Fifty-seven Astartes walked through the corridors of the Red Tears, accompanied by three Dreadnoughts.
There was no Chapter Master, not even a Captain; all the Librarians had fallen, and all the Chaplains had died, leaving only the Dreadnoughts to lead the Chapter's last fifty-seven warriors.
Their power armor was riddled with craters and cracks from Tyranids bites and acid corrosion, and their original paint scheme was almost entirely gone, only faintly hinting at a former bright yellow. However, their shoulder pads had clearly been repainted, bearing a prominent and clear Chapter symbol.
It was a red heart shedding tears.
The same mark was on their Chapter's battle standard, held high by the one-armed Dreadnought leading the vanguard.
To call it a battle standard was perhaps an overstatement; it was more akin to a series of tattered rags, a grotesque remnant, a pile of tatters shredded by Tyranids claws and fangs. It was entirely stained brown with the mud of battlefields, the pus of the Tyranids, and the blood of Astartes, sparsely entanglement around the flagpole, barely preventing it from scattering in the wind.
Perched atop the flagpole was a bright yellow Astartes helmet, its head slightly bowed at the very top of the pole. It was covered in knife marks and blood, with a drooping trail of blood below the left eye, making it appear as if it were weeping, a reflection of the Astartes standing behind the battle standard.
Those weary and pained warriors passed among the other Sons of Sanguinius, like an endless rain of tears.
They were hunched, broken, and almost wiped out; they had not answered Dante's call to Baal back then.
Yet, not a single Son of Sanguinius showed even a hint of disrespect towards these warriors.
Sons of Sanguinius, in shades of red, yellow, gold, or black, stood on both sides of the corridor, rendering the aquila salute to these warriors.
They were Cryptek Chapter, they were...
"A true Son of Sanguinius," Gabriel Seth, Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers, gazed at the warriors, speaking with a tone that could almost be called admiration. "The suffering they endure is worthy of the holy blood that flows within them."
Cryptek were born from the Cursed Founding, when a group of arrogant and incompetent Adeptus Mechanicus members tampered with the gene-seed of multiple Chapters, attempting to 'fix' what they perceived as genetic flaws.
Because of this, Cryptek do not possess the Black Rage or the Bloodthirst, and have never borne the burdens that other Sons of Sanguinius have.
Initially, they were met with hostility, disdain, and denied by many Chapters as Sons of Sanguinius. However, this Chapter ultimately proved itself through its virtues; even without the tempering of the Bloodthirst and Black Rage, their virtue remained as noble as Sanguinius himself.
However, lacking the Bloodthirst and Black Rage did not mean they were without flaws. The Chapters produced during the Cursed Founding actually had their own defects, some even more severe than the original ones.
Cryptek were the most unique; their flaw was not physiological, but on a more esoteric level. It was said that their luck was incredibly bad.
But Seth didn't believe in such things, luck or no luck—
Boom!!!!
A thunderous explosion suddenly echoed, and the Red Tears shuddered for a moment.
The Dreadnought leading Cryptek, holding high the Chapter's battle standard, had already lost one arm, making him unstable. With the sudden jolt, the Dreadnought directly fell to the ground, and the battle standard in his hand also hit the floor with a thud.
It wouldn't have been a problem, but at that moment, another explosion occurred, and the ship violently shook, actually dislodging the helmet atop the battle standard. The helmet rolled across the floor and away into the distance.
The Dreadnought quickly got up and hurried after it, taking large strides.
But the Dreadnought was ultimately a bit slow, and the shaking ship also affected his movements; he couldn't catch up to that yellow helmet.
Fortunately, at that very moment, a dark red figure moved with a speed that made one suspect he exceeded the limits of an Astartes. He braved the shaking ship and, in almost the blink of an eye, caught up to the bright yellow helmet.
Then he skillfully reached out and grabbed the helmet.
The Astartes in dark red power armor examined the helmet in his hand, as if assessing its history.
Blood Ravens. The surrounding Sons of Sanguinius recognized this Chapter; almost all Sons of Sanguinius took a step back, creating some distance from the Blood Ravens.
At the same time, their gazes towards the Blood Ravens were somewhat strange, not understanding why this Chapter would be on the Red Tears. Wasn't this a gathering of the Sons of Sanguinius?
The Blood Raven hesitated for a few moments, then still walked forward a few steps, handed the helmet to Cryptek, and then returned to the crowd.
Seth didn't pay attention to any of this. He cut into the comms, growling as he demanded to know what was happening.
He didn't believe anyone would dare to attack the Red Tears directly. Currently, at least twenty thousand Sons of Sanguinius were gathered here, with countless ships, not to mention Sanguinius himself presiding—
"What do you mean a torpedo was ignited by a lho cigarette dropped by a crewman?"
"What do you mean the torpedo explosion triggered a chain reaction?"
"Was that crewman interrogated? Mephiston read his mind personally? It was really an accident?"
"What's the damage? Not much damage? Good."
Seth cut off the comms, somewhat bewildered.
Was it really just a coincidence?
He had initially suspected a conspiracy behind this, but looking at it... the only damage caused by this explosion was to make the already unlucky Lamenters even unluckier.
Damn. Seth's expression twisted. Could it really be due to Cryptek' bad luck?
Seth recalled some Chapter Masters who had previously cooperated with Cryptek suggesting that Cryptek should not meet Sanguinius, lest Sanguinius be put in danger.
At the time, Seth was so angry that he cursed all those Chapter Masters. But now, it seemed their concerns were not entirely unfounded.
A cigarette igniting a torpedo was clearly somewhat illogical.
Seth felt a prickling sensation on his scalp for a moment, but truthfully, he wouldn't stand up and object to Cryptek meeting Sanguinius over such an ethereal matter.
Although many considered Seth an angry madman, Seth actually had his own moral code, and this moral code did not allow him to prevent a group of excellent Sons of Sanguinius from meeting their Primarch.
Secondly, Sanguinius himself had requested to see Cryptek; it was Sanguinius' own will, and no one could object, unless an ambitious Guilliman suddenly appeared, the Emperor suddenly manifested, or Saint Doraemon woke up.
Although the situation just now was a bit awkward, Cryptek seemed accustomed to it, as if such occurrences were hardly worth mentioning to them.
They very quickly regained their composure and formation. These minor incidents did not affect their spirits. They passed through the ranks formed by the Sons of Sanguinius and stepped towards the grand gate of the bridge where the Primarch resided.
"Noble, holy, perfect Sons of Sanguinius! Cryptek, born of the Twenty-First Founding!" The Chapter serfs announced the names of the fifty-seven Astartes and three Dreadnoughts in a booming voice. They held high censers, wafting incense over the power armor of these noble warriors, blessing them with twenty-two sacred prayers.
The bridge gate of the Red Tears slowly opened amidst the resounding praises. In the bright light, Sanguinius' figure was faintly visible. Cryptek' bodies trembled slightly, almost unable to stand, bracing themselves as they stepped into the bridge.
But just then, the Chapter serfs, who were about to finish their work, suddenly noticed another group of Chapters following behind Cryptek. This group had dark red livery, and their markings, if not carefully observed, could even be mistaken for Blood Angels.
The surrounding Sons of Sanguinius all looked at these dark red Space Marines with extreme surprise, but Gabriel, Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens leading those warriors, merely offered a polite yet solemn smile, nodding to the Sons of Sanguinius, showing no sign of embarrassment, as if he were one of them.
The Chapter serfs paused, but quickly resumed their duties.
"..The Blood Ravens Chapter, of unknown Founding, unknown Primarch gene-sequence, and unknown first Chapter Master!" The Chapter serf announced in a loud and somewhat hesitant voice.
Of unknown Founding, with an unknown Primarch, and even the identity of their first Chapter Master unknown—this was practically a 'three-no' Chapter.
"Yes, the Blood Ravens Chapter of the Sons of Sanguinius," Gabriel corrected with a smile.
A brief murmur erupted among the Sons of Sanguinius.
A 'three-no' Chapter like the Blood Ravens, normally if you called them a cousin, people would suspect they originated from a Traitor Legion's gene-sequence. Now they were claiming to be Sons of Sanguinius?
But Gabriel Seth paid no heed. After receiving Sanguinius' permission, he led the Blood Ravens to follow behind Cryptek into the bridge.
Gabriel Angelos was not seeing a Primarch for the first time; he had personally witnessed Perturabo's terrifying iron body. Besides Primarchs, he had also met other incredibly legendary figures in the galaxy, such as the Tzeentchian chosen Ahriman, Khorne's Chief Greater Daemon Skarbrand, the Aeldari's Avatar of Khaine, and Saint Celestine.
But... but the moment he saw Sanguinius' figure, Gabriel felt all other figures in his mind lose their color. That golden person was so beautiful and perfect; even the most exquisite artifacts in the Blood Ravens' reliquary could not compare in the slightest.
Many lights and candles flickered in the bridge, but in Gabriel's eyes, it seemed all light emanated from Sanguinius. Sanguinius was the sole light source in this bridge, just as... just as on Earth during the day, no matter how many lights twinkled, people would only consider the sun hanging high in the sky as the sole light source.
How beautiful... Sanguinius. Gabriel couldn't even find a specific word to describe this Primarch.
Because all words that humans can utter are imperfect, while Sanguinius is the pinnacle of perfection.
Gabriel believed that Cryptek standing further ahead felt similarly. They were closer to Sanguinius, and this feeling must have been even more intense.
Especially since Cryptek had endured so many dark hardships before this; now seeing Sanguinius was like seeing the sun after dark clouds.
Sobs broke out among Cryptek. One Lamenter even involuntarily took two or three steps towards Sanguinius.
Then, as if he had reached his limit, his body went limp, and he actually began to fall towards the ground—
But a pair of slender yet strong hands supported his body. Pure white wings slowly enveloped his battered power armor, and gentle, caring eyes fell upon his face.
Almost all the Astartes gasped.
The Primarch was kneeling!
To catch the falling Lamenter, Sanguinius actually knelt, kneeling before his own son.
"My Father..." The Lamenter's face showed an expression of alarm, and he quickly stood up.
"My son, my child, why be alarmed?" Sanguinius showed a gentle smile, slowly stood up, and placed a hand on his son's shoulder: "This is not the first time I have knelt before my sons, and moreover, the resilience you have shown deserves this expression of my respect."
All the Sons of Sanguinius remembered ten thousand years ago, when Sanguinius returned to the Imperium and took charge of the Ninth Legion, which had fallen into a state of ghoulishness. Sanguinius had also knelt in this manner, vowing to his sons that he would save them, save the Ninth Legion.
All the Sons of Sanguinius were moved by this shared memory. Even the Blood Ravens were affected by the atmosphere, though they did not know the history of Sanguinius kneeling before the ghouls back then; that history had long been swallowed by time, known only to true Sons of Sanguinius.
"..This is practically the father we've never met," Gabriel Angelos instinctively murmured, then he quickly shook his head: "No, this is our father."
Whether it was an illusion or not, Gabriel seemed to feel that Sanguinius had heard his extremely quiet words, almost a monologue in his heart, and had subtly nodded towards Gabriel, as if tacitly approving Gabriel's sentiment.
Gabriel Angelos' two hearts pounded. Regardless of whether this Primarch before him was his genetic father, his heart couldn't help but swell with respect and loyalty for this Primarch.
Suddenly, he noticed the one-armed Lamenter Dreadnought's body tremble a few times.
Perhaps it was due to the excitement of meeting Sanguinius, or perhaps the recent tremor had damaged the Dreadnought's mechanical structure, or perhaps Cryptek' accursed bad luck had struck again, or perhaps the crippled warrior within the Dreadnought had reached his limit. In any case, that massive Dreadnought swayed a few steps forward, then began to tip over towards Sanguinius—
"Father!" Gabriel Angelos cried out in alarm, wanting to rush forward.
But, almost at the instant the Dreadnought fell, a pinkish-red wooden door suddenly appeared between the Dreadnought and the Primarch.
The wooden door burst open with a 'thud,' and a gloved, round hand reached out as if in anticipation, precisely supporting the Dreadnought's heavy body.
Such terrible wine.
The moment Gabriel Angelos drank that red wine, his sense of identification with the Blood Angels significantly diminished.
This wine was said to come from Baal, brewed according to the ancient methods of the Ninth Legion from ten thousand years ago.
Gabriel Angelos had originally taken a sip, hoping to taste fine wine.
At that moment, Gabriel Angelos felt as if he saw the Emperor beckoning from the Golden Throne, heard the deep roar of the fallen former Chapter Master of the Blood Ravens, Azariah Kyras, in the Warp, and saw the greatest Chapter Master in the Chapter's history, 'Great Father' Azariah Vidya, smiling at him.
In that instant, Gabriel Angelos felt everything in his long life vanish.
How could there be such terrible wine? Is there truly still hope for this galaxy?
Gabriel Angelos even suspected it was Dante's bloody urine.
Never mind, never mind, the wine is just terrible, it's not a flaw. They, the Blood Ravens, have received recognition from a Primarch, what else is there to complain about?
Gabriel Angelos comforted himself in his heart.
Compared to the respect received by the Cryptek, the Blood Ravens actually felt a bit neglected, even ignored.
But similarly, Sanguinius also did not deny that the Blood Ravens were his Sons of Sanguinius, nor did he deny that the Blood Ravens were a successor Chapter of the Blood Angels. The Blood Ravens could be said to be safe.
Sanguinius even invited Gabriel Angelos to join the banquet.
This banquet was originally to celebrate the reunion of the Cryptek and other successor Chapters with Sanguinius, but now it had taken on a different meaning.
Saint Doraemon.
Gabriel Angelos still remembered the scene that had just occurred.
The pinkish-red wooden door, the round hand extended from within, and the mortal figure who emerged from the door.
That seemingly mortal figure, accompanied by a woman in a Cadia military uniform and a Custodian, arrived on the Red Tears.
The moment that mortal appeared, the Sons of Sanguinius were first stunned, then erupted into extremely fervent cheers. They almost shouted the name of Saint Doraemon as if they had seen the Emperor himself.
Saint Doraemon. Humanity's new 'God,' although his followers never refer to him as God.
It is said that a portion of the current Blood Angels were part of the Doraemon Battle Group decades ago, and followed Saint Doraemon in many glorious battles, including the hunt for Erebus and the Khorne daemon Primarch Angron.
Although the remaining members were not part of the Saint Doraemon Battle Group, most of them had fought on Baal and witnessed the resurrection of Saint Doraemon, and thus held him in high regard.
And Sanguinius himself had a deep friendship with him.
After Saint Doraemon appeared on the Red Tears, the two immediately began a private, confidential discussion. No one knew what they talked about, only that Sanguinius' expression was somewhat complex after the conversation ended.
There was some joy, some bitterness, and no small amount of guilt and apology.
This made Gabriel Angelos a bit hesitant.
The Blood Ravens were always very perceptive; he sensed that Sanguinius seemed to have something more important on his mind.
Gabriel, by observing the Primarch's expression, guessed that this matter might be far more important than Perturabo and the forgebreaker warhammer.
Gabriel Angelos had originally intended to report the situation of the forgebreaker and Perturabo immediately upon meeting Sanguinius.
But now it seemed his own matter was not so important, and might even interfere with Sanguinius' and Saint Doraemon's actions by attracting Perturabo.
This made Gabriel somewhat at a loss for how to speak, having not found a suitable, natural opportunity to express the Blood Ravens' predicament.
Just then, a Blood Raven warrior suddenly approached Gabriel Angelos.
"My lord, there's a situation."
"Our All-Knowing Mystery has been suddenly invaded!"
"They have very sophisticated stealth technology. If it weren't for the grav-wave detector from the Golden Age in our relic vault, which detected an unknown grav-wave signal, they truly would have slipped past us!"
Invasion?
Alarm bells rang in Gabriel Angelos' mind.
The All-Knowing Mystery was currently within the Blood Angels' fleet, close to the Red Tears. Someone had managed to infiltrate the All-Knowing Mystery without being noticed?
Gabriel Angelos' first reaction was that Perturabo had attacked!
But then he thought, this kind of sneaky infiltration didn't seem like Perturabo's style.
Gabriel Angelos quickly switched communications, bringing up the All-Knowing Mystery's surveillance servitor signals, and through the grav-wave detector integrated into the surveillance servitor system, he saw the three figures who had infiltrated the All-Knowing Mystery.
One tall figure was cloaked, making his identity unidentifiable.
But the other two individuals were unconcerned, directly exposing their bodies to the air.
They were two Necron, one glowing green, one glowing blue. Just by the exquisite craftsmanship of their metal bodies, they were at least Overlord-level Necron.
It was actually two Overlord-level Necron?!
Did his Blood Ravens have any grudge with the Necron?
Gabriel Angelos had personally rescued those ancestral Blood Raven relics from the Necron's hands back then.
In an instant, Gabriel Angelos concluded that these Necron wanted to steal the Blood Ravens' ancestral relics.
This made several veins pop out on Gabriel Angelos' forehead.
Damn it, they were lawless, actually trying to steal from the Blood Ravens! What audacity!
But then, Gabriel Angelos also realized this was actually an opportunity.
He could destroy these two Necron Overlords, bring their bodies before Sanguinius and Saint Doraemon, and claim that these Necron intended to steal the forgebreaker warhammer, a Chapter relic that the Blood Ravens had desperately rescued from the hands of Chaos.
This way, he could place the forgebreaker warhammer before the Primarch and Saint Doraemon, and naturally bring up the issue of Perturabo.
Of course, Gabriel Angelos also realized one possibility: that he might not be able to contend with two Necron Overlords.
Although those two Necron Overlords hadn't brought any other soldiers, only a strange tall figure, Gabriel Angelos remained vigilant.
Even if the All-Knowing Mystery had a large number of Blood Raven relics that could be used, who knew what trump cards these two Necron Overlords had?
But this didn't matter. If he couldn't defeat these two Necron Overlords, Gabriel would directly call for aid from the Red Tears, from Sanguinius, which would also naturally lead to the discussion of the forgebreaker and Perturabo.
"This is what I'll do." Gabriel slightly lowered his head, whispered a few words into the ear of the Blood Raven warrior, and then swiftly left the Red Tears' main hall.
Gabriel's movements were very gentle, his departure smooth and unnoticed, barely attracting the attention of any of the Sons of Sanguinius around him.
But Gabriel didn't notice that, immediately after he left, Alexander, who was conversing with Sanguinius, suddenly looked in the direction he had left, his gaze intense, a smile playing on his lips.
Just like a diligent fisherman seeing his bobber move.