After the banquet ended, Dante personally escorted Ferrus and his party to the guest quarters. Following an intense exchange of information, both sides needed to organize their intelligence to determine their next moves. Once he confirmed the Iron Hands had no further requests, Dante turned and departed with practiced etiquette.
His stride remained steady, but the moment he rounded the corner of the corridor, a trace of fatigue surfaced on his ancient face. Dante quickened his pace. He had much work ahead and could not yet rest. At this moment, he had organized two crucial meetings: one with his psychic advisor, Chief Librarian Mephiston, and another with the high-ranking members of the Blood Angels, including Tycho, to discuss how to handle the arrival of Ferrus Manus.
Meanwhile, in the visitor area of the east wing of Arx Angelicum, Ferrus Manus stood by the window, staring out at the boundless red desert. The room was large enough to accommodate an entire company of Astartes for combat preparation. As a war fortress dating back to the Great Crusade, Arx Angelicum was vast enough to house tens of thousands of Astartes.
Today, due to the dictates of the Codex Astartes, the former Legion had been split into numerous successor chapters. The number of Blood Angels currently stationed here was less than a thousand. Despite many facilities being buried under dust over the millennia, there were still plenty of rooms to host Ferrus and his gene-sons.
Ferrus withdrew his gaze and pulled a palm-sized communication device from a hidden compartment in his power armor. This was a Necron technological artifact—a hyperspace wide-area communication device. After being heavily modified by a certain reality bender, it possessed an anomalous effect capable of communicating with a target tens of thousands of light-years away.
Ferrus pressed the activation key. A beam of eerie green light shot from the device, weaving into a stable holographic projection in the air. The light flickered, and then a face appeared on the screen.
Looking at the Primarch he had personally resurrected, Adam smiled. "You look well," his voice came through the hyperspace link, as clear as if he were standing right there. "How do you find Baal, the homeworld of the Blood Angels?"
"It's acceptable. Not much has changed," Ferrus replied calmly, his iron-grey eyes looking exceptionally cold in the green light. He paused, then cut straight to the point. "We have made initial contact with the Blood Angels. Regarding the resurrection of Sanguinius, they clearly harbor great doubts. Their attitude is very reserved, especially concerning our request to enter the basement levels of Arx Angelicum."
Ferrus's voice was low and steady. "They are unwilling to let outsiders into that place, even if that outsider is a Primarch."
Beneath Arx Angelicum, like the underground areas of other First Founding Chapters, various "secret collections" were hidden. Astartes Chapters often carefully preserved relics passed down through time. Beneath this fortress lay ancient relics, several Dreadnoughts considered living holy icons, prisoners accumulated over ten millennia, desecrated artifacts, the prophecy scrolls of Sanguinius, and the most significant item of all: the remains of Sanguinius.
Astartes were not entirely defenseless against all Primarchs. They might find it hard to resist their own gene-father, but for a Primarch of another lineage, the situation was different. In the original timeline, the newly awakened Guilliman had encountered various obstacles when dealing with chapters like the Imperial Fists or the Space Wolves. Sometimes, Guilliman had to use both diplomacy and force to compel Astartes—who had centuries of combat experience but perhaps a mental age of less than thirty—to follow his will.
"However, I believe we don't have to follow the usual path," Ferrus said after a moment of silence, uttering words Adam had not expected. "I think you could act directly. Use your reality-warping power to infiltrate the basement and retrieve my brother's remains. Once we make the resurrection a reality, we can leave the ensuing headaches to Sanguinius. I trust he can soothe his own sons."
Adam was stunned. In the holographic projection, his eyes widened as he stared at Ferrus as if meeting him for the first time. "To be honest, that doesn't sound like something you would say," Adam finally remarked.
"People change," Ferrus replied simply, his iron-grey eyes showing no emotion. "What do you think of the proposal?"
"I think... it's not quite feasible," Adam calmed down and shook his head. "To be fair, some of my preliminary work isn't finished yet. You likely know that the battle aboard the Vengeful Spirit shattered Sanguinius's soul. Part was devoured by the Four Gods, part was preserved by the Emperor, but most fragments are scattered in the endless ocean of the Warp. I am currently performing the 'salvage' work."
Adam looked up at the bizarre scenes around him. Vast currents roared around him, and infinite chaotic lights and shadows shifted before his eyes. The boundary between reality and illusion blurred here, where various emotions wove into an endless web. Adam reached out, his fingers dipping into the light. A fragment emitting a faint golden glow fell into his palm like a dying ember.
"This is delicate work," Adam looked back at Ferrus. "Even using reality-warping power to act under the noses of the Four Gods is not easy. I might need a dozen more days as a buffer."
Ferrus thought for a moment and nodded in understanding. Then he spoke again. "There is another situation. Their suspicion toward my arrival isn't solely based on that reason." He calmly relayed the information about Arkio—the Astartes claiming to be the reincarnation of Sanguinius.
Adam listened, feeling somewhat speechless. He could guess what was happening. To be fair, has this event moved up this much? I remember the mastermind was Tzeentch... well, that's not surprising then. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. The deceived Blood Angel in the story was indeed strange; for instance, he could easily wield the Spear of Telesto, a weapon supposedly usable only by Sanguinius, and even used it to kill Blood Angels investigating him.
After a brief silence, Adam made his arrangements. "My suggestion is that you can proactively offer to investigate this matter," he said decisively. "I suspect it's related to Sanguinius's soul fragments. If you can obtain it, it might help in resurrecting a more complete Sanguinius."
Adam paused, his eyes flashing with depth in the projection. "I will continue my plan. Once I've finished everything, if the Blood Angels still refuse you entry to the basement—I will step in."
Ferrus nodded, having no objection to the arrangement. The communication ended, and the eerie green light dissipated. The room fell back into silence, save for the howling wind of Baal outside. Ferrus turned to look at the red wasteland again. He recalled a moment ten thousand years ago, standing side-by-side with Sanguinius. His angel-like brother had stood beside him, golden hair streaming in the wind, white wings unfurled in the sky like a heroic deity.
"Soon," Ferrus whispered.