The Siege of Terra was the most influential battle in the Horus Heresy and became a crucial turning point in the story of history as a whole.
The period begins in January of the fourteenth year of the thirtieth millennium and continues until early August.
In these seven months on Terra, countless lives were lost every day on Terra's battlefields.
The deaths and suffering of these existences became Chaos's food; Chaos increased its power and continued to erode Terra and the palace the Emperor protected, ultimately causing the entire galaxy to fall into the Warp.
The fighting was extremely fierce and completely changed the landscape of the Himalazian Mountains and plateau. Not only the Imperial Palace but the whole of Terra became ruins.
Those magnificent architectural clusters that had once symbolized the pinnacle of the Imperium of Man's technology and order were destroyed.
Through rebel orbital bombardment and ground attacks they became rubble.
Countless refugees were conscripted and ultimately lost their lives on the battlefield.
Afterwards, corpses piled up on the roads; vehicles had to crush them to reach their destinations.
Through mass death, the real world and the Warp overlapped; Terra was drawn into the Warp.
The will of the Chaos Gods replaced the physical laws of the real universe; the sky became a vortex constantly changing and emitting eerie colors.
Rocks and metal fragments scattered on the ground twisted themselves into the shapes of blasphemous runes though no one touched them.
The structure of spacetime distorted; the Vengeful Spirit and the Imperial Palace fused into one.
Traitor and loyalist alike were equally trapped; after turning a corner or opening a door, neither knew what place they would arrive at.
Because the starlight had vanished, Guilliman's fleet tried to break through at the edge of the Sol System yet could not identify Terra's position.
To complete the final ritual, Horus willingly lowered the shields of the Vengeful Spirit.
Having exhausted all trump cards and left with no other choice, the Emperor had no path but to lead his subordinates aboard the Vengeful Spirit and challenge Horus to the final battle.
He succeeded in defeating Horus, yet the Emperor himself was also severely wounded and sat upon the Golden Throne.
Datch had originally intended to speedrun this historical stronghold together with the Emperor and many Primarchs.
Unfortunately, things did not proceed as expected.
Just as he was about to enter a system, a notification arrived.
[An anchor point is a special game storyline in which the player is assigned different NPC roles. The player must use their own abilities at each anchor point to clear the storyline and participate in the final battle.]
[In this story development, the use of items is prohibited until the final battle. As an NPC, please assist the story characters in carrying out their missions and tasks.]
[Although it is possible to change the fates of some NPCs, unless you reliably complete the important storyline of the battle between the Emperor and Horus it will be regarded as failure.]
The instant he saw the notification, Datch's speedrun dream quietly crumbled.
He cannot use items to speedrun. He must experience the Siege of Terra that lasts more than seven months.
That is truly too difficult.
The game design feels as if it were made deliberately.
Damn it — when the match is over I'll write a bad review.
Due to the game's rules, Datch had no choice but to leave the Emperor and the others in the TARDIS telephone box while entering the anchor point.
When the story of the Siege of Terra advances to the final battle, he would summon them.
The moment he entered the anchor point, the game prompt displayed again.
Role assigned to you this time: an Imperial Fists warrior garrisoned on the Lachrymae.
You can use only your own skills and abilities. You cannot use any enhancement items at all.
With the notification sound, all the ornaments attached to Datch's body vanished without a trace.
In their place, he wore Imperial Fists power armor with a yellow body and black accents.
The emblem of a clenched steel fist carved on the breastplate emitted a faint warm luster in the cold white lighting of the bridge.
Datch himself was on the bridge of the Lachrymae.
Looking around, he saw Imperial soldiers hurrying about everywhere.
Tech-adepts bent over consoles and, like mechanical tentacles extending from their backs, operated dozens of buttons and levers.
The communications officer shouted into a microphone embedded in his throat, yet his voice was torn again and again by the noise of alarm sounds ringing from the bridge.
There were also several Imperial Fists warriors wearing the same armor as him, scattered quietly like statues, on guard at various places.
They held rifles loaded with explosives horizontally before their chests; the helmet goggles emitted a faint cold light in the red light of the alarms.
Sigismund — legendary hero of the Imperium, the Emperor's first champion, and an unparalleled swordsman who would later master the art of free choice — currently stood before the holographic control panel of the bridge issuing various orders.
Fafnir Rann and several other high-ranking members of the Imperial Fists stood beside Sigismund as projected figures.
Because they each commanded different warships and units, they could not remain on the same ship.
From their conversations and orders, Datch grasped the current time and the development of the story.
On this day of Earth's New Year, the rebels began an attack on the Khthonic Gate and the Elysian Gate and attempted to seize these two important star-gates.
For a spaceship to escape the Warp, it must be located outside the Mandeville Point at the edge of the star system.
Otherwise, the collision of reality and the Warp will cause the warship to collapse.
Most galaxies have installed navigation beacons to indicate Warp-exit points that have been carefully surveyed and judged safest.
After leaving the Warp, spaceships used ordinary engines and navigated for several days from the edge of the star system to the central planet.
The Sol System — humanity's birthplace and the source of various thoughts and technologies — naturally developed its own solution to this problem.
Humanity that set out for the stars constructed two magnificent star-gates.
The Khthonic Gate was built around Pluto; the Elysian Gate was built around Uranus.
These two star-gates enable spaceships to return from deep within the Sol System to the real universe.
In other places of the same depth, such an attempt would without doubt have led to the destruction of the ship and loss of life.
To attack Terra, these two star-gates must be seized.
Only thus can an army be deployed into the Sol System.
The current void war generally unfolds centered on these two star-gates; star-like high-density explosions constantly emit bright light.
Datch's ship, the Lachrymae, is Sigismund's command ship.
He holds the status of Lord of the First Sphere; his main mission is to defend the Khthonic Gate and buy as much time as possible until reinforcements arrive.
Datch is playing an NPC character charged with the very simple mission of guarding the bridge.
To be honest, this work is rather boring.
So as not to affect the development of the story or the evaluation of the ending, Datch patiently continued watching.
Yellow gauntlets firmly gripped the blaster's grip; the helmet visor scanned every entrance to the bridge with minimal lateral movement while at the same time keeping an eye on the war beyond the void.
In space near Pluto, a terrible war unfolded.
Enemy fleets loaded with traitor warriors blessed by the gods passed through the Khthonic Gate and surged into the Sol System like a tsunami.
The hulls of most ships were distorted by severe contamination.
Metal structures that had once symbolized the pinnacle of the Imperium of Man's technology and power had been reshaped again and again by chaotic energy leaking from the Warp.
Hulls were covered in writhing flesh and blood; daemons lurked in the armor plates.
Daemonic claws bit into metal; their wings cast pulsing shadows in the light of void shields.
The instant the enemy appeared, the loyalist defense systems fired at full power to halt the enemy's advance.
Star-fortresses and armed space stations fired together at full speed; shining spears of light and missiles filled the entirety of space.
Countless void mines exploded; their dazzling light shone like newborn stars and blinded everyone's eyes.
Numerous warships were destroyed and became blazing wreckage in the void.
Some of them were captured by planetary gravity, left dazzling trajectories in the thin air, and finally crashed to the ground.
The defenders' firepower was extremely powerful and easily smashed rebel warships that attempted to invade the Sol System.
However, war occurs not only outside but also inside.
The seeds of betrayal and corruption had already been sown.
They began to flourish once war began.
Inside a gigantic star-fortress with numerous heavy guns installed, a high-ranking officer of the Solar auxiliary army suddenly shot a colleague with a pistol in the artillery control room.
After emptying the magazine and killing everyone, he walked to the sinker array — the main fire-control device — and attached a molten-metal bomb to the array's core.
With an ear-splitting roar, the entire sinker array was destroyed.
The star-fortress's bombardment fell silent because it could not lock onto targets; the enemy… searched for a chance to find a breach.
Meanwhile, a priest cyberneticized by the Alpha mixed a neural virus into the air-circulation system.
The virus was colorless and odorless; before anyone noticed the abnormality, it had already spread throughout the fortress via the air-circulation system.
Many loyalist soldiers collapsed at their posts and lost their lives.
Such betrayals occurred in great numbers, weakened the defenders' firepower, and allowed the enemy to seize opportunities and open breaches one after another.
Flames danced in the darkness, constantly changing form, never extinguished.
Countless spears of light flashed in the void; gigantic shells burst in the void.
Flames symbolizing destruction and death blazed in the void and illuminated the dark void.
The fleet led by the Lachrymae was immediately drawn into chaotic combat.
Sigismund possessed astonishing command ability; his fleet was like a sharp scalpel.
They employed mobility and firepower, accurately targeted weaknesses in the rebel formation, and destroyed rebel warships one after another.
Spaceship explosions flashed brightly in planetary orbit and scattered large amounts of spaceship wreckage into orbit.
Furthermore, Sigismund laid several ambushes.
When the enemy is trying to occupy an interstellar fortress or space station, resolutely blow it up to reduce the enemy's strength.
"Find their flagship."
The commander of the Plutonian battlefield was young Horus — that is, Aximand. Having suffered great losses, he was furious and determined to make Sigismund pay the price without fail.
The Lachrymae was hit while navigating over the wreckage of a cruiser on the verge of destruction.
A gigantic shell fired from the flank of the rebel flagship struck the side of the Lachrymae accurately.
Because the wreckage of an almost destroyed cruiser happened to shield the Lachrymae's sensor array the shell struck without warning; as a result the void-shield generator overloaded and was destroyed.
Alarms were issued inside the Lachrymae, yet the source of the attack had not yet been identified.
Shells the size of houses rained on the ship, tearing and twisting the armor.
The first shell pierced the outer shell of the engine room; the second shell exploded three decks below the bridge.
The entire passage turned to ashes together with Imperial Fists warriors rushing to combat stations.
After being bombarded, the Lachrymae's engines stopped; multiple systems malfunctioned; ear-splitting alarm sounds rang inside the ship.
"The artillery battery has been annihilated."
"Engines have stopped; we have lost two-thirds of output," the tech-officer's voice came through the comm-line yet was interrupted again and again by alarm sounds.
"We cannot stabilize the course…"
"The void-shield generator has been disabled…"
"Commander!" one officer shouted; a red alarm light illuminated a face twisted with terror. "An unidentified large enemy ship is approaching and launching landing craft."
"The enemy has boarded! Issue combat-preparation orders throughout the ship!" Sigismund shouted.
His voice drowned out the shrill sound of alarms and the high-pitched scream of metal twisting when holes opened in the hull.
At this moment, the oracle rapidly issued an alarm; aetheric reaction rose sharply.
The next instant circular electric arcs appeared on the bridge platform.
The air ionized; the pungent smell of ozone instantly filled the entire bridge.
The enemy is invading the Lachrymae directly using teleport devices.
"Enemy attack!" A fierce roar rang from the communicator.
Datch instinctively followed the surrounding Imperial Fists warriors toward the place where the rings of lightning appeared.
The sound of combat boots striking the deck heavily and quickly was like a death-cry.
Suddenly lightning ran; from it Sons of Horus overflowed.
On their power armor there were no longer the emblems that had once symbolized glory; instead, eight-pointed stars symbolizing both the gods and Chaos were depicted.
Before the transmitted electric light had completely vanished, sparks began to erupt from the muzzles of boltguns.
The first rank of Sons of Horus who leapt out together with the lightning were felled by crossfire.
The bodies still convulsed yet were trampled by rebel soldiers surging from behind.
The two sides plunged into close combat; the fighting became fierce. Datch was swinging Luna Greatsword — a reward obtained in a previous quest.
The sword was illuminated by faint moonlight and could easily slice steel.
Unable to use any items at all, Datch had no choice but to rely only on his own skills and techniques to defeat the enemy.
Since joining the game, he had spent all the experience points he obtained on improving his own skills and combat techniques.
He would not have the courage to assert he is top-level, yet he is without doubt one of the top class.
In the blink of an eye, the greatsword gripped in his hand pierced the opponent's chest and took that life.
They were all elites, yet not a single one of the defected Sons of Horus was his match; they suffered defeat one after another.
However, there were far too many Sons of Horus.
In order to expand military power, Horus ordered apothecaries and bio-adepts to mass-produce Astartes.
As if on an assembly line, they were sent to operating tables one after another; when one died, the next was brought.
By using this method, the number of soldiers increased rapidly.
Transmission lights constantly flashed, indicating that each time a new unit of rebel special forces was being thrown onto the bridge.
No matter how hard Datch fought he could not change the fate of defeat.
The character he plays is destined to die here.
The rebel corpses lying at their feet were mixed with deck wreckage by the surging enemy and crushed into bloody lumps of flesh.
Meanwhile, Sigismund also fought hard.
As company captain of the Imperial Fists, he held a power sword that had fought together across numerous battlefields.
The collapsing force field generated on the blade produced a low growl in the air.
With every swing of his sword, a son of the Warmaster Horus was cut in two.
He tried to run to Aximand and fight one-on-one.
Considering that there are currently far too many of Horus's clan, this method is equivalent to suicide.
Even if he were unimaginably powerful, it would have been utterly impossible to face this many enemies.
However, Sigismund had already resolved to die and had no intention whatsoever of leaving.
Not only what he had sworn but also the unforgivable sin he had committed was the problem. It was something that could be washed away only by death.
When news of the Horus Heresy arrived, Rogal Dorn had wished to lead a punitive fleet to support the loyalists.
However, Keeler, a living saint, told him a prophecy.
If Sigismund agreed to this mission, he would die on a nameless planet.
If he remained, he could continue fighting and share the burden with Dorn's people.
Therefore, he requested Dorn to dispatch another person to take command of the fleet.
This indirectly also affected the course of the Battle of Phall and enabled the Imperial Fists army to maintain the greater part of its forces.
Afterwards, Rogal Dorn learned of this and was furious.
"Sigismund, you are no longer my son. Whatever your future becomes, you will never again be my son."
"To fight Horus, you must continue to maintain your current rank and status until the Horus rebellion ends or until you die."
"You must not leak my judgment to anyone. Otherwise I will kill you immediately."
"Now get out of here, go to the end of the Sol System. And do not let your weakness trouble anyone else again."
His father's rebuke drove Sigismund into despair.
He wanted to die here. Only by doing so could he wash away his own sin and obtain Dorn's forgiveness.
Aximand also set his sights on Imperial Fists company captain Sigismund and plotted to kill him.
After the enemy killed another son of the Warmaster Horus, Aximand charged toward Sigismund.
His attacks were extremely fierce; each swing of his power sword contained pure killing intent and violence; any movement could become fatal.
Due to his wounds, Sigismund could barely do more than defend himself.
The surrounding Horus followers tacitly blocked the Imperial Fists' advance and hindered them from rescuing their commander.
Every time an Imperial Fists warrior tried to charge Aximand, several Sons of Horus blocked him from the flank.
Using explosives and chainswords, return him to his original position.
Just as Sigismund, on the verge of defeat, tried to kill the enemy before his eyes, Datch leapt out and shouted.
"Little Horus, release my Sword-Saint. Your enemy is me."
The moment he finished speaking, Datch charged toward Aximand. The speed was tremendous; afterimages floated in the air.
Do not be deceived by Dorn constantly saying he wants to leave Sigismund. He is all talk; he is not truly angry.
During the Siege of Terra, Sigismund suffered a crushing defeat at Fulgrim's hands.
The next instant Dorn appeared and began cutting people down one after another.
Afterwards, when the Legion split, Dorn even tried to yield the Phalanx to the Black Templars led by Sigismund.
In order not to affect the development of the story, he must be saved.
Aximand was completely bewildered. Before he could understand what was happening, Datch ran up.
Clang!
Dazzling sparks erupted from the sword in Datch's hand.
Datch did not miss the chance and threw a punch, smashing the opponent's goggles to pieces.
Aximand retreated; his footsteps wavered.
Just as Datch raised his sword to attack, the other party did not miss that opportunity.
A headbutt exploded against Datch; he was seized by pain and confusion.
The next instant, a sharp pain ran through his chest.
Datch was surprised that that powerful sword had accurately pierced his chest.
The blade pierced the center of the breastplate — the part with the Imperial Fists emblem — and came out the back.
With the sudden slash, his two hearts were torn.
"Ah… I lost again."
Blood sprayed from the hole in the lung into the trachea; every time he uttered a word, he spat a mouthful of blood.
If an ordinary Astartes were attacked by Datch with this combo,
even if they tried to parry, counterattack, and smash the goggles, they would be completely defeated and become a victim of his sword.
However, Aximand was one of the members of the Mournival.
Horus taught his descendants both before and after his own fall.
Compared with the opponent, he was clearly inferior.
Aximand looked at the other party and floated an expression of disbelief.
There was neither terror nor pain — only a kind of languid helplessness.
The other party did not seem to fear death very much.
Aximand did not hesitate; he suddenly exerted force and threw Datch off the blade.
Datch's hull slammed into the deck and overturned a damaged attendant-machine flashing red warning lights.
Aximand turned toward Sigismund. "Now it is your turn."
With his comrades' help, he charged toward Sigismund, intending to execute the legendary hero Sigismund.
At that time, teleport rays suddenly appeared on the battlefield.
Dazzling light spread together with a shockwave and instantly blew away many Sons of Horus.
Rann and his guards had come to rescue Sigismund.
Rann's subordinates, storm shields in hand, blocked the first attack.
Just before drawing his last breath, Datch witnessed Rann forcibly carrying away Sigismund, who was trying to commit suicide. "Well, at least he isn't dead."
Datch muttered something and vanished into the darkness.
[The character you were operating has died. A new NPC has been assigned. This NPC is a member of the White Scars crew of the battleship Lance of Heaven.]
When the notification sound rang, the darkness vanished in an instant.
Datch appeared inside a warship of simple style. It was the flagship of Jubal Khan, one of Jaghatai's most beloved sons.
White Scars ships are completely different from Imperial Fists ships.
There are neither heavily armored isolation rooms nor dense defensive turrets — only an extremely simple structure pursuing pure functionality.
The passages are wide and straight, specially designed so that soldiers can run from one end of the ship to the other in the shortest time.
The purpose of this design is to achieve ultimate lightening and the fastest possible speed.
After looking at his own figure, Datch realized the character he is playing wears the White Scars' trademark white power armor.
The emblem of crimson lightning on the pauldron emitted a warm luster in the cold light of the corridor.
After looking at his own figure, Datch quickly organized the various miscellaneous messages at hand and grasped the current situation.
Pluto has fallen; Uranus has also fallen. And the traitor fleet has occupied the two star-gates and is advancing straight toward Earth.
Jubal Khan led his own hunting fleet to attack the rebel fleet and attempted to behead Abaddon.
The White Scars fleet, like mounted archers arrayed on the steppe, repeatedly launched flanking attacks at the edge outside the range of the rebel main fleet.
Every time they passed, they seized some of the rebel escort ships and continuously weakened and tormented the enemy.
Abaddon grew sick of the harassment from the hunting fleet and deliberately exposed his own position to create an opening.
Jubal Khan immediately took the bait to execute a decapitation tactic.
The Lance of Heaven, leading the hunting fleet, slipped through that gap and headed straight for the War Oath where Abaddon was. The purpose was to kill Horus's most beloved son and delay the rebel fleet's advance.
Abaddon had already ordered preparations for a boarding operation; the instant the Lance of Heaven's void shields were destroyed, he immediately began the boarding operation.
Both sides waged fierce combat aboard the Lance of Heaven; the fighting was extremely brutal.
Datch also joined the fight; Moon Greatsword in hand, he defeated Sons of Horus one after another with his outstanding skill.
However, the enemy's numbers were far too great; with every teleport, the rebels increased, and daemons also appeared.
Meanwhile, fleet commander Jubal Khan also waged fierce combat with Abaddon.
Jubal Khan held a guan dao (a kind of halberd) wrapped in lightning-fast arcs. His attacks were as fast as a whirlwind; in his hands the guan dao became not a weapon but the embodiment of "wind."
Each attack struck Abaddon's vital points in the shortest arc and constantly left new wounds on Abaddon's Terminator power armor.
Abaddon's every counterattack was evaded by a slight margin.
Unfortunately, he was no match for Abaddon.
The other party seized the opportunity, used an activated power gauntlet to seize Jubal Khan's halberd, and at the same time thrust his own longsword.
The sword covered in electric light easily pierced the opponent's chest, punched through from behind, and thus the hero's story closed its curtain.
Datch too stood in a predicament. He could deal with Abaddon's elite units, yet he could not defeat Abaddon himself.
With Jubal Khan's death, Datch became Abaddon's target.
In only a few rounds, Datch was defeated by the other party and beheaded with a single stroke of the sword.
Datch was wrapped in darkness again, yet before long a new clue appeared.
[The character you were operating has died. A new NPC character has been assigned. This NPC character is a member of the Imperial Fists crew of the Phalanx.]
When the darkness cleared again, Datch appeared inside the Phalanx.
At that time, shrill alarm sounds rang through gigantic mountain horns.
Shadows moved through vast corridors; bonfire light flickered; eerie screams echoed in people's ears.
"The end and death…"
"We are right there…"
"We are right beside you…"
"Death lurks everywhere…"
"The end has come…"
Darkness flowed without cease; through its convergence, violently, constantly changing forms were produced.
Passing through partitions, passing through gaps in integrated doors,
it was like a terrible wave gathering into one and forming countless terrible shapes.
Daemons descended on the Phalanx and waged fierce combat with the Imperial Fists members garrisoned there.
From limited information, Datch quickly understood his current role and the situation he was placed in.
The Khthonic Gate and the Elysian Gate had become battlefields; traitor and loyalist waged fierce combat.
Even after occupying the two star-gates, it would still take a long time to break through the defense lines along the way.
Because the Sol System is far too vast, even the fastest warship would take several days to move from Pluto's orbit to Earth's orbit.
What the rebels lack most now is time.
Guilliman's reinforcements are rushing toward Terra; the enemy's strength is powerful enough to overwhelm both rebels and loyalists.
To save time, Horus ordered traitors such as Erebus and Ahriman to sacrifice the blood and souls of hundreds of millions of people.
And a large-scale ceremony was performed to forcibly send the fleet near Terra.
That ritual performed at the summit of the Sol System's comet-temple was like a sharp dagger tearing the veil between reality and the Warp.
Horus's fleet leapt out from near Terra, bypassed the numerous defense nets Dorn had stretched through space, and smashed the space-defense system of the innermost Sol System.
Because of the legendary chronicler Mersadie Oliton, the Phalanx is in crisis.
This narrator accompanied the 63rd Expeditionary Fleet; an implant was embedded in her brain, granting perfect memory and even the ability to replay visual memory.
Together with Euphrati Keeler, the first living saint; Kyril Sindermann, who would later found the Inquisition; and that legendary figure who did not even fear death… the poet Ignace Karkasy was a friend.
Karkasy's most outstanding achievement was publicly exposing the secret lodge, including Abaddon, and writing poems about the atrocities the Sons of Horus committed against innocent citizens.
The most outrageous thing he did was distribute poetry leaflets on Horus's flagship, the Vengeful Spirit; his recklessness reached the extreme.
After escaping the Sixteenth Legion that rebelled together with Keeler and Sindermann, they were imprisoned.
He was able to leave prison only when Horus led an army and invaded the Sol System; afterward, he was taken by Loken and sent to the Phalanx.
However, it was all a conspiracy.
Mersadie was deceived by the daemon Samus encountered in the Whisperhead Mountains and became an anchor point for Warp creatures to invade the real world.
The instant Mersadie set foot on the Phalanx, countless daemons flowed into the ship using her as a medium.
"Stop them." Rogal Dorn's voice was heard through the communicator.
Datch took up a boltgun and opened fire on the Warp creature that had attacked him.
The other figure was as terrible as a flayed hound; steel-needle-like teeth grew densely in its mouth.
Bang!
Datch blew the other man's head off with a single shot, ran according to the mini-map's instructions, and went to search for Mersadie, who had been serving as a passage.
After defeating the daemons encountered along the way, Datch discovered Mersadie, controlled by the daemon Samus, in the reactor control room.
Loken was lifted by an invisible force and suspended in mid-air before her eyes. He desperately kicked his legs yet could not escape the restraint.
Datch raised the boltgun and pulled the trigger toward the other party.
An ear-splitting gunshot rang out; a high-explosive bolt flew through the air toward the narrator, Mersadie, yet was stopped by an invisible force.
Datch did not miss the opportunity; he sprinted forward at full speed, slammed into Mersadie possessed by Samus, and blew her away.
The force restraining Loken vanished or was significantly weakened.
Mersadie rolled to the ground and raised a terrible scream. Then a chilling voice was heard in Datch's ear.
"Samus is right beside you…"
The next instant, Datch was pushed back by a strong force and slammed into the wall with a dull sound.
That terrible force crumbled his armor; it was a truly terrible sight.
Cough! Cough!
Datch felt as if his internal organs had shifted and could not get up from the intense pain.
Samus, you are dead.
Once those items become usable, the first thing I'll do is drag you out and flog your corpse!
Through Datch's intervention, Mersadie, trapped in the spiritual world, obtained an opportunity to attack from behind Samus; Samus temporarily retreated, and Mersadie was able to regain control of her body.
When Mersadie regained consciousness, she felt no joy — only sorrow. Because she knew Samus would soon return.
It would either destroy the Phalanx or allow it to fall into rebel hands. That was absolutely unacceptable.
"Have you come back?" A faint joy was contained in Loken's voice; he stretched out a hand trying to seize Mersadie.
The other person took a step back. "I'm sorry, Loken. It needs me."
"It is like a memory or a story. As long as someone continues to tell it, it will not vanish; it will revive again and again."
"Everything will be fine. Surely a way to solve this problem can be found," Loken tried to reassure his friend.
"No." Mersadie continued stepping back and finally stood at the edge of the reactor. Tears flowed without cease down her delicate, beautiful face.
"I once wanted to make your story into a song, Loken. But now it seems I can no longer do it. Karkasy might be able to sing it better. It is a story worthy of poetry."
"Dreams are born from destruction. A group of characters stronger than humans, weaker than gods."
"As you know, I know nothing of poetry and have been thoroughly teased by Karkasy." Loken involuntarily gripped his chainsword, seeing a shadow roll beside Mersadie.
Samus would operate Mersadie's friend again, yet Loken still showed no movement.
If he wished, he could take Mersadie's life in an instant.
Yet he did not.
Understanding that Mersadie smiled. "Loken, you have become far more human than when we first met. Thank you, my friend."
Mersadie took a step back and threw her body toward the energy furnace below.
As she fell, every past event replayed repeatedly in her heart.
Among them was also her first meeting with Loken.
Mersadie recalled her first meeting with Loken.
"I heard you have a wonderful story… I would very much like to hear it to pass it on to later generations."
Which story?
"Horus slays the Emperor."
Mersadie fell into the energy reactor and died instantly. The daemons clinging around her raised screams of agony and were all banished to the Warp.
"Samus is right beside you…"
Samus raised a roar of fierce resistance yet could change nothing.
Loken approached the dying Datch and tried to help him, yet Datch drove him away.
"Don't waste energy. See you again, Loken."
Having finished saying that, Datch drew his last breath.
The instant Loken removed the other man's helmet, he widened his eyes in surprise. Why, he had never once seen that man's face.
Why would a stranger say such a strange thing?
They're already dead — there's no need to say "see you again," is there?
...
[The character you were operating has died. A new NPC character has been assigned. This NPC character is Garuda, a member of the Sisypheum lunar special-operations team.]
When Datch opened his eyes, the field of vision had changed.
It was not the kind of vision an Astartes possesses. An Astartes's vision is enhanced by gene-seed and the power armor's sensor array and is sharper and more acute than any human's.
This is a broader panoramic view that captures the entire space from multiple angles simultaneously.
After looking around, he almost vomited blood.
He saw his own body. It was a bird's body; the wings were covered in feathers with a deep-black metallic luster; the tips were sharp like blades.
He had transformed into a mechanical bird and stood upon an ornithomancy device.
Datch: ...
No — when operating an NPC, can you transform into a bird?
This is somehow wrong.
Datch took several minutes to grow accustomed to the new body and grasp the situation.
Horus used the power of the Warp to lead a gigantic fleet, bypassed Dorn's void defense net, and appeared near Terra.
The Phalanx was dispatched to the edge of the system to join the remaining void fleet and awaited the order to begin the next attack.
The blockade of Mars was lifted; the Dark Mechanicum became able to join the rebels.
Luna was surrounded by rebels; the matriarch of the gene-cult chose surrender and, in exchange for the survival of the lunar gene-cult, would create still more Astartes for the rebels.
However, behind the scenes, Mother had the gene-cult member Ta'lab Vita-37 flee together with the Magna Mater and erased all memories concerning her.
Unfortunately, this method did not succeed in protecting the genetically engineered witch.
The rebels resolutely began a full-scale encirclement-and-suppression operation against them, aiming to obtain the primordial mother-substance from the enemy and create more powerful gene-warriors.
The original Magna Mater preserves the complete genetic data of Astartes and even Primarchs.
If it falls into rebel hands, Horus will be able to mass-produce more powerful Astartes warriors and become a still greater threat to the Imperium.
Meanwhile, Sisypheum received an unexpected distress signal from the gene-witch Ta'lab Vita-37.
The Magna Mater-god must be taken out so that it does not fall into the hands of the Sons of Horus.
After approaching Luna, Sisypheum shut down all systems and used wreckage in space to quietly enter lunar orbit.
At this time, all rebel warships were concentrated on Earth; no one cared about the already-conquered Moon.
Only a dozen or so warships floated near orbit, yet because large amounts of wreckage were scattered in orbit, the Sisypheum was inconspicuous among them and was smoothly inserted into orbit.
From the internal engine room of the Sisypheum, a Storm Eagle appeared and headed for Luna carrying a poorly equipped, ill-tempered group of survivors.
Datch scrutinized information from these survivors.
Sharrowkyn of the Raven Guard, Branthan and Wayland of the Iron Hands, and Tarsa of the Salamanders Chapter.
They were all survivors of Isstvan battlefield number five — a group of vengeful spirits who had crawled up from hell.
They drove Sisypheum; the same ship participated in the Sol System war and captured many enemy ships.
However, the Sisypheum too had suffered serious damage and was in a state where it might collapse and explode at any time.
In Datch's view, these survivors, like the ship Sisypheum itself, were existences that might be annihilated at any time.
Because equipment and supplies were lacking, their armor and ammunition were cobbled together and in a terribly chaotic state.
For them, fighting the rebels over the Magna Mater material was without doubt a suicidal act.
The Storm Eagle encountered some difficulties yet landed safely.
They encountered the gene-witch Ta'lab Vita-37 who had sought help.
Learning that only remnant forces had responded, despair floated on the gene-witch's face.
"It seems we can only watch Horus obtain what he wants."