40k: Midnight Blade.

Chapter 244 15. Eyes that glimpse the truth
There was darkness outside the shuttle's port window, and twelve rivets were shining on its circular edge. The artists responsible for the interior decoration of the shuttle did not even miss them.In a sense, their level of responsibility is almost insane.

A pale and slender index finger traced the surface of the porthole at this moment.Looking at this scene, Corax suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

Where does this illusory perception of unreality come from?He has no answer.

He stared at the porthole, and his vision suddenly blurred for a moment. When his vision returned, the owner of the finger was no longer where he was.

Corax tensed his muscles silently and turned his head.At this moment, Khalil was already standing beside him, leaning on the bulkhead, with a leisurely and relaxed posture, without any intention of attacking.

But when he spoke, his voice was like flint hitting each other.

"Your father wants you to join a war."

Khalil described it in an indifferent tone with an attitude that could be described as complete detachment.

"He wants you to be the embodiment of justice and the executioner with blood-stained hands to a certain extent. This war will affect countless planets like Lycaeus. Sometimes, you will become the savior. But most of the time, you They are all those who run counter to justice.”

"The more important point is, Lord Corax, you don't have the right to choose. You seem to have it, but you actually don't."

The lines on the Primarch's face tensed silently.

He didn't show any anger, but there were just two blushes on his alabaster-pale skin. Despite this, he still didn't make any answer and just waited silently for the follow-up.

"And I believe it." Khalil finally turned his head, his eyes were so cold. "He's probably already talked to you about it."

Corax finally gave a voice, low as an echo: "Yes."

"So, what do you think?"

After a brief hesitation, Corax decided to be honest - he didn't smell any hostility from Khalil, so even though the latter's words sounded almost provocative, he still maintained a certain degree of politeness.

"I don't like it," said Corvus Corax. "I understand the need for it, but I don't like it."

Khalil nodded noncommittally.

"As for what you said, the power of choice. Do you think he will force me?" Corax asked, his eyes fixed on Khalil.

These eyes are different from the complete darkness of the Nostramo people, but compared to the black and white eyes of ordinary people, they are also a little too weird.In fact, they can indeed be roughly described as 'pitch black'.

Khalil smiled and did not answer the question.He temporarily looked away, raising his head and looking at the ceiling of the shuttle.

The golden fluid was wrapped in silver pipes and twisted, with colored glaze decorating its gaps.The pipes twist and form a complex pattern.The misty brilliance loomed in the pipe, echoing the golden color, exuding a dizzying brilliance.

From certain angles, it looks like a battleship.Viewed from another angle, it appears to be a sphere.All kinds of dazzling and complicated.

Corax forced himself to lower his head.He didn't want to stare at this so-called decoration anymore, it made his eyes itch.The metaphor wrapped in it seemed so coincidental at this moment that it was almost chilling.

"You have made your choice, Lord Corax," Khalil said, no trace of laughter in his voice. "In other words, you have accepted the vision he has given you."

"I accept," Corax replied in a low voice. "If it's necessary, why wouldn't I accept it? I understand the need for sacrifice."

Khalil turned to look at him for a moment, then suddenly shook his head.

"Yes, you understand, but he demands greater, greater sacrifices. He demands that you join the Great Crusade now, Lord Corax. In other words, he wants you to abandon your comrades and your Home planet, walk directly into the Milky Way. He even hopes that you can do so willingly."

Corax looked over with astonishment.

"Are you kidding me?" the Primarch asked in shock. "How could he."

As he was speaking, he suddenly paused, and the astonishment on his face gradually changed.

"It seems you realize it," Khalil said. "Before he was your father, he was the Emperor first, and therefore, he would not allow anyone or anything to slow down the progress of the Great Crusade."

"So, even if he was affable when talking to you, and sounded almost like a poet in that meeting, without showing any ambition, it was just a choice on his part. He chose to use this appearance. To you, or in other words, facing you."

Corax was silent for a while again, and when he spoke again, his voice was no longer so deep: "But he still let you come."

"so?"

"If he is really as ruthless as you say, then why does he bother with it? He could just tell me what to do and what to do."

Khalil raised his eyebrows in slight surprise.

In his mind, Corvus Corax was the first Primarch to be aware to some extent of the Emperor's connivance towards them, though he did not realize it in a way that Not bad, but.
"Yes." He nodded gently, his eyes sly. "So we can now discuss how this matter should end with dignity. You have many offers to make, Lord Corax. He will be happy to agree to them."

"Many conditions?" Corax repeated.

"Yes."

"Then I would like you to remove the honorific from my name," Corax said. "This is my first condition. On Lycaeus, lord is usually called an armed overseer or a giant company foreman. I am neither."

Khalil finally showed a more normal smile.

"Okay, Corax," he said. "So, what's the second condition?"
-
Sanguinius saw a monster.

It also has wings, sharp teeth, and horns.Its body is bronze, and its eyes are two obsidian stones that have been polished to near perfection.The angel stared at it, touching its eyes with his fingers, his thoughts boiling.

His expression remained calm.In the studio, candles burned secretly.Sanguinius shut down the ventilation system and closed the studio door.

He could taste the special smell of the burning candle as he breathed, and the tip of his tongue dissected the contents of the smell one by one.

He exhaled, the aroma filling his lips and teeth.The aroma comes from a dead creature whose skin and bones were removed and the inedible parts of its body turned into candles.Making the best use of everything?

Sanguinius chewed on the word and sighed softly.

He turned his head and looked at the studio door.The vermilion door was wrapped in leather, and the biometric identification device was carefully shaped into the shape of the door handle. It was wrapped in silver metal, and a circle of gemstones sparkled on its edge.

He stood up, walked over and opened the door.Horus Luperkar was standing outside the door, holding a large silver dinner plate in his hand.

"Good evening, brother," Horus greeted gently. "How did you know I was outside the door without me knocking?"

Sanguinius managed a smile: "Intuition."

Horus smiled. He walked into the studio and went straight to the only table here.The aroma of steak fills the air, accompanied by the taste of kalash.

The angel closed the door, but his mouth was inevitably full of excitement for a moment.The Kalash brought by Horus was mixed with blood and tasted great.Sanguinius looked at his brother and tried to say something, but Horus stopped him without looking up.

The Corsonia was busy cutting steaks, concentrating.

"Don't say it." He lowered his head and said. "If this is something you feel you need to hide, don't say it, Sanguinius. I can't be completely honest with you either, so I won't ask this of you."

"Now, come and have the dinner you missed. It's a pity that my father and I were the only two people at the dinner."

Hearing this, Sanguinius walked towards him and even made a joke, a sincere joke.His mood suddenly improved for some reason.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing for you?"

"What?" Horus raised his head. "What good thing?"

"Attending dinner alone with my father."

The Corsonian's expression turned serious.He put down the table knife in his hand heavily, leaned back, and sank into Sanguinius' chair with a hollow back, his hands resting quietly on his knees.

He didn't say anything, but he seemed to have said everything.

Sanguinius couldn't help but laugh. As he laughed, he brought a chair and sat down slowly.The aroma of the steak was still fragrant, but Sanguinius was more concerned about the wine glass on the other side of the silver plate than it was.

Through the glass, Sanguinius could directly see the bright red blood-like wine inside.The angel picked it up, raised his head, and drank the large cup of Kalash in one gulp.When he put down the cup, two bright reds appeared on his face.

The special brewing method of Kalash makes it comparable to the most terrifying spirits to a certain extent. After adding blood, the intensity can be called cool.Sanguinius coughed slightly to ease the burning sensation in his throat.

Horus looked at him intently.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked softly.

"Much better, brother," Sanguinius replied with a smile. "I have never tried to get drunk. The 'happy state' that Ruth said seems more like a word he made up to me. However, I kind of believe him now."

"If I drink Kalash like he drinks Fenris Mead, I'm afraid I will quickly enter this 'happy realm'."

"Drunkness is not a good thing." Horus said slightly seriously. "Believe me, Sanguinius, it's definitely not a good thing. And the state of joy Russ was talking about didn't actually mean a state of drunkenness."

"As soon as the party starts, he has already entered his happy state. For him, wine is just an add-on, dispensable."

"You mean, he's never been really drunk?"

"I think so." Horus nodded slightly. "He tried very hard to make us see him as a savage, but we all knew in our hearts that he was not at all. Russ was just pretending, and his disguise couldn't even be considered excellent, it could only be said to suit him. Appearance.”

Sanguinius nodded thoughtfully. Instead of using a cutlery, he picked up a cut strip of meat with his fingers and ate it bit by bit.

Even with the skin on the bone, the juice is overflowing.The bright red blood-like liquid slowly slipped from the corner of his mouth, but the angel didn't seem to care.

"I saw something terrible," Sanguinius spoke softly after a few minutes. "It's undeniably sad, and the metaphors and details are maddening when you delve into it, but I just can't get over it."

"Why?" Horus asked his brother patiently, without any impatience.He didn't even want to ask Sanguinius what the truth was.

"Because, besides these things, there is hope in that thing," answered the angel of Baal with a sad look on his face. "Hope, brother. The rarest thing in the world, it appears in a desperate scene. How ironic."

"I don't have the gift of being able to peel off the cocoon and see the future like you do, Sanguinius." Horus spoke slowly.

"I cannot explain or dismantle the picture you describe through the knowledge gained from his extensive reading like Magnus did. All I can do is listen. In my opinion, since this matter There's still hope in the world, and that's a good thing."

Good thing
Sanguinius fell silent, his thoughts inevitably drifting to the back room of the conference room. The completely dark eyes of 'Ultra Dark' slowly emerged from the memory, so clear that they could even be used as mirrors.

Sanguinius shaped them through his imagination and gazed upon them once more.He saw his reflection and saw a child with blood and tears on his face.

"There's still hope," Khalil Lohars said.

+Hope still exists, my son. + Said his father in the spirit.

"Yes," Sanguinius said to his brother. "There's still hope. So... that's really a good thing."

Horus smiled, the worry fading from his face.

"Then finish it quickly!" The Corsonian pointed at the plate in a pretense of severity. "I didn't bring it here just to let it sit on the dinner plate and get cold!"

Sanguinius chuckled.

　And pinch.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)