=== Maximus ===
The distant sound of battle brought Maximus back to consciousness, the sounds of clashing blades, roaring flames, and daemonic shrieks pulling him from the merciful dark, only for the first horrifying realization to hit him was he could feel nothing below his waist.
His legs were lying limp and uselessly beneath the rent and ruined wreckage of his power armor, its plates shattered and fused with scorched flesh from the catastrophic fall.
Every breath he took was a tortured struggle, two of his lungs having collapsed and filled with blood while one of his hearts had fallen silent.
He could feel the severed ruin of his spine sending only phantom echoes of pain through his shattered nervous system. Blood bubbled from his lips as he fought for air, the metallic taste flooding his mouth, yet the unrelenting clamor of combat nearby forced his head to turn with agonizing effort, his vision swimming as he took in the nightmarish battlefield around him.
There, standing like specters wreathed in eternal flame and smoke, were two Astartes he had never seen in this life yet recognized instantly from the deepest legends of the Imperium.
They were Legion of the Damned, the Emperor's own spectral warriors who appeared only in the direst hours to deliver salvation or final judgment.
One bore the insignia of the Salamanders on his left shoulder, a burning brazier mounted upon his backpack that poured forth holy promethium flames, his multi-melta glowing white-hot as he incinerated entire hordes of daemons pouring from the surrounding warped terrain, the weapon's devastating beams turning writhing Tzeentchian horrors and Slaaneshi abominations into nothing but ash and fading screams.
The other was a Black Templar, a glowing wreath of flames crowning his helm like a crown of holy retribution, storm shield blazing on his left arm while the unmistakable black blade of the Darksaber hummed in his right hand, carving through anything foolish enough to approach. On his shoulder gleamed the Black Templar cross, and in that moment of clarity Maximus knew with absolute certainty that his brothers had returned one final time from beyond death itself to guard him in his darkest hour.
Understanding what he had to do, what the Emperor demanded of the last surviving original Space Marine of this Universe, Maximus rolled onto his stomach with a pained grunt that tore fresh blood from his lips, his eyes fixing on the dark altar pulsing with malevolent energy roughly a hundred feet away across the broken, daemon-infested ground.
He planted his fists into the corrupted dirt and began to drag his broken body forward, every agonizing pull sending white-hot lances of pain through his ruined torso and severed spine, his useless legs trailing behind like dead weight as blood smeared a path across the earth.
The task was slow, each inch forward a battle against his failing body and the crushing weight of his injuries, yet he refused to stop, teeth gritted and breath coming in ragged, bloody gasps while the two spectral Astartes fought with renewed fury to protect him.
Raxor's multi-melta roared in sweeping wide bursts that turned charging packs of daemons into vaporized mist and melted stone, the flames from his brazier creating a protective inferno that burned anything that drew too close, while Sebastian danced through the press with the Darksaber, the black blade leaving trails of nothingness as it bisected daemons and severed the limbs of leaping horrors, his storm shield bashing back anything that survived the initial strikes.
Some daemons inevitably slipped past the spectral guardians in the chaotic swirl of battle, slavering beasts and sorcerous constructs lunging toward the crawling Ultramarine with talons and Warpfire extended, only to be cut down in flashes of holy fire and void-black steel as Raxor and Sebastian slowly gave ground, their forms flickering like dying embers yet never faltering in their solemn duty.
Maximus dragged himself onward through it all, his vision narrowing to the dark altar ahead, every pull accompanied by the thunderous roar of the multi-melta incinerating a leaping daemon that had nearly reached him, and the singing hum of the Darksaber as Sebastian carved through a swarm of daemonettes that had broken through the flames.
The two Legion of the Damned warriors fought even harder now, their spectral presence burning brighter as they positioned themselves to shield their dying brother, buying him precious seconds and inches with every heroic stand while the greater battle for the obelisk and the fate of the galaxy continued to rage in the distance. Maximus's world had shrunk to the burning pain in his arms, the wet rattle in his chest, and the unyielding will that drove him forward, one agonizing pull at a time.
He dragged his broken body across the final agonizing meters with nothing left but his unbreakable will, his fingers digging furrows into the corrupted earth as blood streamed from his mouth and ruined torso, every pull a herculean effort that sent fresh waves of torment through his collapsed lungs, silent heart, and severed spine.
Inch by torturous inch he crawled until his trembling hands finally reached the base of the dark altar, and with a guttural cry that tore what remained of his voice he began to claw his way upward along its jagged length, his armor scraping against its ancient stone as the pulsing malevolent energy within the structure seemed to resist his very presence.
At the summit rested the crystal, a throbbing heart of pure corruption encased in a translucent barrier that shimmered with unholy power. Maximus reached out with his right hand, pushing through the barrier despite the immediate, searing agony as it began to devour his gauntlet and flesh alike, the armor surrounding his fingers and palm disintegrating molecule by molecule in a horrific cascade of melting ceramite and burning meat that ripped an agonized scream from deep within his chest.
Yet he did not falter. He pressed forward through the excruciating pain until his fingers, now little more than exposed muscle, sinew, and bone, closed around the crystal.
With a final, desperate surge of strength, he wrenched it free from its pedestal, causing a burst of shattering energies that sent cracks racing through the altar itself.
All remaining power fled his body in that instant, and Maximus collapsed heavily to the ground beside the altar, rolling onto his back with his head resting against the cold stone as his vision swam and darkened at the edges, his wheezing breaths growing shallower and more labored while he watched his spectral brothers continue their solemn vigil.
Raxor's multi-melta roared without pause, incinerating wave after wave of daemons in sweeping cones of holy fire that turned the battlefield into an inferno, while Sebastian carved through the press with the Darksaber's void-black edge.
With no strength left to smash the crystal, Maximus slowly reached back to his waist, his movements feeble and trembling as he pulled free a lightsaber, the one he had quietly taken from Nira just before activating the teleportarium to save her and the wounded Chapter Masters.
His hand trembled violently as he positioned the weapon, the green blade humming to life the moment his failing fingers pressed the activation button, driving it straight through the heart of the black crystal with the last reserves of his will.
The crystal shattered in an underwhelming cascade of shards, simply falling to the ground in a pitiful display.
Though what happened after was not so pitiful.
Ripples of purifying energy exploded outward, causing every daemon fighting nearby to scream and convulse violently before exploding into dissipating clouds of Warp essence, their forms unraveling in spectacular bursts of color and fading screams.
The massive floating obelisk high above groaned and fractured, then came crashing down to the ground with earth-shaking force, its colossal point slamming into the earth mere meters from Maximus before toppling in the opposite direction, finally revealing the open, blood-red sky above him as the corrupted structure collapsed in on itself.
Maximus slowly turned his head upward, his fading vision catching the glorious sight of the shield surrounding Abeloth's planet flickering and then dissolving entirely, exposing the colossal form of the SunEater hanging in orbit amid the ongoing void battle, its massive batteries still thundering against the traitor fleet.
He watched with quiet awe as the station's main cannon began to power up, brilliant blue energy gathering along its length that bathed the entire battlefield below in light.
His breathing slowed to faint, ragged whispers as his remaining heart struggled and his body finally began to surrender.
His brothers solemnly walked over to him through the fading chaos, their spectral flames dimming as they came to stand before their fallen comrade, standing as silent guardians in his final moments.
With his dying breath, Maximus gazed up at the SunEater's cannon as it fired, the colossal blue beam of annihilation lancing downward toward the now-vulnerable planet in a pillar of purifying judgment that lit the entire sky.
"Oh," He said gently, its blue light filling his eyes.
"How beautiful."
=== Vulkan ===
Vulkan fought with his fallen brother, the duel between them destroying the land around them.
Magnus, empowered by the boundless might of the Warp as a true Daemon Primarch, held the upper hand through sheer sorcerous versatility, his single eye blazing with malice as he unleashed bolts of mutating fire and telekinetic blasts that scorched Vulkan's armor and forced the Lord of Drakes onto the defensive.
In a single moment of sheer brutality, Vulkan delivered a devastating strike to Magnus's knee with the full weight of Urdrakule, the impact shattering unnatural bone and forcing the towering Daemon Primarch down with a roar of pain and surprise, allowing Vulkan to follow through with a crushing overhead blow that cracked the hammer's head squarely across Magnus's face in a spray of Warp essence and heretical blood, staggering the sorcerer and buying precious seconds.
Vulkan risked a lightning-fast glance upward toward the floating island high in the blood-red skies, his noble heart clenching at the sight of the desperate struggle unfolding far above before he twisted aside just in time to evade a retaliatory strike from Magnus that would have turned his lungs to frozen amber, the Warp-infused staff whistling past his pauldron and freezing the air in its wake.
Seizing the initiative with his immeasurable strength, Vulkan caught the staff in one massive gauntlet, his hand beginning to crystallize and turn to ice from the corrupting touch even as he brought Urdrakule up in a savage swing that snapped Magnus's arm at the elbow with a sickening crack.
He wrenched the weapon free as Magnus gave a shout of pain, hurling the weapon away into the ruins with a roar of triumph.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of something plummeting from the platform above, and watched as Kharath's body was impaled gruesomely upon the black obelisk in a trail of dissolving essence, while Maximus's broken form tumbled into the massive canyon where the primary relic resided, a sight that sent a surge of grief and renewed purpose through the Primarch's veins.
Magnus crashed into him with a storm of raw sorcery before he could fully process what he had seen, seizing Vulkan's head in both clawed hands and flooding his skull with searing Warp lightning that scorched his mind and threatened to fry his brain in an instant of agonizing white fire, visions of forgotten betrayals and daemonic temptations flashing through his thoughts.
It worked for a terrible moment, pain lancing through Vulkan's very soul, but the Lord of Drakes pushed forward with a bellow of defiance, smashing Urdrakule into Magnus's ribs with enough force to cave in daemonic bone and send the Daemon Primarch reeling backward in a spray of ethereal blood.
The two brothers fought for a time more, when suddenly, a massive explosion of purifying energy erupted across the plains of Abeloth's planet as the crystal far below shattered, pulverizing all lesser Warp beings in waves of holy retribution that left only Magnus standing amid the fading echoes of daemonic screams.
Vulkan immediately roared across the plain to all remaining loyalist forces, his voice carrying across the distance.
"All troops, evacuate immediately!"
In brilliant flashes of light, the surviving Astartes vanished from the battlefield, whisked back to the safety of the SunEater as the shield far above began to collapse.
Magnus watched with dawning horror as the SunEater's main cannon began to power up in orbit, its colossal barrel glowing with apocalyptic blue energy.
He scrambled desperately toward his discarded staff to flee the coming annihilation.
Vulkan leaped onto his brother's back with an earth-shaking roar, wrapping the shaft of Urdrakule around Magnus's neck in a chokehold while planting his feet firmly into the corrupted ground, anchoring them both in place as the massive blue beam descended from the heavens like the Emperor's own judgment.
"Come, brother!" Vulkan shouted. "Join me in oblivion if only for a single moment!"
Magnus thrashed wildly, his wings beating frantically as he clawed at the hammer's haft.
"Release me, you fool!" he screamed, his voice laced with genuine terror as the blinding blue light grew ever closer, vaporizing everything in its path.
Vulkan held firm with his immeasurable strength, simply closing his eyes and accepting his fate as the SunEater's fire engulfed them both in purifying annihilation.
===
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