Sanguinius quietly listened to Titus's words, his amber-gold slit pupils reflecting the Tribune's figure as countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
The composition of this mysterious army, the staff in that little girl's hands, the timing of the Custodian Tribune's appearance on a fringe planet, and the grander chessboard his Father might have laid out...
Finally, all his questions dissolved into a soft sigh.
"I understand," Sanguinius nodded slightly, his voice solemn. "Please convey my highest respects to Father. The IX Legion, the Blood Angels, will never betray the Emperor's trust."
"Your words shall be delivered," Paul replied, his gaze sweeping over the remaining Corrupted still stubbornly resisting in the surrounding ruins.
"The remaining Warp entities here will be left to Lord Sanguinius and the Blood Angels Legion for final purification."
He suddenly stopped, as if recalling something, and added, "His Majesty the Emperor has an additional verbal decree for me to relay."
Sanguinius's expression turned somber upon hearing this.
"After the purification is complete, a squad of Blood Angels may be left stationed in this system to maintain order and prevent a resurgence of corruption. Following that, Lord Sanguinius may personally seek an audience with His Majesty the Emperor. At that time, any doubts you harbor may be directly asked of His Majesty."
These words entirely confirmed the suspicions in Sanguinius's heart.
It really is so.
This was all Father's arrangement.
From the Iron Hands' arrival on Aurelian eighty years ago, to the purification of the Alar bloodline today, to the appearance of this mysterious Custodian force...
All these seemingly coincidental events were entirely within Father's grasp.
Father even foresaw that I would have questions, and deliberately had the Custodian Tribune relay this message, telling me to ask Him face-to-face.
A gratified smile slowly graced Sanguinius's face.
The smile was warm, laced with absolute trust and reverence for the Emperor.
The already flawless countenance of the Great Angel seemed to radiate a tangible light in that instant.
It completely mesmerized a few Blood Angels and players clearing the battlefield nearby.
"Holy crap, Sanguinius smiling is way too overpowering..." [Did White Scars Speed Today?] couldn't help but comment in the regional channel. "Even a straight-as-steel guy like me is having a hard time handling it. If this was one of the bros..."
[Have You Been Loyal Today?]: "It's a damn shame we can't take screenshots. I could easily down three bowls of rice just looking at this smile."
[Execute Old Man the War Criminal]: "Is it really the rice you're wanting to down? I'm too embarrassed to even call you out on it."
[I Want to Lick the Old Man's Ice-Cold Radish]: "You bunch of heretics! Is Lord Sanguinius someone you can fantasize about?! Also requesting pics, may good people live safe and happy lives."
Paul ignored the trash talk in the channel and maintained his Custodian persona.
After Sanguinius had his chuckle, his gaze fell on Helovia.
He stepped forward. Before the eleven-year-old girl, the Primarch's body was like a towering giant.
But Sanguinius knelt down, his movements gentle.
His massive hand, radiating a warm aura, lightly rested on top of Helovia's head.
"You did very well," Sanguinius's voice was like a spring breeze. "Your power... is very special. Use it well, for the Imperium, and for yourself."
Helovia nodded, a little nervous, her small hands tightly gripping her pink staff.
"Th-thank you, Lord Sanguinius."
Sanguinius smiled and stood up.
He looked at Paul and offered one final Imperial salute.
"Tribune Titus, Godspeed."
"May the Emperor's light guide you always, Lord Sanguinius."
Paul returned the salute, then spoke in the regional channel.
"All units, attention. Combat mission concluded. Repeat, combat mission concluded. All Crimson Dawn forces in the upper and middle hives, cease fire immediately and assemble at the designated extraction points. Grey Knight Companies and Silent Brotherhood Companies, board the transports as planned. Dreadnought formations, cover the retreat. Assassin execution teams, clear the extraction routes."
The moment Paul's orders were issued, all across the battlefield, the Crimson Dawn players engaged in brutal melee with the Corrupted ceased fire almost simultaneously.
Without a shred of hesitation, they decisively stowed their weapons and pulled back.
Amidst the ruins of the middle hive, Tax Bro raised his power fist and smashed the last Horror blocking his path into a pulp.
"Fall back!"
In a mere three minutes, the over four thousand superhuman units of the Crimson Dawn scattered across the upper and middle hives of the City of the Holy Anthem vanished from the battlefield like a receding tide.
They followed pre-planned routes, slipping through ruins and bypassing areas still locked in firefights, retreating to their initial landing zones.
The roar of Thunderhawk gunship and transport engines resounded once more.
Vessel after vessel adorned with the Imperial Aquila took to the sky, completing their formations at low altitude before flying toward the Glory of Terra cruiser waiting in orbit.
The Blood Angels watched this scene, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
Tobias walked up beside Sanguinius, watching the receding fleet in the sky, and finally couldn't hold back.
"Father..." he started, hesitating.
Sanguinius didn't turn around, his gaze still tracking the gunships. "Speak."
"Why... not ask the Tribune's forces to assist us in the final purification?" Tobias chose his words carefully. "Their combat prowess is undeniable. With their help, we could conclude the battle at least twelve hours early and significantly reduce casualties."
He paused, lowering his voice. "Moreover... the composition of that army is far too strange. I saw the heraldry of at least fourteen different Legions, and I saw so many male Untouchables. This entirely goes against Imperial convention. And those warriors in silver-grey power armor—the psychic techniques they utilized, I have never seen them recorded in any Librarius archives."
Tobias's voice was laced with confusion and unease. "Father, is this army... truly trustworthy?"
Sanguinius slowly turned around.
The Great Angel's amber-gold slit pupils stared directly at the Second Company Captain. The gaze was utterly tranquil, yet it made Tobias feel a crushing, invisible pressure.
"Tobias."
"Are you questioning the loyalty of the Imperial Custodes?"
Tobias stiffened. "No! Father, I absolutely meant no such thing! The Imperial Custodes' loyalty to the Emperor is beyond unquestionable. I just..."
"You are simply using mortal reasoning to fathom the Emperor's grand design," Sanguinius interrupted him.
The Great Angel's gaze swept over the Blood Angels clearing the battlefield around them, his voice echoing clearly in everyone's ears.
"Listen, all of you."
Amidst the ruins, hundreds of warriors stopped what they were doing and looked toward their Primarch.
"The army that appeared here today is a covert inquisitorial force of the Imperial Custodes, executing a special mission under the Emperor's command." Sanguinius's voice was as solemn as a hymn. "Their composition, their wargear, their tactics—everything is by the Emperor's decree. Their withdrawal is equally the Emperor's mandate."
Sanguinius paused, his gaze sweeping across every single face.
"I know you have doubts in your hearts, because I have them as well. But there is one thing you must remember: the Imperial Custodes will never betray the Emperor. Their genetic sequence, the very essence of their souls, the absolute meaning of their existence—they are all irrevocably bound to the Emperor. The appearance and actions of this army involve the highest echelons of Imperial secrecy. As Blood Angels, as the Emperor's sons, we do not need to know the details. We only need to know that all of this is within the Emperor's grasp."
Sanguinius looked at Tobias, his voice softening slightly. "You just asked me why they didn't stay to assist? Because their mission is complete. The purification of the Alar bloodline, the eradication of the primary Warp threats—that was the mandate the Emperor bestowed upon them. And what remains—"
Sanguinius raised the Blade Encarmine, the blade gleaming with a faint golden light in the pitch-black night. "—is the duty of us, the Blood Angels."
His voice suddenly rose in pitch.
"Without the assistance of the Custodes, are the Blood Angels incapable of purifying these remnants?! Have the Blood Angels, having weathered dozens of crusades and hundreds of grueling battles, become so incompetent that they cannot even cleanse a rabble of Corrupted severed from their Warp energy supply?!"
The moment those words were spoken, flames ignited in the eyes of every Blood Angel warrior amidst the ruins.
"NO!!!"
Hundreds of men roared in unison, their voices like thunder.
Tobias straightened his spine, the last shred of confusion vanishing from his eyes, replaced by pure, unadulterated conviction.
"You are right, Father!" He smashed his right fist against his left breastplate. "The might of the Blood Angels' sons is enough to purify all blasphemy and corruption! For the Imperium! For the Emperor!!"
The warriors roared in kind, their morale soaring like a rainbow.
Sanguinius nodded in satisfaction. "Go, then. Lead your company and coordinate with the 5th Company to complete the purge of the middle hive sector. The Tech-Priests and Techmarines aboard the Tear of Blood have prepared the Warp rift sealing arrays. We must seal that rift as quickly as possible and sever the final source of corruption."
"Yes, Father!" Tobias saluted, turning and striding away.
Sanguinius remained standing in place, watching the Second Company Captain's retreating back, then looking up into the pitch-black night sky at the gunships that had long since become mere specks.
The smile on his face gradually faded.
It was replaced by a trace of complex emotion.
"Father..." Sanguinius murmured softly. "Just how many... secrets are you keeping from us?"
He shook his head, suppressing those thoughts.
Now was not the time to pry.
Right now, he still had... far too much to do.
--
Within the bridge of the Crimson Dawn fleet's Light of Dawn.
Paul pulled off the Custodian Tribune helmet adorned with the Tribune's gemstone.
His three-and-a-half-meter golden frame sat in the command throne, his faint golden hair cascading over his pauldrons, a trace of exhaustion evident on his face.
"Finally managed to bluff my way through that..."
He let out a long breath and looked at Helovia beside him.
The little girl had already fallen asleep leaning against the chair, her hands still tightly gripping the silver staff, tear streaks painting her small face.
"Let her rest well." Soul of Cadia walked over and draped a blanket over Helovia. "Today was... far too heavy for her."
Paul nodded.
He pulled up the holographic starmap, the orbital image of Aurelian IV unfurling before him.
"Over at the Aru Industrial Zone, G bro has completed the recovery of the daemon corpses. The rift sealing progress is at 95%, and we expect to be able to extract within two hours," Soul of Cadia's voice sounded. "The Kent Hive is entirely normal. The remnants of the four major factions are being systematically taken over by the body doubles we planted. The sleeper players in the City of the Holy Anthem report that the Blood Angels have begun a comprehensive purge; it's estimated it will take half a month to a month to completely cleanse all the Corrupted."
Listening to the report, Paul tapped a finger on the starmap.
"Notify all units. Once extraction is complete, we need to reorganize, digest the spoils of this war, and formulate the next phase of our plan." He paused, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "The ownership of Aurelian IV... our Crimson Dawn must seize it."
--
Deep within the Warp. The Domain of Tzeentch, the Crystal Labyrinth.
At the end of a corridor composed of countless prisms, atop a platform formed from ten million rotating tomes.
Blue-purple psychic energy slowly coalesced into a figure.
Aetaos'rau'keres.
The Lord of Change's current appearance was significantly weaker than when its authority had been elevated by Tzeentch's blessing earlier.
The light in its three pairs of eyes was dim, and even the runes of mutation flowing across its body flickered erratically.
Its descended vessel had been annihilated, the portion of its Warp essence that possessed it severely damaged, and it had even actively sacrificed a portion of its authority to transmit the final message...
The losses from this operation were catastrophic, yet there was no trace of dejection on Aetaos'rau'keres's face.
On the contrary, its ten-thousand-toned voice carried irrepressible excitement.
"Found it... I found it..."
It stumbled toward the center of the platform, where a massive prism floated.
The surface of the prism reflected countless images: the torrent of moonlight in the City of the Holy Anthem, the pink staff in Helovia's hands, the faint golden blood seeping from Paul's throat as he chanted the True Name...
...and finally, the coordinates and aura pointed to by that obscure clue it had captured via the Warp link.
"An unknown energy system... the authority of conversion... a slumbering domain..."
Aetaos'rau'keres reached out and touched the prism.
The mirror rippled like water, the image shifting to reveal the phantom projection of a silent, utterly still domain encased in a shell of flame and lightning.
Although it appeared entirely normal from the outside, Aetaos'rau'keres knew the clue lay within.
"The source of all the variables... all the anomalies..." Aetaos'rau'keres's three pairs of eyes lit up simultaneously. "So it was you manipulating everything from behind the scenes..."
It turned and bowed deeply toward the depths of the labyrinth. "Great Changer of Ways, your most loyal servant Aetaos'rau'keres requests an audience. I have found the source of the variables! A slumbering, alien deity! He commands a completely alien power system, His creations can purify Warp corruption, and He can even block your precognition! He is laying a grand design on Aurelian IV, He is cultivating avatars, He is attempting to..."
Aetaos'rau'keres paused, stating its deduction.
"...establish a new belief system and contest the authority of Hope against you!"
The Crystal Labyrinth fell silent.
Only the humming of rotating prisms remained.
A long time later.
From the depths of the blue-purple fog, a voice emerged.
It was a voice that defied linguistic description; it was a simultaneous amalgamation of ten million tones, languages, and knowledge.
Its voice echoed directly within Aetaos'rau'keres's soul.
"The clue... has been received... A slumbering domain... an unknown system... the authority of conversion... Intriguing... The Lord of Plagues... will also be interested..."
Aetaos'rau'keres looked up, its three pairs of eyes blazing simultaneously. "You mean..."
"Guide... the gaze of the Lord of Plagues... Let the Lord of Plagues... scout the way first... We... will observe... analyze... and then..."
A hand composed of pure knowledge reached out from the fog, tapping lightly with a finger.
A new image surfaced on the crystal prism before Aetaos'rau'keres.
It was the Domain of Nurgle, the Garden of Nurgle.
Amidst a sea of yellow-green pus, a colossal tree wreathed in rotting vines was trembling with fury.
It was the restless agitation of the Lord of Plagues, who had just lost the Warp essence of his Great Unclean One in the Aru Industrial Zone.
"Go... Aetaos'rau'keres... Leak the coordinates... to Nurgle's envoys... Let Grandfather... go and greet... that neighbor... While we..."
The voice in the fog took on a trace of gleeful deceit.
"...continue... to observe... The plan... is forever changing..."
Aetaos'rau'keres bowed deeply. "As you will, Great Changer of Ways."