The Worthless Death of Erebus

"What? Erebus was caught?"

When Zhou Beichen heard the news, he nearly sprayed out a mouthful of water. He set down his waterskin, his expression strange, mixed with surprise and a trace of... disappointment?

This wasn't right. Based on the messy "plot" he remembered, and this old bastard's "potential" to become a key figure behind Horus's rebellion, he should have been some ultimate scheming villain, deeply hidden, ruthless, with countless tricks up his sleeve to save his own skin. The arrest should have been fraught with twists and turns, forcing him to unleash some Chaos-blessed ultimate form at the end and have a world-shaking fated showdown with Lorgar, collapsing a few mountains before it was over.

But what happened? According to the report, the process had gone absurdly smoothly. The wanted poster had described his features with extreme accuracy, and a local resident once oppressed by Erebus's secret society recognized him and secretly informed on him. The "Lackeys" caught wind of it and directly blocked off an abandoned mine where he was hiding. There wasn't even any decent resistance inside. Like digging a rat out of its hole, they dragged out the filthy bald man cowering in a corner.

That was fucking pathetic! Where was the ultimate boss? This was it?

"But sir," the minor Lackey leader who had come to report added, his expression equally strange, "that Erebus... he seems to have gone mad. When he was caught, he neither cried nor made a fuss. Now that he's locked up, all he does is shout nonsense like 'woo-ah' and 'ah-ba ah-ba.' His eyes are vacant, and he doesn't react no matter what we ask."

Zhou Beichen froze for a moment, then let out a derisive laugh, his eyes full of mockery.

"Heh, as expected of Erebus. No matter where he goes or what role he plays, he always has all sorts of 'methods.' To stay alive, to find a chance to turn things around, there's nothing he won't do. He can even throw away his dignity and pride, pretending to be insane and playing the fool." He stood and patted dust that did not exist from his clothes. "Come on. Take me to see him. Let's see just how mad this 'old friend' has become."

The dark, damp cell reeked of mold and faint urine. Erebus was shackled in a corner with thick iron chains. He wore tattered prison clothes, his distinctive bald head hanging low and covered in grime. Hearing footsteps, he suddenly raised his head, revealing a haggard, twisted face. His eyes were unfocused, drool ran from the corners of his mouth, and sure enough, he began making meaningless "ah-ba ah-ba" sounds, his body twitching slightly in accompaniment.

A jailer was impatiently yelling at him. "Quit fucking pretending! Behave yourself!"

Zhou Beichen waved a hand, stopping the jailer. He and Lorgar walked side by side to the cell bars and silently watched Erebus perform inside.

Lorgar's violet eyes were calm and still. They merely swept lightly over the dark inscriptions covering Erebus's skin, appearing and disappearing as he struggled.

The instant Erebus saw Lorgar, the "ah-ba" sounds in his throat seemed to pause almost imperceptibly. His pupils contracted for an instant, only to be immediately buried beneath even more frantic babbling.

Zhou Beichen smiled. Through the bars, he spoke as casually as if greeting an old friend.

"Erebus! Long time no see, my dear fellow believer. Tsk, tsk, I've missed you terribly. Day and night, I've been looking forward to 'catching up' with you."

Erebus continued his "ah-ba ah-ba," but on closer inspection, the corner of his lowered eye was secretly studying Zhou Beichen, as though evaluating the man who had personally driven him into this desperate situation.

Zhou Beichen did not care. Turning to the jailer beside him, he ordered, "How can old friends catch up without wine and meat? Go get some sand beast meat and a jug of homemade liquor."

Before long, a plate of sizzling roasted sand beast haunch and a jug of cloudy but strongly scented homemade liquor were brought over. Zhou Beichen had the jailer open the cell door and place the food and drink on the floor before Erebus, then dismissed everyone else. Only he, Lorgar, and Erebus, who was still pretending to be mad, remained in the cell.

The door was locked again. Zhou Beichen folded his arms and calmly watched Erebus on the ground.

"I know you must have a lot of doubts and resentment in your heart right now. Why did things turn out this way? Why does everything completely fail to match the script your four 'true gods' told you? Why did you endure and scheme for so many years, only to be dragged out of a hole by me like a cockroach in the end?"

Erebus's "ah-ba" sounds gradually lowered. Though his body still trembled faintly, his ears had clearly perked up.

"The reason is complicated. There's no need for you to know, and even if you did, you wouldn't understand." Zhou Beichen's tone carried a hint of condescending amusement. "But I can be charitable and tell you... everything that would have happened in the 'original' story. A future where I never interfered, where everything followed the script arranged by your four masters."

Erebus abruptly raised his head. Though he still wore that idiotic expression, the irrepressible longing for unknown secrets deep within his eyes nearly overflowed.

Zhou Beichen began speaking slowly, his voice echoing through the dark cell.

"You and Korfalon, who died outside that desolate village, would have 'raised'—oh, no, more accurately, 'controlled' Lorgar. You would make him fear and obey you, turning him into a... tool in the religious prison you deliberately built around him. A tool that could only meditate and recite scripture, with nothing in his head except the extreme exclusionary theology you had drilled into him."

"You would carefully prune his thoughts, erase his innate curiosity and his pursuit of order, and turn him into the perfect mouthpiece for spreading your so-called 'truth.'"

Zhou Beichen painted the future in which Lorgar was twisted and exploited. He described how Erebus, through his control over Lorgar and his secret allegiance to the powers of Chaos, would climb step by step to the peak of power, even playing a pivotal role in the future betrayal that swept across the galaxy.

That future held power, influence, and the "glory" of being an important piece on the gods' chessboard... Though its final outcome would still be destruction and nothingness, the journey would at least be called "magnificent."

As Erebus listened, his breathing involuntarily quickened. The future Zhou Beichen described was vague in detail, but that feeling of controlling fate and standing high above others was exactly what he had dreamed of! He seemed to see himself clad in fine robes, standing at the side of the divine son, receiving the worship of countless people, even speaking directly with the four true gods... It was far better than secretly forming a society and hiding from place to place!

Yet the moment he thought of himself imprisoned like livestock awaiting slaughter, all those visions instantly burst like bubbles. The faint spark in his eyes rapidly dimmed. His entire body seemed to lose its spine as he slumped to the ground. He stopped saying "ah-ba" and instead reached out, trembling as he grabbed the cold roast meat and jug of liquor before him. He began tearing into the food and gulping down the drink, as if trying to fill the enormous emptiness and despair in his heart with food.

"That's more like it, my friend." Zhou Beichen watched him wolf down the food, his voice dripping with mockery. "There's plenty more story ahead. Eat slowly. No rush."

Erebus swept through the food and liquor like a whirlwind, then let out a belch reeking of alcohol. Perhaps it was the drink, or perhaps he had been stirred by the other possibility Zhou Beichen had sketched out. He raised his bloodshot eyes, stopped pretending, and began recounting his past in a hoarse voice.

He spoke of his misery as an orphan, of struggling to survive in garbage heaps. He spoke of the oppression and injustice under the Covenant Church's rule, of how someone with no background like him could never see a path to advancement. He spoke of how, to survive and climb higher, he had been forced to become vicious and cunning, even killing his only friend and taking his identity...

Finally, he stared fixedly at Zhou Beichen, his voice carrying the bitter venom of someone with nothing left to lose, along with a twisted sense of recognition. "You and I... are actually the same kind of person! We're both heretics who use the divine son! The only difference is that you succeeded and I failed! The winner becomes king and the loser a bandit. I, Erebus, accept it! But you don't need to pretend to be some savior in front of me!"

"I'm the same as you? What the fuck did you just say?!"

As if he had heard the most disgusting insult in the world, Zhou Beichen's face instantly darkened. He suddenly stepped forward and punched Erebus in the face through the bars!

"Bang!"

Erebus was knocked backward by the unexpected punch, blood spurting from his nose at once.

Zhou Beichen pulled back his fist, his gaze cold as a blade. Pointing at Erebus's nose, he cursed.

"Quit fucking flattering yourself! Listen, let me give you an example—when some people see slaves on the street, they tell their children, 'Study hard, or you'll end up like them someday.' But I would tell myself, 'I'll study hard, so one day I can make sure these people never have to live like this again!'"

His voice exploded through the cell, carrying an unquestionable resolve.

"If you see hope, then change it! If it's rotten to the roots and beyond saving, then tear it down and start over! And you, Erebus, are just a rat trying to climb upward! If you got hold of the divine son, you would only turn him into a tool for fulfilling your ambitions, a means to satisfy your hunger for power!"

He pointed at the silent Lorgar beside him. "I got hold of the divine son, and I gave him knowledge. I gave him choices. I let him learn about this world for himself and decide which road to take for himself! I let him think, create, and make this damned world full of suffering a little better! Even if it's only a little!"

Zhou Beichen took a breath and calmed his agitated emotions, but his gaze remained sharp.

"There's an old saying where I come from: do not urge others to be kind if you have not suffered their pain. Sorry, I can't truly understand your suffering, and I have no interest in learning about your bullshit. But your suffering will never be a reason for me to forgive what you've done!"

He no longer looked at Erebus, who lay sprawled on the ground with blood all over his face and vacant eyes. Turning to Lorgar, he said calmly, "You've heard what needed to be heard. Purify him, Lorgar."

Lorgar nodded, his face expressionless. He opened the cell door and stepped inside.

Erebus seemed to sense what was coming. He struggled to retreat, but the chains restricted his movement. As he looked into Lorgar's violet eyes, devoid of any human emotion, fear finally overwhelmed everything else. He tried to scream, only to discover that no sound would come out.

Lorgar extended both hands. His movements were steady and resolute as he gently cupped Erebus's head, covered in dark inscriptions.

Erebus's entire body began trembling violently. The inscriptions he had once used to feign devotion, but which now seemed like marks of a curse, began to faintly heat up the instant Lorgar's palms touched them!

There was no incantation, no ritual.

Pure, blazing golden flames silently ignited in Lorgar's palms.

The flames did not sweep forth violently. Instead, like flowing liquid sunlight, they slowly spread down from Erebus's head. Wherever they passed, Erebus's skin, muscles, and bones did not burn. Like snow cast into a blazing sun, they began to disintegrate and purify from the level of matter itself, turning into the finest particles of dust glittering with faint golden light.

Erebus could not even scream. His eyes widened to their limits, the pure and terrifying gold reflected in his pupils. In the end, even those pupils began to dissipate.

The entire process was eerily silent. There was only the faint hum of flame scorching the air, along with the soft rustling sound, like shifting grains of sand, as Erebus's body rapidly turned to ash.

A few seconds later, Lorgar released his hands.

The golden flames in his palms quietly went out.

Only empty chains remained where Erebus had been, along with an exceedingly fine layer of ash still carrying a faint sacred warmth. Erebus, along with the name he had stolen, his twisted ambitions, and the false-faith inscriptions covering his body, had been completely erased from the world without leaving the slightest trace.

Lorgar calmly walked out of the cell and gave Zhou Beichen a slight nod.

"It's done."

Zhou Beichen looked at the pile of ash and curled his lip. "That bastard got off easy."

He turned and took the lead toward the exit.

"Come on, son. The fly's been swatted. Time to get to the real work."