The Emperor’s Angel of Death

“Alas, there is much to say.”

Seeing Talos, Sotha Nul sighed softly, tossing his training sword, which was caught mid-air by a mechanical arm and secured back into place. Then, the two walked to the wall and sat on a huge horizontal chair.

If there was anyone on the Randar who he could confide in without reservation, it was Talos. He wouldn't even reveal these things to Saul.

“Talos, I was indeed blinded by power that did not belong to me. I once thought I wasn't such a fool, but I overestimated myself. I should have been suspicious when I obtained the Flayer's Skull. When I saw Trazyn in the Flayer Shrine, I should have realized it was a trap. But I've been too successful along the way. All my opponents, my enemies, seemed like ants. I could trample them at will, ravage them, conquer them. I couldn't imagine what a real opponent was. Even knowing there was a problem, I still thought I could handle it.”

Sotha Nul bent over, holding his head in his hands.

“I saw Trazyn appear in the Flayer Shrine, I heard your prophecy, I even had a premonition in my heart, but I still became the fool I despise the most.”

Talos put his hand on his shoulder.

“That's what makes you truly great, Sotha Nul. Actually, when I first met you, I thought you were a fool too, but I quickly discovered qualities in you that most people don't possess. You dare to face yourself, you dare to open your own chest with a dagger, dig out your heart, and examine its problems. You haven't lost yet. Let the Silent King think he's won if it makes him happy. Those who claim to be chess players will eventually prove they are just a bunch of lousy players.”

Sotha Nul was amused by Talos's words, shaking his head, but he straightened up.

“But I did do something foolish. Although I don't know what happened, I heard some words when I was unconscious. He warned me not to use that power so easily again. After Llandu'gor's brief resurrection and subsequent consumption, the balance was broken. Everything is just a matter of time, before the hourglass runs out... I couldn't hear more.”

Talos guessed who Sotha Nul meant by "he," and then asked:

“So, what's your situation now?”

“I…”

Sotha Nul stretched out his hand, staring at his palm.

“I feel like the 'Neverborn' is constantly watching me. I'm like a valve that's already loose. I don't know if you can imagine this feeling. As long as I use a little more power, something might rush out of my body.”

“So, that's why you came to the training room?”

“Yes, I may have to get used to days without that overwhelming power again. What I'm worried about now is that some power will take the opportunity to cause trouble, like Fulgrim.”

“So, the Necron Silent King is planning to... overturn the chessboard? Is he trying to capture you or what?”

Sotha Nul was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

“From Amun'nak's description, it doesn't seem to be the case. I have a speculation now: why can't I feel the Flayers of the Mækan Dynasty? Because the Flayer Curse on them is not the same as that of the Bone Kingdom. Of course, this is just a guess. Maybe they have the real Flayer Curse. I told you before, I previously guessed that every Flayer is actually a tiny fragment of the Flayer. This time, I've absorbed them all in an instant. But how could there be so many Flayers on that planet at the time? There is only one explanation: the Flayer Curse of the Mækan Dynasty was lifted, unintentionally by me. This may be its real goal.”

“Is this what you witnessed, or is it your guess?”

Talos stared at Sotha Nul, as if trying to find something on his face.

“Do you remember anything else? I mean, after that.”

Sotha Nul frowned. Fragments of those last moments flashed in his mind—he smelled a foul odor as if flesh was decaying, cold fingers painfully clutching his broken body, the Necrodermis and Flayer transforming each other, until the former overwhelmed the latter.

He heard its mockery.

The Flayer Curse was a hoax from the beginning.

“The Flayer Curse is just a hoax.”

At that time, he had lost his shape, completely shattered. The former him became fuel for rebirth. He couldn't even tell if he was the one who experienced those old memories, or just the vaguest memory of a mortal named Sotha Nul on the verge of death, recast and given the same name?

He even saw himself on the World Engine at one point. Maybe the real Sotha Nul had already died by then? Maybe the current him is just a stack of memories, wearing a borrowed body?

“Sotha Nul?”

Talos said softly, startling him from his reverie.

His voice sounded worried, maybe his keen mind had noticed Sotha Nul's strangeness long ago.

Sotha Nul shook his head.

“I remember some things. The voice of the 'Neverborn', it told me the Flayer Curse was just a hoax, and then another voice, maybe Xerxes? Or maybe a trickster? Like a high bell, pulling me up from the abyss.”

Then he shifted the topic back to the Flayers.

“Since it's a hoax, who is it deceiving? I think there are many possibilities: Mækan, me, or even the 'Neverborn'. And who set up the hoax? I guess it might be the Silent King, or it might be Llandu'gor. Mækan is said to be the most loyal subordinate of the Silent King, so deceiving Mækan is the most likely. From the beginning, the Silent King regarded Mækan as a container for the Flayer, and the subsequent spread of the Flayer Curse to other dynasties was likely due to another force at work. So, since it's a container, it can naturally hold things, and it can also be poured out. He was setting up this game sixty-five million years ago.”

“So, his real intention is not to lift the Flayer Curse.”

“That's just a side effect. The real target is still the 'Neverborn', or Asuryan.”

“But if that's the case, isn't it strengthening the power of the 'Neverborn'?”

“It should be. I don't know if he calculated it so accurately, or if he executed it so precisely, but the situation is indeed a bit bad now. Its power is too strong, maybe it has already become so strong that it has exceeded Xerxes's expectations. Perhaps this is the sacrifice prepared for Xerxes's ascension to a god of humanity? But he refused... Or maybe the Silent King discovered some calculations in it and stopped it. It's too complicated, too chaotic. I'm just being played around.”

Sotha Nul rubbed his face, then sighed:

“Maybe it's just my imagination, but my first thought was that I lifted the Flayer Curse of Mækan.”

Talos stood up, walked to the icebox on the side, opened it, took out two cans of red Ant-cow with ice mist, and returned to Sotha Nul, handing him a can.

More updates tomorrow…