Amidst the desolate soil
We heard the repeating cries of a fragment of metal
So, true to Magnus' orders
I take my company's reins onto the surface, we settle
And as we branch out and explore the wreckage
We uncover a terminal's long-lost message
A visage of the past and of beautiful cities
So what has occurred here? What are we missing?
♪
There is something wrong here and there is something hidden
With every second growing closer, I feel it near me!
My mind shudders, why does my heart race?
A psychic scream, like a crushing weight
Resounding in every corner of the world
"The Ancient awaits!"
Enwrapped in grief and beset by pain
It bides it's time, all it does is wait
We shoulder the hardship now and we endure
And to its source, we'll trace
The sight before my eyes is stark
A Dreadnought here, bearing the Emperor's Children's mark?
Unexpectedly, it interjects with pointed thoughts
Awake once more, energy arcs
Across its words now, demanding to know
Are we standing here gathered as friend or foe?
Its shattered form yet still poses a threat to us all
It shall not be deceived, nor ignored
I speak in half-truths to not invite alarm
"I see through your words, and I am not disarmed
We had learned from Him to hold to truth with every breath"
The wrong word here may mean death
"Even your words may be twisted and turned into weapons"
There is danger here, with every phrase now it beckons
I know the name of he who has me in his sights
"I am he who remembers, the Ancient of Rites!"
All at once, the pieces come together in my mind
This place was Istvaan III
And we are here upon its corpse
On the grave that was left behind!
"Would you convince yourself I am a remnant seeking saving?
This was not a cry for help!
This was a lure I laid to invite something in need of slaying"
"Was this trap set for me, old one of mine?
You look terrible, a disgrace, even"
"At last, Fulgrim, you have come to me, abomination"
"Words uttered by a shattered pile of metal, rust and stagnation?
You've had millennia to think of what to tell me, you've my attention"
"I need not glory nor for words to speak
When I have held
A Virus Bomb!" ("No!")
Reaching out
My Raptorae uses his mind to hold the pace, to silence time
I channel him all of the strength I have
His power desperately relying on mine
And from my peripheral sight
I can no longer see that frail shell, devoid of its might
But rather a righteous being of defiance
Who is not without the will to fight!
I watch the Dreadnought lash out in wrath
His blows deflected away from their path
Despite the years he has endured
It's clear that he will live, and he will die by the sword
Fulgrim then returned a strike
His sword slitting through bravado and machine alike
His face a mix of contempt and glee
The eyes of one who can feed off misery!
"You can never be forgiven for the things that you've done
And so it falls to my hands to end the prodigal son!"
"You cannot imagine the beautiful bounty of Chaos"
"Those things I'd never even wish to know!"
"There is still your potential that shines through
Imagine the unfulfilled glories we'd see to!"
"That you'd still think I seek any glory
Betrays the true blindness that has overcome you!
I recall the virtues I stood for
I recall the struggles and the things that we have done!
I will not be deterred from my vengeance
I remember the lessons passed on to the Sons!
I am one of the Emperor's Children
I am Rylanor, and I am the Ancient of Rites!
So I reject you for now and for always!
To strike you down, I have waited for a million nights!"
Inspired by the things I've heard
I raise my voice and shout clearly and out of turn
"Rylanor deserves better than you, oh Primarch
Rylanor deserves better than all of us!"
With but a single shot
The Raptorae is relieved of duty and released of his task
I feel the virus rend me apart, with my honor intact
As I'm enveloped by the encroaching flash
♪
"Although this body of mine's still intact
A part of my pride, I fear, will never come back"