40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 720 12. Joint Consultation (III)

Belisarius Cole required twenty minutes for the round trip, and he did not waste or save a single minute. One thousand two hundred seconds, not a minute more or less, he walked into the medical hall of Eagle Wing so precisely at the end of it.

His behavior was very deliberate, but the genuine complacency on his face completely alienated the arrogance behind the behavior, making the viewer angry at first, then amused, and finally ending with a sigh - a great sage of the Mechanicus could be so childish?

He returned to the medical hall on time. Was he trying to emphasize once again how professional he was?

The answer is yes.

The red-robed weirdo, who was as big as a chariot, straightened his hunched back, placed his right hand on his chest, and performed an exaggerated chest-touching salute to the three people waiting for him with a funny amplitude. The appendages behind him surged, and from under the red robe embroidered with gold thread, gears and skulls, he took out a pitch-black metal ball as big as an ordinary person's head.

Cawl lifted it carefully and spoke to Fulgrim in a solemn and serious tone.

"Allow me to demonstrate to you the unique and magnificent creation of the Emperor."

Phoenix nodded slightly to him with impeccable etiquette and asked with great restraint, "Is this the Original Blood Stack?"

Kaur looked at him in amazement.

"What? Of course not, sir! That is a treasure trove as big as an entire fortress. There is no way I can carry it with me. But you are not wrong. This item is indeed related to the Original Blood Stack."

Phoenix struggled to keep his composure and asked again: "So, what is this?"

Caul raised his head and chest again with a greater amplitude, and the mechanical operation sound continued to hum. He raised his right hand with a little pride, and his appendages rose together, lifting the black ball upwards until it was taller than everyone present.

"You probably already know, my lord, that the Blood Stack contains the original, purest genetic material of all the Primarchs. Therefore, in theory, as long as a few crucial technologies mastered by the Emperor are reproduced, the Empire can create Primarchs again."

The corner of Fulgrim's eye twitched unconsciously, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath, his teeth touching each other, before he made a sound.

"I hope you will be more careful with your words and get to the point, Great Sage Cawl. I think I have shown great tolerance and respect for technical talents like you, but sometimes you say things that make it hard for me to stay sane."

Cawl pondered for a moment and nodded quickly. No one knew whether he really understood what Fulgrim said.

"I understand, I understand. In short, the point I want to make is that although the wisdom of the Emperor is still difficult for stupid people like us to understand. However, it is not difficult to extract and copy one of the twenty genetic materials stored in the Blood Stack."

Fulgrim stared at him steadily, and at the same time, he raised his left hand quickly and pressed the shoulder of Sol Tarvitz who was standing beside him.

"You mean?" he said in a low voice.

"Yes, sir," Kahl said eagerly. "I have brought you a copy of your genetic material in its purest form."

As soon as he finished speaking, his appendages began to strike the surface of the metal sphere in an orderly manner, and it began to slowly deform, with a faint light pouring out from the suddenly opened gap.

Fulgrim raised his hand suddenly and shouted, his voice like thunder.

"stop!"

The appendages stopped instantly, and the changes in the sphere also stopped, taking less than a microsecond. Kaul looked at him, his expression extremely serious, no longer frivolous.

"Lord Fulgrim?"

The phoenix growled in a low voice: "Don't open this storage device in front of me, Belisarius Cawl. Tell me first, how do you plan to treat Sarron?"

"It's very simple. My lord, Medical Officer Guzman, has proposed a hypothesis based on his own observations and the data he has collected. He believes that the 'hallucination' phenomenon that is endangering your legion and your offspring is not just physiological in origin."

"I agree with him. I also think that there must be some kind of power from the subspace behind this. This is where the problem gets tricky. It exists both in the real world that we can touch and see, and in the vast ocean projected by human souls."

"Therefore, to solve this problem once and for all, we must attack both fronts at the same time."

Call smiled a smile that was a mixture of pride, sincerity, and a slight desire for recognition.

"I intend to use this precious pure genetic material that belongs to you to replace Sarron's blood bit by bit, so that it can be free of any possible contamination at the physiological level. At the same time, Doctor Guzman can use his power to 'heal' our young patient in the subspace."

"How do you feel about this?" he asked expectantly, his prosthetic eye shrinking continuously.

Fulgrim did not answer, but stepped back a few steps, his face pale and covering his forehead. When he spoke again, his voice had become very hoarse, and he asked a somewhat incoherent question.

"You made a copy of my genetic material, right?"

"Yes, sir." Call looked at him in confusion.

"In other words, you can always make more copies?"

"Oh, no, it's not. Even if I am arrogant, I can't accept such exaggerated praise from you. Otherwise, I would not be arrogant, but shameless and conceited."

"I ask you, can you make more copies?" Fulgrim asked word by word.

"Yes, but it will take time," Kaul replied immediately.

"very good."

Fulgrim breathed a visibly relieved sigh, then waved his right hand decisively.

"Destroy the genetic material you have. I will leave Chemos soon. When I am completely gone, you will make a new, completely pure copy and use it to implement your ideas. Do you understand?"

Kaul hesitated for several minutes before he protested weakly, "Excuse me, sir, I have some doubts."

Phoenix suddenly fell into a rage.

This rage was so terrible, yet so real. It completely destroyed his beauty. There were some people in the galaxy who were unquestionably beautiful, and even if their faces were distorted by anger, they were still stunning.

Fulgrim was one of them, and he was definitely the best, but now he has left this group and turned to embrace another field. People like the beauty that can be appreciated, such as the sunrise, the sunset, the calm and blue sea or the clear and moving sky. Few people can appreciate the beauty of hurricanes, tsunamis, lightning and thunder that strike in front of their eyes and ring in their ears, which are full of destructive power.
In fact, they are feared as much as Fulgrim himself is feared.

At this moment, his thin face was ashen, the skin on his cheeks was stretched tight, sticking to the bones, and his masseter muscles were bulging, as if he was biting the throat of his prey. His eyes were hidden in the darkness, and the naked eye could only glimpse two pale and crazy spots of light.

He took a slow step forward, stared into Belisarius Cawl's only remaining eye, smiled nervously, and asked in a very gentle and soft voice.

"I am the source of the pollution, Archmagos - I poisoned Chemos and its people, and also poisoned my legion and my descendants. All of this stems from my incompetence. Now you have shown me a little hope, like a faint light of fire in the cold winter."

He took another step forward, and his tone suddenly became cold, completely different from before.

"I want this fire to burn bright and I want it to warm everyone on this winter night. I'm going to do whatever it takes to do that. I'm going to be a badass and do anything I think will help the flame."

"You can say I'm too cautious, or you can be more straightforward and say I'm crazy. But I just want to stop the suffering caused by me as soon as possible. The successors of the Third Legion cannot and should not endure these things. They deserve a better and brighter future."

"So I cannot allow the genetic material in your hands, which has been in close proximity with me, to continue to be used. I also cannot allow myself to continue to stay on Chemos while you are working. After all, the source of contamination should be isolated. Do you agree, Great Sage?"

For the first time, Kaul showed an extremely complex expression, which was almost amazing - how could his face, which was surrounded by steel and was old, swollen and pale, make such an expression?

"Great Sage?"

Phoenix urged gently, his fingers stretched straight and twitching continuously, like a paranoid dancer who wanted to dance even though he was tied up in a straitjacket.
Caul looked at Saul Tarvitz for help, but the latter just smiled helplessly. In desperation, he had to turn to another person who remained silent.

"Well, Lord Fulgrim, I'm afraid I need to consult Lord Khalil first. After all, I was transferred here under his orders, and I think I should at least discuss this with him-?"

Kawl's humility and caution only earned him a smile from Fulgrim. He could not understand the meaning of it and just prayed that Khalil could help him out.
And his prayer came true after a few seconds, but he probably wouldn't be satisfied with the result.

"I agree with Primarch Fulgrim," said the Grand Inquisitor, standing in front of the bulletproof glass with his hands behind his back. "He is very careful, but when it comes to the foundation of an entire Legion, no amount of caution can be too much."

After he finished speaking, the Grand Inquisitor turned around and nodded to the dumbfounded Great Sage.

"Just do as he says, Cawl. Destroy the genetic material in your hands and make a new one. I think with your intelligence, it shouldn't be too difficult to do this. As for you, Fulgrim, where are you going?"

Without any hesitation, Phoenix immediately replied: "Anywhere is fine, as long as it is far away from Chemos."

"Okay, sure, but I have one request."

Phoenix narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "As the Primarch, my power is at least equal to yours, Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor."

"No need to threaten me so eagerly."

Khalil calmly took off his wide-brimmed hat, then his coat, folded it and held it in his arms, and walked towards Fulgrim in another identity.

"I am not a great inquisitor now. I am just an old uncle who wants to accompany my nephew around. How about it, Fulgrim? Are you willing to take me, an old man, to visit the scenery around Chemos?"

Fulgrim was silent for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, sighed, and his straight back relaxed.

"Okay, uncle." He said softly. "Thank you, thank you so much."

The hurricane subsided, the tsunami calmed down, and the sky, which was covered with dark clouds due to lightning, became clear again.
-
The Third Legion's chief think tank, Savon Caius, held a string of faith beads in his hand, slowly put on his hood, and stepped into the ceremony venue. In the venue was a sarcophagus that had a history of several centuries and was a genuine holy relic.

In the past, it was only used by the Emperor's Sons, but today was different. Today, an Astartes who did not belong to any Legion or Primarch lay in it. His name was Anazion Sosa Cawl.
Of course, Caius didn't actually know this, although he did vaguely sense some eccentricities about Anazione, but he was a very old-fashioned and serious man.

Three hours ago, Fulgrim, the Primarch of Caius, had given him a new mission. His Primarch wanted him to help a cyborg in the possession of Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, who was visiting Chemos, to interpret a dream he had.

This mission was extremely suspicious and there were many things that didn't make sense, but Caius ignored them all. He didn't care about these things. For him, loyalty to the Emperor and the Primarch was an instinct engraved deep in his mind.

"Are you ready?" he asked the cyborg lying in the sarcophagus, his voice calm and hoarse, with the confidence of an experienced think tank.

"Yes, I'm ready." Anazion replied nervously, his hands tightly grasping the edge of the sarcophagus.

Caius closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. His spiritual energy instantly passed through his body and sank into the magic circle that had been prepared in the ritual venue.

He already knew that the cyborg in front of him had the potential to be a prophet, and that every dream of the prophets should be taken seriously - but this young cyborg was not yet a formal prophet, he had not yet undergone systematic training, and his psychic abilities were just a mess.

In this case, Caius could only be pessimistic about how much of the dream remained in his mind.
But he still carefully let Anazion fall into a deep sleep, and his mind slowly sank into it, and he carefully and meticulously activated the magic circle.

Sure enough, as he expected, most of the information related to the dream had disappeared from the depths of the modified man's mind, with only a few images remaining.

Caius carefully used magic to cut up these last bits of footage, checking them one by one, and only played them together after he was sure there was nothing suspicious.

But he found that the picture was nothing more than a boiling fire cloud - Caius couldn't help but laugh. He probably guessed why this modified man was afraid of this dream: people are always afraid of the scenes they have never seen.

He checked and played it several times until he was sure that there was really no room for further progress in his work. Only then did he stop maintaining the spell, withdraw his spiritual energy, and wake up Anazion.

"How did you sleep?" he asked him with a little smile.

"I don't know," Anazion answered blankly.

He didn't know - or rather, he had forgotten.

Did he really dream about anything?

He soon put the matter behind him because Kaul's promise to him had been fulfilled. The trustworthy and reliable think tank director ensured that everything in his dream was normal and gave him permission to freely visit the twenty-one giant cities of Chemos in the next period of time.

Anazion could no longer control his curiosity. When he landed with Cawl, he had overlooked the beautiful scenery of Chemos where technology and nature coexisted.

Although it was just a glimpse, when had he ever seen such a thing before? Now, he just wanted to go out and have some fun without Kawl's supervision, and interact with real humans.
Yes, there are other things that are also desired.

(End of this chapter)