After hearing what the prophet said, Octavia looked very surprised,
Talos did not look directly at her, he walked around her throne, looked across the pool, and thought of the previous owner of this room.
The man died in filth, torn to pieces by the first claws.
Although Talos still remembered it clearly, he could not remember the name of the creature now, which was rare.
"Are you listening to me?"
Octavia raised her voice a little, her voice so elegant and polite, attracting Talos' attention.
"exist."
"That's good."
The navigator sat on her throne, holding one hand around her swollen belly.
She appeared unusually thin, which made her pregnancy appear even more prominent.
"What are the chances that Dietrian's ship will make it out of the encirclement safely?"
Talos saw no point in lying to her. He stared at her for a long time, letting time pass slowly with the rhythm of her heartbeat.
"Your chances of survival are almost laughably small, but there's still a chance."
"With Septimus?"
"He's our pilot."
"But he's more of a father -"
Talos immediately raised his hand in warning.
"Be careful, Octavia, don't make the mistake of thinking that I can be swayed by emotional appeals... You know, I have also skinned children in front of their parents."
Octavia gritted her teeth, but was never willing to compromise.
"So he...he will always follow me. You can't leave him here. I know him better than you."
"I haven't decided his fate yet."
"What about you? What is your 'destiny'?"
"Don't talk to me in that tone. I don't take offense to arrogant tone, so save it."
"sorry."
The navigator lowered his head.
"I'm... just angry."
"Understandable."
"Then what do you do? Do you let those aliens kill you like this?"
"Did you see what happened when we tried to escape, saw how we broke through blockade after blockade and smashed the ship's bow to pieces? They wouldn't let us run to the Great Eye, and as soon as I fired my psychic tip
The noose began to wrap around us. Their prophet was too powerful. It kept staring at me. I couldn't leave... Octavia, if I delay any longer, I will lose the choice of the location of the war.
Last chance.”
"You didn't answer my question."
"I must die."
Talos gestured to the monitors on her row of walls, each showing a different angle outside the ship - each with one eye on the star floating in orbit.
"How can I make this clearer? Beyond this planet, alien warships are waiting for us... We're doomed, Octavia, that's it."
As he spoke, the prophet sighed, but there was no regret on his face.
"Get ready to leave the ship. Take whatever you want. You have 11 hours before I never want to see you again."
After saying that, he turned around and left, pushing away the two attendants who didn't disperse quickly enough.
The navigator watched him walk away, tasting freedom for the first time since being captured, but she wasn't sure if it was as pleasant as she remembered.
"Talos, you often say that the original body is the creature that values itself the least in the galaxy, so why don't you?"
Talos paused for half a second, then disappeared out of the hatch without looking back.
A few minutes later, the man in the pilot's maintenance room
The door opened.
A giant appeared in the doorway's arch.
Septimus looked up, still holding Talos' helmet in his hand. He had been making final repairs to the lens of his left eye.
"Owner?"
Talos walked in, and the simple room echoed with the sound of joints and the hum of armor like howling wolves.
"Ottavia will leave the ship in 11 hours."
The prophet looked at each other.
"Your unborn child is going with her."
Septimus nodded, keeping his eyes fixed on Talos' face.
"Dear Master, I have already guessed it."
Talos paced the room, looking left and right, never staying on one thing for too long.
Afterwards, he picked up the half-repaired pistols on the table, Octavia's charcoal drawings, and some toys that were only as big as his thumb—perhaps for some little life.
The most important thing is that there is a breath of life, a breath of personality, and a breath of a specific soul flowing in this small space.
This is a human room.
Talos suddenly realized how empty and lifeless his own room was - except for the prophecies scrawled on the iron wall, there was no trace of personality.
The prophet closed his eyes, trying to retrieve something in his mind, something he had forgotten for a long time...
At the end of the Great Crusade, the last Night Lords to set foot on the surface of Nastrum were the warriors of the 10th, 12th, and 16th Companies.
Homecomings are rare, as few Astartes ever see their homeland again, and Nasturm are rarely known for the honors their children bring.
The parade was very humble and sincere.
When the expedition fleet was refueling and making routine repairs at Nastrum's dock, the company commander leading the three companies made a gesture.
Each company of 50 Astartes will planet-land and march from the spaceport along the main avenue of Quintus.
Talos remembered that even then it was a strange emotional gesture.
He was blackened all over, along with the other nine Astartes in the already full First Claw.
During the parade, amid the formidable crowds, young Talos clutched his bolter tightly to his chest and joined his brothers in removing their helmets and marching into battle.
The experience was dizzying, and although there was almost no sound at first, with barely anyone cheering, the applause soon turned to thunder.
In front of the children of the Midnight Ghost, the conflicted people of Nastrum put aside their indifference and welcomed their warriors home.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The situation got worse when the crowd started shouting their names.
That's not an insult, that's a real name.
The scene was not chaotic, but the crowds on both sides of the street were shouting the names of the Astartes, for reasons that even Talos could not figure out.
In several places, the thin lines that the law enforcers had set up to block the crowds were broken, and small arms fire was violently fired, shooting down several people in the crowd who wanted to go with the Astartes. Only
A few people squeezed into the ranks of the marching soldiers.
Those who crowded into the queue looked around as if they were lost, looking up at the faces of the walking warriors like drunken, frightened and feverish little animals.
Charles is harassed by an old woman who is less than half his height.
"Where is he?"
She screamed, grabbing the armor of the advancing warrior with her thin hands.
"Char! Where is he? Answer me!"
As the charr moved on, Talos could see the uneasiness in his brother's face, and the old woman saw his gaze beneath her disheveled white hair.
Talos immediately turned his head and looked forward, but the old lady had already grasped his motionless arm with her weak hands.
"look at me!"
she pleaded.
"look at me!"
Talos didn't, he just kept going.
The old woman cried and wailed behind him and fell behind him.
"Look at me! I know it's you! Talos, look at me!"
Soon, a law enforcer ended her request with a gunshot.
Talos hated the relief he felt at that moment.
When the parade was over and he returned to the Dark, Ciel was sitting on the sofa next to him.
Talos had never seen such a hesitant expression on his brother's face.
"It wasn't easy for any of us, but you did a great job, brother."
“What am I doing differently?”
Charles swallowed, and a light seemed to appear behind his eyes.
"That woman, that one in the crowd, you...didn't you recognize her?"
Talos tilted his head and looked at Ciel carefully.
"I barely saw her."
"She called your name."
Ciel continued to ask.
"You really didn't recognize her?"
"They were reading our names from our armor scrolls, and she called yours too."
Charr stood up to leave, and Talos stood up with him, his gauntlets clutching his brother's pauldrons.
"Tell me what you found, Charles."
"She is not pronouncing our names, but she knows us, brother... She recognizes us, even after twenty years and the changes brought about by gene seeds, Throne, Talos... you must recognize us too
Out of her."
"I didn't, I swear, I only saw an old woman."
Ciel shook his hands and got rid of Talos' control. He did not turn around but his breathing became disordered. Then his words were as decisive as the gunshot that silenced the old woman's plea.
"That old lady——"
Ciel, who had his back to Talos, said slowly:
"She was your mother."
In an instant, Talos opened his eyes suddenly, then walked towards the door with decisive steps, and said loudly:
"Mortal Septimus, I don't need you anymore. Go away, take your woman and your children, go far away, and go to a place... where there is not so much blood."
Under Septimus' stunned gaze, Talos's back disappeared behind the closed gate.