'Warmaster…’

“戰(zhàn)帥…”

The word hung in the silence as it left Horus’s lips. Beyond the high crystalflex windows, the light of distant stars hung in sickly folds of gas and dust. Armoured and enthroned, the Primarch of the XVI Legion gazed into the shadows as though waiting for an answer.

說出這個(gè)詞后，荷魯斯便陷入了沉默。在高大的曲面水晶舷窗外，遙遠(yuǎn)群星的光亮懸掛在氣體和塵埃組成的病態(tài)褶皺中。身披甲胄的第十六軍團(tuán)原體端坐在自己的王座上，他凝視著陰影，好像在等待答案。

‘The title is heavy around my neck. Horus. Lupercal. Father, son, friend, enemy– all are lost beneath the weight of that one word.’He turned his head, looking to the black iron arms of the throne. His eyes moved over the bronze of a mace as tall as a mortal man. It was called Worldbreaker, and he had accepted it from his father’s hand along with the title of Warmaster and command of the Great Crusade. His gaze came to rest upon the eagle-head pommel. A ghost of a smile touched his lips.

“這是個(gè)壓在我脖子上的沉重頭銜。荷魯斯?盧佩卡爾、父親、兒子、朋友、敵人——所有的這一切都消失在這個(gè)詞的重壓之下?！彼ゎ^看向王座鐵黑色的扶手。荷魯斯的目光移到某根一人高的青銅錘杖上——這件武器被稱為“破世者”，荷魯斯是從自己父親手中接下了它，也一并接下了戰(zhàn)帥頭銜和大遠(yuǎn)征指揮權(quán)。荷魯斯凝視著錘杖尾端鷹首狀的配重球，唇上現(xiàn)出一絲鬼魅般的微笑。

‘Our father never spoke of what it meant, only the limits of its authority. A dangerous word to leave unqualified. Perhaps he intended me to discover its meaning. Perhaps he did not care what it meant, as long as it freed him from us, his sons. Perhaps he did not know what it would mean for his Imperium.’

“我們的父親從未說過它意味著什么，只說明過它權(quán)力的限制。它是個(gè)不受限的危險(xiǎn)詞匯?；蛟S父親期望我自己發(fā)現(xiàn)它的意義?；蛟S父親并不在意它意味著什么，只要這個(gè)詞能讓他們擺脫我們——他的兒子們就行了。或許他不知道這個(gè)詞對(duì)他的帝國(guó)而言將會(huì)意味著什么”

Horus raised his hand, and a column of hololithic light filled the air before the throne. The shapes of men and women formed in the grainy projection– twisting, shouting, dying, their pleas and screams looping over and over as the thunder of bolter fire rolled through the silence.

荷魯斯抬起手，一道全息投影的光柱便填滿了王座前的空氣。顆粒狀的投影形成了男男女女的身形——他們?cè)谂で⒑敖泻退廊?，他們的哀求和嚎叫在反?fù)循環(huán)，同時(shí)爆彈槍雷鳴般的開火聲也響徹了這片寂靜的空間。

‘He knows now.’He nodded to himself, the reflected light of the hololith flickering across the liquid black of his eyes.‘The fire is lit, and all that was is cast to the wind. We are committed– he and I, my brothers and our Legions. All humanity’s futures bound together in this circle of blood. We are all the storm now. The Imperium will fall and rise by my hand. Or fall, and fall, and fall.’

“他現(xiàn)在知道了。”他自顧自地點(diǎn)點(diǎn)頭，全息投影的光亮閃爍在他烏黑的眼中?！盎鹧姹稽c(diǎn)燃了，而過往的一切都已隨風(fēng)逝去。我們都是堅(jiān)定的——他和我，我的兄弟們和我們的軍團(tuán)們。所有人類的未來都與這份血脈緊密相關(guān)。我們現(xiàn)在都是風(fēng)暴。帝國(guó)將在我手中隕落再崛起，或者不斷隕落?！?/p>

Slowly he stood, his armour whispering and clicking. He gestured again, and more cones of cold light surrounded him, turning with images of blind faces. Some screamed, with words, blood and smoke spewing forth from their mouths, while others droned on in their dead, monotonous voices. Horus inclined his head, listening.

荷魯斯緩緩起身，他的動(dòng)力甲發(fā)出沙沙聲和叮當(dāng)聲。他再次做了個(gè)手勢(shì)，更多的圓錐狀冷光投影圍繞在了他周圍，一些失明的面孔隨之出現(xiàn)。一些人在嚎叫著某些話語，他們口中嘔吐出鮮血和煙霧，其他人則用死一般單調(diào)的聲音嘟囔著什么。荷魯斯的頭向前傾去，聆聽著這一切。

‘All is blood and the screams of change. Anarchy is this age’s king. We fall apart and this war slips from our fingers to spin into oblivion,’ he said, his voice clear even over the cacophony.

“到處都有鮮血和對(duì)變革的吶喊?；靵y無序在這個(gè)時(shí)代稱王稱霸。我們分崩離析，而這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)從我們指縫間溜走，迅速惡化成了毀滅”。他說到，話音即便混在噪音間也是清晰可聞的。

Horus turned, watching the holographic recordings bloom around him, and the throne room danced with the ghost-light of a thousand messages.

荷魯斯轉(zhuǎn)過身，觀看著自己周圍的全息影像記錄。數(shù)千條信息（投影）幽靈般的亮光在王座室中跳動(dòng)著。

‘Isstvan was supposed to burn in silence so that our war could be won before it ever truly began. The Angel’s wings were to be broken at my feet. And still failures come tumbling one over the other. And on, and on.’He paused, his eyes fixed upon the image of a shrunken astropath.‘Calth burned, yet our brother lives. Roboute. Wise Roboute. Roboute with his scratching quills, his plans and his hope. Too understanding, too strong. Too damned perfect.’ Horus let out a long breath, and turned back to his empty throne. ‘I wish he was with us.’

“伊斯特萬星系本應(yīng)當(dāng)默默燃燒，這樣我就能在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)真正開始前便獲勝。我也本該踩斷那位天使的雙翼。而且失敗仍舊接踵而至，凡此種種，應(yīng)接不暇”他停頓了一下，雙眼盯著某個(gè)星語者縮小的圖像?！翱妓贡环贉缌?，然而我們的兄弟仍在活著。羅伯特，睿智的羅伯特。拿著羽毛筆寫個(gè)不停的羅伯特，以及他那些計(jì)劃和愿望，都太善解人意，太強(qiáng)大，也太過該死得完美了?！焙婶斔归L(zhǎng)長(zhǎng)地呼出一口氣，轉(zhuǎn)身背對(duì)著自己空蕩蕩的王座?！拔蚁Ｍ臼俏覀兊耐乐腥恕！?/p>

With a flick of his bladed fingers, the throng of images vanished and silence flowed back with the returning shadows. Horus shook his head, his eyes still fixed upon the throne.

他那利刃狀的手指一揮，成群的影像便消失了，寂靜也隨著陰影的回歸而流回此處。荷魯斯搖了搖頭，雙眼仍舊注視著王座。

‘You would say that I listened too much to Alpharius and Lorgar– that a war fought with deceit is doomed to fail. Perhaps you would be right. The Hydra does not see all, and now his blindness places a knife at his own back. Corax would not have made such an error.’He gave a mirthless laugh.‘Strange is it not, that so many I wish beside me stand against me, while at my back are only the flawed and damaged. I am a master of broken monsters.’

“你會(huì)說我聽了阿爾法瑞斯和珞珈的太多讒言——以欺騙手段進(jìn)行的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)注定要失敗?；蛟S你會(huì)是正確的。九頭蛇沒有看到一切，而他的失明讓自己的背后被抵上了一把刀?？死怂共粫?huì)犯這種錯(cuò)誤?！彼冻鲆环瘋男θ??！昂芷婀职?，很多我希望能站在我身邊的人現(xiàn)在卻反對(duì)我，而站在我背后的盡是些有損傷和有缺陷的家伙。我成了一群支離破碎的怪物們的主子。”

Slowly he began to circle the edge of the great hololithic table, the sound of his footsteps lost in the echoing silence.

他繞著那張巨大全息投影桌的邊緣緩緩走動(dòng)，腳步聲消失于回蕩在此處的寂靜中。

‘I cannot control them or their sons, and they know it. Mortarion and Perturabo and the rest, they can all feel it. They all know that this war is no longer something that can be guided, only ridden out. But they never understood me, not truly, and they understand less with each passing second. They doubt. They think that I have lost my way. I can see it in their hearts– the pettiness, the pride, the seeds of ruin driving them on, feeding the tempest. With such creatures must I remake the future!’

“我無法控制他們和他們的兒子，他們也知道這一點(diǎn)。莫塔里安、佩圖拉博和其他人，他們都能感受到。他們都知道這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)不再能被引導(dǎo)，只能被驅(qū)趕著向前。但他們從未理解過我，沒有真正理解過，而且每過去一秒，他們的理解就更少一分。他們懷疑我，認(rèn)為我已經(jīng)迷失了道路。我能從他們心里看出來——卑劣，傲慢，毀滅的種子驅(qū)使著他們，助長(zhǎng)了風(fēng)暴。而我必須和這種生物一起重構(gòu)未來！”

He stopped again at the foot of the throne, and reached out. His hand closed over Worldbreaker’s haft. With casual ease he raised it up, so that the chamber’s thin light caught every dent and scar on the polished metal.

他又停在王座腳下，并伸出手來。他的手握住了破世者的柄。他漫不經(jīng)心地把它舉起來，這樣，房間里的微弱光線就能照到拋光金屬上的每一個(gè)凹痕和疤痕。

‘A thousand battles. Ten thousand. Ten times ten times ten thousand, to bring about the new age. All of the certainties of the past torn down, all the beliefs that made them turned to ashes. War on every front, stretched across time until none can know when the final blow will come. There is no disaster, for all disasters serve me alone. The storm rises only so that the thunderbolt may fall.’

“一千次戰(zhàn)斗，然后是一萬次，再然后就是一百萬次戰(zhàn)斗，目的就是為了開創(chuàng)這個(gè)新時(shí)代。過去的所有確定性都被摧毀，構(gòu)成它們的所有信念也都化為了灰燼。戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)在每條戰(zhàn)線上展開，它跨越了時(shí)間，沒人知道最后一擊何時(shí)到來?，F(xiàn)在世間沒有了災(zāi)難，因?yàn)樗袨?zāi)難都在為我服務(wù)。只有卷起了風(fēng)暴，雷霆才可能落下?！?/p>

He looked down at the throne again, shaking his head sadly. His arm relaxed and Worldbreaker rested at his side. His gaze shifted, as though he were looking at something beyond what lay in front of him.

他再次低頭看向王座，悲傷地?fù)u搖頭。他垂下手臂，破世者靠在他身邊。他移開了目光，好像是看穿他面前的事物，盯著其后面的某些存在。

‘No other would have dared this. Not even you. Perhaps that is why our father chose me. Perhaps that was his only moment of honesty.’ Then his gaze focused and hardened, black eyes like reflective pools in the face of an unforgiving king.

“沒有其他人敢這樣做，即使你也是如此?；蛟S這就是我們的父親為何選擇了我，或許那是他唯一坦誠(chéng)的時(shí)刻?！贝丝?，荷魯斯注視前方，眼神變得冷酷，他能如同水潭那般倒映出事物的黑色雙眼面對(duì)著一位無情的王者。

Upon the arm of the throne, the skull of Ferrus Manus stared back at Horus with empty sockets that had once been eyes. A thin fracture-web of cracks ran across the perfect dome of the slain primarch’s crown, spiralling back to a splintered pit in its temple. Even reduced to polished bone, the skull still seemed to radiate strength and defiance.

費(fèi)魯斯 馬努斯的骷髏被擺在了王座的扶手上，用曾是眼睛的空洞眼窩回望著荷魯斯。骨骼裂紋所組成的細(xì)網(wǎng)覆蓋著原體完美的顱蓋，旋回到太陽穴破裂的骨坑中。盡管淪為了被拋光的骨頭，但這顆顱骨似乎仍舊放射出力量和蔑視。

‘It does not matter how the galaxy burns, only that it does. Warmaster– that is what it means, my brother. The strength to do what must be done.’

“銀河怎樣燃燒并不重要，只有令它燃燒才是要緊的。這就是戰(zhàn)帥的意義，我的兄弟。那是去行必為之事的力量?！?/p>