40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 830, Part 1: The Beginning - Interrogation Report (Part 1)

Grand Inquisitor: Alpharis?

Prisoner: Omega.

Grand Inquisitor (slightly surprised): I didn't expect that. (After a long pause, his expression became somewhat strange) So, he really is dead?
Prisoner: Yes. But that's exactly what he wanted.

Grand Judge: Alright.

Prisoner (with a sly smile): So, shall we proceed with the formalities? Or are you going to call Conrad Coates out? To have him interrogate me?
Grand Judge: Interesting.

Prisoner (smiling again): I know many things, but this is the only thing I've ever guessed. Where should I begin? Should I start from the beginning?
Grand Inquisitor (shaking his head): No, let's start with Fabius Bayer.

The prisoner (head bowed in thought for a moment): Bayer. He's not a good partner. His mental state is terrible, and the wilt disease has been plaguing him. If it weren't for his incredibly advanced biotechnology, I think he would have rotted millions of times over. You've probably already seen that—those Midnight Lords on Sosa (the prisoner deliberately emphasized the word) probably displeased you. I apologize for that.

Grand Inquisitor: I don't accept it. Now tell me how you took him away? He should have been on Vengeful Spirit at the time.

Prisoner: The answer is simple—deception. (Long pause) Also, I think we can reach an agreement.

Grand Judge: What consensus?
Prisoner: From the moment the Warmaster was carried into the temple on Davin by that fool Abaddon, he was already dead. Since then, no matter how healthy the thing that emerges from it may appear, it is nothing more than a puppet, manipulated, devoid of any self-will—at least not then. Therefore, deceiving him was not difficult. I told him that, like him, I had received revelation from the Chaos Empowerers, and that I had also seen warriors in another galaxy, just like us, who dared to rebel against the Emperor's tyranny. For this, I needed Fabius Bayer; his biotechnology could help us bring those warriors before us, becoming an indispensable asset.

Grand Judge (sneer): Do you know what you're saying? What's the difference between deceiving him back then and deceiving those four things?
Prisoner: There is no difference.

Grand Judge: Are you trying to say that you've deceived the gods?

Prisoner: I wouldn't be so arrogant, despite the truth. The most skillful lie is the truth, and I'm an interrogator who never lies. I'm able to do this because I truly received their revelation. In other words, I didn't actually lie; I just used it to achieve my purpose.

(Another long pause, followed by a burst of laughter)
The Grand Inquisitor paused for a moment: "Then, what is your purpose?"
Prisoner: Saving Humanity.

Grand Inquisitor: I have seen countless people who, with the same or similar ideas, used the power of chaos, and they all ended up dying very tragically.

Prisoner: That's natural. Chaos is like a door that you can never walk out of once you step in. The world behind the door is bizarre and colorful, making you feel like you can do almost anything. But that's just a ridiculous illusion—all those who try to get their hands on a tiger end up being devoured by it. I have that much common sense.

Grand Judge: But you just said that you received their revelation.

Prisoner: I assured you before we began that I would remain completely honest throughout this interrogation and would never lie or distort the facts or the truth. So, yes, they really did give me some kind of revelation. (Chuckles)

Grand Judge: What is the content?

Prisoners: Another World.

Grand Judge: Be more specific.

Prisoner (sighs): May I have a glass of water? You can have your busy clerk get it for me. What's her name again? Celestine?

Grand Judge: Her job is not to be a clerk, much less a servant.

Prisoner: Is this some kind of rejection?

Grand Judge: Yes.

Prisoner: Can't you hear me implying that she should leave for a while?

The Grand Inquisitor (expressionless): I can tell, I just can't be bothered. Speak freely, Sister Celestine's faith is so strong that it's enough to protect her from everything.

The prisoner (looks at the clerk with a very strange look in his eyes, as if he is staring through me at something else)
The prisoner remained silent for nearly three minutes.

Prisoner: In the early days of the Great Crusade, some scholars on Terra fell into a state of empty obsession after coming into contact with the emerging psychic powers. For some reason, they believed that certain well-trained and exceptionally talented psychics could persistently see a clear future. Their research was abruptly halted after nine years, and I led the effort to handle it. However, people can be killed, and research data can be destroyed, but what they did could not be reversed. After this incident, Macardo found me and Alpharis and brought us before the Emperor. At that time, he was the strangest person I had ever seen in my life.

Grand Judge: Detailed description?
Prisoner (deep breath): He seemed to be invisible. Not in front of us, not in the world we live in. His face was still the same one I knew, the details unchanged, but my intuition told me that he was a completely different person then. He stared at me and Alpharis for a very long time, then told us that he had a task for us.

Grand Inquisitor (frowning): Was Makado present at that time?
Prisoner: He's not here; he wasn't allowed to be present.

Grand Inquisitor: In other words, he knew nothing about your mission.

The prisoner (nods): In fact, he knew nothing about it; his memory was erased by the Emperor himself.

Grand Judge: Why did he do that?
Prisoner: Hold on, let me finish, okay? I need to start with that psionic research. It lasted nine years, and from that number, you can probably guess who was involved. He subtly influenced those scholars using his most prized, underhanded methods, causing their research to go awry without them even realizing it. Originally, according to those formulas and derivations, they could indeed reliably observe the future to a certain extent, but He intervened. As a result, the scholars' research results underwent a subtle change, shifting from observing the future to observing the future of parallel worlds. The instant this happened, He immediately entered the echoes generated by the scholars' research results in the warp. The Emperor noticed this; on one hand, he sent me to silence them, and on the other hand, he followed Him into that echo. I don't know exactly what he saw, but I'm certain of one thing.
Grand Judge: What is it?

The prisoner (sighing with relief): The one who gave the orders to me and Alphareth back then was an emperor from another world, at least in part.

Grand Inquisitor (voice softens): Do you understand what you're saying?

The prisoner (his expression turns serious, then he nods): I fully understand. I said this while I was of sound mind. You can tell, can't you, Khalil Lohals? You know, I wasn't affected by Chaos; my soul and body are still entirely my own.

Grand Inquisitor (after a long, cold stare): Yes.

Prisoner: Then I'll continue.

Grand Judge (raising his hand): No, stop now, I have something to ask you.

Prisoner: Can't you wait until I finish speaking? Believe me, all your questions can be answered in these things.

Grand Inquisitor: No, this is very important—tell me, was the emperor you saw then like a god or a man?
Prisoner: God. Grand Inquisitor: Which God?

Prisoner (with a painful yet self-deprecating laugh): A wicked god who looks almost exactly like you on Terra.

Grand Inquisitor (after a very long silence): Continue.

Prisoner: You've interrupted my train of thought, sir. (A soft chuckle, seemingly in response to the form of address)
Prisoner: Could you please give me a glass of water? My journey has been difficult; the demons have gone mad trying to keep us here.

(He looked at the clerk.)
(The Grand Judge nodded to me.)
(I poured him a glass of water.)
Prisoner: Thank you, Ms. Celestine.

(He looked at me for a while, then looked up and drank the glass of water in one gulp.)
Prisoner: Anyway, like I said, he gave me and Alphareth a mission.
-
“I have a task for you,” said the person sitting in the darkness.

His voice sounded strange, lacking its usual calm. His face was completely hidden in the impenetrable darkness, yet a soft light shone brightly around him.
But they couldn't illuminate him.

It was as if someone was threatening these lifeless natural phenomena with a sword, telling them not to take another step forward, or they would face a fate more tragic than death.

Omega got goosebumps at the sudden idea; it was probably the first time in his life he had ever felt this way, and it made him very uncomfortable.

But the idea didn't end there; it continued.

Go deeper, deeper, deeper.
His intuition was put to good use, and eventually, he had a sudden realization.

The light feared him.

“Father?” Alpharis asked, puzzled.

Omega glanced at his brother; the twins' hearts were intertwined, and what he could feel, Alpharis could naturally feel as well.

They all understood, to varying degrees, that the person sitting on the throne was not the emperor they knew.

“I am not your father,” Darkness said, offering the answer to what was no longer a mystery. “But this mission is also of his own volition.”

He gazed at them, then slowly stood up.

In the twins' memories, the emperor was as tall and majestic as a god; the golden armor renowned for his lineage was merely an embellishment to his majesty. Beneath his black hair and laurel wreath, his eyes were the true source of all mystery and authority. He needed no adornment; even standing naked in the mud, a blind man could still recognize the king's identity.

But it's different now.

Now, he doesn't look like a monarch, a father, or even a human being.

A dark voice slowly rose, passing through every stone brick of the palace, blurring the exquisite patterns on them into eerie lines and designs. The murals on the ceiling also subtly changed, transforming from depictions of the emperor's triumphant battles into indistinguishable, deep colors. But it seemed unsatisfied, continuing its spread.

Omega heard it echoing behind him, distorted and discreet, before finally erupting into a deafening roar.

"There are many things in the world that mortals can only see on the surface. With the help of tools and the persistent efforts of generations, they can understand more. But gods don't need that. They can know everything—but still only everything, not everything. This is intolerable to gods."

"In order to change this, they carefully took away many concepts from the material world and placed them in the cradle of filth to slowly nurture them. However, these concepts are indestructible and cannot be shaken or changed, just as war is war and blood is blood."

"This is not what they envisioned; what they needed was power that they could hold in their hands, like authority."

"Therefore, when your fathers approached them, they readily agreed."

He looked at them sternly.

“You are one of them,” he said. “The beginning, and the end.”
-
Prisoner: I'm done talking for now.

Grand Judge: You have nothing more to say?

Prisoner: Yes, there are many, but I can't say right now. (A chuckle escapes, then a sudden sigh escapes.) To be honest, I'm actually tired of using riddles to keep secrets, but unfortunately, that's how I was designed. Maybe not at first, but Macardo taught Alpharis and me too well. I really want to know what our original fate was like, but sadly, that answer will probably never be known to me.

The Grand Judge (nods): Let's leave it at that for now.

Prisoner (surprised): Where are you going? Hey, shouldn't I be your most important prisoner?

Grand Inquisitor: I currently have only two prisoners on board, you and Fabius Bayer, and we are near Chermos. The Emperor's Sons' fleet sent a communication request seven minutes ago. Do you think Forgrim might be among them?
Prisoner (whistling): May I watch?
Grand Judge: What are you observing?
Prisoner: What happens next... I'd love to see them reunite.

Grand Judge: I'm afraid this is a meeting of enemies.

The prisoner (shaking his head, his voice becoming very soft): That's true now, my brother hates him, and Bayer hates himself just as much. But after I finish telling everything, things will no longer be the same.

Grand Judge: I deny it.

The prisoner (suddenly standing up): You already know what I'm implying, sir. At this moment, you know me better than anyone else in the world. You've ripped open my heart, and I've even opened my arms wide for you to do so. You can see my soul. Tell me, what does it look like?
Grand Inquisitor (after a moment of silence): Uncorrupted, pure.

The prisoner (sits down abruptly, as if relieved of a great burden, then bows his head): Thank you, sir.

Grand Inquisitor: Let's go, Celestine, let's go see another prisoner.

(End of this chapter)