Chapter 208:Whispering Mountains Part 2
He appeared like a god made manifest.
His golden armor radiated light like the dawn, its surface inscribed with countless runes. Most striking was the eye symbol emblazoned upon his breastplate, gazing eternally forward.
Behind this revered, haloed figure, a pristine white cloak billowed in the wind. The stern face revealed above his breastplate was flawless.
Horus, Lord of the Sixteenth Legion.
Raven perched upon his shoulder.
Their sudden arrival repelled the mutated Xavyer Jubal and successfully suppressed him.
The corrupted Astartes lay twitching on the ground. Strange black energy rose continuously from his body, eventually coalescing into an odd, tar-like figure that emitted inhuman sounds as it revealed its true form.
The members of the Hellebore Tactical Squad, and Loken, who had just regained his feet, stared in shock.
The creature looked almost identical to Loken himself.
"What's going on?" Loken's eyes widened. "I don't understand what I'm seeing."
Horus said nothing.
He strode toward the eerie figure and brought his hands together sharply. An invisible barrier materialized around the daemon, then compressed inward until it crystallized into black glass.
"What is all of this?" Loken asked, still dazed. "Why does that thing look exactly like me?"
Horus secured the black crystal in a hidden dimensional pocket before turning his gaze to Loken. "Master Raven will explain this matter."
"It's complicated," Raven said. "Samus is a daemon born from your death."
"But I'm not dead," Loken protested, shaking his head at the absurdity.
"That is the nature of daemons," Raven explained. "There are countless possible futures. In one timeline, you died, and it was born. From that moment, it exists across every timeline."
"This is why the daemons of the warp are endless and can constantly resurrect, because they can be born from any timeline and then exist simultaneously in all timelines."
Raven did not elaborate further on the nature of daemonic entities with Loken and Horus.
Instead, he flew before Euphrati Keeler, tilting his head to regard this preordained saint of the Imperial Cult.
At this moment, she had not yet embarked upon the path of faith in the Emperor. Only after enduring great hardship would she comprehend the power of belief when Horus fell to Chaos.
But the predetermined fate of the Warhammer universe had been irrevocably altered by his arrival. This future saint may find another calling.
"Give me your picter, Keeler," Raven said. "Some things cannot be made public so quickly. If this causes panic, the consequences would be severe."
Keeler didn't know where she found the courage, but she refused him.
"But doesn't the public have a right to know the truth? They have a right to know what happened here. They have a right to know that Astartes can be corrupted,that they can even turn their weapons on their own brothers."
Keeler's words made Loken and the Hellebore Squad tense.
If the matter of Xavyer Jubal were publicized, it would deal an unimaginably heavy blow to the Sixteenth Legion's reputation. Their honor and achievements would be tarnished.
Other Legions would view them as uncontrollable, unreliable allies. In the worst case, the Sixteenth Legion could be ostracized and slandered by rumor.
The current Imperium was not entirely ignorant of the warp.
The Night Watcher organizations and Psionic Academies established across Imperial space existed precisely to deal with such threats.
Terra itself—the power center of the Imperium—would lower its trust in the Sixteenth Legion. It was highly possible the Legion would be removed from the ranks of the primary expeditionary forces.
The members of the Hellebore Squad moved to stand behind Keeler, blocking her retreat. Even at great cost, they would not allow the Sixteenth Legion to be shamed.
"You cannot demand freedom of speech only when it benefits you," Keeler said, clutching her recording device tightly.
She looked to Horus and Corax for support.
Horus glanced at Raven, inquiring about his stance with his eyes.
Honestly, Horus was inclined to resolve this matter by force. He did not want the Sixteenth Legion's reputation damaged.
"You make a very good point, Child," Raven said.
His words surprised Horus, Loken, and the others and displeased them.
Was Master Raven in support of publicizing what had just occurred?
Horus clenched his fists. A sense of powerlessness washed over him, like being betrayed. He could accept betrayal from others, but not from Raven or the Emperor.
He loved them more than he loved himself. If danger arose, Horus would sacrifice his life without hesitation to protect them both.
A martyr's sorrow welled in Horus's heart.
If this matter were publicized, he would no longer be qualified to compete with Lion El'Jonson for the title of first among equals.
People would favor the Lion, believing him the true firstborn. Even knowing he could travel to other universes in the future, Horus still wanted that recognition.
He, Horus, was no worse than the Lion—but now it was Raven making the decision.
What could he do but accept?
What was the point of resistance?
Compared to losing honor, what pained him more was Raven's apparent indifference.
Keeler's face brightened with a smile. She thought Raven supported her position.
"But the people of the Imperium cannot yet know some truths," Corax continued. "The public has the right to know the truth, but we also have the obligation to protect them."
"The Astartes are the elite of the Imperium. What do you think would happen if their corruption were made public?"
Without waiting for Keeler to respond, Raven circled around her on his little feet. "It would bring panic. Unease. People would grow anxious, terrified, living in constant dread until they finally fell into inescapable despair."
"Do you think Samus is an isolated case? Do you think what you just witnessed is the most terrifying thing in this universe?"
Raven flew closer to Keeler. Two streams of light flowed from his eyes into hers, transmitting fragments of dark memories and terrible truths directly into her mind.
He showed her an unimaginably dark and despairing galaxy.
Unimaginable darkness lurked beneath the materium realm.
The evil power of Chaos poisoned the entire warp. Nightmare-like anomalies eroded the dream-realm like volcanic ash. Evil lights flickered among the stars. Filth lurked behind the veil. Drooling fangs and compound eyes peered into reality from beyond.
Those evil beings possessed blasphemous, terrifying forms and screamed in ways that violated sanity itself.
Keeler's strength—what little had returned—vanished again. She collapsed to the ground.
"Fear will make them lose their minds and finally throw themselves into the arms of the Great Enemy," Raven said. "I will not force you to do what you believe is wrong, but this world is not simply a myriad of few colors."
Raven, in his power, simply walked through the air, his voice steady as he opened a teleportation portal.
It led to the side of the other remembrancers, Kyril Sindermann, Messati, and the rest. They looked at the open channel with surprised expressions, wondering who else was about to arrive.
They all turned their picter's and attention toward it.
"You can choose to tell them the truth," Raven said, "or bear the truth alone until the general populace of the Imperium is capable of accepting it."
He regarded Keeler evenly. "Fate is in your hands, Child. The honor and disgrace of the Sixteenth Legion rest in your hands, Euphrati Keeler."
"The duty of a remembrancer is to seek truth, protect truth, and pass on truth. But they also have the obligation to secretly bear the truth, to protect humanity from being poisoned by it."
Keeler took a step toward the portal.
Loken and the others instinctively moved to stop her, but Horus raised his hand, halting them.
Keeler wanted to leave. She wanted to make the truth public.
But the visions...those visions, mountains of corpses piercing through the sky, muddy river of blood flowing through the imperium, the never-ending war fought across the galaxy in the Emperor's name, burning both enemies and allies alike, and shattered civilizations flooding her mind made her stop as a chill went through her spine.
Was truth truly more important than the survival of all humanity?
"Are those visions true, My Lord?" Keeler asked, her tone desperate and lost. Her belief, built upon years of professional dedication, clashed violently with the future of humanity, tormenting her.
"You witnessed Xavyer Jubal's mutation," Raven said. "Do you think those things are fake? You witnessed the truth with your own eyes. Why do you question its authenticity now?"
"I give you a choice, Child, just as I will give humanity a choice. The future is forged by countless martyrs bearing suffering. Are you willing to be one of them, Euphrati Keeler?"
Keeler withdrew her foot from the threshold.
She handed her picter to a nearby Astartes, then silently stepped through the portal.
"Won't you expunge her memory, Master Raven?" Horus approached and asked. "That would be safer in all ways."
Raven shook his head. "She is a remembrancer, Horus. From the moment she was born, she was meant to record the truth. We meant them to record the truth."
"But if this gets out, the consequences will be severe," Horus said. "We cannot take such a risk."
"It's nothing serious. Nothing can be perfect, and she won't speak, otherwise she wouldn't have surrendered her pictor." Raven looked at Horus directly. "And you, don't always try to hide behind that perfect image you have made for yourself."
"Do you even realize just how fragile this glass you have made around yourself is?"
"I—," Horus wanted to interject, but Raven stopped him by raising his one wing. "Silence, listen to me carefully, Horus, if one day you can no longer maintain that false perfection, it will be the day of your fall, mark my words."
"Accept your imperfections as they are, Horus, and improve on them. No one, not even a Primarc, can be perfect. No man is perfect, not even your father."
Raven's words shocked both Horus and Astertes as they understood the message and reality behind his simple yet profound words.
After speaking, Raven turned and flew to Xavyer Jubal. The warrior had been helped to his feet by his brothers for examination. The mutation had vanished by now, and he had returned to his original form.
"He's fine," Raven confirmed after checking Xavyer Jubal's condition. "He just needs time to recover."
Though eroded by Samus, Xavyer Jubal had been protected by his gene-engine implants. His condition was not severe.
"Warp corruption is not insurmountable," Raven added. "It can be treated and prevented. After a while, I will dispatch a team of Daemon Hunters to accompany the expeditionary forces. They have extensive research in this field."
Things are getting interesting after centuries; things were truly mirroring the parallel realities.
Samus's appearance indicated that the predetermined timeline was still exerting influence. Corax had to remain vigilant. The Chaos Gods, supported by those strange beings from the Void, would never surrender easily. They would try every means to push the Imperium toward destruction.
"Horus and you all," Raven, standing in the air, called to them, and they looked at him to hear.
"The days of Unstoppable victories are nearing the end, the imperium reaches borders the Galaxy's end, the time when we openly fight against our true enemy is nearing, and you must be ready."
Horus, having been lectured by Raven, dared not refute. He could only nod repeatedly.
[End of Chapter]
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