"Perhaps..."
Guilliman's low voice rang out, carrying a conjecture that even he found alarming.
"Since the Horus Heresy, has everything the Alpha Legion has done—all those contradictory acts of attacking the Imperial Fleet, disrupting Chaos plots, sowing confusion only to prevent greater disasters at crucial moments—been nothing more than a facade they were forced to maintain to conceal a deeper, truer purpose? Did they never truly turn traitor?"
"Absurd!"
Dorn's sharp rebuke thundered through the Sanctum.
For the first time, unmistakable doubt and disbelief appeared on his stern, resolute face.
"Guilliman, has this fog clouded your mind? Were the loyal worlds they slaughtered an illusion? Were the Imperial soldiers who died in their 'infiltration' operations an illusion? Their hands are drenched in the blood of the Imperium's people!"
"I am not denying the bloodiness of their methods, Dorn."
Guilliman met Dorn's piercing gaze without flinching.
"What I question is their 'true nature' and their 'ultimate objective.' Think about it. Of all the Legions, only the Alpha Legion cares nothing for honor. They are utterly pragmatic operatives. What is their creed? 'The ends justify any means.' Who does that sound like?"
He paused, his eyes instinctively flicking toward the Throne Hall. The answer needed no words.
"As for the killing..."
A trace of coldness entered Guilliman's voice.
"Do not forget the duties of Russ and his Wolf Cubs. If there can be one Russ, why could there not be another?"
Guilliman did not name Lion El'Jonson, but the image of that "disgraceful troublemaker" flashed through the minds of the few Custodians who knew the truth.
Dorn's brow furrowed deeply. Guilliman's comparison was cutting, but not entirely without merit.
The Emperor's Imperium had never been built on pure benevolence.
Indeed, bloodshed within the Imperium had begun far earlier.
Those two vanished Legions,