One morning after a storm, a man went for a walk along the beach.
As he walked along the shore, he noticed that in the shallow pools of water left by the tide, there were many small fish that haAd been washed up by the storm the night before.
They were trapped in the shallow pools, unable to return to the sea, though it was so close.
There might have been hundreds, even thousands of these trapped fish.
Soon, the water in the pools would be absorbed by the sand and evaporated by the sun, and all these little fish would die.
The man continued walking.
Then he saw a little boy ahead, walking very slowly, and stopping to bend down beside every pool – he was picking up the little fish and throwing them back into the sea with all his might.
The man stopped and watched the boy, seeing him save the little fish's lives.
Finally, the man couldn't help but walk over.
"Son, there are hundreds or thousands of little fish in these pools. You can't save them all."
"I know," the boy replied without looking up.
"Oh? Then why are you still throwing them? Who cares?"
"This little fish cares!" the boy answered, picking up another fish and throwing it into the sea. "This one cares, and this one too! And this one, and this one, and this one..."
Caelan looked into Lion's eyes. "I am just a mortal. My abilities are limited, so I only do what I can."
"But you are different. You will eventually be crowned king."
"When you are king, your people will be counting on you."
No, you are not a mortal.
Lion silently refuted his adoptive father. As the father of a Primarch, how could he be mortal?
He was also a powerful psyker, capable of reshaping the world as he saw fit.
But he chose to suppress his power, giving the Primarch the opportunity, content with whatever shape Caliban took, even if it wasn't his ideal.
His adoptive father had already given him so much. What was this small selfishness of starting a school?
Even this small selfishness was ultimately for his benefit.
What right did he have to reproach his father?
He had no right, which was why he had never truly opposed it.
His objection had only been about the school's location.
Because he didn't want anyone to intrude on their father-son relationship, especially a bunch of little kids his own age.
Those children were far less mature than him.
"The human heart," Lion murmured.
Father said he didn't understand it. Every time he thought he did, he realised he didn't.
He thought he understood his father, but did he really know what his father wanted?
Everything his father did, from beginning to end, was for him.
He had once naively believed that his father's greatest wish was to watch him grow, to be proud of his achievements.
His father did indeed desire the unification of the galaxy under the Emperor's banner, hoped the Primarchs would set aside their differences and stand united against Chaos, and yearned for humanity to one day become masters of the stars.
These grand ambitions, Lion understood.
But beyond that?
What else did he know about his father?
Did his father's casual words also hold deeper expectations?
They were father and son, close and intimate.
But was his understanding of his father truly equal to his father's understanding of him?
No, he didn't understand.
He was just a selfish, stubborn child.
What is a human?
A carrier of civilisation, a form of cultural existence.
Nature shaped the human body, but it could not produce the human heart.
Without a human heart, a person is merely a beast in human form.
But does the human heart truly exist?
It has no physical form, cannot be described concretely.
It is not a heart, but an abstract concept.
People can understand the meaning of the human heart, but they cannot say exactly what it is.
What is the human heart?
It is emotion, wisdom, awareness, and understanding.
Humanity, the human heart, and human nature are one, inseparable.
The human heart is human nature. Human nature is a human. A human is the human heart.
There are good and bad people, hearts that turn one way or the other, natures that are good or evil.
The direction of the human heart is where the public will goes.
So what is the human heart?
Lion had once tried to understand the human heart, trying to make it concrete.
He tried to turn it into a formula or logic with rational thought. At first, he thought it was working. Now he thought it was all nonsense.
The human heart is abstract, and the abstract cannot be defined by the concrete.
It has no physical form. No means can capture it.
But it is intensely real. People can genuinely feel its existence.
It exists in the depths of the heart, in the soul, in emotion.
It has no independent organ to support it, yet it is everywhere.
But if the human heart is not tangible, how can he understand it with logic?
He had rational cognition.
He was proud of it.
But he lacked abstract thinking, which is a higher form of cognition.
In abstract thinking, people extract common characteristics from concrete things, forming abstract concepts like categories, laws, and principles.
The formation of abstract concepts depends on abstract thinking.
Only through abstract thinking can people form universal laws and concepts, engage in logical reasoning, and draw scientific conclusions.
Yet he had tried to explain abstract thinking with rational cognition.
How could he possibly succeed?
Rational cognition could understand the world, but not the human heart.
Because the human heart is too abstract.
The concrete organises the abstract. The abstract stands above the concrete.
A black hole is a real celestial body. It has physical form. It is concrete, not abstract.
But before it was sufficiently observed, a black hole was also an abstract concept.
People didn't directly observe black holes. They used abstraction to understand their existence, step by step proving and discovering them.
The human heart is a black hole.
He cannot deconstruct the human heart with rational cognition. He must use abstraction to understand abstraction.
A hint of self-mockery crept into Lion's voice. "I see. King Arthur truly didn't understand the human heart."
Father told him King Arthur didn't understand the human heart.
But he never told him whose human heart King Arthur didn't understand.
The hearts of others? Or his own?
Lion had thought it was the former. Now he saw it was the latter.
If King Arthur didn't even understand his own heart, how could he understand others'?
He thought he understood everyone, yet he didn't even really understand his adoptive father.
Had his father really not given him the answer?
How could that be? His father often told him to lead by example, to set an example.
Wasn't that all hinting that understanding began with oneself?
If he couldn't even understand himself, then what had he been understanding all this time?
A king? What kind of king was King Arthur?
Price, who didn't understand the human heart, could be a general, a bureaucrat, but he was not a king.
"So this is who I am."
Lion finally understood.
Perhaps not completely, but he was beginning to.
He needed to become abstract.
Caelan asked, "You understand?"
Lion nodded, "I understand."
"What do you understand?" Luther wanted to ask, but he held his tongue.
This father-son duo was indeed too sentimental. Outsiders simply couldn't understand their relationship.
If you didn't know them, you might mistake them for having a poor relationship.
But if someone, seeking to 'stand out', tried to sow discord between them, they would surely 'stand out' indeed.
Though Caelan didn't like helping people 'stand out', he wasn't stingy about helping them "lose their heads."
On Caliban, no one knew this father-son pair better than Luther. They had the power to destroy the Order.
They didn't act recklessly because they saw themselves as human and respected the Order's rules.
Only they could restrain each other.
If anyone disrupted their relationship, the whole world would likely face catastrophe.
Luther suppressed his complex feelings, his voice low. "Lord Cypher asked me to tell you that the Order will hold a meeting in the hall tonight. It's important, so please be sure to attend on time."
...
Lion walked down the corridor into the darkness, his footsteps echoing.
Luther led the way with a lantern, Caelan walking beside him.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Luther's knuckles struck the door three times. It slowly opened.
Lion stepped over the threshold. In the darkness stood a circle of knights in hooded cloaks.
They held torches. The orange-red flames dispelled the darkness, but made the faces hidden beneath their hoods even more mysterious.
"Welcome, brother."
A gentle smile touched Lord Cypher's lips. "Though you have long been one of us, I insist on upholding certain traditions and rituals."
He held a sword, slowly raising its tip, steadying it towards Lion. "Please extend your hand, Brother Lion."
Lion opened his palm. Lord Cypher used the sword to make a diagonal cut across it.
The wound should have bled, but the blade only left a pale mark on his palm.
Lord Cypher's eyes showed surprise.
Lion gripped the blade and pulled it hard, finally drawing blood.
The wound was very shallow, with only a small amount of blood seeping out, healing in an instant.
"Is that enough?"
"It's enough. It's only symbolic."
Lord Cypher's expression was both surprised and helpless, turning solemn in an instant.
"Lion El'Jonson, by your blood, do you swear to protect the people of Caliban with your life?"
"I swear to fulfil this oath with my life."
"Do you swear to uphold the precepts of the Grand Chapter, never to reveal its secrets?"
"By my honour, I swear to keep silent."
"Lion El'Jonson, by your life, from this day forward, you will regard every knight of the Grand Chapter as your brother. You will never raise your sword against a brother, except in fair duel or to defend your honour."
"I swear by my death."
Lord Cypher turned his wrist, letting the blade rest steadily above Lion's palm.
"This sword has tasted your blood and shall bear witness to your oath. If you break your oath, it shall taste your blood again and take your life."
Lion placed his palm on the blade without hesitation. "If I break this oath, may I die by this sword."
Lord Cypher nodded solemnly. "Then the blood oath is sealed."
"By blood as witness, by sword as oath. From this moment, you are Sir Lion, Knight of the Order, our brother."
Lion had already joined the Order three years ago.
But only now had he finally gained the recognition of the Order.
Not just one person's recognition, but the unanimous recognition of all its knights.
Lord Cypher's gaze fell on Caelan. This was a ritual every knight went through. Caelan had witnessed it all.
Caelan shook his head gently. "Lord Cypher, I cannot take this oath."
"Why?" Lord Cypher frowned. He had thought Caelan would be more cooperative than Lion.
Caelan spread his hands, his voice tinged with helplessness. "I can't play favourites, can I?"
If he joined the Order today, the Order would certainly join the First Legion in the future.
That would mean he had effectively joined the First Legion. What would happen to the other Legions and Primarchs?
He could join the Order in name only, but he couldn't take the oath.
Lion said, "I will uphold the Order's oath. Father will uphold his oath to me."
Lord Cypher didn't insist. He believed Caelan had his reasons.
Lord Cypher's gaze flickered almost imperceptibly into the shadows. The little green-robed dwarf was watching quietly.
Lord Cypher didn't know when they had arrived, but he understood why they were there.
If he didn't swear, so be it. As long as his son had joined the Order, Caelan wasn't going anywhere.
Lord Cypher tapped the hilt with his fingertip. "Then, let us speak plainly."
"Brother Lion, do you still insist on exterminating the Great Beasts?"
Lion said resolutely, "I do."
Lion's sword had never rested in three years. He had killed thousands of Great Beasts.
Everyone could see his resolve.
Amadis spoke, his voice low. "Brother Lion, we don't question your resolve."
"But the Order nearly fell because of this before. We must prevent a similar betrayal from happening again."
Lion's gaze was unwavering. "The Great Beasts threaten the Calibanites. I must completely eradicate them."
"If anyone dares to hinder us, they are accomplices to the Great Beasts. And I will eliminate all enemies of humanity!"
Amadis was silent. Lion's words were tantamount to a declaration of war against the other orders.
But Lion saw nothing wrong with that.
This was what his father had taught him: rather than struggling internally, blame others.
He was right. If they were stopping him, they were wrong.
Therefore, for the sake of what was right, he must eliminate them.
Luther nodded, "I agree."
In the past three years, he had followed Lion deep into the forest, hunting Great Beasts, earning great distinction. He had grown from an obscure knight into a pillar of the Order.
If not for that, he wouldn't have been allowed to speak today.
His words, though weighty, were still not decisive. The other knights exchanged glances, unable to make a decision.
Ultimately, it was Lord Cypher who had the final say.
"Have we found anything about the Crimson Saint Order?"
Amadis shook his head. "They seem to have vanished without a trace."
Lord Cypher said, "I also agree. Since the enemy hides in the shadows, let's force them out!"
"Hesitation only gives the enemy more time to plot. Only decisive action can turn the tide!"
The knights no longer hesitated, speaking out one by one.
"I agree."
"I agree!"
"Exterminate them all!"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu