The tremors from tearing through the Warp veil had not yet fully subsided when the starlight of the real universe spilled through the observation windows of the battle barge, splashing onto the metal floor of the bridge.
Dantioch stood before the holographic tactical sand table, his hands pressed against the edges of the console, his expression solemn. Since parting ways with Lord Adam on the main world of Badab, this newly formed Iron Warriors warband had received a new battle barge specifically provided by Prometheus Labs, which they had subsequently disguised.
Under the joint guidance of several legendary Librarians, the barge had been adorned in a style indistinguishable from that of the Traitor Legions. Combined with the fact that most of the personnel on board were Iron Warriors from ten thousand years ago, the disguise was flawless. After wandering the galaxy for several weeks, they received clear instructions from Adam and crossed the Warp to arrive at this unknown planet.
In the center of the holographic sand table, an image of a planet rotated slowly, its details sharpening as scanning data flowed in. The surface of this planet was unlike any Dantioch had seen before. The images showed not natural mountains and canyons, but countless layered, tomb-like mounds.
Among these desolate barrows were the silhouettes of innumerable shrines and crooked idols of unidentifiable origin. Their style was so eerie and ancient that the lines of certain structures reminded Dantioch—who had fought in the Great Crusade—of records of xenos civilizations far older than the Imperium of Man.
The ground was utterly shattered, composed of a dark rock. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single trace of living green, only boundless silence and desolation. No signs of living things remained; it seemed to belong only to ghosts, or... something worse.
Dantioch knew the name of this planet.
—Arthas Moloch.
"How does it feel?" Dantioch's low voice broke the silence of the bridge. He turned his head slightly to look at the figure beside him, encased in dark blue power armor.
Fel Zharost, Chief Librarian of the Night Lords and one of the founding Grand Masters of the Grey Knights. He was currently unhelmeted; on his pale face, his soul-piercing eyes were half-squinted as he stared at the holographic image of the planet, his brow slightly furrowed.
Hearing the question, Zharost slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of non-human sharpness passing through his grey irises.
"It is terrible." Zharost's voice was steady but carried a bone-deep chill. "This planet... the veil between reality and the Warp is as thin as a cicada's wing. One could even say it has completely decayed, the two becoming indistinguishable. The whispers of the Warp are almost a physical background noise here. If demons wish to manifest, it would likely be ten times easier here than anywhere else."
He paused and added with absolute certainty: "If I were following standard operating protocols, I would not hesitate to recommend—Exterminatus. Purifying it completely from orbit is the most efficient and lowest-risk option."
Dantioch let out a heavy sigh, his pauldrons rising and falling slightly with the breath.
"Unfortunately, Zharost, this mission is the exact opposite of a 'normal situation.'"
"According to Lord Adam's orders, we are to find something very ancient on this damned planet where the Warp is bleeding through."
Recalling Adam's vague description gave him a bit of a headache. Finding a Dark Talon shuttle related to the Dark Angels on a planet? And a model from ten thousand years ago at that? What on earth—did those guys covered in little secrets actually come here?
Furthermore, Adam's specific description of the object's location was merely "one kilometer south of a temple with eight massive pillars." What kind of detailed coordinates were those? Looking at the holographic image, the signal points for suspected temple structures were as dense as a skin rash across the planet's surface. How were they supposed to find it?
However, Dantioch did not truly complain. He was used to it. The Emperor's contractor must have a deep reason for making such arrangements. Such vague guidance was perhaps an answer presented as a metaphor, based on the results of some prophetic observation.
Besides, Adam had not failed to explain the importance of this item—on the contrary, he had explained too much. Hidden within that ancient Dark Talon shuttle was something sought by Vashtorr, the minor Warp god and master of Soul Forges—a key crystal key fragment. When all key fragments are combined, Chaos can open a gate to the Webway left by the Old Ones, reaching the super-artifacts of lost eons.
What Dantioch did not know was that in the original timeline, since the Great Rift tore through the galaxy, Vashtorr and his subservient Warpsmiths and the Dark Mechanicum had been building horrific Arks of Omen and frantically searching for key fragments scattered across the galaxy. Because of the information gap, Adam was striking first while they were unaware.
The piece on Arthas Moloch was one of the few "unclaimed" fragments Adam knew of, not yet controlled by any powerful force. To obtain it was to hold an extremely heavy bargaining chip for a game against Vashtorr. At the same time, it was an incredibly sweet bait.
"The objective is clear." Dantioch turned around, his gaze sweeping over the battle brothers standing ready on the bridge. His voice became cold and hard, like a warhammer striking an anvil. "All units, prepare for landing."
He raised an armored hand, issuing orders one by one: "All accompanying Librarians, check and prepare anti-Warp runes. Battle-brothers, ensure your personal blackstone amulets and equipment are in good condition. Tech-Marines, double-check the physical armor of the drop pods."
Dantioch turned his gaze to the ominous planet outside the observation window, which was drawing closer.
"In ten minutes, we drop onto the surface of Arthas Moloch."
Time passed quickly.
Drop pods roared across the sky, retro-rockets kicking up clouds of dust upon impact. The hatches opened, and the elite squad composed of heroes of the Great Crusade stepped out. Under Dantioch's command, they split into pairs and began a meticulous grid-search of the planet.
However, the Iron Warriors soon discovered that the task was not as difficult as they had initially thought. In a sense, having Adam's description as a guide was actually quite useful. After detailed inspection, they found that although there were many temples on this planet, Adam's description served as a perfect reference, giving them a direction for their investigation.
Except...
"It seems we aren't the only ones who have been here," Pollux's voice said somberly over the vox channel.