Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

Think about it.

Eh? You died, and then you came back to life. You remembered everything from birth to the moment before death. Resurrection from the dead is a great thing for some intelligent creatures who don't want to die, but sometimes there are good and bad things. A bad thing happened during the resurrection.

Just like in some movies and TV shows, when you are about to come home to meet your family and loved ones after coming back from the dead, you discover a strange scene. Another you has replaced you, and he looks exactly like you, with the same demeanor, height, appearance, clothes, etc., as if they were copied and pasted.

He is intimate with your wife at the doorstep, kisses your daughter on the forehead, touches the head of the dog that wags its tail at him, takes the coat handed to him by your wife, drives your beloved car, and goes to the dream job that you have been looking for for a long time...

Who is me? Which one is me? Is he me, or am I me? Which one is real? Is he real, or am I real? This involves philosophical questions.

When a normal creature with high intelligence sees an identical self, what will happen in his heart? Calm? It should be so? Or indescribable confusion and anger?

The scene before you is like a nightmare-like distortion of reality, your family and your life are taken away by a being who is no different from you. Every scene is like an insult to your existence, that familiar smile, that intimate action, ruthlessly reveals the break between you and your previous life.

Anger, confusion, and a deep sense of deprivation are intertwined, and you are caught in a deep questioning of your identity and value. Faced with such a you, is it jealousy or a sense of complete loss and isolation that arises in your heart?
When Oriqi returned happily, what was his reaction when he saw another self? He didn't say it, he hid this key information, but Dakus could feel the pain, confusion and numbness from his words and body movements. These emotions were not caused by not being able to take care of the Slann magic priest, but by seeing another Oriqi.

Daxus knew too much about everything about the Lizardmen. Skins, chameleons, lizardmen and giant lizards were essentially biological robots, and the operating logic of the Lizardmen society was very abstract. At first glance, it looked like a hive consciousness, but he didn't think so. However, he was not a philosopher, so he couldn't say specifically. Was the hive consciousness mixed with mechanical consciousness and Gestalt consciousness, or something else? Or was it more like a company?

All is One?

One is all?
On the whole, the Slann Magic Priests are the think tank of the hive, possessing the highest status and authority in the entire society. Possessing a central consciousness, they may spend most of their time meditating, sleeping, and not caring about worldly affairs, but as long as they are there, they are the banner, bond, anchor, and spiritual beacon of the Lizardmen.

It is because of them that the Lizardmen society came into being. The Lizardmen society and the Dragon Islands that are still functioning in the continent of Lustria and the Southland Jungles are a fact. Without them, the Lizardmen society would have begun to collapse, and it would have been distorted and degenerated into beasts.

Skinks are similar to intelligent nodes, responsible for conveying the orders of the Slann Magic Priests and performing some technical tasks. They can think and create. The creation of various things in Lizardman society and the birth of Sotek faith are extensions of their thoughts.

But their underlying logical structure is there. They will not question or rebel against the Slann Magic Priests. Even if the upper-level Slann Magic Priests have problems, their underlying logical structure will make them find some other solutions. They will not stage a mutiny or rebellion. However, they will conspire loudly or hold rallies to protest...

This is very contradictory, but not contradictory. They are a link in the operation of society and have independent consciousness, but they do not have real freedom and independence. Individuals must obey the overall will most of the time and in most things and serve the big plan.

In Lustria, some Skinks would stay away from the Temple Cities and build settlements in the jungles, or live a solitary life, such as living alone by the river, fishing and hunting for a living. They seemed free, but this freedom was restricted to a certain extent. They would occasionally return to the Temple Cities to worship the Old Saints, participate in festivals, or exchange and offer supplies, responding to the various needs of the Lizardmen society. It was more like a way of life.

Individually, Skinks can think, feel happy, feel pain, get angry, feel fear, and retreat. They have different personalities, like different clothes, and have their own views on diet and the use of weapons. When they encounter the things that replace them after resurrection, they will inevitably have drastic mental fluctuations.

But the Slann Demon Priests are not affected by this, they are in the Five Elements, but God is outside the Three Realms. The world in their eyes is different and unique, just like people, cats, and dogs see the same thing, but their understanding is very different.

There are many dimensions beyond physics, many of which cannot even be perceived by the brain, let alone imagined. But the Slann Mage Priests can understand the existence of these dimensions, see the vectors of mathematics and the impact of mathematics on higher dimensions, and think and understand these things.

Perhaps... only a Slann Magic Priest with a unique mindset could come up with such a unique job, and it could only be done with two Slann Magic Priests as a foundation, after all, the Lizardmen needed the leadership of the Slann Magic Priests. They saw their other selves as another Slann Magic Priest, they were not individuals, but a group, a group that could influence each other and project their will onto each other, and individuals in this group were not that important.

Of course, there may be other reasons, such as the urgent need for survival.

Daxus looked at the three Slann magic priests in front of him. They were lined up in a straight line, their postures almost exactly the same.

Each Slann magic priest is bulky and majestic, with dark blue and purple stripes on the skin, and a thick layer of fat that makes them look like moving mountains, as if they were carved from the same mold. Fortunately, they are decorated with gold-plated wristbands on their hands and intricately decorated crowns inlaid with various precious gems.

But only the one in the middle is decorated with feathers, while the others are not, and there are curved animal horns standing in front of the crown, which makes it particularly eye-catching.

Dacus speculated that this person should be number two or number three? As for number one, he disappeared in the process of one giving birth to two. The appearance of number two must be accompanied by the death of number one. If number one is not dead, how can number two and number three come from?

On the other side, two other Slann magic priests were floating in the air on what could barely be considered a chariot. Their bodies were larger, their skin was a darker green, and had delicate patterns that circled around their bodies like the trajectory of stars. Their facial lines were softer, their eyes were deep, and they showed an elusive wisdom.

One of them was decorated even more luxuriously, with a huge feather crown on his head. The feathers trembled slightly as if resonating with something. His arms were wrapped with golden arm guards with complex runes engraved on them. Visible energy was constantly flowing.

There was no greeting like Shakspati? Azuma! Taranquin? The six Slann magic priests greeted each other the moment they saw each other.

After watching for a while, Daxus turned his head to look at Shakspati. In his impression, this Slann magic priest who was discovered and activated by him had always been very calm. But now... he could see a trace of surprise and confusion on Shakspati's frog face. Perhaps Azuma and Talanquin's work was too shocking.

"We are here to fight death, and we will always find each other again." Azuma, who was unknown number, looked at Daxus, as if looking at something Daxus could not see, and then spoke with a hint of hesitation in his tone.

"He recently lost a ..."

"What happened?" The awkward self-introduction did not happen. The five Slann magic priests had already received his information and instructions from Shakspati. Daxus could see a hint of confusion and doubt on the faces of the Slann magic priests, but he didn't care. He didn't want to prove anything. After all, Shakspati was there, and he had a lot of things to deal with. He followed the topic.

"The city took him, as it did so many other living things. Souls are drawn into strange vortices and lost, sometimes for a moment, sometimes forever."

Dacus didn't say anything this time, but he understood. It was like welcoming a god? I've issued a rescue commission. Famous warriors, go quickly.

The Slann Magic Priest is fragile, and the process of returning and appearing is uncontrollable. Specifically, it may be directly spawned in the monster pile, and it is impossible to welcome it even if you want to. And this is physical and mental... Just like what the Slann Magic Priest said, it's gone directly. I can only say that the failure rate of this job...

In the process of communicating with each other, the surrounding scene changed. Daxus saw Olic No. 1 standing not far away. It was a strange feeling. Even he, an outsider, felt it was strange, as if Olic, who had just left, had not really left and had always been by his side.

The whole scene was not like the ancient pyramids he was familiar with, but more like a magnificent library. The air was filled with the smell of old books and ancient scrolls, as if time had stopped here. In the center of the wide hall, huge stone bookshelves occupied most of the space, and the bookshelves were filled with heavy ancient books and scrolls.

The spiral staircase spiraled up to the top, and the entrance to the staircase was firmly guarded by the temple guards. These guards stood expressionlessly at each key position, as if blending in with the surroundings, not at all abrupt. All around, at intervals, you can see arches leading to balconies. These balconies were embedded high in the wall and led to the outside world. The interior of each balcony was extremely gorgeously decorated.

Thin books bound in red leather were neatly stacked on a bookshelf with golden edges. The covers of the books shone with golden light, as if each book contained countless secrets. Next to it, a precision instrument with glittering lenses and slender brass tubes attracted his attention. Those lenses seemed to be able to project stars and other distant things into his eyes, and the brass tubes exuded an ancient luster, telling of their long age.

Neatly arranged rows of skulls were placed on a long stone table. Each skull had been carefully processed, with the bone surface as smooth as jade. Numbers or hieroglyphs recording dates were marked on the forehead of the skull.

On a solid workbench near the wall, a series of glass artifacts of various shapes are displayed. These artifacts shimmer with a strange light, as if each one contains the echoes and secrets of countless years. Stone slabs are randomly piled everywhere, some of which are engraved with dense hieroglyphics. An iron ball is embedded in a pedestal, and the surface is filled with various knives. Each knife is unique. Some have blades curved like a crescent, and some have intricate patterns carved on the blade. Each knife is a unique masterpiece.

"Your collection... is so huge." After looking around, Daxus exclaimed.

“Our research has taken me down strange and diverse paths.”

"What is that? Some kind of toy?"

A strange block caught Daxus's attention. Was it a fractal maze? But it was more like a prison, used to trap the unwary. As he got closer, he could see a humanoid creature trudging through the mirrored glass maze.

"he……?"

"Yes, caught, trapped forever. This is just one piece of the puzzle, we have to reassemble the entire maze before we can possibly free him."

"I doubt he even knows that, I hope."

The Slann Demon Priests sang in unison, with sadness and sorrow in their words, as if they resonated with the trapped humanoid creatures. After all, they were also trapped. They were also trapped in the cube and were being observed by some location in the outside world.

Daxus did not waste too much energy on the trapped creatures. He came here to obtain information. First of all, he had to understand the operating logic of this ghost place. Only by figuring this out could he make a specific plan, survive here, clean up things as soon as possible and leave here.

Otherwise... he felt that this city would devour him. He might not be interested in being a king in this damn place. He even more disliked seeing another self or killing another self.

"What about these?" he asked, pointing to some books.

"A bunch of keys."

"It's unlike any key I've ever seen." A confused look appeared on Darkius's face.

"How many kinds of keys have you seen?"

"I understand." This time the five Slann Demon Priests did not say anything, but pointed to a balcony in unison.

Daxus stepped out onto the balcony, where a massive contraption made of brass and dark wood sat on an iron tripod. He stood on tiptoe, peered into the eyepiece, and adjusted several strange knobs and levers that ran along its length.

While twisting his body, he was still complaining in his mind. After the Slann Demon Priest came here, his life and behavior changed. Using this telescope that can only be seen in human society, for the Lizardmen...

However, he could also understand that there were no stars here to provide divination, and it was too dangerous to sleep, meditate, and expose one's spiritual consciousness here. When one is in trouble, one must think of change.

"There is no day or night here, only eternal twilight, balanced on a knife's edge, a moment spanning eternity."

"From the moment the first piece of shadow glass is made, to the moment the last piece is destroyed."

“This place is a mystery in many ways.”

“Beyond death.”

"It's a nightmare."

"Very poetic!" Daxus summarized the words of the five Slann magic priests.

After adjusting it, he peered through the telescope, and at first he saw only a shadow in the sky, a shadow that stretched out into the veil of eternal dusk. The city itself, his city, was crumbling over the edges, like a lump of mud floating in a river. The city was smoky and reflected from a hundred angles, up, sideways, straight down. It was as if someone had broken a mirror and then straightened it out without repairing the cracks.

Through his telescope he saw streets unfold, stretch, and then curl back again, spewing clouds of mist into the air. He could hear an ever-changing roar in the distance, towers swaying like leaves, buildings cracking like ripe fruit to reveal new shapes of stone and glass growing inside, like giant bones, or spiraling towers bending in too many directions at once.

The telescope moved at the direction of a Slann Mage Priest, and he watched as the streets bent back and the buildings spread out like stone. Alleys and alleys were reflected and doubled, roads stretched into nothingness, the city changed in ways he could not understand. He watched a tower collapse and move, taking on a shape that was huge and terrible, something that met his gaze, looking back tenfold over countless centuries.

That thing wasn't looking at him, it was seeing through him, staring right down to the root of his soul, seeing him stripped of all his pretenses and rationalizations.

"There's things swimming in the dark, huge things... bigger than any sea monster or leviathan. It's a bit like being in a coral reef, isn't it? We're the little things, the fish and worms that live there, and those things, well, they swim in circles, waiting for the little fish to try to leave the reef, and then what happens?" Daxus asked, turning from his telescope. He felt a little unwell and tried to suppress the bile burning deep in his throat.

“The reef is changing and every time the tide goes out there’s less coral and what’s left is harder to identify.”

"I have made five thousand five hundred and thirty-seven maps of the southern and western parts of the city, and they are all different, some only differing by a street or two. Others ..."

"This city is full of secret paths and mysterious tunnels."

"Was it touched by Chaos? Is this place corrupted?" Daxus said while feeling an itch in his chest. In his opinion, this place was even more evil than Nurgle's Garden.

"Yes."

"There is a being that lives here, has taken over, torn the city from the worlds, and has let it drift between the worlds."

"The city has been floating here, in this illusory space. The city has begun to change, becoming something more powerful than before. It has become something unrecognizable." A Slann magic priest said while pointing to the distance.

Daxus turned around and saw a huge statue standing in the middle of the city, taller than the tallest tower. Even without a telescope, he could see a shadowy giant sitting on an obsidian throne, wearing ancient armor.

“Who builds something like this?”

"No one, it is said, appears suddenly."

"The first night, after the curse fell."

“There are many more like this, smaller ones, scattered throughout the city.

"Watching and waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Daxus asked himself, "I guess, waiting for what's happening in the city to end?"

"The city is changing. I don't know what it will become, and I doubt that being knows either." The voice of the Slan Demon Priest trembled for the first time.

Dacus looked back at the statue. He didn't know if it was an illusion or something, but for a moment, flames seemed to flicker in the statue's eye sockets. When the statue saw him, it smiled, and this smile made him feel cold. He instinctively raised his middle finger.

"A god?"

"Or part of God?"

“Wandering along the glass path, watching, listening.”

"How to kill him?" Daxus asked a key question.

"do not know……"

"Then how do we leave here?" Daxus felt that he was getting increasingly irritable.

"The gate and the key, the way out of this place."

"But it was broken and scattered all over the place."

“We can’t afford to rebuild it.”

"perhaps……"

A very abstract image appeared in Daxus's mind, a half world, a place that does not exist, where you can walk to any place with shadow glass. You can't feel anything, you can't taste anything. A shadow-like existence, many people trapped here have gone crazy.

"This place will devour our bodies and minds. Interesting. We must find Ryan first, and then we can do something." He understood that this place was like a place for breeding Gu, and he seemed to have figured out what that existence was. The Destroyer, after breeding Gu, transformed into a troublemaker who was eager to break the ancient balance of the power of destruction.

This could be the other world, or a certain realm, or a place in Ithil that is not noticed by the Chaos Gods. Of course it is not important. What is important is that it is indeed a plot by Tzeentch to kill someone with a borrowed knife. He seems to have figured out the whole thing. He turned around and spoke to Shakspati, who had been silent all this time, his voice kept echoing, reverberating in the air of the room.

"No, you are too important. If you die, all your efforts will be wasted and the grand plan will fail." Shakspati saw Daxus's determination and he dissuaded him.

“There is a place.”

“It needs to be explored.”

"Where?" asked Daxus.

"Mosquet's Tomb."

"No!" Daxus refused.

"Ren?"

“That’s not a conflict.”

“He’s the Singularity.”

"He is the intersection." (End of this chapter)