"My Lord." A voice interrupted Magnus's thoughts.
Following the sound, Magnus turned around and saw Ahriman, whom he had expelled in the past.
The other party was holding a scepter as usual, wearing the gold and red armor, and the giant eye emblem on his chest was emitting a flickering warp light.
He was walking in from outside the hall, bowing respectfully and greeting his genetic father.
Magnus put away the smile on his face and looked indifferently at the heir whom he had once expelled.
The battle on the Planet of Knowledge caused Ahriman a lot of suffering.
Who could have thought that several loyal Primarchs would actually launch an attack at that time.
Perturabo, Fulgrim and others didn't even have a chance to escape before they were wiped out.
It was like a replay of the landing site massacre of the past.
It's just that the roles of both parties have been reversed.
Ahriman was luckier, as Guilliman and many loyal Primarchs' attention was focused on the Daemon Primarch, allowing him to escape from Lore.
Otherwise, he would now be imprisoned on Terra with many other Daemon Primarchs.
After escaping from the Planet of Knowledge, Ahriman's men suffered heavy casualties and were only one step away from being left alone.
Realizing that the Empire was on the rise and that he was alone and powerless, Ahriman returned to Magnus.
Magnus, who suffered a great loss at the hands of Pharos, also realized that in order to defeat Guilliman, he had to put aside his past arrogance and accept every bit of power that could help him.
Only in this way can we fight against Guilliman's army.
Otherwise, if he fights alone with the current strength of the empire, he will definitely repeat the fate of his other brothers.
It was inevitable that Terra Prison would have another member.
Ahriman's faults are beyond redemption.
Magnus was not about to forgive him.
The Scarlet Letter incident was too terrible. The reason why he was not killed was because Tzeentch personally ordered it, so he was spared.
Otherwise, Ahriman would have been reduced to ashes by his wrath.
Right now, dealing with the threat posed by Guilliman is much more important than punishing Ahriman.
For this reason, it is not unacceptable to accept Ahriman first.
"What's the matter?" Magnus said indifferently.
"The Nine-Layered Tower Ceremony is ready." Facing Magnus's changed expression, Ahriman remained respectful.
Even after being expelled by Magnus, Ahriman never complained.
The mistake made in the Scarlet Letter incident in the past caused Qianzi to lose so many brothers, it would not be an exaggeration to kill him.
"Well, it's time to make Guilliman pay." Magnus' voice echoed in the throne room.
The wizards and red letter warriors standing in the hall could feel their master's majestic magic power and will from his words.
Magnus stretched out his broad palm, and the light gathered in his hand and formed a scepter.
After ascending into the Warp, Magnus's staff became as versatile as he was, and could be summoned at will.
Now it has transformed into an ingeniously designed gilded scepter, which complements the original body's luxurious armor.
"The nine-story silver tower from the mysterious realm of the Lord of Change will accomplish the grand goal of human sublimation." Magnus stroked the scepter in his hand and smiled.
The humiliation suffered on the planet of Pharos must be returned to Guilliman double.
Making humans a psychic race, closely integrated with the Warp, is the only salvation for this race.
Magnus will allow mankind to complete this redemption, and the Nine-Layered Tower Ritual was created for this purpose.
Upon completion of this ritual, every human soul will be submerged in the vast ocean of the Warp, revealing their true nature.
Even the dullest mortal can easily master witchcraft and magic.
Magnus likes to call it the Age of Magnus, the Age of Myth Revival.
He stood up, and as he moved the scepter in his hand, the four walls of the hall disappeared without a trace, revealing the devastated land beneath their feet that stretched to the horizon.
"A new psychic empire will stand on the ruins of the Corpse Emperor. Guilliman will realize how big the gap is between him and me. Even if he spends his entire life trying, he will not be able to bridge this gap."
Most of Prospero had been reduced to a wasteland of burnt brown glass in a terrible catastrophe ten thousand years ago.
Now, this war-torn planet is somewhat restored.
The withered mountains and dry mudflats are surrounded by various buildings emitting psychic light.
Slave barracks and tall crystals stand on the surface.
Assembly line factories and armories were built and roared.
The magnificent temples that stand everywhere contain the tomes of knowledge that Magnus has collected over thousands of years.
Ten thousand years ago, the wolves burned Prospero to the ground.
Magnus never stopped rebuilding his home.
The rebuilt Prospero is completely different from its past.
There is no gilded spire, nor the beautiful and magnificent crystal pyramid.
The world is serving war
It turned into the iron felt in Magnus's hand, producing weapons for endless wars.
This is undoubtedly an irony of fate.
The former Star of Scholars has become the cradle of war, implying that war is the only thing that will last forever in the galaxy.
Magnus's plan has been a long time coming.
The number of psychics in the empire has skyrocketed, and a large part of the reason is due to his behind-the-scenes manipulation.
The light of human souls in the warp grows stronger and stronger.
As long as the Nine-Layered Pagoda Ceremony is completed, the thing that the former emperor was most worried about will happen.
Humans will become a completely new psychic race.
"The promotion is about to begin." Magnus said in a self-admiring tone: "The era of the Corpse King is about to end, and the era of Magnus is about to begin. I will bring wisdom to mankind, pull them out of the quagmire of ignorance, and illuminate their way forward. Magic will spread to every world, and myths will repeat themselves."
Ahriman looked at Magnus, who was imagining the future, with respect, and glanced at the throne room out of the corner of his eye.
Beneath Magnus' throne, a group of emaciated men were suffering.
Their bodies were tied to the roaring machines with iron chains with runes on them, so tightly that there was no possibility of escape.
Ornately decorated siphons blocked their mouths, turning their screams into beautiful hymns that lingered in the air.
This is an extremely cruel meaning, squeezing the life force of these people, and the shattering of their souls and flesh and blood causes them great pain.
Magnus claims that he will save humanity from the terrifying kingdom of the Corpse King.
But everyone knows that opportunities for promotion never belong to the majority.
It is a privilege for the few.
Only those valuable souls can find a place to live in the new kingdom created by Magnus.
The talentless, lowly untouchables clearly don't measure up.
Ahriman waited until Magnus had finished admiring his handiwork before continuing.
"According to the intelligence passed back by some believers, the Corpse King's troops are preparing to attack us." Ahriman said: "Dante has obtained Guilliman's authorization and is assembling a large-scale army."
"Those poor, foolish fellows are still fighting for the Emperor. Let them come, this will be their burial place. Before they die, they will see the Emperor's empire collapse bit by bit, and witness the advent of my era." Magnus said: "Go, Ahriman, you will lead the charge, gather those psykers, forge weapons and vehicles with the power of the warp, summon powerful demons as servants, and destroy the Emperor's army. I can't wait to see Guilliman's horror and anxiety when he hears the news of the annihilation of the whole army."
Ahriman nodded, then turned and walked out.
The members of the conspiracy followed him closely.
Magnus sat back on his throne and continued to travel to the sky, looking forward to the era that belonged to him.
... ... ... ... ... ..
... ... ... ... ... ... ...
The vast void.
A tattered ship broke free from the warp, got rid of those evil light tendrils, and entered the real universe.
On the bridge, several tired-looking men and women were checking the star map in front of them, the pale light shining on their faces.
"We will reach our destination in just one week's sailing," a man said excitedly. "We can finally get rid of the Empire's control and enter a paradise for people like us."
"It's not a fault to have talent. We clearly have such outstanding abilities, but we are not allowed to get the corresponding status. The empire has long been corrupt and is not worthy of our loyalty." A woman said: "Only by embracing the gods and Magnus can we benefit from our talents."
This is a ship that escaped from the Empire.
Full of those with a modicum of psychic talent.
They were bewitched by the whispers in their ears.
Longing to enter a world where psychics can be the masters and the superior slaves, and those untalented, lowly mortals should become servants and the enslaved.
Just when everyone was excited, an elderly man pointed in the direction of the porthole and made a frightened sound.
"What is that?"
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and saw that the subspace rift that had been closed was opened again.
A magnificent fleet beyond people's imagination emerged from it.
The first battleship that caught their eyes was as big as a planet.
It is so huge that just moving in the void causes the distortion of the space-time structure and generates celestial gravity.
Seeing the uniform emblems on the warships, those who fled the empire all showed expressions of horror.
The symbol was a golden double-headed eagle with outstretched wings.
The expressions on everyone's faces were filled with fear and anxiety.
At this moment, a shrill alarm sounded on the battleship.
Only at this moment did the auspicious instrument detect abnormal subspace fluctuations, and countless red spots of light appeared in the suspended projection.
Densely packed and countless.
"What are they going to do?" a woman said in horror.
A man looked at the woman who was speaking, his features distorted by fear.
He said in a sobbing voice: "What else can they do besides war?"