Alexander, with Mephiston, descended the spiral staircase that hung upside down on the outside of the tower.
The entire Sheath Wing Fortress was inverted, so the spire of this tower naturally pointed downwards, and thus the genestealers built a series of crude spiral staircases along the outside of the tower.
Under the effect of his mechanizer, Alexander's left hand emitted the roar of a chainsword, effortlessly cutting through the bodies of the genestealers blocking his way.
Above Alexander's head, the genestealers were engaged in battle, the sound of chitinous carapaces shattering echoed incessantly, and from time to time, corpses fell from above, landing heavily into the abyss below.
He and Mephiston quickly climbed the last few steps and entered the room through what was originally a window.
This was a room forged from black iron, full of xeno style, with walls covered in incomprehensible inscriptions and peculiar murals.
In the center of the room was a throne, crudely assembled from black iron, appearing ugly and massive.
The throne was empty, with only a genestealer about three meters tall and with four arms standing beside it.
That genestealer's triangular eyes were fixed on Alexander.
"Invader!" the genestealers shrieked, "Despicable invader!"
"You could have—"
Alexander did not wait for the genestealers to finish speaking, suddenly pulling a staff from his four-dimensional pocket and striking the genestealer's head heavily.
The genestealers could not withstand the immense force Alexander applied to the staff, falling to the ground, utterly bewildered.
It tried to get up, but the impact from Alexander's powerful strike left it half-unconscious on the ground.
Alexander glanced at the staff in his hand; it showed no reaction at all.
It was not the Seeker's Staff, but the last item in the Sherlock Holmes set.
[Item Name: Sherlock Holmes' Radar Staff]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth — Future Department Store]
[Production Time: 261. M3]
[Function: Mimics Sherlock Holmes' Radar Staff, sold bundled with the Clue Magnifying Glass, Detective Pipe, and Deduction Hat. Smoke bubbles exhaled from the Detective Pipe will hover over the head of the perpetrator of an event, marking them.]
This meant that the genestealer in front of him was not the person Alexander was looking for at all.
So why did the Clue Magnifying Glass show the clue in this room? Was it just because of the murals on the walls of this room?
After confirming that this genestealer was not the person he was looking for, Alexander kicked it, knocking it out completely.
But Alexander did not kill it, planning to interrogate it later to see if he could extract any valuable information.
Then Alexander and Mephiston simultaneously glanced at the empty throne before looking at the inverted murals on the walls.
"Xeno script, I can decipher it," Mephiston said in a low voice, "but it will take some time."
Mephiston briefly glanced outside the high tower; the battle outside the tower was intensifying.
The genestealers' slaughter had entered a fever pitch, and footsteps could still be heard on the stairs hanging outside the door.
He was about to suggest temporarily recording the content of the murals and deciphering them slowly in a quieter place.
However, before Mephiston could speak, Alexander waved his hand, interrupting him.
"There's no need for that." Alexander glanced at Mephiston, then reached into his four-dimensional pocket, and soon took out two speckled blocks of Moyu from it.
[Item Name: Translation Moyu]
[Origin: 22nd Century Earth — Future Department Store]
[Production Time: 261. M3]
[Function: A uniquely flavored Moyu confection. After consumption, one can converse with people of different languages without hindrance (including but not limited to foreign languages, alien languages, parallel world languages, or any form of language). Additionally, the effect of this item can be directly applied to text, allowing one to read any text, even difficult-to-understand or illegible scripts.]
[Price: 750,000 / block]
After glancing at the price, Alexander decided that he must make Sanguinius reimburse him when he returned.
Mephiston looked at the Moyu Alexander handed him with some confusion, then he saw Alexander pop a Moyu into his mouth, so he followed suit.
The Moyu was smooth and slightly cool upon entering the mouth, then it slid down Mephiston's throat.
But Mephiston felt no change. Hmm?
"Thus, the exalted Angel was born in death."
"He was born in His death, the one facing death was the Dark Angel, and the one facing life was the Golden Angel."
"He is blessed, and He is cursed; He must die, yet lives through death."
Mephiston felt a dizzying sensation.
He suddenly understood the xeno script on these walls, reading it as smoothly as low gothic.
"The cursed one killed Him, the cursed one witnessed His death, and the cursed one nurtured His life."
"He must die! He must die! Yet He lives through death! Yet He lives through death!"
The chaotic text assaulted Mephiston's mind. He involuntarily recited the words in a low voice, his body trembling slightly.
Finally, his and Alexander's gazes settled on a carving in the center of the mural.
This carving was extremely chaotic, filled with all sorts of jumbled elements.
But Alexander still easily identified the elements within it.
A self-devouring snake, a swarm of rotten flies, a bleeding hound, a strange bird resembling both an eagle and a crow.
These four entities dwelled in the Sea of Souls, manipulating a swollen corpse.
The swollen corpse tore apart the corpse of a pure white Angel with sharp claws.
The Angel's death echoed in the Sea of Souls, and the sorrow and prayers of countless beings converged with it. Thus, two Angels, one black and one gold, were born.
" Sanguinius' death led to the birth of the two Angels of Baal?" Mephiston, standing beside Alexander, involuntarily exclaimed.
"But this… but before Sanguinius descended upon Baal, before Lord Sanguinius was born in the Emperor's gene-laboratory… wait—"
Mephiston gasped, his body trembling slightly.
"There is no concept of time in the Warp; once something is born, it exists contemporaneously in the past, present, and future, without beginning or end," Alexander said, providing the answer for him.
Both understood what this meant.
This meant that Sanguinius' death was fixed—
A beast's roar sounded. The genestealers, knocked out by Alexander with the staff, suddenly woke up and roared as it lunged at Alexander and Mephiston.
"You wish!" Before Alexander and Mephiston could act, a scolding sound mixed with insectoid roars erupted.
A genestealer with a thick chitinous carapace suddenly rushed into the room. It violently swung its claws, forcefully pinning the three-to-four-meter-tall genestealers to the ground.
"I am Gavriel Loken, Captain of the Tenth Company of the Luna Wolves!"
"Are you the so-called 'Emperor'?!"
Loken's voice was sharp as he questioned, knocking down the old man who was attempting to attack the Astartes of unknown livery and the intelligent Ogryn.
He had just observed from outside the door that this strong old man in a floor-length purple robe was likely the one who called himself the 'Emperor'.
However, what truly made Loken feel strange was the Astartes of unknown livery and the intelligent Ogryn.
The two seemed more interested in the murals on the walls.
" You said you were who?" Alexander looked at the scene before him with a slight frown.
The heavily armored men, pinning the three-to-four-meter-tall genestealers to the ground with its claws against its neck, actually claimed to be—
"Gavriel Loken, Captain of the Tenth Company of the Luna Wolves." The genestealers emphasized again, "Sir, I will confirm your identity; please wait."
" " Alexander looked at this scene, slightly taken aback.
Gavriel Loken, Captain of the Tenth Company of the Horus' Sons from the Great Crusade era ten thousand years ago, later became a member of the Four Kings Council, Horus' advisory group.
After the Horus Heresy, Gavriel Loken, as a loyalist among the Horus' Sons, restored the legion's old name of Luna Wolves and opposed Horus.
This genestealer in front of him actually claimed to be Gavriel Loken from ten thousand years ago; it seemed to genuinely believe it was Gavriel Loken.
Alexander's eyes moved slightly. He gently pressed the baseball cap on his head.
The Golden Angel and the Dark Angel were both born from Sanguinius' death. His death echoed in the Warp, triggering the sorrow and prayers of countless beings in the real universe. These converged to form two Angels worshipped by the people of Baal.
Alexander vaguely understood.
Their birth from Sanguinius' death did not mean they were born solely from Sanguinius himself.
In fact, it was likely that everything in the moment of Sanguinius' death was the reason for the birth of the Golden Angel and the Dark Angel.
Over ten thousand years, the emotions generated by all beings remembering Sanguinius' death actually, to some extent, included hatred and various impressions of Horus.
This part of the emotions related to Horus gave rise to the Dark Angel in the Baal faith, and Sanguinius of the Scythe Wings was derived from the Baalites' belief in the two Angels, black and gold.
This genestealer in front of him was actually influenced by the Dark Angel in the Baal faith.
The impressions and memories of Horus and the Horus' Sons held by all beings were, to some extent, projected onto this group of genestealers.
"Wait, if there's Gavriel Loken…" Alexander murmured softly.
Standing beside him, Mephiston, who had just understood all this, stiffened slightly.
Yes, since even the impressions of Gavriel Loken held by all beings had been projected into this group of genestealers,
Then… there was no reason for the other protagonist of Sanguinius' death not to be present.
"I am awaiting the Warmaster! I will surrender to him! And only to him!"
Gavriel Loken watched the old man in front of him shriek and sighed softly.
The scene before him was somewhat blurry and chaotic; this old man seemed to have turned into a three-to-four-meter-tall insectoid xeno monster.
Loken's power sword had also turned into xeno claws, and his fingers were covered in various sticky fluids.
He quickly shook his head, composed himself, and whispered into his communicator for a moment.
"The Warmaster will come to accept your surrender."