"Our universe is not a singular one. How can you be so certain that I was never born?" the dark, cold voice echoed once more.
This universe was, in fact, a multiverse; no one had ever claimed it to be the only one. Since the Chaos Gods already knew the events of ten thousand years in the future, the birth of this entity was an inevitability.
"Impossible," Nurgle said. "You cannot be born. If you were, the entire universe should have vanished. You would have burned everything to cinders."
The cold, dark will rippled through the Warp, transmitting its meaning not through sound, but by branding it directly onto the core of Nurgle's consciousness.
"Our universe is in peril. That variable from beyond the Materium, Axis, his very existence is the greatest paradox. He has stirred the very source of the river of fate, and the destination downstream has naturally become obscured, which in turn can influence the point of origin."
The Dark King briefly explained the root of the problem to Nurgle. If the four Chaos Gods could exist across infinite timelines from the moment of their birth, then why couldn't the Dark King, who was theoretically on their level or perhaps even stronger, also exist across all of time?
It was a fundamentally paradoxical question.
In the Warp, and indeed throughout the material universe, the concept of time was little more than the dissipation of energy. In a sense, time itself did not truly exist. All one perceived as time was merely the loss or transformation of energy.
"So you 'awakened' ahead of schedule?" Nurgle's voice grew low, laden with caution.
As a Chaos God, he understood perfectly well what the appearance of the Dark King signified.
Why had they maneuvered the Emperor onto the Golden Throne?
It was because if the Emperor had not been bound to it, the human race would have marched towards a golden age. Once humanity embarked upon that bright future, the Dark King would awaken, born into existence ahead of his time.
It was like a dining table with eight seats, but only four were occupied, allowing everyone present to eat their fill.
If another person arrived, the food allotted to the others would be diminished, leaving them hungry. Worse, this newcomer might even flip the table at any moment.
Thus, to ensure their future feasts and prevent the table-flipper from appearing, the four Chaos Gods had colluded to place the Emperor upon the Golden Throne.
As long as the human race endured in its miserable state, the Dark King would not awaken. The Emperor would sit forever upon that barren throne, and they could continue to enjoy their endless banquet without a care.
The four Chaos Gods had never intended to annihilate humanity. The human race was far too important to them. Its vast population and potent psychic energies were the primary sources of their sustenance.
"I do not wish to waste more time in idle talk. I have only one question for you. Will you join me in dealing with Axis?" the Dark King impressed his will upon the Grandfather.
"You want to help me deal with Axis?"
"That is correct," the Dark King affirmed. "The existence of Axis has disrupted my plans and may even pose a mortal threat to me in the future. How could I possibly allow him to grow unchecked?"
From the moment Axis and the Emperor had first plotted to kill him, the Dark King had been aware of their entire plan.
The presence of Axis did, in a way, threaten his very existence. This was especially true of the purple energy of destruction he wielded, a unique power from another world that was truly capable of killing him.
Before, he had not considered Axis a threat, but ever since that purple energy had appeared, the Dark King had sensed true danger. If Axis mastered that terrifying power of destruction, he would have a real chance of erasing the Dark King completely.
Therefore, the Dark King had decided to act against Axis, but he had to do so without the Emperor's knowledge. The Emperor was the Dark King's avatar in the material realm, but he was not the Dark King himself. The Dark King was aware of everything the Emperor did, but the Emperor knew nothing of his true self's actions.
"You should be aware that we have a fundamental conflict of interest. None of us wish for you to awaken," Nurgle said. He did indeed want to eliminate Axis and reclaim Isha, his Goddess of Life, but an alliance with the Dark King was a matter that required careful consideration.
"We do not have as great a conflict as you think. You would prefer my birth be delayed. Since I have chosen the human race, my awakening is tied to them. As long as the Emperor sits upon the Golden Throne, and as long as the human race continues to exist in its suffering, the galaxy will remain a cesspool of war and misery. You will receive your negative emotions, and I shall receive darkness and despair. I much prefer to sleep than to be awake, but now there is someone who wishes to force me into consciousness, only to kill me afterward," the Dark King explained.
He had approached Nurgle because he knew the other three Chaos Gods would never cooperate with him. They were beneficiaries of the new dynamics Axis had introduced into the galaxy, with Khorne and Tzeentch in particular reaping great rewards.
Nurgle began to weigh the pros and cons.
As long as the Dark King did not awaken, it was a good thing for all of them. And the death of Axis would be the best thing of all for him personally. He had been thoroughly humiliated and slapped across the face.
His beloved Goddess of Life had been stolen. If he did nothing, the four Chaos Gods would become a laughingstock.
"What is your plan, Dark King? How do you intend to deal with Axis?" Nurgle asked.
"I have a plan… but it requires your cooperation."
Green and black energies intertwined as their conspiracy began.
"It is a perfect, flawless plan. It would be wonderful if it succeeds," Nurgle eventually conceded.
"Of course it will succeed. This is our secret pact. You must not reveal it to anyone. Secrecy is paramount," the Dark King commanded.
"Rest assured, I will not tell the other three. But can you guarantee that the one on the Golden Throne will not discover this?" Nurgle questioned.
"I have already started corrupting him. As time passes, he will develop more negative personalities. Soon, he will no longer even be himself," the Dark King replied.
"In that case, here's to the success of our plan!" Nurgle said, a triumphant, cunning smile spreading across his visage.
…
Meanwhile, after a journey of several months, the grand army led by Axis and Guilliman finally reached the Imperial Western Front.
There, the Dark Angels, the Children of Tomorrow, the Space Wolves, the Iron Warriors, and the Thousand Sons legions were engaged in a ferocious war against the Rangda, led by Perturabo and Karl.
The arrival of the Imperial reinforcements sent a surge of morale through the five beleaguered legions. After fighting for so long, their relief had finally come.
The two primarchs in command of the front, Perturabo and Karl, immediately came aboard the flagship to meet Guilliman, Axis, Sanguinius, Lion El'Jonson, Leman Russ, and Magnus.
"You have come at last, my brothers!" Karl greeted the arriving primarchs, his face alight with excitement.
At his side, Perturabo gave a slight nod to the assembly. The primarch of the Iron Warriors was not a man of many words.
"You have endured much, Perturabo, and you, Karl. Had you not held the line here, this war might have shattered the nascent Imperium of Man," Guilliman said gravely.
"It is good that you are here. Is the situation across the Imperium stable? Has Horus been defeated?" Karl asked.
"You can rest easy on that front," Guilliman informed them. "Horus was slain by Father on Holy Terra several months ago."
"That is truly excellent news," Perturabo said, "Our only regret is that we could not take part in that war."
"What was the course of the war? Did we suffer great casualties?" Karl pressed.
At this question, all the newly arrived primarchs fell into a somber silence. Finally, it was Guilliman who spoke.
"The Imperium's losses were catastrophic. Countless worlds were destroyed by Chaos. At least several hundred thousand Astartes fell in battle. The Iron Hands, the Salamanders, and the Raven Guard were essentially broken, their Legion strengths reduced to mere thousands. The Blood Angels and the White Scars also suffered heavy losses. And… Father… after his duel with Horus, he was grievously wounded. He now sits upon the Golden Throne, forever silent to his people, trapped in a state between life and death."
Guilliman relayed the full course and consequence of the war to them. The two primarchs who had held the Western Front stared in disbelief.
"Impossible!" Karl turned to Axis, his voice sharp with accusation. "Axis, you could have defeated Horus yourself! Why did Father have to fight him?"
Others might not have known the extent of Axis's combat prowess, but Karl certainly did.
Hearing the question, Axis gave a bitter smile. It was not that he had been unwilling to fight Horus, but that the Emperor had forbidden it.
"The situation was far more complex than you imagine," Guilliman intervened. "Axis was fighting an endless horde of daemons within the Webway to protect Holy Terra itself. Horus, for his part, was empowered by all four Chaos Gods, his strength far beyond anything you could conceive.
"This outcome is not one any of us wanted, but what is done is done. The only thing we can do now is carry on the Imperium our Father built and see it prosper."
"No one wished for this to happen," Sanguinius added with a heavy sigh.
Eventually, the two primarchs accepted the reality of the Emperor's internment on the Golden Throne. What was done could not be undone.
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ps?