The remaining memories in the head of the corpse appeared before Inquisitor Greyfax's eyes.
Her perspective slowly merged with the eyes of the corpse in its living moments.
Greyfax saw herself standing behind a red-armored Terminator Sorcerer.
This was clearly the Black Legion leader Abaddon had dispatched to this fortress. Greyfax quickly surveyed her surroundings through the corpse's memories, confirming that this squad was primarily led by Word Bearers.
Most of the Word Bearers in the Black Legion were thorough traitors, not only betraying their faith in the Emperor but also the blasphemous faith of the daemon Primarch Lorgar.
Some were driven by hatred for the Imperium, others by pure greed, choosing to pledge allegiance to Great Raider Abaddon.
Based on the corpse of this Word Bearer, Greyfax quickly identified the composition of this squad.
Veterans of the Long War!
This entire squad of Word Bearers were all traitors who had survived the Great Heresy ten thousand years ago, members of the former Word Bearers Legion.
For most Imperials, the glory of the Great Crusade and the horror of the Horus Heresy were merely past history, or even ancient myths.
But the flow of time in the Warp is erratic and unpredictable. Many of the Chaos Astartes who had experienced the Great Heresy were still alive, still determined to exact revenge on the Imperium, eager to overthrow the Imperium, destroy it, and avenge the failure of the Great Heresy.
Abaddon had actually sent an entire squad of Veterans of the Long War to intercept the Expedition. What relic was Belisarius Cawl protecting that made Abaddon so concerned?
"Warmaster!"
A cry of alarm rang out. The leading Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer suddenly walked to the door.
The door burst open, and the snowstorm outside surged into the fortress. Cold wind constantly swept through the slender Eldar architecture.
A Chaos Lord, clad in pitch-black Terminator power armor, with the Eye of Horus intertwined with the eight-pointed star of Chaos carved on his chest, a claw on his left hand, and a glowing blue longsword covered in screaming faces in his right, emerged from the snowstorm.
His crimson topknot swayed in the wind. The favor of the Chaos Gods manifested as four layers of dark, evil power clinging to him, making him seem like a vessel for the Gods' power in the material universe.
Ezekiel Abaddon, Great Raider Abaddon, Abaddon the Despoiler.
On Cadia, Greyfax had once seen this former First Captain of the Horus' Sons, the instigator of thirteen Black Crusades.
Seeing him again now, even if only in memory, Greyfax still found his presence exceptionally terrifying.
Twenty-two bodyguards surrounded him, entering the fortress with him. Among them was a monstrous, twisted Hellbrute.
Hellbrutes are similar to the Imperium's Dreadnoughts, but far more terrifying, a complete embodiment of fear. The Chaos Astartes interred within them have merged with the metal, their souls enduring almost eternal torment.
Greyfax felt her scalp tingle. Abaddon had arrived on Krasus so early; this was not like him.
"Warmaster! Why are you here!" The Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer also quickly stepped forward, voicing the same question as Greyfax.
"A Dark God has a gift for you," Abaddon said slowly.
The Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer was first bewildered, then confused, and finally, his eyes gleamed with surprise.
He seemed to believe that a Dark God was about to bestow a blessing upon him.
The other traitors accompanying the Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer also showed signs of joy.
They were one step closer to vengeance.
Greyfax could feel it, the suppressed anger and hatred in this memory.
Flames fell from the sky, magnificent holy texts turned to rubble, sacred idols shattered, devout believers were dying, and the Son of God knelt in humiliation amidst the ruins.
God commanded another Son of God to bring destruction upon the city of Perfectio, which had devoutly believed in him.
Like the sulfurous fire rained down on Sodom in ancient Terran legends.
But Sodom was full of sin, and what sin had they committed?
Was piety also a sin?
Fire burned in the city. On that day, ten thousand Word Bearers swore in their hearts.
No matter how long it took, no matter the cost, they would avenge the shattering of their faith.
They would make Terra, make Macragge, shatter like the city of Perfectio.
"Which great God is it?" The Word Bearer involuntarily took a step forward.
"The Emperor, of course."
Abaddon's lips suddenly curled into a mocking smile:
"Is that dark enough?"
The Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer's expression instantly froze; he didn't react for a moment.
However, the twenty-two bodyguards accompanying Abaddon suddenly moved.
Sonic booms echoed in the fortress. These twenty-two Astartes were faster than the cold wind blowing in from outside.
Even the massive Hellbrute was far faster than an ordinary Astartes.
Their figures almost flickered. Each appearance meant another Word Bearer fell.
Especially the Hellbrute, which almost transformed into a whirlwind. Clanging sounds rang out, and in an instant, only corpses remained where he had swept through.
"Warmaster?! Why this way!!" The Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer let out a wail.
Abaddon was killing Word Bearers in the Emperor's name?
For a moment, Greyfax suspected that everything before her was an illusion.
"You are not the Warmaster!!!"
The Word Bearer Sorcerer let out a sharp shriek. The experience of a Veteran of the Long War made him react.
He quickly unleashed a series of roaring Psyker blasts at the "Abaddon."
However, the Hellbrute's figure suddenly flashed, blocking in front of "Abaddon," using its massive body to shield against the Psyker blasts.
But the Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer also seized the opportunity, quickly retreating to gather with the other surviving Word Bearers. He rapidly waved the staff in his hand, erecting layers of thick Psyker barriers, while simultaneously muttering a series of incantations.
Greyfax quickly deduced that the dark spell the Terminator Sorcerer was chanting was for short-distance teleportation via the Warp.
He wanted to run!
Could it be that because all the Word Bearers had fled, only one corpse was left in the entire fortress?
But after careful thought, Greyfax felt that something was wrong.
The Word Bearer was softly chanting the incantation.
In Greyfax's eyes, it was very slow, but she knew this was a time displacement caused by memory.
The Word Bearer only intended to quickly teleport to the snowfield outside, using the snowstorm for cover. The distance to be teleported was short, requiring only a very brief chanting time.
However, just then, the scene before Greyfax's eyes suddenly rippled.
In an instant, a layer of the illusion covering the twenty-two bodyguards and Abaddon peeled away.
The bodyguards' armor instantly turned blue, with the Omega symbol on their shoulder pads.
And Abaddon's height seemed to suddenly grow a bit, his hair also changed from a topknot to short golden hair, his face became serious and stern, and his power armor transformed into blue and gold interwoven armor.
Greyfax was momentarily stunned. That face… how was that face identical to the one in the Inquisition's records?
"Aren't you curious who I am?" The short, light-golden haired man standing in the center of the hall smiled slightly and said.
"No! Fulgrim already killed you!"
The Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer cried out in terror and rage. His teleportation ritual was interrupted, and even his Psyker shield wavered with the fluctuation of his mind:
"You have been fallen for ten thousand years!"
"Some things in this world will fall with the passage of time, but some things will always remain."
The "Guilliman," whose appearance was identical to the Inquisition's records, smiled and said to the Word Bearer priest:
"For example, your city of Perfectio is gone, but our Macragge is still beautiful!"
The city of Perfectio is gone, but our Macragge is still beautiful!
Greyfax watched this scene, listening to these words, feeling her mind more jammed than ever before, dumbfounded and bewildered.
A Primarch! A holy Primarch stood before her eyes!
Even if it was only seen through the traitor's memory, even if it was likely fake, Greyfax felt an immense shock.
And the Word Bearers almost instantly let out bestial roars, anger rapidly consuming their hearts.
The Psyker shield released by the Terminator Sorcerer, fueled by his anger, transformed into a living fire and smashed towards "Guilliman."
However, the flames passed straight through "Guilliman's" body; clearly, he was an illusion all along.
The ancient Dreadnought warrior, now stripped of its Hellbrute illusion, slammed into the Word Bearer Terminator Sorcerer like a meteor.
Even an Astartes with powerful Psyker abilities and clad in Terminator power armor could not withstand a super-high-speed charge from a Dreadnought chassis.
The Word Bearer was instantly sent flying like a cannonball, heavily impacting the wall, and was violently choked by the Dreadnought chassis' arm.
The Word Bearer whose memory Greyfax was examining turned his head in terror.
However, just then, the light and shadow before this Word Bearer's eyes suddenly rippled.
A man wearing a brown baseball cap, cat-shaped glasses, and with a cat's tail suddenly appeared before him.
The cat-man slowly performed an aquila salute towards the Word Bearer whose memory Greyfax was reading.
No, not towards the Word Bearer, but towards Inquisitor Greyfax, who was peering into him.
"My respects, Inquisitor Greyfax," the cat-man said with a smile, pressing down on his baseball cap.
As if he had guessed that Greyfax was peering into his memory.
Then, before Greyfax could clearly see what happened, a bullet struck the Word Bearer's chest, blood flowed out, and the memory abruptly ended.
Greyfax suddenly woke up, gasping for breath, her face filled with terror.
"..Primarch," Greyfax said, panting. "I saw the Primarch Robert Guilliman."
Belisarius Cawl's remaining half-face showed a slight change in expression.
"And a cat-man!" Greyfax continued. "A cat-man with excellent marksmanship!"
Reyna's expression also shifted slightly.