Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 417 Duncan Aihe
"As long as they are sinful, His love cannot accept them and grant them grace. Only by relying on Him and entering into Him will He not return their sin to them." - Daniel, the first Grand Master of the Word Bearers, the Muristan Order

Morse sorted out the chess pieces scattered all over the table. He did not use supernatural means, but put the chess pieces one by one back into the wooden box made of acacia wood. Since he had nothing to do now, adopting some retro lifestyles could indeed add some simple fun to his life.

After Malcador had dealt with the disappearance of a planet in a sector and its subsequent impact caused by a series of accidents caused by a chain of aliens, the Warp and dark technology, Morse had almost packed up his things when he returned to the Emperor and the Artisans' chess and card room - well, this was once just an indoor model room with a view of the outdoor garden.

Only a small pile of dust remained on the tabletop where the angel statue had been.

"Did he go to Randan?" The chancellor of the empire walked over slowly, stopped beside Morse, and put his hand on the edge of the table. "The Martian side just reported that he went to the Eternal Night Labyrinth."

"He's gone to Randan." Morse turned his head, put on the lock of the wooden box, and patted the top of the box encouragingly. "Maybe he's here now."

Malcador nodded slightly. "Do you know...what he will do with the Second Legion?"

"I don't know, and I'm too lazy to ask," Morse said, "but I think you can completely remove this organization from the system. Sorry to bother you on his behalf, Respected Imperial Regent."

-

Tick.

Blood dripped from the wound in Duncan Ihe's hand.

The Primarch slowly stood up, staggered a step weakly, and then tightened the fallen chain around his palm and wrist again. He panted softly, and completed each step in the series of actions painfully and persistently.

"You..." The lion's eyes were fixed on the Primarch in front of him, and he felt as if his thoughts were falling into an abyss that he could hardly understand.

The Lion's thoughts were clear, and every word found its place, but his thoughts were so complicated that he could not pick out any of them to convey to the Second Primarch.

A Primarch, he thought. A Primarch who should be free. They should put loyalty to the Emperor above all else. Even at the cost of their own Legion.

He thought it was the foundation of the Primarchs. Lorgar Aurelion would not hesitate for a moment if necessary. Horus Lupercal would do the same. Perturabo was another matter.

Duncan, why didn't he tell the truth sooner? Why did he wait until his former comrades fought against each other and the Dark Angels executed so many Silver Angels before he revealed his identity and explained the experience of the Second Legion?

If they had known the true nature of the resurrected angel from the beginning, unnecessary blood would not have been shed...

Click.

Leon's sword fell a few inches from his hand, and the blade cut into the paving tiles on the ground, making a harsh sound.

Just then, Duncan spoke.

"Will you execute me?" he asked.

"why?"

Leon answered subconsciously.

"I betrayed."

"you……"

It dawned on Lion that he had been so slow to react to the nature of the Second Primarch's actions.

Duncan Aihe undoubtedly took the initiative to choose to throw himself into Randan's furnace of consciousness. This was a betrayal of the mission he shouldered and the best confirmation of the Emperor's judgment of expulsion.

But he just stood there, looking at the enemy who was in an absolutely weak state, without even swinging his sword.

He calmed down, grasped the sharp weapon in his hand again, raised the sword, and pressed the second Primarch's throat. With a slight pull of his wrist, blood would flow out along his neck.

Duncan began to sort out the bone chains that were cut off by the lion. He pressed his fingers on both ends of the broken chains. After one press, the chains were reconnected and he wrapped them around his waist.

"You must be asking yourself why I didn't tell you the truth," Duncan said.

"Duncan..."

"The moment we became aliens, we were already part of the Randan Empire. A legion that must be destroyed, a shadow that is not worthy of joining the glorious Great Crusade."

"You are not enemies of the Empire..."

"We are the Renegades," the Second Primarch hissed, tired of dealing with the shock and hesitation. "What are you doing, Loyalist? Defending the Renegades?"

The lion remained silent, and for the first time in his life, his hand holding the weapon began to tremble.

"Tell me, my brother." Duncan demanded. The words accumulated over the past decade had been brewing in his heart, and finally turned into a fatigue that could not be left unsaid.

"The eldest son of the Emperor, the first of all armies... With your loyalty to the Empire, with your trust in the Emperor. When you discover the truth and confirm that I, the son who had long been expelled by my father, have indeed chosen to betray... Will you not do your best to execute my legion?"

"Without a doubt." The cold wind blew out of Lion El'Jonson's mouth, almost freezing his lips and tongue. "The moment I discovered the truth."

"Father has entrusted you with the arsenal of weapons that humanity will use to kill each other. Your mission lies within it."

"I will definitely live up to the emperor's orders."

"But you still discovered the truth."

"You can't keep it secret till the end."

"The truth. The truth is that I am not bound, Leon. I betrayed the Empire and abandoned humanity. I know who I am and why I did it. I chose this path myself, and I will not regret it. I just want my Legion to survive."

"It won't," Leon said.

Duncan blinked hard to squeeze out the blood flowing into his eyes. "Don't..."

"It won't," the Lion continued, staring at the Second Primarch, the blade across his neck, forcing the Duncan to raise his chin and look him in the eye.

"Your Legion will no longer exist in its current form. The xenos who are hostile to the Imperium will receive no mercy. The Legion you have chosen to betray will receive the Emperor's judgment."

"The Emperor's judgment..." Duncan bit his lips with his teeth, "Death is also the Emperor's mercy."

Then he gave a sad smile.

"But how can my legion obtain his other mercy, Leon? How can he bring them back to life in a pure state? He is not a god who can bring the dead back to life..."

Duncan asked, his tone gradually becoming tinged with a joyful determination, "But, look at them, look at them! Good warriors of the Empire, good angels of the Emperor!
"Not long ago, they were still fighting for the Empire, following your orders, and coming one after another to help the Emperor's divine punishment..."

"If they have hurt you, Lion, it was by my order. The Risen serve the Emperor in death, and they do so even in death!
"And I, their Primarch, am the only blemish on their pure loyalty, the one who keeps them alive."

"That's enough, Duncan, you—"

The Second Primarch suddenly jumped up, and a bone sword extended from his wrist caught the blade of Lion, and then collided with it to form an oblique cross, and then rotated with the intersection as the axis. His palm immediately took advantage of the momentum to press against the hilt of the lion's sword, and coordinated with the movement of the other hand to quickly snatch away the blade of Lion El'Jonson.

Lion reacted immediately, pressing on Duncan's exhausted body, reaching out to his left hand, grabbing the long straight blade and the hilt that he was holding loosely, changing his footwork, turning to the side and back of the second primarch in the blink of an eye, and twisting him to the ground.

Duncan knelt heavily on the ground, and the chains vibrated violently, making crisp collision sounds. Lion maintained his suppression posture, snatched back his long sword, and pressed the sword against the back of the second primarch's neck, like a beheading guillotine.

Leon vigilantly examined every muscle of the Second Primarch that was needed to exert force, and judged the opponent's movement trends through the robe.

No, nothing. Duncan did not struggle. He just knelt there, staring at the blurred reflection of his own outline in the pool of blood beside his knees.

"Ask the Lord of Mankind for my forgiveness for the Second Legion, I implore you, Lion El'Jonson," he whispered.

"No," the Lion said, his sword lowered, "You are the only one who truly cares about the fate of the Second Legion. I will not take care of your children for you. On the contrary, they will be purged in addition to being removed from the list."

Duncan's back stiffened.

Leon took a step forward, causing ripples in the blood lake, which flowed and hit the lion's leg armor.

"And I will do my duty," he commanded, sternly. "Hunting down traitors and destroying heretics. For every Angel that escapes death today, the Dark Angels will hunt it down to its death. In the name of the First Primarch, I swear to the Emperor."

"Leon!" Duncan roared, and then the lion grabbed his hair and pressed him into the blood.

Blood splashed everywhere, and a string of bubbles sprang out from the blood lake. Lion leaned over and easily suppressed the futile and desperate struggle of the Second Primarch with his weight, and whispered in his ear: "You know the choice you should make. And I, I always keep my oath."

With that, Lion El'Jonson raised his sword and stabbed down.

Before his sword touched Duncan's artery, the spiritual world suddenly tore apart, throwing him out of the world of collective consciousness.

He resisted, the lion thought to himself.

He opened his eyes, and the pain from the previous wound in his chest had eased. As Duncan had said, the flesh and blood structure covering his body was indeed doing its best to repair the battle damage on his body.

The lion propped himself up on the ground and sat up, looking up at the indistinguishable towering sculpture in the darkness around him. He still couldn't see it clearly, but he could hear a drop of blood falling from above, gently hitting the flesh and blood covering the ground. Then the second drop.

Tick.

He grunted heavily, found his sword on the ground, wiped it briefly, and prepared to put it back into the scabbard.

As he said, he would hunt the Risen Angels, and these were not just empty words used to goad Duncan Aihe.

The Second Legion has brought damage to the Empire's military strength. No sin can go unpunished, no betrayal can be forgiven.

Just before the sword was sheathed, a hand covered the back of his hand, stopping his movement.

It is rough, dark, and bears the marks of years of work.

But it was also warm and dry, emitting a faint, halo-like golden light, creating a shallow glow in the dark oath hall.

"Leon," the Emperor said, "why don't you do it?"

"Your Majesty..." Leon replied, finding it difficult to say the following words.

He wavered, and was deeply ashamed of his wavering. Being restricted by friendship and unable to wield a sword was such weakness that a loyal knight would be ashamed of.

On the other hand, there is also a deep sadness in his hesitation. No. Sadness is too simple a word. It is just a brick that can be used in the building that humans build to store their thoughts.

What touched him was a feeling, a strange feeling of loss and lack, a suffocating feeling of choking and obstruction, and a dull burning pain. All of this surrounded him vaguely, hammering his soul.

"What's wrong?" asked the emperor.

"The Second Primarch has defected, but the Astartes of the Second Legion still retain a clear sense of self. I believe they are still valuable in serving the Imperium."

Lion answered, suddenly remembering that a few years ago, a Luna Wolf had made a similar plea to him. And that Space Marine...

His eyes swept across the ground, and he saw the pearly white warrior falling silently to the ground.

The Emperor took the sword from his hand and drew it out. Golden fire ignited from the blade, and the cold light shone on the ruby ​​inlaid.

"What did Number Two say to you, Lion?" the Emperor asked calmly, moving forward with his sword. The firelight illuminated half of his golden armor, and the rainbow of light continued to spread, pushing back the surrounding darkness layer by layer.

"He said... he was the only stain on the loyalty of the Second Legion and the source of evil for the Risen."

"anything else?"

"He said... you are not a god, and you cannot bring the Legion back to life."

The Emperor nodded slightly and said ambiguously: "He is right."

Lion El'Jonson followed the Emperor, approaching the end of the real Hall of Oath. This back figure, which was once so reassuring, now made Lion feel uneasy.

Finally, the Emperor raised the burning sword, and the flames illuminated the human body hanging above.

A Primarch, with withered black hair, gaunt face, eyes closed nervously, blood streaming down his face.

He was bound and protected by countless dry, bony warrior hands, as if embedded in a niche in the wall.

crackle.

The Emperor swung his sword upwards, and flames extended from the tip of the sword outwards, extending into a long burning whip like thorns. Wherever it reached, the fingers that were tightly clasped around the bodies of the Primarchs silently loosened, reluctantly, and swung powerlessly downwards.

Finally, the naked Progenitor reappeared in the world. It was almost an extremely emaciated skeleton, and it was obviously deformed - the ribs and arms had stretched out like leaf veins, and the bones, like half-expanded bone wings, were ruthlessly broken before they grew.

His vitality had been exhausted over the years, like a candle in a strong wind, on the verge of going out.

And his hands were still tightly grasping the palms of his Astartes warrior, even though the hands he was grasping had long since turned into piles of bones.

That was undoubtedly the prototype of the bone chain held by Duncan in the spiritual world.

The Emperor looked at the Second Primarch.

"What will he get, father?" Leon asked.

"He deserves it," the Emperor replied. "He gave his soul into my hands."

Then, the fire went out.

The Lord of Mankind did not choose the blazing fire. Instead, the last ray of light also left. Everything was dark, as if a dim black sun had risen in this hall.

Leon was in silence, and this dark shadow allowed him to hear his own heartbeat. He waited in the darkness, waiting for the light to reappear.

Then, there is the wind.

The wind blew through the lion's hair, bringing with it a very faint breath of charcoal.

After a long silence, the light came again.

The sudden incandescent light caused a painful tear to well up in the corner of Lion El'Jonson's eye.

He adjusted himself to the brightness of the oath hall and observed everything in front of him again.

No more.

All gone.

No more flesh and blood, no more bones.

At the end of the hall, the angelic statue of the imprisoned Primarch Duncan Aihor, or rather the rack that bound him to his sin of treason, also quietly turned to ashes.

All that remained were the broken remains of the Queen of Glory, rusted by time, and the flying white dust of her bones, looking pale as sackcloth in the strong light.

The Second Legion no longer exists.

(End of this chapter)