Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim.

Chapter 17 The Poison of Hope (Part 2)

Corleone is in terrible condition.

Am I going to die?
She couldn't help but think that.

She was not afraid of death, or rather, as a homeless scavenger orphan, she was already used to death.

And those days of hunger and cold are really not worth remembering.

Perhaps if I died, my brother's burden would be lessened.

Having lost all hope of living, she slowly sank into the boundless sea of ​​her soul.

"No, not now."

She clearly remembered that it was a beautiful and tall goddess who had rescued her from hunger and cold.

She gave them warmth, water, food, laughter, and names, as well as a promise of a beautiful future filled with hope and redemption.

She brought color to their world.

With the ideal color.

A luxury she had never experienced before.

But she will never see any of this again.

Since being struck by the psionic lightning, her already pale skin had become even paler, and the fine purple veins within it appeared even more translucent. Her dark gold eyes were tightly closed, and if someone were to observe her closely, they would notice that her pupils were becoming increasingly dilated over time.

Once again, I was on the verge of death.

But this time, she wanted to live.

She is no longer the numb, walking corpse she once was.

She wanted to witness the spaceship's journey through the skies; she wanted to become its captain and traverse the cosmos.
She wants to live.

Like a drowning man, Corleone struggled with all his might.

She wants to live!
Live on, live ...
Finally, in that vast and silent sea of ​​souls, she tried to grasp at the last straw that could save her.

[Corleone, I can save you]

"who are you?"

She asked subconsciously.

[Corleone, I am your dream, your hope]

That's how it answered.

She woke up.

On a huge and magnificent ship, she opened her eyes again.

What a fascinating spaceship it was!

The entire ship was covered in a beautiful purple and pearl silver paint scheme, and under the protection of the [Geller Field], it emitted a faint golden glow.

She didn't know how she instantly grasped all this knowledge, but as the captain, she didn't question her own common sense.

The spaceship's perimeter is adorned with 1,296 lifelike statues, each radiating its own light atop the building's battlements. Sculpted from marble and countless exquisite jewels, they are clearly the work of some of the most artistic sculptors.

Her command deck was exceptionally beautiful.

The throne beneath him was woven from agate and silver. The exquisite leather seat was as delicate as a baby's skin.

The air was fragrant, a stark contrast to the toxic, radioactive atmosphere of Chemos. With just a light sniff, a decadent, sweet scent, like honey, instantly filled her nostrils.

It brought her an extreme pleasure that could shake her soul.

On the ship, there were countless dedicated crew members who provided her with the best food and service.

They knelt down, trembling, and handed her one gilded platter after another of candied fruit for her to enjoy.

Not only that, she could even sense that her twin brother was here, on this spaceship.

【Crown】

That is the name of the ship.

"Where is this?"

Sitting in the center of the bridge, Corleone looked around cautiously and asked questions.

A glimpse into the distant future

A voice answered in her heart.

In the vast, high heavens, the dimension of time does not exist.

"who are you?"

I am a disillusioned dream.

It is the ideal that is sought but not attained, a mirage, and the ugly and unwilling struggle when it is shattered.

I am you, Corleone

I am the poison of hope.

The voice uttered a string of incomprehensible words that were hard to understand.

"What are you trying to do? I want to go home."

Although the unfamiliar environment was incredibly beautiful, it always made Corleone feel a deep-seated unease.

This is not normal.

Although she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong, she still felt a little scared.

I've brought you a deal.

I need your body as a vessel to fulfill the great mission entrusted to me by my Lord.

In return, as part of the deal, I will fulfill your long-cherished wish to become the captain, halting the decay of your body and thus freeing you from the tragic cycle of life and death.

You will never again be oppressed by hunger and cold, nor will anyone speak ill of you or mock you.

You will pilot your favorite spaceship, freely traversing the universe, laughing to your heart's content. Day after day, year after year.

Guided by that voice, she saw many more things.

She also saw her twin brother achieve his dream, becoming a powerful swordsman who used his magnificent and elegant swordsmanship to cut down countless enemies. She also saw herself piloting a spaceship, sharing countless "candies" with the suffering people wherever she went, just as she had once hoped.

Moreover, these candies are tens of thousands, even hundreds of millions of times sweeter than the ones Sister Fugen used to give them.

Those who experienced such joy roared and danced with glee.

Some were so happy that they scratched their bodies and faces.

Even as blood splattered and internal organs were torn out, it wouldn't stop.

How happy they were!

"I"

A grand blueprint from the dreams of the future has already been unfolded.

But she was still hesitant.

[Corleone, is there anything else you're not satisfied with?]

Becoming a captain—isn't that your hope for survival, your ideal?

The voice was extremely sincere.

"My deal would benefit both of us, so why wouldn't you accept it?"

Yeah, why not?
Aside from an inexplicable inner resistance, Corleone could find no reason to refuse.

She hesitated, then slowly reached out her hand to the voice within her heart—

"enough!"

Just then, a voice from behind stopped them.

"That's enough, you demon."

With this shout, Corleone regained his senses, a clarity completely different from the hazy, drowsy fog he had felt before.

A long-lost sense of reality filled her mind once again.

[Damn it, who are you? Why are you ruining my plans?]

The voice shrieked in dissatisfaction.

Corleone withdrew his hand and looked back curiously.

It was a blazing, golden-red sacred flame.

“Salice’s disciples have stooped so low as to make a living by deceiving three-year-old children.”

"You make me feel sorry for you, you devil."

Corleone did not run away.

For some reason, that indistinct ball of fire always gave her a sense of familiar closeness.

The other person also seemed to be looking at him.

"Corleone, remember this."

"Dreams are not easily obtained, but are forged through long-term efforts and hard work."

"Do not believe the slander of these demons. Every brick and tile of the future will be, and can only be, forged by our own hands."

Corleone nodded.

She felt warmth in front of the flame.

It carries a touch of real sting and burning.

But it was still warm.

"As for you, demon."

"Disappear forever from all timelines."

As soon as he finished speaking, flames surged forth.

Although he didn't know how he found out, Corleone understood one thing at that moment:

That was a flame that touched the very essence.

Once engulfed by flames, she will be annihilated forever, never to be restored.

She was one with the voice in her mind.

This flame will extinguish the voice, but it may also burn itself to death.

[The Cursed?! No, impossible! This isn't the power of the Cursed!]

The voice cried out, its tone filled with disbelief.

You! You are—

"Who I am has never been up to you, you demon."

Flames rushed toward her, engulfing everything in her vision.

Her hopes and dreams will be shattered and vanish into thin air.

But she doesn't regret it.

"Corleone".

At Casca's soft call, she opened her eyes dazedly.

She woke up.

Awaken from a beautiful but illusory dream.

She saw Casca smiling and patting her little head, and his brother beside him looking relieved.

"Welcome back, Corleone."

Was everything that just happened a dream?

She rubbed her eyes, somewhat confused.

What a strange, dreamlike experience.

(End of this chapter)