The Show Begins (II)

"Psionic, sorcery, dark magic," Mortarion slowly uttered three words as his opening remarks.

His voice had a hoarse quality that seemed to come from nowhere; few people had ever heard his real voice. Most people in the amphitheater were more familiar with him when he was wearing a respirator.

They never imagined that the Lord of Death would one day sound so quiet.

"These words are meaningless, irrelevant; they are all essentially the same thing. They are evil forces that humanity should not control, or even come into contact with."

"I have witnessed the world collapse and turn to ashes, with ordinary people reduced to food or slaves at the mercy of others. If you, like me, choose to trace the root cause, you might even discover that the reason for such severe consequences may simply be a sudden whim of a rural witch doctor."

"Or perhaps an untrained Psyker accidentally came into contact with something in their sleep; or maybe a knowledge Legacy through generations of a sorcerer family has gone wrong. It always goes wrong; it always turns world after world into a sea of fire."

"I know what I'm saying might sound a bit extreme, but you might as well think about that terrible Old Night. What caused it? What made this terror sweep across the entire galaxy, causing humanity to be lost and scattered, suffering every day?"

I object!

Magnus shouted from his box; the Crimson King could no longer tolerate such accusations.

His voice, amplified by psychic powers, became louder and more out of place with Mortarion's quietness.

"You claim that psionic power and its users are evil, Mortarion, but what about the Navigators and Astropath? How do you explain that? Are you suggesting they are also responsible for the destruction of the world?"

"I--"

"--the Emperor himself bestowed titles upon them, granting them names and power!" Magnus's increasingly loud voice overwhelmed Mortarion, interrupting what he was about to say.

"Your accusations are nothing but Mortarion clichés. This is the age when humanity conquers the stars! You cling to superstition, and your numerology is as ridiculous as your words!"

Mortarion narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Malcador. The Sigillites nodded calmly to him, then struck the ground heavily with his scepter, a flash of golden light in his eyes.

"You will have your turn to speak, Magnus. Everyone is free to speak and express their opinions at this meeting. But you should have let Mortarion finish. You interrupted him and tried to overpower him with your volume—volume doesn't determine the correctness of a statement. Now sit down and let your brother finish his speech."

Magnus glared angrily at the Sigillites, but did not comply.

"You're Psyker too, Malcador!" the Crimson King asked in a low voice. "Are you really willing to just stand by and listen to him slander us?"

"My psychic light shines only where the sword of the Master of Mankind points," the Sigillites answered slowly and coldly. "If the Emperor decrees that psychic energy needs to be controlled, then I will cease to use it. If the Emperor believes that psychic energy can still be helpful in the cause of the Imperium, then I will continue to use it cautiously."

"But Mortarion is just slandering us!"

"If that were true, wouldn't your father know?" The Sigillites shook his head and struck the ground with his scepter again. "Now quiet down and let Mortarion finish his statement."

Magnus finally did as he was told. He frowned, his anger vanishing in an instant, and looked at the only high platform with a puzzled expression. But the Golden King, who sat on the Throne, did not look at him; his face remained indistinct.

The Lord of Death glanced at the Crimson King, then spoke again solemnly and earnestly. This time, he was not interrupted.

"To continue, yes, I do believe that psychic powers and witchcraft are forbidden forces, but that's the crux of the matter."

He shook his head again, behaving very restrainedly, his tone remaining gentle.

"Take the example Magnus mentioned, for instance. Navigators and Astropath, through years of training, use their abilities to benefit the common people. Without them, the two worlds wouldn't even be able to communicate, let alone the expeditionary fleet traversing the stars."

"The Great Crusade has come to this point, and they are inextricably linked to it. But what does that have to do with my accusations? The Navigators and Astropath are able to use psionic energy to have a positive impact because they practice restraint! Everyone knows how rigorous their training is, doesn't they?"

His voice finally became more impassioned, Russ smiled with satisfaction, whispering to Jaghatai beside him, "That's the effect of the alcohol, brother. Can you imagine Mortarion saying so much in one breath?"

The Khan, arms crossed, leaned against a pillar in the private room and nodded expressionlessly at him. "Indeed, good wine."

"Really? I feel like you're just fooling me."

Khan chuckled and shook his head. On the observation deck, the Lord of Death continued, as if he wanted to unleash all his thoughts on psychic matters over the years in one breath. His speech became faster and faster, more and more rapid, almost like a machine gun.

"And the rural witch doctors, wild Psyker, and witchcraft families I mentioned—these people, through various coincidences, will become ambitious individuals wielding dangerous powers. They will ultimately use psychic abilities to unleash disaster and terror because they have no concept of reverence!"

"They will use psionic energy without restraint until the world is destroyed, taking everyone with them."

Mortarion stared intently at Magnus, emphasizing the words "awe," "destruction," and "burial."

The Crimson King returned a heavy glare.

So Mortarion immediately turned his head and spoke loudly to the Space Wolves who were still in the arena.

"So, returning to Othere Wyrdmake's words, did he accuse the Thousand Sons because the Thousand Sons used psionic energy and magic in battle? Did he feel that such victories were questionable? Rune Priest, is that what you mean?"

The Rune Priest, still standing on the wooden pulpit, responded loudly, "Absolutely not, sir! My accusation stems from my own witnessing of the Thousand Sons' abuse!"

Yes, abuse.

Mortarion finally let out a cold laugh. Magnus looked at him with disgust and whispered to someone beside him in his box, "Look at him, acting like a righteous vigilante. Ahzek, he's probably already enjoying criticizing us like this."

The Lion Guard, known as Ahzek, stood ramrod straight, unsure how to answer his Primarch.

"That sounds rather harmless, doesn't it, folks?" Mortarion shouted, raising his arms. "Well then, let me tell you about the consequences of abusing psionic powers!"

"My legion and I once fought on a planet called Kayor. We were trying to bring a group of humans, still living in a primitive society, under the Imperium's control. They had no advanced technology, but my legion still fought on the surface of Kayor for six months."

"How were they able to do that? The answer is simple: because they abused psychic powers and witchcraft!"

"This power permeated every aspect of their primitive social structure from top to bottom. Even a child might know how to make a fire to light a stove, but this was definitely not a good thing!"

"The forests and wilderness of the Kayor people are teeming with disgusting beasts and monsters that only appear at night, their bodies reeking of witchcraft and evil magic! If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have had such a difficult time. But this is just the beginning, because almost all the Kayor people are wizards."

"They can summon lightning, ignite flames across the earth, manipulate others, and split mountains and cleave the ground. Consider this, gentlemen: is this power free? Can it be used at will without any cost?"

Konrad Curze Curze nodded solemnly and gestured to Corax: "Do you know I was the one who told him that?"

"What?" Raven Guard looked at him in confusion.

"Just kidding." The Night Lords grinned. "I just thought those words sounded familiar, like someone had said them before. How nostalgic, the price, Corax, the price."

"."

Kolus Corax fell silent, and after a few seconds even walked away quietly. Curze glanced at him, then reached out and pulled him back, displeased.

"Even firing a gun requires bearing the recoil, and wielding a sword requires feeling the brutality of the blade cutting into flesh with both hands. Yet this kind of power comes without any cost? I don't believe it, so I found the answer in the city of the Kayor people!"

"They've already paid the price."

Mortarion paused, preparing for what he was about to say. He coldly surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over every box and step of the amphitheater, but he made no move to look at Magnus's box.

A few seconds later, he spoke again.

"In every city of the Kayor people, there are buildings called temples, filled with piles of bones. Countless civilians, who suffered cruel torture, cried out in agony as they sank between life and death, paying the price for those sorcerers. This is the price they paid for using witchcraft. And what about Thousand Sons?"

"The rumors of the Thousand Sons using witchcraft are not unfounded, and Othere Wyrdmake's accusations are not slander. I fought alongside Magnus's warriors, just like him, and I have personally witnessed the Thousand Sons using witchcraft, summoning lightning and flames, causing the ground to cave in and mountains to collapse."

"The magic they use is exactly the same as that of the Kayor people. That's what worries me, gentlemen."

Mortarion closed his eyes and sighed softly, his voice becoming almost imperceptible.

"My words today are not to accuse the Thousand Sons of using sacrifice to gain power like the Cayorians, nor to condemn Magnus for condoning this potentially barbaric act. I simply want to say that every power has its price, and the use of psychic energy must be restrained."

That's all I wanted to say. I'm done speaking.

He opened his eyes, turned around, and gave the Emperor a slight bow. The latter raised his hand in response. Radiance surged, and a pair of golden eyes, gleaming with approval, appeared and disappeared.

The amphitheater was silent. No one responded to the Lord of Death's words; people simply listened in silence. Some increasingly strange glances were now directed at Magnus. The Crimson King clenched his fists in unbearable pain and began to breathe heavily amidst the Lion Guard.

Mortarion's actions were far less damaging than the Emperor's response; that raised hand was what caused his current breathing difficulties.

His thoughts gradually sank into a terrifying suspicion, and his emotions slowly crumbled: Why? Father? You actually agree with him?

"Next." In the center of the amphitheater, the Sigillites calmly raised his scepter and tapped it on the ground. "Who will speak?"

--

Angron Tei felt he was dying, he should be dead, but he wasn't.

This is a rather self-contradictory statement, enough to confuse anyone. But he had been wandering in the darkness for a very long time, and he could hardly remember anything except his right hand, which was tightly gripping a shadow.

He walked on, parched and naked, and in the darkness there was nothing left except his bloody footprints.

Until a golden light appeared.

Until someone appeared before him.

"My son," the man called sadly, "You must wake up, you are becoming a puppet."

Update complete.