A chill ran down Kasha's spine. All the primarchs had vanished. What in the world had happened?
Did this mean that in the war to come, all the primarchs would fight Horus to a bitter stalemate, or even to mutual annihilation?
No, that could not be right. Their universe did not have Axis and herself. Furthermore, the number of traitor primarchs did not match. Her own universe would absolutely not tread the path into that cold, dark future.
The future he spoke of was merely what had transpired in his own timeline. In her universe, at least, she and Axis existed, and neither Magnus nor Perturabo had betrayed their father.
"Perhaps," Axis said, the golden aura around his body flaring up once more, "But I will ensure that scum like you will never have the chance to pollute my era."
Axis raised his hand, and a brilliant ball of light condensed in his palm.
He intended to utterly erase this Champion of Chaos, Khârn.
"This is your last chance," Axis declared, "Who sent you? My patience has its limits, and I am growing eager to destroy you."
A flicker of madness danced in Khârn's eyes.
He began to struggle violently, the Butcher's Nails vibrating within his skull.
"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" the Champion of Chaos roared, his face a mask of insanity. "Do it! Kill me!"
He did not fear death.
In fact, to be killed by Axis would be a better fate than to fall at Kasha's hands. In any case, a shard of his soul remained preserved upon the Brass Throne. Not even the Emperor could truly kill him, though that might not apply to the Emperor of ten thousand years hence.
Axis sighed, preparing to annihilate the berserker. He had already learned everything of value from him. The one thing Axis truly wanted to know, the identity of the mastermind behind this intrusion, was something Khârn himself was ignorant of. He had served his purpose.
"Wait, Axis," Kasha interjected, pressing his hand down. "He is a vital source of intelligence. We should take him back to Holy Terra. Let Father decide his fate, or hand him over to Regent Malcador."
This man carried knowledge of ten thousand years into the future. She remained skeptical of his grim tidings of a cold, desperate future.
And his claim that the primarchs would abandon the Emperor and the Imperium seemed utterly unreliable.
"Very well," Axis conceded, "We will place him in custody for now. But we will need to watch him in shifts. This one is not to be trifled with. If we give him even the slightest opportunity, he could cause a catastrophe."
A Champion of Chaos was no laughing matter.
An ordinary mortal standing near him would be corrupted by his chaotic emanations, twisting into a creature of the Warp. A psyker would simply break down, their body collapsing into a gateway of flesh and blood that would tear open a rift into the Immaterium.
Even a common Space Marine would be instantly corrupted upon contact with the Warp energies radiating from Khârn.
The only ones who could reliably resist his corrupting presence were Axis and Kasha, and perhaps Mader, who was away on campaign.
Axis's own sons might also be able to endure it, but to be safe, it was best if he and Kasha personally stood guard.
"I understand," Kasha said. "And we cannot be careless with Lorgar either. We should conclude our business here quickly and transport both of them to Holy Terra."
"What about our trip to Macragge? Don't you want to see our son?" Axis asked.
"The most urgent matter right now is the Great Betrayal of Horus," Kasha replied, "There will be other opportunities to see our son. I believe he would understand."
The situation was dire.
They had to escort these two crucial prisoners back to Holy Terra without delay. One was a traitor primarch, and the other held knowledge of the future. Both were of monumental importance.
Axis sighed at her words.
It seemed his reunion with his son would have to be postponed again. It mattered little, he supposed.
By traveling through the Eldar Webway aboard Solus Prime, the journey would not take too much time. A round trip could be completed in less than a month. He wondered what Horus was plotting now. Would the Siege of Terra, the battle from that dark future, still happen? With his own presence in this timeline, did Horus truly have a chance, or even the nerve, to attack Terra?
"I will place a psychic seal on him," Kasha said with a nod to Axis, "To ensure he doesn't affect those around us."
She raised her force staff and unleashed a psychic art, severing Khârn's connection to the surrounding space and preventing his chaotic Warp energy from seeping out.
"Kasha, you should go and rest. I can watch him," Axis said.
"I'm fine. Don't you need to interrogate Lorgar? You might learn something about Horus's plans," Kasha asked.
"There's no need," Axis replied, "Interrogation is not our duty. That is a task for Regent Malcador."
He had nothing to say to that zealot.
Axis was afraid that if they met again, he would not be able to resist beating Lorgar to a pulp, or even killing him in a moment of carelessness.
Kasha nodded and retired to an adjoining chamber to rest. Axis sat down and began to meditate.
It was time to communicate with the Emperor. He needed to report the arrival of Khârn, a Champion of Khorne from another universe.
He cast his consciousness into the Warp and quickly established contact.
Upon the Golden Throne, two impossibly powerful psychic presences shone like colossal lighthouses.
"Is that you, Axis? What is the situation on your end?" the Emperor asked.
"Everything here is proceeding smoothly," Axis reported, "I have captured Lorgar. I intend to transport him to Holy Terra soon to face the Imperium's judgment, followed by a public execution."
"A fine idea," Magnus's voice joined the communion, "Father, Axis's proposal would be most effective."
It was a golden opportunity.
He and the Emperor had been burning through psykers daily, slowly re-establishing contact with isolated sectors of the Imperium and restoring Warp travel and astrotelepathy.
News of the seven Legions' betrayal had spread, dealing a heavy blow to the morale of the Imperial citizenry. But to execute a traitor primarch at such a time would surely reverse that effect.
Magnus wanted to tell Axis about the Emperor's dark side, but with the Emperor present, he did not know how to bring it up.
"Yes," the Emperor agreed. "You are right. Thank you for your efforts, Axis. Bring the traitor Lorgar back to Holy Terra. I wish to see him myself."
"I understand. There is one other matter I must report. During my battle with Lorgar, a Warp rift opened unexpectedly, and a group of intruders emerged. They came from ten thousand years in the future."
"Ten thousand years?" the Emperor mused, "That is highly possible. Such temporal distortions are common within the Warp. I have even seen a vessel launched two centuries from now arrive two hundred years in the past. What is the situation with these intruders, Axis?"
"One of them is a Champion of Chaos. From him, I learned some very specific information." Axis recounted everything he had been told to the Emperor and Magnus, "According to his timeline, Father-in-law, you will eventually be bound to the Golden Throne, trapped there forever, neither living nor dead, becoming a rotting corpse."
"This… how can this be?" Magnus stammered in shock, "Axis, are you certain? It said that I… that I betrayed Father?" It was impossible. He was utterly loyal to his father.
"Calm yourself, Magnus," the Emperor commanded, "Perturabo was in a similar position as you. If I am not mistaken, Horus intended to use you to destroy the Webway, a plan which Axis prevented."
Without Axis's intervention, Magnus would have been manipulated by Chaos into betrayal one hundred percent of the time.
Had Magnus remained loyal, he could have defended Holy Terra in the Emperor's stead, freeing him to deal with the rebellion personally.
Even with more than half the primarchs turning traitor, the Emperor could have handled them.
Now, things had deviated.
The Webway project was indeed destroyed, but with the combined psychic might of Magnus and himself, amplified by the Golden Throne, they could repair it.
He was still trapped, but not permanently.
"Father, that is not the main point!" Magnus exclaimed, "The point is you! You will be confined to the Golden Throne forever."
"That is my fate, my child," the Emperor said with a deep sigh, "No matter what, I am destined to sit upon the Golden Throne. It is my destiny."
Everyone wishes to escape their fate, but destiny is preordained.
He was the avatar of the Dark King; there was no escape. The Emperor had a faint, chilling suspicion that it was not the four Chaos Gods who had sent Khârn from another universe, but the Dark King himself.
The Dark King was warning him.
The entire play had to unfold according to its script. The Dark King was the writer, and he was merely an actor.
Before such a being, everyone was an actor. The Emperor was filled with a profound unwillingness, but he was also helpless.
His very essence came from the Dark King. Without that power, he would be nothing more than an ordinary mortal.
The Dark King required him to sit upon the Golden Throne. Otherwise, the Dark King could not even be born.
"I will bring him to Holy Terra along with Lorgar," Axis stated.
"I am grateful for your service, Axis," the Emperor said.
"Father-in-law," Axis's voice resonated with conviction, "sometimes, even so-called destiny can be held in one's own hands."
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ps?