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

Chapter 708 156. Interlude｜Sun and Moon
Trek and trek, no one pays attention to your whereabouts, but higher-dimensional beings are always whispering in your ears.

But now they are silent together.

So Neos was able to rest.

With light steps, deep within the palace that he had woven like a spider web, the Emperor hid from his loyal warriors.

Malcador, who had been staring at him, looked away with disdain, though his critical gaze was tinged with a hint of disappointment.

He would get along well with Olpersson.

The Emperor thought comfortably, after all, they had a lot in common.

If they wanted, Orpesson and Malcador could talk about rebuking Neos for three years without repeating the same topic.

Neos provided them with rich material and topics.

The Emperor never forbade anyone to curse him, just as he never forced anyone to praise him.

Most humans would be deceived by the golden cloak he wore. They respected and feared him, and their praise and curses came from the bottom of their hearts. The words in their mouths piled up on the Emperor's shell to form a thicker barrier, making Neos' true self even more unknown.

Another group of people are closer to the truth. They are either wise men with profound vision, or simply fools who act on instinct.

Among these people, some chose to follow him, and then chose to leave or betray him after being exposed to the deeper truth, while others kept a certain distance from him and stayed away from him.

The former are Orpesson and Malcador, and the latter is Hades——

Although Neos believes that his character is at least, or slightly, maybe stronger than that of his offspring Mortarion, it is obvious that Hades is more willing to work with Mortarion.

Neos's understanding of this is that Hades has a low aesthetic and doesn't like the color gold.

But only one man, a wise man with a secular bent, a commander, a son, a bright moon, and his wolf shepherd, would choose to love him after glimpsing that moment of truth.

This is the unconditional love a child has for his father.

In a trance, Neos seemed to have returned to that afternoon. He was wearing a white lab coat, holding a data tablet, standing in front of the incubator.

Malcador coughed and moved towards him, his staff hitting the ground with an ominous thud.

"All sons?"

The old man stopped half a step behind Neos, staring at the incubator with a gloomy look, as if cursing these guys.

Machado may have seen families with only sons, and how the whole family is in chaos when those boys are growing up.

"Yes and no. I need generals and commanders - not sons, but war machines. Men are more suitable for this position."

Malcador turned his gaze away from the bubbling incubator and looked at the Lord of Humanity with a frown.

"So I assume you'll remove their emotional function?"

Neos paused for a rare moment.

"No, it won't."

He blinked.
"I want them to be truly human—

The first step to being human is to understand humans. Emotions and desires are themes that run through humans and human civilization, and we cannot give them up. "

Malcador raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly.
"so--"

He drawled out the sound.

"You want real humans, and they will also be your offspring. I have a question. Since you require them to have emotions and let them serve you with affection and loyalty, will you return their emotions?"

"will not."

The Lord of Mankind answered immediately without any burden, and could even be described as brisk.

"I will play the role of a qualified father, but my scale will always only be human."

Malcador was silent for a moment, his expression hidden deep in the shadow of his hood.

"This is not good,"

The old man said hoarsely,
"They are not ordinary humans. The monsters you create will be able to tell whether you are sincere or not—

Then they will ask for your sincerity. When it comes to that, will you really be so hard-hearted?"

The Lord of Mankind answered him with a confident silence, and Neos didn't even think it necessary to answer the question.

Malcador took a deep breath, sighed, shook his head and left.

Now it seems that maybe he should trust Malcador a little more.

Neos finally walked into the house. After passing through the dim golden door, he seemed to have entered a narrow cave. The faint moonlight sprinkled through the cracks in the cave and rippled on the pool of water in the center of the house.

Neos stretched out his hand and clenched his fist. Blood dripped from between his fingers and fell into the pool.

He raised his head leisurely, and in an instant, the whole room seemed to be immersed in the deep sea. Thousands of white lights and shadows like chaotic flowers fluctuated in the air, and powerful yet gentle spiritual energy bloomed layer by layer, casting waves.

The white light was like flying snow, or like the aftermath of an exploding shell, falling chaotically to the ground and forming a phantom.

It was Horus Lupercal.

"How are you feeling lately?"

Neos said lightly, picking a protruding rock to sit on. He felt a little out of breath. After all, most of his strength had been used elsewhere.

At the same time, on the other side, the imminent awakening of Sanguinius also attracted some believers.

The phantom Horus just opened his mouth and stood there in disbelief.

[I...I'm still alive? ]

"You still exist."

Neos shrugged calmly.

“In the course of human development, life and death are not an insurmountable gap.”

Horus turned his head sharply, and only then did he react.

【Father—Father? !!!】

The Primarch made a sharp explosion that was totally inconsistent with his image, and then Neos saw with a headache that Horus almost immediately began to cry. The former Warmaster, who was usually tall and mighty, was like a child who had made a mistake, and his body instantly shrank. At this moment, Neos might, possibly, perhaps, feel guilty for a moment.

The words of self-blame and repentance from the Wolf God were even more frequent than Lorgar's prayers. The Lord of Mankind listened, seemingly nonchalant; he was just enjoying the time with his son.

Father and Son.

In human history, after the matriarchal society, it once became the most important bond to maintain social relations, with blood ties determining closeness and building up unions based on clans.

Neos originally thought so.

But afterwards he realized more, those scenes that he had seen but had been indifferent to, such as a father pushing his son away in the war and being shot by a bullet; or a son pushing his father to the muzzle of a gun, but the father did not scold his child; an elderly man tremblingly took out all his savings and gave them to his good-for-nothing son; or perhaps even simpler, those young people running and playing with their children in the park, their faces that had not yet aged were filled with smiles.

Of course, there are other examples, such as the father who teamed up with his mistress to kill his legitimate son, the starving people who ate their children during the famine, and the emperor who poisoned his son who tried to usurp power...

That's how humans are.

Neos originally thought he would be the latter, but in fact he was more inclined to the former.
When he began to think about how to save Lupercal from Chaos, Neos knew that he had embarked on the path of becoming a qualified father.

Perhaps he originally had this tendency. There are many people in human history who have made friends and enjoyed themselves with people who conspired to murder their own fathers.
But Neos chose to take revenge on the enemy who killed his father - everything had a clear clue.

After all, he is also human.

He has always been human.

"Humanity will never forgive you, Horus Lupercal."

Neos lowered his eyes and looked at Horus who was kneeling beside him and crying. Horus was still in pieces now. He was not stable, so his speech was incoherent.

You can't expect any logic or rationality from a person who is about to pass out due to drinking. Horus is just crying now. He may not even realize what he has done, but he is subconsciously apologizing to Neos.

Neos opened his mouth and felt a bitter taste in his throat.

"But I forgive you."

——As a father.

How wonderful it would be if he were not the Lord of Mankind—not in the past, not now, and not in the future.

Horus paused for a moment, then let out a more miserable howl. He was like a dying wolf, helpless and desperate, but his vocal cords were intact and he was full of energy.

Let him cry first.

Neos was silent.

………………

They won't forgive me.

Horus choked, he felt weak, still in chaos and brokenness, but the Lord of Mankind before him made him feel particularly at ease.

He even felt a forced return of rationality and calmness - perhaps this was the work of the Lord of Mankind.

The face of the Lord of Death, distorted with rage, passed before Horus. He shuddered subconsciously, and the things he had done came to his mind. The great pain and despair almost made him faint immediately.

Horus realized that he would be completely shattered in the next moment because of his huge self-blame and inability to face it, but the Lord of Mankind had been maintaining his soul state and preventing him from dissipating.

"Of course they won't forgive you,"

Neos said calmly,

"They'll never even let you go."

「Then I, I──」

Tears covered Horus' face. He took a step forward and grasped Neos' cloak tightly with his hands.

Kill me, father.

Horus Lupercal said, his voice trembling,

Thousands of words, countless self-blames, countless regrets, it was difficult to face, impossible to think deeply, and my hands were tightly grasping the corners of his clothes.

Kill me.

Horus screamed and repeated, his broken soul overwhelmed, he could not even bear to think further about what he had done, and asked for the sleep of death.

Only death can cleanse sins.

Neos was silent.

Then he placed his hand on Horus's and he held his son's hand tightly, and at this moment, Neos felt himself grow old.

For a moment, Neos even thought of Mortarion, or Hades,
At least the people from Barbarus were determined to kill the traitors. They might feel pain and regret, but that would be after the scythe was swung down.

However, the Lord of mankind occasionally hesitates when facing this issue.

It was like this every time, when he faced the traitorous Orpesson, faced Erda, faced Malcador... every time it was like this, he exiled them but did not destroy them.

None of them could touch upon that topic, maybe Neos could force the conversation, but now was not the time, not right now.

There's something else.

He hasn't yet... become so incompetent and stupid simply because of missing you.

Neos used [skip] skillfully and habitually, even though he didn't really want to skip it right now.

"You can't disappear just yet."

The Lord of Mankind said, his dark brown eyes glowing with gold.

"Do one thing for me, for your brother, Horus."

One of his hands was still holding Horus's hand, and the other hand was raised. Pious whispers sounded in their ears, and a white feather burning with golden flames appeared at the Emperor's fingertips.

"Go and bring back Sanguinius."

Neos whispered, regret returning to his heart. Sanguinius was another tragedy, still a sad song that he had created with his own hands.

"You would be the best candidate. Sanguinius' conscience awaits you."

(End of this chapter)