Chapter 79: The Key to Breaking the Deadlock |
'Wake up. Your wife has been dead for a long time. I saw her soul fall into the Warp with my own eyes.'
There it was again, that incessant whispering.
Cornwall instinctively wanted to clutch his forehead, but the moment his sleeve slipped down, he hastily lowered his hand.
'What exactly are you hoping for? A replacement? A figment of your imagination? A product of your desire to escape reality?'
The voice was always so utterly infuriating.
'You lied to me, you bastard.'
Cornwall viciously replied, 'You said Uncle Price was dead, but he is still alive and well. You damned evil spirits used me. You carved blasphemous Runes onto my body, then tricked me into believing that killing those people would allow me to see Sophia.'
'...'
The voice abruptly fell silent. This was completely different from the future it had foreseen.
He was supposed to witness his own flesh and blood hoisted high upon a Sorcerer's banner, fall into the ruins that buried his last surviving relative, and finally head to the Sanctum of the Accursed One, burning it to the ground with its help.
But everything had changed the moment Cornwall boarded that transport vehicle right after arriving in the upper hive!
The Daemon was agitated. The Faith of the Accursed One in this shrine was so overwhelming that it could not even force control over the soldier's actions.
Meanwhile, after mentally cursing the Daemon's entire lineage, Cornwall turned an expectant gaze toward the Sanctum.
The shrine had issued clear regulations: men and women could visit each other, but they had to remain separated. If they wished to meet face-to-face, they needed to request permission from the Sisters.
As for anyone daring enough to challenge this authority, they were currently still hanging from the execution pillars.
These generous faithful were not stingy with providing food and water, but they absolutely would not tolerate anyone violating the majesty of their laws.
Cornwall swallowed nervously.
In truth, he was terrified.
Terrified that all of this was mere coincidence, that it was nothing but an illusion.
'Right, exactly. You also think all of this is fake, don't you? Perhaps everything in front of you is just a phantom constructed by your own mind?'
'Shut up.'
'You really ought to open your eyes and look around. Take a close look at your surroundings. See if anyone actually cares about you. You are nothing but a cowardly piece of trash who needs others to lean on just to stay alive.'
"Enough!"
Cornwall let out an irritable growl, frightening a hunched man waiting beside him into backing away a few steps.
"Cornwall?"
A familiar voice.
Carrying astonishment, disbelief, and unparalleled joy.
"Sophia!"
Cornwall looked up, his eyes falling upon his wife and the child cradled in her arms.
Doubt, agitation, and hatred.
In this single moment, they all vanished into thin air.
"Sophia!"
He stood frozen, completely at a loss. He wanted to reach out, yet feared that it was all just an illusion.
"Cornwall, it really is you!"
Holding their daughter in one arm, Sophia trotted forward, slipping her free hand under Cornwall's arm to embrace his back.
"Sophia..."
Hearing that familiar voice and feeling that familiar warmth, Cornwall finally let his tense body relax, leaning into her embrace.
"Argh!"
Cornwall cried out in pain.
He had been burned.
Burned by the Aquila Mark hanging around Sophia's neck.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Cornwall!"
Sophia immediately grabbed Cornwall's hand in a panic.
"Did I touch your wound? Let me take you to get it checked. The lords here can heal even Uncle Price's severe injuries."
"No, there is no need."
Cornwall hastily pulled his wife back. He knew his own condition perfectly well; if anyone saw the Runes on his body, he would be doomed.
He hopped in place a couple of times to show that he was fine.
"Just let me look at you. Let me look at you a little longer."
"Oh, you are still exactly the same as before,"
Sophia chuckled softly, though a hint of helplessness quickly followed.
"If you were like this with anyone else, they probably would not have the patience for it."
"By the way, look at Erica. Our child has grown so much. The merciful Inquisitor issued her a sanctioned psyker certificate. She will never have to hide again."
Sophia gently lifted their daughter, turning her to face Cornwall.
"Erica, this is your father. He took care of you from the day you were born until you were old enough to remember."
The little girl blinked and cast a fearful glance at Cornwall before immediately burying her face in her mother's chest.
"I'm sorry, Cornwall."
Sophia, unsure why her usually calm and well-behaved daughter was so frightened, patted the girl's back and coaxed, "This is your dad. He chose to join the army to protect you and Mommy. Your dad is a hero."
"Your dad is a hero!"
His wife's words pierced Cornwall deeply.
How could he be considered a hero?
He was a traitor!
"It seems you are living well here,"
he remarked, stiffly changing the subject.
"Yes, the lords provide us with plenty of food and water. We only have to carve scriptures for fourteen hours a day, and we get ten minutes of visitation time. Lord Inquisitor even took an interest in Erica. She allowed me to stay as family to fulfill my duty of caring for her, but—"
Sophia held their daughter, who still had her back turned to her father, with one arm.
"I feel like I should be doing something more."
"Mhm."
Holding his wife's hand, Cornwall rubbed the worn but clean fabric at her wrist and nodded in a slight daze.
"Oh, have you seen Uncle Price yet?"
his wife continued to ask.
She felt that her husband, who was already quite stoic in the past, had become even more wooden.
"I saw him."
Cornwall replied, "He was the one who told me to come see you."
"Cornwall, Uncle Price took care of me after you left. He helped me settle into a home and protected us from the threat of heretics for a long time. He suffered terrible injuries... If it is possible..."
Sophia's lips trembled for a long time before she finally voiced what she felt was a deeply selfish request.
"I hope you can go and look after him. You are the finest soldier. You have always been the best, ever since you were young."
Sophia's words carried incredibly complex emotions.
"Cornwall, I know I am asking too much. If the Crusade Force and the lords of Cadia were willing to accept me, I would offer my life to them without a second thought. But there is no place for me among the Emperor's currency."
"Yes. I will go."
'I should go!'
Cornwall screamed in his heart, immediately speaking up,
"I will go!"
"I'm sorry, Cornwall."
Sophia set their daughter down, then unclasped her Aquila Mark.
This was an emblem they had carved while reciting holy scriptures under the guidance of the Sisters.
She hugged her husband once more.
"May the Emperor's light offer you Divine protection, my hero."
The two-headed eagle emblem rested against his chest, pressing directly against his skin.
Cornwall reached up and grasped it tightly.
This time, however, it did not feel burning hot.
—
"I want to see a commanding officer who can actually make decisions!"
At the Recruitment Center, Cornwall broke away from the queue and marched straight up to the Adjutant.
"Sir, I have already emphasized that you are not suited to join the auxiliary forces. If—"
He completely ignored the Adjutant's hostile words. Ripping open his sleeve while gripping the Aquila Mark tightly in his hand, he exposed the profane script carved into his arm right before the Adjutant's eyes.
Clack!
Almost instantly, the soldiers surrounding Cornwall drew their weapons, terrifying the nearby crowd into fleeing.
"I want to see someone in charge."
Facing the overflowing killing intent around him, Cornwall stared directly at the holy icon of the Emperor. A golden radiance seeped from the mark on his arm, causing the soldiers who were prepared to open fire to hesitate.
That hesitant, cowardly soldier was no longer afraid.