Chapter 479: The Great Succubus of Chaos, Angrath

The rejection from the Primarch caused Erebus's body to stiffen slightly; he had never fully understood why Lorgar had grown distant, dismissive, and disapproving of him after a certain point in the Great Betrayal.

Now, at this moment of life-or-death urgency, when Erebus most needed the Primarch's protection, Lorgar had openly shown his revulsion—as if he delighted in Erebus's death.

This left Erebus utterly baffled; though it sounded bizarre, Lorgar was in fact a mild-tempered Primarch who, before the shadow appeared in the Eye of Terror, had often answered the desperate prayers of the Word Bearers—even those from marginal, insignificant ones.

Yet he alone had rejected Erebus, despite Erebus being the most outstanding of the Word Bearers—truly incomprehensible.

Just as Erebus had never understood how Cain had learned that he, Erebus, was the one who killed Angrath.

At the time, Erebus had acted in secret, and very few knew the truth; he had spent ten thousand years without ever solving this mystery.

"I don't believe Lorgar will help Erebus."

On the bridge of the Lightlord,

Cain countered Titus's suggestion that Erebus might seek aid from his gene-father Lorgar.

In truth, Cain agreed with Titus's guess: Erebus likely would appeal to Lorgar.

But Lorgar would almost certainly refuse to aid Erebus.

"Ten thousand years ago, it was Lorgar who told me that Erebus was the killer of Angrath."

"There may be some conflict between them."

Cain still remembered the scene—the narrow contemplation chamber aboard the Three Saints, belonging to Lorgar.

Cain had gone to confront Lorgar about Angron's demonic ascension; he received no answer on that matter, but he received the answer to Angrath's death.

"Kain." Lorgar called out to Cain, who was turning to leave.

Cain turned and saw Lorgar finally lift his gaze from the parchment scroll and look at him.

To Cain's shock, he saw in Lorgar's eyes coldness, pain, sorrow, and a lofty, restrained fury.

That single glance froze Cain in place; he could only open his mouth and ask, "My lord?"

"Do you want to know," Lorgar whispered, "who killed Angrath?"

Cain learned the answer from Lorgar's lips, and understood whose hatred he should direct.

"I don't know why Lorgar told me about Erebus's deeds."

"Perhaps there was some conflict between them, some power struggle—but I never investigated further."

Cain's words left Zhou Yun slightly speechless.

In Zhou Yun's view, the reason Lorgar hated and despised Erebus was plainly obvious—but Cain had failed to realize it.

"It's because of Angrath," Zhou Yun said to Cain, explaining: "Angrath was the Blessed Child, the perfect fusion with demons, the ideal embodiment in Lorgar's mind of humanity coexisting with the Warp and demons."

"So Angrath was the culmination of Lorgar's ideals—and Lorgar's most beloved son."

"But Erebus killed him. Of course Lorgar would be furious, of course he would despise Erebus."

"Yet he is still Lorgar—he cannot defy the will of the Chaos Gods. And Erebus has another purpose in the Gods' design. Lorgar cannot personally avenge Angrath, so he revealed this to you, hoping you would take vengeance in his stead."

Cain fell silent, recalling the fury Lorgar had hidden deep within his soul, barely visible—and suddenly it all made sense.

Hearing Zhou Yun's words, the others in the room stared in stunned silence. Who exactly was this Angrath? He had haunted Cain for ten thousand years—and even caused Lorgar to secretly defy the Gods, sending Cain to kill Erebus?

"He was an idiot," Lam, the parasite clinging to Cain, seemed to sense their thoughts, emerged from Cain's body, and spoke with resentment: "I told him to kill Erebus a hundred times—he never listened."

Though Lam complained, everyone present could hear the affection he held for Angrath—and the hatred he bore for Erebus.

Could Angrath actually have been a Chosen of Slaanesh? A Great Succubus of Chaos? A thought suddenly flashed through the minds of those present.

"This time, we'll follow your advice," Zhou Yun said to Lam.

Then he pulled two vials of black liquid from his fourth-dimensional pocket and handed one to Cain and one to Lam, gesturing for each to take one.

"Drink them now," Zhou Yun said.

Cain and Lam hesitated not at all; they raised the vials and drank.

Then, each—man and demon—felt briefly, yet detected no change within themselves.

"They won't affect you—they'll affect Erebus."

For the past few days, Zhou Yun had been poring over the catalog of the Future Department Store.

The operation aboard the Conqueror had revealed every card in Erebus's hand.

All Zhou Yun needed to do was choose the right item based on Erebus's known cards.

The two vials Cain and Lam drank were one such item.

Zhou Yun opened his mouth to briefly explain the vials' purpose.

But as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt something strange—he paused, then turned to glance at the Doraemon Emperor beside him.

Zhou Yun's eyes flickered; he turned back and swiftly relayed to Cain, Titus, and Sarokin the operational plan he, Guilliman, and Sanguinius had agreed upon in their private meeting.

Then he returned to his own quarters with the Doraemon Emperor.

Zhou Yun looked at the Doraemon Emperor.

During the meeting, the Emperor's will had suddenly flooded into Doraemon's body—as if he had something to tell Zhou Yun.

A faint golden glimmer passed through the Doraemon Emperor's black eyes.

"Now that I know the Avenger is Cain, the Penitent is Lu Se, and the Envious is Bilarq, the fate of the galaxy has become clear to me—certain truths are confirmed."

"I see that in the near future, the galaxy's timeline has become fractured—past and future have merged."

The galaxy's timeline has fractured?

Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Ouroboros, Tuulcha Engine, Plague Heart."

The Doraemon Emperor whispered:

"Are you aware of the existence of these three Ancient Ones' relics?"

(End of Chapter)