Belisarius Cawl

"Yes, only the four of us remain."

"Hey, I was just being poetic for a moment, don't get all emo on me."

"Back to the point, then."

Romulus shook his head with a wry smile and pulled up a chair to sit.

"Guess what the flagship of that prospecting fleet is called?"

"Steel Soul?"

"That's no fun, brother."

Romulus had been hoping to show off a little.

"For us, there is only one member of the Adeptus Mechanicus who requires your emphasis."

Pushing open the porthole, Ramesses watched as a dozen shadows emerged beneath the starlight.

"Who else could it be but Belisarius Cawl?"

Piaerde Sector, Minor Piaerde System.

As ripples disturbed the Mandeville Point, a sophisticated space fleet tore through the veil of reality.

The safety of the Carcharodons' Warp travel is commendable, perhaps due to the experience gained from years of operating in the outer reaches where the Astronomican cannot reach. Even while towing a strike cruiser and a hunk of Ork scrap metal, they arrived unscathed.

On the bridge of the Nicor, which had just reopened following the fleet's return to Realspace, Arthur, having just finished a brawl, stood side-by-side with Tyberos at his invitation to watch the sharks.

That's right, sharks.

A great white shark from Earth.

At the very least, after the passive input of this shark's information, that was the designation displayed on Arthur's panel.

How marvelous; in the vastness of the universe, beyond his companions, he could actually find something from Arthur's own era aboard a ship returning from the outer rim.

"You recognize it?"

Tyberos followed Arthur's gaze to the great white shark in the aquarium. His long experience in combat made him exceptionally sensitive to the perceptions of the Blade Guard beside him.

He was certain that Arthur's gaze was locked onto this specific shark.

This was quite rare, as the bridge of the Nicor was a massive aquarium containing countless dangerous species from the oceans of various worlds. Many warriors invited to the bridge were drawn to those enormous and terrifying predators.

Yet, Arthur remained fixated on that unremarkable great white shark.

In this era, almost no one knew the significance of this shark.

"It comes from Terra."

Arthur admitted it freely, a look of melancholy crossing his face.

"But the ocean that nurtured it is gone."

Arthur was genuinely saddened.

Anyone who knew that the planet identical to their homeland had become the Holy Terra of today would feel the same.

This was the agonizing rift of traversing time.

Even the sisters who followed the angel were infected by this touch of sorrow.

"..."

Tyberos looked at the man beside him—someone he theoretically might have to call an elder—and relaxed his grip, feeling somewhat at a loss. A sudden impulse rose in him to wake the ancient Dreadnought back home just to have a chat with this man.

He felt he might be the first person to leave an exceptional Dark Angels Blade Guard feeling shut-in with just a few words.

"How did you come to know that title?"

Tyberos stiffly changed the subject, looking toward Kahurangi, who had just entered the bridge, for help.

"Lord of Shadows?"

Arthur also noticed his gaze.

"Yes."

"Because it once belonged to Arcas Fal."

Arcas Fal, a Terra-born Raven Guard Legion Captain from the 30k era.

Arthur, well-versed in Romulus's philosophy of speaking the truth, answered the question directly.

He then nodded to Kahurangi, who had just arrived at his side, and left with the sisters in tow.

He knew how to read the room; now that the fleet had exited the Warp, it was time for the Carcharodons to hold their internal briefings, and it wouldn't do for him to keep standing there.

"..."

Kahurangi watched his daily-refreshing gift package depart. Seeing the low-pressure atmosphere surrounding the man, he ultimately suppressed the urge to call Arthur back.

"Did you offend Lord Arthur, my lord?"

"I do not know."

The two stared at each other for three seconds.

"Did you go looking for their Librarian again?"

"Mm."

"Still didn't manage to steal any knowledge?"

"Mm."

At the mere mention of this, Kahurangi felt ashamed.

That Librarian named Ramesses was very good at playing dumb; he remained watertight in the face of his probes. Despite clearly possessing a profound understanding of the Warp, he remained vague on every detail.

One could only say he was worthy of being a master of the Warp from that era.

"Let us discuss the Grey Tithe instead, my lord."

Kahurangi said as much.

Tyberos activated the holographic display, which showed a communication from the Mechanicus Ark.

"Archmagos Belisarius Cawl from Mars has agreed to accept this tax. Furthermore, the Black Templars accompanying the Archmagos have sent an invitation to us and the Deathwatch, requesting a war council regarding the purging of the Drukhari xenos that have invaded the Archmagos's warship."

"They are not Deathwatch."

Kahurangi reminded him tactfully.

Tyberos's expression did not change.

"I know."

"They are Ultramarines and Blood Angels; there might even be Imperial Fists among those in Mk.II Crusade armor."

Kahurangi recounted the intelligence he had gathered.

"There is more."

Tyberos clenched his fist. The recent battles had been far too frequent, to the point where even a brief moment of ease made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

He began to recall if the Chapter's records on the Dark Angels contained any mention of such tall, gladiator-loving fellows, but he found nothing.

No, that was wrong. Arthur seemed to choose to learn from them through gladiatorial combat purely to become stronger, rather than out of a love for the sport itself. He was learning the experience the Carcharodons had accumulated over ten thousand years with astonishing speed and perseverance, rapidly adapting to this era.

"Who told you this?"

Tyberos asked.

"It was the mortals."

Feeling that his words might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings, Kahurangi added.

"They never hid their origins; they merely borrowed the identity of the Deathwatch. They even ignored the Codex to recruit Astra Militarum as mortal auxiliary forces. You know as well as I do that with that kind of equipment and combat pattern, it would be impossible to keep hidden once they entered the Imperium's view."

"As for how they store such a massive quantity of war machines, that is likely a secret we should not be probing."

"Mm."

Tyberos nodded in agreement.

When it came to not prying into secrets, the Carcharodons possessed an astonishing level of self-awareness.

The Carcharodons themselves had been gifted ancient artifacts like the Void Glass by the Void Forefather; it was no big deal for these warriors, who clearly had extraordinary origins, to possess something like a pocket dimension.

As for the Chapter's stolen Void Glass.

Whenever he thought of this, Tyberos felt a headache coming on.

This annoyance soon transformed into anger, driving Tyberos to shift his gaze toward the culprits within that Mechanicus Ark.

Those damned xenos.

"Reply: the Carcharodons will provide assistance."

"Then—"

Infected by this pale rage, and with the terrifying bloodlust within his own Raven Guard lineage awakened, Kahurangi exhaled softly and asked.

"Should we notify Lord Romulus?"

"Of course."