40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 211 36. Happiness, Nothingness, Hometown, Darkness ([-])

An iron bird fluttered its wings and took off.

It is not large in size and can even be called delicate.It has two pairs of wings instead of the usual pair.Although there are many wings, their structure is not as complex as that of insects.Moreover, when it is flying, its wings are almost motionless.

The monitor hidden in the steel beak flashed slightly with blue light, giving everything a panoramic view.The person hiding behind the monitor via electronic signals dropped his hands after a few seconds, no longer using his own neural link signals to manipulate it.

It has no self-awareness, but the programming Rogal Dorn built for it is enough for it to cruise above the palace without any scruples.

The Custodes would not disturb the bird, yes, they would not.

The reason?
Is it out of some slight indulgence in the name Rogal Dorn, or is it because they also know that this is the last bird on Terra?

Donn didn't have an answer to this, and he didn't want to think about it for the time being.He turned and stepped over metal and rock.The sun is dazzling, hanging on the seemingly endless horizon, exuding its temperature and problems.

The air is filled with the smell of incense, and the devout believers who have traveled thousands of miles to Terra are kowtowing and kneeling at the foot of the roof of the world.They were not driven out but gathered together with the conscripted workers.

This is not a hive city, but it is better than a hive city.Hundreds of millions of ordinary people gathered here, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the Lord of Humanity.

They didn't just view him as a lord, a hero, and the greatest ruler that mankind has ever seen, they actually viewed him as a god.

The Emperor hates religion.Don thought.But he indulged Luo Jia, and even allowed the religion he founded to spread on Terra - cancer, new hope, or a poison that was about to wreak havoc for thousands of years?
Once again, Donne dropped the question.

He tensed his rock-hard face and walked into the palace from the towering city wall.

A lot has changed here in the past few months.

The Emperor's return to Terra should have been a highly publicized event, but most people were unaware that he had been away for a while.And he didn't seem to have any idea of ​​holding a grand ceremony now. The reason why he came back was just because someone wanted to visit.

It was for this reason that Dorn rushed back from the other end of the solar system. He thought he would be annoyed by this incident that forced him to stay away from his duties. However, this was not the case. After hearing the whole story, he even felt a little Happy.

Thoughts were flowing like undercurrents in the sea at this moment, but Dorn walked expressionlessly through dozens of corridors that were painstakingly built by stone masons.

After passing thousands of detectors, Dorn finally met his father and an old acquaintance in an unfinished hall filled with the smell of paint.

"I think this is unwise, Your Majesty," the stooped mortal coughed. "This should be an ordinary hall, not a hall for entertaining guests. It is too small."

Really, Eldork?Donne said in his mind.This hall is large enough to accommodate three Thunderhawks, and it is by no means narrow.

"Come on, Mason," another man in the hall said gently. "You should pay more attention to your health."

"What? No, Your Majesty—" the head of the stonemasons coughed and blushed. "——Are you going to send me away?"

"I never said that."

"I'm 110 years old, Your Majesty. I've been staying in the Himalayas all my life. Where else can I go?" the old man said sadly. "Have mercy on me, Your Majesty, you really should choose a bigger living room."

"However, the other halls have been basically carved, and the few that have been reserved are too big and do not meet my requirements." The human emperor lowered his head and looked at his mason in charge, with a look in his eyes. There was a touch of helplessness.

"If I do this, it will make years of hard work by hundreds of your people in vain."

"They will be honored by this." The old man, who looked like he was about to cry before, immediately changed his face and waved his arms resolutely. "In fact, if you want, we can completely tear everything down and start over."

The Emperor slowly raised his head and said no more.Erdork, who was familiar with him, immediately smiled, knowing that his Majesty had agreed.

The old man bowed respectfully and left slowly on crutches, not forgetting to say hello to Dorn when he passed by.Although Rogal Dorn responded, most of his attention was actually focused on his father.

He was right. His father sighed when he looked up. The leader of the Masons, who had spent 110 of his 60 years in contact with the Emperor, didn't notice, but Dorn did.

He approached his father, but the latter was one step ahead and waved to him like a prophet: "Look here, Roger, look at these ingenious ideas."

Donn walked over to his father and looked up at the ceiling with him.He saw a wonderful artistic cluster, with hundreds of people—or perhaps thousands—leaving their mark on the massive stone.

He saw rolling mountains, winding rivers and birds that almost covered the sky.Some animals that Dorne had only seen in ancient books were living leisurely on the grass. Every detail on their bodies was so lifelike that they were almost alive.

Donne analyzed their muscle lines with his eyes, silently paying the highest respect to the talent of the stonemasons.

"Those animals are deer," said the Emperor.

"A beautiful and graceful animal. In the old days, if a Terran wanted to compliment someone's eyes, he would usually give a metaphor. 'As innocent as a deer.' There are many kinds of deer, Rogue, though. , no matter what kind, they actually have four legs.”

Dawn slowly turned his eyes away from the six-legged deer.

"A small mistake does not matter. In fact, I would like to praise Eldork's intentions for this."

"He has been working for me all his life. In order to make the carvings more perfect, he spent almost all his allowance on buying historical books sold by cunning businessmen. Sometimes, he would buy the real thing. But, big time Part of the time, he was deceived.”

"He can report them for this." Dorn replied seriously. "The Guardsmen will be more than happy to deal with those who dare to commit deception on Terra."

"He never does that," the Emperor said, still raising his head. "Eldork has a rare kind heart. He understands that those people who are dusty and covered in mud are just trying to survive. That's why I like him so much."

"I thought it was because of his talent."

The Emperor chuckled, and Dorn couldn't help but look at his father's profile, trying to record the moment.

"Roger, Eldork is actually not outstanding among the stonemasons. He is good at carving portraits, but there are at least a thousand stonemasons who are better than him."

"Then why do you still let him serve as the leader of the stonemason clan?"

"Because he doesn't fight," the Emperor said. "And he's happy."

Eldork is happy?

Donn couldn't help but open his mouth, wanting to refute - in his memory, Eldork never seemed like a happy person.

He would snap at anyone on the job, always angry, always beating his heavy steel cane on the stone and telling his workers what was wrong.No one dared to refute, and those who dared to refute were choked to temporary muteness by his loud voice and the thousands of words that popped out of his stomach.In addition, he is also very withdrawn.

Roger Dorn had never seen Eldork get close to anyone. Apart from working, this old man only studied.Nothing else.

Is he happy?

"Yes, Rogge." The Emperor turned his head and looked at his son. "He knows what he wants and has been working hard for it. This is where his happiness comes from. This happiness is very simple and almost like a baby."

Rogal Dorn thought, nodded, and heard the Emperor's next words.

"Babies only need to think about eating and sleeping, and they are satisfied that way. But an adult cannot. Happiness becomes an extremely difficult luxury as they grow older."

"Even for you?" Dawn couldn't help but ask.

The Emperor smiled but did not answer the question.

He turned around and took his son out of the paint-smelling hall.They walked all the way and began to walk underground.Dawn had not been here before, but he wasn't surprised by the cable-filled rooms.

The Emperor had told him when he first built the palace that he hoped it would become a palace worthy of ruling a million planets.It would be strange if there were no such quiet rooms in the depths of a palace.

Thirteen minutes later, they arrived at a closed door.This heavy door is made of stone, but its surface shines with a steel-like metallic color.

A breeze blew from the ground. The emperor raised his right hand and did nothing. The door just slid open automatically.However, what appeared behind the door was not what Donne was eager to see.He didn't get his wish and saw his father's rumored workshop.

In fact, there were only two chairs, a table, and countless books in the room.

Dorn looked at the Emperor in confusion, but the Emperor did not explain. He just stepped into it, stamped his feet, and coughed.The next second, with a sudden bright blue light, a man in dark green robes suddenly appeared.

He was still holding his scepter, but the expression under his hood was not very friendly.

"Your Majesty." Markmaster Malcador glanced at Dorn, and the look in his eyes made him feel strange. "You shouldn't have brought your son here."

"I will apologize for this later," the Emperor said. "But I have no other way to make you show up. It is not my intention to expose your privacy rashly. It is really a last resort. If you don't avoid me, I will be very willing to meet you in an ordinary way. of."

Malcador said nothing, while Dorn caught a hint of helplessness from the palm-printer's raised chin.

"Okay." Malcador sighed. "What do you want me to do again?"

"I'd like you to explain the definition of happiness to Roger."

".what?"

"We discussed this 43 years ago. Have you forgotten, Malcador?" the Emperor asked. "I want you to retell this conversation to Roger. It will help him."

Malcador looked like he was being punched in the stomach with a power hammer.

After a while, he spoke slowly: "Is this why you dragged me out of my job?"

"This is a big deal," the Emperor insisted. "A father is supposed to answer his son's questions, but I don't know how to ask. For this reason, I come to ask my friends for help. Isn't this also okay?"

Donne was deeply moved by his father's words, but instead of remaining silent, he spoke out and refused the matter: "I'll figure it out myself, father. You don't have to bother the Markbearer with this, he's always busy. .”

"Thank you for your words, Rogge." Malcador held the scepter tightly. "This is very important to me"

"Then, it's time for me to leave." Dorn bowed slightly. "I need to continue debugging the Falcon. Also, father. When will Instructors Khalil and Conrad arrive?"

"Tomorrow," said the Emperor. "Are you looking forward to it?"

"No." Dorn made a serious face and added after a moment of silence. ".Just a little bit."

After the words fell, he left without a trace of nostalgia.

The Emperor gave a rare smile, and Malcador waved his arms, causing the door to his chamber to close.The old and tired Palm Holder sat on one of the chairs angrily and helplessly, and began to pour out his bitterness to his friend.

"I can't believe you let someone else into my room!"

"Don't you like Rogge?" the Emperor replied nonchalantly. "I remember you saying he was the only Primarch you thought was pretty good."

"That doesn't mean he should enter my room!" Makado said. "Besides, I'm not avoiding you, I'm just too busy at work!"

"You don't have endless official documents to approve, Malcador." Neos smiled slightly. "You have 10,000+ people working hard under you, and those days when you need to go into battle in person are gone."

"You put it lightly."

Still smiling, Neos turned around and pulled a book from the shelf.It has a brown skin, which comes from a long-extinct ancient Terran creature.He ran his fingers over its surface with a nostalgic look on his face and sighed softly.

"Am I happy?" he asked, still human. "Makado, am I happy?"

"You want me to remind you, but I won't," the Sealbearer replied. "The person who really wants to hear that conversation is not Rogal Dorn, but you. But I won't answer."

"No, or are you just like me and have forgotten?"

The Emperor put down his book and put his hands behind his back and asked.And no one in the room answered his words.

After a long silence, another sigh sounded.

"I am happy." said the bloodless and tearless emperor.

　There are three more chapters.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)