In the core hall, the deathly silence was shattered by Perturabo's trembling demand, like metal being torn apart.
His massive power claw pointed directly at Horus. His electronic compound eyes flickered wildly with chaotic streams of data, while his voice—mixed with the scrape of metal and the stench of sulfur—was completely distorted by extreme shock and the absurdity of betrayal.
"You... you... really are... Horus?! Why?! Why are you standing with them?!" Perturabo's voice rose into a hysterical roar. "It was you! You were the one who showed me that grand vision! You told me to overthrow the false god on the Golden Throne! To build a new order! It was you!!!"
His massive power claw slammed into the alloy wall beside him, sending sparks flying!
"Why?! Tell me why?! Why can a traitor damned beyond redemption still stand here?! Still... still wear that ridiculous shell and stand among the Emperor's lapdogs?! Answer me!!!"
Perturabo's roar was like that of a wounded steel beast, filled with ten thousand years of accumulated venom, confusion, and the furious rage of having been deceived.
His enormous body trembled slightly with agitation, his engines spewing disordered exhaust.
Horus's eyes, burning with golden holy flame, calmly watched the frenzied Perturabo. Deep within them passed a trace of complex, profound pity.
She slowly spoke, her voice carrying a clarity and weight that pierced the soul.
"Perturabo, my brother." Horus's address abruptly halted Perturabo's roar. "Look at me. Look at me with what little reason you have left. Standing before you is Horus Lupercal, Warmaster of the Imperium, the Lupercal."
She took a step forward, golden radiance illuminating her resolute yet pained face like a torch.
"That 'Horus' who made promises to you and lured you into the abyss... was not me."
Horus's voice was firm, carrying