In Lorgar's hand, Corax was like a casually thrown stone, hurtling from the void through the atmosphere toward the surface of a death world.
His shattered armor plates glowed a dull red from the friction of his descent, trailing a long plume of smoke through the gray-yellow atmosphere.
Wind and air currents tore at his wings, further shredding the ruined membranes that had already been stripped almost to their frames.
He struggled during his fall, trying to regain his balance, but when Lorgar released his grip on the back of his neck, he had already twisted his spine into a grotesque angle. Corax had no strength left to adjust his position.
He had only enough time to glimpse the planet's savage surface.
It was a wasteland riddled with volcanoes and sulfur. Solidified rivers of lava spread across the surface like black spiderwebs, sulfurous clouds churned along the edges of fissures, and the air was thick with toxic gases potent enough to scorch his lungs.
Boom!
Corax slammed into the ground.
A shock wave spread in every direction, throwing up a ring-shaped cloud of gravel and dust.
The rock within dozens of meters of his impact point fractured and collapsed, forming a bowl-shaped crater.
His body sank deep into a charred fissure, broken armor and shattered bones making a teeth-grating sound on impact.
He lay face down at the bottom of the depression and coughed up a great mouthful of blood. Mixed with stomach acid and fragments of sulfur, it bubbled faintly on the gray-black rock.
His fingers clawed spasmodically at the ground, his nails digging into the rubble and leaving crimson scratches.
Greatsword in hand, Lorgar descended upon the planet.
He drifted slowly down from the void, making no sound when he touched the ground.
He stood at the edge