When gods forge sons, oaths become weapons. And when sons turn from light, even silence burns. — Chronicle Fragment from the Black Scrolls of Mars
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HORUS LUPERCAL POV
"I was the brightest. The first. The warmaster."
He stood beneath a sky of ashes, hand outstretched toward a sun that no longer warmed him.
"But he made me his general, not his son."
His armor bore no heraldry now, only ruin.
"I swear, by the truth behind the throne, by the chains called duty—this empire will fall. Not for Chaos. Not for hate. But because it lied."
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FULGRIM POV
"I sought perfection. He offered obedience."
Fulgrim stood before a shattered mirror, where his face looked back in fragments.
"I became what I was meant to be—not fallen, but freed."
The serpent in his soul coiled with pride.
"I swear, by beauty twisted and truth unveiled, that I will paint eternity in agony and ecstasy. Let their order drown in the sublime."
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PERTURABO POV
"They wanted walls. They feared the mind that built them."
Perturabo's voice echoed in a chamber of gears and ghosts.
"I gave them fortresses. They gave me mockery."
He traced a blueprint for a prison that spanned lightyears.
"I swear, by the logic they scorned, I will build the tomb of empires. Precision shall be their punishment."
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MORTARION POV
"I was born in poison. Raised in rot. I know what lies beneath the gold."
Mortarion exhaled a breath that stank of liberation.
"He promised purity. But I found strength in filth."
He placed one decaying hand on the hilt of his scythe.
"I swear, by the air that chokes and the truth that festers, I will teach the Imperium the price of false light."
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MAGNUS THE RED POV
"I looked. I saw. I warned."
Magnus wept fire as he floated within the eye of a storm made of thought.
"And for that… he shattered me."
He held the Book of All Futures close to his ruined chest.
"I swear, by the knowledge I bleed for, I will make the galaxy remember what it means to know. Let the Warp consume their ignorance."
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ANGRON POV
"I never had a choice. I only ever had chains."
He sat upon a mountain of skulls, eyes hollow from endless rage.
"Freedom never came. Only orders. Only betrayal."
He roared into the sky.
"I swear, by the blood of every slave who died screaming, I will break the stars themselves. Let the galaxy know my pain."
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LOKI (Alpharius & Omegon—one voice, two minds) POV
"We are both. We are neither."
Their voices spoke in unison across the veil.
"We were the unknown blade. The hidden truth. We were never invited to their dreams."
Twin reflections flickered in shifting armor.
"We swear, by misdirection, that the game shall never end. Whether Chaos or Imperium—we are not pieces. We are the board."
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LEMAN RUSS POV
"I was the Emperor's hound. His executioner."
Russ stood atop a glacier, breath clouding the night.
"I obeyed. I killed. I questioned."
He drew his blade, not in anger—but mourning.
"I swear, by fang and frost, by loyalty twisted into doubt, that I will never forgive treachery. But I will not forget mercy either."
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ROGAL DORN POV
"They called me unbending. I bent only to duty."
Dorn's voice was iron striking iron, his fists scarred by building, not war.
"They shattered the dream we built. I will bury them in what remains."
He placed his hand upon the walls of the Phalanx.
"I swear, by stone and sacrifice, the Imperium shall not fall while I still breathe. Let that be enough."
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VULKAN POV
"I lived. They died."
He cradled the burned remains of a child's toy—metal warped by flame.
"I am not unkillable. I am unwilling to stop."
The forge behind him roared.
"I swear, by every ember of hope left, I will protect the innocent. Even if I must become fire itself."
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CORAX POV
"I was their shadow. Their shame."
Corax perched upon a ruined cathedral, his wings torn but defiant.
"They turned freedom into tyranny, and called it salvation."
His voice, quiet as broken glass, carried far.
"I swear, by silence and sorrow, I will strike from darkness until justice returns. Or until I vanish with it."
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ROBOUTE GUILLIMAN POV
"I believed in law. But law alone cannot bind a bleeding galaxy."
He stood within a library of dust and flame.
"I built a future. They burned it."
Guilliman closed a tome bearing the sigil of Imperium Secundus.
"I swear, by the vision that yet flickers in the dark, I will rebuild. Not because we deserve it—but because we must."
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JAGHATAI KHAN POV
"I never belonged to thrones. I belonged to the wind."
He rode across the steppes, storms trailing behind.
"They thought me lost. I was merely free."
He raised his blade skyward.
"I swear, by speed, by storm, by stars unshackled, I will hunt every lie they taught us. And I will laugh when I cut them down."
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FERRUS MANUS POV
"I trusted him. Fulgrim. And he betrayed not just me, but all we swore to protect."
Ferrus stood alone in a forge cold as his iron hands.
"I should have died. But fate refused me even that."
He stared into the molten core of a reforged blade.
"I swear, by steel that does not bend, I will hold the line. Let the traitors scream—I will never fall."
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LION EL'JONSON POV
"I walked alone. I judged alone. I obeyed in silence."
The Lion stepped through a forest shrouded in fog and secrets.
"My sons war among themselves, lost in shadows I once knew."
He touched the pommel of his blade.
"I swear, by the sins I dare not name, I will bring order from within. Even if none ever see it."
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SANGUINIUS POV
"I saw what would come. And I smiled anyway."
He stood beneath a golden sun, wings folded in sorrow.
"My death will be a beginning. Not an end."
Sanguinius touched his heart, then looked upward—beyond time.
"I swear, by every drop of blood I shed for peace, that love is worth fighting for. Even when it damns us."
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CONRAD CURZE POV
"They called me monster. I merely gave them the truth."
Curze sat beneath a flickering star, draped in shadows.
"I was their justice. Their nightmare."
His voice was a whisper of broken mirrors.
"I swear, by the fear they buried, I will haunt their dreams until they awaken. Or die screaming."
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EMPORER OF MANKIND POV
Alone, in the Golden Throne, unseen by mortals and gods alike, the Emperor's mind stretched across eternity.
He heard every vow. Every oath. Every lie.
And yet, he remained still.
So much potential. So much ruin.
His voice, if it could be heard, was not wrathful.
But weary.
"I forged angels. I asked them to be men. I gave them dreams, and they made nightmares.
But still… they are mine.
I do not forgive.
I do not forget.
But I endure.
And so shall Mankind.