Dead silence.
Five battle-hardened Death Guard knelt on the ground on one knee, looking up at the god-like young girl before them.
The wind blew across the white ruins, kicking up bone dust from the ground, yet it skirted around the lush green grass surrounding her.
She did not answer.
Those pitch-black eyes, so deep they seemed capable of swallowing the stars, looked at them calmly, as if examining a painting, or perhaps recalling a time long passed.
The captain kneeling at the front, Karras, felt his heart nearly jump out of his throat.
He waited for judgment.
Waiting for this Emissary to declare her name or bestow her will.
A long time passed.
Leticia finally spoke; her voice was cold and clear, yet carried a wondrous rhythm capable of soothing all wounds of the soul.
"I am the one who has come to correct the tragedy."
This sentence did not answer any questions.
Yet it answered all questions.
Karras's body shuddered violently; he looked up, a fanatical light, unprecedented, erupting in his eyes.
Correcting the tragedy.
Could there be any declaration more sacred or more fitting for their current desperate situation?
They were the tragedy itself.
And she was the god who had come to correct them.
"Emissary..." Karras's voice trembled violently with excitement, "Please... please come with me."
He struggled to stand, respectfully and cautiously leading the way.
"Captain Saul Taviz of the Emperors Children Legion is currently gathering all surviving loyalist brothers beneath the ruins of the Tower of the Loremasters not far ahead."
"He is a wise and respectable Commander; he will understand your greatness."
Leticia did not speak, only nodding gently.
She took Terrania's small hand and followed behind Karras.
Terrania was still a bit afraid, but when Leticia's warm palm grasped hers, the cold and fear originating from the land of death were instantly dispelled.
She clung tightly to Leticia, her small figure almost hiding in Leticia's shadow.
She looked curiously at the five tall, hulking, grey-white giants ahead, who resembled mobile fortresses.
Just a few minutes ago, she had felt fear toward these warriors exuding an aura of slaughter.
But now, she could clearly feel that what emanated from them was a pure, almost prostrate awe and worship.
And this worship was all directed at the person beside her.
This caused a strange, small sense of pride to well up in Terrania's heart.
They walked through the white hell.
Karras and his four subordinates spontaneously formed the tightest combat formation, guarding Leticia and Terrania in the very center.
The Bolters in their hands were aimed at every corner where enemies might hide at all times.
Their footsteps, treading on the thick bone dust, made a heavy "rustling" sound.
Only beneath the feet of Leticia and Terrania was there silence.
Wherever they walked, the deathly pallor would fade, replaced by a lush green carpet filled with the breath of life that extended continuously forward.
This miraculous scene made Karras and the others believe even more firmly that they were following a deity walking among mortals.
The closer they got to the Tower of the Loremasters, the more survivors they encountered.
There were World Eaters in blue armor, warriors also from the Death Guard, and even a few Imperial Auxilia in black uniforms.
Every one of them was covered in wounds, their expressions numb, their eyes filled with despair.
But when they saw the green trail extending toward them, saw the five Death Guard with their rejuvenated spirits, and saw the god-like young girl guarded in the center like stars surrounding the moon.
The same expression froze on everyone's face.
It was a state of extreme, incomprehensible shock.
Finally, they arrived at their destination.
The massive wreckage of the Tower of the Loremasters, like a broken finger pointing toward the sky, cast a huge shadow.
Beneath the shadow was the survivors' crude camp.
Over two hundred Space Marines from different legions were scattered among the ruins, sitting or lying down.
The air was filled with a heavy, foul stench, a mix of rotting wounds and leaking power armor coolant.
The wailing of the wounded rose and fell, like a dull blade, repeatedly cutting into the already fragile nerves of every survivor.
Leticia's appearance was like a drop of clear water falling into boiling oil, instantly igniting the entire camp.
Everyone's gaze focused on her.
There was astonishment, suspicion, and vigilance.
More than that, there was a sense of absurd bewilderment at seeing something that should not exist.
Just then, a tall and upright figure walked out from the crowd.
He wore purple power armor, and although it was covered in the marks of war, it was still polished meticulously.
His face was handsome, his bearing noble; even in hell, he maintained that unique, almost artistic elegance of the Emperor's Children.
Only, his violet eyes were filled with scrutiny and vigilance.
He was Saul Taviz.
"Officer Karras." Taviz's voice was calm and steady, carrying a natural aura of a Commander, "You have returned, very good. But who is this lady..."
His gaze, like the sharpest scalpel, landed on Leticia, attempting to dissect the essence of her soul.
Karras immediately stepped forward, and in a tone bordering on fanaticism, quickly recounted everything that had just happened.
From how they were besieged, to the descent of that sacred power, to the miracle of Leticia healing everything with a wave of her hand.
Taviz listened quietly, his expression not changing in the slightest.
But his hand gripping the sword at his waist tightened by half a fraction inadvertently.
After Karras finished, Taviz slowly bowed slightly to Leticia with impeccable etiquette.
"Lady, I am Captain Saul Taviz of the 3rd Combat Company of the Emperor's Children Legion. Thank you for your assistance to my Death Guard brothers."
His words were polite, but deep within his violet eyes, the vigilance not only did not diminish but became even heavier.
A mysterious woman of unknown origin, possessing miraculous power, appeared on this death planet shrouded by traitors and the power of the Subspace.
This in itself was the greatest suspicion.
She might be an angel sent by the Emperor.
Or perhaps... some higher-level Subspace demon, disguised more perfectly.
A lure.
"I am curious," Taviz's voice remained calm, "How do you manage to remain so... tidy in this environment?"
A seemingly unintentional, yet trap-filled probe.
Leticia smiled.
She activated the power of Intellect.
At that moment, in her vision, countless flowing sky-blue data streams emerged from Saul Taviz.
His heart rate, his adrenaline levels, the active regions of his cerebral cortex...
Deep within his heart, that sense of guilt arising from disobeying orders, that pain over the betrayal of his Gene-Father Fulgrim, that bottomless despair felt for the future of the survivors.
Everything was presented before Leticia in the most intuitive and clear way.
She could even "see" the next question he was thinking about in his mind.
So, this was Intellect.
The authority to perceive everything.
Leticia did not answer Taviz's question.
She just looked at him with a gaze carrying a hint of pity, as if she could see through his soul.
Then, instead of answering, she asked a question in return.
"Captain Saul Taviz, how does it feel to disobey orders and lead seventy brothers to escape the virus bombardment?"
Boom—!
This sentence, like an invisible heavy hammer, smashed fiercely onto the soul of Saul Taviz.
His face changed drastically in an instant.
That elegance and composure he had maintained, belonging to an aristocratic Officer, collapsed at this moment.
He instinctively took a half-step back, his hand gripping the sword hilt turning white at the knuckles from the force, veins bulging on the back of his hand.
This was his greatest secret!
It was the guilt hidden in the deepest part of his heart, enough to get him sent to a court-martial!
This matter, except for his core subordinates, could absolutely not be known by outsiders!
She... how could she...
Before he could recover from this massive shock.
Leticia's cold, clear voice, seemingly carrying some kind of magic, sounded again.
"Are you still blaming yourself for those comrades you couldn't save?"
Another heavy hammer.
Precisely, cruelly, smashing into the softest, most painful part of his heart.
Taviz's breathing became heavy.
His violet eyes contracted violently, staring fixedly at Leticia, as if to see through her.
But Leticia's next sentence completely shattered all his psychological defenses.
"You are gathering survivors, trying hard to build a defensive line here. But deep in your heart, you know that what you are about to face is your Gene-Father, that perfect, flawless Phoenix."
"You crave Hope, yet you are mired in despair."
"Is that right?"
Every sentence was like a key, opening one locked door after another in his heart.
Exposing all his struggles, all his pain, all his fear, bloodily and nakedly, upon this white ruin.
This was no longer insight.
This was prophecy.
This was a divine oracle!
All of Saul Taviz's vigilance, all his defenses, all his suspicion, collapsed completely before Leticia's god-like posture that perceived everything.
He understood.
He finally understood.
The young girl before him was by no means a mortal, nor was she some demonic disguise.
Demons only bring temptation and corruption.
And she brought wisdom to see through everything, and... the compassion to correct the tragedy.
She was the Emperor's response to them.
She was the only light that had descended into this hell.
Clang—
Saul Taviz released the tightly gripped sword hilt, and that exquisite power sword slid from his hand, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
Immediately after.
He put away all his pride and vigilance, and with the most solemn, most pious posture, performed a standard, impeccable military salute toward Leticia.
He lowered that proud head, which belonged to the Emperor's Children.
"Lady,"
Taviz's voice was no longer steady, but carried a hint of uncontrollable, violent trembling, and a trace of rekindled, burning Hope.
"In the camp, there are still many severely wounded brothers; their wailing has caused everyone's morale to plummet."
He looked up, his violet eyes filled with pleading.
"Can you... can you show your miracle once again?"
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