"See you in winter!" Someone shouted.

Ruth opened his eyes and saw a hall.

Wooden tables and chairs were scattered all over the floor, as if they had just experienced a banquet. The smell of wine and meat filled the air, and the unpleasant smell of the cooled grease rushed into Ruth's nose precisely in the sunlight.

He looked around and saw swords and shields hanging from the walls, spears on arming racks, and banners that covered the load-bearing pillars of the hall. They were presumably hand-woven, with a rough surface, and were shaking slightly at the moment.

A familiar sign glared at him majestically over these banners, his fanged mouth slightly open.

He looked into the depths of the hall again, and over the long tables piled up with the cold and cold scraps, he saw a heavy wooden throne. It is not fit for any king, and as long as the king has the slightest vanity, it should be adorned with gold and silver treasures.

At worst, you have to place a sword on the arm of the chair. Instead of the current case, the edges were faded, the backrest was mutilated, and the armrests were even covered with grease stains

"See you in winter!" The man shouted again. "Rest in peace! Rest! ”

Ruth turned his head and listened.

He wondered where the sound came from, and his excellent hearing didn't come in handy this time.

Ears that used to be able to easily pass through a blizzard and hear the sound of prey stomping on the snow were now less agile, and the Fenris grunted out of his throat with an expressionless face, and couldn't help but bare his teeth.

He turned and walked towards the door of the hall. The two doors are made of very thick wood, which is decorated with patterns, but they are not very neat, and even look random.

Someone used a knife to carve many names on it, as well as some legends and stories that have no beginning or end. He lowered his head, pressed his shoulders against the two doors, and slowly pushed them open, very cautiously.

As the gate moved, a chilling wind whistled in through the open crack, and the wind and snow rushed out with a chill and smashed Ruth's face and body. He stuck out his tongue and licked it, and sure enough, he tasted the familiar taste.

Fenris——?

Ruth continued on his feet until the gate was fully opened.

The interior of the hall was completely ruined by his actions, the flags were covered with wind and frost, the wind blew the scraps of cold rice on the table to the ground, and the disgusting white grease from the broth after it had cooled was sprinkled on the carpet, and it was everywhere.

It doesn't take long for them to ferment with a disgusting stench.

Ruth stood up and looked at the scene outside the gate, and after a few seconds, he decided to brave the wind and snow to go back and get a sword.

So he turned around and started walking, but the process was not easy. The once strong Riemann Ruth is now walking with great difficulty under the wind and snow, and every step he takes, he has to endure huge wind pressure and protests from within his body.

He's tried his best to keep himself on his feet, but occasionally he still falls. Fortunately, the snowflakes that had been blown in had covered the ground, and he didn't have to fall into the soup and water on the ground.

After his fifth fall, Ruth groped to his feet, exhaling hot air between his lips and teeth. His right hand felt something hard in the snow, so he pulled it out and saw a wooden wine glass.

Of course, there was no more alcohol in it, but he raised an eyebrow.

Ruth opened his mouth and bit down on the edge of the glass, a familiar pleasure on his face - and then, his canines slowly strained, and a stream of cold liquid seeped into the edge of the glass.

Very little, not even a sip, but it was the taste of Fenris honey he remembered. The burning sensation passes over the tip of the tongue and then the taste buds on the entire tongue. Ruth happily tasted the poisoning wine, and took the wooden glass down by the way.

He steadied himself, aimed upward, and threw it out. A sword and a shield just like that fell and fell into his hands.

He gripped them tightly, feeling a reassuring roughness. Then, he turned around again, shielded himself from the wind and the blizzard, and walked out the door little by little.

Unfortunately, the outside world is worse than the inside of the hall.

Outside the gate was a treacherous cliff, as if some god had slashed here with a sword, so that the cliff and the opposite peak had a pleasantly straight angle.

Ruth reached the edge of the cliff and peered down, seeing a bottomless black void. He smacked his tongue and squinted his eyes when he looked up at the snow-capped mountain that was emitting a glowing white light in the sunlight.

After a few seconds, he began to retreat, and it was only when he returned to the door of the hall that he began to run wildly. His body was already very weak at the moment, and every step he took required him to exert all his strength.

Ruth almost felt his bones protest against the restraints of his muscles, telling him to be gentle with them, and the Fenris didn't bother to pay attention.

He just runs, runs unstoppable. The sword and shield shook at his sides, and the broken hair that had draped over his forehead was wet with sweat, and was blown into icicles by the cold wind, which were placed on his forehead, creating an unpleasant feeling.

He didn't care about any of these things, he just ran and jumped - and jumped.

With a muffled grunt, Ruth managed to jump over the gap, which was at least eleven meters long.

He lay in the snow, enjoying the ice and snow, lazily moving, and after a while stood up, a joy of success echoing in his heart.

He almost laughed out loud when he realized it himself - happy for such a thing? I'm hopeless

"But contentment is the lifelong pursuit of countless wise men." A voice suddenly spoke.

Ruth looked up and saw an old man with a white beard. Dressed in a thick fur jacket, he was very old, with a black blindfold and a straight wooden staff in his hand.

"Why am I not surprised, father?" Ruth shrugged. "Your style of testing people is really unexpected."

"It's not a test, Ruth." The old man said. "I'm not capable of doing such a thing, at least not bringing you back to life. And, if I had to do it, I wouldn't have asked for a chair covered in grease. ”

"You don't have to care so much in the snow and ice." Ruth grinned. "If your clothes are dirty, you can just roll in the snow."

"Come with me?" The old man asked. "No matter which path you choose in the end, I want to reveal these truths for you."

Ruth didn't answer the question, and his expression gradually became a little helpless in the gale. After a few seconds, he asked, "What is the situation now, father?" ”

"It's bad." The old man said bluntly. "Terra is crumbling, it's an altar, and soon it's going to be a temple."

"Time has become irrelevant, so is space, and soon, even the basic laws of physics will be shaken. And it is avoiding Him, and it will try to delay the moment when it sees Him, as much as it can. ”

Ruth couldn't have rolled his eyes more visibly.

"I've had enough of that." He threw his sword to the ground a little angrily. "Your answer makes me think I'm asking a stupid question, Father, I just want to hear an explanation, not these hellish riddles—what laws of time, space, physics."

He shook his head, picked up his sword again, and lowered it to another piece of snow.

"What if it hides from Him or not? I only care about one thing, and you get the idea. ”

"So, what do you want to know?"

The old man's expression also became helpless, and he simply spread his hands and made a very straightforward gesture to Ruth, representing powerlessness.

"What language am I going to use to explain these things to you, and you will understand them as soon as you hear them. Riddle? ”

"Strictly speaking, you don't even need to explain."

Ruth said as he threw down his shield and lay down simply. He leaned his hands on his shield and squinted at the old man's face, trying to imagine the black blindfold he was wearing as the moon or a star.

"So, what do I need to do?"

"Don't ask me, you're the whole father." Ruth said. "I'm going to exercise my natural authority as your son now, do you have any opinion?"

The old man laughed dumbly, and then into a laugh—this was no disguise, for such a happy laugh was an impossible disguise for the Lord of Men. He couldn't help but bend down with a smile, but after laughing, he immediately straightened his face again.

"Are you going to make a mess again, Ruth?" The old man asked sternly.

Ruth glanced at him and immediately retorted loudly: "What do you call again?!" ”

"You didn't listen to my orders, and ran to raid the Spirit of Vengeance—"

"-You didn't give me an order!" Fenris said unhappily. "You don't say anything, you don't do anything, and then expect me to say nothing and do nothing like you?"

"Am I going to watch that thing turn the Chagatai Legion into it? It says it won't hurt Chagatai, and who will believe it? ”

"But now is not the time to be willful, Ruth." The old man said bitterly. "If you just want to exercise your power as you say, why didn't you do it in the past, and you have to pick this time?"

"If willfulness still has to be picked, then why is this word called willful?" Fenris asked rhetorically.

"Besides, there's no concept of time here, and I can stay here with you for a hundred years, and the outside world doesn't even have to pass a second, can it?"

"That's true."

"Then why are you—" Ruth raised his hand and patted himself to the side. "—don't lie down, look at the sky with me."

"Now?"

"Yes."

The old man looked up at the sky.

"It's the coldest time of the year for Fenris, Ruth, and it's one of the few sunny days in it. We're going to be blind. ”

"Don't you have an eye patch?" The Fenris grinned. "When you can't stand it, cover your good eyes with it."

The old man lay down helplessly, but the stick was still tightly held in his hand.

The wind and snow are still roaring, and this is Fenris, a planet with a climate so harsh that native creatures must do everything in their power to survive.

The people who live here are savage, strong, and cruel. The animals that live here are cunning, ruthless, and hordes.

The confrontation between man and nature happens all the time, and even the thickest clothes can feel cold, and even the sharpest sword can be bitten by a wild beast. There can be no moments of relaxation, no peace.

Just as the Lord of Mankind is in the life of becoming an emperor and queen.

How similar, how sad.

For a few minutes, they didn't say a word. Just lying in the snow, gradually sinking, staring at the sky in silence.

"Isn't it quiet?" Ruth asked, his voice muffled in the snow. "I love this kind of time when you don't have to think and you don't have to fight, father."

"That's true."

"Do you like the quiet?"

"I don't like it." The old man said honestly. "It's too beautiful to belong to someone like me."

"What do you mean by someone like you?"

"Executioner, war maniac, careerist—" replied the old man in the same muffled voice in the snow. "—The galaxy is burning, Ruth, and it's all because of me."

Ruth didn't speak, just listened.

"Horus died, and at the end of his life he apologized to me, even though he had done nothing wrong. He died, conscious of what he had done, and then died like that, his body even being used as a puppet by them. ”

"Lorga Aurelian is dead, and only the last bit of essence remains. His legions are polluted, his image is devoured, and there is no peace. They will continue to concoct new Loja Aurelians for fun in the future, not even to bring more of the world into the tide of chaos, but simply to harm me. ”

"Motarian died, fought to the last moment, was tortured to the last moment, and did not find rest. His body and part of his soul were even being used as a virus bomb or something by an evil god. ”

"Magnus is also dead, and I have spent four years trying to keep him out of the devil's clutches, but without success, he is right under my nose, and I have not been able to protect him. He had to sacrifice himself in order to secure a barely acceptable future. ”

"Your brothers are suffering, Ruth. Robert Kiliman, Perturabo, Vulcan. Angron, Colus Colax, Vogrim"

"The legion of St. Giles has been battered in the Signus system, Leon El Johnson has destroyed the knight's hopes at Caliban, Roger Dorn is walking alone in the dark, Ferus Manus has been infused with an unwarranted hatred that will produce terrible satisfaction in the event of revenge, and—"

"—you talk a lot, father." Ruth said. "Why are you so sentimental and chattering today?"

The old man was silent for a moment, then suddenly sat up from the snow and struck Ruth on the head with the stick in his hand. The force was so great that it made a dull loud noise.

"It hurts!" The Fenris jerked up and shouted with bared teeth. "You can't beat me just because I'm telling the truth!"

The old man sighed and did not speak. Ruth rubbed his forehead and reached for the long stick, its surface trembling, the rough surface of the wood chipping little by little, revealing the scab beneath it. The golden light flashed, and the Bacchus spear buzzed in the wind and snow.

The Fenris shrugged and laughed again, "I knew you had it." ”

"Looks like you've made your decision." The old man said slowly. "That means we'll only have the last few minutes left to talk."

"I'm here, father." Riemann Ruth replied softly.

When the snow subsided, he stood up and looked down on his diminutive father.

"I'll see you in the winter." The old man said.

Unfortunately, there is only one shift today-

Modify the outline.

(End of chapter)