Sanguinia stood right there.
The light and shadow at the entrance of the observation deck outlined her holy and perfect silhouette, with snow-white wings quietly folded behind her.
Her appearance caused the faint sweetness that had just sprouted in the air to instantly freeze.
Leticia could even feel the body of Terrania in her arms stiffen for a moment.
On that angelically perfect face, one could not tell if there was joy or sorrow.
Her sky-blue eyes were just looking quietly.
Watching Leticia's finger, which had not yet been withdrawn, gently caressing Terrania's lips.
Watching Terrania's cheeks, which were red enough to bleed.
"My Goddess, My Majesty..."
Sanguinia's voice was soft, yet like a feather, it landed precisely on the most subtle node between the two.
"Have I interrupted you?"
Leticia had not yet had a chance to speak.
Terrania, in her arms, suddenly moved.
The Blonde Girl loosened her grip on Leticia's clothes and voluntarily broke free from that warm embrace.
She ran barefoot, patter-patter-patter, to Sanguinia.
Under Sanguinia's somewhat stunned gaze, Terrania reached out her small hand and took hold of her palm, which was like a work of art.
Then, she turned and ran back, taking hold of Leticia's hand.
Just like that, holding one in each hand, she pulled the two together.
"Big Sister Sanguinia, you're here!"
Terrania looked up, her golden eyes devoid of any impurities, filled only with the pure joy of seeing family.
"Big Sister Leticia and I are watching the stars! You come join us too!"
This innocent action instantly dispelled all the potential awkwardness in the air.
Sanguinia looked at the "Majesty" on her left, as pure as a blank sheet of paper, and then at the smiling "Goddess" on her right.
She was slightly startled.
Immediately after, a heartfelt, extremely gentle smile bloomed on that angelic face.
She elegantly lifted the hem of her skirt and performed an impeccable curtsy to both of them.
"To guard by Majesty's side."
Her gaze landed devoutly on Terrania.
"To gaze upon the future guided by the Goddess."
Her gaze turned to Leticia, full of trust.
Sanguinia stood up straight, and in her sky-blue eyes, only pure happiness and satisfaction remained.
"This is the entire meaning of my existence."
"Being able to bathe in the brilliance of you both at the same time is my greatest happiness."
The potential conflict dissipated into nothingness.
Macragge. Hera Fortress, the Regent's study.
Here, it was quieter than the deepest void in the universe.
On the holographic screen, that less than three-minute communication recording was playing silently in a loop, over and over again.
Robert Guilliman's fingers, time and time again, froze the image at the moment the Blonde Girl appeared.
That face. Those golden eyes. And that aura...
That supreme divine aura that, even across the endless sea of stars, could still cause a faint resonance in the deepest part of his gene chain!
Although faint, and although the form was completely different. But the source...
Guilliman shut down all external communications, locking Chapter Master Calgar and all other staff outside the door.
He needed absolute silence. He needed to think.
"Chaos God Tzeentch's conspiracy?"
This thought was the first to jump out, and the first to be rejected.
The Lord of Change was most adept at playing with conspiracies and lies, but His creations always carried an unmaskable, insane, and chaotic malice.
But that girl was as pure as a blank sheet of paper.
And the black-haired goddess beside her, as well as the three "Sisters," the will emanating from them was protection, creation, and rebirth.
That was a concept diametrically opposed to Chaos.
"Slaanesh's illusion?"
Even less likely.
He was all too familiar with the power of the lord of pleasure. That kind of power was full of extreme temptation and corruption, aiming to drag everything into a vortex of the senses.
But those three "female Primarchs" in the recording, in their eyes, there was only absolute loyalty to the black-haired goddess.
Especially that silver-haired swordswoman.
Guilliman's gaze landed on Fogremia's face.
That was... Fulgrim. He would never misidentify her.
But the pride in those purple eyes was no longer the narcissism and paranoia of the past, but rather a kind of... more brilliant light that bloomed because she had found faith.
And that red-haired Valkyrie. Angron.
Her iconic rage was still burning, but it lacked any pain or madness, instead transforming into a pure, protective Battle Intent.
Finally, there was the angel spreading its huge wings... Sanguinius.
Guilliman's heart gave a sharp tug.
His best brother. The perfect person in his memory who forever bore sorrow and destiny.
But she in the recording, in those sky-blue eyes, there were no longer any shadows, only a newfound love and curiosity for the world.
They... looked very happy. Very peaceful.
"What on earth is this?"
Guilliman leaned back in his chair, feeling the deepest fatigue and confusion since waking from his ten-thousand-year slumber.
He ruled a crumbling empire. He faced endless enemies.
He was a lonely monarch, the embodiment of reason, the last pillar of the empire.
He should have listed this report, along with the so-called "the fifth calamity," as the highest threat, and then mobilized the main force of the Indomitus Crusade to completely erase it from the universe.
This was the most rational and correct choice.
But... if... what if it wasn't a trick?
Even if there was only a one in a billion chance. What if it was a redemption rather than a new curse?
As a brother, as an Emperor's Children, as the only Regent of this decaying empire.
Could he really just turn a blind eye to this one, faint possibility because of that reason?
No. Guilliman slowly clenched his fists.
He could not.
He closed the recording. His tall body stood up from the Commander's seat, and the shadow belonging to the Primarch enveloped the entire study.
He pushed open the heavy metal door, ignored the astonished gazes of Calgar and the others outside, and strode toward the highest command bridge of Hera Fortress.
He walked up to the cold command platform, which symbolized the highest military power of the empire.
His hand pressed heavily on the rune that activated the wide-area communication.
Hum— A communication channel covering the entire Indomitus Crusade fleet was forcibly opened.
"All fleet, heed my command!"
Guilliman's voice, without the slightest hesitation, was full of the unquestionable determination of a monarch.
That voice, through the Subspace communication array, resounded in the loudspeakers of every battleship, cruiser, and frigate.
"Change course! Target, Gothic Sector, 'Tear of Heaven' neutral star zone!"
On the bridge, all the officers were stunned.
That was the location they had just received regarding the last appearance of "the fifth calamity"!
Guilliman's gaze seemed to pierce through the bridge's armor, looking toward that unknown starry sky.
"I will meet with 'the fifth calamity' personally."
His voice, like a thunderclap, exploded in everyone's soul.
"The future of the empire, perhaps... rests on this one move!"
The order was given. The massive Indomitus Crusade main fleet, like a moving continent, began to slowly adjust its course.
The engines of countless warships spewed blue flames, like giant beasts awakening in the sea of stars, heading toward that mysterious coordinate, sailing toward an unknown destiny.
genesis, bridge.
A shrill alarm, without warning, tore through the recently restored tranquility.
Red warning runes were flashing frantically on every tactical screen.
"Goddess!" The projection of Commissar Valeria appeared instantly, her face full of shock and disbelief.
"Detected large-scale fleet Subspace signals! They are heading toward our coordinates!"
On the main screen, a dense patch of light points representing Imperial Navy signals appeared out of thin air, almost dyeing the entire star map blue!
"The scale... the scale is unprecedentedly huge!" Valeria's voice even carried a hint of trembling.
"Flagship signal confirmed, it is... it is the 'glory of macragge'! This is Regent Guilliman's ride!"
"The entire main fleet of the Indomitus Crusade has come!"
In an instant, the atmosphere on the bridge became extremely tense.
Angronia had already gripped the battle axe beside her, the Battle Intent rising in her amber eyes.
Leticia watched the light points representing the empire's strongest force quietly.
After a long time, she raised her hand.
"Cancel the alert." Her voice was calm, with no detectable emotion.
"Valeria, the other side... has not activated any weapon systems."
"They have no hostility."
And on the flagship of that massive fleet, Robert Guilliman was also gazing at the lonely light point on the star map representing the genesis.
In his heart, only one last, and only one thought remained.
"Brothers..."
"No matter what you have become."
"I have come to see you."
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