Hades once thought about a serious question -
That is, what does Mortarion look like now.
Based on other people's side profiles, Hades doesn't think the answer to this question is particularly optimistic.
But perhaps they were making a fuss out of nothing, Hades thought, for he had seen the man who had painted the chess pieces of the four Ascended Primarchs.
Perhaps Mortarion, with his essence liberated, will be similar to his ascended magic chess piece.
In his opinion, the chess model of the ascended demon Lao Mo is extremely cool. It is a circle larger than the average Primarch, painted in bone white or Nurgle green, with colorful big wings, and fireworks drifting from the incense burner...
In fact, as a DG party, from an aesthetic point of view, Hades also likes those flying little Nurglings that hold incense burners for the chess piece Old Mor. Painting them in the same color as Old Mor is a pleasing thing to the eye.
Of course, Hades thought seriously, this was a matter of his previous life, and in this life, he would fight any chaos thing.
The more crucial point is that what Hades had seen in his previous life were just chess pieces. Perhaps in the eyes of others who have seen Mortarion, the aura of the god of death is enough to scare them.
None of these thoughts are important. For Hades, what is important is that he has already established psychological expectations so as not to show a reaction that would embarrass his old friend.
In fact, if Mortarion really developed a second time and became something like a chess piece, after blocking his sense of smell, Hades thought he would sincerely praise him for being so handsome and touch his wings.
Although Hades can also fly, it is obviously a cool thing to be a birdman or mothman, and it is worth celebrating and flying more times.
But...but...but...
A white mist of fatigue gathered at his feet, and Hades turned slowly, his trembling pupils focusing - ah, this chair may be a little small for Mortarion.
Hades thought that his mouth might be open in surprise, but he was wearing a metal half-mask, so his expression was hidden, leaving only one wide-open eye.
"Motar… Mortarion?!"
Hades blinked, and walked over in disbelief. He saw a god of death that was completely opposite to what he expected.
Unlike a swollen chess piece, Mortarion was very thin, tall and skinny, so thin that Hades thought that the original flesh and blood of the Primarch had been completely stripped away, and now Mortarion was just a skeleton wrapped in armor.
Hades walked up to Mortarion and turned around naturally.
The armor was also completely changed...
Hades thought that as a master forger, he was familiar with all kinds of armor for Space Marines, and the armor on the Primarch now might not be called "manufactured" armor at all.
These bone-white armors grew on the body of the God of Death. They looked like bones and were shaped like insect shells. Hades could even see the protruding stingers and insect limbs hidden under the "cloak", no, under the wings.
Mortarion sat casually, the God of Death threw the scythe in his hand to the side of the sofa, and also looked at Hades.
Mortarion did his best to obscure his perspective in the Warp. In the Empyrean, the Death God saw a rift, a black hole - an existence that denied his very being.
Mortarion felt his hands trembling subconsciously, his breathing quickened, and the tiny joints on the gas mask clicked.
It was an instinctive fear, but Mortarion hid it well. There was nothing to say. Death had expected it.
Perhaps to some extent, Mortarion admired his so-called "biological father", and he was able to remain calm in the face of Hades.
In Mortarion's hazy physical vision,
He saw a more tired Hades. His once neat white hair had become a little unkempt. He was thinner, and his eye sockets were deeper. The light in Hades' eyes seemed to have faded a lot - the God of Death had seen this kind of transformation in Guilliman before.
He became much colder and indifferent, more irritable, sharper and more tired.
This may also have something to do with the lower half of the mask Hades wears.
Hades came back from a circle.
Mortarion calmly watched his distorted figure reflected in the smooth silver mask, the mouth of the mask sewn shut with metal chains - Hades's aesthetic taste might have improved.
Now the monster of the Warp was staring at him.
Suppressing the trembling feeling, Mortarion casually spread out his hands.
[Have you seen enough?]
This sentence seemed to turn on a switch. Hades blinked violently, and he smiled, wiping his hand towards the mask. The mask disappeared, revealing a familiar silly smile.
"Mortarion…?"
Hades said, and then he suddenly laughed, and he opened his hands,
"I'm stunned. God of Death, how come you've changed so much after not seeing you for so long?"
"That's cool Mortarion, why don't you stand up so I can see it again - are those wings or are they a cape?"
White mist gushed out of Mortarion's gas mask, as if he was letting out a long sigh, but no matter what, the god of death stood up reluctantly.
The wings that were originally blocked by the sofa were exposed from the inside, revealing a bright green color, and patterns of anthropomorphic eyes and screaming human faces appeared, twisting and screaming as they looked at Hades.
Hades chuckled twice, rubbed his hands, and was eager to reach out to Mortarion's wings.
At first glance, the wings of the Grim Reaper looked like a cloak, dark and hazy on the outside, but with a completely gorgeous pattern on the inside, reminding Hades of a dead leaf butterfly.
"Motta-oh should I not call you by your name now? Then what about Death?"
Mortarion shook his head.
[No,] he said wearily, [Death is also my title, you can change your title.]
"Then..." Hades' voice sounded from the side of the Primarch. Taking off his hand helmet, Hades curiously touched Mortarion's wings. The texture was magical, similar to flax and insect scales, but very strong. Mortarion might launch these scales like hidden weapons.
Sensing Hades's restless movements, Mortarion stood still calmly, his wings trembled slightly, and then -
call!
Mortarion spread his wings, and the entire hall was submerged in a sea of dark green.
"Fuck!"
Hades stepped back suddenly and exclaimed, "Cool! So cool, Lao Mo!!!"
Lao Mo…
Lao Mo is Lao Mo...
Hades walked to the front from behind the Primarch, curious and excited, looking at the patterns on the wings with an excited smile on his face, as if he was excited that his good buddy whom he hadn't seen for many years suddenly had an extremely cool outfit.
Mortarion breathed a sigh of relief again.
“Can you fly?”
Hades stepped forward and stared at the screaming skeleton on the inside of Mortarion's wing at close range.
Mortarion said calmly,
Obviously Hades didn't care about Mortarion's indifferent taunt. Hades felt that the screaming skeleton was looking at him, so he reached out curiously and poked one of the skeleton's eye sockets with his finger.
The skeleton looked at him, then screamed and ran away.
There will be a reaction. As soon as this thought popped up in Hades' mind, the big wings in front of him suddenly moved forward and slapped him in the face.
"Not allowed to touch?"
Hades drew out the word in an annoying way, with a smile on his face as if he was about to plan something, staring at Mortarion. Mortarion looked at Hades, and he hoped that his face did not scare his old friend.
Well, looking at Hades's appearance, it is obvious that this man who sometimes lacks aesthetic sense does not care about these things.
Mortarion hoped that this was what he was thinking... and not that Hades was just reacting in the hope of not embarrassing him. Was Hades pretending? Or was he just being too suspicious
Perhaps he should give up on the answers to these questions. There are many worse questions in the world than this one, and there is no shortage of this one.
In fact, after knowing his true nature, no one except the former Lord of Red Sand commented on Mortarion's appearance - no one.
But from their horrified eyes, Mortarion could also glimpse a glimpse of truth, Mortarion thought, and he pessimistically realized that he was similar to the existence in the garden. Existence is wrong. Mortarion hated the Lord of Man -
Hades' words interrupted Mortarion's thoughts.
"Well, if you don't want me to touch you, then-" Hades shouted, and he pounced on Mortarion like a hungry tiger! "Come on, take me with you, Mortarion!"
Hades had already imagined the scene of Mortarion flying in the sky and himself swinging happily below.
Without any hesitation or consideration, Mortarion believed that it was his survival instinct that saved him.
The Primarch leaped up from the spot, and he looked ridiculous, hitting his head on the ceiling, but he succeeded, and the blurry shadow of Hades slid under his feet, and then -
Clank, clang! Pluto crashed into the pile of furniture.
"You overestimate my carrying capacity," Mortarion said. He laughed and was about to collapse again, but Hades, buried in the ruins, raised his hand firmly.
"etc!"
Mortarion was stunned for a moment.
“That’s my chair!”
Hades shouted, and the green thunder gathered in his hands, and together with the flashes on Mortarion's wings, the room turned into a green flash disco.
Mortarion opened his eyes wide, and saw silver droplets floating in the air against gravity, and he sensed a greater presence—a void dragon, and something else.
The God of Death had dealt with the Void Dragon before, but seeing Hades skillfully using the power of the Star God...
Mortarion perhaps understood how others felt when they saw him fall into the ways of psionics.
Hades struggled to stand up. Fortunately, there were no valuables in the room. He curled his lips.
Hades was thinking about what kind of chair would allow Mortarion to sit properly and put down his big wings - Mortarion's sitting posture just now could not be said to be awkward, it could only be said to be extremely awkward.
Finally, Hades decided to use the technology of hollowing out the chair back. Perhaps changing to another memory material would be better, but unfortunately, he only had Star God Metal at hand.
Silver light rose, and a strange big chair gradually took shape. Unlike the chairs he made himself, Hades also thoughtfully carved some patterns for Mortarion's chair. He chose numerology, and seven small sickles that looked like the number seven were carved on the back of the chair.
Hades thought that this chair was in line with insect engineering. He looked back with some pride and saw Mortarion standing there.
But between the fluorescence and the mist, Hades caught a glimpse of the Primarch's trembling hands from the corner of his eye.
Hades blinked, only to see Mortarion staring at him with disdain.
[ugly.]
The Primarch said, his bony fingers pointed at the chair, and the words on his lips paused for a moment [… You are using numerology? ]
Hades nodded, and the lightning disappeared.
Mortarion sighed.
[Numerology is a rigorous scientific calculation,] the Primarch said, [You shouldn't...]
Mortarion's voice faded away, and his eyes narrowed, as if he had seen something that greatly ruined his vision.
"Hey, hey, hey," Hades said, and he raised his hand again, and lightning flashed, "So where do I go with them?"
[No need.] Mortarion walked over, pressed down Hades' hand, and sat down as quickly as possible, as if standing for one more second would be painful.
Mortarion reached out his hand and knocked on those crudely made runes that had no resonance in the Warp and even cursed the Warp in the opposite direction. White mist rose up, and these blasphemous words became less unbearable.
Even, Mortarion thought, remembering the time he tried to draw a picture of Hades... but now he didn't have to, because Hades was standing right across from him, looking like this.
It's Hades.
He had seen what Hades looked like before. The current Hades was just... He had been hungry for a long time and was under pressure... Star God...
But Mortarion was certain that it was Hades who was now there.
Once on Barbarus, when they had just met, Mortarion had seen Hades being irritable due to hunger. At first, Hades' mental state was not as stable as it was after he became a Space Marine.
Sometimes he cried, sometimes he laughed, sometimes he was stunned, sometimes he howled. Sometimes he stood by the river, looking like he would jump into the river in the next second, but he stood there for a whole day.
Mortarion breathed a sigh of relief again, and glanced at the sickle lying next to Hades' sofa... Forget it, he was too lazy to take it.
The metal Primarch sofa was a bit slippery, and Mortarion let himself slide down a bit. Maybe some pillows would be better... But compared to the garden... It's pretty good now.
Maybe there is no Hades here...
Mortarion suppressed his nausea, perhaps he would be more relaxed, but if Hades was not here - driving away all other Warp sights, Mortarion would definitely not behave like this.
What a paradox.
Mortarion laughed at himself in his heart, saying that his only mistake was that he was a wizard.
But... that's the reality.
The heavy reality made Mortarion suffer, but having a comfortable place to sit obviously greatly alleviated his pain. It had been a long time since he sat down, stopped resisting, and stopped being wary of everything...
A long time.
Maybe he never had such a past.
Mortarion glanced at Hades again. He instinctively resisted Hades.
Seeing Mortarion sitting down, Hades also regained ownership of his sofa. He sat down, and in front of him was the crooked Mortarion limited edition that he had never seen before.
He blinked, remembering the image of Mortarion's shaking hands just now.
… This feeling is always familiar.
Hades thought of... Magnus, and Malcador... people he had seen before, but had subconsciously ignored.
The Magnus Stone is not here with Hades now. Today Magnus went to persuade the Grey Knights to kill less and release more.
Hades was silent for a moment. This feeling was not new. When he was on Barbarus, people treated him the same way when his physical condition was still out of control.
Time plays tricks on us!
Hades tried his best to retract the black domain. Behind him, a black domain stretched out like a shadow, covering the entire room, leaving only the empty cavity of the room exposed, isolating it from the gaze of all the subspace.
Hades carefully observed Mortarion's condition, but except for the mist coming out of his gas mask, Mortarion was as silent as a motionless bone moth.
Mortarion did not stop him from doing so.
After Hades completely isolated the Black Domain,
[alright?]
Mortarion asked, and Hades nodded. Mortarion's head, which was lying on the back of the chair, spewed out white mist again. He completely disregarded his image, Hades thought. He remembered Mortarion who was wrapped like a mummy in the intensive care unit.
The room was silent, save for the sound of Mortarion's breathing.
[…I am a wizard.]
Mortarion said quietly, not looking at Hades, but at the ceiling.
Hades did not reply to him immediately. After a moment, Hades spoke.
"I think I disliked Karas Typhon because he was Typhon, not because he was a psyker."
Hades watched as Mortarion began to cough violently. The Primarch stood up, coughing and laughing.
You can’t…
Mortarion coughed, [You still resent Karas?! ]
"No," Hades said calmly, "but the fact is that the hatred between us started with him. He didn't like the Soulless."
Hades saw the Primarch's figure pause.
Hades smiled inwardly. The offensive and defensive situations were different. Seeing him output and change the topic, he at least wouldn't be like some big moth, dwelling on the problems of his own existence for too long.
"So," Hades deliberately made his voice heavy, "Old Mo, am I really that miserable in the Warp? I don't think the Lord of Mankind and Malcador had such a reaction."
In the distance, Malcador walked out of the dark room and began to retch... nmd... Hades...
Mortarion stood up, supported himself on the armrests with both hands, stared at Hades intently, and did not speak for a long time.
[Do you still plan to continue devouring the Star God fragments? ]
Mortarion asked word by word, and Hades thought it was not good. How could a fake move trick out the opponent's ultimate move? He had intended to make the atmosphere more relaxed.
Hades coughed a few times and said, "I will only taste it briefly. I will not give in to my appetite."
Mortarion slumped back down.
[It’s still acceptable…] Death said calmly, and as if thinking of something funny, Mortarion laughed, [In the end, we all became the most unacceptable freaks.]
Hades raised his hand. He had no psychological burden at all about teasing Karas, because he knew that Karas must be the one who cursed him the most, no doubt about it.
"We can't slander Karas."
Mortarion wanted to say something more in Karas's defense, but he was already laughing, completely giving away his thoughts.
(Double monthly tickets tomorrow, please)
(End of this chapter)