Titus woke up in a room so spacious it could be considered luxurious for an Astartes.
The Ultramarines adhere strictly to the Codex Astartes, and their rooms are usually very simple.
Even when Titus was the Captain of the Second Company of the Ultramarines, he only had a small, narrow room with a round table at one end and a small bed at the other.
On the headboard were replicas of the honors he had earned—Iron Halo, Iron Skull, Laurel, Mark of Purity, Imperial Aquila, Skull and Litany—and nothing else but a copy of the Codex Astartes.
However, on the Light Lord, the room assigned to Titus belonged to the fleet commanders who had accompanied Macarius on his Expedition in the past, exuding a mortal luxury, spacious and filled with various decorations, with a bed so large that even Titus, a Space Marine, found it excessive.
The bed should indeed be made smaller, so that in an emergency, time wouldn't be wasted getting out of bed.
Titus thought silently to himself, taking two or three seconds to get out of the eight-meter-wide bed.
The Blood Angels requested to have blood sarcophagi installed in their rooms—which seemed to be a machine the Blood Angels used for rest to maintain them in a better state—and this request was granted.
If Titus were to request a smaller bed or a smaller room, it would likely also be granted.
Sol, who was definitely a son of Fulgrim but adamantly claimed to be a son of Rogal Dorn, would say that he didn't understand how to appreciate the beauty in life, but the Ultramarines preferred loyalty, honor, and practicality over enjoyment.
With the help of the sacred machinery and servitors of Mars, Titus donned his Power Armor—on the Light Lord, donning Power Armor didn't require binary prayers or the Adeptus Mechanicus appeasing the machine spirit, because original power was the owner of this ship.
This was also a point to note; on the Light Lord, all machine spirits were joyous, and Titus could feel that his Power Armor was in excellent condition.
There were many peculiar 'rules' to be aware of on the Light Lord.
These rules weren't set by anyone, but rather small customs that gradually formed as some Astartes and mortals didn't fully understand the unique aspects of the Light Lord.
For example, the first rule of 'The Light Lord Survival Manual':
If you see an Astartes named Khârn, wearing a hood and shrouded in a bloody aura, there's no need to panic; he is actually a short-tempered Blood Angel who simply shares a name with Khârn, the Chosen of Khorne.
The second rule: if you hear a buzzing sound from the head of an Astartes named Khârn, then the first rule is null and void; please maintain a distance of at least twenty-two meters immediately.
Titus knew the reason behind these two rules—that Khârn was Khârn, the Chosen of Khorne himself, and the buzzing sound from his head indicated that the Butcher's Nails were activating.
Furthermore, there was a third rule: if you see a blue-armored Astartes sorcerer in an Egyptian style, holding a black staff on the Light Lord, do not panic; that is merely an ordinary, decorative Ultramarines Librarians, perhaps Lord Tigurius.
The related fourth rule was: do not mention numerology, Mortarion, red word, Leman Russ, Space Wolves, 'stepping on the back,' the Council of Nikaea, or 'all is dust' in front of this sorcerer. Absolutely do not grab a piece of dust and tell the sorcerer, 'This is your brother.'
The truth of this rule was that the blue-armored sorcerer was actually Ahriman, the Chosen of Tzeentch.
There was also a fifth rule: if you find individuals resembling daemons emerging from cards on this ship, do not panic; they are not daemons, but pure doraemon spirits.
Titus did not want to comment on this rule; that adult seemed to summon daemons to play with from time to time.
There were also rules like: never approach a woman in a Cadian uniform, suspected of being an illegal psyker, when she is practicing her powers; Nobita, who secretly eats dorayaki in the middle of the night; flying black Dreadnoughts; Eldar disguised as black-haired, dark-skinned youths; and not speaking to Gabriel Seth without a strong psychological tolerance.
Titus had largely adapted to the peculiarities of this ship within a day or two.
After grabbing his Boltgun and Chainsword, Titus headed to his assigned post for the day.
According to the schedule, his duty partner today should be Lord Gabriel Seth, Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers, currently the Captain of the Eighth Company of the Doraemon Battle Group.
He recalled that the Flesh Tearers, due to certain circumstances, had never been at full strength, maintaining a size of only four companies.
After the Battle of Baal, many Flesh Tearers sacrificed themselves, and the remaining numbers barely amounted to a little over one company.
So now, all the veterans of the Flesh Tearers have joined the Doraemon Battle Group, temporarily serving as the Eighth Company.
As for the rebuilding of the Flesh Tearers Chapter itself—
"I still cannot accept those Primaris!"
In the corridor, Seth, who was patrolling with Titus, growled, saying,
"They are not like us; they are more like you, like the Ultramarines."
"They don't experience Bloodthirst or Black Rage."
As a chosen member of the doraemon Twenty-Two who would fight alongside him in the future, Titus would sooner or later discover the special traits of Seth and other Blood Angels, and would discover Bloodthirst and Black Rage.
Therefore, Seth and these Blood Angels did not hide the existence of Bloodthirst and Black Rage from Titus, but strongly requested Titus to keep it a secret.
"Titus, I'm not saying Bloodthirst and Black Rage are good things; they are both a blessing and a curse. Undoubtedly, once Sanguinius is resurrected, the Black Rage might no longer be a curse."
"It's just that we not only draw strength from it, but we also fight against it, constantly struggling between rage and the desire for blood. Only those with sufficiently resolute and noble souls, who can ensure their souls do not fall during this process, are true Blood Angels; otherwise, they are merely ghouls."
"But now, Bloodthirst and Black Rage have not appeared in those Primaris. They have not undergone tempering and trials; they are not Blood Angels, and they may not necessarily not be ghouls."
"What about Cryptek? Those warriors also don't seem to have Bloodthirst and Black Rage, do they?" Titus inquired.
He had heard this from Alexander.
Cryptek were a product of the Cursed Founding era; they seemed to have had the flaws in the Blood Angels' gene-seed removed to some extent, and thus did not experience Bloodthirst and Black Rage.
Titus' question made Seth pause for a moment.
Then—
"A bunch of pitiful, unlucky souls, a bunch of respectable unlucky souls, a bunch of true sons of Sanguinius."
"The trials they have endured make them worthy of the name Blood Angels. What I mean is, if they aren't worthy, then no one is."
Seth shrugged slightly.
The last time they had intelligence on Cryptek was before the Battle of Baal.
Cryptek, to protect numerous Imperial worlds in the path of the Kraken hive fleet, launched hopeless charge after hopeless charge against that hive fleet, already on the brink of annihilation.
Cryptek apologized in their communications for being unable to support Baal, but no one blamed them.
Titus smiled.
If according to Seth, as long as the Primaris undergo enough training and earn enough honors, he would eventually accept them. The only pity was that most of the Primaris Titus had seen so far were still very green.
Hmm, Sol was a small exception; he grew very quickly, and his swordsmanship was superb, seemingly unearthed from the combat memories stored in his gene-seed. With just two or three genuine battles, he would grow into a first-rate warrior.
Titus himself couldn't stand still; he was considering whether to adopt Khârn's previous suggestion of chaining his Chainsword to his arm.
Although Lord Seth constantly cursed Khârn as a traitor and a piece of shit, he himself had recently started wrapping chains.
Hmm?
Titus subtly raised his head, sensing something.
A tremor, a slight tremor, beneath the veil of reality, in a place imperceptible to physical senses, a faint tremor emanated.
It was a tremor in the Warp; Titus' keen soul captured this tremor.
He suddenly raised the Chainsword in his hand.
Seth didn't understand what Titus had discovered, but seeing Titus' reaction, he knew something was wrong.
So he also raised his weapon and asked Titus, "What did you find? Hmm?"
Before his words finished, his own nose twitched a few times.
Now Seth also realized something was amiss.
"The smell of blood… Where is the smell of blood coming from?" Seth's expression turned grim and terrifying.
"The Warp," Titus replied.
"How is that possible? We are in orbit around Terra, directly above the Imperial Palace, where the Astronomican's light is most intense."
Seth gritted his teeth, staring intently at the source of the bloody smell, and then—
Seth smelled it, Seth saw it.
Boundless darkness, mixed with piercing wails, agonizing roars, and a horrifying stench of blood, surged towards Seth.
Within Seth's flesh, deep in Seth's muscles, within Seth's genes, emotions that Seth should not possess suddenly erupted.
Fear.
Seth felt a bone-chilling fear.
A dark shadow writhed and appeared within the Light Lord, and the moment it appeared, it engulfed Seth in fear.
Not just Seth; Seth could even perceive that his Power Armor and the Chainsword in his hand were trembling with fear.
Seth trembled all over, fear like a thick, dark tide drowning him.
If he weren't still considered strong-willed, he would probably have turned and fled by now—
"Lord Seth!!" A low growl roused Seth.
Titus stood resolutely beside Seth, that boundless dark fear seemingly having no effect on him whatsoever.
His spirit stood firm, unyielding, and unshakeable amidst the boundless fear, yet completely undisturbed by it, shining brightly, as solid as gleaming gold, even dispelling some of the fear that enveloped Seth.
"He's here!!"
"That thing has breached reality!"
Titus let out a low battle cry.