Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

"I'm extremely sorry." Fermat bowed slightly and retreated into the crowd.

But what Calvin read from the body language of this mechanical priest was one of extreme regret.

Driven by internal competition, these members of the Mechanicus have fully demonstrated their predatory nature towards technology and resources;
And the contempt for the order of the human empire shown by their inhuman thoughts after mechanical transformation is also reflected in this small detail.

We need to be wary of them, because underneath their loyalty is the coldest calculation logic.

Today they can bet on him for profit, because of the influence of his identity.

Then tomorrow, they will also betray without warning because at a certain moment, they believe that Calvin is blocking their way.

Unite, win over, use, defend...

Calvin looked at the figure wrapped in red robe, and his mind was already thinking about how to get along with them.

As the Emperor said, it is an undisputed reality that the Adeptus Mechanicus is a powerful organization that occupies the largest technological and industrial productivity in the Empire.

They are as important to the empire as the head on the double-headed eagle emblem.

But the most fundamental independent thoughts in their bones are as troublesome to the empire as the extra head...

Fortunately, the Emperor had already taken precautions, whether it was the recycling of technology by the First Legion during the Great Crusade or the later establishment of the Order of Omen.

These "backup" measures are fundamentally designed to guard against those who have never been wholeheartedly aligned with the empire.

As a latecomer, Calvin could not build his foundation on them.

This sense of crisis made him instinctively wander between the two forging worlds when he first arrived in the Storm Star Territory, thus giving birth to the Titan II Monastery, the mother nature of this small chapter.

And after that, he even got hold of the Order of Omen, an organization that was quickly eliminated by Mars, by a strange combination of circumstances.

So the even more outrageous Krieg Industrial Alliance came into being.

Today, he and the legion under his command are capable of handling the legion's weapons and equipment on their own under special circumstances.

And this qualification to say no to any Mechanical Order at critical moments comes from the Order of Omens headed by Constantine.

No, there is no more Order of Omens.

Now they have been divided into the sequence of the war council.

In the eyes of Calvin and all members of the Council, this special organization, which was parallel to and even superior to the Gray Knights for a time, had a longer-term purpose than the Legion.

As the second person in the War Council besides Calvin, Constantine started some key experiments in their plan when he followed the original body to leave Terra.

He has not appeared in the public areas of the battleship for a long time. In the eyes of some people, this mysterious mechanical priest may have left.

But Calvin knew that he was in the experimental area in the middle of the battleship at the moment, and if there was no major incident, he would never interfere with Constantine's work.

+Is he dead? Who did it? +
asked the shadow, or rather Corax.

The first half of his sentence is not so much a question as it is the sadness of a certain guess being confirmed;
But the direction of the second half of his sentence was very clear, because both he and Calvin knew one thing - the only thing that could kill one Primarch was another Primarch.

He did not directly answer Calvin's question just now, but for these demigods whose senses are far beyond those of mortals, a lot of information that transcends language is an expression of each other's attitudes.

Corax's identity is now an irrelevant trivial matter, but Calvin's next answer may very well determine what the returned Raven Lord will do next.

+Dead, but not dead either. +
The inefficiency of language caused Calvin to give up explaining and instead directly package and deliver all the information he knew about Guilliman's suspended animation to Corax.

But now the Lord of the Crows has obviously achieved enough in the power of subspace. After easily receiving the information that can fill the room, he still has time to ask Calvin during the speed reading:
+Who did it? +
+ Fulgrim, oh, as you call it - Phoenix. +
Calvin replied, and what was transmitted again at the same time was information about the space naval battle.

+...Idiot! +
+Who gave him the courage to challenge that guy's force? +
+Even for me, when there is no specific environment,...+
+What? + Calvin blinked and asked. +...It’s a tie! +
Corax replied.

But the credibility of this sentence, after this subtle stagnation, infinitely approached nothing between the two. And in order to show respect (to maintain the conversation), Calvin chose to be honest for once.

+Well, I am an honest person, I believe whatever you say. +
+...Get out! +
+Hey, you’ve gone too far! +
Calvin was yelling in his head, but Corax didn't continue his complaint.

The first conversation between two "brothers" who were born thousands of years ago after confirming each other's identities, and during this tug and pull, there was a little room for warmth.

And this first meeting without questioning or confrontation was something that had never happened before among all the Primarchs.

But, just a little bit.

Because Calvin knows and Corax also knows that their essence has never been related to humans, but more like two huge beasts.

The warmth in front of me is based on Calvin's status as a latecomer and the special environment at the beginning of Corax's return.

If any one of them is missing, they will be like all Primarchs, like predators whose territory has been violated, using roars and claws to confirm whether the other party is worthy of their friendship...

This is not ordinary human logic, this is the characteristic of a king.

This is the only warmth left by the lion when he gets along with his brothers after he grows his first mane;
This is the unique, sharp and cruel expression of emotion of this group of destined lion kings when they meet each other.

"Are you dead?"

"No."

"That's good, call me when you die, and I will send it to you personally."

"You too……"

Calvin recalled the lions he saw in his previous life, and translated their roars personified in his mind.

This subtle feeling was extremely suitable for his current real relationship with Corax, and it was this subtle overlap that made him feel hugely funny.

His pleasure was undisguised, even Corax could notice it instinctively.

And in Calvin's unpreserved memory, he also got what he wanted and saw those "big cats" running on the African grasslands...

+Interesting metaphor...+Corax concluded quietly:
+You, like Donne, always have a strange sense of humor+
+Thank you...if that's a compliment+
Calvin answered indifferently, and while the two chuckled, Corax finally changed the topic to the right track:

+So, the current situation is that that guy can still be saved, and you are here to find the backup he left behind? +
+Yes, this is probably the case...+
Calvin affirmed, and then explained helplessly:

+But you also saw that what happened next here was far beyond my initial expectations...+
+The legacy left by Horus...I should have killed him desperately in the first place! +
Corax's mood was once again violent, and it was clear that memories from the past came back to him.

The betrayal on Istvan V, the tragedy on the Redemption Planet, and the Great Rebellion were almost equal to the destruction of all careers for him;

What is more heartbreaking than these undertakings are the choices he faced back then...

+No, it won't help if you kill him. +
Calvin's voice interrupted his memories and temporarily calmed down the almost out-of-control shadow under his feet.

Calvin, who had already met the Emperor, had more exposure to Chaos and the power of Abaddon after experiencing the Battle of Moro and the head-on confrontation with Abaddon.

After this close contact, he also gained some opinions of his own from those powers.

+Yes, it’s useless. That power...is alive. +
Calvin thought, what he knew was not the whole story.

And all he could tell was what he saw:

+It will look for a master, and if not Horus, there will be someone else. +
Update.