Hades Hive.
The once-gleaming walls were now covered in scorch marks and bullet holes. The air hung heavy with the lingering stench of ozone, cordite, and blood. Dante, Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, stood before a massive inner wall. His ancient, ornate power armor resembled a silent golden mountain in the dim light. Despite having just endured a bloody liberation campaign, his posture remained upright, though the thousand-year weariness deep in his eyes spoke of the heavy price paid.
The thick adamantium doors slid open. Several survivors, ragged and caked in soot, were led in by a Sanguinary Guard. Hades Hive had been among the last sectors to be liberated. The Space Marines had launched a decapitation strike against Ghazghkull and successfully "killed" him (though this would later prove unsuccessful). By the time reinforcements reached Hades, the sector had fallen; when they finally found Commissar Yarrick, he was being beaten by dozens of Orks.
As for Yarrick, he had already become a legend of Armageddon.
"Greetings, noble Lord Dante." Yarrick's voice was hoarse from dehydration and smoke inhalation. "Thank you and your warriors for liberating Hades Hive from the clutches of the Greenskins."
Dante turned, his gaze beneath the mask sweeping over the scarred mortals. His voice, projected through the vox-grille, was deep and carried an undeniable authority. "It was not we who liberated you, but your own tenacity and sacrifice. In an isolated abyss surrounded by enemies, you held the line for humanity. Such courage is worthy of praise."
Yarrick replied, "We only did our duty, My Lord."
Dante caught the unspoken meaning in his words and stepped forward. "I noticed that during this battle, someone failed in his duty. Planetary Governor Herman von Strab has already received the punishment he deserved."
Yarrick's body stiffened slightly. "That was a correct decision, Lord Dante. I hope you can make an even more critical one: immediately eradicate every trace of the Greenskins that might remain."
Dante did not answer Yarrick directly, instead shifting the topic. "The Greenskins are not our only threat, nor perhaps our greatest. While clearing orbital debris and scanning the system, we detected traces that belong neither to Orks nor to human technology. Tell me, Yarrick, before or during the invasion, did you observe any... unusual biological activity?"
Yarrick paused, trying to recall, then shook his head. "My Lord, the Ork offensive came too fast and too fierce. All our sensors and attention were locked on them. Except... except for Helsreach."
Dante's metal finger tapped lightly on the tactical table, producing a sharp click. "Helsreach." His voice turned unprecedentedly solemn. "Yarrick, we received terrifying news from there that I cannot disclose to you at this time. Go now and rest. I offer you my highest respect once more."
While Yarrick went to organize the Astra Militarum's cleanup operations, Dante turned to face the next looming shadow. He looked at his adjutant and pulled up a star map.
"We must immediately report this intelligence to Terra and Ultramar with the highest priority and warn neighboring systems. A Hive Fleet may be nearby. Given the nature of its sudden appearance and disappearance, it may be the recorded Fleet Astraeus."
While Dante focused on the star map, with only a few people in the cavernous room, no one noticed that in the shadow of a cracked structural pillar at the edge of the command deck, the air shimmered. Two figures stood there like ghosts blended into the background.
"Look, Yuki, they're talking about us." A faint female voice, vibrating with psychic energy, spoke directly into the man's mind.
Yuki's gaze swept over the shining golden giant in the center of the room, his lips curling into a smirk. "Dante. The workaholic of the Imperium, a legendary Chapter Master, and the future Regent of the Imperium Nihilus. Indeed, seeing him in person is better than a hundred tales."
He scrutinized Dante like a predator evaluating prey. "He is indeed exceptionally strong."
Yuno's psychic power moved like invisible tendrils, carefully avoiding the detection devices in the room. "He's very alert. I have an interesting idea. If I eat him here, would it guarantee victory in the Devastation of Baal in the future?"
"No rush," Yuki replied mentally. "We have plenty of opportunities to kill him. He won't be your match in a few thousand years anyway. I want to observe the Imperium's finest warrior up close."
"You just want to fanboy over him, don't you?"
Dante felt a faint sense of being watched. He snapped his head up, his sharp gaze scouring every corner of the command room, but he found nothing but shadows and silence. He attributed it to the exhaustion of constant battle and the weight of the Tyranid threat, and turned his attention back to the map.
"Everyone?" Dante suddenly became alert as all his senses were abruptly muffled.
The world around him plunged into pitch blackness. A millennium of combat experience told him this was a psychic attack. His only hope of victory was to harden his conviction and shatter these filthy illusions.
"Dante?" A man appeared before him.
"Heretic!"
"Do you want to rest?"
"A warrior of the Emperor, a son of Sanguinius, does not need rest!"
"But you're tired, aren't you? You've done well enough. You can rest now."
"Shut up!" Dante swung his power sword at Yuki, but it was blocked by a green barrier.
"You're actually trying to talk him into retirement?" Yuno interjected.
"What if it worked?"
Yuno didn't bother to comment. She didn't waste words; her bone blade lunged toward Dante with a speed and force that could destroy his two hearts in an instant. "Let's try my retirement plan. The success rate might be higher!"
Just as Yuno was about to strike Dante, an unforeseen change occurred. A massive, terrifying eruption of black psychic energy exploded somewhere within Hades Hive, sweeping through the entire structure with an agony and rage capable of shattering both reality and the Warp.
The sheer power of this Warp surge shook even Yuno's psychic grip. With the Hive Fleet far away, her power was significantly dampened, yet it was still beyond what any human psyker should be able to oppose.
Yuno's illusion shattered. The surrounding Blood Angels, after a moment of stunned shock, raised their weapons instantly. However, the attention of Dante, Yuki, and Yuno was not on each other.
That pulse of energy did not come from an ordinary person.
Almost simultaneously, Dante and Yuki spoke a name—two names referring to the same man.
"Callistarius?" Dante muttered.
But the name Yuki spoke was the one that would echo across the galaxy in the years to come.
"Mephiston?"