Day 38, Year 988, 41st Millennium
Amidst the raging sandstorm, the hulking figure of a Space Marine in Terminator armor marched slowly but steadily toward the Hive City. A human followed closely behind him, attempting to use the Space Marine's massive frame as a shield against the wind.
Even though he had been luckier than he could have imagined—surviving a near-death situation and encountering this enigmatic Space Marine named "Arcas Vitarius of the Dark Angels Legion, Knight of Caliban, Keeper of Oaths, Blademaster, Conqueror of Cutf, Slayer of Kings, Subjugator of Rangdan Prime, One of the Followers of Luther"—who was the largest Space Marine he had ever seen, and dressed as if aspiring to be a knight.
Furthermore, the insignia on his left knee and right shoulder resembled that of a Deathwatch Space Marine he had seen once. He sensed that Arcas and that Space Marine must be connected in some way.
_Is that a name or a sentence?_ Eric grumbled inwardly. He didn't know how he managed to remember Arkas's incredibly long name and titles.
Although his situation had improved—and yes, it truly had—he now had to struggle to keep pace with Arcas. He was plagued by multiple injuries and complications: the pain in his abdomen from the aircraft debris impact, the lingering dull ache in his chest from the explosion, the pain in his legs and ankles, coupled with fever and hunger. It was genuinely terrible to force himself to walk while suffering from all these conditions simultaneously, even though the pain and illness were tormenting him greatly.
But Eric didn't utter a single complaint. Complaining would serve no purpose. It was better to grit his teeth, suppress the groans of pain, and walk on silently and cautiously.
And that wasn't the worst of it. He had only five rounds left for his scrap rifle. His ammunition was critically low; it might be enough to fight five Orks if he was lucky enough to hit a vital spot with every shot. But he wouldn't discard this weapon, as it might save his life in a critical moment.
When he scanned his surroundings again, he saw nothing but visibility obscured by the dust of the sandstorm. Ahead of him was only Arkas's broad back, which bore some signs of damage.
To distract himself and try to ignore the pain and sickness, he began to think about the future.
If he could make it back to Hive Kathion, what would he face? Eric hoped he could return to his normal life and go to that bakery to buy a huge cake as a reward for himself, regardless of the cost... but he feared it wouldn't be like that.
Vann must have prepared something for him. And thinking about that made Eric a little more anxious. Because Vann had told him to live his life normally, tell no one about this, and wait for a mission...
When that time came... what happened was he was kidnapped and dumped outside the Hive City, where the environment was extremely hostile, the air, ground, and dust were toxic. Then he had to travel 30 kilometers on foot, braving sandstorms, surviving Orks, mutants, and mutated beasts.
And what awaited him could be anything. For instance, he might get to return to his normal life. Or slightly worse, be taken to train in various skills necessary for the mission Vann wanted him to do.
The worst-case scenario was that Vann might order him to carry out an assassination mission without any training or preparation at all.
When he realized he had been traveling for about three days, he harbored a tiny hope that maybe Vann had arranged sick leave and time off documents for him, and maybe his salary would just be docked a little...
_But if he was actually fired from his current job, what would he do next...?_ He could find a new job... but the bad thing was he had almost no money left and might have to continue living in poverty.
If that scenario truly happened, he might have to rely on Vann for a long time. And during that time, he would probably have to do things he disliked and didn't want to do... Just thinking about it made him feel more discouraged and depressed.
_Stop dwelling on this, Eric... Survive first, then think about this later_Eric tried to tell himself. On the first day of the journey, he had thought about these things until he felt stressed, and thinking like this served no purpose right now.
It seemed Arcas sensed Eric's paranoia and wandering thoughts, so he asked in a flat tone without turning back,
"Are you afraid Orks will emerge from the sandstorm?" Arcas spoke emotionlessly, his voice deep and resonant. Eric, who was lost in thought, was startled and jumped, hurriedly replying with a slight panic.
"I... I'm just afraid the Orks will show up again, my lord," Eric replied stammering, trying to speak as politely as possible. He felt tense and shocked almost to the point of forgetting his pain. Arcas didn't turn back, merely continuing to walk before speaking further.
"You need not worry... my armor is equipped with auspex sensors. Any living being that enters its detection range will be revealed to me. You need not worry; in this area, there is nothing but you and me. Do not let anxiety consume you. If there is anything, I will alert you myself," Arcas explained calmly, as if trying to comfort him.
Eric sighed with relief. It seemed he was especially lucky today. Besides having a Space Marine save his life in the nick of time, he was also under protection. Moreover, he now felt more at ease because this Space Marine had advanced detection sensors befitting the future world.
He didn't even know what an Auspex sensor was.
"Thank you, my lord," Eric whispered softly. He thanked him automatically, fearing he would displease the other. Just using words that made him sound like a medieval peasant girl standing before a knight—he knew roughly what he had to say.
He didn't know how the other would react if he spoke normally, so speaking formally and politely was the best option.
Because he knew what it was like when a Space Marine was angry. Just thinking about Chaplain Samael threatening him with harsh words and gestures made him tremble with fear.
"That is a trivial matter; you need not thank me," Arcas tried to decline the thanks. That made Eric feel a bit more at ease, knowing Arkas wasn't that arrogant or haughty.
"And do you happen to know where the transport station or spaceport is located in this Hive City?" Arcas asked in a serious tone, demanding an answer. Eric tried to quickly recall what he could remember or knew immediately because he didn't want to displease the other. But the situation was worse than he thought because he hardly knew any part of the Hive City.
But luckily, after almost a minute passed, Eric finally remembered.
"...Uh... the spaceport is located in Hive City Sector 56b 72, my lord," Eric replied with slight nervousness. He secretly sighed softly. Luckily, he still remembered the exact location of that spaceport. And he waited anxiously to see how Arcas would react, fearing it would be like his first conversation with Chaplain Samael.
"The information you provided is somewhat useful to me... Very good," Arcas replied in an emotionless voice, showing no signs of anger or displeasure. Eric felt indescribably relieved. Now he hoped the journey would continue without problems and without much conversation. Not because he didn't want to talk to others.
But talking to a Space Marine made him feel quite uncomfortable, fearful, and tense. Both their arrogance and strange aura made the conversational partner feel afraid and awkward, steering the conversation in a direction where the other party would become uncomfortable instead.
"What are you doing out here... It is strange for a woman from the Upper Hive to travel alone amidst this dangerous wasteland," Arcas asked with curiosity, still without turning back to look. Eric swallowed hard. He hesitated whether to tell Arkas everything... If he told him the story tomorrow, it would be revealing some secrets... but if he didn't tell and didn't answer these questions, this Space Marine's suspicion might increase, reducing his chances of survival.
...The reason he had to travel alone in this wasteland was because a general wanted to test his abilities, so he ordered men to kidnap him and dump him outside the Hive City, then make him find his own way back or die.
Vann had said to keep the agreement and contract a secret, but he didn't say to keep this a secret.
"I was kidnapped, my lord... I was knocked unconscious, and when I woke up, I was already outside," Eric replied. His voice softened, clearly conveying sadness and depression about what had happened.
"I understand..." Arcas replied before turning back to look at Eric and making a sound like a soft chuckle, which made Eric feel rather uneasy.
"Heh heh heh, I know there is more to it than that, but I will not ask further about such matters... However, I would like to ask... do you worship the Emperor?" The atmosphere changed instantly. Arcas switched from walking forward to walking backward while his red helmet lenses stared at him relentlessly, as if trying to catch him in a lie.
Eric began to act awkward and grew more anxious. He maintained his pace, though his hand gripped the gun handle tightly. He didn't know Arcas's intention or if it was some form of test, but he had to answer truthfully, or he might die easily. As for fleeing or fighting back?
That was practically impossible because right now he didn't even have the strength to run. As for fighting, in his hands, the only things he could fight with were a crudely made short sword and a scrap rifle with only five rounds left. This scrap rifle probably wouldn't even do anything or scratch Arcas's armor.
But he was also afraid that if he told the truth, he would be accused of being a heretic.
"I do not worship the Emperor, my lord," Eric replied with a trembling voice, expecting the Space Marine in front of him to shout that he was a "heretic" and use the axe collected from the Ork corpse to chop him in two.
All this time, he had pretended to worship the Emperor for his own safety. But now, he had just told a Space Marine—known as the Emperor's Angel, who was loyal to the Emperor to the utmost—that he was a non-believer, or a heretic.
This action is no different from suicide, Eric thought fearfully.
While Eric anxiously awaited Arcas's reaction, Arkas showed no reaction to his answer and seemed rather relieved by it. Eric was also relieved that Arcas didn't shout that he was a heretic and cleave him in two with the axe.
But this Space Marine's behavior was very strange, definitely different from normal Space Marines.
"Then do you worship Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, or Slaanesh?" Arcas continued asking in a much more serious tone than before. Eric, who barely knew what Arcas was talking about—they were names that were quite strange and he had never heard before—answered honestly.
"I do not know what you are speaking of, my lord," Eric replied. Arcas seemed very satisfied with the answer before turning back to walk normally as before.
"At least there are still people with reason..." Arcas muttered to himself.
Seeing Arcas turn back to walk normally, Eric sighed in relief immediately. His shoulders relaxed. Now he felt safe and much less pressured.
But suddenly, Eric became suspicious of this Space Marine.
This Space Marine's behavior was very strange. A normal Space Marine would have killed him for heresy by now, but Arcas did nothing and seemed to agree with someone not thinking of the Emperor. There must be a clue.
Furthermore, the appearance of this Space Marine near the plane wreckage, the unfamiliar armor... His suspicion and growing curiosity finally overcame his fear.
Eric gathered his courage before shouting to ask Arcas about what he wanted to know directly.
"My Lord!!!... I want to know why you did not accuse me of heresy and kill me like a normal Space Marine would do. And why do you have an insignia like a Space Marine I saw a year ago!!! And I also want to know how you appeared near the plane wreckage?!" Eric's voice was muffled by the gas mask. To him, this was shouting, but with his current strength plus the gas mask, it was no different from speaking normally.
Arcas stopped walking before turning back to glare at Eric with a murderous aura radiating from his thick, three-meter-tall armored body.
Eric froze and trembled in fear immediately, cursing himself inwardly for deciding to do something so stupid.
_Why did you do this?! Eric, why did you speak without thinking like this? _Eric berated himself in his mind. Now his limbs felt weak under Arkas's gaze.
And soon, Arcas began to speak in a smooth, resonant, and terrifying voice.
"I admire your courage... You want to know about those things, do you not?... Very well, I will tell you... but I warn you first that what you are about to hear is considered forbidden history." While speaking, Eric saw Arcas rotate the axe slightly. That made him start to fear more, but what Arkas said was also interesting, especially the topic of forbidden history. Then Armas continued speaking.
"The story began 10,000 years ago on a place called Terra. The Emperor, who was the leader of humanity—not a god as these religious fanatics worship—waged the Unification Wars against the Techno-Barbarians and fought to unite humanity's homeworld before declaring humanity's greatest war. A war that brought hope and united humanity. A war that liberated humanity from ignorance, liberated them from tyrants and xenos," Arcas's voice changed to a tone of pride. The tension began to disappear, replaced by a feeling of awe, interest, and amazement at this forbidden history. It was like the content in history books he could find generally, just with some different content: Arcas said the Emperor was not a god and seemed to be considered just a supreme leader who waged a massive war to create the Imperium of Man.
Judging from the deeds and claims in some books that said the Imperium of Man covered the entire galaxy, the Milky Way, he wasn't too surprised that the Emperor was worshipped as a god.
Arcas's personality when speaking could easily sway listeners and inspire individuals.
"And this will be the prelude to the story of humanity's greatest war, the 'Great Crusade,' and the story of the Emperor's 18 Primarch sons."
_Wait, aren't there 9 Primarchs? _Eric thought suspiciously. The books he could read from bookstores and the sermons priests and nuns preached in churches didn't have content like this, did they?)