"Also has a spell-breaking effect. They came well-prepared."
Caelan used his psychic ability to pick up a Black Blade. The runes on its surface had lost their luster when no one was holding it.
He felt this was specifically aimed at him. He was the only psyker present.
If he hadn't made it a habit to extend his psychic barrier to a five-meter radius, and if Dorn hadn't been there, things might have actually been dangerous.
But he was just a teacher. What was the point of killing him?
Even if he died, the Primarch wouldn't fall to Chaos. He would only hate Chaos with a burning passion.
Furthermore, as long as Horus was still alive, Caelan would eventually meet him.
For the Four Gods to deal with Caelan, they had to deal with Horus first.
Horus was on Terra, protected by the Emperor. The Four Gods would have to kill the Emperor first.
If They could kill the Emperor in the material universe, They wouldn't need to scheme so much.
Caelan swept his gaze around. The six assassins had all been neutralized.
But in the corner, Perturabo's head was lowered, his body shrouded in shadow.
"Abo!" Caelan called out to him. Perturabo did not respond.
...
"Among the Eldar pantheon, there are only three goddesses."
"Morai-Heg, the goddess of wisdom and the crone; Isha, the goddess of fertility and women; and Lileath, the goddess of purity and maidens."
"Sister Aenor, what about Heya?" Lilith tilted her head, her silver hair flowing like moonlight.
Aenor's fingertip gently touched the maiden's brow. Ancient Eldar knowledge flowed into her consciousness through psychic power.
"Heya is the consort of the twin gods Asuryan and Khaine. She is an aspect of the Crone Goddess Morai-Heg and also an aspect of the Life Goddess Isha."
Lilith blinked in confusion. "I don't understand."
"Each Eldar god holds more than one domain. Morai-Heg is both the Crone Goddess and the goddess of wisdom and fate."
"Isha is both the Life Goddess and the goddess of harvests and fertility."
"Lileath is both the Moon Goddess and the goddess of dreams and fortune."
"Isha's husband is the hunting god Kurnous. Lileath is their daughter. But in some legends, Lileath is the daughter of Asuryan and Isha."
"They are three independent goddesses, but also a triune goddess."
A trace of confusion glimmered in Lilith's eyes. "But Morai-Heg and the Bloody-Handed Khaine also have two daughters. Why aren't they goddesses?"
Aenor answered, "Because they did not inherit domains from their parents, nor did they gain new ones."
Lilith gazed up at the immense craftworlds taking shape. Artisans poured their life's work into them; every piece of wraithbone was engraved with the elegy of sixty million years of Eldar civilization.
They would carry the last embers of Eldar culture.
Lilith asked, "Sister Aenor, will It truly be born at the moment of the End Times?"
Many of their kin mocked them, believing the so-called End Times to be nonsense.
They scoffed at the very existence of gods, and the Eldar had never relied on any deity's protection.
They considered themselves masters of the universe, convinced that no power could destroy them.
All of Eldar society was steeped in this ingrained arrogance, dancing on the edge of a cliff while oblivious to the abyss below.
Aenor said, "It has already been born, just not yet delivered."
"Its power is accumulating. When it emerges from its cocoon, it will finally destroy the Aeldar in its complete form."
"The gods have warned us, but our people have long abandoned their faith in the gods."
"They are already deep in the mire, unable to extricate themselves yet enjoying it. What we can do is save those kin who still yearn for redemption."
Aenor's eyes were steeped in worry.
Her greatest fear was that It would be born before the craftworlds were finished.
Its birth was unstoppable, yet no one could predict the exact time. Fate was already in chaos.
They were racing against time, without even knowing where the starting line was.
But the sooner they left, the greater their chances of survival.
Many craftworlds had already set sail for the stars, yet more of their kin remained trapped on the world destined for destruction.
Sometimes, bitterness welled up in Aenor's heart. Those depraved compatriots indulged in hedonistic pleasures day and night, while she tossed and turned, sleepless over the impending End Times.
Not knowing the truth meant not suffering.
"Sister Aenor, we could go to the Maiden Worlds. Our people would accept us."
Lilith murmured softly, a hint of hope in her words.
Privately, those Eldar already determined to flee had begun calling their homeland the Crone World, a name signifying this old world destined for decline.
And those idealistic homes brimming with hope were wistfully called Maiden Worlds, or Lileath Worlds, symbolizing pure, newborn new worlds.
Even before the first craftworld set sail, some far-sighted kin had foreseen the imminent danger.
Legend held that it was the youngest goddess, Lilith herself, who revealed the prophecy of doom to the first seer in a dream, guiding them to seek out the Maiden Worlds.
Aenor's gaze turned skyward, the outlines of the craftworlds reflected in her eyes.
She shook her head gently. "The Maiden Worlds are indeed beautiful, Lilith, but I cannot leave. My duty is here. This is my oath."
"Every kin who still perseveres places their hope in me. I am all they have left to rely on."
Lilith lowered her eyes. "But Sister Aenor, time is running out."
"The End Times of the prophecy draw closer every moment. We don't even know whether tomorrow or destruction will come first."
Aenor gently stroked the maiden's cheek. "That is precisely why I must hold out until the end."
"The craftworlds that have already set sail carry the embers of our civilization, while every artisan and every scholar who remains here adds fuel to those embers with their lives."
"I will watch the last craftworld depart and ensure the last willing kin boards the ship."
Lilith bit her lip, her eyes filled with an unassailable sadness. "Sister Aenor, you shouldn't have to bear this responsibility alone."
"Let someone else stay. Eldrad, Lanthrilair... why does it have to be you? You were the first seer warned by the youngest goddess. Only you are qualified to lead our people!"
"This isn't a sacrifice, Lilith. It is my choice."
Aenor turned, cradled the maiden's face, and used her fingertip to wipe away a tear that was about to fall.
"Even if our civilization is doomed, it still needs a watcher to witness its last dance."
Lilith suddenly threw herself into Aenor's arms, her voice choked with sobs. "But I will miss you."
Aenor's fingers gently combed through Lilith's silver hair, which flowed like moonlight, and whispered in her ear:
"Then tell my story to the kin in the new world. As long as someone remembers these bygone days, I will always be with you."
"Leave now, Lilith."
"You are the last Chosen of the goddess Lileath herself. The kin of the Maiden Worlds need your guidance."
...
"Sister Lilith?" The maiden's clear call jolted the handmaiden back to reality from her distant thoughts.
Lilith lowered her head slightly, her silver hair flowing like moonlight. "Forgive me, Calliphone. I was lost in thought."
Calliphone leaned against the ornate stone railing of the balcony, gazing distantly at the grand theater, her voice tinged with curiosity:
"Sister Lilith, can you tell me what Sister Claudia is like?"
The instant she heard Claudia's name, Lilith's body trembled slightly, as if an icy chill was crawling up her spine to her brain.
"Of... of course." She tried to keep her voice steady, but couldn't hide the slight quaver. "She was also our elder sister. A kind, warm, clever, loving, gentle, beautiful, noble, pure..."
Lilith's voice grew softer. "...maiden."
Calliphone didn't know Claudia, but there was an unnatural pause in Lilith's tone. She seemed to be desperately searching for every positive word she could muster to pile onto the description, which instead revealed a strange incongruity.
Calliphone asked, "Why a maiden?"
Because in terms of age, Claudia was younger than all her younger sister-servants, who were all born after the End Times.
The newly born kin were too mediocre and dull; their shallow souls were utterly unworthy of serving my Lord.
"My Lord, forgive me." Lilith silently repented in her heart. She knew He was listening.
She had naively believed that she and Aenor were both Divinely Chosen, that they had both received the doomsday prophecy from the youngest goddess.
Asuryan's barrier severed the connection between gods and the mortal world. Only the youngest goddess, Lilith, could breach this barrier to warn the Eldar.
Yet when Aeldar civilization collapsed in the End Times, they finally discovered the cruel truth.
They were indeed the Chosen of the youngest goddess, but the entity that delivered the prophecy had never been the goddess Lileath.
Lileath was the youngest of the Three Goddesses, but She was not the Aeldar's youngest goddess.
The youngest goddess held the same rank as those three, but She remained a god of the Eldar.
This was never what She wanted. She never intended for the Aeldar to be completely destroyed.
She could not save it from the Aeldar's failure and depravity. Even She could not resist Her own birth.
But She had to ensure the Aeldar lived, that Aeldar civilization continued.
When the shadow of the End Times loomed over the ancient Aeldar empire, She did not hesitate to personally deliver a warning before Her birth. She needed enough Eldar to escape.
Perhaps She once had the chance to become the Aeldar's true youngest goddess, but the Aeldar had betrayed the gods, betrayed everyone.
They fell and lied to their kin, claiming the Aeldar had no need for gods.
Even so, if the Aeldars faced an existential crisis, She would even grant them protection.
They were still bound by fate.
The Aeldar had only one chance to survive the End Times. If the Aeldar wouldn't seize it, then She would do it for them.
From the skies of the Crone Worlds to the fringes of the galaxy, She would boil the starry sea and bring down the stars.
Even if it cost Her very last drop of blood, She would ensure the Eldar endured forever.
Every God-Chosen was born for this, just as, Lilith's eyes suddenly sharpened, her gaze sweeping a certain corner of the palace.
"Calliphone, go back to your room immediately."
Calliphone tensed up instantly upon hearing this. "Assassins? A diversion?"
"Perhaps worse."
"Should I summon the palace guards?"
Lilith shook her head gently, her moonlight-like hair swaying. "No need. Mortals would only get in the way. Leave this to me."
Calliphone hesitated only for a moment before nodding in agreement.
During their last assassination attempt, these assassins wielding Black Blades had easily evaded the mortal guards' notice. This time would be no different.
Besides, Lilith had been sent by Claudia to protect her. Calliphone had an excellent impression of Claudia, and Caelan had approved. Lilith wouldn't harm her, would she?
CRASH!
The wooden door to Calliphone's quarters burst open with a loud crash, but eerily, no one stood in the doorway.
The silver-haired handmaiden vanished in an instant. Calliphone only managed to catch a glimpse of the moonbeam-like sheen in Lilith's hair, and the next moment heard the sharp crack of a breaking neck.
A corpse shrouded in a black robe lay outside the door. Lilith gracefully folded her hands in front of her, not even a wrinkle on her skirt.
She didn't want to splatter blood everywhere; that would be terribly inelegant. Getting the room dirty would also be her failure in duty.
"Lit, "
Before Calliphone could finish her startled cry, a silver hairpin shot from Lilith's fingertip through the air. The assassin who had just climbed onto the balcony immediately fell in freefall, followed by the dull thud of a heavy object hitting the ground outside.
Calliphone asked, "Only two assassins?"
Lilith shook her head gently. "Three."
'Where was the third?'
Just as Calliphone was about to ask, her gaze froze.
A third corpse lay sprawled outside the door, a black dagger protruding from its throat.
While snapping the first assassin's neck, Lilith had used his own weapon to kill the third.
Calliphone took a half-step back. "Sister Lilith, do you hear any strange noises?"
Lilith's voice remained calm as water. "No. What do you hear?"
Calliphone's gaze uncontrollably fell upon that black dagger.
The blasphemous runes etched on its blade seemed to flicker as she watched, as if winking at her.
Lilith followed her gaze to the dagger, gently pulled it out, and deftly flipped it in her hand.
"Don't worry. These whispers have no effect on me."
She had long been thoroughly permeated by the youngest goddess. From soul to body, she bore the unique brand of Her, unable to be stained by any other color.
This was their belonging, and also a form of protection.
If humanity possessed its own god, they too would have to accept Its brand.
Only then could they face the covetous gaze of the gods fearlessly.
Compared to them, how fortunate humanity was.
Humanity had the Emperor of Mankind, had the God-Making Project. Even the Eldar gods vied to protect them.
Lilith still found it absurd to this day. Why was that?
Calliphone suddenly gasped. "Sister Lilith, Heracon and Andos are in danger!"
If assassins could infiltrate the palace to kill her, why would they spare the other royal family members?
...
RIIIP!
The black dagger tore through fabric and plunged deep into flesh.
Perturabo looked down at the blood seeping from the wound, then glanced at Lodask. "Why the assassination attempt?"
The priest's fierce expression strangely grew calm. He panted heavily, looking at the wound on his chest slowly turning black, and let out a relieved, bitter laugh. "Kill me... I am beyond saving."
This assassination was doomed to fail.
How could a mortal possibly harm a Primarch in the slightest?
Besides, Perturabo had his father's account of what happened to Horus to learn from. If he could still be killed by a mortal assassin, then Caelan's teachings would have been in vain.
Perturabo had long noticed the priest's abnormality.
He pretended to be focused on concern for his father's safety, but in reality, he had full confidence in his brothers.
How could those assassins possibly harm his father under his brothers' protection?
He deliberately left an opening to draw the snake out of its hole.
He was just a little disappointed. He had thought that after planning for so long, Lodask must have had a clever trick up his sleeve.
But his final trump card turned out to be so flimsy, just this dagger.
Perturabo asked, "Any last words?"
The priest struggled to lower his head, looking at the dagger embedded in his own chest, and uttered his final, dying words in a barely audible whisper:
"Antaram... truly is not one person."
Perturabo watched the priest die, but still reached out and snapped his neck, just to make sure he was thoroughly dead.
"Antaram."
'What did this name truly foreshadow?'
'Eighteen daggers. That number was surely no coincidence. Did it correspond to the eighteen Primarchs?'
'But why eighteen?'
'They clearly had twenty Primarchs in total.'
'Were two deliberately excluded, or had those two brothers already met with an accident?'
"Abo!" Perturabo slowly came back to his senses. He rose and nodded to his father. "Father, I'm fine."
He pushed aside the priest's corpse, revealing the black dagger stuck in the man's chest. The runes on its blade had already grown dim.
The mortal had failed to harm him in the slightest.
Perturabo still couldn't understand it to this day. How could Horus, the Warmaster of the Imperium, a Primarch, a demigod in mortal eyes, have been wounded by mere mortals?
Even if that dagger could hurt him, the one wielding it was still mortal.
He could only attribute this absurd tragedy to the Warmaster's inherent arrogance and conceit. Horushad dismissed the threat of mortals, viewing their resistance as the struggles of ants. It was this very hubris that had brought about his own destruction.
Perturabo would never make the same mistake. He would give his all against any enemy.
Only through repeated tempering could one obtain the finest gold.
His brother's lesson could also become the tempering that forged him.
Perturabo said alarmed, "Father, we need to return to the palace immediately."
"Including the priest, there were seven assassins. Five remain."
"They didn't strike at the first opportunity, which means their target wasn't at the theater. Sister might be in danger now."
Caelan reasurred him, "Don't worry. Lilith will handle it."
"Father, do you truly trust Claudia?" Dorn asked with a frown.
"Call her sister. She's older than you."
"And, it's not about whether I trust her. It's that she's already proven to me that she's trustworthy. Lilith also carries her scent. I can smell it."
That scent was unique. Caelan found it hard to describe how he smelled it, but it was indeed quite fragrant.
He had seen Lilith among Claudia's handmaidens before. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so easily believed that Lilith was one of Claudia's people.
"If you trust her, Father, then I will trust her as well."
Dorn nodded, "Same here."
Following his brother's lead was rarely wrong.