Chapter 443: King of Darkness, Unfixed Distortion, and a New Era

Near the region once known as the Eye of Terror,

profane, holy, dark, and great Warp powers rage across this area,

the sky shatters, all things disintegrate, and the boundary between reality and the Warp becomes blurred and indistinct,

once the bastion suppressing the might of Chaos's mighty ones, Cadia lies in ruins; the Blackstone Hammer has utterly destroyed it, leaving only a few large fragments still floating in the torrent of the Warp,

the remaining Cadians still wander upon them, conducting desperate, futile resistance,

Abaddon can only mock this,

foolish mortals are always thus, unable to see the trajectory of fate, attempting meaningless resistance,

their best choice now is to lay down their weapons, pray devoutly to the Chaos Gods, and obtain the Gods' mercy and forgiveness, rather than continuing to remain loyal to the False Emperor.

Standing upon the bridge of the Abyss-class battleship Blessed Lady, gazing at the chaotic, undifferentiated Cadia system, a sneering smile curled at the corner of Abaddon's mouth.

He stepped upon this ancient warship beneath his feet, whispering softly: "God is real, and He hates us."

These were the words spoken by the sole mortal survivor when the Perfect City was destroyed, that Blessed Blind Girl; the Abyss-class battleship beneath Abaddon's feet was built to commemorate her.

The Abyss-class battleships were forged on the shipyards of Jupiter on the eve of the Great Heresy, massive warships belonging exclusively to the Word Bearers,

their shape like a blade, their bows like a trident piercing the void, their size so vast they resemble a void city, even surpassing the Queen of Glory-class battleships, with only the Mountain Array able to match them,

only three such terrifying ships were ever forged; upon their completion, the shipyards on Jupiter were utterly destroyed, all servitors, workers, and Tech-Priests burned to ash, ensuring no one could replicate them.

Of the three Abyss-class battleships, the first, Abyssal Fury, was destroyed near Macragge; the second, Three Holy Prayers, has become the flagship of the Primarch Lorgar,

and the third, the Blessed Lady beneath Abaddon's feet, suffered heavy damage during the Shadow Crusade ten thousand years ago, fled urgently into the Warp, and vanished without a trace,

until after the Thirteenth Black Crusade erupted, Abaddon, through a series of horrific sacrifices, successfully pleased the Gods, found the lost Blessed Lady in the torrent of the Warp, and barely repaired it to serve as his own flagship.

"Truly a powerful ship; it is a pity to give such an ugly, boring, and weak creature as you to use it."

A voice like a snake sounded behind Abaddon, filled with intense jealousy and malice, as if it wished to kill Abaddon to seize this great warship.

"I still need him," a low, cold, and stern voice warned: "If you kill him, I will torture you, then kill you."

"Torture me? Just as the Dark Angels once did to you?" the snake-like voice of jealousy retorted sarcastically: "No matter how terrible the torture, it is only pleasure to me; the Lord of Hunger loves me."

"And if you kill me, I will live again within your body... hehehe..."

"I understand the great power of Chaos better than you; killing you would bring me no joy," the stern knight refuted.

Gazing at the scene outside the window, a cold smile crossed Abaddon's lips: "No need to worry; he cannot kill me. I am the Hand of Fate."

"Is that so? Laughable Abaddon, weak Abaddon, I still remember the days we spent together aboard the Revenge of the Soul; in sword duels you never won against me. Perhaps I really should try killing you," the snake-like voice of jealousy mocked.

This made Abaddon slightly annoyed.

"Killing me is of no use," Abaddon said with a threatening tone: "The machine spirit of the Blessed Lady is loyal only to the Word Bearers; her power is not something you can tame."

The snake-like voice of jealousy sneered coldly.

"I am actually surprised that you would help me," Abaddon, still not turning his head, asked in return: "Is not the Lady of Hunger currently obsessed with and deeply in love with Saint Doraemon?"

"But that One hopes Saint Doraemon begins to pursue godhood, ultimately ascending as the Fifth."

The snake-like voice of jealousy spoke with a slightly displeased tone; he seemed jealous that Saint Doraemon had stolen the Lady of Hunger's affection:

"Thus, the Lady of Hunger allows me to act as I please, and also allows you to push Saint Doraemon to break free from the limitations of the material universe."

"But that is all; that One will provide no further assistance."

"And rather than worrying about me, you should worry about yourself; you should have already been discovered and noticed by that One."

"I have heard that One possesses a staff that can find anyone... hehehe..."

Abaddon's expression darkened, his fingers touching the ritual dagger at his waist.

This powerful weapon possesses extraordinary effects; it can help the user avoid fatal attacks, help the user cast powerful and terrible sorcery, kill or corrupt the greatest heroes, and cut open reality itself to allow Warp travel between stars.

This is because the ritual dagger was forged from one of the eight fragments of the Blade of the Enemy.

The Blade of the Enemy is the Sword of Murder, hammered into existence at the time of humanity's first murder, and later used in various forms in many important murders throughout human history.

Merely holding the ritual dagger, Abaddon could feel the murders hidden within it, one after another:

Cain killed Abel; Brutus used it to kill Caesar; Jing Ke attempted to thrust it at Qin Shi Huang; Akechi Mitsuhide wielded it against Oda Nobunaga; Gustav III was also killed by it... and Horus, the Warmaster Horus, was killed by Horus using the Governor Dai Wen.

These murders endowed the Blade of the Enemy with immense power.

During the Horus Heresy, Abaddon shattered the Blade of the Enemy into eight fragments and forged them into eight ritual daggers, sharing the Blade of the Enemy's power.

The eighth fragment was reforged into completeness by Hua Di Huang, infused with His own power, used to utterly kill Horus who had become a vessel for the Four Gods; in a sense, it also killed Hua Di Huang Himself.

Relying now on the power of the ritual dagger, Abaddon constantly moves in and out of the Warp and the material universe, attempting to confuse Saint Doraemon's tracking.

If he cannot deceive them and Saint Doraemon tracks him down, he can only rely on the power of the ritual dagger to cut a hole directly in reality and escape.

Although terrified to death in his heart, Abaddon still spoke with a voice of piety and fanaticism:

"If I can lure that One onto the true path of Chaos, taking some risks is acceptable."

Speaking thus, Abaddon turned his head to look behind him—

The sound of a blade cutting through the air rang out; the exquisite edge of the Rapier pressed directly against Abaddon's throat.

Abaddon's soul and spirit were both startled; his entire body froze in place as he looked at the scarred face looming before him.

Lu Xiusi, the Chosen of Slaanesh, licked his lips, looking at Abaddon with eyes filled with murderous intent and jealousy.

"You..." Abaddon looked at Lu Se, who sat motionless in place, with resentment: "You just let him..."

"If he wants to kill you, before he cuts off your head, I will cut off his head," Lu Se said with an unmoving expression.

Lu Xiusi sneered disdainfully, withdrew the Rapier, and sat back in his position.

"Tell me your plan; how do you intend to make that One accept the Warp and begin to pursue godhood?" Lu Xiusi asked, crossing his legs.

"I originally intended to push Saint Doraemon to accept Chaos in a gentle manner, just as I once pushed Kharn to accept Chaos."

Abaddon spoke with regret:

"But that One's control over life and death exceeded my expectations; even though Lu Se has killed that woman so thoroughly, Saint Doraemon was still able to resurrect her."

"Thus, gentle means will not work; only more direct, more thorough means can push Saint Doraemon back to Chaos."

"I do not care what you intend to do, but you promised me: after freeing Saint Dora A-Meng from the limitations of the material universe, you will resurrect Ryan for me and make Ryan forgive my sins." Luthor said in a cold tone.

"I can certainly do it; I am not resurrecting a Primarch for the first time." Erebos smiled: "Saint Dora A-Meng ascends to godhood, Ryan is reborn as his Prince of Chaos, and you, as one who liberated Saint Dora A-Meng, will become his Chosen."

"What do you plan to do?" Lu Xiusi licked his lips and said; he actually did not understand these things within the Warp very well.

He came here only because of Slaanesh's indulgence, his own jealousy of Saint Dora A-Meng enjoying Slaanesh's love, the reward Erebos paid, and the promise of a sufficiently thrilling slaughter.

"I will recreate everything that happened on the Revenge of the Soul. I will complete what was not completed on Horus back then."

"I will defile Saint Dora A-Meng's material body. I will make His existence return completely to the torrent within the Warp."

"I will kill Zhou Yun, liberate Saint Dora A-Meng, let Him replace the Hua Di Huang, ascend as the Dark King, and become the Fifth."

"How will you do it?" Lu Xiusi stared at Erebos and asked: "According to what you said before, does the position of Dark King not belong to the Hua Di Huang? Will not the Hua Di Huang destroy everything completely after ascending?"

Erebos had spent much of these days preaching to Lu Xiusi.

"It belongs to Him now, but that does not mean it belonged to Him in the past."

"As long as the Hua Di Huang has not truly become the Dark King, He has not pierced time to become the true God who exists simultaneously in the past, present, and future."

"There were no competitors in the original universe for the domain of erosion and destruction, but the Hua Di Huang personally cut His authority and gave it to Saint Dora A-Meng, exposing a flaw."

Erebos spoke in a soft voice:

"We will not let Saint Dora A-Meng become a god at this very moment. We cannot let Saint Dora A-Meng ascend while suppressing ten thousand years of humanity's self-destructive emotions. We must let Him ascend in a gentler, better era."

"At that time, He will become a relatively gentle Dark King, not destroying the entire galaxy upon ascension, but wandering the domains of self-destruction, destruction, and Death, maintaining a dynamic balance with the other gods."

"This was originally the fate arranged for Horus by the gods, but unfortunately Horus failed and became the King's Sacrifice."

"How will you do it?" Luthor said in a low voice.

The corners of Erebos's mouth could not help but reveal a smile.

"This is why I recruited you." Erebos chuckled and said: "Luthor, have you heard of the Ouroboros?"

The shadow of Chaos was heavy, gray, and unbearably cold.

After concluding the meeting with Luthor and Lu Xiusi and making some arrangements, Erebos entered the depths of the Blessed Lady.

Erebos was going to meet his true ally.

Lu Xiusi was arrogant, boastful, childish, and essentially just a toy in Slaanesh's hands.

Slaanesh only longed for Saint Dora A-Meng to begin pursuing ascension; allowing Erebos's actions was already His greatest tolerance.

Furthermore, that one might not approve of Erebos's methods.

So Erebos would not tell Lu Xiusi everything.

Moreover, to speak truly, Lu Xiusi was a bit too weak to be Erebos's true ally.

Luthor, on the other hand, was very powerful. He indeed mastered the power granted to him by the Four Gods to a certain extent, more thoroughly than Abaddon, who is now the Four Gods' joint choice, and had walked further on the path of Chaos.

But beneath his calm and steady exterior, he was actually more mad than Abaddon, his behavior often self-contradictory, somewhat like Horus in the late period of the Great Heresy.

He could not yet be called a qualified ally.

Black wings unfolded before Erebos. The Lord of Shadows stepped out of the darkness and stood before Erebos.

"I hope you have planned everything."

The Lord of Shadows, Bi La Ke, spoke in a low voice.

"Of course, my ally, the one blessed and cursed by the Four Gods." Erebos said with a smile.

Standing before Erebos was the first Prince of Chaos, the one simultaneously blessed by the Four Gods.

He was once the eldest son of the gods, but Bi La Ke was so arrogant that he lost the gods' unique favor and suffered their punishment.

Bi La Ke could only submit to the one chosen by the gods and could not obtain a true, unique position of his own in the tide of Chaos.

In other words, Bi La Ke would never obtain the opportunity to ascend and never become a truly great existence.

This is why Bi La Ke was always filled with jealousy and hated anyone else who received blessings from Chaos.

But Erebos used his eloquence to persuade Bi La Ke.

There is only one who can lift the gods' curse: a new god.

If Bi La Ke is willing to help Erebos, then on the day the new god ascends, Bi La Ke will become the Prince of Chaos chosen by the Five Gods.

And he will obtain the power to carve out a position for himself in Chaos and the opportunity to ascend.

"Of course, my ally."

Erebos said softly:

"As I promised, the throne of the Unstable Distortion will belong to you."

A relieved smile appeared on the corners of Erebos's mouth.

This was, of course, a lie.

Bi La Ke was his true ally, but that did not mean an ally could not be betrayed.

The eighth position, the throne of the Unstable Distortion, was reserved by Erebos for himself.

The steel body unfolded slightly. Cuf-87, the messenger of the Grand Sage Belisarius Dora Cawl, opened his arms before Zhou Yun, Sanguinius, Guilliman, and a host of Ultramarines, Blood Angels, and Imperial Fists Space Marines.

Speaking in an exaggerated and boastful tone similar to Cawl's, he announced to Zhou Yun, the Primarchs, and the Space Marines:

"My lords! Please cheer!"

"Blessed by the Omnissiah and Saint Dora A-Meng."

"The salvation of the Human Empire, the new weapon of the Indomitus Crusade, is now within reach."

"The Grand Sage cordially invites you all to the King of Explorers to witness this moment."

"The fate of the galaxy has turned elsewhere; a new era has descended."

At the same time, the bell of the last day of the 999th year of the 41st millennium of humanity rang out.

Zhou Yun, sitting beside the two Primarchs, raised his head slightly.

He knew that now it was the 42nd millennium of humanity.

(End of this volume)

(End of this chapter)