The Sons of Horus' drop pod landed on the wasteland of Baal on the ninth day after the establishment of the First Kingdom of the Gods.
There was only one man in there, Cyganus.
The archangel stood in the wind of the wasteland, watching the weathered veteran walking towards him silently.
Bang.
There was the sound of armor hitting the ground, and Seganus knelt down.
The Archangel remained silent.
A hoarse voice sounded,
"Horus has betrayed."
Cyganus said,
"We were trapped in a system by the turbulence of the Warp. Horus was stabbed by some powerful being. He started to have a fever and experienced some hallucinations... After that, he became less normal."
"He would say some strange words like [Second Empire], [Warmaster], [Regent]..."
“… but this is just the beginning,”
Seganus said calmly, as if he had accepted everything.
"I was with him the whole time. It is hard to describe what I went through. It was a very confusing time. Before that, I saw you. After that, there was Lorgar, Perturabo, Mortarion, Fulgrim, Leman Russ, Magnus—but I could not tell what was real."
"them,"
Cyganus was silent for a while.
"Sometimes, Horus' condition improved, he woke from his fainting spell, and then they talked to him."
Seganus continued to speak, seeming to be uneasy about what he was going to say next.
“During this period, there was also some unrest within the Corps.”
Cyganus swallowed.
"Some believe that the Emperor has deceived us, and blasphemous thoughts are beginning to spread among the Legion."
The archangel stared at Seganus in silence. He didn't know what to say, because this part was true.
The Emperor had indeed deceived them.
"later… "
Said Cyganus:
"After some complicated and stupid political struggles, I was impeached from the Council of Four Kings. The Legion tried to find a new way to cure Horus - they sacrificed a Primarch for this... Mortal friends, they seemed to succeed, and the Primarch himself began to command the army again."
"But in the sixth week of the Primarch's return to command of the army, the Emperor's Children visited us, and I heard that the Third Primarch had arrived."
Cyganus bowed his head,
"I don't know what happened, maybe there was an argument, a mutual accusation, and Horus fell down again, and he was injured again."
"The Legion tried the same trick again, but it didn't work this time, and the Primarch was on the verge of death."
Cyganus took a deep breath.
"Sir, please allow me to be disrespectful."
[speak.]
The Archangel said coldly
"Just like when you established the Kingdom of God, during that period, a large number of [theists] emerged in our legion. Many people did not want to lose the Father of Genes, so they carried out operations that were more groundbreaking... [Imperial Truth]."
Sacrifice.
[I know what you want to say. As long as it does not affect my judgment, I allow you to skip the details that make you uncomfortable, Seganus.]
Cyganus heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thank you for your mercy - but somehow, whatever method they finally used, Horus stood up again."
Is this the end of his troubles
The Archangel suddenly asked,
"No,"
"No, sir."
Cyganus continued this long, painful story,
"After being awakened, the Gene Father showed a strong interest in the Warp, but he only dabbled in it. He might have hoped to use the power of psychic energy to return the Legion to the physical world. But in an attempt to contact a psychic, he contacted... some existence?"
Cyganus explained,
"But it gives me the feeling of the Scarlet Sinner."
Magnus, or the power behind Magnus's psychic powers
"Finally, Horus came out - he was... he was changed,"
Cyganus said hesitantly:
"Every Legionnaire heard those words spoken from the mouth of the Gene-Father,"
"He said..."
"He said [The Forsaken of God], [The seizure of power by sycophants], and - [The Death of the Emperor]."
The Archangel trembled.
————
[come over,]
Mortarion walked along the corridor of the Endurance. Behind him, Malcador was following the Pale Lord at a fast pace.
[… It’s hard to imagine.]
Mortarion commented,
[I can't imagine this scene. In my imagination, I have never imagined such a scene—unexpected people, unexpected things, you should come and see.]
[Now,]
The Pale Lord said, moving faster and faster,
[Now is the moment to see the miracle in its entirety, on the ninth day of the ninth month since the Astronomican went out.]
Malcador was silent, his grip on his scepter tight. From Mortarion's few words, the old man perhaps realized what was happening.
… The Lord of Change.
Makado thought.
Whatever Tzeentch had done, he hoped his old friend would hold on.
Mortarion stopped suddenly, and Malcador, who was lost in thought, almost ran headfirst into the disgusting large wings.
Mortarion spoke.
[You should be optimistic. I know what these numbers mean - but it's definitely not what we thought.]
"Don't keep me in suspense, Mortarion - when did you learn to enjoy toying with others?"
Malcador frowned, and Mortarion snorted coldly and began to lead the way again. He opened a large door for Malcador and led him into the astrology room.
This is the Pale Lord's personal room. A huge, transparent glass dome rises above their heads. Densely packed stars hang from the sky, and the dazzling large crack is staring at them.
Mortarion walked over and stopped in front of a huge spherical observation instrument. He began to adjust it. This complex and sophisticated instrument had fourteen sets of eyepieces and objective lenses that needed to be adjusted, and some small Death Guards were hanging on it.
[I do not need the aid of such an instrument myself, Malcador.]
Mortarion's calm voice sounded, and Malcador gave a forced smile, naturally ignoring Mortarion's ridicule.
After a long time, Mortarion slowly stood up. He stood beside the observation mirror, staring at Malcador, and motioned him to come over to check.
Malcador hurried over and thrust his eyes towards the eyepiece, which, under the adjustment of the Lord of Death, displayed the real-time waves of the Warp.
Whenever one looks into the Warp after the Astronomican went out, all one sees is chaos and a blinding scar that runs the length of the galaxy.
But now—
Malcador saw a star, surrounded by an ominous black,
It was gleaming, winter and crimson casting a bright trail across the warp.
The star dragged a trail, and following the direction of that trail... where it intersected with the Great Rift, was... Cadia.
Someone pointed them in the direction.
Malcador stood up suddenly from his observation visor. Mortarion stood beside him with his arms folded, looking happy to be going out into the battlefield.
[I am familiar with that light... Tell me, damn old man, what connection did I have with this person who helped us? ]
Malcador's mouth trembled slightly. That was... That was...
“…Fenris”
as well as…
"Magnus."
No more, yay!
(End of this chapter)