"I saw them, those patterns, that truth."
"They were hidden within this statue. It revealed to me knowledge that mortals should not witness."
Magnus picked up a faded, gray-blue cloth from the city and covered the statue completely. The contours of the statue were still visible through the fabric's folds, but it at least blocked the alluring truth.
"We... saw it too," Amon said, his voice hoarse. He wasn't as strong as Magnus, but he still managed to look away with difficulty.
The other Masters fared even worse. Even though the statue was covered, their gazes remained fixed on it, as if pulled by a magnet.
Mephia's hands trembled uncontrollably. Vennakar's lips moved silently, as if reciting some incantation.
They had all received unique revelations. The knowledge seemed tailor-made for them.
And they were all convinced they had found the truth!
Caelan questioned, "How can you be sure that is the truth?"
Amon asnwered, "No one can deny the truth. How can you deny that 1+1=2?"
Mathematically, 1+1=2 is an immutable truth, the underlying logic of mathematics.
Any mathematical formula is inseparable from 1+1=2.
In the material universe, 1+1=2 is the truth.
And the knowledge they gained from the statue was the arithmetic of psychic powers!
Before encountering this statue, the Prosperines' use of psychic powers was as crude as primitive people swinging rocks.
They could only throw their psychic power in a scattered mass, like gravel. Even if they used all their strength, maybe only one percent of the 'gravel' would hit anyone, and the damage it caused was negligible.
But now, they had achieved a qualitative leap.
They could condense that gravel into a single boulder and crush their enemies with it.
Or they could extract iron ore from the gravel, forge swords, spears, clubs, and staves to better kill enemies, or craft sturdy armor to protect comrades.
Their understanding of psychic powers had jumped from the Stone Age to the Industrial Revolution.
Such an astonishing leap, happening to anyone, would likely be regarded as truth.
But Caelan couldn't understand.
Caelan slowly lifted the cloth covering the statue and examined its complex patterned face to face.
This small action immediately tensed everyone present. Magnus showed a worried expression. The Masters' gazes unconsciously followed Caelan's movements, eager to glimpse the truth again.
But reason ultimately prevailed over their thirst for knowledge, at least they didn't crowd closer.
Caelan said, "I received no revelation."
Magnus and the others said they had seen the truth, but Caelan only saw a colorful giant bird.
The craftsman's skill was exquisite; it was carved so lifelike.
Its material was also extraordinary. Even after millennia of weathering, its patterns remained intact and clear.
Caelan saw a perfect work of art, but he could not perceive the mysteries within.
Was he too stupid to receive the revelation, or was the bird discriminating against him, withholding the revelation solely from him?
Caelan believed this bird was Tzeentch's scheme. He generously granted mortals truth only to achieve His sinister purposes.
Then what was His purpose?
To turn them into servants of the truth?
Any blind following is ignorance, even blind following of truth.
If Tzeentch's goal was to make them ignorant through truth, then His purpose was nothing more than to once again corrupt Magnus and his Legion.
The Fifteenth Legion of old had also walked toward destruction due to blind faith in truth.
If so, Caelan should shatter it.
Back on the cliff, while everyone else was immersed in its truth, only Caelan had been able to save the statue.
And now, did he have to shatter it with his own hands?
What outcome did Tzeentch want? Or was it both?
Caelan suggested, "Let's just shatter it."
Amon hurriedly stepped forward. "That's too extreme. This knowledge is crucial to us!"
Caelan reminded again, "You have already gained enough knowledge to change your fate. But remember, knowledge can be harmful. Continuing to indulge in it will only make you slaves to knowledge, not its masters."
Mephia retorted: "How can 1+1=2 be harmful?"
"In the purely mathematical realm, 1+1=2 is indeed harmless. It is merely a truth."
"But once truth is projected into reality, how do you understand 1+1=2?"
"You have an apple, I have a banana. Together, we can taste both fruits. This is 1+1=2."
"But if I choose plunder instead of sharing, and kill you, I can also taste both fruits. That is also 1+1=2."
Vennakar argued, "That's not truth. You can't twist truth with sophistry!"
Caelan shot back, "This isn't sophistry. This is a lie."
Amon asked, "How can truth be a lie?"
"I've already told you," Caelan looked at him. "Lies are so precious that they must be guarded by truth."
"He gave you truth generously. Perhaps there are no lies within it."
"But if you continue to explore, peeling away the outer layer of truth, only lies will remain."
"By then, you will be so immersed in truth, will you still have the wisdom to distinguish the difference?"
The Masters fell silent. They weren't in too deep yet, and could understand Caelan's good intentions.
But truth was within reach. How could they bear to give it up?
Caelan said, "If this city is the source of the Psychneuein, then the psyker who summoned them back then was likely, like you, someone who received forbidden truth from this statue."
"He was confident he could master the truth, and ultimately completely destroyed your world."
This sentence was the last straw. Amon lowered his head bitterly. "You are right."
Precisely because they had witnessed the truth, they could better understand how pertinent Caelan's theories about the Warp were.
A God had placed this truth here for thousands of years. Whatever He was waiting for, it would not benefit humanity.
They believed the psyker who summoned the Psychneuein didn't do it intentionally. But who could guarantee they wouldn't make the same mistake?
They were all too confident. Confident they could distinguish truth from lies, that they wouldn't be deceived by lies.
But this blind confidence was precisely the most dangerous trap.
The most sophisticated traps are often not dug by enemies, but by oneself.
You fall into the hole you dug yourself. Even with both feet in the hole, you won't believe you've stepped into a trap.
"Father, let me do it. I will end it myself."
Magnus's attitude was exceptionally resolute.
He, too, craved that knowledge. Though he had temporarily restrained this craving, what about later?
If he stared at this statue day after day, he feared he too would be unable to resist sinking into it.
Rather than letting the temptation of truth continue to poison people's minds, it was better to just shatter it and be done with it.
Caelan stepped back, giving the lead to Magnus.
Part of Magnus's mind was still immersed in the lingering influence of the truth.
The total amount of knowledge he had gained far exceeded the sum of the nine Masters'. That knowledge was still causing a burning ache in his soul.
Yet the enlightenment of truth also gave Magnus a new understanding of the nature of the Warp and psykers.
All arts called 'magic' in the world, all psykers' powers, spells, totems, runes, they had once belonged to Tzeentch.
In the distant past, when Tzeentch's staff shattered, the concept of 'magic' scattered to the mortal realm with its fragments.
Tracing back to the source, they all once bore the mark of the Changer of Ways.
If Tzeentch recovered all the fragments, every psyker and all magic in the world would belong to Him!
But with the other three Gods present, He could never recover all the fragments.
And the statue before him, its material was precisely a collection of fragments Tzeentch had gathered over endless ages, containing infinite truths!
By gaining enough knowledge from it, one could more deeply understand and control the Warp!
And it was completely harmless!
As long as the staff is not fully restored, they will not completely belong to Tzeentch.
Even if Tzeentch hid lies within the truth, Magnus was confident he could distinguish them.
If he could completely master this truth and turn these fragments into his own authority,
Then he, possessing fragments of Tzeentch's staff, would gain power second only to the four Gods, capable of contending with any single one of them!
Even the Changer of Ways would never use such precious fragments as bait.
Perhaps His goal was to have this statue shattered, because when it breaks, its fragments will return to the Warp.
Magnus would then only gain part of the truth, and the fragments would return to Tzeentch's grasp.
That's why, when Magnus saw it, it immediately plunged into the abyss.
If his father hadn't acted, His goal might have been achieved.
If he destroyed it now, it would probably play right into the Changer of Ways' hands.
He should explain the truth he saw to his father, persuade him to abandon the idea of destroying it. Keeping it would be the greatest harm to Tzeentch!
But Magnus no longer had such confidence. His greatest confidence was in not trusting his own confidence.
How could he know that the truth 'it is harmless' wasn't itself a lie?
It was a fragment of Tzeentch's staff, living Warp essence. The truths it contained were bestowed by Tzeentch.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, He had this very purpose.
1+1=2 is not a lie. 0 is the lie.
Magnus had to destroy it. Only then could he cut off his own greed, and only then could his father be at ease.
He would explain to his father, but he had to destroy it first. Otherwise, any explanation now would sound like an excuse.
He would never let his father down. He would prove to his father that he would not repeat past mistakes!
"I am a far cry from that Magnus the Red!"
Magnus raised his palm. The mysteries of psychic power surged and condensed in his hand, gradually forming a psychic vortex containing immense energy.
His fingertips trembled slightly, not from hesitation, but from the sheer power surging within him.
His understanding and control of psychic powers was now over a hundred times stronger than before!
And this was what the fragment had given him.
If he could keep it and study it diligently, he would become even stronger. But Magnus had already made up his mind.
He was Magnus, the only psyker among the primarchs.
Even without the fragment, he could gradually master his psychic powers.
But he had only two fathers. He could not fail either of them.
The psychic vortex suddenly expanded, carrying violent destructive power toward the fragment statue!
Magnus precisely controlled his psychic power, ensuring it would completely shatter the statue's material form without tearing the material universe apart.
He would not only destroy it, but shatter it into even smaller fragments, scattering them across different times and spaces!
Thus, even if Tzeentch wanted to reassemble His staff, He would have to recollect it from the endless expanse of time and space.
His current psychic power couldn't destroy it 100%, but it could reach at least 70%.
Regardless of Tzeentch's purpose, since He had painstakingly secretly collected these fragments, keeping them hidden even from the other three Gods, destroying them surely wasn't part of His plan.
This was the safest compromise he could think of!
Boom!
Just as the violent energy vortex was about to tear the statue apart into quantum-sized particles, time stopped.
This was not an exaggeration or metaphor.
The howling wind, previously a tangible force, abruptly stilled. The surging energy vortex froze into a still frame.
Magnus stood with his arm extended, maintaining the pose of controlling his psychic power.
Caelan could even see the regret on the Masters' faces.
The entire world was plunged into absolute stillness at this moment. Time itself stopped!
For a powerful psyker, stopping time is not difficult.
But what he stops is not the time of the entire universe, merely the time within a few dozen meters around him.
If he were more powerful, he could expand the range of stopped time to hundreds of kilometers, or even the entire world.
Unless the Warp completely descends, no one can stop time for the whole universe.
Besides, Magnus was here too. To affect him with a time-stop would require a psyker of his own magnitude.
Other than the Emperor, no one in the material universe could match Magnus in psychic power.
Only the direct intervention of Tzeentch Himself could explain this supernatural time-stop.
But even Tzeentch must follow the laws of the material universe.
If He could freely interfere with reality at will, why would the Emperor bother to struggle?
Furthermore, the personal appearance of a Chaos God is inevitably accompanied by high concentrations of Warp energy.
Caelan did not feel such a drastic change in concentration.
The Warp concentration here was insufficient to stop time, not even for one second within a one-meter radius.
This couldn't be explained by conventional reality.
"Why am I the only one unaffected?"
Caelan moved freely in the frozen world, while Magnus remained frozen in place.
One minute, two minutes. The time stop persisted, seemingly endless.
'Who did this? What was the purpose?'
Caelan looked up at the sky. It was grey, like the rest of the world.
'Who did it? A Chaos God?'
'But that didn't fit reality.'
'Reality?
Caelan was stunned. ' Yes, the Warp concentration wasn't high enough. That didn't fit reality.
'But whatever happens in reality is, by definition, real.'
"It must be reality itself," Caelan muttered to himself.
What stopped time wasn't the Warp. It was reality.
Reality never contradicts itself, but theoretically, reality could contradict itself.
The time of reality does not stop, but theoretically, reality could have time stop.
Everything is based on theory, based on 'reality' truly existing.
The material universe exists. They exist within the material universe. They, too, belong to the material universe.
But does the material universe itself have a will?
Caelan believed it did. It too had fought desperately in a critical moment in 40K, tearing into the Warp.
If this time-stop wasn't caused by the Four Gods, then only reality remained.
In the material universe, excluding Warp influence, no one but reality itself could stop time.
Perhaps the complete C'tan could too, as they were gods of the material universe, masters of its laws.
But whether the C'tan or reality itself, Their purpose was unmistakable.
When Magnus tried to destroy the statue, It stopped time, but preserved Caelan's time alone.
Why only him?
Caelan didn't understand, but one thing was clear.
It didn't want the statue destroyed. It wanted Caelan to keep it.
It didn't explain why. Perhaps because It couldn't speak, or perhaps It felt no need to explain personally.
Caelan raised his hand. A faint blue psychic glow emanated from his palm.
Even with time stopped, Caelan could still move freely, and his psychic power functioned normally.
His psychic energy flowed like a river, precisely infiltrating Magnus's psychic vortex.
The two forces collided and intertwined in the frozen world, emitting a faint hum.
Caelan's power took absolute dominance, neutralising the power released by Magnus.
The whole process was fluid, completed in an instant.
As the last remnants of the violent psychic energy subsided, the briefly frozen time returned to normal.
A gentle breeze blew. The rustle of leaves came from afar. The Masters' expressions held both regret and a hint of reluctance.
Magnus's pupils contracted. His psychic power had vanished without a trace in an instant!
What kind of power was this?
Caelan raised a hand to stop Magnus, who looked ready to fight. "Little Mag, tell me, what truth did you see in that statue?"
After a moment of stunned confusion, Magnus immediately understood. 'It must be Father's great power!'
Magnus said, "It is a fragment of Tzeentch's staff, containing Tzeentch's domain and truth. If one could master it, they could even usurp the domain of 'magic' and gain power to rival the Four Gods."
To this day, Tzeentch remains the God of Magic, but since His staff shattered, this domain no longer belongs entirely to Him.
He can claim the title of God of Magic because the other three Gods hold no corresponding domain.
If someone tried to usurp His domain, He could even lose all control over the world's magic entirely.
But to usurp the domain of magic, one must first collect all the staff fragments. If They tried that, They would be attacked by the other three.
Thus, the Four Gods can only maintain the status quo. None can fully grasp the domain of 'magic'.
"It seems He truly made a mistake."
Since Tzeentch decided to lay His plans in the material universe, the material universe could naturally interfere with them.
Tzeentch made a move, intricately connected.
He could have reclaimed the domain while tempting Magnus, but the intervention of the material universe caused Tzeentch to lose both the bait and the fish.
Not only did He fail to tempt Magnus, but He even left His domain behind in the material universe.
If Wop really destroyed it, Tzeentch would have to thank him!
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu