The battle raged on. The Weeping Ones were stationed in a secure area by Dante to rest. Meanwhile, Fros and the company captains of the Weeping Ones accompanied Dante to the council chamber.
Entering the chamber, Dante approached his throne and seated himself. Exhaustion was evident; his labored, heavy breaths echoed beneath his golden mask. Fros first saluted Dante, then surveyed the council chamber, noting the prominent figures of the Blood Angels and Astra Militarum—Chief Librarian Mephiston, High Blood Priest Cobrulo, General Dust of the Imperial Guard, and a high-ranking Adepta Sororitas.
Just then, the doors opened, and First Captain Karlaan of the Blood Angels entered with the other company captains. Fros's gaze eventually settled on Dust, noticing the unusual violet hue of his eyes.
"Thank you for coming to the aid of our homeworld," Dante's voice, deep and weathered, carried a slight tremor, further convincing Fros that he was injured.
"I was merely—" Fros began.
"Did you come from Cadia?" Dust interrupted, his eagerness unmistakable.
"Yes," Fros replied calmly.
"What is Cadia's current state?" Dust pressed on, clearly anxious.
"Cadia still stands," Fros answered resolutely.
A sigh of relief escaped Dust. "Praise the Throne… Praise the Emperor…" he muttered, visibly relieved. Dust was a Cadian, stationed to defend the Hadex Anomaly while war raged on his homeworld. Fragmented reports through the warp hinted at the Chaos fleets' onslaught, the fall of Cadia's fleet, and its imminent peril.
"I journeyed to Hadex," Fros said, turning to Dante, "but there…"
"Hadex has already fallen," Dante interrupted.
Of course, Fros knew Hadex was lost, but he needed to understand how, and why his homeworld, Hadex III, now lay desolate. Reading his thoughts, Dante began to explain.
Before Baal was besieged, Hadex had been the primary front. When the Tyranid fleets emerged from the Shield of Light, they were immediately frozen in stasis. The Imperial Navy then approached the dormant bio-ships, preparing to exterminate them. But the bio-ships awakened, annihilating the Navy in a single blow. Dust and the Sisters defended against the Tyranid onslaught, though they ultimately failed, with even the Abbess assassinated by a Lictor. Amid the fray, the clash triggered the reawakening of a Necron army, which joined the Imperium to face the Tyranids. Through a series of desperate battles, they detonated solar collectors across the system, unleashing waves of destruction.
Yet despite these efforts, Hadex still fell.
After a heavy pause, Dante continued, "I could only turn my full attention to Baal. To forge an impenetrable dead zone, I ordered the Exterminatus on planets along the Tyranid fleet's path."
Kryptmann's Gambit—the phrase surfaced in Fros's mind. It was the Inquisitor Kryptmann's brutal strategy of scouring all life from planets in the Tyranid's path, creating a dead zone devoid of biomass. If successful, the Tyranids would alter their course. Yet here they were, still attacking Baal.
"They came anyway, determined to breach the zone," Dante murmured, his voice heavy with weariness and despair. "It's as if they're seeking revenge."
"So, I no longer believe the Tyranids are simply creatures driven by hunger," Mephiston, the Chief Librarian, interjected. "Something orchestrates them, and that entity remembers each defeat we've dealt them. Now, it's here to settle scores."
Fros nodded in silent agreement, absorbing the gravity of their words.
"What of Cadia?" Mephiston asked suddenly. "The Eye of Terror has shrunk, hasn't it?"
Fros nodded. "The Blackstone obelisks activated, muting the warp across the system. A traitor called Typhus—his body decaying yet moving—was rendered powerless by its activation."
"Just as I suspected," Mephiston said, a distant look in his eyes, recalling recent events. The Blood Angels were not only facing Tyranids but Khorne's demons, with a Bloodthirster named Ka'Bandha attempting to breach realspace. Mephiston and the Librarians had barely contained it when the warp seemed to recede, forcing Ka'Bandha back.
As Mephiston pondered, Fros observed Dante and inquired, "How were you injured?"
Dante did not respond immediately. After a couple of strained breaths, he removed his mask. Fros gazed at his face, not a youthful commander as he'd imagined, but a weary, white-haired elder, resolute but weakened.
"I was injured." Dante set his mask on his knee, leaning against the throne. "A Lictor emerged from the fortress's depths, seeking to disable the void shield. I arrived too late."
A flicker of rage crossed Dante's face as he spoke. "Near its entry point, it butchered the incubation chambers, killing neophytes who hadn't even begun their journey to glory."
"I, too, was wounded in the battle."
Hearing this, Fros lowered his head in mourning. Neophytes were not yet battle-ready, still undergoing incubation. Many, perhaps without even opening their eyes to this world, had been dragged away by Tyranids, their bodies repurposed as biomass. Anger simmered within Fros.
"Cursed creatures," Dante muttered, gripping the arm of his throne. "With the Hadex system lost, the radiation shielding we relied on has been destroyed. Even if we win this war, Hadex will never be restored."
Fros felt that Dante was still somewhat optimistic. The scarred red star systems relied heavily on anti-radiation medication, the sole source of which was now lost. Without it, death would eventually claim every world.
"Will you join us in Baal's defense?" Dante asked.
The humility of the Blood Angels' Chapter Master matched his legend; he had even used the word "please."
"To defend Baal is our duty." Fros nodded, then added, "But I did not come here directly from Cadia. I detoured through the Talon Sector, bringing gifts from its ruler."
At the mention of the Talon Sector, a grim expression crossed the new Abbess's face; she'd heard of the place, and its heretical reputation.
"It seems the ruler of Talon has been most generous," Dante remarked, eyeing Fros's armor. "And what is this gift?"
Fros raised three fingers slowly. "Enough Terminator armor, with accompanying weaponry, to arm three full companies."