A faint, profound smile rested on Primarch Lorgar Aurelian's face, and his broad hand gently patted Chapter Master Rockefeller's heavy pauldron once more.
"Take your time to understand it, my child. Perhaps this feeling is one of the reasons we cross the sea of stars and fight through blood."
With that, Lorgar said no more. He turned and descended from the makeshift platform with steady steps.
His gaze shifted to the Central Avenue below, which the priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus and their servants had swiftly cleared and modestly decorated. His eyes were full of anticipation.
Tonight, this place would belong not to war and suffering, but to victory, new life, and integration.
As night gradually fell, the first brilliant firework burst in the night sky over Tians, forming the Imperium's golden Aquila. Its light briefly illuminated every upturned face.
More fireworks soared into the sky in rapid succession, lighting the night as brightly as day. They symbolized the glory and might of the Imperium of Man and announced the official beginning of the grand parade celebrating this world's return to the human family.
"Let the parade begin!"
Amplified through loudspeakers, Primarch Lorgar's voice rang like a great bell, full of authority and power. It carried across the entire assembly area and reached every participant's ears.
At his command, the vast ceremonial procession began to move in orderly ranks. As the symbol of the Word Bearers' cutting edge and glory, the First Chapter naturally led the parade.
Chapter Master Rockefeller stood at the very front of the procession, clad in the Legion's Cataphractii-pattern Terminator Armour like a moving fortress of steel.
Behind him stood dozens of battle-hardened elite veterans, likewise clad in Cataphractii Terminator Armour. Their formation radiated suffocating pressure and supreme glory merely by standing there in silence.
The