Malcador's Private Collection

"Come with me."

Nimrod picked up the parchment scroll and followed Malcador out of the Astropathic Chamber.

Walking along the marble path through the Imperial Palace, in a good mood, Malcador asked Nimrod a question.

Are you settling in well with living in the courtyard?

"Not bad, they were prepared for us."

Nimrod began to speak, saying that the complex of buildings in the square consisted of twenty structures, all of which were far larger than those of ordinary people and even exceeded the size of Astartes.

Malcador's eyes deepened, and memories Flash Step his mind once more.

"The Emperor hoped that you could grow here and learn the skills he needed you to master before the Great Crusade officially began."

"But we've never done that before."

Nimrod silently added in his mind: [Perhaps Alpharius is an exception.]

"Strictly speaking, no," Malcado said. "At least not for the Oldest One intention."

After a moment of sorrow for the destruction of his servant's painstaking efforts, the Sigillite continued.

"Horus once lived briefly in his courtyard, and now it is you. I think your brothers will also be staying there temporarily from now on."

As they were talking, they arrived in front of a building.

This is an ancient building, its bronze spiral panels gleaming softly under the lights.

Malcador opened the door and led Nimrod on a tour of his collection.

"My most treasured collection consists of two ancient paintings found during the Catastrophe of the 'Age of Strife,' Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Vincent van Van Gogh's Sunflowers."

Nimrod's gaze lingered for a moment on the two masterpieces he had never seen in his previous life, and after noticing that they were still well preserved in the Stasis Field but had no Spirituality light, he looked away.

Despite his awe of the master's art, he wouldn't be so extravagant as to choose non-potion ingredients.

I do not take what others love.

Seeing that Nimrod showed no interest in the two masterpieces, Malcador breathed a sigh of relief and led Nimrod to continue exploring his private collection.

Nimrod noted that, compared to the Emperor, Malcador's collection consisted more of works of art.

This aligns with the Primarch's impression of Malcador, who supported the Remembrancer joining the Expeditionary Fleet to record the great achievements of the "Great Crusade" from an artistic perspective.

Malcador also instructed the Administratum to take over the "Civilization Preservation Project" founded by Caspar Hauser.

After examining the twelve items, Nimrod noticed the first item that emanated a Spirituality light, and he stopped in front of an old manuscript.

With just a glance, he could tell that the content clearly belonged to a different language family than Gothic.

It resembled some kind of unintentionally generated gibberish, but the Primarch gene incorporated it into its mind and sensed that it contained some kind of inherent logic, written in the form of a code.

Malcador noticed Nimrod's actions and began to introduce himself.

"That's the Voynich Manuscript, written in the 15th or 16th century. Its contents and author are unknown, and it's named after the bookseller who discovered it in 1912."

"Perhaps only he knows who wrote this, and what it contains."

Nimrod's eyes flashed. He had just witnessed Malcador's prophetic abilities not long ago, and he was definitely one of the best among humans.

Prophecy can glean information from objects, but the manuscript that Malcador cannot glean information from, or at least not fully from, must be High Sequence potion ingredient.

[The page immediately comes to mind with the "White Tower" Pathway, but it could also be the "Paragon" Pathway, or even related to the "Fool's " Sequence 3 "Scholar of Yore".]

At least it provides a backup plan. If there aren't any better options, this is a good choice; at least it won't be a waste of the opportunity.

"Do you want to choose it?"

Malcador asked, Nimrod shook his head slightly.

"If the Sigillite isn't in a hurry, I'd like to review it once before making a choice."

"I'm not in a hurry. You can take a look first and then make your choice."

"I will introduce you to each piece in the collection."

Malcador patiently explained that although there were still many important matters to attend to, he did not urge Nimrod to make the selection since he had already promised to.

Nimrod walked forward, looking at Malcador's collection. He would stop from time to time, not only in front of the potion ingredients, but also lingering for a moment in front of other items.

Each time he lingered, the duration was roughly the same, demonstrating the same level of interest in these items.

When Nimrod stopped for the thirty-third time, his eyes were fixed on a trihedron.

It appears to be formed of some kind of Purple alloy, and each of its faces has eyes of a different shape.

One side has eyes that hold countless glittering stars, cold and indifferent, without eyelashes.

The other side is a black mass covered with countless eyes.

The last one was a deep, unfocused, blank stare.

Nimrod almost immediately associated it with the "Hermit" Pathway.

The eye on the first surface reminded it of the eye in the symbolic representation of the "Hermit" Pathway.

The black mass with countless eyes is the Mythical Creature Form of the "Hermit" Pathway.

The last page reminded him of Sequence 3, "The Clairvoyant," the state he was in when using Beyonder Ability.

[It is almost certain that the Beyonder Characteristic it contains is the "Clairvoyant" of Sequence 3 of the "Hermit" Pathway.]

For the first time, Nimrod pinpointed a specific item to a particular Sequence among the many collections of the Old Man in Yellow and Malcador.

"It comes from a now-extinct intergalactic civilization, a civilization I call Ariadne, whose Warrior wielded Blood Red- red spears."

"I call it the Dice of Prophecy. It is rolled once every three years, and when it comes to rest, the top of the die projects a screen of light, displaying images and written symbols."

"During those three years, throwing it will yield no results, just as it needs three years to recharge."

"Like most prophetic Psyker, when they glimpse fate, they only passively see a corner of it; the projected images are also blurry and passive."

Nimrod's eyes flashed, and he pressed for an answer.

Is it out of control?

"There's no way. I've tried many methods, including but not limited to Psionic Energy manipulation, setting up targeted Psionic Energy arrays, and using divination focal points, but none of them can make it behave according to my will."

"For me, it's rather pointless; the random results rely on unpredictable luck, and it's not even as effective as my predictions."

Nimrod slightly. As a powerful Psyker, Malcador was indeed not very useful with the Dice of Prophecy.

Prophecies cannot be actively controlled.

Is there really no other way?

[Assuming the Dice of Prophecy contains Sequence 3 extraordinary item, then its prophecy will indeed be undisturbed.]

However, if there is absolute suppression of power, then it is possible for it to make prophecies according to its will.

As someone who possesses a "Nation of Disorder," I happen to have this possibility, and the third layer of reality also has the special effect of establishing relationships.

Compared to other options, the Dice of Prophecy, which can determine a specific Sequence, are a better choice.

Having thought this through, Nimrod decided that he would choose this item later unless he saw something special.

He moved forward to examine the other items in the collection.

After Nimrod had examined all the collections, Malcador asked a question.

Have you made a decision?

"Got it."

He returned to the three-sided die. "I want the Dice of Prophecy."

"Good."

How long until it's ready to use?

After a few seconds of silence, Malcador answered.

Eleven months.

Nimrod then picked up a transparent box that resembled glass, inside which were the Dice of Prophecy.

Before parting, Malcador reminded the Primarch of his schedule.

"I have arranged for the Imperium's finest sculptors to meet with you tomorrow."

"They need to record your appearance, even if it's a huge test of willpower for them."

"They will recreate your appearance with sculptures, even if it's only a part of it, it's necessary, they did it for Horus before."

"Afterwards, the statue will be placed in the Square of Heroes, the second statue to stand in that vast open-air plaza."

Nimrod nodded slightly. "I will cooperate with them."

On his way back to the courtyard, he thought to himself.

[That shadowy figure, that Mythical Creature — Terra still holds many valuable things; we should send people to explore it.]