Wasting no time, the Lord of Macragge stepped forward to issue his final commands. He turned first to his First Captain, his voice powerful with the weight of the authority he carried.
"Captain Agemman, you are charged with remaining here in the strategium. You will take personal command of the defence of the Fortress of Hera. Do not allow these walls to fall while we are occupied elsewhere."
Agemman struck his chest plate in a salute, accepting the duty with honour. Calgar then gestured toward the Chief Librarian and the Grand Master of the Grey Knights.
"Tigurius, Grand Master Voldus, you shall accompany us to the Shrine of Guilliman," Calgar declared. "You will lead an addition of the Honour Guard, our brothers of the 3rd Company, and the Terminators of the 1st. Should any among these pilgrims or Xenos prove treacherous, they will find themselves facing no shortage of executioners."
Calgar said this for all to hear, to make sure everyone understood the stakes.
Saint Celestine stepped forward, her features shining bright with gratitude.
"Praise be to your wisdom, Lord Calgar," she said softly. "The Emperor's light guides your judgment in this dark hour."
By contrast, Yvraine's expression remained mysterious, her alien eyes betraying nothing of her thoughts. Archmagos Cawl merely shifted his mechanical weight, and his mechandrites moved through various motions, his synthesised vocal emitters releasing a hiss of steam that sounded remarkably like impatience.
"The chronometers do not pause for sentiment, Lord Calgar," he spoke flatly. "We should be about our business."
As the group began to move toward the inner sanctums of the fortress, Inquisitor Greyfax and Marshal Amalrich exchanged a meaningful, wordless glance.
They moved together to the very rear of the group, their weapons were ready and on guard. The message was clear: the Ultramarines would not be the only ones to turn their guns upon Cawl and his questionable allies should their intentions and words of hope prove false.
Gerhard walked with the Sisters and Lencillus at his side. He was marvelling at the sheer scale of the Fortress of Hera, interested in how it was created and how long it took to create all this. And more importantly, whether this was grander than it had been when Guilliman had still been around.
Probably not, but you never knew what the Ultramarines had accomplished in 10,000 years.
What he did know, though, was that things weren't going as well as they had hoped. The battle outside was still going on, and it wouldn't be long now until the Chaos forces overwhelmed the Ultramarines. Gerhard used his skills to listen in on thousands of Vox channels and build a mental image of the battle.
Thanks to [Battle Plan] and his increased intelligence and eidetic memory, this was possible now. They had to hurry up.
.
Entering the resting place of Roboute Guilliman felt like stepping into a new realm for Gerhard. It was like a presence still loomed over them and was ready to strike at any moment. The chamber was enormous to say the least, an expansive tomb that could have comfortably accommodated a Warlord Titan.
Seriously ridiculously large. For no reason whatsoever. Gerhard rolled his eyes at the dramatics.
Marble columns supported a ceiling of stained armaglass, worth millions if not billions of resources to create, while trillions suffered and starved. Spectacular statues depicting Guilliman's greatest deeds were arranged throughout the chamber, illuminated by flickering lights that lent the images weight and importance.
The smell of incense and the soft sounds of prayers could be heard, adding to Gerhard's revulsion.
Despite the shrine's grandeur, everyone was drawn to the magnificent figure enthroned at one end, surrounded by a collection of white light.
There, upon a throne crafted from marble, gold, and finely worked adamantium, sat Roboute Guilliman.
[Observe]
Roboute Guilliman – Lv.??
|HP: ?
|MP: ?
|The Primarch of the Ultramarines. A being of superhuman flesh, impossible intellect, and latent Warp-divine essence shaped into living form by the Emperor of Mankind. Though not a conventional psyker, his existence bends the limits of mortal biology and reason.
| Currently kept in stasis and mere moments away from death.
---
"Yeah, that was to be expected," Gerhard said under his breath.
There were most definitely more than 50 levels between Gerhard and Roboute. And his stats were most likely ridiculous as well, and since Gerhard had no interest in fighting the blue man, he didn't care for the stats.
Esoteric and old machinery loomed over the Primarch's throne, thrumming and murmuring as it delivered remarkable energies through ribbed cables, enveloping him in a stasis field.
Guilliman sat as if he were in deep thought, his eyes were closed, and what was most striking was the clear line where a sword had cut through his neck, and blood could be seen. Thanks to the stasis field, everything was frozen in time, as if he had been plucked from the moment 10,000 years ago.
He wore his exquisitely crafted battle armour, still marked by the damage he sustained during his final duel with the Daemon Primarch Fulgrim.
Across his knees lay a grand sword of impressive size.
Seeing the sword, Gerhard suddenly felt a massive pull from it. He used his skill.
[Observe]
[The Emperor of Mankind's Sword - Rank: Mythical]
|The weapon forged by the Emperor of Mankind Himself, combining unmatched mastery of science and the Warp.
| The blade burns with his immense psychic and divine power, annihilating daemonic entities from existence.
- Durability: ???
- Damage: ??? (Scales with wielder)
- Critical Chance: *##!%
---
Special Effects:
Anathema to Chaos
| +500% damage vs:
| → Daemons
| → Warp entities
| → Corrupted beings
| Contact with the blade causes rapid disintegration
---
True Death
| Daemons slain are permanently destroyed
| Cannot return to the Warp
---
Divine Flame
| Blade is wreathed in psychic fire
| Continuous burn damage
| Bypasses regeneration and Warp healing
---
Divine Empowerment
| Weapon scales with:
| → Willpower
| → Psychic strength
| → Purpose
---
Hidden Potential
| Additional abilities remain locked
| Only fully usable by beings of extreme power
--
...
The blade of the Emperor himself. Gerhard was in awe and also a bit confused. This was the first Mythical-grade item he had seen to date, but why did he feel such a strong pull toward it? The stasis field should have frozen in time, and yet... something was going on.
'Probably the title: Emperor's Chosen.'
Although the Primarch appeared peaceful upon his throne, the sheer magnitude of his presence was palpable, even across time.
They approached the throne in reverent silence, accompanied by their Ultramarines escort, with Cawl's auto reliquary following behind. The group halted near the base of the steps leading up to the Primarch, where countless Ultramarines had knelt in camaraderie over the millennia.
Marneus Calgar stepped forward to stand at the very foot of the steps, bowing his head in reverence to his Primarch for a moment before turning to face the assembled group.
The sounds of battle outside were still audible, even in this place and as time passed, Gerhard felt his [Danger Sense] starting to activate for the first time. It was a weaker feeling, but it was nonetheless there.
Calgar drew a deep breath, his massive shoulders rising as he looked at the mechanical Archmagos with a look that promised pain and destruction if he didn't get the answer he wished.
"I have indulged your mystery long enough, Belisarius Cawl," he commanded. "A desperate battle rages outside these walls, and I will offer you no more time or patience. State your business here, now."
Archmagos Cawl inclined his cowled head, his vocal emitters crackling and sparking at times as he began to tell an incredible, ancient tale.
"In the years before your father was mortally wounded, he summoned me into his confidence," Cawl explained. "My mem-engrams of that meeting are eroded and incomplete, yet I know I was tasked with a great labour—one for which I would be richly rewarded with information only a Primarch could provide."
'Mem-engrams... I'm going to cringe out of my skin here,' Gerhard thought.
High Gothic was like a new language, and the words the Mechanicum used for the simplest things, like memory, were stupid, and his eyes were about to pop out at this rate.
As Calgar was about to ask what he meant by that, Cawl raised a metal appendage to stop the angry response.
"I am not free to reveal the nature of my full task," the Magos stated flatly. "But my labours were divided into two parts, and I am here to deliver the first. As Saint Gerhard has so prematurely revealed, I bring a superb suit of armour fit for the Ultramarines Primarch, possessing systems with the power to heal his grievous wounds and keep him alive."
Hearing this from Cawl personally had a different effect on those present than when Gerhard had said it previously. Things were going too slow for Gerhard's liking, and the stunned, awed silence was getting on his nerves.
"Could we speed this up? This isn't that hard to create, so what was the big deal?" he said.
Cawl narrowed his lenses at Gerhard angrily and with wounded pride.
"Your lack of knowledge is what should urge you to remain silent. Whatever prowess you possess that concerns the Warp, technology is another matter entirely."
"Hahaha, oh my."
Gerhard laughed because the fact that Cawl couldn't tell what kind of armour he was wearing was all the proof he needed.
"Lord Gerhard has all the capabilities in such matters. He was the one to create my Allarus Pattern Terminator Power Armour from the scraps found in the Underhive."
The deep and powerful voice of Lencillus put an end to this discussion.
Another stunned and awed silence permeated the chamber. The thought of restoring one of the Emperor's greatest sons in the Imperium's darkest hour filled every Imperial warrior with wonder, and the thought that there was another individual who could create mind-boggling armour from scraps was, not quite as impressive, but still impressive.
Into this silence, Yvraine stepped forward.
"I am the Emissary of Ynnead, the God of the Dead," she announced to the puzzled audience. "This one has laboured long, but his efforts alone will not be enough. Such a miracle cannot be brought about without sacrifice."
She looked directly at Calgar, her eyes cold and alien to the Chapter Master.
"For your Primarch to live once more... first he must die."
Where Cawl's words had brought silence, Yvraine's words raised a storm of fury and twitchy fingers who were about to pull the triggers on the witch.
"No Xenos witch will ever lay a hand upon the Primarch while I draw breath!" Calgar roared, his face roaring with rage.
Grand Master Voldus moved to stand alongside Calgar, his expression grim, as his psychic presence began to surge.
Inquisitor Greyfax and Marshal Amalrich followed the Grey Knights example, their hands tightening around their weapons and ready to attack.
Around the strategium, the Ultramarines raised their Bolters, aiming them at Cawl, the Ynnari, and the hulking shape of the auto-reliquary itself, awaiting only the order to open fire.
Gerhard sighed at the stupidity of Yvraine. That wasn't something she had to say, was it? She could have claimed to use her powers to facilitate the process, but no, she had to speak so plainly to Xenophobic and stiff humans who were thinking about letting them close to their Primarch.
Some voices raised in support of what seemed like madness.
"I am bound by a pact made with the Primarch himself!" Cawl loudly proclaimed, his mechanical appendages whirring with agitation.
"I have laboured for ten millennia to fulfil my end of the bargain, and I shall see it through to the end, regardless of your interference!"
Saint Celestine stepped forward, her wings glowing with a soft, ethereal light as she sought to soothe the anger in the room.
"Have faith!" she urged. "The Emperor's hand has guided us through the darkness of the Warp and the fires of Cadia to this very moment. I assure you now: this is, indeed, the will of the Emperor."
The most surprising intervention came from Chief Librarian Tigurius. He strode forward, the force staff he had in his hand rang sharply against the stone floor as he took his place beside Magos Cawl.
"Lord Calgar, I ask that you trust my counsel once more," Tigurius said. "I have glimpsed this future in my visions, the iron birds, the blazing sword, and the holy light. To deny these travellers now is to deny the path the Emperor has laid before us."
Amidst the storm of angry voices and drawn weapons and a situation that was about to erupt into massive violence, Marneus Calgar's vox chimed insistently in his ear.
Irritated, the Chapter Master accepted the priority vox hail.
"Yes! This better be--!!"
[Danger Sense]
Calgar's eyes widened.
"GET DOWN!!" his voice boomed over the commotion.
BOOOOOOOOOMMMM----!!!