Inside the Thunderhawk, I sank into thought.
According to the memories of my previous life, Roboute Guilliman was the most rational and unpretentious among the Primarchs.
He would grant me a rather substantial reward.
In the present-day Imperium, an audience with a Primarch alone was an honor beyond compare.
A new noble house of great renown might even begin with me.
But...
'Let's not hope for too much.'
This was the world of Warhammer 40K.
The Emperor, who was little different from a god, watched over humanity.
And a Primarch, who might be transforming into a god without even realizing it himself, could suddenly change on a whim as well.
So... I...
I thought, and thought again.
The interior of the Gloriana-class battleship Macragge's Honour was beautiful yet practical.
Hundreds of Ultramarines and Marines from their successor Chapters constantly patrolled the vessel.
It was itself a vast habitat where tens of thousands of crewmen, hundreds of thousands of loading slaves, and servitors lived.
On the way to the battle information chamber where Roboute Guilliman was staying, thirty Astartes surrounded a single mortal in a close-protection formation.
They were Invictus Guard and veteran Marines dispatched for the sake of one veteran Guardsman, Radian.
["We're nearly there, Guardsman. Don't be too nervous."]
Seeing Radian's legs tremble, Terius, a veteran of the Invictus Guard, reassured him.
In truth, Radian was holding up remarkably well.
Most mortals either fainted on the spot or lost control of their trembling bodies, overwhelmed with emotion until they collapsed in tears.
It had been a long time since he had seen a mortal this bold.
"Understood, my lord. Thank you for your concern."
Before entering the battle information chamber, Chief Librarian Varro Tigurius, who had been waiting outside, placed a hand on Radian's head.
He intended to inspect Radian first through a psychic scan.
Reciting a prayer to the Emperor, he focused on Radian.
"Hm?"
It did not work at all.
He tried again and again, but it did not work in the slightest.
Such cases occurred with special beings like Pariahs, but Radian did not possess the characteristic barrier of void that Pariahs had.
Moreover, since he caused Tigurius no harm whatsoever, Radian was not a Pariah.
Above all, his soul was far too alien.
Yet it was not the cloying sensation unique to the Warp. It was a soul that let one feel something fresh, noble, and calming.
Tigurius felt as though something that had always tormented him was vanishing.
At the same time, his psychic abilities grew stronger, and he felt once more what he had felt after undergoing the Rubicon Primaris procedure.
"Remarkable."
Tigurius then relayed several matters to the Primarch over an internal vox-channel.
Shortly afterward, the enormous bulkhead of the battle information chamber opened, and the Marines and Tigurius led Radian before the great demigod Primarch.
Watching his exploits on the ground, I had sensed that the Guardsman was no ordinary man.
From the moment he had come aboard the ship, I had felt it.
It was as though I were looking upon another brother.
I felt that peculiar sensation.
Yet while it resembled the sensation unique to my brothers, the soul I sensed was more exalted and more beautiful still.
It was a different sensation from that of the one bound to Terra's throne, who protected humanity while looking down upon them and lying to them.
As that small mortal approached, I felt the tainted aura of the curse inflicted upon me by my accursed brother, Fulgrim—a curse that had yet to heal—fade away.
My mind was uplifted, and my body was healed.
I stopped Guardsman Radian as he approached me and fell to both knees in greeting.
To accept reverence from the one who was, in another sense, my savior would be to betray the grace I had received from him.
"Rise, Radian."
Watching Radian struggle to his feet, pale as a sheet, I smiled bitterly.
He had no idea of his own worth.
I asked him,
"Just who are you?"
I had to learn his true identity.
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