Arradus Rein was not a particularly gifted astropath. The few colleagues he had always seemed to outshine him both in talents and interpersonal relationships, resulting in him being mostly assigned to be the backup of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica chamber.

Ironically, that might be the very reason he was spared from assassination. Unlike his unfortunate colleagues who were at their workstation, Arradus was at his quarters when unknown assailants stormed the Telepathica chamber. An old reinforced panic room saved his life and it took an inquisitor to convince him to come out from the hideout.

Despite being mediocre in raw talent, Arradus was not a foolish man. Even after being placed in a maximum-security arrangement, a part of him was convinced he already was a dead man walking. The assassination of astropaths was a clear attempt to cut off the planet’s connection to the wider Imperium and as the old saying goes, disruption of communication can only mean one thing - a pending invasion.

Further adding to his sense of ominous impending doom, Arradus was unable to contact any other Imperial world for reinforcements for reasons unknown. By then the lone astropath had expected the worst. Any moment now, he believed, hostile fleets bearing legions of the lost and damned would appear over a blackened sky to rain death and despair.

Over the years of long service, he had caught glimpses of brief reports and tales to know such possibilities were real. Being the sole astropath on the planet made him a marked individual and even with all the securities provided he felt his days were numbered.

Then the strangest thing happened, half a day ago a massive psychic light shot up over the horizon. Arradus knew that non-psykers could not see it, but to him, it was as if a new sun had risen. He should have been more afraid but to his amazement, the light felt familiar to him, like meeting an old friend again but being unable to recall their name. By this time he had already given up on contacting other imperial worlds and was just happy to stare into the psychic light over the horizon to escape from his troubles.

That huge silver-coloured pillar of light with a hint of gold made him feel peaceful and there was a strange sense of contentment knowing he witnessed this beautiful light before his inevitable demise.

Arradus was in such a mindset when Thaberus, the inquisitor who saved his life, visited with two others. One was a female agent who he recognised to never mess with, the other female was a peculiar newcomer who was introduced as Syrine. The inquisitor soon left, dropping vague instructions before he did so.

Syrine was soon asking questions about his telepathic craft, something a sanctioned astropath would never willingly share with any unfamiliar individuals, but at this point, Arradus couldn't care less. Following the few recent unusual events, all sense of normality had gone out of the window for him.

That said, the teaching experience was refreshing since he was able to share his craft freely with a stranger for the first time. The truth was he had no idea of what was going on anymore.

Syrine was not a psyker, he would know as psykers could easily tell one another apart from the rest of the mundane population. With that understanding, the futility of this exercise only served to further mystify him as this was akin to teaching a jellyfish to run, but he enjoyed her company.

Even as a blind psyker Arradus could tell Syrine was a special individual, her presence had a soothing effect on him and her voice was pleasing. On top of that she seemed very intelligent, the questions she asked from time to time cut right at critical points with a hint of a master’s level of understanding.

In the short time they spent together his appreciation for her intellect went up a few notches, he imagined her to be beautiful but regretted not being able to see with his vision to verify that hunch.

Then the lessons were halted for a meal as his hunger overcame his newfound thrill of teaching. Syrine politely declined his invitation to join him so he went for it alone. The servers came with his food, everything was double-checked for poisons and toxins before he sat down to satisfy his hunger.

Halfway through his meal, another unexpected event happened.

+Hello?+

Syrine’s voice came through via telepathic means, the strength and intensity of it startled him.

+Was... was that you? Lady Syrine?+ He sent back.

Instantly he got a reply, this time the psychic communication came with overwhelming strength. It was akin to receiving a voice reply from a laud hailer while standing right next to it, the massive impact made Arradus drop his eating utensils.

Flinching, Arradus quickly shot back another communication asking Syrine to tone down the intensity of her message. Her next reply was an apology and this time the “volume” was just right. What amazing raw talents his new student possessed, Arradus thought, only a few hours after his lessons and she mastered telepathic communication. Just as he was beginning to feel proud of his teachings only then he remembered: Syrine was not a psyker.

That realization shattered the serenity Arradus enjoyed that day, he felt like being rudely awakened from a sweet dream with haunting death cries of his former colleagues echoing inside his mind. Alarming questions raced one another for his attention as he instinctively took out his laspistol.

What sorcery is this? Is Syrine an agent of the enemy? Is she a heretic that infiltrated this far to replace him from the inside? How can someone who is not a psyker send telepathic messages? His mind searched frantically and found no solid answers, and try as he might, he could not ignore the dark whispers of forbidden tales of daemons nagging at the innermost corners of his mind.

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It was at this point Arradus realised deep down, despite all the pessimism he really did not want to die. By the time Syrine came to check him up he went into a full-blown panic and was ready to discharge his weapon despite his instincts screaming at him that it wouldn't do anything to his target.

Then the female agent Niandra validated his guess of her skill by swiftly disarming him in a split second. To his surprise, she vouched for Syrine’s integrity. The commotion caused the stormtroopers who were in charge of his security to barge in. Even in a daze, Arradus realised he would have been dead or incapacitated by now if either Niandra or Syrine had ulterior motives, so he cooperated and convinced the security to leave.

As the stormtroopers left, Arradus was collecting his thoughts as he turned to his guests and what he sensed made him freeze. Syrine, once a mundane human presence in his psychic sense, began to change. First, she was suddenly registered as a psyker to his senses, making Arradus wonder if he had gone senile. Then, to his utter bewilderment, he could feel her power growing rapidly.

One moment, the level of raw power she exuded reminded him of his ancient mentor, then that quickly changed as she surpassed that and reached the power level of a primaris psyker he met years ago, but that too was surpassed and her power just kept rising.

With his jaw dropped, Arradus witnessed Syrine's transformation from being psychically inert to an overwhelming presence right before him. He felt the raw power difference between them and instantly understood that she could literally crush him like a bug if that level of psychic might was ever directed at him with intent to kill.

Then, like a miracle, Arradus could “see” Syrine despite being blind. Her psychic presence was so intense that the powerful resonance between them made her appearance solidify to his psychic senses.

Appearing before him was a breathtakingly beautiful human female wearing a simple white robe. Arm-length straight platinum hair flowed gently over her petite shoulders.

The most striking feature she had were her large almond-shaped eyes, grey-coloured irises with a tint of golden psychic glow were looking straight at him. Arradus could feel the unfathomable power that lay behind them, her gaze seemed to pierce through him but carried no malevolence.

Looking closer, he noticed Syrine was surrounded by a familiar faint golden light. ‘That light…’ he murmured.

‘Light?’ She echoed his statement.

Then, as if just noticing the huge psychic pillar behind her that was shining from beyond the horizon, she turned and looked at it. Wordlessly, she raised a hand and then slowly began turning it around by her wrist. Responding to her action, the psychic light changed its intensity. Watching the unbelievable scene unfold, Arradus finally understood the truth - Syrine was the link for that huge psychic beacon, she was the master of that light.

Before he realised it, Arradus had dropped to his knees, hot streams of tears flowed uncontrollably down his cheek.

‘Emperor preserve us, who… who are you?’ His shaken voice was soft but clear in the quiet room. Such power, Arradus thought, Syrine radiated so much power it reminded him of the legends he had heard of daemons and saints about their otherworldly presence.

Then to his utter horror, he recalled pointing a weapon at the individual before him. ‘My... my sincerest deepest apologies, I … I didn’t know..’ Arradus pressed himself further down, his forehead touching the floor, his tears flowing down to the floor and his mind a panicking mess.

Following the peculiar pattern that day, Arradus could not for his life understand what was going on but one thing he knew for certain, whoever Syrine was, taking his life was but a trivial matter for her.

However, not only that did not happen, she instead knelt to his level to talk to him, asking for his assistance and reminding him of his duty to the Emperor while ignoring his transgressions. That deeply moved Arradus, he had personally known people who had lost their lives with much lesser acts of disrespect towards powerful individuals, let alone pointing a weapon and dropping accusations at such a figure.

Syrine had spared him, he was convinced of that fact. And who was he to begin with? A mediocre astropath who had given up on his duties and lost his faith in the Emperor. Such heretical thought, such sin. Yes, he will atone for his sins and his shameful actions later, now was not the time for self-pity.

Duty calls and Arradus the astropath will answer it. He turned to Syrine, astonished to find her presence had reverted back to a non-psyker again, but this time he knew better, when he probed hard enough he could still just barely feel a hint of that unfathomable might beneath her benevolent aura.

The fact that such a powerful figure was in front of him was proof enough that the God-Emperor had yet to give up on this world, Arradus was sure of it.

Now there was hope in his world, and that extended to this world as well. Steeling his resolve, Arradus replied the only way he could.

‘Yes.’ he said, affirming himself to his duties with a level of resolve he had never felt in his entire life.

‘For the Emperor.’