Chapter 19: Everything for Humanity. For the Emperor of Mankind.
Under the combined command of Lorgar Aurelian and Erebus, the last territories of the old conservatives collapsed one after another. Cities fell. Shrines burned. Those who openly worshipped the Dark Gods were put to death without hesitation.
Through long campaigns and constant exposure to the teachings of Erebus, Lorgar came to a grim realization: the minds of those who served the false gods were already broken. Corrupted beyond recovery. Even surrender did not guarantee salvation.
Thus, some cities were purified after conquest—selectively, methodically—by the Dark Apostles.
Each battle was recorded. Each execution documented.
And with every entry written, the weight on Lorgar's heart grew heavier.
If this were not his homeworld, he would have judged Colchis beyond redemption.
But Erebus remained.
Lorgar set down his pen. His arms were wrapped in fresh bandages, his face bruised and swollen—the marks of a recent and brutal engagement.
The faithful of the Imperial Creed now trained relentlessly. They studied doctrine, drilled for war, and hardened their bodies. Faith alone was no longer enough.
Still, Lorgar could not understand one thing.
Erebus was growing stronger.
Not merely more skilled—stronger. Each sparring match ended the same way: Lorgar driven to the ground, Erebus standing over him, apologizing with genuine regret.
That regret was somehow worse than mockery.
"Erebus," Lorgar called. "The Liber Daemonica now contains the true names of more than thirty warp entities. But as you warned, the lesser names are fragmented, distorted. The Dark Apostles struggle to retain them. I fear—"
"We don't need to remember their names," Erebus said calmly. "We only need methods that work when it matters."
He set his pen aside and glanced at Lorgar's writing instrument—once again cracked nearly in half.
A strange habit, he thought.
In truth, every daemon interrogated left its mark. Apostles suffered migraines, hallucinations, mutations. Some developed scales beneath their skin. Others died sealing banishments with their own lives.
Dealing with the warp was not war—it was walking along the edge of annihilation.
"I've entrusted internal oversight to Jarulek," Lorgar said.
Erebus nodded. "And Kor Phaeron?"
Lorgar hesitated. "My adoptive father has been… instructing the Apostles in controlled psychic practice."
Erebus's expression hardened.
"What."
Before Lorgar could finish explaining, Erebus seized him and dragged him bodily from the desk, vaulting through a side passage.
"Are you certain," Erebus hissed, "that man is teaching them properly?"
Lorgar tried to defend him—and failed. Kor Phaeron's memory was fractured, his judgment unpredictable.
They reached the Dark Apostle training grounds.
Kor Phaeron stood at the center of the chamber, his voice sharp as a blade.
"Useless! Pathetic! This is how you expect to face the Great Enemy?"
A bound warp creature—its form bloated and distorted, blood-red sigils burning across its skin—screamed curses without pause.
"I am eternal! The Blood God will—"
Ekodas raised his hand.
Psychic force slammed into the daemon, tearing flesh from bone. It howled in agony.
Kor Phaeron nodded once. "Good. Break its faith first. Power follows belief."
Jarulek dragged a mutilated Chaos cultist forward and cast the corpse at the daemon's feet.
"Consume it," Kor Phaeron ordered coldly. "Or I bind you into its remains for ten thousand years."
The daemon hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Kor Phaeron struck it with psychic force, killing the offering instantly.
"Observe," he barked. "This is Chaos. It lies. It waits. It feeds on weakness."
He gestured for the next Apostle to step forward.
From the shadows above, Erebus and Lorgar watched in silence.
"He's burning every bridge behind him," Erebus murmured. "Clever. Ruthless."
"What will happen," Lorgar asked quietly, "when his memory returns?"
Erebus did not answer immediately.
"Lorgar," he said at last, "I do not judge loyalty by the present. Only by what survives the future."
He turned to face the Primarch fully.
"If I fall to corruption—kill me."
Lorgar did not hesitate.
"And if I fall," he replied, "you will do the same."
They clasped forearms.
"For humanity," Erebus said.
"For humanity," Lorgar echoed.
"For the Emperor of Mankind."