【战锤40k同人作品翻译】Ennui 第二十四章：宣泄 Unleashed

本章概述：

            修女哭泣，魅魔祈祷。

            In which a sister weeps, and a succubus prays.

 

正文：

那句话出口时温柔似水，却又震耳欲聋。

……我就要死了。

难以置信。

简直是……五雷轰顶。

终于，我接受了自己的心意。终于，我接受了自己对伊莎莱的感情无可置疑，而在我把自己交给她后，却发现已经太迟了。

“你能不能……”这些话尚未出口便卡在了喉咙里。“你就不能做些什么吗？那……那我呢？”

“如果真的有办法……能和你共度余生的话……我的亚历莎，”伊莎莱抬起一只手，虚弱地抚摸我的脸颊，怜爱地说，“我会去做……毫不犹豫。”

她在正常情况下如雪花石般饱满的苍白皮肤，现在却因病弱而黯淡下来。无论是她的手还是四肢都孱弱无力，对于一个曾独自挑战一大群绿皮野种的她来说，这几乎不可想象。

伊莎莱日出般的长发现在正无力地摊在我的双腿上和她的周身，她胸口的起起伏伏随着一次次呼吸而愈发地虚弱。

“为什么是现在？”我轻抚她的脸，绝望地想要在她的生机消逝前感受到它。“为什么……？你刚才还是好好的。”

“我燃烧得……太明亮了，”伊莎莱虚弱地微笑着。“爱得太激烈……太深沉……我告诉过你了……灵族的灵魂……会在亚空间里燃烧的。”

“你——你是说我——？！”

“不，”伊莎莱皱起眉来，拼尽全力地摇了摇头，用仅存的一丝力气握紧了我的手。“这段时间以来……我一直都濒临死亡……而我选择了这样，Cre’yth。”

“为什么？”

“因为……我爱你……”伊莎莱回应道，而在我看来她几乎连微笑的力气都没有了。“我那时已经快死了……而我想……想要爱你……在终焉之前。”

出口的每一个字都伴着艰辛和痛苦，与此同时我已经泣不成声。我把她拉起来，靠在她的身上不住地抽泣。她的头无力地垂在我的肩膀上。有那么一会儿，在我环抱着伊莎莱纹丝不动的身躯时，我只能从她呼吸时的微弱嘶声来得知她还活着。

“你不能这样，”我的双唇贴在了她逐渐失温的额头上。“你不能死，‘莱……不要在我终于才找到你的时候这样。”

“我很……感激，”伊莎莱低声说，我只恨这恐怕是她能发出的最响的声音。“你让我……最后的时日……如此的美好。

“不要再说了！”我抱紧了她，抽泣着说。“不要再这样说话了！你拯救了我！那也一定有办法拯救你！”

她摇了摇头，竭尽全力地抬起一只手臂，与我的手掌相叠，随后微笑起来。

在这般痛苦下，我已无语凝噎。

在她微笑的那一瞬间，令我心碎的悲痛没有得到回应。那微笑来自将死的不朽……无限疲惫，又无比明亮，只因她已坠入爱河。伊莎莱的嘴唇十分单薄，并已经开裂，因缺乏血流而苍白，而她已经虚弱到几乎无法弯下嘴唇做出那个表情，可它依旧存在于在那里。

“我很幸福……亚历莎，”伊莎莱轻声说道。“你让我……无比幸福……而我已经记不起来……上一次这样……是什么时候了。”

“你也让我无比幸福，”我哭泣道。“我不……我不知道没有你在的话，我还能不能再幸福下去。”

伊莎莱在我的臂弯里颤抖着，我能感到她在我的身上愈发地无力下去。在一个可怖的瞬间，我以为她已经在此逝去了，可随后她的心跳声又响了起来，呼吸声咯咯作响。令我无比欣慰的是，她只是经历了又一阵虚脱。她仍然与我同在，仍然用她仅有的力气攀在生死边缘。

“你一定会的……”伊莎莱对我保证道。

“怎么会？”我把脸埋在了她的发丝间，泪水打湿了火红的长发。“你怎么会知道？”

她轻笑起来，声音微弱又柔和。

“是因为帝皇庇佑吧？”她几乎是玩笑般地说，我微弱地苦笑起来。

帝皇庇佑？

长久以来，这个短句一直是我人生的基石。那是我在大多数的早晨听到的第一句话，也是我在夜间祷告时口中的最后一句话。它既是一种奉献，也是一句问候，一句祝福，一种告别，而现在呢？

令人作呕。

只是单纯的恶心罢了。

帝皇庇佑？

祂庇佑了谁？肯定不是我的姐妹们，她们在刚踏足这个世界时就被屠戮殆尽。不会是已经忠诚地侍奉了祂半个多世纪的高阶修女卡利昂，也不是横死前还尚未赢得第一场战斗的荣耀的余姐妹。

祂没有保佑阿提卡，哪怕她曾亲自将黑暗诸神的冠军的丑恶灵魂送回了他们亚空间主子的恶毒怀抱。

祂没有保佑三笠，哪怕她曾手抄了几百份本会在坦博尔叛乱期间遗失的圣典。

祂哪怕保佑过我吗？那保护了我的究竟是神皇，还是伊莎莱？

“为什么？”我更紧地抱住了伊莎莱。“他为什么就不能庇佑你？

“你知道的……”她的话音几乎连低语都算不上了。“我是个……黑暗灵族。”

“可你是好人啊！”我抚摸着她的双臂，亲吻着她的额头，试图让她的温暖在我身边留存得哪怕再久一点，泪水不受抑制地落在她身上。“你值得被拯救，那祂为什么——？”

一个灵光乍现让我的话语凝滞在了舌面上，这个想法恐怕比我曾有过的所有的想法加起来都要亵渎。仅仅只要我在帝国信条的信徒面前提及它就足以让我锒铛入狱。

神皇为什么会保佑我？

国教的红衣主教们会给我最简单的回复：因为帝皇爱着所有的殉道者们，而正因为我向他祈祷过，援引了祂的名号，祈求了祂的指引和保佑。

简而言之：因为我请求过。

可谁又敢请求帝皇保佑一个异种女战士的灵魂。

除了我。好几个昼夜前，当我在现在的这间房间里绝望地向帝皇祈祷时，我就曾斗胆恳求帝皇的仁慈和恩典以保护伊莎莱，即便我知道这并不可能。

可经神皇之手，这一切还会是不可能的吗？

“坚持住，稍等一下！”

我挪动身体，挣扎地从被单里爬出来，抱起伊莎莱并拽过来一条毯子。同时拿起这两样并不困难，她实在是轻得要命……我不愿见到伊莎莱在我的怀抱中脆弱的样子，也知道每过去的一秒都在把她带离我一分，向着她所说的“巨蛇”的血盆大口更近一步。

“亚历莎，你在做什么……？”随着我走出我们共享的卧房，伊莎莱战栗不已，她一定是冻坏了。

“一切都会好的，吾爱，”我向她保证道，把她带到了大雨倾盆的阳台上。

尽管隔得很远，我还是看到了它。

帝国的鹰徽。

伟岸的双头天鹰在远处从巢都的毒雾中拔地而起，我知道那标志着神圣的花园隐修院所在的高度。

我小心翼翼地跪下，把伊莎莱放到地上，用毯子包裹着她，随后爬到了我从小教堂里带走的受祝盔甲的七零八碎上。我在犯下罪孽后把它们从身上剥了下来，现在它们正散落在阳台上，可现在……现在我需要它们。

或者至少，我需要其中一部分。

“神圣泰拉上的神皇呵，请宽恕祢回头的浪女吧，”我低语着拾起了胸甲。

它在我的手上沉甸甸的，胸铠上抛光过的鹰徽在雨夜的微光下闪闪发亮。我对这闪光稍感欣慰，似乎无论我做了什么……我都无法玷污它的光泽，没人能，因神皇光辉之纯净胜于世间万物。

我把它紧紧贴在胸口上，无视了金属刺骨的寒冷和硬质边角刺进我的皮肤都的触感。

“神皇呵，垂听我祷，”我轻声说道。“尽管我已犯下罪孽，尽管我已不再纯洁，但现在我携卑下的悔恨恳求祢……怜悯祢的自私的女儿吧。”

我转向伊莎莱，我把胸甲放在她盖着被单的胸前，让天鹰面朝天空，随后动身让她枕在我的大腿上。

“什——你在……做什么？”伊莎莱沙哑地问道。

“我正在求助，”我低声回答。“如你所言……帝皇庇佑。”

在她能向我提问前，我朝着天空仰起头，让雨水落在我的脸上，同时向天穹伸出双手。

“满怀恩典的神皇呵，我恳求祢，以慈爱对祢的女儿垂下目光，听闻她的呼喊吧，”我吟诵道，随着自己在信仰和祷言中振奋精神，我感觉内心充满激情。“祢的慈爱长存，祢的恩典无穷，祢的意志不屈，我赞颂祢的圣名，并恳求祢的目光在这不忠的孩童身上逗留些许，准许她谒见祢的黄金王座吧。”

“亚历莎……不——不要——”

我无视了伊莎莱的抗议，清晰地吟唱出一个单音，抬高音量赞颂地球之主，随后垂下双手放到伊莎莱的脸侧，轻轻抱着她冰冷的脸颊。

“神皇呵，”我哭着低下头，泪水浸透了我的嗓音。“我知晓自己已然堕落，我的信念已然更改，可即便我不值得祢的注视，我恳求祢，转向我，怜悯我，因我仍是祢的女儿，而我对祢的爱——人类之父呵——从未改变过。”

我又一次抬头望天，说出了我真正的请求。

“我已经犯了罪！”我对着黑暗大喊道。“我已然堕落，我已然改志，可我恳求祢！父亲啊！垂怜祢的女儿，准许她这一私愿吧……泰拉的父上呵，垂下祢的目光于这群星之子，这边国之女，并知晓她艾达灵族的伊莎莱之名吧！”

我的泪水与这悲惨世界的雨水混在了一起，我能感受到水滴滑过我的脸颊时那淡淡的化学烧伤，但我无视了它。这个世界上已经没有什么能拯救伊莎莱了，但有神皇的恩典在，一切皆有可能……死者可以复生，弱者可以变强，而在祂的光辉下，甚至异形的灵魂也可以被拯救。

“她的内心懂得爱意！她的灵魂知晓崇高！”我对虚空的黑暗祈求道。“即便她的双手已被污秽沾染，但祢的女儿也因这双手而得救，祢的赠礼因而保全，祢的世界因而被捍卫！而当下黑暗正在侵蚀！混沌的阴霾降临，我恳求祢，父亲啊！莫要让她落入巨蛇的咽喉！以祢那暴烈的恩典，我恳求祢！”

我的话语在悲伤中支离破碎，但我没有低下头去。我紧盯着乌云密布的天空，全身心地投向祂那里，这一次我不会允许自己的信念有所动摇。

“求求祢，父亲啊……求求祢，”我抽泣着。“我爱她，父亲，请不要让她被吞噬，不要让大敌从祢的手中赢下这高贵的灵魂……求求祢！”

我的话消失在只被雨声打破的寂静中，过了一会儿，我感觉到伊莎莱的手抚上了我的脸颊，不知为何它比雨水还要寒冷。

“他不会……回答的……”伊莎莱柔声说道。“他爱着你……可我……是黑暗灵族。”

“我不在乎，”我喊道，依旧拒绝低下头去。“我是神皇之女，他是我的父亲，他爱着我。”

“可他对……我……没有爱，”她虚弱地说道。“我已经在罪孽中沉沦了……数个千年……而毫无悔意。”

“我不在乎，”我重复道，“你是我的，我绝不会放开你。”

雨水烧灼着我的面庞，没过多久，我听到伊莎莱又一次轻笑起来，她的气息在胸腔中咯咯作响。

“真是奇怪啊……”她喘息道。“我从来没有……对我的所作所为……感到后悔，”她的话变成了一阵剧烈的咳嗽，她的每一次喘息都在我身上激起共情的疼痛，可幸好，她控制住了自己并说了下去。“可现在……我的确很抱歉……”

我对这句话惊讶地眨了眨眼，主要是因为这听起来好像她是认真的，我大睁着眼睛低头看向她。

伊莎莱在对我微笑，她几乎失去了意识，正在迅速地凋零。尽管很虚弱，她仍在对着我微笑，用手指缠绕着我紧握着的手。

“我很抱歉……我从你那里……抢走了我们……”伊莎莱喘着粗气，我看到泪水从她的脸颊上滑落。“原谅我……亚历莎……原——原谅……我……”

我吸了吸鼻子，擦了擦脸，深情地抚摸着她的脸颊。

“不要问我这个，”我回答道，试着对她微笑但不太成功。“我一直都会原谅你，’莱。”我又一次抬头看向天空，然后闭上双眼。“问问祂吧。”

我能感受到她的怀疑，但片刻之后，她虚弱地叹了口气，轻声笑着。

“那么……我想……我也可以，”伊莎莱轻柔地捏紧了我的手。“怎么……该怎么做？”

“说你很抱歉就可以了，”我柔声说道。

我听到，也感觉到她正用力地吞咽着，然后深呼吸了一次，好像让她的肋骨在这张力下折断了似的。在我的手指下，我感到伊莎莱放松了下来，同时她张开双唇，说出了我想可能是她这辈子第一次说的祈愿。

“人类的神皇啊……”伊莎莱带着微弱的嗓音开口道。“原谅我……因我……伤害了……祢的女儿……而我爱她……胜过一切。”她疲惫的声线开始破碎，并非因为虚弱，而是因为悲伤。“人类之父啊……我很抱歉……原——原谅我……即便我知道……你对我们这个种族……没有爱……我还是爱着……你的女儿。”

另一次呼吸，嘶哑而痛苦。

“原谅我……如果需要的话……也原谅她吧。”

随着伊莎莱置祈求我的救赎于她的之上，一声抽泣从我的唇间溢了出来。

“父亲，你听到她了吗？”我又一次睁开双眼。“父亲！”

寂静，依然是寂静，支离破碎的虚弱啜泣从我的身体中流出，同时我低下头去，怀抱着伊莎莱，感受着她更进一步的消逝，在嘴边念着祈求的话语。

“父亲……”我咬住嘴唇，随着怒火和冲动涌入胸中而抬起头。如果祂现在听不到我，那么我就喊得更加响亮，直到祂在黄金王座上都能听到我为止。

“父亲！”我大声吼道。“父亲！”

//雷鸣电闪//

金色的闪电劈开了天穹，而我们周围的世界则在雷鸣中炸裂。雷声击碎了尖塔的装甲玻璃，震得高耸的大厦百骨打战。整个巢都都屈服于迸发的灵能伟力和难以置信的轰动，其重量猛砸在我的双肩上并压下了我的脖颈。

那东西并不是实体，却不可撼动，好像我背上背负的是帝国皇宫一样……那重量来自某种古老又强大得难以言说的存在对我降下的注视，将我的灵魂深埋在了它的伟力之下。

低垂着头，我能看到它，覆在伊莎莱胸前的胸甲正闪耀着电火的光芒，如同只温暖却不噬人的金色火焰。这是我知晓了一辈子的光芒，无论它有多短暂，哪怕我从未见过，也从未想过能亲眼目睹。

毕竟，能看到神皇本尊的光芒，已经属于奇迹的范畴了。

 

原文：

Those words, so softly spoken, deafened me.

…I am dying.

It was obscene.

Utterly obscene.

Finally, I had accepted my heart. Finally, I had accepted that what I felt for Isarae was not something I could deny, and I had in turn given myself to her only to find that I had done so far too late.

“You can’t…” I choked on the words before I could get them out. “Can’t you do anything? C-Can’t I?”

“Were there a way… to spend a lifetime with you… my Alessa,” Isarae said fondly as she reached a hand up weakly to stroke my cheek, “I would do so… in an instant.”

Her skin, normally a rich, pale alabaster, was now pallid with sickness. There was no strength in her grip or in any of her limbs, and for someone who had once been able to challenge a horde of Greenskin barbarians alone and slaughter them untouched, it was almost inconceivable.

Isarae’s sunrise hair was pooled limply across my legs and around her, and her chest rose and fell more weakly with every breath.

“Why now?” I ran my fingers along her face, desperate to feel the life within her while it was still there. “Why…? You were fine moments ago.”

“I burned… too bright,” Isarae said with a wan smile. “Loved too fiercely… too deeply… I told you… Aeldari souls burn… in the warp.”

“Y-You mean I-?!”

“No,” Isarae shook her head, inasmuch as she could, frowning as she took my hand and squeezed it with what little strength remained to her. “I was dying… all this time… I chose this, Cre’yth.”

“Why?”

“Because… I love you…” Isarae replied, and it seemed to me that she barely had the strength to smile. “I was dying… and I wanted… to love you… before the end.”

Every word came with labor and pain, and I was crying in earnest as she spoke. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I rocked back and forth, weeping as I held pulled her up until she was resting against me. Her head lolled against my shoulder, and for a moment the only way I knew Isarae was still alive was the faint susurration of her breathing as I cradled her still form in my arms.

“You can’t,” I pressed my lips to her cooling forehead. “You cannot die, ‘Rae… not now that I’ve finally found you.”

“I am… grateful,” Isarae whispered, and I hated that it was probably as loud as she was capable of. “You made… my last days… so very bright.”

“Stop it!” I clutched her close as I sobbed the words out. “Stop talking like that! You saved me! There must be a way to save you, too!”

She shook her head, raising her arm with what must have been a colossal effort to lay her hand over mine, and smiled.

I had no words for this pain.

There was no reply to this unassailable grief that cut my heart in the moment of that smile. It was the smile of a dying immortal… a smile that was both infinitely weary and infinitely bright because she was in love. Isarae’s lips were thin, chapped, and pale from lack of bloodflow, and she was so weak she could barely curve her lips to make the expression, but it was there all the same.

“I am happy… Alessa,” Isarae said softly. “You have made me… happy… and I do not recall… the last time… that was so.”

“You make me happy, too,” I cried. “I don’t… I don’t know if I can be happy without you anymore.”

Isarae shivered in my arms, and I felt her go limp against me. For a single, horrifying moment, I thought she had gone right there, but then her heartbeat thudded, and her breath rattled, and to my immense relief I realised she had just suffered a bout of weakness. She was still with me, still gripping on to life with what little strength she had.

“You will be…” Isarae promised me.

“How?” I buried my face in her hair, dampening the red locks with tears. “How can you know?”

She chuckled, and it was a faint and delicate noise.

“Because the Emperor protects?” She offered, almost in jest, and I let out a weak, brittle laugh.

The Emperor protects?

For so long that simple phrase had been a keystone of my life. It was the first thing I heard most mornings and the last words on my lips during prayers in the evening. It was an offering and a greeting, a benediction, and a farewell, and now?

Obscene.

It simply felt obscene.

The Emperor Protects?

Whom does He protect? Certainly not my sisters, who were slain before they could do more than set foot upon this world. Not Sister Superior Kalion who devoted better than half a century of loyal service to him, nor Sister Yu who had not yet earned her first battle honor before she was callously cut down.

He did not protect Attica, who personally sent the blighted soul of a Dark Champion screaming back into the unkind arms of their warped master.

He did not protect Mikasa, who hand-copied hundreds of holy works that otherwise would have been lost during the Tambol Rebellions

Did He even protect me? Was it the God-Emperor, or was it Isarae?

“Why?” I hugged Isarae tighter. “Why could he not protect you?”

“You know why…” her voice was barely a whisper. “I am… Druchi.”

“But you are good!” My tears fell freely across her as I stroked her arms and kissed her forehead, trying to keep her warmth with me for just a little bit longer. “You are worthy of being saved so why does He not-!”

My words died on my tongue as a notion occurred to me, one that was perhaps even more heretical than all of my previous thoughts combined. It was a thought that would have had me in chains at the mere mention of it to another of the Imperial Creed.

Why does the God-Emperor protect me?

The Cardinals of the Ecclesiarchy would have given me the simplest answer; it is because the God-Emperor loves all martyrs, and because I have prayed to him, and invoked His name, and begged His guidance and protection.

In short: because I asked.

But who would dare to ask the Emperor to protect the soul of a xenobreed warrioress.

Except I already had. Cycles ago when I had prayed to the Emperor in desperation in this very room I had dared to beg the Emperor for his mercy and grace to protect Isarae, in spite of knowing it was impossible.

But through the God-Emperor, are all things not possible?

“Hold on!”

I shifted and struggled out of the sheets, hefting Isarae into my arms and dragging one of the blankets with me as I did. It wasn’t hard to carry both, she was so damnably light… I hated how frail Isarae felt in my grip, and I knew that every second took more of her away from me and brought her closer to the maw of the one she called the ‘Great Serpent’.

“Alessa, what are you…?” Isarae trembled as I brought her into the den of the quarters we shared. It was cold, and she must have been freezing.

“Everything will be alright, my love,” I promised her as I brought her outside onto the balcony where the rain was falling in torrential waves.

In the distance, though, I could see it.

The Imperial Eagle. 

The great Twin-Headed Aquila that rose above the poison smog of the hive in the distance, and where I knew marked the heights of the holy Priory of Gardens.

Carefully, I knelt and laid her down, wrapped her in the blanket, and then crawled over to the disparate pieces of sanctified armour I had taken from the chapel. They laid scattered across the balcony where I had peeled them off of my body in the aftermath of my sins, but now… now I needed them.

Or at least, I needed part of them.

“God-Emperor on Holy Terra, forgive your prodigal daughter,” I whispered as I picked up the cuirass.

It was heavy in my hands, and the polished eagle on the breastplate gleamed in the dim light of the rainsoaked night. I took some comfort from that shine, it seemed to me that no matter what I did… I could not tarnish its light, no one could, for the light of the God-Emperor was purer than anything else.

I clutched it to my chest, ignoring the freezing chill of the metal and the way the hard edges bit into my bare skin.

“God-Emperor, hear my plea,” I began softly. “Though I have sinned, though I am unclean, I come to you in humble contrition now to beg of thee… take pity on your selfish daughter.”

Turning to Isarae, I laid the cuirass over her covered chest, the Aquila facing up towards the sky, then moved around to cradle her head in my lap.

“W-What… are you… doing?” Isarae croaked.

“I am asking for help,” I replied quietly. “As you said… the Emperor Protects.”

Before she could question me, I raised my head to the sky, letting the water fall across my face as I raised my hands to the sky.

“God-Emperor full of grace, I beseech thee, look upon thy daughter with love and hear her cry,” I intoned, and I felt my heart swell as I raised my spirit in faith and prayer. “Thy love is eternal, thy grace unending, thy will indomitable, and as I praise thy worthy name, I beg thee let thy gaze linger upon this faithless child a moment, and grant her audience before thy Golden Throne.”

“Alessa… d-dont-” 

I ignored Isarae’s protests and sang a clear, clarion note, raising my voice in hymnal praise to Him on Earth before lowering my hands to either side of Isarae’s face, cradling her cooling cheeks.

“Oh God-Emperor,” I wept as I spoke, my voice wet with tears as I bowed my head. “I know I have fallen, and my faith has faltered, and though I be not worthy of thy gaze I beg of thee, look upon me with fondness, for I am still thy daughter, and my love for thee, oh Father of Mankind, has never shifted.”

Again I raised my head to the skies and began my true plea.

“I have sinned!” I cried out into the darkness. “I have fallen, I have faltered, but I beg thee! FATHER! Pity thy daughter and grant her this single wish… oh Father on Terra, lay thy holy gaze upon this child of the stars, this daughter of distant worlds, and know her name as Isarae of the Aeldari!”

My tears mixed with the rain of this wretched world, and I could feel the faint chemical burn of the water as it crossed my cheeks, but I ignored it. There was nothing in this world that could save Isarae now, but by the grace of the God-Emperor anything was possible… the dead could be returned to life, the weak could be made strong, and by His light perhaps even the soul of a xeno could be saved.

“Her heart knows love! And her soul knows nobility!” I pleaded into the darkness of the void. “Though her hands be stained, by those same hands your daughter was saved, your gifts protected, and your world defended! And now the dark encroaches! The shadow of Chaos descends, and I beg of thee, Father! Do not let her pass into the maw of the Great Serpent! By thy ravening grace I beg of you!”

My words were cracking under the strain of my grief, but I did not lower my head. I stared up into the clouded skies and poured myself out to Him, and this time I refused to allow my faith to falter.

“Please, Father… please,” I sobbed. “I love her, Father, do not let her be consumed, do not let the Enemy win this noble soul from your hands… please!”

My words faded into a silence that was broken only by the rainfall, and after a moment, I felt Isarae’s hand on my cheek, and somehow it was colder than the rain.

“He will not… answer…” Isarae said softly. “He loves you… but I… am Druchi.”

“I don’t care,” I cried, still refusing to lower my head. “I am a daughter of the God-Emperor and he is my Father, and he loves me.”

“But he has… no love… for me,” she said wanly. “I have sinned… for millennia… without grief.”

“I don’t care,” I repeated. “You’re mine, and I will not release you.”

The rain burned against my skin, and after a moment I heard Isarae start to chuckle weakly again, her breath rattling in her chest.

“How odd…” she breathed. “I have never… been sorry… for my actions,” her words devolved into wracking coughs and every heave of her lungs sent sympathetic pain through me but, thankfully, she mastered herself and continued. “Yet now… I am sorry…”

I blinked in surprise at those words, mostly because it sounded as if she truly meant them, and I looked down at her with wide eyes.

Isarae was smiling up at me, barely conscious and quickly fading, she was still smiling as she twined her fingers with my grasping my hand despite her weakness.

“I am sorry… that I robbed you… of us…” Isarae breathed, and I saw tears slip down her cheeks. “Forgive me… Alessa… f-forgive… me…”

I sniffled, wiping my face as I caressed her cheek lovingly.

“Don’t ask me,” I replied, trying to smile for her but not quite managing it. “I’ll always forgive you, ‘Rae.” I raised my head to the skies again and closed my eyes. “Ask Him.”

I could feel disbelief coming off of her in waves, but after a moment she let out a weak, crackling sigh, and chuckled quietly.

“Well… I suppose… I may as well,” Isarae squeezed my hand gently. “How… how does it go?”

“Just say you’re sorry,” I said softly.

I heard and felt her swallow hard, then take a deep breath that seemed to make her ribs creak under the strain and, beneath my fingers, I felt her relax as Isarae parted her lips to pray for what I imagined would be the first time in her life.

“God-Emperor of Mankind…” Isarae began in a frail voice. “Forgive me… for I… have harmed… thy daughter… whom I love… above all.” Her weary voice began to crack, not with weakness this time but with grief. “Father of Man… I am sorry… f-forgive me… and though I know… you have no love… for my breed… I love… your daughter.”

Another breath, raspy and pained.

“Forgive me… and if need be… forgive her.”

A sob escaped my lips as Isarae pleaded for my own redemption on the heels of her own.

“Father, do you hear her?” I opened my eyes again. “Father!”

Silence… yet more silence, and weak wracking sobs began to leave me as I lowered my head, pleading words on my lips as I cradled Isarae and felt her fading further.

“Father…” I bit my lip, feeling anger and passion surge into my chest as I raised my head. If He could not hear me now, then I would shout all the louder until He could hear me from the Golden Throne itself.

“FATHER!” I bellowed. “FATHER!”

CRACK-THOOM

The skies split with golden lightning and all around us the world exploded in thunder that shattered the armourglass of the spires, shook the towering edifices to their bones. Whole sections of the hive caved beneath the sudden detonation of psychic might and the impossible sensation that was hammering down upon my shoulders and bending my neck with its weight.

It was nothing physical, yet it was as unyielding as if the Imperial Palace had been set upon my back… it was the weight of something ancient and unspeakably powerful turning its gaze upon me and burying my soul under the sheer might of its regard.

With my head bowed, I could see it, the cuirass resting over Isarae’s chest was burning with corpusant light, like golden flames that only warmed and did not consume. It was a light I have known all my life, short though it may be, even if I had never seen it, and never expected to see it in truth.

To see the light of the God-Emperor Himself, after all, was the remit of miracles.