The Journey through the Rift was perilous, but with Caelion's psychic power, strengthened by millennia of meditation, held their passage firm against the tides of the Warp. Upon arrival, Karthax was found in disarray. Thousands of years without the guiding hand of their Primarch had left the world barely recognizable.
There detected no enemies present so Caelion ordered the fleet to send down men and start setting up the Command center. Karthax as the Chapter world for his Legion would also serve as Headquarters for his Crusade and any future operations he participates in.
But on the surface, not everything was as good as it seemed. A few days before Caelion's arrival into the system, the Chaos gods had sensed his presence travelling through the warp. They remembered this presence from ten thousand years ago and knew that they had to eliminate Caelion before he regrouped the forces of the Imperium that were scattered on this side of the rift.
As a result, they had dispatched some of their weaker chaos forces to set up a foothold. Most of these were traitor Astartes, Word Bearers and Warped Firsts warbands, but reports of Daemon incursions and cultists sightings appeared with each passing hour. The Adeptus Astartes were deployed to various strategic regions across the planet to secure them alongside the Guardsmen. At the same time, the Adeptus Mechanicus were ordered to re-establish control of the Notcis Data-Spires.
From orbit, Caelion descended in a Thunderhawk, accompanied by Custodes and selected members of the Unnumbered Sons. Upon landing, Caelion's armored feet touched Karthax soil for the first time in thousands of years. While it was only the start, he was going to rebuild his home planet and make it as strong as it was before.
As he moved forward, Lord General Militant Castellan approached, saluting as he approached. "My Lord, the command center is operational. Our troops have established perimeter security, and Magos Omnix reports significant progress in reactivating planetary defenses."
"Excellent," Caelion responded. He understood that technology that had been dormant for ten thousand years would take some time to be reactivated, if it could at all.
Within the newly established command center, a sprawling facility rapidly set up by the Mechanicus servitors and Guardsmen within the fortress-monastery. Caelion stood before a holographic projection which showed the dozens of battles that were occurring across the planet. Castellan updated him as reports flowed in.
"My Lord Primarch," interrupted a communications officer, "We have located something beneath the ruins of the Citadel. It appears to be a vault, sealed with technology matching the stasis protocols from Terra."
Caelion's eyes flashed with anticipation. "Mobilize immediately. I will investigate personally."
Within minutes, Caelion, accompanied by Custodians and Tech-Priests arrived at the Citadel's ruins. The entrance to the vault was hidden beneath rubble and bore the insignia of the XI Legion. Caelion approached, his hand glowing with psychic energy as he placed it upon the ancient lock. With a strong push, the mechanisms awakened, and the heavy doors opened.
Inside, rows upon rows of stasis pods were set up throughout the room. The armored forms of Caelion's ancient Legion stood suspended, untouched by age. They numbered exactly one thousand warriors; each clad in their power armor inscribed with their oaths of duty and honor.
A silence filled the chamber as the Tech-Priests worked to reactivate the stasis generators. Surprisingly it didn't take long and Caelion approached one of the control altar's and activated the revival protocol. The stasis fields began to power down and the warriors who were waiting for tens of thousands of years awoken, their eyes opening beneath their helmets. One stepped forward, removing his helmet and kneeling immediately upon recognizing his Primarch.
"Lord Caelion," he said, "You have returned, My Lord." He knew that the only reason they were awake was because of Caelion's reawakening.
"Rise, Domitan Vahl, my old friend" Caelion commanded, placing a hand upon his shoulder. "Your duty is needed once again. Our Legion has been brought back to save the Imperium and defeat new enemies, some of which we have never faced before.
Captain Vahl rose, his posture straightening. Around him, his battle-brothers did the same, eagerly staring at Caelion.
Caelion addressed them all, "Warriors of the Penitent Blades, today marks our rebirth. The Emperor's will guides us. Let our enemies know defeat as they once did ten thousand years ago, for we have awakened, and our blades will carve a path to victory."
With thunderous resolve, a thousand fists slammed against their breastplates. That's when one of the Imperial Guardsmen ran inside of the vault knelt in front of Caelion. "My Lord, the Daemons have opened a portal nearby and have sent out hundreds of Daemons. Our frontline is holding, but we are being overrun slowly."
Caelion turned to look at his legion as he smiled. "It seems we must show these pathetic Daemons our might." he unsheathed the Repentance from his side and held it high into the air covering it in psychic energy. "WITH ME!" Caelion's voice roared as he charged forward followed by his Legion.
Karthax — The Plains of Esharion
Outside, the skies above Karthax were red as the Daemonic incursions charged through the fabric of reality. Warp rifts tore open, bleeding into the skies, black clouds crackling with purple lightning. From the largest portal came a host of plage-ridden monstrosities, crimson-skinned horrors, and shrieking daemons that clawed at the skies. Traitor Astartes in corrupted plate marched alongside them, chanting blasphemies to powers that should not be.
Amidst this storm, the defenders were faltering. The perimeter lines drawn by Guardsmen and the Unnumbered Sons were under relentless pressure. Vox-lines screamed reports of collapses. Officers yelling for fire support.
However, what they got wasn't just fire support, but something better. Descending from the sky, came the Thunderhawk, Virtue's Fall, its engines roaring. It tore through Daemonettes attempting to ascend on wings of darkness, ripping them apart. As it landed, the ramp slammed open, and from it stepped the one who would deliver judgment upon the forces of Chaos.
With the Repentance in his hand and the Hammer of Truth on his back, and the Penitent Blades behind him, he charged forward, inspiring all of the Astartes who saw his arrival. His every step left a small crater on the ground. Despite this, the Daemons charged toward him, screaming, claws slashing, and teeth gnashing. Caelion swung the Repentance in a single arc, and ten were severed mid-charge, their essences erased from existence. One of them leapt for his throat, only for Caelion's left hand to grasp it mid-air, crushing its skull with such force that its blood sprayed in a ten-meter arc.
Behind him, the Penitent Blades fired their Bolter Rifles into the enemy ranks. Every formation was executed with a discipline that was forged during the Great Crusade.
A Greater Daemon of Tzeentch descended, wings wide and staff in hand, chanting an incantation meant to rupture the minds of men. Caelion raised his hand, palm open, and with a shout, the daimon's psychic scream was obliterated. He then jumped into the air, soaring twenty meters into the air, and drove the Repentance through its skull, pinning it to the ground as the daemon thrashed in vain. Caelion moved so fast that the Greater Daemon had no time to react, and now it was cast into damnation just as the rest of the enemies of Mankind would be.
To the right flank, Guardsmen who moments before were wavering, charged forward, inspired by the spectacle of seeing a Primarch fight in their lifetime. Mortars fell with greater precision and bayonets were fixed as they followed Caelion alongside the Astartes.
Another wave of traitor Astartes, Word Bearers, defiled and blasphemous, charged his position, chanting the versus of the Chaos Gods. Caelion pulled his hammer out, sheathing the Repentance. The Hammer of Truth erupted into blue flames, surrounded by his psychic might. The first strike collapsed the earth around him, sending shockwaves that liquefied armor and shattered bones. One Word Bearer tried to parry, but his corrupted blade met the hammer and disintegrated under the sheer weight of Caelion's rage.
"Your words are lies. Just like the Gods you worship" he screamed mid battle.
With each swing, he shattered the bodies of those that were corrupted, casting them into damnation for their betrayal. For the Penitent Blades, there was no victory sweeter then the breaking of the enemies of the Imperium.
The battle raged for over an hour, but it became clear who the winner would be.
Caelion had carved a wave of annihilation through the enemy hordes. He moved not like a warrior, but like an avalanche, unstoppable, inevitable, a divine executioner with power of a demi-god and the will of a man who had waited too long to deliver justice.
Suddenly, that's when the air changed. It grew still. The Warp flames flickered… and then extinguished. That's when the rift above twisted violently. From its heart descended something powerful. Something that Caelion had never seen before.
A Chaos Lord stepped through, a giant clad in armor of crimson, engraved with runes of torment and conquest. A cloak of skin fluttering behind him. His helmet bore horns, and in one hand he held a chain axe larger than a man and covered in blood.
"So… the Prodigal Son returns." His voice was a chorus of voices—some human, some daemonic, some no longer comprehensible. "You who shamed the Gods once before. I watched your Legion burn; I watched your brothers fall… And yet here you are."
Caelion stepped forward, eyes burning with calm fury. "You are nothing more than a vessel, being used by those pathetic gods. Speak your name, wretch, so I may carve it into the earth before I bury you in it."
The Chaos Lord chuckled. "I am Karthu'Zaal, the Harrowed Flame, Warlord of the Eight-Fold Path. I've slain three Chapter Masters and devoured their souls. But you… you I will savor." Around him, the sky darkened and then a new wave of daemons rose behind him. Caelion raised the Hammer of Truth as the ground trembled.
And then...