Warhammer 40: My Fiancée Fulgrim

This was the information he gleaned from a whisper by the Imperial Guard captain.

The Emperor was not actually dissatisfied with Casca, his unexpected son-in-law.

After all, he's not the kind of guy who adds no less than two spoonfuls and no more than four spoonfuls of sugar to his coffee.

At that time, the emperor said only one word to him.

Emperor: "Hmm."

He simply nodded in agreement and then asked Fugrim about the next steps.

It was as if he had been expected to appear here.

Then, Fugrim proposed to stay an extra day on Chemos during this precious time of the Great Crusade.

Give those Space Marines, whose bodies and minds are withered, a proper rest and recuperation.

The emperor, of course, disagreed.

The Blight is a disgrace to the Third Legion, a discarded tool, an existence that should not be known to the Primarch.

We should not let this slow down the Great Expedition by even a second.

But in the end, even he couldn't resist the daughter he had just reunited with.

He promised her.

All for these losers who should have died long ago.

Even though the Imperial Guard Shield Company Commander hadn't explained everything to him when he boarded the plane, he was still able to glean some information from the few words he heard.

"But I never imagined that you would do this for us losers."

"Do not."

There's no need to feel inferior about it.

Fugrim offered a soft word of comfort.

"Stand tall, Space Marines of the Third Legion."

"You have never failed."

"Although we have never met, you are still my proudest offspring."

"Perhaps the blight has robbed you of your proud appearance and skills, but your hearts remain strong, brave, and flawless."

"Even if we are afflicted by misfortune, our nobility comes from our actions!"

"It is never determined by bloodline, appearance, or even achievements!"

She drew her longsword toward the distant shore, which gleamed silver in the setting sun.

The sea breeze ruffled Fugrim's silver hair and the corners of her mouth that held a faint smile.

“You have done your best, children.”

"I am proud of you."

"My Lord, thank you for your words."

Yulia stepped forward and bowed in greeting.

In these final moments, she seemed to have become much quieter.

It's not that she was too disruptive before, it's just...

Sykes was still getting used to it.

"In these final moments, please allow us to remove our helmets and truly feel the air of Chemos."

She said this.

"Stop, Yulia!"

Sykes wanted to stop it.

"When wilt disease reaches this stage, our appearance will become very..."

"Terrifying."

He clearly remembered how difficult it was for the other person to accept when they learned that they had wilt disease.

The Third Legion are all perfect Space Marines.

Wilt disease not only withers a person's internal organs, but also gradually causes a perfect and delicate face to fade and decay.

The Third Legion soldiers, who were extremely concerned about their appearance, could never accept such a cruel fate!

This is why he always wears full power armor and never takes off his helmet.

She was afraid to see others see her ugliness and wretchedness.

At the same time, she was also afraid of seeing it herself.

They are all like that.

“I know, Sykes.”

"But our sense of perfection has always come from within us. Isn't it?"

Smiling, Yulia slowly removed her helmet.

Witheredness had spread all over her face.

The skin on the face inevitably ulcerated and corroded, looking extremely horrific. The hair had also almost completely disappeared due to the virus, with only a few strands of its former silvery-white color remaining on the side away from the ulceration.

All the beauty vanished with this damned disease.

Only those pale purple eyes remained as bright as he remembered.

"Yulia, you—"

Sykes couldn't believe it.

Why has that beautiful girl, who always had a lively smile, changed into this state?

What about yourself?

Will I, who also suffers from wilt disease, also—

"Sydney".

Am I ugly right now?

She lowered her head and asked tentatively.

No.

The girl from that memory has never disappeared.

She had always been there, right in front of him.

"Yulia."

"You have never been ugly."

Sykes gazed into each other's still bright eyes.

"The ugly one is me."

"It's about us who don't even dare to accept our true selves."

If they cannot even face their own shortcomings, how can their Third Legion possibly achieve perfection?

Sykes could hear countless sobs all around him.

He, along with his hundreds of Third Legion Space Marines suffering from the wither disease, removed their helmets.

Then, for the first time, I took a deep breath of the air from Chemos.

So beautiful, yet so real.

Accepting your own imperfections is always a prerequisite for becoming perfect, isn't it?

Fugrim?

"Pfft."

Looking at Sykes, who had taken off his helmet, Julia smiled and gently stroked his scarred face.

“You cried, Sykes.”

"I do not have."

"But you clearly—"

"I don't!"

He retorted loudly, then lowered his voice to almost inaudible.

"My eyes, too, have withered."

The sea breeze whistled in their ears.

In the distance, seagulls and egrets continued to softly sing their intoxicating songs.

They simply looked at each other in silence, at each other's faces, both scarred and flawless.

Not a word.

Sykes felt she had so much more to say.

But it seemed that he didn't need to say anything at all.

At this moment, the withered body no longer seemed to be in pain.

In these final moments, he finally accepted his broken self and the future of the Third Legion, a future he could never see.

What a remarkable person you are, Fugrim.

He recalled the well-organized, happy, and beautiful city of Carax that he had seen.

How much will she achieve in the future?

Under her leadership, what a dazzling and ideal legion our Third Legion will become!

When will they spread the truth of the empire throughout this dark and ignorant world in the future?

When will all the stars scattered throughout the universe be gathered together again, never to be separated again?

How exciting it will be when that time comes!

Casca had intended to arrange for people to recuperate and provide for them in the vicinity, but the soldiers of the Third Army refused his offer.

They were unwilling to linger in illness and pain, nor did they want to further burden their original bodies.

Now is the time to say goodbye.

Sykes lay on the beach, holding Julia's hand tightly, gazing up at the endless starry sky.

He thought of his childhood, and the carefree sword practice he had with his elder brother on Terra.

He thought of the teachings of the Third Army Commander's mentor and the tedious and complicated court etiquette of the guard of honor.

He thought of his comrades-in-arms who fought alongside him during the Great Crusade, and how they personally cut down one genetic cultist and monster after another in order to protect the Gene Seed.

He thought of the day trip he had just experienced, and of the small, nameless tombstone at the foot of the rolling green mountains.

He reminisced about the path he had walked from the beginning.

It was a long journey.

The old sun sets over the mountain, and the new sun rises over the sea.

A new day has begun.

Isn't that always the case, Sextons?

The sun will always rise as usual.

As for now

It's time to take a good rest.

Sykes, a Terran noble from ancient Europe, a Space Marine of the Third Legion, wearer of the double-headed eagle insignia, son of the Emperor, member of the Imperial Guard, company commander, a sufferer of the Blight, and Yulia's lover.

Having experienced the unification wars of Terra, undergone the first transformations of the Space Marines, participated in the initial battles of the Great Crusade, and become a loyal bodyguard of the Emperor, he fought to the last moment alongside his Legion Commander mentor to protect the Geneseed.