The Lord of Death stood quietly on the wasteland. Behind his pale and tired figure stood his taciturn descendants.
The wind blew, and the tattered gray cloak rolled up.
[This is intentional.]
Mortarion's hoarse voice was broken by the wind, but Garro and Vorx behind him heard it clearly.
The voice stopped in the throat.
[The liar is leaving.]
Under the shadow of the hood, in those deep eye sockets, Mortarion looked at the distance in a vague way. The Pale King could already imagine the ridiculous and funny scene.
That was... the epicenter of the war, the place where the Lord of Mankind and his most "favored" son were performing a boring drama there, even though neither of them noticed anything unusual.
Other brothers, other brothers who were jealous or defeated, would be like the Lord of Death? They stood on the edge of the battlefield, the green skin fragments under their feet gave off an unpleasant smell, but their hearts were tightly focused on the position that was destined to be out of their reach.
A sneer came from under the gas mask. Mortarion never believed in his biological father's tricks. A man who could descend on the highest peak of Barbarus without any burden - he would not be defeated by the greenskins, at least... not so embarrassed.
When the Emperor looked expectantly at Horus many times during the joint meetings, Mortarion already knew where the outcome would lead.
The only thing that puzzled him was that Mortarion knew Horus was not such a shallow person, but when it came to matters concerning the Emperor... the Wolf-God was terribly stupid.
He was too eager to gain the Emperor's approval, even though they all knew that the liar's words were just a joke.
But that was Horus' business, and Mortarion cared nothing for it.
The Emperor himself had staged a grand drama to elevate his first found son to the Imperial throne - Mortarion could only interpret this as a sign that the Emperor's symbol was about to dissolve.
After all, no country can have two kings, and the heir's accession to the throne is bound to mean the disappearance of the old emperor.
Mortarion gripped the scythe, he didn't care about the Warmaster, he didn't care about the Emperor at all, but the question was... where was Hades
Mortarion had gone to Malcador in anger to ask where he had sent his commander, but Mortarion received nothing but nonsense.
So Mortarion chose a good day and broke into the Emperor's Vision when several legions were preparing for war. On that day, the golden guards were lying all over the corridor, and Mortarion also successfully got a reply from the Emperor himself - see you again.
The implication is that Hades is at least intact enough for Mortarion to identify him.
The Lord of Death took a few deep breaths... Okay, he accepted this response.
It was definitely not because the psychic brilliance emitted by the Emperor himself at that time was too oppressive. The date Mortarion chose was the date when the Emperor slowly comforted Horus, and Mortarion was obviously intentional.
War, that's what war is. Mortarion doesn't accept a stupid death, but he accepts death in battle. This will be the final destination of every life.
Although he was trying to stay alive, crawling out of the rubble, barely breathing, surviving the enemy's orbital bombardment, struggling to stagger out of the sorcery circle...
Mortarion just knew that this was not the end for him, so he had to live.
He also hoped... at least Hades hadn't met his end yet, but if Hades did, all the Lord of Death could do was congratulate him.
Congratulations with a hint of sadness.
Mortarion let out a death-like cough and pushed the thought out of his mind. At least the Emperor, the liar, had given him a promise that was not really a promise.
He looked into the distance indifferently. The smoke of gunpowder was still there, but Mortarion knew that this comedy was over.
Golden light and cheers burst out from afar, and the Lord of Death turned around indifferently. He lowered his hand, signaling his battle-hardened Death Guard, who looked as tired as he was, to retreat.
——————
This is a grand military parade.
It takes place after the drama of appointing the Warmaster.
On the observation deck, Mortarion shook the wine glass in front of him indifferently, watching with boredom as the endless stream of warriors twisted into a ridiculous picture at one end of the glass.
Among them were also the figures of his proud Death Guard, but rather than being meaningless privates, Mortarion still hoped to see his offspring staying in the training grounds. At worst, staying in the cafeteria was better than staying in such a place.
The military parade was like showing off one's guns one by one. Mortarion didn't understand such stupid behavior.
Even though his pistol, the Dark Lantern, lay heavy at his side, it gave the Lord of Death a sense of security, as he was not the only one on the entire observation deck.
Mortarion sat motionless on the sofa in the shadowed corner, and his brothers tacitly ignored him - because he had been labeled a "bad-tempered weirdo".
This saved Mortarion a lot of unnecessary fame, thanks to himself.
He listened to Sanguinius and Fulgrim talking loudly. The birdman sounded relatively restrained, but the chattering and boastful Nong Er was not. Fulgrim was loudly analyzing the rationality of Horus being the Warmaster - an excuse that only made it more obvious.
Khan was on the other side, occasionally interrupting their conversation.
Apart from their blood and genes, Mortarion was not interested in them. Thankfully, the angels automatically ignored him. Although Fulgrim obviously looked curious about Mortarion, the aura of indifference Mortarion exuded successfully blocked him.
The Khan was as indifferent as Mortarion.
But there are still more than just these few Primarchs on this planet. Magnus, whose head Mortarion wanted to cut off, is talking to Horus.
Magnus had initially been chatting with the Khan and the Angels here, but after realizing that the Lord of Death was heading to this terrace, Magnus decisively went to chat with Horus - while Horus was in his own small room, digesting the news of his appointment as Warmaster.
Hearing that Lorgar would also be here, Mortarion listened to Fulgrim's loud quarrel in his ears, and it seemed that Lorgar started chatting with Magnus halfway.
Not interested.
Mortarion only knew two Primarchs, one was Horus and the other was Sanguinius. His good impression of Horus was exhausted after he saw Horus's stupidity in front of the Emperor. As for the bird-man... Mortarion only knew that Sanguinius could subdue him.
So Mortarion carefully kept his distance from Sanguinius, although Sanguinius seemed to play a big role in preventing Fulgrim from shifting his interest to Mortarion.
But finally Fulgrim raised his silver eyebrows and cast his purple eyes on Mortarion with interest.
Not good.
Mortarion thought so, and at the same time hoped that the wind from the terrace would blow the poison gas around him to the high-profile Phoenix, so as to dispel the shiny guy's intention to embarrass him.
However, Mortarion was not a wizard, and he could not change the direction of the wind. He slowly and desperately realized that Fulgrim was looking at him and speaking. Fulgrim seemed to be keen on the lively atmosphere.
Unlike his previous tone, Fulgrim obviously made his accent more normal, no longer with that damn noble feeling.
[Motarion, I heard that you have a good relationship with Horus. What gift do you plan to give to Horus? ]
The phoenix winked at Mortarion cunningly, as if looking forward to Mortarion's answer in a friendly manner.
Mortarion remained motionless, and a voice that seemed to have been dead for seven hundred years came from the armor.
[I am not on good terms with Horus.]
There was a moment of silence, and Fulgrim waited for Mortarion's next words, but it was obvious that Mortarion was not going to say anything, so Fulgrim had to speak again.
But I think you also serve Horus—
Fugen laughed.
[Now it's time to call the warlord, have you prepared a gift?]
He watched the body slowly move, and Mortarion picked up the bottles and jars tied to his armor and said hoarsely,
[I was ready... I was ready when I first met Horus.]
And everyone has one.
Mortarion silently added the second half of the sentence in his mind.
Perhaps because he had not expected the Lord of Death's answer, Fulgrim paused briefly, then naturally and fluently led to the gift he had prepared for the Warmaster. In addition, the Phoenix also prepared a consolation gift for Fenus, who was eliminated.
He began to chatter again, describing and praising the gifts prepared by other brothers for the Warmaster, which triggered a new round of discussion. Even the Khan, who Mortarion had just thought didn't care about anything, carefully prepared a surprise for Horus.
Very well, the attention has once again shifted away from Mortarion, who chooses to continue being a silent corpse.
He heard footsteps coming up the stairs; someone was coming.
Mortarion moved his hand to his waist inconspicuously. If it was Magnus who came up, he would shoot him twice as a greeting.
A corner of the figure was revealed, and it was not the flamboyant red hair. Mortarion expressed his regret while sighing.
Behind his hood and his poisonous gas he eyed the newcomer with impunity. The man wore a dark hood, and his armor reminded Mortarion of some mad ascetic, with golden runes carved on his face, holy and pious.
Two lines of blood and tears solidified on both sides of the cheeks also look like a distinctive decoration.
Mortarion had seen enough and silently looked away.
[Luojia?! I didn't expect you to come. ]
Fulgrim, relying on his enthusiastic inertia, was the first to welcome the newcomers, but it was obvious that he did not have a good relationship with the newcomers. Then Phoenix shut up - and the Khan began to talk to Lorgar.
Before, it was always the angels and Fulgrim who were talking. The Khan, like Mortarion, rarely spoke, and his speeches were mostly clear, which made Mortarion interested in the Khan's words, so the Lord of Death began to listen to their conversation.
The Khan raised his hand and signaled the mechanical servant to pour wine for Luojia. Luojia smiled bitterly and waved his hand, then asked the mechanical servant to bring a glass of water.
Then Lorgar raised his glass and said hoarsely,
[Excuse me, I may not be so abstinent in our brotherly ceremony, but I have taken the oath.]
Then Luojia raised his cup and drank the water like a bottle of wine.
The Khan stood up and looked at Lorgar.
[How are you these days? The wind in you seems to be stagnant.]
[Thanks for your concern, brother.]
Lorgar said hoarsely, his voice seemed to be damaged.
[… I just saw some truth. ]
[He is God.]
Mortarion instantly snorted in dissatisfaction. How foolish! The Lord of Death seemed to be beginning to despise him for having just shown interest in him.
But with the exception of Mortarion, the other Primarchs were aware of Lorgar's situation, and there was nothing new about Lorgar's belief in their father.
The Khan frowned, as if a fly on the horse's back had hit his face.
[A horse that only cares about running will be broken by a rat hole. Maybe you should look at other scenery, Luojia.]
Luo Jia smiled, with understanding on his face.
[I know what you mean, brother, but I can't... tell you what I went through. I saw the other side of the paper, the shadow behind the light. God does exist, but it's not what I originally thought.]
The Khan frowned thoroughly now, leaned forward, lowered his voice, and made a tiger-like sound.
[Tell me, Lorgar... does this have anything to do with the High Heavens?]
[You mean the subspace? No, it doesn't matter, this doesn't involve psychic powers, it's just pure faith.]
Lorjia answered the Khan's question blankly, and after seeing Lorjia's reaction, the Khan leaned back in his chair lazily again.
[I was overthinking.]
[Psychics... maybe you could talk to Magnus, he was just trying to tell me about his recent discoveries about the Warp.]
Lorgar smiled bitterly, as if recalling his conversation with Magnus.
[He also tried to use psychic power to analyze everything I went through - no, what I went through was completely a test, a test of the believers by the gods, it was not a simple warp.]
The Khan took a gulp of wine and thoughtfully played with the wolf fangs on his helmet.
[Did my words just now make you uncomfortable, brother? ]
[No, that's not the case.]
Lorgar immediately apologized humbly. Among the many Primarchs, he believed that the Emperor was a god, but he was the gentlest one.
This is also why he has a good relationship with the most arrogant Magnus.
[But psychic power is not the answer to all problems, my brother, faith is. ]
The Khan hummed vaguely, which was considered as his agreement.
As if to refute Magnus, who had just been telling him about psychic powers, Lorgar continued to speak,
[Faith is what enables humans to survive in this vast universe. Faith tells humans who they are and what they should do.]
However, Magnus just said in front of Lorgar that "Faith is an ugly word".
Lorgar disagreed with this. Didn't Magnus himself have an almost devout belief in psychic power? He just hadn't realized it yet.
And faith in the God-Emperor is obviously stronger than faith in the Warp.
[People should have faith, and they should believe in the right things. The Word Bearers will help spread the truth throughout the universe.]
However... most of the Primarchs present knew that the planets conquered by the Word Bearers would be allowed to believe in the God-Emperor, but after the Word Bearers had been gone for a long enough time, the Empire would send personnel to educate them in the Imperial Truth.
Of course, what they know now is the outdated version.
[Faith,] the Khan said succinctly, [The only thing humans need to believe in is the knife in their hands, the horse under their crotch, and a wide enough field to gallop across.]
The Khan raised his glass, Lorja clinked his glass with his, the Khan drank, and continued,
[You need to build yourself on yourself, not on anything else.]
Lorga shook his head firmly but gently.
[No, not everyone is as smart and sharp as us. People need a place to lean on, a place to point them in the right direction—otherwise they will just collapse in their own consumption.]
[Then let the idiots die.]
All the Primarchs turned their heads sharply. The voice came from Mortarion. The Lord of Death suddenly interrupted and said something shocking.
[You must be patient with humans, Mortarion.]
Fugen sighed exaggeratedly, and the angel nodded, which was rare, indicating that he agreed with Fugen's opinion.
[You are too pessimistic.]
[I think I am optimistic enough.]
Mortarion said glumly, raising his hand.
[You guys continue, I don't want to argue. ]
The Lord of Death continued to speak, and there was no sound. Lorgar looked at Mortarion hesitantly for a few times, and finally chose to continue the previous topic.
[We are here to save human existence—not to destroy it, or simply become a general.]
Luo Jia exhaled lightly.
[Our mission is to save it. The Emperor has given us this mission.]
He heard the harsh breathing coming from Mortarion, but Lorgar ignored him. Compared to Magnus's straightforward words, Mortarion was just having difficulty breathing.
[I don't ask for your understanding, brothers. The holder of truth is always lonely. You don't know the suffering I have experienced.]
The Khan took a sip of his wine absentmindedly.
[I also hope that he will care about his offspring instead of bringing disaster upon them.]
[No,]
Lorgar turned his head and stared at the Khan firmly.
[Suffering also means redemption.]
[There are only eagles flying high in Chogoris, and no existence struggling in suffering. I can't understand this.]
Khan simply looked away and gently changed the subject.
Luo Jia paused. His brothers could not believe him. They recognized his character as a brother, but they did not agree with his point of view.
In order to convince them, Luo Jia thought he needed to come up with some... other evidence.
I saw more.
Lorga spoke slowly,
[He is not the only one.]
[I don't understand you, brother.]
[I am just stating a fact.]
Luo Jia said,
[Our father, the God-Emperor, has his left and right arms as extensions of His faith.]
Archangel Sanguinius suddenly spoke,
[I think you mean someone like Valdor, the leader of the Imperial Guards?]
Luo Jia nodded, then shook his head.
[I haven't seen his true form, so it's hard for me to come to a conclusion.]
He paused for a moment.
[I felt the other side of the paper, dark and depressing.]
Mortarion pricked up his ears.
"That's definitely not psionics," Lorgar said firmly. "No psionic person would give people that feeling."
[It was death—death lapping upon the soul like a tidal wave.]
Mortarion sat up, drawing the attention of the Primarchs to him, but the Lord of Death said nothing, so Lorgar continued.
[I am convinced that he is an extension of the will of the God-Emperor. With a black spear carved with a hellhound, he judges the sinners - this is a religious symbol. Things are clear. The truth is on my side.]
Mortarion stood up straight, and strode directly toward Lorgar. He spoke bluntly, emphasizing the end of his sentence.
[Tell me everything you know, my brother.]
[mine-]
Mortarion gnashed his teeth.
[When did the Commander become the Emperor's will? ]
Compared to the angel, Fugen was the first to stand up.
The elegant Phoenix stood between the two men in a panic, holding back the two with open arms, mainly Mortarion.
[I suppose Horus doesn't want this to happen today?]
5.3k! Yay! No more today.
There are many codes after sending them out.
(End of this chapter)