=== Vulkan ===
Vulkan sat motionless, his massive form hunched to fit within the cave's ceiling, the faint glow of his eyes ever watching the small figure across from him. His warhamr rested beside him, steam curling from its head. The scent of daemon gore still clung to it.
The human sat cross-legged by the fire, one hand on the hilt of his blade. Not in threat, but out of habit. Warrior's discipline.
Vulkan could feel the fatigue radiating off him. The bruises. The wounds. The pain. But more than that… he could feel his soul.
And it was… clean.
He had been watching the man for nearly an hour now, content to remain silent. Observing. Thinking. What is a mortal doing here…? he wondered again. And how has he lasted this long without being torn apart, or worse, tainted by the Warp?
At last, Vulkan spoke, his voice low and deep, like volcanic stone grinding against tal.
"You do not belong here."
The Jedi's head turned, and his tired eyes t Vulkan's. There was no fear there. Not anymore. Just quiet caution.
"I've gathered that," Obi-Wan said hoarsely, his voice rasping from days without true rest.
Vulkan studied him for a mont longer, then asked, "This place is the domain of the Blood God. No man walks it unscathed. How did you co to be here?"
There was silence for a ti, save for the crackle of fire.
Obi-Wan shifted, wincing slightly. "I was… fighting soone. A sorcerer. Not like the others I've known. His power was unnatural. Dark… twisted."
Vulkan grunted. "A servant of the Ruinous Powers."
"Chaos," Obi-Wan echoed. "He unleashed sothing I couldn't counter. I had to… I had to draw on sothing else. A power I'd never used before." He looked down at his hands, still dirt-caked and trembling. "It was like nothing I'd ever felt. It consud everything. My hate. My fear. My rage."
Vulkan's eyes narrowed, glowing brighter.
"You drew from the Warp."
Obi-Wan looked up. "The… Warp?"
The giant leaned forward slightly, resting his massive gauntlets on his knees. "It is the immaterium. The sea of souls. The place of gods and monsters. It grants power, great power, but always at a cost."
He paused, studying Obi-Wan more closely now.
"And yet… you are not tainted."
Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. "Tainted?"
Vulkan's voice lowered, almost a growl. "No mortal draws from the Warp and walks away untouched. It seeps into the soul, warping thought, turning n into beasts or worse. But you…"
He tilted his head slightly, as though peering through flesh into sothing deeper.
"You carry no mark. No taint. No scent of the Ruinous Powers. It is… unnatural."
Obi-Wan stared back, confused and unsettled. "I don't understand. I didn't an to tap into it. I was desperate. Sothing inside just… reached."
"Interesting," Vulkan said. He picked up a jagged rock beside him and crushed it between his fingers absently, the stone cracking and turning to dust. "Even now, the Warp watches you. If you tap into it again, they will co. The daemons. The false gods."
A long silence followed.
Vulkan leaned back slightly, the firelight glinting off his scorched armor. After a mont, he rumbled, "What is your na, human?"
"Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said.
The na ant nothing to Vulkan, but he committed it to mory.
"And I am…" He stopped himself. A pause. He had not spoken his na in what felt like centuries.
"…a warrior," he finished. "Like you. One who has seen too much."
Obi-Wan gave him a tired smile. "I suppose that makes us comrades. For now."
Vulkan grunted again. Not quite agreent. Not quite denial.
He looked once more into the distance beyond the cave, where the skies split and scread, where war never ended. "Rest, Kenobi. This place will try to break you. But you have already endured longer than most. Perhaps… there is more to you than you know. Tell . What do you rember?"
Obi-Wan then told the primarch what he could rember of his last days, and Vulkan quickly established that this man was from another dinsion or Universe than he was.
After Obi-Wan had told all he knew, he spoke once more.
"You… remind of soone," the smaller man murmured, voice hesitant. "That symbol on your shoulder. That's the sa as the Salamander I t. I think his na was… Raxor."
Vulkan turned slowly, his glowing eyes narrowing. "Salamanders?" he echoed, almost disbelieving the word as it passed his lips. His voice was low, pained. As if the very na pulled at ancient mories. "You speak of my sons."
Obi-Wan blinked. "Your… sons?"
"I am Vulkan," the Primarch said at last, and though his voice was quiet, the cave seed to tremble slightly. "Primarch of the Salamanders. Forged in fire. Chosen by the Emperor Himself."
Obi-Wan leaned back, the weight of realization settling on him. "Then… he is one of yours."
Vulkan's expression tightened. For a long mont, he said nothing.
"Tell more of this… Raxor. What is he like?"
Obi-Wan nodded, his voice growing steadier as he began to speak.
Vulkan let the words settle into his soul like embers as he listened to what the Jedi had to say.
Obi-Wan tilted his head after he finished. "You've been here a long ti, haven't you?"
Vulkan didn't answer imdiately. His gaze wandered to the cave entrance, where the storm of the Warp still raged beyond the veil of fire and madness.
"Ti has no aning here. It bends. Breaks. Repeats itself. I have walked through centuries of this nightmare… and worse."
He looked back at Obi-Wan.
"But now you tell about one of my sons. Raxor…" The na was like a prayer on his tongue. "And I feel the flas in my heart reignite."
Obi-Wan hesitated. "There are two others. An Ultramarine, and a Black Templar…"
Vulkan's massive fists clenched around his knees as a small smile ca to his lips.
"Then perhaps this universe you speak of is not damned after all. Perhaps fate brought here for more than just endless war."
He looked directly at Obi-Wan now, the heat in his eyes growing. "You've seen my son. You've fought beside him. That makes you kin, Jedi."
Obi-Wan looked surprised. "Kin?"
"The Salamanders protect those who cannot protect themselves. We do not forget our allies, nor those who shield the innocent in the face of horror."
Obi-Wan lowered his gaze. The bond forming between them was strange, unexpected, but real.
"…Thank you," he said.
Vulkan sat back against the wall of the cave, embers glowing faintly across his armor like burning coals. His mind, however, was far away — with Raxor. With Nocturne. With his sons.
"Rest now, little one. I will keep watch."
===
Obi-Wan stirred beneath a crude blanket of torn cloth, blinking blearily as dim crimson light filtered through the cracks of the cave's mouth. A mont passed before the strange silence struck him, the absence of a massive presence that had kept him alive these last few days. His eyes snapped open.
Vulkan was gone.
He sat up quickly, wincing as stiff muscles protested. The brass daemon blade rested nearby, its warped edge dulled by overuse. He reached for it instinctively, breathing shallow and alert.
Just as his fingers curled around the hilt, the ground trembled slightly, soft at first, then heavy footfalls echoed into the cave like distant thunder. A mont later, Vulkan appeared, his enormous silhouette frad by the swirl of Warp-born dust and flickering lights behind him.
Across his shoulders hung the corpse of a twisted creature, sothing between a reptilian hound and a flayed ape, its eyes long gouged out and its limbs twisted unnaturally.
Without ceremony, Vulkan hurled the daemon-beast onto the fire, and the flas hissed violently as the thing ignited. The stench of bile and blood filled the cave instantly. The fire flared brightly, casting long shadows along the rough walls.
The Primarch dropped to one knee, then eased into a seated position with a grunt that was more habit than pain. His armor bore new scratches, glistening with ichor that sizzled where it t the furnace heat of his skin.
"You're awake," he said simply.
Obi-Wan gave a small nod. "You didn't have to do that." he said, gesturing towards the beast.
"I know," Vulkan replied. "But I was hungry. And besides," he gestured to the smoldering daemon corpse, "it makes for a better fire than wood in this place."
Obi-Wan allowed a faint, exhausted smile.
They sat in silence for a few monts, the crackling fire the only sound. Then Vulkan's deep voice rumbled again.
"Tell more of the universe you co from. What are these 'Jedi' you speak of? What are your ideals?"
Obi-Wan glanced up at the towering giant. "We're… guardians, I suppose. Peacekeepers. Or, at least, we were ant to be."
He shifted to sit straighter. "The Jedi are trained from childhood. We learn to let go of fear, of anger, of hatred. To serve the will of the Force… an energy that binds all things. It gives us our abilities. We're ant to protect life. Serve the people. Guide the Republic in tis of crisis. But…"
Vulkan tilted his head, sensing the hesitation. "But?"
Obi-Wan's voice softened. "War is brewing. And i'm fearful of what we will beco."
Vulkan was quiet, eyes flickering in the firelight.
"You live among many species," he said at last. "And yet you act as one people. Jedi co in many forms, yes? Not only human?"
Obi-Wan nodded. "That's right. We don't distinguish between species when it cos to the Order. The Force flows through all life."
A thoughtful rumble escaped Vulkan's chest.
"Strange. And yet… admirable. In my ti, humans have warred endlessly with xenos. With good reason. But cooperation… that is sothing we never could quite manage — not truly. There's power in unity, if it's honest."
He shifted his massive fra and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.
"Tell of this Republic. What do they stand for? What binds them together?"
Obi-Wan took a long breath, eyes unfocused as he searched for the right words.
"…The Republic is ant to be a governnt for all systems. Billions of lives under one banner. Democracy, cooperation, mutual prosperity. At least, in theory."
He paused, gaze dropping.
"The Jedi Masters suspect corruption has taken root in the Senate. We've seen signs… manipulation, injustice, stagnation. I don't know who's behind it, but sothing is wrong. And with the war looming overhead." he shook his head. "I'm not sure we're helping anymore. Or just making it worse."
Vulkan studied him. The man's weariness was not just physical. It was the erosion of ideals, sothing the Primarch knew well.
"You doubt your place in it," he said quietly.
Obi-Wan looked up. "Wouldn't you?"
Vulkan nodded slowly. "I have led legions, Jedi. I've seen empires rise and fall. I've killed monsters in the na of justice, and watched good n beco monsters in the na of peace. Doubt is not weakness. But letting doubt cripple you… that is true weakness."
Obi-Wan was silent for a while, digesting the words.
Then, finally, he spoke. "And what about you? What keeps you going?"
Vulkan looked toward the fire, eyes reflecting flas as if they were his own.
"Hope," he said at last. "Of my Fathers return. Hope that I will be strong enough to stand before him when he does."
The fire cracked and flared as the beast's fat and juices t the flas, filling the cave with a sickly sweet aroma.
Vulkan tore a chunk of charred flesh free and tossed it toward Obi-Wan.
"Eat. You'll need the strength."
It was no feast, but it was hot, and it gave him just enough energy to keep his legs steady. Vulkan devoured the rest with practiced efficiency, as if he were simply fueling the engine that was his body.
After, Obi-Wan stood near the mouth of the cave, staring out into the endless expanse of crimson storms and shifting terrain. The very earth seed to breathe — as if the Warp itself were alive and watching.
Behind him, he heard the heavy grind of armor.
"It is ti."
Vulkan's voice was low, calm, but laced with finality.
Obi-Wan turned to find the giant fastening the last strap of his massive warplate, the armor laced with ancient symbols and deep scars from uncountable battles. The Primarch reached down and grasped the haft of his imnse warhamr, its head inscribed with curling fire runes, glowing dimly with smoldering heat.
"Ti for what?" Obi-Wan asked, already feeling a knot of tension tighten in his chest.
"To leave this cave," Vulkan said. "There's a place… not far. A tear in the fabric of this reality. A junction between planes. A gate, if you will. One that leads to other realms of the Warp. And possibly beyond."
Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed. "And it's safe?"
Vulkan offered a rare, humorless grin. "Nothing is safe in the Warp. But I have walked its paths for long years, little one. I know which hells are better than others."
Minutes later, the two stepped out into the burning horizon. The sky was a churning maelstrom of blood-red clouds and screaming winds. The ground beneath them pulsed like muscle, glowing veins of Warp energy flowing like rivers beneath fractured rock.
They walked.
Vulkan's stride was imnse, and Obi-Wan struggled at first to keep pace, his boots crunching across jagged ground. But the Primarch adjusted without a word, slowing just enough to keep him within reach. They passed ruined temples carved into mountains of bone, trees made of screaming faces, and rivers that ran thick with molten ichor.
Iridescent daemons drifted in the distance, watching from hills and spires, never approaching. Others were not so hesitant.
The first to charge was a horned beast, ten feet tall, wielding twin axes of jagged brass. It roared and thundered down a ridge toward them, only for Vulkan to et it head-on, swinging his hamr in a wide arc.
There was a crack like a god striking a bell, and the daemon's body folded in half, hurled back in a fountain of blood.
Obi-Wan had no ti to reflect, lesser creatures followed in a wave. He pulled his jagged brass blade from a sheath he had taken from a bloodletted and moved like a blur through the oncoming swarm.
When the last creature fell, Vulkan didn't pause. He turned and continued walking.
"Keep moving. The tear is nearby."
Hours passed. Or days. Ti had no aning here.
Finally, they ca to a spire of rock jutting into the sky, surrounded by twisting pillars of glass and rusted chains that reached to nowhere. At the center of the plateau, carved into reality itself, floated a rift, a jagged wound in the fabric of the Warp.
It shimred like water disturbed, showing glimpses of other landscapes beyond: black skies, silver cities, green worlds, voids of pure light.
Obi-Wan stared at it, uncertain.
Vulkan stepped forward, standing beside him.
"You'll feel resistance when you cross. A pull. Like your very soul is being tested."
He paused, then turned slightly toward Obi-Wan.
"But you will pass through. I know this."
Obi-Wan looked at him. "Why are you so sure?"
The Primarch gazed into the rift, as if peering beyond the veil. "Because whatever power brought you here… it hasn't abandoned you. And neither will I."
Obi-Wan felt the words settle in his chest, just as Vulkan's massive hand settled onto his shoulder.
Vulkan lifted his hamr onto his own shoulder. Then he walked forward.
Without fear, without pause, he stepped into the rift and vanished.
Obi-Wan hesitated for only a second longer, then followed.
The Warp scread around him as the tear swallowed him whole, ripping through body, mind, and spirit, and then, suddenly, there was silence.
And then light.
===
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