My Life as A Death Guard
Chapter 478: A Banquet at Hong Gate
The heat haze behind the engines slowly faded as the ivory-white warship settled upon the deck. The Keshig disembarked first, clearing a path for their Khan.
His long braid swayed behind him as heavy footsteps echoed out. The Khan strode forward, his Asiatic features shadowed by the backlight, impossible to read.
Abaddon, who had come personally to receive the Primarch, hurried forward. Horus's newly favored son wore a smile bordering on sycophantic.
The Khan casually waved a hand, dismissing the welcoming speech Abaddon had clearly prepared in advance.
"I only came to see my brother. Lead the way."
Abaddon wisely chose not to persist. Under the guidance of the Son of Horus, the White Scars delegation advanced deeper into the Vengeful Spirit.
. . .
The Vengeful Spirit… had changed.
The Khan remained silent. As a Primarch, he could sense his Stormseers gripping their charms uneasily.
The ship felt different now.
Hotter.
Narrower.
A faint but unmistakable stench drifted from the dark corners, lingering around them.
Behind the group, Archmagos Trazyn—who had stubbornly insisted on accompanying them—emitted a disturbed mechanical noise.
They passed through long corridors and vast halls until at last Abaddon brought the Khan before a private strategy chamber.
The Son of Horus opened the doors for him.
Blazing candlelight spilled outward.
The gaze of the warhawk pierced through the opening, and he saw Horus rising from his throne, surprise and delight spreading across his face.
The Khan smelled thick blood in the air.
The Primarch entered.
Horus had thoughtfully arranged seats even for the Space Marines. The Khan sat down and gestured for his Keshig and Stormseers to take their places behind him.
Abaddon closed the doors behind them, then took a seat behind Horus himself.
Horus smiled.
"I knew you would come, Khan. I knew you were different from the others."
The Khan let out a self-mocking chuckle.
"I merely came to confirm your condition, brother," the Great Khan replied. "You haven't been acting like yourself."
Horus sat back down.
Almost eagerly, he lowered himself once more onto his throne, like an exhausted man desperate for rest. He practically collapsed into it—the seat warm, heavy with the smell of blood.
"If this is about your Legion, then I apologize." Horus spoke sincerely.
His eyes were red and swollen, damp and inflamed, as though he suffered from some grave illness.
"I only wished for the White Scars to help me restrain the Raven Guard fleet. I never intended for unrest to erupt among your warriors, but you were absent at the time. Perhaps your sons misunderstood my intentions."
The Khan stared at Horus.
Like a hawk assessing prey, his narrow eyes fixed upon the Warmaster. Candlelight flickered within his dark pupils as he examined Horus carefully, as though evaluating him.
Horus did not take offense at the Khan's audacity.
The Warmaster merely smiled and waited patiently.
Jaghatai lifted a hand dismissively.
"That matter is already past," the Primarch said vaguely.
"The guilty have been punished. There is no need to linger upon it."
"You remain as free-spirited as ever," Horus said with a smile. "I envy that."
"Freedom always comes with a price," the Khan replied casually. "I simply dislike remaining trapped in the same mire for too long."
Then his tone sharpened.
"So what exactly are you trying to do, Horus?"
The Khan continued: "Why stop the Raven Guard? Horus, I expect a reasonable explanation."
"I have no desire to become entangled in whatever conflict exists between you and the Nineteenth Legion. But you are the Warmaster, Horus, I expect an answer."
Horus's smile faded.
The corners of his mouth drooped as he released a long, theatrical sigh.
"I believe Corax has betrayed us," Horus said sorrowfully.
"I needed to act first."
As Horus spoke, he remembered Corax's disappointing actions. His youngest-returned brother had fiercely opposed those within his Legion who supported him, behaving as though his ideals and policies were some highly contagious plague.
Clearly, Corax did not support him.
And he was the Warmaster.
If Corax did not support him, then whom would he support?
Horus had heard that Corax and Guilliman were close.
That explained everything.
Corax must also wish to fracture the Imperium and build his own petty realm ruled by foolish mortals.
The Khan continued staring at Horus.
"Betrayal?" The Great Khan spoke the word slowly and heavily, as though reciting part of a funeral rite.
"You believe Corax has betrayed us?"
"Yes," Horus answered gravely.
"The situation is dire now. Corax is far from the only traitor. Look, we have the second God-Emperor, Sanguinius, and his second Warmaster, Lion El'Jonson. There is his executioner, Konrad Curze. Then there is the second Emperor, Angron, and the treacherous minister who elevated him, Roboute Guilliman. Then Mortarion. And Malcador—I knew we should never have trusted that psyker. This isn't the first time he's done something like this."
As Horus finished speaking, the sheer number of traitors filled him with grief.
How had his father endured this?
Did the Master of Mankind know he had raised so many vermin?
Did he know the sons he once cherished would treat him this way?
Horus sank into the sorrow of betrayal.
The room fell silent.
The clustered candles burned brightly, their heat oppressive. Stifling silence blanketed the chamber.
And while Horus spoke those long, convoluted titles and accusations, one of the Stormseers behind the Khan coughed quietly, almost imperceptibly.
Then the Khan's slow, distorted voice broke the silence.
"Horus… do you even understand what you're saying?"
Lost in his own fantasies, Horus snapped back to reality. He laughed loudly and looked toward the Khan.
"My brother, I neglected something—you do not yet understand the current situation."
"The Astronomican has gone dark."
"And our former brothers—our kin—once they realized our father would no longer answer them, they immediately abandoned our father's Imperium and crowned themselves kings."
Horus smiled bitterly, yet the Khan could clearly see the twisted hatred beneath that expression.
"They betrayed the Imperium."
The Khan pondered in silence.
"Perhaps you should speak with them personally, Horus."
"I did," Horus replied without hesitation.
"I spoke with every one of them… and the results broke my heart."
"I hope you will not become the same, Khan."
The Khan slowly shifted his gaze back to Horus.
"You are ill," the Great Khan said bluntly.
"Horus… you are sick. You… need rest."
Horus stared at him in astonishment.
Then he burst into laughter.
"Rest?" he repeated. "Thank you for the suggestion, brother, but how am I supposed to rest now?"
"The galaxy has been torn apart. Our father stands isolated and alone. Monstrous horrors lurk in the darkness. How could I possibly rest?"
Horus rambled on and on. After a long while, he finally looked back at the Khan, his face flushed red as though burning with fever.
"I need you," Horus said seriously.
"I need your help, brother. We cannot afford another Legion turning traitor."
The Khan spread his hands slightly.
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
Horus's eyes gleamed brightly.
"I have already contacted the entities within the Warp. We will go to Cadia and use the seals within the Immaterium to destroy that monster."
"Then we return to Terra. We relight the Astronomican, gather our armies once more, and launch a new Great Crusade to exterminate every last traitor."
The Khan fell silent.
"A monster? You mean the Head of the Silent Sisterhood?"
Horus's expression grew solemn.
"My brother—it is that thing. The being that deceived our father. It was responsible for Prospero burning in flames. It shattered the Fifteenth Legion."
…Magnus. The Khan thought silently.
"I was not present at the Council of Nikaea," he said at last, "but I did hear of Magnus's folly."
Horus shook his head.
"We all know Magnus was merely… naive. But he did not deserve death."
"Magnus supports you now?" the Khan suddenly asked.
"Yes. He supports me."
Horus smiled once more.
"I am pleased to see our brother finally free from his cage. As a jailer, the Wolf King was far too savage. The Wise Magnus has at last escaped his prison."
"I swear to you—you will see him soon enough. He merely has some unfinished matters to resolve."
"I hope this is not merely another hallucination of yours, Horus."
The smile at Horus's lips vanished.
"So you still think that, Jaghatai Khan?"
"After everything I've shown you… you still believe I'm delusional?"
"Yes," Jaghatai Khan answered calmly.
His hand subtly rested atop the hilt of his sword.
"First, you still haven't explained why you attacked the Raven Guard. I see no evidence that Corax has 'betrayed' anyone."
"Second, I do not believe Magnus could have escaped the Wolf King's prison. Our father would never allow such a thing to happen."
"Unless…" The Khan spoke slowly, "Unless Magnus, like you, has spent too long entangled with the Eternal Heaven."
"Brother, those who refuse to believe in the path to heaven, and those who worship it too fanatically, are both fools."
"Which kind are you?"
The candle flames suddenly flickered violently.
The room's temperature dropped in an instant.
Frost crept across the walls from the corners, mirroring Horus's icy expression.
"I don't understand," Horus said softly.
"Even now—the Astronomican extinguished, our brothers turned traitor, everything overturned, the entire galaxy transformed—and still you remain so stubborn, my brother."
"Adhering to old principles is not necessarily a flaw," the Khan replied as his hand closed around the hilt of the White Tiger Dao.
"You have gone too deep down the path to heaven, Horus."
"And what alternative do I have?"
Horus gave a bitter laugh.
He casually lifted one hand.
Behind him, the Sons of Horus rose to their feet.
The Khan did not move.
Behind him, his Keshig and the Stormseers also stood.
"This all began because of the Warp, brother. I need to find a path forward."
"Alpharius has already embraced them. Magnus has as well. Fulgrim is close to completing his transformation."
"I know," Horus continued quietly, "I know this differs from everything we once preached. But surrounded by enemies on all sides, we need allies from the Warp."
"Just a little borrowed strength… merely a convenient means for ships to navigate the Immaterium."
"And as for the Imperial Truth…"
"You and I both know what that really is."
"I have not seen Magnus or Fulgrim with my own eyes," the Khan replied coldly.
He could feel it now.
Behind him, the Stormseers were ready.
He sensed a familiar presence approaching.
"But I have seen you. And Alpharius."
The Khan rose to his feet and drew the White Tiger Dao.
"That is something I cannot accept."
"Horus… you need rest, " the Khan spoke earnestly.
Yet Horus remained seated upon his throne.
The Warmaster spread his arms with a smile.
"You cannot defeat me now, Khan."
He spoke with absolute confidence.
"I have drawn fire from the Warp itself, just as our father once did."
"Yes," the Khan answered casually.
"I know I may not be able to defeat you now."
"But—" the Great Khan's tone suddenly shifted.
"Perhaps you should meet him."
At that instant, his Stormseer Yesugei began chanting violently.
The candles were extinguished all at once.
Frost exploded outward beneath their feet.
In the darkened chamber, Horus surged upright instantly.
"Him?!" Horus roared in fury.
He lunged toward Yesugei, attempting to interrupt the ritual—but the Khan drew his blade and intercepted the enraged Warmaster.
CLANG!
The Talon of Horus slammed against the White Tiger Dao, sparks erupting between them.
In the burst of firelight, the Khan saw Horus's face twisted in fury—and behind him, Abaddon's expression of pure terror.
"We are not alone here."
"They've arrived."
As the Khan spoke, he twisted his blade and knocked the Talon of Horus aside. A shrill screech erupted from the clash of metal.
Horus's strength had become immense.
The Khan felt the impact numbing his hands all the way to the wrists.
"You can't sense him?" the Khan asked.
The warhawk's eyes shone brilliantly in the darkness.
Thin white mist began to seep from around Yesugei's body, slowly spreading until a shallow layer of fog covered the floor.
"You refuse to trust me, yet you're willing to trust Mortarion?!" Horus roared.
"How is that any different?!"
"I still know the difference between borrowing strength… and surrendering to it." the Khan answered.
The mist continued rising.
The space around them seemed to tremble.
He heard roaring—roars echoing from some distant garden, as though they had interrupted a process already underway.
He heard cruel laughter.
He heard moaning.
And strangely, the powers surrounding them seemed… wary.
They feared Mortarion.
Had the Pale King's strength truly reached such a level?
Or did he command something that even these entities dreaded?
Through some occult connection, Mortarion's power reached this place with remarkable ease.
It resembled the strength Horus had borrowed—but was not entirely the same.
The Khan continued speaking, a sly smile spreading across his face. "He's been trying to contact my Stormseers all this time. Perhaps he's even tried contacting you."
"Our brother seems desperate to come here."
"So… why not grant his wish?"
"You—!" Horus bellowed toward the silhouette within the fog and slashed out again with the Talon.
"Why would you trust him?!"
But this time, a gigantic scythe emerging from the mist intercepted the blow.
+Because I don't look quite as stupid,+ came Mortarion's weary voice—so tired it was almost lazy.
Within the fog, a massive shape glowing faintly with sickly light shifted slowly.
+And besides,+ Mortarion continued, +if I wanted to achieve my goals, I at least spent a very long time talking privately with the Khan.+
+Also…+ Mortarion added, almost speaking in a whisper,
+Guilliman was the one who made me the second Warmaster. How was I supposed to know the title "Warmaster" automatically meant betrayal?+
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
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