The moment Alexander realized the meaning of that string of numbers, he felt a sudden surge of complex numbers deep within his mind.
These numbers wove into an ever-changing vortex, intertwining into layers of networks that wrapped around his consciousness, around his soul.
All numbers change, all numbers are nine.
Alexander suppressed the dizziness welling up in his head and leaned heavily against the wall.
Corruption, corruption from Tzeentch.
Alexander was very cautious, always wanting to uncover the secrets of Namakor, only then would he feel at ease.
But he had overlooked that Tzeentch is not only the god of schemes and secrets,
Curiosity, exploration, wisdom, and decryption are also His domains.
When you can't solve Tzeentch's riddles, you may already be caught in His corruption.
When you solve Tzeentch's riddles, you may also already be caught in His corruption.
The string of numbers Namakor wrote itself wasn't corrupt, but unlocking its mystery would bring corruption.
In this round of Tzeentch's plan, wisdom and thought are dangerous; foolishness and ignorance are, instead, safe.
This corruption came so swiftly and secretly because it didn't just come from external sources; it also came from Alexander's own thoughts.
Alexander even suspected that some ability to accelerate thinking had been cast in this room, which was why his thoughts became increasingly clear after he entered the house.
He was stimulated to unlock the mystery of that string of numbers and was corrupted by Tzeentch.
Not just Alexander, but also the children who studied at Namakor's house,
They, too, must have unlocked the mystery of that string of numbers, just like Alexander, and suffered the same corruption.
"Damn blue-haired bastard." Alexander cursed Tzeentch.
The nerves in his brain were taut; corruption was slowly invading his consciousness.
He saw Sanguinius in the corner of his eye, its wings trembling, blocking the invasion of those swirling numbers.
He also saw beneath his feet,
In the reflection of the Warp, his essence was faintly visible.
"Alexander?"
Reyna looked at Alexander beside her with terror.
The moment he stepped out of the study, Alexander froze in place; a blasphemous psychic fluctuation was entanglement around his soul.
These psychic energies constantly shifted and twisted, continuously pouring into Alexander's body from the Warp, intertwining with Alexander's soul.
It was corruption!
Alexander was entangled by some corrupting power!
How could this be?! How could he suddenly be corrupted? Was it Mrs. Namakor?!
"He has solved the riddle left by the Lord for mortals and has come to know the Lord's ever-changing wisdom."
A gentle, aged female voice sounded behind Reyna.
Reyna turned to look into the study.
The lamp on the desk was lit, casting a white-to-bluish light that illuminated the study,
And also illuminated the aged woman with somewhat dark skin, silver-gray hair in a bun, and a light blue robe.
In her hand, she held a cheap notebook with a black hard cover, and on the cover of the notebook, that string of numbers was written in pale, bluish ink:
387, 420, 489.
"Namakor?!"
Reyna pronounced the name of the person before her, word by word.
Looking at the situation, she understood everything.
Alexander's caution was correct; this woman who had once taught her was a blasphemous heretic!!
"Reyna, you are still so dull."
Namakor looked at Reyna with almost pity:
"Before you entered the Upper hive, the Lord had already explained your existence to me through mathematics and calculations."
"So, I intended to let you share the Lord's grace with me."
"Only by solving the Lord's riddles can one see the grace of constant change, yet you are so dull that you couldn't even remember this sacred string of numbers."
Namakor looked at Alexander behind Reyna:
"He is smarter than you, and more cautious than you, and thus realized the sacredness of those numbers."
"When he grasped the sublime meaning of the sacred numbers, the Lord bestowed His grace upon him."
It was that string of numbers; Reyna felt a chill in her heart.
That string of numbers was a trap; the numbers themselves were not blasphemous, but merely understanding their meaning would lead to corruption.
Thinking, excessive thinking, was inherently dangerous.
"You have so betrayed the Emperor!"
"Namakor, have you forgotten your husband? Have you forgotten your husband who died for loyalty!?"
Reyna's voice suddenly rose, and the Seducer's Whisper, carrying immense psychic power, surged towards Namakor:
"You should repent!"
Namakor's body trembled slightly, but her face was full of regret.
"You are still so foolish; your whole family is the same."
"The Emperor is merely a dried corpse on a throne, unchanging and unmoving."
"What do you gain by believing in him? Only impulsiveness, ignorance, blind loyalty, and foolishness."
"You blindly believe in him, even abandoning reason."
"You chase superstitious omens, yet you are unwilling to believe the results of mathematical calculations."
"My husband was as foolish as you; his sacrifice was meaningless. Without him, the Green-skinned Orcs would not have invaded the Netherworld Star System."
As she spoke, Namakor's face glowed with rationality and wisdom.
In her eyes, countless numbers seemed to be spiraling and changing.
"I am different; I do not blindly worship the Lord. I found the Lord through complex and rigorous calculations."
Namakor opened the notebook in her hand, revealing formulas and calculations so complex that Reyna couldn't understand them at all:
"Look, how beautiful mathematics is! Everything can be explained by mathematics, and mathematics constantly changes to interpret everything."
"If there truly are gods in the world, they must be among these constantly shifting numbers."
"I spent decades calculating, deriving, and solving, and finally found the Lord in the infinite numbers."
Namakor pointed to the notebook in her hand, pointing to the countless equations.
At the end of all equations, the same answer was obtained: 9.
All answers were nine!
"Do you see, Reyna!"
"Lord = 9!"
Namakor pointed to the number nine, seemingly wanting Reyna to realize something, seemingly hinting at the answer to certain things for Reyna.
Perhaps she wanted to hint, so that Reyna would instinctively guess the secret of that string of numbers, and thus Reyna would also be corrupted.
But Reyna didn't understand.
"I don't care what you say! I don't understand it either!"
Reyna's anger reached its peak; flames almost erupted from her eyes.
Her psychic power, fluctuating with her emotions, suddenly became immense.
The air around them grew cold as winter, and Reyna raised her arm, bringing it down heavily.
"Thunder!!!"
Warp lightning tore through the entire room, igniting the papers covered with equations, and struck heavily on Namakor's chest.
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
Namakor let out an inhuman wail, her body twitching as she fell to the ground:
"You actually attacked?! I taught you! When you were little! With many other children!"
"You can't! How dare you?! Reyna, have you forgotten your childhood?!"
"Traitor! Heretic! Blasphemer!"
Reyna roared, searing flames ignited from the Warp, and psychic power transformed into a heavy hammer, crushing towards Namakor.
Namakor reached for the notebook full of numbers, seemingly wanting to gain protection from it,
But Reyna didn't give her the chance.
"Stop right there!!!!"