Chapter 195: Two Primarchs, One Problem
But for those unknown truths, appropriate caution was necessary.
"We must acknowledge that you have become the most significant players on the galactic stage, no longer to be ignored or dismissed," the voice continued.
"You have already drawn the gaze of the Primordial Annihilators. They have sown seeds of destruction among your people."
"Throughout these long ages, we have striven to resist the Primordial Annihilators. Today, we come to you seeking enlightenment, to make you understand, to stand with the Cabal and prevent the Primordial Annihilators from unmaking the universe."
"You know nothing of human technology," Alpharius said, his voice calm and measured.
G'Lato chuckled softly. "We have watched you for some time. I know you possess unique and formidable technologies."
"But the cunning of the Primordial Annihilators exceeds your imagination. Sometimes, you do not even recognize who your true enemy is."
The projection shifted rapidly.
It displayed the ever-changing tides of the Warp.
An ancient battlefield materialized within the hololithic display.
Entities born from the psychic emanations and base desires of countless species waged war upon one another in eternal carnage.
Among them walked a figure who appeared human, with long hair, dark skin, a tribal beard, and bone ornaments draped across his frame.
He carried a flint spear, moving through the chaotic battlefield with a purposeful stride.
The tribal warrior hunted the warp-spawned abominations with exquisite skill and terrible strength.
Alpharius's brow furrowed.
That primitive figure stirred something within him, a strange familiarity.
Arrogant. Powerful. Unyielding.
As if he gazed upon another aspect of his father, the Master of Mankind.
"It feels familiar, does it not?" G'Lato observed. "Do you know what you are witnessing?"
"Do not attempt to deceive me with crude fabrications," Alpharius warned, his tone hardening. "You will regret such folly."
"I offer no lies, Alpharius. All I seek is to illuminate truth." G'Lato's voice carried an appeasing note as he continued. "What you see is the Ruin of Empire, a reflection forged from your victories. The enemies that fell by its hand mirror the races and xenos you have conquered."
"All events in the materium create echoes within the Warp. The stronger humanity grows, the more powerful the Ruin becomes. Do you comprehend its origin?"
Alpharius remained silent, his gaze fixed upon the slender form of the Eldar Seer.
"It was born from humanity's first murder, a curse flowing through human blood. So long as humanity endures, so too shall it persist. No matter what measures you employ, you may only weaken it, never truly destroy it."
"Because it is intrinsic to humanity's collective consciousness, embodying greed, betrayal, and slaughter."
"It grows stronger still. In time, it will surpass even the Master of Mankind. When that moment arrives, it will twist the threads of fate, ultimately guiding your entire Imperium toward annihilation."
"You wish us to stop it?" Alpharius's frown deepened.
"No." G'Lato shook his head. "It cannot be destroyed. The optimal solution is to let it be consumed alongside humanity's fall."
"Sacrifice humanity. Let Chaos devour itself in madness, and allow the other races of the galaxy to survive."
"Your proposition is absurd." Alpharius shook his head. "Is this all you sought to tell me? I confess disappointment at having wasted such time on this."
"No matter the enemy, humanity will prevail. Your words are meaningless."
"Chaos strengthens with humanity's ascension because the Warp is the universe's reflection!" G'Lato's voice rose. "This is immutable!"
"If humanity no longer exists, what purpose does preserving this universe serve?"
Before Alpharius could respond, another voice cut through the chamber.
Reality tore open, and the Raven emerged from within, alighting upon Alpharius's shoulder.
"Lord Raven."
"Master Raven."
Several Alpha Legion warriors rendered salutes to the black avian.
Omegon saluted with them, astonishment flooding through him beneath his helmet.
He had never anticipated the Raven would manifest here.
Alpharius felt equally surprised. His emotions churned, first with shock, then with joy at the Raven's presence, and finally with dread.
He feared his discovery of Omegon without reporting it, and his clandestine dealings with the xenos organization known as the Cabal, would be exposed.
Either transgression was sufficient to brand him disloyal.
"You..." G'Lato's eyes widened. This development clearly fell outside his predictions.
"Alpharius," the Raven regarded Alpharius with an unblinking gaze, "I understand your worry and your reluctance to inform the Big Guy. But how dare you hide it from me, ME!!."
"When you departed from me and the Big Guy, I warned you, this universe is filled with lies. Those deceivers will wield plausible truths to mislead you and turn you from your path."
"You must maintain absolute trust in me and the Big Guy. Only then can human civilization achieve glory and reach its apex. Doubt in your heart breeds betrayal, Alpharius."
After reprimanding Alpharius, the Raven turned his attention to G'Lato and the other Cabal members.
"This is outrageous! I'm usually the one doing the poaching, how dare you poach from me?!"
"You dare attempt this? Right or wrong, I have no interest in debating. Regardless, you will all die today."
In the predetermined strands of fate, had the Emperor's design not involved so many who believed themselves masters of destiny, it might have actually succeeded.
It was precisely because too many individuals assumed they controlled fate and could manage events that everything had become such a catastrophe.
"You are nothing but the Master of Mankind's pet. What right have you to speak so arrogantly here?" G'Lato's expression darkened.
"Do you truly believe you can contend with the entire Cabal? We have existed since the War in Heaven and possess means and powers bey—"
"Blah, blah, A gaggle of washed-up has-beens, how dare you question what I am?!" The Raven placed his wings on his hips. "Fire. Kill them."
Alpharius did not question the Raven's command.
He clenched his fist abruptly, and the energy being imprisoned within the spatial barrier was crushed by the rapidly contracting cube.
[Detected 100% probability of target resurrection. Target determined to be immortal.]
[Initiating special obliteration protocol. Erasing all spatiotemporal information retained by target.]
[Spatiotemporal information erasure: 1%... 13%... 35%... 65%... 85%... 99%... 100%. Spatiotemporal information erased. Re-detecting target resurrection probability.]
[Resurrection probability reduced to 45%. Initiating conceptual definition program. Defining target resurrection probability as zero.]
"..."
Along with the system prompts, Alpharius suddenly felt his strength being drained.
The Alpharius Engine drew rapidly upon his power.
"These creatures are remarkably difficult to kill," Alpharius thought grimly.
The other Alpha Legion warriors opened fire.
Anti-matter rounds detonated before G'Lato. His instinctively raised psychic shield blocked some projectiles, while his innate precognitive abilities allowed him to evade the others.
He dodged the Alpha Legion's assault.
The other Cabal members were not so fortunate.
Rounds struck their bodies, tearing through armor and ripping their forms apart like rotted sacks.
The battle ended swiftly.
G'Lato attempted to flee but was subdued with lightning speed by Alpharius and pinned to the ground.
The Raven stepped upon his head.
"Your master is already dead! How dare you still boast before me? How dare you scheme behind my back? That Cegorach must give me an explanation. Is this how he treats his allies?"
G'Lato's face paled. He had always served the Cabal and knew little of the movements of the Laughing God, Cegorach, and his other compatriots.
How had they formed an alliance with the Imperium?
When did it even happen?
The Raven gave him no opportunity to inquire, directly ordering his imprisonment within a specially constructed cage, prepared for transport back to Terra.
As soon as he emerged, Alpharius received reports from the fleet in orbit.
They had detected a massive Cabal vessel.
It had been concealed using dimensional technology, undetected by Imperial sensor arrays.
For reasons unknown, it had suddenly manifested in realspace and was immediately locked onto.
The Cabal ship was enormous, its surface smooth and gleaming with gold and brass.
Its appearance was peculiar, like a budding flower displaying fringed petals to the void. Or perhaps twisted, grotesque thorns contorting at impossible angles.
Ordinary individuals who gazed upon it for too long felt their neural pathways intertwine, their vision filled with overlapping hallucinations.
Eventually, the fleet commander ordered all crew to refrain from directly observing the Cabal vessel.
"This is a higher-dimensional construct. What we perceive is merely its projection upon the three-dimensional plane. Ordinary human cognition cannot process such complex multi-dimensional imagery, which causes distress."
The accompanying Mechanicum Magos, after performing calculations, analyzed the detailed specifications of the Cabal ship.
The fleet commander connected to Alpharius's communication channel, requesting permission to destroy it.
"Mr. Raven." Alpharius looked to the avian. "Your counsel?"
"Not yet." The Raven shook his head. "Your brother is inside."
"My brother? Who? Sanguinius or Horus?" Alpharius's heart sank.
If they discovered he had been in contact with Cabal members, would his reputation not be utterly ruined?
"Konrad," the Raven said. "Also, stop with these pointless worries. You are a primarch, why are you having a panic attack all the time, like a girl in love? Just trust Uncle Raven."
"You can always trust The Raven."
"Konrad's situation is worse than yours. Bringing him here serves two things: dealing with the Cabal members and letting him communicate with you."
The Cabal possessed numerous technologies inherited from the Old Ones.
Therefore, members who joined the Cabal were essentially immortal.
Even if slain, they would resurrect.
In the past, their immortal constitution had been their greatest advantage.
But falling into the Night Lord's custody proved unfortunate indeed.
As an entity capable of breaking even the Flayer, Konrad's methods of interrogation were sufficient to shatter any soul that claimed resilience.
When the Night Lords escorted the Cabal members down from the ship, they were utterly broken.
No matter what the Imperial interrogators asked, they answered without hesitation, their only condition being distance from Konrad Curze.
After the Cabal members were secured in containment, the Raven dismissed all others, leaving only Alpharius, Omegon, and Konrad.
When Omegon removed his helmet, revealing features identical to Alpharius's, Konrad was surprised.
"How can there be two Twentieths?"
"Are you creating clones, Alpharius? This is something Father would absolutely forbid."
"I am not a clone," Omegon said. "Alpharius and I are twins. My name is Omegon. When the Chaos Gods stole us from Father's laboratory, Alpharius fell back to Terra, while I fell upon an unnamed world."
"What is this? Did Father create two Twentieths?" Konrad looked to the Raven.
"The matter is complex. I am still organizing the information." The Raven accessed certain cosmic data, beginning from when the Primarchs were stolen.
"The Big Guy did not create two Twentieths. Rather, the Twentieth split into two. The essence of the Twentieth is akin to a hydra, sever one head, and two shall emerge."
"When the Twentieth entered the Warp, he suffered an incident. His entire gestation pod was destroyed by Warp turbulence. But his Warp essence was not destroyed, which is why two Twentieths manifested."
"So you mean Omegon and I are both the Twentieth? Or rather, each a portion of the Twentieth?" Alpharius asked.
The Raven nodded. "Precisely. The two of you combined constitute the true Twentieth."
These words lifted a tremendous burden from both Alpharius and Omegon.
Since their encounter, they had harbored fears, dreading that one of them was a Chaos plot.
They were in constant fear that the Emperor would believe the enemy had corrupted them.
[End of Chapter]
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