The door opened as Thor approached, the rusted metal spinning away to reveal a small vestibule not far from the entrance to the Archives.
Then the door closed quietly behind him, and he stepped across the threshold and waved, while the imprints in the sconces on the surrounding walls burned.
The plaster is cracked in many places, leaving only faded memories of what once were murals.
The tiles embedded in the floor were equally illegible, almost colorless from generations of passage.
This was once the meditation chamber of the ancient monastery, available only to the high priests, but now it is used for another purpose by the Astral Knights Chapter.
There are no extra furnishings here, only a round table and two high-backed chairs facing each other. On the table is a thick, dusty book.
Thor leaned his sword against the back of his chair, sat down and stared at the album, thoughtfully.
It looks plain and simple, with only one number [Ⅺ] on it.
This is an extremely ancient book, which was brought out by the original body of the Eleventh Legion from an extremely mysterious place. It is named "The Book of the Dead" and is the only legion relic preserved by Said.
But currently only members of the association are eligible to read this book.
Just when Thor raised his eyes, a being appeared on the opposite side like a ghost.
It was tall and tall, with a sharp-edged metal shell that looked like suede in the flickering firelight, covered with traces of long and ruthless time.
Before Thor spoke, the other party spoke first.
"You're here again."
"No, I just came."
Thor said with a smile, stretched out a rough hand and began to flip through the ancient book that was almost as thick as the length of his palm.
"Why did you do that? They're of no use to you."
"Habit."
Thor continued, his deft fingers sliding over the pages and then turning them together in an exaggerated way.
"Those contents, they're all the same."
The Ancient One said calmly.
"It doesn't matter which one you look at."
“It matters, it matters what it feels like, and every decision has consequences.”
"Yes, but you've made your choice - you just have to admit it to yourself."
Thor picked up the book with his hand and turned it over. Suddenly, the originally descriptive text changed into a picture of a crow sitting on a broken skull, its claws digging into the bone.
"shadow."
Then he turned another page, and it turned into a hooded Grim Reaper, wearing rags and holding a scythe.
This is the true power of the Book of the Dead - prophecy.
The obscure words above are just some kind of chaotic arrangement. Only by finding the rules can you get a glimpse of its true appearance.
But just seeing the images is not enough. How to interpret them and know how they are interconnected is something that only Brother Seid currently understands - at least on the surface.
Brother Said was not surprised that Thor was able to analyze the pictures in the book.
"What happened in the past cannot be changed."
he said solemnly.
"We've discussed it many times."
"Please indulge me."
Thor leaned back and folded his hands on his legs. Brother Seid looked at him and asked in a low voice:
"Then why did you come? Who disturbed your sorrow?"
"I want answers, as always."
Thor straightened his back.
“I seek your wisdom, your insight.”
"Why?"
"I am afraid."
"What is the cause of your fear?"
"fail."
Thor responded simply.
"Instead of death?"
"If I die, I will have no regrets. Living a failed life is torture."
"Would it be reassuring to know that you can't defeat that person, but your regret will be short-lived? Even that may be a fleeting opportunity."
"A moment or eternity, it makes no difference."
Thor cleared his throat.
"We don't have much time left. If you had a plan, you have to expose it now."
"What if I tell you that I'm just resigned to my fate?"
“If we don’t win, everything will be damned.”
"Then what will you pay for this?"
Brother Said asked, his attention focused on Thor.
"My everything."
"You've paid your dues."
"My death."
"Where is your soul?"
"Nothing like that exists anymore."
"Allow me to express it a little metaphysically, what is the value of your soul to you?"
"I don't understand the question."
For the first time, Thor felt uneasy under Brother Seid's invisible scrutiny, and he began to think about something again.
"I--"
Suddenly, the bell on the table rang, which meant that a third person entered the secret space. Thor quickly closed the "Book of the Dead" on the table.
Then Soshi, who was wearing a long robe, walked in fiercely, carrying a wooden box in his arms.
"It seems that our Chapter Master has discovered something."
Sol on the chair turned around with a smile and watched Soshyan quickly walk to the table and then put the wooden box on the table.
"What are you going to tell us."
"A discovery, a major discovery."
After a sleepless night, Soshyan opened the wooden box, then took out the notebook inside and spread it out on the table.
"These are my father's research notes. What do you think I found?"
"Since when did you start to like telling people off?"
Brother Said's voice was teasing.
"Okay, let me tell you the truth. I accidentally looked through these notes. The result is that I found that our family is probably related to the planet Ullanor. An ancestor once went to Ulanor as a member of the expeditionary force. Fight Lanno!"
Soshyan said, opening the notebook and handing it to Sol.
After looking at it for a while, the other party also let out a low cry.
"really."
"Then I read the following notes again, and the general idea I came up with is that before the thirty generations of ancestors, generations of the family have been trying to return to Ullanor, and what are they planning to look for, until the end of the Second Beast War? , Ulan Nuo still exists, but by the time of the 30th ancestor, Ulan Nuo has disappeared from its original position!"
"Disappeared?"
Thor raised his head and looked at Brother Said.
"what do you think?"
"How can a planet disappear unless it is completely destroyed, but if it is completely destroyed, there should be some debris."
Said turned to Soshyan.
"Did your ancestors mention this?"
"As mentioned, our 30th generation ancestor went to the original galaxy where Ullanor was to investigate. There was no trace, not even planetary debris. It completely disappeared out of thin air."
"That means."
"It was hidden."
Thor took over Brother Seid's words.
"Hiding an entire planet, such a method..."
He thought for a moment, then raised the palm of his right hand and raised three fingers.
"In the empire, there are no more than three forces that can do this. Either the Terra Palace, the Tribunal, or..."
Sol and Soshyan looked at each other, while Brother Said lowered his body slightly.
"Adeptus Mechanicus!"
The next second, the three people said the name in unison.
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