Warhammer 40: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 447 Confusion
“Dear Father: I stand before you, my heart filled with confusion and fear.

"My most trusted head of the church is a lying snake, and my once estranged priest proved his piety only after committing a great sin. My beloved brother fell to the ground, and I supported another man I trusted as our leader, but I felt in my heart that he was not happy about it. What did I do wrong?
“What I see seems to overturn everything I know, and I cannot discern the truth. Please grant me wisdom and insight so that I can see the truth and distinguish right from wrong.

“Father, you have said, ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.’ I humbly pray for your revelation. Please reveal your truth to me so that I will no longer be confused.

"Please enlighten me: why did the Blade of the Enemy come from Interrex in Perturabo to distant Ullanor?
"Please tell me why Magnus stopped me in fear while I was praying in your holy land.
"Please let me understand clearly: How did No. 11 commit the crime of breaking through the Shadow Prison? Although I was the first to do so, why did no one stop him?

"Please let me understand: why did the members of the Illuminati save your child from the coming of the Tyrant Star, and is the darkest star closely related to you? Is this your test, or our destiny?

“Please calm my fears and give me peace. For you have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. May your love fill my heart and dispel my fears.

“Father, you are the way, the truth, and the life. I rely on your guidance and ask for your help to help me find your light in this fog.

"May your Spirit fill my heart - and if it appears as a spirit of darkness, I am happy with it.

“Please guide me and give me peace of mind.

"I pray the above in the name of the Lord, the Emperor of Mankind."

Lorgar Aurelion opened his eyes, the candlelight in front of him dancing in his pupils.

He whispered, "I hope you are not disturbing my meditation for no reason, Layak."

“Warmaster Perturabo invites you to meet with him, Aurelion,” Zaddo Layak answered from beside him. “His emissary awaits us in the antechamber of the Law of Faith.”

Aurelion nodded, placed his hand on the cover of the manuscript on the altar, muttered a few words quietly, and then left with his new head priest.

In addition, the chief of the Muristan Order has not yet been elected. This branch is too harmonious internally, and almost all the high priests who came with Daniel on the Covenant at that time asked to be demoted, so that no one stepped forward to take on this important task.

Luo Jia sighed quietly in his heart.

Perturabo knew clearly that although his acceptance of the title of Warmaster was undoubtedly reasonable, it was also unexpected.

The first candidate, Horus Lupercal, still lies in the Emperor's flagship, with the door closed, his life or death unknown. Most of them, while recognizing his achievements and character as a Warmaster, are secretly worried about the true fate of the Wolf God.

Morse specifically sighed about this in front of him, claiming that he should just pretend that he hadn't heard what Horus Lupercal had told him when he was unconscious before he passed out, instead of rashly taking on an extra job that didn't belong to him - his power wouldn't increase by a few percentage points, but his troubles would increase exponentially.

To this end, Perturabo spent several days talking with his brothers one by one. The content of their conversations was locked behind the solid iron door of the Iron Won, but the brothers who walked out of the room always had their doubts dispelled and re-determined their mission in their hearts.

The Lord of Iron has already deeply understood from the past two hundred years of life that only through spiritual communication can all brothers be truly united.

He discusses the current situation and analyzes each brother's responsibilities, including how to strengthen the empire's defenses, how to keep the army's morale high, who can respond quickly to potential threats, and how to develop precise battle plans to ensure that no one is left behind.

He then discussed their more personal needs and concerns, which mostly revolved around their respective home planets and legions.

Furthermore, Perturabo was concerned about their concerns regarding Horus's condition, and he promised to find out the truth as soon as possible, knowing that this was also what he wanted.

The loss and reappearance of the Nemesis Blade troubled both him and Mors deeply; Horus should not have been assassinated on the eve of his greatest honor.

When the Wolf God held Perturabo's hand and breathlessly entrusted him with the duties of Warmaster; when Lorgar Aurelion painfully questioned him why he protected Interlex, it was difficult for Perturabo to tell how much emotional guilt he had in his heart.

In his study, Magnus the Younger came back with the news that he was tricked away by the silversmith, otherwise he would never allow a Primarch to do whatever he wants on Terra. Before the Emperor returned to Terra, he dared not go anywhere else, except to sleep on the floor in front of the Golden Throne every day.

Perturabo had been waiting for Lorgar to accept his invitation. Apart from Konrad Curze, who seemed to have extra knowledge about the Holy Grail expansion, only Lorgar Aurelion knew the Eleven who caused the evil consequences best. After all, they had met several times.

In the midst of all this storm, the information brought by the Lion about Alpharius and Omegan seemed less noticeable. The twins were always unpredictable and used to provoking disputes. The Macragge Incident more than a hundred years ago proved this. Perhaps all they needed was Malcador's rebuke and discipline.

"But we need to know that the Primarch most familiar with the Imperial Palace of Terra is not Rogal Dorn, not Magnus, and not you."

Mors said, his expression darker than when Lion El'Jonson had doubted. The Imperial craftsmen had visited the unconscious Horus Lupercal not long ago, and together with the Emperor destroyed the lost enemy blade. At that time, the Emperor's expression was as solemn and unchanged as the king on the card, while Mors was furious.

"You all only know the part of the palace that you are responsible for, but Alpharius and Omegan have infiltrated every corner of the palace and have appeared in several blood games. Although I have no reason to doubt them, yes, I think they are a certain suspicion."

"I'll consider your words," Perturabo promised, letting the door to the Iron Won's office slide open before him. Morse melted into thin air as the door gave its first crack.

"I'm sorry for my negligence in watching over Nemesis Blade—"

"I shouldn't have brought Eleven back to Terra—"

The two Primarchs spoke almost simultaneously, and they were each stunned for a moment, before Lorgar saluted him slightly and sat down in front of his iron desk. The Truth Bearer hesitated for a few seconds and raised his eyes.

"What's that empty cage hanging up there, my dear Warmaster?" he said, seeming to regret his poor choice of opening line.

"I was once gifted a parrot by a civilization I conquered," Perturabo said, "but I don't need the noise it brings in my office."

"Interrex?" Lorgar asked intuitively. Perturabo paused, "Yes."

Lorgar was silent for even longer, then spoke: "Their weapons bring disaster, a bad omen of punishment. We cannot ignore the silent advice He brings us in the trajectory of life. If you have no time to deal with this omen, the Word Bearers are willing to carry out His will, Warmaster."

Perturabo folded his hands on the table.

After the Coronation Day, and even before that, when he refused Lorgar's request to exterminate that civilization, he felt Lorgar's spirit drifting away from him.

Even though Aurelion had recommended him on the day of his coronation, Perturabo knew that the guilt and confusion that was entangled in the sensitive Truth Bearer was always bothering him. Perhaps it was time for him to know that his faith could not solve all practical problems.

Perturabo leaned forward and placed a hand gently over Lorgar's palm. The Truth Bearer shuddered, for the welts on his arms, hidden in the sleeves of his robes, had not yet healed.

“Not everything is what you call His Will, Aurelion,” he said. “The Emperor would never wish this upon Horus. God or no, He is not omniscient, nor omnipotent…”

"No, Perturabo," Lorgar said, a little excitedly, pulling his hand away. "He will not interfere with every detail. He knows every choice we make and allows us to make the true choice of our faith and love. 'My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.' We cannot question Him with our limitations—"

Perturabo withdrew his hand. "I take it back, Aurelion. Regardless, it is the Eleventh I wish to discuss with you today. You are the only one of us who has actually seen him, and I would like to know more details."

"I will describe everything I know," Lorgar nodded, closing his eyes to calm his emotions, "I'm sorry."

-

"Also, John Grammaticus disappeared."

Perturabo rubbed his temple. The recent continuous work made him regain the long-lost fatigue. Moreover, the scene of Horus holding his hand kept reappearing in front of his eyes. That handsome face became dry and haggard in just a few days. His life continued to drip away from the wound. Witnessing the dying of a demigod would be a heavy blow to anyone.

Morse stepped out of thin air, "Elda is a psychic master, and No. 11 obviously inherited her magic."

He paused for a second. "Did I say that on the day you were separated from the Emperor's laboratory, Erda took Number Eleven away personally?"

"You say it now," Perturabo said.

"It's like the Emperor told me this just half a minute ago. I hope he didn't just remember it - even if it doesn't seem to be of much use to us. Apparently Eleven is still lurking somewhere in the vast universe."

Morse found an empty wall and spoke against it.

"But I am still very curious about why Erda suddenly parted ways with our emperor. You know that the webway map was drawn by her."

"Some kind of enchantment?" Perturabo guessed. "Deception from the darkness?"

"I would rather believe that she suddenly became insane and has been insane for thousands of years," Morse said sarcastically.

"So now, we know that Eleven controls the power of some kind of serpentine warp creature that can counter the unformed Tyrant Star and push it back into the depths of the warp when it is about to move. Judging from the results, if this is what Erda is researching, she has indeed created an outstanding tool - if she didn't borrow the power that is obviously Chaos."

"But we need to bring Tyrant to life," Perturabo said, still a little dazed by the Emperor's plan, "to bring a being into the galaxy that can stand up to the Four Ancients."

"Coming to the Webway and the Golden Throne means we need to hunt down the multi-headed snake and capture the leaders of the Illuminati to eliminate their interference. But everything must be based on one premise, which is to capture them from this damn huge galaxy... I heard some voices."

Morse reconfirmed that the soundproofing he had installed was in good condition.

Perturabo put away his expression. "Come in," he said in a deep voice.

The iron door opened, revealing a tall and thin figure wrapped in a leather-patterned robe that preserved the outline of his face as it had been when he was alive.

Konrad Curze emerged from the shadows and bowed slightly to Perturabo.

"Congratulations on becoming Warmaster, Perturabo," he said softly, his dark eyes carefully examining the new Lord Commander of the Great Crusade, taking in his newer attire, the golden laurel wreath that had been thrown on the stage to facilitate the neural interface, and Perturabo's expression.

"How did you get in here, Conrad?" Perturabo asked bluntly.

"Your security system is difficult to penetrate. Oh, in fact, it is indestructible. Just like any of your cities, it stands forever and exists forever in the web of changing futures... So I am not here, my dearest brother, this is my shadow..."

Perturabo's expression softened slightly.

At the same time, he decided to review his entire Cogitator system or recheck all anti-psychic devices immediately after the conversation. This damn bat.

"Have you come all the way to congratulate me, Conrad?" he asked.

"Of course - that's not the case, my brother," Conrad Curze's mouth twitched slightly, and he looked even gloomier than usual.

"In fact, my subordinates have recently rehearsed a dance drama, and they are inviting you to come and watch it. It is a unique dance drama brought by Zephyr Ruby after decades of exploration experience. He calls it 'Tracer's Elegy'... Perturabo, I believe this will help you with your current confusion."

(End of this chapter)