Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Tell me the truth, Apocalypse."

"Did you hide it from me and use the [Minotaur Maze] in your brain again?"

+ Then you have wronged me, my dear friend Malcador, I have not actively opened my labyrinth for a hundred years: as for those few passive openings, you know that even I cannot fully control them. , and this is precisely the value of the maze. +

"A hundred years ago?"

+Have you forgotten? The last time I actively opened a maze was because of Morgan: I rarely open mazes multiple times for a certain thing, because even for me, controlling them is a delicate and tiring thing, but Morgan has this value, I have three times Change her position in my maze. +

"In other words, you left at least four completely different impressions on Morgan?"

+ It’s not that bad, after all, I realized her value very early: apart from the not-so-good initial impression, I have been working hard to maintain the father-daughter relationship with her, as evidenced by the heavy burdens on her shoulders. , few Primarchs have been given so many opportunities to change the fate of the Imperium and the Galaxy. +

+Since she is an ambitious person, she will be happy because her ambition is satisfied. +

"I hope you're right."

The noise around the ears is dissipating, and more and more swaying figures are returning to their respective positions at an alarming speed. At the core of the focus of thousands of eyes, the two tit-for-tat original bodies regard them as their support. The allies are gearing up and eager to try, counting down the last time while wiping their invisible swords in their hearts.

The short rest was about to end, and the card was held tightly in Malcador's hand until he threw it to the ground and smashed it to pieces.

But before that, the palmer decided to buy himself a minute to think.

So, Malcador raised his neck and hid most of his face in the shadow of the hood. When he felt the rough and uneven rubbing on his cheeks, the Palmist quickly cleared his thoughts. After a moment, he lowered his head again, closed his eyes and asked questions in the direction of the emperor.

"What about this...King of Darkness?"

"If you didn't lie to me: you knew about it over a hundred years ago?"

+Maybe longer. +

The Emperor's voice was hesitant.

+ It feels very old to me, as old as my memory. The only thing I can be sure of is that when I chose to forget the concept of the Lord of Darkness in the past, he forgot many things at the same time: countless people, There were countless wars and discoveries. +

+ You know, Malcador, because of the existence of the maze, there will always be a blank area in my memory for at least a hundred years. I have no memory of what happened during that period: but I can vaguely detect that. The vast majority of them are related to the Lord of Darkness. +

+ And... it's extremely early. +

"How early?"

+The last blank period is basically the time when you and I first met. +

"very good."

Makhado smiled.

"Some of the lost memories in my mind seem to have started from that time."

"Is this your work too, Apocalypse?"

+ It’s best to do this. +

The emperor's voice was serious: so serious that Malcador instinctively shrank his back.

He knew what the Emperor meant.

For the current Seal Holder, if it was the Emperor who caused him to lose his memory, that would be the best answer of all: ever since he chose to follow the Lord of Mankind, whether he lost his memory or had wrong perceptions, Ma Cardo is already used to it.

The Sigil Bearer knew how difficult and crazy his and the Emperor's common cause was, and that they were always faced with the most horrific things in the galaxy: so terrible that the Emperor had to completely erase the Sigil Bearer's memory of these events afterwards, lest he Malcador caused long-term psychological damage, and the palmer's many amnesia or cognitive confusion resulted from this.

So, for him, having his memories manipulated by the Emperor was routine: it was even a good thing.

But unfortunately: not all difficulties and challenges can have such a perfect ending.

Just like the Dark King at this moment put great pressure on the Emperor and the Palmist: in the days when they fought side by side, things like this were something that not only Malcador needed to forget, but even the Emperor himself needed to forget, It's not like the two of them have never encountered each other before.

And not just once.

In addition, there are some special situations that require equal attention: for example, with the changes in their actual needs and the development of their vision, the value of some things in their hearts has also increased or decreased, and for example, some people or things It occupied a certain position in the emperor's original plan, but after actual operation, it was found to be unsatisfactory.

Such special cases are not uncommon: there are several examples even in the original question.

For example, Morgan, Angron, or Luo Jia...

Another example is the guy who left a vague shadow in Malcador's heart. The Emperor did not even allow the imprinter to remember the name of the original body that was erased from existence: because his existence was so powerful and blasphemous that it could effectively The impact on Malcador itself.

Even Morgan had trouble doing that.

At this time, the only one who needs to bear the weight of these memories is the Emperor: the Lord of Mankind’s mind is full of the most dangerous knowledge treasure in the history of the galaxy. Many times, even the Lord of Mankind himself cannot fully bear all the contents in it. He must find a way to relieve the pressure.

Only Malcador knows this way: even Valdor knows nothing about it.

"Minotaur's Labyrinth."

The Sigillite stretched out his dry fingers, shook his head and sighed, pinching his equally dry nose: he felt the Emperor's long silence in the sea of ​​souls, and he was searching for any valuable information in the huge golden sun.

It's useless, Apocalypse.

Malcador wanted to say this.

If the Emperor really chose to block the news of the Dark Lord in the Minotaur Labyrinth in his mind, then even the current Lord of Mankind would not be able to obtain it: because the person who created this labyrinth and put such terrible information into it was precisely the Lord of Mankind himself in the past.

How could the Emperor defeat the Emperor?

And this is exactly what the Minotaur Labyrinth was designed for: an information barrier that even the Emperor could not break.

A component of a powerful structure that could fundamentally control the Emperor himself.

He had seen it before.

"I don't want to recall: it was madness..."

The Sigillite slowly turned around, his back to his master, his soul respectfully leaving the Emperor's ear, allowing the Lord of Mankind to continue to indulge in his thoughts and boredom: in the last minute waiting for the two Primarchs to get ready and come to the stage, Malcador's thoughts could not help but diverge.

The first thing he thought of was the concept of the Minotaur Labyrinth.

To be honest, he felt that this was almost the most amazing and powerful ability of the Emperor.

It was also the best embodiment of the ruthless sun in the warp.

Malcador clearly remembered that when the Emperor admitted and told him the truth about the Minotaur Labyrinth for the first time because of something: damn, it was something he had forgotten. Although Malcador no longer remembered the details, he deeply remembered his shock at that time.

This feeling was like the first time a human saw a non-human civilization: at least at that moment, the Sigillite did not believe that the Emperor was actually a human, and until now, every time he recalled the details of the Minotaur Labyrinth, he would doubt what the Lord of Mankind was.

Anyway, it was not very human...

After all, the essence of the Minotaur Labyrinth was contrary to the nature of humans: it required the ruthlessness and logical thinking of a monster, the stable operation like a mechanical program that was enough to annihilate all emotions, and the cold heart that was willing to make oneself into such a monster.

In other words, when he thought of and created the Minotaur Labyrinth, the Emperor probably did not regard himself as a person, or even as a living creature: in the eyes of the past Emperor, his body and soul might just be a useful tool.

The so-called Minotaur Labyrinth is not a complicated concept in the final analysis. To put it simply, in the Emperor's mind, there is an absolutely neutral, absolutely hidden and absolutely safe room, and inside it are countless safes, each of which can only be opened by a string of passwords, and there is no other way to open it.

Whenever the Lord of Mankind encounters something that he must be prepared for, he will reserve a place in this room in case of emergency.

Then, according to the value of the thing and his next plan, he will plan how and what attitude he should take to face this new thing: but the answer is often not fixed. Many times, the Emperor's attitude towards an important thing will undergo two or even more changes, and he will infer these changes at the beginning.

So the problem arises: the Emperor may love someone in the early stage, and then hate the same person in the later stage, but even the Lord of Mankind cannot hold both love and hate in his heart at the same time. Although this will not make him schizophrenic, this diametrically opposed complex emotion will also affect the Emperor's appearance, making his attitude less convincing.

In other words, if even the Emperor himself does not believe that he is loving someone with a 100% attitude, how can he make the target person believe it himself: Therefore, when the Emperor needs to love someone, he must deceive himself to the point that even he himself sincerely believes that he is loving this person.

Therefore, hatred seems redundant, but it cannot be abandoned, because it will still be needed at some stage in the future.

At this time, the role of the Minotaur Labyrinth is clearly revealed.

In order to ensure that everything is foolproof, the Lord of Mankind's ruthless rational thinking will not hesitate to cover up his already fragile emotional thinking, and then clearly reason out at what stage or under what conditions he needs to change his attitude towards the thing, and then turn these prerequisites into codes, and lock those attitudes and emotions that are not needed now but may be used in the future tightly in the safe of the Minotaur's labyrinth.

In this way, only the right attitude remained in his heart: no matter what the Emperor's true views on this matter, his subsequent actions and principles will be influenced by the only attitude left in his heart. Influence, showing 100% sincerity, until all the prerequisites he set were met, allowing new attitudes and emotions to emerge in the maze, replacing the existing emotions in the Emperor's heart.

And all of this was within his initial plan.

When to love, when to hate, when to be the best father in the universe, and in front of whom to be a bastard tyrant: the Emperor has set all this early, and in the future he will only You need to dance to these arranged songs.

Take a simple example: Angron.

The moment the Emperor met Angron, he was already comprehensively considering his attitude toward the Lord of the Red Sand based on Angron's value and his original purpose for Angron.

In the Emperor's original plan, he had planned to care for Angron like a father, or to value him like a king. However, after witnessing Angron's condition with his own eyes, the Lord of Mankind did not hesitate. transformed into the ruthless tyrant over Nuceria.

There is no other reason. Based on absolutely rational calculations and benefit assessments, this is the emperor's most appropriate attitude towards Angron: Since the Lord of the Red Sands cannot bring him more benefits, then whether it is his father's love or the king's His majesty is irrelevant.

On the contrary, throwing Angron ruthlessly to Morgan's side allowed him to accumulate hatred for the Emperor in his heart, which prevented him from completely walking into nothingness so quickly and embracing the broken nature of the subspace. On the contrary, A plan with a relatively high profit orientation.

As long as the fire of hatred is still burning in Angron's heart, allowing him to maintain a relatively normal thinking and sensibility, then one day in the future, Angron may still have some value that can be squeezed out of him.

And when that day comes, perhaps the development of Angron's own abilities and the changes in the Emperor's overall strategy will gradually meet the many prerequisites that were designed in advance for the safe named Angron in the Minotaur Labyrinth. First, by then, the corresponding emotions will be released from the maze, replacing the emperor's current indifference to Angron, and perhaps making him suddenly become a truly good father, one who will do his best to compensate Angron. Long's Confessor.

It's not impossible.

And it definitely worked: even the most hated Emperor in the galaxy could not help but soften his cold heart when faced with the sincerity of the Lord of Mankind.

The premise is that the master of mankind needs to show all his sincerity: enough to deceive the sincerity in his own heart.

Yes, the indifference is real, and the possible repentance in the future is also real. They will all be sincere gestures from the emperor's heart. This is what scares Malcador the most in the Minotaur Labyrinth: in the face of absolute profit orientation. , the Lord of Humanity is willing to let his thoughts and souls become the banner of the countless grand plans he has already designed, and numbly rushes for them.

Therefore, Malcador has always felt that the Emperor's projection in the subspace is so accurate: he is a ruthless sun, and all his sincere emotions are false. No matter how sincere he is now, as long as there is a slight need , he can show completely different attitudes towards the same thing.

For example, Horus: Even Malcador himself had to admit that the Wolf God was definitely the emperor's favorite son, and his love for Horus definitely came from the heart. But one day, if Horus If Horus really violated the red line set by the Emperor, the Lord of Mankind would chop off the head of the Wolf God without any emotion. At that time, his hatred and disappointment for Horus would definitely come from the bottom of his heart.

These feelings are true, but these feelings are false: may Horus never know the secret.

The same victim was Morgan. The Spider Queen had complained to him privately about the huge change in the Emperor's attitude towards her, but Malcador did not dare to tell Morgan that this was the result of the Minotaur Labyrinth being opened many times. : As the Spider Queen gradually reveals her value, countless new attitudes rush out of the maze because their prerequisites are met, swallowing up the predecessors who originally occupied the emperor's chest, and becoming the new master of mankind. [Sincerity].

It's so fake that even the Spider Queen can't see through its truth.

How could she see through it: the Emperor who called her a tool meant it, the Emperor who told her to "overcome this or face the armies of the Dark Angels and Space Wolves" also meant it, and that proud title She calls her her daughter, calls her her most capable assistant, and calls her her proud emperor all sincerely.

He is ever-changing, but He remains the same.

The Emperor does have emotions, and he even has emotions that are too strong and too fragile for mortals.

But it doesn't matter.

In the face of the emperor's dreams and great achievements: no matter how many emotions he possesses, whether he is a sentimental person or a ruthless person, it doesn't matter. The absolute rational order will crush any irrelevant emotions, no matter what the current situation is. Friendships are so touching, but once the necessary moment comes, they will disappear like ice and snow under the scorching sun.

They are not important at all.

They all have to give way to the Emperor's goals: including the Emperor himself.

Who can see through this? At least Lorgar absolutely cannot. He will never know that one of the reasons why the Emperor suddenly decided to kill the Perfect City is that what Lorgar did inadvertently broke all the prerequisites set for him in the maze. , causing the silent Emperor to disappear, and a fanatical religious city-burner to step out.

And neither could Perturabo. He didn't know that it was the oaths he made when father and son met and his reckless and anxious actions when he just returned to the Empire that made the Emperor permanently change his plan for the Lord of Steel: Of course the loving father who had been dear to Pertura's heart when he first arrived in Olympia existed, but he soon gave way to the king in front of him who was indifferent to everything about the Fourth Legion.

In fact, this is indeed a very profitable change: who can guarantee that if the Emperor continues to maintain his fatherly care on Olympia, he will be able to please the eccentric Iron Lord? And the current indifference and disregard have not hindered the Fourth Legion from contributing to the Great Expedition.

Yes, this is the awe-inspiring nature of the Lord of Mankind in the eyes of Malcador: the Emperor certainly has great emotions, but these emotions cannot control his layout. From beginning to end, in the mind called the Emperor , the only person who truly occupies the absolute leadership is the profit-seeking, cold and ruthless rational thinking.

It feeds on the Emperor's countless grandiose projects and insane beliefs, and never-endingly fulfills its responsibility: to carefully measure the value of everyone and everything in front of the Lord of Mankind, and to squeeze out as much value as possible from them. , and based on this, never tire of adjusting the posture of the Lord of Humanity in front of everyone.

Beloved, ruthless, gentle, weak, crazy, harsh.

They are all Emperors: true Emperors.

Some of them may be locked in the Minotaur Labyrinth forever, while the other part will slowly but firmly change their positions with the changes in the outside world, allowing the Lord of Mankind to leave different impressions in front of the same people. image.

Of course, in the eyes of mortals, this was just another piece of ironclad evidence that the Emperor was schizophrenic.

But... who cares about these things.

Like...who cares what happened to Magnus after Nicaea?

At least these four people who came next: they probably don’t care anymore.

The imprinter shook his head, his thoughts interrupted by the sound of silent footsteps.

The old voice echoed.

——————

"very good."

"Mortarion, Leman Russ."

"Guilliman...and Ahriman."