Everything turned red before Marino's eyes. His chainsword carved a valley of blood and gore from the imperial guardsmen that stood in his path. Limbs and lives went flying in every direction as what was left of the squad turned tail and ran. Marino picked up an imperial soldier with his hands, his ancient power armour easily lifting the terrified soldier off the ground. With one single snap, he twisted the soldier's head clean off, like unscrewing a bottle cap, and poured the precious blood within over his naked face. The red gold of the Blood God poured over him, embracing him like a lover, lifting him closer to his master. With a roar, he reignited his sword and charged after the fleeing guardsmen.
It was hard to think that only weeks ago this planet had been a quiet rural farming world in a forgotten corner of the galaxy. But underneath the peaceful surface, cultists had worked in the shadows, snatching up the unwanted and the forgotten and spilling their blood in the name of Khorne, the blood god. After years of hard work, soaking the ground red, they had been able to open the portal to the warp and let the wolves into the pasture.
Now, at long last, instead of sheep, it was humans who were slaughtered by the millions.
The Imperium of man had responded quickly, sending a fleet of further sacrifices to stem the blood-red tide that threatened to swallow the planet whole. With virus bombs and nuclear weapons, they had turned the land into a barren wasteland. In their desperation, they failed to see that it mattered nothing to Marino and his kin who died, as long as the blood god got his due. The cities had burned, the few surviving citizens left twitching on the ground as the flesh-eating virus tore them apart from the inside. For every cultist, a thousand innocents laid dead. Marino could feel Khorne's satisfaction pulsing through his veins. The entire planet was now an altar to his great glory.
Explosions erupted all around Marino, lifting him off the ground and flinging him into the air. Igniting his jump pack mid-air, Marino managed to halt his rapid spin and get an overview of the battlefield. On the hill up ahead the Imperium had aligned lines upon lines of tanks and heavy artillery, which were now bathing the valley in a sea of fire. The squad Marino had been pursuing was gone, evaporated into thin air by the extreme heat.
The Imperium had never had any qualms shelling its own men. And why would they? Out here life was so cheap that it was all but worthless. Only Marino's chaos blessed power armour had saved him from the same fate. He smiled, it seemed it was not yet time for him to make his final sacrifice to the blood god. Sucking in the smell of burnt flesh Marinos ignited the afterburners on his jetpack and surged forward towards the tanks.
The landscape flashed past below him. What had once been rolling hills and verdant forests was now nothing but a hellscape of craters, burning wreckages and blood. This was the blood gods garden, his heaven. And soon, so soon this would be the fate of the whole galaxy. Everything would be his. All the worlds would burn and all life would bleed. The thought was almost sexual to Marino. Strange, he thought, for he had not had such thoughts since he had entered the blood gods service. Perhaps he would have to find some straggler to fuck to death before this was over to relieve the pressure building between his legs.
As Marino and his fellow marines charged forward the imperial line opened fire. Hundreds of heavy bolters filled the sky with a cloud of metal and soon his comrades were falling from the skies like raindrops. Dodging left and right, it was all Marino could do to stay alive. For a moment, it looked like their charge was halted by the sheer firepower of the myriad of guns aligned against them. But then a dark shadow fell upon them all. Up in the sky, the very sun turned red. From the depths of the deepest pits came a furious roar such as this world had never heard. It was all over. Enough blood had soaked the ground, now the blood god's herald himself had come to take part in the final act of the feast.
In fire and ash, the very earth broke and from its depths climbed man's worst nightmare. The hill up ahead split apart, giving birth to the most terrible of daemons, a Bloodthirster.
Clawing its way up from the rock, the giant daemon unfolded its monstrous bat-like wings and swung its houndlike horned head around, sniffing the air, taking in carnage all around him. Towering over even the largest machinery, it picked up the nearest tank as if it was a toy and tore it in half. Pure terror erupted along the imperial line. The bravest of the offices tried their best to hold the men in check, even shooting fleeing deserters in the back. But it was all for nought, there was no stopping the daemon now. Brandishing a whip of blood and fire in one hand and a double-bladed axe in the other it unleashed its rage on the feeble imperial cowards, feeding on flesh and metal alike.
Marino swopped down on one of the remaining Imperial commanders, whose tank was, against all odds, holding its ground. Sitting in the open hatch of his Leman Russ battle tank his rallying cry echoed over the dying screams of his comrades, urging them to send shell after shell racing towards the towering nightmare up ahead. The Bloodthirster roared in agony as a shell hit it head on, sending the massive daemon tumbling to its knees. The tank crew cheered. For the last time.
With a single swipe of his chainsword, Marino took the tank commanders head clean off, sending a fountain of blood high into the red sky. With his other hand, he dropped a frag grenade into the open tank hatch as he swooped past. He could just make out the panicked screams from within before a million tiny pieces of spinning metal turned the remaining crew into mincemeat. Landing past the tank, Marino charged the nearest squad of guardsmen, his chainsword hungry for more soft, unprotected flesh.
Expecting the cowards to flee, Marino was pleasantly surprised when the stood their ground before his charge. It only meant they would meet their end sooner. As he charged forward, little did he know that no further blood would be spilt on this day, that despite his courage the blood god had been denied his due. Only when he was close enough to see the white of their eyes did he realize that something wasn't right.
The guardsmen were not even pointing the guns at him. In fact, their weapons were on the ground, scattered all around them. Every single one of them was staring slack-jawed at the sky with a look on their face that Marino had never seen before. It was not terror, Marino knew exactly what that looked like. It was something beyond awe, stronger than worship, something so primal that it had no word. In the corner of his eye, Marino caught the glimpse of something radiant descending from the sky, which had somehow turned blue again. Only years on training kept his eyes on the target.
Time seemed to slow as Marino raced towards the guardsmen. He had lifted his weapon high, ready to swing, ready to deal death. But before he could do so something else caught his eye. From beneath the grip of his chainsword, a tiny white speck slowly emerged. Marino squinted his eyes, not trusting them with what he saw. There, out of his corrupted weapon of death, a single white flower bloomed, smiling innocently up towards him. It was such as small thing, so fragile. Even a child could have crushed it with a single finger. Without realizing it, Marino stopped. With a trembling hand reached out for the little flower with his bloodied metal fist. The little thing seemed to sing at his touch, blooming even brighter as his gloved hand brushed up against its petals. In awe, he watched as the blood drained off his hands as he touched the little white flower.
Beneath his feet, soft grass tickled his toes. High above he could hear the birds crying out in the blue sky. The smell of the forest filled his nostrils as the summer breeze rolled over him. Frowning, Marino looked at the old wooden branch he was holding in his hand. Wasn't that weird? Why was he holding onto that so tightly? Gently he put it down and lifted his gaze.
An explosion of colours hit his eyes. The hilltop on which he stood overlooked lush blooming meadows in every direction, filled to the brim with flowers in every colour imaginable. Beyond that was deep green forests, filled with massive trees that looked to be hundreds of years old. Had it always looked like this, Marino couldn't help but wonder.
From up ahead came a low whine, like the cry from a scared animal. Underneath a massive tree, which vaguely resembled a winged statue of something very large, crouched a naked woman. She reached her hands down towards the base of the tree, palms flat, her posture confident yet relaxed. Like he was drawn towards the scene, Marino's feet carried him forward without conscious thought.
"It's ok, little one, I'm not going to hurt you," the woman cooed softly. Very slowly, a small paw and a soft nose peeked forward from its hiding place beneath the tree's roots. Soon, a little puppy licked the woman's hand affectionately and allowed itself to be picked up into her bosom. She stood up, kissed the puppy and then gently set it down again. Wagging its tail, it happily bounded off, chasing a butterfly. Then she turned her twinkling eyes towards Marino and smiled. He found he almost couldn't meet her gaze. It was like two small suns were hidden inside her.
Marino stared at her in awe. Only then did he realize he was as naked as she was.
"I'll take that down there as a compliment, shall I?" she smiled sweetly at him, lifting an eyebrow and glancing downwards. Marino blushed furiously. The woman giggled, swirled around and the laughed uncontrollably in a high clear voice that seemed to echo out into eternity. She stretched towards the sky, standing on her tippy toes.
"You children sure can make a mess of things," she chuckled, holding out her hand so that a bird could land on her outstretched finger. She took a small hop towards Marino.
"Promise me you will play nice with the other children from now on?"
Marino found he couldn't answer, he was so transfixed by the woman. He found he could not describe her. Simply words like beauty couldn't do her justice.
"Uhm, sweetie, I know those are nice but my eyes are up here." She placed a slender hand under his chin and gently raised his eyes until they met hers.
"Promise?" She teased. Marino nodded numbly, knowing nothing of the primal force of nature he had just made a pact with. For all his power, his previous master was but a toddler still sucking on his thumb in comparison to the ancient creature before him. She had been charming the pants off whole galaxies since long before Marino's species even existed.
Reaching in she kissed him deeply, with the hunger of someone who had not felt the touch of another upon her skin for ten thousand years. The kiss was so intense it was beyond words, almost unbearable. When their lips finally parted Marino felt as if his mind had been just a second away from totally unravelling like a bunch of leaves in the wind. The woman licked her lip, eagerly tasting the kiss. The look she gave him was so hot it almost scorched his soul.
"Oh, the things I would do to you all if I only had the time. I would leave every man and woman on this planet with a grin on their face that would last a thousand years."
But then her light faded a little, her smile faltering slightly as a sadness crept onto her face. Sorrow somehow looked foreign on her, Marino thought as his mind started to collect itself together again. Like it wasn't supposed to be there.
"But there is no time. I still have so far to go. And time is running out."
With a single playful wave of her hand, the goddess and protector of everything that lives and breathe strode off towards the stars. Behind her stood millions of former soldiers, naked as the day they were born, their weapons nowhere to be seen, gaping at her as she slowly disappeared into the midday sun. The ground they stood on, which just hours ago was poisoned beyond all redemption, was now a paradise.
She knew it would not last, knew she should not have exposed herself in such a way. But she couldn't help it. It was what she did. Who she was. She had but one purpose in this world and that was to be the guardian of all life. And to that end, she had done well today. But more than all that, she needed to know she wasn't just a decrepit old has-been who was no longer good for anything. Smiling, she allowed herself an extra little sway of her hips and an extra bounce in her step as she shot one last glance over her shoulder. A whole world gaped back in awe.
"Not too shabby for a multi-million year old broad," she chuckled, stretching her shoulders. Nodding to herself, she took a deep breath, a determined expression on her exquisite face.
"You still got it Isha. You can do this."