Deep within Mars, the Evernight Labyrinth.
This was not a building in the conventional sense, but a sealed space personally constructed by the Emperor, layered with countless psychic and ancient mechanical seals.
Lan walked ahead, leading the way, while the Imperium of Man's high-ranking figures followed with difficulty.
With every step, space itself seemed to subtly fold and shift. Had it not been for the gentle starlight emanating from Lan and stabilizing the path, they would have long since become lost in this endless labyrinth.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm rang out through the distorted space! Countless forbidden armored sentinels emerged from the shadows, the walls, and even the void overhead! They locked onto the intruders, their weapon arrays charging in an instant!
"Stay alert!" Guilliman barked, his power gauntlet humming.
Horus and Sanguinius immediately assumed combat stances as well.
Yet just as the conflict was about to erupt, a steady female voice rang out. "Stop! Stand down!"
A figure strode swiftly out from the depths of the labyrinth.
She wore ancient, magnificent power armor. Its design resembled that of the Adeptus Custodes, though it was even heavier, and its plating was covered in runes and energy circuits meant to resist mental corruption.
Beneath her helmet's faceplate was a pale yet exceptionally resolute woman's face, bearing the weathered exhaustion and loneliness accumulated over ten thousand years of solitary vigilance.
She was the Dragon Guard—Dalia Secila.
She raised a hand, and the agitated sentinels, as though they had received an absolute command, stopped at once and withdrew into the shadows like statues.
Her gaze passed over the group before finally settling on the inconspicuous Crystal Cross badge on Lan's chest, which radiated an absolute sense of order.
In that instant, Dalia Secila's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
Ten thousand years! A full ten