Thunder rolled like the breaking of continents.
Above the scorched plains of Doms, black storm clouds churned in violent spirals. Forks of lightning split the sky open again and again, illuminating the shattered wasteland in stark flashes of white. Rain fell in sheets, only to be torn sideways by screaming winds and scattered into mist before it could touch the ground.
Amid the storm, two figures moved.
The duel had begun.
There was no mercy.
No hesitation.
No grief.
Only the absolute intent to kill.
Mordecai grinned — a feral, predatory expression that did not belong to the gentle prince many had known. His Miao blade flashed like lightning, sweeping in wide killing arcs, each strike aimed with surgical precision at Yuki's throat, heart, and spine.
Yuki's face remained calm.
Her twin swords moved with serene inevitability, catching, diverting, and dissolving each lethal stroke. Steel met steel in cascading bursts of sparks, each impact reverberating like thunderclaps.
Where Mordecai struck with savage force, Yuki answered with perfect economy.
Where he overextended, she punished.
Where he pressed, she yielded — only to counter.
Their tempo accelerated beyond mortal comprehension.
If either faltered for a fraction of a second, death would follow.
Neither retreated.
Each believed the other would fall first.
Each believed victory was inevitable.
"Sister," Mordecai said between strikes, his blade screaming downward.
Yuki caught the blow on a single sword.
"Do you think Father will grieve when you die?"
Silence.
Her off-hand blade thrust toward his heart.
Mordecai twisted back half a step — just enough.
Yuki advanced.
He roared and abandoned defense entirely, his saber tracing a lethal crescent toward her neck.
Her blade pierced his chest.
Before it could drive through, she was forced to disengage — his counterstroke would have severed her spine.
Mordecai glanced down at the punctured ceramite and the blood beneath.
Then he smiled.
"Sister… I know what you fear. I know Father's dream."
Rain hissed against superheated armor.
"Rangdan are born between warp and reality. They cannot corrupt us."
He extended his hand.
"But they can corrupt you."
"Give up. If we—"
A pale flame ignited.
Yuki's sword became a streak of white meteor-fire.
The blade struck him before the sentence ended.
He barely raised his weapon in time — the impact carved open half his chest plate and hurled him backward through mud and ash.
Yuki did not pause.
Her second blade whistled toward his throat.
Too strong.
Even as a Primarch, Mordecai felt the truth:
He was being overpowered.
He retreated, armor split open, flesh knitting beneath the storm.
"Sister… don't you want to talk? You—"
Wings thundered open.
Yuki descended like a hunting raptor.
Mordecai chuckled.
She halted mid-strike.
Her violet eyes swept the battlefield below.
He rose slowly, wounds sealing.
"Since you refuse to speak," he said quietly,
"then words are unnecessary."
Eusonis had never imagined their reunion would look like this.
The instant the Primarchs clashed, war erupted across Doms.
Titan weapons shook the bedrock.
Orbital strikes split the sky.
Rangdan-corrupted Titans fired barrages that turned mountains into dust.
Yet the ground where the Primarchs fought remained untouched.
It was as if reality itself had declared their duel inviolate.
A killing arena.
No interference permitted.
Eusonis did not hesitate.
He charged toward Mordecai.
If he could not stop a Primarch, he would create the decisive moment.
A black arc sliced past him.
Cold.
Decaying.
He knew that power.
He turned.
A figure stood in black mist.
Familiar.
"Xuan…" Eusonis whispered.
"I never wished to see you like this."
Understanding struck him — the sorrow in Yuki's eyes, the resolve that cut deeper than grief.
The once-pure warrior now resembled a beast dragged from nightmare.
Crimson eyes burned within roiling darkness.
Xuan charged, spear crackling with disintegration energy.
Eusonis did not move.
Not until the spearpoint neared his helm.
Then he struck.
Steel deflected the thrust.
His counterblow drove through Xuan's chest.
Xuan did not evade.
He pressed forward, forcing the spear tip toward Eusonis's brow.
Eusonis twisted aside.
The spear carved a trench in the earth.
They clashed again.
Beast against master swordsman.
Armor shattered.
Blood sprayed.
Eusonis held the advantage — yet frustration mounted. Xuan would not fall. Black mist sealed each wound as quickly as it was made.
And he could not break away.
He could not see how Yuki fared.
He could not hear the wider battle.
Only the relentless pursuit.
Then white light flashed past.
Yuki dropped to one knee, sword braced against the earth, blood running from her mouth.
"Eusonis," she rasped.
"Run."
She kicked Xuan aside and spread her wings, shielding Eusonis completely.
Rain hammered down.
Mordecai stepped forward through the storm, eyes glowing in the darkness.
Aboard the Unyielding Truth
"I am Alpharius."
"So?"
Alpha regarded his brother with mild irritation.
Omega still struggled for survival on a death world, dreaming of the Imperium he had never seen. Before Alpha could reach him, Rangdan had arrived.
The twins' thoughts remained linked.
But even the XX Legion could not search the entire war zone openly.
So Alpha had come to the Lion.
"Brother," Alpha said smoothly,
"the Twentieth Legion will fight Rangdan in your stead. Preserve the First Legion's strength — you will need it when Father appoints the next War Commander."
"War Commander?"
The Lion's gaze sharpened like drawn steel.
"Yes. Not a battlefield marshal like Mordecai. A supreme commander. And I hope it is you — not Guilliman."
"Why?"
"Because we are alike. And because my Legion also carries burdens that cannot be spoken."
The Lion struck him.
The blow staggered Alpha backward.
"I am my father's knight," the Lion said coldly.
"Whomever he chooses, I obey. The First Legion does not withdraw."
His eyes hardened.
"And Guilliman is my brother. He and his sons bleed for the Imperium. You have no right to speak of him."
Alpha wiped blood from his nose.
"Very well."
He turned away.
If persuasion failed, he would pursue Omega openly.
Then the Lion spoke into the vox:
"Once the Rangdan here are purged, transfer control to the Ultramarines. We move to rescue the Vice-Emperor."
Alpha froze.
"…Rescue?"
The Lion looked at him, puzzled.
Was Gothic unclear?
Alpha departed at once, issuing orders with lethal urgency.
No more delays.
Find Omega.
Finish the war.
Move.
Back on Doms, Yuki spat blood.
Pale fire spread outward, forming a blazing white sea that enclosed Mordecai.
"You should not be this weak, sister," his voice drifted through storm and flame.
"Even unawakened, you are the strongest among us."
He walked through the fire.
Burning.
Yet advancing.
He stood before her, unsteady.
She struck.
Reality twisted.
Sight fractured.
Sound inverted.
Touch became false.
Every sense betrayed her.
She attacked emptiness.
"This is meaningless," he said quietly.
"Even if you kill me, I will return."
He gestured to the enclosing inferno.
"My warp nature is steadfastness and confusion. I can distort perception… reshape thought… guide awareness."
His smile widened.
"With a whisper, others become aware of Rangdan — and infection begins."
He looked skyward.
"Our father has arrived. He brings the weapon that can truly end me."
Above, a vast and radiant warship translated into orbit.
Imperial voices roared:
FOR THE EMPEROR!
Morale surged.
The void battle intensified.
"Mordecai," Yuki said softly.
"I understand."
"What do you understand?" he laughed.
She stood swaying, senses shattered, yet her gaze remained fixed.
"I know who you are."
His smile vanished.
Her senses were ruined.
From her perspective, she faced empty air.
What did she mean?
He released his distortion.
"What are you saying?"
She looked at him with profound pity.
"You are the King of Rangdan."
Silence fell.
Rain struck armor like drumbeats.
"But," she said,
"you are also Mordecai."
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