@askthewanderer40k continued from here.
At first, Aurelius didn't know if he could call that a little joke. A cruel joke, surely, something to get into his mind-- but at the same time, how could Aurelius believe it was all in jest?
Ten thousand years. For ten thousand years, he'd been suffering on this wall, in a dark, dreary engine room, shut away from the stars and instead left on his life support all because he refused to let go of what he had and refused to die to Chaos-- and refused to be corrupted. He had been told of many things from Nirisch's scouting and scavenging. Stars that were birthed or died out, how the Imperium grew more ignorant, hateful, and how so many people just seemed to suffer while his Father's dream rotted.
And indeed, Aurelius should despise Father. The Emperor had cast him aside when Aurelius tried to do what he believed was right for the Imperium, compared to blindly trusting daemons or being corrupted by outside forces like some of his brothers experienced... but there was this innate need-- no matter what, he would be at least loyal enough to his Father to never betray Mankind... and even then, if what this-- this cocky cur said was true, then what if the reason he'd been cast out was due to people meddling with Father?
His glowing eyes bore into Triko, stump arms pulling at his wires and cables at such words. Cocky, he was just being cocky-- but why boast about THIS? About something so... so...?!
His teeth grit under his old helmet.
Truthfully, deep down into the depths of his thoughts, a part of Aurelius wondered if the Chaos Gods brought this man here, to taunt him and make him succumb to the Ruinous Powers. No. Aurelius refused. He would never sully the legacy of his Legion, his children.
His voice had lowered, and he scowled at Sentura. Old emergency lights flickered on and off, and machine spirits hummed in response to Aurelius's growing anger.
" Why have you come here. To taunt me? Or make a deal that will somehow ruin me in the end? "