Their movements were perfectly synchronized. Behind the Adeptus Custodes stood another group of utterly different figures.
They wore pitch-black Power Armour, devoid of ornament or heraldry. Their helmets had no faceplates, revealing pale faces as expressionless as marble statues. Their eyes were empty and fathomless, as though gazing into some realm of nothingness beyond mortal reach.
The Sisters of Silence.
They were among the Imperium's most unusual weapons. Born as "black holes" of psychic power, their very presence created a "soul-null zone" around them, suppressing all supernatural forces. Within their fields, psykers felt weakness and terror, daemons were weakened or even banished, and any technological device dependent on psychic power ceased to function.
Saul entered the hangar.
He wore no additional equipment, only the golden Power Armour of the Sons of Sorrow Chapter, with a plain Power Sword hanging at his waist.
But the moment he entered, the atmosphere throughout the hangar changed.
The Adeptus Custodes stopped what they were doing, turned in unison, and gave him a regulation Imperial Army salute. Their movements were as perfectly matched as reflections in a mirror.
The Sisters of Silence bowed their heads slightly. For the first time, a faint, candlelike glimmer appeared in their empty eyes. It was an instinctive response to the power within Saul, which shared its source with the Emperor's.
Saul's gaze swept over these finest warriors of the Imperium before finally settling on Vilen.
Vilen had completed all his preparations for battle. His golden Power Armour gleamed beneath the lights. He held an enormous Guardian Spear in his right hand, while a Storm Shield wrought from pure gold was secured to his left arm. An Aquila with outspread wings was carved into the shield's face, with two tiny rubies set into its eyes, glittering blood-red beneath the lights.