CHAPTER 1 - NEX SACRAMENTUM
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Today is the day the God-Emperor will be destroyed.
At the entrance the lavish palace of the God Emperor of Mankind the Legio Custodes, the personal body guard of the Emperor when he walked the Earth, stand on guard outside the palace gate. Adamant and fearless, these transhumant warriors were designed to fight any local enemy of the Emperor to the death. To this end they are adored in impressive golden intimidating power armor. And weapons that can shoot, cut, blow and maim their foes apart. They were the ultimate guards for their Emperor.
But today they were going to get a surprise visit from a stranger. A stranger named Dante Sparda, the Nephilim devil hunter.
In the distance they saw a person approached the palace gate dressed in a black robe with a smooth skull-like mask. Legio Custodes were standing in three rows of ten, upon seeing the stranger they advanced four steps and stood in the stranger's way.
"HALT! Advance one and recognized." One of the Legio Custodes ordered.
Dante stopped dead in tracks; he looked the length of the row of Legio Custodes carefully. Next he held up his hand; a small blue light appeared in his palm. Legio Custodes to one step back and held up their shields and pointed their power halberds at the stranger.
"Identify your or be removed from the premises!" Legio Custodes ordered.
The Stranger fired a powerful dense beam of energy from his hand toward the rank and file Legio Custodes. The blast destroyed the midsection of the Custodes before Dante aim his hand upward to the metal palace to destroy it. When he finished he saw that the rest of guards were lying on the ground dazed and the door was merely warped on the impacted area. Dante had certain have before more powerful as the ages went forth; his Angel and Demon halves equally growing in power.
Eventually the door opened and another squad of Legio Custodes marched outside to meet the new threat . . . that had vanished.
The captain ordered the palace to be on full alert as they keep an eye out while search the grounds for the terrorist. As they doubled timed in different direction the Stranger looked out of a window to make sure and continued down the lavish hall of the palace. He located a techpriest chastised to working the multiple levels of the Palace, fixing and modifying whatever should need it.
Dante snuck up and pulled the hood of the techpriest who became alarmed and turned around. Dante grabbed the head of the of the techpriest quickly to smash it repeatedly against the wall beside the circuit it worked on before breaking its neck and continued to twist it side to side before tearing it clear from its hunched cybernetic body.
He was careful not to have the techpriest see him; everything the techpriest sees is saved on the hard rived that is the modified brain within their skull. That coupled with the fact that they can send data to another techpriests wirelessly makes them dangerous. Dante pulled of the rubbery skin over the mechanical skull before prying it open to retrieve the chip in sided.
Dante attached the chip to a hologram communicator to upload the files. Once upload he waited to bypass the security protocols before he came the main page. He cycled through the different files until he found the schematic of the palace. He found the room where Golden throne resided. He found it and switched the device off to make his way there.
He went through the ventilation shaft and crawl the throw the tunnels of cables. He a few time he had to check the map again to when he hit a dead in. in the tight space. But it was all worth it when he finally made it to the throne room. He used a laser to cut a square section of the ceiling out. He looked down at the two guards who guard the throne. Dante was about to stick the plan of using stealth to take them out when he saw a limping cybernetic cripples walking around the entirely of the throne room.
"Psykers. Damn." Dante muttered to himself quietly. Psykers are human versions of WIFI detectors. Most annoying is that can sense if a person is infiltrating around them, particularly ones that are a foe and not a friend.
He ducked out of sight and thought on how he could get the psykers out of the room without alerting the guards, and how to get the guards out of the room without alerting the psykers. Then the answer came to him in an unexpected way. He sat for a minute and focus in mediation. Down below the psykers suddenly felt a surge of pain in the skulls that made them groan and cry out in pain. Legio Custodes watched them as they began to behave very oddly. But to the Legio Custodes the psykers were an acting normal. Being connect together in the warp to such a degree would make anyone a little nutty. That was expected. What was not expected was the psykers charging up their power for an attack. The turn to face the guards and unleashed a blast of psychic power that reduced them into a cloud of ash. The psykers then finally turned they power on themselves and disintegrated.
Satisfied in his success, and the fact the alarm was not triggered, Dante dropped from the ceil and landed in front if the golden throne. Dante is in awe of the sight of the Emperor of Mankind sitting upon the Golden Throne in the Sanctum Imperialis at the heart of the Imperial Palace, where he now stood.
Many have come this closer but few have had the urge to end the Emperor's life right then and there. But Dante didn't have the urge to kill the Emperor. He remembered in the past he first met the Emperor on March 4th, 2020. War and erupted on the eastern coast of the United States of America. Dante was fighting against the forces a sedition that tried to take over the city of Boston. The man who be the Emperor was called "Joshua" at the time was help the civilians escape. When two encountered one another they saw a kindred spirit, the will to fight on for the good of life.
Dante walked to the throne and looked at the dried remains of a battle brother. "Joshua, it's me, Dante. Can you hear me?"
The corpse remains silent, weakly gripping the Golden throne.
"Look what has become of you: A corpse on a golden throne, and for what? Unification? Freedom? Joshua in you absence mankind is far from free. They are slaves made in a factor to serve a factory. And all you can do is sit there and watch."
Dante walked around slowly in front of the throne as he continued. "I know it's not your fault. Warmaster Horus. That battle was badass but I took a toll on the Imperium and the forces of Chaos. You killed your Son and he nearly killed you. It was in your battered and bleeding state that you were found by Rogal Dorn, the Primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion who had accompanied the assault force onto the Vengeful Spirit. He took you back and you quickly dictated plans to Dorn for the modification of the Golden Throne into an arcane life support machine that would sustain your remaining cells in an undying state between life and true death for over ten thousand years . . . Well I can say the year have been kind on me rather than you, am I right?" Dante joked.
Somewhere in the Immaterium his friend was probably laughing his ass off. But in this corpse state the Emperor is a prime example of the power Nurgle, the Father of plagues and decay, had over him and the rest of the galaxy. And he wasn't the only one getting a kick out of it; Khorne gained power from the emperor's rage in wanting to destroy those who harm mankind. Tzeentch gained power from the Emperor's planning and plot he devised in his mind. Slaanesh gained power from the Emperor's desire to bring mankind in the greatest state of perfection and joy and Malice gained power from the Emperor's hatred in wanting to destroy any and all forces of Chaos and the corrupt Imperium officials who play God with the lives of all. Dante was determined to end the Emperor's life for his sake and the sake of the Terra.
But Dante was aware that if he destroys the Emperor chaos may have the advantage and spread faster. But a risk he will have to take. He asked the Emperor to say anything that would be a lasting piece of guidance. Dante waited ten minutes before he heard the voice of his friend. He told him of what he must do and how. It was unexpected and would be a bit controversial beyond reason for the Imperium. But it had to be done. Dante walked over to the machinery that connected the Golden throne summoned Rebellion. He swung his sword around ripping apart the life support systems. The machine failed and the spirit within vanished. Then Dante went to the throne deliver the blow of grace. With a horizontal swing the emperor dried dead head rolled down to the floor. Dante place the head on the body's lap and unleashed a blast of energy that disintegrated the body to atoms.
And with that Dante did what many believe impossible. He did what many could not do. He gave his best friend the death he desired.
"Nex Sacramentum – 'the death oath is complete'." Dante muttered.
With the deed done and Terra free he decided to take his leave. But there was a something Dante had not counted on. Apparently Rogal Dorn, the Primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion, created a trap program that only he and the Emperor knew about, if the was a time the Emperor's faint vital signs suddenly flatlined from the hand of a assassin the throne and will become a bomb and detonate in 3. . . 2 . . . 1 . . .
DETONATE SEQUENCE ENGAGE.
A violent explosion erupted behind Dante engulfing him. The blast was so strong that it blew out the doors of the Sanctum Imperialis. As the smoke cleared Dante laid of the floor naked as the blast burn away his cloth and burn part of his body.
Dante looked up on the ground as the he saw more Legio Custodes entering the throne room to investigate the disturbance. They saw the golden throne and Dante lying far from it. They approached and saw the burned skin slowly repairing itself. "By the Emperor. I can't believe He's . . . .Emperor's"
Dante's vision began to blur. "Are you fucking . . . kidding . . . me?" he muttered as he passed out.
It's like they say: getting in is easy, getting out is hard.
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Across the stars in the cold void of space in a giant ripple in the Warp was felt on a massive Chaos warship. On the bridge Abaddon the Despoiler sat on his command chair with his infamous sword by his side, deep in mediation. He does this regularly to commune with the Dark Gods of Chaos, to hear their guidance and their order of what to do next, if needs be. But when the Warmaster felt the death, the turned long waited no string attached death, of the Emperor of Mankind he opened his eyes and inhaled in a deep snarl. The Heretic techpriests working at their stations turned to look at the Warmaster upon hearing a set of strange words utter from his mouth.
"The Imperator of Terra is dead."
The entire bridge was fell silent as they looked at each other. Then they all erupted in celebration.
"We won!"
"Praise the Dark Gods!"
"Chaos prevails at last."
Abaddon remained silent letting the crew cheer and spread the word on around the ship. He reached armored hand reached up and stroked his chin as he needed to once again summon a meeting of the leaders of Chaos Undivided once again to plan to march of Terra. If this is what it appears then Chaos has indeed won the war as 10,000 or so years. But a new threat may rise from the ashes of the Emperor himself.
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After an entire solar day Dante regain consciousness. He opened his eyes only to close them immediately after a blast of light hit them. Gradually his eyes adjusted to the sunlight coming in through rows of giant tall windows. He turned his head to the side to see what the rest of the giant room. It was still in the Imperial Palace. Not good. But he was found himself laying in a king sized bed with . . .
"Oh shit." Dante said.
Standing beside the bed was a Asian woman with black hair and dressed in a black coat and with red cybernetic eye monticule. She was an Inquisitor, nicknamed "the Lioness of the Imperium" and she and Dante know each other.
"Rise and shine, assassin, you have a debt to pay." the Lioness said.
Dante rolled over until he fell of the bed. He was up on his feet and ready to duke it out with an Inquisitor. "What every debt you think I have to pay . . . let the people pay it with taxes, I mean is that you use the taxes now, right?"
"For the life of the God-Emperor, which you took you, you life is the price to pay." the Lioness replied.
Dante summoned rebellion and on his back and grabbed the hilt ready to swing it at her. "Alright, let's do this."
The Lioness of the Imperium smiled to her as she walked over to him gracefully as any woman can in high heels that are design to killed renegades, daemons, witches and xenos alike. "But that is too easy. I want alive for now, and with good reason."
"Like what?" Dante asked.
"Follow me and I'll show you."
Hesitate in where she will take him Dante followed the Inquisitor out of the room down the halls to a door where she gestured for him to it. "You want to see my reason. Open this door." She said.
Dante looked at her before he turned the knobs and opened the double doors. Inside he saw a gathering of many armed forces of the Imperium. From every branch the of the Adeptus Astartes, Adepta Sororitas, Adeptus Mechanicus,Adeptus Custodes,Ordo Hereticus, Imperial Guards and so on.
They turned their attention to whoever entered the conference room. Dante saw the ones seated in their chairs stand up at attention. An Imperial general walked over to Dante and knelt down to greet. "My Emperor, you have finally returned to us, to the people of Terra." he said humbly. One of the priests began to weep as he stated speaking in tongues like a lunatic. The Primarchs, those that remained loyal, smiled with prided at the sight of their God-Emperor.
Dante blinked for a moment before answer. "Can you excuse me one second?" Dante backed up quickly outside where the Lioness was.
"Alright spill the beans, what going on?" Dante inquired the Inquisitor in a dead serious tone.
"Whatever do you mean?" the Inquisitor asked with a pleasant smile.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES:
And now . . . commence to hate comments of the real life loyal servants of the Emperor of Mankind. But seriously be civil about this.
One of the reasons I did this just to see who people on the Imperium side of 40K would react to this.