There are always times when people need to face their fears and the unknown.
For example, now.
Karas hoped that he had not stepped back subconsciously. He stood there, staring at "Mortarion" in front of him.
Seven steps away from Karas, Mortarion stopped.
It stopped, but it wasn't still, like a dead branch that had just emerged from the ground.
It was not until Mortarion approached Karastyphon that Karas saw what Mortarion looked like now.
… It seemed that there was no trunk under its tattered and extremely empty cloak, or it was supported by something as thick as bones. Countless mists were floating under its cloak, giving people a suffocating feeling.
The strange patterns formed by fine frost spread from the bottom of the cloak and gradually dissolved into the cloak.
The mist rose up and completely covered its face, making it impossible to see what was behind the white mist.
But it wasn't these things that frightened Karas the most... from the bottom of his heart.
He felt fear, extreme fear, the same fear that a living creature would feel when it spontaneously encounters its natural enemy—from the depths of its soul.
He faced Mortarion, and strange, flowing patterns of verdant green light were reflected on the front of his dreadnought.
That comes from its wings.
In fact, Kara didn't see the inside of the folded wings until Mortarion had just taken off.
It was a completely different existence from its overall appearance.
A dazzling warning green lit up on the inner wings of the dull and skinny wings. The green was full and rich, and some black cracks representing destruction burst and climbed on it, outlining the outline of skulls, both human and alien.
Those skulls drawn with pitch-black cracks were screaming silently all the time. They were struggling in its wings, shouting silently and twisting in pain.
Countless white mists hung down from it and flowed out from between those tiny, sparkling scales.
Each scale reflects different shades of green with every slight movement, dazzling the eyes for a moment.
It was these inner wings, which were completely different from the first impression, that scared Karas when Mortarion just took off.
In nature, some insects disguise themselves to be extremely inconspicuous in order to avoid natural enemies, but if they are discovered by their natural enemies, they will suddenly unfold their other side - a scary side made up of bright colors and strange patterns.
Of course... For Mortarion, Karas swallowed his saliva, this might be his disguise to conceal himself, quietly approach the prey, and finally harvest it.
Karas stared at Mortarion. Even if the Primarch was now unarmed, Karas believed that the God of Death could kill him instantly.
"Mo… Mortarion?"
There was still no sound, it was pantomime, but Callas was used to it. He spoke hesitantly,
"The Death Guard needs you. You must return to lead the Death Guard."
Mortarion did not move, and Karas felt as if he were talking to a leaf.
But at least he had no intention of suddenly attacking him.
Karas smiled and thought positively, Mortarion was not dead, and he also found Mortarion - that was enough.
"I'm glad you're not dead, Death. You can't die, can you?"
Mortarion stared at him, and something in Kharas's words struck a chord—
+Death is the last step, the last step can only be death. +
He said that in the face covered by white mist, some kind of liquid was flowing from the place of the eyes. The reason why Karas could see it was because the bright green color penetrated the mist.
There was still silence here, but Karas "heard" Mortarion's words directly at the soul level.
There was a breakthrough, and Karas continued to try to communicate with Mortarion.
"…The last step can only be death?"
Karas swallowed.
"What does this mean, Death?"
+Death,+
That being said, +Pure death, extinction, no more falling into the cycle. +
The Pale Lord was silent. He tried hard to see the being in front of him clearly, but his vision was still blurry. Everything around him was clear, except for that being... It was as if he came from another world. His figure was like a reflection deep under the water.
But he did not think that it was an intruder or a saboteur; on the contrary, that existence was a part of this place.
So what is he
The Pale Lord tried to touch his own thoughts. This step was very difficult. Ever since he began to have independent consciousness, he has been staying here, thinking nothing, doing nothing, just staying there.
But he knew he would do nothing.
This matched the direction of his own water flow in the warp.
Death is an inevitable process. It will come as scheduled regardless of whether life takes action or not.
This is an inevitable process and a natural outcome.
As a newly "born" creature of the Warp, he was still very fragile, and the instinct of the Pale Lord warned him. In the other side of his thoughts, he vaguely remembered that he had been running away from a certain existence - and now, the breath of that existence still did not go away.
So he hid.
The Pale Lord was silent. After a long silence, he concluded that the new existence was not an "intruder" but some kind of returning creature. The Pale Lord decided to leave again, return to his previous position, and continue to do nothing.
Karas watched as Mortarion tried to turn around and leave again.
"Hey! Not—Mortarion?!"
Dreadnought hurried over, but within the confines of the Warp, he would never be able to catch up to a Warp creature.
"If this doesn't work, plan B."
There was a whisper on the comms channel.
The next moment, the Pale Lord turned around abruptly, white mist rolled, he rose up, and the skeleton between his wings glared at Karas's back.
The white mist suddenly rushed towards behind Karas.
Karas looked back and saw a dazzling golden glow. Malcador appeared out of nowhere and stood there, with the Grey Knights around him chanting prayers loudly.
"come over!"
Malcador shouted, and his voice actually spread in this silent place. Karas felt like he was flying, and before Karas could reach Malcador and his group, Malcador began to run backwards, running towards a place where the curtain was more stable.
At the same time, Malcador grabbed a small Death Guard with his free hand without hesitation. The little guy seemed to be still asleep and was shaking silently in the hands of the running old man.
This action completely angered the Pale Lord. Karas watched as Mortarion flew straight toward them, his wings fluttering, light and dark alternating, and a sickle made of mist gradually took shape in his hand -
The Grey Knight beside Malcador held the book in one hand and turned to the appropriate page for the old man with the other.
Malcador began to chant, the ancient language of the Warp gushing out of his mouth.
Even though Karas didn't understand anything, he seemed to understand in a trance... That was... That was...
That is Mortarion's true name.
Malcador uttered the last syllable just as the party reached the gates of the fertilizer factory, where the tide of the Warp had receded.
"Come here!"
The old man shouted, and a huge shock wave exploded behind them!
"Bang!!!"
Vox stared at what was happening before him in amazement.
The mist dissipated, and he saw a huge being—
For the Emperor's sake... A lying insectoid...
But something surging in his soul and blood told him that he should show more respect to this existence.
Vox knew emotionally what it was, but he wouldn't accept it intellectually.
Malcador wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth breathlessly, but it was no use. He still vomited blood in large mouthfuls.
Little bastard... Can't he cure you
The Death Guard in his hand began to struggle at this time, and the little guy struggled to wipe the blood off the old man - Malcador sincerely hoped that there was no plague on the little guy.
Yay!
(End of this chapter)