In the cold universe, a Warp rift suddenly opened at Mandeville Point, and the somewhat battered Divine Providence shot out of it with a whoosh.
The rift then healed shut under the power of the veil, leaving only traces of scattered blue-violet Warp energy slowly dissipating.
"By the Emperor, we've finally returned to realspace!"
"We were going mad! It's been five years! Do you know how I spent those five years?"
The crewmen and armed soldiers aboard the entire Lunar-class cruiser excitedly embraced one another and wept. Not even the Night Lords prowling around beside them could stop this outpouring of intense emotion.
Time spent drifting through the Warp was difficult to measure, but the ship's chronometers had ticked through at least five Terran years.
Ever since the great Word Bearers raid on Calth, when they used a Chaos ritual to summon the galaxy-spanning Ruinstorm, these unlucky souls had been adrift in the Warp.
Whether the Divine Providence truly bore a blessed destiny, they had somehow drifted through the aetheric waves stirred up by the Ruinstorm and survived that long stretch without serious incident. Yet just as they were about to reach Terra, trouble came again.
They encountered a Night Lords squad led by Sevatar.
Jeremiah drew a deep breath. Now that they had returned to realspace, it was time to make a choice.
No matter what, he could not let this band of traitors succeed in their plot. Jeremiah Blitz could be said to have served the Emperor faithfully.
He quietly exchanged a look with his subordinates, signaling for them to act according to the plan later.
The Night Lords' control over them was absurdly lax. Perhaps, as that smug scar-faced man had said, they merely wanted to hitch a ride.
The Divine Providence had not emerged at the