The Wayward Son

Avenger of Terra, Seiras' Quarters

Sitting quietly in his quarters, the Blood Raven was somewhat uneasy about being alone. The various Grey Knights all had separate rooms near the command deck, and he was now confined to one of them. Though nobody actually said it to him, Seiras knew he was being kept captive on the bridge with the two surviving Grey Knights and the Inquisitor to watch him.

Part of him understood why they had to do it. Having been through a great deal of exposure to chaotic powers recently, he actually felt some comfort in knowing that they were keeping a vigilant watch over him. What he found strange however was the fact that Atia hadn't bothered to kill him.

Seiras was by no means an expert on the Ordo Malleus and how it operated, but he knew that they were not tolerant in the slightest over matters of heresy and potential corruption. He found it bewildering that Atia hadn't condemned him yet. Part of it might have been due to his unusual power, but there was also the possibility that she knew the rest of his Kill Team would mutiny if she tried. Viggo made it pretty obvious that he had no qualms about killing the Grey Knights if he had to. Seiras took some comfort in knowing his Deathwatch brothers still had his back…minus Gregorius. Although despite his opinion of Seiras, the Black Templar obviously hated Atia, and would likely not support her if she turned on their Kill Team.

During his recent confinement, Seiras had trouble sleeping as he usually did. Nevertheless, the weariness had eventually caught up to him and he did manage to get some much-needed rest during his time in isolation. Currently however, he was not in his power armour…and that always made him uncomfortable. Atia had allowed Nemias to retrieve it for repairs, which left Seiras wearing his simple clothing.

He spent a lot of his time in this isolation meditating and praying in the hopes of clearing his mind of its recent taint. Between his prayers, the Blood Raven reflected on the horrendous things that had occurred since joining up with Atia's fleet. A huge part of him regretted being involved in this mission at all, but at the same time he was almost amazed by the sheer luck he had. He had met not one, but two primarchs. Even though they were both traitors, a small part of him was still amazed that he had bore witness to such amazing beings. They were the Emperor's own sons. Their words and faces echoed and radiated in his mind still.

Fulgrim was as beautiful, skilled, and lethal as all the tales claimed. Even his voice was almost narcotic to hear. The fact that Seiras had survived a battle against a primarch of Fulgrim's infamy was near unbelievable. Omegon was also a point of anger and amazement. He hated Nogemo for betraying them and being an undercover traitor all along, but the sheer fact that they were part of a primarch's company for several years was unbelievable. He found it unusual how nobody had ever noticed. Seiras always thought Nogemo or Omegon to be a very mysterious, but interesting Astartes.

Looking back on all of their time spent together, Seiras almost felt stupid for not being able to tell that Nogemo was a primarch. His size should have been a dead giveaway, but Seiras never considered the possibility that he could be a primarch. Omegon had always been competent, but he was never tiers above the rest of them. Was he simply holding back and pretending to be weaker the entire time? As Gregorius had stated, Omegon never looked like he was trying very hard. Seiras always sensed a calmness about Nogemo even when the rest of them were on edge. The librarian felt foolish for not realizing that fact when Gregorius did.

One thing was undeniable though…Seiras could fully understand why Nogemo received just as much attention as he himself did. Even though Omegon was one of the Alpha Legion primarchs, and was masterful at subterfuge, he could not suppress his psychic glamour. Omegon must have been aware of Seiras having it too as the primarch had an unusual liking for him and vice versa. Seiras had no idea why his life mattered to the Alpha Legion primarch, and he spent a great deal of his recent isolation thinking about Omegon's conversation with him in the mess hall.

'I never turned my back on the Emperor…only on the hypocrisy of the Imperium…I'm here because I'm a disgraced angel. I failed humanity and I failed the Emperor. The Alpha Legion has ultimately abandoned what it set out to be, and I chose to spend the remainder of my life atoning for the things I've done…' Omegon's words rang through Seiras' mind as he tried to make sense of the primarch's motives.

Part of him believed it was all one big farce to deceive him, but Omegon did seem genuine when he said those words. He also saved the rest of them from Fulgrim when he had no real reason to do so. In addition to which, he potentially prevented the librarian from being captured by Chaos marines. If Iruna's foresight was true, then Fulgrim likely wouldn't have killed Seiras. The librarian shuddered to think what Fulgrim would have done to him had Omegon not been there.

'This mission will forever scar my honour and my purity. I never imagined in all my years that I would be susceptible to chaos and heresy like this. I wholeheartedly condemned Avitus, Lord Kyras, and so many of the others for their fall to chaos, but here I am displaying that very same hypocrisy. What's even worse is I'm responsible. Jessenta never would have committed such an impure act with me if it wasn't for this psychic glamour that I supposedly have. The Eldar farseer was right…I have the power to easily corrupt my allies. I must remain uncorrupted for the sake of the others lest I lead them into darkness. My mind will be as a fortress, and my heart a vault. I will cast away these impurities or I will find somewhere to make a last stand and die. I can't end up like the others,' he thought deeply.

His thoughts were interrupted as a loud metal sound caught his attention. He turned around as someone entered his new quarters. It was none other than Atia. She was currently unaccompanied much to his discomfort. He hated being alone with her…especially now that he knew what it could lead to.

Seiras stared at her passively as she closed the door behind herself and faced him. The Inquisitor took a deep breath and sighed, "I finally got a moment of peace. Everyone's been grinding me nonstop ever since the battle ended."

"Their concern is understandable. You are in charge here and we're in need of guidance," Seiras replied stoically.

Atia nodded, "Of course, I understand that, but I tire of dealing with all the post chaos exposure. I've settled most matters, which finally gives me time to speak with you in private. I want to get a gauge on your mental state right now."

"I take it you were saving the worst problem for last?" Seiras replied as Atia walked up next to him and sat down on a chair in the room. He was currently seated on the ground where he had been praying.

"Definitely the worst…but also the one I'm most concerned about," she replied.

"Well, go ahead and speak your mind Inquisitor. Let's get this interrogation underway," the librarian said with a blank face.

"I'm most curious about your corruption. Arius believes Fulgrim did something to you during your encounter with him. He spoke of how you got separated from the others at one point during the conflict and how Fulgrim put you in a daze of some kind. Explain what happened to me," Atia said seriously.

Seiras thought about telling Atia of the strange music he heard when the noise marines subdued him, but quickly changed his mind. The last thing he needed was for Atia to think he was susceptible to daemonic voices.

"After I rushed ahead to kill the Noise Marine leader, Fulgrim appeared and they all stopped attacking me. He easily recognized me from our Vox conversation, and attempted to speak with me," Seiras answered.

Atia rose a brow skeptically, "Is that right?" What exactly did he say that put you in daze?"

"He asked about my chapter…and said he knew who my primarch was," Seiras said slowly.

The Inquisitor sent a sharp glare at him, "And?"

"Arius and the others arrived before he could tell me. I wouldn't have believed him anyway. He claimed that the Red Scorpions chapter were gene-sons of his and that the Minotaurs' primarch was Angron the Red Angel. There's no truth in his venomous words. I don't believe in anything he said about the primarchs, the Emperor, or the Astartes. He is a daemon and a traitor. His words mean nothing," the librarian continued.

"The Red Scorpions? I've heard of them. They're a secretive uptight chapter if I recall. Aren't they Ultramarine successors?" Atia said curiously.

Seiras nodded, "I've met a few before as well. They're very stringent and meticulous. They also follow the Codex Astartes obsessively. I have no idea who their primarch is, but I have no reason to believe it isn't Guilliman. Ultramarine successors treat the Codex Astartes as sacred law. My chapter always saw it as more of a guideline."

"Hmm…interesting. I'll have to look into that at some point. As for the Minotaurs being World Eater successors, I highly doubt that. Their chapter is in very good standing with Terra from what I understand. I'm no expert on the history of the Astartes, but I'm fairly positive that the High Lords wouldn't want the gene-sons of a traitor working for them," Atia remarked shaking her head.

"Like I said, Inquisitor…there's no way that it's true. Fulgrim was just trying to corrupt me and fill my mind with doubts," Seiras replied with a sigh.

"Regardless, I don't think the situation with Fulgrim is entirely responsible for what happened to you. The others all appear fine more or less. I believe there's something else going on with you that started all of this. Even before all this mayhem, you were acting strange. You told me that you committed heresy to earn the trust of those cultists before the battle. What exactly did that entail?" she said with a low, dangerous voice.

"The…witch Navigator, Amelia. She had unusual psychic powers that weren't natural for her kind. In fact, I'd call them impossible," Seiras began.

Atia kept a laser focused stare on him as she interrupted, "I've never seen a Navigator that was a chaos sorceress before. I wasn't even aware they could use psychic powers in such a way. The fact that one was susceptible to it is a matter of grave concern to me. I'll have to personally approve each one in the fleet now."

"Understandably so, Inquisitor. She was a high priestess of Slaanesh according to her own account. It's strange that she could hide in plain sight and suppress mutations. To clear the matter up, I'll tell you exactly what happened. Commander Jessenta told me to infiltrate their hidden cult onboard the ship. She justified my involvement by explaining that they would be more willing to trust me because you and I did not get along. The cultists believed I could potentially be swayed. I went along with their delusions in order to uncover their plots. Unfortunately, before they trusted me I had to do a Rite of Initiation." Seiras told the truth.

Atia's eyes got wide and filled with deadly judgment as she crossed her arms. She shook her head, "What did you have to do?"

"It was a pleasure cult, Inquisitor…I had to endure indignities with the witch and some of her followers in order to earn their trust," Seiras explained vaguely.

"Indignities? Did you…have sex with them?" she hissed in disbelief.

Seiras nodded, "Yes…but not by choice. I didn't think things would come to that when I went there to receive the initiation. I explained to the witch that I could not experience sexual desire like regular humans do. She…did something to me that revoked my conditioning and hypnotherapy. I believe it is the root of my recent corruption Inquisitor. The moment I knew of their plans, I called in Commander Jessenta and we wiped them all out."

"That explains a lot. Though I find it insane that the Sororitas would ever encourage heresy for the sake of rooting it out. Canoness Jessenta is a hypocrite if I've ever seen one," Atia said shaking her head.

"She believed that the cultists would never expect it and sought to use an unconventional tactic. In hindsight I regret taking part in it, but I wonder how well our fleet would have fared with those heretics sabotaging us from within. Canoness Jessenta's plan worked in the end, but it came with unfortunate side effects. I've been working on dealing with it," Seiras stated with a calm demeanor.

"I take it one of those side-effects is you finding me attractive?" Atia inquired knowingly.

The librarian shrugged, "I wouldn't say I'm attracted to you in such a way, Inquisitor. These new feelings I have are simply distracting and I haven't figured out how to repress them yet."

"So, you're like a boy going through puberty right now?" Atia couldn't help but chuckle.

Seiras gave her a blank look, "I suppose that might be comparable."

"It makes perfect sense now. I mean you sure did get an eyeful of my ass every time you got the chance. Though I digress. This is all rather disturbing news." Atia leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment.

"This waiting is becoming unbearable. What is to be my punishment, Inquisitor? Death?" Seiras asked with a non-urgent tone.

Atia looked at him for a moment and shook her head, "No, I would prefer not to unless I have no choice. There is something about the way you describe everything that makes me believe your intentions are pure. Not to mention, many of the survivors have also spoken up in your defense including Captain Arius, several of the Sororitas, and even my own Tempestus Scions."

"Really? What did they say?" Seiras wondered.

"For starters, the Sororitas insist on your loyalty. The 2nd in command sister, Selana Nightgale informed me that you remained behind to save her. Not to mention the Canoness Commander Jessenta Silvina also lied to protect you. The sisters might be a bunch of rabid bolter bitches, but they're not traitors or heretics in any way. The fact that you're in good standing with them speaks volumes about the situation. If the Sororitas trust you, then I would be foolish to assume you're a heretic or beyond any hope of purifying."

"I should count myself lucky then," Seiras replied calmly.

"Captain Arius also vouched for your integrity during the mission. I had actually ordered him to kill you if you showed signs of corruption. So far, he feels it is unnecessary. He also brought up some good points about the value of your life. You saved this ship and its crew when you piloted us through the warp after our navigators all died. I've never heard of a space marine navigating before, but it was an impressive feat. I would have thanked you for it sooner, but I'm glad I get the chance now…so thank you, Seiras. Whether anyone else realizes it or not, you saved this ship and everyone aboard it," Atia responded with a reassuring tone.

"I suppose I did…" Seiras thought aloud. The concept hadn't even crossed his mind yet. He didn't even think about that. Nobody else had even mentioned it either as they were immediately deployed to fight Fulgrim after arriving.

"And finally, Lieutenant Derrin Reinhardt also said that you refused to leave them behind, and that no traitor or heretic would ever risk his life for others in such a way. It's doubly impactful considering you're an Astartes and they're humans. I must admit…I find it rather noble that you stayed to help them. You always continue to surprise me." Atia concluded.

Seiras nodded passively. Inwardly he was relieved, but he kept his calm composure as he looked her in the eyes again, "What do you think we should do about my situation then, Inquisitor Atia?"

"If the warp corruption can be purified, and you remain loyal, then you should be fine. I just don't want to see any mutations or daemonic influence. So long as that stays away, then I'll grant you reprieve. Though don't expect me to lighten up in my vigilance," Atia explained.

"Of course, Inquisitor. Perhaps if I'm fortunate, the purging of this warp taint can also purify me of distracting sexual desire and attraction. I cannot remove them of my own will for some reason," Seiras replied.

"There's nothing wrong with those things…assuming they're with people who aren't heretics. I don't know how Astartes view such acts, but it's not immoral to be attracted to someone," Atia said slowly.

Seiras eyed her curiously, "I don't know Inquisitor…I find such things very distracting and problematic. I can see why the Emperor removed these feelings from Astartes. It is a weakness that normal humans possess which is easily exploitable."

"Yet regular humans live and fight just fine with it. Emotions and desires can make one weak…but they also make you stronger. How can one know courage without knowing fear? How can one protect and care for others when they don't understand love or empathy? Those things are the essence of the human spirit. You are a human, Seiras. An oversized transhuman killing machine…but a human nonetheless. I don't see some glamorous warrior angel before me right now. I see a man that wants to live up to a noble purpose in life. All of these endless wars and suffering don't mean anything unless you understand what you're fighting for. You might be a weapon for mankind, but you're also a man." she explained.

Seiras looked at her uncertainly and did not respond. He found her logic strange as it seemed to contradict her former statements to him back outside of the mess hall. Nevertheless, he gave it no more thought as her opinion on Astartes really didn't matter to him.

"Forgive my curiosity, but since we're on this topic…how does an Astartes even have sex? I always just assumed you were castrated." Atia changed the subject after a brief silence.

Seiras glanced at her with a troubled face, "We are chem-gelded and conditioned into asexuality. Some are castrated, and others aren't. It all just depends on the chapter's apothecaries. Usually the gene-seed does not override or substitute the hormonal effects of testosterone. Because of this, some apothecaries are hesitant about removing our sexual organs as it removes our testosterone. Doing so nullifies aggression and rage by a noticeable margin and so they typically won't castrate us."

"When space marines grow larger in their gene-seed implantation, do your reproductive organs grow as well?" Atia asked with a curious expression.

The topic was abhorrently distasteful, but Seiras was at least thankful there wasn't a crowd this time. He nodded with stoic patience, "Yes…every tissue in our body grows during gene-seed implantation."

"Hmm…that's rather interesting. I've always wondered about that, but it seemed so inappropriate to ask," Atia replied.

"It is inappropriate to ask, but seeing as how you're an inquisitor, you have that right," Seiras said bluntly.

"So how was it for you? The sex I mean?" Atia followed up.

"It was mentally unpleasant and physically strange. Considering the biological disparity between human females and Astartes, I believed the act to be wholly unnatural and depraved. Perhaps it was simply their own hedonistic perversion, but I found mating with them to be an unholy experience."

Atia's eyes glanced over Seiras' body, "I'm sure they probably enjoyed it. To be honest, I'm amazed you didn't kill them in the act."

"I would prefer never to speak of that encounter again. Death is a better alternative," he followed up dismissively.

"Did you and Commander Jessenta get intimate as well? She was quite worried about you during the week you spent in the Navigation Chamber. You two seem awfully close considering that she's willing to lie for you. That and you also claim the two of you kissed as well," Atia deduced.

"Yes, we did." Seiras admitted.

"You did what? Kissed or…something more?" Atia's voice trailed creepily as if taunting Seiras to tell the truth.

The librarian looked her in the eyes with a solid and stoic expression, "Does it really matter?"

"I suppose not…though now I can see the whole picture. Hahahaha! You know it's funny, when I first met her all I could think was, 'This angry power-tripping bitch needs to get laid.' Never in a million years did I imagine she'd go for a space marine. Leave it to a sister! Let me guess, she said it was some kind of holy act?" Atia laughed.

Seiras found her outburst of laughter somewhat unsettling and random as he kept his composure. The librarian looked at her confused, "I don't understand the joke."

"I just find it funny, Seiras. I tried to imagine the two of you and…hahaha!" she burst into laughter again.

Seiras was now extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed as he endured Atia's laughter in silence.

Finally, she stopped laughing as she walked over towards the Astartes. Seiras was still sitting on the ground which allowed Atia to grab a handful of his hair. She looked at it for a moment as she ran her hand through his locks.

"What are you doing?" Seiras asked alarmed as he pushed her hand away.

"I can't blame her though…you're pretty good looking for an Astartes. Though I'm sure you know that by now," Atia said with a chuckle.

Seiras glared at her coldly, "Don't touch my hair."

"Has your hair always been this silvery white color?" she asked ignoring his attitude.

"No…my hair was black a long time ago…black like my mother's," he said distantly as he recalled the image with perfect clarity. His childhood was something he rarely ever gave thought to.

Atia perked up with interest as she sat down across from him, "You remember your mother? Don't Astartes get their minds wiped during indoctrination to their chapters?"

"It's nearly impossible to mind wipe Blood Ravens. We have perfect memories due to a gene-seed defect in our Catalepsean Node. Our gene-seed also creates a lot of psykers as well…so it's rather impractical to attempt mind-wiping recruits," Seiras explained.

"How is perfect memory a defect?" she asked confused.

"I can't sleep the way humans do…it's impossible for me to fully enter R.E.M. sleep. Blood Ravens will literally sleep awake. Me being a librarian also doesn't help in that regard," Seiras replied.

Atia looked at him shocked, "You…don't sleep? That does seem rather troubling. And your chapter's gene-seed also produces a lot of psykers?"

The librarian nodded, "Many in fact. It'll even make a non-psychic recruit into a psyker on occasion. Sometimes standard battle-brothers will develop psychic abilities later in their lives as well. I knew one brother…Jensus who experienced such a transformation. I knew a devastator in the 6th company that did as well. Librarians are abundant within the Blood Ravens. Our chapter has always had a lot of psykers…so we hold them in higher regard than most Astartes do."

"That is most unusual for a space marine chapter. Though Arius mentioned something about the Blood Ravens being a powerful chapter. I believe he has history with the Blood Ravens. That might explain why he's trusting of you," Atia said with a hand on her chin.

Seiras simply stared at her and said nothing.

After a brief pause, Atia spoke again, "This has got me interested now. Since you remember it, tell me about your past, Seiras."

"Why?" he asked uncertainly.

"Because I'm not in a hurry to go back out there and deal with everyone yet. Besides, it's not often one gets the chance to ask a space marine all these personal questions," she answered.

"Fine…what do you want to know?" he sighed.

"Tell me about your family and your childhood," she responded immediately with anxious curiosity.

"My family didn't have a surname or family name as we were from a desert tribe on Calderis, but my mother's name was Seirena. She was a shaman. My father's name was Kiris. He was a tribal warrior and was the younger brother to our Shah…which most people would call a chieftain. My parents were prominent figures in my tribe…especially my mother. She was our tribe's seer and healer. As you might expect, she was a psyker…though I didn't really understand that when I was a boy. Growing up in the savage deserts of Calderis, I never understood normal human civilization…even after becoming a space marine I still don't," Seiras began.

The Inquisitor cocked her head at him surprised, "You were born in the middle of some savage desert tribe? Were you an only child?"

Seiras shook his head, "No, I had four sisters. One older and three younger. I also had many cousins. Our home was near the north pole of the planet in a rocky oasis city called, Alaseirian. We had some technology such as vehicles, water harvesters, and the like…but only things we needed to survive. We had no material comforts, vids, or anything you might consider remotely civilized. My mother was our spiritual leader, and when I was younger, she would tell me stories about the Imperium of Man. About how our world was one of millions, and that all of them were a part of a much greater whole. She would tell me that our world was protected by the God-Emperor of Mankind and that his mighty angels watched all of humanity from the heavens. As a child it seemed like an impossible story told to make me feel safe against raving ork bands and the howling monsters I would hear at night. I never believed that space marines were actually angels, even despite the fervent belief my tribe had for the Emperor and his angels of death."

"So how did you become a Space Marine then?" Atia wondered.

"As I got older, I started to develop psychic powers," Seiras trailed off for a moment.

Atia looked at him and shrugged, "And? That's hardly surprising considering that psychic potential is genetic."

"Well it was surprising to my tribe because I was the only male to develop it in centuries. You see, in my tribe, psykers weren't as uncommon as they were everywhere else in the Imperium. We would have at least two or three a generation…sometimes more, and sometimes less. They were always female however. These girls would become shamans to our tribe and they were always arranged to marry into the families of our leaders. Our shamans were encouraged to have many children, which is why I was one of five. I believe generations of this breeding practice gave us a strong psychic bloodline…though it was far more prominent in females for whatever reason. However, a male psyker is a very spiritual and holy thing to the people of Calderis. For it was the shaman's duty to be the spiritual guide and the Shah's duty to be the worldly leader. If a man was able to be both, then he was destined for greatness…at least that is what my people believed," Seiras continued.

"So, they saw you as some kind of messiah or something?" Atia couldn't help but ask.

"Yes…because every time we've ever had a male psyker, they've been taken to the heavens. At least that is what the tales claimed. Our last male psyker was actually one of my ancestors. According to my family, he was taken away by the angels after he saved our tribe from an ork attack," Seiras explained.

Atia nodded, "I see…so since he was male the Blood Ravens took him as a recruit?"

"Precisely…though I wasn't aware of that at the time." He said with a nod.

"Did you ever meet your ancestor? Was he one of your chapter brothers?" Atia asked curiously.

Seiras shook his head, "No…I remember asking about it, and they told me he died in the gene-seed implantation."

"Does that have a high attrition rate?" she wondered.

"He…mutated. Apparently, his psychic powers were too strong and when he got the gene-seed, he did not possess the proper will to keep daemons from possessing him. The Blood Ravens had to kill him," Seiras explained with a bit of sadness.

Atia frowned, "That's an unfortunate fate for any psyker."

"It was very disheartening when I learned of it, because many in my tribe believed that he personally watched over them from the heavens. Perhaps they believe I look after them too," Seiras shook his head.

"So how did you encounter the Blood Ravens if you lived in the middle of nowhere on Calderis?" Atia changed the subject after a short silence.

"After I started developing my psychic powers, I could see visions of the stars. In those early days I always had the same exact dream…I dreamt of a Raven flying away from a burning library, dragging along its last tome in a desperate attempt to save it. The raven would cry out into the darkness as it began to hoard every last scrap it could. The dream always ended with the Raven crying a single tear of blood over burnt tomes that piled around its crumbled nest. That dream was hard to understand as a child, but I know now that it was me predicting the coming of the Blood Ravens," Seiras elaborated.

Atia seemed genuinely interested in the story as she leaned in closer towards him, "So then what happened?"

"One day, they just showed up. By then I was already being trained in the ways of leadership when the Blood Ravens flew over our settlement in a Thunderhawk. It may not seem like much to you, but at the time I was awestruck…as was my entire tribe. Most of us had never even seen a flying gunship or any ship for that matter. What amazed us even more was when it landed, and the hatch came down…" Seiras paused briefly.

Atia remained silent as she waited for Seiras to finish the story.

"Out of it came three Astartes…three names and faces I will never forget. Anteas, Mikelus, and Davian Thule. They were the ones who recruited me. Anteas was an epistolary librarian and one of my future mentors. Mikelus was our Reclusiarch, and Davian Thule was my former captain of the fourth company. I wondered how they found me, but Anteas would later explain that I called out in the warp and that they heard me. He said my psychic potential was very impressive, and due to my young age, they believed I would make a worthy recruit. My other chapter brothers always saw me as somewhat special because of how I was recruited. The three of them were very prominent Astartes within the Blood Ravens and they personally came to recruit me," Seiras explained.

"Interesting…" Atia said as she eyed him curiously.

"Their arrival was met with every bit of awe you could imagine from my tribe. I myself couldn't believe it was real. Anteas told my family that I was to become a Blood Raven…an Adeptus Astartes…an Angel of Death. They all bowed low believing that space marines were literally divine angels…and that I was being carried away to the heavens. Their simplistic views never could have comprehended the true reality of what was happening then and what's happened since. I was allowed to say goodbye to my family, but after they took me away, I never saw them again. The last thing I saw before the Thunderhawk flew away was my mother and sisters crying. To this day I am unsure of whether they were tears of joy or sorrow. Regardless…back to your original question, my hair became white after I received the Blood Raven gene-seed. It is a common side-effect in our chapter's gene-seed implantation. It amplified my psychic powers a great deal as well. As was custom for new recruits, I ended up cutting all of my hair off for the majority of my early years as a Space Marine. I was bald until after I became a full-fledged epistolary. Eventually, I grew it back out," Seiras concluded.

"So, what ever happened to those three space marines that recruited you?" Atia asked curiously.

"Mikelus died on Kronus to a Necron Lord. Anteas died during our chapter's civil war. Captain Davian Thule…he was confined to a dreadnought after a Tyrannid attack on Calderis. Last I heard, he was still alive," Seiras answered.

"You were on Kronus weren't you? I read the reports on that conflict. It was the first time I had ever heard of your chapter," Atia responded.

Seiras nodded, "I was there."

"Did you also participate in the Kaurava Wars?" she asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, I did. That was right before I joined Deathwatch. The Imperial Guard and the Adepta Sororitas refused to cooperate with us in Kaurava. The loyalist infighting gave the xenos the opportunity they needed to pillage the system. Boreale commanded that disastrous mission after Davian Thule had his Force Commander status revoked. I don't wish to sully his name, but Boreale failed the chapter and cost us many Astartes lives. None of that would have happened had that Imperial Guard General simply followed our commands or cooperated. Hell, I would have followed his commands had Boreale and our leaders not been stubborn fools. I personally hate the fact that loyalist orders are always contradicting to one another. I've killed a lot of guardsmen who were simply doing their jobs because some arrogant fool pointed them at me to die. I've also slaughtered countless innocents because my chapter master wanted some relics. There's no sense to any of it," Seiras replied with an unhappy look.

"What of the Sororitas in Kaurava?" Atia wondered.

Seiras shook his head, "They assumed we were corrupted. I suppose I can't blame them. Our chapter is always involved in disputes against Chaos. Not to mention, the Blood Ravens are pretty infamous for killing other loyalist forces and looting relics. The sisters condemned us as heretics and we were forced into open conflict with them as well."

"Yet you're certainly friendly with the Sororitas here. That's an ironic turn of events," Atia chuckled.

"I won't pretend to understand what's going on with the sisters here," Seiras said carelessly.

"I heard the Alpha Legion was on Kaurava IV. You have experience fighting them…and yet their primarch was your close friend. The strange ironies of the universe never cease to amaze me," Atia said distantly.

The librarian said nothing as he looked away.

After a short pause, Atia spoke again, "I appreciate you telling me all of this, Seiras. Sometimes I forget that Astartes were normal people once upon a time. Well...mostly normal. I find it crazy that you were some desert savage as a child. You and I are complete opposites."

"That's obvious," Seiras said bluntly.

"You have no idea…I was born on a privileged, rich shrine world, and my father was a planetary governor. I grew up with everything anyone could possibly want and was even called princess by the servants who worked for our family. Unfortunately, I was the youngest of three siblings, and second daughter as well. I had no claim to any of our fortune or titles. As is custom on my home world, second daughters of the nobility were to be given to the Adepta Sororitas as recruits. Though I got super lucky in that I developed psychic powers too. Seeing as how I was a noble and a prominent, educated girl, they sent me to the Inquisition instead…and here I am. Boring story I know, but that's the gist of my past," Atia said gesturing towards herself.

"That's similar to what I expected," Seiras said blankly.

"There's something else I wanted to talk to you about while we were alone, Seiras. It's about the Eldar…" Atia changed the subject after a brief silence.

Seiras focused intently on her as he replied, "What about them?"

"Why did they really save you? Tell me what you know…off the record. Just between us," she asked seriously.

"I don't know, Atia…but to be honest, it's probably good that I don't. Deception is the nature of their kind," Seiras answered.

"I interrogated Selana Nightgale about this issue as well. She's believes that the Eldar knew who you were and they were somewhat friendly to you. Did the Eldar say anything to you that I should know about?" Atia asked.

"Their farseer said she hopes that saving my life will be a sign of good faith to the Imperium. She claimed that Iybraesil is willing to help us fight Chaos. I told her I wasn't interested in allying with them and that they were better off avoiding us," Seiras lied.

"That seems very unusual. Well…I suppose your Eldar expertise probably helped you out in there didn't it?" Atia asked.

Seiras nodded, "Thankfully, it proved useful."

Atia finally began to walk away as she approached the door, "It was nice talking civilly with you, Seiras. I hope to do it again soon. We're almost at Corun. I will be back later with Arius and Regulus to see if we can rip out the warp corruption in you. If we can't…then expect the worst."

"I will await your return, Inquisitor," Seiras nodded as Atia finally left.

The next day, Seiras' quarters, Avenger of Terra

A loud knock caught Seiras' attention causing him to turn and face the doorway. A moment later, Atia entered followed by Arius and Regulus. The two grey knights were both in their armour, and both had helmets on. Arius was carrying his Nemesis Force Halberd, while Regulus was armed with a Nemesis Force Sword.

They looked ready for battle much to Seiras' concern. He immediately stood up and looked at the three other psykers cautiously. Atia was quick to defuse the tension as she spoke up, "Relax Seiras…we're not here to kill you."

Seiras looked between Arius and Regulus who both lowered their weapons into guard stances. He then glanced at Atia and responded, "What now?"

"Kneel Seiras…Arius and I are going to try and enter your mind and force the corruption out of you. This is going to be extremely painful…and invasive." She explained.

Seiras nodded and knelt down as Atia approached. Arius placed his halberd nearby as he followed suit. The Grey Knight and the Inquisitor both placed their hands on Seiras' head. A moment later, he could feel their psychic presences attempting to enter his mind.

"Let us in, Seiras," he heard Atia's voice say in a low reassuring tone.

Letting anything into his mind was something that Seiras hated and never did. Typically it was almost impossible to read an Astartes mind unless they let you. Reluctantly, Seiras lowered his psychic barriers as he had no choice in this particular circumstance. He relaxed his mental fortitude and could feel Arius and Atia entering his mind after a moment.

Their presences in his mind were both noticeable and uncomfortable. Shortly after they entered, Seiras found himself losing all of his sensations as his vision turned to black.

Seiras' Memories

A moment later he heard a voice in the shadows. To his horror it was the voice of his former chapter master, Azariah Kyras.

It carried a low echoic tone through the shadows, "Seiras, it is good to see you again. I have heard nothing but great things about your glorious success on Kronus. Well done, young brother."

"Lord Kyras…" Seiras said his name and nothing else as he looked around in the darkness.

The shadows then shifted to a memory he remembered well. He was standing with majority of the leaders of the Kronus Campaign aboard the Battle Barge Litany of Fury.

"Anteas tells me that your psychic potential has grown even greater. He believes in time that you will surpass him. Force Commander Davian and many within the first, second, and fourth companies also speak highly of your leadership abilities as well. Your success has more than earned you the right to join the ranks of the Corvidae Ordo Psykana," Kyras continued.

Seiras felt himself speaking against his own will now to play out the memory within his mind, "Join the first company? Join your librarian honour guard? I do not feel as if I deserve that honour my lord…"

"Oh, but you do. According to Anteas, you and Davian recovered lost Blood Raven relics and helped secure many more. There are also many brothers within the first company have praised your psychic abilities claiming you were instrumental in several key battles. You are henceforth a member of the Corvidae Ordo Psykana, and I am moving you to the First Company. Keep up the good work and you might even get your own set of terminator armour one day. Although if you happen to find some before then it's yours to keep," Kyras continued.

"I don't feel very special Lord Kyras. Better brothers than I gave their lives for that wretched world…and we were forced to kill Imperial Guardsmen because of conflicting orders. Was securing Kronus really necessary for the chapter? The Imperial Guard probably would have done it just fine without us being there," Seiras responded doubtfully.

"Any human that defies an Astartes deserves nothing less than death, young epistolary. Those mere mortals deserved their fates for daring to refuse the orders of the Emperor's Angels of Death. Do not fret over the lives of useless humans, Seiras." Kyras said heartlessly.

Kyras didn't even care about them killing guardsmen. Seiras looked at the chapter master uncertainly, "As you say my lord."

"How can you even doubt this, Seiras?!" another voice interrupted. The librarian turned to see a Devastator Sergeant from the fourth company.

"It just felt wrong to me, Avitus," the librarian answered.

"Wrong?! Bah! Those sniveling little cowards murdered dozens of our own brothers with their Baneblades and basilisks! The Guard should know better than to get in our way! I reveled in every single one of their deaths!" Avitus said hatefully.

Seiras looked at him stoically and responded, "I didn't…and I'm a bit concerned that you did. They weren't traitors, Avitus. Those guardsmen were loyal to the Imperium."

"Don't try and take some type of moral high ground here, brother! It's too late for that kind of pathetic sentiment! You killed just as many as I did, and rightfully so! Do the deaths of our brothers mean nothing to you?!" Avitus hissed.

"Calm yourself, Avitus. We have more than avenged our brothers that died there. Holding onto this hatred is unnecessary," Seiras said sternly.

"Is it now? Then I suppose Barian's death means nothing to you? What about Varus? That piece of trash general in all of his pompous arrogance thought he could kill space marines and get away with it! He earned our retribution and deserves our hatred tenfold!" Avitus shouted angrily.

Seiras sighed, "Perhaps he did, but his men certainly didn't deserve to be slaughtered by Astartes for following orders."

"Hmph…it's a shame I didn't get to be the one to kill him then," Avitus said with pure disdain.

"Who did kill him? Nobody has talked much about that battle since it happened. I was hoping General Alexander would surrender," Davian Thule asked curiously.

"Yes, tell us brother Seiras…who was the one that killed him?" Avitus interrupted as he glared at the librarian.

The librarian looked over at Davian Thule, "I did, Commander. Sgt Aramus, Sgt Avitus, and myself were able to slip past their Baneblade line with a small group and break into their headquarters. We killed their entire command staff. The general fought to his dying breath and showed no desire to surrender. In my rage I killed him without thinking."

Thule looked at Seiras somewhat remorsefully and nodded, "I see…it was an unfortunate necessity, but at least you understand that it wasn't right, Seiras. General Alexander was a good man from what I understand."

"Do not condemn our young brothers for doing what they did, Davian. I would gladly slaughter billions of humans for the good of the chapter. We are a brotherhood above all else…never forget that," Kyras hissed.

"Yes, we are, my lord…but we serve the Emperor. How is killing other loyal servants of the Emperor over a few worthless relics justified? I've fought beside Cadians, Lord Kyras. They may be mortals, but they're brave and honourable citizens of the Imperium. Epistolary brother Seiras is rightfully concerned about this. I agree with him…we shouldn't have fought against them. We shouldn't have even been on Kronus to begin with. The relics we found were not worth the price we paid, or the lives we lost."

Seiras frowned as he looked over at Captain Thule. The man's right eye now bionic gave him a fresh reminder of Mikelus' death and Davian's injury to the Necrons of Kronus.

Kyras turned to Davian Thule, "Ah yes, I forgot you held sympathy for guardsmen, young Davian."

"Respect is a more appropriate word my lord. I've seen Cadians fight against Iron Warriors just as bravely as any Astartes would," Thule replied.

"Regardless of what you think of them, they took arms against the chapter and killed some of our brothers. They deserved their fates," Kyras responded calmly.

Davian frowned, but said nothing in response.

"Forgetting that irrelevant matter, there is a more important issue that does concern me about Kronus, Davian. Anteas told me that you destroyed ancient data slates recovered about our chapter's past. May I ask why?" Kyras demanded.

Davian looked down, "Some things are better left unknown Lord Kyras. Sometimes, the past should remain buried."

"What did you learn?!" Kyras almost hissed full of anticipation.

Thule looked over at Seiras before answering their chapter master, "Something I wish I never knew…something that wasn't worth the lives of millions of people."

"You will tell me, Commander, or I will punish your insolence," Kyras threatened.

Davian Thule stared Kyras dead in the eye, "I swear upon the Emperor's name that I will never speak of it again. If I am to be reprimanded for that, then I accept my punishment."

Azariah Kyras looked angry and finally sighed in annoyance, "Very well…your Force Commander status is hereby revoked. I am placing you back on Calderis to watch the new recruits. Take your fourth company with you, Thule."

Thule nodded without another word and began to walk away, "Yes my lord."

After he was gone, Kyras turned towards Seiras anxiously, "Do you know anything about what Captain Thule found, Seiras?"

"I wish that I did, Lord Kyras. Davian has been depressed ever since reading it. I have no idea what he learned, but if it's enough to make him act like that, then we're probably better off not knowing," Seiras explained.

Kyras shook his head and placed a hand on Seiras' shoulder, "No, my young pupil…no. We must always learn everything that we can. Knowledge is power…no matter how unpleasant it may be. Never turn away knowledge lest you accept ignorance and weakness into your being. Does the secret of our chapter's founding not stir a curiosity within you? Have you no desire to learn of our gene-father and our brother chapters? Don't you wish to discover the truth?"

"Do you honestly believe Commander Thule would destroy data about our founding? I think it was something else…maybe a dark secret about the Horus Heresy that shouldn't be known," Seiras responded to the Chief Librarian and Chapter Master.

"It's difficult to say if he would or not. I will speak with him later and uncover the truth. No secrets will be withheld from me," Kyras replied darkly.

"What do you think he saw, Lord Kyras?" Seiras wondered.

"If my theory is correct, then perhaps Davian DID learn about our founding. Perhaps the Blood Ravens are part of a…questionable founding. Or a questionable progenitor," Kyras responded slowly.

"Questionable how? Are you saying we could be a part of a cursed founding?" Seiras asked.

Before Kyras could answer, another Astartes interrupted them, "Lord Kyras, a word please…"

"Yes?" the chapter master asked somewhat annoyed.

"In private…our younger brothers should not hear this," the space marine answered.

To Seiras' astonishment, it was the famed captain of the third company, Gabriel Angelos. He has surprised to see the 3rd captain on the battle barge.

The chapter master sighed, "Very well…be on your way Seiras. We will speak again another time."

As he left the bridge after most of the others, Seiras was surprised to see Davian Thule waiting outside. He looked at the man surprised, "Commander? Were you waiting for me?"

"It's just Captain now. I'm no longer a Force Commander, Seiras. And yes…I sent Gabriel to go speak with Lord Kyras about the relics we found, but I also wanted to talk with you in private before I head back to Calderis," he replied.

Seiras looked at him troubled, "Why did you withhold information from Lord Kyras? He just demoted you. You're lucky he didn't execute you."

"I've never been fond of the inner circles within our chapter, Seiras. I don't trust them very much. Lord Kyras, Captain Diomedes, and a lot of the first company have this unusual disposition towards humanity and the Imperium at large. I just wanted to express my concern to you before you joined them," Davian explained.

The librarian cocked his head confused, "What are you saying, brother?"

"You're young, so you don't know how the politics work. The Corvidae Ordo Psykana is very exclusive, Seiras…Anteas wasn't allowed to join for almost three centuries. Only Lord Kyras' most trusted librarians within his inner circle are permitted to join. You're the youngest librarian to ever join it. That troubles me greatly. I don't understand why Kyras has taken such a liking to you, but I wanted to offer you some advice," Thule said grimly.

"What is it, Captain?" Seiras asked seriously.

Thule sighed heavily, "Don't let them dictate who you are and what you believe, Seiras. Of all our brothers on Kronus, you were one of the few that showed any kind of remorse for the lives we took. Don't forsake your humanity for Lord Kyras' sake. He's an ancient and troubled astartes. He spent centuries stranded on a space hulk and has never been the same since coming back to us. Kyras doesn't have empathy for humanity or even most of the Blood Ravens…do not let him treat you like a disposable tool. Do not let him tell you that faith to the chapter is above our faith to the Emperor."

"What are you saying?!" Seiras replied angrily, "Are you insulting our chapter master?!"

"No, brother…I'm just telling you to be careful. I wouldn't feel right unless I gave you a warning ahead of time," the captain explained.

"Davian…what did you see in those records?" Seiras asked seriously.

"Something terrible…something that would doom the chapter if anyone would ever learn of it. Lord Kyras is already too detached from humanity. I don't trust him with this secret…and now that you're a part of his inner circle, unfortunately I can't trust you either, Seiras. I'm sorry brother…but the past should remain buried," Thule said sadly.

Seiras frowned but nodded, "I see…well it was honour serving on Kronus with you Captain Thule…and all those times before."

"It was honour having you in the fourth company, Seiras. Do the Emperor proud, brother…and may none find you wanting," Davian said coolly before walking off and leaving the librarian alone.

"So…your traitorous chapter master was responsible for the Blood Ravens attacking other loyalist forces?" Seiras heard Atia's voice in his mind.

This memory soon jumped ahead many years to another troubling one. Seiras was now in the company of what looked to be a dozen or so librarians. In front of them all was Azariah Kyras who appeared to be pacing.

"Infiltrating this space hulk is vital for the chapter, my young brothers. I have received many visions of an ancient Blood Raven vessel deep aboard it. This ship could contain our history, lost relics, or even a clue to our unknown primarch. The first company terminators will be spearheading the mission to clear out xenos vermin. Your job however, is much more important. I need you to find this ship with the upmost secrecy," Kyras explained.

Seiras frowned, "Why keep it a secret, Lord Kyras?"

"Surely you must understand, Seiras, that many other imperial forces will be attempting to loot this space hulk as well. I do not want them securing chapter secrets," Kyras explained.

"Lord Kyras speaks truly. I believe the Blood Angels are in the system as well. They may have terminators aboard already," another one of the librarians added.

"We must make haste. Depart at once young brothers. Take boarding torpedoes and hit the space hulk in quadrant 3," Kyras said waving them all away.

The memory continued in brief spontaneous flashes which briefly showcased their arrival and initial search of the vessel. It was filled with Orks mostly and a strange breed of xenos that Seiras was not familiar with at that time.

"Those look like genestealers," Atia's voice sounded again.

Nothing noteworthy happened until eventually a huge warp anomaly appeared. It blasted the integrity of the hallway apart. Seiras who had been in the back of the formation was now isolated from his brothers.

He spoke into the vox with calm, but serious tone, "Brothers, the explosion launched me back. I'm on the other side of this debris."

"Wait that's the ship!" Seiras heard one of them practically bellow into the vox.

"Lord Kyras, we found the ship. Sending you our coordinates now," another spoke somewhat excited.

Kyras' voice came over the vox shortly afterward, "Excellent work brothers. Search it first, and I'll send the terminators to clear you a path out."

"Seiras, is there a way around? Are you stuck?" Anteas' voice sounded over the vox.

"No, I'm not…but it doesn't look like I can advance or go back the way we came. There is another path here. Should I take it or try to teleport out?" Seiras asked.

"I would advise against trying to teleport from here brother. That warp anomaly made this entire area unstable. Try to get some distance first. We'll have the nearest terminators come by to assist if you need help." Anteas replied.

"Alright, well what should I do then?" Seiras asked.

"It's probably best if you just find a way out, Seiras. We don't really need you for this. Try to find your way to the third terminator squad," another one of the librarians added.

Seiras frowned beneath his helmet, "You're just going to leave me back here? That ship isn't going anywhere."

"That warp anomaly that just exploded suggests otherwise. We don't have time to waste coming back for you, brother. Just find your way out! We need to loot this ship before anything else happens. Our mission is a priority." another librarian said commandingly into the vox.

"As you say…good luck brothers," Seiras replied before turning off his vox.

"They just left you?!" Atia's voice asked in his head.

"All of them became traitors…it's strange to think how such small acts like this, and me joining the Deathwatch were the only things that kept me from their fates," Seiras replied to Atia psychically.

Seiras memory continued with him trekking through the space hulk by himself. He fought off a great deal of genestealers on his way to one of the terminator squads' landing torpedoes, but was swift enough to avoid anything he couldn't handle. Eventually, he came upon a grisly looking hallway with three dead terminators in it. All three of them had a trail of blood leading to their bodies suggesting that they crawled or were dragged there. After briefly surveying the surrounding area and making sure that the scene was safe, Seiras approached them with haste.

The downed terminators looked like they had been heavily swarmed by the unusual looking aliens aboard the space hulk. All of the nearby ones were dead, but the wounds these terminators had appeared much larger than the nearby aliens could have inflicted. Seiras was actually surprised to see giant puncture wounds in their terminator armour. All three of the terminators were presumably dead.

Seiras quickly knelt down to retrieve their gene-seed as he assumed the red armoured astartes were his own brothers. A closer examination immediately showed that they were actually Blood Angels.

Of the three of them, one was an apothecary by the looks of it. Seiras felt a slight bit of hesitation in disturbing their bodies as he pulled off the helmet off the apothecary terminator. He always wanted his own set of terminator armour…but he was more concerned about getting the gene-seed out of these dead Blood Angels. Progenoid glands were priceless, and even if they were another chapter's, Seiras couldn't stomach the idea of leaving them.

To his utter astonishment, the apothecary was actually still alive. The terminator looked up at Seiras' psychic hood and his blue helmet with a bit of confusion. His face was chiseled and handsome, his hair was short and blonde, and his crystal blue eyes seemed to be fading.

"A librarian?" the apothecary said somewhat hazily. He appeared to be dying by the looks of his fading gaze.

"Find…Kallius. Give him our Progenoids. Tell him to get out. This ship is infested with Tyrannids," The blood angel said with his voice fading every audible word.

"Kallius? Where is he?" Seiras asked curiously.

The dying terminator gathered his remaining energy to download a map into the machine spirit of Seiras' armour.

"For Sanguinius…" the terminator said the name of his primarch before he finally died. It seemed somewhat sad and unusual to watch an Astartes die in such a way. Seiras was practically numb to watching others get blown apart or maimed. Looking someone in the eyes as they died quietly was a very different thing.

With reluctance, Seiras recovered the progenoid glands of the three dead Blood Angels. Their armour was beyond salvageable by the looks of it, but Seiras also took the Crux Terminatus badges off of each of their shoulder plates as well. He quickly mounted them on his armour and began to move away quickly when he heard aliens screeching in the distance.

Using the map he was recently given, he swiftly followed it to the designated area. It was an open looking hanger area by the looks of it. His helmet's display showed that there was atmospheric pressure in the room.

Seiras briefly took his helmet off and looked around the room before noticing an adjacent hallway. Upon turning its corner, he was greeted by a dozen Blood Angels. All of them were in terminator armour, but not all of them had helmets on.

They appeared to have been having a conversation when Seiras showed up.

All of them raised their weapons alarmed by his presence. Undoubtedly they were surprised that the sensors on their armour couldn't sense him. Nobody spoke for a moment until one looked at the blood drop on Seiras' chest, "Are you one of ours? I don't recognize you,"

"He certainly looks like one ours…but I don't recognize that heraldry," another spoke.

"His armour bears the heraldry of a Raven. He's a Blood Raven I think," their leader explained.

"Blood Raven? Are you a son of Sanguinius? I don't believe I've ever heard of your chapter before," another one of other the terminators added.

"I found your dead brothers. An apothecary and two others. The apothecary told me to bring their progenoid glands to someone named Kallius," Seiras explained.

"I'm Kallius," the leader of the group spoke seriously, "Ivalian is dead?"

Seiras pulled the three Crux Terminatus plates off the back of his armour and handed it to Kallius, "Here's their progenoid glands and their Crux Terminatus pads."

The Blood Angel sergeant looked shocked as he took the gene-seed and Crux Terminatus' in hand. His visible face showed remorse as he glanced at Seiras, "Was their armour salvageable?"

"No…apparently these strange aliens in here called Tyrannids punctured it apart. The wounds they suffered looked to be from one five times larger than the rest I've seen in here. One of your brother terminators appeared to have been chewed up as well," Seiras explained.

"It can't be helped…at least we have their gene-seed. We were actually just looking for them. Their vox went silent several hours ago. I…don't really know what to say about this," Kallius trailed off in disbelieving silence as he stared at Seiras.

One of the others piped up urgently, "What is a lone librarian doing on a space hulk right now? Where are your chapter brothers?"

"I got separated," Seiras replied vaguely.

"Yet, you had time to bring these to us?" Kallius interrupted.

Seiras shrugged, "Well, I could also use some help getting out of here. My own brothers essentially left me behind."

"What is a librarian doing aboard a space hulk in standard power armour though? Your chapter was foolish to send you in here without tactical dreadnought armour. It's a miracle you haven't been killed in here. How large was your boarding party?" Kallius asked.

"Twelve librarians and four terminator squads. We're here looking for one of our ancient ships," Seiras told them the truth. He knew Kyras would have condemned such an action, but he did not want to arouse suspicion in these Blood Angels.

"So, this is where you met Kallius? I always imagined something more romantic," Atia joked.

"Why are you watching all of my personal memories right now? Is there a point to this incessant mind probing?" Seiras asked her annoyed.

"There is a point to this Seiras. These memories appear to be emotional weights upon your mind. The corruption within you is heavily focused around the emotions and guilt you carry from these memories." Arius added.

"We need to find the source…push harder, Arius. As much as I enjoy being inside of Seiras' mind, we need to eradicate this taint," Atia sighed.

"We're going to push further, Seiras, to force it out. This will not be pleasant," Arius explained.

A moment later, Seiras felt horrible agony as Arius and Atia both forced their psychic wills into the darkest part of his mind. It now showed a strange vision

Seiras' vision

Floating freely through what appeared to be the immaterial cosmos, Seiras could see his soul psychically emanating and shining in stark contrast to all around it. He looked over towards a churning vortex in the stars where a great eye was watching him.

As he looked upon the eye, the most beautiful voice in the universe called out to him, "Come to me, Seiras."

The astartes had no way of resisting this voice as he began to drift closer towards the swirling eye. As he got closer however, its deceptively beautiful light began to look more sinister and wrong.

With all of his willpower and might, he managed to stop his advance, "This isn't right…"

"I'm waiting Seiras…come and be with me," the voice sounded again.

"NO! NO! NO!" Seiras fought with all of his might to resist now as the eye began to actually pull him closer with some type of gravitational force.

"Seiras, calm down! Your psychic powers are tearing up the room!" Atia's voice interrupted his vision.

"Resist the daemon, brother, or I'll have to kill you!" Arius' voice followed up.

"She can see me!" Seiras said in a frenzied delirium.

"He's overpowering us, Arius! If this keeps up we're going to have to kill him!" Atia said urgently.

"ARGHHHHHH!" Seiras shouted loudly as he began to resist his all of his might.

Arius' voice sounded again, "He's going to make it! Keep resisting brother!"

An unbearable and indescribable agony flooded Seiras' senses as he finally broke free of the daemon's pull.

"I'll be watching you, Seiras," the voice giggled before fading away.

Avenger of Terra, Seiras' Quarters

Jerking free with psychic force, Seiras launched Atia and Arius both off of him and into the nearby bulkheads. The alarmed Regulus immediately moved in to swing his Nemesis Force Sword, but the weapon never quite made it as Seiras' heightened psychic power held the Grey Knight still in stasis.

"He did it," Arius said calmly as he got back up and moved to ease Regulus' concern. Seiras released his hold a moment later as he turned to look around the room.

Whatever just happened, completely demolished most of it. Atia let out a huge sigh of relief as she stood back up finally, "It's good I wore my armour in here."

"What was that?" Seiras asked alarmed.

"We followed your emotions to a repressed vision of yours. It allowed us to force the corruption fully into your mind, where you could forcefully expel it. I'd say it's a lot like popping a pimple by squeezing it hard enough," Atia explained.

"So…I'm cured?" Seiras said uncertainly.

Atia shook her head, "No, but you're stable now. Whatever that daemon was, it was trying to open a portal with your mind. It's good you resisted. You should be alright for now…though we will be keeping close watch on you from here on out."

"Am I still detained to this room?" Seiras asked.

"No, you may go about the ship as you please now. I will check up with you later," Atia said slowly.

Seiras felt like the situation was extremely unusual, but he didn't hesitate to accept his freedom again. Regulus opened the door for him as the librarian wasted no time moving to leave.

Once Seiras was gone, Regulus turned towards Atia concerned, "I noticed something strange, Inquisitor. During your mind probing of the librarian, his psychic powers fluctuated in bizarre ways. His psychic barriers are much stronger than a typical psyker's. I believe he is more powerful than Arius and myself."

"You might be right. Arius and I have never had something like that happen…even with psykers that completely lose it," Atia nodded.

"Judging by his memories, I would say he's hesitant to use his powers too much. I have no doubts that he is more powerful than even he himself realizes," Arius noted.

"Are you sure he's stable?" Regulus asked Atia and Arius with a doubtful tone.

Atia nodded, "He resisted whatever voice was calling out to him in his mind. I feel like that's the best we can do for now. Besides, detaining him for too long or killing him aren't exactly reasonable options to take in our current situation."

"I understand," Regulus nodded.

The Inquisitor sighed heavily as she thought for a moment, 'What was that voice in his head? It was so beautiful...'