Hiss, hiss, hiss—
As vast quantities of white mist spread in every direction,
a dark Caliban forest, lush with trees and crowned by an immense canopy, slowly materialized atop the barren surface of an unnamed planet.
The next moment, most of the white mist suddenly dispersed outward, revealing an unfamiliar scene deeper within the dark forest.
An aged figure whose massive body was clad in Dark Green Power Armor
stepped to the edge of the illusory forest, gripping a Golden Kite Shield in one enormous hand and a Sword of Loyalty in the other.
As he subconsciously narrowed his deep-set eyes and surveyed his surroundings,
Dark Angels wearing Red Winged Helmets and dark green Power Armor laden with every sort of heavy weapon emerged behind his broad back.
Alongside them, Absolution Angels clad in older-pattern black Power Armor also revealed themselves.
At a glance, there were likely more than two thousand of these taciturn Astartes.
Dropped onto any Imperial World, they would have been a fighting force not to be underestimated.
"Lord Lion, have we reached our destination? But no matter how I look at it, this environment doesn't resemble the Baal System. I remember it being a desert world, wasn't it?"
At that moment, Cypher Rorschach, still carrying the Lion King Sword across his broad back, immediately drove his Vibranium Power Armor forward.
Passing numerous Astartes, he quietly asked the thoughtful Lion El'Jonson.
Meanwhile, not far from Cypher Rorschach,
Azrael, the Dark Angels Chapter Master who had been about to ask his Gene-Father a question, wisely shut his mouth.
At present, the Astartes forces gathered under Lion El'Jonson had clearly divided into two factions.
One was the atonement faction, centered on the entire Dark Angels Chapter and some Inner Circle veterans. The other was the return faction, centered on