"?"
Did the other man seem to know him?
He didn't think he was all that famous, either.
And
Cyrus couldn't see any Chapter markings on the other man. Even the Power Armor he wore wasn't any model Cyrus recognized.
There was no golden laurel wreath, symbolizing honor, on his helmet, no Iron Halo bestowed by the Emperor on his back, and no Purity Seals of the Imperium on his shoulders or legs.
The bloodstains on the other man, and the looks of respect from those around him,
made it clear that everything outside must have been his handiwork.
"My name is Cyrus. I belong to the Blood Ravens' Seventh Company. This is my scout squad. We're responsible for recon and operations on other Xenos worlds. Our ship crashed on this planet by accident while we were returning to our Battle Barge. We need your help now. We'd like to borrow one of your Battle Barges so we can return to our ship."
"That can all be arranged." Cisrain immediately started handing out tasks, treating them like his own people. They'd practically delivered themselves to him, so naturally he was going to put them to use. "As it happens, I have an urgent mission that needs support. I need you to come with me."
"."
"."
"Our ship?"
"Right. Do you have an urgent mission?"
"." Cyrus had been sent out to explore in the first place. His mission was complete, and he'd accidentally ended up here on his way back to the ship. Returning to the ship didn't count as an urgent mission, so there was no particular rush.
"My lord, it's ready."
"Good. Carry this. It's getting late."
"Governor."
At the voice behind him, Cisrain hurriedly shoved a black boulder weighing several tons toward one of Cyrus's squadmates, then strode off without giving them any chance to refuse.
"Quickly, follow the governor."
Cyrus was baffled.
He didn't even know why he'd accepted the mission.
And even now, he still didn't know who the other man was.
As a Space Marine, he'd somehow followed the other man into a mission without knowing what it was or who he was dealing with. He hadn't even thought it strange; instead, it had felt perfectly natural.
Who was he?
What was the mission?
"Squad leader, weren't we supposed to return to the ship?"
One of the squad members held the chain used to drag the Blackstone. He looked down at the chain in his hand and the object trailing behind him, then asked Cyrus over the squad's internal comms. Only enhanced Space Marines like them could drag several tons of Blackstone technology.
Cisrain walked at the very front and barely spoke to them.
He seemed to take their silence as agreement.
And they, for their part, had made no inquiries along the way. It wasn't until Cisrain stopped that Cyrus thought to ask him.
Before them lay a Chaos Beacon destroyed by a space torpedo.
The scattered limbs and the creations of Chaos had been burned to nothing by fire and blood.
The deep crater left behind seemed to hold the secrets of this world.
After they jumped into the crater, they found that a black door had withstood the full force of the blast. The explosion hadn't left so much as a mark on its surface. Grooves covered the door, resembling both writing and Xenos symbols, warding off the corrupting force of Chaos.
"This mark of Chaos was probably carved two years ago. Chaos attacked this place two years ago, but they suffered heavy losses and were eventually forced to seal this door. The Xenos inside don't seem like ordinary foes."
[Mission Progress: 80%]
Cisrain had also taken over as Planetary Governor two years ago.
And Chaos had arrived two years ago.
What a coincidence.
Cyrus, bringing up the rear, finally couldn't hold back any longer. "Sir, I need to know what this mission is."
"To obtain a piece of equipment."
As Cisrain spoke, he removed his helmet,
revealing his true appearance.
He had no Service Studs on his head, yet his presence was no weaker than that of any Chapter Master Cyrus had ever met. His gaze was utterly resolute; his will, unbreakable. His radiance was like the blazing sun. Following his gaze, Cyrus looked toward the black door, which seemed to conceal something of vital importance to humanity. Cisrain paused. "Equipment capable of turning the tide of the war across the galaxy."
"This is also why you came to the Far East Frontier."
Cisrain intended to keep this Blood Ravens scout squad.
Chaos had been here two years ago.
Who knew what schemes Chaos might be secretly brewing now? He needed some of the Primarch's sons to help. Relying on his own people to develop new planets simply wasn't enough.
The Far East Frontier?
What was he talking about?
Before we set out, we were in the Gothic Sector. The Far East Frontier was over in Segmentum Obscurus.
Was he saying that after traveling through the Warp, they'd crossed half the Milky Way?
All to end up here?
Cyrus could hardly believe it, though he'd heard of similar things before.
In records gathered from various worlds, they'd found that whenever a major upheaval occurred on a critical battlefield, strange supernatural events really did happen. Sometimes, Astartes who had vanished tens of thousands of years ago would reappear. Sometimes, mortals would accomplish the miracle of slaying a god. And sometimes, people would see the Emperor's Angels flying through the sky.
Some said it was the Emperor's design.
The miracles that descended in humanity's hour of peril were the Emperor's decisive moves, laid down to turn the tide of battle.
But those were almost all legends.
They'd never seen such things for themselves.
Now that he'd been caught up in one, Cyrus felt deeply conflicted.
He felt the thrill of being chosen by the Emperor, mixed with confusion over why he'd been chosen.
Why had the Emperor chosen them?
Surely the Emperor had better options!
"Squad leader, do you think the Emperor brought us here?"
"Getting from the Gothic Sector to Segmentum Obscurus means crossing half the Milky Way, and he seems to know a lot."
"Let's follow him first!"
No one knew whether this was the Emperor's will.
As they spoke,
Cisrain had already taken the Blackstone from the scouts and was heading toward the black door.
Cyrus finally understood why Cisrain had made them carry the black stone.
Cisrain easily raised the black stone high above his head.
Then he inserted it into the black door.
A spark of electricity flashed across the stone and flowed into the door. As the current passed through it, strange writing appeared on the surface, like a decoding program at work.
"I've seen these characters before."
"."
Cyrus stared at the writing, searching his memories for an Imperial graveyard.
They had once investigated a place where every soldier had been killed, even the Astartes. Their enemy's weapons could pierce their heavy armor; one hit meant death.
Was this a place belonging to the Necrons?
First Chaos, now the Necrons.
It seemed
that if this really was the Emperor's design,
then
the mission the Emperor wanted them to carry out was no simple matter.
Cyrus temporarily accepted his new role, thrust upon him in this moment of crisis.
He must have been drawn into one of the Emperor's secret wars.
But
Cyrus glanced at his squadmates.
"Squad leader, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Stay alert."
A citizen of the Imperium was strolling down a street on Macragge after the war, sighing,
"Even the Five Hundred Worlds are like this. The Imperium really is in a sorry state."
Hearing this, Sicarius flew into a rage, grabbed the man, and demanded, "Which one are you talking about?"
"My lord, there's only one!"
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