Chapter 522: If War Wounds You, Remember Only This — War Shall

The Blood God's roar rang out across the void, proclaiming His name to the Highest Heaven and the material dimension,

He is war, the slaughter that never ceases for eternity, the river of blood that flows through endless ages, every brutal melee and struggle, a wisp of crimson joy atop the pitch-black death.

"I have witnessed countless wars, I have taken part in countless wars."

"Countless warriors have offered countless skulls in My name, countless bloods have flowed for countless years in My name."

"The fires of war shall burn for numberless centuries, destroy numberless nations, claim numberless skulls, and even the gods shall not escape this fate."

"And I am war itself, I am the first drop of blood, I am the last drop of blood, therefore I was, I am, and I shall ever be."

From the first ancient microbes born of the sea devouring another colony, to primitive men striking flint to forge the first long spear and pierce their own kinsmen's chests,

from the first bronze sword born of furnace-fire claiming its first head, to the spinning wheel-hubs of chariots crushing the bodies of mortal flesh,

from the horseshoes trampling the grasslands in a grand slaughter of barbarians, to the nomads sweeping down from the north razing cities into landmarks,

from the bullets fired from the sparks bursting in gun-barrels, to the rain-soaked trenches,

dwarves whirling slings to hurl stones at giants, the light-lances of starships firing in volleys to shatter continents and worlds,

riders in the saddle drawing bows to shoot down the Xiongnu, star warriors in power armor slaying xenos with bolter-fire,

past, present, future — the visions of every war manifested within the Blood God's form, finally converging into a single wisp of crimson joy,

The Blood God is war, war is the Blood God; the Blood God gives rise to every war, and is reborn from every war,

So long as a single moment of war exists in the galaxy's past, present, or future, the Blood God shall forever sit enthroned upon the Huang Tong Wang Zuo.

"Yet, how could war ever be without wounds?"

"Wounds, like death, are the fruit of war; the wound is the warrior's honor, the maiming is war's proof."

"I am Khorne, I am the Blood God; I accept wounds as part of war, accept these wounds as part of My flesh, bear the fate of sitting eternally upon the Huang Tong Wang Zuo, bear every wound war brings."

"Warriors, do not fear wounds; if war wounds you, remember only this — war wounds Me first."

"I bleed with you, I am maimed with you, I shed blood with you."

Almost the instant the Blood God's voice rang out, His domain began to expand violently; fresh blood poured through the warp, nourishing the Blood God's realm,

the countless wounds suffered by warriors across the galaxy were simultaneously reflected upon the Blood God's body — bullet wounds, blade wounds, sword wounds, burns, poison wounds, crush wounds, fractures, festering wounds, radiation wounds — every wound born of war surfaced upon Khorne's form,

every wound produced in war, Khorne bore it a step before the warriors of that war,

yet once these wounds surfaced upon the Blood God's body, Khorne's power did not diminish in the slightest; it rose layer upon layer, even revealing a quality of perfection and completion,

throughout the immeasurable eons since His birth that no span of time could record, the Blood God had but one regret he could not release,

as the divine lord of war and blood, no being had ever waged a truly brutal struggle against him, no being had ever truly made him shed fresh blood,

until, by an extreme coincidence, a bullet from Huang Huang Daxiong pierced His thigh, causing the Blood God to bleed and suffer a wound that was hard to heal,

now, through that wound, the Blood God offered His own blood as a sacrifice to the Realm of Unintended Slaughter and to Himself, bearing every wound of war, expanding the domain of Unintended Slaughter,

henceforth, the Blood God's faithful need fear not only death, but even wounds — for the Blood God bears the same harm as they; they need think of nothing, the Blood God carries all, the Blood God bears all, the Blood God is the savior of slaughter, and mortals need only kill,

the Blood God's domain grew purer, grew scorching, grew mightier — but the Blood God was thereby forced to bear wounds, and to sit forever upon the Huang Tong Wang Zuo, never again to heal or unleash His full power,

the wound dealt by Huang Huang Daxiong became harmonized with the Blood God's very existence, as though it were a wound that had always existed upon the Blood God from birth through past to future, a part of Him, impossible to heal, impossible to erase,

all of this was to vent rage, to punish that wisp of blue that had deceived the Blood God,

the Blood God once more raised high the great brass sword; now this blade no longer gleamed with bright polish as before, but was covered in scars, stained with blood, as though it had weathered countless battles — yet these wounds did not diminish the sword's terror, but made it all the more,

the Blood God swung the sword once more toward the star system where Zhou Yun stood; the wrath coiled upon it could not only destroy this single star system, but could easily annihilate a hundred star systems.

Zhou Yun could indeed borrow a famed blade — Dian Guang Wan — to push the sword back once more, but the Blood God's attack was too fierce; a single Dian Guang Wan exhausted its charge and could only withstand one strike,

likely before Zhou Yun could even draw the next Dian Guang Wan, the Blood God's next sword-stroke would already be upon him.

Fortunately, Zhou Yun had long prepared; from the very start he had never intended to clash head-on with the Blood God,

the Blood God was the most powerful of the four, and Zhou Yun was no god — why would Zhou Yun clash head-on with him?

This sort of head-on clash with the Blood God was a job for Hua Di Huang!

At the same moment the Blood God accepted the fate of sitting eternally upon the Huang Tong Wang Zuo, Zhou Yun began his move,

he drew from his pocket a blue remote fitted with a handle, its surface studded with a screen, dials, and a grip; Zhou Yun rapidly twirled the dials upon the box,

at the final instant before the Blood God's great sword fell, a circle of azure light instantly expanded from Zhou Yun outward in all directions, enveloping the entire star system in a flash.

【Item Name: Spacetime Shifter】

【Origin: 22nd-century Earth — Future Department Store】

【Production Date: 261. m3】

【Function: Can shift a designated area to any spacetime the user has visited within the past twenty-four hours; the range must be carefully adjusted during use, or the spacetime dimensions will fail to align.】

Almost instantly, the blue light drowned the entire star system, and spacetime began to shift,

Zhou Yun lifted his head in the dim glow to look at the Blood God, his fingers brushing across the Hot Rehearsal Clapboard & Robot Director, his face showing a trace of sorrow, a trace of melancholy, and a trace of helplessness.

"Sorry — it was all forced by Hua Di Huang, I had no choice." Zhou Yun said in a tone full of apology.

Then the Blood God's great sword fell from the Highest Heaven, but beyond tearing apart vast swathes of space and vacuum, it struck nothing at all,

the entire star system vanished inexplicably beneath the Blood God's great sword, leaving not a trace.

(End of Chapter)