"This is the location of the seal you detected?"
Looking at the ordinary scene before him, the Chaos Warmaster Abaddon felt a trace of doubt. He frowned, surveying the grim cave entrance. It was like the mouth of a giant beast, opening silently against the grayish-white rock face. Deep, bottomless darkness surged within, like a thick mist that would never dissipate.
Abaddon's gaze swept over the cave walls. The rock surfaces were rough and unremarkable, with no Chaos runes, no psychic etchings, and not even a trace of Warp erosion. It looked like an entirely ordinary mountain cave.
Abaddon knew from the intelligence that a conventional unsealing would require finding seven different seal locations across the planet. Haarken Worldclaimer and his Night Lords had been tasked with that mission. However, they no longer had the time.
The main Imperial force could descend at any moment. The military strength carried by those Gloriana-class battleships was enough to grind the surface of this planet to dust multiple times over. They had no time to break the seven seals one by one or follow the tedious rules set by the Grey Knights ten thousand years ago.
Abaddon chose to go directly to the core of the seal. He intended to break it by force and conduct a ritual there, leaving the rest to the Four Chaos Gods. It was a logical gamble.
Behind Abaddon, his elite forces began to assemble. The Bringers of Despair gathered around him like silent shadows, their ancient power armor covered in scars from ten thousand years of war and marks of Chaos favor. The Chaos Sorcerers formed ranks, the tips of their staves flickering with dim Warp light that pulsed in the darkness like the eyes of deformed creatures.
One by one, named figures of Chaos converged—executioners who had slaughtered the Imperium on countless worlds, Chaos Champions whose very names struck terror into mortals. Abaddon had concentrated this power here in advance.
Abaddon turned his gaze back to the deep entrance. The darkness surged soundlessly, as if responding to his stare. An instinct that had never failed him in ten thousand years of slaughter whispered a subtle warning in his mind.
Should he advance or retreat? The Warmaster hesitated. Thinking of the strange movements of the Four Gods and the Daemon Primarchs who remained out of reach, a sense of foreboding began to grow.
"You need to make a decision quickly," Erebus said from his side. The Chaos runes on his face shimmered, the twisted symbols writhing under his skin as if they had a life of their own. The Dark Apostle's voice was calm to the point of indifference. "Our time is running out."
"Yes, you are right." Abaddon's expression turned grim. Those damned lackeys of the False Emperor! If they delayed any longer, reinforcements would arrive. "But there is no need to worry yet, they still have—"
Abaddon's words were cut short. Shrieks rang out across the sky. The sound was sharp and piercing, as if the air itself was being torn apart. It came from high above the atmosphere, forcing everyone to look up.
In the sky, drop pods on a scale even larger than the initial Chaos invasion began to descend. They drew streaks of brilliant white light as they fell, filling the horizon like a meteor shower. Accompanied by the roar of rocket boosters, massive numbers of Thunderhawk gunships and Voidbirds dived through the clouds, their engines echoing across the heavens.
It was a torrent of steel and fury. It was the true main force of the Imperium.
Abaddon: "..." The other Chaos cultists: "..."
The blatantly jinxed nature of his statement left the Warmaster's face taut. The surrounding cultists carefully averted their eyes, pretending they had heard nothing. Abaddon cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. He made his decision and waved his hand.
"Advance."
The Black Legion marched into the deep cavern. The darkness inside was even thicker than it appeared from the outside. It felt physical, enveloping everyone like layer upon layer of heavy curtains. The Chaos Sorcerers raised their staves, and the dim Warp light barely illuminated the path. Under the light, the rocks reflected a strange, greasy luster, their surfaces covered in patterns that looked like veins.
Before long, as they traveled deeper into the path, everyone felt something—a presence sleeping in the depths of the cave. Relying on his intuition, Abaddon finally confirmed that a powerful psychic fluctuation was ahead. It surged from the depths of the cave like an ocean tide, washing over everyone's senses.
Abaddon suddenly burst into laughter. The sound echoed in the narrow cavern, striking the walls and reflecting back in multiple layers. Erebus frowned slightly.
"Why does the Warmaster laugh?"
Abaddon looked confident, his voice filled with his usual certainty. "I laugh at Guilliman's lack of wisdom, and I laugh at Ferrus's lack of wit. Even with a fleet of this size provided by that so-called Second Accursed One, what use is it? Here, victory is inevitably mine."
He paused, his eyes burning with Warp fire as he peered into the darkness ahead. "And now, that final victory is within our reach."
Erebus felt apprehensive. His lips moved as if to say something, and the Chaos runes on his face flashed as if warning of an approaching danger. But he did not speak.
In the next moment, intense explosions rang out. At first, it was a faint popping sound, like something breaking through the soil. Then, endless explosions erupted within the Chaos ranks.
The blasts bloomed beneath the feet of the Chaos warriors without warning. Holy, purifying flames erupted from every crack in the ground. Upon contact, the flames ignited both the flesh and armor of the Chaos faithful. Screams rose as the servants of Chaos, engulfed in golden fire, struggled desperately before being reduced to twisted ash.
Suddenly, massive golden figures appeared at the end of their vision. These figures were breathtakingly tall, clad in armor that shone like walking suns. Every inch of the plate was carved with intricate eagle motifs, and their helmets were topped with high crests that cut through the darkness.
They closed the distance with terrifying speed. The Chaos cultists were stunned by the sudden attack and suffered heavy losses under the rhythmic strikes. A Bringer of Despair tried to raise his bolter, but a golden giant was already before him.
A Guardian Spear slashed down in a movement of extreme simplicity. The heavy power blade cut through ceramite and flesh, splitting the Chaos warrior from head to pelvis. Blood and organs sprayed, leaving a fleeting stain on the golden armor.
The Chaos veterans who had fought in the Siege of Terra, including Abaddon and Erebus, saw their pupils contract. Those were... the Adeptus Custodes?!
Endymion, leading the charge and cutting down two Bringers of Despair with his Guardian Spear, looked at his great enemy. Even as serious as he was, he couldn't help but feel a silent amusement.
Was it real? Did they actually harbor the illusion that we wouldn't know the exact location?
The records of the seal of the Great Unclean One had indeed been lost in the Imperium's records over ten thousand years of dark turmoil. But they weren't entirely lost. After hearing the name Pandorax, Adam had directly resurrected a group of Grey Knights who had participated in the sealing of this Exalted Great Unclean One ten thousand years ago.
Those Grey Knights had returned from death, their memories still frozen at the moment the seal was completed. According to their accounts, the Imperium was perfectly aware of all the seal locations.
Endymion spoke with cold indifference. "Abaddon, we have been waiting for you here for a long time."