=== Maximus ===
Maximus stood in the arming chamber adjacent to the vast hangar bay as he performed the final checks on his wargear.
He hefted his heavy bolt pistol one last time, feeling its reassuring weight before mag-locking it to his thigh plate with a resonant click.
His combat knife was already secured to his waist, while he adjusted the bolt rifle slung across the small of his back between his waist and the jump pack, ensuring the weapon sat perfectly balanced for rapid deployment amid the chaos.
Only then did he reach for his thunderhammer, lifting the revered weapon from its rack and turning it slowly in his gauntleted hands, his gaze tracing the countless scars and battle-dents that marred its massive head like a chronicle of victories hard-won across blood-soaked stars.
With this thunderhammer he had ended an entire species, crushing xenos tyrants and heretical warlords beneath its disruptive fury in campaigns that stretched back through the long years of his service. The weapon was a faithful companion that had never failed him even when hope seemed lost.
He ran a thumb reverently across the scarred surface, feeling the echoes of those fallen enemies and the righteous wrath it had channeled in the Emperor's name, and in that solemn moment a name crystallized in his mind with absolute certainty.
"Extinction," he murmured aloud. "You have earned this name, old friend. May you bring extinction to our enemies' foul works as you have done to so many before." He hefted Extinction onto his shoulder with a grunt of satisfaction, the weapon's weight a comforting burden as he strode out into the cavernous hangar bay where the strike frigate waited amid the organized Astartes preparing for war.
The hangar was a sea of different armor colors, with Vulkan standing tall and imposing before roughly half of his entire Salamanders Chapter, their green armor gleaming under the harsh lights of the hanger.
The remaining force comprised a formidable mix of Dark Angels, Crimson Fists, Ultramarines, and Imperial Fists. Together they numbered well over a thousand Space Marines assembled in precise ranks.
Dante and Nira stood before the Primarch, and Maximus joined them.
Vulkan turned his noble gaze upon the Ultramarine, his voice a deep rumble that carried easily over the hangar's ambient noise.
"I shall lead the vanguard until such time as a Daemon Primarch or Primarchs reveal themselves to contest our advance. Only then will I disengage from the main force."
Both Dante and Maximus paused at the revelation, a flicker of shock passing between them as the implications of facing such ancient evils settled heavily upon their shoulders.
"A Daemon Primarch, my lord?" Dante asked.
Vulkan nodded solemnly, his expression one of forge-hardened resolve. "Abeloth is a new and volatile player in the Chaos Gods' great game. Her rise favors Tzeentch's schemes of change and manipulation while threatening Nurgle's stagnant dominion. It is likely that Magnus the Red will manifest to prevent us from severing her anchor, or perhaps another of the fallen will answer the call. When they appear, I will keep them at bay while the rest of you press forward."
He continued without pause, outlining the plan he and Sanguinius had agreed upon.
"A contingent of my Salamanders will remain on Mortis to secure and protect the portal on this side. The remainder of the Astartes will push through into the shielded realm, advancing in a straight, unrelenting line toward the Dark Temple where the artifacts sustaining the shield are believed to reside. Destroy them at all costs, then evacuate immediately before the portal destabilizes."
Vulkan then turned toward the assembled legion of over a thousand Astartes, his voice booming across the hangar, carrying to every warrior present.
"Astartes! Board the frigate and prepare for departure to Mortis. We go to strike at the heart of darkness itself, to purge the corruption that threatens this galaxy and honor the Emperor's eternal will. Let your hammers fall true, your bolters sing, and your duties remain unyielding. For the Emperor!"
The hangar erupted in a unified roar of affirmation, thousands of voices thundering as one as the Astartes began boarding the waiting strike frigate.
Maximus exchanged a final nod with Dante and Vulkan before joining the flow of warriors, Extinction gripped firmly as the frigate's engines began to hum with power, carrying them toward the decisive confrontation on Mortis and the shadowed portal beyond.
===
Maximus stood braced in the assault frigate's troop bay as the vessel shuddered out of hyperspace above the ancient world of Mortis.
The viewport feed displayed the planet's deceptively serene surface below while the ship's augurs screamed distorted readings of impossible Warp fluctuations and hidden power signatures that clashed violently with the visual calm of ruined temples and windswept plains.
The frigate began its rapid descent through the thin atmosphere, engines howling as it punched through scattered cloud cover and touched down with a thunderous impact that sent dust and ancient stone fragments billowing outward.
The ramp dropped almost immediately to unleash the tide of over a thousand Astartes who shuffled out in disciplined waves, spreading into a wide combat formation as they advanced slowly toward the broken and ruined temple complex that loomed ahead.
The air was thick with an unnatural magic, the only sounds the heavy tread of powered boots and the low hum of active armor systems, until Vulkan suddenly raised a massive hand, calling the entire force to an abrupt halt with a single gesture.
The Primarch advanced alone toward the temple's crumbling facade, every warrior watching with weapons ready.
Then Vulkan unleashed a primal scream of pure rage that shattered the quiet like breaking glass, raising his modified plasma pistol and unleashing a searing blue-white bolt that vaporized an entire section of the temple wall in a roaring explosion of superheated stone and molten debris, revealing a massed phalanx of Rubric Marines standing in eerie ranks behind the facade, their ornate armor glowing with malevolent Warp energy.
All hell broke loose in an instant as hidden traps detonated across the battlefield, warp mines erupting beneath the feet of loyalist brothers in bursts of searing fire that consumed several Astartes in howling agony, bolter emplacements unfolding from the ruins to rake the advance with concentrated fire, and ethereal Warp sorcery crackling through the air as the Rubric Marines opened fire.
Maximus reacted as a blinding flash erupted from one of the many ruined towers, a lethal sniper beam lancing straight toward Dante. He tackled the Chapter Master, slamming them both to the ground just as the searing shot burned clean through the space where Dante's head would have been, scorching the Ultramarine's own left shoulder plate in a white-hot graze that sent pain lancing through him.
Maximus growled through gritted teeth, pushing off Dante and rising as he drew his heavy bolt pistol from its mag-lock on his thigh, emptying the entire magazine in a thunderous roar toward the sniper's position.
The mass-reactive shells obliterated the Rubric Marine in a spectacular burst of colored dust and shattered armor fragments, the traitor's sorcerous form disintegrating under the relentless barrage before Maximus casually discarded the smoking empty magazine and slammed a fresh one home. His shoulder burned fiercely from the near-miss, but he shoved the pain deep beneath layers of hatred before sprinting toward the nearest wall with Extinction gripped tightly in his other hand.
With a savage burst from his jump pack, Maximus crashed through the ancient stone in an explosion of rubble, bursting into the heart of the enemy formation and swinging his newly named thunderhammer in a devastating arc that swept through a squad of Rubric Marines like a reaping wind, the weapon's disruptive field turning their ancient forms into swirling clouds of multi-colored dust and broken ceramite that scattered across the battlefield.
He then ducked under the sweeping power claw of a massive Rubric Terminator, driving Extinction upward into the traitor's midsection that crumpled the reinforced plating, then spun to bring the hammer around in a crushing overhead blow that slammed into the Terminator's back and burst the mindless automaton apart in a violent spray of dust, armor shards, and fading Warp essence.
All around him the battle had become a maelstrom of brutality, bolter fire stitching bright lines through the chaos while chainswords revved and power fists crushed ancient foes, the loyalist Astartes pressing forward with righteous wrath against the silent Rubric Marines who fought without fear or fatigue.
Maximus watched as Vulkan tore through the enemy lines like a living embodiment of the Emperor's fury, the Primarch ripping apart another section of wall with his bare hands before kneeing a Rubric Marine so savagely that the traitor simply burst into a cloud of dust and scattered fragments, then catching a leaping lesser daemon mid-air and splattering it against a nearby pillar in a wet explosion of ichor and Warp-stuff.
The Ultramarine casually smashed aside another leaping lesser daemon with a backhand swing of Extinction that pulped the creature into paste, only to be hurled violently off his feet as a Greater Daemon materialized from the heart of the temple in a whirlwind of sickly energies, unleashing a massive telekinetic burst that flung nearby Marines through the air like broken dolls and cracked the ground beneath them.
Vulkan strode forward undaunted through the carnage, ducking beneath a howling blast of warpfire from the towering abomination before bringing Urdrakule around in a swing that obliterated one of the daemon's massive legs in a spray of unnatural gore, dropping the creature to its knees with a earth-shaking impact.
One of the greater daemon's heads screeched in fury at the Primarch, only for Vulkan to step in close and pulverize it with a direct hammer strike that exploded the skull into mist.
He then dropped Urdrakule momentarily to seize the remaining head with both massive hands, wrestling the thrashing abomination toward his chest, gaining new leverage despite its frenzied resistance.
The Primarch gripped the top and bottom of its jagged jaw and with and roar that shook the very ground, he used his godly strength to rip the head apart in a grotesque fountain of ichor and bone, the wet tearing sounds echoing across the battlefield like the death knell of Chaos itself.
Without missing a beat, the Lord of Drakes discarded the head, then bent to retrieve Urdrakule from the dust, hefting the thunderhammer up as he turned towards his forces.
"Forward!" He roared as he pressed onward toward the darkened interior of the temple.
Maximus surged forward amid the roaring tide of his cousin's, the thunderous cheers of over a thousand Astartes echoing across the shattered temple grounds as they watched Vulkan carve an unstoppable path deeper into the enemy stronghold.
Bolters roared in relentless staccato, chainswords howled as they bit into ancient armor and daemonic flesh alike, and the air grew thick with the acrid stench of burning promethium, dissipating Warp dust, and the coppery tang of spilled blood while the forces of Tzeentch fell in droves before the Imperium's wrath.
Dante moved like a golden whirlwind at the forefront, his axe a blur of death as he danced through the Rubric Marines and lesser daemons with the grace of centuries honed in the fires of endless war, each sweeping blow cleaving sorcerous constructs apart in explosions of colored dust.
Each of his parries were followed by a devastating counter that sent twisted heads tumbling across the broken stone, the Chapter Master pushing himself to keep pace with the Primarch even as the battlefield's chaos threatened to swallow them all.
The advance was brutal and unrelenting, Astartes falling into formation around their leaders as they pressed deeper into the temple complex, jump packs flaring as assault squads cleared elevated positions and heavy weapons teams laid down suppressive fire that reduced entire sections of ruins to rubble.
Maximus fought at the heart of the battle, Extinction rising and falling in devastating arcs that pulped daemonic entities and shattered traitor automata, his heavy bolt pistol barking in support whenever a gap opened in the melee.
Soon the combined might of the loyalists broke through the final defenses, reaching the heart of the temple where the portal shimmered ominously, an unstable rift of swirling violet and gold energies framed by ancient, corrupted stones that pulsed with otherworldly power.
Dante came to a halt before Vulkan, his axe still dripping with the residue of slain foes as he looked upon the gateway with wary vigilance. "My lord," he called out, voice carrying over the dying echoes of battle, "was this too simple? The forces of Tzeentch contested us, yet we pushed through their lines with relative ease. I fear a trap awaits on the other side."
Vulkan paused at the threshold of the portal, his massive frame silhouetted against the roiling energies as he gazed into its depths. He turned slowly to address the gathered Astartes, his voice booming across the ranks.
"Prepare yourselves! The enemy will be waiting on the other side in full force!"
With those solemn words ringing in the air, Vulkan hefted Urdrakule, the thunderhammer crackling with energy, and stepped boldly through the portal without hesitation.
Tu'Shan followed close behind, the Chapter Master of the Salamanders following his father. Then came Dante, then Nira.
Maximus gripped Extinction tightly as he brought up the rear of the command group.
===
discord.gg/vDrfkXnDe2
If you enjoyed this chapter, maybe consider leaving me with a couple of your power stones? I promise I'll take good care of them:)