End of Dawn

People often think the Chaos Gods corrupt and seduce mortals through illusions and deception.

But what Chaos does best is acknowledge your achievements, praise your strength, and help you fulfill the dreams you've always wanted to realize.

Before you even realize it, you've become a devoted follower of Chaos.

And the Dark Gods exploited exactly what Valentin craved.

As a blood relative of the Mongert Family, he lost in the competition against Ludwig.

He always believed Ludwig used underhanded schemes to steal the position that rightfully belonged to him, and that after Ludwig became a Rogue Trader, he continued to persecute his family.

He had their family ousted from the position of Planetary Governor, handed it to an outsider, and even kept reclaiming the rights that originally belonged to them.

He sent Valentin to manage the chaotic Lower Hive.

As time passed, the resentment in his heart grew. He believed the Dynasty had become completely rotten.

And his gradually corrupting soul caught the attention of an entity lurking in the Warp.

That unknown presence constantly acknowledged his achievements and abilities, telling him again and again that everything in the world would end—and so would the Dynasty he belonged to.

But when all things came to an end, a new dynasty and order would rise from the ruins and corpses. And if he was willing to embrace Chaos, he would gain the power to make it all happen.

Valentin agreed. From that moment, he was no longer Valentin Mongert, but Agathos, the Sect Master of the Church of the Final Dawn.

Using his authority, he steadily expanded his followers and used the power granted by the Dark Gods to corrupt his own kin. When Ludwig went missing and lost contact in the Warp, he knew his chance had come.

His original plan was to slowly grow his church and use the Dark Gods' power to corrupt key figures in the Dynasty.

But no one expected the Dynasty's flagship to emerge from the Warp—and with a new Rogue Trader aboard. He knew he couldn't wait any longer, so he launched an armed coup. But that damned Rebecca had been watching him all along, making the Upper Hive impossible to take!

And that wasn't all. Within the territory he had seized, reports of attacks kept pouring in.

That Adepta Sororitas unit was terrifyingly strong. His cultists and the soldiers originally loyal to his family were no match for them.

Their faith in the False Emperor was far too unshakable!

Faith granted them resistance to corruption, and their exceptional combat skills were the blades the God-Emperor had given them.

They moved through the Lower Hive of the Hive City, even gathering the commoners who still remained loyal to the Imperium and refused to become monsters.

They were like torches in the darkness, reminding people that the God-Emperor was still with them.

They kept striking his supply depots and logistics lines. Valentin knew these Sisters were after him personally!

And besides these Sisters, two other forces he hadn't anticipated were obstructing him.

One was a cult called the Death Cult, which kept assassinating his officers and key church members. Even the illegal Psykers he secretly kept couldn't escape their blades.

Valentin had always known about this Death Cult. Some even said they appeared as soon as the Dynasty colonized this planet. But they had only ever operated in the Lower Hive or even the Underhive, so he never took their small numbers seriously. Now, they were causing him major trouble.

The Death Cult worshipped the God-Emperor with a fervor even more extreme than the Ecclesiarchy. They believed blood and sacrifice were the foundation of humanity's survival—that the God-Emperor's great sacrifice allowed humanity to endure. To them, the God-Emperor sitting on the Golden Throne, caught between life and death, was the embodiment of death itself.

For these people, every death, every wound, every drop of blood was an act of worship toward the immortal Emperor of Mankind. They were obsessed with killing anyone who disrespected the God-Emperor, making them the most feared presence in the Lower Hive.

And to them, the lives of heretics and enemies of humanity were the finest sacrifices to the God-Emperor.

Their peerless swordsmanship and assassination techniques let them reap enemy lives relentlessly. Fortunately, the Death Cult had few members—not everyone could accept such extreme doctrine.

Though Valentin couldn't wipe out these Death Cultists, they couldn't strike at his core either.

What troubled Valentin most was the Underhive.

He had assumed the thugs in the Underhive would gladly fight for him if he made a few promises. He couldn't believe anyone would willingly live in that dark place.

There was deadly radiation, toxic waste, and even a decent meal was a luxury.

He could accept the mutants—they were the perfect source of Chaos Cultists.

But he never expected those Underhive junkmen to hold their ground and refuse him entry. They not only rejected his call but attacked his soldiers and cultists.

They even actively helped Underhivers who refused to embrace Chaos!

They treated the Underhive as their own territory and even showed signs of pushing outward.

And their combat strength was far greater than expected, with a will to fight that was terrifyingly firm.

Soldiers reported that they, too, shouted the God-Emperor's name. Since when did Underhive mutants worship the God-Emperor?

On the surface, everything seemed in his favor, but Valentin alone knew he couldn't wait any longer. The longer this dragged on, the worse his position became.

He planned to hold an unparalleled sacrifice tomorrow and summon the true "Dawn" into this world. It would help him break through the seemingly impenetrable defenses of the Upper Hive.

Leaving the Forge Workshop, Valentin, under his guards' protection, arrived at the sacrifice site.

Stretching before him were hundreds of thousands of cages, packed with countless commoners and workers from the Lower Hive.

Adults, the elderly, and many young children—all locked away like livestock in these iron cages.

No one paid any attention to their pleas for mercy or their curses.

Looking at their surroundings, even the dullest among them knew what fate awaited them.

"Sect Master, all 99,999 are here!"

"Good. How far along is the ritual?"

"95%! Everything will be ready before tomorrow!"

"Speed up!"

"Yes, Sect Master!"

They refuse to embrace the arrival of the End of Dawn, so let them become the fuel for that dawn instead.

One by one, illegal Psykers were using their blood to paint blasphemous ritual circles on the walls of the Sacrificial Hall.

These ritual circles would become the bridge connecting the real universe to the Warp.

And the lives and souls of these people would serve as the key to open the door.

The timing of a day later happened to coincide with Gao Yi's planned operation.

A day passed quickly.

The fleet, having set out again, had once more approached the planetary orbit of Agathos.

Gao Yi watched Harlan and the others as they donned their RS Fusion Suits and spoke.

"The pressurization devices and oxygen tanks inside the fighters will let you navigate the orbit for a short time, but only a very short time.

The warship will move into orbit, tank the enemy's first wave of firepower, and send you into the planet's orbit.

The locations of key ground defense installations have already been transmitted to the Wraith's tactical equipment.

Your mission is not total destruction! It's to cripple them, render them unable to fire! Buy time for the fleet's orbital drop operation!"

"Understood, Captain!"

"May the God-Emperor protect you!"

Harlan saluted Gao Yi with an Aquila Gesture before sitting into the Wraith's Cockpit.