Emperor's Bane

Chapter 272 The Thing Feared by the Gods
"Everything in the world is afraid."

"Even the gods are the same."

"The gods fear: because they are not eternal creatures, because they are not immortal, because they have never escaped the dominion of finality and death."

"They sit on the throne, wear the great crown firmly on their heads, use the burning and mourning of hundreds of millions of races to continue the fire of their rule, and become the most noble masters and prisoners without hesitation. Until the coming of the last moment in the mouths of your race."

"But even so, they are by no means eternal."

"They are no more victorious over their own nature than they are over finality and death."

"They're just: gods."

"Since the remotest ages, since the collapse of the heavens that these races will never comprehend, gods have been slayable beings, spied on, threatened, and even wiped out completely, forever forgotten."

"There have been more than one gods who have finally fallen under this fate: they can be the true pioneers of the subspace, the creators of countless races in the mortal world, or they can be the predators of stars and devouring, shaking the world with their own power. The Lord of Destruction of the entire galaxy."

"But they all died, they all died as a god, and became the bones at the feet of the successors, as well as the stories and foils in countless ridiculous pictures."

"They are not eternal. Although the crowns and thrones they hold will last until the end of all things, they are only the users of the crowns and thrones, not the owners. Although their own consciousness is so strong that they cannot be defeated, they are Not as perfect as their crowns and thrones."

"What matters is the crown and the throne, which will enjoy eternity, and which will usher in glory and sublimation, victory and unity at the last moment, not the gods themselves."

"The crown needs to imprison a head, and the throne needs to support the rule of a dynasty. As for the existence and death of the gods who come to the world, it is not a question of real value."

"Because, no matter what kind of will and ambition the king possesses, when he finally chooses to sit on the throne and wear the crown, his past and self are irrelevant. His thoughts are destined to be unable to defeat the crown. His will There will be no escape from the throne, and his name will be completely erased from the past and the future."

"And then he became: God."

"The crown will give the true name of God, and the throne will give God the supreme authority. This is the reward that God deserves, because if there is no God to sit on the throne and wear the crown, then the throne and the crown are just the most precious. They are just treasures, and only when someone takes that position will they sublimate into the nightmare of countless races."

"So, when another king walks to the vacant throne and picks up the crown, everything in his mind will be satisfied, and the kingdom in his heart will be established, but he will not get one thing Something: that is true eternity, that is contempt for the end."

"Because it is the crown and the throne itself, not the gods, who are really in charge of these things."

"Authority is eternal, but God is not."

"So the gods will be afraid, they will be afraid of their real threats, they will abandon their cumbersome powers, and they will indulge in the playful, meaningless, so-called eternal game to escape The great end of the gods alone."

"No one expects the end to come, even the gods themselves."

"However, no one can stop Final Yan's footsteps: even the gods themselves."

------

The twisted God of Steel crawled in the hall, unscrupulously displaying its indescribable existence full of profane aesthetics.

This weird existence that calls itself [Vashtor] is an orphan that can only be born in the craziest fantasy of every Omnissian believer. It is a stain that can crack the foundation of belief in countless forging worlds. Its existence even made the Spider Queen feel an almost unstoppable desire to destroy. Only the deep-rooted rational thinking could make Morgan suppress the urge to sing the elegy of destruction.

It itself is like any existence of the same level, it is vague like the concept of no absolute form, but when it left its territory in the soul melting pot to show respect and sincerity, and to ensure a smooth conversation, it came to Queen Gene When it was in front of it, it also had to temporarily accommodate its own existence in an equally terrifying body.

The blasphemous steel body exuding steam and thick smoke is as huge as a knight mecha, and on the biochemical mechanical limbs that look like human muscles, there are grotesque creations of dark technology all over the place. The pupils of this creator are like It was burning like a bright lamp, and a dry cough like gears stirring flesh and blood was constantly churning from the same flashing huge mouth. Its slender arms were hanging down, and its sharp claws could scratch the ground, and it relied on these sharp claws, Tore apart the cast sage who had been dead for a long time, crushed the believers of Omnissian with bull-like hooves, and came to this desolate stone hall.

It was so tall, its high arched spine seemed to be at the same position as the ceiling of the hall, and the hideous shadow engulfed the Primarch and her attendants together, even though there was still a huge sheet of paper between them. Round table, but in Morgan's eyes, she is still too close to this bastard who has no background at all.

But the Spider Queen didn't panic, she was even able to caress the hair of the Virgo beside her as a comfort: as a response to the unexpected situation just now and the terrifying creation in front of her eyes, the Virgo is enough to drown thousands of Asta The firepower organization of the special fighters has been fully expanded, and in terms of size alone, it is not much inferior to the Creator.

But neither Morgan himself nor Vashtor seemed to take this terrifying firepower into their eyes. The Creator just casually glanced at the Spider Queen's first creation with a critic's gaze, and gave A perspective amidst the sound of roaring gears.

"Good idea."

"But you can do more: since you have opened the fusion of psionic energy and machinery, you don't have to be so stingy about psionic energy, you can give it more authority, terror and power: you know how to Done, you know how to turn it into a real disaster."

"Its upper limit will be more terrifying than those chief demons showing off in the sea of ​​souls. It can drag ten star regions into the waves of the sea of ​​death and blood by itself. You can completely create it like that, Because in your mind, you hold that kind of knowledge."

Morgan blinked, and there were icy waves in her pupils.

【What does my creation have to do with you, devil? 】

"Of course it doesn't matter. I'm just giving a suggestion. You can understand this as a kind of necessary kindness, a kind of opening statement for the smooth progress of our next transaction: In your race, This step appears to be necessary."

Vashtor waved his hand to disperse the dust raised by its footsteps, then pointed to the [goods] on the table, and continued his narration and [goodwill] with an unquestionable authority.

"Just like the things you ordered, they can indeed achieve the effect you desire, similar to [Spiritual Bone], and they can be produced on a large scale, but if you create this raw material with an appropriate method If you add the ashes of the Eldar race to a certain proportion, then its efficacy will far exceed your imagination, and it can even produce extremely strong resistance to the subspace."

"The ashes of those self-proclaimed Ark Eldar and the Harlequin Troupe are the most effective in this regard, those who wandered in the wild world by themselves are less effective, as for those Comorian races who claim to be the orthodox Eldar, if they If their death is accompanied by absolute pain, then their ashes are good building materials."

"Of course, all of this depends on your own thoughts. I'm just offering an opinion. As for whether you will choose this path, and whether you will swallow the fruits of success or failure, it is not up to my will. "

"Now, I think you've seen my sincerity: Shall we begin?"

"Or do you need to ask for instructions?"

Morgan's brows twitched, and she admitted that she was a little interested in the words of the thing in front of her, but she didn't want to let this maverick devil be complacent: Although under the blessing of some special means in her mind, She can confirm that every word of the devil in front of her is indeed true and reliable.

For a demon, this is a rare miracle.

The Spider Queen was silent for a while, she could feel the demon's pupils staring at her closely, it was waiting for the real start of the dialogue, it was waiting for Morgan's answer and nod.

【…】

Morgan was not silent for long.

【So, what do you want to talk to me about, or trade with me, devil? 】

"A simple equivalent exchange."

【Simple? 】

"It depends on how you choose: I will explain every detail of the transaction very clearly, but whether you agree to this transaction and whether you will benefit from this transaction is all your own responsibility: I will Take what I deserve, and I'm not interested in whether you get more or less."

The Creator's voice boomed from the loudspeaker in the room, and at the same time, it was also in the spider queen's armor speaker, whispering with a static sound, while the spider queen listened most carefully. I replayed all of Vashtor's words over and over again in my mind, carefully looking for possible mistakes and traps in them, and probing for possible tricks hidden in the words of the Creator.

The Creator sensed this attitude of caution and precaution, but it did not respond with any anger. On the contrary, in its gear tone, it actually reflects a fluctuation that is closest to the concept of "pleasure".

【…】

【what do you want to trade? 】

Every word of the Lord of the Second Legion happened after a long silence. She expressed her thoughts in short and intermittent sentences, her brows were always furrowed, and the psychic power flickering at her fingertips never faded.

"this."

The Creator spoke succinctly. His hooves hidden in the flames and smoke stepped on the stone slabs and made a clicking sound. The twisted creation climbed onto the marble platform behind the round table, where the top was covered by a large curtain. When he got up, he could only vaguely see a huge cage.

The Creator lifted the curtain, only to see that what it showed was an almost impossible cage: this prison was built with pure black steel and weathered stone pillars, and its complex structure spoke of its ingenuity, but its The appearance is so simple that it can be seen through at a glance, and it seems to be a temporary product of some patchwork.

Of course, in front of the prisoner it holds, these contradictions are not worth mentioning: the moment the spider queen's pupils were pulled down the curtain, she couldn't help but dilate for no other reason, just because this building is about the size of a war engine. Inside the cage, there are actually imprisoned...

an asteroid?

Yes, an asteroid.

Absurd as it may sound, both its real appearance and the flickering perception of the Primarch confirm one thing: this is indeed an asteroid, which was magically destroyed by the Lord of the Forge of Souls. Captured and imprisoned in this contradictory cage.

Vashtor's voice sounded at the right time.

"Please allow me to introduce this thing to you: this thing is called [Plague Heart]."

"Its history is far more remote than any monuments you can find. It was born in an ancient age where gods, heaven and miracles existed, and was placed with high hopes and missions by its creators. In a place where it's nearly impossible to find."

"During the long years of alternation of countless races and civilizations, even the degenerate pleasure-seekers who imprisoned it have long since forgotten the history and truth about it, and its cage decayed in the eternal reincarnation until it was completely The earth was turned into a pool of scorched earth, so that it could escape the obstruction of the cage and come to the galaxy again."

"Countless overlords and warlords once possessed its authority, and even the owner of the Rotten Garden sent his subordinates to pursue this power. The name Plague Heart was also born at that time, but in the end, it Still in my hands."

"In order to completely remove those traces of rot, I soaked it in the soul furnace countless times to ensure its current appearance: absolute indifference and purity, which can be used as part of our transaction."

The Creator's words echoed in Spider Queen's ears over and over again. Morgan took a moment to clear her astonishment. She slowly narrowed her eyes, thinking about the value and pitfalls of these words, and also thinking about herself. Whether it still has the ability and confidence to terminate this transaction at any time.

This time, she was silent for an extra long time.

[I have a problem, devil. 】

[Answer them, or we end this conversation immediately. 】

Vashtor didn't answer, it just returned to Morgan, with a vague sound in his voice as a response to Morgan's words.

"please say."

"As long as I can answer it for you now, I will disclose it."

【…】

Morgan was lost in thought, and countless torrents of thoughts churned in her mind, sweeping out roaring waves one after another: She had too many questions to ask, but they were either too trivial or too obvious, Or it might reveal her lack of confidence.

Finally, after a brief but intense thought, only one last priority remained on the Spider Queen's mind, a question that was all the more important because of her selfish nature, involving her extremely cautious and sensitive mind.

She looked at the Creator and spoke.

[Why, you chose me? 】

【What is the meaning of the titles you revealed to me? 】

------

【Master of Two Realms】

【Princes of Three Kingdoms】

【A man who devours relatives, a minister who kills the king】

【King of Zhengxi, Honor of Zhengnan】

Over and over again, Morgan repeated these titles in his heart, hammering and honing their authenticity, thinking about the meaning behind each word.

Some she could understand, but others felt vague and familiar, as if they had some kind of connection with her, but she had lost this connection at some point.

It even made her irritable.

Therefore, after a short thought, the Spider Queen still decided to solve the problems caused by these titles first, and then think about this transaction that was advancing layer by layer in the middle of surveillance.

"Ah, it was my oversight."

Morgan originally thought that she would be greeted with a shock, a laugh, or simply a sound of gears mixed with sarcasm and ambiguity, but then, what actually happened was more serious than she imagined. Simpler and more bizarre.

Faced with this question, Vashtor hesitated for a moment. It did not immediately answer as usual, but like a machine that stopped working, it was truly dead silent for a while before turning on again. Opened his pupils and apologized.

"Then, please allow me to make up for the answer brought about by this omission and answer it for you."

The joy that once appeared has completely disappeared from the friction of its gears. Now the Creator stands in front of Morgan, with a distance of ten meters from her. Its gestures and gestures reflect absolute rigor and formality, as if treating A respectable opponent.

"Forgive me, slave queen."

"Out of a certain habit and negligence, I used the titles that you can only pick up in the future to refer to your current state: but considering the time state in the subspace, the current you are also worthy of these titles. It's just that you haven't realized it yet."

"You are nobler, more important, and more pathetic than you think."

"Perhaps in some respects, you are the same as those blood brothers in your mouth, a peerless weapon created by your genetic father, but you have some essential differences from them, which can be called a gully. difference."

"Their future is free, but your future is prison."

"Their mission was to take, but your mission is to keep at all costs."

"They are the sacrifices needed in a destined great war, and they are the bargaining chips in an exchange that will eventually collapse. Their fate will be forged with the long laughter of the gods and their own blood."

"But you are different. You were born for the unexpected future, for the choice that made everyone fearful, for the king's resolute swing of the sword after the defeat of the war, and for the rational red line of both parties after the deal was broken. Your fate will be determined by Others will decide, the choices of the bewildered masses and your awareness will determine what kind of existence you will become."

"To put it simply, your brother is the sharp sword your father forged to conquer, and your existence is the detonator that your father prepared to drag everyone into destruction in order to prevent his plan from completely failing. .”

"You shoulder such a fate, not only you, but also another blood relative of yours."

【……who is he? 】

"I can't say, this is beyond my purview and risk assessment, but you will soon learn the name of the man who will be imprisoned on the borderline of death and life until the end of the kingdom you have created together: This is his punishment."

"And you are one of the executioners."

"You will be your gene-father's emissary to execute him: for he has failed."

【…】

Morgan's pupils flickered, and she didn't pursue the question further, because she had already guessed who the brother was: who needed her to be the executioner?
At the same time, the Spider Queen also had to sigh: Compared with other existences, the Lord of the Soul Furnace is indeed much more honest and even sincere, although this cannot erase its essence as a demon at all.

Her pupils became colder.

[Continue to answer my question just now, devil, you have been avoiding. 】

"I can assure you I didn't."

Vashtor's voice changed to a low, slow rhythm, making it hard to tell whether it was hiding or angry.

"As far as I can disclose, I will tell you."

[Then say it quickly. 】

"Ok."

"In the subspace, there is a certain distinction that you don't know yet: Although from the perspective of outsiders, the kingdoms of the gods are extremely chaotic and intertwined, their respective domains are extremely clear, but You can't see it."

"There is only one palace of chaos, but around this final palace, there are eight whole domains. Each domain will have a lord, a throne, and a crown. Among them, there are four The first crown has been placed on the head of the god, and the fifth will soon have its wearer."

"That is to say, among the eight realms of chaos, in fact, there are already five masters who own or are about to own them. Although the four gods who have already ruled have tried every means to get involved in other realms, they The real land is only the one where they are kings, because they can never be united, any gods who set foot on other realms will be quickly and ruthlessly besieged."

"In this case, the remaining three territories kept their blanks, they were not taken away by any god, but continued to wait for their masters: among the octagonal stars moved by Chaos, these three The empty kingdoms occupy due east, due south, and due west."

"As for the fifth god who is about to take the throne, it has reserved the throne of True North, which is the authority of finality and death, which is the movement of betrayal and loneliness."

"As for the remaining three crowns, opposed to the fifth, it is the loneliness created by greed and hatred, the kingdom of eternal futility, eternal dullness, and eternal self-destruction, and the kingdom that devours all. Desire is to burn all enemies."

"This is the country of Zhengnan, and it is also where your power will take root."

【……mine? 】

"Yes, your flag will be planted on that land, but it's not firm. You don't have the blood and claim to rule there. You can only become a firm tyrant, using power and violence to drive the power of that land: you Not the king there, but the supreme one there."

"Because you used the only way Chaos can admit to occupy there."

【…】

Morgan blinked.

For a moment, she wanted to ask what this so-called "correct way" was, but she held back the desire because the question was not necessary.

She spoke, pointing to the core of this series of long speeches.

[However, according to your previous words, I will own another land, a domain that belongs to me: corresponding to you? 】

"That's it."

The Creator nodded, its huge head turning a suspicious angle.

"You don't seem surprised?"

[Any word from the devil's mouth will not surprise me. I will listen to your story, but I will not immediately regard it as a real future. 】

"Wise choice."

There was a brisk whine of smoke from the Creator's chest, and he raised a hand to continue his tirade.

"As I said, apart from the fifth god who is about to return to the throne and the King of Zhengnan who opposes it, there are only two unowned territories left beside the palace of chaos: Zhengdong and Zhengdong. West, if their names are called by the harmless words of you mortals, they are [Vicious Art] and [Invisible Distortion] respectively."

[Then let me guess, you are the claimant of the crown of vicious arts. Although you have not really obtained this authority, you can already use some of its power? 】

"And so are the gods."

The roar of the creator is like a rather ironic smile.

"Yes, even though I am the chief candidate in the Zhengdong domain and the one who is most likely to ascend to the throne, I am still not a real god, but because there are no other competitors at present, or in other words, I I have a huge advantage among all the candidates, and I can also temporarily mobilize a little authority."

"Because I already hold the key to that crown."

【key? 】

"The crown doesn't care who wears it, no matter what kind of past you have, what means you use, as long as you win the competition, defeat other potential candidates, and get the key corresponding to the domain and the crown, you will be You can step onto your throne."

"The key is so important. When you become its owner, you can already be called a god in a sense, and you can even divide an independent territory and kingdom in the subspace. Any existence None of them can easily touch its land."

【…】

With the thoughts of the Primarch, sorting out these uncomplicated words is a piece of cake, but Morgan remained silent for a long time, and it took her a long time to calm down the turbulent waves in her heart and maintain at least her face. Indifference and calmness.

After temporarily ignoring the terrifying meaning hidden behind these words, the Spider Queen was able to concentrate again, following the words of the Creator, thinking about the core content of the topic at this point.

She found it quickly.

【key? 】

【What is that like? 】

【Do I own it?And you use this to infer that I am your kind, your mirror image? 】

The Creator shook his head.

"I have another way to judge your identity: but I can't say, I can only tell you that the keys of each crown are different, they have no fixed existence, appearance or even concept, but when you When you realize what your key is, you will be able to join my ranks."

"That won't be long, and you will soon realize your strength and power."

"Trust me, you won't say no to it."

【…】

[How soon is it? 】

"For about a century, or maybe longer, mortal time means nothing to me."

【…】

Morgan took a deep breath.

【last question. 】

【Can you tell me now, why do I have this key, or this... qualification? 】

The Creator's profane body trembled with its laughter.

"About this point, you should ask your creator. He knows better than anyone else that he is the real creator, controller and even the beneficiary of all this. He is far more powerful than you imagined. crazy."

------

"do you know."

"The gods fear your maker."

"They fear the flames he stole from the Warp, a priceless treasure he robbed with meanness and might."

"When he can control this kind of flame, he can pose a real threat to the will of the four gods, he can reverse the logic and structure of chaos itself, and he can issue suggestions and threats to the void, because the four gods There’s going to be some sort of compromising stance with him.”

"He stole the fire, he is Prometheus in madness."

"He stole too many things, too important things, they are so many and important that they can only be vaguely referred to by the word flame, his great business is running because of these stolen sparks, and he continues his plan in an orderly manner .”

"And you."

"It's also his treasure."

"And you."

"It's also part of the flame."

"He stole you from the Warp, and something else as important as you."

"So now, the four gods pay attention to the land of reality prematurely, and confront your creator prematurely, confronting and compromising in silent contests."

"The purpose of the Four Gods is nothing else."

"The steps of the four gods are here for you."

"They want to take you away, but your creator has already created a terrible trap with you as the center. Even the gods dare not step into his scheme rashly."

"They're scared."

"because……"

"You, and your future."

"It is the existence that makes the gods fear."

"so."

"The gods thirst for you."

"Follow You."

"Around you."

"At the same time, I'm also afraid of you."

(End of this chapter)