I looked into the dark skies of another world forgotten by the Emperor. Even if you are an Astartes, an Angel of Death, sooner or later one of the battles will be your last. Many of my brothers were luckier – the tenacious embrace of oblivion met them quickly. I can only lie in this dust, constrained by hellish pain, and look at the damned clouds.
How long has it been since I last looked at them?? When you’re a Space Marine, you don’t think about such things. Your life is a war. You were forged to fight the enemies of humanity. They don’t need someone who dreams while looking at fluffy snow-white clots of air. They need a warrior – and I was one. For a long time. Too long to remember what it was like to look at the clouds and think about anything other than war.
2nd Millennium.uh., somewhere on planet Earth
– We’re sorry, miss, but we did everything we could. It’s very hard for me to talk about this… But apparently, we can’t help your son. He received a lot of injuries and his body gave him a couple of problems… – the doctor paused when he saw a tear running down the woman’s cheek.
– I can spare you the details if you want.
– No. I want to know what’s wrong with him. — the woman’s voice trembled.
O Emperor, what is there to fight for in this world?? We all believe that you will look after us and protect us. You are our Father, our Mentor and beacon in this world cursed by the Dark Gods..
But sometimes it seems to me, in the darkest times of my life… That you can’t hear us. That you left us. Or you just can’t do anything. You built something Great, but did we continue your work with dignity?? Sometimes I fear that you will rise from the throne again, Emperor. Sometimes I think you won’t like what you see.
Hordes of green Orcs time after time gather into huge armies and with the tenacity of a sledgehammer they beat against our fortifications. Their tactics are sometimes surprisingly simple, but their persistence is impressive. Each of their stupid ideas turns out to be like a blow from a Land Raider that has lost control.
— He was hit by a car and damaged some of his bones and internal organs. The drunk driver was caught and sent to jail, but this will not help us much. Justice has triumphed, but to no avail? We tried to stop the bleeding and treat the fractures. I’ve seen worse accidents, miss, but if it was all about being hit by a car..
And the Tyranids, oh https://alwaysvegascasino.co.uk/ Emperor? How could you leave us IM? In an insatiable swarm they devour worlds from which something worthy could emerge, maybe even become part of the Imperium, your creation. But they absorb new planets in a mindless mass over and over again. Over and over again, they eat all living things on the surface, increasing in number many times over, and this only inflames their monstrous appetite. The more we kill them, the more countless hordes come over and over again.
“We found a very old infection in his tissues.”. The accident may have been the catalyst and the pathogen escaped. We are trying to stop it with antibiotics, but it is firmly entrenched in many organs. Like it’s devouring him.
What happened to your creation, Emperor?? You have fought against the Chaos Gods all your life and now they are at our doors. And we let them do it. Our generals are idle, our governors are power-hungry and lazy. We are losing to the Chaos in our heads, Father.
You don’t want to see hordes of false god worshipers appear on our worlds, causing heresy and destruction. Their ideas are dubious, their Gods are deceitful, greedy and impatient, but again and again they manage to achieve their goals, and there is no end to the hordes of demons. Again and again they weaken us with their influence, destroy our confidence in victory.
– His body itself is tired of resisting. Alas, an unconscious person copes worse with so many adversities.
– What should I do, doctor?? — the woman’s voice was now full of despair, her face was covered in red spots from tears that wanted to burst out for her son who had not yet died. But she couldn’t cry anymore.
– I don’t know, miss. I…
And the Necrons? Did you know about them, Emperor? Like silent shadows, memories from the past, they rise from their graves. We don’t know what they once were and whether there is anything left in them from who they were… They smell of death. And the past. The past that will become our future. Without you, Emperor, only Death awaits us there far away. Or something worse.
– Try to remember him differently. I have seen many such cases and… Remember him cheerful and cheerful. Don’t remember him like that. Such memories only smell of death. Remember his life.
“I’ll try,” the woman answered weakly and continued: “Can I stay with him?”?
– Certainly.
– He will hear me?
– Don’t know. Maybe. Brain activity is relatively normal. He probably even dreams. I hope he sees something good.
Here next to me stands the Sorcerer of Chaos. This dirty Heretic allowed the Darkest Desires and Thoughts into his head. Desecrated his mind with the "gifts" of perverted deities. The unleashed warp swirled around him like fog. I know that the immaterium is the abode of demons, but sometimes you can see something beautiful in it. Perhaps you, Emperor. Or maybe echoes of pure thoughts, if there are those who have pure thoughts left in our Universe. I look into this energy, into this concentration of our emotions. I’ll look at some miracle one last time before I die, Emperor.
I see. Yes I see.
The woman sat down next to her son, took his hand and pressed her cheek to his shoulder. He was immobilized. Only her tears flowed down his fair skin. She wanted to know what was going on in his son’s mind, but was forced to look at his dying body. Her despair and pleas seemed to overwhelm time and space itself..
I see! A beautiful woman bending over a dying boy… She is crying?
Mom… This long-forgotten image from another life. He stopped meaning something a long time ago. It’s as if it never existed, but… I remember. I remember something. I remember what it’s like to love your child, without a trace, Emperor! I remember those eyes full of love and I understand you!
You loved us all, Guardsman and Marine, Official and Custodian. It doesn’t matter what we do, for you we are your favorite children, for whom you would do anything.
You wanted no child to die like that again. So that no parent sheds tears for their child. You wanted a life for us without fear and darkness.
I look at this grief from a time unknown to me and I understand you, Emperor. I feel your strength in me. It doesn’t matter who sits on the throne, because now you live in every heart! I feel it!
I’m reaching for the bolter. Pain flows like burning magma through my body, but you are with me. I will not Give Up. A jerk… I grabbed the bolt pistol, pointed it at the sorcerer and fired..
His mask cracked, the warp swirls disappeared. The figure of the Sorcerer in the cloak dropped his staff and smoothly sank to the ground. I heard footsteps quickly approaching behind me. After enduring the pain, I rushed towards the chainsword. He turned sharply, parried the chain ax and drove the whirring sword right under the berserker’s power armor.
You can’t kill me so easily as long as the Emperor’s Light is in my heart!
I turned to the enemy. Dozens of berserkers looked at me, but I heard my brothers rising from the dust, overcoming pain and, thanks to my example, reviving faith in the Emperor.
– Maybe today we will die. But by the Majesty of the Emperor, you Chaos Spawns will go into the Oblivion with us!
I raised my sword and took a step towards the enemy.
— For the Emperor! For Humanity! Forward!
The woman didn’t remember when it happened. She didn’t time it or note the time of day. Her son’s finger twitched and he squeezed her hand tighter. She didn’t remember calling the doctor. He said it was a miracle, but it looks like his body is struggling again. Fighting for his life again. These were the happiest moments in her life.
41st Millennium, Space Marine Barge
– Hey brother, what are you doing??
“Yes, so, I decided to draw,” I answered, hastily putting away the paper and pencil.
— A strange occupation for the Astartes… Well, a hero can do anything. By killing that sorcerer, you inspired us. Matthias says he even saw a golden light around you when you turned to the Heretics.
“It probably seemed to him that despite the recent victory, I didn’t want to talk to anyone.”.
– Or maybe the Emperor himself is keeping an eye on you… Okay, I won’t distract our hero. Rest, brother!
I nodded and took out a piece of paper. It showed the same boy and a woman crying for him. I saw them in a fleeting vision in the warp… Who sent this to me? Demon? Or the Emperor himself found the image that will inspire me? I don’t know. But this boy saved me. He reminded me what I’m fighting for. So that no one like him will die again.
3rd Millennium AD, somewhere on Earth, some time later.
— What a strange design. You say you saw this when you were dying?
“I’m telling you this as if it were true.”. Their world is harsher than ours, it is dark and merciless. But they still find the strength to live in it. Hope has not faded in them, although there is no place for it. And yet they fight. It’s like a whole Universe with its own laws and rules.
– Interesting. So what are you going to do?
– Hm. Someone should talk about these heroes. And the villains who oppose them. I want to give the world stories about the time I saw. Show that even in a darker world you need to fight for your own and other people’s lives. She saved me then, this warrior. With his fortitude and faith he set an example for me. Revealing his feat to the world is the least I can do.
– Hm. Listen, tell me more about this. I have a couple of ideas..