Emperor's Bane

Chapter 23 Friendship
Ahriman hadn't been quite happy since long ago.

Even exploring the mysterious vast ocean with his genetic father can't make this best son of Magnus as ecstatic as his blood brother, whose upper limit of happiness is limited by some sad past. A low height made the company commander of the Thousand Sons Legion maintain a maddening personality composed of calmness, calmness, cunning and arrogance almost all the time.

And all this can be traced back to the time when the Great Crusade had just begun, when even the Astartes seemed young and confused. Thousands of warriors followed the Emperor's order. Set off, attack Venus and Neptune, and conquer the galaxies that are close at hand and the kingdoms far away.

At that time, even the most fanatical Astartes did not dare to imagine how big the Emperor's ambitions were. When they realized how far the so-called "Great Crusade" was going to go, the empire's territory had already been conquered. Break through the so-called solar star field.

As for the Thousand Sons, they were the last batch of Astartes warriors to set off. These immature rookies hadn't even proved themselves on the battlefield of Terra, but the Emperor's eyes were clearly on them. In ten years, the Thousand Sons Legion, which was originally mediocre, suddenly discovered that the flames of psionic energy began to appear among them, and quickly became a prairie fire.

It is true that this incomprehensible power made the Thousand Sons an isolated group among the legions, and even [scientists] like Mortarion criticized them, but under the temptation of power, Magnus The heirs of the family happily accepted all this.

until the events of Byzantium.

After large-scale memory cleansing and self-suggestion, few people remember what happened in the Byzantine world, but every Thousand Sons knows that when the legion left there, [Flesh Mutation] had become a Magnus The lingering curse of the sons of Sth.

This curse almost destroyed the entire legion. It was more severe than the blight of the third legion, and more out of control than the bloodthirsty madness of the ninth legion. Thousands of soldiers of the Thousand Sons did not fall in pursuit of victory and honor, but Dying painfully and twistedly on ships and operating tables, their hideous wrecks covered with fangs and tentacles, so that even the closest comrades-in-arms are reluctant to take a second look

And at the moment when the entire legion was about to perish, they finally came to Prospero, the genetic father of the thousand sons returned to them, and Magnus went to the subspace himself, and after paying an eyeball and his After some price not to be mentioned, the curse of the No.15 Legion was finally broken by the Primarch's efforts.

Everything seemed to be going well, but the penultimate moment of the comedy was downright elegiac: around the time Magnus was reunited with the Thousand Sons, the Legion's flesh and blood mutation was at its peak, and the Primarch Desperate and hastening to the Warp, the Legion would have perished had he not done so.

And even if Magnus' spell saved the Legion, it didn't save everyone: most of the Thousand Sons warriors failed to withstand the strength of the Gene-Father, and only a thousand or so lucky ones were given a new birth.

Ahriman is a lucky one, but his brother, his one-mother compatriot, who came out of the Achaemenid Empire and joined the army together: Omzod, is not among them.

From the moment he witnessed the death of Omzod, Ahriman's heart was cut by a vicious blade, and a large part of his joy and happiness was permanently destroyed in this way, even the most joyous in the galaxy. With all the things in front of his eyes, his chest will eventually be occupied by endless shadows.

Because of this, Ahriman was able to devote himself to work and research like a madman, and this heir who was hungry for knowledge naturally attracted Magnus' attention, so the lucky one who lost his brother began to rise to the top. He soon became the top one among the commanders of the Thousand Sons. Among all the staff, Magnus also paid special attention to his plan. Reserve a place for this new star.

But even so, Ahriman was not overly complacent—he dared not.

This lucky guy is deeply afraid of the mutation of flesh and blood from the bottom of his heart, even though it has been annihilated by his genetic father, but in the deepest nightmare of Captain Thousand Sons, this curse that once destroyed the legion seems to be Sooner or later it will come back.

He knew it was impossible, that it was delusional, that his great gene-father had long ago solved the curse once and for all, crushing it to ashes, in that majestic warp.

But when Prospero's night fell, when he could not sleep peacefully in his bed, a collection of fears and fantasies would occupy his mind, and this worry would not go away, as if there was a Contemptuous tones whispered in his ear, whispers of the tragic future of his father, his battle-brother, and himself.

Because of this, Ahriman never had a few good nights of sleep.

Because of this, he maintained a cold and arrogant vigilance, especially when they were walking in the vast ocean, this vigilance was infinitely magnified, so that he almost discovered the omen before his father.

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"Father……"

"Ah, I've seen it, Ahriman."

"A vast ocean creature that appeared at the same time as the song, interesting, and a brand new subject."

Magnus's voice contained the excitement of exploration, the self-confidence of a pedant, and the arrogance of a strong man, but there was no instinctive respect and vigilance that a traveler would burst out when he stepped into the deep mountains and forests.

He even led his followers to take the initiative to walk towards the shadow that just emerged.

The subspace creature that appeared in the ballad is different from any animal or even plant in the eyes of the world. It is like a giant reef in the waves, polished flat and smooth by layers of waves. In his eyes, there are thousands of tiny, shining fragments flying around its body and surroundings, just like seabirds wandering on the cliffs on the shore.

"Behold, fragments of the etheric form."

Magnus stepped up, stretched out his hand, and easily fixed a dozen floating light spots. When these existences stopped moving, the Thousand Sons were finally able to see them clearly: these wonderful creatures Creatures can only be observed with the sight of psionic power. They show different appearances that are completely different. Some are as graceful and graceful as real elves, some are like an arrogant eagle, and some are broken. There is no specific shape, but it exudes a dazzling light that is not weaker than the same kind.

"They may be part of this huge creature, or another species that has a symbiotic relationship with it. In this desolate and chaotic vast ocean, there may be something that we haven't discovered so far, and it belongs here alone. The wondrous link of the creatures themselves."

Magnus' finger fell slowly along with his words, without the stop of this mighty force, those shimmering fragments of ether rushed out in the blink of an eye, and they happily gathered around the Thousand Sons, among them A few even approached a Thousand Sons warrior extra boldly.

In front of Ahriman's eyes, such a moving creature floated over. Its figure was erratic, exquisite and graceful, with bright eyes and an ever-changing aura. The company commander of Thousand Sons stretched out his fingers and felt this cuteness almost immediately. The little guy began to board on his own soul will.

Maybe he should have given it a name, like... Atepio?
But Ahriman's will was not completely occupied by the little guy in front of him. Being comprehensive is the advantage of many Astartes. Through the power of the soul, Ahriman observed two things almost at the same time.

His friend, the mortal named Morgan, didn't have these lovely fragments of ether around her, and the creatures of the warp didn't seem to be close to her, they bypassed her and gathered around the Thousand Sons.

And Morgan didn't care about all of this, she just looked at the simple and huge subspace creature, staring at it firmly, Ahriman could even see Morgan's body trembling uncontrollably.

Oh, poor little one, it must have terrified her to witness such a marvelous sight.

Ahriman thought so.

On the other hand, the company commander of the Thousand Sons could sense that his genetic father was trying to communicate with that huge creature. The communication between the two psychic creatures was not through words, gestures or symbols, but the channeling of pure power , the Primarch allowed this huge creature to blur a part of his body, half-wrapping the Primarch, while Magnus raised his head, accepting a steady stream of novel information.

"Some complicated words cannot be analyzed for the time being, but it seems that it is also very happy, and it is not even stingy to share with us."

The Primarch briefly commented, he clenched his fists, and felt that the vigorous power was being selflessly shared. This nameless subspace creature is obviously different from this twisted vast ocean, it is a truly kind person. great creatures.

Maybe in the future, when he encounters any difficulties, he can consider coming here to borrow more strength.

Thoughts like this flashed through Magnus's mind, and Ahriman only saw his father showing some kind of arrogant smile, which was a face of subconscious trust that was under control.

Ahriman also laughed, and he began to look forward to how his genetic father would explain and teach more new knowledge.

then……

------

Then he doesn't know anything.

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"Ariman, Ahriman!"

"Wake up, wake up!"

When Ahriman struggled to regain consciousness under constant urging, the scenery around him had changed.

Everything that was originally changing and calm was violently destroyed, as if a storm swept across the silver-white sandy beach. As far as Qianzi could see, there were broken clouds and howling cracks everywhere. All the ether fragments in the body have disappeared—no, at least Etpeio is still there, and it lives on his shoulder armor.

But that's beside the point, because Ahriman soon discovers something much worse: Magnus is gone, and so is Morgan.

"……what happened?!"

"That creature, that subspace creature suddenly exploded by itself. Father, he was caught in a vortex, and you were too close, and you were also affected. You have been in a coma until now."

"Morgan, what about Morgan?"

"...I don't know, it was too chaotic at the time, no one cared about her, but I seem to see her being involved in another vortex... What should we do, Ahriman?"

"Of course we must find our father as quickly as possible! First determine our current location, and then contact him as much as possible."

Ahriman shouted furiously, and just as he was trying his best to command his comrades in arms, Atawa quietly approached.

"Then, Ahriman, what about Morgan? If she acts alone as a mortal, it may be more dangerous than good."

When mentioning his friends, Ahriman hesitated.

Atawa could hear the teeth of Captain Thousand Sons clenched. He hesitated for two moments in pain before speaking slowly and firmly.

"Our first priority is to find our father, and our second priority is to ensure that the current personnel are safe. As for Morgan..."

"Leave her alone."

"Wish her luck."

(End of this chapter)