Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

Sixteen hours after the farce under Phoenix Cliff ended, Ahriman officially stepped into the secret room of his gene father in the deepest part of the [Almighty Light]: the last time he came here was more than sixty years ago.

Waiting for the rows of glass pyramids to push open the doors decorated with spiral patterns one by one was a long thing, so long that Ahriman could squint his eyes and think carefully about this unusual day under the full monitoring of the Scarab Guard.

The first thing he remembered was the departure of the Wolf King and his hunting group, which happened only a few hours ago: ten hours after the fall of Phoenix Cliff announced the complete victory of the entire Shrike Star Wars, the [Herak Fenir] took the entire Sixth Legion and plunged into the nearest Mandeville Point. Ahriman, as Magnus's envoy, watched them all leave from afar.

Thinking of this, Ahriman couldn't help but feel fortunate. He was glad that the two Primarchs didn't lose their minds until the end, whether it was Magnus or Leman Russ: in the confrontation after Morgan and others arrived, they spent a full forty minutes accusing, slandering, insulting and even threatening each other, but the atmosphere of civil war floating in the Shrike Nebula was completely dissipated and never gathered again.

The Wolf King put away the Spear of Dionysus and did not let the confrontation turn into a mutual destruction, which made Ahriman relieved, but the Fenris people's subsequent accusations made the Thousand Sons' heart, which had just been put down, rise to their throats again: in front of the four Primarchs and thousands of Astartes warriors, Leman Russ clenched his fists and issued a final solemn warning to his brother.

He warned Magnus, and also warned every Thousand Son present: the Wolf King claimed that his patience with these Prosperos had completely run out. His stopping at this time did not mean that he forgave the Thousand Sons, but he had not yet received the official order to kill from the All-Father, and what he was going to do next was this.

His last rebuke, or roar: he told Magnus and the entire Thousand Sons Legion that if they still persisted before the meeting that would determine the fate of all psychics, then what awaited them would be the ruthless judgment from Fenris and even the entire human empire.

The Wolf King used his honor to guarantee that Magnus's folly would be ended, not by the unclear armed conflict between the two legions on Shrike, but at the Psychic Congress, where accusations and judgments would come like a tide from every corner of the empire: the official order from the All-Father would eventually bring the entire Fifteenth Legion to an irreparable end.

At that time, the Spear of Dionysus will be pulled out again, and the wolves on Fenris will start to run again: but this time they will be supported by the most powerful, firm and irresistible majesty in the galaxy, not the foolish act of Leman Russ in anger before.

Standing beside Magnus, Ahriman listened to all this. He did not pay attention to the reactions of other Thousand Sons, but focused on the expression on Magnus's face: because only the Scarlet King was the arbiter of everything.

In Magnus's face, Ahriman saw the hidden complexity: Magnus did not start to comfort his subordinates loudly until the Wolf King walked away and the other two brothers said goodbye. He treated the Wolf King's warning with a calm attitude, which stabilized the morale of the Thousand Sons again.

But Ahriman saw clearly: fear took root in Magnus' heart.

The Wolf King's words worked.

I just don't know how much.

This phenomenon made Ahriman deeply worried. He was eager to find a wiser person to give him an answer. The first person he thought of was the Spider Queen who had left earlier. But when the Thousand Sons arrived at the Dawnbreaker's position, they found that they had much more to do.

With Shrike as the core, the marginal Ark Cluster that surrendered to the Empire was completely incorporated into the rule of the Dawnbreaker. Although it was still a distance away from the Far Eastern Frontier, it was within the radiation range of the Forge World Riza and had its own value.

The mechanical priests were estimating how much new value this world could generate for them. They were told by Morgan that they needed to adopt a more gentle way of ruling because the Spider Queen also wanted to make profits from it: a typical example was the ferocious Shrike.

The mortal officers of Great Avalon were very interested in these domesticated creatures that could even threaten the Astartes warriors. They believed that these creatures could fill the gaps left by Avalon's air force in some complex terrains: this outstanding military value allowed Shrike to quickly gain a higher position in the Far Eastern Frontier, but its previous brother worlds were not so lucky.

Classes were created. The mainstay of the most resolute resistance to the Empire suddenly became the nails planted by the Lord of Humanity in the marginal Ark Cluster. With the Empire's high-flying double-headed eagle flag, Shrike could naturally exercise authoritarian rule over those brother worlds that were once on equal footing with it.

Ahriman was not surprised by this. He just patiently observed the figure of the Spider Queen handling official documents for a while, and found that Morgan really couldn't spare the time, so he turned to seek the next level option: this eventually led the Thousand Sons to come to the [Ten Thousand Lights].

——————

In general, Ahriman's first impression of this long-awaited mothership was extremely complicated: he missed the sights here, but he was not used to the smells here either.

As a veteran who had served as early as during the Terran Unification War and had served for decades at the beginning of the Great Crusade, Ahriman had spent almost as much time on the Ray of Light as he had on the Dawn Goddess. He felt that both ships were perfect and represented vastly different philosophies in the galaxy.

There may not be only one truth.

If the Dawn Goddess symbolizes the "material daily life" that human beings are born with and strive to continuously maintain, then the Wanzhang Ray of Light is undoubtedly mankind's pursuit of the ultimate in the spiritual realm. They are on two different tracks. their respective peaks.

Only here can you see the glass pyramid shrouded in stars, and every brick carved with black and white spiral crystal: these bricks are all made by Prospero's great wizard himself, naturally It was spiritual. Ahriman fell in love with it after just one glance.

What a familiar feeling.

The scarabs opened the door and allowed Ahriman to enter the hall. The Thousand Sons looked up at the vast stars picked from thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago and climbed up the stairs along the alternating black and white spiral. The father of his genes was waiting for him at the top.

Magnus seemed to have foreseen Ahriman's arrival. He left the best position for his proudest child, so that Ahriman could look up at the stars with him. The long-lost communication between father and son slowly unfolded in silence. open.

"You're a little later than I expected, Ahriman: is there something wrong?"

"At the Dawnbreaker..."

Ahriman didn't make it clear, but Magnus didn't care much.

"Ah, I understand that my blood relative should be working hard to convert this world into her new possessions: Morgan loves to deal with thousands of numbers and mortals, and only Guilliman can surpass her in this. "

"actually……"

Ahriman opened his mouth, wanting to defend Morgan, but Magnus smiled and shook his head, telling him not to be nervous.

"Don't worry, Ahriman, I'm not saying that Morgan didn't do well."

The primarch's words were sincere.

"There is more than one way to explore wisdom in this world. Morgan just chose a path that she is more comfortable with, going deep into the world to pick the fruits of experience, just like I chose to stay away from the eyes of everyone and live in a place that is not understood. The atmosphere is the same as savoring loneliness: there is no distinction between high and low methods of learning, because learning itself is an act worthy of respect.”

"No matter what, the same crown will be waiting for us at the end."

When the great wizard Prospero mentioned his silver-haired blood relatives, his face was clear with kindness and affection, which made Ahriman especially pleased: No one wanted to see the Dawnbreaker and the Thousand Sons more than Ahriman. Harmony existed between the legions, for they each formed part of the body and soul of Ahriman.

"Maybe if you say these words in front of Morgan, the effect will be better. Sir."

Hearing Ahriman's suggestion, Magnus just winked slightly playfully.

"When I talk to Morgan, we won't mention these big principles. We will only discuss the higher and more interesting knowledge. What's more, I won't interrupt Morgan with other things when he is busy working. She, that’s very rude behavior.”

"..."

Ahriman lowered his head in shame.

"However, there is one thing you are right about, Ahriman."

Magnus looked away, the stars no longer holding his interest.

"After I finish resting and deal with the legion's affairs, I will indeed find time to chat with Morgan, and maybe call my brother Angron: there will be some very important topics among us. It has been decided that my two blood relatives are now asking for help from me."

After saying that, the original body turned around and led Ahriman forward on the smooth spiral tiles. Through the crystal plate beside him, the Thousand Sons could see the muscular arms of the original body and the book locked at his waist. [The Canon of Magnus].

Morgan actually has a book like this: Magnus gave it to Prospero when the latter visited Prospero. It can be linked to the book on the waist of the original body, and it can be updated in real time by Magnus. new content, but Ahriman never saw Morgan take out the book.

But when the original body asked, the Thousand Sons cleverly changed the answer to [Morgan locked it in her most precious treasure house, and few people could see her take out this book].

This answer satisfied the primarch. But he still shook his head quite proudly.

"My sister, she is always so cautious, which is destined to have a solid career, but it will not be too high: she will never be able to lead a new era, but when I opened this new era for the empire In the end, she will become the best consolidater of this era, just like the pedestal that Dorn built."

Ahriman wisely remained silent about this statement.

After another two minutes, Magnus took him to a room deep in the hall. This was the real secret room: the walls made of emerald and marble were covered with talismans, each talisman symbolizing the horse. A new achievement for Gnuth in the Warp, and given the Prospero's rigorous attitude towards knowledge, every achievement here stands up to scrutiny.

In the more than 20 years that Ahriman was able to accompany the Primarch, he remembered that Magnus had obtained a total of 42 achievements, but when he came here again, he found that the number of symbols had exceeded 500: at least 99 of them were obtained in recent years.

"Surprised, right?"

The Primarch smiled at his surprised son, and his self-esteem as a father was greatly satisfied. In the next ten minutes, Magnus selected the part of the achievement that made him most proud and briefly explained it to Ahriman: this was enough to completely shock Ahriman's outlook on life.

As a master of the Warp who had been carefully educated by two psychic masters, Magnus and Morgan, and was himself a top psychic in the Empire, Ahriman could naturally distinguish the value of Magnus' words: at least one-third of the discoveries and conclusions could subvert the Empire's research on the Warp, and at most, even the Emperor himself might learn something new here.

This is a compliment.

A sincere compliment without any father-son affection filter.

If we only consider thickness, Magnus's knowledge of the Warp at this time can completely crush Morgan: Ahriman is sure that some of the theories proposed by the Scarlet King are something that the Spider Queen would never think of, and would never try, even in her lifetime. He is even a little curious about how Magnus came up with these questions.

"A pile of sand makes a tower."

The Primarch answered very simply.

"I have been studying every field in the warp for nearly a hundred years, and this effort has only paid off now. Now I am stronger and wiser every day than the day before. That is a qualitative leap: this is also the reason why I can remain calm in front of Leman Russ, Ahriman."

"If he really gets crazy and wants to provoke a war on the spot, I can suppress his legion here with just one hand. This is why he dare not act rashly, because he knows this in his heart."

"He is not stupid, he is just barbaric."

"He knows that genetic disease is not enough to provoke a legion fight, and if there is no direct order from the Emperor, what qualifications does he have to attack another legion: if Leman Russ really does this, then he is the legal traitor to the Empire."

"Purge dissidents? He is also qualified? Jonson is the guy who kills first and then reports."

Magnus showed sarcasm.

"He obviously forgot this."

Ahriman nodded in agreement.

Even he felt that Leman Russ's action of pulling out the Spear of Dionysus was too reckless: as creatures at the top of the galactic pyramid, each Primarch had a terrifying invisible power in the human empire, and the fall of any Primarch was a scene that others could not imagine.

Generally speaking: unless a Primarch made a genuine act of betrayal of the Empire and the Emperor, or the Lord of Mankind gave a clear and unambiguous order, any attack on the Primarch by any Imperial military force, even another Primarch, could be regarded as a rebellious act of treason.

In other words, unless the rebellion was really raised, all major problems were just three glasses of wine for the Primarch: just returning to his hometown and being confined was already a great punishment, and breaking his bones was simply the content of a dream.

"Besides, Leman Russ knows that he can't beat me: no matter how arrogant he is in front of Morgan, my blood relative only needs two or three words, and he will become trembling, nervous, and then start to flatter with a smile on his face, right?"

Magnus chuckled.

"This is also due to my deterrence."

No, he thinks it is more likely that Morgan's words themselves have this power.

Ahriman blinked, and at this moment he thought of many names.

Jonson, Conrad, Guilliman, and the damn Leman Russ...

"But the Spear of Dionysus..."

"Oh! Please!"

The Primarch interrupted his offspring.

"I am a psychic: have you ever seen a psychic being attacked by a barbarian in a one-on-one situation? Even if it is thrown from a distance, it can't even scrape my cloak behind me."

"Melee psychics are all fools."

"Otherwise, why do you think my brothers never mention my name when discussing their mutual strength? They just know not to humiliate themselves: the only one among the primarchs who can threaten me is Morgan, but our friendship means that we will never be enemies."

"Compared to this, it is better to worry about the old bones of the Sigillite."

After saying this, seeing that Ahriman still did not believe it, the Scarlet King simply called out a new psychic fire on the spot. It was a mixture of black and gold. The moment it appeared, Ahriman's hair stood on end: not only his body, but also his soul felt a great threat.

"Tell me, Ahriman."

Magnus smiled.

"Do you think Morgan can defeat me who is standing in such a flame?"

"..."

Ahriman was silent for a long time, and finally spoke his true feelings.

"I'm not sure, father: but your duel will be a disaster for a world, or even a galaxy, and I may never be qualified to witness your possible confrontation."

"Don't be so self-deprecating."

Magnus smiled and touched Ahriman's head to comfort him.

"You are my best son: I believe Amon has already told you that I have always kept the position of the chief of the Black Crow School and the captain of the first company for you. No matter how jealous others are, it is useless. I know who is the best in my legion."

The father's appreciation was like a warm flame burning in Ahriman's heart.

"Thank you, father, but even so I still..."

"You still have some very sharp questions to ask me here, right?"

Magnus said it directly.

Then, he pointed to the special symbol next to Ahriman, and then pointed to the scarabs on guard in the hall, showing Ahriman a cunning expression, sharing a little secret between father and son.

"Don't worry, this is called the Sosmes Symbol beside you, it protects you, and no one except me will hear what you are going to say next, so don't feel any psychological pressure: just ask whatever you want, Ahriman, doubt is the fertile soil for new knowledge..."

"Okay, my lord."

Ahriman took a deep breath and glanced out.

"I want to know about Hastur..."

"Ah, I guess that's it."

The Primarch shook his head helplessly, he didn't finish listening to Ahriman's words.

"Let me tell you directly, we can't avoid independent mutations at any time, even a one in a billion probability may come to the world: Hastur is the lucky and unlucky one who encountered this probability, but his death should not make us afraid."

"But you said that you had found a way to solve the flesh and blood mutation back then?"

"I did find it."

Magnus stretched out his hand and placed it on Ahriman's shoulder. His words were more like an exhortation or even a warning than an explanation.

"I know the position of the Flesh Mutation in your heart, Ahriman. Your true brother died of this disease. It's a pity that I didn't have time to save him, but please don't underestimate my next efforts: this misfortune has completely left our legion."

"As for Hastur, that is a tragedy in probability: just like even though humans have announced that we have completely wiped out the smallpox virus dozens of centuries ago, the smallpox virus still stubbornly exists in some dark corners of the galaxy until today, and the Flesh Mutation is just the same."

"I will further strengthen the measures through my new power."

Magnus fiddled with the flames.

"Look, Ahriman, this flame is enough to purify all the misfortunes of the Thousand Sons Legion."

Ahriman looked at the flames and saw the power in them.

"You are right, my Lord."

"That's right, my child: this will never happen again."

The Primarch looked at his offspring, the flames in their pupils changed their mentality, making everything look so bright, but from time to time they were dragged into the darkness: it was because of the contrast of the light source that Ahriman always felt that Magnus's face was much darker than before.

But he still nodded.

"I believe you, my Lord."

"That's great."

The Primarch was very happy, and his joy came from the heart.

"Thank you, Ahriman, nothing can make a father feel more comforted than the trust of a child."

The joy on the face of the great wizard was so simple that Ahriman felt a sense of guilt in his heart: he thought of the words he was about to say to Magnus, and his heart was a little heavy.

"But this is not a reason for you to block your words in your chest, my child."

Magnus had seen through everything.

"Say it: A man's growth is to face his father head-on."

The Primarch's encouragement made Ahriman look at his Primarch with a little apology.

"...I'm sorry, my Lord."

"But...I..."

"What's wrong with you?"

Magnus coaxed.

"I just..."

Ahriman took a deep breath.

"I just feel that maybe I am more adapted to the life of the Dawnbreakers now."

The air froze for a moment.

Ahriman hurriedly tried to make excuses for himself.

"No! I'm not saying that life here in the Thousand Sons is not good. I just feel that I am a little bit uncomfortable with the environment here...or the state here, and I still have unfinished business in the Dawnbreakers..."

"Business?"

"Yes, I still have a lot of textbooks and a college to take care of, and I can't find anyone who can replace me...I..."

"I just...uh..."

The eloquent mouth could no longer say anything at this moment.

Ahriman lowered his head.

"I'm just... sorry... Father..."

"But it is..."

"What is it?"

Magnus's face maintained an unreadable expression, his voice neither sad nor happy, waiting for the next sentence.

"Let me be clear, Ahriman: I never told you to be vague."

"I'm sorry, father."

Ahriman bowed his head again.

"But..."

"I have a more important goal: a cause worth my life, and therefore, I will have to leave the Thousand Sons."

"I cherish the time with you and my brothers, but I can't bear to see all my efforts so far in vain: I believe in my colleagues, but they are indeed inseparable from my guidance and wisdom. None of the students can carry on the burden that I carry on my shoulders, despite my best efforts to train them.”

"Really?"

"That's what they said."

"..."

The air was quiet.

It was quiet for a long time.

It wasn't until Ahriman even felt a little desperate in his heart that he suddenly heard his genetic father laughing loudly.

"Hahahahaha..."

Magnus smiled and shook his head with emotion.

"That's all you want to say?"

"...your will is..."

"My will?"

The primarch's voice rose in pitch, and he waved his hand towards his heir, showing his pride.

"My will is..."

…

"go a head!"

“Go chase your career!”

“Go and conquer your dreams!”

"Put every ounce of your talents into the fertile soil of the Milky Way, and one day they will grow into stamens that benefit all mankind: you will no longer be regarded as my son, but as the founder of a great cause. It would be my greatest pride to mention it, Ahriman.”

The Primarch patted the Scion on the shoulder and looked at Ahriman encouragingly.

"Don't be sad, kid."

"Let go of your family and bravely run towards the unknown stars. This is a stage that every man must go through in his life: If fate is destined to separate us, then I will accept this pain. What you just said is exactly right. That’s why you make me proud.”

"Go and fulfill your promise."

"I will pay attention to your news, and the position of chief of the Black Crow School and captain of the first company will always be reserved for you: I am waiting for the moment when you set foot on Prospero's land again, waiting for you to bring victory. The joy of the news."

"..."

Ahriman was in a daze, and this great feeling of happiness made him stutter.

"You...you're not angry?"

"angry?"

Instead, Magnus asked with a smile.

"Why should I be angry?"

"Am I going to be angry that you finally have a great career of your own, or am I going to be angry that one of my children can leave the Legion, carve out his own future in the galaxy, and use the knowledge I taught him to benefit the entire human race?"

"Honor? Power? Or praise? Is there anything worth being angry about?"

"You have worked hard with your own hands to achieve all this. Even the emperor has no right to be jealous of you."

"..."

"Rather, Ahriman."

Magnus raised his head, his face bathed in the stars.

Pure and radiant.

"What father wouldn't want to see his son become famous?"