The Origin of Darkness

"Amon, the god of darkness, the embodiment of immortality, the Overmind of all, he brings truth, but also ultimate darkness and endless annihilation."

The Taldarim lord knew he was doomed, and he didn't care about revealing Amon's real name, since these people would never figure out what it was anyway.

Let these wretched insects and cowardly Templar Knights spend their wretched lives guessing at this word, and they too will live in fear and dread, which will only bring true pleasure and the thrill of revenge to this Taldarim lord.

It is said that a dying person speaks good words, but for the Tal'darim, especially a Ascendant rose to a high position through intrigue and ruthless killing, only cruelty remained in his cunning and vicious heart.

"The future will be created by our own hands, not by your so-called gods." Augustus approached the stasis pod, the Power Armor making a clattering sound like armor as it moved.

"Tassadar, I know you Protoss possess telepathic abilities, so why can't you see through this Tal'darim's thoughts?" Raynor believed that the torture was completely unnecessary, even if the other party was a despicable alien.

"James Raynor, my friend, it's possible for a telepath to see through the thoughts of a being without Psionics, but the Tal'darim also possess powerful Psionics, which can, to some extent, prevent others from probing into their innermost thoughts," Tassadar patiently explained to Raynor.

"An evil god, the Xel'Naga?" Zeratul deeply troubled by the terrible conspiracy and dark future implied in these words, and he naturally associated the Xel'Naga with gods.

"He is above all the gods." The Taldarim lord, lying in his stasis pod, let out a final, fanatical laugh.

"I heard Amon's call—I, I will not let you go—"

Then, in Augustus's eyes, the Tal'darim who had just been shouting suddenly revealed a vivid red light, like lava. This magnificent light dismembered his body, dissolving it into red crystalline dust that drifted away with the wind.

"Why don't these Supplicant die in my place?"

"..." The Templar Knights Executor Tassadar watched as the red light that the Tal'darim transformed into after their deaths escaped the asteroid's gravitational field and dissipated into space, and let out a silent sigh.

"He died without honor." A High Templar was equally shocked by the dark secrets he had seen and heard today, but he dismissed them as the ravings of Tal'darim fanatic.

"The Zerg are not the most terrifying enemies the Protoss Empire has ever encountered." Tassadar's gaze swept over the remaining Taldarim slaves and the containers among them soaking the Hybrid mutated bodies.

"I have a feeling that it's nothing more than a harbinger of a dark age." Zeratul was much calmer now. "A prophecy of the end times circulates among both the Templar Knights and the Dark Templar. At that time, Adun will return and save the Protoss."

"No matter what that Amon is, no matter what kind of fictional evil god he is or whatever, we will be the ones who win in the end." Young Jim Raynor was not only a positive optimist, but also full of hope for victory.

In Jim Raynor's not-so-long but still eventful life, he has always followed Augustus and has never experienced the kind of failures that would have crushed a person. Raynor's life is full of hope and has nothing to do with decadence and frustration. He has a happy family and friends who would entrust their lives to him.

"Even if God stood before me and said he was going to destroy humanity today, I could only shoot him." Augustus one who truly knew what Amon was, but at least he knew how to defeat him.

"To hell with all those demons and monsters!" Raynor and Augustus clapped hands. Compared to the Protoss who believed in gods and prophecies, these human Revolutionary Army were not so disheartened.

Under Augustus's leadership, even if there were truly some god in this world, as long as the marshal gave the order, Raynor and the others would rush forward to overthrow and demolish this god, pointing guns at the god's head and saying, "Shouldn't Augustus Mengsk also sit in this position?"

"You are right, nothing can break the brave and fearless Protoss." Tassadar did not worry for long about the dying words of the Taldarim lord. The Overmind had already invaded Aiur, and this was the closest the once mighty Protoss Empire had ever come to its doom.

At this moment, Augustus turned to the Taldarim slaves who were bound in shackles beside him. Among them were a few who were probably engineers similar to Aiur Protoss phase engineers or blacksmiths who forged weapons. They wore heavy red robes and hoods, and were not shivering like ordinary Protoss were barely clothed.

Unlike the Aiur Protoss, even the weakest Tal'darim, who work in the lowest of professions, possess formidable fighting prowess and a bloodthirsty instinct. These Tal'darim will only surrender to an enemy if they kill their master.

"What are you doing?" Augustus walked up to one of the Tal'darim dressed in a blood-red robe. None of these Tal'darim showed any regret or grief for the death of their master, but they were not so grief-stricken as to laugh out loud while being captured.

"The craftsman." The Tal'darim with several scars on his face removed his robe. "I forge Psionics blades and sharp swords for the strongest in the Chain of Ascension. All the indestructible Blade of the Betrayer are crafted by my hand."

"So, you are a very good craftsman." Augustus did not press him for more information about Amon.

"Better than all humans," the Taldarim craftsman replied with undisguised pride.

"So, you're quite the talent." Raynor walked over as well. "Interested in working with us? Not only will you get paid, but you'll also get plenty of Terrazine. That Taldarim at the Umojan Science Station is doing really well, even better than us gunmen."

"See? There are many benefits; I wouldn't tell just anyone this."

Before anyone knew it, Raynor had begun recruiting for Augustus's revolutionary cause again. This young man, who always championed the revolutionary spirit, devoted himself wholeheartedly to Augustus's cause, regarding it as his lifelong ideal.

Since the first Tal'darim was hired by the Revolutionary Army's Xenomorph Laboratory, there has been a precedent for recruiting Taldarim.

Hearing Raynor's words, Augustus nodded in agreement. After all, he couldn't recruit from Tassadar or Zeratul's military system right now, even if they were willing to help him. "Perhaps you can provide some assistance to my engineers."

Even if these Taldarim engineers couldn't offer any advice on weapons research, having them forge the Taldarim's aesthetically pleasing and deadly melee weapons was still a good thing. For Augustus, there was never too much talent.

"What did you say?" The Taldarim craftsman narrowed his eyes in astonishment, a mocking expression creeping across his face. "You, humans, recruited me?"

"Terrazine?"

"A lot," Raynor emphasized.

The Taldarim craftsman paused when he mentioned the word "Terrazine," but remained unmoved. "I admit it's tempting, but what else can you offer me? I will no longer be able to advance in the great cycle of the Chain of Ascension, nor will I have the chance to ascend to become Hybrid."

"Let's think about it another way. You can't climb any higher anyway," Kerrigan said in her usual sarcastic tone.

"..." The Taldarim craftsman, enraged by Kerrigan's insult, declared, "I refuse."

"Tassadar, Zeratul, leave these Taldarim to us." Augustus turned to the two Protoss commanders and said, "We'll relay whatever we find out to you immediately."

"Very well. If you don't do that, I will order the Templar Knights to imprison them as well." Tassadar had no objection.

"If that's the fate these Taldarim deserve... I don't object." Zeratul walked up to the Taldarim artisan Augustus questioned, "I heard you say that the Taldarim will eventually be elevated to Hybrid, what's that all about?"

"If you beg me." The Taldarim craftsman, whose sore spot had just been touched by Kerrigan, proudly raised his long, thin chin.

"You have two choices." Augustus shook off the visor of his Power Armor, forcing the Tal'darim in the eye.

"Tell me everything you know, or I will release all your colleagues and give them their freedom and plenty of Terrazine, while you can only die of old age in your narrow prison," he said.

"You no longer need to serve that so-called god, because I am standing right in front of you, while Amon is far beyond time and space."

"I know, and it doesn't matter if I tell you." Another Taldarim engineer who had been secretly observing for a long time was happy to see his colleague suffer. In Taldarim society, all classes are constantly in a struggle of competition and deceit. Even among the Tal'darim are on the best terms, there is deception and betrayal.

The Tal'darim also refused to let other members of their race understand their thoughts, because that would expose all their conspiracies.

"What do you know? This lord is clearly asking me." The Taldarim craftsman quickly softened. He could accept torture or punishment, but he didn't want other Taldarim to be better off than he was.

"In the Tal'darim, the Chain of Ascension is everything. The weak are at the bottom of the Chain of Ascension, but they can also gain promotion in the Chain of Ascension by defeating Taldarim of higher status through the Rak'Shir Ritual," he said hastily.

"In the Chain of Ascension, the First Ascended, who holds the first seat, commands the army, above him are the High Lords, and the Chain of Ascension ends with Amon. Those chosen by Him ascend to become powerful Hybrid, just like the ones you see here."

"Those Hybrid are so ugly and vile, is this the ascension you crave?" Zeratul also said.

"Those you see are merely failed ascensions; they couldn't withstand Amon's test and could only become mindless monsters." The Taldarim craftsman's words revealed envy and resentment towards those so-called ascensions.

"Upgrading should mean becoming more perfect and powerful."

"But it seems those monsters that have ascended to Hybrid aren't as insane as you describe," Tassadar stated his opinion. "Some kind of dark force is influencing them."

"So, have the high lords of Taldarim become Hybrid?" Augustus asked.

"No." The Taldarim craftsman seemed to have never considered this question before, and he immediately offered his explanation, which he had just come up with. "Lord Ma'lash will ascend with all the Taldarim when the universe is annihilated."

"If you ask me, this must be a trap set by that Amon," Raynor said, offering his opinion. "Since Amon is some kind of dark god who brings destruction and apocalypse, he's definitely not a good person."

Even a three-year-old like Shiloh knows that sweet gifts often mean traps or swarms of wasps that can sting you to death.

"What do you know about ascension, you human?" the Taldarim craftsman berated Raynor. Acknowledging this human's words was tantamount to admitting that everything he had believed in throughout his life was wrong and a lie.

"I believe it will take us some time to figure out the social structure, customs, and gods of the Taldarim." Augustus ordered his soldiers to take the Taldarim back to the transport ships.

"As for these dead Hybrid and the evil containers that created them, let them be destroyed on the spot," he continued. "To touch these twisted creations is to play with fire and get burned."

"It must be purified with fire," Tassadar said.

After a while, as Augustus and Tassadar were preparing to head back and discuss what they had seen that day, a Revolutionary Army lieutenant and several Dark Templar approached.

"Marshal, we have discovered the Tal'darim forges for weapons and armor, as well as warehouses for storing mechs and ships," the lieutenant said after saluting Augustus.

"Oh--let's go take a look."

The armory of this Taldarim fortress is unusually vast, with towering domes supporting the crimson crystals that power the entire fortress. In the spacious warehouses, one can see aggressively designed crimson airships and spider-like mechs everywhere, while two enormous Colossus overlook the entire warehouse.

To the surprise of Augustus, Tassadar, and others, the Taldarim's mechs and fighters were almost identical to those of the Templar Knights, including Dragoon, Scout, Reaver, and even an Arbiter was only piloted by Arbitrators.

If mere similarity in appearance isn't enough to prove anything, then the fact that some of the ships and mechs still retain the Aiur Protoss gold and blue paint scheme is quite telling.

"These shameless thieves." Tassadar also learned the word "thief" and was furious at the Tal'darim's despicable actions.

The Templar Knights would never hand over their armor and weapons to the Tal'darim on their own; they were either stolen or robbed by the Taldarim, and the original owners of those weapons have likely met with misfortune.

This explains why the Protoss Empire exploration fleets and colony Fleets that disappeared in the depths of space have vanished without a trace. Tassadar could hardly believe that at least one esteemed Arbitrator had died at the hands of the Taldarim.

"Wait, there seems to be a human spaceship over there." Kerrigan, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's, suddenly spotted something among the pile of weapons and immediately pointed to a corner of the warehouse.

Augustus looked in that direction and saw a streamlined human spaceship lying there quietly.

It was an ornately designed galactic flea, bearing the flag of the Terran Confederacy. This type of shuttle was typically a handcrafted luxury item, supplied exclusively to the Confederacy nobles of Tarsonis, and also highly sought after by Confederacy politicians.

"How could there be a human spaceship here? Don't the Taldarim look down on human things?" Augustus, "I've never seen the Taldarim steal human spaceships... In their words, there's no need for them to scavenge."

Kerrigan read the lightning-fast thought that flashed through Augustus's mind:

"Has anyone been here?"