The news left everyone in the room utterly stunned.
What was happening with Ferrus Manus? Why had he suddenly charged into battle?
"What did you say? Manus and the other Primarchs have already departed for Isstvan V?" the Emperor demanded.
"Lord Ferrus Manus, Lord Vulkan, and Lord Corax, along with several other Primarchs and their entire fleets, have set a course for the Isstvan V system," the Astropath announced.
"Damn it! Who authorized them to mobilize? Who gave that order?" The Emperor exploded with fury, slamming his hands on the table as he rose to his feet, "Rogal Dorn, explain this to me. I did not give you permission to issue such a command, did I?"
He had given explicit orders that the war was to be postponed until Axis returned from the Webway and Magnus could begin helping him repair it.
Who would dare defy his command and act so rashly? The only person with the authority and standing to issue such an order was Rogal Dorn, the Emperor's Praetorian.
"My Lord Father, I gave no such command," Rogal Dorn stated firmly, "My order was only for the several Legions to assemble and prepare for battle. Nothing more."
How could he not obey his father's will? He would follow any order from the Emperor without question, for he was Rogal Dorn.
This was a false accusation he would not bear.
"If you did not give the order, then why have Ferrus Manus and the others advanced?" the Emperor asked, his brow furrowed in consternation.
"I do not know, Father," Dorn replied, "However, we can still transmit a command for them to halt their advance immediately."
The Emperor nodded and turned his gaze to the waiting Astropath.
"Send my command to Ferrus Manus and the other Primarchs at once," the Emperor instructed, "They are to cease their unauthorized advance. Order them to exit the Warp, hold their position at the nearest stable system, and await further instructions. They are to report their locations."
The Astropath nodded briskly and hurried from the chamber.
"Could it be that Ferrus was too impulsive?" Axis wondered aloud, "Perhaps he was eager for revenge against Fulgrim and decided to act on his own. I heard they were very close."
It was a plausible theory. Relationships between the Primarchs varied, and the bond between Fulgrim and Ferrus Manus had been one of the strongest. They were close companions, both masters of artifice who had crafted legendary weapons for one another. The thunder hammer Ferrus Manus wielded, Forgebreaker, was a gift from Fulgrim, while Fulgrim's power sword had been forged by the master of the Iron Hands himself.
Their bond was comparable to that of Sanguinius and Horus, or Axis and Magnus. They were the truest of brothers, and the betrayal of such a confidant might have been too much for Ferrus Manus to endure.
It was a known fact they had already clashed once before. After news of the Horus Heresy broke, Ferrus Manus had been the first to volunteer to quell the rebellion, and he was the designated commander of this loyalist expeditionary force.
Though he would be the first loyalist Primarch to fall in the Great Betrayal, his combat prowess was formidable, placing him solidly in the upper echelons of his brothers.
"Unlikely," the Emperor said, shaking his head, "Ferrus may be impulsive, but he understands the broader strategic situation. He would never act without my direct orders."
While Fulgrim's betrayal had certainly enraged him, Ferrus Manus possessed enough strategic discipline to hold back.
"Is it possible," Rogal Dorn began, his head bowed in thought, "that Ferrus did not truly refuse Fulgrim's offer? That he has instead sided with Fulgrim and Horus?"
A more severe possibility had occurred to Dorn. What if Ferrus Manus had already turned traitor? There were some things he could not guarantee.
It was not entirely impossible that Ferrus had only pretended to reject Fulgrim's offer of allegiance, while secretly joining Horus's cause.
He could now be leading the loyalist Primarchs into a trap.
"That possibility cannot be dismissed," the Emperor conceded grimly, "Rogal Dorn, begin fortifying the Sol System's defenses immediately. At the same time, dispatch the ships equipped with FTL drives capable of ten times the speed of light. I want you to transport all available Imperial Army soldiers and materiel from the neighboring star systems to Holy Terra."
They had to prepare for the worst. The Emperor already suspected that three of the Legions sent to quell the rebellion had betrayed them. For reasons he could not explain, he had a premonition that the true decisive battle of this war would be fought on Holy Terra itself.
With Warp travel now a treacherous and blind affair, using the slower, but more reliable, superluminal ships was the safer option for transporting vital resources. The nearest star systems were only four to seven light-years away.
At ten times the speed of light, the journey would take several months. Within a year, all resources and soldiers from the surrounding systems could be concentrated in the Sol System.
The development of faster-than-light engines had to become a priority.
If they could achieve one hundred times the speed of light, they could travel anywhere within a hundred light-years without ever needing to enter the Warp.
"I understand, Father," Rogal Dorn said with a nod, "I will command all superluminal vessels to depart at once and begin transporting the resources."
"Good," the Emperor said, "In addition, the task of locating the lost xenos beacon will fall to Jaghatai. I will personally brief him on the details of the mission."
All the intelligence they possessed concerning this second 'Imperium Secundus' and its astropathic beacon came from psychic prophecy.
The Emperor knew he must personally show Jaghatai the vision to convince him to seek out Guilliman and retrieve the strange device.
While the Emperor continued to issue orders, organizing the defense of Holy Terra and the entire Sol System, Axis finished his meal and took his leave.
He went directly to see his wife, Kasha.
He gazed upon his wife, who lay like a sleeping beauty, and was overcome with emotion.
Axis sighed softly, taking her hand in his.
"I'm sorry Kasha. I shoudn't've charged into the warp like that. Now, a century has passed, and our child has grown."
The moment he clasped her hand, Axis noticed her eyebrows twitch almost imperceptibly. Using his psychic senses and his perception of life-force, he located Kasha's soul, which was faint and weak.
The Emperor had been using his own power to mend her all these years.
Axis channeled his own purest Ki into Kasha's body. At the same time, he manifested his own soul, using the purified warp energy from his angelic halo to further aid in the restoration of hers.
If the Emperor's psychic power could help heal Kasha's soul, then his own should be able to as well, and perhaps it could awaken her even sooner.
Upon contact with Axis's Ki, Kasha's soul responded with a noticeable change.
Her pale fingers twitched faintly.
Axis's pupils contracted, and he immediately increased the output of his energy. A golden light flowed like water, enveloping Kasha's body completely.
"The Emperor's psychic power is like a surgeon's scalpel, precise and sharp. Your energy, however… is a bit too turbulent. But I can help you." A deep voice suddenly resonated through the room.
Without ceasing his efforts, Axis asked, "Is that you, Magnus? Aren't you on the Golden Throne maintaining the Webway?"
"The breach in the Webway is mostly repaired," Magnus's voice replied, seeming to emanate from all around them, "And since ascending the Golden Throne, my psychic power has been magnified dozens of times. It has been amplified to an infinite degree. My consciousness now blankets all of Holy Terra and extends even further beyond.
"I am now incomparably powerful."
Though sitting upon the Golden Throne subjected him to unimaginable physical and spiritual torment, it also amplified his psychic abilities to a phenomenal extent.
No wonder their father had been able to single-handedly hold back the entire breach in the Webway. With his power magnified dozens of times, Magnus could now assist Axis in saving his sister, the Imperial Princess Kasha.
Magnus's psychic power surged into the room like a tidal wave, instantly bathing the entire space in a brilliant spectrum of empyrean light.
Axis felt an unprecedented and gentle force envelop Kasha's soul.
"Your Ki is indeed effective, but…," Magnus's voice echoed directly in Axis's mind, "Allow me to construct a psychic bridge. Sister herself possesses immense psychic potential. The combined strength of the three of us, augmented by the residual psychic energy Father left behind, can heal her and allow her to awaken ahead of schedule."
Axis nodded in agreement and began to channel his own psychic and Ki with all his might, fully cooperating with Magnus.
He watched as countless psionic threads, as fine as hairs, emerged from the void, connecting with pinpoint accuracy to every damaged node of Kasha's soul. These threads shimmered with a brilliant, crimson-gold light, intertwining with Axis's own golden energy.
"This is…" Axis was amazed to find that Magnus's power was repairing the deep-seated trauma in Kasha's soul with astonishing efficiency.
"I have seen many things on the Golden Throne," Magnus's voice explained, laced with exhaustion but underpinned by determination, "I have seen the essence of the soul, and even the very essence of life itself. Sister's soul was torn by the storms of the Warp for far too long. Trust me, Axis. Just continue to increase your output of pure psychic power and Ki."
Though he had only sat on the Golden Throne for a few days, Magnus had previously studied countless esoteric lores concerning the soul.
There were forbidden techniques he had once dreamed of improving but could never wield. Now, everything was different.
Suddenly, Kasha's body began to tremble violently.
Her brow furrowed, and her lips parted slightly as if she were trying to speak. Axis tightened his grip on her hand, feeling her fingers squeeze back in response.
"Her consciousness is awakening, but the Warp's corruption still clings to her," Magnus's voice grew grave, "Father only suppressed the taint. Now, we must purify it completely."
Axis saw wisps of black smoke seeping from Kasha's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The smoke twisted into terrified, screaming faces. He immediately summoned the power of his angelic halo, and a pure, golden light shot like a sword toward the black mist.
"No, do not attack it directly!" Magnus warned urgently, "That will harm sister's soul. Watch this."
A gentle, violet-red psychic energy draped over the black mist like a soft veil. Miraculously, the tormented faces grew calm, eventually dissolving into motes of starlight that faded into the air.
"The Warp's corruption is now under my control," Magnus explained, "I will now strip it away from her. Axis, infuse her with your Ki."
Axis nodded thoughtfully and adjusted his own energy, making it softer as he poured an immense wave of life-giving power into her body.
Through their combined efforts, Kasha's soul began to recover its radiance at a visible rate.
Her eyelids fluttered, and the rise and fall of her chest became more pronounced. The Emperor had originally predicted that Kasha would not awaken for another two years, but now, Axis and Magnus were reversing that fate.
"We're almost there," Magnus said, his voice filled with joy, "But the final step requires your help, Axis. Call to her. Use your truest feelings."
Axis leaned close to Kasha's ear and whispered, "Kasha, it's me, Axis. I've returned. Our son is all grown up now. Everyone is waiting for you to wake up…"
...
Time passed quickly. After resting for only one night, the Emperor prepared to return to the Golden Throne and relieve Magnus of his duty.
However, an urgent message interrupted his plans.
"Emperor! We have been trying to send continuous, uninterrupted astropathic communications to the fleets led by Lord Ferrus Manus and the other Primarchs," the reporting Astropath explained, his voice strained, "But without exception, every message has vanished without a trace. We have received no reply at all."
All through the previous night, they had relentlessly broadcasted psionic messages to the expeditionary fleet, but not a single one had been acknowledged.
"Father, it seems the Warp storms have risen once more," Rogal Dorn said with a heavy sigh, "Our communications with the rest of the Imperium have been severed again."
It always happened at the most critical junctures, every time the Imperium was about to make a crucial decision.