Outside the fortress's inner walls, the Blood Angels of the First Company, poised with Karlaan for a suicide assault on the approaching Bio-Titan, watched an unexpected battle unfold. The Bio-Titan had encountered a powerful, unknown entity.
Had Qin Mo been present, he would have recognized this figure as the Inferno-Bearer, Niradayasa. Moments before, the being had descended like a blazing comet, landing amid the swarm, igniting an inferno that spread to the very walls of the fortress. In an instant, the Inferno-Bearer crossed the battlefield, standing before the Bio-Titan just as Karlaan prepared to strike.
Although the creature stood only around five meters tall, it raised its hands, releasing flames that consumed everything in its path. The Bio-Titan shrieked in agony, retreating as it charred in the searing fire. Although the fortress's core was spared from the flames, the temperature surged, leaving mortal soldiers—unprotected by power armor—wincing as their skin sizzled in the heat.
"I am the Flame that scorched the ancients!" The voice of the Inferno-Bearer thundered across the battlefield, speaking in an unknown yet eerily comprehensible tongue. A fiery storm emerged from around him, sweeping over the battlefield like a sandstorm born from Baal's harsh deserts.
"Brace for the flames!" shouted voices atop the inner wall. The Space Marines took cover, while mortals cowered behind them. Yet the inferno stopped just short of the inner walls, its reach extending only as far as the wastelands beyond the fortress.
When the flames cleared, the swarm was gone, though a vast tide of Tyranids loomed on the horizon, advancing again but with a momentary delay. Veterans of the Tartarus system campaign suspected this being was not the one who had once fought beside them; while it resembled that entity, its power was utterly different.
The Inferno-Bearer turned toward the wall. As its flame-flickering gaze swept over the defenders, a chilling dread filled their hearts. Some mortals fled in terror, while others lost their minds. The creature moved closer.
The Blood Angels raised their weapons as the dimensional missiles they carried began to float towards it. One missile, guided by an unseen hand, launched outward and detonated, opening a rift that drew in the smoldering debris on the battlefield.
"This dimension... it seems I've come to the right place," the Inferno-Bearer muttered, narrowing its eyes before addressing a nearby Space Marine. "Take me to it."
The Marine stared, bewildered by the creature's words.
"Are you livestock of the Forge, a slave, or its kin?" it demanded.
Still failing to understand, the Space Marine answered, "I am a servant of the Emperor, neither slave nor chattel."
"All the same." The Inferno-Bearer lifted its hand, and the dimensional missiles returned to their racks. "Why do you have weapons capable of breaching the Forge's dimension? Who gave them to you?"
The Marine remained silent. These weapons were gifts from the Lamenters, who had obtained them from the Talorans. Uncertain of the creature's intentions, the Blood Angels opted for silence.
The Inferno-Bearer's patience wore thin, and flames began to flicker in the air.
"Don't make me reduce you to ash," it threatened, raising its hand toward the wall. "I care not who you serve; bring me to the Forge now!"
Just as the Marines braced for a fight, they suddenly parted, making way as Dante himself approached the intruder.
"Do you not recognize them?" Dante asked, gesturing to his men. "They fought beside you in Tartarus."
"Tartarus? What a cursed name. I've just come from two thousand light-years away!" the creature snapped.
Dante realized that this star-god was different from the one encountered in Tartarus. Why did it bear the same form?
"What is your purpose here?" Dante pressed.
"I saw the Forge's dimension flickering from two thousand light-years away, so I came," it replied bluntly. "Take me to it at once. Don't try to deceive me; I know you are its kin or servants. If you dare lie, think carefully."
Dante was as puzzled as he was wary, his mind struggling to grasp the creature's cryptic demands.
"What is this 'Forge'? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Exasperated, the Inferno-Bearer moved closer, each step raising the temperature by two degrees. But just as it seemed ready to unleash its fury, it paused, scrutinizing the defenders with its fiery eyes. A realization dawned as it examined them—they truly did not know what it was speaking of.
"Where did you acquire those weapons?" it pointed to a missile.
Dante remained silent, but Fores took a step forward. "These relics were unearthed long ago from a distant star system."
"Rubbish," the Inferno-Bearer retorted. "Their material composition dates to no more than two years ago."
Fores was taken aback by its ability to discern such details without instruments, but managed to keep his composure. "Our own tests confirmed that as well, though we don't know why they're so... new."
The Inferno-Bearer pondered for a moment. Perhaps the Forge had crafted these weapons with a perpetual newness, a feat within its power.
"Very well." It took a few steps back, the ground erupting in molten lava at its feet. "If you can survive flames that melt stone and steel, then heed this warning: Do not dig where you ought not to tread."