Magnus moved slightly. Hades, who was holding his chin opposite him, did not move, but his wandering eyes were immediately fixed on Magnus.
Magnus stopped moving again. Hades blinked and changed to a comfortable position lying on the table. He was thinking about whether to apply for a small lathe to be moved over. Otherwise, Hades' life in the next few months would be just eating and guarding Magnus.
Hades thought boredly that it would be nice to bring some books over.
Magnus is in prison, and Hades, who is guarding him, is also in another kind of prison.
It has been more than ten days, and Hades has memorized the order of dishes in the cafeteria on the Emperor's Dream.
Of course, Hades had been hungry for the past ten days, while Magnus had not been wet at all, but given the Primarch's constitution, Hades was not worried at all that Magnus would suddenly die.
It would be great if Magnus could always be so "silent and well-behaved". At the critical moment, the Emperor would simply throw Magnus out in this state and then use his psychic power to control him.
But unfortunately, Magnus spoke, and the Primarch's dark, cracked lips tore, oozing blood, and his hoarse voice sounded like a dried corpse.
[… Who are you?]
Hades sat up straight, staring at Magnus with his sharp eyes. He didn't want to answer, but he remembered Malcador's instructions.
Hades pondered for a moment, and finally he spoke calmly,
"Your watcher, Hades."
Magnus trembled slightly, and a tiny bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
[A stupid question.]
He said softly, and Hades knew that Magnus was mocking him. After this sentence, Magnus fell into a long silence again. Hades raised his head and strengthened the vigilance of the black zone again.
After this sentence, after the fifth meal delivery, which was the third day, Magnus tried to communicate with Hades again.
Perhaps he couldn't help but remain silent. So far, Hades believed that the only Primarch who could remain silent for a long time was Mortarion. Most Primarchs would have some desire to talk and curiosity.
[Have you been here all along?]
Hades blinked silently. Magnus seemed to be asking a question that would help him escape from the prison. However, since Magnus could no longer see anything and he was not using psychic powers... then it was the Primarch's other senses that were helping him make the judgment.
Hades looked away in boredom.
“Sometimes I’m not here.”
It was a lie, he had been telling it all along, to trick Magnus.
Magnus frowned slightly.
[You are always here.]
He said firmly.
Hades raised his eyebrows.
"So? You're going to break out of prison—"
[No! I will never, I will never do anything again! ]
Magnus's high-pitched voice immediately interrupted Hades' words, but he instantly became pale and weak again. He murmured as if he wanted to say something else, but in the end he could only mutter a few broken words.
Hades sighed.
"It sounds like a good thing, for everybody."
Magnus paused, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he said in a trembling voice,
[Emperor… How is the Emperor now?]
Hades thought about it, and he remembered the Emperor's behavior at that time, and what Malcador said, and Hades said indifferently,
"I guess I'm pretty angry, and maybe a little sad."
He watched Magnus clench his fists, grit his teeth, and his whole body trembled slightly, even his messy hair shook.
[… I don’t want to… I don’t want to… I never wanted to hurt him. ]
After saying the last sentence, Magnus almost broke down.
Hades stared at Magnus and said softly,
"So why didn't you listen to him?"
[Because there is no other way!]
Magnus shouted at Hades, but then he lowered his head like a captive beast.
[No one could save the Thousand Sons except me—not the Emperor, not Malcador, and there were only a thousand men left in the entire Legion!]
Hades blinked calmly, he stood up, walked forward to the iron bars and compressed the black domain. If it were not for the Emperor's restrictions and weakening, it would still be difficult for him to suppress Magnus' soul fire.
"So this is why you sold your soul and the future of the Legion to the devil?"
[I didn't know—I didn't know it would be like this! He didn't show me this?!]
Magnus shouted in a panic,
[I never thought of this! I knew it was dangerous, but I had nowhere else to go! I thought this was the price!]
Magnus pointed to his eye, but unfortunately it was just a deposit.
In order to calm the shouting Primarch down and stop disrupting public order, Hades reached out, grabbed the chain wrapped around the iron bars, and smashed it roughly on the railing.
The sound of chains colliding did a good job of calming the roaring Primarch down, and Magnus regained awareness of where he was.
"Why are you yelling so loudly?"
Hades frowned and said,
"I'm not the decision maker. I'm just a gatekeeper. You can tell this to the emperor."
He watched as Magnus's face turned pale, and the Primarch instantly lost strength.
[No, no... He won't forgive me.]
Hades continued to ask patiently,
"Does he know what you just said?"
[He... I think he should know, he saw everything.]
Magnus croaked,
"And what did he say?"
Magnus' lips moved twice, as if he was lost in painful memories, and the Primarch began to scratch his scalp and tear his hair like a defeated and collapsed person.
[No…]
Magnus said bitterly.
"Well, you're not dead yet."
He said soothingly,
"Your legion... those upright and kind warriors will not be imprisoned. The Empire still needs warriors who can use psionic powers."
Talking about offspring at least gave Magnus a break from the painful meeting, and Hades couldn't help but wonder what the Emperor had done to Magnus.
Magnus covered his face in frustration and buried himself in the shadows.
[I harmed them... I thought...]
Hades walked back and sat down again, still feeling comfortable.
"Think of something else. It is useless for you to suffer now. The facts are set - unless the Emperor orders you to work."
[Father still needs me?!]
Magnus' scream almost shook Hades off his chair. Hades stood up angrily and kicked the iron fence directly, warning the Primarch to keep his voice down.
"Why else would he keep you alive?! Could it be that he really enjoys watching you suffer?!"
The Emperor was a tyrant, but he was a tyrant who put utilitarianism above all else. Instead of using a large army to watch over Magnus, it would have been better to just kill him and transfer the troops to work elsewhere.
However, the confusion on Magnus's face told Hades that this was what the Primarch thought.
Hades took a deep breath.
"When did you develop the idea that the Emperor enjoys abusing others, Magnus? Or do you prefer—"
[No! Never!]
Magnus immediately retorted, and he was at a loss to explain,
[It's just, it's just—it's common sense! Punish the sinner!]
"Can your father explain it with common sense?!"
Hades kicked the iron bars again, trying to get Magnus to be quiet.
Magnus let out a strange cry, like a parrot with a sudden blockage in its throat.
[You, you, what do you call him?]
Hades thought about it briefly, then realized that he had let the cat out of the bag.
Hades said solemnly,
"I say, Your Excellency the Great Emperor."
[That’s not what you said just now. You said…]
Hades shouted irritably, his voice now louder than Magnus's.
"I know! Why are you yelling so loudly?! Even if you report me to him for scolding him, he won't be able to reduce your sentence! Just stay still, Magnus!"
He watched with satisfaction as Magnus choked, looking aggrieved and saying nothing.
Hades turned around and sat back down, now he had a moment of peace.
Until Magnus's weak voice sounded again,
[…Who are you, Hades? ]
"I am Hades."
Hades answered fluently, and he watched Magnus thinking irritably.
What is your relationship to the Emperor? Like - like Malcador
Hades thought about it and decided that he didn't want to become like Malcador, who had to review documents every day with a weak kidney look, but he did hang out with Malcador most of the time.
"almost?"
[… Are you the most powerful soulless person? ]
Hades narrowed his eyes.
"You've crossed a line, Magnus."
Magnus was silent for a long time. He gritted his teeth and spoke again, as if he had made a great decision.
[If you are like Malcador... then tell me... what should I do? ]
Hades spoke casually,
"Stay here and do nothing. Just listen to him and don't think too much. Especially be careful not to touch the subspace."
He stared at Magnus.
"I think the Emperor never wanted you to touch those things—he thought you were the superior one."
Magnus looked like he was about to pass out, but Hades continued as if he hadn't seen anything.
"… You have to lower your expectations. Nothing can go back to the glorious past. He is now cleaning up your mess. All you can do is not to create new messes for him."
Hades watched Magnus shrink like a deflated balloon. Finally, Magnus said in a self-destructive tone,
[He now wants me to live and do nothing. ]
"right."
Magnus took a deep breath, the Primarch gasped violently,
What did he show me
Hades said speechlessly,
"How would I know what he showed you?"
But the only answer he got was Magnus' silence, and the Primarch seemed to realize that asking Hades about this would not give him the answer.
Hades silently looked away.
"Um... do you still need to eat? If so, I'll ask them to deliver food."
The Emperor probably didn't know that Hades had snatched away the Primarch's meal. After all, Hades noticed that Magnus didn't seem to want to eat in the past few days.
The one who responded was Magnus who looked confused.
Hades suddenly realized why Magnus thought the Emperor would torture prisoners.
3k, that's all. I actually updated it a few days ago, but I didn't write it down.
(End of this chapter)