Chapter 39: The Beast of Burden — Erebus
Summoning daemons, deceiving daemons, signing contracts, and transferring the curse of flesh and blood.
When the Thousand Sons, led by Magnus the Red, signed various contracts with Erebus for the first time, Magnus was extremely grateful to him.
Not only had Erebus helped them solve the problem of the so-called "familiars," he had even helped them suppress the flesh-change that plagued the Legion. Yet Erebus himself was uneasy—deeply uneasy.
He was so uneasy that he secretly sought the Emperor of Mankind.
"I'm really not going to run into any trouble because of this… right?"
"Relax," the Emperor replied calmly. "I will ensure your safety. Even in the worst case, I will take the burden upon myself. Even if I must sit upon the Golden Throne, I will not allow you to fall into the hands of Chaos."
The Emperor's tone was strangely casual, almost like speaking to an old acquaintance. That alone reassured Erebus.
He felt that even if the Emperor intended to deceive him, it would not be in such a way.
So—
He chose to believe.
Soon after resolving the Thousand Sons' problems, Erebus did not know whether transferring Magnus' contracts to himself would truly work, but if the Emperor said it would, then it would.
After all, if anything went wrong—
The Emperor would cover for him.
With that settled, Erebus turned to deal with the affairs of the Word Bearers.
Yes.
Erebus.
Handling the affairs of the Legion of Lorgar Aurelian.
"Damn it, Lorgar…"
Although many Word Bearers grumbled about this, Lorgar was far too busy. As a result, most Legion matters now pass through Erebus.
Even without undergoing full Astartes transformation, Erebus had become central to their operations.
And the Word Bearers adapted quickly.
Too quickly.
They began adopting Erebus' methods.
How to shout before battle.
How to break the enemy's morale.
How to use the Thousand Sons as "practice opponents."
The Thousand Sons soon came to regret their earlier confrontations.
The Word Bearers had learned everything—and improved upon it.
They no longer shouted before battle.
They simply spoke afterward.
Just two sentences.
That was enough to shatter the mental defenses of even powerful psykers.
Faced with this, the Thousand Sons chose a new tactic—
They ignored them.
Completely.
Even when Word Bearers burned books in front of them, they endured it in silence, no matter how harsh the insults.
Eventually, Magnus had no choice but to act.
In the dead of night, without Erebus' knowledge, he entered Lorgar's chambers and secretly took a copy of "Erebus' Battle Quotations."
Soon after, the Thousand Sons began fighting back.
They could now respond.
They could now retaliate.
The Word Bearers were delighted.
At last, proper opposition.
So they escalated further.
The conflict intensified rapidly.
The Thousand Sons broke under the pressure, adapted, then broke again.
What Magnus did not know—
Was that the version he had obtained that was already outdated by several revisions?
"My father! When will we join the Great Crusade?"
The Emperor of Mankind looked at Lorgar, who stood before Him.
He opened His mouth—
Then closed it.
He truly did not want the Word Bearers to take part in the Great Crusade just yet.
Looking at what had already happened to the former Imperial Heralds… and the Thousand Sons…
Now the Thousand Sons shouted things like
"Take this! Psychic blast!"
Was this how Astartes were meant to behave?
Disgraceful.
"Soon," the Emperor said.
That answer did not satisfy Lorgar.
"My father."
"Next month," the Emperor said, irritation creeping into His voice.
Lorgar bowed, though disappointment was clear.
After he left, the Emperor exhaled.
At least for now—
He had bought time.
But what the Emperor did not know—
That it Was Lorgar who went directly to Magnus.
"My brother, I invite you and your Legion to join us."
Magnus frowned.
"Your words sound… dangerously close to heresy."
"No," Lorgar replied calmly. "We remain loyal to the Imperium and to the Emperor. But you have seen the corruption of the Warp."
He continued,
"Erebus and I have established an organization—the Inquisition. But we lack psykers capable of contending with Warp entities."
Magnus considered this.
Then nodded.
"Very well. I will assist you. What must I do?"
Lorgar paused.
"I will have Erebus explain the details."
Magnus blinked.
"…Who commands the Word Bearers? You—or Erebus?"
Lorgar seemed to understand his thoughts.
"Erebus is the most devoted believer I have ever known. With him handling such matters, I can focus on writing, studying, and prayer."
He added,
"Power… is tiring, Magnus. Having someone you trust makes things easier. If you wish, I can lend him to you for a few days."
Magnus thought for a moment—
Then nodded.
Soon.
Erebus found himself overwhelmed.
His workload increased without end.
Stacks of documents filled his chamber.
Outside, the sun shone brightly.
Inside—
There was no light.
Only work.
He had just finished processing a mountain of reports—
When even more appeared.
"I'm going insane…"
"Garrulek! Garrulek!"
Erebus roared.
From beneath a pile of documents, Garrulek crawled out.
"My lord, I am here!"
"Who sent these?"
"…I do not know."
He worked alongside Erebus constantly—how could he know?
Erebus flipped through the documents.
"These are Thousand Sons matters! Why are they here?! We are the Word Bearers!"
A pause.
Then the realization.
"…Magnus. Damn you, Magnus."
Garrulek wisely remained silent.
After all, Erebus was perhaps the only one who could curse the Emperor and a Primarch—and survive.
Erebus stormed off to confront Magnus.
The door remained shut.
Instead—
Ahzek Ahriman was pushed outside.
"You've been conscripted," Erebus said flatly.
Ahriman sighed.
"I expected this."
He produced a document bearing Kor Phaeron's seal.
"I have been assigned to the Inquisition."
Erebus tore it apart.
Ahriman produced another.
Erebus' face darkened.
"You resemble a son of Magnus," Ahriman added calmly. "Perhaps you should join the Thousand Sons."
"Get lost."
At last, pushed beyond his limit, Erebus went directly to the Emperor.
"Either we begin the Great Crusade now… or I die here in front of you. Choose."
The Emperor took a sip of tea.
"…Next month."
"I said now."
"Next month."
"Humanity needs us immediately."
"Next month."
Silence.
Erebus stared at him.
Then turned away.
"…Damn you."
The Emperor calmly took another sip of tea.
Unmoved.
End of Chapter 39
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