Lorgar and his companions walked along a golden gallery, surrounded by ornaments of every description.
Their journey, however, did not last long.
Just as they passed the midpoint of the covered bridge and entered a circular antechamber supported by enormous arches, two figures appeared silently before them, barring their way.
One was an Adeptus Custodes guard clad in magnificent golden armor, while the other... made Lorgar's pupils contract almost imperceptibly.
She was a woman in golden armor, its simple lines concealing formidable anti-psychic power. Most striking of all was her long hair, styled into a severe braid that rose straight above her head.
She stood quietly, seeming to merge with the space around her. She gave off not the slightest trace of life or fluctuation of energy. Instead, she resembled a singularity of absolute "nothingness," constantly devouring the light, sound, and even psychic energy around her.
She was one of the Emperor's living relics, an Untouchable, a Sister of Silence.
The Custodian stepped forward, faced Lorgar, and bowed slightly with impeccable courtesy. His voice emerged through his helmet. "Lord Primarch, by order of the supreme Master of Mankind, the Emperor, you are to proceed alone to the private council chamber ahead for an audience. Your companions must wait here."
Almost as soon as the Custodian finished speaking, the Sister of Silence raised her metal-gauntleted fingers and delivered a complex series of signs with extraordinary speed, precision, and silence.
Lorgar's gaze shifted slowly from the Custodian to the Sister of Silence.
An intense sense of discomfort crept up his spine like a cold serpent.
It was not physical nausea, but an instinctive rejection and revulsion arising from the deepest core of his psychic nature.
He forced down that visceral disgust and fixed his gaze on the Sister's expressionless face.
Lorgar had