Tomoe: - Is something wrong, Captain Catus? His eyes on me turn out to be very uncomfortable. -

Catus: - Excuse me, Primarch Tomoe. But I still can't understand how you are bigger than my father. He believed that the primarchs were of similar height. - He asked curiously while walking next to Tomoe and Takeko.

Takeko: - That's completely natural. It is normal that, due to multiple biological processes, the female gender of most species develops before the male gender. -

Catus: - Can I know what he's talking about? How to develop it first? Not that Father or Primarch Tomoe were teenagers. -

Catus couldn't help but laugh at such an absurd comment. It seems that Takeko believed that powerful primarchs were nothing more than young people who had not yet fully developed. But the seriousness on the faces of the primarch and her assistant along with their silence made a certain chill run through her body.

Catus: - Is this a joke? TRUE? -

Takeko: - There are natural processes that not even the warp itself can alter. Even though... "someone almighty" would like to change it.

Catus: - You can't be serious. -

Tomoe: - Tell me, Captain Catus. - He said suddenly, cutting off the conversation. -Do the Ultramarines still have their gene-seed activation ritual intact? -

Catus: - The founding chapter yes. The rest of the successor chapters have developed their own rites of passage. -

Takeko: - Some quite... ridiculous, in my humble opinion. How is the case of the Eagles of Doom. -

Catus: - Let's not talk about that. -

Tomoe: - Is it that bad? -

Takeko: - It's stupid. In many ways. -

Catus: - The initiation rites are a test of our faith and our conviction. Each chapter demonstrates its conviction in different ways, and the rest have no right to comment on the matter. -

Takeko: - It's still absurd to kill your recruits just for that. -

Catus: - Could you stop accusing my brothers for a minute? -

Tome: - Takeko. It's sufficient. -

Takeko: - Yes, my lady. -

Tomoe: - Don't take it personally, captain. I was just asking to satisfy my curiosity... And to see if you were ready to see ours. -

Catus: - Yours? - He asked clearly surprised. - Initiation rites are supposed to be sacred. Something exclusive to chapter members. -

Tomoe: - That's true. But now that she is part of the 2nd Legion, perhaps she should know what we sacrifice. -

Those words were undoubtedly somewhat confusing for the Astarte. The three of them walked through one of the long corridors of the underground facilities of the world where Tomoe slept for twenty-five millennia, as it was a very important moment. The initiation rite of the first human to join the 2nd legion.

Catus followed Tomoe and Takeko to a rather peculiar room. It was a circular-shaped enclosure, with tall columns that reached twelve meters high, culminating in beautiful metal arches of oriental imitation. The floor was carved on a black granite surface, where a type of drainage was located right in the center, safe to clean the place after the disaster. And in the middle, kneeling on the hard ground and with a Tantō right in front, was a woman.

She was an ordinary woman, with the characteristic features of the inhabitants of Ultramar. Aquiline facial features, blonde hair and blue eyes, bearer of exceptional beauty, which was completely naked. This would have made any man uncomfortable, but Catus himself was so psycho-indoctrinated that these types of instincts were null and void for him. More than anything, I was curious to know what he was doing, and what the initiation rite of the 2nd legion was about.

Around the woman from overseas, there were four other women, the kind who covered their faces with black veils. Standing and distant, with their backs against the walls of the room, some with different cleaning supplies, others with medical supplements. And before the expectant gaze of Catus, the primarch Tomoe took a step forward, looked her future daughter directly in the eyes, and with a smile devoid of malice she said:

Tomoe: - You can start. -

The woman kneeling on the ground took the Tantō with both hands, following the patterns she had had to memorize to complete this ritual. With great elegance, he unsheathed the dagger, revealing a beautiful silver blade with a single edge and slightly curved towards the spine. Its wooden handle and covered in thick intertwined ropes showed the skill of the artisans who forged it, but before Catus could complete his analysis of the sacred weapon, he saw in amazement how it was stuck inside the flesh of the woman from Ultramar.

Faced with a suppressed scream and the gloomy silence of those present, the woman pierced her own pelvis, starting on the right side, raising the dagger before turning it ninety degrees, crossing her entire abdominal area until reaching the other side, returning to swing the dagger downward, and complete the process by lacerating his own belly. All this, without even expelling a cry of pain. Just controlled wails of agony and fury. At least until then.

Suddenly, a scream almost forced the captain to cover his ears, as he watched the bleeding woman writhe in pain, but it was not the wound in her belly that tormented her, but the sensation of feeling how each of her Cells were crushed and reconstructed at a molecular level, because the seed of the primarch inside them had been activated.

Catus saw with surprise how the woman's hair lost its beautiful golden color, while a black shadow hovered over her head, turning her hair a deep black color. The muscles within his skin contracted, and deformed. Their bones were crushed and remade larger. His mind was a total chaos of pain and rage, since no type of anesthesia could be used for this process, all while his eyes lost their beautiful blue color, giving way to an intense crimson full of anger and fury.

The woman stood her ground, using the last of her strength to keep her head elevated even as half of her body wanted to slide down her abdomen. His breathing was heavy, his skin began to pale and little by little, that uncontrolled anger that emanated from his eyes was consumed by fatigue, falling resoundingly onto the floor stained with his own blood. And only then did the four women with their faces covered proceed to treat her, cleaning all the blood from her body while the surgeons cooked her abdomen again so that she could survive. He had passed the final test. And at the wonderful result, Tomoe let out a satisfied smile before turning around, and leaving the room followed by Takeko and Catus.

Catus: - So that's your ritual. And tell me. What is the... "symbology" of doing all that? - He said with an ironic tone, trying to make fun of Takeko a little, who didn't pay the least attention to him.

Tomoe: - As women that we are. Our ritual represents only one thing. Delivery. Surrender our biological purpose for the Empire. Surrender our essence for the Emperor. We give up the ability to procreate to dedicate our lives to the battlefield. With this ritual the aspirants stop being women... And they become Astartes. They become... Blood Maidens... For the Empire... For humanity. -

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Meanwhile, above the Aeldari craftworld.

The words that the messenger spoke without a doubt caused a great shock to all those who heard it. The Aeldari looked at their leader with concern, who did not know what to do. His body was sore and his eyes were blurred by the injuries and thinking clearly was impossible. Luckily for her, someone else made the decision that seemed the best.

Right:- Ve. -

Those who could hear it were amazed. The Aeldari did not understand why. Why would a simple ork stay to fight for them? That doesn't make any sense. Or was he just a simple idiot who wanted to play the hero? Or perhaps, as an ork that he was, he wanted to face his opponent alone to claim all the glory?

Lider aeldari:- You are insane? You can't just against... -

Right:- ¡Ve! - He emphasized his point, making the aeldari feel quite uncomfortable for having interrupted her. - Murrey, go with them. -

Murrey: - But, my lord... -

Right:- Just do it. Get out at once!-

The fact that Kanan shouted in Low Gothic, the most common language in the galaxy, was clearly so that both Aeldaris and Orks would understand his intentions. Murrey snorted in annoyance, since everything had been very chaotic since they woke up in that strange place, but opposing his warlord in that situation was not the best idea. So he simply skirted the battlefield and approached the Aeldari leader.

Murrey: - You heard the boss. Come on.-

Lider aeldari:-How is that...?

Murrey: - Yes Yes. I also know your language. We are going now. -

The aeldari could do nothing but laugh in that situation. It was already the second time that these strange orks had caused him a good surprise, but given his renewed mood, he raised his sword along with a battle cry, causing a good portion of the Aeldari soldiers in the area to retreat to his side. . He was about to leave, when he looked one last time at that strange silver-haired ork, with the black pauldron decorating his left shoulder, and his shining sword pointed at his enemy.

Aeldari leader:- Hey... Green skin. - Kanan only turned his head slightly, making her understand that he was listening to her, but he couldn't take his eyes off Lucius.- Don't you dare die. -

At the comment, Kanan only let out a small laugh, only to feel his footsteps along with those of his chikoz receding into the distance towards the interior of the ship. Now he was alone, with a formidable opponent right in front, who did nothing but laugh at the inhuman amount of stimulants that bombarded his body and corrupted his sanity. But even in that state, he was able to utter some half-words.

Lucius: - Oh. Looks like we have a hero here. What a nice surprise. Sacrifice in vain for nothing. How I'm going to enjoy cutting you into pieces. -

Right:-If anyone is going to die today... It's going to be you. -

As Lucius watched, Kanan retracted his sword and held it in both hands, making the tip gracefully touch the metal floor in a clean hiss that could be heard even on the chaotic battlefield. His eyes closed, his breathing became calm and slow, filling his lungs to the bottom with air, only to release it in a long exhale through his mouth. Very few would be able to recognize it back then, but that was the clear pose of a former paladin of the Emperor.

Lucius couldn't care less about this, and launched into a frantic attack, his deadly whip being the one that would strike first, only for once his prey was weakened, to enjoy cutting its flesh with his sharp Laer sword, but when Kanan opened his eyes and looked directly at him, the chaos marine could feel true terror, even with the cocktail of stimulant flooding his body. Just... to hear a few words come out of the ork's mouth.

Kanan: - It... was... enough. -