"Father?" A call reached his ears, shattering the memory illusion before Fulgrim's eyes. He blinked as tears rolled down his perfect cheeks and struck the floor.
"Father?" came another call, clearer this time, tinged with guilt and fear. Fulgrim looked at Aiken Nykona. The captain who had followed him since Byzas was kneeling on the ground, trembling like a puppy about to be abandoned by its master.
Fulgrim tried to reach out and comfort Aiken Nykona, but his hand froze in midair, never descending onto Aiken Nykona's shoulder.
"My children?"
The Emperor's Children heard Fulgrim's voice. They began to weep and sob, kneeling motionlessly before him as they awaited their fate.
Seeing Fulgrim's silence, Lin Fan did not press him further. He turned to Jaghatai. "Jaghatai, a question just occurred to me. Suppose... and I mean suppose... your Legion rebelled, and you rebelled too. But later, you repented, and the children you had betrayed were willing to follow you again. What would you choose...?"
"I..." Jaghatai frowned. He was genuinely considering the path his heart might have taken after betrayal. In the end, all he could offer was a rather vague answer. "I would lead them in a desperate battle within the Eye of Terror until every last one of us was dead... Once betrayal has been committed, there is no road back."
That answer truly suited Jaghatai's character—bamboo could burn but never lose its joints; jade could shatter but never lose its whiteness... But that was not the answer Lin Fan wanted. Yet there was no one else here he could ask. Was he supposed to ask Perturabo, who had already left? He would probably erupt on the spot, then plunge back into the Eye of Terror alone in a fit of rage...
Lin Fan quietly glanced at Fulgrim,