The Lost Prophecy of Equus

by AlphariusOmegon

IX. The Drums of War

Sunburst stirred. Last night had not been a fun one. He couldn't sleep. He felt guilt over what had happened yesterday. How he saw Celestia was destroyed emotionally by Lorgar. If only he had decided to keep his mouth shut. But it didn't matter now. He found himself in a bedroom aboard the Imperator Somnium, the Emperor's flagship. It was a small yet comfortable room, reserved for visitors or diplomats who wished to have an audience with the Emperor. Sunburst couldn't keep up with titles at this point. He had way too much on his mind. There was a knock at the door. Sunburst hurriedly threw on his blue cloak, trying to fix himself up for whoever was at the door. The bed he had slept in was very comfortable, almost too comfortable.

"Dammit! I slept in!" Sunburst thought to himself. He was supposed to be meeting with the rest of the Primarchs today at the War-Council. He didn't remember when it was scheduled but he felt that it was soon. "Give me a minute!" Sunburst shouted in desperation. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of the Emperor. The door opened and Magnus stepped in.

"Nervous to meet the rest of my brothers, aren't you?"

"Yes! Very!" Sunburst responded.

"Alright, let's not keep him waiting any longer. Fortunately, you're not the only one who slept in." Magnus remarked.

Sunburst was relieved that he wasn't the only one. "Alright, I'm ready."

"Good!" Magnus exclaimed in joy. "Now, would you like to take the scenic route or the quick route?"

"The quick route thank you very much!"

"Alright!" Magnus snapped his fingers. In an instant, they were outside of the meeting hall/throne room. Its tall, obsidian doors were menacing. Their engravings of Dragons and Azur staring down those who would dare to enter. Sunburst had never seen a more beautiful door.

Magnus grinned. "If you think that's beautiful, then just wait until you see the Eternity Gate."

Magnus knocked on the door, and it opened on its own. A grand meeting hall stood before them. A long rectangular room, lined with twenty obsidian pillars, each representing one legion of the Azur Knights, or Space Marines as Sunburst called them. In the center of the room was a circular obsidian table, with twenty-one large obsidian chairs surrounding it. At the top of each chair, the symbol of each legion was engraved. There was no chair at the very top of the table, rather, at the end of the room itself was the obsidian throne of the Emperor

Every Primarch was already at their respective seat of the table. Sunburst found Starlight sitting in a seat that had been specially made for her. Sunburst sat in another one, right next to Starlight.

The Primarchs were conversing with one another, talking about their legion, political matters, weather, debating who's tactics were better, long-standing legion rivalries, the whole shebang. Starlight was relieved that Sunburst was sitting next to her. She had been stuck there for thirty minutes with no one to talk to.

"So, this is new. Never been to a 'War Council' before. What do you think it'll be like?" Starlight asked nervously.

"I have no idea. Seems calm so far."

Magnus was on the other side of Sunburst. "It won't be calm. There hasn't been a War-Council in ages. And when there have been, they're usually when we're about to openly go to war..."

Sunburst started to sweat a little, and worry a lot.

"Don't worry, it probably won't be that bad." Starlight tried to reaffirm. She didn't do a good job. Then, Abaddon entered the room and everyone was quiet. The Primarchs stood up. Sunburst and Starlight were confused.

"Stand!" Magnus whispered to them.

They both stood on their chairs. Magnus sighed. "It will have to do." He thought to himself.

Abaddon spoke. "This meeting is now called to order." With this, he stood next to his seat, right next to Starlight.

Vindicatus then entered the room. Everyone saluted him as he moved across to his throne. As soon as he sat down, everyone else sat down. Sunburst and Starlight still stood, completely lost in the moment. There were a few glances.

"Oh! Sorry." Sunburst said sheepishly. He then sat down, followed by Starlight. Magnus sighed. Everyone's focus shifted to Void.

"It's alright. It has been more than ten billion years since a pony has been in the presence of an Azur. I am not surprised any of your kin know of Azur customs. Especially those outside of royalty. All is forgiven. Now, let us move on with this meeting. The severity of the situation is paramount, and we are ready for what is coming. The problem is that Equus is not ready. Not by a long shot." A map of Equus was projected from the table.

"However, there is some good news. Thanks to the effort of the Alpha Legion and its operatives, we now know where Sheol is going to strike." The map zoomed in on Canterlot.

"Here." Void pointed at the palace. "On the eve of Twilight's first raising of the sun, Sheol will strike, and we will strike back."

Sunburst went wide-eyed. "But that means Twilight is in danger. If the process of her ascension is interrupted then she won't become a goddess!" Everyone turned and looked at Sunburst.

"Twilight will be fine. Trust me." Void assured Sunburst. "My agents are well in place and ready to defend her if needed. Besides, she will be awake before Sheol strikes at the heart of Equus. You'll see."

Sunburst was confused but somewhat put at ease as well.

Robute then spoke. "Brother, since Twilight is secure and the royals are more than capable of defending themselves, we should rally the Dragons. They are your second kin after all and the return of the Dragon King would rally all dragons across the universe to your cause. They are an essential asset. Too long have they gone without a single leader they can trust. They have fallen into petty power struggles among themselves. You know of the events of the Gauntlet of Fire a few years ago. Torch resigned his position honorably, and now his daughter, Ember, is in charge. To gain control-"

"Yes, I am very well aware of the situation, Robute. I know what must be done. I will go alone to the Dragon Lands."

"Don't you at least want some backup?" Lion asked.

"No, I will be fine," Void responded.

"Aye, that he will. If there's one among us who knows the dragons better than all of us combined, it's Void. Besides, we all know of the duel he must face if Ember refuses to submit to Void's authority." Leman said with confidence.

"She'll be utterly obliterated!" Starlight interjected.

Lorgar spoke to Starlight. "It is unwise to doubt the Emperor. The dragons will recognize his divine authority. There will be no bloodshed between Azur and Dragon." Starlight was still suspicious.

"You treat Void like he's some sort of super-important divine god or something," Starlight said with a huff.

There was a moment of silence in the room before Lorgar got up and started to approach Starlight, slowly making his way around the table.

"Ooooooohhh shiiiiiit. Now she's done it." Magnus whispered to himself.

"You dare to question his divinity?! You ungrateful wench! He is responsible for saving your people from the brink of extinction! He sacrificed himself for your people and yet, here you are, uttering blasphemy against him! I should have you executed for this, you HERETIC!"

"Lorgar, enough."

Lorgar was immediately quiet. He went back to his seat with his head hung in shame. He sat down and said, "Forgive me, Brother. My zealotry blinded my judgment. I sincerely apologize."

"Your sins are forgiven, my brother. Take care, these are our guests, not foes. Again, it has been a while since I have paid a visit to this world openly. Due to the passing of time, the memory of the Azur on Equus has long passed into nonexistence. On the subject of our guests, I would like to ask if they have any input to give on the subject of defending it."

A few moments of silence passed while Sunburst processed what Vindicatus had just said. "Wait, you're asking us how to defend the entirety of the planet? With all due respect, Lord God-Emperor or whatever I'm supposed to call you, I am not rehearsed in the arts of warfare. Nor is Starlight. We're scholars of magic, sure, but I think Magnus has long surpassed Starlight and I in that field long before we were even born."

Starlight blushed in embarrassment. "Well, I wouldn't call myself a scholar of magic..."

Magnus stepped in to help. "You have clearly shown your ability to control the forces which are birthed from the Astral Plane. You even manipulated time itself, which, even by my standards, is no small feat. That's the reason why I give you the title of Time-Bender. You should be honored."

"Albeit she had malicious intentions..." Leman said.

"YOU HAVE NO SAY IN THIS LEMAN! YOU KNOW I RESPECT SCHOLARS, AND OTHER MAGIC USERS BOTH GOOD AND EVIL! Except for Sheol, he can go fuck himself, BUT STILL!"

"SHE NEARLY CAUSED A TEAR IN THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM! WE HAD TO ISOLATE EQUUS IN A TIME LOOP TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO THE UNIVERSE!" Leman retorted.

"fffffffFFFUCK YOU LEMAN! Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you!"

"Enough! Both of you!" Abaddon yelled. "Your constant arguments are not helping the situation at hand!"

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP?!" A voice came from the doorway. "I'M TRYING TO SLEEP, DAMMIT!" A small Azur with two horns stepped into the doorway rubbing his eyes. Sunburst and Starlight immediately took notice of his hair which was identical to Luna's

"Sorry, son, but your uncles are fighting again," Void shouted from the other side of the room. "Do you wish to join in?" Void asked with a grin.

"Sure. I got nothing better to do," Ender shrugged as he answered. In an instant, he was in the lap of his father. Ender was extremely small compared to his father. Starlight and Sunburst were surprised. But he was different. His two horns were similar to his father, albeit much, much smaller. He was practically a mini version of his father. But his hair flowed with the radiance of the night sky.

"Wait, that's your son?" Starlight asked.

"Yep, and he has a daughter as well." Star Rift appeared from the ceiling, falling through a teleportation rift and landing in her father's lap. Instead of taking the form of an Azur, she was in the form of a filly! And judging from her blue coat of fur, it didn't take a genius to figure out who her mother was...

"I now realize who their mother is, and holy shit it all makes sense now..." Sunburst said, eyes wide open.

"Ah, yes, the Dream Weaver, the Queen of the Azur," Sanguinius said.

"Luna... PRINCESS LUNA IS A MOM?!" Starlight yelled in shock.

"It's quite obvious. I'm surprised you didn't freak out sooner," Ender laughed.

---

Twilight awoke with a jolt in her bed, still reeling from the dream that she had just had. "Was that even a dream? No, that was more akin to a vision... Should I tell Celestia and Luna what I saw? No, no I shouldn't. That might strike a nerve with them both. Still, if Vindicatus was directly reaching out to me... then he must be alive."

Twilight threw off the covers and stood on her own four hooves. Immediately, she felt much larger than she had been before she went through the ascension sleep. She stumbled around a little, trying to gain her footing. It didn't help that she was nauseous as well. She carefully stumbled out of her room and into the palace hallway.

"Twilight!" A familiar voice yelled from down the hallway. Shining Armor came galloping towards his sister, tears in his eyes.

"Shining!" Twilight raced over to her brother and pulled him into a warm embrace. "How long have you been here?" Twilight asked, noticing the bags under her brother's eyes.

"I..." Shining Armor blushed, "I may have convinced Celestia to let me guard you for the entirety of your very long nap..."

"Shining! When was the last time you slept? You look worse than the time you asked me to babysit Flurry!"

"Believe me, I feel worse too!" Shining Armor laughed, prompting Twilight to give a small scowl towards her brother for forsaking his own personal needs. "You're so much taller..."

"Yeah. It's a lot to get used to. Don't worry, you'll always be my big brother." Twilight chuckled with her brother before her stomach let out a loud groan. She hadn't realized how hungry she actually was.

Shining Armor snickered. "Well, you haven't missed breakfast. Follow me!" The two siblings raced across the palace to the doors of the dining hall. Before Shining could open the doors, Twilight stopped him and pressed an ear to the door.

"If this is what I think it is-"

"It is not! Sheol is dead, the Azur are nowhere to be seen-"

"From what I have heard it sounds like they've finally come out of hiding!"

"For what reason then?! If Vindicatus is truly alive-"

"Don't you dare! We all saw him fall!"

"Then why would they be back here?!"

"Regardless, they broke into my palace! I don't know if they were trying to kidnap my daughter or had some morbid curiosity with her but trespassing on Empire grounds is enough to warrant a casus belli!"

"Cadenza, believe me, if it is truly the Azur, you do not want to mess with them-"

"Says who?!"

Twilight looked back at her brother with a very confused and concerned look.

"You've missed a lot in the past few days. Celestia locked someone up, these Azur creatures crashed her press conference, two of them broke into the Crystal Palace, it's getting crazy. But regardless," Shining opened the door. The royals looked at Twilight, stunned at her new appearance.

"Twilight... you look amazing!" Celestia jumped out of her seat and ran over to hug Twilight.

"Thank you, Princess, but I'm very hungry right now," Twilight said, her stomach let out another groan.

Celestia immediately released her embrace and ushered Twilight to a seat of her own where she placed a stack of pancakes in front of her. Twilight began downing them as soon as Celestia set them down. Then she remembered her manners and blushed. "Sorry..."

"Ah, don't worry about it!" Sol said with a hearty laugh. "My children were the exact same way."

The royals all laughed together and gave a toast to Twilight, seemingly forgetting their argument.

---

"How long have we been on this ship again?" Starlight asked.

"Two days," Magnus responded.

"Wait, isn't it the day of Twilight's ascension?" Sunburst followed up.

Angron sighed. "Yes. It is, but until Vindicatus awakens from communing with the gods, we can't do anything."

It was then that Vindicatus burst into the room.

"THE TIME HAS COME!" Void roared. A wide smile formed on Angron's face.

A few minutes later, Void was leading Sunburst and Starlight down a hallway.

"So, it's beginning?" Sunburst asked.

"Yes, it is. And we shall witness it together." Vindicatus answered quickly.

Void stopped at a door and knocked.

"Just a minute brother!" A voice came from within.

The door opened and Vulkan appeared. "Hello, brother!" Vulkan stretched out his arms.

"Sorry, Vulkan, but we don't have time for hugs. We must make haste."

Vulkan lowered his arms, slightly disappointed. "Yes, sorry. It is a force of habit."

"It's alright." Vindicatus reassured Vulkan, patting him on the back. "Did you make the armor I requested?"

"Yes! The armor for our new pony-friends is over there." Vulkan pointed at two suits of armor. Both of them were made to fit a pony. Both of them had their symbols on the shoulder plates. "I customized it to the colors of their coats while still maintaining the fierceness of the power armor. I have also given them a shoulder-mounted bolter, albeit downsized, and with the help of Magnus, implemented custom Thousand Son's modules that will amplify their magic. Also, they are equipped with power swords that can be deployed at will. Their suits are marked with their cutie marks on the left shoulder, and an image of the Elements of Harmony on the right."

Starlight and Sunburst stared at their new suits of armor. They had never seen armor like this before. They put the suits on. It took a minute to adjust to, but they eventually got the hang of it.

"Hey, what does the button in the left gauntlet do?" Starlight asked.

"NO!" Vulkan yelled.

*BANG* The shoulder bolter fired one of its rounds and ricochet off the wall. Vindicatus was able to catch it with his bare hands, stopping it completely in its tracks.

"Oh, that's what it does." Starlight said with a nervous smile.

It didn't take long for the Legions to assemble in the throne room. The table was gone. Vindicatus and Abaddon stood on at the head of the room. Sunburst and Starlight watched from where the Salamanders stood.

"Brothers and Sisters, today we stand, ready to face the dark foe as we once did ten billion years ago. I know of the concern of the return of the Azur to the universal stage of politics and the troubles we will have to reassert our role as a great power but let us not think of that now! We must think of our lives, our homes, our families. We must think of those who died all those years ago, selflessly sacrificing their lives so that the universe may live, and they did it on the very planet we now orbit. Equus, the planet on which the war ended, and now where it will begin again. I still hear you sing the songs of long ago, but now, let us make new songs! Let us write a new chapter of Azur history! And we shall do it side by side with our old allies, though they may not remember us, they shall come to know us once again!"

"Nam et deorum Imperatoris!" The legions shouted.

Void looked over at Abbadon. "Warmaster Abaddon, would you like to give today's briefing?"

Abaddon took a very long breath before he began to speak.

"BATTLE BROTHERS AND BATTLE SISTERS, TODAY THE ENEMY IS AT OUR DOOR! WE KNOW OUR DUTY AND WE WILL DO IT! WE FIGHT FOR OUR HONOR, AS AZUR KNIGHTS! AS YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR FORCES ARE STATIONED ON EQUUS, AT AN OUTPOST IN THE EVERFREE FOREST! SOME OF YOU ARE TO JOIN THEM THERE BUT WE ALSO NEED BOOTS UP HERE, PREPARED TO DEEP STRIKE. WHEN THE FOE DECIDES TO REVEAL HIMSELF, WE DESCEND UPON THE FOE! WE WILL OVERWHELM HIM! CODEX ASTARTES NAMES THIS MANEUVER STEEL RAIN! AND IF WE DIE THIS DAY WE DIE HEROES' DEATHS, BUT WE SHALL NOT DIE, NO! FOR WE ARE THE EMPEROR'S FURY, WE ARE THE AZUR KNIGHTS, AND WE FIGHT IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!"

"DEATH TO THE ENEMY! FOR THE EMPEROR!" The legions yelled.

Vindicatus departed for the Dragon-Lands afterward. It was time to unite them his second kin once more.

---

Void walked across the lava burnt lands. The smell of sulfur and smoke was all too familiar to him. He was completely alone. He knew the sacred tradition of the Dragon duels, and before he departed for the Dragon-Lands, he made damn sure that no one followed him.

He stepped into an arena of sorts. Carved out by the Dragons themselves long ago when they first settled on Equus. In the center of the arena was a large plateau, obviously reserved for the Dragon-Lord. All of the other curved rectangular plateaus were reserved for the rest of the Dragons.

A loud roar sounded from the heavens. "Ah, so it appears they have been watching me. I wondered why it was more barren than usual." Void thought to himself.

Torch descended from the clouds. He landed on the central plateau. Ember was on his head, holding her staff.

"Who dares to enter the Dragon-Lands unannounced? You are not counted among us, yet you are a Dragon." Ember said with a commanding voice.

"I am the one which is spoken of in the Dragon lore. I am he who returns from death. I am he who has come to reclaim his crown." Void responded.

"You are but a stranger in these lands, yet you seek power."

"You know the ancient customs as well as I do. The Dragon-King has the right to seize direct control."

Surprisingly, none of the Dragons laughed at Void's remark. This was a good sign.

"Then prove to me that you are him. Show us your true form as a Dragon." Ember commanded.

Void's form started to change. He grew higher and higher, larger and larger. He now walked on all fours. His platinum talons and platinum horns grew immensely larger. Soon enough, he was fully Dragon. Easily larger than Torch. Ember, for the first time in her life, was intimidated.

Void spoke no words. He could tell that this was enough to convince the Dragons. Torch bowed immediately, then Ember bowed as well. Soon enough the entirety of the Dragon-Lands bowed before him.

Void roared and shot a pillar of purple fire into the sky. All preparations were now complete.

He was ready to march...

---

Twilight had her reservations about where the event should be held. She suggested that it should be moved to the bottom of the mountain on which the palace was situated to let more creatures see the raising of the Sun since the palace courtyard was too small to fit everyone. She had advocated that the event be moved to the coast so everyone could have a full view of the sun as it rose. Sol and Star agreed to the change. Within a few hours, everything was prepared. Ponies and other creatures were socializing and dancing with one another. The rulers of each species had also shown up. Changelings, Hippogriffs, Dragons, Griffons, Yaks, Crystal Ponies, Saddle Arabians, and others. Each of them presented gifts for Twilight as a show of respect.

The night's celebrations went on. Sol socialized with the rulers of the other kingdoms, and he seemed to get along very well with the Yaks and the Dragons. Star told stories to the young around a campfire she had made. Some parents found the tales a bit disturbing when it came to how she described combat, but they let their children listen.

Star told the story of the Azur and Sheol, but she didn't mention that it was real. She was speaking to children after all, but adults too were fascinated by the tale of this so-called "Dragon-King". As she did, the stars themselves came to life, constellations of the characters moved around and interacted with one another. They showed the glory of the Azur, the fierce battles between the demons and the dragons, the images of famous Ponies who were long gone, and those that were still here. The stars were being manipulated by Star of course. She loved bringing stories to life. Children stared up to the sky in amazement as they listened to the tale. When Star was finished, they all applauded her for the story. No one believed it was real, except those who already knew.

But then, something peculiar happened. The constellations formed into images of Void and Sheol and played out their last battle, word for word, just as it happened in Twilight's dream. Everyone saw that this was not Star's doing, nor was it Luna's, or any other royal. As the scene finished, a burst of terrible laughter sounded out, one that Sol knew all too well.

"Sheol..."

"Ah, so you finally come to realize the truth."

"Show yourself, demon."

""As you wish." A shadow of Sheol made of pure darkness manifested in the center of the crowd. Creatures ran in terror and screams rang out. Guards immediately surrounded the Princesses, Sol, Star, Nox summoned their weapons immediately summoned their weapons. The truth was finally dawning. The nobility found themselves bound with chains of darkness, not allowing for even the slightest bit of movement.

"Fuck, not again." Celestia thought, having been embarrassed one too many times by stunts like this. In the past she knew Twilight could overcome every obstacle, which was why she allowed herself to be captured so often. But this was different.

Twilight, bound in chains, spoke up. She had faced villains before, and she knew how to deal with them. "You have no authority or right to be here. I know who you are, Sheol. You do not scare me."

"Ah, so you DO know of me. To be honest, I would have expected Celestia and the rest of the 'nobility' to keep it a secret from you."

"Honesty is one of the Elements of Harmony. Then again, no one is perfect, not even the gods themselves." Twilight knew that what Celestia did was wrong, but she had been taught to forgive mistakes, even the mistakes of her mentor. Sheol sneered.

"Moving on, I have other business to attend to." The shadow of Sheol moved towards Luna with malicious intent. Four guards jumped in front of her, forming a phalanx wall to protect their princess. It was to no avail. In the blink of an eye, the shadow summoned a scythe and cut through the guards like tissue paper. Their bisected bodies lying in a pool of their own blood as their intestines poured out.

"YOU BASTARD!" Luna yelled.

"Since when did you start caring for your people? Where is the nightmare I once knew? The one that ponies feared for a thousand years? I know she is still in there somewhere. In time, you'll come right back, just like you once did. You were so broken, so sad. You tried to hold off the Darkness for so long... but you eventually gave in to it. You eventually embraced the true nature of the NIGHT."

Luna said nothing as tears welled in her eyes. The shadow grabbed Luna by the throat and started to strangle her. The people looked on in horror. Demons manifested all around and, in the crowd, cackling as they did so. They were hungry for flesh and souls, and they knew that this would be a banquet.

"Enough!" a voice sounded from the distance. A massive, hooded figure moved through the crowd of attendees who were shaking in fear. It was bipedal and carried with it what seemed to be an obsidian sword. The shadow of Sheol turned its head to behold this new presence.

The figure thrust the sword through the shadow's chest. It gave an agonizing cry as the sword was driven deeper and deeper, as it was lifted into the air. "Get your hooves off of my wife, demon scum."

The chains dissipated and the shadow let go of Luna who dropped to the ground unconscious. The figure flung the still bleeding shadow off of the black sword, now with purple glowing runes upon its blade in the Primordial language, its blade encircled in purple flame. Twilight instantly recognized who it was.

Void cradled Luna's unconscious body in his arms before setting her down next to her family. The night sky began to erupt in a storm of black clouds of purple lightning. The stars and moon began to glow with rage. Twilight could hear a voice in her head, shouting, screaming. It was fragmented, yet she could understand it perfectly. Equus itself trembled as it screamed in fury for all to hear.

"O̶̠̓,̶͕̾ ̸̱͛C̵̳̿H̸̩̄Ĩ̶͈L̶͈͒D̶͇͊ ̸͉̏Ọ̴̋F̵͍͗ ̸̟̂T̶̼̄H̷͇̚E̶̖͆ ̶̝͛V̴̮͒O̶̖̓Ǐ̵̝D̷̘́,̴̢͗ ̴̦̾D̸̬̓I̷̘̋V̶̮̀I̵̦̽N̷̦̚Ẹ̴́ ̵̟̆E̷͓͊M̵̟̎P̸̜͆È̷̤R̶͓͘O̸͖̚R̶͕̂ ̷͍̕O̷̩̚F̵̗̏ ̸͎̐Ț̶͠H̵̳̑Ę̸̒ ̵̟̐À̶͔Z̴͉͠U̴̻̿R̵͎̎,̶̠̌ ̶̗͗M̶̬̅I̷̹͊G̴̫̓H̶͇͠Ţ̶͝Y̵͖̔ ̶͈͘K̵̤̍I̵͙͆Ǹ̴͓G̵̗̈́ ̵̻̑Ö̵́ͅF̶̖̋ ̶̲̿D̶͚͛R̸̬͝Ä̴̰G̷̘̉Ō̶̥Ṉ̸͗S̶̘̒,̶͍̎ ̸̹͆H̸̥̾E̴̝̿A̴̻̓Ṙ̵̙ ̵̲̔M̶͖̂Y̴͙̌ ̵̯͒V̶̘̀O̶̩͝I̵̳͑C̷̺̆Ĕ̴̘.̷̳͝ ̶̬̔W̷̦͌H̵͓͛Ē̵͕N̷̮͝ ̸̤̔T̶̥́H̸̫͊E̶̖͂ ̷̫͒H̵̫̎O̷̻͝U̸̲͛S̴͋ͅE̸͙̾ ̷̭͘O̶̖͊F̵͖͑ ̴̳͝T̷̪͆H̴̳͑E̸̻̒ ̷̩̃V̶̳̾O̴̩̾I̸̢͌D̵̻́ ̶̳̅A̶͚͛N̷̦̒D̶͇̆ ̵̪́T̶̬͝Ḧ̶̞́È̷̱ ̷̩̔M̴̝͆Ȍ̶͇Ò̶̙N̷̹̿ ̸̟͊W̶͝ͅE̸̘̋Ṟ̶͝Ḙ̵͋ ̶̲͠C̵̞͑Ö̵̬́N̶̩͒J̸͍̽Ǫ̷͆Ì̵̤N̸̻̕E̷͕̓D̵̫̾,̸͆ͅ ̸͓̈́Y̶̲̋O̴͉̿Ȗ̵̻ ̶̼̋S̵̝̈W̵͎̄Ò̷̠R̶̓͜Ḙ̶̑ ̵͖̄A̸̢̍N̸̟͒ ̶̠͌O̵̮͛A̷͖͛Ț̵̐H̷̝́ ̶͔̿T̶͕̋Ọ̸͌ ̸̪̊É̴̲Q̶̤̅U̶͈͗U̸̩̚S̸̛͍.̴͎̄ ̵̧͐B̸̦̉È̷͈H̵̯̍O̵̧̿L̷̬͌Ḍ̴͛,̶͎͐ ̸̖̂T̵̜̐H̷̺́E̸͈͋ ̴͓̈́D̴͈̽Ȅ̵̮C̶̼̔Ë̶͕́I̵̩̿V̸͓̋E̷̬̿R̶͔͑ ̶̨͗Ṃ̶̐A̵̭̋K̵̡̅Ẹ̴̋Ś̴̯ ̵̰̓Ḧ̶̪́I̴̮͒M̷̝̄S̷̙̎Ę̴̽L̸̛̦F̶͓̊ ̴͓͂Ǩ̸͇N̷͙̂O̴̖͠W̴̛̭N̶̟̽ ̸̜̓Ō̴̭N̵̫̑C̶͍̒E̸̬̊ ̶̞͝M̷̭̍O̵͙̓R̶̯̈́Ě̷̢.̵̩͝ ̴͇͌H̴̗̽I̶̹͑S̴̻͐ ̸͖̚T̵̠͌W̵̬̎I̸̮̾Ş̸͆Ṱ̴͘É̸̜D̷͙̚ ̸͓͒À̵̖R̴̜̀M̵̪̌Y̵͔͠ ̶̗̄Ẇ̵̲I̷̱͠S̸͔̿H̴̗̒E̴̛͓S̴͚̎ ̴̥̓T̵̞͑O̴͔̅ ̷̯͘Ď̸͓Ę̵͗F̶̪̍Į̵̾L̴̖̏Ẹ̴͒ ̶̳̃Ä̶̫́Ḻ̴͋L̵̝̊ ̶͉̃T̷͊͜H̵̱̎A̸͔͋Ṱ̴͐ ̴̢̿I̸̙͝S̸̺͑ ̸͈̈́S̶̯͋Ă̸̗C̷̨̏R̶͈̊E̵̦̓Ḋ̴̮.̴̧̊ ̷̠̊D̶̪̎R̴͖̈́Ī̶̮V̸̜́E̵̯̅ ̶̧́T̸͓̔H̷̦̚E̸̢̛M̴̤͊ ̴͉̃B̸̉ͅA̸̘͌C̶̆ͅĶ̴̀,̷͚́ ̸͈̃H̶͓̽O̶̝̿Ḻ̸͛Y̷͍͠ ̵̱͂Ȯ̷̰N̶̖̑Ë̸͕́.̷̰̄ ̷̠́S̴̝͆T̵̀ͅṘ̴̼I̵̙͋Ḱ̴̺É̶͔ ̷̯͒T̶̛̯H̷̡̚E̷͙͋M̷͇̍ ̸̝̕D̷̤̽O̷͗ͅẀ̷̘N̸̖͌ ̷̍ͅẆ̴̞Ĭ̴̩T̵̺̍Ȟ̷̱ ̸̩͠R̸̡̃I̷͓̅G̸̻̔H̴̖̿T̸͉̈́E̷̼̽Ȯ̶̲U̴̜͋Š̸͈ ̴̮͆F̴̪͘U̴̧̇R̴̹̕Ẏ̶͍.̶͍̆ ̴̘̓Ď̵̬E̷̪͂F̵̰͋E̵̺̓N̴̻͐D̶̘̓ ̶̪̕Ṁ̶̲Y̸̺̋ ̴̖̈́P̷̡͑Ẹ̸̆O̸͜͝P̴̬̍L̸̡̀Ę̶̕ ̵͔͠Ạ̵̿S̴͈̅ ̸̱̊Y̷̙͂O̴͂ͅU̶͚̔ ̷̳̂Ȍ̴̯Ṇ̴̊C̴̬͂E̷͙͊ ̵̩̆Ḑ̸͊I̵͇̚Ḍ̴̈́ ̵̣̂A̵̠̒G̵̈ͅE̴̞̊S̶̛̯ ̸̥͝Å̷͙G̴̭͌Ȍ̶̖.̸̛̫ ̷̼̿T̶̍ͅH̴͘ͅY̵͂ͅ ̵̖̊Ṯ̶̚I̸͈͆M̵̼͐E̴̻̔ ̸͈͊H̶̛̪À̶̳S̶͍̑ ̷̠͒C̷̢͒Õ̷̖M̴̗̈E̵͔͌ ̷̯̚O̸̡͒Ǹ̴̤Ċ̷͖Ḛ̸̛ ̵̱͑M̶̨̿O̴̧̕R̷̤̄E̸̥̽.̸͙̃"

Void tore off his cloak, revealing himself in all of his glory, as a halo of Void fire and stars formed around his head. Drop pods began to descend from the heavens, as an army of Azur Knights and guardsmen, led by Abaddon and the Primarchs marched towards the demon army.

The legions of the Azur had come, and they were ready for a fight.