The Lion King's Pardon

After Chen Xi left the command chamber, Lion El'Jonson stood alone before the tactical hololith.

The star map turned silently before him. Countless points of light and shadows intertwined to form the current state of the Imperium—the regions where the Tyranid Swarm spread like a plague, the Eye of Terror occupied by the forces of Chaos, and rebellious systems flaring up one after another. Together, they painted a picture far more fractured than the final days of the Great Heresy he remembered.

The Lion King silently gazed upon that sea of stars, innumerable flickering war signals reflected in the depths of his emerald eyes.

Ten thousand years of slumber had not diminished his sense of responsibility as a Primarch. Instead, it made everything before him seem all the more urgent.

The scale and diversity of the external threats had exceeded all previous understanding, while the Chapter system the Imperium had maintained for ten thousand years revealed the drawback of dispersed strength in the face of a crisis on such a scale.

Chen Xi's repeated emphasis on "Legions" rather than "Chapters" now needed no explanation.

Against the Ultimate Darkness that might tear the galaxy apart, only the restoration of the centralized command structure from the era of the Great Crusade could gather sufficient strength for a counterattack.

Though the subtle differences in his body after awakening still kept him wary, and Leona—who shared his origin yet existed in female form—raised many questions, the Lion King quickly suppressed those distractions.

He was Lion El'Jonson, lord of Caliban and Primarch of the Dark Angels.

His personal confusion was insignificant before the survival of the Imperium.

What he needed to clarify first was the true condition of the Imperium's various powers, especially the whereabouts and movements of the other Primarchs.

The news Chen Xi