As Azrael was defeated in his duel with Abaddon, the fate of Vigil was plunged into darkness, with the Orks, Chaos Warriors, and Imperial forces engaging in a frenzied battle for control of the ground.
Every block was repeatedly contested, and intense artillery fire battered the ruined streets again and again.
The surviving Imperial citizens were evacuated to various shelters, and logistical units transported them to orbit, then sent them to other safe star sectors.
Those who remained experienced horrifying, hellish scenes, with eerie, noisy wandering spirits and various unsettling omens causing even greater panic among all who saw them.
As night fell, the Great Rift became exceptionally prominent, constantly changing colors, from its initial white to a putrid violet.
Command marked all anomalies on the operational map; they resembled many mold spots growing on a damp wall.
Numerous Psyker divined these phenomena, predicting the future development of the situation.
However, each result consistently showed a massive vessel crushing stars, symbolizing that Vigil was destined to be destroyed by the Vengeful Spirit.
Just as the remaining Imperial forces felt despair, Calgar arrived with a powerful Imperial fleet to provide support.
The warships, grand in scale, blotted out the sky, and their appearance quickly suppressed the Chaos and Ork forces, regaining the advantage in the void battlefield.
However, the true battlefield was no longer in the void, but on the surface.
Abaddon's subordinate, Star-Slayer Harken, joined the ground assault with nine Word Bearers war leaders.
These nine Word Bearers leaders were collectively known as the 'Triple Demonic Conclave'.
They enslaved many Imperial citizens, building Black Stone Demon Crowns at Vigil's geomorphic nodes to manipulate Warp energy and perform rituals to summon Warp fiend allies.
With each conquered area, the Word Bearers would drag it into a dark abyss.
Countless terrifying monsters roamed the fallen areas; no living person dared to walk in those dark regions, as various twisted fiends and ghosts would brazenly devour everything.
As the Word Bearers acted, Vigil's Black Stone field was slowly being reversed, causing the Nakmund Corridor to shrink.
Black Stone is a very special mineral; it possesses Warp duality, capable of repelling Warp influence or acting as a Chaos amplifier.
The Nakmund Corridor exists precisely because of the presence of Black Stone.
Vigil, located in the dark side of the Imperium, and the Sacred Land of the Red Earth Star both have vast Black Stone deposits.
Beneath the strata of these two worlds are buried many Black Stone 'drainage needles'—on both planets, these long, spike-like unnatural Black Stone creations point towards each other's locations.
They echo each other, maintaining an anti-Warp field, creating the Nakmund Corridor, a special passage.
According to intelligence provided by Trazyn the Infinite, the two planets were creations of the Star Gods in ancient times, intended to counter the Warp.
Unfortunately, over time, most of the Black Stone fields were destroyed, which led to the entire galaxy being torn apart.
Abaddon's mission was simple: to close the Nakmund Corridor and weaken the Imperium's strength.
For this, he did not intend to eliminate all Imperial forces on Vigil, as that would take too long.
Once Guilliman or Lion, these two Primarchs, returned, it was highly likely to result in failure.
Therefore, he simply aimed to destroy as much anti-Warp Black Stone as possible, install Black Stone Demon Crowns to resonate with the Warp, and close the Nakmund Corridor.
And now, the Chaos forces had already installed enough Demon Crowns at the local psychic ley line nodes, and would soon reverse the polarity of Vigil's Black Stone strata, turning the entire world into a focal point of Chaos energy, thereby closing the corridor.
Calgar had originally intended to gather superior forces to retake Vigil first.
However, the order he received was to prioritize finding the Vengeful Spirit, even if Vigil fell.
For this reason, he did not truly regain control of Vigil's void battlefield, merely opening a path to deploy forces to the surface to support Azrael.
Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, Baal, also quietly arrived in Vigil's airspace during this time; they stayed away from the battlefield, awaiting the appearance of the Vengeful Spirit.
With the support of reinforcements, the Chaos forces were stuck at the final step of their plan; they still needed to construct a few more Demon Crowns to meet the ritual's requirements.
However, the Imperial army, led by Calgar, resisted with exceptional stubbornness; after a period of stalemate, Abaddon finally couldn't help but enter the fray.
As the Vengeful Spirit appeared on the battlefield, countless demons also descended.
Every Imperial warship was attacked.
Reality shone, torn apart, and demons pouring from the Warp rifts directly assailed the Bridge crew, including the flagship, the Victory Laureate.
If not for the Players' selfless support,
this alone might have caused the Imperial fleet to collapse and fall into desperation.
The Players shouted and fought the demons within the warships, yet their numbers were simply too great; no matter how hard they tried, the demon count did not decrease at all.
During this time, Imperial heroes such as the Emperor's Living Saint, Celestine, the legendary Grey Knights Grand Master, Handsome guy, and the rumored Sly Marbo, who could kill twenty Greater Daemons with a single grenade, appeared one after another to help the Imperium defend the Vigil line.
Facing the stalemate, Abaddon chose to personally enter the battle; to weaken the ground defenders' resistance, the Despoiler issued an orbital bombardment order.
Powerful torpedoes and missiles rained down on Vigil's surface, and thick light spears pierced the heavens and earth, resembling magnificent pillars of light.
The ground endured saturation bombing; some anti-Warp Black Stone nodes were destroyed, and the cursed scars, originally confined to the edge of the system, converged inwards.
And on Vigil's surface, as the anti-repulsion field weakened, the Black Stone Demon Crowns built by the Word Bearers came into full operation.
The dam of laws maintaining Reality collapsed, and the Warp fiends materialized one after another, turning countless areas into ghost realms.
Calgar personally held the line, defending the last few vital key nodes to prevent Vigil from completely falling into the abyss.
To thoroughly crush the Imperial resistance, Abaddon chose an airborne assault.
As Abaddon declared war on Calgar in the Imperium, the Blood Angels and special teams hidden at the edge of the battlefield also sprang into action.
They launched a surprise attack from the flank of the battlefield, heading straight for the Vengeful Spirit.
The Vengeful Spirit's shields were incredibly robust, easily deflecting every shell, torpedo, and light spear fired by Imperial warships.
Even though the Imperial fleet's warships had all been modified and their firepower enhanced, they still couldn't truly break through the Vengeful Spirit's shields.
It was literally impenetrable.
This was because Abaddon had prepared an entire coven of Chaos Sorcerers, masters of prophetic magic, for the Vengeful Spirit.
They continuously performed prophecies, allocating energy to areas that would be attacked.
At the same time, the Red Corsairs fleet had always served as the Vengeful Spirit's protective detail, fending off most of the Imperial fleet's firepower.
But a Harlequin troupe provided assistance, allowing the Imperial forces to successfully pry open the Vengeful Spirit's turtle shell.
Immediately following was a massive boarding action.
Hundreds of teams in assault craft bypassed the Vengeful Spirit's outer defenses and stormed into the Vengeful Spirit's interior.
Some Player teams also forcibly entered the Vengeful Spirit using teleportation.
Fierce battles erupted in various corners of the Vengeful Spirit.
However, they were all just a diversion.
The true main force was the special operations team led by Erlonghu Gang Leader.
They were to retrieve Sanguinius's lost soul.
The operations team was sent to the boarding deck closest to the Bridge; with the assault of the teams ahead, the Vengeful Spirit's forces had their attention drawn away.
When the special team landed, they were not immediately attacked.
"This place is perfect for a horror movie," Erlonghu Gang Leader looked around.
The scene inside the Vengeful Spirit could absolutely be called hell.
The warship's interior had been corrupted by Chaos beyond recognition, with flesh growing everywhere in the corridors.
Transparent blood vessels converged into rivers of blood, and the path underfoot was covered in mucus like a tongue.
"The Vengeful Spirit was once the domain of the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods; if it weren't terrifying, that would be the problem," The one who declares war when not being a dog watched his surroundings warily, fearing a head might suddenly pop out of a wall.
The other Players were the same.
Warp corruption was far more potent than any horror movie.
Forget heads growing out of walls, it wouldn't be surprising for a few Vengeful Spirits to crawl out.
It's just that Vengeful Spirits aren't strong enough in this kind of combat and would be beaten by the Astartes until they cried for their mothers.
"Advance," Mefiston, who was accompanying them, gave the order, "Find the The Great Angel's soul."
The team moved past the pulsating flesh, jogging towards their destination.
Along the way, they saw many deep pits resembling throats.
From the depths of some dark corridors came the sound of a beating heart.
Sometimes, they could even see residual images of past years.
Mutants and Warp fiends were hidden in the walls or around corridor corners.
When the team approached, they would burst out of the walls or suddenly leap out, roaring as they attacked.
The Players fought bravely, using various methods to slay the monsters, paving the way for the team with their lives.
Mefiston and the other Blood Angels assisted from the side.
With every step forward, Players continuously sacrificed themselves and fell.
"Damn it!"
A Player shouted, grabbed by a giant fleshy hand from the ceiling.
Several mouths with sharp teeth tore at his body.
The others looked up, raised their guns, and shot, killing the ambushing monster.
But the Player who had died tragically was already in pieces.
"Good thing we brought the God Chosen."
Mefiston couldn't imagine how many people they would have to lose to reach the Vengeful Spirit's Bridge if they hadn't had the God Chosen.
"That's a pretty gruesome death."
"Torn to pieces, take pictures, take pictures, congratulations to him for unlocking a new way to die."
The other Players were grinning, not at all saddened by their companion's demise.
The team pushed deeper, finally entering the Vengeful Spirit's Bridge.
It was even more terrifying here, with loyalist corpses hanging everywhere, and Chaos-corrupted Mutants maintaining the Vengeful Spirit's operations.
Some Chaos Warriors also patrolled back and forth here.
The team engaged in battle with these enemies.
Minutes later, all enemies were cleared; once the last Mutant was killed, the Players and Blood Angels began searching for Sanguinius's soul.
However, after a search, they found nothing.
Apart from pulsating flesh, tragic corpses, and machines fused with demons, there was nothing else on the Bridge.
"I think this sculpture has a problem."
Erlonghu Gang Leader stood before a grotesque, flesh-decorated sculpture.
It was a terrifying angel with broken limbs, like a rotting corpse; it held a long spear, and its wings behind it were spread, revealing stark white bones, looking somewhat horrifying.
"There is indeed a problem," Mefiston examined the sculpture, then walked up and reached out to sense what was inside.
Infinite resentment and despair filled the sculpture, almost shattering Mefiston's soul.
If he hadn't accepted the power of the Black Angel, he might truly have perished on the spot.
When Mefiston endured the first wave of dark power, he felt a sacred, immensely powerful force, with a sense of blood connection.
"Father," Mefiston exclaimed.
He realized that the soul sealed within this sculpture was indeed the The Great Angel's.
"Sanguinius?"
The Players also came closer, examining the sculpture together.
"Should we move him?"
"Let's move him, what else can we do?"
"It's quite large; moving it will take a long time."
The Players discussed animatedly, debating how to carry Sanguinius's soul away.
Mefiston removed his gauntlet, pulled out a dagger, and then cut his palm.
Crimson blood gushed out.
But the powerful physique of a Primaris Astartes caused his wound to clot quickly.
Before it healed, Mefiston smeared the blood onto the sculpture.
"By the blood of the son, I awaken the soul of the father."
"Awaken, The Great Angel, you have slept long enough."
As Mefiston whispered, cracks appeared on the sculpture, and brilliant light burst forth from within.
The flesh turned to dust in the light, disappearing without a trace.
The twisted, horrifying outer shell of the sculpture also shattered, and a holy golden soul appeared before everyone.
The soul was like a sun, radiating bright light; the shadows lurking within the Vengeful Spirit emitted painful sounds, fleeing to places the golden light could not reach.
"Sanguinius?"
"The The Great Angel?"
"Just a partial soul has such power; how strong would he be if all his souls were collected?"
"As expected of a man who can contend with the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods; he has three-tenths of my splendor."
The Players' eyes widened as they looked at Sanguinius's soul, discussing animatedly.
The soul on the Vengeful Spirit was more complete than the remnant souls they had previously encountered, hence its power was even more exaggerated.
And at this moment, a group of Chaos Warriors surged in from outside the Bridge, intending to prevent the special team from taking Sanguinius's soul.
"Come, Father, let us go home," Mefiston stepped forward, extending his hand to the golden soul.