Warhammer: Starting with Industrial Revolution

Rhonin turned to look at Slaanesh beside him, his eyes full of confusion, not understanding why Slaanesh had brought him to see this.

Slaanesh smiled slightly, his fingertips brushing against Rhonin's cheek: "You humans always like to pray to that skeleton sitting on the golden throne, but your Dark Emperor almost never answers any prayers. Only we, the true gods of the Warp, can hear those faint, almost inaudible yearnings for the ultimate."

"His pursuit of ultimate perfection falls within your sphere of authority," Luo Ning said slowly.

Slaanesh's smile grew even more alluring, her eyes brimming with a seductive power:

"That's right. With just a tiny bit of my blessing, he could complete this masterpiece, sculpting the most perfect imperial statue in the world. Don't you think a god like me is the most merciful?"

"I don't think your blessing is that simple." Ronin looked at Him, his tone wary. "Besides, with your true form here, the warp fluctuations will surely alarm the entire sector, and the Imperial fleet will probably be here soon."

Slaanesh shook his head, lightly tapping Ronin's chest with his fingertip: "No, my dear, you're wrong. What we're in here right now is merely a faint projection. If my true form were to descend, this poor old man would go completely mad the moment he sees me."

"What are you planning to do?" Ronin asked.

Slaanesh countered with a question, his beautiful face still bearing a smile, but his words were like a poisoned dagger.

"What do you think I should do? Should I grant this old man my blessing, allowing him to complete his greatest masterpiece before the judges arrive? Or should we stand here and watch him be burned at the stake by your fellow humans as a heretic simply because he is tainted with a trace of chaos?"

Luo Ning looked at Slaanesh quietly, but did not say anything.

This woman was no longer the sweet and affectionate woman who used to entwine with him; her face now bore the sinister and vicious air befitting a chaotic evil god.

"Darling, don't you really want to hurry up? The longer we stay here, the stronger the lingering scent will become, and this old man will be dragged out and burned to death. Everything he cherishes will be gone."

Luo Ning looked at her smile, then looked down at the old man who was praying, and still didn't say anything.

"There's not much time left, someone's already noticed this place."

Slaanesh's voice was sweet and seductive, but his words were icy cold, creating a strong contrast.

"Tell me, should we let him fulfill his dream in his final moments, or should we exonerate him but leave him unable to escape your so-called judgment?"

Luo Ning still did not answer.

Time ticked by, and the two of them watched as the old man, in his near-madness of distress, constantly revised the draft before him, sometimes laughing, sometimes weeping, like a prisoner trapped in his own obsession.

Finally, his door was suddenly and violently broken open, and a group of soldiers rushed in.

The lead witch hunter held up a buzzing subspace probe, its scarlet warning light almost burning through the dimly lit studio.

The soldiers following behind carried laser guns, their muzzles locked tightly against the old man hunched over his desk, but none of them dared to fire.

"In the name of the Emperor and the Holy See! Master Cardoias, you are suspected of being tainted by heresy and depravity. Immediately lay down your tools and accept bondage and investigation!"

The witch hunter's voice, as if chilled to the bone, echoed through the empty studio.

But the old man seemed not to hear at all. His withered fingers still gripped the charcoal pencil, frantically sketching the design of the emperor's statue on the huge drawing paper.

It wasn't until two soldiers rushed forward and ruthlessly locked his wrists with shackles wrapped in holy cloth that the old man seemed to wake up from a deep dream.

He looked at his bound hands and the scattered drafts on the ground, and suddenly let out a heart-wrenching cry, like a wild beast whose heart had been pierced.

"No! Let me go! I'm so close! Just one last bit! I'm going to finish the Emperor's statue! I'm going to present the God-Emperor with the most perfect masterpiece!"

No one listened to him, and people tried to drag him out of the room.

Slaanesh watched the scene unfold and laughed heartily. She looked at Rhonin and asked gently, "It's not too late, my dear. Do you want to help him? If you nod, I'll give him power. He'll not only be able to complete his masterpiece, but he'll also gain the power to defeat those defilers."

"Otherwise, he'll be captured and burned to ashes, and everything he's pursued in his life will be destroyed. Do you really want to kill him?"

Feeling the delicate body of the slug wriggling beside him like a little girl being coquettish, Ronin suddenly laughed.

This smile even stunned the great Lord of Pleasure. She looked at Luo Ning with her eyes full of doubt.

Luo Ning turned his head, gently stroking that perfect face, and slowly said, "Darling, do you really think I care?"

"What?" She didn't expect Luo Ning's answer to be like this.

Luo Ning's smile remained unchanged, and it was indeed genuine. He slowly said, "Darling, this world is so big. I am not a saint. I am powerless to save everyone. Besides, the person who killed him was not me, but you."

"You turned his extreme desires into bait for heresy, and you also put his fate before me as a test. His life and death were never in my hands; from the moment you set your sights on him, the outcome was already decided."

As the priest entered the room carrying the emperor's emblem and holy water, the surrounding scenery instantly became chaotic, leaving only emptiness.

Slaanesh merely snorted, and the two of them instantly returned to her garden.

"A cunning man, choosing to push things away when faced with trouble, don't you feel ashamed?" she said, as if throwing a tantrum, as she returned to her rocking chair.

Rhonin sat down beside her, pulled Slaanesh into his arms, and said gently, "The power of the great Lord of Pleasure is so vast that you can surely remember anything you have seen. Why do I need to remind you that I am not an absolutely good person?"

"In this world, the good people are also the ones most prone to corruption. You can't possibly not know that, can you?"

She twisted the delicate body in her arms, and looked at him with feigned anger, but it wasn't genuine anger from the heart.

"I hate this ability. If I could forget those unpleasant things like you mortals, that would be quite carefree. But I have to admit, the pleasure brought by this endless knowledge is truly wonderful."

As she spoke, she kept licking her lips, and her eyes were full of ambiguity as she looked at Luo Ning.