“I… I ’t,” Darius whispered, his voice breaking. “It hurts. My body feels like it’s tearing itself apart.”

  Kayvaan’s expression hardened. “Pain is a test—one you must pass. The flesh may falter, but the mind decides whether you stand or fall. I’m not asking—I’m you. Stand up.”

  Darius ched his jaw, his trembling hands pushing against the cold floor. With a strained groan and s down his face, he forced himself upright, his body shaking violently.

  Kayvaan gave a small, approving nod. “Good. Follow me.”

  Darius, still catg his breath, managed a weak but hopeful, “Is there any good news, my lord?”

  "First of all, gratutions," Kayvaan said, his toh encing and wryly amused. "You’ve cleared the first, most grueling hurdle. Holy, most of us—myself included—didn’t expect you to make it this far. Many others have failed here, and not quietly. Some couldn’t ehe agony of transformation and lost their minds, reduced to little more than drooling husks. Others suffered aion and became little better than grotesque servitors.”

  Kayvaan pced a reassuring hand on Darius's shoulder. "But don’t worry about that. Your body has proven exceptional—fwless, even. The tests firm it. The pain you feel now is just your flesh adapting to the new impnts. It will pass. My advice? Don’t resist it—embrace it. Learn to ma, to turn it intth. Pain is your Captain, Darius. If you master it now, the challenges you’ll face ter will feel like nothing."

  “I will endure, Captain,” Darius replied, bowing his head.

  "Good. And drop the ‘Your Excellenonsense. From now on, call me captain. You’ve begun your true training, and for the fifty years, you’ll be a Knight-Aspirant under my care.”

  “Knight-Aspirant?” Darius asked, tilting his head.

  Kayvaan nodded. “That’s the rank given to neophytes like you—those who have survived the trials but are still ued. After your fifty-year apprenticeship, you’ll earn the rank of Knight and join the ranks of our Chapter’s brethren as a full-fledged warrior of the Temple. But don’t get ahead of yourself. This is only the beginning.”

  “Fifty years…” Darius echoed, his voice tinged with disbelief.

  Kayvaan chuckled. “Fifty years is nothing, Darius. pared to the lifetime that awaits you as an Astartes, it’ll feel like a blink. Now e—I’ll show you the tools of our trade.”

  They arrived at the Chapter’s training range, where rows of ons gleamed uhe dim lumen strips. “Take a good look,” Kayvaan said, gesturing to the racks. “These are the tools you’ll wield as a warrior of the Emperor. Know them well—whether in your hands or an enemy’s, ignorance meah.”

  “I’ll give it my all, Captain,” Darius said early.

  “Good.” Kayvaan grabbed a standard sgun from the rad held it up. “We’ll start simple. This is a sgun—standard-issue on for the Astra Militarum. A fiool for the rank and file.” With a smooth motion, he field-stripped the on and reassembled it in moments before raising it to his shoulder. He fired a burst at a distant target, the red beam scorg the bullseye. The range’s automated vox droned, “1s.”

  “This on fires a focused energy pulse powered by repceable charge packs,” Kayvaan expined. “No recoil, easy to aim. Against unarmored targets, it’s effit. But against something tougher—an Ork, a Tyranid, or even basic power armor—it’s as useful as waving a glow-mp at them. If you ever face Guardsmen wielding these, don’t bother hiding. Walk right through their fire and deal with them up close.”

  Kayvaaurhe sgun to the rad picked up a far rger, brutal-looking on. “This, however, is a boltgun. This is our on—designed for Space Marines, by Space Marines.”

  He pulled a single bolt round from the magazine and held it up. “Most primitive ons fire bullets propelled by chemical explosives—high-speed slugs. This, however, fires mass-reactive bolts. Miniature rockets, each packed with an explosive warhead. The boltgu just punch through flesh—it detonates i.”

  Darius furrowed his brow. “I… don’t uand. A rocket?”

  Kayvaan smiled patiently. “Think of it like this: every round fired from this gun is a tiny guided missile. It tears into the target, then explodes. That’s why it’s so devastating. But pay attention—amper with the ammunition. Bolts are votile. Mishandling one during maintenance will result in your hands—and your life—being scattered across the deck.” Setting the boltgun aside, Kayvaan motioned Darius to the firing line. “Enough theory. Time to test your aim. Be mindful of your stahe boltgun has serious recoil. Fail to brace properly, and it’ll knock you ft.”

  Despite the grueling lesson, Kayvaa a surprising satisfa in the process. Darius was raw but quick to learn, and teag him had its own rewards. Time passed swiftly, and before long, a chime echoed through the rahe Ebony Shadow had reached its destination.

  The bridge was taut with anticipation. The Ebony Shadow moved carefully into Aion’s orbit, its crew sing the void with meticulous focus. The atmosphere crackled with unease. Elizabeth had assured them the Eldar presence was limited—no more than ten Rangers, with no enemy vessels in the system. Still, doubts lingered. Intelligence could fail, and failure in war meah.

  The ship’s captain guided the vessel with gcial precision, every movement deliberate. Auspex ss blinked and buzzed as the crew bed the system fns of hostile craft. Every s was double-checked. Every anomaly was analyzed. Finally, the vox crackled to life. “All ss plete. Orbit clear—no enemy ships detected.”

  Kayvaan nodded with satisfa. "It seems our inquisitor's intelligence was accurate. The enemy numbers are small, and there are no warships in orbit around the phe Eldar typically avoid deploying ships uhere's a rge-scale operation. They have their own ways of traversing the stars."

  The captain, standing by the trol pauro the crew on the bridge. "Stay sharp, everyone. We don’t know where those crafty xenos might be hiding."

  Kayvaan folded his arms. "Let's stick to the pn."

  "Uood, sir," the captain replied, saluting. He swiftly issued a series of ands. "Adjust the hull to a 45-degree angle. Begin a gradual dest into the outer cruising orbit of Aion."

  At the helm, the helmsman guided the Ebony Shadows, tilting the vessel like a desding swan. The mighty ship slid smoothly toward the p. When the ship fully entered orbit, the adjutant called out, "We’re in position."

  The captain nodded. "Stabilize the hull. Prep the eje and ready the Sky Eye for deployment."

  The crew responded in unison. "Sky Eye ready."

  "Launch it. Once deployment is plete, shut down the psma furnad switch to silent running."