Chapter 58 Who Are You?

Horus wrote down the newly appeared names, and at the same time mobilized his senses to look for the mysterious flyer nearby. His search was undoubtedly a failure.

What particularly puzzled him was that the first person the emperor looked at after hearing this question was him.

Could the man named Morse be related to him?

+I know him. + The Emperor said that the great golden man was in a low mood, and that Horus would pay any price to wipe away even the smallest sorrow from the Emperor.

The Emperor spoke then, using his perhaps more authentic voice, which made his appeal all the more touching,

"I cannot bring him back if he does not want to be there. My child," he paused, "you have a great destiny. I need you, you are Perturabo."

"I am."

"I am the Emperor. The Emperor of Terra and the Lord of Mankind." The Emperor said calmly. He took a step forward and crossed the snowy tops of the mountains. More details of Olympia were reflected in his bright golden irises. middle.

From Lokos onwards, he observed the entire planet, searching for the character and achievements of his offspring in unusually deep constructions.

After a while, a happy smile appeared on his face.

"You have accomplished much, despite your young age. I see true peace spreading in the world, and magnificent castles and peasant implements are miraculously renewed simultaneously. When you came here, Olympia had already achieved All the basic conditions for self-improvement. I can see your pursuit of construction and intelligence, and we can have a lot of discussions about this.”

"I..." The young man's eyebrows wrinkled slightly, his expression slightly suspicious.

Horus tried to give him a confident nod of affirmation, not allowing himself to interfere further with his father's conversations and decisions before the Emperor concluded his opening remarks.

His attempts had little success. Horus was not discouraged. He would love each of his brothers, especially a noble and serious leader who cared so much about the people of his home planet. But now, they just don't know each other well enough.

The Emperor's invitation was not over yet, and he extended his hand to Perturabo, "Morse has shaped you into a great success, my child. Will you come to me and swear to serve the future of mankind?"

After hearing this sentence, especially the first half, Perturabo's hesitation almost disappeared, and more of his wavering was lost in the wind along with the snowflakes falling on the mountain top.

His gauntlet-covered fingers flicked a little, and Horus had a small idea to take this brother's hand and place it in his father's palm. What is Perturabo waiting for?

Perturabo asked: "What else do you need me to do? I have experienced your power, in that field..."

He swallowed the last part of the sentence, reaching a certain tacit understanding with the Emperor through eye contact. Horus was eagerly curious.

"I have many tasks," the Emperor said, "and I need you and your brothers to take part in them. This will be a difficult road, full of dangers and temptations, and thorns of danger will stand in your way. But you If you can overcome this, you deserve to lead humanity forward."

"I have heard these words, Emperor." Perturabo said. He looked at the Emperor suddenly and intently, not as a child looking at his father, but as if he was finally at the end of an infinitely long dream. Become aware of your own awakening.

His combat boots drew a forward trace on the snow cover. Through the radiance of the Emperor, he calmly looked directly at the specific figure within the radiance.

"Ten years ago, I said to myself that I was born with a great destiny, and that I would play my role illuminated by light in a grand drama. I would follow a more eternal Creator and serve a purpose far greater than Contribute my strength and potential to the larger territory of Olympia.”

"I was then told that my strength and intelligence were not my own and that I had nothing but that. I thought at the time he was just humiliating me, but later I wondered if he was using this to promote my growth. "

Perturabo's tone seemed unstable compared to his stern face. A layer of gloomy sorrow and the low-temperature wind condensed into ice crystals on his black hair. He looked at the emperor, but the focus of his eyes was Not there.

"Then one day, he was injured and people died, and I saw you. I still don't know if it was my mistake that led to that disaster."

The Emperor listened silently to his son's words.

Perturabo continued: "But then I understood something. Even if I regained my lost talent, I would still have nothing to do with the greater destiny. I would just lead my people to make mistakes like all leaders since ancient times. Some mistakes can be undone, some cannot.”

Horus and Perturabo pondered together, his brother interpreting their existence from a new perspective, one he had not thought about before.

He himself told himself that Perturabo's analogy was not entirely correct, after all they were many times better than any mortal leader since ancient times; but thanks to the speed of the primarch's brain, another voice immediately told him that what they had committed Mistakes may also be many times more terrible than those of any mortal leader. The thought made Horus shudder.

No problem, he thought. Follow the Emperor, he can do no wrong.

"Now, looking back on my past, I finally hear in his words and actions the question he never said. What he is really asking is, am I really ready to put my talents, my strength, my spirit, to the point where Have you devoted your life to the cause I mentioned? "

"He asked if I was really willing to give everything for a path that might be right or wrong, even if I might get nothing in return."

"He hoped that I would not be like a child, relying on my unnecessary self-sacrifice to demand too much praise and love; but like an adult, I would look at risks and rewards fairly, and truly do everything my talent allows me to do from the bottom of my heart. He wanted to know my answer."

A shadow of sadness passed over the Emperor's face, so short that Horus felt ashamed of his own misjudgment and misunderstanding.

The Emperor said, "What's your answer?"

Perturabo's focus returned to the Emperor, and the seriousness of his young wise man melted at this moment and turned into soft sincerity.

He held the Emperor's hand.

"I am ready." Perturabo said, "and he is ready, although he never said it. He has always been here, neither appearing nor leaving."

The Emperor's gaze moved to Perturabo's side. On the pale snow top reflecting the sunlight, a piece of charcoal-like black floated.

Then, Horus saw a mortal in a black robe, his hands folded across his chest, floating calmly in the air. As soon as he saw him, Horus immediately realized who Perturabo had learned that slightly sarcastic look from.

At the same time, his uneasy premonition began to grow stronger, because after this mortal appeared, he neither paid attention to Perturabo nor burst into tears under the glory of the Emperor, but stared at him expressionlessly.

"Who are you?" Horus couldn't help but speak. He clenched his hands.

Then, the corners of the mouth of the black-robed man in the air slightly curled up, an extremely subtle movement, but it made Horus feel like a needle prick.

"You can call me Morse." He said softly, and the end of each consonant was particularly long, "I am a craftsman. And you are Horus Lupercal, right?"

He turned to the Emperor and asked again: "Right?"

"Let's go back to the ship and talk." The Emperor made a decisive decision.

And Horus remembered that before they came, Malcador seemed to have arranged an internal dinner on the flagship at the Emperor's request.