Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Obscure Star Field, Gothic Star Sector, Cyclops Star Cluster.

"It looks as big as the Phalanx owned by the Imperial Fist Legion, but compared to that incredible creation, it seems a little darker and evil: I don't think it can be a human creation. Even that long-gone golden age probably couldn't have built a fortress of silence with such an aura."

When Jean Lannes Montebello, the Guard Chief of the Dawnbreaker Legion and also the consul of the legion, saw the existence of the Blackstone Fortress for the first time, he fell into a brief silence. Then, he looked at his comrades beside him and commented.

There are many Daybreakers who had the same reaction as the Chief Old Guard. In fact, when the battleship loyal to Morgan, with the help of the Tuchucha engine, smoothly reached the galaxy where the first Blackstone Fortress was located , all the think tanks in the expedition fleet, as well as the son of Morgan, who had psychic potential, frowned involuntarily.

Because they felt some kind of heavy oppression from the unknown realm. It was not malicious, but the breath quietly exhaled by an ancient giant beast in its sleep, but it was enough to make these weak newcomers tremble.

And Rana is one of these inexplicably trembling people. As one of the most powerful descendants of the Spider Queen, the Chief Old Guards should have some talents in the field of psychic energy: if in other legions, This kind of talent is enough for him to become the backbone of the think tank team, and even reach a higher position.

But in the Dawnbreaker Legion, Rana's psychic talents seemed very mediocre, and he did not deliberately develop them: there are many Dawnbreakers like him, and they possess psychic powers because they inherited Morgan's blood. Talent, but for various reasons, they did not embark on that path, and the Spider Queen had no intention of forcing or urging this, which made the Dawnbreaker think tank troops feel a little sad.

The reason why Rana shuns psychic powers is the same as that of most of his battle brothers: although he possesses this talent, he has no necessary reason to learn it, and in his heart, he respects psychic powers. The danger of energy, this kind of awe is far greater than the thirst for power.

After all, although it was never mentioned openly, the brief journey to Prospero did leave a dark shadow in the hearts of many Dawnbreaker warriors, invisibly strangling their path to spiritual power.

Rana didn't know if there was any motivation from the Primarch behind all this: he also knew that this was not something he should think about. What's more, if this was really the result that the Primarch wanted, Rana didn't feel that his genes The mother did something wrong.

It is true that the wave of psychic energy will bring convenience and power, but it will also bring danger and some unexpected troubles: for example, now, when their battleship is getting closer to the strange onyx-colored fortress , although everyone is trapped in some kind of low pressure, the situation of those Dawnbreaker think tanks is undoubtedly the worst.

Some low-level think tanks even need the support of battle brothers to stand up. Potential psykers like Rana, who have not embarked on the path of think tanks, although the situation is also not optimistic, but relatively speaking, it is much better. too much.

Fortunately, this farce did not last long: after the last battleship also jumped out of the subspace, the Gene Queen ordered the entire expedition fleet to temporarily park. Then, an invisible air wave came from the throne room in the blink of an eye. It swept through all the battleships and easily dispelled the sinister aura on everyone's face.

At the same time, the Chief Old Guard received a single line of communication from the Gene Mother: He needed to assemble a capable team, waiting for the call of the original body at any time, and conduct a tentative landing on the Blackstone Fortress with the Lord of the Legion.

Rana listened to this order and repeated it three times: According to his thoughts, he felt that it was somewhat inappropriate for Gene Mother to participate in such an exploratory landing with unknown dangers, but he had no intention of dissuading him. .

After nearly ten Terran standard years together, Lana gradually understood his master: the Lord Guard knew very well that his genetic mother would forcefully maintain her rationality even in the most angry moments, and listen to the wishes of her offspring and The sincere advice of her subordinates, and the resulting concessions, changes, and even apologies are her strengths that can never be erased.

But on the contrary, when the situation is not so urgent, it is best not to disobey the request from the Lord of Avalon: even if the request sounds a bit willful or even whimsical, do not disobey her or let her She felt that her orders were being deliberately ignored and delayed.

The consequences are terrible: so bad that no one wants to know about it, and no one wants to experience it.

After all, in general, although the Spider Queen knows the value of advice, in her heart, she is still a character who deeply hates disobedience and contradiction, especially when these evil deeds come from her children: in In this regard, the Lord of Avalon is actually no different from any ordinary mother.

After several years of getting along, Rana saw clearly that at this time, he did not choose to speak out, but used his own way to ensure that similar mistakes would not occur in the Old Guard: In fact, he even defended himself Proud to know so much about the mother of genes.

Thinking of this, the Guards Chief, who had always been unsmiling in front of outsiders, drew an arc on the corner of his mouth. He peeled away the crowd cheering the name of the original body and walked towards the accommodation area of ​​the Old Guards: He also has a Orders from the Primarch need to be carried out immediately.

As he said, the Primarch never liked it when her orders were ignored or delayed.

——————

[This galaxy is more resistant to the power of subspace than any other place I have ever seen: in my impression, only the trap that I hate has the same atmosphere and effect. 】

[Is this also one of the abilities of these ancient alien creatures? 】

The Spider Queen leaned on her silver-white throne, with the hot tea just brewed by Virgo in her palm. Her psychic vision casually swept across the kingdom at her feet, until she found that her chief guards were gathering as quickly as possible. When she joined the Royal Guards, the Lord of Avalon's smile became more sincere.

In this joy, she looked under the throne, in the court of the Dawnbreaker, at the new ruthless favorite who was also her temporary chief knowledge advisor: a being named Tuchucha Engine.

The answer of the subspace artifact is an eternal stability: fast, concise, straightforward, and full of valuable order that makes the Spider Queen happy.

"For this point, what my memory reserve tells me is: the raw material that shapes these blackstone fortresses, that is, blackstone, is itself a creation that can be used to manipulate subspace energy. This operation is bidirectional, and blackstone fortresses may amplify This kind of power.”

"What it is showing in front of you now is most likely its powerful suppression method of subspace energy: almost all Blackstone creations can do this, but Blackstone Fortress is undoubtedly the best among them. .”

【……】

Morgan crossed his fingers and fell into a brief silence.

[You just said that the material Blackstone can manipulate the energy of subspace in a two-way manner: that is to say, it can in turn strengthen the energy of subspace and weaken the curtain between the Sea of ​​Souls and the real universe? 】

"I suggest you not to do this, Morgan: It is true that using black stone creation to open a subspace crack in the real universe is the simplest and most basic operation, but you never know what the crack spits out, What else could it be?"

[Thank you for the reminder, but I have no interest in subspace cracks. I am not my humble and reserved blood relative of Prospero. What I care about is: if I can mobilize the power of these black stone creations, I can temporarily strengthen and With the connection in subspace, will my strength be improved in a short period of time? 】

"Indeed, you can, but it doesn't seem necessary: ​​your current strength is already very impressive, Morgan, and your talent in the Sea of ​​Souls is also very good. Even in my memory reserve, there are not many better than you. Terrible adaptors of the warp.”

[But it’s not enough, Tuchucha: I always remember how weak and humble I am in front of those beings who are more powerful than me. Therefore, I will never give up the pursuit of security. I will never give up. I would give up on solving the problems in my heart. 】

[And power, real power that can belong to me, is the most straightforward and most effective answer: No matter when, violence that can be controlled in one's own hands will always be the hard currency in the galaxy. 】

"……indeed so."

The subspace artifact fell into a stasis that was almost like thinking. It soon discovered that it seemed that it could not refute Morgan's remarks. So, after a quiet search, it continued to use the channel in its mind to move toward the spider. The Queen poured out a torrent of information.

"Well, if you ask me a question, I can tell you one thing: a long time ago, there were two tools made of black stone that were used in the war. They were the embodiment of the two functions of black stone. .”

[Two kinds? 】

"Yes, the first of them is called the Black Stone Obelisk. It exists to inhibit the connection between subspace and reality. Its effect can be enhanced by the accumulation of quantity. It has a very good effect on the energy and even spiritual erosion of subspace. Countermeasures: They are purposely built to be stubborn, and if you look for them carefully, you should still be able to find them.”

[Are their effects significant? 】

"If used properly, you can make a galaxy, or even a wider land, completely free from the influence of subspace. However, with such intensity, it will be difficult for any life to exist healthily in this field."

[I understand, what about the next one? 】

The Spider Queen waved her hand, and at her signal, Virgo began to write furiously.

"As for the second type, I'm sorry that I have forgotten its name, but it is also some kind of black stone structure. However, its function is to increase and induce the energy of the subspace, so as to connect with each other and set off a battle that can Subspace storms that affect reality: If properly arranged, only a dozen creations of this type can almost completely cut off contact with the outside world in dozens of star sectors, thus achieving victory without a fight."

【……】

[Is this a means of attack? 】

"certainly."

The sound of Tuchucha's engine was full of naturalness, but this did not affect the endless speculation in the Spider Queen's heart: Morgan had to admit that when Tuchucha explained that this kind of creation can make a large area lose contact with the outside world. At that time, the first word that came to her mind was...

Five hundred worlds.

【……】

Morgan slowly twisted her neck, making a crunching sound.

Her brow never relaxed.

When exactly did her Ultramar blood relative Robert put so much pressure on her?

His world, his country, the book he never leaves his hand, his rustling quill, his ridiculously stupid but enviable blueberry sauce army, and his always-dispersing... With a silly face...

【……】

It actually makes her afraid.

It actually makes her...frightened.

【...Tsk...】

Morgan closed his eyes, feeling a little annoyed.

She had to admit: whenever she was thinking alone in the dark and pondering the possibility of becoming an enemy of the Emperor, the existence named Robert had broken into her plan again and again, changing everything. Messed up and upset her.

It was as if, if she could not win over or restrain Ultramar, then as long as Robert was a little more serious, the wave under his command would be enough to crush the Spider Queen's ambitions, leaving no trace of possibility.

She has no confidence to fight against the Lord of Ultramar, or his five hundred worlds and legions. Although she has done whatever it takes to expand her country and strengthen her legions, the Avalon Federation's The more the territory expanded and the strength of the Dawnbreaker Legion became stronger, the anxiety in Morgan's heart became more and more obvious.

Because with the expansion of Avalon, the Spider Queen has become more and more aware of the power of the Five Hundred Worlds: when she had a home planet, she didn't think there was anything scary about Ultramar, but When she had a sector, she had to start figuring out the power Robert had.

But now, as Avalon becomes more stable and prosperous, and the number of core worlds under the Spider Queen's rule has reached one hundred and fifty: she has begun to fear instead.

Because, when she truly saw how much power the one hundred and fifty core worlds could provide, and then thought about how powerful the five hundred worlds that had already been combined could be: she finally fell into some kind of uneasiness.

Because he was strong, because he was moving forward, because he was getting closer to that height, Morgan clearly realized the potential of Five Hundred Worlds, and instead realized how weak his current power was.

Because it is powerful, it is fearful.

【……】

That's pretty good, isn't it?

Morgan couldn't help but laugh, and comforted himself in a bitter way: At least, being able to realize this now is much better than realizing it when Ultramar's heavy troops suppress the situation.

Thinking at the best, doesn't she now have a method that might be able to suppress Ultramar? Although it is far from enough, there is still plenty of time left for her.

She is in no hurry.

Thinking of this, her suddenly contracted heart finally relaxed for the most part. The Spider Queen slowly opened her eyes, planning to continue discussing some issues with Tuchucha Engine: and at this moment, she saw the thoughts in Virgo's pupils. .

[What are you thinking, Anya? 】

"I'm thinking of a possibility, Mother."

Morgan raised a brow.

【Tell me. 】

Virgo pondered his thoughts for a while, and then pointed to the contents on his electronic board.

"I'm thinking, mother: If one day in the future, something happens to the galaxy, and you are eager to watch from the sidelines and reap the benefits, then can we use the black stone creation just mentioned?"

[… Let’s talk about it in detail. 】

"I don't think warp storms need to be used to restrict others: if we could actually summon a storm that could be roughly controlled, wouldn't that be an excellent cover?"

"Because of the existence of the storm, we can reasonably sit on the sidelines and not plunge into the chaos of the galaxy prematurely. Moreover, the storm can also protect our country and prevent the initial flames of war from catching on us: until you are ready to step into That moment on the galactic battlefield.”

【……】

Morgan blinked, she spent less than a second thinking about Virgo's words seriously, and then smiled.

[Take note of your words, my lovely Anya. 】

"Yes, mother."

[In addition, if you have any similar ideas in the future, you can still write them down, but you must mark them specifically so as not to confuse them with my ideas, which will cause trouble. 】

"Understood, mother!"

The voice seemed a little more excited.

Morgan patted her daughter on the head as a reward, and then her psychic touch sent back a message: Lana had assembled his team, and his report would arrive in three seconds. in front of her.

The Lord of the Second Legion rubbed her aching arms. She stood up and looked at the huge figure projected in the fortune teller in front of her: Even the expedition fleet led by the Primarch himself was in front of the Blackstone Fortress. , also seems so insignificant.

The chasm-like gap actually inspired the fire in Spider Queen's heart.

She wants to get this power, now!

[Before leaving, I think I should ask you again, Tuchucha Engine: Are you sure that as long as you are placed in the center of Blackstone Fortress, you can accurately transport these behemoths back to my Avalon? ? 】

"sure."

The floating subspace artifact slowly circled around Morgan, and his words were actually mixed with some dissatisfaction about his ability being questioned.

"Rather than this, I think you should be more worried about Blackstone Fortress's attitude towards you. Morgan, you should have seen that it is highly repellent to subspace energy. If a being like you boarded its cabin, it would be extremely dangerous. It is possible that its consciousness may have some obvious malevolence.”

【Will it kill me? 】

"No, but it will most likely repel you and squeeze you out of its cabin."

“In fact, in most creations born in that era, resistance to foreign existence is a common subjective emotion. For example, the Webway, which is as old as Blackstone Fortress, will repel certain opponents in its eyes. "

[But according to what you said, Tuchucha Engine: This black stone fortress located in the Cyclops star cluster is already the one most likely to be used by me among all the black stone fortresses. 】

"Indeed, after all, you control the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night: This means that if you want, you can actually ignore their attitudes, strengthen them and make them weapons to fight for you, and even take a long time to Contaminate their will and make them become puppets under your forced will, but such behavior has hidden dangers after all, so I think you'd better try to convince it first."

[Can it be persuaded? 】

"It's the youngest one: so the one with the highest success rate."

【……】

【All right. 】

Standing in front of the throne, the Spider Queen glanced at the huge projection of the Black Stone Fortress. After thinking for a moment, she nodded.

It wouldn’t take long anyway.

Then, she closed her eyes and entered the spiritual realm.

They felt that there were still about five minutes until all preparations for the first wave of boarding work were completed.

enough.

——————

Counting from the first time she opened her eyes and had a clear will, up to this moment, the Spider Queen has been walking in the galaxy for more than thirty years, and her power has been increasing day by day during these days. .

Now, for Morgan, it is an ordinary thing to summon a spiritual wave that can cover a world and spread to half a galaxy: when her invisible third eye opens, No matter what kind of chaos the sea of ​​souls in this galaxy had before, now, they must fall into silence, and they must all kneel down and surrender.

Because the Spider Queen doesn't like to be disobeyed.

Standing in the deepest part of the Glory Queen-class battleship, Morgan waved her hand casually. In the waves of subspace, an arm that could hold the asteroid appeared floatingly, becoming her pioneer and envoy, exploring The ancient alien creation that has remained silent.

The Spider Queen looked emphatically at the projection of the Blackstone Fortress in the subspace: What made her find it quite interesting was that, for some unknown reason, the shadow cast by the Blackstone Fortress in the subspace was actually the same as its shadow in reality. The outline is exactly the same, without any change.

Considering the twisting and transforming nature of the Sea of ​​Souls, this is a rare sight.

The Gene Queen smiled, and unknowingly, the status of the Blackstone Fortress in her heart rose to another level: Therefore, although the alien creature remained deathly silent in the face of Morgan's aura, the Spider Queen still Exuding as much kindness and gentleness as possible, she decorated her psychic hand as a symbol of goodwill, and slowly and politely stretched out towards the ancient fortress in front of her.

In the sea of ​​souls, her will spoke with the greatest kindness it could fake.

【Hello, I am……】

"boom!"

Before she finished speaking, the Spider Queen frowned fiercely, and her perfect face also had cracks at the moment the sound rang out, revealing the shock and anger under the mask: And all of this is Because of its reaction when Morgan's psychic hand reached out in front of the Blackstone Fortress.

The ancient alien creature did not respond to Morgan's words, nor did it make any more moves. Before the Spider Queen's question mark had even landed, its cloudy figure suddenly pounced, like a toothy puppy. It pounces on its imaginary prey.

Morgan watched her psychic hand being shrouded in the shadow of the Blackstone Fortress for a moment, and then a pain in her soul made her instinctively retract her hand and even prepare for a fight: on the other side, The Blackstone Fortress has huddled together again, like a beast huddled in a corner to fight against the enemy.

The Spider Queen ignored it immediately. She looked at her psychic hand and felt the pain on it: the pain was not severe and could not be considered an attack, but the slight soreness and numbness still confirmed its existence. This feels like...

She was bitten by Blackstone Fortress?

【……】

Morgan raised her eyebrows, and she looked towards the Blackstone Fortress: vaguely, she seemed to be able to hear some kind of ripples mixed with hostility and pride, as the voice of ancient creations in the sea of ​​souls, reaching her around.

…

very good.

The Spider Queen chuckled: Her last and only bit of kindness was carefully buried at this moment, because it seemed that there was no need to use it.

With her lips pursing, the two ancient alien creations that had never left Morgan's side since they were found: the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night, were captured by the Spider Queen's unshakable will and dragged to In front of her was being held tightly in her hands.

The two alien creations that originally existed for the subspace, after coming into contact with the Sea of ​​Souls for a long time, immediately emitted a steady stream of waves and energy, making the Blackstone Fortress aware of their existence.

The subspace waves of the two creations even attracted some terrifying eyes hidden in the depths of the sea of ​​souls. Some of them came from the changing maze and the royal court of pleasure, while others raised their heads on their own altars. , hungry for prey more precious than a civilized offering.

But just when these existences that could put countless galaxies into turmoil excitedly peeked here, they ran into the Spider Queen's cold pupils and terrifying smile.

Morgan noticed these uninvited guys. She did nothing but snorted casually: The next second, countless beings that could destroy the world and civilization quietly gathered their breath and left this place. The gradually dead corners fled into their respective shadows without looking back, like frightened birds flapping their wings, hastily avoiding the scene of predators.

The Spider Queen didn't even bother to pay attention to their existence: she had encountered too many guys like this who accidentally broke into her psychic vision in the past years, and most of them were so weak that they didn't even dare to look directly at her. The existence can only shrink into the humble dust.

Morgan cared more about the attitude of Blackstone Fortress than these people who were not surprised, and the reality did not disappoint her: when the two ancient alien artifacts began to exude their unique aura, Blackstone Fortress obviously fell into a state of stagnation. , it recalled these beings that could control it, and saw that Morgan's will had firmly grasped these things.

The corners of the Gene Queen's mouth curled up, and she stopped talking nonsense, and she stopped pretending to be friendly: based on the progress of her continuous learning and research, she had already mastered the maximum use of the Hand of Darkness and the Eye of Night.

In the ocean of souls, in the silence created by the Spider Queen's consciousness, she smiled and held up the two artifacts while operating certain programs on them, taking her time to appreciate the atmosphere around the Blackstone Fortress.

One step, two steps, three steps...

It was obviously something that could be done in a moment, but Morgan delayed it into a long torture drama. When her fingers stopped before the last step, she looked at the ancient fortress in front of her again. No words were spoken, but the meaning was very obvious.

As long as she goes one step further, as long as she presses the final program, the two ancient alien creations will issue an irreversible order: At that time, the Blackstone Fortress in front of Morgan will disintegrate itself because of this unbreakable order, and its existence and consciousness will be destroyed. They will all be annihilated in an instant and will never stay in the universe again.

Obviously, the ancient alien fortress knew this: therefore, it fell into a deep silence. The beast mentality that was originally eager to try was restrained, and the puppy that barked wantonly had to retreat into its corner, with eyes in its eyes. There was still unwillingness and resentment, but he didn't dare to show his claws anymore.

It all happened very quickly, and the transformation seemed to take place in an instant.

And Morgan saw it all.

She smiled.

The Spider Queen waved her arm again, calling for her huge psychic hand again, but this time, her palm was no longer pure gentleness and kindness, but a kind of silent majesty, wrapped in a smile. The hard iron palm in the warmth came to the Blackstone Fortress involuntarily, admiring its silence and mocking its helplessness.

All this didn't take long: when Morgan's iron palms soothed the projection of the alien fortress without any backlash, she held on to the destruction that was only one step away while sizing up the unwilling beast. She began to weigh its use in her mind and evaluate how much power it could bring to her.

As for its silence and hostility: Morgan doesn't care. Now that it has taken the first step of surrender, the Spider Queen is not worried about the subsequent steps.

The bottom line is that it is always a one-time thing and can never be regenerated.

Blackstone Fortress is hers now, then it will always be hers. The Spider Queen has plenty of time to slowly train it and let it know its position and limits.

But now, what she needs to do most is another thing.

【That’s it. 】

[Let’s board the ship. 】