Early Warning

The Universal Museum is a landmark built by the people of Calth. To be precise, it is a massive pyramid structure with its three corners resting upon three smaller pyramids. Constructed from ashlar and plaster, it stands as a testament to the wisdom and craftsmanship of Calth's engineers.

Ten kilometers away, the Universal Museum already loomed into view—a vast, magnificent architectural complex. Lox and his companions soon arrived in the vicinity of this breathtaking structure.

By the time they arrived, the Ultramarines who had departed earlier were nowhere to be seen.

On the grand avenue in front of the Universal Museum, numerous banners fluttered in the wind, bearing emblems depicting the Imperium, Ultramar, or the Ultramarines. Beneath these banners lay lush, beautiful gardens, where the rainbows formed by misting fountains made the area look like a fairyland.

As soon as they entered the inner court, mortal servants clad in the Universal Museum's livery hurried forward to relay a message from Ventanus.

"Gentlemen, Lord Ventanus requests that you proceed immediately to the inner hall upon your arrival. Please, follow me."

Inside the inner hall of the Universal Museum, Ventanus had already mobilized all servants and staff for an emergency. He had declared a state of war, ordering the spaceport administrators currently in session to mobilize immediately and report the latest movements of the Word Bearers.

"Abut, Dario, and Overseer Etwin, return to your posts at once. Notify the other Ultramarines units in the region to assemble immediately."

"Send a Level One alert to the orbital platforms and surface watchtowers; have them prime their weapon systems."

"Transmit a warning signal to the Ultramarines Legion warships in low orbit; have them engage their engines and maintain a state of high alert."

A series of orders were issued in an orderly fashion. Ventanus even abandoned the polite and peaceful demeanor the Ultramarines usually maintained toward mortals; everything was done to ensure the entire system operated at maximum speed.

"My lord, the group you mentioned has arrived, along with two Ultramarines," the mortal servant approached and whispered his report.

Ventanus walked toward Wayland, Tassa, and the others, shaking their hands warmly to express his gratitude. To Lox's surprise, this Ultramarines Captain also expressed his thanks to him, despite his place among the crowd.

"Respected friends, the information you brought is invaluable. Currently, two hundred thousand Ultramarines of the XIII Legion are assembling, and the vast majority of our warships, including the Macragge's Honour, are docked at the orbital starport. I dare not imagine the catastrophic consequences had the Word Bearers launched an attack while we were caught off guard."

Ventanus spoke these words directly to Lox. Guilliman's sons possessed great political acumen, and he had long since deduced the status of Lox—a seemingly ordinary mortal—in the eyes of his two companions.

Clearly, he was the one who made the decisions.

"No thanks are necessary; I have my own mission to fulfill." Lox felt no excessive pride; after ten thousand years of tempering, he had long since reached a state of indifference toward both honor and disgrace.

Regardless of anything else, he stood on the side of humanity. Whether the enemy was xenos or humans who chose to pledge themselves to the Warp, they were all enemies.

In front of a display stand, a kneeling figure that looked like a statue began to move. The servo-systems in his power armor whined, supporting a frame even more imposing than that of Ventanus as he stood up.

His master-crafted power armor was adorned with gilded wings and eagles, standing as immovable as a mountain.

"Lord Hero," Ventanus saluted in respect.

"I have heard your orders; you have done well." The Hero of Macragge, known as Lamiad, praised him with a smile. Compared to the stern-faced Ventanus, he appeared more composed, possessing an aura of unshakable strength.

The Four Heroes were a special administrative tier within the Ultramarines Legion. They represented the four worlds under Macragge's rule—Saramanth, Konor, Ocruda, and Iax—holding power and status above Chapter Masters and Planetary Governors, second only to the Primarch.

Lox noticed that the right side of this Hero's face was stunningly handsome, while the left was covered by a ceramic mask. The mechanical eye even possessed a lifelike pupil, which was currently fixed upon the group.

"The Legion stands on the brink of crisis. Fortunately, we have received a warning in advance."

Lamiad boosted morale, sensing the unease and tension in Ventanus and the others.

"If the Word Bearers truly choose a shameful betrayal, then we shall see the Perfect City burned for a second time!"

Orbital Watchtower.

Servitor-Master Hurst, clad in the crimson robes of the Adeptus Mechanicus, was busy within the datasphere of Calth. Over ten thousand people worked in this watchtower, a complex flow of personnel moving back and forth through the command station, processing the staggering number of starship movements in space.

The orbit of Calth had never been this busy.

Whether it was the bustling starports in space or the endless stream of transport convoys on the ground, they all required data support from the watchtower. Due to the Imperium's hardline stance against Abominable Intelligence, these Adeptus Mechanicus technicians relied on Cogitator systems to process the data.

Beside Hurst, sixty high-level technicians assisted in processing the information. At his closest proximity, a highly augmented, tall female technician noticed Hurst's suddenly spiking adrenaline levels.

"What is wrong with you?" Senior Technician Tauren sent a string of binary code to Hurst. This was the method of communication for internal Adeptus Mechanicus personnel; to them, code was more precise and efficient than the ambiguous High Gothic.

Under normal circumstances, Hurst would have responded more warmly to this Senior Technician for whom he harbored feelings of affection, but at this moment, the order from Numenas sent his logic modules into high-frequency operation.

"Is it that junk code? It has plagued us for a long time, and we still have no effective way to deal with it." Tauren's fingers danced over invisible keys. Not long ago, some inexplicable junk code had been discovered by technicians within Calth's datasphere.

A trace of extremely subtle, pathological information was lurking in the datasphere. It was not a virus or anything of the sort, but it was certainly not benign. The filtering systems could not purge it; it remained stubbornly rooted in the information stream.

"No, it is not that. It is a combat readiness order from the Universal Museum. Captain Ventanus reports that among the two Legions currently assembling above Calth, the incoming Word Bearers Legion is suspected of posing a high-level danger. The Lord Hero and Captain Ventanus have ordered the assembly of the fleet to be terminated."

The duty of a Servitor-Master was to ensure that complex orbital movements in space could harmonize with one another; a sudden change in mission was enough to throw them into chaos.

"Regardless, connect to the Macragge's Honour immediately and report the information," Hurst ordered. "And our other warships—they are all docked at the spaceport right now, with all engines shut down for maintenance and care."

However, just as the Servitor-Masters intended to transmit the information through the datasphere, the eight names that had entered the network via a sacrificial ritual—the Eightfold Path brought forth by Chaos cultists—finally revealed their true face.

They were the junk code that the technicians had deemed harmless yet impossible to remove, but at this moment, they manifested the traits of a corrosive, spreading, and indelible disease, as if activated.

The power of the Warp began to spread within the datasphere of Calth.