Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Morgan, my daughter."

"Come to me quickly."

He said.

"We need to have a good talk."

The guards of the Lord of Mankind brought these words: a demand, a call, and, of course, an irresistible command.

At the very least, the Primarch of the Second Legion could clearly read a certain arbitrariness and indifference in the Emperor's guard who wrapped himself in golden armor.

This envoy, who seemed to have a high status in the Forbidden Army, was not as cautious as an ordinary person would be when facing a son of the emperor. After he solemnly threw the order of the Lord of Mankind in front of the Spider Queen, he stood there On the spot, waiting for the Lord of the Second Legion to leave with him, the light shining on the finely crafted power halberd was like a silent indignation that could confront more than a dozen elite Dawnbreakers present at the same time.

Morgan did not get angry because of this silent offense. After taking a moment to calm down the restless heirs around her, she turned and left to put on her own armor: the most formal set of armor, which was made by Holy Terra. A family of craftsmen who served the Emperor in previous generations, tailor-made unique items for each Primarch.

As early as the day she officially reunited with her legion, the Spider Queen accepted the records of her various physical data by the chief craftsmen on the Emperor's Dream, and this short-lived compromise was achieved today several years later. The most generous reward: When the fleet of the Dawnbreaker Legion and the Emperor's personal army had just merged, a tailor-made set of power armor was delivered to the Lord of Avalon.

Morgan was very satisfied with this creation: whether it was the wrist guards, armor or synthetic muscle tissue, or the golden decorations and military accessories on the gauntlets, greaves and breastplates, all of which were carved by the Emperor's heraldic craftsmen. It was deeply loved by the Lord of Avalon, especially when she found that after a cursory inspection, she could still do some small things on this armor.

For example, install a hood, or a snow-white cloak similar to a hooded robe: the Lord of the Second Legion likes the feeling of hiding in the hood. This may be her relationship with Caliban's King of Knights. A microcosm of the constant mutual influence.

Amidst the joy brought by this exquisite gift, Morgan did not take it to heart the rudeness of the Imperial Guards. He lazily changed his armor and let the Emperor's personal soldiers, who had their eyes above their heads, stand still. After waiting for a while, the Primarch selected two offspring and rushed with her to the Emperor's Dreamship.

The voyage was short and fast, and as the darkness in the void was dispersed by the gorgeous light emitted by gold and steel, the Lord of Mankind's ship soon appeared in Morgan's eyes. It was so huge that it seemed that it should not exist in the real universe. The hull of the ship is covered with weapons belts and formed ablative armor. Its weight is comparable to the stars, so most ships have to stay away from it, making it look like a powerful king sitting on his throne. , enjoying the glory and power of being a loner.

It is lonely, because the few Glory Queen-class battleships that were able to parallel it have now left. With Konrad's return, the Primarchs no longer stay in the Nostramo sector. reason, after receiving the emperor's order, they must devote themselves to their tasks again.

Only the Second Legion did not receive an order from the Lord of Humanity, and several of Morgan's blood relatives certainly knew what this meant: Although they were a little surprised, the Phoenix of Chemos and the Lord of the Word Bearers quickly found Morgan. He told her in considerable detail some of the details she needed to know to get along with her brothers.

The Primarch of the Third Legion also swore that once Morgan encounters any unsolvable problem in the education of Midnight Ghosts, you can always count on his help, and he will bring the shepherd wolf like the sun with him. God, come together.

Having said that, after giving their gifts to Morgan, several Primarchs left one after another: the Primarch of the Imperial Fists was the last to leave, because he spent a few days sorting it out. I learned some of my experience in architecture and gave it to the Lord of Avalon.

Through the glass porthole of the shuttle, Morgan was able to witness this huge military creation once again. At this time, a rather rebellious but very tempting idea couldn't help but come to the head of the Second Legion. flashed through his mind.

If she really needs to face such a void engine one day, how can she fight against it, or even let the pride of the emperor completely fall in the battle?

Even the emperor's rebellious daughter couldn't help but be stunned for a moment by this absolute idea of ​​rebellion, because there was a resistance originating from her genes that was trembling with her blasphemous thoughts, and was constantly trembling in her. echoed deep inside.

You cannot disobey Him, He is your Genetic Father, your Creator.

How could you have such blasphemous thoughts of betrayal?

Morgan blinked her eyes. She could feel her lips trembling abnormally. Her already extremely pale complexion seemed to have lost all its color at this moment. She lowered her eyes to cover the long black eyelashes of different colors in her pupils. It seems particularly dazzling.

She knew clearly that this retort like a ghostly voice was not the play of any malevolent power in her mind, nor was it the emperor's will playing tricks: this voice came from something more instinctive, such as Her subconscious and even her genes, there was no doubt that every part of them was written with unconditional loyalty to the Lord of Mankind.

…

She is truly worthy of being the genetic father who can use her genetic offspring to illustrate various biological diversity.

Morgan covered her face and gently rubbed her eyebrows. A drop of sweat quietly appeared from between her eyebrows and accumulated on her fingertips.

This scene even attracted the attention of the imperial guards on the side, but after seeing the direction in which Morgan was looking, the bodyguard of the Lord of Humanity said nothing more and maintained his silence.

And right next to him, after the only drop of sweat between her brows and eyes was quietly wiped away, when Morgan looked up at the emperor's ship again, she already had someone who could fight against her. plan.

Placing hope on the Glory Queen-class battleship of the Second Legion seems a little unsafe, and the Imperial Fist Legion's prestigious giant battleship [Phalanx] is as difficult to obtain as heavenly: but the Spider Queen is here After a brief recollection, she quickly remembered another method, a message she had received from her Eldar friends.

She clearly remembered that the last words of more than one Eldar friend mentioned a void creation in the Eldar legend: and unlike the ethereal legends of other races, the Ada Eldar who once touched the edge of the God Realm, they The legends are often true, and it is Ada's once exaggerated and crazy technology that has sown stubborn fragments in the long river of history.

And that creation is exactly like this.

Morgan knew it and remembered it. Thanks to the continuous piecing together of countless Eldar memory fragments to form a complete treasure map and instructions, the Lord of the Second Legion could even roughly point out the location of the creation. Name the steps it takes to get started, and some of the power it might hold.

The only question now is how he can get them quietly.

After all, those are some big guys.

Morgan thought and smiled.

And when the shuttle faithfully completed its mission, it sent the Primarch and her supervisor into the hatch that was like a membrane inside an eggshell, and landed amidst the rumble and fragrance. At that time, the Lord of the Second Legion was also whispering the names of those mythical creatures, the titles of those future assets that belonged to her.

[Blackstone Fortress. 】

She knows them.

She will get them and make them docile for her use.

However, I wonder if these ancient relics can really compete with the proud creations of the Lord of Humanity?

——————

Morgan walked through the long corridors of the "Emperor's Dream" decorated with gold, marble and all kinds of priceless works of art, and passed through the ocean-like mortal servants and people with various titles who bent down to salute her. The so-called artists, what she saw made her mistakenly believe that she was actually walking in a huge art subspace, rather than a ship that was the most terrifying war weapon in the entire human empire.

But when she passed through the real door that symbolized the limit, when all mortals were blocked by the cold sight of the Custodes, such thoughts disappeared, because the Emperor's true domain appeared between the Second Legion. In front of the Lord, it is an icy country made of countless blessed sacred steels, covered with countless long and short wires and tall instruments.

The air is filled with the smell of wet pen and ink mixed with nutritional gel. The cool cabins look the same and can only be distinguished by the numbers and names on them, while their doors are full of inscriptions. A variety of golden runes and gothic lights.

Efficient, pure, and sacred, these are the adjectives that Morgan could think of when she witnessed her genetic father's private realm.

The Emperor's bodyguard led the Primarch to a door that was taller than both of them combined, and at the same moment, the words of the Lord of Mankind came from inside.

"Let her in, Diocletian."

The Custodian loudly responded to his master's order and carried it out faithfully. His cold gaze behind the golden visor gave the Primarch a final warning before getting out of the way. When Morgan passed by him, For a moment, one could still clearly hear the deliberate sound of steel rubbing against the power halberd as the gauntlet kneaded it.

…

Her genetic father really gathered a large group of wonderful people to help him realize his crazy dream.

Such thoughts flashed through the mind of the leader of the Second Legion, and when she saw the situation in the room clearly with the dull sound of the door being closed, any thoughts in her mind were instantly replaced by what was in front of her. The scene dispersed.

Her genetic father, the master of mankind, wrapped himself in a protective suit used to work under high-risk conditions. He worked alone in this laboratory comparable to a great hall, with only those who accompanied him. Horrible organs filled with nutrient-rich gel cylinders, as well as various ancient books, yellowed scrolls and sticky notes with wet ink scattered all over the place.

Everything is chaotic, but everything is filled with a certain kind of orderliness in the chaos, as if strictly following a layout known only to the master of mankind, which can maximize his work efficiency: in The moment she realized this, Guilliman's shadow flashed across Morgan's mind.

It seems that a certain ruler of Ultramar did receive a biased gift from their common genetic father.

There was a faint sourness deep in the heart of the leader of the Second Legion, but it did not stay for long, because her eyes were quickly attracted by the figure in the center of the room.

That was Konrad, her somewhat impolite brother. He was sleeping, sleeping on the operating table in front of the Emperor. His tall and thin body was naked, only blocking the necessary part. His arms, which were too slender by his standards, hung on the ground, allowing Morgan to clearly see the countless scars scattered between his muscles.

The Lord of Mankind turned his back to Morgan, and his attention was attracted by the display screen on one side that was constantly scrolling with numbers and biological data. A low sigh overflowed from the Emperor's mouth before Morgan realized it.

"Long-term malnutrition that has never improved since the brain began to function. The last food shown in the stomach pouch is iron filings, dust and completely rotten meat."

"Severe mental failure has initially affected learning ability, thinking ability, and even other parts of the physiological structure, and can easily cause various typical symptoms of emotional loss."

"There are also scars, scars and unhealed wounds all over the body, including at least 300 stab wounds and the same number of gunshot wounds. There are seven blade residues and five bullets that have not been completely removed."

"This is Konrad Curze, my genetic son, my creation number eight."

"Also your brother."

The Lord of Mankind put down the tool in his hand and slowly stood up straight. His back was still turned to Morgan, so that the Spider Queen could not clearly see the face under the operating light, and he remained silent for a long time.

Morgan also responded to her genetic father with silence. Regarding this powerful existence that she had never understood, the Spider Queen maintained the most cautious and low-key attitude. She rarely raised any topics in front of the Lord of Humanity, and also Determined to answer the Emperor's inquiry with a brief silence followed by thoughtful words.

At the same time, inspired by some blood and family ties, Morgan couldn't help but part his gaze and looked at Conrad's hanging arm, only the thin one full of weird muscles. On her limbs, she roughly counted the various scars and lacerations in no less than three digits, which made the Spider Queen's cold heart feel unspeakably touched and sad.

"How's it going with your brothers?"

Just when the Lord of the Second Legion fell into a rare state of grief, the Lord of Humanity slowly left his position, pulled off his white gloves, put them aside, and then picked up an unknown book. What was recorded in the notes, I asked while looking at them.

Morgan's eyes retracted and he began to concentrate on his father.

【Well enough. 】

[Each of them... are quite different and unique individuals. 】

The Emperor nodded, seemingly unconcerned with the answer.

"What do you think of Dorne?"

[A trustworthy comrade, his assessment and words are priceless. 】

"That's the opposite view from most people."

[You don’t still think your daughter will be a normal person, do you, father? 】

"..."

"If in the future, I arrange for you to fight alongside Dorn and his Imperial Fists in some operations of the First Army, do you have any objections to this?"

[No, Dorn will be a very reliable comrade-in-arms, worthy of his support and trust. 】

"He will be unabashedly critical of everything you do."

[It doesn’t matter, so do I. 】

The Lord of Mankind was silent for a while, then nodded, and did not speak for a long time. It was not until Morgan's eyes drifted towards the sleeping Conrad again that the Emperor's words rang out like dull thunder.

"It will do you good to spend more time with Dorne."

[This may be a bit difficult, my respected Gene Father, after all, the Far Eastern border where you ordered me to station is far away from the area recovered by the Imperial Fist Legion. 】

"Then when the more distant Dark Angel Legion calls you, will you refuse them?"

The rhetorical question from the Lord of Humanity made Morgan feel silent from the bottom of her heart. When she realized the answer in her heart, the Lord of the Second Legion blinked and decided to change the topic.

[If you wanted me to move around more with my blood brothers, you should not have assigned me such a huge garrison task in the Far Eastern Frontier. This would cost me a lot of energy, attention, and time. 】

"Can't your maids solve this problem?"

【! 】

A drop of cold sweat ran across the forehead of the Lord of the Second Legion, but when she focused her attention on the Emperor's face, she found that her genetic father was still focused on the book in his hand, as if everything Both the questions and the answers struck him as unconcerned.

He didn't even raise his head, never raised his head, and only answered Morgan with some casual comfort.

"There is no need to be so alarmed. Although what you did does not comply with the rules, it has not yet touched the red line I set for you. It is a little secret that can be tolerated."

【……】

[Can I ask, where is this so-called red line? 】

"You know it yourself."

【……】

"In addition, there is your kingdom: I don't care what you do on the Far Eastern frontier. You can be bolder and don't always be defined by the so-called kingdom and rule. I have given you the same power as Guilliman, but you Your power will have some small but important differences based on your character."

"After all, Guilliman is a lord who will be dragged down by his five hundred worlds, but you are different, Morgan: deep in your heart, burns a fire that longs to reach Holy Terra. .”

"You will eventually visit Holy Terra, no matter what your original purpose is."

Morgan lowered her head, she did not dare to respond to such words, and the Lord of Mankind did not dwell on this issue for too long. He was writing and drawing in his book, thinking about something, and raised the next question by the way.

"Where are Ferrus and Fulgrim, what do you think of them?"

[A very reliable brother. 】

"Be specific."

[Ferrus is an iron furnace that is too heavy. There is a raging fire burning inside him, so although he looks cold, if you get close enough, you can still feel his sincerity from the heart, and the iron furnace itself is Being strong and determined means that he will not be afraid of any obstacles and turn all difficulties into fruitful results. 】

[But on the other hand, if he gets too close rashly, he cannot control his fire and may burn people with the hot furnace wall. As a cold and heavy steel creation, he It was almost impossible to express the apology welling up in my heart for this. 】

"..."

"What about Fulgrim?"

[Fulgrim is a shining glass phoenix. His presence and light alone are enough to light up the darkness in people's hearts and become a de facto beacon, and the same flame is burning in his heart. , although it is not as hot as Ferus, it is enough to warm everyone who is close to him. 】

[However, glass is glass, no one knows how he will perform in the face of real training, and as an existence that can reflect the surrounding light, how much of Fulgrim's light is his own, and how much of it is his own It was borrowed by him, and it is also an unknown number. 】

Once again, the Lord of Mankind lowered his head and remained silent for a period of time. He continued to write and draw on the book. The originally blank paper was almost occupied by lines of exquisite ancient characters. His next question came more quickly than Morgan's. It is even later and more direct to imagine.

"Where's Luo Jia, what do you think is wrong with him?"

【……】

Morgan blinked to make sure he heard correctly.

[I originally wanted to say that his so-called faith is more like a preconceived moral kidnapping, but when I think about the fact that the empire seems to prohibit the existence of faith, then I don’t need to say more in this aspect. 】

[With Luo Jia, I think one of his biggest problems is that I can’t see which side of you he represents: even I symbolize your coldness and hypocrisy, but Luo Jia, I really don’t see him. inheritance. 】

[Perhaps Luo Jia’s existence simply means: you are not perfect? 】

"..."

Finally, the Emperor raised his head.

He glanced at Morgan who shrank back, neither angry nor smiling.

"You can read the book Luo Jia gave you. Some of the things in it may be valuable to you."

"Besides, you don't need to get along too much with Luo Jia, let alone imitate him."

"That's the point: Now, you absolutely can't imitate him."

Morgan lowered her head, realizing that this conversation was about to end, because the Emperor had closed his book, held it in his hand, and returned to Curze's operating table, once again turning his back to the Lord of the Second Legion.

The Lord of Mankind looked at his scarred heir, and from time to time used his fingertips to spread ultrasonic waves on the skin of Midnight Ghost, trying to find out how many pain nerves were fully functioning in his heir's body, and how many of them were in Nostra. Mo's dim and midnight ghost's own extremely rough wound treatment process resulted in partial or complete necrosis.

Judging from the muscles pulled by the raised eyebrows of the Lord of Mankind, this number must not be comfortable.

After a while, his voice came back to Morgan's ears.

"You have a problem and you want to ask me for help."

[...Yes, father. 】

"Two questions?"

[One is the hardship I have to face now, and the other is the hidden danger that may affect the entire human empire in the future. 】

"The second one, you don't need to think about."

"I'll take care of it."

[Those sleepers? 】

"To be more precise, they are just a group of dead people, a group of miserable descendants who cannot rest in peace because of their own desires and stupidity, and can only be trapped in the void. Their civilization and hope have dissipated in the most distant past. They are all gone, and all that remains are those killing weapons that can prove their atrocities and can bring blood and tears to today's civilization."

"But right now, it's not the time to worry about them. They're not at the top of my list of things I need to deal with, but adding some unexpected distractions to their long layout is a pretty neat job." Values ​​in Action.”

"You don't need to care about them. In the final analysis, they are just a tombstone, a group of dead souls, a pile of dead bones, a living proof before us, telling us the consequences of believing in the words of the gods."

"I'll take care of them, at least the one you're worried about."

【……】

[Thank you, father. 】

Morgan's words may have a hint of sincerity and fluctuation, but the Lord of Humanity has no interest in listening carefully. While sorting out the body report of the Midnight Ghost, he made a new announcement to his daughter.

"So, let's talk about what the real problem is."

"The trap you caught in the Attila galaxy, and the gods it attracted."

Morgan lowered her head. She did not dare to raise this topic too much in front of the Emperor: because at this moment, so close to the Emperor, she could still clearly hear the God of Joy in her. A chuckle in the ear, and a low complaint about the Lord of Humanity.

"She's still by your side, isn't she?"

The Emperor looked unsurprised.

[Yes, Father, from Attila...]

"No, not that time."

The Lord of Mankind turned around.

"He has been by your side from the beginning. From the moment you became a failure, I can see His claws tightening on your arm."

"Morgan, my daughter, before you had consciousness, you were just a weak product struggling to survive on the edge of qualification. You were a failure that I was unwilling to give up my hard work and tried my best to save."

"I have no intention of hiding it from you: for a moment, even I doubted whether I could successfully bring you back. For a while, I actually gave up on you, but after creating your remaining brothers, I found that I still have enough power and ideas to exert it on you."

"And He also chose to join this remedy at this time. His power is crucial to save you from failure, and His purpose is also quite obvious: I need to spend more time and energy in order to banish you from His influence.”

"But before I could actually act, I suffered a betrayal that cost me almost all of my creations, including you, and the possibility of your complete recovery."

"Frankly, my daughter, I was prepared for the possibility of losing you after hearing the news about you, but when you stood in front of me, you were better than I imagined: like A crude program that was never expected to actually work."

"But even so, your future is full of dark points of disagreement."

【……】

Morgan took a deep breath. She looked at the natural face of the Lord of Humanity and bit her lip unconsciously.

She thought she would be angry, that she would roar and accuse, that she would be furious: but in fact, none of this happened. When she originally had no expectations for the affection of the Lord of Humanity, all these words had already been expected by her, and they had long been unable to affect her Gujing Wubo.

Let it be, unlike her brothers, she didn't care about the Emperor's light.

She only cares about one thing.

[What should I do, Father? 】

The Emperor did not immediately answer Morgan's question. He just turned around and covered his face in the light, along with the emotions in his words.

"Think of it as a trial."

"You know what to do."

【……】

Morgan lowered his head: The book that was held tightly by the Lord of Humanity just now was already held tightly in her palm at some point. The Primarch could even smell the ink that had not completely dried on it. fragrance.

[But in the galaxy, only you can fight them...]

"No, Morgan."

The Emperor turned his head sideways, and the glimpse of his gaze left the Primarch silent.

"The real core of solving the problem does not lie with me: indeed, I am your creator. I am far more powerful than you think. I can even save your bodies and lives and preserve your souls in many cases."

"However, even I cannot make a decision for you, nor can I determine or even affect your choices in disagreements. You are my creation, the original gene, and you are far more capable than the limits of ordinary people's imagination. A miraculous creation of fear and nobility.”

"Only one kind of person can decide where you end up."

"That's yourselves."

【……】

"So, do it."

"Think of it as a trial."

"Get over it, or face the hordes of the Dark Angels and Space Wolves."

"And at the same time, you have another mission to complete."

"Conrad Curze, your brother, he will follow you for the next period of time and do your best to influence him. In the dozen or so Terra standard years from now on, I will not allow the Eighth Legion to assemble, and you have plenty of time to try out your ideas."

[What about Nostramo? 】

"Conrad is extremely proud of his efforts and rule. This is his home planet. You don't need to interfere for the time being. Let us see what kind of future he has created."

Morgan nodded, and with a sense of helplessness and the slightest resistance, she accepted the task: the Primarch knew that even if the Emperor did nothing, as long as he issued a real order, she must Spending more than ten years with Conrad.

But nevertheless...

Sure enough, I still feel a little unhappy.

Morgan lowered her eyebrows. She did not let the genuine dissatisfaction in her heart affect her judgment. After accepting the task gloomily, the Spider Queen's rational thinking soon began to change.

[So, father. 】

[Since I need to teach Conrad, I must first get some... help. 】

"There will be."

[Okay, besides that, I also need to know: What are your expectations for this teaching? What do I need to teach Conrad? What do you want him to learn? Or what kind of time was spent? 】

The Lord of Mankind seemed silent for a moment.

After a while, he sighed softly and stroked Midnight Ghost's dirty hair.

"Morgan, my daughter."

"I hope you……"

"Keeping Conrad alive and healthy."

[I understand, this is a very basic requirement. 】

Morgan nodded. This most basic request did not exceed her expectations.

【So, what then? 】

"..."

"..."

【……】

【! 】

The white light flashed past, causing the Primarch's pupils to be a little stunned. When she captured the field of vision in front of her again, she found that she had been teleported outside the door. The arrogant Imperial Guard looked at her sideways, and faced her. Expressive.

…

…

So……

Then what?

Just this one?