Entering the Librarium Chamber, Atharion could already see the Lord of Contagion and the Chaos sorcerer suspended within separate stasis fields.
Hooks pierced through their collarbones, chains dragging them upright against the walls.
The hooks and chains were forged from the same psychically conductive material used in force weapons, allowing psychic energy to flow directly through them.
Their screams filled the chamber.
Two Librarians stood before each prisoner, continuously channeling psychic power through the chains and into the traitors' bodies.
Silver light crawled along the metal like lightning.
Every pulse forced more screams from the captives.
The Lord of Contagion's flesh constantly tried to regenerate, only for the psychic energy to burn it away again moments later. Meanwhile, the sorcerer convulsed violently each time the silver light surged through him, the remains of his warp connection repeatedly shattered before it could reform.
The chamber itself was silent beyond the screams.
Rows of warding runes glowed across the walls and floor, layered one over another to suppress warp activity. Servo-skulls drifted through the air carrying parchments filled with hexagrammic wards, while hooded Librarians watched from the shadows between towering shelves of ancient tomes.
"So," Atharion said as he stood at the center of the chamber, Orion beside him while both traitors remained suspended in their restraints. "What did you learn from them?"
"Two important things," Orion replied. "First, a Malignant Plaguecaster is active on one of the worlds already taken by the traitors. He's attempting to corrupt the planet into a daemon world."
He paused slightly.
"Though according to these two, the process is not going well."
Atharion gave a slow nod.
A daemon world forming within his realm was terrible news.
Yet at the same time—
The thought of having a place where the Dark Knights could train against daemonic forces under controlled conditions was… tempting.
Dangerous beyond reason.
But tempting nonetheless.
"What is the second piece of information?" Atharion asked.
Orion looked toward him.
"Its a good news," he said, "Typhus is not leading this invasion."
Atharion immediately turned his head toward Orion.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
He simply stared at him.
"Can you be certain of that information?" Atharion finally asked. "Can it be trusted?"
Before Orion could answer, a heavy, distorted mechanical voice came from behind them.
"None of a traitor's words can be trusted, my lord."
Both Atharion and Orion turned.
An Astartes stepped from the shadows, clad in black power armor with a grey robe draped over it. A Crozius Arcanum rested at his hip beside a melta pistol, while silver scriptures and purity seals covered much of his armor.
A Interrogator-Chaplain that part of Atharion entourage.
"Though there is truth hidden within every lie," he continued as he stopped before them, his gaze shifting toward Orion. "And Master Orion has confirmed that they are speaking the truth."
"Is that so?" Atharion asked, looking toward Orion.
"At least part of what they said is true," Orion replied. "I reached into their minds myself and confirmed it."
The robed Astartes gave a slow nod.
"Then Typhus is indeed absent," he said. "Which means this invasion, while dangerous, is not yet beyond our ability to contain."
Atharion remained silent for a moment before looking back toward the prisoners.
The Lord of Contagion still stared at them with mocking eyes despite his ruined body, while the sorcerer hung limply within the stasis field, breathing heavily as silver light crawled across his armor.
"Who leads them then?" Atharion finally asked.
At that—
The Lord of Contagion laughed.
A wet, broken sound without a jaw.
"Well, there is no true leader behind this invasion," Orion said before the laughter could continue. "Only two figures that the traitors somewhat recognize as leaders—the Plaguecaster and Urkrathos."
"Two?"
"Yes. The Plaguecaster commands a warband roughly five hundred strong, alongside massive numbers of cultists and poxwalkers," Orion said before briefly glancing toward the Lord of Contagion, who still stared at them through the pain, silver lightning burning across his flesh while laughter remained in his eyes. "There is also a rumor spreading among the traitor forces."
He turned back toward Atharion.
"He has supposedly reached an agreement with the Dark Mechanicum and gained the support of a Titan Legion."
One of Atharion's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Legio Laniaskara?" he asked. "If so, I have already sent Solaria to deal with them."
"No," Orion replied with a slow shake of his head. "There is a high possibility it is Legio Mortis. The Death's Heads."
"Mortis?" Atharion said with clear disbelief. "Even if many of them survived the Heresy and the Scouring, I do not believe they would commit themselves to a campaign unrelated to their greater goals. Especially not when they know there is a major Titan Legion stationed on Thoros."
"Well," the Interrogator-Chaplain said calmly, "one could argue that this is precisely why Mortis would join them."
Atharion's eye twitched slightly at the statement.
"Do they know how many Titans Mortis has contributed?"
"Possibly five Warlords, two Reavers, and twelve Warhounds," Orion answered. "But all of it remains rumor. Even the presence of Legio Mortis itself."
Atharion was silent for several moments.
"Tell Nine to prepare a new Titan battlegroup for me," Atharion finally said to Orion. "One capable not only of destroying Legio Mortis, but also surviving a daemon world."
"I want you to personally deliver the message."
"It will be done," Orion replied.
Atharion turned back toward the two prisoners.
The Lord of Contagion still stared at them after all this time, hatred burning in his eyes while silver lightning continuously scorched his regenerating flesh. Beside him, the sorcerer remained trapped in endless agony. Every time his connection to the warp tried to reform, it was severed again by the psychic restraints, the force-infused chains burning deeper into both flesh and soul. His screams alone were enough to fill the chamber's empty space.
"Continue the interrogation," Atharion ordered calmly. "I want every useful piece of information extracted from them."
With that, he turned and began walking toward the chamber exit, though not before signaling for the Interrogator-Chaplain to follow him.
The heavy doors closed behind them with a metallic clang.
The sounds of screaming became muffled almost instantly.
"So," Atharion began as he turned left and started walking through the dim corridor toward his private chamber, the Interrogator-Chaplain following closely beside him. "How is their progress?"
He glanced briefly toward the Chaplain.
"I trust they have performed well during this traitor campaign."
"They have my Lord," the Chaplain reply. "if they survive these, then they will be prepare for their real purpose."
Before the traitor attack on Camelarion, the founding of another five Chapters have already in plan.
Other than one Chapter will serve as another shield of Camelarion, Atharion have plan for the rest of them.
Due to how the future might be, Atharion have plan to send two Chapters to the future Nachmund Gauntlet. The two Chapters will be fleet-based chapters and each of them will roam the Gauntlet with Vigilus and Sangua Terra as their each center piece.
Another Chapter will also be a fleet-based one and they will be send to the Maelstorm region to patrol it, other than securing the rich resources in region for the Imperium, they also task with increasing the overall relationship between the Dark Knights and their successors with the White Scars and their successors.
The last Chapter will be send to Pacificus. They signify Atharion attempt to expand his influence into the new Segmentum as they are Atharion future plan for the Fourth Tyrannic War as other than stabilizing the Segmentum, they also will be task for collecting information as many worlds, Warp Rifts and any incursion from the humanity enemies for future reference.
For this, Atharion have form additional five companies, each having three hundreds Astartes, under the flag of Dark Knights. But operate far away from them, so that it can lower the possibilities of discovering the secret. Their Masters are the future Chapter Grand Masters while the Sergeants will be the candidate for the Masters of the new found Chapters.
Each companies will also receive one detachment from the Librarium, Apothecarion, Armoury, and Chaplaincy that will be part of the new Chapters when they inevitable form.
The five of them already active for about 50 years, fighting mainly around Segmentum Obscurus with only the one that will be send to Pacificus operate at their future operation area.
"Good," Atharion nodded. "make sure after this, they all be screen for any potential corruption so that there will be no stain upon us."
"I will make sure its done my Lord."
===
While waiting for the Titan battlegroup, Atharion continue leading his force to liberate as many worlds as he can while moving towards where the Plaguecaster are, or at least the possible location.
Overall, the situation of the front have begin to favor Atharion more as more reinforcement arrive. Even though holding suspicion and contempt against Atharion, the Tempestus administration can't denies the benefit of having them around Tempestus. So, they send a force to punch a route through the traitors force that outside Camelarion Realm so that they can begin to send reinforcement.
Further more, the Astarte Chapters that have destroyed or repelled the traitor attack from their operating zone, also moving towards Camelarion. Namely, the Crimson Fists, Raven Guards, Executioners and Iron Champions.
But not everyone have a good time.
The Lamenters, as always cursed by misfortune, suffered heavily during the fighting on Hedera.
Despite their victories against the World Eaters warbands, they had lost nearly half of their already depleted strength during the brutal campaign even with the help from Black Dragons.
Luckily, the Dark Knights Librarium detachment managed to disrupt the ritual the Thousand Sons warband had been preparing before it could be completed.
No one knew what the ritual's true purpose had been.
But according to the Librarians, whatever the Thousand Sons had planned would have been catastrophic if allowed to finish.
Even so, the traitor sorcerers did not fall easily.
Most of the warband escaped into the warp before loyalist forces could fully surround them.
Only one was successfully captured alive.
Fearing both the sorcerer's abilities and possible retaliation from the surviving Thousand Sons, the two Masters of Librarium decided to immediately return to Camelot with the prisoner under heavy guard.
They intended to imprison him within the deepest wards of the Librarium and extract every piece of knowledge they could from him before the rest of the warband could attempt a rescue.
After their departure, the Lamenters continued the campaign alongside the Black Dragons.
One of the main reasons was because Atharion had granted the Lamenters a world for recruitment. Though their cursed luck still caused constant losses, they now possessed a stable source of new recruits, allowing them to fight without the fear of complete extinction constantly hanging over them.
The Angels of Wrath, on the other hand, vanished entirely after destroying a renegade warband.
The final message they sent to Atharion simply stated that they had received a more important mission and would disappear for some time.
Knowing the true reason behind their sudden departure, Atharion could only sigh in frustration.
The Fire Hawks faced a different problem.
Their aggressive nature and preference for rapid shock assaults had driven them too deep into the fallen systems. Though this recklessness had brought them countless victories and glory over the years, it was also their greatest flaw.
More than once, they became so consumed by battle that they advanced too far ahead of allied forces.
This time was no different.
Reports stated that the Fire Hawks had pushed deep into traitor-held territory while pursuing retreating enemy forces, only to become isolated after multiple warp storms and traitor fleet movements cut them off from the main Imperial lines.
At the moment, their exact position was unclear.
Only fragmented distress signals and scattered astropathic messages had reached the wider Imperial forces.
Still—
Knowing the Fire Hawks, most commanders believed they were not retreating.
If anything, they were likely still advancing deeper into enemy territory while setting entire worlds ablaze behind them.