The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Seeing the shocked Sotha, Li suddenly spoke to comfort him:

“In essence, everyone is a combination of their father's and mother's genes, but for the mother, the Xerxes brothers are ultimately more special. Mother said that she carried the Xerxes brothers for a full fifty years, and on the day he was born, the entire sky of Terra was screaming, and father stood at the top of the Himalayas, wielding a long sword against the power of the evil god.

Sotha came back to his senses and suddenly noticed something.

“You said before that the composition of the Primarchs has a mysterious power, so isn’t Xerxes born in the laboratory?”

Li was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

“I don’t know, mother never mentioned how the Xerxes brothers were born, she always kept her mouth shut. I guess, um, it may be related to a place called the Drifting Sanctum, because a long time after the Xerxes brothers passed away, mother had a fierce argument with Macardo who came to visit. I accidentally heard her mention this name at the time, and it was related to the Xerxes brothers.”

Drifting Sanctum, hearing this term, Sotha was shocked. He subconsciously thought, could it be the place where he had a relationship with Veronica?

However, he didn't say it, but asked calmly:

“But if that’s the case, why were Xerxes and the other Primarchs thrown to—”

Halfway through speaking, Sotha stopped. He recalled what Li had said before. It seemed that Eldar had the power of prophecy, and it was likely that the other party had foreseen Xerxes' death.

Li looked at the stunned Sotha and said meaningfully:

“In ancient Terra, there was a myth, a great god-king overthrew his tyrannical father, but when he became king, he heard a prophecy that he would be overthrown by his son, so as soon as his children were born, he swallowed them into his stomach, until his wife couldn't bear it and hid the last child, and this child eventually overthrew his equally tyrannical father. →”

After hearing this, Sotha stared, lowered his head slightly, and sat back in his chair blankly.

After a long time, he raised his head slightly and asked blankly:

“I feel like I’m living in a huge scam.”

Li just pointed to his head with his finger.

“Some primitive religions in ancient Terra believed that all things in the universe are just a dream of a great god. When this god wakes up, everything will turn into bubbles, until the next dream begins. So it’s hard to say whether the world we see is just a dream bubble, but actually telling you this is not to make you care, because—”

“Because of what?”

Li spread his hands and smiled:

“You are not Xerxes.”

Sotha was stunned for a moment, then blinked, and finally squeezed out two words.

“Thank you.”

“Ha, what’s there to thank for?”

“Then… then Dorn, did he go to Ctesiphon?”

Li shook his head. →

“I don’t know. Actually, I don’t know as much as you think. After the Great Rebellion, I have been living alone in the ancient ruins of Prambanan. Most of my information about Macardo’s plan comes from my mother’s occasional hints, but you also know that her current form is the same as father’s, and it is not easy to walk in the mortal world in person. I can only contact her through very vague dreams. Dorn didn’t say much when he found me.”

“What about Valdor? He seems to have left something for Dorn…”

“I’m not sure about Valdor. I’ve always found this Custodian Guard very strange, but I was excluded from the upper echelons of the empire very early, and I don’t like dealing with them. But I have a guess about what he left for Dorn… It can’t be said to be a guess, it can basically be determined.”

“What is it?”

“Grey Matter.”

“Grey Matter… You mean, Dorn also intervened in this plan?”

“I can’t be 100% sure, but Dorn should have some understanding of this plan. As for whether he intervened or participated, my ability is limited, and I can’t investigate it in depth. Mother doesn’t want to tell me too much either, she’s probably worried that I’ll fall into some danger.”

“Is that so…”

Sotha sighed with some disappointment.

“Li, can I ask you one last question?”

“Please speak.”

“Why did the Emperor kill Xerxes?”

After hearing this question, Li lowered his head slightly, covering his face under his hood. After a moment of silence, he replied:

“I don’t know.”

“Li, do you really not know? Are you unwilling to tell me? Or can’t you tell me?”

The other party raised his head and looked at Sotha, his purple eyes full of sincere emotion.

“Sotha, I really don’t know. I only know that mother went to father that day and had a big fight. After that, father temporarily put mother under house arrest. It wasn’t until the Xerxes brothers passed away that mother came back and was very sad, crying all day long and resenting father’s ruthlessness. I can only learn some from her words. If I have to say it, I can only speculate that something went wrong with Grey Matter, and this plan seems to have been carried out in secret from father. Maybe someone induced Xerxes… The only thing that can be determined is that Valdor and Leman Russ executed Xerxes. I personally guess that only the weapons in their hands can kill Xerxes.”

“Their weapons…”

“Father once granted Valdor and Leman Russ each a weapon, both of which were forged by him personally. It seems to be two spears.”

“Valdor was also involved in this matter… Chaplain Syd never said it.”

“Wait…”

Li suddenly stretched out his withered arm wrapped in bandages.

“Who did you just say?”

“Uh… Valdor?”

“The one behind.”

“Chaplain Syd? Uh, don’t you know this person?”

Li shook his head.

“What’s his situation? Tell me about it.”

Then Sotha told him about Chaplain Syd’s situation.

“In short, what I currently know is that the first Chapter Master of the White Templars was named Chaplain Syd, but he died, or rather, disappeared. But the Chaplain Syd I met was a Changer of Ways. I have never gotten an answer about this matter, and the Changer of Ways has never responded…”

“Is that so…”

“What’s wrong, Li? Did it remind you of something? Aren’t you the High Warden of the Imperial Fists? Why don’t you know about such an important figure within the White Templars and the Astral Knights, which should be successor Chapters?”

Li seemed to be lost in thought and did not immediately answer Sotha’s question.

After a while, he said slowly:

“I understand, it’s not that I don’t know, but he didn’t intend to let me know…”

“Who, who didn’t intend to let you know?”

Li did not answer directly, but looked at Sotha and asked:

“Do you know why I reacted so strongly to the name Syd?”

Sotha shook his head.

“Mother once gave each child a pet name. My pet name is Little Two, Xerxes’ pet name is Haya, and Dorn’s pet name is… Syd.”