Warhammer: I don't want to be a stinky can! ! !

Chapter 444 Chapter 2.24 Cocoon
Butterflies, moths, and most Lepidoptera go through a long and painful pupation period.

This process is not as peaceful as it seems on the surface. Those caterpillars filled with memories will melt in the pupa, and the body will turn into a thick pulp, leaving only a few organs, and everything else will be turned into nourishment for new-born insects. .

Those organs will develop again, absorb the nutrient slurry formed by the caterpillar's body, and grow a new body, new eyes, and wings...

In the end, what emerges from the chrysalis will be a life completely different from the past.

Someone once asked, is the newly born butterfly still the same caterpillar it once was, or is it parasitic on it, another unique life?

Others hypothesize that caterpillars themselves cannot be regarded as a kind of life. They are just some kind of "self-moving" eggs before metamorphosing into butterflies.

Just like a fish that steps on land can no longer be called a "fish",
The caterpillar that escapes gravity may not be itself anymore.

But it must learn to fly.

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A long time ago, when Mortarion was still unable to get used to the poisonous gas, when he was still imprisoned by his adoptive father,
Mortarion would smell that special odor, which was particularly strong every time his alien adoptive father emerged from his laboratory.

It was not a pleasant smell, even Barbarus' poison gas was more tolerable to Mortarion.

Mortarion had carefully peeked through the crack in the door, and he saw the puppets haphazardly sewn together from human body parts.

That's the putrid smell emitted by human corpses as they decay.

Mortarion thought, and long after, he still thought so.

But as he knelt on the ground of Barbarus and dug up the corpses of the Revolutionary soldiers with trembling hands, Mortarion did not smell the scent.

Yellow-black pus dripped from between his fingers, with pale bone residue. He smelled the smell of Hades' vomit behind him, and smelled the salty smell of the tears of the corpse's family members, but there was no such smell——

The smell that followed the atrocities committed by his alien adoptive father was deeply engraved into his bones, making him disgusted and frightened.

The corpse odor caused by high corruption is also easier for Mortarion to accept.

Later, when Mortarion hit an alien lord with a scythe, he smelled the familiar smell again with the sharp wail of the guy.
It was... the smell of psychic energy.

Mortarion breathed deeply.

Since then, this smell has been with him, wafting from the Death Guard's think tank, from Malcador's body, from the Emperor's body...

No matter how many gas masks he changed, no matter how violently he stung his nostrils with poison gas, Mortarion could always smell them - it was a soul's sense of smell that he couldn't get rid of.

In addition to the long torture, it also provided convenience to Mortarion. No matter how small a spark of psychic energy was, Mortarion would not ignore it.

Mortarion raised his hand, and the pus slipped away. Under the scythe, the bodies of those ridiculous, poor imitations of the Death Guard were exuding an unbearable putrid stench.

They thought these poor imitations would sway him, but they were wrong.

Even though it pains him, it doesn't shake him.

Mortarion had been prepared for this.

He was now standing in this dense forest. The roughly chopped down branches and the purple-red organs hanging on the branches all showed the brutality of the battle just now.

Mortarion stared at his broken armor. He hesitated and slowly raised his arm to the tip of his nose——

He smelled the smell.

From himself.

Mortarion was silent, trying to slow down the process for the sake of Hades.

A faint feeling of powerlessness responded to him, but in this sea of ​​green pus, this pitiful, almost dry darkness could not save him.

He remembered that he once fell into a dream called the Death Guard, and it was the water of the Styx that finally saved him.

But now... Mortarion clenched his fist, then unclenched it, and the crispy armor fell off his hands.

Everything here is attacking him, those big enough to be seen and those too small to be felt. The real battlefield is in the dimension of microorganisms, where hundreds of millions of creatures are dying.

He could no longer rely on his old friend.

Even Mortarion was proud of the image of Hades taking down Magnus.

He could no longer rely on the Death Guard.

Because he was alone at the moment.

This was his destiny, this was Mortarion's destiny, and the day finally came and he faced it alone.

...He needs to become stronger, more powerful.

Strong enough to survive.

Mortarion took a deep breath, raised his feet unsteadily, and began to trek through the dense forest.

There are no visible enemies to stop him; they leave victory to bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Time is on their side.

For Mortarion, this is a dead end.

But he needs to live,

Only by living can we have other possibilities.

Survival, this is the law of Barbarus, the supreme law that can never be shaken.

Only the strong can survive.

And if lives are lost, it proves that they are not tough enough.

Mortarion trudged, and the weeds with abundant sarcoma on the branches hit his legs. The sarcoma stuck to his leg armor, emitting a foul smell.

Even heavy rain cannot wash them away.

Mortarion had no inclination to take them off;
He felt tired, but for him who was good at long-term battles, tiredness was just the simplest feeling.

Buzzing, black-headed flies covered with fleshy flesh came around. They sang happily around Mortarion, landed on his shoulder armor, tilted their heads, and rubbed their heads.

Mortarion ignored them, and the heavy rain poured down. The turbid raindrops slipped from his neck and poured into the gap between his body and the armor. The circulatory system and power system of the armor had long been destroyed.

He was like a drowned rat walking in the dense forest.

This planet is alive.

Mortarion thought that this was a huge, living incubator that was catalyzing him, catalyzing the primarch to become another existence.

Everything here, every plant, every tree, every creature, is prepared for him and is applauded by him.

This is a dead end.

Mortarion thought again, and that feeling of despair came over him again, like maggots eating away at the bones.

"boom!"

There was a huge falling sound as the original body hit the ground heavily, splashing the smelly liquid in the rain pit.

Mortarion vomited, spitting out sewage mixed with organs and blood. He struggled to raise his upper body so that his exposed face would not come into contact with the ground.

In a daze, Mortarion returned to that rainy night when he was a child. His alien adoptive father threw him off the cliff and ordered him to climb back to the top of the mountain before dawn.

He falls downward-

Mortarion took a sharp breath, coughed violently, and began to climb forward.

He needs to live...

He needs to live...

He can't die yet...

Those unfinished long-cherished wishes, those previous vows, those beautiful memories - he can't lose them, he can't just give up.

Mortarion... think of it quickly...

He remembered the prophecy he had seen. On that strange Eldar planet, Mortarion saw himself.

That's not him, but that's him too.

That is... the most original version of him, and also... some kind of monster that emerged from Mortarion's body in the past - unable to be killed by the Death Guard, unable to be protected by Hades, unable to be considered Typhon, and unable to be conquered by humans. Accepted monster.

Extremely smelly.

Everything here is aimed at Mortarion, this is a dead end - but for the other him, it is not.

But how should he reach that other shore, and how much should he sacrifice?What should he do?
Mortarion climbed,

Seeing the giant fall, those green sarcoma-like creatures ran out of the grass with chirping sounds, like bloated potatoes. They were small, huddled together, and screamed softly.

They pushed and shoved their way to the prostrate Mortarion, following him, as if marveling at his tenacity and embarrassment.

Mortarion stared at those entities with his deep eyes, but they did not try to attack him, but followed him closely.

...Mortarion, what else have you forgotten?
Mortarion took a deep breath. He needed to live... He needed to remember all that...

The truth before life is born——

He needed to...accept himself.

Mortarion gasped in pain, and the stench became more intense, tearing at his soul and making him dizzy. He couldn't help but scream,
As Mortarion struggled, a faint layer of smoke floated around him.

Macragge's Calamity Day Cull Barbarus The Burning of Prospero The Judgment of Nikea The Warmaster's Celebration The Battle of Urano Ibsen's Great Crusade The Atrocities of Conrad Curze Horus Killiman's Banquet Randan Barbaru The Purge of Sri Lanka The Betrayal of Karastifon Mars Terra Malcador Illusion Space Marines The Emperor The Last Alien Lord Death Guard Hades Karastifon Mortarion Alien Adoptive Father Nakre Barbarus Drop Pod Warp Space laboratory--

It floats in the vast ocean.

Always silent, always present.

Always hating, always devouring, always withering.

It is the cloud -

He is a wizard! ! !
Mortarion tumbled back to reality, struggling and screaming in the mud.

The primarch's deafening scream scared away the participating Nurglings around him, and they ran back, hiding themselves under the leaves.

The desperate scream tore through the sky, almost tearing away the rain curtain, and could not stop for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, the screaming giants fell asleep again. They stuck their heads out and looked curiously at their upcoming new master.

After the seven raindrops fell, the Nurglings tried to gather around Mortarion again.

They curiously poked at the giant's pale and thin face, tried to raise his helpless hands, and wrote and drew on his armor with pus.

You need to...re-accept yourself.

All of this...armor, weapons, body, language, customs, likes and dislikes...all of these are binding you and imprisoning your existence.

[Mortarion], this is the name given to him by his alien adoptive father. In Barbarus, it means [Son of Death].

The Emperor had once told him that he would have had a name with a better meaning.

He refused.

Mortarion refused.

Collapsed in the rainstorm, Mortarion's hand twitched twice.
The Nurgling at his hand screamed, but after seeing that the giant had no other reaction, he boldly came over again.

…This is the planet He prepared for you, Mortarion.

...He...

…Who is He?

Mortarion breathed slightly, this was the last difference between him and the corpse, Mortarion... think about it...

In the coma, he began to run - no, spread, he ran towards that place, and he saw a corner of the garden.

Mortarion stood up unsteadily, but there was no light in his eyes, and his soul seemed to be in another world.

Ominous gray smoke rose from the cracks in his armor. Mortarion lowered his head and panted, puffing smoke from his mouth.

There was a scream in his hand, and a Nurgling playing with his palm was caught, its short arms waving, trying to pry Mortarion's hand away.

Mortarion saw the garden, which was not as lush as it had been before,
A few new shoots sprouted from the barren land. The soil that had just been plowed was soft, and breathing seeds were sleeping there.

At the edge of the garden, a place of darkness slumbers.

This is Nurgle's garden,
Parts of it withered, lost - the being was trying to reassemble them, which made Him vulnerable.

And that's what Mortarion wants.

In his final moments of sanity, Mortarion could even tell who had done this.

He chuckled at the end, tears streaming from his eyes.

This is the god they have to face and fight with.

Humans cannot defeat the gods...unless...

Come to think of it... Mortarion...

Mortarion raised his hand unconsciously. The Nurgling in his hand struggled, and the Lord of Darkness spoke -

Beside the giant, all the Nurglings stopped in shock. They looked at the monster in disbelief, with pus overflowing from its mouth and juices exploding.

...He remembered.

【Nurgle】

+Nurgle! ! ! +
Mortarion roared, and his body propped up in the jungle began to collapse layer by layer like a skeleton.
If you want to regain everything you had in the past, you must abandon what you have now——

Even if it anchors you in this beautiful world, in this physical world where your comrades, your regiment, and your laboratory exist.

Gray mist rose up layer by layer, swallowing everything in an instant, spreading to all directions, swallowing everything.

Mortarion roared and the corners of his mouth split open, revealing the white bones.

+ - You're not the only one! ! ! +
This was the planet Nurgle had given him - it was his planet, even if it was stained with Nurgle's psychic powers, even if they tried to pull him into the Garden - but he owned it.

Dark clouds rose in a corner of the garden, and he heard angry roars coming from that section - now Mortarion knew why He chose him, and their compatibility was indeed excellent.

The clouds and mist greedily devoured the corner of the garden that had just been plundered. He came - Mortarion felt like he was rotting, but then -

He shouted to the existence that made him tremble, the clouds rolled, calling and leading the existence that made him feel deep fear just by looking at it,

It was a greedy black monster, rolling and squirming. It followed Mortarion's gray cloud closely, like a beast driven by hunger.

what……

He needed to sacrifice a part of himself, but he still needed power, and Mortarion threw away what he had accumulated in his lifetime - leaving behind the only part he needed to keep.

Throw it out into the garden.

Darkness and life are entangled, but the tide of darkness is quickly receding. Mortarion has obtained what he wants, and the fog has begun to recede.
The small corner of the garden finally disappeared, and the soil where the seeds were buried faded away with the mist, as if it itself was shrouded in mist.

Under the clouds, the desolate land was silent.

Mortarion suddenly let go of his hand.

The Nurgling Remnant in his hand crackled and exploded on the ground like a ripe fruit.

He began to collapse. This body could no longer anchor him. Dark clouds surged out, and the armor creaked and fell downwards.

Father Rain screamed, but the gray cloud had already risen, greedily devouring its mist.

This planet belongs to Mortarion.

Dark clouds loomed over everything.

Everything that was originally vibrant became mute, and hundreds of millions of creatures were silent in the fog. They still exist, but...but...

No one knows what happened.

Except for the steady breathing.

　No more, yay!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)