The large shuttle descended along the secure flight path, settling smoothly onto the landing pad.
Blazkowicz and Vulkan were already waiting at the entrance of the command fortress, conducting a brief welcome ceremony.
Looking toward the end of the line, they saw a tall human dressed in animal hides, holding a bone staff, and wearing a ram skull mask step onto the freshly laid red carpet.
He stood nearly five meters tall, exceptionally large. Although the hide clothing and ram skull mask appeared primitive, they were meticulously groomed and remarkably clean.
Vulkan gestured from the bottom of the stone steps, signaling for his brother to hurry over.
With intense combat currently underway on the front lines, the two commanders could step out of the command hall, but they could not stray too far.
Selene quickened his pace, moving swiftly down the red carpet past the honor guard of Space Marines kneeling on one knee.
At the far end of the carpet, he saw two of his brothers waiting to greet him.
One wore green power armor with golden dragon heads adorning his shoulders, golden scales embedded across the suit, and the heraldry of a ferocious beast. He had dark skin and crimson eyes, standing as a six-meter-tall iron tower of a man.
The other was five meters tall, wearing unique power armor, with black eyes, black hair, and an exceptionally heroic visage.
From him, Selene sensed formidable power.
Selene walked with a light step, and the group reached the end of the red carpet in short order.
"Brother," Vulkan said, his deep voice filled with delight as he opened his arms in a warm embrace.
The innate affinity within their bloodlines confirmed that the person standing before him was indeed one of his many brothers.
Holding his staff in one hand, Selene used his other arm to embrace his brother, experiencing a sense of brotherhood he had never felt before.
This time, his heart felt no subconscious resistance; he opened himself completely.
"Vulkan, my brother!" The response was clear and clean, carrying a hint of bewilderment alongside complete sincerity.
Enfolded in his brother's warm hug, he accepted his identity.
The two giants released their embrace, placing their hands on each other's shoulders and patting them gently, lingering in the moment.
Brothers of the same bloodline had been separated for too long; upon meeting again, both clung to the emotion of this first encounter.
"Blazkowicz Nowick," Vulkan said, stepping aside and raising his head to introduce their other brother.
Blazkowicz's heroic face carried a gentle smile, full of warmth, as he drew the returned brother into a hug.
The two Primarchs embraced, but Selene's body grew slightly rigid.
His tense expression was entirely hidden behind the ram skull mask, making the embrace appear somewhat unnatural.
From this brother, Selene felt an invisible pressure, as if an unseen collar had been placed around his neck, causing him intense discomfort.
Blazkowicz felt the rigidity in his arms and gently patted Selene's back, signaling for him to relax.
He then unprompted, smoothly pushed his brother back with flawless etiquette, effortlessly smoothing over the subtle friction.
Knowing he had reacted defensively, Selene shook his head apologetically.
The suppressive force emanating from his brother felt innate, dampening his psychic sensitivity and causing the discomfort.
Yet deep within his instincts, Selene held no actual aversion toward him.
He had previously hesitated to embrace Sanguinius because that beautiful brother bore obvious mutations, triggering an instinctive reaction.
Selene's disgust toward non-human forms was practically encoded into his genes.
"My brothers."
His crisp voice echoed loudly across the fortress square. Selene handed his staff to an attendant and placed both hands on the ram skull mask.
Unfastening the leather thongs, he revealed the face he had inherited from the Master of Mankind.
Hiss—
Breath seemed to hitch across the grounds. The Legion warriors held their breath, unable to avert their eyes.
Blazkowicz and Vulkan were equally astonished upon seeing their brother's true face.
They had pictured Selene's features, but they had never imagined his face would appear so... pure.
Facing this handsome visage, the only word that came to their minds was "pure."
Nahiel Selene.
The returned brother was strikingly handsome, with facial features closely resembling those of ancient Terra's East Asians: sword-like eyebrows, starlight eyes, a straight nose, a jade-like complexion, and vibrant lips over white teeth.
Standing with the ram skull held in hand, he radiated an extraordinary presence, bearing an unmistakable royal majesty.
Yet he possessed unique traits: hair as red as flame, conveying a natural fiery fervor, and bright eyes like a silver moon, adding a touch of cool distance.
His appearance was exceptionally handsome, but his demeanor was even more distinct.
Purity. A unique air continuously emanated from Selene.
He seemed to be the perfect archetype of humanity, making anyone who saw him think: This is how a human ought to look.
Even at five meters tall with red hair and silver eyes, nothing detracted from his pure presence; it was as if he were born for purity itself.
Every human trait sat in complete harmony upon him, leaving no room for a single stain of corruption.
"Let us go," Vulkan said, placing a hand on his brother's arm and guiding Selene toward the command hall. "I cannot stay away from the command console for long. We can talk more inside."
"Our father holds high hopes for you."
As they walked along the red carpet, the Lord of Dragons spoke with deep emotion, a flicker of envy passing through his crimson eyes.
Every Primarch inherited a portion of the Emperor's nature.
Within these extraordinary traits lay the Master of Mankind's hopes for the future of his bloodline offspring.
Vulkan could tell right now that among all the brothers, no one was more human than Selene.
Walking alongside his two brothers, Selene shook his head modestly, indicating he could not yet fully comprehend such matters.
In his current understanding, many things remained difficult to grasp.
"Father cannot grant you an audience at the moment," Vulkan said warmly, asking about his brother's next step. "Will you take command of your Legion first, or review the war situation?"
Standing on the stone steps of the command fortress, Vulkan pointed into the distance, where the formations of the Eleventh Legion waited to be reviewed.
"I will look at the war situation first," Selene replied with a polite smile. "Understanding the current state of affairs will help me better comprehend the Imperium."
He raised his hand to signal the Eleventh Legion, dismissing the assembled ranks of his offspring.
As they mounted the steps, he asked, "Is our father very busy right now?"
"Extremely busy," Blazkowicz said, turning his back to his brother and pointing toward the golden fortress. "He is engaging the enemy on the ethereal plane."
The Emperor rarely made physical appearances; a golden sun deep within the Immaterium fought unseen, twisted entities, keeping a demigod at bay.
"Is that him?" Selene asked in surprise, pointing at the golden radiance illuminating half the blue sky.
Upon entering the J-11 system, he had noticed the golden fortress.
He had assumed the massive wave of golden psychic energy was a joint ritual designed to suppress xenos sorcery.
He had never imagined that such an impossibly vast psychic power belonged to a single individual.
A silent shock rose within him as he gained a whole new appreciation for the Emperor's strength.
He could finally understand the supreme reverence in the eyes of the Space Marines on the Red Tear whenever they mentioned the Emperor.
Such a powerful, extraordinary existence was truly beyond imagination.
"A portion of his power maintains psychic communications," Blazkowicz said, gesturing for them to keep walking. "His true self is not here."
Selene's eyes widened. He cast another glance at the golden fortress in the void, then shook his head and kept pace with his brothers.
That was only a portion of his power?
The Emperor's strength was truly terrifying, standing supreme above all things.
The three quickened their pace, strides bringing them into the command hall. Chatting continuously along the way, they walked straight to the tactical hololith.
"Xenos?!"
Selene's crisp voice suddenly shifted as he pointed at the stone beneath the command platform, his eyes flashing with surprise.
He had assumed it was a pile of useless rock, but he detected life signatures coming from within it.
Hearing the sharp disgust rising in his brother's voice, Blazkowicz placed a hand on his arm, motioning with his eyes for him to stay calm.
"It is like this—" Vulkan stepped forward quickly, gesturing for the Firedrakes to temporarily lead the silicon-based lifeform away, and began explaining the circumstances.
The Lord of Dragons spoke in a deep, powerful voice, detailing everything from tactical planning to execution, clearing away the fog of confusion for his brother.
Although many technical terms were unfamiliar, Selene's Primarch intellect allowed him to nod along and grasp the general idea: utilizing the innate traits of a xenos lifeform to execute a swift and effective strike, using decapitation tactics to destroy the enemy's command structure.
"I see," he said, nodding in comprehension, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Your arrangements are excellent, making full use of available resources."
"However—"