Celes listened to Perturabo's words, her wings fluttering instinctively. Without waiting for Dorn to act himself, she plucked a flawless, immaculate feather from the inner side of her wing.
Dorn had no interest in Perturabo's shouting, but seeing the reverence in Celes's eyes, he could only accept the gift.
The enormous hand and the feather formed a striking contrast. Dorn gently held the feather between two fingers and watched it dissolve in his hand, turning into sacred motes of light that sank into his palm.
"What is this..." Dorn's eyes held only confusion and incredulous surprise. The slightest flicker in his gaze did not escape Perturabo's notice, sending the Lord of Iron into a thrill.
Had everything Father detested returned to the Imperium during the years of his disappearance? But how could it have decayed so quickly? What exactly had those mortal lords done? And how could that bastard Guilliman stand by and watch it all happen?
Countless questions swirled through Dorn's mind, but he asked only one.
"What time is it now?"
"It is approximately 978.M41. The relative flow of time in the Ghoul Stars is somewhat faster," Orikan answered promptly.
"So much time has passed? Even the Adeptus Mechanicus has become like this... Though you look lifeless, at least you bear no religious symbols to disgrace the Emperor's teachings."
Trazyn and Orikan exchanged looks, shrugged, and said nothing.
Suddenly, a deafening buzzing roar rang out. The sky darkened further, sparks flickered from the robots surrounding Dorn, and the mechanical construct Lin Fan had bumped into began to tremble beneath the sound.
The robots activated before Dorn could give an order. They flew and darted about, entering the mechanical construct to stop it from reawakening.
Trazyn also attempted to access the construct's internal systems, but upon discovering the firewall