Emperor's Bane

Chapter 582: Good Man Magnus
Sixteen hours after the farce at the foot of Phoenix Cliff ended, Ahriman officially stepped into the secret room of his genetic father located in the deepest part of the Radiance: the last time he came here was more than sixty years ago.

Waiting for the rows of glass pyramids to push open the doors decorated with spiral patterns one by one was a long process, so long that Ahriman could squint his eyes and think carefully about this unusual day under the full monitoring of the Scarab Guards.

The first thing he thought of was the departure of the Wolf King and his hunting pack, which happened only a few hours ago: ten hours after the fall of Phoenix Cliff announced the complete victory of the entire battle on Shrike, the Heracleofenr led the entire Sixth Legion into the nearest Mandeville Point. As Magnus's envoy, Ahriman watched them all leave from afar.

Thinking of this, Ahriman could not help but feel fortunate. He was fortunate that the two Primarchs did not lose their minds until the very end, whether it was Magnus or Leman Russ: in their renewed confrontation after Morgan and others arrived, they spent a full forty minutes accusing, slandering, insulting and even physically threatening each other, but the atmosphere of civil war that drifted in the Shrike Nebula was completely dissipated and never gathered again.

Ahriman was relieved that the Wolf King had put away the Spear of Dionysus and did not let the confrontation turn into a fight to the death. However, the Fenrisian's subsequent accusations made the Thousand Sons' heart, which had just been put at ease, rise to their throats again: in front of the four Primarchs and thousands of Astartes warriors, Leman Russ clenched his fists and issued a final solemn warning to his brother.

He warned Magnus, and in turn warned every Thousand Son present: The Wolf King declared that his patience with these Prosperos had completely run out, and that stopping at this time did not mean that he forgave the Thousand Sons, but that he had not yet received the formal order to massacre from the All-Father, and that was what he was going to do next.

He gave his last rebuke, or roar: he told Magnus and the entire Thousand Sons Legion that if they still refused to repent before the conference that would decide the fate of all psykers, then what awaited them would be a ruthless judgment from Fenris and even the entire human empire.

The Wolf King pledged his honor that Magnus's folly would be ended, not in an ambiguous armed conflict between the two Legions on Shrike, but at a Psychic Congress, where accusations and judgments would flood in from every corner of the Imperium: ultimately, a formal order from the All-Father would doom the entire Fifteenth Legion.

At that time, the Spear of Dionysus will be drawn once again, and the wolves on Fenris will begin to gallop once more: but this time they will be supported by the most powerful, most determined, and most irresistible majesty in the galaxy, rather than the foolish act of Leman Russ in anger before.

Standing beside Magnus, Ahriman listened to it all. He did not pay attention to the reactions of the other Thousand Sons, but focused on the expression on Magnus's face: because only the Scarlet King was the arbitrator of everything.

Ahriman saw the hidden complexity on Magnus' face: Magnus did not start to comfort his subordinates loudly until the Wolf King walked away and the other two brothers said goodbye. He treated the Wolf King's warning with a nonchalant attitude, which stabilized the morale of the Thousand Sons.

But Ahriman saw clearly: fear had taken root in Magnus' heart.

The wolf king's words worked.

I just don’t know how many there are.

This phenomenon made Ahriman deeply worried, and he longed to find someone wiser to give him an answer: the first person he thought of was the Spider Queen who had left earlier, but when the Thousand Sons arrived at the Dawnbreaker's position, they found that they had much more to do.

With Shrike as the core, the marginal Ark Cluster that surrendered to the Empire was completely incorporated into the rule of the Dawnbreakers. Although it was still some distance away from the Far Eastern frontier, it was within the radiation range of the Forge World Ryza and had its own value.

The mechanical priests are estimating how much new value this world can generate for them. They are told by Morgan that they need to adopt a more gentle way of ruling because the Spider Queen also wants to make profits from it: a typical example is the ferocious giant shrike.

The mortal officers of Greater Avalon were very interested in these tamable creatures that could even pose a threat to Astartes warriors. They believed that these creatures could fill the gaps left by Avalon's air force in certain complex terrains: this outstanding military value quickly allowed Shrike to gain a higher position in the Far Eastern Frontier, but its previous brother worlds were not so lucky.

Classes were thus created. The most steadfast pillar of resistance to the Empire suddenly became a nail planted by the Lord of Mankind in the Marginal Ark Cluster. With the Empire's high-flying double-headed eagle flag behind it, Shrike could naturally exercise authoritarian rule over those brother worlds that were once on equal footing with it.

Ahriman was not surprised by this. He just patiently observed the Spider Queen processing official documents for a while, then realized that Morgan really couldn't spare the time, so he turned to seek the next level option: this eventually led the Thousand Sons to the [Thousand-foot Light].

------

In general, Ahriman's first impression of this long-lost mothership was extremely complicated: he missed the sights here, but was not used to the smell.

As a veteran who had served as early as the Terra Unification War and had decades of military experience when the Great Crusade just began, Ahriman had spent almost as much time on the Manifestation of Radiance as he had on the Aurora. He felt that both warships were perfect and represented completely different philosophies in the galaxy.

There may not be only one truth.

If the Aurora symbolizes the "material daily life" that humans are born with and strive to maintain, then the Radiant Light is undoubtedly the human pursuit of the pinnacle of the spiritual realm, and they are the peaks of two different tracks.

Only here can one see the glass pyramid surrounded by stars, and every tile carved with black and white spiral crystals: these tiles were made by the great wizard of Prospero himself, and are naturally spiritual. Ahriman fell into it intoxicated at first sight.

What a familiar feeling.

The scarabs pushed open the door and allowed Ahriman to walk into the hall. The Thousand Son looked up at the vast stars that were plucked from thousands or even tens of thousands of years ago, while climbing up the spiral stairs that alternated between black and white. His genetic father was waiting for him at the top.

Magnus seemed to have foreseen Ahriman's arrival. He reserved the best seat for his proudest child, allowing Ahriman to look up at the stars with him. The long-lost communication between father and son slowly began in silence.

"You are later than I expected, Ahriman: what is the matter?"

"At the Dawnbreaker..."

Ahriman hadn't made it clear, but Magnus didn't really care.

"Ah, I understand. My relative is working hard to make this world her new possession: Morgan enjoys dealing with numbers and mortals in their thousands. Only Guilliman can surpass her in this respect."

"actually……"

Ahriman opened his mouth to defend Morgan, but Magnus smiled and shook his head, telling him to calm down.

"Don't worry, Ahriman, I'm not saying Morgan is doing a bad job."

The Primarch's words were sincere.

"There is more than one way to explore wisdom in this world. Morgan just chose the one she is more comfortable with, going deep into the world to pick the fruits of experience, just like I chose to stay away from the gaze of the crowd and taste loneliness in an atmosphere of misunderstanding: there is no distinction between high and low in the way of learning, because learning itself is an act worthy of respect."

"No matter what, the same crown will be waiting for us at the finish line."

When the Great Wizard Prospero mentioned his silver-haired blood relative, there was a clear kindness and affection on his face, which made Ahriman particularly gratified: no one wanted to see the harmony between the Dawnbreaker and Thousand Sons Legions more than Ahriman, because they each constituted a part of Ahriman's body and soul.

"Perhaps it would be more effective if you said these words to Morgan's face, sir."

Magnus only gave a slightly playful wink at Ahriman's suggestion.

"When I talk to Morgan, we don't mention these great principles. We only discuss more profound and interesting knowledge. Moreover, I will not disturb Morgan for other things when she is busy at work. That is very impolite."

"..."

Ahriman hung his head in shame.

"However, you are right about one thing, Ahriman."

Magnus withdrew his gaze; the stars no longer held his interest.

"After I have finished resting and dealing with the affairs of the Legion, I will indeed find time to talk to Morgan, and perhaps call my brother Angron: we will have some very important topics to be decided, and my two blood relatives now have something to ask of me."

With that, the Primarch turned around and led Ahriman forward on the smooth spiral tiles. The Thousand Sons could see the Primarch's muscular arms and the [Tome of Magnus] locked around his waist through the crystal plates beside him.

Morgan actually had a book like this: Magnus had given it to him when he visited Prospero. It could be linked to the book on the Primarch's waist, updating it in real time with new content written by Magnus, but Ahriman had never seen Morgan take out that book.

But when the Primarch asked about it, the Thousand Sons cleverly changed the answer to "Morgan locked it in her most precious treasure house, and few people could see her take out the book."

This answer satisfied the Primarch, but he still shook his head proudly.

"My sister, she is always so cautious, which means that her career is solid but not too high: she will never be able to lead a new era, but when I open this new era for the empire, she will become the best consolidator of this era, just like the pedestal built by Dorne."

Ahriman wisely remained silent about this statement.

Two minutes later, Magnus brought him to a room deep in the hall, which was the real secret room: the walls made of emerald and marble were covered with runes, each of which symbolized a new achievement made by Magnus in the warp. Considering the Prospero people's rigorous attitude towards knowledge, every achievement here could stand up to scrutiny.

In the twenty-odd years that Ahriman had been able to stay by the Primarch's side, he remembered that Magnus had gained a total of forty-two achievements, but when he returned here again, he found that the number of symbols had exceeded five hundred: at least ninety-nine of them had been achieved in recent years.

"Surprising, right?"

The Primarch smiled at his surprised offspring, and his pride as a father was greatly satisfied. Over the next ten minutes, Magnus selected the part of his achievement that made him most proud and briefly explained it to Ahriman: this was enough to completely shake Ahriman's outlook on life.

As a master of the Warp who had received careful instruction from two psychic masters, Magnus and Morgan, and was himself one of the Empire's top psychics, Ahriman could naturally discern the value of Magnus' words: at the very least, at least one-third of the discoveries and conclusions could overturn the Empire's research on the Warp, and at the most, even the Emperor himself might be able to learn something new here.

This is a compliment.

It was sincere praise without any filter of father-son affection.

If we only talk about thickness, the knowledge of the Warp that Magnus showed at this time can completely crush Morgan: Ahriman is sure that some of the theories proposed by the Scarlet King are things that the Spider Queen would never think of, and would never try, even in her lifetime. He is even a little curious about how Magnus thought of these problems.

"A pile of sand makes a tower."

The Primarch's answer was simple.

"I have been studying every field in the warp for nearly a hundred years, and this effort has only now given me real rewards. Today, I am becoming stronger and wiser than the day before. It is a qualitative leap. This is also the reason why I can remain calm in front of Leman Russ, Ahriman."

"If he really went insane and wanted to start a war right here, I could suppress his army here with just one hand. This is why he dared not act rashly, because he knew this clearly in his heart."

"He's not stupid, he's just savage."

"He knew that genetic disease was not enough to provoke a fight between the Legions, and without a direct order from the Emperor, what right did he have to attack another Legion: if Leman Russ really did so, then he would be a traitor to the Empire in the legal sense."

"Purge dissidents? Is he qualified? Zhuang Sen is the one who kills first and asks for permission later."

Magnus sneered.

"He obviously forgot that."

Ahriman nodded in agreement.

Even he felt that Leman Russ's action of pulling out the Spear of Dionysus was too reckless: as creatures at the top of the galactic pyramid, each Primarch had terrifyingly great invisible power within the human empire, and the fall of any Primarch was a scene that others could not imagine.

Generally speaking: unless a Primarch has committed a genuine act of betrayal against the Imperium and the Emperor, or the Lord of Mankind has given a clear and direct order, any attack on that Primarch by any Imperial military force, even by another Primarch, can be regarded as an act of treason and rebellion.

In other words, unless someone really raises the flag of rebellion, all major problems will only be punished by three glasses of wine as punishment by the Primarch: just being confined to one's hometown is a severe punishment, and being seriously injured is something that can only be dreamed of.

"Besides, Leman Russ also knows that he can't beat me. Don't look at how arrogant he is in front of Morgan, but after a few words from my blood relative, he becomes trembling, nervous, and then starts to smile and flatter, right?"

Magnus chuckled.

“This is also my deterrent.”

No, he felt it was more likely that Morgan's words themselves had this power.

Ahriman blinked, many names coming to mind at this moment.

Jonson, Konrad, Guilliman, and damn Leman Russ...

"But the Spear of Dionysus..."

"Oh! Please!"

The Primarch had cut short his brood.

"I am a psychic. Have you ever seen a psychic being caught in the range of a spear by a barbarian in a one-on-one situation? Even if it is thrown from a distance, it can't even scrape the cloak behind me."

"Melee psykers are idiots."

"Otherwise, why do you think my brothers never mention my name when discussing their mutual military power? They just know not to humiliate themselves: the only one among the Primarchs who can pose a threat to me is Morgan, but our friendship means that we will never be enemies."

"Compared to this, it is better to worry about the old bones of the seal holder."

After saying this, seeing that Ahriman still didn't quite believe it, the Scarlet King simply summoned up a new psychic fire on the spot. It was a mixture of black and gold colors, and the mere moment it appeared made Ahriman's hair stand on end: not only his body, but even his soul felt a great threat.

"Tell me, Ahriman."

Magnus smiled.

"Do you think Morgan can defeat me who is standing in such flames?"

"..."

Ahriman was silent for a long time, and finally spoke his true feelings.

"I'm not sure, father: but your confrontation will be a disaster for a world, or even a galaxy. I may never be worthy of witnessing your possible confrontation."

"Don't be so self-deprecating."

Magnus smiled and patted Ahriman's head in comfort.

"You are my most outstanding offspring. I believe Amon has already told you that I have always reserved the position of Chief of the Black Crow School and Captain of the First Company for you. No matter how jealous others are, it is useless. I know who is the best in my legion."

His father's appreciation was like a warm flame burning in Ahriman's heart. "Thank you, father, but even so I still..."

"You still have some pretty tough questions you want to ask me here, don't you?"

Magnus said it directly.

Then, he pointed to the special symbol beside Ahriman, and then to the scarabs standing guard in the hall, and gave Ahriman a cunning look, sharing a little secret between father and son.

"Don't worry. This is called the Symbol of Sosmes. It protects you. No one but me will hear what you are going to say next, so don't feel any pressure. Just ask whatever you want to ask, Ahriman. Doubt is the fertile soil for new knowledge."

"Okay, my lord."

Ahriman took a deep breath and glanced outward.

"I want to know about Hastur..."

"Ah, I guess that's it."

The Primarch shook his head helplessly, he did not listen to the end of Ahriman's words.

"Let me tell you straight, we cannot avoid independent mutations at any time. Even a one in a billion chance may happen to the world. Hastur was the lucky one who encountered this chance, but his death should not scare us."

"But you said that you had found a solution to the flesh and blood mutation back then?"

"I did find it."

Magnus reached out his hand and placed it on Ahriman's shoulder. His words sounded more like an instruction or even a warning than an explanation.

"I know the importance of Flesh Mutation in your heart, Ahriman. Your real brother died of this disease. It's a pity that I didn't have time to save him, but please don't underestimate my next efforts: this kind of misfortune has completely left our legion."

"As for Hastur, that is a tragedy in probability: just like even though humans announced dozens of centuries ago that we have completely wiped out the smallpox virus, to this day, the smallpox virus still stubbornly exists in some dark corners of the galaxy, and the flesh and blood mutation is just the same situation."

"I will strengthen the measures further with my newfound power."

Magnus fiddled with the flames.

"You see, Ahriman, this flame is enough to cleanse the Thousand Sons Legion of all ills."

Ahriman looked at the flame and he saw the power in it.

"You are right, my lord."

"That's right, my child: this will never happen again."

The Primarch and his offspring stared at each other, the flames in their pupils changing their state of mind, making everything appear so bright, but from time to time they were dragged into darkness: it was precisely because of the contrast of the light sources that Ahriman always felt that Magnus's face was much darker than before.

But he nodded anyway.

"I believe you, my Lord."

"That's great."

The Primarch was delighted, and his joy was genuine.

"Thank you, Ahriman. Nothing can comfort a father more than the trust of a child."

The joy on the great wizard's face was so simple that Ahriman felt guilty. He thought of what he was about to say to Magnus, and his heart became heavy.

"But that's no reason to keep your words bottled up in your chest, my child."

Magnus had seen through it all.

“Let me put it this way: A man’s growth is to face his father head-on.”

The Primarch's encouragement made Ahriman look at his Primarch with a hint of apology.

"…I'm so sorry, sir."

"But...I..."

"what happened to you?"

Magnus was patient and persuasive.

"I just……"

Ahriman took a deep breath.

"I just think that maybe I am more adapted to life over there with the Dawnbreakers now."

The air froze for a moment.

Ahriman hurried to excuse himself.

"No! I'm not saying that life in the Thousand Sons is bad. I just feel that I'm a little bit uncomfortable with the environment here... or the situation here, and I still have unfinished business in the Dawnbreakers..."

"cause?"

"Yes, I still have a lot of teaching materials and a college to take care of, and I haven't found anyone who can replace me yet... I..."

"I just... uh..."

The eloquent mouth could no longer utter any words at this moment.

Ahriman bowed his head.

"I'm just... sorry... Dad..."

"But it is true..."

"Indeed what?"

Magnus maintained an unreadable expression on his face, his voice was neither sad nor happy, waiting for the next sentence.

"Let me be clear, Ahriman: I never told you to be vague."

"I'm sorry, Father."

Ahriman bowed his head again.

"but……"

"I have a more important purpose: a cause worth my time and effort. Therefore, I will have to leave the Thousand Sons Legion."

"I cherish the time I spend with you and my brothers, but I also can't bear to see all my efforts so far go to waste: I believe in my colleagues, but they really still need my guidance and wisdom, and none of my students can inherit the burden on my shoulders, even though I have tried my best to train them."

"Really?"

"That's what they said."

"..."

The air was quiet.

It was quiet for a long time.

It was not until Ahriman felt a little desperate in his heart that he suddenly heard his genetic father burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha..."

Magnus smiled and shook his head with some emotion.

"That's all you want to say?"

"…Your will is…"

"My will?"

The Primarch's voice rose, and he waved his hand towards his offspring, showing his heroic spirit.

"My will is..."

……

"go a head!"

“Go chase your career!”

"Go conquer your dreams!"

"Invest every bit of your wisdom in the fertile soil of the Milky Way, and one day they will grow into stamens that benefit all mankind: you will no longer be mentioned as my offspring, but as the founder of a great cause. That will be my greatest pride, Ahriman."

The Primarch patted his scion's shoulder and met Ahriman's gaze with encouragement.

"Don't be sad, kid."

"Leaving your family behind and bravely running towards the unknown stars is a stage that every man must go through in his life. If fate is destined to separate us, then I will accept this pain. Your words just now are exactly why I am proud of you."

"Go ahead, fulfill your promise."

"I will keep an eye out for news about you. The positions of Chief of the Black Crow School and Captain of the First Company will always be reserved for you. I am waiting for the moment when you set foot on the land of Prospero again, and for your joyful smile when you bring back news of victory."

"..."

Ahriman was a little dazed, this overwhelming feeling of happiness made him stutter.

"You...you're not angry?"

"angry?"

Instead, Magnus smiled and asked back.

"Why should I be angry?"

"Should I be angry that you finally have a great career of your own, or should I be angry that one of my children can leave the Legion, carve out his own future in the galaxy, and use the knowledge I taught him to benefit all of humanity?"

"Honor? Power? Or praise? What is there for me to be angry about?"

"You have worked hard to achieve all this. Even the emperor has no right to be jealous of you."

"..."

"Rather, Ahriman."

Magnus looked up, his face bathed in the stars.

Pure and glorious.

"What father wouldn't want to see his son become famous?"

(End of this chapter)