Chapter 223: There Is No Time in the Warp

Zhou Yun descended the spiral staircase hanging upside down outside the tower, accompanied by Melphiston.

The entire She Chi Fortress was inverted; naturally, the tower's spire pointed downward, so the roaches had built a crude spiral staircase along its exterior.

With the aid of his mechanical device, Zhou Yun's left hand emitted the roar of a chainsaw and effortlessly severed the roach blocking his path.

Above Zhou Yun's head, roaches were locked in battle; the cracking of chitinous shells echoed incessantly, and corpses occasionally tumbled from above, crashing heavily into the abyss below.

He and Melphiston swiftly climbed the final steps and stepped through what had once been a window into the room.

This was a room forged from black iron, steeped in alien aesthetics, its walls covered in incomprehensible inscriptions and bizarre murals.

At the room's center stood a throne, assembled from crude black steel—ugly and immense.

The throne was empty; beside it stood a roach roughly three meters tall with four arms.

The roach's triangular eyes locked fixedly onto Zhou Yun.

"Intruder!" the roach shrieked. "Vile intruder!"

"You could have————"

Zhou Yun did not wait for the roach to finish; he yanked a cane from his fourth-dimensional pocket and slammed it down hard on the roach's head.

The roach could not withstand the immense force Zhou Yun exerted through the cane and collapsed to the ground, dazed and bewildered.

It tried to rise, but the shock from Zhou Yun's strength left it half-unconscious on the floor.

Zhou Yun glanced at the cane in his hand—it showed no reaction.

It was not a locator cane; it was the final item in the Sherlock Holmes set.

【Item Name: Sherlock Holmes' Radar Cane】

【Origin: 22nd Century Earth—Future Department Store】

【Manufacture Date: 261. 3】

【Function: Mimics Sherlock Holmes' radar cane, sold as a set with the Clue Magnifier, Detective Pipe, and Detective Hat. The smoke rings from the Detective Pipe hover above the culprit's head, marking them.】

Meaning this roach was not the person Zhou Yun was seeking.

Then why had the Clue Magnifier indicated a clue in this room? Was it merely because of the murals on the walls?

After confirming this roach was not his target, Zhou Yun kicked it hard, knocking it fully unconscious.

But he did not kill it—he planned to interrogate it later, to see if he could extract useful information.

Then, Zhou Yun and Melphiston simultaneously glanced at the empty throne before turning to the inverted murals on the walls.

"Alien script—I can interpret it," Melphiston murmured. "But it will take time."

Melphiston briefly glanced outside the tower; the battle outside was intensifying.

The roaches' fighting had reached a fever pitch, and footsteps still echoed on the suspended staircases outside the door.

He was about to suggest recording the mural content for later interpretation in a quieter place,

but before Melphiston could speak, Zhou Yun waved him silent.

"No need." Zhou Yun glanced at Melphiston, then reached into his fourth-dimensional pocket and withdrew two lumpy, pitted konjac blocks.

【Item Name: Translation Konjac】

【Origin: 22nd Century Earth—Future Department Store】

【Manufacture Date: 261. 3】

【Function: A uniquely flavored konjac pastry. When consumed, enables flawless communication with speakers of any language—including foreign, alien, parallel-world, or any form of language. The effect also applies directly to written text, allowing comprehension of any script, even illegible or incomprehensible writing.】

【Price: 750, 00 per piece】

After glancing at the price, Zhou Yun resolved to make Saint Guilliman reimburse him upon returning.

Melphiston stared, bewildered, as Zhou Yun shoved a konjac block into his hand; then he watched Zhou Yun swallow his own, and copied him.

The konjac slid smoothly, cool upon entry, then slipped down Melphiston's throat.

Yet Melphiston felt no change. Huh?

"Thus, the exalted angel was born in death."

"He was born in his own death; the one who turned toward death became the Dark Angel, the one who turned toward life became the Golden Angel."

"He is blessed and cursed; he must die, yet lives because of death."

Melphiston felt dizzy, disoriented.

Suddenly, he understood the alien script on the walls—as fluently as reading Low Gothic.

"The cursed slew Him; the cursed witnessed His death; the cursed gave birth to His rebirth."

"He must die! He must die! Yet He lives because of death! He lives because of death!"

Chaotic text battered Melphiston's mind; he could not help whispering the words aloud, his body trembling slightly.

Finally, his and Zhou Yun's gazes settled on a carving at the mural's center.

The carving was chaotic, filled with a jumble of disparate elements.

Yet Zhou Yun easily identified them.

A self-entwined serpent, a cluster of rotting flies, a bleeding hound, a bird resembling both eagle and raven.

These four entities coiled within the Sea of Souls, manipulating a bloated corpse.

The bloated corpse tore apart a pristine angelic corpse with its claws.

The angel's death echoed through the Sea of Souls, merging with the sorrow and prayers of countless beings—thus, one black and one golden angel were born.

"Saint Guilliman's death caused the birth of Baal's two angels?" Melphiston blurted, standing beside Zhou Yun.

"But this… but before Saint Guilliman descended upon Baal, before Saint Guilliman was born in the Emperor's gene-labs… wait—"

Melphiston drew a sharp breath, his body trembling.

"There is no time in the Warp. Once born, it exists simultaneously in past, present, and future—neither before nor after." Zhou Yun answered for him.

Both understood what this meant.

It meant Saint Guilliman's death was fixed—

A beast's roar erupted; the roach Zhou Yun had knocked unconscious suddenly awoke, roaring as it lunged at Zhou Yun and Melphiston.

"Not so fast!" Before Zhou Yun or Melphiston could move, a voice filled with insectile screeches barked out.

A roach with thick chitinous armor burst into the room, swinging its claws to pin the three-meter-tall roach to the ground.

"I am Gavriel Lokken, Captain of the Tenth Company of the Shadow Wolves!"

"Are you the so-called 'Emperor'?!"

Lokken's sharp voice demanded, knocking the elderly man attempting to attack the unmarked Astartes and the Ogryn to the ground.

He had observed outside the door—the powerful old man in the floor-length purple robe was likely the one claiming to be the "Emperor."

But what truly unsettled Lokken was the unmarked Astartes and the Ogryn.

They seemed far more interested in the murals on the walls.

". ho are you?" Zhou Yun stared, momentarily stunned by the scene.

The roach pinning the three-meter-tall roach, its claw pressed to its throat, claimed to be—

"Gavriel Lokken, Captain of the Tenth Company of the Shadow Wolves." The roach repeated. "My lord, I will verify your identity. Please wait."

"." Zhou Yun watched, slightly bewildered.

Gavriel Lokken, Tenth Company Captain of the Sons of Horus during the Great Crusade ten thousand years ago, later became a member of the Four Thrones of Horus' Advisory Council.

After Horus' rebellion, Lokken, as a loyalist among the Sons of Horus, restored the Shadow Wolves' original name and turned against Horus.

This roach claimed to be Gavriel Lokken from ten thousand years ago—as if it truly believed it was him.

Zhou Yun's eyes flickered slightly; he gently pressed down his cap.

The Golden Angel and the Dark Angel were both born from Saint Guilliman's death; his death echoed in the Warp, stirring sorrow and prayer across the material universe, which coalesced into the two angels worshipped by the people of Baal.

Zhou Yun faintly understood.

Their birth from Saint Guilliman's death did not mean they originated solely from Saint Guilliman himself.

In truth, everything present at the moment of Saint Guilliman's death likely contributed to the birth of the Golden and Dark Angels.

Over ten thousand years, the emotions of those who remembered Saint Guilliman's death also contained hatred for Horus and various impressions of him.

This portion of emotion tied to Horus gave rise to the Dark Angel of Baal's faith; the She Chi Saint Guilliman itself emerged from Baal's worship of the black and golden angels.

This roach before them was influenced by the Dark Angel of Baal's faith.

The collective memories and impressions of Horus and the Sons of Horus had been projected onto these roaches.

"Wait—if there's a Gavriel Lokken…" Zhou Yun murmured.

Melphiston, standing beside him, had just grasped it all; his body stiffened.

Yes—if the collective impressions of Gavriel Lokken had been projected into these roaches,

then… surely the other central figure in Saint Guilliman's death could not be absent.

"I await my Commander-in-Chief! I will surrender only to him!"

Gavriel Lokken stared at the old man before him, sighing softly.

His vision blurred and twisted; the old man now appeared as a monstrous, three-meter-tall insectoid creature.

His power sword had become alien claws, dripping with viscous slime.

He shook his head sharply, gathering his focus, and pressed his fingers to his comm-bead, whispering briefly.

"The Warmaster will come to accept your surrender."

(End of Chapter)