CHAPTER 3: The Golden Angel
Weiss woke up finding herself in a ruined baroque city of immense size; the city's architecture resembled that vaguely of the older parts of Vale she had witnessed when at Beacon but more grand in scale. Finding her saber Myrtenaster a few feet from her she picked the blade up and checked its magazine chamber. Looking around the city the first thing the Atlesian noticed of the city was the smell, it smelled of ash and cooked flesh. Covering her nose in disgust she found the stench too potent, eventually getting used to the smell as she walked through the abandoned streets. As she walked she noticed her movement felt more fluid as if someone had lowered the gravity, jumping in the air to test her theory she found herself having leapt twenty feet into the air something that should've not been possible even with her enhanced agility provided by her aura. Falling back to the ground in a slow drop Weiss used the lower gravity to her advantage and began leaping across the city. Traveling deeper in the city Weiss found the streets littered with the desecrated corpses of thousands horrifying the huntress. Pikes with the heads of the dead littered every corner, others were crucified, their face's displaying the pain of their last moments, on the walls of a building was an eight-pointed star painted with blood, having turned black ages ago. Looking at the symbol hurt Weiss' eyes so she avoided her gaze as best as she could as she continued her journey into the city. Running past a massive church she caught the screams of a man inside. Her sense of justice kicking in, she walked towards the church that must have been magnificent in another time but was now desecrated with the dreaded eight-pointed star and the dead. Sneaking through the church to the nave she found an unholy congregation taking place. Dozens were surrounding a large stone table where a man tied down screamed his voice out, they wore a mix of robes and ramshackled armor many hid their faces behind hoods or masks with them carrying various bladed weapons, and odd looking guns to match. Looking at this rabble of mad men in front her the only thing they seemed to share in common was that eight-pointed star. However what really caught her attention were the ten giants overlooking the man on the stone table. They were massive, dwarfing the cultists in size each wore crimson armor that was engraved in a language unknown to Weiss with them carrying massive blocky rifles to match their intimidating size. Ruby would love to see how those things worked. Thinking back to her young team leader's obsession for weapons of mass destruction. Leading this congregation was another of the giants, his armor was more ornate with flames belching from his backpack that he and the other metal giants wore, across his armor were parchments of paper that were written in that same weird language that covered their armor, as she squinted her eyes in her horror she realized that the parchment wasn't paper at all but human skin. Just what are these monsters? She thought to herself. In his hands the man carried a massive book while in his other was a spiked mace. His head was naked revealing a twisted face: a massive eight-pointed star was carved onto the man's head with small horns protruding from his bald head with eyes of malice red to match his menacing presence.
"We gather here today my brothers and sisters to celebrate the glory of the gods!" The giant priest spoke his voice both elegant and a snarl. "No longer is this world enslaved to the chains of the unbelievers and to the beliefs of the Anathema for you have been shown the truth, the Primordial Truth, for we the Bearers of the Word are the messengers to the true gods of this universe we are their apostles their chosen in the plane of mortals." He paused letting the congregation cheer, with their cheers being profanities and praise to their dark gods. "Let us celebrate this liberation of the soul with this man's sacrifice, let the immolation of his being elevate us closer to our masters! Only then will the gods know we followers of the Urizen are true believers!" As the crowd cheered again. Gesturing towards another of the crimson giants a crude ceremonial blade was offered to the dark priest. "To Khorne, to Tzeentch, to Nurgle, to Slaanesh, I give thee to the gods!" He said picking up the blade raising it over to the man's chest, his screams even louder now. Having seen enough the huntress leapt into action firing a shot from her gun-blade punching a hole through one of the cultists. Dropping to the floor dead, the cultists and giants turned their attention to her.
"Who dares interrupt my sermon?!" The dark priest yelled before meeting his eyes with Weiss. "Kill the blasphemer!" He growled at the cultists who charged her. The young Atlesian with her saber carved a bloody path through them finding them easy opponents. Finishing off the last of the cultists she was left with the giants and their profane priest leader.
"Unworthy wretches all of them" the priest complained, before closing his book and handing the sacrificial dagger back to one of his subordinates. "You will not find me lacking mortal for the gods smile upon me, for I Nabu Ur-Var Ar'gaz Dark Apostle of the XVII Legion, Word Bearers declare this so." He said before raising his mace. Charging her with inhuman speed for something so large the dark priest swung his massive weapon down, barely dodging in time the mace instead broke a bench where she once stood. Firing a shot from Myrtenaster at the giant priest she found her shots only dent his armor. "Mere bullets will not harm me silly mortal" he said, before raising his mace again before pausing mid swing confusing Weiss. She then began hearing the thrumming of a jet engine approach, looking at the stained glass window of the church that depicted a massive golden armored angel before being shattered by the arrival of four golden warriors that soared into the church. Their armor was similar in design to that of these so called Word Bearers however instead of profane scripture, and crimson armor these new warriors wore ornate golden armor with the symbol of a winged tear drop on their vermillion pauldrons. On giant jetpacks with bird wings they soared through the sky firing at the Word Bearers with the massive guns on their wrists and slashing with beautifully designed blades. Each warrior's helmet was either a menacing grill or face mask of what Weiss presumed to be the warriors' actual face. They look like angels, Weiss thought to herself. Slamming into the marble floor of the church one of the golden warriors surveyed the scene in front of him. Before meeting his gaze to the Dark Apostle.
"Dante" she heard Ar'gaz whisper, his already face turning pale at the sight of the golden warrior before he regained his composure and raised his mace. "Kill the corpse worshippers!" He yelled to his men.
"Pro Imperatore! Nam Sanguineous!" The golden warrior yelled in a language unknown to Weiss, raising his axe to the Word Bearer and charging them. Weiss watched as the four golden warriors gutted their way through the Word Bearers with the axe wielder cleaving his way through three of them in the matter of thirty seconds. As she watched the chaos in front of her she saw as the Dark Apostle approached methodically behind the axe wielder. Seeing him distracted Ar'gaz swung his mace down to end the golden warrior.
"Behind you!" Weiss yelled, summoning a glyph shield between the golden stranger and Ar'gaz formed just in time before the Dark Apostle's weapon could connect.
"What foul sorcery is this!" Nabu Ar'gaz yelled in disbelief, his eyes darting to the mortal girl from earlier before finding himself staring down the end of a melts pistol. His last thoughts being how he had been denied his moment of glory by a mere mortal before his upper body was turned into steam. The Dark Apostles body fell with a loud thump with it steaming from where the golden warrior's gun had shot at him. With their leader dead the angelic host quickly finished off the last of the Word Bearers. The golden warriors turned their attention to the man who was being prepared for sacrifice with them freeing him from his bonds.
"It is safe now go, my brothers will assure your safety." The golden warrior Weiss had saved told the man.
"Thank you my lord." he told him before running out of the church.
Turning their attention towards her the golden warriors raised their wrist mounted guns at her. Getting into a fighting stance with Myrtenaster raised Weiss prepared herself to fight through these golden warriors in a fight she knew she wouldn't win. Thankfully it didn't come to that as the warrior from earlier raised a hand telling his brethren to stand down. Walking towards her Weiss found the warrior massive in size easily being over seven feet in height. Standing in front of her the golden warrior got to a knee to meet her at eye level, his screaming face of mask meeting her eyes.
"I thank you for your assistance," he said with a booming voice. "If you had not used your powers to defend me I would've surely been killed by that heretic." he gestured to the Dark Apostle's remains. "To whom should I owe my thanks to?" He asked her.
"My name is Weiss Schnee," she told him.
"Well then lady Schnee I thank you for your assistance " He told her, causing her to blush with embarrassment.
"And I ask the same, who do I owe my thanks to?" She asked in an attempt to get some answers on where she was.
"You dare insult the Lord Commander with your ignorance, witch!" One of the other golden warriors interjected in anger.
"Daeanatos," the golden warrior said sternly, causing the one she presumed to be Daenantos to stand down before turning his head back to her.
"Forgive him, he merely does what his role entails of him." he assured her. "My name is Dante, Lord Commander of the Blood Angels Space Marine chapter, Regent and Warden of Imperium Nihilus." He told her.
Weiss' mind froze at Dante's words, finding none of the terms he just said familiar to anything on Remnant. From the minute she woke up in the city she had known something was not right but had pushed the thought aside finding any other possibilities of where she was as ridiculous, but Dante's words all but confirmed she was not on Remnant anymore.
"Is something wrong lady Schnee?" Dante asked her, realizing her shock and confusion were on full display to the giant warriors.
"Oh…no everything is fine just-"
"You are not from Tovin are you?" He asked.
"Yes" Struggling to come up with a reasonable lie the Atlesian gave up. "How could you tell?" She asked him.
"Your Low Gothic is not native to this world nor the surrounding sector" he replied.
"Low Gothic?" She repeated the term confused on its meaning. Dante sighed.
"As I thought, did any of the words in my titles sound familiar to you besides their base meanings? Such as Imperium, Blood Angel, or even Space-Marine?"
"No sadly" she replied meekly.
"A non-Imperial human on an Imperial world, how interesting never in my fifteen hundred years of living did I expect to meet a mortal such as you."
I'm sorry, did he say he's over 1500 years old?! She thought, bewildered by the statement.
"Even more of a reason to kill this witch Lord Dante" another of the golden warriors interjected.
"No!" He growled, his calm voice having been replaced with fury.
"She is a wild witch who knows not of the Emperor's light you said it yourself!" Daeanatos added.
"Then she shall be tested by the Librarius for signs of corruption or instability. I shall not kill this mortal, she saved my life, we must be better, the Lord Regent has declared so!" Dante said to his entourage regaining his earlier calm attitude. "Inform the Lord of Death I bring him a psyker to test for corruption tell him if she wavers that he is free to kill her" he finished. Getting back to his feet the four golden warriors began walking out of the church. Weiss had remained still, the huntress still grappling with her new reality.
"Come along witch, it is best not to keep Chief Librarian Mephiston waiting." one of the golden warriors said, pushing her to move along with them, breaking the trance she was in. Walking outside the church Weiss found the sky had cleared, having been too cloudy to see through before. The Atlesian's eyes went wide as she stared out to the clear sky, it was the color teal not blue, and in the horizon was a massive orb of gas that she presumed was another planet, with her being able to make out the faint shapes of three other planets (or were they moons?) in the sky. Being greeted by a massive blocky ship that was red in color Weiss observed more of the giant warriors however instead of gold armor they wore crimson armor the color of blood. Each of the giants carried massive guns similar to the ones carried by the Word Bearers but clean and not desecrated, these must be the Blood Angels, she thought to herself, how on the nose, she sighed in her head. Walking to the massive gunship where the giants strode out the five walked over to one of the Blood Angels. His armor was slightly different to others with his helmet being gold like Dante and his right pauldron yellow, around his waist he wore tabard where he carried a massive saber that was as tall as her. Greeting Dante by crossing his hands across his chest he stood at attention.
"Lieutenant Tolermon, this girl will be your new charge, take her back to the Absolution's Ire so Mephiston may evaluate if she is a danger" he ordered.
"What of the remaining traitors?" He asked.
"I can handle that Lieutenant do not worry the sons of Lorgar shall be routed from Tovin by ends day"
"As you command my lord" he replied before gesturing to her to walk towards the ramp of the massive gunship as Dante and co walked off. Sitting down in the gunship Weiss found the seats to be small even for someone of her stature. Joining Tolermon and Weiss were ten more Blood Angels, each of their armor an artistic masterpiece as if they had handcrafted it themselves with none looking the same. Sitting down in his seat Tolermon informed the pilot of their mission with the seats clamping down on them. Slowly she felt the ship thrum with power as it slowly rose into the air. Midway through the journey to the Absolution's Ire Weiss noticed how her hair floated as if she were underwater; before realizing she felt no weight at all in her body deducting that there was no longer any gravity in the ship. After what felt like an hour the gunship set down roughly with the clamps undoing themselves. As the ramps of the ship went down the teal sky of Tovin was replaced by the same baroque architecture of the city she woke up in. Turning her head around she viewed a small green blue orb in a dark void, shocked to see that she was in fact in space and no longer on Tovin. Her amazement would be short-lived when one of the Blood Angels that accompanied her on the gunship tapped her shoulder with the barrel of their gun, nodding his head for her to follow them. Doing as the red giant commanded Weiss and the Blood Angels were greeted by another of the giants this time his armor an azure blue with his head bare and eyes glowing motes of crackling energy with him carrying a staff of a horned animal's skull on it.
"Epistolary Rhacelus, we greet you in the blood." the Lieutenant said to the blue warrior.
Rhacelus' eyes moved to Weiss, their crackling power met her gaze. "Is this the witch girl Lord Dante wishes us to evaluate?"
"Indeed," Tolermon replied.
"I am unimpressed" he said as he eyed, causing a hint of annoyance in Weiss. "Nevertheless if the Chapter Master wishes it, who am I to judge." he sighed. "Come girl my master wishes to see you." he spoke to Weiss. Following Rhacelus Weiss couldn't help but find her eyes wandering across the ship as they walked its halls, finding it pristine both in how clean it was and how and the art that accompanied it. During their journey Weiss encountered the mortal crew who were dressed in regalia similar to that of Atlesian military officers but with the key difference being their outfits were red instead of white with the crest of Atlas replaced by a teardrop at what she guessed was the symbol of the Blood Angels. They passed by other Space-Marines who were on their duty of patrolling the halls of the ship she presumed with them eventually passing by a cadre of what looked like mummified corpses heavily augmented that were being overseen by a weird red robed figure working on some part of the Absolution's Ire. Cringing at the sight Weiss covered her mouth feeling like she was gonna vomit when one of the corpse cyborgs turned its dead eyed face to her, its mouth slack jawed and eyes dead inside. Walking a bit faster to Rhacelus' side the two continued their stroll the ship.
"We are here," Rhacelus said at last as they approached a massive set of doors, standing at guard were a pair of blue armored warriors similar to the Epistolary with another at guard, his armor more ornate then the two guards.
"I Epistolary Rhacelus request entry to the Librarius," the Librarian spoke to his fellow.
"Do you approach free of doubt and mental weakness?" He asked Rhacelus.
"I do," he replied.
"Then I bid you enter"
The Librarian then performed a short ritual that caused the doors to shudder open. Walking into the Librarius as she had learned it was called Weiss couldn't help but feel impressed by the massive sanctum looking around the chamber she saw most of its space was given over to rooms that contained shelves of weird looking crystals. Finding it mostly empty besides a few other warriors in similar garb to Rhacelus that walked around or who stood cataloging the crystals in silence. Approaching a massive door of silver and brass within the sanctum, Rhacelus pulled out a ring of keys from his belt causing Weiss to raise an eyebrow. Unlocking each of the many locks that were on the door while muttering something under his breath that Weiss couldn't understand the door opened. Stepping into a spherical chamber they found the room in darkness with the only illumination being the faint glow of blue flames that lined the walls as torches. A thick mist was present in the room making the already dark room harder to maneuver around for the huntress. Wandering around the chamber Weiss found it lacking in the decoration and beauty that the rest of the Absolution's Ire had with only a few minor works of art decorating the room. With the only decoration to the room being what appeared to be a fancy looking coffin. That's not creepy at all, she thought to herself. Squinting her eyes Weiss spotted a portrait in the chamber catching her curiosity as she walked over to the picture. Looking at the portrait it displayed a pale gaunt faced man with long blonde hair flowing from his head. He wore armor similar to that of the Blood Angels but with the added difference being that it resembled flayed skin. In his left hand he held an ornate blade that seemed to crackle with arcane red energy. The man sent shivers through her as she looked at the portrait before thinking back to her encounter with Dante, Weiss remembered him mentioning how she would be taken to someone named the Lord of Death to see if she were a danger. Looking back at the portrait it slowly dawned on the huntress who the picture probably portrayed. Sweat now dripping from her head as a sense of dread came over her as she felt something behind her back. Turning her head she was greeted by the revenant in the picture, the so-called Lord of Death, Mephiston the Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels.