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

Chapter 367 I am your eldest brother Akurdona!

In fact, in Akuldona's opinion, if the time is extended, there are many ways to solve this problem - such as waiting for Guilliman to come and throwing the problem to him, or waiting for Fujimaru Ritsuka to come back and throwing the problem to her. But distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. It may take another half a month for Guilliman to come back, and Fujimaru Ritsuka's schedule is even more unpredictable because there is a big rift between him and Macragge and he can hardly contact her at all.

Half a month is certainly not a long time, but according to the current mental state of the Sons of Phoenix, half a month is probably enough for them to set out on the spot and organize a deadly atonement expedition in the direction of the Eye of Terror.

Of course, he didn't need to care about these trivial matters, and could let the Ultramarines worry about the problems later. But the Son of the Phoenix was probably his little brother who continued the same bloodline as him. Because of the non-existent brotherhood that appeared out of thin air in his heart after realizing this, Akuldona really couldn't allow himself to stay out of it.

He squatted outside the audience room occupied by Dorn and his offspring for a long time - but he did not remain completely silent. In fact, he almost got into a fight with the Black Templars Emperor Champion who was guarding the door ("Why should I listen to you? I even beat Sigismund!"). The resulting commotion finally caught the attention of the Primarch of the Imperial Fists in the audience room after three hours of waiting, and he was summoned to come closer:
"Akuldona of the Emperor's Son." Dorn's old voice echoed in the vast space of the audience hall. Under the layers of overlap, the Primarch's unyielding dignity and nobility still appeared. "What do you want to say to me?"

Amid the Imperial Fist members' unfriendly gazes, which had immediately become particularly hostile since Dorn uttered the phrase "Emperor's Children", Akuldona was able to remain calm. But when the Primarch's gaze lowered, with a pure scrutiny without any emotion, he instinctively felt nervous in the sense of oppression that the Primarch unconsciously exuded.

Dorn's attitude was calm and clear, so even though most of his descendants saw this son of the Emperor in Hera's Fortress for the first time, no one questioned him on the spot because of his identity, which was basically equivalent to a "rebel". Akuldona was able to salute as he did in the Great Crusade, raised his head, and then said directly according to the script he had prepared when he was outside the door: "My lord, I hope to talk to you about the Phoenix Sons Chapter."

He did not lie to Digris. He was not familiar with the Primarch Rogal Dorn. He had only met him two or three times as a close attendant of the Purple Phoenix during the Great Crusade. Their direct conversations did not exceed five sentences, which was the level of "he could be recognized by the other party, but that was all." However, the Primarch's familiarity with him did bring some benefits. At least during the period after ten thousand years, Dorn did show a certain degree of tolerance towards him.

"I believe I have made my attitude clear." Unfortunately, this "certain degree of tolerance" does not affect Donne's style of speaking and doing things. "They are not my sons."

"...I understand what you mean, and I'm not asking you to take it back. You're just stating an objective fact." Akuldona frantically searched his past memories in his mind. He was indeed not familiar with the Primarch of the Imperial Fists, but he was very familiar with Fujimaru Ritsuka, and Fujimaru Ritsuka had a good relationship with Rogal Dorn (the one in the illusion). He tried to find a strategy to keep the conversation going. "But perhaps, if you say a few more words to them and explain how this fact was determined, it would make them feel better? The records show that since the founding of the Ultramarine Army, they have been working diligently in their positions to fight for the Empire and have done nothing wrong."

After hearing this, the rock-like expression on Dorn's face softened slightly. But just when Akuldona thought this was going to work, the Primarch spoke up and said firmly, "No."

"But--"

"—I will discuss this with Guilliman later." Dorn ignored Akuldona's objection, "but I will not say more to the others. This is also for their own good."

Akultona took a step forward unconsciously in his eagerness: "You can't do this. For many years, they have been shouting your name and charging into the battlefield, hoping that their honor can bring you--"

"--That's wrong!" Dorn suddenly stood up from his seat, waving his broken arm in the air, and threw his cloak behind him with a rustling sound. "I am not their father, so what right do I have to accept the honor and respect they offer me? This is a mistake that is within their ability and must be stopped, so I said it out loud. But there are more truths above that--what's the point of exposing them pointlessly? They are not ready yet, and they will not feel better because of this. In fact, these truths will bring them endless troubles!"

"But they are now in endless trouble." Akuldona said sadly, bearing the rage of the Primarch being refuted. "Their beliefs have been shattered, and their faith has been crushed. Their past achievements and honors are meaningless to them. Their spirits have been thrown into the endless fire and tortured."

"Then they should rise from the fire like a phoenix." Dorn said decisively, as if this was a matter of course. "Akuldona, don't you think so?"

"I..." Akurdona paused and answered with a bitter face: "I don't know. I'm not sure. They may not be ready yet."

"Then we have reached an agreement." Dorn concluded with a leap, "If the Sons of Phoenix Chapter cannot even overcome this part of the predicament on its own, then don't come to discuss future issues with me."

The topic ended here. But Akuldona still stood there, even though he couldn't think of anything to say to make Dorn change his mind - in fact, he had been completely convinced by the Primarch intellectually, but emotionally, he still wanted to try to continue struggling.

"If..." He knew it was a very bad idea, but Akuldona really had no other ideas. Being rejected was undoubtedly tantamount to admitting defeat, so he had to bite the bullet and say it: "If you allow me to take the Chapter Master of the Sons of the Phoenix to the basement of Hera Fortress to visit-" "No." Dorn didn't even listen to the end, and he rejected it very decisively, "I told you that you should not let any more people see 'him' until Guilliman returns to Macragge and we reach an agreement on the specific treatment of 'him' after discussion."

"But." Akuldona tried to change his words to make others more acceptable, but he failed. In the end, he could only speak out his thoughts as they were. "But - if I can bring the Chapter Master of the Sons of Phoenix to see that person, he will definitely realize that the so-called 'truth' is not as terrible as they think -"

"That's the problem," Dorn said sternly. The confusing discussion above didn't seem to cause any difficulty in understanding between the two people in the conversation. "He doesn't just look like his original self, which makes it difficult for all of us to define how to treat him."

Akuldona was speechless for a moment. He realized that Dorn was right - the Primarch of the Imperial Fists was always right, and he was only once again acutely aware of the fact that the clone temporarily imprisoned in the underground part of the Hera Fortress was not just a lookalike of Fulgrim before he fell.

He didn't know how Fabius Bile did it, what he paid to be able to read and copy a Primarch, the Emperor's highest achievement in bioalchemy - but judging from the results, he was very successful, and perhaps this success was beyond his own imagination. The clone knew that he was not the original third Primarch, and had never seen Chemos, the home planet that raised him, nor had he set foot on the Pride of the Emperor, flew to the galaxy under the glory of the Lord of Mankind, and participated in the great cause of the unification of all mankind, but he had the relevant memories as "Fulgrim". He even "remembered" how Fulgrim fell into depravity step by step in temptation, and remembered what unforgivable crimes "he" had committed after that.

What shocked Akuldona even more was that he was very sure that he was dead, and his current body was just a fake replica made of fake ether with the help of Fujimaru Ritsuka. But when he saw the clone, his heart would still beat with joy in this fake replica, and he could feel the faster blood flowing and hitting his eardrums with his heartbeats - just like when he was in the array of 200 people and saw his original body for the first time.

After arriving at the Hera Fortress, the clone once told Akuldona that he was no longer obsessed with the name "Fulgrim". When Akuldona first heard this, he of course chose to agree with this point of view, but now, Dorn's point of view once again reminded him: "Fulgrim" This name has an impact on the clone, is it really something that the latter can easily get rid of with his own ideas and concepts?
This was a complicated question that was a little off topic and was not suitable for deep thinking in the current scene. Akuldona had to suppress it in the depths of his mind because Dorn spoke again:

“I thought that the first to come to me and speak for the Sons of the Phoenix would be the Ultramarines, or some other Astartes Chapter that once fought alongside them.” The Primarch calmed down and sat down again. “But this person is you. Why, Akurdona?”

The Astartes who was named pulled the corner of his mouth reluctantly and gave the answer he once gave to Digris: "I don't know, sir. Maybe it's because they are 'Sons of the Phoenix', and I was once called the 'Eldest Son of the Phoenix'."

Akuldona didn't think much when he spoke. It was only after these words were spoken and a buzz of discussion filled with surprise, confusion, anger and hatred was triggered around him that he realized that his identity was too obvious when it matched this speech. He knew that he had made a mistake and his mouth was bitter because of regret - mainly for the Son of Phoenix - but it was too late to undo what had been done. It was unlikely that he would delete the memory of everyone present who heard that sentence, so he had to continue to bite the bullet and pretend that nothing had happened, and he looked into the scrutiny of the Primarch of the Imperial Fists without flinching.

"You are too careless." Dorn commented, "I can assure you that our conversation in this audience hall today will not be spread, and others will not publicize any unconfirmed opinions they speculate. But you should pay more attention to this point - since you claim to be the eldest brother of the Son of Phoenix, you should think more before you speak and do, and don't add more unnecessary difficulties to them."

Akurdona knelt on one knee obediently: "Thank you, sir."

"Go, Akuldona," Dorn said, and showed an expression that he wanted to end this conversation. "You shouldn't bring any irrelevant people to the underground of the fortress, but I allow you to talk to the people of the Son of Phoenix in your own identity. I can understand that even if the reality is like this, your idea of ​​wanting them to feel better is still correct, because they really did nothing wrong. Besides, it is a lucky thing for anyone to find their own blood brothers in this vast galaxy where they have no relatives."

Akuldona stood up to receive the order, but at the same time, he bowed his head even more deeply. He raised his hand and knocked on his breastplate - a courtesy popular among Terran Astartes in the early days of the Great Crusade - while feeling the vibration of the ceramic breastplate with the Imperial Sky Eagle carved on his chest, he raised his head:

"In the name of the Emperor, the Son of the Phoenix shall be reborn from the ashes." He said this with a solemnity comparable to an oath.

But Dorn did not immediately react to the oath. The Primarch looked at Akultona carefully, and before the latter could become frightened by the scrutiny, he spoke again:
"You should think before you speak or act." He repeated a reminder he had already given for no reason. "And, you should never forget a basic fact: you were dead long before what happened in Istavan."

The person being entrusted moved his lips, but in the end he didn't say much, just nodded and left the audience room. He didn't think much about the last sentence, because what Dorn said was indeed true - but he still didn't understand why the Primarch of the Imperial Fists singled out this exact fact and reminded him of it?

The authorities in Akurdona are confused.

(End of this chapter)