"Axis, the roots of this Divine Tree have already taken hold in the Warp," Khorne said. "It absorbs a vast amount of Warp energy every moment. We should place a Chaos ward here to prevent the other three from discovering my secret."
Besides consuming his own divine power, the tree also drew energy from the Immaterium as sustenance, making it easy for others to discover.
This Divine Tree was of paramount importance to the Emperor, Khorne, and Axis. It could absolutely not be discovered by the other three Chaos Gods, so it had to be protected at all costs.
"I will also place a psychic ward here," the Emperor said, "and create the illusion that I am the one absorbing the Warp's energy."
Khorne's ward alone was not enough.
The Emperor's own ward would provide a more secure cover, leading the other three Chaos Gods to believe that it was he, the Emperor, who was drawing power from the Warp.
"Khorne, you can also dispatch your Daemon Legions here, while the Emperor sends his Legion of the Damned," Axis suggested.
"The two sides can wage war, which would be an even better way to avoid the suspicion of the other Chaos Gods!"
"That is an excellent proposal," Khorne declared with excitement. "I can move my Daemon Legions over at any time. Axis, you should join in too! Let your sons come and slaughter my daemons. Now that would be interesting."
He loved the very idea of it.
"Vetoed," the Emperor stated. "We cannot be too obvious, or we will attract unwanted attention. A large-scale war here would undoubtedly draw the greater scrutiny of the other three gods."
Khorne placing a hidden ward while the Emperor absorbed Warp energy on the periphery was the best method of concealment. Dispatching their armies to fight here would certainly attract the gaze of the other three Chaos Gods, making it an unacceptable risk.
More importantly, his Legion of the Damned was composed entirely of the souls of human heroes, even if they were, in a sense, his own daemons.
The Emperor would not sacrifice them needlessly, especially not in a meaningless battle. If they did that, the only one who would enjoy it was Khorne, for he loved nothing more than war.
Axis heard this and nodded in agreement. It was just as the Emperor had said.
"Alright then," Khorne relented. "In that case, I will be on my way."
Axis nodded, watching the Emperor and Khorne depart.
For a long time afterward, Axis remained in the Domain of life, cultivating the Tree of Divine Fruit with Isha.
During this period, Kasha also moved in to live with them. Kratos and Khârn both came to pay their respects to Axis. After learning that their father, their father, could not leave, they made their vows.
"Father, I will not disappoint you."
"Great father, the Golden Legion will make your name resound across the galaxy once more. We are the inheritors of the golden bloodline."
The two beat their chests, assuring him that they would handle all matters in the outside galaxy and would never tarnish the name of the Golden Legion.
Axis nodded in satisfaction.
"I have faith in you, my sons," Axis said. "And do not worry. I am not like the Emperor. I am not permanently trapped here. I can leave as long as I wish to, so you have nothing to fear."
If he truly wanted to leave, he could do so at any time, as long as the Emperor temporarily stopped his transfer of Warp energy.
The conversion of Khorne's power was handled by Isha anyway. Moreover, the Divine Tree was constantly growing on its own.
In the future, it might not even need him and Kasha to convert energy; it would be able to absorb the power of Khorne and the Emperor by itself.
The Divine Tree was currently in an infant state, requiring careful nurturing, but once it matured, it would begin to give back to Axis and Isha.
Even now, without the divine power of the Emperor and Khorne, it could sustain itself by drawing energy directly from the Warp.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Kasha stayed by Axis's side. Whenever an important matter concerning the Golden Legion arose, the Master Psyker Mader would travel through the Webway to seek Axis's counsel.
The Golden Legion also underwent a downsizing, splitting off into fifty Chapters. The core military force was set at one hundred thousand Space Marines, with new recruits not counting toward this total.
The other Legions were also methodically being broken down into Chapters.
After ten years of preparation, the establishment of the Imperial Cult finally began. During this time, the Emperor performed miracles on various worlds.
Sanguinius unfurled his golden wings, first demonstrating the Emperor's power on his homeworld of Baal, and then embarking on a speaking tour across the key planets of the Imperium.
His speeches were powerfully inflammatory and filled with fervent worship, deifying the Emperor.
Finally, on Holy Terra, the founding ceremony of the Imperial Cult officially commenced. This time, all the Primarchs who were able took the time to attend.
"Praise the great God-Emperor! The great God-Emperor sacrificed himself to protect all of humanity! Our species exists today only because of his great sacrifice!" Sanguinius proclaimed in a booming voice.
"Praise the great God-Emperor! Praise to the great divinity!"
"Great God-Emperor, protect us, protect humanity, protect the Imperium!"
The crowd below erupted in a mountainous roar of cheers, praising the Emperor, their God-Emperor.
"The God-Emperor will protect every human. Upon death, every human soul will return to the Golden Throne, where the Emperor will safeguard it.
"Every word from my father is a holy edict, a sacred truth, a divine precept. You must remember them and obey the God-Emperor's teachings," Sanguinius declared.
Even uttering these words made Sanguinius feel a little uncomfortable. These fanatical scriptures were not written by him, but by Lorgar, who was still confined to his prison.
It had to be said that when it came to proselytizing and building a religion, none of the other Primarchs could hold a candle to Lorgar.
He was a true genius in this field. Even Sanguinius himself, after studying the texts Lorgar had written, felt a greater sense of reverence for his father. For the common citizens of the Imperium, it inspired an even more zealous devotion.
Axis stood in the crowd, participating in the event as one of the Primarchs.
The Emperor had temporarily halted the energy transfer, allowing Axis to make an appearance on Holy Terra.
"From this day forward, the Imperial Cult is officially established," Sanguinius announced. "The Cult will protect the people of the Imperium, it will protect all of humanity. It will protect your souls and your minds. All of you, all human souls, belong to the God-Emperor."
From that day on, the Emperor's title was changed to God-Emperor. He was truly deified, and the great god of Humanity was born.
"And I, Sanguinius, will carry out my father's will as the first Ecclesiarch. I will lead humanity forward according to the will of my great father, the great Master of Mankind, the great God-Emperor."
"Great Archangel, we hail the Imperial Ecclesiarch!"
"Great Sanguinius, great executor of the Emperor's will!"
"Lead us onward, Lord Ecclesiarch!"
In that moment, Sanguinius was officially crowned the Ecclesiarch of the Imperium, a position whose status was in no way inferior to that of Axis or Guilliman.
And at that moment, the Imperium officially transformed from a secular human empire into a religious one.
"As of today, I will step down from my position as Legion Master of the Blood Angels and pass this title to my sons," Sanguinius continued. "From this day forward, all Legions and Chapters must establish monasteries and appoint Chaplains to worship the God-Emperor."
The corruption of Chaos was severe, so Sanguinius had to assign Chaplains to every Legion and Chapter.
Chaplains would be equipped with powerful weapons and would learn the way of the holy Light, wielding its power to better protect their battle-brothers from the corrupting influence of Chaos.
"The Imperium will establish a new organization called the Order of Paladins. All Legions and Chapters must periodically send personnel to serve as Paladins. Only after their term of service is complete may they leave the order and return to their Legion or Chapter.
"At the same time, all mortal men and women will have the opportunity to become a great Paladin. As long as you persevere in practicing the way of the Holy Light, you too can wield its power in a mortal body. The Light will bless you. The Paladin forces will be composed not only of Astartes but also of mortal Paladins."
From this day forward, the Imperial Truth established by his father, the belief in science and technology, would be no more.
In its place would rise a theocratic empire. And he, Sanguinius, was the one being pushed to the forefront to personally end this era of truth. Looking down at the cheering crowd, Sanguinius revealed a flicker of sorrow, so subtle it was almost imperceptible.
After the founding of the Imperial Cult, Holy Terra celebrated for months. It would take more than a decade, perhaps several, for the news to spread throughout the entire Imperium.
After attending the ceremony and briefly speaking with Sanguinius to offer him some encouragement, Axis returned to the Webway.
Fifty years later, the Imperial Cult had spread to nearly every corner of the Imperium. At the same time, a safe and stable faster-than-light engine, capable of forty times the speed of light, was installed on Imperial ships.
Within a hundred-light-year radius, humanity could now travel with almost one hundred percent safety, no longer needing to risk dangerous Warp jumps.
One hundred years later, in the 120th year of the Emperor's reign on the Golden Throne, an unforeseen disaster struck.
The Lion, Lion El'Jonson, faced a great rebellion in his homeworld. The exact cause of the rebellion was unknown, only that a third of the Dark Angels followed Luther in open revolt.
The rebellion utterly destroyed the planet of Caliban, and both the Lion and his most trusted ward, Luther, fell into a deep slumber.
This event shocked all the Primarchs, but the Emperor gave a strict order that Axis was not to be told.
Two hundred years after the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, Rogal Dorn vanished mysteriously during a boarding action, leaving behind only his severed hand.
Just a few years later, disaster befell the Imperial Regent, Guilliman.
He was ambushed by the traitor Primarch Fulgrim and suffered a fatal slash to the throat. Although the Ultramarines managed to retrieve his body, the Primarch Roboute Guilliman was trapped in a state between life and death.
Jaghatai Khan, while pursuing a Dark Eldar raiding party, mistakenly entered the Webway and was transported by its mysterious forces to a section of the network outside the galaxy.
This region was an extragalactic part of the Webway built by the Old Ones in their final days. It was a place even the Laughing God could not set foot in, a completely unknown territory.
Corvus Corax, the Ravenlord; Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands; and Perturabo, Primarch of the Iron Warriors, took a small number of their personal guards and charged into the Eye of Terror.
They had received a mysterious command to seek vengeance against the forces of Chaos. They disappeared without a trace, three more Primarchs lost.
Vulkan, the Lord of Drakes, grew disillusioned and dissatisfied with the state of the Imperium. He chose to go into seclusion, leaving his Legion and his sons behind.
Leman Russ, the Wolf King, received a command from his father, the Emperor, in a dream. It ordered him to go to the Eye of Terror to find something called the Fruit of Life.
This fruit was said to be able to raise his father from the Golden Throne. Without a hint of doubt, the Wolf King handed command of the Legion over to Thor.
He then led his Wolf Guard into the Eye of Terror alone, unaware that the one who had issued the command was not the Emperor, but the Dark King.
The Second Primarch, Karl, was also mysteriously injured in an accident and, like Guilliman, was placed in a stasis field.
The Emperor strictly forbade anyone from telling Axis about any of these developments, about the disappearance of the Primarchs.
At this point, the only Primarchs remaining in the Imperium were Sanguinius, the Ecclesiarch of the Imperial Cult; Magnus, on the planet of Prospero; and Kratos, the son of Axis.
Another century passed.
In the 320th year of the Emperor's reign, the power he gained from the Imperial Cult had grown immense. The amount of energy Axis had to convert each day had become so vast that it required his full and undivided attention.
But the three remaining Primarchs in the Imperium had already sensed that something was wrong. The Emperor had even forbidden Kratos, the son of Axis, from entering the Webway to see his father.
Kratos had not seen his father for over a hundred years.
The three surviving Primarchs held a secret meeting on the planet of Prospero.
"Magnus, Kratos, I suspect the one sitting on the Golden Throne is no longer our father," Sanguinius said.
For three hundred years, all their brothers had either disappeared, been lost, or were gravely wounded.
"I also feel that grandfather is acting very strangely," Kratos added. "It is as if he wants to tell us something, but cannot."
"We must see Axis."
...
..
.
ps?