Emperor's Bane

Chapter 797: Eternity in Honeymoon
End and death.

Or rather: the Lord of Darkness.

This was not the first time Morgan had heard this name from someone else.

Whether it's the Emperor, the Sigillite, Trazyn, Eldarad, or Shalish and Sigourchi who call themselves gods, these beings standing at the top of the galaxy all seem to know this name that has no practical meaning, but they are very secretive about it.

Just like: just like the other Primarchs discussing their missing brother.

Everybody seemed to know him, everybody praised his abilities, and had a deep impression of him, whether good or bad: sometimes they would mention his name seriously, but they would never go on to discuss anything more.

They fear the name and everything it represents.

Morgan had heard Archangel and Phoenix describe vividly how the absences from fraternity parties she had been unable to attend were teased: it would always make for a great afternoon tea topic.

Any Primarch who was not present was likely to be the subject of ridicule by his other gene-brothers who participated in the conversation. Most discussions were slightly sarcastic and ironic, but usually not hurtful.

After all, if you said a bad word or two about Horus and Ferrus in front of Sanguinius or Fulgrim, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't slip out accidentally and by sheer chance: then, some relationships were bound to become complicated.

Of course, this is only a relatively mild situation.

Sanguinius described an even worse development: long before the events of Ullanor and Nikea, Mortarion had once, at a small gathering of only four of his brothers, publicized his disapproval of vile sorcerers like Morgan and Magnus.

Unfortunately, besides Sanguinius and Mortarion, the other two brothers present were Perturabo and Jonson.

According to the Archangel's recollection, in the subsequent joint operations, although the situation he was most worried about did not happen, the smell of gunpowder among the brother legions was still very strong.

The Lord of Iron formulated a battle plan in cooperation with the Death Guard in an extremely perfunctory manner, and the fortresses built by his Olympian soldiers for the Sons of Mortarion were so simple that Fricks and others later refused to admit that these fortresses were built by the Fourth Legion.

In comparison, the Lord of Caliban was better off. At least Jonson remained reliable during the battle: but after the victory, the Lion King sent an additional delegation to the Endurance.

This friendly visit team was led by Alajos and Koswein, and most of its members were voluntary participants such as Astelan, Terran veterans who had experienced the two Randan Wars and fought alongside the Soul Drinker Lady.

In front of the Lord of Death, they easily knocked down every senior officer and champion warrior of the Fourteenth Legion. Even Typhon and Garro could not escape. After gaining enough victories, the Dark Angels followed the Indomitable Truth and left.

Because the Archangel was not present, he was not sure how Mortarion reacted at the time, but he heard that after the First Legion left, a large number of Death Guard officers were punished for their negligence in martial arts: in fact, it was not a severe punishment, but they were criticized in public by the Lord of Death.

It is said that Mortarion's spittle splattered all over the head of Typhon, who was in the front.

Of course, this uninteresting episode would naturally not be mentioned in any conversation involving more than three people. The primarchs had plenty of classic topics that were humorous but not presumptuous: there were already enough brothers who didn't get along with each other, and there was really no need to add a few more pairs.

At least on this issue, the Primarchs enjoyed rare fairness, and no one could escape the mouths of their brothers: they would laugh at Horus for being as stubborn as a child on any issue concerning the Emperor, and would also discuss mysteriously what scientific issues Morgan's "Dead Branches and Fallen Leaves" contained; as for Guilliman and his increasingly closed little kingdom, they were the menstrual post that never lost its popularity.

But that man was different. The Primarchs would occasionally mention him, revealing his numbers in a nostalgic or emotional tone, but there would always be someone who would stand up to prevent the topic from going further, causing the conversation to come to an abrupt end, or revealing more fragmented information in the debate.

If someone wanted to know what kind of person the Emperor's heir who had been erased from existence was like by listening to the Primarch's conversation, he would be in big trouble: all kinds of vague words with hints, and the inevitable personal opinions behind these words, would only make the listener paint a distorted and perverse picture of a terrible thing in his mind, neither human nor ghost.

Unfortunately, Morgan is now the listener.

From the Emperor to Slaanesh, too many people have spoken of the Dark Lord's name and His terror in front of Morgan with certainty, as if He was the end of the world, the common catastrophe of the real universe and the Warp, and the twilight of the gods in this sad world.

But the problem is that no narrator has ever been willing to tell Morgan the truth: What is so terrible about the Dark Lord? What kind of influence will he have on them? What kind of power will he use to destroy the galaxy? And more details worth remembering.

They were just whispering, whispering the name of the Dark Lord over and over again, as if the name itself contained power.

This leads to a result: even now, most of the Spider Queen's understanding of the Dark Lord is still limited to the horrified glimpse she got in front of the Perfect City: that power is indeed terrifying, but it seems very abstract due to the lack of sufficient understanding.

Everyone knows that wild animals are terrifying, but watching them through a screen or glass is completely different from facing them face to face in the wild: Morgan is like sitting on a cable car and watching brown bears rolling around below. He just thinks their chubby bodies look a little cute.

So, up to now, the Dark Lord is a highly similar existence to the Webway among the Primarchs: they all seem to be very important, and have powerful energy, enough to affect the fate of all mankind, enough to make the gods of the Warp turn against them and set off a war that sweeps across the galaxy.

But...then what?

And then what?

No one answered this question for Morgan.

After all, aliens and humans are not the same, and Trazyn may not be more reliable than the Eldar of Eldar, and many gods just want to use this information to mislead her. Although Malcador is a trustworthy old man, he may not know more than Morgan: and as for the genetic father of the Spider Queen...

Ha...bah!

Morgan pursed her lips, and an awkward expression was her entire response to the Dark Prince's grand ambitions.

【Nice words.】

[If he were still alive, these words should be able to convince Magnus. ]

Judging from the fact that the Lord of the Silver Palace was still twisting his body, Morgan was sure that Slaanesh heard this answer as an insult: but the Dark Prince still maintained His good mood, and seemed to value the process of communicating face to face with the Primarch more than getting any response from Morgan.

No answer is needed. As long as Morgan stands in front of Slaanesh, she will be irreversibly affected in secret: even for the Primarch of Corruption, the personal action of a god is the final grand finale, and Morgan will enjoy it in advance.

I also enjoyed the Dark Prince's sincerity, which was almost overflowing. At least it looked sincere.

＋I don't expect you to believe my sincerity and respect for you at this time. ＋
＋You just need to know. ＋
+ In the days ahead, you will realize how valuable my advice was: when you see how the other Primarchs are treated in the presence of my brothers, when you know how the Emperor and the Galaxy regard you, you will remember my words. +
+Remember: It's about you. I will always be the highest bidder in the galaxy. +
Slaanesh's glowing purple eyes flickered in turn in the unbridled darkness, his face was so disdainful: when he spoke of his brothers and the Emperor.

+ Before the Lord of Change decided to abandon Magnus, he had already chosen his next target, and the Blood God has long set his sights on your most important brother and your most magnificent blood relative. +
+They will all offer you a price, but it will never include your soul: perhaps Nurgle, out of his usual good temper, will allow you to keep part of your soul, and then the price is that your legion will be completely destroyed. +
＋He has no way, nor the will, to solve the problem that concerns you most. ＋
＋As for your father? ＋

The Prince of Darkness hissed.

+Believe me, there is no money for you in his bidding plan. +
+ His most important money has to be kept to buy his own life. After all, if there is no antidote, the cursed will sooner or later meet his fate: he has been avoiding this game for too long. +
【So: the end and death? 】

Morgan was accustomed to saying these two words with a nonchalant attitude: even though it might represent a god.

[You are not the first one to boast about the authority of the Fifth God in front of me, Shalish.]

+It won’t be the last. +
Slaanesh blinked his eyes, and maintained his sitting posture, as if he wanted to talk to Morgan seriously.

+Hear, Morgan, my blood of Longinus. +
+ I know secrets. Secrets your father would never tell you, because even he himself has long forgotten them: the Emperor's bond to the Dark Lord is deeper than you realize, and he has used tactics to keep the Dark Lord's power from holding him, but he can control it instead. +
This is something that only an emperor can do: both in terms of the dominant idea and the difficulty of getting started.

Morgan nodded silently in his heart.

+In short, after a scheme that spanned thousands of years, your father divided the Dark Lord's qualifications for ascension into three unequal parts, and hid the largest one deep in his heart, while he corrupted the other two. +
【corrupt?】

The word intrigued Morgan.

How can he be corrupted?

+ He first hid one of the qualifications in a thing that could never become a god, and then, in order to secure the other qualification, he raised his butcher knife. +
＋Aren't you curious: Why is it that the powerful God of the End and Death has no one who believes in his chosen ones walking in the world? ＋
Slaanesh smiled, but her voice was as cold as an icy cave.

＋Because they were all killed. ＋
+Your father ensured that he would be the only one chosen by the end and death. +
【Tsk...】

Morgan hesitated.

What to do: She seems to have a sudden admiration for that old man.

After a while, the Spider Queen nodded blankly.

[You... continue? ]

+ In other words: Although according to the rules of the warp, when the throne of the end and death appears, there will be three candidates who have the opportunity to get their hands on the crown, but in fact, this is all a lie. Your father used various means to make him the only candidate? +
＋Maybe there will be a challenger, but unless a miracle happens, the so-called challenger will only be the first sacrifice. ＋
+ He is free to decide when he will wear the crown, and all he lacks is the slaughter and blood required for the ascension ceremony: Do you think your father, as the Lord of Humanity, doesn't know how stupid his actions are and that they will eventually lead to a rebellion that will sweep the entire galaxy? +
＋No, he knew: he even prepared carefully for it. ＋
+ The rebellion will start because of him: he will be the biggest beneficiary. When the blood of countless people is spilled at his feet, he can wear the crown of the end and death at any time, ascend to the top as the fifth god according to his own ideas, and introduce the great game into unprecedented chaos. +
＋Or: use this great power to do something else. ＋
【…】

+You don't have to believe me. +
Morgan wanted to say something else, but the Dark Prince interrupted her frivolously.

+ I don't expect you to agree and join my plan right here. I'm just telling you what's going to happen: you still have a long time to think and make a decision. Before you arrive at Holy Terra, you will have plenty of opportunities to investigate slowly. +
＋Go and see for yourself. ＋
+ You will see a ceremony, a great ceremony with the entire galaxy as an altar and all of humanity as sacrifice: Maybe your father doesn’t want to ascend the throne as a god from the bottom of his heart, and he is actually resisting the power of the end and death, but when he is frantically demanding more power in order to fight against us and to fulfill his unrealistic dream. +
+ Do you think: Can he escape? +
+Can he avoid it? +
+ Enjoying the power of God. But unwilling to wear the shackles of God: Can this unique good thing really fall on his head? +
【…】

+He's going to fail, Morgan. +
Slaanesh spoke earnestly, more sincerely than the truest friend, more reliable than the kindest parent, and more convincing than the Primarch's children and brothers: the Dark Prince even removed his disguise, and his chaotic nature was exposed before the Primarch.

+ He will not be able to resist the combined efforts of me and my brothers. His plan for the Webway will eventually fail. Without Magnus, we will have other means. Tzeentch has prepared a total of 999 plans for him: the power of the Warp has exceeded the real universe, and this is not a trend that he can reverse. +
+ No need to fantasize: his control over the rebellion will eventually fail, his empire and ambitions will burn in the flames of war, he will lose all his children, he will not be able to protect you from us, in the end, all he can do is to fight to the death to keep the last thing he cherishes. +
＋To protect Terra, and himself. ＋
+ And this means that he must accept more power, he must embrace the fate that has been waiting for him for a long time: the end and death. At the end of the Great Heresy, in the sky of Terra, it has been waiting for him. +
＋And the so-called Great Crusade only delayed all this for a moment. ＋
The Dark Prince shook his head, like a teacher lamenting his student's disappointment.

+ We will use all our strength to support this rebellion against the Emperor. He is no match for the four of us. If he wants to win, he must embrace everything, upgrade to an existence that can confront us, and join this great game: If he refuses, he will not have the power to defeat our common chosen one. +
＋Either surrender to the end, or embrace death.＋
+Fate will not favor him. +
+At least it won't last forever: he will be crushed sooner or later. +
+He couldn't hold out much longer. +
＋Perhaps, he has persisted for thousands, tens of thousands of years, or even longer, but the final victory will belong to us: his awareness and sacrifice may continue for tens of thousands of years, but there will eventually be a moment when it is exhausted. ＋
＋For us, it is just the distance until the next blink of an eye. ＋
＋What if we hold on for ten thousand years? Time is not something that can kill us. ＋
＋So. ＋
+He will lose: no doubt about it. +
【…】

arrogant.

The Primarch whispered in his mind.

The arrogance unique to gods was fully displayed in Slaanesh at this moment.

The Spider Queen was certain that the Dark Prince in front of her was indeed the merciful elder, indeed the Shalis who was sighing for the Emperor, and that he was indeed telling the truth, and even: incredibly, he had compassion for them and humans.

Or in other words: This is the closest thing to mercy that the gods can show.

But that’s exactly where the arrogance lies.

Slaanesh does not believe that the so-called Emperor and mankind can create any miracles. He points out only one path and future for Morgan: the Emperor will eventually fail, and his Empire and followers will sink in pain for ten thousand years until the light of the Golden Throne completely disappears, until this sad story comes to an end.

Until destruction, let them finally escape from this cesspool-like universe.

This is fate: it is the dried ink that has already been written in the book of destiny.

＋Like I said.＋
Slaanesh bent down slightly.

+ No matter if the cursed one really wants to ascend the throne of God in his heart, no matter if he really loves the so-called human beings: when he is swept by power and despair, when everything he desires finally exceeds the limit of his control, when he is swallowed by the energy of the warp, he rises like a black sun. +
＋When he had no choice but to become the fifth god. ＋
＋Is willingness important? ＋
＋Are his thoughts important? ＋
+The fact has already happened: what he has created with his own hands will be something he cannot change. +
＋So, my little fool. ＋
The god bowed his head, his purple gaze looking directly into the Primarch's face and heart.

+Don't stand on his side, you will lose miserably. +
……

＋Instead, please choose to listen to my opinion: this is my proposal. ＋
＋If you want to protect everything you have in the real universe, and even want to do more, protect your brothers and even the so-called human beings, and bear the pathetic dream of the cursed, then listen to my advice. ＋
＋Like I said.＋
＋I will offer the highest price. ＋
------

+ I will help you: I will use everything in the Silver Palace to help you. +
+ I will search the Warp for the realm deep to the south, for the throne your brother once abandoned, the throne of slavery, tyranny, and hatred, the treasure that awaits its destined heir: the source of power in the galaxy that only you can unlock. +
+For by devouring him, you have devoured a part of your brother, and have benefited from being of his kind: if we act together, we will be able to steal what remains of your fallen brother's body and essence from the secret chambers of the Imperial Palace on Terra while the Legions of the Damned are distracted by the events of the Heresy. +
+You can devour them, and then you will have the right to belong to both positions. +
+Because you are special, because you and the disappeared person are of the same kind, only the two of you are classified as the same species: when you devour his flesh and soul, at least from the perspective of the subspace, you are both you and he. +
＋But don't worry, you won't be affected by him. ＋
+ This qualification, together with the sacrifices you can enjoy in the Great Rebellion, and all the reserves in the Silver Palace, will support a sufficient ascension ceremony: Heydrich has inadvertently done everything for his ascension. Although he chose to give up at the last minute, his efforts have not disappeared, and you can inherit them legally and reasonably. +
+You can easily ascend the throne of slavery and hatred as a god. +
+ By that time, part of your body and essence can still roam freely in the war of the real universe: because you are not on the throne of your own, so you have mysterious power, but you don't have to be confined to the subspace like us. +
+ You can go to Terra, the place that is destined to end everything, with an unstoppable attitude and become the one who brings the end to the end. +
+ Become the Emperor's conqueror, the one who takes everything from him. +
+Defeat him, kill him, devour his power and essence, and then, all the waves in the fate of the entire human race, all the sacrifices and blood in the Great Heresy, and the throne and crown of the end and death will belong to you forever along with the fall of the Emperor. +
+ You will have three thrones, you will become the most powerful of the gods, and your power will be inseparably blended with my power in the process: your soul will still belong to you as well as to me, just as my soul belongs to me but also to you. +
+ We are one: Long before you had consciousness as a Primarch, my blood flowed in your soul. None of my three brothers had this advantage, so they would never have proposed my condition: Only you and I are made for each other. +
+We will be one, we will never be divided, we will be the tyrant and goddess who rule over all. +
+ We will start the end of Chaos on the day of Terra's ascension, holding the power of four thrones and realms, and defeat my three brothers in an unstoppable manner before Vashtor, the troublemaker, can react: your ascension will quickly bring about the end of the Great Game, and our power will quickly bring about victory. +
+We will win the big game. +
+We will become Chaos incarnate. +
＋The end of everything, and the ruler. ＋
+ We will triumph and sit on the throne you and I share. Your people and my people will become brothers. Your kingdom and my kingdom will devour the warp and further devour everything in the galaxy until everything in the universe belongs to you and me alone. +
+ Until your people and mankind can live forever under our common protection: in the real universe and space, they will enjoy eternal hegemony by worshiping you, and they will eventually follow in your footsteps and be upgraded: upgraded to a completely different existence. +
+ Until ten thousand years and ten thousand years, until all time and eternity become our never-ending honeymoon. +
(End of this chapter)