The holy wall of light advanced slowly, illuminating everything in its path. Filthy clouds and swarms of flies were vaporised under its brilliance.
"Emperor…"
Many devout believers and warriors bathed in that radiance, unable to stop themselves from praying, praising the sacred sun.
Regent Guilliman's Emperor's Sword burned ever brighter, its flames made even more imposing and divine in the golden light. He sensed something and frowned deeply.
"Father?"
For a moment, the Primarch of the Ultramarines felt the presence of his father – the Emperor Himself.
But he did not like this feeling.
Because Guilliman, in the material universe, perceived a divinity. His father, Humanity's Emperor, had become something unrecognisable to him.
Perhaps the Warp and faith had further altered the Emperor.
Doubt and turmoil stirred within him.
This son of the Emperor never wished to believe that his father was a god.
But reality proved otherwise – no human could possess such unmatched power.
Guilliman asked himself:
"If a human possessed the full powers of a god, then… would he not be a god?"
It was a question with no certain answer.
But without a doubt, his view of the Emperor shifted yet again. Perhaps his understanding was flawed after all.
Guilliman stared solemnly at the distant foul abominations and asked the Savior gravely:
"Eden, do you think the Emperor is a god?
If He truly becomes a god, losing His human consciousness and ruling humanity with divine will alone… how should we face that?"
"…What?"
Eden was momentarily stunned. Why did this sound so familiar?
Back then, Horus the Dutiful Son had rebelled precisely because Chaos spread rumours that the Emperor was secretly planning to ascend, using humanity and the Primarchs as stepping stones.
Horus could not accept that.
Was Guilliman now about to follow in Horus' footsteps and strike at his father?
It wasn't impossible. Guilliman was one of the staunchest advocates for human purity among the Primarchs.
If the Emperor ever became a true threat to humanity, an irreconcilable conflict would surely erupt between them.
"No. That can't be true!"
Eden shook his head firmly and gave his answer. "The Emperor is simply far better at wielding the psychic powers of the Warp. He Himself said it – He is not a god.
Let's deal with these Nurgle abominations first."
He ended the topic swiftly to prevent Guilliman from continuing his Emperor-doubting.
No way. The Emperor still retained a relatively clear consciousness and was fighting for humanity's survival. How could anyone doubt Him?
Especially Guilliman, the 'unfilial son'. If he ever died of plague in this war, it would still be the Emperor who rescued him in the end.
Clearly, Eden himself was the Emperor's most loyal child.
——
"AHHH—"
The Nurgle daemons screamed in agony.
Those lesser daemons close to the wall of light were reduced to ashes under its holy radiance.
"Father Nurgle above… what terrifying weapon is this?!"
Karama trembled uncontrollably as he faced the incoming tsunami of divine energy. His rotting bones rattled like dry twigs.
He had never encountered the Savior or the Cursed Weapons before. He had only heard terrifying rumours.
But as Nurgle's Fifth Favoured One, he believed that with their corruption engines and the Garden's foul blessings, they could withstand any weapon of the Cursed One.
After all, this was not the Cursed One's true form.
Yet upon arrival, he was met with a super-charged divine light. His psychological defences collapsed instantly.
This overwhelming holy radiance was to a daemon of Chaos like a scorching, nauseating, lethal tsunami of filth.
And that tsunami was about to drown them.
Karama tried to flee but found his legs too weak to move. Deep down, he even felt the impulse to surrender.
He shouldn't have been the vanguard. Ku'gath should have come instead.
He just wanted to return to the Garden.
BOOM—
Behind the Second Lost, a Great Unclean One collapsed in terror, shaking the battlefield with its fall.
The Plaguebearers wailed and cried.
They realised they were about to swim in a sea of ultra-heated dung.
The entire core battlefield fell into chaos.
To an outside observer, it looked like the Savior and Humanity were inflicting some horrific torture upon the invading Nurgle daemons.
"Hiss~ why does this divine light feel stronger than before?"
Eden frowned slightly.
Then he realised it was probably due to the sheer number of holy wall defence installations here.
To defend Arcus, he had emptied out nearly all his stockpiles, deploying dozens of Prism Towers around the cathedral.
With layer upon layer of burning holy walls, the Nurgle daemons stood no chance. There was no need for his warriors to risk themselves at all.
This battle was secure. Time to pop open the champagne!
Karama and his daemon host were pushed back by the advancing holy walls.
But soon, they found themselves trapped.
Their space for manoeuvre shrank rapidly until they were squeezed tightly together.
"No…" Karama looked at the approaching cursed energies. Its stench nearly suffocated him.
Compared to the sweet air of Nurgle's Garden, these cursed energies were utterly repulsive.
In terror, the Nurgle daemons prayed desperately to the Plague Lord:
"Plague Father, your children beg for your attention!"
"The vile Savior seeks our destruction! Grant us your Sevenfold Blessings…"
"Merciful Father, we need a gateway back to the Garden!"
Even Karama, the Fifth Favoured One, prayed after a moment of hesitation:
"Plague Father, your Second Lost, Karama, begs you to reach out with your dark hand and bring us back to your embrace."
He believed their merciful god would never abandon his beloved children.
Deep within the Garden of Nurgle, the door to the Black House silently opened, revealing a terrifying, blasphemous shadow.
That presence hesitated.
Intervening risked exposure to the Cursed One's attacks.
But upon receiving a certain message, it made its decision and acted without delay.
In an instant, the Garden's shadow became clearer in the sky. A wave of pure malice radiated forth.
Nearby warriors felt sudden nausea.
The psykers among them clutched their heads in agony, on the brink of collapse.
"This isn't good…"
Eden watched, his heart pounding.
He immediately ordered his warriors to fire several holy bone-ash grenades into the sky to temporarily dispel the corruption.
But the core battlefield had already changed.
Above Karama and the daemons, the spatial rift expanded further. Dense plague mist billowed out – yellow, gelatinous, alive.
The moment this rancid fog touched the air, clouds of flies erupted, and even microscopic organisms twisted into warped lifeforms.
It was the plague mist emanating directly from Nurgle Himself!
The toxic fog clashed with the holy walls, slowly pushing them back.
Wherever the plague fog spread, putrid maggot-rain fell, coating the daemons and swelling their power.
"Praise the Plague!"
Karama was ecstatic. This was Father Nurgle's Sevenfold Blessing, strengthening his rotting body.
He would claim this planet for his Father!
With renewed power, he beat his massive wings, sending unnatural winds to carry the plague fog towards the human lines.
"…Oh shit."
Eden felt his scalp go numb.
The Nurgle daemons had called in backup. Worse, they had direct support from the Plague God Himself.
This was an enormous expenditure of warp power.
When a Chaos God intervened directly on the battlefield, the consequences were terrifying.
Within mere seconds, the terrain around Karama transformed completely. The rocky ground became a foul swamp as warped, bloated plants erupted.
It now looked exactly like the Garden of Nurgle.
And the corruption was spreading fast. If it reached their lines, all defences would be corroded, and casualties would be catastrophic.
The tide of battle was turning.
BOOM—
"Begone, filth!"
Guilliman swung the Emperor's Sword, its flame bursting metres ahead as he tried to burn away the approaching plague fog.
But the burned-away miasma was quickly replaced by more. It was endless.
"Fall back!"
Nearby, the hatch of a superheavy tank flew open. Several pilots jumped out and ran for their lives to avoid the plague cloud.
The war machine left behind began to emit an eerie, guttural mechanical groan as it was enveloped by the fog.
In the next moment—
A corrupted Daemon Engine emerged, its metal hull twisted and fused with living flesh.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Several melta missiles streaked in, vaporising the Daemon Engine in a burst of white-hot fusion fire.
"Sigh… I knew I shouldn't have popped champagne mid-battle. Now this is troublesome."
Eden regretted it. Who could've thought the Nurgle daemons would throw honour aside and call in the Plague God for help?
He summoned psychic shields to block the toxic fog, but holes were corroded through instantly. Even conjuring a gale could not disperse this unnatural, conceptual miasma.
If he couldn't stop this plague fog from Father Nurgle Himself, this entire core battlefield would fall.
Then, the seven Plague Arks would descend upon Arcus, corrupting all lands and weaving this planet into Nurgle's rot-infested network.
All their efforts so far would be wasted!
Fortunately, Eden wasn't without allies. He had already begun calling for reinforcements.
However… there was no response.
The Emperor was sleeping far too deeply this time…
"This is bad. Terrible timing to be napping, old man!"
"Guilliman, hold the line yourself for a moment. I'm going to wake someone up personally!"
Eden ceased his attempts and sank into slumber, his consciousness plunging into the Warp.
...
Warp.
The coronal flares of the Holy Sun surged endlessly, divine light radiating to the farthest reaches.
Within this supremely sacred domain, an anxious psychic voice rang out.
"Old man, wake up! Things have gone south, we need your help!"
Eden, manifested as the Little Sun, shouted message after message infused with the urgency of the situation.
But the Holy Sun remained motionless in its sleep, utterly unresponsive.
Due to the Plague War's devastation, most Imperial territories had suffered disease, famine, and misery.
Countless humans were writhing in agony.
Their only solace was their unwavering loyalty and faith – the hope that He would save them.
Such heavy devotion was nearly crushing the Emperor, Humanity's tireless protector, further compressing what little humanity remained within Him.
He had no choice but to remain in slumber to withstand it all.
"The Emperor is sleeping by choice… waking Him won't be easy…"
Eden realised this. He felt the crushing weight of faith radiating from the Holy Sun.
If that power were his, he'd have already succumbed to corruption and become a Chaos God.
But that was all the more reason to wake Him.
Right now, the Emperor had a perfect opportunity to 'talk' with Papa Nurgle and vent some of that burden – while saving Arcus, a critical Plague War front.
It was a win-win-win.
"We can't wait any longer!"
Eden took a deep breath and made his decision. Only an external shock could awaken the Emperor now.
Over these years, the Little Sun had grown immensely in faith power and size, becoming sturdy and strong.
Buzz—
The Little Sun moved closer to the Holy Sun, two chubby hands extending from its spherical body.
In the next instant, muscular bulges formed along its arms – the manifestation of conceptual strength.
"Old man… don't blame me for this…"
Eden felt a little guilty but clenched the Little Sun's fists.
No time for hesitation!
He wound up his arm and slammed a mighty punch towards the Holy Sun.
At that moment, the Emperor received His first direct punch since the Horus Heresy.
THUD!
That filial strike landed heavily on the Holy Sun, sending out violent shockwaves.
...
Holy Terra.
While Ultramar burned under plague, this sacred bastion of humanity remained calm, bathed in gentle holy light.
Arch-Confessor Doni personally welcomed several Ecclesiarchy Cardinals who had come from across the galaxy to pilgrimage.
Faith was precious in times of crisis.
Civilised worlds in suffering needed hope and courage more than ever.
These Cardinals were here to witness the greatest miracle – the Holy Sun and the Savior – and spread their radiance to faraway systems.
Leaning on his ornate staff, Doni's aged face glowed with fervour as he gazed upon the colossal hollowed altar structure.
Decades ago, the Savior had approached him with cryptic words about 'divine tourism' and building a pilgrimage site.
Only later did Doni understand: the Savior was constructing a sacred wonder.
A place where people could come closest to the Holy Sun.
When it was completed, Doni had, through a psychic channel, glimpsed the sleeping Sun for the first time.
That unfathomable sanctity left a permanent imprint on his soul.
Today, that divine sight would once again descend upon their world.
He turned to the Cardinals, voice steady and powerful:
"Faithful ones, you are about to witness the greatest miracle of the galaxy.
Behold with your own eyes the Holy Sun and our Savior."
It was an unparalleled blessing.
Even within the Ecclesiarchy, few had ever seen the Holy Sun directly.
(Partly because the Emperor avoided contact with the Ecclesiarchy, refusing to acknowledge their worship.)
The ritual began.
As choirs sang hymns and cherubim scattered petals, vast divine energies streamed into the altar, activating its machinery and psychic arrays.
Buzz—
A shimmering portal opened at the altar's centre, golden light spilling out.
It was a projection of the Holy Sun's domain.
Doni ended his prayers and led the Cardinals onto the altar to behold this divine sight – the Holy Sun and its Little Sun beside it.
But when they gazed into the portal, their expressions twisted in horror.
"Emperor preserve us…"
"What… what blasphemy is this?!"
"Oh God, what is the Savior doing…"
Terror and incomprehension filled their eyes. One Cardinal even fainted on the spot.
The projection displayed a scene so heretical that no loyal soul could comprehend or accept it.
The Emperor's greatest devotee, the Savior, had taken on a bizarre form and was punching the Holy Sun – attacking the merciful Emperor!
Each heavy punch landed with resounding impact, radiating violent flashes.
"No… my Savior!"
Doni's worldview nearly collapsed. He could barely hold onto his staff.
He couldn't understand what he was seeing.
But in the next moment, the Holy Sun pulsed, triggering an emergency failsafe. The portal severed instantly, cutting off the horrifying vision.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
"Her… heresy!"
One Cardinal shouted in fury. "This is blasphemy! How could the Savior…"
"Yes, it is heresy indeed!"
Doni quickly cut him off.
This could never leak out. It would destroy the Ecclesiarchy and the Savior's reputation.
He didn't believe the Savior would betray the Emperor. There must be some hidden reason.
He ordered the guards sternly:
"Call the Inquisition immediately. There is heresy here that has desecrated the Emperor and the Savior!"
No matter what, they needed to control these Cardinals and handle it discreetly later.
His hawk-like gaze fell upon the Cardinals:
"We have all witnessed this divine vision. Yet some dare utter heretical slander to defile the Emperor and the Savior. Unforgivable!"
"???"
The Cardinals were dumbfounded. "Emperor, have we become heretics?!"
...
Arcus Cathedral.
THUD—
The roar of flames filled the air.
Regent Guilliman swung the Emperor's Sword with all his might, fending off the plague miasma.
Eden's body jolted violently as if struck by a psychic slap.
Then his eyes flew open, joy flashing within.
He'd finally woken the Emperor!
Moments ago, the Little Sun's flurry of punches had roused the Holy Sun.
Though the Emperor was somewhat annoyed, given the crisis, He did not rebuke Eden much – only flicking him lightly on the head.
In truth, the Emperor seemed not only angry but also excited.
He was already charging into battle.
"You're awake?" Guilliman panted, slicing through an incoming blow from a Great Unclean One. "Have you found a way to deal with this plague fog? The line is about to fall!"
Eden activated his relic power sword, Glory, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
"Of course. I brought dad."
Father Nurgle had torn open a rift to unleash His plague mists.
The Emperor would enjoy incinerating His filth. Eden wouldn't be surprised if the Emperor burned all the way into Nurgle's Garden this time.
"…What?"
Guilliman blinked.
But a second later, he felt a massive tremor. An unparalleled energy surged from the distant holy towers through their conduits towards them.
"That… that is the Emperor!"
The psykers nearby felt its source and erupted in ecstatic shouts.
BOOM—
Torrential holy flames burst forth from the Prism Towers, sweeping across the plague fog.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]