[Before you can curse, the Khorne Berzerker with a pair of "rabbit ears" on his blood-red helmet has locked onto you with his auspex]
[You try to wrench your legs free from the knee-deep snow and fight back]
[The screaming Khorne Berzerker throws down the corpse in his hands, raises his terrifying chainaxe, and charges straight at you]
[You scramble for a fallen lasgun and pull the trigger desperately]
[The scorching laser, enough to annihilate flesh and blood, only adds a few small dents to the Berzerker's power armor]
[Five meters]
[The roar of the chainaxe's spinning teeth shakes your eardrums. The stench of blood floods your nostrils]
[Despair crashes over you]
[You squeeze the trigger, trying to overload the battery pack, hoping to cause some damage before you die]
[You regret not praying to the Emperor for protection before descending]
[You are about to be torn into pieces]
[At the critical moment, an orange-red beam of superheated melta fire melts through a vast section of snow and penetrates the Khorne Berzerker's power pack]
[The explosion is catastrophic]
[The roaring chainaxe is half a meter from your face when it happens]
[The shockwave throws you backward like a ragdoll]
[Blood erupts from your mouth and nose. Your vision swims. Unconsciousness rushes up to claim you]
[Before your eyes close, you glimpse several elite soldiers in sealed helmets rising from the heavy snow ten meters away]
[Each holds an inferno gun. They fire execution-style shots into the still-screaming Berzerker, melting through his "rabbit ear" helmet until his head is gone entirely]
[Darkness takes you]
[You were gravely injured, but you survived]
[You wake gradually from unconsciousness. The agonizing pain from your internal organs has faded]
[You try to rise and assess your surroundings, but a hoarse male voice stops you]
[You turn your head toward the sound. The shelter is a snow cave carved from ice and packed snow. A bearded man in carapace armor sits near the entrance, field-stripping and reassembling an inferno gun. He chews rations as he works, crumbs scattered through his brown beard]
[You thank him for saving you and profess your loyalty to the Emperor]
[The bearded man doesn't look up. He swallows his mouthful and says your courage saved you. You pulled the trigger against a charging Chaos Astartes. That showed enough loyalty]
[Before you can speak again, a ration pack lands in your lap. Still relatively warm]
[Hunger overwhelms manners. You tear into it immediately]
[The bearded man stops his work. He watches you devour the food and gives you two choices]
[Return to the Imperial base. The 412th Cadian Shock Regiment will welcome you warmly, as will the "friendly" hospitality of the Inquisition]
[Or accept orders from General Sturnn and follow his team on a mission you probably won't survive]
[Death will be commonplace. Khorne Berzerkers are just appetizers. Ork greenskins waiting for a fight will be your dance partners. Pointy-eared shadows will accompany you to sleep, if you survive until morning]
[You don't hesitate. You choose the mission]
[The bearded man frowns. Why choose this? The Inquisition's threats mean nothing to you. The Cadian Shock Regiment would protect you]
[You describe your combat experience vaguely, carefully]
[When he hears you've served with the Krieg Death Korps and the Valhallan Ice Warriors, the hesitation in his eyes transforms into shock]
[The bearded man chooses to believe you. He calls you the Emperor's messenger]
[You see the fighting spirit kindle in his eyes and don't contradict him]
[First Day: You follow the bearded man to meet the other team members]
[This is a six-man combat team. The bearded man is a sergeant and team commander]
[You receive several sets of blood-stained Cadian standard camouflage. Their previous owners died offering their loyalty]
[You change without complaint, grateful for protection against the cold]
[You obtain a lasgun and three frag grenades from the sergeant]
[You try to acquire more weapons]
[The other team members laugh quietly. The bearded sergeant explains]
[Time is short. If you join the team, you'll serve as the heavy weapons carrier. Hauling extra equipment and ammunition is your responsibility]
[You accept gladly without hesitation]
[You are merely a coin in the Emperor's purse. You need no special treatment]
[Second Day: Your team is ambushed by a mob of greenskin orks]
[They belong to the notorious Goff clan. Terrifying greenskins who love close combat and stikkbombs. Stronger and taller than ordinary orks]
[Your team responds with devastating efficiency and iron discipline]
[You lie prone in the snow, still wearing your supply pack. The battle ends before you can shed the weight]
[While cleaning the battlefield, curiosity overcomes you. You ask about the team's true origins]
[The bearded sergeant smiles but says nothing. A young team member answers with pride]
[They are the elite of the Cadian Shock Regiment. The supreme glory of the Cadian people. They are Kasrkin]
[Third Day: Snow blankets the world. The team moves safely]
[The journey is brutal. The heavy supplies exhaust you]
[Team members offer to share your burden. You refuse firmly]
[They need to maintain combat readiness for more dangerous enemies]
[You've also discovered that sleep restores your fatigue and heals injuries. It must be the Emperor's blessing]
[During rest, the bearded sergeant enters your snow pit and reveals the true mission]
[Not long ago, an Emperor-class Titan named Dominatus fell on this planet]
[It is one of the Imperium's most powerful weapons and the Mechanicus's most precious creation. Its loss is unacceptable]
[Your Kasrkin team is just one of many. More Imperial teams are racing to the rescue]
[Through days of hard labor, you've proven your loyalty again]
[The sergeant wants you mentally prepared. Ready for battle at any moment]
[Your team will face war of the most tragic and terrifying kind]
[First Week: Your powerful recovery abilities help you adapt to the cold]
[You begin asking the sergeant and other team members about Kasrkin combat techniques and battlefield experience]
[The team exchanges glances, envious of your physical strength and boundless energy]
[You gradually learn how to counter the killing techniques of Chaos Space Marines and greenskin orks]
[Against Khorne Berzerkers, use melta weapons to burn their skulls. Against massed greenskins, kill the warboss first]
[Second Week: The team reaches a vast forest covered in ice and snow]
[Intelligence from the Imperial garrison indicates you're nearing the location where Emperor-class Titan Dominatus fell]
[The bearded sergeant orders vigilance. Replenish strength and ammunition]
[You unload your supplies and calculate distribution amounts for everyone]
[Suddenly, a slight whistling sound cuts through the air]
[A sharp, crystal-clear projectile pierces the supply crate in front of you, destroying most of the contents]
[You recognize it instantly: Eldar shuriken ammunition from a shuriken catapult]
["ENEMY ATTACK!" you roar at the top of your lungs]