Warhammer: In the Name of Nirvana

"..."

"Quiet, too quiet."

"There was no crying, no death, just the silence that is so abhorrent."

"..."

"I do not like this."

"This battleship has been quiet for so long that they seem to have fallen into a false sense of comfort, thinking that they are just a pile of pure cotton tablecloths that have nothing to do with blood. They just need to wait for those big hands to pick them up and let them rub them. Get a grip."

"They were even laughing."

"The smiles are so happy, so natural, and so silly. They are so relaxed. My blood relative who is still alive has really spoiled them too delicately."

"It's like she indulged herself too much and lost her instinct and cruelty as a predator: At this moment, the freedom I have is the best example to support this point of view. She is not She knew the strength and instability I possessed, but she still removed even the most perfunctory defenses and gave me strength and minions."

"This is either a cheap trap, ridiculous self-confidence, or a bad move made out of so-called blood kinship: no matter what the result is, this is wrong and needs to be corrected and modified."

"This is wrong, this is stupid."

"This needs to be corrected."

"But before that, this battleship was filled with nothing more than her heirs and servants. They gnawed at the leftovers she gave out like mindless insects and praised every decision she made. It has completely failed to serve as a warning and supervision.”

"But it doesn't matter, because now, here I come, here comes the Midnight Ghost."

"I'm here for her, for them."

"I was thinking it was time for her, and for them, to get serious."

"They need fear."

"And fear sometimes doesn't require real bloodshed."

——————

Sometimes, Conrad even misses Nostramo: misses its stench and sin, misses its madness and darkness, misses the midnight ghost that can evoke fear and murder in every judgment.

It was obviously only a few months ago, but when he thought about it again, Conrad felt that he had been away from that moment for several years, so long that he felt that his claws were gradually getting rusty and clumsy.

How long has it been since he tried and terrorized those who committed depraved crimes? How many months? Or how many years? Even the simplest calculation of time seemed difficult in the absence of this vocation, which made him involuntarily upset.

After wandering around in every corner and passage of the battleship for a long time like a real lonely soul, even the King of Night had to reluctantly admit that this void was surrendered at the feet of his corpse blood relative. The country indeed has far better stability and justice than his Nostramo. He has never seen any bloodshed. The original sinners on this battleship have hidden their sinister intentions very well. , almost fooling his sense of smell.

Although Midnight Ghost has also found many sin carriers, their sins are either so small that they require the most careful screening, or they are lurking in the future that has not yet arrived, and cannot be treated as speechless evidence.

For example, he saw that the mortal officer responsible for repairing the engine deck would become a traitor in a brutal gang-hopping battle in the future. He would collapse under intimidation, despair and semi-forced mental control, opening up his daily life. The door that everyone must pass through puts the invading aliens into the core area of ​​the battleship.

Of course, he also saw another illusory future: this unknown mortal would become a hero. He would be seriously injured in a desperate resistance in the same battle, but he would close the door with his own hands and carry a The bomb, which was enough to kill him and the intruders, whispered the names of his family members, quietly waiting for the intruders to approach.

Two completely opposite results appeared in his mind almost at the same moment, but the Midnight Ghost was accustomed to this: he knew that prophecy was a bad friend, and it would always hand over two glasses of the same poisonous wine, and Pretending that one cup contained the antidote it had accidentally put in, to trick him into the pain of hesitation.

Conrad already had a solution to this situation. He knew that his sharp blade was the only answer to this multiple-choice question: as long as he knocked over the stone table, he would no longer have to worry about which cup of poison to drink. Troubled by alcohol.

In the same way, as long as he takes off that mortal's head, then there is no possibility that that mortal will betray and sin in the future: How can a person who died in the past continue to harm the world?

If it were before, Midnight Ghost would have done this a long time ago, but not now. Now he must curb the impulse in his heart and let these petty crimes continue to go unpunished under his nose.

There is no other reason: Even as arrogant as a midnight ghost, he knows very well that if he once again carves the personal property of his blood relative into a Turkish kebab or a Picasso statue, then what awaits him will definitely not be the same [tender care] as last time. Well, the King of Night is not one of those idiots out there. He knows better than anyone in the galaxy what kind of monster his blood relatives are.

Sometimes, he would even wonder whether the resurrection of the Lord of the Second Legion was the work of their common genetic father. Perhaps some of the plans of the Lord of Humanity require the use of a person who can make the entire world... The seed of original sin that burns the galaxy? So, he brought this lonely soul who should have died long ago back to the ignorant real world?

Conrad wasn't sure if this idea was possible enough, but an innate predator instinct warned him not to easily anger this silver-haired beast. She was much more than he saw. Even scarier.

And this is also an important reason why Conrad chose to temporarily stay away from the countless sinners on this battleship: but he has memorized their scents, and no one of these people can escape.

As long as he gets a chance...

"Dong dong dong!"

"..."

The rough collision of steel ruthlessly interrupted the midnight ghost's contemplation. The dark eyes hidden in the hood raised and looked at the door that made the sound: it was also the only connection between his room and the outside world.

Conrad slowly stood up from the corner of the room where he was staying and walked to the door. After opening the heavy steel door, he saw an acquaintance at the first sight.

"Your lunch, Lord Conrad."

The pink-haired maid of the Lord of the Second Legion pushed her No. 2 dining cart and stood in front of the Midnight Ghost. Her somewhat tall twin tails could barely reach Conrad's waist, but this did not prevent her from wearing a With eyes and tone that were so indifferent that they were almost glacier, he looked into each other's eyes and communicated with this notorious King of the Night.

Midnight Ghost knew that the tiny, mortal-like strange creation in front of him was by no means a normal life form, because he could not feel the slightest fear or awe from her, and her logic was more like seeking profit. A machine whose only core is to avoid harm.

So, he didn't bother to say anything to her.

Conrad grabbed the dining car, and his eyes casually glanced at the heavily armed Dawnbreaker guards not far away, as well as the door that sealed the terrifying power: the room of the Midnight Ghost was almost directly connected to the Spider Queen's private lounge. The straight-line distance between them is no more than ten meters, and his three meals a day come from the country that belongs to his blood relatives.

Conrad's eyes casually glanced at the two guards guarding the door, which attracted countless overt and covert hostility in an instant. He turned a blind eye to this, and even showed a sarcastic smile in his heart: These fools didn't know what kind of place they were guarding, and they certainly didn't have any similar speculations, because in their pitiful thoughts, it was undoubtedly blasphemy.

But Midnight Ghost is much smarter and bolder than them.

The joy brought by contempt made Conrad hum an unknown song and dragged his lunch back to the room. He sat on the bed, ignored the neat fork beside him, casually grabbed the hot food, and threw it away. Entered the mouth.

The food is indeed delicious, and it exudes care that is visible to the naked eye, but Midnight Ghost is always absent-minded about it. He hates the possibility that he may be used to eating these delicate things and can no longer eat rancid food.

While eating, Conrad was thinking about his plan that had been planned for a month: after getting tired of seeing those guilty people wandering around in front of him, the midnight ghost gradually became accustomed to locking himself in the room, Instead of sneaking around every corner of the battleship, it was during this process that a hidden desire in his heart was gradually dug out.

During the long wandering, the majesty and splendor of this void kingdom, or the darkness and coldness, have long been seen by the midnight ghost. As for the so-called "Secret Vault Area" that is heavily guarded by the Dawnbreakers, Night The king did not bother to explore the mystery of destruction within it. Apart from that, there was only one place for this battleship, which was in the blind spot of his vision.

That was the private realm of his blood relative, that was Morgan's country.

Through the drawings of the Glory Queen-class battleship that he accidentally spied on, and his continuous exploration and investigation during this period, Midnight Ghost has been able to imagine what kind of private domain the Lord of the Second Legion has, which is beyond the reach of any No one, not even her most trusted heir, can enter the hidden country in the mist.

So, what exactly is she hiding in there? So majestic that it requires such a huge territory to accommodate it, and so important that it requires such strict standards to protect it: Could that be her real secret, the truth that she can walk the galaxy again, or is it her indifference? Within the skin, lies the essence of evil?

…

Conrad smiled.

Just thinking about it makes people look forward to it.

He should go in and take a look, right?

When such an idea first appeared in his mind, it lingered, and even suppressed the dissatisfaction in Midnight Ghost's heart, allowing his thoughts to be devoted to how to make this fantasy a reality. .

The King of Night fell silent because of this. He no longer wandered aimlessly, but spent a lot of time in planning. As a result, his steps became purposeful, always staying in those areas that he would use. near the location.

Thanks to the indulgence of his blood relatives, the Dawnbreakers did not have any more precautions or obstacles to his elusiveness. They regarded his identity as the Primarch as a natural sign of credibility, which made the Midnight Ghost even more determined. , a small warning to this group of lazy laxists.

This goal does not conflict with his desire to explore, and the two goals can be pursued simultaneously.

Conrad worked hard for this. He used the claws given by Morgan to carve the twisted map of the Queen of Glory on the wall, and calculated the gaps between the patrols over and over again. He overturned countless plans. , avoided countless traps, and racked his brains to think of ways to escape the terrible psychic network.

All of this took the Primarch a few days, and when he once again brought his lunch and came to this ugly work, Midnight Ghost was already confident. He knew that it was time to start his plan. Because the best time is coming soon.

So, the first step is...

Conrad grinned, and he glanced around the room casually: the wide area and complete facilities showed that enough attention was paid to the original gene, but on the other hand, this room had no windows, and there was no second one. The door and the only ventilation duct are just a narrow path cut from the main pipe, so narrow that even a dwarf cannot pass through.

This was a prison, a house-arrest prison worthy of the Primarch. Although Morgan had never forcefully asked him to stay here, her meaning was already very clear: Don't make small moves in this room.

But unfortunately, the Spider Queen's cage is not a perfect building. After patient exploration, Midnight Ghost has been able to determine that the main ventilation duct that can accommodate his body is actually far away from the wall he is facing at this time. , not far.

The only thing he has to do now is to get there without disturbing the guards, so that when they all think that he is still squatting at home, he can put on a wonderful show for his blood relatives.

As for a way to silently break through these metal walls...

Midnight Ghost raised his head and poured his lunch into his mouth in one breath. He swallowed the exquisite food that took the Spider Queen a long time to think about, and squeezed it into his stomach in a hurry.

He waited quietly until he realized that his stomach acid had been completely mixed with the food, then he raised his fist and punched his abdomen hard.

The next moment, large streams of residue mixed with stomach acid flowed out of Midnight Ghost's mouth. He caught them and slowly smeared them on the wall. These delicacies from the previous moment became a weapon for breaking the wall at this moment. In the meantime, there was only a sizzling sound in the room that was so low that it was almost impossible to detect.

Midnight Ghost smiled.

The plan begins.

——————

When the 23rd Expedition Fleet arrived at the Helleting System in the southwest of the Far Eastern Starfield, they finally met the Ultramarines Legion who were taking a short rest here.

The holographic projection of the Lord of Ultramar appeared in front of the Spider Queen fifteen minutes later: Compared with when he was on Macragge, Guilliman was more serious and silent at this time, and his armor It is not spotless, but has a few traces of dust brought by the war.

"Thank you for coming, Morgan. Your response to my invitation so quickly was beyond my expectation. I thought I would need to fight alone for a while."

As always, there is no flaw in the smile of the Lord of the Ultramarines. In Morgan's memory, the smile on Guilliman's face is one of the few things that can be compared with her false mask, but the difference is that he His smile is more dignified on the surface and more sincere in substance.

[After all, your army is so powerful and magnificent, my Guilliman, I am deeply afraid that if I come a little later, what will greet me will only be a pile of alien ashes. 】

Morgan sat on the throne, and the simple flattery in her words made Guilliman feel a little embarrassed. The Lord of Ultramar was taking care of his messy blond hair, seeming a little guilty for failing to live up to the expectations of his blood relatives.

"I'm afraid I have disappointed you, my sister of Avalon: my fleet still has not found the whereabouts of those psychic aliens. Some of their vanguards have penetrated deep into the vicinity of the Blame Sector in the Storm Star Domain, but only in Mo Scattered clues were found around Tante.”

[Don't worry, Guilliman, no matter how fast a race migrates, it will definitely not be as good as our two fleets going all out. From now on, the think tank troops under my command will also join the search. They are very interested in these things. The alien race has unique research. 】

Guilliman smiled.

"Speaking of think tanks, I think I have to say congratulations to you, Morgan: not long ago, in a conversation with me, our brother Donne discussed your training manual on the basics of think tanks, and he has read it himself Got it and rated it very highly.”

[Dorn’s high praise? This is truly a rare treasure. 】

"Indeed, it is said that the Seventh Legion is using your manual as a general standard to experimentally train the think tanks in the Imperial Fists. Dorn believes that your manual contains a large number of valuable rational remarks and practical examples, which makes it The value is much higher than other psychic books.”

“He also mentioned something: It is said that Fulgrim has spread your manual to other brothers, especially Horus, and after reading it, Horus recommended it to more people. , I also heard that Jaghatai Khan and Leman Russ even asked Horus for a copy each."

"Congratulations, Morgan. You actually took the initiative to let Leman Russ interact with psychic energy. This is much more difficult than conquering a star sector or annihilating an alien species. It is like planting an alien species on a stone head. A flower.”

A faint smile crept up the corner of the Spider Queen's mouth. She felt a quiet sense of pride because of Guilliman's words, and even recalled an interesting little thing because of it.

Not long ago, a Dark Angel veteran who was conducting communication work on the flagship of the Second Legion specially met with Morgan. The Spider Queen was impressed by him because they had fought side by side in the Randan War.

The Dark Angel's words were somewhat vague and evasive, but the Gene Queen calmly heard the implication of his words: To put it simply, a certain Caliban lion bypassed Luther and spoke through the words of a descendant. A question was asked.

Why doesn't he have such a book?

This little incident came to an end in front of the silence of the Lord of the Second Legion and a hand-written psychic manual. The Spider Queen also combined her in-depth exploration of psychic powers during this period with her own memories of Ran Dan to create The Dark Angels compensated by compiling a pamphlet on how to fight Randan psykers.

[So, are you also using the book I wrote, Guilliman? 】

"Of course... However, I have made some small modifications to make its content more relevant to the actual situation of Ultramar and the Ultramarines, such as the special features of the Think Tank Force that you advocated in the book. Establishment, I canceled it in actual use, because such an organization can easily create a gap between the think tank unit and the main force of the legion, and is not conducive to internal unity."

"Like those foundry sergeants."

Morgan's brows furrowed imperceptibly: that was one of the parts she was most proud of and innovative in the whole book, and when she looked at Guilliman's unconscious smile again, she couldn't help but feel something in her heart. There was a trace of uncontrollable dissatisfaction and indignation.

[Well, my blood relatives, maybe only time will tell whether your modifications have real value, but for now, let us turn our attention back to the galaxy. After all, we still have a race that needs to be exterminated. 】

Guilliman nodded. He did not notice the weak edge in the words of the Lord of the Second Legion: before this, the edge of his words that he had experienced was much more obvious than this.

The Lord of the Ultramarines pressed the mechanical keypad next to him, and a detailed star map appeared next to his projection. Guilliman briefly introduced his progress, paving the way for their detailed interview later.

"We are now near the dividing line between the Far Eastern Star Territory and the Storm Star Territory. However, this dividing line is relatively vague. It is only a rough division of the Terran Parliament, and most of the worlds here have not yet surrendered to the Human Empire. rule, maintaining their respective independence and barbaric customs.”

"The galaxy we are in now is called Helleting. It is connected to the Ndraga galaxy in the southwest through the Mandeville Point: that is the homeport of the Imperial Navy in this area, and if we continue to move toward the southwest, it will It is a world where a knight family that surrenders to the empire and has certain independent rights lives: Jedasra."

"By the time we reach Jedathra, we are only one star sector away from the Storm Star Territory, but the worlds outside Jedathra are all barbaric wilderness. They lack enough value and importance, so the empire has no Go and recapture them immediately: neither will we, after all, this place is far away from your and my management, and we have more important things to do."

[Is there any unified name for these barbaric worlds that have not yet been recovered? 】

"The locals will call them the Gladiator Stars, because this generation has a hopelessly barbaric gladiator culture. Even the technology on the planet is tilted because of this. The rulers of almost every world are slave owners. , they rely on bloody performances to please the masses at the bottom and maintain their rule."

"The most famous world among them is Nukaidia. The gladiator culture there is deeply rooted, and they also possess powerful military power, which should not be underestimated."

【……】

Morgan was silent, her pale eyelids covering the confused instinct in her pupils.

For some reason, when she heard the name of this world, her mind was swept by a strange wave, as if the instinct deep in her heart was telling her: that barbaric world might have something to do with her. An important connection?

[Have you been to that world, my Guilliman? 】

The Lord of Ultramar blinked in surprise, then shook his head.

"No, I once sent envoys to persuade the rulers there to submit to the empire. Although they were unwilling, they did not show excessive behavior, and the value of the place was not worthy of my sending military forces there."

"is there a problem?"

[Nothing, I'm just having some random thoughts... Speaking of which, did your envoy report to you that there might be any... abnormal characters in that world? 】

"Are you worried that one of our blood relatives will fall there?"

Guilliman instantly understood what the Spider Queen was thinking. A comforting smile appeared on his face, and then he shook his head again, his blond hair dancing.

"Don't worry, Morgan. Each of my envoys will pay attention to the young talents in the world when they go on missions, and their vision and judgment are worthy of recognition: they reported to me that this man named There is nothing special about the world of Nucadia. The only news may be that a gladiator named Onomamus is in his prime, and the whole world is going into bloody madness for his winning streak. "

【……】

[Maybe I’m overthinking it. 】

Morgan blinked to expel the chaotic thoughts from her mind, but she still remembered the barbaric world called Nucadia and placed its name among the second-rate words that needed to be taken care of.

[Okay, Guilliman, my calmest brother, let's talk about something else. 】

[For example, our next military task assignments and their respective routes. 】

——————

The time has come, now.

The claws of the midnight ghost made a harsh sound in the wide and old ventilation ducts, but disappeared in the next second into the eternal noise that was no different from the strong wind: as the ventilation system of the entire Glory Queen-class battleship, the main duct The interior is often filled with unbearable noise, and even Astartes cannot stay there for long.

But now, Noisy is the ally of Midnight Ghost and the staunch pillar that helps him complete the plan in his mind. The King of the Night of Nostramo hangs himself on the smooth iron wall and hooks it with his hard claws. The huge body, with its head against the strong wind, crawled towards his destination bit by bit.

Waves of prophecy kept surging in his mind, reminding him how long it would take before the plan was revealed: his two overly comfortable blood relatives were already discussing some details of the specific meeting, and when they ended When all this happened, the Lord of the Second Legion would get up and come to him, thus discovering the corroded second door in his room.

He didn't have much time: but fortunately, his other blood relative, the Lord of Ultramar with whom he had not yet met, was a figure who could pay attention to details. He would let Morgan answer more questions and answers. Spend some rare time on trivial matters to facilitate Midnight Ghost.

Thinking of this, the King of Nostramo couldn't help but quicken his pace. The conversation he couldn't see urged his actions, allowing him to reach his destination faster than he imagined: a boat lined with countless torpedoes. control room.

There are two or three Dawnbreakers guarding the control room. It is a huge room overlooking the deck. Although its defenders can be said to be fully focused, their numbers cannot stop a Primarch.

Midnight Ghost knew that there should be another person here, but he went out temporarily and would not come back until later: This was also the reason why he chose to start at this time. Everything was the best he had obtained during the long period of observation and deduction. Best results.

Konrad knocked them unconscious, rather than simply killing them: he rarely knocked people unconscious, which made his methods even a little strange and ridiculous. However, in the face of the primarch's arrogant power, several Before the Dawnbreaker could issue any warning, he was forced into a dream of unknown length.

As a result, Midnight Ghost got what he wanted: enough to accurately launch dozens of jumping fish at the [Macragge's Glory] data board at any time. Although he did not know the password of the command yet, He had other ideas.

Stretching out the long tongue that took the Lord of the Second Legion a full hour to wash into pink, the Midnight Ghost slowly licked the entire screen of the data pad. The data pad that was once decorated with the Spider Queen's saliva is now on it Full of disgusting residue from the Night King's mouth: Curze destroyed all the hard-earned oral hygiene achievements of the Lord of the Second Legion in just a few days.

He and all his blood relatives inherited the same genetic source, so one brother's genetic sample is no different than another brother's.

The dataslate beeped.

Accept the genetic code.

Authorization to launch torpedoes.

Midnight Ghost laughed. He felt the strange noise in the room and the outsider was returning quickly, so he returned to the ventilation duct and retrieved the goods that had been there for several days.

Now, he was about to begin the final step of the entire plan.

He was already looking forward to the expressions on the faces of his blood relatives.

In the battleship, a sudden alarm bell sounded.

Within the room, the lurking shadow spread out.