Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 24: Monument

Ever since being rescued, Soshyan had been in a state of isolation from the rest of the world.

For the first few days after the battle ended, he was only allowed to stay in the medical bay. Though he tried desperately to stop them, the medics removed his power armor anyway—but he never let the power armor's backpack out of his sight, nor did he allow anyone to touch it.

During the days he received treatment, he learned that the Adeptus Mechanicus fleet had arrived and was heading out to collect the wreckage of the World Engine; they were always obsessed with such xenos technology.

Soshyan even heard that the Adeptus Mechanicus Bishop had complained to Ventilius about why they had to smash the World Engine to pieces.

And after finishing his treatment, he was still not allowed to leave. Although Ventilius didn't state the reason, he knew it very well.

He had been teleported directly out of the Warp onto the bridge. The Chapter Chaplains had every reason to suspect he had been tainted by Chaos, so he had to undergo a series of observations and evaluations to guarantee his purity.

On the other hand, Ventilius also stated bluntly that the losses from this operation were too massive. He had to cautiously report this situation to his superiors, and as the Chapter's sole survivor, Soshyan had to remain hidden in the dark until a final conclusion was reached.

Ventilius also had his own honor that he must defend.

But such considerations were truly strange to Soshyan.

Within the Astral Knights Chapter, the primary matter considered in the hearts of its leaders was always justice, not politics.However, Soshyan also understood that as a First Founding Chapter with a large number of Successor Chapters, the Ultramarines and the warriors within it needed far more complex things than a Successor Chapter did. The key point was that the Astral Knights were, in principle, a Successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists.

With this campaign being so tragically costly, the Ultramarines had to give the Imperial Fists a reasonable explanation.

Regarding this, Soshyan didn't care about them, or their high-and-mighty Chapter Master.

He now only cared about his own duty, as well as the future of the Chapter that had practically been destroyed.

This mentality made Soshyan's life on the ship quite fulfilling.

He refused the luxurious cabin Ventilius offered, instead seeking solitude on the lower decks, making a space there his own.

Ventilius had visited him once during his recovery period, delivering a set of power armor repair materials—now everyone on the ship knew Soshyan refused to let anyone touch his power armor, even though it was already battered beyond recognition.

No one knew the real reason; everyone thought he was mourning his fallen battle-brothers.

Despite the fierce argument that had occurred prior, Soshyan still accepted this gift with gratitude, and quickly applied the rudimentary skills he had learned to his armor.

Although Space Marines were soldiers, they also had to learn how to do simple repairs on their equipment, which included power armor.

However, Soshyan's craftsmanship was quite average. Most of the time, he just used crude rivets to secure the repair armor plates over the broken spots, which made his power armor look like an ancient artifact from dozens of centuries ago.

"I really can't imagine the obsession you hold for your battered power armor, Soshyan."

Just as he was keeping his head down, clanging and banging away, a familiar voice sounded at the entrance to the cabin.

A section of the room had already been turned into a makeshift training ground by Soshyan. His bed was a hard pallet, barely better than the operating bed in the medical bay, shoved far away in the corner, with his weapons placed in front of it.

Hearing Ventilius's voice, Soshyan ceased his movements and put down the right gauntlet he was hammering.

"I said, I wish to not be disturbed, sir."

Soshyan said shortly, his tone devoid of any emotion.

Ventilius stepped into the flickering firelight; in the room, Soshyan had set up a few makeshift, burning braziers for illumination.

"You really don't plan on getting a new set?"

"I will say so when I need one, sir."

Ventilius glanced at Soshyan's rivet-ridden armor.

"It doesn't look very sturdy. Perhaps you could hand it over to our Techmarines to handle."

Soshyan sat back down on the floor and began to execute every step of the repair process with precision and method.

"My Company Commander used to tell me all the time, there is nothing more reliable than your own two hands, apart from your brothers."

"I see."

Ventilius continued to circle around Soshyan's cabin. He could see sweat gathering in the scars deeply carved into Soshyan's face—scars that were the embellishments of his heroic deeds.

"It's getting heavier and heavier, isn't it."

Hearing this seemingly out-of-nowhere remark, Soshyan stopped, wondering what the Ultramarine was trying to say, but immediately realized he meant something else.

So he turned to Ventilius.

"You didn't come here to discuss repair techniques, did you, Captain of the Seventh Company?"

"I'm surprised you actually haven't asked about the aftermath of the battle."

"The xenos and their filthy tombs were destroyed. We paid a heavy price. What else is there to say?"

Ventilius frowned.

"Have you thought about why Amulad only saved you?"

"This is our Chapter's business."

The Ultramarine narrowed his eyes.

"When our Librarian told me Amulad requested to rescue a recruit, I almost thought he had gone mad again."

Soshyan's expression immediately turned stern. If Ventilius continued to speak disrespectfully, he would definitely go up and teach the other a lesson—even if he was currently on the other's warship.

"But after seeing you, I roughly understand his reason for doing so. You are an exceptional warrior. Even within our Chapter, there are very few people with your qualities. Perhaps the Second Company Commander..."

As he spoke, Ventilius's gaze drifted from Soshyan's stern face to a point behind him.

"Ah..."

Soshyan followed Ventilius's gaze and, after turning his head, finally realized the other was looking at his Iron Halo.

"A memento?"

"Mementos are for the dead. It represents a duty. Before it, I swore an oath—I will rebuild the Chapter."

Soshyan turned his head, looked at Ventilius, and swallowed the rest of his reminiscing words back into his stomach.

"Say what you came here to say."

The embers in his eyes flashed with anger.

"During this time, we have collected the corpses in space. Because the explosion was so violent, we only found 584 corpses, mostly in a mutilated state, which includes... Amulad."

Although the interior of the warship was as warm as spring, this cabin was as cold as the void at this moment.

"You saw his corpse?"

"Yes, it pains me greatly too. He... he was a great warrior. 2.1 billion souls have been saved because of your sacrifice."

Ventilius took a step forward, wanting to place his hand on Soshyan's shoulder as a gesture of comfort, but the other took a step back in rejection.

"Don't try to comfort me, sir."

Soshyan said coldly,

"Blood has splattered on your power armor as well! You will gain no honor from this war, only disgrace."

"Soshyan."

Soshyan raised a hand, telling him to shut up.

"I was always taught to be the master of my own emotions. Therefore, we won't lose our composure over such provocation. But that doesn't mean I have forgiven you."

"But there's something you perhaps should see."

Ventilius's words made Soshyan somewhat suspicious, but he still left the cabin with the other and boarded a Thunderhawk.

A few minutes later, the moment the Thunderhawk's hatch opened, Soshyan stood frozen.

"This—"

This was a platform floating in the void. Warriors from various Chapters were lined up on both sides of the path. At the end of the main road paved with black bricks stood a towering monument.

With just one glance, Soshyan recognized that its material was the shattered fragments of the World Engine, and it was also decorated with a large amount of Necron wreckage. In the center of the monument, there were only three silver-plated numbers—771.

As if sleepwalking, Soshyan walked step by step towards the monument. With every step he took, the name of a battle-brother would surface in his mind.

Their figures seemed to be reflected on the other side of the monument, quietly gazing at him.

Axel, Ned, Occam, Fiks...

When he walked up to the monument, he saw a damaged silver-gray helmet resting quietly on a pedestal surrounded by a circle of burning candles, with two crossed battle axes in front of it.

"We are holding a memorial here."

Ventilius came to Soshyan's side, gazing up at the towering monument.

"The world will forever remember this battle and the heroes who sacrificed themselves. As the new Chapter Master, their names will be read by you... In the ancient era of the Great Crusade, every one of our warships would record the names of those who died in battle. Now, we will revive this ancient custom here."

Under the watchful eyes of all the Space Marines, Soshyan remained silent for a good while, eventually breaking this silence himself.

His voice was as heavy as this monument.

"Artho Amulad, gene-seed unrecovered. Massayak, gene-seed unrecovered. Helarshi, gene-seed unrecovered. Salax, gene-seed unrecovered..."