Lorgar Aurelian pushed open the heavy golden gate and stepped back into the palace corridor, where the light was gentler but an invisible pressure still hung in the air.
The doors closed silently behind him, sealing the Emperor's unfathomable will within.
His steps faltered briefly as his gaze caught a rather peculiar sight not far ahead.
At a key junction in the corridor, a Custodian in splendid golden armour stood as rigidly as a golden statue. He maintained a textbook guard stance, his gaze beneath his enclosed helmet sharp as a blade and fixed straight ahead.
Less than five paces directly in front of him, Anastasia stood quietly.
She was not confronting him so much as observing him with keen scholarly interest.
Her head tilted slightly, streams of data flickering at tremendous speed in her silver-grey eyes, she unabashedly examined the Custodian's imposing physique from head to toe—a pinnacle of the Imperium's biotechnology and craftsmanship.
From the seams between every plate of his adamantium Power Armour to the explosive strength contained in the bulging muscles beneath it, she seemed to be scanning an exceptionally valuable work of art.
"Hmm... remarkably precise gene-weaving surgery. The stability of the underlying structure far exceeds that of standard Astartes augmentation." She murmured to herself in a calm, almost academic tone, her voice carrying clearly through the silent corridor.
"The optimisation of the energy circuits and neural interfaces is also outstanding... impressive. Very impressive."
The Custodian remained utterly motionless, like a true statue.
Yet the knuckles of the hand gripping his golden spear seemed to blanch from the force of his grip. Though his enclosed helmet concealed his expression, an almost tangible mixture of intense vigilance and offended fury spread around him like a freezing tide.
Being appraised at such close range by an unidentified