The battlefield descended further into chaos.
As more and more Daemonettes manifested across the ruins, the pressure upon the loyalist lines continued to increase. Every section of the battlefield seemed to spawn another wave of daemons, forcing the Astartes to constantly adjust their formations.
Caden had no choice.
More reinforcements were needed.
He continued pushing toward the traitor captain, his Saturnine war axe sweeping through anything that attempted to block his path. A Daemonette lunged toward him, only for Caden to catch its blade against his armour before bringing the axe around in a brutal arc.
The daemon's head was severed from its body.
Caden immediately turned his wrist.
The plasma blaster mounted upon his gauntlet discharged.
A brilliant bolt of plasma struck an Emperor's Child at point-blank range, melting through his chest plate and reducing the traitor beneath it to a burning corpse.
But even as Caden advanced, the battle around him continued to deteriorate.
Then came the shrieks.
At first, they were distant.
Then they grew louder.
Multiple engines screamed through the atmosphere.
The loyalists looked upward.
Several dark shapes descended from the sky.
Kharybdis Assault Claws.
The drop pods plunged toward the battlefield like burning meteors, their engines roaring as they tore through the clouds.
They struck the ground moments later.
The impact shook the surrounding ruins.
Their storm launchers immediately opened fire.
Explosions tore through the battlefield, clearing a wide area around the landing zones. Daemonettes were blasted apart, while several Emperor's Children were thrown from their feet by the sudden bombardment.
Before the smoke had even cleared, the Dreadclaws opened.
Astartes emerged.
The warriors of the Dark Knights' 5th Company charged from the pods without hesitation.
Bolters thundered as they advanced.
Chainswords and power weapons were raised.
The fresh Astartes crashed directly into the swarm of daemons and traitors, their sudden arrival immediately relieving the pressure upon the warriors already fighting in the heart of the battle.
Caden continued toward his target.
He was close now.
Very close.
Through the smoke and slaughter, Caden finally saw him.
The Emperor's Children captain saw him as well.
The traitor's blade swept through one Blackwing's armour, killing him instantly, before continuing into another warrior's arm and severing it in the same fluid motion.
The captain turned toward Caden.
A smile formed beneath his helm.
"Ahhh... have you come to seek relief from your pressure, cousin?"
Caden's mechanical voice growled through his vox.
"I'm only here to seek your death, traitor."
The captain laughed.
"Then come."
He raised his blade.
"Show me what you have to offer."
Caden tightened his grip around the Saturnine war axe before charging toward the captain.
His massive armour shook the ground with every step.
The first Emperor's Child attempted to intercept him.
Caden swung his axe.
The traitor raised his sword, but the enormous weapon smashed through the parry and cleaved through his shoulder, nearly cutting him in half.
Caden did not slow.
Another traitor stepped into his path.
The plasma blaster mounted upon his armour discharged several times in rapid succession.
Blue-white bolts struck the Emperor's Child at point-blank range, burning through his armour and sending his body crashing to the ground.
Another tried to attack from the side.
Caden turned and struck him with the haft of his axe, sending the traitor staggering backward before a second plasma blast finished him.
Nothing was going to stand between him and his target.
When Caden finally brought his axe down upon the captain, the traitor's power sword rose to meet it.
CLANG!
The impact shook the surrounding ground.
The captain's blade caught the axe just before it reached his body.
Yet by then, two more Blackwings lay dead around them.
Their armoured bodies had fallen only a few metres away, victims of the captain's effortless movements.
Caden pushed harder.
His Saturnine armour's servos screamed as they poured additional strength into the attack.
"You will pay for the deaths you have caused."
The axe slowly began to move downward.
The captain's sword trembled beneath the immense pressure.
Yet the traitor did not appear afraid.
Instead, he seemed to be enjoying it.
Caden could hear him speaking.
Words poured from the traitor's mouth, distorted by his helm and drowned beneath the roar of weapons around them.
Caden could not understand what he was saying.
The words seemed wrong.
Not merely spoken.
Almost sung.
A strange cadence accompanied them, rising and falling as though the traitor were reciting some ancient litany.
Caden ignored it.
His axe continued downward.
The blade came closer.
Closer.
Until its edge almost grazed the captain's face.
Then the traitor moved.
His body twisted with impossible speed.
The power sword slipped sideways from beneath the axe, redirecting its momentum.
Caden's weapon crashed into the ground.
The captain stepped inside the Saturnine's guard.
His sword flashed.
Caden barely managed to raise his arm before the blade struck.
CLANG!
Sparks erupted from the Saturnine armour.
The captain immediately followed with another strike.
Then another.
Each movement was impossibly fast, the traitor flowing around Caden's enormous frame rather than attempting to overpower it.
Caden turned to face him.
The captain had already moved several metres away.
He stood among the bodies of the fallen Blackwings, his power sword held loosely at his side.
Then he laughed again.
"Now this..."
His voice carried a strange excitement.
"...this is what I have been waiting for."
Caden raised his war axe.
His vox emitted a low mechanical growl.
"Then you will die disappointed."
The captain's smile widened.
And he charged.
Caden braced himself.
The Emperor's Child crossed the distance between them in an instant, his power sword flashing toward Caden's neck.
Caden raised his axe.
CLANG!
The two weapons collided.
The captain immediately twisted his blade, sliding it along the haft of the Saturnine war axe before stepping to Caden's side. He struck again, aiming for the joints beneath the Terminator's arm.
Caden turned with him.
The sword struck his side.
A shower of sparks erupted from the Saturnine armour.
The captain's blade had penetrated the outer layers, but the Thermal Diffraction Field absorbed much of the energy before the weapon could reach anything vital.
Caden swung.
The axe swept through the space where the captain had stood.
The traitor ducked beneath it.
The enormous blade passed over his helmet by mere centimetres.
Caden immediately fired his plasma blaster.
The captain twisted aside.
The plasma bolt passed beside him and struck the ground, exploding into a pool of incandescent energy.
The Emperor's Child continued moving.
He attacked again.
His sword struck Caden's knee.
Then his waist.
Then his shoulder.
Three strikes in the space of a heartbeat.
Caden barely reacted.
He simply continued turning, keeping the traitor within his field of vision.
The captain's movements were faster than anything Caden had encountered in years.
But speed alone would not win this fight.
Caden brought his axe around again.
The captain jumped backward.
The axe struck the ground.
The impact shattered the pavement beneath them.
Chunks of stone erupted into the air.
The captain landed lightly among the debris.
"You are slow," he said.
Caden raised his head.
"But you are predictable."
The captain lunged.
Caden waited.
At the last possible moment, he stepped forward rather than backward.
The traitor's power sword flashed toward his chest.
Caden's free hand shot forward.
The massive Saturnine gauntlet closed around the captain's sword arm.
For the first time, genuine surprise appeared across the Emperor's Child's face.
Caden immediately applied pressure.
The servos within the Saturnine armour roared as they multiplied the strength of his grip.
CRACK.
The traitor's armoured gauntlet buckled.
The captain tried to pull himself free, but Caden's grip only tightened.
CRUNCH.
The ceramite around his wrist collapsed beneath the immense pressure.
The power sword slipped from his fingers.
The captain stared at his crushed hand in disbelief.
Caden's mechanical voice came through the vox.
"You rely too much on your speed."
The captain looked back at him.
Caden had already released his grip on the war axe.
His other arm extended toward the traitor with startling speed.
The massive Saturnine gauntlet seized the Emperor's Child by the head.
The captain froze.
Caden's fingers tightened around his helmet.
"It seems your carnage and sinful life have come to an end."
Those were the last words the traitor heard before Caden applied his full strength.
CRUNCH.
The ceramite of the captain's helmet collapsed beneath the immense pressure.
Caden did not crush his skull completely.
He stopped just before the force became fatal.
The traitor's body went limp.
Caden released him.
The Emperor's Children captain collapsed heavily onto the battlefield, unconscious but still alive.
Caden looked down at him.
"Take him."
Two Blackwings immediately approached, lifting the wounded traitor from the ground while another recovered his fallen power sword.
The Emperor's Children had lost their leader.
Their warband had been broken.
And now their captain would be taken alive to answer for everything he had done on Chalica.
===
"Grand Master Caden reports that they have completed their objective," Viktor said as he stood beside Atharion within the command centre of the Fortis Aeterna. "But the Blackwings have suffered heavy casualties."
The holotable flickered to life.
A list of names appeared above its surface, each accompanied by a status marker.
Some were marked KILLED IN ACTION.
Others were marked CRITICALLY WOUNDED.
Atharion remained silent as the list continued to expand.
The names of the fallen were followed by those whose wounds were so severe that their bodies could no longer sustain themselves. Their only chance of continuing to serve the Emperor was through interment within the sarcophagi of Dreadnoughts.
Several names were highlighted.
INTERMENT REQUIRED.
Atharion slowly studied the display.
Then, he spotted a familiar name, one that too familiar.
Viktor, sensing Atharion gaze also look at the names.
"Grand Master Gideon," he said, his mechanical voice remaining as monotone as ever. "He suffered severe injuries after several Daemonettes slipped past his bodyguards and attacked him."
Gideon's name was highlighted.
The holotable immediately expanded the entry, displaying a detailed medical report beneath it.
GIDEON — GRAND MASTER, SECOND COMPANY
STATUS: CRITICALLY WOUNDED
MULTIPLE PENETRATING TRAUMA
EXTENSIVE DAMAGE TO PRIMARY ORGANS
SPINAL COLUMN: SEVERE DAMAGE
PROSTHETIC REPLACEMENT: REQUIRED
BIOLOGICAL RECOVERY: UNCERTAIN
Atharion stared at the information.
Viktor continued.
"The Daemonettes were eventually banished after additional Blackwings arrived to reinforce their Grand Master."
He paused.
"But by then, the damage had already been done."
The hololithic display shifted again, showing Gideon's life signs.
They were weak.
Far weaker than those of an Astartes should ever be.
"His armour absorbed the majority of the initial attacks," Viktor continued. "But several Daemonettes managed to penetrate the damaged sections. The Apothecaries managed to stabilize him before his condition became irreversible."
Atharion said nothing.
His gaze remained fixed upon Gideon's name.
Gideon was one of the few remaining founding members of the Chapter.
One of the warriors Atharion had known since the earliest days of the Dark Knights. One of the few men he trusted completely with the Chapter's most sensitive missions, alongside Caden.
"Will he survive?"
Viktor was silent for a moment.
"Not without interment."
Atharion's eyes narrowed.
Viktor expanded the medical report.
"The spinal column has suffered catastrophic damage. His primary hearts have been destroyed, and his secondary heart has sustained severe trauma. The lower half of his body was severed during the engagement."
The words appeared one after another across the holotable.
PRIMARY HEARTS: DESTROYED
SECONDARY HEART: CRITICAL DAMAGE
SPINAL COLUMN: CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE
LOWER BODY: SEVERED
Viktor continued in the same emotionless mechanical tone.
"The Apothecaries have determined that conventional biological recovery is impossible. Even with extensive augmetic reconstruction, his body would not be capable of sustaining itself."
Atharion remained motionless.
"His only means of survival is interment within a Dreadnought sarcophagus."
Silence filled the command centre.
Atharion looked down at Gideon's name again.
Then his expression hardened.
"Prepare the Leviathan," he said, his voice carrying finality. "Gideon will continue his service as the first Leviathan Dreadnought of our Chapter."
Viktor turned toward him.
"Is this a wise choice?"
Atharion looked at him.
"Truly, it would be more practical to inter him within a Contemptor. Or perhaps a Saturnine. Either would allow him to awaken more frequently and continue an active role in providing tactical counsel to you, myself, and the Table."
Atharion considered the suggestion for a moment.
Then a small smile appeared upon his lips.
It vanished almost immediately.
"Well... if you still remember Gideon, I doubt he would be particularly pleased to awaken and discover that he was not given the most powerful Dreadnought we had available."
Viktor said nothing.
But Atharion knew that Viktor understood exactly what he meant.
Gideon had never been one to settle for second best.
Not when it came to weapons.
Not when it came to armour.
And certainly not when it came to the machines that would carry him into battle.
Viktor finally inclined his head.
"I understand."
He turned toward the command staff.
"I will inform the Apothecaries and Techmarines. Preparations for the interment will begin immediately."
"See that they do."
Viktor departed.
Atharion remained alone before the holotable.
The display continued to cycle through the names of the wounded and the fallen.
His eyes moved slowly across them.
Then he began to recognize more names.
Names he had known for centuries.
Names belonging to the warriors who had stood beside him when the Dark Knights were still young. Men who had fought beneath the Chapter's first banners, endured its earliest campaigns, and helped shape it into what it had become.
Some were marked wounded.
Others were marked dead.
Atharion's gaze lingered upon each one.
"Well..." he whispered.
He continued searching through the list, finding more names belonging to the founding members.
"The time for separation will always arrive."
His voice was quiet.
"The only difference is whether it comes sooner or later."
The holotable continued its silent display.
Another name appeared.
Another warrior he had known.
Another piece of the Chapter's earliest history slipping away.
Atharion stood alone in the command centre of the Fortis Aeterna, surrounded by the cold light of the hololith.