"Numerology? Numerology! Every time I hear Mortarion talk about numerology, I feel as uncomfortable as if I'd been hit by penicillin!"
The mention of the five words 'numerology' struck Ku'gath like lightning, and he couldn't help but complain to Nurgle:
"He actually came to teach me what a sacred number is! He's practically humiliating me!"
"This must be three! This must be seven! numerology must be a rigorous science! Even Great Unclean Ones must obey science!!"
"He's full of lies and self-deception. He thinks that a bunch of numbers can explain everything, explain the Empyrean and the exquisite art of cultivating plagues, as if by donning this numerical facade, he can distance himself from witchcraft! What a delusion!"
Ku'gath couldn't stop spitting out acidic fluid, and his expression grew increasingly distorted:
"Ha! Do you know what he's said? He thinks he's a rigorous scientist, drawing power from science!"
"plague God above, you know perfectly well what he truly is! He was a creature of the Warp long before he was born! And now, please allow me to use this word to describe him—he is a thorough and complete Grand Sorcerer! More like a sorcerer than his brother Magnus!"
"At least Magnus' sorcery comes from true knowledge! And Mortarion's? It's all from his own delusions!"
Nurgle listened calmly to Ku'gath's condemnation of Mortarion.
He nodded gently, then asked, "So what's your opinion on numerology?"
"Pure delusion!"
Ku'gath took a deep breath and said:
"It's even dumber than the lies concocted by the Lord of Change, dumber than the spells of Tzeentch sorcerers…"
"…numerology? Hmph, this is simply, this is simply…"
Ku'gath struggled to find the right words in his mind, until seven seconds later, he finally thought of the perfect term,
"Feudal superstition! Pure feudal superstition! For me to believe this? I'd rather have Typhus as my son!"
"But someone else in the Garden has come to believe in the power of numerology!" Nurgle said, frowning slightly.
"Ha?" Ku'gath burst out laughing: "Nurgle, forgive me, my ears might be blocked by mischievous 'earwax' or 'otitis media'!"
"You mean, someone besides Mortarion believes in numerology?"
Amidst his laughter, Ku'gath looked at Slimux, the Chief Gardener, beside him,
"Brother Slimux, remember the tree Mortarion pulled out last time?"
"Since neither of us could teach Mortarion a lesson, we just beat up Typhus instead."
"Now we've found an even better target for revenge. Let's go find that kid who believes in numerology! Give him a good beating to knock some sense into him!"
Chief Gardener Slimux's expression remained indifferent. He silently patted Maus, the snail under his butt, and without a word, quickly scurried into the giant maw thicket nearby, disappearing from sight.
"Ku'gath, I don't quite agree with what you're saying."
Nurgle smiled at Ku'gath, unable to help but chuckle twice:
"But you said one thing very accurately: the person who believes in numerology indeed considers Typhus his son."
"Considers Typhus his son—" Ku'gath was about to continue laughing, but suddenly choked as if his throat had been squeezed.
He lowered his head, looking at Nurgle like a child who had made a mistake: "You mean?"
"Yes, I believe in the power of numerology." Nurgle said with a chuckle.
Ku'gath shrunk himself even smaller, as if reverting to his nurgling days.
"Then… then I also have to obey rigorous science?" Ku'gath asked softly.
Nurgle couldn't help but laugh heartily at Ku'gath's appearance,
"Go fetch Mortarion quickly!"
"If you're fast enough, I'll forgive your lateness!"
Mortarion walked through Nurgle's Garden at a frequency of seven steps per stage, three stages per cycle.
Nurgle commanded Ku'gath to summon him from the plague Planet, but Ku'gath, with a distorted face, did not explain the reason for Nurgle's summons to Mortarion.
Mortarion repeatedly pressed for answers, but Ku'gath merely mumbled about his crucible fire at home still being on, then slipped away.
This left the Pale King uneasy. The unknown always brings unease, making it difficult for him to make plans.
Thus, before arriving at Nurgle's Garden, Mortarion made a prophecy using numerology.
Of course, this was not the sorcery of Magnus, nor the deceptive trickery of Leman Russ, nor the prophecies imbued with suspicious Psyker powers like Sanguinius or Konrad Curze.
Instead, it was a future deduced through numbers, calculations, and numerology; a rigorous science, a materialistic science that interprets the world through numbers.
To predict the future, Mortarion used three twenty-sided dice, placed them inside a tortoise shell with fourteen facets, and shook them. This served as his tool for performing numerology.
Fourteen symbolized Mortarion and his Legion, the three dice symbolized Nurgle, and the twenty-sided dice could better display all the sacred numbers.
The three dice displayed the numbers thirteen, nine, and seven respectively. After a simple calculation, Mortarion obtained the answer.
The one who protected Guilliman and Sanguinius, whose sacred number was twenty-two, had somehow convinced Nurgle, allowing Guilliman and Sanguinius to gain some advantage.
This meant that Nurgle would likely no longer help him intercept Guilliman and Sanguinius.
This was not good… if they were allowed to reach the False Emperor…
The Lord of the 14th Legion narrowed his eyes, already considering rallying his Legion.
Even if Nurgle did not intend to stop Sanguinius and Guilliman, he would not let his two brothers go.
After all, he was not Nurgle's slave, just as he was not the False Emperor's slave in the past.
However, according to the display of numerology, Magnus seemed to be ready, his exiled Ahriman seemed to be about to serve him again, Abaddon, swayed by the Tzeentch Great Unclean One, would also participate, and Khorne's chosen Khârn also seemed to be taking action.
And the key to everything would be the Webway. Hopefully, Guilliman and Sanguinius could survive the attack of that sorcerer Magnus.
He had prepared a different future for Guilliman and Sanguinius.
Mortarion took another seven steps, paused rhythmically for a moment, and continued walking towards the Black Magic Hall.
This was his seventh minute in Nurgle's Garden.
He silently counted seven in his mind, and silently took another seven steps.
The Black Magic Hall instantly magnified before his eyes. Mortarion stood before the heavy black doors of the Black Magic Hall.
A soft, gentle gaze swept over Mortarion.
Mortarion glanced in the direction from which the gaze came.
"Mortarion, poor child," a sorrowful and sympathetic female voice echoed in Mortarion's ear.
Anger instantly flared in Mortarion's eyes, and he glared fiercely, warning the woman behind the window with his gaze.
"I am never pitiful," he said through gritted teeth. "Mind your own business, Eldar goddess."
The woman behind the window sighed in pain and disappeared behind the Black Magic Hall's window.
Mortarion snorted, pushed open the heavy doors of the Black Magic Hall, and entered Nurgle's private residence.
The damp wind in the Black Magic Hall blew across Mortarion's face, and a heavy stench of decay permeated the surroundings, reminding Mortarion of the pale room where he was confined by his alien foster father during his childhood.
"Little Mortarion, you've come."
Nurgle's voice resonated in the void, filled with deep joy.
Mortarion stood before the heavy, decaying mountain of flesh, trying his best not to let his gaze fall upon the body of this three-fold, three-cycle god.
Looking directly at this being always made Mortarion's eyes ache, feeling as if they were trying to become independent living things and bore out.
"You refuse to stop Guilliman and Sanguinius."
Mortarion said through clenched teeth.
His tone carried no hint of a question, but rather sounded like he was interrogating Nurgle.
Nurgle was not angered by Mortarion's tone, but instead asked with interest, "You know?"
"Numerology guided me to the future," Mortarion replied curtly.
"Numerology, numerology is truly a profound and interesting subject," Nurgle couldn't help but exclaim.
"…Oh?" Mortarion had not expected Nurgle to say such a thing.
His expression, previously stiff with anger, relaxed considerably, and then—
"Can you teach me this subject?" Nurgle asked softly. "Teach me numerology."
Mortarion's mouth slightly widened, his face first showing shock, then joy.
Subsequently, Mortarion cast all thoughts of Guilliman and Sanguinius aside. A great sense of mission surged within his spirit.
He was about to preach numerology and materialism to a Warp god. How ashamed his sorcerer brothers would be! How ashamed those superstitious daemons would be!
"Nurgle! You finally understand! Even you are materialistic!"
"Ah hahahahaha!!!" Clear, bird-like laughter echoed through the command room within Hera Fortress, the highest peak of Macragge.
The command room, which belonged to the Lord of Ultramarines, had been cleared, leaving only Alexander, Guilliman, and Sanguinius inside.
Sanguinius wore armor intertwined with crimson and gold, and a pair of pure white wings hung behind him. The silver chains on them shook uncontrollably with Sanguinius' clear laughter.
"You mean, you tricked the plague God into believing in numerology?"
"And now my dear brother Mortarion is teaching the plague God numerology?"
The smile on Sanguinius' lips was impossible to suppress. His eyes, bright as stars, were full of joy as he said:
"Leman Russ once claimed to be the best joke-teller in the entire galaxy. I now declare that you are."
"Don't laugh, I've done a good deed here."
Alexander's smile was also uncontrollable. He went with the flow, never expecting to actually succeed in making Nurgle believe in the power of numerology:
"You see, now Nurgle is happy, Mortarion is happy, and you and I are happy. Everyone is happy, so this is a great deed beneficial to Macragge and Nurgle's Garden."
"And all I sacrificed were seven types of bacteria."
Originally there were only six, but Alexander thought at the time that with the plague God's blessing, the unplanned bacteria generator might produce some useful bacteria.
As a result, it only produced one type of "bacteria that makes birds sniffle," which was still useless, so he left samples of it along with the previous six for Nurgle.
"Yes, yes, what a wonderful thing."
The Archangel nodded to Alexander without stopping. Guilliman had never seen Sanguinius so frankly remove his holy mask, so intensely expressing the joy in his heart.
"I imagine Mortarion is currently trying to convince the plague God that he is a materialist, and I can't help but laugh."
"If he succeeds, we might even get a Warp god who believes in materialism!"
When the Archangel said this, Alexander and he couldn't help but exchange smiles again.
A Warp god who believes in materialism, a staunch materialist warrior Nurgle—who wouldn't burst out laughing at that?
"Then, who can tell me, what is numerology?" Guilliman, who had been sitting in his original spot, watching Alexander and Sanguinius laugh, asked with a straight face.
He probably knew that Alexander had somehow convinced the plague God, trapping Mortarion and preventing him from invading Ultramar.
But dealing with the plague God, with that blasphemous entity in the Warp, Guilliman still felt uneasy and awkward deep down.
Matters involving Warp gods always made Guilliman feel uncomfortable.
"Mortarion believes that everything in this world, including the Empyrean and the gods within them, can be explained by mathematics."
Sanguinius said with a faint smile in his voice:
"You should remember, he always disdained the power of the Warp, disdained witchcraft and mysticism. But now he is corrupted by the plague God, and what flows within him is precisely the power of the Warp he once disdained. The power he wields is outright witchcraft, and the principles by which these powers operate are idealism and mysticism."
"He cannot accept it, so he began to use numerology to try and explain all of this, to make himself believe that everything he uses is based on rigorous science."
Alexander nodded in agreement.
Mortarion was originally a contradictory person. He hated the power of psyker and the Warp, leading to the ban on Librarians and psyker within the Astartes Legions at the Council of Nikaea.
Many Thousand Sons even believed Mortarion was one of the culprits behind the Burning of Prospero; Horus was the manipulator, Leman Russ was the executor, and Mortarion was the one who fanned the flames, full of prejudice against psyker, the loudest and most self-righteous critic.
But he himself was a powerful psyker. After being corrupted by Nurgle, he, who most strongly opposed psyker and the Warp, simply became an out-and-out Warp entity. The so-called numerology was just a tool he used to deceive himself.
No wonder when Ahriman of the Thousand Sons Legion saw Mortarion again during the Siege of Terra, he described him as "a foolish drunkard who, after getting drunk, goes around advocating abstinence, hypocritical and shameful!"
In Alexander's opinion, Mortarion's numerology could be ranked after "I am not a god!", "This is all part of the plan!", and "I am Rogal Dorn!", making it the fourth most stubborn claim in the galaxy.
Guilliman's brows furrowed even tighter at these words.
"I have some recollection." Guilliman nodded slightly, vaguely remembering that Mortarion seemed to have been researching these things as early as the Great Crusade: "I think his theory is not as reliable as psychics. At least psykers and Librarians are relatively reliable."
"And his numerology, I feel, is similar to the emperor tarot popular on the streets today—just street fortune-telling."
"No, no, no." Listening to Roboute Guilliman's words, Alexander said seriously: "Street fortune-telling? How can you insult such a profound doctrine!"
"Emperor tarot is a rigorous and reliable study, containing great wisdom."
Alexander had witnessed the efficacy of tarot several times as early as Ashford.
This divination technique, said to be linked to the imperial will, was genuinely effective, definitely more reliable than wild numerology.
"Then what about numerology?" Guilliman asked with some unease: "Mortarion is, after all, a creation of the Emperor; he has an extraordinary mind. Does this system he researched truly have no effect at all?"
"Theoretically, no." Sanguinius shook his head and said: "It is useful when he uses it himself, but this is actually just his instinctive mobilization of the Empyrean' theories."
"The Warp is essentially an idealistic world. If an entity's will is strong enough, for example, an individual like Mortarion strongly believes in numerology, then numerology can indeed be effective in his hands."
At this, Guilliman's brows furrowed even tighter.
He asked with some doubt: "What if a powerful individual like the plague God believes it?"
Suddenly, the command room fell silent. Alexander and Sanguinius exchanged glances, then looked at Guilliman.
"If a powerful individual like the plague God believes in the effects of numerology, will numerology be effective?" Guilliman asked the two.
"Probably not…"
Alexander said with a twitching eye:
"It's fine, even if numerology comes true, it will only harm the Warp."
"If this numerology really works, I'll eat the 'Penicillium' demon!"
Ku'gath whispered to his gardener, Slikkox, who was beside him.
In front of the black demon mansion not far away, Nurgle was laughing heartily, holding his belly, watching Mortarion practically apply numerology to cultivate bacteria for him.
Mortarion moved between the materials Nurgle had prepared like a shaman, a fourteen-faceted tortoise shell constantly shaking in his hand.
"All things are governed by numbers, and within numbers lies true meaning."
"Three for cyclic plague soil, three at the center to observe life."
"Great plagues can be determined by this, how many great plagues are determined by numbers."
"Seven for decay, nine for change, six for lust, eight for bloodlust."
"These are the sacred numbers of the Empyrean, judge destiny by how many are present."
"Please wipe away the words of witchcraft, one number determines one destiny."
"Open!!!"
Three dice fell from the tortoise shell in Mortarion's hand. The dice spun a few times on the ground and slowly stopped.
Mortarion observed the numbers on the dice and quickly made a judgment.
He selected several types of bacteria from the materials Nurgle had provided.
The materials provided by Nurgle included several plagues he had cultivated himself and several bacteria Alexander had previously given him.
Coincidentally, the three types of bacteria Mortarion chose were all cultivated and given to Nurgle by Alexander.
Nurgle held his belly, curiously watching the three types of bacteria Mortarion had chosen:
"Bacteria that causes a full day of diarrhea when contracted."
"Bacteria that eats knowledge from books."
"Plague that makes birds sniffle."
Nurgle watched with interest as Mortarion began to put these three types of bacteria into a crucible and stir them.
"Numbers not only calculate matter, but can also connect to the Empyrean."
"Different domains have the same properties, the two can be used interchangeably."
"Reality and the spiritual sea are one family, matter and psyker are inseparable."
"The scientific principles are all the same, and then they regenerate the Empyrean."
"If you learn numerology, you can communicate without witchcraft."
Seven stirrings, seven boilings,
Three types of bacteria, three infusions of water,
Mortarion took a deep breath, feeling the bacteria in the crucible change.
"Succeed!!!"
Mortarion suddenly lifted the crucible. Seven minutes and seven seconds after the steam emerged, he suddenly reached out with a ladle.
The ladle stirred three vortices in the crucible, and Mortarion ladled out seven bowls of thick soup from it.
Each bowl of thick soup had viscous bacterial colonies floating in it, but Mortarion discarded the first six.
It couldn't be the first six; numerology had already revealed it. It could only be seven.
Only seven was the true great plague.
Mortarion held up the bowl of thick soup in his hand and placed it before Nurgle, his face full of confidence.
Nurgle couldn't help but lean forward, curiously looking at the new bacterial colony Mortarion had cultivated from the three types of bacteria.
As the plague God, Nurgle understood the effects of the bacteria Mortarion had cultivated in just seven short seconds.
"This is… 'Bacteria that causes the Lord of Change to have diarrhea and excrete knowledge'!"
A subtle smile flashed across Mortarion's cold, gaunt face.
Nurgle couldn't help but applaud this excellent creation.
Chief Gardener Slikkox's single eye widened slightly.
Ku'gath was dumbfounded, his tongue hanging out.
"It actually worked?"
"How did numerology actually work?"
"How could it actually work?!"
"Could this universe really be materialistic?"