Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"In fact, my two swords and I both feel that my shoulder is much better now, brother Fabius, and the previous rehabilitation training has been fine: so, when can I return to the legion?"

"Not yet, Akudona: at least not this month."

When Fabius heard the strongest sword champion in the legion asking him, he turned around quickly, and his originally flowing silver hair suddenly turned an unhealthy white under the cold light of the pharmacy.

Like a corpse next to the stove.

"Not this month?"

Akudona sat on the operating table, his long sword-like eyebrows tightly frowned, partly because of the bad news from Fabius' mouth, and partly because the smell of the chief pharmacist's studio was really not good: considering that the euthanasia room and crematorium are next door, it always gives people a chill in the spine.

Akudona moved his injured arm. The victory of the Battle of Gardenar seemed like yesterday. He should have died in that battle, and should have died in the reactor explosion that killed all the Gardenar people: if it weren't for his Primarch who descended from the sky at the last moment, fought alone into the enemy group, and would rather risk his own life to rescue his favorite court swordsman.

Akudona could not forget that moment.

He swore: never forget it.

——————

"You seem to have chosen an unkillable opponent for yourself, child?"

The Primarch's voice was perfect, so perfect that it sounded like the Imperial Sky Eagle on the breastplate. Akudona would never hear it wrong in his life, but it was this perfect voice that made the strongest champion swordsman of the entire Emperor's Children Legion fall into great sorrow: because his genetic father must not be here at this time.

"My lord!"

Akudona spoke, and then he found that his voice was hoarse.

"Why are you here!"

He asked desperately, but the sharp blade in his hand did not dare to stop for a moment, because the last elite guards of the Gardenar people were launching an endless charge against them with a crazy attitude, and even Akudona could only resist desperately to barely save his head.

And behind these last elite Gardenar people was an overload reactor that had entered the countdown: the huge overload energy was enough to destroy everything here, including Akudona who was dragged here.

Even: the Primarch.

"I just wanted to ask you this question, my Akudona."

Fulgrim chuckled, as if this was not a battlefield of life and death.

"Why are you here, trapped in the enemy's siege alone, instead of with your second company? Do you want to turn the tide and be a hero? You've gone too far this time."

Akudona saw what kind of hell was behind the Primarch. Hundreds of Gardinar's elite fell in the ruins where the Primarch passed, but there was no sign of any Phoenix Guard: Obviously, just like Akudona, Fulgrim also came here alone.

The Phoenix Lord joined the battle and turned the situation around in the blink of an eye: hundreds of Gardinar's elite fell in a sword dance that only Akudona could barely see, with only a shallow blood mark on their necks, and the originally scorched battle ended in an instant.

"But it seems that there is still not enough time."

"Your fault, Akudona."

Before the court swordsman could catch his breath, he heard the Primarch complaining to himself. The reactor hidden in the deepest part of the tower had entered the countdown of the last few seconds, and they were still a long way from the nearest escape exit: even the fastest Astartes could never escape before the explosion.

But the Primarch was different.

The Phoenix Lord did not give his most beloved heir time to react. After making sure that there would be no pursuers behind him, Fulgrim quickly grabbed Akudona's iron halo component and ran towards the broken window in two steps. The distance of several thousand meters passed in an instant. Akudona's iron boots were dragged in the air and sometimes rubbed against the ground, making a harsh sound.

When the father and son were still 40 or 50 meters away from the window, the reactor finally couldn't bear the pressure: first, a faint white light quickly lit up the concrete base, and the insignificant sparks triggered a violent shock wave that echoed between the energy piles, urging the invisible death god to chase and kill, and everything fell apart and annihilated wherever it went: a mushroom cloud that had not yet formed was about to swallow the two.

Until then, Fulgrim's face showed a trace of anxiety. He gritted his teeth and protected Akudona against his chest: when the rolling air waves and shock waves were about to swallow them both, the Primarch jumped, crossed the last 50 meters, and flew directly into the air outside the tower with his offspring.

Until then, Akudona's mind was still in the fight with the enemy. He didn't understand how he and the Primarch ran into the air in just a blink of an eye: the speed of the phoenix exceeded the reaction limit of the court swordsman.

The next scene was as blurry as a nightmare of a fever, alternating between constant rotation and impact: Akudona only remembered that they fell from a terrifying height, the glare of the explosion was as dazzling as an eclipse, and that his gene father adjusted his position in mid-air to protect him, and the moment when the ends of the Phoenix Lord's originally flawless silver hair were charred and curled by the high temperature.

It brushed Akudona's face: so clear, unforgettable.

Then, the father and son fell heavily on the ruins full of wreckage. Fulgrim adjusted himself to the bottom in advance and took most of the impact: but before Akudona could recover from the horror and sadness, the Primarch had already patted the dust as if nothing had happened, stood up again, and turned around to help his son up.

"You have caused me a big trouble this time, Akudona."

The Phoenix smiled.

"But thanks to you, the dilemma on Ferrus' side has finally been resolved."

"My Lord..."

The court warrior stood up shakily with the help of the Primarch. He murmured like a child who had made a mistake, but he couldn't speak: even if he was not as versatile as other children of the Emperor, Akudona could understand what was going on.

In order to save his life in his reckless action, his gene father risked his life to go deep into the heart of the enemy, and rescued Akudona in the fatal explosion: for a long time in the future, the charred ends of his hair will tell all this.

Let me ask: For any Astartes warrior, what does it mean for the Primarch to come to rescue regardless of his life?

Akudona choked up, he had never felt so difficult to speak.

"You don't have to do this, my Lord..."

"What's the need to do?"

The phoenix smiled, and the ashes and charcoal all over his body could not cover his beautiful face.

"I know what you are thinking, my proudest Akudona."

The Primarch squatted down and supported his bloody child. Although the roar of war still echoed around them, and bullets occasionally rubbed their hair, these sharp sounds were ignored: at this moment, Akudona could only hear Fulgrim's low words in his heart.

And love.

"Do you know, Akudona?"

The Phoenix's eyes became long.

"When I first saw my Third Legion, you only had 200 people left. The 200 warriors represented all the companies. Some of them were even the last person in their company. They stood in front of me with their flags in their hands. At that moment, I knew that you were the descendants for whom I would give my life and everything."

"At that moment, I had already made a vow in my heart: I will do my best to strengthen our Third Legion. I will protect the only 200 warriors in front of me, the 200 warriors led by you. I will swear with my life that they will never leave me again."

"But..."

"But I can't do that."

The Primarch patted the swordsman's breastplate, signaling him to continue listening to him.

"In fact, most of the 200 warriors have left now. I can't take care of all of you in the war, but when I can save you, I will come at all costs: you, and the others are the same."

At this moment, a trace of sadness flashed in the pupils of the Phoenix Lord.

"Perhaps, I cannot let each of you see the day when the Great Crusade succeeds: just like none of us can be as truly perfect as the Lord of Mankind."

"But at least: I can try."

"Isn't it?"

Phoenix tilted his head, and there was a hint of playfulness in his voice. When the Primarch asked his offspring with his eyes wide open, the only one who answered him was Akudona, whose face was distorted by his excitement.

"My Lord... I..."

The court swordsman stuttered, trying to form a sentence, but unfortunately, he was destined to have no chance: just as Akudona opened his lips, on the distant battlefield, the angry roar of Ferrus Manus, the Lord of the Iron Fist, shook the entire universe, followed by the charge horn of the Tenth Legion.

"Ah..."

Of course, Fulgrim also heard it: there was a hint of ambiguity in the Primarch's laughter.

"Ferus knows your actions: he also knows my whereabouts."

"Obviously, my [Fiery] brother has clearly misunderstood the situation here."

The Phoenix Lord licked his lips: Ferrus's anger obviously made him happy.

"Come on, Akudona."

The Primarch patted his offspring on the shoulder.

"Let's fight our way out together, join my brother, and give him a surprise."

"Yes, my lord."

Akudona was finally able to squeeze out a complete sentence from his mouth, and just as he tightened his saber with trembling hands, Fulgrim, who was walking in front, suddenly remembered something and turned around abruptly.

"Wait, my child!"

"What! My lord!"

Akudona looked up and found that Fulgrim's face was tense, and he was carefully wiping every bit of dust and blood on his armor. His expression was as if he was facing a great enemy, and his voice revealed real worry and panic.

"Can you help me pat my cloak? It seems to be covered with dust."

"...Understood, sir."

"Thank you, Akudona."

Fulgrim smiled again, brushing off the dust carefully, and not forgetting to direct his offspring to pay attention to those places that are easy to overlook: the flying shrapnel and the sound of the enemy's army mobilizing in the distance were deaf to him.

After all, Ferrus's eyes are much more important than these vulgar people.

——————

"Akudona?"

"Akudona!"

"Ah...ah? What's wrong?"

The court swordsman was stunned for a moment, and then he realized that he was distracted in the conversation with the chief pharmacist of the legion. He smiled apologetically, and Fabius just waved his hand and repeated the results of his previous examination of Akudona.

Akudona frowned again.

"But I think I have recovered my fighting power, Fabius: two days ago, I had a real sword duel with other brothers in the arena, you know, Eidolon, Vespasian and Julius-Kesalon, the three of them together, just like before."

(Eidolon, Vespasian, the Lord Commander of the Emperor's Children Legion, the status is equivalent to the Four Heroes of the Ultramarines, Julius Kesalon, the Captain of the First Company of the Emperor's Children Legion.)

"And you won: won again."

Before Akudona finished speaking, Fabius nodded indifferently.

"But this time is different, brother Akudona, don't forget that the Primarch was watching the whole process on the sidelines: in fact, the Primarch personally came to me afterwards and asked me to let you recuperate for at least another month."

"...Okay."

Hearing that it was the Phoenix's order, Akudona finally sighed helplessly.

"My victory this time was only a dozen seconds slower than the last time."

"Because Eidolon is improving."

"And in the eyes of the Primarch, you are still unable to exert [perfect] strength."

"Just a little bit."

"But you know, Fulgrim usually cares about this little bit the most."

Fabius smiled and continued to work on his hand, using a syringe gun, a scalpel and other medical instruments that Akudona couldn't name, gesturing on the body of a recently dead Emperor's child: Although he knew that this was an act that the warrior brother had agreed to before his death, the court swordsman still felt very uncomfortable after witnessing it with his own eyes.

He knew that this act was of course extremely sacred, because it would help prevent the return of the blight that once swept the legion and almost brought the entire Third Legion to its end: But Akudona always felt that Fabius was a little too...

fanatic about this work?

His enthusiasm for the work obviously surpassed his respect for the remains of his brothers.

But it seemed... not?

Akudona couldn't figure it out. He was never good at reading people's minds, but his deputy Solomon Demetrius was very good at this and commanding the army. Akudona thought that his command ability was only half of Demetrius's.

He could only understand that this was Fabius's persistent attitude towards preventing the blight: after all, this old comrade was also one of the two hundred emperor's swordsmen at the time, and he and Akudona had witnessed the power of the blight with their own eyes.

The court swordsman shook his head and sighed. He turned over and walked down the operating table. He stopped and watched beside Fabius's workbench for a while, but soon lost interest and turned his attention to those places with more life atmosphere: This corner only occupies the tip of the iceberg of the pharmacy, but it is the only place in this huge room where Akudona feels that he can breathe.

Only here did he feel that Fabius was still a living person, not a machine that was fanatically devoted to medicine: he could glimpse some of the interests of the legion's chief pharmacist in his personal hobbies, such as a very useful hair growth agent (Akudona secretly stuffed it under his cloak), and for example, the photos covering half of the wall.

"Hmm?"

Akudona frowned.

"Fabius?"

"What's wrong?"

Fabius didn't even raise his head,

"When did you become interested in mortal little girls?"

"...Ah! You mean that!"

The pharmacist raised his head, and his voice finally had a few ups and downs. He quickly walked to the side of Akudona, holding the photo in his hand with a new enthusiasm that was completely different from before: it was a little girl with pink hair and red eyes.

"Don't you know her?"

"...Who?"

"Her name is Virgo, Anya, a new type of artificial human next to Morgan, the Primarch of the Second Legion. This is what the think tank brothers in the Legion who went to Avalon to study told me: the moment I heard about this existence, I became very interested in her."

"Why?"

"Why!"

Fabius's tone rose.

"This Lord of the Dawn created a new life through technology unknown to us, although it is not certain whether it is real universe technology or subspace technology. It is not like those things under the Mechanicus who have no self-thinking and rationality, but an intelligent life that is no different from ordinary people at first glance: You actually still want to ask me why? Akudona?"

"If it weren't for the busy work and we have never cooperated with the Second Legion, I would even like to visit Her Excellency Morgan in person and ask her how she did it all: creating new life is the most sacred cause in the universe! It is also my lifelong dream!"

"...Maybe."

Looking at Fabius's burning pupils, Akudona opened his mouth and wisely stopped arguing. His eyes continued to wander among the remaining photos and soon locked onto the largest one: it was a full-length portrait similar to a propaganda poster, with the Queen of Avalon in military uniform surrounded by her offspring: it was such a person who guarded the Far East for the Empire.

Akudona raised the corners of his mouth. He saw many familiar figures among the Dawnbreakers surrounding the Spider Queen.

"Where did you get this propaganda poster, Fabius?"

"This is a waste of connections."

Fabius took it and stared at the poster with a strange look that Akudona couldn't explain, as if he was witnessing something new that had never appeared in the galaxy: The silence lasted for almost half a minute, and then the chief pharmacist suddenly pointed at the propaganda poster and asked Akudona a strange question.

"Do you see anything?"

"Here?"

"Yes: do you see anything?"

"Uh... Primarch, Astartes, and the huge star map and flag?"

"..."

"What's wrong, Fabius?"

"No... nothing..."

The pharmacist fell silent.

His silence lasted until Akudona said goodbye and left.

——————

"Ah..."

Until Akudona, who was muttering to himself, closed the door, Fabius finally collapsed and leaned back in his chair with a long sigh: but he soon returned to the side of the workbench.

The next moment, the chief pharmacist pulled out his syringe and quietly extracted the colorful substances from the body of the Emperor's son who had just died in front of him: he did all this like a thief.

While doing it, he sighed.

"Blight..."

Fabius clenched his teeth.

Yes: the blight, the disease that almost destroyed the Third Legion, the once mighty and proud Legion was reduced to only two hundred swordsmen led by Akudona and Fabius, until Fulgrim returned.

Then, the Primarch saved everything with his blood and seeds, and the story ushered in the most perfect happy ending: but under this bright and beautiful happy ending, some things will never be revealed again.

For example, in fact, Fulgrim never [cured] the blight, he just used his gene seed to make the Third Legion stronger again, and the blight disappeared bit by bit: by letting those children suffering from the blight die, the Phoenix Lord [eradicated] the root of this terrible disease, and completely kept it away from his beloved Third Legion.

So, in fact, more than two hundred swordsmen reunited with Fulgrim: but who would remember those who died silently?

Who would remember...

He Fabius, who was once a member of the blight?

But he survived.

The pharmacist's eyebrows were cold: this was a secret he had not told anyone, because he knew that once this secret was leaked, Fulgrim would definitely imprison him to death for the sake of the entire legion.

Fabius suffered from the blight, but he refused to die on the eve of the legion's rebirth. He came up with a new way to conceal his illness: that is, to extract certain substances from his recently deceased brother, and obtain a special potion after distillation to delay the blight.

In order to fight his aging.

Just like this: concealed for a full hundred years.

And will continue to conceal, and will conceal forever.

The pharmacist blinked, and the brief emotional fluctuations were quickly suppressed, and his mind drifted to another thing.

Fabius solemnly picked up the propaganda poster of the Far East Frontier and gently stroked the area where Morgan was: specifically, he stroked the shadow behind Morgan, the shadow that seemed to be empty.

In the coldness of the pharmacy, Fabius' voice was trembling.

Confused.

Desperate.

And... excited.

"Akudona..."

"You are my best brother."

"But... but why do you also..."

"You can't see: Where is [Him]?"

"[Him] is clearly there: behind Morgan."