How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 232 Pre-exam syndrome ()

"My lord Dante."

Mephiston said with an almost indifferent attitude to the distinguished uninvited guest standing in front of the think tank sanctuary and his private room: "I thought you had rested."

The director of the Blood Angels Think Tank's unwavering tone really made it difficult to judge the emotional tendencies in this sentence. This may be a simple expression of surprise, or it may be a veiled complaint, or even if strict standards are adopted, it can be regarded as some kind of transgression - but the dark side regent of the empire, the leader of the Blood Angels Chapter, who is already familiar with the other party's nature , a living legend who has served for fifteen hundred years, Dante only showed a wry smile to Mephiston:

"I did rest," he said, wearing only a loose, soft robe. This may be the best explanation for his previous sentence, but it is also the source of some surprise for Mephiston.

The current Chapter Master of the Blood Angels does not like to show his overly aged face and body in front of others. This is true even now, after the success of Primaris, when he looks much younger than ever.

Although this is not the first time that the Chief Think Tank has faced such an unarmed Chapter Master, the premise for this fact to be established - the trust, closeness and understanding between the Blood Angels Chapter Master and the Think Tank Director - - Mephiston also knew that if it weren't for something unexpected, it would be impossible for Dante to knock on the door of his hall at such an awkward time while wearing casual clothes.

These thoughts only flashed through Mephiston's mind for a moment, and at the same time, he had already opened the door and invited the chapter leader into the relatively warmer room: "Did something happen? Something?"

The shadow of the Leviathan Hive still lingers on the dark side of the empire. The descendants of the angels should rush to the next battle that will save the imperial world, but the leader of the chapter still returned to Ala at this roughly designated time. Castle of Angels. This was not because the Chapter's homeworld was about to be attacked again, but because of a diplomatic mission that had been told about half a Terran standard ago.

In the next moment, the chief think tank suddenly caught his mind that was once again drifting towards "What method did that star language use to cross the great rift?" and ordered it to refocus on the reality that was happening - because After entering the door, Dante spoke:

"I had a dream." The chapter leader said with a little confusion in his tone, "Although it is just an intuition, I believe it is not...'normal'."

Precognitive dreams. Mephiston thought.

This may be some kind of subconscious information reorganization, or it may be the subtle influence of subspace waves. Regardless of the cause, similar things are not uncommon in this universe, but this does not mean that when such a situation occurs, they can take it lightly.

Rather than asking about the content of the dream, the chief think tank of the Blood Angels Chapter gave a higher priority at this moment: raising one of his hands and symbolically asking his Chapter Leader: "If you agree? "

Dante nodded softly: "That's why I'm here."

They did not put into words what would happen next, and the long-term tacit understanding allowed everything to run in a silent tacit understanding. Mephiston's psychic energy soaked into Dante's mind like a river the moment he finished speaking; and the latter did not offer any resistance, completely opening his heart to the chief think tank he trusted, like a towering tower. Like a moving mountain, it allows the other party to check whether every plant and tree in his mind is mixed with the misdirection and corruption of chaos.

There are too many reasons that can cause similar phenomena. They must first make sure that this "unusual dream" does not contain the involvement of some... disturbing factors.

The corresponding inspection lasted about ten standard minutes. This process was not easy for either of them, but it was completely necessary. The good news is that after this thorough examination, Mephiston can say with certainty that the visions Dante experienced before arriving here did not contain any trace of the Enemy's bewitchment or psychic powers; bad The news is that the scene the Chapter Master saw in his previous dream was a bit difficult for even the knowledgeable Chief Thinker to understand.

It's not that the scene in Dante's dream is too obscure in his description - it's that it's too clear.

"I dreamed of Sanguinor, on the salty land of Baal." The chapter leader narrated it in a ethereal tone that he himself found unbelievable. "But, it was just Sanguinor. There was nothing. The weird and complex metaphors don’t seem to contain any subtle hints or prophecies. It’s just me and him, standing in an open space, just talking to each other. It’s like he simply has something to say to me.”

Mephiston was confused.

If we only talk about the part of "Dante Chapter Master dreamed of Sanguinor", the chief think tank believes that although this is uncommon - it means that there has never been any "Sanguinor dreaming" in the chapter's records in the past. records, but if it happened to Dante, it doesn't seem to be so "impossible".

Everyone knows that the current Chapter Master of the Blood Angels is favored. During the fifteen hundred years of Dante's service, Sanguinor probably condescended to appear to him more often than in the nearly ten thousand years before that. According to legend, Sanguinor will only appear on the most difficult and dangerous battlefields. Legend has it that Sanguinor never spoke a word when he appeared, but none of these "legendary" experiences hold true in front of Dante. . In this case, it seems that it is not impossible that Saint Guileno never communicated with the descendants of angels in dreams, but this happened to Dante.

What makes the chief think tank even more confused is that in Dante's description, this dream does not include any obscure parts, or any clear metaphors that make it unclear what it is expressing. All processes are simple, clear and straightforward, and even Mephiston himself has never made such a "prophecy". This even made him begin to doubt whether his initial definition of "precognition dream" for this dream was correct.

Even with Mephiston's rich experience in being able to stand out among the Astartes, he cannot come to a conclusion with complete certainty, but - what is more disturbing than the prophecy of the clouds and mist is, of course, A clear prophecy.

"It's weird," the chief think tank said. The moment he finished speaking, he could easily see from Dante's unobstructed face that his Chapter Master had the same view as his hero.

"That's not the strangest thing." Dante's tone contained a complex and subtle feeling of "bewilderment." This was so unlike him that Mephiston almost couldn't help but want to use his psychic powers again to make sure that the Chapter Master in front of him was not disguised as a change spirit or something like that. But then, he realized that instead of doubting the chapter leader in front of him, it was better to doubt the "Sanguinor" in his dream:

"Sanguinor tried to chat with me." Even when he just mentioned this, Dante looked very unbelievable. "It wasn't an order, it wasn't an instruction, it wasn't a poetic prophecy, it was just... chatting." It’s a very life-like scene, so life-like that it shouldn’t be put in the same sentence as the proper noun Sanguileno. Even the experienced Dante would be overwhelmed by the scene he had just seen in his dream and feel at a loss for words in disbelief, as if he had accumulated at least fifteen hundred years of knowledge as a descendant of an angel. Literary literacy suddenly decided to run away from home collectively at that moment, and has not come back to this day.

"...I can't summarize this matter. Maybe I should just tell you what I dreamed about." After a brief deliberation, Dante finally said, "Or you can read my memory at that time - — Let’s just do it.”

This made Mephiston even more surprised and confused: "Are you sure? My Lord, let me remind you, it will not be a... warm experience."

"I'm sure," Dante replied. "Forgive me for forcing you to face these confusing and distressing things, but I really need your wisdom."

In this case, Mephiston said no more. For a moment, the Chief Librarian couldn't help but wonder what words Callistarius would respond to the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels if he were here. Unfortunately, it was Mephiston who was here, and Mephiston didn't say anything - in the next moment, the think tank's mind sank into the chapter leader's memory almost without warning.

This only happened dozens of minutes ago, and with the approval of the person involved, plus the person who performed the spell was the leading psyker in the entire empire, so Mephiston did not encounter any trouble in the process. obstacles. The think tank's consciousness easily found the memory that was a bit hazy because it was a dream, and looked into it openly and openly:

He saw the salt desert on Parcel Moon and felt the hot and dry wind blowing from it, carrying a salty smell and mixed with fine grit. It felt strangely familiar to him, and it took him a moment longer than usual to realize that it was because he was looking at the memory from Dante's perspective—the strangeness was his own feelings, and the familiarity came from The Chapter Master himself.

Mephiston, or rather, Dante in the dream, walked in one direction with a clear goal after a brief pause. Based on the previous situation, the chief think tank was mentally prepared for "this may be a test" in an instant, but in another instant, he erased this thought himself: this memory has happened before The thing obviously had nothing to do with the arduous trek or anything that might be called a "test". Mephiston felt that he had only walked a few steps and rounded a small sand dune in front of him before he saw his destination. : A rover of the kind commonly used by nomads in the salt desert - and obviously more importantly, Sanguilerno waiting beside the rover.

Mephiston had already been fully warned about "Sanguinor appearing in his dream", so this did not cause too many ripples in his heart. He did feel a little surprised, but at the same time, he could still distinguish which of these "surprises" were his own feelings and which were caused by Dante in the dream.

What was slightly unexpected by the chief think tank, but also reasonable, was that Dante in the dream did not have much reaction to this incident, but it was as if he had met an unexpected old friend. , paused on the spot for a moment, and then rushed towards the other party.

——Perhaps because this is a dream after all. The subconscious mind's wanderings in dreams are almost unpredictable. Mephiston, who was well aware of this, easily let this part go after such simple thinking. During the last one or two steps, he concentrated again and adjusted his attitude, preparing to listen to the instructions of the living saint.

Things so far have not exceeded Mephiston's predictions. Sanguinor turned his head and faced Dante in the dream with the golden mask that was made to imitate the face of their genetic father. Under the cover of this mask, no one can tell when the other person spoke, but there is indeed a voice clearly transmitted from underneath:

"It's been a while since I last thought about it, Dante." Sanguileno's tone was calm, making his words sound like the most common kind in the company, "combat brothers who are familiar with each other." "The greeting after a long separation", "I have reason to believe that this period of time is very difficult for both you and me. But allow me to greet you like this: How have you been recently?"

Mephiston, the chief think tank of the Blood Angels, was greatly shocked by this.

According to the flow of this memory, he clearly knew that Dante answered after a brief daze. However, at this moment, Mephiston did not care what the answer was. Even what happened to this memory a little later was not that important to Mephiston at this time.

The Chief Librarian withdrew his mind from the Chapter Master's memory and returned it to his physical body. For a moment, he seemed to see his own shocked reflection in Dante's pale amber eyes, which looked over in confusion, but he only realized this later when he recalled the incident. At that moment, Astartes' far superior brain function almost shut down, and even Mephiston's language center recklessly and impolitely made a speech that was obviously without thinking:

"I didn't expect you two to have that kind of relationship." In shock, he tried to ask his Chapter Leader for the truth, and this sentence was obviously not made up from the instructions issued by the brain. All he got was a slightly twisted and complicated expression from Dante.

　Dante's service years: I checked lex, Dante was born in 447.M40, the book "Dante" writes that when he ran out to participate in the selection, it was 456.M40, and then the regent got up in 999.M41, which is collected in this book The setting is that before the world line change, "the Regent returned to Macragge to fight the Plague War just when the Indomitus Crusade was about to end," so the current timeline is probably 100+.M42. I haven't calculated it specifically (the math taught by GW doesn't understand carry), but roughly speaking, years should be about the same.

　　Then there’s the setting that Dante likes to wear a death mask when he goes out. GW explained in different novels that he doesn’t like others to see him looking particularly old due to age and not sucking blood, thinking that this may be harmful to others. It has an impact on morale, or he himself feels that an old man like him should not stay in the C position of the current version of Blood Angels (I unilaterally think this is a tough talk and he thinks too much).

　　It was originally a very serious matter, but in my mind: The Lord of the Blood Angels is fifteen hundred years old, and I started to feel some age anxiety.

　　I repent (.)

　　I feel that Sanguinor is basically a god who can manifest spirits in the minds of most Blood Angels. To put it another way, when you go to the temple to burn incense, the Buddha statue clangs and says "Good morning, have you eaten?" It is indeed a very scary thing (at least that's how I feel).

　　By the way: What’s scarier than the end of the year? The answer is a good (and peaceful) start to the year.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)