"He Truly Burned Himself to Light the Galaxy"

Mark of Chaos!

A War Maiden immediately raised the greatsword in her hands with both arms, causing flames representing pure psychic energy to burst from the blade and burn that symbol down to nothing.

A fluctuation appeared on Athena's expression, a cold, murderous intent mixed with disgust and absolute resolve.

"Did you see that, Archon? This is not a civil war, nor a dispute of ideologies, but a war of purification concerning the survival of sentient species."

She stepped forward, her golden combat boot crushing a piece of corrupted crystal. "The Emperor's protection can sever the Chaos erosion upon your nerve cords, but on one condition—you must fight on the side of sentient civilization."

Kores Ta's nerve cords flickered violently as the Archon's brain processed this information at high speed.

He looked around him.

Although the warriors of Kares were exhausted, new flames had already ignited within their eyes, and while the Dark Templars stood in silence, they clearly resonated with Athena's words.

Even the most xenophobic Carcharodons put away their usual cruel grins at this moment, solemnly checking the status of their weapons.

"We need time to consider." In the end, he was still somewhat hesitant. "The Protoss are not the vassals of humanity, we—"

"Twelve hours." Athena interrupted him cleanly and decisively. "The Imperium of Man will assist in clearing out the remaining Tal'darim on Kares. Give me your answer twelve hours from now."

Having said these words, the War Goddess's figure began to dissolve into countless particles of light.

Yet before she vanished completely, her final words were carved like a brand deep into the consciousness of every Protoss present:

"Remember, when darkness devours the stars, no single race survives alone."

Silence blanketed the plaza, broken only by the newborn Khaydarin Crystals emitting a crisp resonance in