Chapter 18: Sacrifice

"Cough, cough—"

The massive impact left Soshian dazed for a long time. By the time he regained his senses, the air was thick with choking dust and smoke, and the residual thermal shockwaves from the explosion had severely damaged his power armor's auto-sensory system.

At first, he thought he was completely buried, but as the dust began to settle, he realized only his legs were pinned by a fallen, shattered pillar. His bolter was nowhere to be found.

A hundred meters away, another piece of broken support had smashed into the ruins of a Necron obelisk; leaking coolant had frozen the surrounding rubble, making it look as though a frost giant had crushed the machine with a single blow.

Further off, several pools of leaking substances had ignited into green flames, further enhancing the feeling that this was another world entirely.

The building had almost completely collapsed. The roadway was pockmarked with craters caused by massive stones, and Tomb Spiders lay burst open from the impact. In a sense, this had truly become their "grave."

Soshian observed for a moment, and after confirming there were no enemy threats, he initiated an internal self-diagnostic of his armor. Fortunately, he had only sustained minor damage.

With little effort, he kicked away the slanted debris of stone and metal. As he pushed himself up to a standing position, the full panorama of the devastation struck him.

The road was littered with the broken remains of Necrons; some were completely flattened, while others had been shattered by direct hits from massive boulders.

He switched his comms to the company public channel, only to be met with a series of frustrating static bursts. He could receive no messages from his squad, let alone the company.

"Nade? Axe? Respond, respond."

Determined that he could not reach his comrades via comms, Soshian began searching the ruins for any sign of them.

After inspecting the metal corpses scattered throughout the wreckage, it appeared he was the only survivor of the torrential rain of debris.

Suddenly, his auto-sensory system picked up a faint signal from the left. He immediately sprinted toward the source.

After traversing an obstacle of black rubble, he saw an armored arm protruding from tons of stone. He recognized it instantly as Nade's.

"Brother! I'll get you out right now!"

Soshian immediately pushed upward with both hands, attempting to stabilize the sliding debris while clawing through the rubble and tearing away sheets of unknown building materials.

Soon, he managed to expose Nade's right arm and head, but there was no movement from either. His helmet was breached, drenched in flowing blood.

With doubled effort, Soshian dug out Nade's torso. Aided by the adrenaline injected into his armor to boost his strength, he heaved away a massive slab of stone that weighed nearly as much as himself.

"Ugh..."

As Soshian moved the debris, Nade's right arm twitched, his fingers splaying out.

But Soshian knew all too well that his condition had not improved.

A large pool of blood had spilled over the sharp stones, and Nade's armor was riddled with cracks and dents. His left arm was even leaking blood steadily, as if his hemostatic organs had failed.

"Nade! Nade! Wake up!"

After Nade's hand weakly brushed against his severely crushed helmet, Soshian realized his intent. He leaned down, rotated the helmet, and broke the seal.

With a hiss of escaping air, Soshian pulled the helmet away, revealing Nade's blood-soaked, battered face.

Only then did he see the horrific extent of the wounds. Numerous skull fragments protruded from the side of Nade's head, and his ear had vanished, reduced to a smear of flesh along his jawline.

Opening his eyes and seeing Soshian, Nade gave a slow nod and managed a faint smile, revealing blood-stained teeth.

"I knew you could survive. The Lords... were right. You were destined for greatness."

Looking at Nade's bloody smile, Soshian suddenly realized who had pushed him away at the final moment.

"Why?" he asked in grief.

"My life... is no more great than yours."

"I can't say..." Nade whispered, followed by a low groan of pain. He then wrenched his right hand free from the debris and offered his bolter to Soshian.

"The Chapter Master... commanded me to use my life... to protect..."

With that final effort, Nade—the companion who had stayed by Soshian's side from his days as a neophyte to his growth into a warrior—passed away.

Soshian took the pistol, finding that the gene-lock had already been released and the ammunition was full. Clearly, Nade had prepared himself to transfer the weapon to Soshian.

He stared at his fallen brother's face in long silence.

"Soshian."

At that moment, Axe's voice rang out from behind him. Soshian spun around violently to see Axe limping through the ruins, clutching his waist.

"Brother!"

Soshian ran toward him like the wind, grabbing the other man's shoulder plate with both hands.

"You're alive. Thank the Emperor."

But Axe's gaze drifted past his shoulder toward another comrade atop the rubble.

"Nade..."

Soshian nodded somberly. "He has returned to the Emperor's side."

Axe took a heavy breath, and a stream of blood immediately began to flow from his waist.

Soshian looked down and saw that Axe's waist armor was shattered—not by blunt impact, but as if it had been pierced by a sharp weapon.

"Just ran into a few surviving xenos scum," Axe said casually, though his breathing was raspy. Soshian didn't need to look to know the wound was deep, likely piercing internal organs.

"Let's go. There shouldn't be any enemies ahead."

With that, Axe turned to walk toward the other end of the hall. Soshian followed behind him, the roles of leader and subordinate seemingly reversed.

After walking for two minutes, Soshian suddenly spoke

"Axe, were you also on a mission?"

The other man's pace faltered for a second before resuming its original rhythm.

"Aren't we all on a mission?"

"No. I mean, a mission I am unaware of."

Axe did not answer, continuing to walk silently like a guide.

"Answer me, Axe."

Soshian stopped in his tracks, staring at his comrade's back.

"Sigh."

Then, Axe's helpless sigh echoed through Soshian's helmet.

"My brother, from the moment you entered service, did you not realize how special you are?"

"I realized it."

"Yes. The Chapter Master gave us a secret mission. That mission is to give everything to ensure your safety."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask, and I won't ask. We simply execute. That is what Space Marines do. Don't you understand, Soshian?"

Axe's answer fell like a massive boulder upon Soshian's heart. Confusion was never his norm, but everything that had happened today was far too bizarre.

He felt like a blind man in a theater; while everyone else was playing their respective roles, he was the only one who believed he was merely playing himself.

"Enough. Let's keep moving. Perhaps the Chapter Master can answer your questions, if we can still leave here alive—"

Just as he spoke, a massive surge of energy suddenly swept toward them. Without a word, Axe spun around and tackled Soshian to the ground.

(End of Chapter)