"Attention to all vessels receiving this transmission. This is Inquisitor Borlais.
"The Shadow in the Warp is fluctuating here, so the message may be distorted. However, once you receive this, you must know: the Tyranids have appeared in this sector. All sub-sectors, all planets, all subjects of the Emperor—prepare yourselves. Resist with everything you have.
"The Tyranids may deploy vanguard scouts with an appearance near-identical to humans. Exercise extreme caution."
After broadcasting this message to the surrounding systems, Borlais slumped into his command chair. He watched the swarm of red dots closing in on his sensors, feeling an unutterable weariness. They say that when a man is about to die, his words are kind; Borlais felt as though his temperament had indeed mellowed.
He sensed his end was near. He wasn't a psyker—though he interacted with the Warp frequently, he was far from being able to prophesy. He summoned his diviner. The Shadow in the Warp had previously severed all psychic communication, and they had only recently reached a pocket where the shadow was thin enough to transmit.
"Read for me. One last time."
The Emperor's Tarot—a potent method of divination. Some claimed it was merely the Barnum effect born of a diviner's vague descriptions, but Borlais needed it now. The diviner's hands moved; the deep wrinkles on his ancient face concealed his expression, but his trembling body told the story.
"My Lord... the situation is... dire."
"I know that. The bugs are right behind us, ready to devour us at any second. I mean, do you see any 'good' news?"
"My Lord, He tells me that only a miracle can allow for any survivors."
A miracle... There was only One in this universe capable of creating those. The Inquisitor rubbed the signet orb in his hand and made a decision.
"Once we are overtaken, cut all engines. Divert all power to the weapon systems. Every ship in the fleet must do the same."
...
"Truly tragic."
Yuki walked past a mountain of human corpses. The Rippers he brought had already begun processing the organic matter. They were likely in an armory now occupied by the swarm. A Lictor lay dead nearby, its body scorched with a massive hole from plasma fire; several charred human corpses nearby bore testament to the lethality of that exchange.
"Humans are always like this. The more desperate they become, the more they intensify their resistance."
"Is this your first time fighting humans?"
Yuno answered Yuki's question on behalf of the Zoanthrope. "They gain basic combat experience before the full-scale war begins."
"Speaking of which, I don't quite understand something, Yuno. You seem able to control every individual, so why bother splitting into fleets? Why not just crush everything with your total mass?"
"Fleet speeds vary, for one. Also, projecting my consciousness consumes immense energy. If the Hive Mind's signal is weak, the control isn't as effective. So, for most of the time ahead, I'll have to use this body."
"Then last time, when you possessed all the Tyranids around us..."
"That was just to show off in front of you!"
Yuki was speechless. The two humans—and the beast—continued forward, crossing an even more gruesome battlefield until they finally found the commander. Yuki's face broke into an uncontrollable smile.
"Oh my, Lord Borlais. We haven't met for days; how did you end up in such a wretched state?"
He noticed the corpse of Angel behind Borlais. That unlucky young girl had at least found a definitive end.
"Yuki. I knew there was something wrong with you."
"Oh, come off it, Borlais. Don't act like I used some grand, complex strategy. Everyone could sense something was wrong with me, but no one could bring themselves to kill me. They all thought they could control me; they all thought the 'problem' wasn't that big. Weren't you the same?"
"I should have ordered Exterminatus the moment I arrived."
"If that were the case, Borlais, you would have to blow up every single planet you encountered, or this would inevitably happen."
Borlais forced himself to stay upright. He looked at Yuki. The man had shown a flicker of sympathy when noticing Angel, but now his gaze was entirely that of a hunter toying with its prey.
"What else do you have to say?"
"If I told you I originally intended to let Angel leave alive, would you regret it?"
"My greatest regret is letting her be born! For an Inquisitor, all superfluous emotion is a sin. I have committed an unforgivable crime, and I shall accept my punishment."
"Alright, enough wasting time. There's still one ship running. That girl in the Paragon Warsuit should be on it."
Yuno urged Yuki to finish it. Yuki didn't waste another word; he snapped Borlais's neck with a single twist and prepared to pursue the last escapees.
However, it seemed it was too late.
That warship had jettisoned all the wounded, extra supplies, and even portions of its fuel, weapons, and hull sections. Risking the turbulence of the Warp, it vanished from realspace at a point where the Shadow was weak.
Yuki watched the spot where the ship had disappeared, a faint trace of worry in his heart. Hopper's escape was too strange—it was as if she were being sheltered by something while she fled. Yuki felt deeply unsettled; he couldn't help but suspect the handiwork of a certain nameless man sitting on a Golden Throne.
Yuno took his hand. "What's wrong?"
"I was thinking about Griffith. To be honest, I quite admired that guy. I don't know why he didn't run in the end; he perished with his cathedral. It's quite fascinating to think he died never knowing my connection to the Tyranids."
Yuno looked displeased. She reached out and pinched Yuki's cheek. "Don't try to lie to me. You know our hearts are linked; you can't hide anything from me."
"I knew it. I was wondering if the Emperor of Mankind and those four Powers would target us."
"Then let them come. I am Yuno, after all."
"True enough."
Yuki smiled. The one he loved was indeed one of the apex existences in this world.
"So, is it over?"
"No. This is the beginning. Our beginning. The old story ends, and a new one begins. We have plenty of time, and plenty of places to go."
Yuki smiled and leaned down to kiss Yuno.
In the entire galaxy, there were no two beings happier than them at this moment—standing amidst the ruins of the devastated Ende Sector, before the new Tyranids born from that destruction.
920.M41.
An unknown Hive Fleet invaded the Ende Sector of the Segmentum Tempestus. Only two ships escaped. One was lost in the Warp; the other lost all contact after transmitting a final signal.
The Imperium took this Tyranid invasion with extreme seriousness, naming the newly discovered fleet "Hive Fleet Astraeus."
However, by the time reinforcements arrived, the Swarm had vanished as if it had never been there.
Such an occurrence was unheard of.