BANG!
With the firing of the boltgun in Kasjia's hand, a huge, bloody hole once again appeared on the thigh of the Erebus that had just been healed by the Warp-fire.
Flesh and blood exploded and shattered, adding a thick, bloody smell to the entire residence room.
Click.
Throwing the empty magazine to the ground, Kasjia once again smashed the other's nose hard with the butt of his gun. With fresh blood flowing, this precise blow broke the other's nasal bone, successfully twisting it to the other side.
Hiss...
How come this is so familiar?
This scene?
Has he experienced this plot before?
A very disharmonious sense of familiarity arose from the bottom of Kasjia's heart.
It seems he had beaten Erebus in the same way somewhere before.
Why is he hitting Erebus with two bolt rounds again now?
Kasjia: "..."
Something's not quite right.
But who cares? Let's just hit him first.
Who can resist not hitting him?
BANG!
Another boltgun shot, hit him in the side of his abdomen.
Wow, there's even a bonus round.
The strong impact made him lie on the floor and twitch a few times in pain, like a maggot.
And then he despaired and stopped struggling.
"Erebus... Erebus..."
Kasjia picked up the monomolecular dagger that was deeply inserted in the wooden table, and with the short knife in his hand, he approached Erebus's face.
"Now, it's time for me to peel off your thick face!"
Last time it was because there was not enough time. This time, Kasjia was determined to reveal this guy's face and make it public!
Let's see if he still dares to harm people with someone else's face.
For some reason, perhaps because the situation had changed this time, peeling off Erebus's face was not difficult for Kasjia at this time. With a light peel, the face that had been hidden in the darkness appeared in Kasjia's field of vision.
He could finally see Erebus's true face!
—It was exactly the same as his, Kasjia's.
"What's going on?"
A voice full of disbelief came from his mouth.
From the mouth under his second right eye, its syllables were strange and bizarre, not something that could be spoken by a human tongue.
Heaven and earth were turned upside down, a strange brilliance and a color that did not exist in this world were blooming, and the laws of time and space seemed to no longer apply.
[The Hand of Fate is formless and shapeless.]
[You thought you had cut off our arm, but you are the new Hand of Fate.]
[Everything is according to plan.]
[Everything is...]
[...according to plan.]
"—Gasp!"
On the Pride of the Emperor, in the Primarch's private bedroom.
Kasjia suddenly woke up from his dream.
On the warm bed, covered in a pure white quilt, he instantly sat up. His back was now soaked in a large patch of cold sweat.
"What's wrong, Kasjia?"
"Did you have a nightmare?"
Fulgrim smiled gently and pulled him into her arms with her fair arms.
She gently patted his back.
"There, there. Don't be afraid."
"Do you want me to sing you a lullaby?"
"I'm fine..."
Kasjia's brain was still in a state of extreme tension and had not yet recovered.
Damn you, Tzeentch!
It was unclear if it was Him who had done it before, but this time it was definitely Him!
You bastard!
How dare you Photoshop my, Kasjia's, face onto that bastard's head!
He still had a fresh memory of the shock he had felt at that moment when he had seen Erebus's face.
Ah, that scared me to death!
If the previous one might have been the implementation of some scheme, then this time it was the most serious insult to his, Kasjia's, character!
Damn you, Tzeentch!
It seemed he was still not quite satisfied.
Kasjia, who was being held tightly in Fulgrim's arms, thought with anger.
One day I will fight my way into the Crystal Labyrinth!
I'll pluck all your feathers, and I'll even break your staff!
But those were all things for the future.
Now, Kasjia could only feel Fulgrim's hand being a little restless.
What is your hand doing?
Kasjia sat up again, exhausted.
Fortunately, as the Primarch of the legion, Fulgrim still had more matters to deal with, and so she temporarily left the room.
He held his forehead and looked at the magnificent cabinet beside the bed, which was inlaid with pure amethyst jewels. On it was a scroll with exquisite binding, a gilded surface, and a signature of Lorgar Aurelian written in fine and exquisite golden ink.
A gift from the Primarch himself, for Kasjia helping him to root out the devil lurking by his side, and at the same time, for awakening him from his fanaticism for religious belief.
To let him from now on walk out of the quagmire of a fanatic, and to become a faithful spreader and defender of the Imperial Truth.
At that time, on the Bucephalus, Lorgar had knelt deeply before Kasjia and had knelt for a long time.
But in the end, after thirteen Terran days and nights, Lorgar, who had finally understood the Emperor's good intentions, had stood up.
At least, it looked like he had understood.
Since the Emperor said he was not a god and insisted on the Imperial Truth...
...then as the will of a god who claimed not to be a god, why would he, Lorgar, not choose to obey?
Kasjia had once, when the other was kneeling on the Bucephalus, also asked Lorgar the same question.
Lorgar's answer was very characteristic of him.
He believed that this was a test from the Emperor as a god.
He had to insist on his faith in God.
Even the words of God himself could not shake his determination in any way.
Everything he was suffering now was a test from God.
As long as he was firm enough, on the day the Emperor finally ascended to godhood, he would obtain supreme glory.
So well said!
Kasjia said silently in his heart.
Unfortunately, how come you didn't seize the opportunity last time, my friend?
"Your thinking is very reasonable."
Kasjia said, "But is there a possibility, I'm just saying, it's a possibility."
"That this is actually not a test, but that the Emperor really believes that he is not a god, and needs you to spread the Imperial Truth within the Imperium?"
!
Lorgar suddenly looked up, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Is... is that right?
"The idea that God is testing you comes from your own thinking."
Seeing that the other seemed to have understood a little, Kasjia continued to emphasize.
"And the reason the Emperor believes he is not a god, and needs you to spread the Imperial Truth, is a request from the Emperor himself."
"You see, in comparison, your idea that the other is testing you has no origin and comes entirely from your own judgment;"
"And the reason the Emperor believes he is not a god must have his own considerations and plans. For you to spread the Imperial Truth is also one of his arrangements."
"Under such a balance, I think it's better for you to listen to the Emperor."
"Is that so?"
A look of bewilderment appeared in Lorgar's eyes.
For Lorgar, who had been subjected to a believer's thinking since he was a child, dialectics was not his strong suit.
Perhaps there had been a debate session in the past on Colchis.
But the religious leaders who could win a debate against Lorgar had all been dealt with by him with physical means.
It had to be said that the fist was always the most effective way to preach.
In Lorgar's view, a debate was a process of self-doubt and an attempt to prove oneself.
And faith in God required no doubt, and no reason.
So in the end, when the planet was unified, the people of Colchis, including Lorgar, had long forgotten how to reflect.
Just believe and you're done.
Of course, the reason Lorgar would take it for granted that this was a test from the Emperor was also inseparable from his ghost father, Kor Phaeron.
This old dog had often, in the name of a test, beaten and scolded the young Lorgar.
Although later he had not dared to hit him because he couldn't beat him, the Primarch had still formed a deep-seated way of thinking and a desire for the strong.
Subconsciously, he would think that everything the superior Emperor did that did not conform to his perception—such as the statement that a glowing, five-meter-tall, super-large psionic giant was not a god—was a test of his piety.
"But why doesn't the Emperor want us to think he is a god..."
Lorgar murmured.
"Here," at that time, Kasjia had pointed to the coffin that was sealing Erebus beside him.
"This is the consequence."
"If the Emperor were to admit that he is a god, his will would be twisted by the influence of these fools."
"And thus serve the purpose he wants to achieve. This is not a scene the Emperor would like to see."
As he spoke, Kasjia leaned forward and said in a low voice.
"As for whether the Emperor is a god or not, we can just enjoy it in a small circle."
"There's really no need to shout it out loud. Just enjoy it in a small circle, understand?"
"You seem to have a point."
After saying this, Lorgar, who was kneeling on the ground, was lost in thought.
And then he quickly fell into a deep state of meditation.
The speed was so fast that even Kasjia was a little at a loss.
Wait?
He got enlightened just like that?
The faith that the Emperor had stubbornly held on to for countless years was just broken by a single sentence from him, Kasjia?
Kasjia blinked a few times, in disbelief.
Shouldn't he have let the Emperor persuade him many times, but to no avail, and in the end, he had to burn the perfect city?
Why was it so simple?
Old Man Gold?
How did you persuade him at that time?
He was beginning to have serious doubts about the Emperor's persuasive ability.
(Imagined)
Emperor: Repeat after me—Father!
Lorgar: God!
Emperor: Father!
Lorgar: God!
Emperor: Father!
Lorgar: God!
A bot-like father-son dialogue, repeated countless times.
Emperor: "I've had enough of these formalities!"
The Emperor decides to burn the perfect city directly.
Reasonable.
From that moment on, Kasjia began to have serious doubts about the Emperor's communication skills.
Several days and nights.
The Bucephalus.
After a long period of reflection, Lorgar finally stood up from his kneeling position.
He understood!
Since the Emperor denied that he was a god, then the Emperor was not a god.
There was no need to be too糾結 on this issue.
Under Kasjia's guidance and examples, he gradually understood the dominant school of thought in the Imperium of Man—
...stubbornness!
Learn from others, even from Russ!
If you're not allowed to use psionics, then use Rune Priests;
If you're not allowed to call the Emperor a god, then call him the Allfather.
What is the Allfather?
The Allfather is of course the Allfather. Allfather, you know.
It just means the Allfather.
"So that's how it is! So the Emperor is not a god!"
Lorgar, who had grasped this key point, had an epiphany.
"The Emperor is the Emperor!"
What god or not? The Emperor is the Emperor!
Is the Emperor a god?
He is the Emperor.
What is the Emperor?
The Emperor is the Emperor. The Emperor, you know!
Of course, he is the Emperor.
Is that Emperor a god after all?
He is the Emperor.
....
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