The Imperial Palace on Terra.
The long corridor stretched into the endless distance beneath golden lights. Ancient reliefs and sacred inscriptions adorned the walls on either side, every carved line telling the epic of the Imperium of Man's rise.
The figures in those reliefs charged with swords in hand, bowed their heads in prayer, or gazed up at the stars. Their eyes looked across a thousand years, watching everyone who passed through the corridor.
The golden light cast deep shadows along the contours of the reliefs, making those ancient scenes seem to come alive, moving silently at the edges of vision.
Omega stumbled back into the Imperial Palace. His unsteady gait stood in stark contrast to the solemn tread befitting such a majestic hall.
His deep teal Power Armour was covered in damage: cuts torn open by blades, dents hammered in by blunt weapons, and blackened scorch marks left by energy weapons.
He carried his helmet under one arm, revealing a pale face covered in bruises and scrapes.
A pronounced ring of purple-black bruising surrounded his left eye, leaving him barely able to open it.
A trail of dried blood ran from the corner of his mouth down to his jaw.
His gait was awkward, too. His right leg was injured, and every step made him wince slightly.
He passed through the long corridors, past the startled looks of the Adeptus Custodes standing guard and the hushed whispers of the attendants, until he finally reached the room in the deepest part of the palace.
He pushed the door open without knocking or announcing himself and walked straight in.
The Emperor sat behind his broad desk, reading a document he held in his hand.
At the sound of the door opening, he raised his head, his gaze settling on the bedraggled