Warhammer 30: The Second Legion's Expedition

Chapter 51 Fire, Wisdom, and Knowledge

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Patroclus was at a loss for words, but one thought lingered in his mind.

He asked, "Isn't this too greedy, Your Majesty?"

"Even the emperor could not achieve perfect balance."

The golden giant, who resembled a god, even made Patroclus, who was born during Hector's reign and had never believed in gods, waver.

Because he had never seen a giant as dazzling and majestic as a star, so perfectly tall and strong that any evil thought would be instantly driven away upon seeing him.

Upon hearing this, Hector turned to look at Patroclus. He saw the expression of faith on Patroclus's face that even he himself was unaware of, and the hidden repression and resentment in his heart resurfaced.

This was the greatest damage the emperor had inflicted on his kingdom and on his nearly thirty years of rule over Troy.

He gradually led a planet with seeds of faith to abandon superstition, but the emperor, who was the most resistant in words, descended upon Troy with a divine act, giving the seeds of superstition, which were on the verge of withering away, the most important life-saving rain.

"Tell me about the puzzle, Patroclus," Hector said, clearly unwilling to dwell on the matter any longer.

Countless questions, countless doubts and worries buried deep in my heart, began to surface after this conversation.

Why was the Emperor so eager to launch a great expedition? Why did the Emperor, who clearly had the ability to improve religious issues, choose to carry out the most cruel and drastic measures? Why did the Emperor, who claimed to love humanity, almost intolerant of any waste of time?

Every time they conquer a world, the tax collectors are always one step ahead of the ships that terraform the planet.

Hector dared not think that the Astartes were not even a drop in the ocean compared to the number of people in the empire, but merely a tributary flowing into the sea, and that the empire's power would eventually return to the hands of mortals.

At that time, will those tax collectors, with orders from Terra commanding the Astartes expeditionary fleet fighting far away, either annihilate or aid these Astartes based on their personal will?

Hector seemed to hear his own voice.

He was telling himself, "This must be it; this is the future."

"It won't be like that," Hector whispered to himself, dispelling the worries in his mind.

"I regret this, Your Majesty," Patroclus said with shame. "I did not write down the first and third riddles; I only intervened in the third riddle, which was still unsolved."

"It's alright," Hector laughed.

He did not bring his bad mood and worries to Patroclus, and always maintained a magnanimous and reliable image in front of his children.

This relieved Patroclus's guilt.

He began to recount the riddles he had encountered to the king in a long, storytelling tone.

"The truth cannot be seen by the eyes of mortals."

"Only the wise can decipher the emblems of destiny."

"Listen, followers of Athena, children of Troy."

"Engrave these three riddles on your soul, and only through devotion, wisdom, and change can you see the truth."

"The third riddle."

"I am a gift, and I am a plague."

"At the time of my birth, the wisest god cried out in agony."

"Those who drink me like mead will immediately fall into hell."

"Some drink me like wormwood, and immediately wings grow."

"My mother is the night, my father is the question."

"My children are more than the sands of the Ganges, yet they are all silent."

"The first to possess me was imprisoned by the gods on a cliff." (Prometheus)

"The last person to possess me will release all the dead souls." (Orpheus)

"The Trojans built my altar in the square."

"Yet not a single lamb has ever been offered to it—"

Why?

After he finished speaking, Hector touched his chin with his right hand, his brow furrowed as he fell into deep thought.

He then looked back at Patroclus, who had snapped out of his chanting, and said, "Could you tell me the story again? I have some idea."

Patroclus readily agreed, and he sang the riddle for his king once more, this time with greater emotion, truly like a Trojan bard.

"I think?" Hector already had the answer in his mind halfway through the conversation, but he still waited for his offspring to finish speaking.

His right hand rested on his clenched left fist, and his five fingers tapped lightly, making a soft snapping sound: "The answer is fire, wisdom, and knowledge, right?"

"And, Patroclus, you haven't told me everything, have you?"

"I see through your expectations."

Patroclus was clearly very surprised, because Hector had solved the puzzle that had troubled the two of them for so long in just a few minutes.

Hector was especially convinced that he was hiding something.

"Please forgive my sins, I did not mean to conceal it, Your Majesty," said Patroclus.

He could tell that Hector was not furious because of his concealment.

Patroclus then revealed the reason for his concealment: "If the final words were spoken, the riddle would no longer be a riddle, but merely a phrase waiting to be copied."

"Then I forgive your mistake," Hector said with a smile.

"Thank you for your forgiveness." Patroclus laughed as well. "May I know your solution, Your Majesty? You clearly stated that you are not good at this."

"Knowledge, fire, wisdom. Prometheus, who stole the fire, was punished by the gods and bound to a cliff to suffer the torment of being pecked at."

"However, the spark of knowledge is knowledge, and knowledge can be altered and taken back."

"But wisdom cannot." Hector tapped his fingers lightly, indicating that he was thinking and organizing his thoughts: "Orpheus, I have had the privilege of reading ancient texts, he is the son of Apollo and the Muses."

"In the distant past, when religions were at their most fanatical, there was a sect called Orphism."

"The ultimate belief they hold is in immortality and eternal life. They will protect the bodies of the dead, and they believe that the soul will continue in another death space, which now appears to be a subspace."

"They believed that it was far from enough for humanity to simply possess knowledge; humanity must also possess fire, wisdom, and knowledge. Later, the Athena sect offered an interpretation of this now-extinct cult."

"The spark is hope, wisdom is humanity and the soul, and knowledge is the tool."

"The Trinity can release all human souls from the space of death, but in their doctrine, the One is bloated and poisonous, especially in knowledge."

They believe knowledge is toxic and tools need to be used properly.

The atmosphere between the two abruptly ended with Hector's words, falling into silence.

Patroclus greedily absorbed this unknown knowledge and marveled at the breadth of the king's knowledge.

Despite his extreme aversion to religion, the king still sought to understand it and attempted to control it.

Hector, who had no drafts and only had simple ideas in his mind, was momentarily at a loss for what to say next.

But Hector instinctively wanted to find an ending to this conversation, even if that ending wasn't perfect.

So Hector said dryly, "Without offering the lamb, fire and wisdom, that is, hope and mankind itself, mankind is not willing to offer them."

Patroclus noticed the king's current state and considerately took over the conversation, bringing it to a close.

In the form of poetry and chanting.

His voice sounded like a reward to the person who had solved the final mystery.

"Whoever can solve the three riddles."

"The answer to the last riddle must be used to answer the question of the first riddle—"

"Then he will see the first thread spun by the goddess of fate."

If you can't, then shut your lips.

"For the riddle solver will ultimately be consumed by the riddle, just as the blind prophet said:"

Knowledge is a fire that can illuminate the temple,

It could also burn the questioner's hand.