Shadows played on the walls and forgotten voices whispered in the dark corners of the spacious mansion room. Probably once there was a living room here and the hostess received her guests here. For this purpose, there was a spacious table and chairs in the center, the exquisite furniture was a little shabby, but it coped with its task. A little further, in a dark corner, there were armchairs and a sofa. There was also a chest with contents unknown to me so far. Quite a pleasant place, if not for the dim light of the souls, casting strange shadows.
I was sitting at the table, holding a crystal mug in my right hand, always full of beer, and cards in my left. Opposite me sat a black shadow, also holding cards. We talked with the demoness for quite a long time and discussed many things. I managed to clarify a lot for myself, and the price for that was almost all the information regarding conversations with Tzeentch. In them, the demoness wanted to find a clue, but it seems she did not succeed.
But let's return to the shadow that made its move and took the card.
"Walking," I said and threw two more cards at her.
The shadow froze for a moment. By the way, the shadow was three-dimensional and it would be more correct to call it humanoid and three-dimensional darkness, but I didn't really bother and simply called it a shadow or addressed it by name. And it was Mordred's soul. Previously, it belonged to Tzeentch, but after passing thousands of candidates through it and its past, only I reached the complete merger. And after that, the connection with it reached its maximum and, in fact, his soul completely merged with mine, becoming, if not an integral part, then an extremely important and significant one.
But why was it only me who managed to do it? The assumption was obvious, I was the most like Mordred, no matter how unpleasant it was. And of course, the possibility of success was also not worth denying.
Other candidates, having entered the past, went against it. As a result, the warp flow tore them apart, because the past had already happened and it was impossible to change it. Any deviation effectively destroyed the soul, it can be compared to trying to stand in the way of a waterfall. As a result, most candidates died long before they left Camelot.
Plus, even if the similarity to Mordred himself was high, and most often it was high, because Tzeentch skillfully selected candidates, many candidates still died much earlier due to the butterfly effect. Someone died from the witch, others did not survive the trial, others refused to accept the demon's help and remained loyal to Humanity. But Mordred's path implied that he sold his soul to Tzeentch, took his power and reached the very end.
Of course, I couldn't achieve a complete match. For example, Mordred also decided to create an alcohol business, but he achieved it through hard work, hurtful mistakes, and his successes were different from mine. However, in general... in general, I did not deviate much from the flow, which allowed me to become a suitable prism. In turn, thanks to me, Tzeentch received a different point of view, but he still could not find out the whole truth.
Much was mown down by the influence of the Second Legion, and the Emperor by his will cut off the most important from his sight. None of his puppets could say for sure what exactly had happened on Herelian. And although everything pointed to the death of the Second and Eleventh Legions, Tzeentch was going mad and refused to believe it. He knew that these Legions did not appear at the siege of Terra, that nothing alive remained on Herelian itself and the history of the two Legions ended there, but... he raged and threw, plunging deeper and deeper into madness and believed that something had been missed.
Besides, the future began to thicken. The other gods had long ago turned their gaze to Cadia. They had everything, but they still needed entertainment, which could be a second siege. Yes, with or without it, in fact, the dark gods are becoming stronger, but there is no limit to perfection. Therefore, Humanity was plunging into ever greater darkness.
But Tzeentch… Tzeentch believed that they had to wait and prepare. He saw that the Emperor was growing stronger, largely because of Tzeentch himself. And if something was missing… then they had to be careful. But no one listened to him, because even he himself believed that he was delirious. And the forces were gathering, the corrupted primarchs were preparing to take over the entire galaxy, on the ruins of which they would continue to fight only among themselves.
Much of this was due to the fault of Slaanesh, who had become an extremely dangerous player over the years. Tzeentch was sometimes even afraid to laugh at her, because her bitterness had already come out as a god several times. The Dark Prince had grown up and earned the right to be called one of the Four.
Meanwhile, Mordred threw the cards, he did not understand what "going" meant and sincerely believed that I was cheating. I was shocked that someone could not know the basic rules of such a popular game. However, I left him two jacks for his shoulder straps and that was the end of our game. Mordred became a part of me, but due to the complete fusion, he remained extremely clearly, had his own will, thoughts and convictions. Yes, he was still not a full-fledged person, but... the very fact of this was frightening.
But for now he couldn't absorb me or... maybe he didn't want to? I didn't know, but the pitfalls of reincarnation required meticulous study, which I did in the absence of the demoness. For example, the souls of Lex and the nameless guard also remained with me. However, Lex's soul was quite weak, he was like an imprint and did not show any interest in what was happening.
The nameless guard was more like a... weak echo, a real shadow that simply existed and wandered aimlessly here and there, at the moment outside the mansion among the flowers. It was as if he was looking for peace that no one could give him. Looking at him, I felt a taste of despair, into which the conscripted youth was driven, untrained and thrown to the front lines as cannon fodder.
I was also pleased that my personal strength was also growing. This concerned not only my will, but also the fact that everything that Mordred had experienced, I had experienced too. Thus, my past was added to this, which in total gave me greater strength. It was not about some parameter, like in a computer game, but rather about a combination of factors, about will and experience, which formed the basis of will. Probably, not a single shadow would be able to suppress me one on one, unless of course I ended up in the body of an alpha psyker, who would simply eat me or some other crap.
However, what happens if the shadows unite? Mordred was indeed dangerous and had already caused problems. In addition, he was a nobleman with leadership ambitions. Fortunately, he himself does not yet understand this and is only in the process of realizing what is happening, which is evident from his confusion. But soon he will begin to try to communicate with other shadows, who will not respond. But others may respond.
"Oh, Azure is back!" chirped the Bird, who had been flying around all this time and studying everything.
She began to call the owner of this mansion, this two-meter demoness, Azure. Of course, the demoness did not reveal her real name. No one had ever revealed such information in the warp, and it was stupid to ask about it or hope to get an answer. Just as no one tried to ask about the past, although many were connected with ancient and not so ancient demons. However, only Tzeentch knew the whole truth, a part of which, to one degree or another, was everything that was born or would be born on his domains.
"I wonder what I'm drinking if I'm in an immaterial world," I thought, taking another sip from the crystal mug. "After all, all this around me is just an attempt by my mind and soul to give shape to chaos."
"Remember that the warp is a reflection, a shadow of sorts. Chaos as such does not exist, there is only the absence of the ability to see order," said Azure and sat down opposite me while Mordred began to rummage through the chest. "I have been to Herelian. There is nothing there."
- This can't be. Maybe you got the name wrong? Or there are several systems...
— I definitely checked that very place. It's a dead world of eternal fire, the planet's crust destroyed. There's also no echo of the Dark Gods or reason for their interest. I would have sensed some powerful artifact or the presence of a primarch capable of defeating the Daemon Prince. There's also no null field capable of hiding such power. Otherwise, the space around would have been distorted. It's… empty, just empty.
- So they somehow escaped. Stealthily and unnoticed. With the help of the Emperor. Only this can explain the reason for Tzeentch's madness. Only this can ruin all his plans. A miscalculation and a mistake. I believe the second and eleventh survived and...
"The fact of their destruction is confirmed by three and a half gods," Azure said, shaking her head. "And soon it will be all four, when Tzeentch's fit of paranoia ends."
- Then why...
"Because Tzeentch is sick and unpredictable, he has outplayed himself before, this is the same case. And you should not follow him into paranoia.
- I refuse to believe it.
- Okay, don't believe me. Better tell me how you plan to take revenge on Tzeentch?
- And you still call yourself Tzeentch sick? - I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair, sipping my endless beer. - He is a God, Azure. The Dark Lord of his dungeon, you were literally born at the moment of another attack of his schizophrenia or whatever.
- What are you hinting at?
- Don't interfere, idiot, he'll eat you up. And me even more so, so I'm not even thinking about revenge. Especially why should I take revenge on him? He tried to tempt me once, but like... should I take revenge on every marketer after that? Besides, thanks to him, I'm now kind of immortal. I can be reborn, gain experience and make my life better, while of course fulfilling Tzeentch's crazy assignments, like returning to the past, where I probably could have actually died if I hadn't decided to open a brewery. Oh, once again beer saved everyone from unimaginable trouble, I knew I shouldn't have taken these swords, staves, women.
— And he offered me invulnerable armor and a turning point horn.
- And what did you take?
- Horn. Thanks to it, I was able to change the course of battles and for some time even other higher demons considered me invincible.
- And how did it all end?
- First, you will once again describe the last minutes of your life in Mordred's body.
- What's there to describe, I don't remember shit. The blinding light almost burned me to the ground, this power was so huge that even pieces of my soul melted, which is why I have gaps in my memory. But it seems like...
"The God-Emperor came and solved all the problems, saving our Knights and some of his sons with marks two and eleven," Mordred added from a dark corner. "I remember it all so well."
- Really? I thought all the Knights died, didn't I? - I frowned, because the integrity of my memory was far from ideal due to the strong mental influence. - Or did I screw up somewhere?
- Gareth survived, Percival, but in my variation, that is, the objective reality, Lancelot was also alive, having been wounded. He continued to command us until the last battle, when we were joined by the Space Wolves and the mighty Titans, under whose feet we seemed like bugs.
"Hmm... I seem to have heard in passing that almost the entire Eleventh Legion was destroyed and no one could be saved," added Azure. "Tzeentch also had the souls of the Eleventh Space Marines, he tested these points several times in my presence, using souls similar to yours.
- Yeah, now the testimonies are different. And purely technically, could someone have changed Mordred's memory? For example, Tzeentch himself in a fit of schizophrenia, - I asked, pointing the mug at Mordred, and then pointed it at Azure. - Or maybe he had already begun to sow discord in you back then, in order to influence me now.
— Are you drunk or something?
— But most importantly, could the Emperor's memory change my memory?
- Who gave you this mug? You can't get drunk in the warp.
- Tzeentch. This is my reward, which Birdie and I chose at random.
Lazur had already opened her mouth, after which she took a breath, apparently deciding to say much more than she had originally planned, but in the end she simply fell silent, deciding not to comment on such a thing at all and calling me insane.
"Okay, I'm getting bored," I yawned, since there was nothing to do and I couldn't personally start the process of rebirth. "What are we going to do?"
"Tzeentch's paranoia is new opportunities for his servants, which we are, one way or another, regardless of our desires," despite her hatred towards Tzeentch, Azure thought quite soberly and understood how high the bar she had set for herself. "While he is not looking, I am going to visit the Blue Scribes.
- Heh, blue ones... those same ones?
"Your crude humor is inappropriate in this situation," Azure added disapprovingly. "You may also know them as the Azure Magi, the Wandering Sorcerers, or the Questors of Tzeentch. They are blue horrors, lesser rank-and-file daemons, but their role… it is difficult to overestimate.
- This is the first time I've heard of it. Why do you need to meet with them?
Azure grinned and threw her head back, her neck lengthening, her face stretching out and resembling a bird of prey, while her skin itself became covered in glittering scales. Her whole body shuddered, and she let out a piercing scream, causing the entire mansion to shake. The next second, a crystal rain fell from the sky. The hard drops smashed onto the ground and the roof, then turned into dust, carried by swirls throughout Azure's domain.
And then Azure became normal again, or rather hid her true nature behind illusions. I felt how the warp was saturated with magic to the limit, probably in this way Azure redirected energy flows and charged her protective spells. Then she got up from the chair and stretched, spreading the crunch of her bones throughout all the rooms.
- We must hurry, battles are raging throughout the Immaterium and the paths I wanted to take to the Scribes may become dangerous. I have no desire to look for others. Are you coming?
- You didn't answer the question.
- That's true, but okay... you'll owe me.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't need to," I answered indifferently and shrugged, planning to sit here with a crystal mug for an eternity.
"Everyone knows this story anyway, but you will pay in full for your impudent tongue," said Lazur, grinning predatorily and baring her fangs for a moment. "But not today."
- I'm listening to you carefully.
— Once upon a time, or not so long ago, depending on what we think about and what point of reference we take as true, a fierce battle between the Gods thundered in the Immaterium. Little is known about its causes, but it is likely that Slaanesh, having gained strength, was able to unite Khorne and Nurgle for a common goal. For the overthrow of Tzeentch.
"Go on," I said and took another sip, curiously watching Lazuri's every emotion.
— They say that the result of that battle was the very emergence of magic, although this contradicts the role of Slaanesh in that battle, because magic appeared much earlier. Although perhaps the myths are wrong and embellish, and it was about strengthening the magical abilities of mere mortals. It is impossible to say for sure and probably only the Gods themselves know what happened then.
— Get to the point.
— One way or another, the enemies of Tzeentch achieved their goal. The Architect of Fates was thrown from the top of the Endless Mountains, and upon reaching the ground, he shattered into countless fragments. These fragments became spells that scattered across the universe. Tzeentch himself then lost a huge part of his power. Afterwards, he created the Blue Scribes, who were supposed to collect these fragments, recording each spell. But one way or another… that day, Tzeentch lost and died. And I want to know everything about those events.
- Okay, sounds interesting. Where to go?
More chapters on my P@treon: https://patreon.com/OOOTEN