[Why did I come out of that summoning circle?] 】

[Because ......]

[I'm Alpharis.] 】

[Whether it's you or me, we're all Alpharis.] 】

“……”

Conrad narrowed his narrow dark eyes, and in the face of this answer, he didn't even need a moment of doubt and thought, just through the next actions of the person in front of him, he could see the absurdity in it.

When the Spider Queen said this slowly, she leaned back unhurriedly, her back resting on her chair, her feet kicking off the pair of riding boots made of plastic steel and pure gold, and resting them on the table.

Morgan was laughing, an overly obvious and vanity smirk that did not hide the lie of her words: it was a scene that upset Midnight Ghost, who was serious about asking the question.

After all, he had been haunted by that absurd scene for three or four days: his brother, his sister, his flesh and blood who had managed to admit and tolerate his existence, would slowly paced out of such a horrible and blasphemous summoning circle, and did not seem to be in the slightest surprise or panic.

Thinking of this, Conrad's brow furrowed.

"You should think about it and answer my question, Morgan, you know, it's not a joke: if you didn't feel my seriousness just now, you should feel it now."

"Answer me: Why, did you come out of that circle?"

[Because I was summoned, almost forcibly called: it's as simple as that. 】

[Rather, why do you care so much about this, my dear little parasite brother?] 】

The Spider Queen picked up the Assam black tea that had just been brewed by Virgo on the table, this rich, supple tea with a rich flavor and smooth taste, after adding a little fresh milk, became the most favorite milk tea of the genetic protogen, and she tasted the wine carefully, and seemed to have little emotion about Conrad's question.

On the side, Virgo took a look at the situation on both sides of the table, and with the acquiescence of the Spider Queen, she silently retreated to the far corner of the room, leaving enough space for the two genetic protogens to talk.

"You shouldn't answer one question to another, my sister."

Conrad's brow was still furrowed, and he licked his lips, as if struggling with how to organize the language that followed: arguing and expounding were never Midnight Spirit's forte.

So, he was silent for a long time, until Morgan methodically drank a pot of tea, and diverted all his attention, and Nostramo spoke again, and by this time Conrad had recovered from the chaos and calmed down: this ability to quickly calm down was also the result of his exposure to Morgan.

"Morgan, do you know what the ritual is for, which is constructed from countless alien blood and souls and requires an entire war to start?"

[I don't know.] 】

Conrad leaned forward.

"It was a summoning ritual, a ritual that used countless deaths as sacrifices to summon those powerful beings from the subspace, and even to awaken the so-called gods."

"And you, out of there: do you know what that means?"

There was a rare hint of seriousness on the Midnight Ghost's face, and he uttered the words word by word, carefully observing the blood relatives in front of him: to Conrad's disappointment, Morgan was not the least surprised to hear these words.

She just looked at the Midnight Ghost and watched quietly, making the somewhat agitated Nostramo feel strangely peaceful.

Morgan chuckled.

[I can understand your current situation, Conrad: After all, this is the first war you have ever experienced such a tragic war, and the negative energy and subspace waves that linger in this galaxy will actually interfere with your thinking and make you go astray on certain issues. 】

[Now, let's take a look.] 】

The Spider Queen held up a finger.

[First of all, we all know how bad the state of the high priest of Randan is, its ritual is simply full of loopholes in the later stage, you know, here in the subspace, even the omission of a letter will cause a monstrous spell casting disaster, so it is normal for its summoning ritual to have problems. 】

[Second ......]

#一声嗤笑#

[Whether it is you or me, we all know that war and sacrifice on this scale are not enough to awaken a god: you have seen the real ritual of enthronement in the future, haven't you? 】

“！”

Conrad's brow jumped, he had never told anyone about it, and although he had always feared the darkest future, he knew in his heart that under the arrogance and brilliance of the Great Expedition, no one would believe the alarmism of a mad primordial.

But why did Morgan know......

[Don't be nervous, Conrad. 】

The Second Legion used her fingers to sketch random numbers in mid-air.

[The future, is not a completely mysterious existence, it is like a river, although I am not like you, I can see the whereabouts of each tributary, but where the main trunk of this river will flow, but it is a result that can be reasoned, although I can't see what will happen in the future, but through observation, summary and proper reasoning, I can also know some inevitable major events in advance. 】

[For example, this great expedition will not be able to land smoothly, because there are so many hidden dangers in the empire now, because our enemies in the subspace are so powerful, they are destined to start a greater war in the real universe to shatter the eternal peace that our genetic father fantasized about. 】

[And considering that in the Great Expedition, we will destroy all threats in the galaxy, and the power of subspace will not be able to exist in the real universe for too long, then, for those evil gods who are good at demagogy and depravity, the best way is to divide and infight the military power of the empire itself, and use the sword created by the emperor to pierce his empire. 】

[In this case, aren't the genetic primitives who actually have a huge military power and can single-handedly pry the situation of the entire galaxy into the best targets for demagoguery and depravity: the galaxy is so big, it is impossible for the emperor to keep all the primordials by his side. 】

[That is, a rebellion, a rebellion by the Primordial and the Astarte Legion, which will sweep across the galaxy, bring the Great Expedition to an abrupt end, and cause former brothers and comrades to kill each other: this is almost inevitable unless our father really accomplishes his fantastical plan.] 】

[I can tell from the look on your face, Conrad: He failed.] 】

The Spider Empress slowly spat out those astonishing words, without the slightest hesitation or panic, as if she was discussing the strangulation of some unknown alien race, full of "this matter is unremarkable".

Opposite her, a few flashes of consternation flashed in the Midnight Ghost's pupils, but he didn't let any of Morgan's words dissipate the indifference on his face: on the contrary, Conrad's frown was even soothed as Morgan told her reasoning.

[We can even go one step further: if we really want to threaten the entire human empire, then the rebel side must have a leader who is strong enough to unite their forces, after all, a plate of scattered sand cannot defeat the empire. 】

[Therefore, the leader of the rebel army first needs to be a primordial, but also have strong combat effectiveness and excellent command ability, and at the same time, it is best for him to have good relations with other primordial and local forces, and if he can, he must also have the trust of the emperor, because such a betrayal will catch people off guard. 】

[There aren't many candidates, are they? 】

“……”

The words of the tiger and wolf from the Spider Empress hit Conrad in the face, and although the meaning of these words would make any genomorph burst out and want to arrest Morgan and ask the emperor for his guilt, Midnight Ghost was very indifferent: what Morgan said was nothing more than the terrible future that he had already seen, which was destined to happen.

Conrad hesitated, his countenance paused for a moment in thought and consternation, and then changed to a sigh of relief: when he smiled again, his figure looked much lighter.

It was not an easy task to carry these terrible dark futures on his own, and he could not even confide in anyone: for all would see these prophecies as gossip from the mouth of a mentally ill person, and some of his brothers who liked Shanggang would go against him.

Conrad had seen this for a long time.

And now, a blood relative who was barely close to him was able to share the darkness of the future with him, and to bear the terrible fate they were about to face: a small amount of it, but enough to satisfy the current Midnight Wraith.

He even had the heart to make a joke.

"These words of yours seem to describe the position of war commander?"

[Who knows: but we can all see the disadvantages of the position of commander, and it can even be said that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, but our father has always been fond of it: many times, he is not a sane person. 】

“……”

Extremely rarely, Conrad nodded in agreement, but then, a sly smile crept out of the corner of his mouth.

"But then again."

"My sister, you seem to fit all of the above, don't you?"

【……】

Morgan raised an eyebrow, and Conrad smiled even more merrily.

"Whether it is the power brought by psionic energy, or the war potential possessed by the Far Eastern Frontier, it is not to be underestimated, as for the relationship with other brothers, look at Johnson, even if you divide half of your energy to deal with Johnson, I think you can win over a lot of people."

"Or ......"

"Are you interested in running for the war commander? I don't think your success rate is low. ”

[If it was really a campaign, I'd give it a try, but for now, let Johnson chase the bone that the emperor marked Horus as. 】

Morgan casually kneaded the unmaintained, slightly split ends of her hair, and she casually brushed the subject away, her tone rather lazy, as if the two of them were just discussing the setting of afternoon tea, rather than words like "commander" and "rebellion" that would make the alarm bells ring.

On the other side of her, the Midnight Ghost narrowed his eyes, and the Nostramo man's face relaxed a little, and it seemed that releasing some psychological pressure would be of great benefit to his mood: Conrad had rightfully ignored the topic, but he hadn't forgotten the purpose of his visit.

"You're not done yet, Morgan."

Conrad leaned forward again, staring carefully at the Spider Queen's face, his dark pupils full of determination to ask for answers.

"You haven't told me yet: why did you respond to that summoning ritual, or why did a ritual used to summon powerful creatures in the subspace, or even evil gods, be associated with you?"

"Does the Emperor know this?"

He knew it all too well.

The Lord of Avalon complained silently in her heart, but she didn't say it.

In her heart, Morgan had already thought of a whole set of answers: the frank talk about the future just now was not only to adjust Conrad's nervous mentality, but also to delay a little time for her to improve her answer.

With a smile that had faded away from the falsehood and seemed unusually sincere, Morgan spoke.

[Conrad, do you remember what we discussed at the beginning?] 】

"Of course: Alfaris."

[You know what it is, right?] 】

Midnight Wraith nodded.

"Our brother who may or may not return, the leader of a schizophrenic legion, a hopeless riddler and megalomania, thinks he has counted everything, but has done nothing."

[Even a character like you, who has seen through the dark future, can't see him clearly? 】

Morgan stroked his jaw, and Conrad spread his hands.

"You know, I can't see all the future, I can only see things that are relevant to me, or very important, and they tend to be vague, chaotic, contradictory, and disturbed by a lot of external factors."

"For example, when I am around you, the future in my mind is like a pool in a rainstorm, vague and even deliberately ignored, and in recent times, I have found that some of the future has taken a completely different direction: for example, in the future I saw before, I should not have participated in this war at all."

[But you still choose to believe what the future tells you?] 】

Midnight Wraith nodded.

"Since they have happened, it means that they cannot be changed, and in that case, the best thing to do is to follow the path they predetermined: you have told me the story of the Eldar prophet many times."

【……】

Morgan nodded, a small pimple furrowed between her brows, Conrad's words made the Spider Queen discover a new problem, she seemed to ignore the impact of the prophecy on her brother: before that, because her subspace ability was able to interfere with the prophecy in Conrad's mind, the Midnight Ghost stayed by her side, and rarely experienced corresponding discomfort, which made Morgan subconsciously ignore this problem.

But now it seemed that the submissive attitude of her Nostramo blood relatives to the future slides in his mind was not a good thing to be encouraged, and needed to be corrected: Morgan took note of this, and she wrote it down in her inner memo, which recorded only the most important things.

And now, they need to solve these problems now.

[Conrad, I still have a positive attitude towards the comments you have about Alfaris. 】

Morgan smiled, of course she knew that Conrad was right: it wasn't long ago that the Lord of the Second Legion had singled out two hidden hydras from her new blood and promoted them to the glorious Ghoul Stars Frontier Sentinel.

[However, if we look at it from another angle: just as every genetic protogen inherits a part of the emperor, the uncertainty in Alphais also symbolizes some future in us. 】

[After all, each Genetic Prototype is the creation of the Emperor, and we are not more different in nature, except that we are very different in personal information such as personality and values: that is, this uncertainty and ambiguity in Alphares is present in each Genetic Prototype. 】

[We all have multiple paths on our shoulders, and any choice will affect the future into which we will eventually fall: Alpharis is just very conspicuous because of the mystery of this matter. 】

[For example, even with the least possible extrapolation, whether it is you or me, or each of our blood brothers, there are at least nine futures, and this is only a minimum estimate.] 】

[The death of loyalty or loyalty, the death of betrayal or betrayal, and the absolute neutrality of choosing to exist only in theory: at the same time, in the possibility of betrayal, there are five different options that make up the nine paths. 】

[As genetic prototypes, we are so powerful and noble, so no matter which path we choose, we will not be rejected, and it is up to us to make our own decisions. 】

[And what happened in front of you is only a step forward towards one of the possibilities when I choose my own path: although this step is very likely to be irreversible. 】

“…… Are you proactive? ”

[Passive. 】

“…… Are those ...... Stuff? ”

Morgan nodded.

Conrad frowned, the joy and relief on his face vanished in an instant: in an instinct he was not aware of, Midnight Ghost began to use his barren knowledge of the field to think for his blood kin.

In the end, he just spat out a sentence dryly.

"Perhaps...... You can...... Ask our fathers? ”

"He must have a way."

Morgan shook her head, the smile on her face a bitter one that had long since been shattered.

[You know, Conrad, our father, he is not omnipotent: you should know this well in all your years of study and experience. 】

Midnight Wraith didn't speak, but his pupils darkened noticeably.

"Do you know which path you're taking now, Morgan?"

[I don't know, I can't see my future like you. 】

"I can't see your future either, and at this point, we are equal."

Conrad smiled reluctantly, and he seemed to think for a moment before raising a finger.

"However, there is one notable omission in your conclusion: in fact, there are not nine kinds of future that await us, but a tenth possibility."

[What's that?] 】

"Death, or judgment."

Midnight Wraith grinned, revealing those snow-white fangs, and his pupils flickered with stubborn intoxication as he munched on words like death and judgment.

"There are cowards who do not want to go to the more distant future, who do not want to die in war, who do not want to live to 10,000 years, who disdain to choose to fall, but who do not have the courage to face the price of becoming loyal."

"At that time, the emperor's judgment will bring death, and that is the only gift."

【……】

[Who would choose such a path?] 】

Faced with Morgan's confusion, Conrad just stared into her eyes and smiled.

"Me."

"Or rather, my old self."

【……】

[The former you? 】

"The future is a complex landscape, it often changes and chaos, and even contradicts emerge that require me to use my own ability to distinguish between the true and the false."

Conrad spread his hands, his tone indiscerning joy or sadness.

"The longer I stay with you, the more the future vision will give me a death sentence: I've seen a lot of deaths about me, the only thing they have in common is that it's far away, and ......"

"I don't want to die."

At this point, Midnight Wraith even gave a sarcastic sneer.

——————

"I still don't understand, Morgan."

As they digested the information from the conversation and waited for Virgo to serve a second pot of tea, Conrad didn't feel much astonishment as he watched Morgan retract his feet and lean forward as he leaned forward and leaned back on the table without any sitting.

In fact, Midnight Ghost is definitely sitting or not sitting now: although the siblings seem to be discussing something important, their posture is unusually relaxed, not much worse than that of their brothers in mortal families.

"You just told me that this is the path you chose for the future?"

[Yes, but it wasn't my choice: in fact, since the day I became self-aware, I haven't had many choices.] 】

Morgan grimaced, his tone a little low.

“……”

Conrad still looked a little unacceptable.

"You mean that your future might lead to some subspace creatures, or even gods?"

The Spider Empress looked at her blood relatives with disbelief on her face, and was amused.

[You don't seem to have a clear understanding of the energy of the genetic prototype, Conrad, you don't really think that we were created by our genetic father by himself, right? 】

Midnight Wraith shook his head.

"No, I'm just ......"

He thought about it for a moment.

"Until then, in my understanding, there was a path of the gods, and only our father had set foot in: I had seen the future of the emperor, but those futures were shrouded in an unsettling light."

[Golden? 】

"Gold and black, with black being even more ...... Terror. ”

Midnight Ghost's voice was soft, like a burglar recounting a crime: it was clear that it was unsettling for Conrad to describe the darkness in his mind to others today.

In fact, if it weren't for Morgan's apparent gestures in front of him, including his stride out of the summoning ritual and speculation about the Great Rebellion, Conrad would have chosen to keep his mouth shut.

Indeed, in the past few years of getting along, the Spider Queen has been the closest person to Midnight Ghost in her life: although this closeness is accompanied by daily mutual harm and murderous jokes, it is still close.

However, it is only now that the closeness between them has gone further, and they have become some kind of kind of kind who can have each other's secrets.

Conrad had thought that he would reveal these things to the emperor or Vogrim: after all, the emperor's son was one of the few brothers he could feel kindness, but in the current situation, Morgan seemed to be an acceptable option, at least he didn't have to worry about being treated as a mental patient.

[Let me think, Conrad.] 】

The Spider Empress narrowed her eyes.

[You saw in those future fragments about the emperor, such as the rituals required to summon the gods of the subspace, so you can be sure that you can deal with the things summoned by the ritual of the high priest of Randan. 】

"Like you said, Morgan, they're not prepared enough."

"It's too stingy when it comes to offerings."

Conrad's fingers drew a narrow circle in midair, and the Spider Queen nodded in understanding.

[So, the great rebellion I deduced earlier, the war that will set the entire galaxy on fire, is a sacrifice that can summon gods, right? 】

“……”

"Why do you know this?"

Conrad asked rhetorically.

[I've been exploring subspace for a while, blazing a trail. 】

Morgan explained casually, an explanation that made Conrad's brow furrow.

"Magnus?"

【…… No. 】

[Not that far.] 】

The Spider Queen denied it seriously.

Conrad nodded, and he continued to think for a moment.

"I still don't understand, Morgan, why do you care so much about the gods: although you have to walk this path, according to you, it is by no means the reason why you are actively involved in it."

"It's more sinister than you think: don't leave anything to chance when it comes to the gods, my blood relative, in which even our father can only be mired."

The worry on Midnight Ghost's face was anything but a lie, and he was clearly worried about Morgan's undeserved ambitions: to which the Spider Queen could only smile bitterly.

[Hmm......]

[I'll just say so, Conrad. 】

Have you ever played a video game? 】

The Nostramo nodded.

"When I was in Avalon, I watched those mortal officers of yours get together to play games imported from Otlama: quite a few of them have this preference."

【……】

【Otrama?】 】

"yes, don't you know?"

"With the opening of trade between your Far Eastern Frontier and the Five Hundred Worlds of Killiman, many of Otlama goods have become sought-after goods in the Far Eastern Frontier, and vice versa, and in the field of video games, the import of the Five Hundred Worlds has monopolized the whole of Avalon, and those newly developed games are even prohibitively expensive."

【……】

Morgan really didn't know this: though when she first visited the Five Hundred Worlds, she did notice that in Macurag, the inhabitants enjoyed a variety of electronic entertainment that seemed to be absent from Renaissance Avalon.

But what's the situation now?

A cultural invasion from the 500 worlds of Otlama? An ambitious new interpretation?

Morgan waved his hand, interrupting the useless train of thought.

[Very good.] 】

[So now, I am faced with such a problem: if our destiny is a game, then when I first entered this game, I have been forcibly assigned a main line. 】

"What's it called?"

[It doesn't matter, but our Father of Genes is also working on this main line, and his progress is much higher than mine: Voice, after completing the main story of the first chapter, I didn't choose to continue, and ......]

"Rotten?"

【……】

[Pretty much.] 】

[I began to think about other things, such as expanding my realm, raising my legions and kingdoms, or writing a few books or something: but it was clear that the beings in those subspaces did not want to see me leave the path they had chosen for me. 】

"So, the gods used an entire civilization as bait and trap to force you back to the main quest they had set up: this ritual is like some kind of pollution that makes you have to continue on this path?"

【……】

[It can be understood in this way, but the situation is not so bad. 】

Morgan sighed silently, and she caressed her projection in the sea of souls: ever since she had been forcibly summoned by that ritual, she could feel some kind of unknown haze that surrounded her soul, and although it was not more harmful, it could not be erased.

It was like a kind of announcement: telling the Spider Empress that she could not spend her life in this self-deceptive comfort, and that she would eventually have to face the path that the powers of the subspace had chosen for her.

“……”

Conrad was silent for a moment.

"Will you keep going?"

He asked, his voice dissipating into the cold air.

——————

Morgan didn't answer him.

(End of chapter)