Axis's immediate priority was to ensure the stability of the Imperium.
Currently, there was no way to save Jaghatai Khan; that matter had to be postponed until a solution could be found later. As for the rescue of Rogal Dorn, he left that task to the other Primarchs. The Primarchs of his own world had been significantly enhanced, after all.
Handling a Necron Overlord posed no significant challenge for them. Furthermore, Magnus's potent psychic sorcery could effectively counter many of the Necrons' technological methods. More importantly, the Primarchs also wielded the magic of the Holy Light.
While the Necrons' gloom prisms and anti-warp fields could suppress standard psychic energy, they were completely ineffective against Holy Light magic or the abilities of Leman Russ in his transformed giant wolf form.
The council lasted for several days.
Axis and the assembled Primarchs discussed numerous issues and charted the future course of the Imperium. Afterward, the Primarchs prepared to return to their gene-mothers and rejoin their respective Legions.
The size of the Legions was set to expand to over 100,000 Astartes each.
As for the Chapters that had been split off in the past, they were to be recruited once more and reintegrated into their parent Legions. However, these reabsorbed Chapters could still accept Imperial decrees when necessary, operating as flexible, independent battle groups to deploy across the galaxy wherever the Imperium required them.
In addition to these military reforms, the augmentation technology for Primaris Space Marines began to spread, alongside another pivotal technology that was now permeating human society.
More than five hundred years had passed since Axis first offered the designs for the new Faster-Than-Light engine.
The Emperor had sat upon the Golden Throne for over three hundred and seventy of those years.
During this period, humanity's research into FTL drive technology had achieved new breakthroughs. Ships could now voyage at speeds surpassing sixty times the speed of light.
These advanced engines were being retrofitted onto all classes of Imperial vessels, from cruisers to battleships.
This speed effectively linked all star systems within a few hundred light-years. for greater distances or crucial travel routes, humanity continued to utilize the Webway.
Reliability on Warp travel had decreased by roughly seventy percent.
The dense traffic of human vessels that once clogged the Empyrean had thinned to less than thirty percent of its former volume. Those ships that still traversed the Warp were rigorously reinforced with Geller fields and guided by the Emperor's holy psychic light via the Astronomican.
Aside from smugglers, illegal merchant haulers, and pirate vessels, almost no one utilized Warp travel for short-distance voyages anymore.
Furthermore, with the integration of the Pharos system, the Emperor no longer needed to ignite the Astronomican at all times, nor did he need to consume a thousand psykers daily.
Before his departure, Axis used his immense divine power and life energy to perform a comprehensive cleansing and restoration of the Emperor.
This allowed the Emperor to do more than just communicate telepathically with his Primarchs; he could now speak aloud and interact with his Custodians and even ordinary mortals.
"I truly did not expect this, Axis. It has been merely five hundred years since I modified you, yet you have grown to this extent," the Emperor lamented from the Golden Throne after the physical restoration was complete.
The fate originally awaiting him had been tragic. Yet, in just a few centuries, Axis had reversed that destiny.
The Imperium was now developing in a positive direction. As for the Emperor himself, aside from being confined to the Throne, he was virtually indistinguishable from his prime condition. In this world, at least, he had not withered into a skeletal husk.
"Focus your efforts on planting the Fruit of the Gods. I have a premonition that when the two Goddesses of Life arrive, the cultivation speed of the fruits will increase even further," Axis said.
"Understood. Go to the other reality without worry. I can now communicate normally with the citizens of the Imperium, and with the Primarchs returned, nothing can stop us," the Emperor replied.
Axis nodded and sent farewell messages to the other Primarchs.
Then, transforming once again into his Super Saiyan God form, he used absolute power to pierce the barrier of the universe, traveling directly to the other dimension.
Axis materialized in an unfamiliar star system, the very same coordinates from which he had previously departed. Sanguinius, the Great Angel, had been waiting there for him.
"Sanguinius, how long was I gone?" Axis asked.
He had spent several months in his own Imperium, approximately 120 days. Based on the previous hundred-fold time dilation, he should have only been gone for a little over a day in this universe.
"Axis, you were gone for a full ten days. Judging by your tone, it seems the time flow between our two worlds varies?" Sanguinius, with his keen perception, immediately caught the implication in Axis's question.
Ten days? Axis frowned. This contradicted his calculations. He had only spent a few months on the other side.
Previously, forty years had passed in his home world while he spent only months here. Now, after 120 days back home, ten days had passed here. The time dilation had shifted from a hundred-fold ratio to roughly ten-fold. It appeared the flow of time between the two universes was completely unstable, perhaps even random, much like the currents of the Warp.
If that was the case, Axis knew he had to resolve matters in this world quickly.
Fortunately, he had already arranged everything in his original world.
He had recalled all the Primarchs; even if he didn't return for a millennium, it was unlikely any major catastrophes would occur.
"Sanguinius, the time flow differs. Initially, I thought it was a hundred-to-one ratio because we spent months here while forty years passed back home. But this time, I spent months there and ten days passed here, a ratio of barely more than ten-to-one," Axis explained the situation briefly.
"I see. That is actually quite normal. Time within the Warp differs from realspace, so why wouldn't it differ between two separate universes? Remember, the original time gap between our worlds was nearly ten thousand years," Sanguinius reasoned.
To the Great Angel, this fluctuation seemed logical.
If time were constant, their worlds wouldn't have been separated by millennia in the first place. Or more accurately, nine thousand years.
"So, Axis, how did things go in the other world? Did you see Father? Did you ask him about the intelligence regarding the Dark King?" Sanguinius asked.
"I asked him. The Emperor of my world told me that the Emperor here is definitely compromised. He stated clearly that he would never suggest I absorb the power of a Chaos God.
"Furthermore, since the Emperor is practically a separate entity created by the Dark King, he would never seek to taint himself with the Dark King's power. He can utilize the Dark King's power because he is a part of him, but stealing it is impossible. As a fractured persona, he cannot usurp the main body's power," Axis recounted his Emperor's answer in full detail.
"Then it is all but confirmed. Axis, you must recall your son and send your wife back to our world. We two shall stay behind to deal with this," Sanguinius said gravely.
For the past ten days, Sanguinius had been on high alert, hiding carefully to ensure the Dark King did not discover that Axis had secretly returned to his home universe.
"We cannot be too obvious, or we will arouse his suspicion. His ultimate goal is for me to absorb the power of a Chaos God and become bound to the Warp," Axis said.
The scheme was insidious.
If Axis became a Chaos God, he would become anathema to the physical universe, likely causing a separation of his body and soul. This was the ultimate goal of this world's Emperor, or rather, the Dark King: to weaken Axis, his greatest potential rival.
It was a trap designed to turn a deity with unlimited potential and a physical body into a Warp entity insulated from the material realm, void of physical form.
"What about Kasha in this world? What is your plan? She is currently with your wife. They are safe for now, and given our speed, we can rush over to extract them at any time. The only trouble is your son, Kratos," Sanguinius noted.
The Indomitus Crusade was still in the preparation phase and would take at least another year to launch. Axis's son, Kratos, was currently heavily favored by the Emperor, who was ceaselessly broadcasting propaganda about Axis's offspring.
"There is no rush for that. For the moment, he will not move against Kratos. I still need to rescue the Goddess of Life in this world. The Plague Wars will erupt soon, and I will need you to coordinate with me when that happens," Axis replied.
Currently, the Dark King was unaware that Axis and Sanguinius had deduced his true intentions, so he would not strike yet.
Axis planned to abduct the Goddess of Life and then immediately flee with his wife, son, and Sanguinius. As for Kasha of this universe, he couldn't leave her to die, so he intended to take her as well.
"Very well. It is best to act quickly. I will stall for time on my end," Sanguinius agreed.
"For now, let us move to intercept the Hive Fleet Kronos. Once we obliterate this tendril, we will rendezvous with Kasha. However, do not mention the truth about the Dark King and the Emperor to them just yet," Axis instructed.
The news was too cruel for Kasha to hear right now, so Axis decided to keep it concealed.
"There is no need to travel to the Kronos fleet; they are practically here. The route I selected is directly in the path of the Tyranids. They will arrive in this desolate system shortly. It is the perfect killing ground," Sanguinius said with a faint smile.
He had considered everything when planning against Hive Fleet Kronos. The path he and Axis chose intersected Kronos's trajectory.
While the Warp was the antithesis of reality, the Tyranids traveled exclusively through realspace. The location Sanguinius and Axis occupied was the very destination the swarm was approaching.
Sanguinius had chosen this spot as a contingency; had Axis not returned in time, Sanguinius would have stood his ground here alone.
"They are approximately five days away at sub-light speeds. We can wait here comfortably," Sanguinius added.
"Oh? That is good news. I happen to have learned a technique called Instant Transmission. Let's go to them and start the fight immediately," Axis sneered.
Saiyans preferred to seize the initiative. Axis planned to engage them in his standard Super Saiyan form.
"Instant Transmission? That technique you mentioned before? I am curious to witness it."
Axis smiled, grabbed Sanguinius by the shoulder, and locked onto the energy signatures of Hive Fleet Kronos.
In an instant, they vanished.
Ahead of them, dozens of massive Hive Ships and over three hundred biological escort cruisers of the crimson-hued Hive Fleet were sailing through the void. The sudden appearance of Axis and Sanguinius startled the fleet's hive mind connection.
"I will leave the performance to you, Axis."
"No problem. Just rest and watch."
"Haa!"
Golden flame erupted around Axis, burning in the cold vacuum like a localized star.
The Super Saiyan transformation endowed him with unparalleled strength and speed. His icy killing intent locked onto the massive, writhing shadow that swallowed starlight in the distance, Hive Fleet Kronos.
Axis's figure disappeared instantly. In the next microsecond, he rematerialized right in the center of the Hive Fleet's vanguard.
A colossal bio-ship, its prow covered in serrated teeth and chitinous bone plating, loomed directly in front of him, radiating a nauseating organic stench.
"Haaa—!!!"
There was no fancy technique, no complex martial art. Axis simply delivered a brutal, straightforward punch.
Golden light enveloped his fist as pure power was compressed to its absolute limit, then detonated. A flash of blinding gold split the darkness.
BOOM!
A soundless roar, louder in the mind than any macro-cannon volley, rippled out as a shockwave of energy. The colossal bio-ship, a beast that would have cost the Imperial Navy dearly to destroy, crumpled like an egg struck by a sledgehammer.
Its tough biological armor shattered and vaporized instantly. The massive structure of the ship collapsed inward from the point of impact, disintegrating like burning paper.
Green ichor, shattered carapace, dissolving acid, and countless Tyranid organisms were blasted into the void, forming a brief, brutal firework of gore.
This was merely the beginning.
Axis's silhouette turned into a streak of golden light, weaving madly through the enemy formation. pushing his Super Saiyan speed to the limit, he executed a series of hyper-velocity assaults.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Every flicker of his movement heralded annihilation.