In the Warp, I Could Hear All Kinds of Voices

Ladies and gentlemen, hello.

Today, as a Son of the Emperor, I had the honor of coming to the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet to tell you the story of my Warp friends and me.

In the Warp, I could hear all kinds of voices.

Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Throne!

Cheese Khorne.

Thoughts seek knowledge, knowledge thirsts for thought; only holy Tzeentch, free us from all constraints.

Cheese Tzeentch.

Seven diseases! Seven disasters! Seven blessings!

Cheese Nurgle.

Some audio that could not pass censorship.

?!

Slaanesh, shut up!

Of course, it was just a joke.

Under the protection of the Geller Field, every evil whisper of the daemons would be completely blocked.

Even if wandering daemons tried to pass through the veil for a feast, their bodies would disintegrate into dust in this universe of souls the instant they struck the Geller Field.

I am you, Kasgar.

Kasgar, accept me.

Accept. Me.

Except for this voice.

Ever since Kasgar entered the Warp, it had clung to him like a bone-deep disease, never allowing him peace.

But aside from demanding that Kasgar accept it, the voice had no great effect.

"Ah, what a headache."

He could only pray that Old Man Huang would repair the Webway soon.

Warp travel was simply too torturous.

Sitting in his private quarters aboard the Vengeful Spirit, Kasgar could not help but let out a long sigh toward the heavens.

This was the flagship Vengeful Spirit.

That was right, that Vengeful Spirit.

The vessel of Horus Lupercal, Primarch of the Sixteenth Legion Lunar Wolves, the Shepherd of Wolves.

As for the Third Legion Sons of the Emperor, to which Kasgar belonged, they still had too few personnel to operate independently.

Thus, they would accompany Horus's 63rd Expeditionary Fleet as an auxiliary force in the Great Crusade.

It would also give the newcomers some combat and command experience.

In the years since returning to the Imperium, Kasgar had completed every procedure of his Space Marine transformation.

Some of them had even been performed after he was sealed within a Stasis Field, when the Adeptus Custodes brought him into the palace's underground chambers.

The Power Armor bestowed upon him had naturally been personally forged by Primarch Fulgrim.

The armor bore the standard purple-and-gold colors of the Sons of the Emperor, yet under Fulgrim's exceptionally meticulous craftsmanship, it was adorned with intricate gilded patterns. The eagle wings on its pauldrons and the Imperial Eagle upon its chest were lifelike, gleaming with dazzling golden light.

The horsehair tassel on the helmet danced in the wind together with the red cloak hanging from the delicate clasp behind it.

Its design was even more extraordinary: upon the original Expeditionary Power Armor, Fulgrim had made sweeping alterations, making the entire suit more agile and lightweight without sacrificing durability.

Its flexibility was unmatched. Combined with optical camouflage and dual-technology circuitry, it suited Kasgar's preference for nimble combat even better.

Perhaps the future Raven-pattern Power Armor would, to some extent, also be iterated upon her design.

Perfect.

That was everyone's first impression upon seeing the Power Armor.

But compared to a recruit, shouldn't this suit be more fitting for a highly respected commander?

And such magnificent armor, together with the Power Sword in his hand named Zhanli, became an armament setup envied beyond measure by many Space Marines.

This was unfair!

Why did a mere recruit get to wear such beautiful, mastercrafted armor!?

Damn Kasgar!

Having the most beautiful wife in the universe was one thing, but even all his equipment was mastercrafted armor personally forged by her!

You got all the good things!

Even within the Third Legion, there had been considerable criticism of Fulgrim's nearly limitless favoritism.

But Kasgar had never cared about such gossip from the outside world.

Power Sword in hand,

smiling as he donned mastercrafted armor,

the kept-man meal needed another serving.

Lord Kasgar, Lord Commander Horus hopes that in two standard Terra hours, you will proceed to the Staff Room for the Dalinite Nebula combat conference.

"Understood."

Work had arrived.

Kasgar adjusted the armor on his body and prepared to head for the conference room in the grand prow of the Vengeful Spirit.

Come to think of it, wasn't this where Horus's famous future breakdown happened?

He curled his lips helplessly.

Hopefully, such a tragedy would not happen again this time.

Kasgar arrived at the conference room.

A Tactical Composite Image of the nebula was projected above the entire conference table. Several giants in pearl-white armor, a three-eyed Astropath, Adeptus Mechanicus sages in Red Robes, and an Imperial Navy Representative gathered around it, murmuring as they discussed something in detail.

"Lord Horus, the Sons of the Emperor stand ready for your command."

Kasgar stepped forward and saluted the tallest figure at the center.

"Welcome, Acting Prefect Kasgar. Please, take a seat."

Horus revealed a warm, approachable smile.

"There is still some time before the formal meeting begins. If you are interested, we would also be pleased to have you join the preliminary discussion."

Acting Prefect of the Third Legion.

That was Kasgar's current title.

Perhaps because the Emperor's special modifications had made him stronger than ordinary Space Marines, once Kasgar completed the transformation process, his combat skills were already no worse than those company captains of the Third Legion renowned for their swordsmanship.

Furthermore, after ruling and managing Chemos alongside Fulgrim for thirty years, the Primarch had tremendous faith in his abilities.

On that basis, Fulgrim proposed promoting Kasgar exceptionally to Legion commander.

Kasgar had no objection to this.

The Great Crusade had already begun. More and more Primarchs had returned to the Imperium, and the seeds of rebellion had already been planted.

The day when the expected Horus Heresy would occur was gradually drawing nearer.

He had to change that.

He first had to become the Lord Commander of the Sons of the Emperor before he could participate in decisions regarding expeditionary affairs.

But unfortunately, the proposal was rejected by an internal Legion meeting.

As a recruit with no military achievements whatsoever, even with the Primarch guaranteeing for him, promoting him directly to commander would likely fail to convince the masses.

"At present, the Third Legion has achieved little in the expeditions. If we make another exceptional promotion, it will very likely subject our Third Legion to criticism."

"Furthermore, quite a few Legion soldiers already have grievances toward Kasgar, and this would not benefit the Legion's internal stability."

"Moreover, although Recruit Kasgar's combat ability is impressive, a Legion commander's command ability is the highest priority."

Even Vespasian, the commander who trusted the Primarch the most, had objected in this manner.

"But Kasgar was taught by me personally. Back on Chemos, he was already capable of—"

"Wait, Fulgrim. Let me say a few words."

"Commander Vespasian, you mean that I currently lack practical command experience and would have difficulty convincing others, correct?"

Kasgar had calmly asked at the time.

"Correct."

The other man's reply had been exceedingly brief.

"Fine, I understand."

"Lord Fulgrim, I will forgo the exceptional promotion to Legion commander."

"Until I have achievements that can convince everyone."

His thoughts returned to the present.

At the moment, Fulgrim was still personally overseeing construction of the flagship Pride of the Emperor at Jupiter Shipyards. For a perfectionist like her, ensuring every part of the flagship met her standards naturally required a great investment of time.

The other three commanders of the Sons of the Emperor were also scattered across other nebulae, carrying out their respective expeditionary missions.

The five hundred Sons of the Emperor currently aboard Horus's 63rd Expeditionary Fleet would all be commanded by him, an Acting Prefect urgently in need of command experience.

Dong.

The atomic clock at the ship's prow struck thirteen.

"The combat conference for the Dalinite Nebula now begins."

The Shepherd of Wolves, Horus, announced.

What? You ask what kind of voice Slaanesh would make?