"First, I must emphasize, I came here voluntarily."
"I admit, facing Cegorach played by the Harlequin, the Lady of Thirst, and the Emperor simultaneously puts a lot of pressure on me."
"But as a well-trained loyal servant of the Imperium, I still had the option of suicide."
Nessus was brought into the Imperial Palace by the Harlequins, into the three-person meeting room of Alexander, Sanguinius, and Guilliman.
He looked indignant, pressed to the ground, but his tone was deliberately light, as if he were chatting casually:
"I came here entirely to express my dissatisfaction."
"To express the strong dissatisfaction of a loyal servant of the Imperium."
Nessus took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over Guilliman and Sanguinius, finally resting on Alexander.
"Your declaration that the Eldar are abhumans was already too much! But understanding it was for the Imperium, I endured it!"
"But you actually allowed the Harlequins to humiliate the Emperor in such a way! I absolutely cannot tolerate it!"
"Your damned Harlequins actually dressed up as the Emperor and asked me if I wanted to buy a 'gully' (butt) ?!"
"Their plays are an insult to the Emperor, no, a pure insult to humanity!"
"What do you mean the Emperor and an Eldar Seer were held captive after freeloading in Commorragh and ended up becoming the top courtesans of Commorragh?!"
"What do you mean Slaanesh was attracted by the Emperor's divine 'gully' (butt), and thus used his first cry to dispel the Warp storm, creating an opportunity for the Emperor's Great Crusade?"
"Elaborating is not fabricating! Adapting is not messing around! Have the Harlequins' plays really become this vulgar and boring?!"
Nessus' thunderous questions made Alexander involuntarily turn his head slightly.
Alexander had indeed permitted this.
The Harlequins had a unique skill: by portraying gods in their plays, they could resonate with those gods and borrow their power.
For example, the Harlequin Avatar obtained the Laughing God's possession by impersonating Cegorach, and Dark Jester obtained power by impersonating Slaanesh.
The closer their portrayal was to the god itself, the more power they could theoretically borrow.
Upon arriving at Terra, Sylandri Shadowseer, an Eldar Harlequin Shadow Seer, had a flash of inspiration.
Since they, the Eldar, were now abhumans, then theoretically, the Emperor was also their god.
Could they not, through a play, portray the Emperor and borrow power from the Emperor?
Alexander was stunned by Sylandri Shadowseer's astonishing wisdom.
But he still agreed to let the Harlequins try.
After all, if it succeeded, it would be equivalent to creating an Eldar Imperial Chosen.
So the Harlequins began to follow the Rational Order of Chroniclers, listening to Alexander recount the history of humanity and the Imperium, ostensibly to collect material for their plays.
They truly did compile a new play about the Emperor, written in high gothic as 'ImperatoR Dream! It' Mygo', which translates to 'The Emperor's Dream! He's Selling Gullies (Butts)!'
What surprised Alexander even more was that—
"What the hell are you talking about! You, a mutant giant ape who betrayed the Imperium, dare to criticize us?!"
Sylandri Shadowseer, still in her Emperor costume and makeup, poked her head out and yelled at Nessus:
"Do you even know what art is? Do you even know what reasonable, slight exaggeration is?"
"Besides, didn't the Emperor lend me power?!"
"If my portrayal wasn't perfect, how do you explain the Emperor's power I borrowed?!"
"You traitor, how dare you speak to me, a Psyker-specialized abhuman Imperial Chosen? Show some respect!"
Yes, the Harlequins really did borrow the Emperor's power through their portrayal.
Although Alexander felt that this was entirely because the Emperor simply didn't care about the Harlequins' messed-up play content.
Being able to consistently create a Chosen, or even a Chosen that was almost an Avatar of Him, He was naturally very pleased.
But Nessus still broke down.
He kept his mouth shut, staring intently at Sylandri Shadowseer, who was disguised as a brown-haired boy, unable to utter a single word.
When Cegorach's eerie laughter erupted from the Harlequin Avatar, he could still barely resist.
When Slaanesh's blasphemous evil power was unleashed by Dark Jester, he could still endure.
But when the Emperor's flames shot out from Sylandri Shadowseer, Nessus truly broke down, psychologically speaking.
"There is only one question I wish to know now."
"Who are you?"
Guilliman slowly asked.
"The Harlequins traced your chain of command. Without a doubt, you are the commander of the Alphas on Terra."
Nessus seemed to have been waiting for this question. He revealed a brilliant, radiant smile, like a glistening venomous snake in the sun.
"I am Alpharius," he said softly.
Beep!!!
The Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine in Alexander's hand reacted, a blue cross flying into the air, judging Nessus' statement to be false.
".." Nessus' expression twitched as he looked at the Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine in his hand, as if he wanted to smash the thing right then and there.
"I am Nessus. Since the end of the Great Crusade, I have served as the Master of Pain for the Alpha Legion's Terra War Zone, a position equivalent to the Praetors of other Legions during the Great Crusade, responsible for commanding the Alpha Legion within Terra and the entire Solar System."
As Nessus finished speaking, a silver-blue glow emanated from his body, and his form transformed into that of an Astartes.
The Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine judged Nessus' words to be true.
"Some interesting Warp power." A hint of an intrigued smile appeared on Sanguinius' lips.
"Then, what is your—the Alpha Legion's—objective?" Guilliman continued to ask.
"To pledge loyalty to the Imperium, of course!" Nessus proudly raised his head.
The Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine did not react, indicating that Nessus' words had no right or wrong answer.
"Loyalty that isn't absolute is absolute disloyalty," Alexander commented faintly.
Nessus' expression became even more rigid.
"I don't know, and I don't know what the Alpha Legion's objective is," Nessus said helplessly, realizing that lies were meaningless.
The Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine confirmed again that Nessus was telling the truth.
This made Guilliman raise an eyebrow slightly.
"To be honest, I only suddenly remembered fifteen years ago that I was a member of the Alpha Legion, discovered I was an Astartes, and recalled those memories from the Great Crusade era."
"Along with those memories came the means of communication between me and the other Alphas on Terra, as well as my two missions."
Nessus continued to confess candidly:
"My first mission was to cooperate with Abaddon of the Black Legion, to enable Abaddon to successfully complete the Thirteenth Black Crusade, allowing the Great Rift to open and span the galaxy."
"You claim loyalty, yet you accepted such a mission?" Guilliman questioned in a low voice.
"My dear Lord, loyalty is ultimately about results, not actions."
"From an action perspective, Magnus' attempt to warn the Emperor of Horus' betrayal was clearly an act of loyalty."
"But from a results perspective, Magnus' actions were the most egregious betrayal."
"The opening of the Great Rift is beneficial for enhancing our Lord the Emperor's power in the real universe. Haven't you felt it? After the Great Rift opened, the Emperor's authority in both the real and Warp dimensions was incomparably strengthened."
Nessus quickly explained:
"So the opening of the Great Rift seemingly benefits traitors and Chaos, but in reality, it benefits the Imperium and the Emperor."
"Furthermore, in the original plan, your resurrection was also closely related to the opening of the Great Rift."
The Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine judged Nessus' statement to be true.
"This brings us to my second mission. My second mission was to assist you."
"I was to secretly incite the Conservative Party on Terra to commit extreme acts, leading them to self-destruction, to be completely and utterly annihilated by you, removing obstacles for your Unbowed Crusade."
"Upon completion of this mission, I would be killed during your purge of the Conservative Party, thus ending my infiltration and mission."
"However, this mission went awry. The Conservative Party was indeed purged, but…"
Nessus looked at Alexander, his expression slightly strange:
"But your appearance disrupted the plan. You ruined my retirement."
Alexander's expression remained unchanged.
Although the Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine continued to judge Nessus' words as true,
Guilliman still found it unacceptable; Nessus' words were simply too bizarre.
"You are wondering about my actions? Wondering why I so calmly accepted the current situation and my missions?"
Nessus seemed to read Guilliman's mind, as if he knew Guilliman very well:
"Because this situation is very common in the Alpha Legion."
"During the Great Crusade, I once believed myself to be an Ultramarines for a hundred years, loyally serving you."
"I even participated in the Battle of Calth. I led my squad to withstand the assault of the Word Bearers, and you even commended me for it."
"Later, during the Second Imperium, I suddenly remembered my identity and mission, and had been monitoring your actions, reporting everything about the Second Imperium to the Alpha Legion."
"Later, I faked my death, left your Legion, and returned to the Alpha Legion. Due to my comprehensive report on the Second Imperium, the Primarch promoted me to Master of Pain, responsible for the Terra War Zone."
"There is still an inscription I left on your Macragge's Honour: 'We are here.'"
Nessus spoke eloquently, a brilliant smile playing on his lips.
Guilliman, however, stiffened.
"You are Onius?" Guilliman found the Ultramarines Nessus had once impersonated in his extraordinary memory.
The Truth and Falsehood Divination Machine in Alexander's hand vibrated again, declaring both Nessus' and Guilliman's statements to be correct.
"Your loyal Ultramarines Onius salutes you." Nessus bowed: "Please understand, we infiltrated all Legions except the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels at that time."
Alexander glanced at Guilliman's stiff expression, almost laughing out loud.
But he still turned to Nessus, smiling, and said, "Are you Omegon?"