The great expedition finally arrived on the day of departure.
The majestic Soul Fire hung in orbit, ready for the journey.
Dukel walked out of the temple, and the Astra Militarum along the way cleared a path for him to the interstellar port.
"We will win!"
"We will win!"
"We will win!"
The crowd cheered. In their minds, the image of the Primarch was like a god of war, certain to lead them to victory.
Humanity was desperate for victory, hoping this expedition would allow them to bathe in glory once again.
Amid the excited shouts, it felt as if they had returned to the golden age when all races would bow before humanity.
In this great age forged by the Emperor and the Primarch, no human would ever again live in a world of suffering.
There was a special group of spectators watching the ceremony.
They were a powerful family that had been purged by Dukel. Because of this iron-blooded purge, they had lost their power and their families.
Originally, they came here with hatred, cursing this expedition.
But at this moment, amid the cheers of the people, they stood in silence.
Any curse they had planned was difficult to utter.
They hated the resurrected Primarch for taking everything that belonged to them.
Yet, as they looked at each other's tall figures, they felt an unexpected reverence, longing to follow them, hoping to find rest for their wandering souls during the expedition.
With the return of the Primarch, a new era had begun, and the eternal conflict between humanity, Chaos, and aliens continued.
The glory of the Imperium would shine once more across the galaxy, and those who participated in this era would be remembered forever.
In the face of this grand tide, they still argued over the rights they had lost.
Some leaders of the knight families hung their heads in shame.
Ten thousand years of ignorance had corroded the oaths of their ancestors and dulled their original resolve.
The ancient oath to fight for humanity had been revived today.
They renewed their vow to fight for humanity until their last breath.
Amid the cheers, they swallowed their curses and carefully left the crowd.
They would follow this great expedition, and would not retreat, even if it cost them their lives.
Amidst the cheers of the people, a huge fleet of countless warships set sail. Millions of engines flared to life like stars, and the roar of tail flames swept across the starry sky.
After receiving the message relayed by the Astropaths, the goal of the first stop of this expedition became clear.
On the edge of the Storm Star Region, in the Nanlis Galaxy.
The moment the fleet entered the Warp, the boundless sea of souls began to boil.
The oscillating Warp tides surged like waves, one after another. In such turbulent conditions, the human fleet would be lost if they were not careful, doomed to become part of the eternal storm in the Immaterium.
In the past, when faced with such a situation, the fleet had to rely on the help of a Navigator to find the nearest real space node, and make the shortest possible jump.
The battleships dared not stop for a moment, rushing forward, desperate to enter realspace before the nightmare caught up.
But even then, many fleets would disappear, lost forever in the Warp.
Dukel stood on the deck of the Soul Fire, watching the bizarre scene before him. Even under such violent shocks, psychic communications would be unstable.
He issued orders through the Mind Web, with tens of thousands of psychers scattered throughout the fleet as nodes. An invisible translucent force field enveloped the entire fleet.
Under the protection of the Mind Matrix, the raging tides of the Warp flowed like a gentle breeze.
With the help of this psychic barrier, the fleet became like an unshakable rock, riding the waves of the Sea of Souls. There was no longer any risk of capsizing.
This miraculous sight gave everyone confidence, calming their unease.
Safely traveling through the Warp, Dukel summoned Astropaths to clear the fog of the Sea of Souls and gather as much information as possible about the current state of the Imperium.
Most of the data fragments were chaotic and garbled, hard to make sense of.
Even the few intelligible messages painted a grim picture.
As the expedition advanced, more information was captured by the Astropaths.
This information revealed the dire situation of the Imperium.
Supernatural disasters were rampant across many galaxies, Chaos had invaded, and demons ran riot, their wails echoing through the Sea of Souls.
Mutants and psykers were emerging at an unprecedented rate.
Among the visions of horrific natural disasters and suffering, betrayal was always present.
The loyal servants of the Imperium had turned into screaming cultists, wreaking havoc. Alien legions had exterminated entire worlds, and demons flooded the galaxy.
Traitors of humanity lurked at the fringes of the Imperium, and countless worlds fell to the horrors of war.
The Star Fortresses weakly called for reinforcements that could never come. The indestructible barriers had been breached by the forces of Chaos.
Nightmares made flesh preyed upon the defenders of the Imperium, feasting on their cries of despair.
The endless cries for help from fleets and supply lines loyal to the Imperium slowly faded like the roaring flames of war, leaving only a deathly silence.
Warriors trying to save the Imperium found, to their despair, that every time their ships made a Warp jump, they were several light years further from their destination.
Countless hungry eyes awaited to consume the souls of those caught in despair.
During the journey through the Immaterium, the only message Dukel received was one of unending despair.
People, struggling in misery, thought of the ancient long night—the era when humanity had no hope.
They prayed day and night for the Emperor's salvation, only to die painfully as their prayers went unanswered.
These messages ignited the anger of the expeditionary force.
Countless comrades had been ruthlessly ravaged and died in agony.
The warriors clenched their weapons, their eyes burning with determination as they awaited the moment they would reach their target star. They swore to make all heretics and aliens tremble before the wrath of mankind.
At the edge of the Storm Star Region, in the Nanlis Galaxy.
Horrific massacres were taking place across many worlds in this system.
The brutal followers of Khorne wreaked havoc mercilessly.
They had completely seized control of these worlds, turning them into lost worlds sacrificed to Chaos. Under the brutal slaughter, humans were forced to hide in the shadows, struggling to survive.
A legion of Ultramarines had once been stationed here.
However, since the opening of the Great Rift, endless Chaos forces had invaded, and heretics had rebelled. After a prolonged battle, the Iron Fortress had fallen, and countless soldiers had been slaughtered.
The bodies of Space Marines, pierced and hung on city walls, let out angry and powerless roars.
Their remains were strung up on steel walls, their eyelids cut off, their tongues gouged out, and their lips torn off.
They could only watch as their comrades were slaughtered one by one.
Unable to resist, unable to close their eyes, unable to speak, unable to defy.
They could only express their rage through hysterical roars.