Warhammer: Start with a dog.

Chapter 662: Ahriman Sees Curiosity Will Destroy Magnus
-
"No one should be forgotten and feel alone. Even if they are a ghost in the dark underworld."

Gasper Hauser looked away from the bowl of cooked fish stew in front of him.

He moved his fingers, and several dried fruits of some kind lay in his palm, almost falling to the ground with his movement.

The unique sour and bloody smell of fresh flesh wafted to his nose.

He raised his eyelids and saw several faces whose names he remembered. Varangol was drinking mead and washing it down with the chunk of fresh meat he had just eaten; the leader of the fifth company, Skarsson, was wolfing down the wooden bowl in front of him, not caring at all that his nose, lips, cheeks and beard were covered with sticky fresh blood. He buried his entire face in the meat of the cut prey, looking like some kind of predator.

"Really?" Hauser vaguely recalled some scenes he had seen. He paused, "When I was lying on the ice under Et." He didn't know how to continue. A strange sense of déjà vu told him that it would be better not to continue. But Hauser was such a person who was full of curiosity about the unknown and the mystery. This was his character and the support point that supported him in his career in the Institute of Textual Research.

He could sense that if he continued talking after he had said that, he might be able to fish out something that the wolves didn't want him to see, although he didn't know what it was.

So he said it anyway.

"During my time lying on the ice, in the dark," he recalled, "I heard a voice, or maybe more than one? But the only one that would talk to me, he said he didn't like the dark, he didn't like where he was, he missed the sun and the days above ground, he missed the campfires and the hunting, he said they had all seen those dreams a thousand times, he didn't choose the darkness by choice."

silence.

Casper realized that at some point all the daily noises had disappeared, the sounds of the wolves eating in the den, the joyful tones and shouts and jostling, the sound of mead being swallowed down like water, and all the rustling sounds of fur rubbing against each other, the slight movement of broken bones falling to the ground or hitting the body, the noise of feet or bodies moving on the hay or rock floor - all disappeared.

He raised his eyes in horror, and then discovered with even greater horror that in the darkness, all those eyes were raised and staring straight at him.

The wolf's golden eyes with black pupils reflecting a faint light in the darkness, he shuddered to realize that it was not just one pair of eyes, but many pairs, ten thousand pairs of wolf eyes staring at him.

"…He said that the darkness chose us."

[Not this one. Although the fusion of memories here is quite interesting. Let him think about it again.]

[Normally I wouldn't turn this out! Did you do this on purpose, you wizard?]

[Okay, this is not the time to argue, continue. ]

Wolf's eyes.

Golden eyes.

Golden eyes.

Yellow goggles, with a pair of beautiful eyes inside.

Vasily...

"I'm so sorry. We tried our best, but the captain couldn't hold on. The internal injuries caused by the explosion were too severe."

[That’s not it. His life experience is much longer and more complicated than that of ordinary mortals.]

[Either you're a voyeuristic bastard, or you're a jerk who doesn't treat mortals as human beings. Maybe both?]

[It sounds like you treat mortals like human beings. Do you want me to give you an example of your reputation in the imperial army? ]

[A roar, and the very distant sound of weapons charging and scuffling]

[Everyone, sit down and shut up! Can you prioritize things? Go on.]

Gasper Hauser let out a long, sharp breath, as if he had been holding his breath underwater.

The archaeologists were awakened from their sleep.

At the moment when his eyelids were pulled up by the brain signal, he seemed to pass through countless fragments of time and space. Those scenes existed at the same time but disappeared at the same time. For a moment, he thought that he was in the snow outside the Wolf Fang Castle with Changya? On the Nidhogg? In the ruins after the attack on the Jingyuan Federation? Or was he on Nikaea watching the wild bear burn the Thousand Sons Primarch's attendant Amon with the divine rune and watching Magnus make his final eloquence?

[Oh, this isn't what we're looking for, but I'll record it here... Yes, remember to notify them to check if there are any matching scars or marks on his body. Then, continue.]

Oh, yes, they were just dreams, very interesting, but he was just dreaming.

Casper found himself sitting up in bed, his heart pounding, his blood pressure high, his breathing very rapid.

Perhaps it was partly because of the inexplicable dreams he had just had, and partly because of the muscle problems caused by living in the artificial gravity environment of orbit for a long time. He was well aware that these would cause soreness, osteoporosis, and the need for sleeping pills to help him fall asleep. No wonder he felt so uncomfortable even after waking up.

He looked inside the room again. The blinds on the side facing the sun had been pulled down before he went to bed. Now only a little golden light leaked into his room through the gaps. Everything was quiet and peaceful.

An electronically synthesized chirping sound broke the silence here.

"how?!"

"Mr. Hauser, this is your five o'clock alarm." The voice of the servitor sounded softly from somewhere.

"Ah...thank you."

Oh, yes. He thought he would need some painkillers to help him get up and work later, and maybe there would be some in the drawer.

As he moved his aching joints and sore muscles towards the desk, he thought that although this was not the first time he had experienced this state, he could not remember the last time he had experienced it. After all... after all, what was it? After all, he should not be able to...

[Correct him. I don't want to go through his previous memories again. We've gone through them five times, and even had to block the part about his teeth growing. That part was too easy to get stuck. I've already done so much, I'm really afraid he'll be dumbfounded when he wakes up, so I'll just try to correct it right here.]

[But I don’t really…]

[The sound of something typing]

[We are professionals! Of course we can do it! Get out of the way! I’ll do it!]

[That won't work. It would be unfair for you to come. So... can you do it? ]

[…I will try my best. Perhaps you can arrange…for him to work with me…]

[…I will supervise from the side…]

An electronically synthesized chirping sound broke the silence here.

"how?!"

"Mr. Hauser, this is your five o'clock alarm." The voice of the servitor sounded softly from somewhere.

"Ah...thank you."

Hawser struggled out of bed, maneuvered himself to the window, and pressed the button.

The blinds were slowly drawn up, and outside the window, golden sunlight was illuminating every item in his room through the radiation-proof glass as the twilight reached its twilight zone.

Terra, the origin and glorious home of mankind, was slowly turning under his feet. In the dark part, the buildings were densely lit with twinkling lights. He saw with his sharp eyes that the reflective panel of another orbital platform was slowly passing under his platform at an astonishing volume. So this was a higher-level orbital platform... Yes... This was his luxury suite, his residence on the Lemuria super-orbital platform...

His mood calmed down, and he decided to take some painkillers first and then look at today's work plan.

Why did he feel so tired?
He tried hard to sit up, then opened his eyes wide and saw his old face reflected on the radiation-proof glass under the sunlight.

No wonder he felt so weak and in pain. He was so old? How old was he? Eighty? Ninety? But it shouldn't be! On Fenris he had been gifted by the fleshsmiths and gene-weavers, and he had grown young and strong—

No! This was on Terra! He had never even been to Fenris at his age—

His mind was screaming, his expression was comically dumbfounded, he stared at his own reflection in the glass in amazement until he saw a figure appear behind him -

"How will you be here?"

The tide of the sea of ​​souls began to recede rapidly, and the sandy beach of reality began to be exposed.

[Damn it! Hold him! Hold his thoughts! It's like this again!]

[It is difficult for us to handle the details in depth by ourselves, because we don’t know as much as they do, so I asked to use my guardian spirit. My Etepio can help us...]

[No, they haven't passed our review yet. You can...try again...]

[But we have tried our best! Sir! We really need someone who can go deep into the sea of ​​souls...]

[Hunting something from the sea or fighting the ocean? Who among you is from a seaside tribe? You? You too? Great... then...]

[What?! The light of Tizca! Help me! I don’t…]

[Alas, my child, I am sorry. But what I saw in Nikaea has disturbed me greatly, and now that there is another opportunity for verification, we must...]

[A strange crackling sound, footsteps, chanting, and the roar of wild beasts]

[Look, this is pretty good, hurry up, continue. ]

An electronically synthesized chirping sound broke the silence here.

"how?!"

"Mr. Hauser, this is your five o'clock alarm." The voice of the servitor sounded softly from somewhere.

"Ah...thank you."

Gasper Hauser mechanically stood up, walked to the window next to the desk, opened the blinds, and the golden sunlight poured into the room. He saw the brilliant lights in the distance at night like stars falling on the earth...

[Think about something else! Stop looking at the scenery and think about who is in your room at this moment! ]

In my room? In my apartment, at five o'clock in the morning, I should be alone...

[No, think about it, concentrate, think about it, who did you see in the reflection? Who was behind you at that time?]

Behind me? Who is behind me?
Hawser forced himself to focus his eyes back on the bright glass, searching the edges of the reflection for anything that was not his own.

The sun continued to rise steadily over the Terran horizon outside the porthole.

sun.

The symbol for the sun is a point on a disk.

Who had emphasized this before?

The sun symbol in the obsidian pupil is to prevent anything from escaping...

Those statues...

The temple in the ruins of Boeotia...

The tall demigods were dressed in bright red power armor without any identification marks...

They said they were the Fifteenth Legion...

The Fifteenth Astartes Legion...

Astartes...

……of……

"ah------!!!!"

"Damn it! Hold him down! Protect him!" Ramizarn shouted loudly, while Perturabo BC's barking orders beside him echoed in the deep canyon, intensifying the tense atmosphere and effect on the scene.

Of course, as professionals, the two Templar lecturers had already demonstrated their special abilities. Ahriman of the Black Crow raised his staff on the left and loudly and quickly recited the protective spells that were now on the whitelist, while Ushizar of the Sky Owl hurriedly coordinated his gestures and his own mental energy on the right to sort out the soul and memories of Gasper Hauser, who was lying twitching on the stone slab; around this large stone slab covered with blue-green tundra moss, the Thousand Sons' quaint carvings were mixed with paper scrolls, incense, candles, and the Space Wolves Rune Priests' fangs, herb jars, amulets and other things.

Othrel was sitting cross-legged above the reclining bard, using runes and burning herbs to exorcise evil spirits and calm his mind. Ornn Evilwinter stood at the other end, wearing a full set of leather armor, and thick fur over the heavy and complicated woven patterns that exorcised evil spirits and represented various meanings. On his face was a hideous demon mask that matched the leather armor, and his naturally snow-white hair was fixed into the shape of a beast's tail behind the mask with thick wax. In this way, he could drive away evil spirits with this ferocious look - this was what the wild wolves said, and naturally received the sneer of the Thousand Sons that was not said out loud but contained in their eyes.

But the Lord of Steel insisted that Othril work with Ahriman again, on the planet where they were now, to dig deep into the memories of Kasper Hauser, a double agent whom both sides believed they were very confident in, and that this work must also bring Ornn Badwinter with him.

"Why do you have to bring Ornn? I remember that the reason you chose him as the Rune Priest was because he was always extremely lucky. We really need this!"

The Lord of Steel said so. Of course, he explained that these were the details told to him by "Russ". As for whether the wild wolves believed it or not, it was up to them.

Of course, the thought of working with Othril, who had just betrayed and accused him of witchcraft, was a dreadful thing for Ahriman, and he protested vehemently, with Othril spitting at least eighteen times at Ahriman's feet to ward off the evil spirit - the acidic kind.

But after twenty-six weeks of sailing and getting along, they reached a very reluctant compromise.

Ahriman agreed to work with the Rune Priest rather than chop his limbs off and kick him into the Vast Ocean to feed the elves, and the Rune Priest promised not to spit at or try to chop off the head of the Thousand Sons Chief Librarian while on duty.

Of course, this was definitely not because they were both no match for the Iron Warriors' Thortan vor Bron - the latter would use his strange ability to put the two of them in a busy passage and fix them in a handshake posture for a while according to the Iron Lord's orders - they both felt that if it happened again they would be socially dead in their respective legions - but because once they were separated from the fleet of the Emperor and others, the relationship between the leaders of their huge task force suddenly improved by leaps and bounds.

That's not quite accurate.

When Gasper Hauser's condition was finally stabilized by the academic incantations and rune shamanism, Ahriman was slightly distracted, looking at the three primarchs standing outside the multiple magic circles and thinking.

No matter how many times you see it, the sight of the Lord of Iron holding Winter and the Lord of War while petting them and looking over here is always a sight that stings the eyes.

Our gene father standing next to us seemed uncomfortable and stiff with embarrassment... Wait?! Father? Father?! You can't! You can't be curious! ! ! ! Don't ask if you can touch his fur! My prophetic intuition tells me a very bad result! Father! Don't be curious! Please! ! !

(End of this chapter)