The summons came in the form of a vox-sigil, etched in auramite and set in a sealed case of crystal. Only one entity in the galaxy could send it.
Varian handed it to Aurelius without a word. Even among the Custodes, such orders were rare.
Aurelius broke the seal. The sigil unfolded into the voice of Constantin Valdor himself, the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes:
"Shield-Brother Aurelius. Your presence is required upon the Throneworld. You will present yourself at the Eternity Gate within one solar week. The Emperor's eyes are upon you."
The message ended with the sound of ceremonial horns.
Caltrius was still rebuilding, but Aurelius knew there was no choice in this matter. He left Varian and Malcor to oversee the last stages of recovery, entrusting them with Orestia's defense. The city would endure; his duty was now elsewhere.
The journey to Terra was quiet. Even aboard the rapid Custodes strike-craft, Aurelius spent the days in meditation. He reviewed the battle in the catacombs over and over — the feel of Conqueror's Haki flaring against the warband leader, the exhaustion after the sealing of the pit.
He knew the Captain-General would see through any attempt to hide his strain.
The Eternity Gate was as he remembered from his indoctrination years: a mountain of gold and adamantine guarded by thousands of Custodians, every one of them still and watchful, their gaze like a drawn blade.
Aurelius walked the marble causeway alone. His footsteps echoed between statues of long-dead heroes, each one a warning and a standard. He passed the lines without challenge — his armor and bearing enough to mark him as kin — until he reached the Hall of the Watch.
There, Constantin Valdor awaited him.
Valdor was a wall of gold, his guardian spear etched with scenes of victories older than the Imperium itself. His eyes, pale and sharp, studied Aurelius with the precision of a master artisan inspecting a new blade.
"You've been busy," Valdor said. His voice was low but carried across the hall.
Aurelius inclined his head. "Caltrius required intervention."
"It required more than that. Reports speak of you halting a Chaos warband and sealing a daemon-temple. They also speak of… an effect. Not psychic. Not warp-born. An emanation that broke mortal will and bolstered the faithful."
The words hung in the air. Around them, Custodians shifted slightly, listening.
Valdor gestured toward a side hall. "Walk with me."
They passed through chambers of white marble and gold leaf, beneath frescoes of the Emperor's greatest battles. Valdor's tone was unreadable.
"The Emperor is aware of what you carry, Aurelius. We do not call it by your name for it — 'Haki' — but we know it is not of the warp. That alone makes it… rare. Valuable. Dangerous."
"I serve the Throne," Aurelius said simply.
"You serve Him," Valdor corrected, "and in so doing, you may find others who wish to bend your gift toward their own ends. Inquisitors will call it a weapon to be studied. High Lords will see it as a lever. Even some among our own ranks will want to test it… and you."
They stopped before a set of doors carved with the sigil of the Imperial Palace's inner sanctum.
"Inside," Valdor said, "you will stand before Him. Speak truth. He already knows the measure of your soul, but He will judge the measure of your will."
The doors opened. Light spilled out like the first dawn over a battlefield.
Aurelius stepped through.