A Long Letter and a Short Note

Most people wrote little on the back endpaper, the blank page between the last page of the text and the back cover.

After all, their education was limited, so they couldn't write much in a letter.

A few brief greetings, or a few simple complaints and questions.

But the owner of this book was different.

Put together, the front and back endpapers contained everything he had written.

The handwriting was quite messy, and it was in Low Gothic.

But the layout was neat.

There were more than twenty thousand words in all. It was a very, very long letter.

To my uncle, whom I have never met:

Han Mingxuan looked at the opening, then at the contents of the letter.

It was clear that the writer's heart was full of conflict, struggle, twisted thoughts, and madness.

There was also endless inferiority and emptiness.

An indifferent father, a missing mother, brothers fighting among themselves, family turning their weapons on one another.

The letter carried heavy emotions.

And perhaps only Curze himself could have foreseen such things.

Han Mingxuan thought for a long time before finally picking up his pen.

My son, I hope this letter finds you well:

I know the pain in your heart.

Nostramo's darkness has been etched into your very bones and blood since the day you were born.

You grew accustomed to seeing evil and corruption, and came to believe that only fear could keep people in check, and only iron and blood could bring order.

You have protected this fallen land in your own way, and I have seen your lonely courage.

But child, you must understand that fear can stop evil for a time, but it cannot nurture lasting goodness; iron and blood can quell unrest in one place, but they cannot warm the cold in people's hearts.

You say you are a lonely ghost of midnight, a man cursed by fate. Those inescapable visions, those prophecies of destruction and betrayal, gnaw at your mind day and night.

I know your pain, know how you struggle between justice and brutality, know that you long to be understood, yet shut yourself away in armor forged from loneliness.

But you have forgotten that you are not alone. You have brothers, and you have me, your father.

You need not carry every burden on your shoulders, nor use cruelty to disguise your strength, still less let the light in your heart be swallowed by boundless darkness.

Do not sink any further into hatred and madness. Do not let the shadows of midnight consume you completely.

Look back at those who follow you. They do so not because they fear your brutality, but because they admire the ideals you once held.

Those brothers bound to you by blood, despite their disputes and differences with you, have never truly abandoned you.

Let go of the obsession in your heart and break free of the shackles of fate. You are still a man who holds justice in his heart, still the son I am proud of.

Written by your father's own hand.

Looking at this last book, Han Mingxuan really did have a bit of a headache.

On the surface, Curze didn't seem to have any problems. He was a downright sunny, cheerful young man, and a cultured one at that.

How had he written a letter in such a gloomy, paranoid style?

Curze?

Curze?

Konrad Curze.

Wait!

Could he be the Night Haunter?

No, no, it couldn't be him.

The evil gods of the Warp are still gathering resources. The gacha pool hasn't even opened yet.

There's no way the Night Haunter could have come over here to stir up trouble.

Unlike Han Mingxuan, who was racking his brains, the people of the Justiciar Legion were all excited.

Every one of them had received Uncle's own signature and a handwritten letter!

"Hey, wait a minute. Why is this character in mine wrong?"

A wrong character?

"Brother, how about we swap?"

"Sure."

"Sure, my ass! Doesn't a mistake prove Uncle wrote it himself? Why would you swap it?" Shen said from where he sat nearby.

In the legion, Shen still called Han Mingxuan "Uncle" in the formal sense. The familiar term was too intimate; he couldn't let these guys know.

"This is an error edition. Do you even know how valuable that makes it?"

An error edition?

"Actually, that sounds right. My family likes collecting error editions, especially ones with printing mistakes. This one's even signed by hand."

"Hey, brother, want to swap?"

"Swap... swap my ass! I'm not swapping!"

Meanwhile, Han Mingxuan had come looking for Curze in his room.

"Knock, knock, knock! Curze, may I come in?"

Not long after Han Mingxuan knocked, Curze welcomed him inside.

"Dad, why are you being so formal with me? Just come in."

"I'm not like you, kid. You're growing up now, and it's time you had some privacy of your own."

Han Mingxuan took a careful look around Curze's room. It was very plain, not even half as luxurious as his own.

Once Curze had gained a firm foothold in the Hive City, he had suggested moving out of Han Mingxuan's room.

He'd said that he was a boss now, at least, and it wouldn't do for him to keep sleeping with his dad.

Han Mingxuan hadn't seen a problem with it and had agreed, but now that he saw the room, Curze was living a little too modestly.

"You're living too poorly."

Aside from a simple table, chairs, stools, and a bed, the room was filled with all kinds of books.

"I thought it was something serious. I'm still young, so why would I need a fancy place? What about you, Dad? Shouldn't you get a few more things?"

"No need. I'm your father. If I lived too extravagantly, it would set a bad example for you."

"Don't worry about that, Dad. Nobody would dare gossip!"

Han Mingxuan nodded. He had another reason for coming today.

The letter Curze had written made Han Mingxuan realize that perhaps he hadn't shown Curze enough concern lately.

That was mainly because of his damned ability to foresee the future.

"I came today because I have a few things to ask."

"Ask me anything, Dad. I'll tell you everything I know."

"It's about the letter you wrote."

"Oh, is that all?" Curze said with a smile. "Dad, if you ask me, isn't it about time you found yourself a companion?"

Hmm?

Find a companion?

Wait!

That means Curze didn't write that long letter!

But finding a companion...

In Warhammer?

That would take guts.

"Don't worry about my business. Also, didn't you say you had a Xenos last time? Where is the Xenos? I want to meet them."

The Xenos?

The big bat?

"Dad, that guy's pretty ugly. I'm afraid he'll scare you."

Tsk, now that he mentions it, that's true.

An ordinary person like him really couldn't stomach the sight of the Xenos in Warhammer World.

But he still had to meet him.

In Warhammer, the biggest things to avoid were the Xenos inside your body and a father who spoke in riddles.

The Phoenix had ended up as a cup for Slaanesh because of the Xenos in that sword.

Old Man Yellow was even worse.

Because he never said anything, more than half his sons had rebelled.

What a mess.

"I have to meet him. I can't feel at ease with that Xenos by your side."

Huh?

Hadn't Dad said he felt perfectly at ease at first? Why was he saying he didn't now?

Forget it. Dad's getting on in years, so it's normal for him to worry more.

[Big Bat, my dad wants to meet you. Come out for a moment.]

[...]

He won't come out?

Curze hadn't expected the big bat, who was usually around, to be hiding now.

"Dad, that bat won't come out."

"A bat?"

"Yeah, he looks a lot like one, so that's what I call him."

Oh, crap!

Some of the Night Lords in the Chaos Warbands looked like bats.

The problem was, Chaos wasn't even active yet!

"What does he look like? Describe him to me in detail."