He's back, in a way no one expected.
The legend of "White Hunter" Smoker did not end with a fierce battle with pirates, but began with a supernatural exile. His soul was thrown into the eternal battlefield of the Warhammer universe, and endured the tempering of blood and fire for four hundred years in a mortal body. When his broken consciousness finally caught a trace of the familiar wave breath, broke free from the cracks in the subspace, and re-infused it into his already silent body - the person who returned was no longer the original person.
The four hundred years of Astartes career were like the deepest imprint, covering all his memories of the first half of his life. Naval code has long been overwritten by Imperial truth, and personal justice has been reshaped by the absolute belief of "purifying everything for the Emperor." He has judged countless worlds with bolt bombs and chainswords. Now, he will look at the ocean he once guarded with the same eyes.
The natural smoke ability is still there, but it is completely different. What billows in the smoke is no longer the glimmer of the Sea Tower Stone, but the reverberation of the subspace storm and the chill of the Extinction Order. What he can summon is a smoke screen of war that blinds and suffocates the entire fleet; what he can condense is a physical giant fist that can crush the weapons of ancient giants.
What the Navy Headquarters saw was a familiar yet unfamiliar monster. He still wears the cloak of "Justice", but wrapped inside is the iron heart of a Space Marine. His understanding of order, his definition of "enemy", and his ruthless execution of "purification" methods made the marshals and generals shudder.
The real "White Hunter" is dead. Now it is the Space Marines who have returned.
