Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"Now, my Lords, I beg your innate wisdom to allow me to speak for a moment."

When the red Magnus clenched his five fingers into a fist and struck the golden chainmail hung with feathers and gems, he could clearly hear the last trace of weakness in his turbulent heart, until it completely disappeared.

The Primarch saluted the Emperor and Malcador, and saluted everyone present, whether it was his most respected brother or those mortals who were despised by him in his heart: he tried his best to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor, so that everyone could feel his sincerity and wisdom.

"I swear to you and beg you to give me one last chance: you will not hear any new speeches, and I have no intention of arguing with anyone here again. I just want to tell you the truth and tell you what the world really looks like."

"Believe me, my Lords, and ask yourself here: when you stand in this scene that is destined to go down in history, ready to use your sacred vote and power to decide the fate of countless psykers and millions of civilized worlds in the galaxy, you should at least listen fairly to the words from both sides of the debate."

"Not for anything else, just for you We can restore the truth of the matter as much as possible, and exercise your power without being deceived or misled by others: everyone present is the elite who are respected and cared for by the Emperor and govern the entire human empire with him. You have the right to act after knowing all the truth. "

"And this is also your obligation."

After saying this, Magnus bowed deeply again to express his respect to hundreds of ignorant mortals: the lord of Prospero has been so humble for a long time, or he has never been so humble, but now, the primarch must use this most primitive method to move hundreds of cold and greedy hearts in front of him.

Everything went well: at least most of the audience was interested and willing to continue listening.

Magnus breathed a sigh of relief silently: he had no choice.

In the eyes of the King of Prospero, a moment of shame distorted the face of the demigod: he could feel the silent ridicule of his despicable brother and the concerned eyes of Ahriman behind him.

It was really strange: because the latter made Magnus feel more hurt than the former, the Primarch could only be thankful that after he realized what was going to happen here, he used all his authority and ordered every Thousand Sons warrior to stay in the Legion's camp.

His children could not and should not bear the shame with him here, which was the responsibility of a father: Ahriman was a different case. Although he still regarded Magnus as his father, the Primarch knew that he had no right to wield the stick of patriarchy in front of his independent children.

Ahriman was not only his child, but also his partner in the pursuit of knowledge, an ally and helper on an equal footing with him: he must be clearly aware of this, recognize and respect Ahriman's independent thinking, and his voluntary choice to help the Thousand Sons Legion.

At least when he was calm, the Primarch could make this correct judgment.

And he also needed this help.

Magnus straightened up and responded to the gaze of the Lord of Death with a faint smile. Mortarion's eyes were as fierce as a razor. The brotherhood on Ullanor had been torn to pieces by his own hands: no, that was definitely his disguise, and the current Mortarion was the true face in his heart.

He has always been so ugly.

Magnus frowned in disgust.

He must admit that Mortarion's sneer made him feel uneasy: if Magnus was as confident as he showed in front of Amon when he just arrived in Nikaea; and when Guilliman and Ahriman fought for him on the field, the Primarch's heart was only shaken for a moment.

Then now, when he went over everything in his mind, when Mortarion smugly revealed all his plans in the shadows: facing the Emperor of Mankind who had no sorrow or joy, and the solemn and lonely Nikaea Hall compared to before, Magnus finally felt fear.

Long-lost fear.

He might lose: For the first time, the Primarch seriously considered the possibility.

But: So what?

No matter what he thought, he had no way out now. The possibility of the last feigned compromise also disappeared along with Mortarion's vicious declaration: his witch hunter brother wanted him dead, and there would be no future of peace between them.

It was ridiculous that everyone was fooled by Mortarion: Nikaea would not be a fair debate at all. This miraculous building standing in the volcano was just an arena for the public execution of Magnus. They were like the mobs in ancient Rome. Before executing the great sage, they had to watch him fight with ferocious beasts and satisfy their wild desires with tears and blood.

The Lord of Death in Barbarus was the mastermind behind all this, and he would be the first person to have his thumb turned upside down: Magnus felt that he had become a gladiator in one of those great tragedies. No matter how bravely he fought, no matter whether his skills were cheered and applauded by the audience, the only thing that could really determine his fate was the upside-down turn of the thumb in the VIP seat.

Up means life, down means death.

There is no such thing as a fair duel or a victory of truth. All results depend only on that pair of noble eyes, which have been corrupted by Mortarion's malice: even if he clenched his fist with all his strength, Magnus' fingers still trembled unconsciously.

He took advantage of Russ's stupidity, he severed the assistance of Morgan, Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan to him, he used the most despicable means to confuse the Emperor's vision and judgment, and wanted to turn the Conference of Nikea into a grave for Magnus, the Thousand Sons Legion and all psykers: and this despicable plan was about to succeed.

Damn! Damn! Damn!

The next moment, Magnus' lips began to tremble.

A new, strange, and indescribable emotion was like a flood that burst through the dam, and in the blink of an eye, the Primarch's brain was blank. The original palace, which was exquisitely built with countless beliefs and rhetoric, was now only a desolate ruin, wandering with gluttonous beasts that Magnus could not control.

His inner world had never been as desolate and turbulent as it was now, and his soul had never felt such a cold situation as it was now: his enemies were so many and so despicable; his allies were scattered and could not be relied on; all his strength was only to deal with a noble and fair confrontation, not to protect everything he had in a conspiracy.

He had never been so weak: he had never been so sure that he would lose.

He would lose... He would probably lose...

No: he would definitely lose.

He will fall miserably, and his failure will be another tragedy recorded in history: Socrates who was forced to drink poison, Archimedes who was beheaded by the Romans, Copernicus who was tied to the stake, and Mathison-Turing who was forced to end his life because of a trivial problem.

Perhaps thousands of years later, future wise men will also sing Magnus's sad song: praising his spirit of exploration and enterprising, admiring his vision of the future of all mankind, cheering for his victory and glory, and crying for his defeat and death. They will also list him with the legendary Alexander the Great, Pushkin or Ramanujan, and lament that if they had not died young, they could have written such a brilliant legend and reshaped the standard of so-called genius.

When he thought of this, the Primarch's lips trembled even more, but this time it was not because of anger or fear, but because of an indescribable excitement: when he thought that his name in history would make many truth seekers in the future shed tears, Magnus' heart was filled with a strange sense of satisfaction. In a corner of his spiritual world, a voice seemed to urge him to die as soon as possible.

Don't waste this opportunity, it said.

Of course, Magnus knew that this voice was not rational, and compared with other similar voices in the spiritual world, its tone was too weak now: as the Primarch stepped onto the duel field again, at least twenty ideas were taking root in his mind, hissing like locusts about their own plans, and Magnus's whole body was shaking.

His lips trembled with satisfaction at the death of a martyr, but tears accumulated in the corners of his eyes due to fear. His nose forgot to work because of the despair at the moment, but his head was confident in his own ability. In order to make a great turn of events, he wiped every strand of red hair shiny.

He was afraid, he was desperate, he was moved by himself in the unspeakable trembling, he was so happy that he almost cried because he could occupy a corner of the epic forever, he was intoxicated by the impulse of wanting to be destroyed here, but he firmly believed that he must have the ability to turn the tables: his face was broken because of the complexity of his heart, and his fingers were weak because of the disorder of muscles.

He tried his best not to collapse on the ground on the spot, but he believed that his heart had never been so firm.

What a contradiction, how sad.

Magnus laughed in his heart.

A few hours ago, he was so sure of victory that he was now so pessimistic about failure: there was no pause between the certainty of victory and the loss of his parents. When he found that he could not win, the heart of the Primarch fell into the abyss of self-abandonment.

Magnus smiled, and pressed his weak fingers on his chest, calling for the last strength in his heart: the Primarch found that he was so calm now, he was not sure if he was really so calm, or if he had already fallen into the madness after decadence?

Who knows: this does not affect his upcoming shock.

Feeling that the golden sun, which no one except him could see, was sleeping quietly in his chest, emitting a divine light, Magnus' smile finally had a little warmth: he felt the sun's encouragement to him, and he felt the sun in his chest was slowly waking up.

His despair awakened it, and his impulse to sacrifice made it happy.

Do it.

The sun was talking to him: it was so real that it didn't seem like a fantasy.

But the Primarch didn't care about this. Although his heart was still in turmoil, and all kinds of desperate emotions did not quarrel out a result, but with the simplest encouragement, Magnus, who was timid before, started his ambition again in the next second.

In any case, he will go down in history.

That's enough.

The Primarch raised his head and looked directly at the person he loved most in the galaxy.

Looking at him, looking at everyone, confidence and smile flowed on his face.

"Long wait, everyone."

Magnus bowed slightly, and the fists clenched in front of his chest turned into sharp claws. He stabbed his heart carelessly while raising his head and reading his declaration: hundreds of pairs of pupils were surprised by his behavior, which on the contrary It contributed to the pride of the original body in his heart.

Comparatively: the bleeding and pain in my chest were nothing.

The divine power in the subspace has never gathered around him like this before.

His voice became louder.

"I want to tell you that maybe the previous arguments have allowed you to see the conflict, maybe your hearts are being affected by wrong thoughts, and maybe some despicable people's rumors and slander have caused damage to my pure declaration."

"But I promise: I've never been more determined."

"Now, please put aside the troubles of the world and the past, and focus your eyes in my direction: in the next second, the world will be reorganized, the truth will be explained, and I will show you the true... …”

"future."

The words fell to the ground and the head was raised.

In the wordless silence, a cold golden sun finally shined under the dark sky of Nikaea, in front of the true ruling class of the entire human empire, and finally in the hearts of its destined subjects, arrogant has lifted its own curtain.

rise slowly.

"Now, everyone."

"Welcome to a whole new world."

When the bright white firelight illuminated the faces of every onlooker, only Magnus's martyr-like tone became the only voice in the world, and he became the first son to welcome the sun. civil.

"Very well, everyone."

"I think now, maybe you only have one sentence in your chest, right?"

"Tell me: what do you want to say?"

——————

"Oh my God!"

Horus froze on the spot: before he realized what he said, a heartfelt admiration had already flowed out of his mouth, slapped on the cheeks of the people next to him, and also reflected on the pupils of the Wolf Shepherd. inside.

But Horus showed no reaction. His body was leaning forward unconsciously, like a meerkat looking into the distance. His shocked face made the corners of his mouth widen unconsciously, and his heavy breathing turned into a thick hot wind. , the hands tightly holding the obsidian railings didn't notice, the solid railings broke like melted candles, hitting the boots in twos and threes.

But even so, it still did not wake up Horus's addicted eyes. He was staring at his brother Magnus, or in other words, at the sun in Prospero's palm: the pure and flawless golden fire. Wheel, that cold and merciless scorching sun of subspace, that was enough to melt the strongest moat in his heart, the only supreme existence in the galaxy.

Although he never remembered where he had witnessed the brilliance of this sun, and although Magnus had not said anything yet, everyone present, including Horus, was instantly moved when they saw the sun for the first time. One thing has been understood: it must be the symbol of the emperor.

That's the Emperor: no doubt about it.

Even the silence of the person holding the seal ruthlessly admitted this fact.

"Father……"

Horus's lips wriggled, but he could only utter the simplest words. His head and eyesight were turning blankly along with the natural movement of the sun. For a moment, he didn't know what he should be thinking: Yes Should we shed tears for this beautiful power? Or should he envy Magnus for being so lucky to possess a treasure given by the Emperor himself?

Horus couldn't tell, but there was one thing he was sure of: when he saw the shining sun, two seeds were planted in his heart. One was to be able to witness this. She sheds tears for everything, while the other trembles for the boundless power contained within this illusory brilliance.

This is psionic power: this icy sun is undoubtedly a product of pure psionic energy.

Oh my god...

So powerful, so perfect, so in line with his values ​​and aesthetics: isn't this the spiritual power he has in mind? Isn't this the most suitable existence for him? Who is more worthy of a sun symbolizing the Emperor himself than the Emperor's appointed Warmaster?

Who else is better than Horus...

"Don't think about it, brother."

The cold words were like a knife, mercilessly splitting the brilliance of the sun: a big hand covered with steel, accompanied by Chagatai Khan's stern voice, slapped hard on the shoulder of the Wolf Shepherd God, Horus was suddenly dragged out of his vain dream.

"Jaghatai?"

The Wolf God was still a little dazed, but the Khan's other hand came over and slapped Horus's other shoulder arbitrarily. Then with a little force, the two arms forced Horus and his brother Looking at each other.

"Look at me, Horus."

Jaghatai Khan gritted his teeth, and every word he spoke was permeated with power, making his face look ferocious: I don't know if it was Horus's own illusion, but he always felt that there was something in Jaghatai Khan's eyebrows. Revealing a sense of regret, the prairie man seemed to be scolding himself for his recklessness because of something.

What is he blaming himself for?

Horus didn't understand, but Jaghatai Khan's words did not stop.

"listen to me."

The Khan stared at him.

"That's not a power you can touch. Forget that sun, Horus, you can watch Magnus play with it, but that thing is definitely not something you should have: it has nothing to do with status or qualifications, that kind of Psychic power is too dangerous for us, yes, even for me!"

"But...but that's father..."

"That is the power of the Emperor: and even if it is the power of the Emperor, what does it have to do with you?"

Jaghatai Khan was visibly slow for a moment, and after thinking for a moment, he raised a question that shocked Horus: How could his brother doubt that this sacred sun was not the embodiment of the great power of the Lord of Mankind? How did he come to this conclusion?

That is obviously the aura of the emperor...

"Listen, Horus, the faun!"

Khan's tone at this time was so ferocious that Horus dared not ask. The Chogoris were so anxious, as if they were ignorantly aware that they had made some mistake, and were trying their best to stop it. The consequences of this mistake flowed out.

"You have seen the power of the Emperor. You have fought side by side with him for thirty years. You know how powerful his will and mental power are when he uses spiritual energy: even if the sun is really the Emperor. Appearance: What confidence do you have that you can control the same level of power as our father?"

"You are his favorite son! But you are not his equal copy!"

"But Magnus can..."

Horus opened his mouth. He even forgot to suppress his tone and screamed in rebuttal to Jaghatai Khan's words. Fortunately, no one around him cared about their quarrel.

The Wolf God had to do this. He had never been jealous of Magnus, and he would never complain that he did not master the power that any of his brothers was good at: but this time was different, no matter what Magnus had done in the past, Despite how much spiritual power he had squandered, Horus had never envied his talent.

Until Prospero took out this spiritual creation that symbolized the emperor.

At this moment, not to mention Horus himself, even Jaghatai Khan, who was standing next to him, realized that something was wrong: if there is really a field, Horus cannot leave it no matter what. Yes, it must be a field related to the emperor.

Whether it was the Emperor's attention, the Emperor's love or the Emperor's power, the Wolf God was never willing to lose to anyone else on these issues: not even to his brother.

Especially losing to his brother.

No...he can't lose.

Horus took a deep breath, and the thoughts in his heart became firmer, firmer than Khan's hand holding his shoulders: when the two looked at each other, the Chogoris had also realized this. At one o'clock, he and Horus looked at each other in silence, and neither party continued to speak, because both parties had already understood the other's inner thoughts.

Obviously, Khan seemed to want to persuade Horus again, but the incident was too sudden, and even he could not say anything more: after a long silence, Khan was extremely unwilling to say anything. Putting down his arms, he continued to breathe roughly, looked at the Wolf Shepherd God, nodded unconsciously, and repeated the sentence.

"Mark my words, brother."

"Don't go after that power."

Don't make me really wrong.

The last words were buried deep in his heart, so Horus didn't hear them.

The Khan didn't care. He silently focused his gaze elsewhere, temporarily giving up and continuing to admonish his brother: The Eagle and the Wolf God have been together for a hundred years. They understand each other as if they understand themselves. Hetai Khan knew very well that at this moment, no matter how much he exhorted, it would be in vain.

In other words, when Magnus took out the sun, which anyone with a clear eye could see had a close relationship with the Emperor, everything had already become out of control: if the Emperor did not personally deny that this was his power , Horus will definitely use all means to pursue it.

Especially when Jaghatai Khan had just inspired the Wolf Shepherd to pursue spiritual powers.

Oh shit……

Khan vomited dirt in his heart: he had indeed begun to regret it.

That Hydra, couldn't he have foreseen this a long time ago?

wrong.

Khan immediately overruled himself.

Alpharius didn't have this ability, and his psychic powers weren't that strong: if anyone could have foreseen Magnus' sun, it would have been the Emperor and Malcador... and Morgan.

Morgan!

Jaghatai Khan raised his head.

right! Morgan: What is she doing?

Thinking of this, Chogolis's eagle began to look far into the distance, and he saw the entire demonic chaos in Nicaea: he saw hundreds of dignitaries shaking their bodies in shock, or in front of him. In panic, they fell into a frenzy of whispers. The smartest among them had withdrawn their sights, compared the meaning of the sun, and silently turned their gazes to the Lord of Humanity.

And the Emperor remained silent.

But at this moment, the silence only contributed to the uneasiness in the audience.

The most uneasy group of people are undoubtedly the original bodies.

Chagatai Khan saw the Wolf King sitting down on the chair in a state of despair, and also saw Mortarion's face full of disbelief and subsequent rage. He smashed the railing in front of him into pieces with one punch. He realized that Sanguinius was frowning, as if he wanted to hide himself behind everyone. He also found that even Dorn's face had become suspicious for the first time in a long time, and his strong body was at a loss where to go.

Everyone was surprised, and everyone was shaken: for them, the sun that Magnus took out of his chest was more shocking than the entire Apocalypse War. Perhaps many people's values ​​and worldviews before this moment turned to ashes at this moment, leaving them with only panic like headless flies.

But among all the panic, the Spider Queen was definitely the calmest one.

She must have realized what Magnus had brought: from the first moment he saw Morgan, Jaghatai Khan was extremely sure of this, because the Lord of Avalon not only did not show any panic on his face, but his subsequent movements were even more like flowing water.

Morgan raised her head, just glanced at Magnus's movements, and then immediately began her own actions: she made a short call from her mouth, opened her arms, and grabbed her five fingers in several directions at random, and then she gathered the circle of brothers around her, Guilliman, Conrad and Corax, to her side, admonishing them like a doe protecting a fawn.

At first glance, these Primarchs seemed to be shields erected by Morgan for herself, but if you think from another perspective, the Spider Queen, who is proficient in psychic energy, may just cover her closest blood relatives under her protection in this sudden occasion.

The only obstacle Morgan faced was Jonson, who was far away: the Caliban was frowning and staring at the sun in Magnus's palm. In his heart, he was undoubtedly thinking about countless issues related to loyalty, and obviously had no time to respond to Morgan's call.

In response, the Spider Queen's response was much more irritable than Khan had imagined: Morgan pulled up his sleeves, revealing half of his arms, and finally stretched out to Jonson with all his strength, first pulling the Caliban's earlobe, and then touching his shoulder. Perhaps because these two points of support were not satisfactory, Morgan pulled for a while and successfully grabbed Jonson's long hair at the back of his head.

Then, the Spider Queen exerted her ferocious strength and the rare grin on the face of the Caliban lion: the Lord of Avalon burst out with unimaginable strength of Chagatai Khan, and with only brute force with a flushed face, he forcibly pulled Zhuangsen in front of him. The Caliban man stumbled under Morgan's pull and was dragged for at least five or six meters.

"..."

But all this obviously couldn't make Zhuangsen succumb to Morgan's tyranny: he frowned, as if protesting to the Spider Queen, but this action quickly aroused Morgan's anger. The Spider Queen pinched her waist with one hand and stretched out a finger with the other hand, pointing at the nose of the Caliban man with a ferocious look. Chagatai Khan could still feel the boiling anger in the heart of the Lord of Avalon from a distance of hundreds of meters.

They stood in opposition, cursing and accusing each other, and completed their next cooperation. Morgan reached out and took care of the cloak that was torn by Jonson, while the lion muttered gloomily and walked obediently to the position designated by the Spider Queen: beside him were three brothers with smiles on their faces, obviously they were already used to these things.

Even Guilliman laughed, as if he had forgotten the strangeness on the field.

As if all this was normal.

"..."

"Hiss..."

The Khan took a deep breath.

He suddenly felt: for the sake of his own values ​​and worldview, as well as his three views.

He should take a closer look at the sun that Magnus took out.

At least: this is more like something that can appear in the real universe.