Chapter 64: Titus's Allegiance and the Method to Heal a Primarch's Physical Wounds

In truth, Titus guessed correctly. At this moment, Titus was burning with fervor over this epic and glorious mission.

For a Space Marine who valued honor above life itself, such a call was simply impossible to refuse.

"Lord Rhode, what a tremendous honor this is! This is the most glorious moment of my entire life! If that is the case, let the Deathwatch believe that I and my battle-brothers under my command have all perished upon this world! Please, let us follow by your side, to hearken to your guidance, to hearken to the teachings of the Emperor, and to contribute our meager strength to the resurrection of my Primarch." Titus dropped to one knee, struck his breastplate with a fist, and spoke with unwavering resolve.

This had to be the guidance of the glorious Emperor, directing him toward redemption and the restoration of his honor. He would never let this opportunity slip away.

To follow the Emperor's chosen one and save his own Gene-Father—such a feat of merit would be enough to silence every single person in the Chapter who doubted him.

As for the Deathwatch, it was only for a year, after all.

For him to go missing alongside a Deathwatch kill-team for a year posed no insurmountable problem. Let the Deathwatch temporarily assume that his men had fallen in battle! When they returned once more, they would do so as heroes of the entire Imperium, and every Black Shield member would wash away their past disgrace.

This was something they had never dared to dream of before—they, the sinners who had completely severed ties with their founding chapters. Yet, the Emperor's chosen one, the emissary of the Emperor Himself, was granting them a second chance.

"Are you certain, Titus? If you follow me, we shall embark upon a most perilous mission, and for the coming year, we may not be able to appear openly before the Imperium," Rhode asked.

"Lord Rhode! At the very moment when my life and the lives of my brothers were slipping away, you saved us. I am willing to fight for you. I wish to witness with my own eyes the resurrection of the great Primarch, to save my Gene-Father. No matter what enemies await me ahead, I shall strike them down." Titus struck his breastplate once more with utmost solemnity, gazing at Rhode with unyielding conviction.

Now, his mind was utterly unshakeable. Shortly, he would go and convince all his battle-brothers to follow Lord Rhode together. In this matter, he felt quite confident; the preceding battle had already established Rhode as an exemplary figure in the hearts of his Deathwatch brothers-in-arms. A commander possessing brilliant strategic insight alongside formidable combat prowess, and above all, being the Emperor's chosen one—that was the key to persuading everyone.

"Then, Lieutenant Titus, welcome to my ranks," Rhode said with a smile.

Rhode was exceptionally satisfied with Titus's enlistment. Yet, at this moment, Rhode harbored a lingering doubt: how exactly had Titus and some of his Deathwatch subordinates survived in the original timeline?

According to historical trajectory, even if he had not intervened this time, Titus should have survived. Because later on, during the Indomitus Crusade, in the main storyline of Space Marine 2, Titus would eventually leave the Deathwatch, undergo the Primaris conversion surgery, become a Primaris Space Marine, and continue to write his legend.

Just how had Titus managed to survive? If he had not come, those hundreds of Hive Ships would have utterly obliterated this planet.

Therefore, Rhode deduced that the reason likely lay with that Deathwatch Chaplain named Malagro. If he had not engaged in psychic communication with him, and if no rescue had been found, might the Deathwatch personnel have simply retreated while the Hive Fleet was still relatively small? Was it because he had responded to the Chaplain's psychic distress signal that these Deathwatch members chose not to retreat, but instead remained on this planet to fight and await rescue?

Aside from this, Rhode could conceive of no other reason that would allow Titus and the cohort of Deathwatch Space Marines to escape death.

"Lord Rhode! Might you tell me how we are to resurrect the Primarch? Of course, if this is some secret, I shall ask no further," Titus said.

Though he knew the question might seem slightly impertinent, Titus still longed to know the answer. Yet, if Rhode chose not to speak, Titus, as a disciplined Space Marine, would press no further.

"You are an Astartes brother loyal to the Emperor. This secret I cannot share with others, but I may share it with you. Have you witnessed the therapeutic efficacy of the medical pods your battle-brothers utilized?" Rhode gestured toward the hundreds of medical pods lined up behind him.

Previously, several Deathwatch members who had lapsed into apparent death had been restored to life by these medical pods. Even some who had been utterly maimed, missing limbs, had regenerated their severed members under the pods' treatment.

"Lord Rhode, do you mean to say that those medical pods from the Dark Age of Technology can bring the Primarch back?" Titus asked.

Those medical pods were truly extraordinary. Battle-brothers who had slipped into suspended animation recovered their vital signs the moment they were placed inside. Maimed brothers placed within them began to rapidly and progressively regenerate their arms. Even the massive scarring produced by the Space Marine surgical augmentations had somehow been smoothed away by these restorative devices, perfectly preserving the black carapace neural linkage systems while erasing their horrific scars. This was far superior to any medical treatment the Imperium could muster. Under imperial medicine, injuries involving missing limbs were treated with crude prosthetic augmetics at best; such flawless regeneration was an absolute impossibility.

"These medical pods can heal the physical trauma of Roboute Guilliman," Rhode stated.

Belisarius Cawl's method of resurrection relied upon placing the Armor of Fate upon Roboute Guilliman to restore him. Yet that method bore a glaring flaw: the Primarch could never remove that armor. His own medical pods, however, could clearly accomplish a far superior result. Repairing the physical injuries of a Primarch could be considered effortless.

"Lord Rhode, do you mean to say that beyond physical trauma, we must also heal other wounds afflicting the Primarch?" Titus acutely caught the implication in Rhode's words.

"You are quite right. The fundamental reason the Primarch lapsed into a ten-millennia-long state of suspended animation is that he was wounded by Fulgrim, a demonic Primarch who embraced Slaanesh. The wound at his throat is saturated with warp-spawned chaos energy. We must purge this warp energy before Roboute Guilliman can be truly resurrected," Rhode explained.