At that moment, Magnus was stationed on Holy Terra, handling affairs assigned by the Emperor. For the past forty years, Magnus had served as the Imperium's sole active Primarch.
Consequently, Axis's return was met with fervent celebration throughout the Imperium. After a four-decade interlude, humanity finally welcomed back a returning Primarch. Upon his arrival, Axis immediately met with Magnus.
"Hahaha! This is fantastic, Axis. You've finally returned to the Imperium. I knew you would come back, and so quickly too," Magnus said, stepping forward to give Axis a bear hug.
For the last forty years, he and their father had lived in constant apprehension.
Although the Dark King had vanished for unknown reasons, who could guarantee that the entity would never return?
"Rest assured, I am back. And I can tell you with certainty that the Dark King of our universe has suffered a grievous injury, damage to his very origin. Barring any unforeseen accidents, he will never return," Axis assured him.
By the time the entity's origin recovered and it regained free will, Axis would have grown powerful enough that the Dark King wouldn't dare look him in the eye.
"That puts my mind at ease, Axis. Father told me about the situation in the other universe. If you are confident, you should bring Kratos, Kasha, and Sanguinius back as soon as possible. The Imperium here needs your help more," Magnus urged.
Who could have predicted that while the Dark King of their own world was temporarily neutralized, another would emerge from a different universe? It was shocking to learn that the Imperium of that alternate future, ten thousand years hence, was in such a tragic state.
The words of the Chaos Space Marine named Khârn had been true. Thankfully, they had Axis here, and Magnus himself had not betrayed their father.
"I know, Magnus. You're right. I will bring those three back safely first," Axis said with a nod.
"Axis, now that the threat of the Dark King is lifted, can we retrieve all our brothers?" Magnus asked.
The primary reason for the Primarchs' disappearance had been the Dark King's coercion, or rather, their obedience to the Dark King's falsified orders. Now that the threat was gone, it was time for all the brothers to come home.
"Yes. Father-in-law, perhaps we should set this in motion?" Axis asked, looking up at the Emperor seated upon the Golden Throne.
The Emperor spoke. "Vulkan is living in seclusion on a planet; you can retrieve him. Rogal Dorn has been added to the collection of that Necron bastard, Axis, you know who I mean. I can provide you with precise coordinates for the rescue.
"Your adoptive father Leman Russ, Ferrus Manus, Perturabo, and Corvus Corax all departed on missions I assigned. I will find a way to recall them immediately. Guilliman, Lion El'Jonson, and Karl are in stasis and require rescue. The most difficult case is Jaghatai Khan; he is lost in the Webway, and retrieving him will be challenging."
Axis nodded as he listened. Vulkan, his old man Russ, along with Ferrus Manus, Perturabo, and Corvus Corax would withdraw from the Eye of Terror immediately upon the Emperor's command.
Mortals could not find them, but the Emperor could locate them with ease. Guilliman, Karl, and the Lion needed Axis to personally awaken them. With his God Ki, combined with Life Energy and Holy Light, waking them would not be an issue.
As for the other two, the situation was more troublesome. Rogal Dorn had actually been collected by Trazyn the Infinite of the Necrons.
His fate was identical to that of his counterpart in the other universe. Axis could handle this rescue; given the current strength of the Imperium, it was manageable.
The Necrons of ten thousand years ago had not yet awakened on a large scale, unlike the trouble they posed ten millennia later.
Regarding Jaghatai Khan, Axis had no immediate solution. Being lost in the Webway beyond the galaxy was a predicament that even the Laughing God of the Harlequins struggled with. Perhaps he could only search for the Khan once his own power had increased further.
"We will handle the affairs of Holy Terra first, and then I will wake the other Primarchs," Axis decided.
"We can send word to the Lion, as well as the legions of Guilliman and Karl. Have them transport their Fathers here. We can wake the three of them directly on Holy Terra. What do you think?" Magnus suggested.
Axis nodded, agreeing to Magnus's plan. Rather than running to three different planets to wake them, it was far more convenient to have them transported to Holy Terra for Axis to treat.
Soon, the planet Macragge, the Rock, remnant of Caliban, and Karl's world, Krypton, received news of the return of the Imperium's strongest Primarch, Axis.
They received orders to transport their Fathers for treatment. The three legions were well aware of Axis's power; thus, without hesitation, they departed, escorting their Fathers toward Holy Terra.
Over the next few days, Axis handed the Primaris Space Marine upgrade technology, which he had obtained from the other universe, over to Magnus.
Future Astartes would utilize this upgraded surgery, and the existing Firstborn Space Marines would also undergo the upgrade process. However, the standard success rate of the surgery was only slightly above sixty percent, the mortality rate was considerable.
But this did not deter Axis. It was merely a question of Life Energy.
Axis used the second-generation Tree of Might fruit to assist in the upgrades. With the extract of these fruits, the success rate of the surgery rose to one hundred percent. The Imperium designated a suitable planetary region for Axis to plant the second generation of the Tree of Might.
Once grown, the seeds from these fruits could also be planted, with effects comparable to the parent generation. The fruit had adapted to the Warhammer universe and could now grow normally.
Within a few months, Axis successfully cultivated tens of thousands of Tree of Might fruits. He handed one hundred thousand of them to the Departmento Munitorum to begin the upgrade work on all Firstborn Astartes.
During this period, Vulkan, Leman Russ, and several other Primarchs who had been executing the Emperor's missions were recalled one after another.
They returned to Holy Terra, back to their home worlds, and rejoined their legions. Holy Terra was prepared, and the slumbering bodies of Karl, Guilliman, and the Lion had arrived.
The returned Primarchs gathered on Holy Terra.
It was only then that they realized they had been deceived by the Dark King. After being missing for centuries, they were finally seeing a large-scale reunion. It had been over 370 years since the Emperor first sat upon the Golden Throne.
In the majestic Hall deep beneath the Imperial Palace, a solemn, almost divine silence reigned.
Three stasis fields, like crystal sarcophagi, sat upon the central platform. Inside them slept the lost pillars of the Imperium: Roboute Guilliman, Lion El'Jonson, and Karl.
Axis began the work of waking the "sleeping beauties."
For the first step, Axis transformed into the red-haired Super Saiyan God form. While perhaps not his strongest form for raw combat, his control over God Ki and his mastery of Life Energy were at their peak in this state.
Axis stood before the platform, feeling the gaze of countless onlookers. He took a deep breath, and the God Ki, boundless Life Energy, and pure Holy Light within him began to surge and merge.
No rituals or prayers were needed; pure power, guided by his will, flowed like a golden, warm flood tinged with emerald light into the first stasis field, the one belonging to Karl.
The light instantly engulfed Karl's stasis pod. The God Ki domineeringly tore apart the constraints of time, while the Life Energy, like a master weaver, instantly repaired the minute damages of centuries of stasis and nourished the Primarch's body. The Holy Light dispelled any lingering warp shadows, purifying the slumbering soul.
"Ugh...!" A low, powerful groan echoed from within the cocoon of light.
The Imperial Primarch sat up abruptly, breathing heavily.
His eyes held a trace of initial confusion, but it was quickly replaced by shock as power flooded his body, along with the instinctive alertness of a slumber forcibly ended. He looked around, his gaze finally locking onto Axis with a look of recognition.
"It seems I slept for quite a while. Axis, was it you who saved me?" Karl asked.
He remembered exactly what had happened to him, a siege by a group of Chaos Space Marines.
Ordinarily, that would have been nothing; he could have handled them effortlessly, or let his sons deal with it. But for some reason, one of the Chaos Space Marines carried a Chaos artifact.
The weapon had wounded him, plunging him into a deep slumber.
"Karl, welcome back. The darkness has receded, and the Imperium needs you. And you haven't slept for that long really. Just a few hundred years," Axis said, his voice steady, powerful, and soothing.
Karl stood up and nodded slowly. He took a deep breath, feeling a surging vitality within him that he had never felt before. He stepped aside, his complex gaze sweeping over every brother present.
The gathered Primarchs welcomed Karl in turn. Vulkan, Leman Russ, Ferrus Manus, Perturabo, Magnus, and Corax all offered their blessings to the awakened brother.
Next, Axis chose to wake the Lion.
Lion El'Jonson, the Lion of Caliban, The First.
The flood of Axis's divine power surged into his stasis pod. Just like with Karl, the potent God Ki instantly repaired the damage to the Lion's body and expelled the chaotic energies within. With Axis's current strength, it was just that simple and brute-force effective.
"RAAAH—!" A roar like a wounded beast burst from the light cocoon! Lion El'Jonson did not just sit up; he sprang to his feet.
"Lion! Welcome back. But please wait a moment, I have prepared a short video that you all might want to watch together. I'll wake Guilliman first."
Without pausing, Axis turned his gaze to the Lord of Ultramar.
Streams of golden, emerald, and crimson light converged once more, pouring into Guilliman's stasis field.
The God Ki precisely pried open the shackles of stasis; the Life Energy smoothed away the exhaustion and spiritual trauma accumulated by the Master of Ultramar during his sleep; and the Holy Light acted as a beacon, illuminating the depths of his soul.
The wound on his neck, inflicted by the Daemon Prince Fulgrim, began to knit together, while the heretical, chaotic energies festering inside were violently purged by Axis.
Guilliman's awakening appeared more orderly. His eyelids fluttered a few times before slowly opening.
There was a momentary glaze in his eyes, but it vanished instantly. His brain, like a supercomputer booting up, analyzed rapidly. He saw Axis. He saw the familiar faces around him, brothers lost for centuries.
He almost instinctively began assessing the environment, calculating the passage of time, and analyzing the current geopolitical situation. It appeared Axis's return had successfully saved everyone.
The stasis field deactivated, and Guilliman sat up.
"Axis... Magnus... Vulkan... Leman Russ, Manus..." Guilliman's voice was slightly hoarse but quickly regained its clarity. "It seems I missed a lot. Thank you for saving me, Axis."
However, he noticed something strange. The other Primarchs were looking at him with peculiar expressions, some even harboring a hint of amusement.
At this moment, Guilliman had no idea what was going on. Just moments before Axis woke him, Axis had handed a special video recording to the gathered Primarchs. After watching the scenes contained within, the brothers were now eyeing Guilliman with odd looks. Their expressions seemed to say: So, that's your type? That's how you like to play?
"Axis, can you tell me what is happening? The way everyone is looking at me seems a bit off," Guilliman said, his intuition sharp.
"How could that be? Guilliman, I just woke you up, you're overthinking it. You should know, the 'you' in the other universe had it much worse. He didn't sleep for a few hundred years; he slept for ten thousand," Axis said with a grin.
"He may have slept for ten thousand years more," Magnus laughed, "but he also gained a wife out of it, didn't he?"
Among everyone present, Magnus knew Axis best. The boy was petty. No wonder he saved Guilliman for last.