Chapter 454: Ariman: I Am the Doraemon Librarian of Blue Limits

Zhou Yun summoned Ariman to the bridge of the Light Lord primarily for two reasons.

One concerned the stack of demonic tarot cards belonging to Kayang.

These were Kayang's unique enchanted weapons, upon which numerous warp demons, even greater demons, had been bound and put to his use.

Not long ago, Ariman had retrieved this stack of demonic tarot from Kayang's flesh and gifted it to Zhou Yun.

Zhou Yun had originally regarded it merely as an interesting collectible, never intending to incorporate it into his combat capabilities.

Until, while idly flipping through the demonic tarot, he made an unexpected discovery.

This discovery was crucial and would surely prove vital at a critical moment.

But the problem was, Zhou Yun realized the demonic tarot could not simply be thrown out with a shout of "I summon the Bloodthirster."

To use the demonic tarot required some knowledge of demonology.

Zhou Yun, of course, had none; and within the Imperium, those who knew demonology had mostly been slow-roasted on white phosphorus pyres.

So Zhou Yun decided he might as well go straight to Professor Ariman to learn.

The other reason for summoning Ariman to the Light Lord was that Ariman had detected traces of Erebus.

Through a complex and vast ritual, Ariman had identified an anomalous flow of warp energy, leading him to discover that Erebus was weaving a massive ritual on a planet in the Imperium's Dark Side.

He had come here specifically to report this to Zhou Yun.

Yet even Ariman could not identify what the ritual was or what its purpose was; he could only assume it stemmed from the dark gods' profound and chaotic wisdom—a rite unique to the Word Bearers.

"Demon is an ambiguous term; the more formal designation would be Unborn, or, as the Eldar call them, Primordial Annihilators."

"Demons are born from the Sea of Souls; some arise naturally and belong to a particular god, some arise naturally but remain unclaimed, and others are deliberately created by the gods—but in essence, all demons are distortions of our dreams, emotions, and obsessions, reflections in the warp of moments, eras, ideologies, or extreme emotions from the material world."

"For example, the Slavering Knight bound within this demonic tarot is, in essence, a reflection of the massacres committed during the Old Terra Crusades."

"You may wonder: how could a primitive war on a single continent of one planet give rise to a Greater Daemon?"

"The answer lies not in the scale of the event, but in its impact."

"The Crusades shaped certain human beliefs and perceptions, and as humanity expanded among the stars, these beliefs grew and spread—sufficient to birth a Greater Daemon."

"Another example is Delanikorn, the first demon born of human murder."

Ariman imparted his knowledge of demonology to Zhou Yun in an elegant, calm, and methodical tone:

"Precisely because of humanity's current prosperity, the impact of humanity's first murder was unparalleled—hence Delanikorn's immense power."

"In contrast, the first demon born from the Tau's first murder would likely be negligible."

Ariman's teaching was excellent; Zhou Yun now had a basic understanding of demonology and knew roughly how to use Kayang's demonic tarot.

"Very clear instruction," Zhou Yun nodded in admiration.

This made Ariman chuckle softly, as if Zhou Yun's praise had satisfied his pride.

"Numerology is mere superstition; the Word Bearers' path is reduced to slavery to gods; Fenrisian runes are all obfuscation."

"Only our Thousand Sons' knowledge is the true truth—a rigorous, reliable system of knowledge."

Ariman's tone was unmistakably proud.

A startled exclamation came from the bridge doorway.

Zhou Yun blinked, then turned to see a warrior clad in Ultramarines-pattern power armor, short-haired, face resolute, with service spikes driven into his skull.

The warrior stood at the bridge entrance, confused and bewildered, staring at the scene before him.

Titus?

Zhou Yun instantly recognized the warrior: the famed Hayek—no, the Emperor's Chosen, Titus.

He had answered Zhou Yun's summons, returning from the Deathwatch to serve as one of Zhou Yun's twenty-two personal guards.

And today happened to be the day he was scheduled to report to Zhou Yun—but Ariman's lesson had been so vivid and engaging that Zhou Yun had completely forgotten.

"He's just an Ultramarines Librarian who likes to dress up. You believe that, right?" Zhou Yun asked earnestly.

Titus's mind buzzed; he could not speak.

Ariman tilted his head slightly in confusion, though he was a man of service.

Since Zhou Yun had said so, he would go along with it.

"Hello, I am Librarian-Prime Digris," Ariman said, turning to Titus with a solemn expression.

Titus suddenly understood.

Why his gene-father had said this mission required iron will, resistance to warp corruption, and flexible adaptability.

"Karn, you traitorous bastard—take this chainsword!"

Seth roared, baring his fangs, his face twisted and terrifying.

The famed Bloodthirster Chosen, the Traitor Karn, wielded his axe with ease, parrying Seth's ferocious assault.

"Not enough, Seth."

Karn growled:

"Amit was far stronger than you—I never won against Amit in the First Blood duel."

"Don't speak my ancestor's name, you traitor, you filth—you're unworthy!" Seth, enraged, kicked Karn's knee.

A demon instantly erupted from Karn's body, seizing Seth's outstretched leg and halting the attack.

Then it kicked back at the leg supporting Seth, sending him sprawling face-first onto the ground.

Titus sat beside the arena cage, hands resting on his knees, watching the fight in silence.

In less than twenty-four standard Terran hours since arriving on the Light Lord,

Titus had already encountered two Chosen.

Tzeentch's Chosen, Ariman,

and Khorne's Chosen, Karn.

Titus began to wonder whether he was aboard the Light Lord—or the Soul Reaver.

"It's hard to accept, isn't it, Senior Titus?"

A calm, perfectly accented High Gothic voice spoke beside him:

"That we should fight alongside warriors of the Traitor Legions—it feels strange."

Titus saw a warrior clad in elegant purple power armor, his pauldrons adorned with golden phoenixes and a helmet motif.

"Saul, former Primaris Company Captain of the Doraemon Chapter, future Chapter Master of the newly forming Phoenix Sons Chapter."

The refined warrior introduced himself:

"I am not yet one of the twenty-two Doraemon Chosen—Karn believes I still need training to earn this duty."

Titus stared at the Primaris warrior named Saul.

The purple armor, the phoenix motif, the graceful bearing, the Phoenix Sons…

"Are you by any chance a son of Fulgrim?" Titus asked.

"That is a deeply disrespectful question."

Saul's brow snapped up, clearly offended.

"I am a son of Rogal Dorn!" Saul declared firmly.

Titus had seen warriors of the Imperial Fists' successor chapters in the Deathwatch; Saul looked nothing like them.

Yet Titus found this situation no harder to accept.

The Deathwatch's Black Shields contained many warriors with hidden identities.

Some came from loyalist splinters of traitor chapters; others bore faint traces of traitor legion bloodlines.

What stood before him now was merely an exaggerated version of the Black Shields—nothing strange about it.

Hmm. Not strange at all.

"Would you like some wine?" Saul suddenly asked.

Wine?

Titus froze.

"Do all Ultramarines take themselves so seriously?"

Saul chuckled:

"Lord Sanguinius taught the Blood Angels that beyond battle, one must attend to beauty, art, and noble sentiment—it hones the mind and tempers conduct."

"I believe this is profoundly correct—and part of cultivating the spirit is savoring fine wine."

"I am no stranger to alcohol," Titus replied honestly. "I simply haven't drunk in a long time."

Though Ultramarines were serious, they did not forbid wine; they still drank at occasional feasts, for unless it was Fenrisian mead, most alcohol had no effect on Space Marines' nervous systems.

But since joining the Deathwatch, Titus had rarely tasted wine.

Deathwatch life was simple and pure: only the slaughter of xenos.

Saul laughed, picked up a beautifully packaged bottle of red wine, and even produced two wine glasses—as if he had planned this all along.

He poured himself a glass, then handed one to Titus.

Titus awkwardly raised his glass slightly in salute, recalling the gesture from nobles on Macragge.

Then, under Saul's urging, Titus drained the crimson wine—the sweet burst of grape flooded his tongue.

"Delicious—is this a Baal wine?" Titus asked curiously.

"Bullshit—Baal wine tastes like Dante's piss!" Seth shouted from the arena cage.

Saul smiled: "This is Prospero wine—brought by Lord Ariman during his recent visit."

"He supposedly cultivated a vineyard on a steroid planet, shielded from warp radiation, growing his own grapes and making his own wine."

Titus's expression stiffened.

"Don't worry," Saul reassured him. "Lord Sanguinius has tasted it—he confirmed it's harmless. Lord Doraemon even used his Right-and-Wrong Oracle to verify it."

Titus's expression grew even stranger.

Resolute as steel, immune to the corruption of the Warp, and adaptable in thought.

Father, you are right.

This mission truly requires these qualities.

(End of Chapter)