117 Terra (III)

Rogal Dorn looked up at the upright beheader heading towards the door, and nodded calmly. «-(¯`v´¯)-« 6➈.ςⓄⓜ »-(¯`v´¯)-»

As always, his decision proved to be correct and necessary—it was beneficial for both sides to meet Jofeel de Mugia and his Legion and Primarch ahead of schedule.

In fact, if he were included, it would be a three-way deal, a win-win situation.

He then looked at Fulgrim, whose unusually gaunt face stirred complex emotions within him, but he remained professional and did not speak first, waiting for someone to arrive.

Fulgrim leaned weakly against his seat, his hands resting on his lap, outstretched, his fingers trembling incessantly.

Dorn knew in his heart that this was not a psychological effect. The Chemos people of today were not the same as before; their eyes alone could reveal a lot.

Therefore, there's probably only one reason left for their shaking.

"Our return journey wasn't peaceful, Rogal." Noticing his gaze, Fulgrim calmly began to explain. "We had to fight something; in fact, we were still fighting Daemon right before we left Mandeville Point."

"Exhausted?" Dorn asked.

He temporarily ignored the matter of the Daemon, just as he chose to temporarily ignore the wounds on Fulgrim's body.

He wondered, what intensity of combat could cause a Primarch's body to become so exhausted?

Phoenix smiled slightly and readily admitted it, "Yes, I'm exhausted. Without the Power Armour, I'm a little slower than usual, and I have to put in more effort to wield the sword."

At this point, he seemed to become interested, leaning forward, his white hair falling down to cover most of his face, his eyes appearing and disappearing.

"There's blood everywhere, Rogal. I had to find something to help me grip the sword. At first, I used a rope, but it couldn't support my strength. Then I found an iron chain and tied the sword to my arm."

He smiled and said nothing more.

Dorn knew perfectly well what he was talking about—the habit of chaining weapons to oneself was common in many legions, originating with War Hounds, and later firmly adopted by Sigismund. ╰☆☆ Claws☆☆╮

Then, during his "communications" with the various legions, this practice naturally came into the view of all Astartes.

When Fulgrim brought up the matter, he wasn't entirely without a hint of joking, but Dorn couldn't laugh at all. His firm, businesslike stance was beginning to waver, and after a few more minutes, he finally couldn't help but sigh.

"Fulgrim"

"No." Phoenix gently raised her right hand to stop him. "We can talk after we've finished our business, Rogal."

The rock, unusually soft, instantly hardened as usual. He nodded silently, leaned back, and half his face disappeared into the darkness.

They sat there facing each other in quiet contemplation, maintaining absolute silence as they waited. Undoubtedly, this wait was agonizing, but thankfully it didn't last long.

The room temperature abruptly plummeted at a certain moment, thick frost spread across the walls, and the darkness began to dissipate rapidly—or rather, be swallowed up.

A faint chewing sound came from the void, followed by a sigh, a rebuke, and a tall figure emerging from the blue light.

The Primarch stood up and greeted each other in the biting wind, a sight that would surely have astonished any outsiders present.

Karyl was having a real headache about this. On one hand, he was pulling Laerhe, who was stubbornly clinging to his ribs and refusing to leave, and trying to get him behind him. On the other hand, he also had to check on Fulgrim before the conversation could begin.

A shadow surged, and he appeared before Phoenix like a ghost. The speed and manner of his movement were indistinguishable from a sudden attack, not to mention that he suddenly reached out and grabbed Fulgrim's shoulders.

Phoenix, however, remained unfazed, even joking, "I've been losing weight lately, Karyl, can you tell?"

Karyl glanced at him, nodded, and released his hands. Fulgrim, however, suddenly hunched over, letting out a low growl that sounded like a ferocious beast.

Dark flames suddenly rose from beneath his robes and quickly spread to the surrounding ground. They should have arrogantly ignited this place and burned the entire Terra, but were extinguished instantly by a single glance.

"Sit down first." Karyl looked away, his head throbbing. "You were too reckless, Fulgrim."

Panting, Phoenix raised her head and gave a forced smile, "It's Fulgrim."

The stubborn rock shook its head, and actually began to hope that Ferrus Manus would descend from the sky.

Karyl frowned; the skeletal face did not obscure his features. The pale bones on his neck revealed grotesque, piercing sharpness, making one worry that they might pierce his carotid artery at any moment.

He watched as Fulgrim sat down before continuing, "It's come to this, and I can't say anything harsh. You made your choice, but every choice has its price, Fulgrim. This wasn't the best choice for you—"

He sighed and shook his head, handing the initiative in the conversation to Fulgrim, as if he knew the Phoenix was about to speak at this juncture.

"--But I had no choice then, and now I have made my choice, and I won't regret it," Fulgrim replied with a smile, even shrugging.

He acted as if nothing had happened. Karyl narrowed his eyes, pulled a piece of shadow off his back, and held it out to Fulgrim.

It struggled at first, unwilling, but as the phoenix extended its right hand, it quickly changed its mind. A chill flashed by, and the shadow rose upright.

Dorn instinctively gripped the armored sword at his waist, watching helplessly as it pierced the phoenix's right hand like a sharp blade, instantly disappearing into the wound. Fulgrim sighed deeply, closing his eyes as if satisfied.

Immediately afterwards, the air began to boil. The solid ice melted, darkness danced wildly, and Fulgrim's white hair was blown about by the sudden gust of wind, with red Mars seemingly bursting from the edges.

His hair color changed from its original silver-white to a withered white like burnt ash. The scene was clearly terrifying, yet he wore a smile on his face.

If you'd like to call this an expression a smile—eyes wide open to the limit, corners of the mouth turned up, muscles contorted, teeth clearly visible.

It resembled a raging beast that was bleeding profusely.

Seconds later, a flash of black flame disappeared. Fulgrim rose with satisfaction, his black cloak spilling down his shoulders, its edges shimmering with fire, like a tattered veil forged from darkness. His eyes were eternally ignited, the violet vanishing, replaced by raging flames.

Rogal Dorn released his grip weakly and took a deep breath.

"This is what I want," Phoenix said. "And what you need, Rogal."

"What do I need?" Dorn countered.

"He will definitely head to Terra, and you need someone who can fight him."

"He can't even get into the Sol System," Dorn said calmly. "We don't need anyone to fight him. If he dares to set foot in the Sol System, he and his traitorous supporters will all become space junk."

Fulgrim looked at him with a hint of pity and slowly shook his head.

"No, that's not it," he said. "I know how much effort you've put into the Sol System and Terra, Rogal. The dedication you've put into this is beyond our imagination; I have every reason to believe you've considered every single detail."

"Ah, let me think, from the ammunition transport routes to every loophole the enemy might exploit. You might even have deliberately left a few loopholes as traps, right? But he's not an enemy these things can handle, Rogal. The kind of warfare you, I, we know is outdated."

Phoenix sadly raised his right hand, his scarred arm emerging from beneath his cloak, names on it flickering like living things, radiating firelight.

"And this is the price," he said gravely. "I paid this price, Rogal. He's not Horus Lupercal; he's a monster through and through. If you're dealing with a monster, guns and cannons aren't enough. Do you even know how to deal with a monster?"

The phoenix pointed at itself, and sorrow instantly turned into a smile.

"Transform into a monster, that's the only way," he said. "So you need me, because sooner or later, he'll arrive in Terra. He definitely will, and you can't even guess how."

The phoenix opened its eyes wide, and flames roared.

"And I will kill him," he whispered. "I will drive him out from under the stolen skin, Rogal, I will, believe me, you must believe me."

Dorn looked at him silently for a few seconds, then replied, "We'll talk after you've calmed down."

He turned and walked out of the room, but Karyl had already disappeared. Behind him, the Chemos people burst into laughter.

--

"He's gone mad," Dorn said.

A cold wind blew, and Wan Shi had never shown such emotional expression as he did now—of course, this only applied to himself. His left hand gripped the armored sword at his waist tightly, his teeth clenched. Apart from that, he remained expressionless.

Standing beside him, Karyl looked down at the myriad lights of Terra and nodded gently.

So, is it really as bad as he says?

"Really, Rogal," Karyl said softly. "In fact, it might be even worse. The forces of the Warp are poisonous to you, yet they are colorless, odorless, and intangible. Often, they don't even need to do anything; their mere presence is enough to bring about the collapse of a war."

Dorn was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"I'll go see him tomorrow to discuss specific defensive measures. Ferrus has received the message and is on his way back to Terra. Sanguinius is missing; he and his legion disappeared near the Signus Cluster."

"Russ responded to me immediately, but then he vaguely said that he had some things to take care of and could only send some Space Wolves back to defend first."

"Where's Lion?" Karyl asked.

"He didn't answer," Dorn said.

The stubborn stone then turned and walked into the fortress. There were no superfluous words, no complaints, no accusations, not even a question.

No matter how the world changes, he remains the same. Watching his retreating figure, Karyl smiled and left quietly like a gentle breeze.

He still has a lot to do.

Update complete, totaling 10,000.