Sheath Wing Fortress, Sheath Wing and Claw Restaurant.
The restaurant owner was waving his three arms, wiping already clean plates.
His eyes held a hint of emptiness, as if he was just looking for something to do.
The somewhat old door of the restaurant suddenly pushed open, and the owner abruptly looked up, staring intently at the newcomer with some vigilance.
One of his arms subtly reached under the table, and he Damned in a low voice:
"I have no interest in mixing with you, entertaining myself in another deception. I just want to run this restaurant well."
"Get out! Otherwise, even if I die, I'll take a few of your heads with me."
"Don't be nervous, Boss."
However, the voice from behind the door was not frantic, but full of reason and gentleness:
"Do you remember me? I've eaten here before!"
The restaurant owner saw the face of the person who entered and was momentarily stunned.
"It's you. I remember. No one could forget someone who ate an entire Fire Scorpion."
The restaurant owner slowly lowered his weapon, watching the person from outside walk into the restaurant.
Alexander slowly stepped through the door. His face had been altered by Body Clay, taking on the appearance of a genestealers member, wearing a baseball cap.
Beside him was a large Ogryn with some chitin, that was Mephiston.
Last time, Mephiston had used cognitive distortion to infiltrate Sheath Wing Fortress, but was seen through by a Neurothrope at the last moment.
This time, to prevent any accidents, Alexander used Body Clay to create a physical disguise for him.
Mephiston's physique was too large, and he also needed to hide his power armor under the Body Clay, so Alexander could only disguise him as an unusually large Ogryn.
However, Mephiston, as a dignified Chief Librarian, was too contaminated by knowledge to genuinely portray the innocence of an Ogryn.
The restaurant owner eyed Alexander warily, then asked with some hesitation, "You haven't gone mad either?"
"What do you mean 'not mad'? I left Sheath Wing Fortress right after the Grand Council ended."
Alexander's lips curved into a faint smile as he sat down at a dining table, asking with a puzzled expression:
"By the way, what happened to Sheath Wing Fortress? I met some people on the road, and they were all raving mad..."
"..muttering about the Emperor, Terra, the Throne, and all sorts of nonsense."
Alexander had indeed witnessed the chaos within Sheath Wing Fortress on his way.
Almost all genestealers members had fallen into some kind of frenzy. After the patriarch's death, their cognitive distortion seemed to have grown stronger instead of weakening.
From their fragmented words, Alexander could roughly discern a few things.
Some genestealers members regarded Sheath Wing Fortress as Holy Terra, their chitinous carapaces as power armor, and the frenzied plaguebearers and Tech-Acolytes as Tech-Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus. The strangest thing was their constant chanting about 'Imperial Truth'... seemingly still living in the 30th Millennium of Mankind.
Other genestealers members had their own forms of confusion. Some even claimed to be Horus' Sons, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, or other Legions.
Alexander even saw a genestealers member shouting that he had developed a spell that could solve his brethren's flesh mutations.
A while later, Alexander saw many genestealers members turn into sand.
There was also a very large genestealers member chasing and killing other genestealers members, claiming to imitate his father by killing one out of ten.
This Sheath Wing Fortress was simply too insane.
"You... you still think we are Sons of Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings?" The restaurant owner looked at Alexander's un-crazed face, momentarily taken aback.
"Don't talk about that yet, Boss. Fry me a couple of dishes, I'm starving to death." Alexander waved his hand and said to the restaurant owner.
After Alexander had some spare funds, he did exchange for the Gourmet Tablecloth.
However, to Alexander's surprise, while the basic Gourmet Tablecloth could conjure food, the food itself actually cost money. Some rarer foods were even as precious as a feather from Sanguinius.
The true Gourmet Tablecloth, which could conjure food out of thin air, was even more expensive, making Alexander's eyelids twitch just looking at it.
Moreover, the Gourmet Tablecloth couldn't conjure the unique delicacies found only in 40k, and the taste of the same dish didn't vary much. Alexander was quite fond of the cooking skills of this restaurant owner in Sheath Wing Fortress.
The owner sighed slightly, then a small smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "It's been a long time since anyone came here for a proper meal."
Saying that, the restaurant owner turned and walked into the kitchen, emerging shortly after with a plate.
"The Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings cult has collapsed. No one brings food anymore. I don't have much left here."
"Bloodgrass root starch balls stir-fried with Fire Scorpion meat. Make do with it."
Alexander looked at the food in front of him; its appearance was indeed not appealing.
Bloodgrass is a desert plant native to Baal, whose roots are rich in starch. After fermentation, it can be made into sweet drinks or candies. Unfermented, it can also be processed into starch.
The nail-sized bloodgrass starch balls in front of Alexander were one of Baal's signature delicacies, stir-fried with slightly spicy Fire Scorpion meat, looking somewhat sticky.
But after taking a bite, Alexander still had to marvel at the cooking skills of this genestealers member.
The satisfaction brought by starch, fat, and protein danced on Alexander's tongue. In less than a few minutes, Alexander had cleaned the entire dish.
"What exactly went wrong with the Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings cult? How come I don't know anything?" After eating, Alexander's finger brushed over the Hot Clapboard & Robot Director, asking with deep confusion and bewilderment in his tone, as if he knew nothing.
"There is no Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings, no pure Sons of Sanguinius. It's all just deception and illusion."
The restaurant owner took a breath and pulled out a Baal rolled cigarette from his pocket. He hesitated, then pulled out another and offered it to Alexander.
Alexander waved his hand to refuse. Although he drank alcohol, he never smoked.
Mainly because hive city's lho cigarettes had too much 'tech and ruthlessness'; many people went blind instantly after one puff.
This made Alexander even afraid to smoke pure natural Baal rolled cigarettes, God knows what 'ruthlessness' was in them.
The restaurant owner snorted lightly, lit his own cigarette, and started smoking.
"Some time ago, the patriarch took people to welcome the so-called Living Saint, Sanguilius, and never returned."
"But one night, everyone's eyes seemed to become clearer than before. Many things that were once unclear or hard to understand became clear."
"We looked around and saw no pure Sons of Sanguinius, only a group of mutated and corrupted monsters."
"The genestealer were ourselves, and the blasphemers were also ourselves."
The restaurant owner laughed mockingly, "Hahaha."
"It's all just deception and illusion. We are just pathetic worms manipulated by the Tyranids."
"Then some people committed suicide, some went mad, and the entire Sheath Wing Fortress fell into chaos."
"I found some clues a long time ago and was somewhat mentally prepared, which is why I didn't go completely insane."
Saying that, the restaurant owner took a deep puff of his cigarette, then stared intently at Alexander, seemingly observing his reaction.
"..Oh, I also found some clues and was somewhat mentally prepared." Alexander said without changing his expression. With the help of the prop, his voice sounded very credible.
The restaurant owner was slightly stunned, then slowly nodded.
"And then what happened?" Alexander slightly pressed down the brim of his hat and asked the restaurant owner.
"..Then they went completely mad. Many people seemed to fall into different illusions again."
"Some thought they were Adeptus Ministorum members, some thought they were the Great Crusade fleet of old, and others thought Sheath Wing Fortress was Terra... In short, it became a mess. These madmen with different worldviews were even cannibalizing each other within Sheath Wing Fortress. Ha, it would have been better to all sink into the illusion of Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings."
"Now, the most powerful faction is... the group who believe Sheath Wing Fortress is Terra. They worship a specific individual and call him the Emperor, and they now occupy most of the middle and lower levels of Sheath Wing Fortress."
"They also control the propaganda equipment... Oh, judging by the time, it should be starting soon."
The restaurant owner slightly raised his eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall.
The time was 14:13 Terra time.
"They believe this is Terra, and insist on using Terra's calendar and timekeeping..."
Saying that, the restaurant owner pressed the loudspeaker switch on the wall, and a sound mixed with insect Damnes blared from the speaker.
"I am the Human Emperor!"
A grotesque, terrifying, yet strangely alluring voice echoed in Alexander's ears:
"I am unyielding, leading my people through the arduous years ravaged by Warp storms, enduring the cruel trials of the Age of Strife. I will consistently uphold humanity's stable rule and righteous laws; this is my inherent duty as the Emperor!"
"I protected the flame of human civilization from extinguishing during the ancient Old Night! I preserved Terra, the homeland of humanity, intact to this day!"
"It fills me with immense joy that the age of fragmentation has ended, and my grand blueprint for rebuilding the dominion has already begun!"
"Oh, orphans scattered across the galaxy, remaining fragments of human civilizations, I shall gather all of you into my embrace!"
"I shall bring you truth, dispel falsehoods and superstitions, and interpret humanity's manifest destiny for you!"
"The Imperium of Man shall once again rule the stars; this is the clear destiny of the human race!"
"Swear allegiance to me! I am the Emperor! I am the Emperor!"
Mephiston, disguised as an Ogryn beside Alexander, stood in a daze, his face for the first time showing the innocence characteristic of an Ogryn.
Alexander also couldn't help but applaud.
What an infectious speech, what passionate lines, what a confident ruler!
It sounded much more credible than a certain socially awkward, homebody research dog, a failed father who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years!