He was born into a cruel world shrouded in eternal night, a place of only barren wastelands and broken ruins.
Thick, polluted cloud layers perpetually blocked the sky, stingily allowing only a few faint rays of sunlight to filter through.
The geological structure of this world was highly unstable, its landscape constantly reshaped by ongoing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
People were forced to lead a wandering, nomadic existence. Only the strongest tribes could occupy those rare, relatively calm places to live. Bloody conflict never ceased in the struggle for scarce resources and safe land.
When his gestation pod streaked across the sky like a meteor, it ultimately embedded itself deep within the rock layers of a mountain peak.
He was fortunate to survive. His innate talent and knowledge born with him allowed him to adapt quickly to this cruel world.
He climbed out of the pod and miraculously survived.
By instinct, he avoided and hunted giant beasts, seeking shelter in the cracks and crevices of ruins.
From a distance, he had glimpsed the campfires of nomadic tribes, but he always kept his distance.
He preferred to explore the truth alone, about the metal capsule that had brought him from the sky, about the inborn mission he possessed.
However, when he finally returned to the crash site to investigate, he unexpectedly awakened a giant beast slumbering deep underground.
In that moment, he understood: his mission was to end this calamity, awakened because of him.
Thus, he embarked on the path of the hunt.
This was not only to atone for the mistake he had made, but also to protect this world that had not yet accepted him.
Yet, he was not the only one hunting that monster. There was also a group of xenos hunters, clad in pitch-black armor, with slender, elongated forms.
They were like shadows of death. Wherever they passed, not a blade of grass grew.
An entire nomadic tribe was slaughtered to the last. The survivors were all reduced to slaves in chains. And these hunters had already cast their greedy eyes upon that giant beast.
And he always remained hidden in the dark.
The piercing cries of the captured innocents being tortured were like knives carving into his heart. The flames of anger burned in his eyes, yet he had to force himself to calm down.
Rushing alone against hundreds of fully armed xeno hunters would be suicide.
That wasn't saving people; that was seeking death.
He had to lie low, wait for the perfect moment.
When that giant beast was finally captured by the xenos, he himself was captured due to exposure.
Though he fought desperately and killed several xenos before losing consciousness, he ultimately couldn't withstand the corrosion of their poisoned weapons. His consciousness sank into darkness.
These slender xenos were clearly not natives.
They herded the captives towards a strange, inverted teardrop-shaped giant portal, activating it with some unknown technology.
In its dormant state, this portal was just an isolated stone archway in the wilderness. Passing through it caused no anomaly.
But when rippling, dim blue light crackled across its frame, all living beings who crossed the threshold were transported to a twisted and bizarre alien space, a strange passage seemingly connecting two worlds.
The captured slaves were imprisoned aboard the xenos' ferocious-shaped ships. These arrogant xenos had no caution regarding the frail human captives.
He couldn't let these xenos transport them to an unknown destination.
However, the intricately interwoven passages branched into countless forks, each leading to an unpredictable fate.
He gritted his teeth, regret filling his heart over his recklessness.
The moment he stepped into this passage, he was already trapped.
But just as despair set in, a turning point suddenly arrived.
A squad of xenos wearing strange, smiling masks suddenly appeared. Their comically exaggerated attire formed a strange contrast with their deadly, fierce attacks.
In the blink of an eye, dozens of xenos hunters lay as mutilated corpses.
He seized the opportunity to break his chains. Bare-handed, he beat two of the xenos guarding them to death and shouted to the captives, "Run, run! Follow me!"
At a nearby fork in the road, a masked xenos opened a door glowing with faint light.
Whether heaven or hell lay beyond, it was their only chance to escape!
Curses from the xenos hunters exploded behind them. The giant beast, somehow freed, also let out a deafening roar. It and the crowd all rushed towards that door simultaneously, and much faster than the mortals.
He kept one eye on the masked xenos while fleeing for his life, planning how to kill xenos efficiently. Then he saw the masked xenos gracefully bow to him. The exaggerated grin on its mask grew even more sinister and unfathomable in the dim light.
The giant beast ignored the xenos and went straight through the door.
He abandoned his original plan and, along with the panicked crowd, surged through the bizarre, shimmering door. Behind him came the hysterical roar of the xeno:
"Harlequins!"
....
Beyond the door was a crimson sky and erupting volcanoes. This familiar environment made him think he had returned to his own world.
There was also a winding trail on the ground, left by that giant beast.
He spun around. That strange portal was still open, dim blue energy rippling restlessly within its frame.
He shouted to the still-shaken crowd, "Split up and run! They'll be here soon!"
The people, just freed from danger, didn't even have time to catch their breath before they had to drag their exhausted bodies and continue fleeing into the unfamiliar volcano.
Only he stood alone outside the portal. The moment the first xenos emerged, the dagger he had taken from a xenos corpse struck like a venomous snake, precisely piercing its chest.
He had no time to loot. More xenos were already pouring from the portal's light.
He grabbed a xenos rifle and tried to fire, but no bullets came.
He decisively pulled out his dagger and fled, the enraged shrieks of the xenos behind him.
This was exactly what he wanted. The more who chased him, the safer the others would be.
...
"ROAR!"
The giant beast raised its ferocious head as it dove, a deafening roar erupting from its throat.
Scorching dragonflame instantly engulfed the entire xenos squad. They melted into molten metal without a scream, sizzling on the rocky ground.
The giant beast's thick tail swept like a giant whip, slamming two xenos who had, by luck, avoided the flames hard into the cliff.
Sharp claws easily tore through xenos bodies. Its jaws crushed the last xenos, but the pain from a whip lash made it fling the creature away in discomfort.
The xenos struggled, crawling towards its comrade's poison crystal rifle.
But he had never left. He had been planning a counterattack all along. He plunged his dagger through the xenos' skull.
He and the giant beast in tacit coordination slaughtered over twenty xenos. Although the attempt to communicate failed due to language barriers, the youth wasn't discouraged.
The giant beast's crimson pupils never showed hostility. Their stance against the xenos was aligned.
This giant beast was most likely tamed. Otherwise, it wouldn't have saved him.
Its master was probably on the way. He wouldn't have to fight alone.
The master of this giant beast stirred his heart. Someone who could tame this beast must be a true powerhouse!
He was used to solitude, but he didn't dislike humans.
He deliberately avoided contact with nomadic tribes because those frail mortals couldn't provide him with substantial help and might even be destroyed because of his mission.
But he always longed for someone as strong as him. Only such a person could be his kind!
The lonelier a person, the more they crave their own kind.
But first, he had to survive.
He had to kill these xenos, and he also had to kill that giant beast; it was his mission!
Just as he was planning another ambush, the giant beast suddenly raised its head. The youth looked up too.
"ROAR!"
.....
Juno's massive body seemed to blot out the sky to mortal eyes, but compared to the towering Mount Deathfire, it was still a drop in the ocean.
If she had landed deep within Mount Deathfire, Caelan would have had difficulty finding her quickly.
But at this moment, dozens of Drukhari anti-gravity bikes hovered in the air like bloodthirsty swarms of mosquitoes, clearly hunting something.
From deep within the mountain came deafening crashing sounds, as if some colossal object was rampaging through the jagged cliffs.
Juno could fly; she wouldn't crash through mountains. But the only giant beast in Mount Deathfire was Juno!
Caelan initially thought Juno, unable to fly due to injured wings, was forced to flee through the volcano.
However, just as he prepared to investigate, a deafening roar erupted beneath his feet.
"ROAR!"
Vulkan's eyes blazed with joy, "It's Mother's voice!"
Caelan recognized it, too. He immediately descended with Vulkan, following the sound until he found Juno.
Juno's mountain-like body coiled in the battlefield, strewn with the remains of over twenty Drukhari around her.
"Mother!"
Vulkan rushed towards Juno. When he saw the shocking wounds among her dark red scales, his dark face twisted with anger.
Caelan, both pained and helpless, scolded her, his words laced with lingering fear: "Didn't I tell you to avoid them?"
Juno proudly raised her head, letting out low growls from her throat as if protesting.
Me avoid them?
She just got a few scales scratched. The Drukharis lost their lives. This was a great victory!
Caelan's face hardened, his tone stern, "Drukhari can resurrect. No matter how many you kill, it's futile!"
Juno's eyes widened. She opened her jaws in disbelief. Had she been injured for nothing?
Although Drukhari could indeed resurrect, the cost was enormous. Only Archons or high-ranking members of Kabals could pay it.
Resurrection worked in two steps: first, clone the original body, which was simple.
Second, summon the soul from the Warp. But Eldar souls belong to Slaanesh. This was like stealing food from a tiger's mouth.
If too much time passed and the soul had already returned to Slaanesh, no one could save them.
Resurrection also costs part of the soul each time, making them even more thirsty.
The Imperium's teleportation technology worked similarly, also in two steps.
First, quantize the body, transmit it, and reconstitute it. Second, launch the soul into the Warp and have it rebound back into the body.
These two steps happened simultaneously. During teleportation, both soul and body faced risks.
The body might get stuck in a wall during reconstitution. The soul might be corrupted traversing the Warp.
Theoretically, Warp exposure during teleportation was very brief; Warp entities usually couldn't detect them.
But if someone was waiting for you during teleportation, you were delivering yourself to their door.
Juno, unaware of resurrection's limitations, only thought she had been injured for nothing. She angrily clawed at the Drukhari corpses to vent.
Caelan waited silently for her to finish venting, his face still stern, "Do you know you were wrong?"
Juno guiltily lowered her head, her crimson vertical pupils narrowing slightly, showing a hint of ingratiation.
Low whimpers came from deep in her throat, like a child who made a mistake begging forgiveness.
Caelan's heart softened. He gently stroked the whip welt on Juno's cheek, "Don't take risks like that again. Don't make me and Vulkan worry, understand?"
Juno carefully nuzzled Caelan's cheek with her snout, a soft rustling sound as rough scales met skin.
Vulkan didn't interrupt his parents' tender moment. He turned and walked towards the youth.
Blood still dripped from the dagger in the youth's hand. Wariness and confusion were evident in his eyes.
"Thank you." Vulkan extended his dark hand.
The youth frowned, not immediately responding to the kindness, "Why thank me?"
From their earlier exchange, he had roughly understood this language.
It was a talent he was born with. He knew thousands of Low Gothic dialects.
"Thank you for saving my mother."
"Actually, she saved me."
The youth's voice carried a hint of discomfort. He reached out and grasped the dark hand.
Vulkan showed a simple and honest smile. His mother didn't leave intact corpses.
Among the scattered Drukhari remains, half were intact, wounds caused by blades and guns.
His mother couldn't do that.
Without the youth, his mother might have been in grave danger.
"I am Vulkan."
The youth was silent for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "I have no name. You can call me Ten."
Vulkan's red eyes widened slightly. 'Why would someone so old have no name? Didn't he have parents?'
The youth asked, "Those are... your parents?"
"Yes."
Vulkan's answer silenced the youth. His gaze shifted back and forth between Caelan and Juno, trying to find a logical explanation.
Otherwise, it was hard to imagine how a human and a dragon could mate, and how they could produce a black child.
This defied genetics.
Caelan walked slowly towards them, his gaze falling on the youth. "How old are you?" He saw at a glance that this youth wasn't human!
If any mortals could slaughter Drukharis like him, Astartes would be redundant.
The youth asked, "How do you define time?"
"One, two, three, four, five... counting to sixty is a minute. Sixty minutes is an hour. Twenty-four hours is a day. Three hundred sixty-five days is a year."
The youth did some mental arithmetic, "Half a year."
Vulkan stared intently at the youth. A mortal infant at half a year could barely crawl, but this one was already a youth!
Vulkan's voice was full of expectation, "Are you my brother?"
The youth frowned. "I am not a human/beast... hybrid."
Vulkan paused, a helpless expression crossing his dark face. "Neither am I. You misunderstood. They are my foster parents."
The youth's gaze fell on Juno. If he was adopted, that made sense.
But even if Vulkan was adopted, his foster parents' human/beast relationship was still too ahead of its time.
"I fell from the sky. The number on my gestation pod was eighteen. You told me to call you Ten. Your number is ten, right?"
The youth stared blankly at Vulkan. Now he believed Vulkan was his brother.
They were both orphans from the sky. But Vulkan was fortunate enough to have foster parents, while he had nothing.
The youth's feelings were complicated. He didn't understand the emotion, a mix of joy at finding a brother and envy towards his brother.
Vulkan extended his hand to the youth again, "Father says fate is always full of surprises. Welcome to Nocturne, brother."
The youth took his hand but frowned. "Isn't this Medusa?"
"This is Nocturne. Father says my homeworld has very distinct features."
"Perhaps my homeworld is as harsh as yours."
Caelan asked gently, "How did you come to be here?"
The youth looked at his brother and, without hiding anything, recounted his experience.
"Harlequins?"
The youth didn't know the meaning of the word, but Caelan was familiar with them.
The Aeldar had four main branches: Drukhari, Craftworld Aeldar, Exodites, and Harlequins.
Drukhari were the orthodox heirs of the ancient Aeldar Empire, equally obsessed with pleasure.
Craftworld Aeldar were riddle-obsessed madmen, often causing trouble based on their Farseers' prophecies, then getting themselves killed.
Harlequins were also riddle-obsessed, but more normal than Craftworlders.
They served the only remaining Aeldar god, the Laughing God Cegorach. They were also messengers of the Black Library and guardians of the Webway.
But due to their riddle-like nature, they also did inexplicable things guided by prophecy. However, they had no foothold in the material realm and didn't raid the Imperium like Drukhari. Overall, they were the most harmless Eldar.
The ones who sent Fulgrim to Baal were also Eldar.
But those Aeldar weren't strangely dressed; they clearly weren't a Harlequin troupe.
Now Harlequins sent a Primarch to Nocturne. Was this coordinated?
Caelan didn't believe in coincidences. With so many worlds in the galaxy, why open the door specifically on Nocturne?
Whatever the Harlequins' goal, if they intended to have Caelan owe a favor, he could accept it.
Caelan couldn't guarantee much, but he could ensure the Imperium spared their lives when reclaiming the Webway. Harlequins merely played the fool; Craftworld Aeldars were the true fools!
"We must eliminate them quickly!"
Vulkan clenched his hammer. 'That lurking Webway portal in Mount Deathfire was a hidden danger. It had to be destroyed quickly, or Mother might encounter misfortune again when returning to hunt.'
Caelan looked at the youth, his smile gentle, "Since you have no name, how about I give you one?"
"Must I call you Father, too?" The youth looked up, his eyes uncertain or expectant.
"I won't force you. You can also call me Mentor. Your other brothers address me that way."
"What name do you want to give me?"
"Ferrus Manus."