On Baal, the homeworld of the Blood Angels Chapter, the blood-red stellar glow still enveloped this ancient desert planet and its two moons.
The homeland of The Great Angel Sanguinius resembled a wasteland, with the ancient and sacred Angel Keep standing amidst the sea of sand, even though thousands of years had buried many parts of Angel Keep under the yellow sand.
When humanity first colonized this planet, Baal and its two moons both had Earth-like atmospheres, and the natural environment was far more comfortable than it is now. Although the local star emitted highly toxic radiation, at least humanity once called this place 'a paradise for mortals'.
The main planet of Baal had always been a rust-red desert world, much like Mars, but its moons were a paradise for mortals, where people lived in harmony with nature, enjoying the blessings of high art and science, far from the suffering of struggle for survival and the chaos of war.
They even ventured onto the barren surface of the main planet of Baal, leaving behind colonies and astonishing architecture.
To this day, the magnificent urban ruins and majestic monuments forged with mythical technology, scattered across the main planet of Baal and its moons, still stand unyielding in the torrent of time, allowing one to glimpse the past glory of the Baalians.
But in the old night of the Dark Age of Technology or the Age of Strife, fierce battles erupted on the three planets of Baal.
The war, accompanied by the widespread use of weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear and viral weapons, completely destroyed the planet's ecosystem.
The main planet of Baal and its two moons were therefore severely polluted, their surfaces filled with strong radioactive dust, chemical toxins, and deadly biological viruses.
From then on, the Baalians could only struggle to survive on the heavily polluted land, facing a hostile environment and terrifying Mutants attacks.
The once prosperous paradise transformed into today's apocalyptic wasteland.
Before humanity arrived at the three planets of Baal, an alien race lived on this planet, though what exactly they were is now unknown.
But the golden angel and dark angel they worshipped were inherited by humanity.
These two angels engage in an eternal struggle in the invisible sea of souls; whenever a son of Baal protects the innocent, the golden angel becomes stronger, and whenever someone succumbs to the Black Rage, the dark angel becomes stronger.
This is also the most fundamental source of the Black Rage, one of the two major genetic flaws of the Blood Angels Chapter: the Blood Thirst and the Black Rage.
The death of Sanguinius only triggered the Blood Angels' Black Rage and deepened its influence, but it was not its cause.
But in any case, the Blood Thirst and the Black Rage plague Sanguinius's sons. For thousands of years, countless Blood Angels have been unable to extricate themselves due to the influence of these two genetic flaws, ultimately leading to one tragic end after another.
Within the massive Angel Keep, an astonishing number of Blood Angels who have succumbed to the Black Rage and cannot be saved are imprisoned.
Compared to the Black Rage, the Blood Thirst is a relatively easier problem to control.
After all, although it sounds very cruel, for the Imperium, Blood Angels drinking a little human blood is not really a big problem.
It's just that for their own reputation (after all, they are The Great Angel's children, and their image must be perfect) and the serious consequences of indulging in the Blood Thirst (betraying The Great Angel's teachings and reverting to ghouls), the Blood Angels have always kept this secret hidden.
Dante, the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels, is an old warrior who has served the Imperium for over sixteen hundred years, and in his long life, he has fallen victim to the curse of the Blood Thirst more than once.
In 518.M40, while still not the Chapter Master, Dante was fighting invading Chaos Space Marines in the Hive City of Tobias Halt. Dante felt deep self-reproach and anger for failing to protect the workers of the Hive City, which led to an outbreak of his Blood Thirst.
The enraged Dante not only suffered an outbreak of the Blood Thirst but also nearly triggered his Black Rage, which brought him immense power, allowing him to directly cut down six Chaos Space Marines.
But the maddened Dante did not stop there; instead, he began attacking nearby civilians and draining their blood until Sanguinius appeared out of nowhere and knocked Dante unconscious on the spot.
The Blood Angels who arrived afterward executed the civilians not killed by Dante to conceal the secret of the Blood Thirst from the Imperium.
Upon awakening, Dante felt deep guilt and disgust for his loss of control. He swore that from then on, he would never allow himself to drink blood again unless it was for a Chapter sacred rite.
Long-term refusal to drink blood caused Dante to age rapidly; beneath his golden helmet was an old and shriveled face, and his body had also been in a state of weakness for a long time.
Yet now, holding a glass of red wine, Dante felt his Blood Thirst suppressed, or rather, temporarily 'satisfied'.
His weak and aged body felt nourished, with warm energy flowing throughout, giving Dante a long-unfelt sensation of being full of strength.
He could particularly feel that his body, aged by long-term suffering from the Blood Thirst, was rapidly returning to its normal state. If anyone could see it, Dante's formerly aged face beneath his helmet was gradually becoming younger.
At least a middle-aged handsome blonde, not a white-haired old man.
"What exactly is this?" Dante took off his helmet, which was carved with the face of Sanguinius, and looked at the Inquisitor before him, asking the question that concerned him and all the Blood Angels present the most.
Dante had not taken off his helmet for a very long time, to conceal his face, which was ravaged by the Blood Thirst.
And the fact that his body was weakened from not drinking blood for a long time was well-known among the Blood Angels' high command.
Yet now, he clearly looked like he had recovered, which could not but arouse great curiosity among the Blood Angels' high command.
This Inquisitor had arrived on Baal not long ago. After visiting Angel Keep, he delivered a message to the Blood Angels: a Blood Angel serving in the Deathwatch had discovered something that could suppress the Blood Thirst.
This news shocked the entire Blood Angels high command; they couldn't believe the Imperium actually had something that could suppress the Blood Thirst.
But then the Inquisitor pulled out a bottle of wine and said that this was what could suppress the Blood Thirst.
After a flurry of verification, and after Chief Librarian Mephiston confirmed it was not a trick of Chaos, and even Sanguinius manifested, Dante, against all objections, personally drank a glass of sanctus wine.
The result was now evident to everyone. The Blood Angels no longer doubted that this substance could suppress the Blood Thirst, but they now very much wanted to know what exactly it was and how much of it there was.
If necessary, the Blood Angels would secure it at all costs.
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