competition: I remember Baya Have you never participated in this kind of competition?"

"The original purpose of this competition is to determine the second swordsman under Bayar."

"……Reasonable."

Ahriman was silent for a while, and then nodded seriously: Even he had to admit the power of the second company commander of the Second Legion. Even though Ahriman had made too much progress in the arena and was no longer what he used to be, but In front of Bayar, he was still just a so-so [One-Head Enemy], who couldn't even let the serious and friendly knight make a second move.

Thinking of this, and then thinking of existences such as Akudona, even Ahriman couldn't help but start to wonder: Could it be that the position of second company commander of the legion makes it easier to spawn some monsters with combat power?

If you think about it carefully, this conclusion seems to have some scientific explanations: Generally speaking, most of the first company commanders of each legion have a leadership role, because their real duty is to manage or assist the original body in managing the legion, so those If you concentrate on martial arts and treat people who are not enthusiastic about other aspects, you will naturally become the captain of the second company.

Thinking this way, it seems reasonable?

In this way, while Ahriman was thinking about it in his mind, he chatted with Hector all over the world. They kept jumping on topics and arguing. Several years of friendship had given them a thorough understanding of their respective interests and fields, and they were able to make friendship possible. The boat nimbly avoided unpleasant corners and anchored long enough where they could continue their conversation.

For example...

"Hector."

"I heard: You passed the primary examination of the Sculptor Association and are now an intermediate member of that interest association? I think I haven't had time to congratulate you yet."

"It's just a small thing."

Although Morgan's pride is constantly being humble, his smile has already betrayed his joy: after all, he has been working hard for this assessment for several years, and through these years of hard work, he has successfully made everyone The judges accepted his aesthetic and artistry, pulling them onto the same track.

So, he passed: although his style never seemed to change.

"In the words of the judges, the sculptures I sculpted were very...fantasy-style."

"They can always see endless possibilities in those works, just like a climber standing on the cliff, enjoying what kind of scenery there will be under the light of the blue sky above."

Listening to Hector's efforts to suppress his proud boasting, Ahriman's brows furrowed a little: he always felt that there seemed to be something in these comments, but he wisely did not point it out.

"I heard that every work that passes the assessment will be retained to decorate the hall of the Sculptors Association: In other words, the next time I go there to visit, will I be able to see your work in the hall? "

"It's a bit difficult for a short time, Ahriman, because they're involved in... some sort of feud."

"How to say?"

Hector was silent for a moment, as if he was thinking about how to explain this.

"To put it simply, the work I used to pass the assessment was a large relief sculpture, big enough to divide into different areas and tell an event from beginning to end: and the judges were debating which area to put it in. .”

"...You carved a lot of events?"

"Actually, just one."

"But the four judges each believed that what I carved was a victory parade of the Legion, a big lecture given by my mother, a meeting of brothers within the company, or a collective investiture ceremony hosted by the Primarch: the four judges each insisted My own point of view was at a stalemate for a while.”

"..."

"So, Hector, what scene did you carve?"

"Well……"

Rarely, there was some obvious embarrassment on the resolute face of the commander of the 23rd company of the Dawnbreaker Legion. He scratched his face and hesitated to speak.

"I……"

"What I'm carving is actually the day our Gene Mother reunited with the Legion."

"..."

"..."

"Do you have any photos? Can you show me your work?"

"certainly."

Ahriman took the photo. Although it was a little blurry, he could still clearly see the relief carved by Hector. The descendant of Magnus browsed it carefully several times, his face was filled with weirdness and nostalgia. The flow continued, and Hector became increasingly uneasy.

"What do you see, Ahriman?"

"Uh... no, it's nothing."

"Maybe this photo is a little too blurry, Hector. I can't see more specific details, so I can't explain my views and gains to you."

"That's it, okay."

While the son of Morgan lowered his head and sighed with regret, Ahriman turned his gaze elsewhere with a guilty conscience because of the lie he had told his friend.

He didn't want Hector to know that he saw his own figure when he won the great sword fight on that relief. The carved appearance was so lifelike, it was like recording that moment with a shutter. Then it was exquisitely translated onto these reliefs.

…

Ahriman couldn't help but sigh.

Hector's artistic level is really becoming more and more evil, and as he grows older, his level of evil seems to be increasing in a strange way.

For example, his first work, the statue of Morgan as he calls it, has received no less than 500 answers from 200 visitors so far, and these answers have no rules to each other.

Why are there more answers than answerers?

Because the same people saw the statue at different times, and the answers they got would actually change: For example, Ahriman, when he saw the statue for the first time, thought that Hector was carving a statue of Ahriman. Barton, but in the subsequent viewings, he saw the faces of several Dawnbreaker warriors.

These warriors were all different and had little in common with each other: if anything, they were all involved in the heated exchanges with Ahriman, and were the ones who, of all his opponents, were the most vividly remembered by Ahriman. The new ones.

He even felt that deep down in his heart he hated those guys: maybe this was why the statues changed in his eyes?

…

It's really confusing.

The son of Magnus took another sip of wine and sighed silently, but just when he was about to continue to slander his friend in his heart, an unintentional glance made him realize that something was wrong.

At some point, Hector's eyes had left the conversation and drifted to Ahriman's display stand: specifically, he was carefully observing one of the strange exhibits with a suspicious attitude.

"Ahriman."

"You told me that these aliens were all races that we had annihilated in the past few years, and you preserved their skulls. But why do I have no impression of this skull at all?"

"Have we ever fought against a psychic alien like this?"

"Or are we fighting separately for a while in the past few years?"

"I don't remember: you have been fighting with my 23rd Company."

"So, have we ever exterminated aliens that grow like this? Then again, this kind of alien skull is really unique. Even from the perspective of a layman like me, I think this kind of skull is very collectible."

"Then, I should be more impressed by them..."

Hector looked at the display cabinet and muttered to himself in a daze. Although his topic was not a serious question, but a rather simple confusion, it was still enough to make Ahriman on the side look horrified. .

That skull is indeed quite conspicuous: among the savage beasts of the same species, it actually reveals some dignity and elegance, especially the few traces of light green on it and the patina that can only be formed by repeated playing. It becomes the finishing touch, making it more like a work of art than a souvenir.

As such, it stands out: even a little too much.

"..."

"cough!"

Ahriman coughed several times. Before Hector's attention was attracted, the son of Magnus had already put on a face that was trustworthy. He answered Hector seemingly casually. Te's words were spoken in a calm tone, as if he was answering the decision about dinner.

"Ah, you are talking about that. It was a trophy I gained during an encounter with alien pirates. Its former owner was just a mercenary, and there were no more of the same kind accompanying him, so you have no impression. .”

"But like you said: it is indeed collectible, so I broke my routine and put it on top of this display cabinet. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"That's it."

Hector nodded. He did not doubt Ahriman's words too much. However, when they clinked glasses again and started looking for new topics, a question that had long since disappeared flashed through his heart, but And quickly disappeared again.

…

By the way...

Did Sergeant Trazin say that he seemed to have lost something?

I don’t know if I’ve found it yet.