Sanguinius spoke, his voice heavy with foreboding. It had been three hundred years since the Emperor's ascension.
The first century had been tolerable, but over the last two, the Emperor had changed as if he had become an entirely different person. In the beginning, he would still communicate with his sons, but later, all dialogue ceased.
To be more precise, any brother who did communicate with him had subsequently vanished.
"I agree. Uncle Sanguinius is right. We must find my father," Kratos added with a firm nod.
They had to see Axis, no matter the cost.
The entity upon the Golden Throne, whatever it had become, was no longer the Emperor they remembered as their father.
The grievous injuries and disappearances of their brothers, the subtle but insidious changes throughout the Imperium, and Axis's own century-long silence all pointed to a single truth.
The Age of the Primarchs was coming to an end.
Magnus let out a helpless sigh. He was at a loss, uncertain if this was the correct path to take.
"Magnus, the Imperium has grown strange," Sanguinius pressed, "You have to help us. We need your aid to reach Axis."
Though his own psychic might was immense, Sanguinius knew he could not force a path through the Webway to Axis's hidden sanctuary alone.
A thick shroud of mist now enveloped Axis's domain within the labyrinthine dimension, and to break through it would require a great feat of power. It would take the combined psychic might of himself, Magnus, and Kratos, all focused with their total strength, to breach the veil.
"Since you have made your decision, then let us undertake this mission in ten years," Magnus declared, "You both must arrange the affairs of your Legions. We must prepare for the worst possible outcome."
"No, Magnus. We start now," Sanguinius retorted, his tone urgent, "We made our preparations before we even came to you. We cannot wait any longer. If we delay, I fear both Kratos and I will be next to meet some ill fate."
Though the thought was treasonous to his core, Sanguinius was now certain that the Emperor himself was connected to the downfall of every one of his sons.
"Trust me, you will need ten years to prepare for what is to come," Magnus said, his insistence uncharacteristic. "Otherwise, I will not help you. I will instead take Prospero into seclusion. I will hide my world, and for the foreseeable future, I will remain there and never leave."
"Magnus, do you know something?" Sanguinius asked, his eyes narrowing. "The only ones who ever truly knew the Emperor's secrets were you, Axis, and Malcador the Sigillite."
"You know I cannot tell you, Sanguinius," Magnus replied. "If you do not believe me, then go and ask the Sigillite yourself."
Ten years was his final offer.
"Uncle Magnus, if you are unwilling to help, then Uncle Sanguinius and I will attempt to break through on our own," Kratos interjected, "We will see my father, one way or another."
This was no longer just about his missing father. All his uncles were gone, and his mother was with Axis, unreachable. They had not been in contact for over a hundred years. He still regretted not telling his father everything the moment the Emperor first commanded them to conceal what had happened to the Lion.
"If you insist on this folly, then go," Magnus said flatly. "But I can tell you with absolute certainty that you will fail. Even if you were to transform into your Super Saiyan state, Kratos, and you, Sanguinius, were to unleash the full power of the Holy Light, you would never reach Axis's location without my help."
"...I understand. I hope you will keep your word," Sanguinius said in a low voice, after a moment of silence.
He then turned to Kratos and clapped him firmly on the shoulder. "Kratos, for these ten years, you will not leave my side for a moment. Remember, no matter who speaks to you in your mind, even if they use the Emperor's name, you must not believe them. That is no longer our father, your grandfather."
He knew all too well that the only command a Primarch would follow into certain doom was a direct order from the Emperor's will.
And as much as he loathed to admit it, that will was undoubtedly tied to the disappearance of his brothers.
"We will meet on Nuceria in ten years," Magnus affirmed.
With the pact made, Sanguinius and Kratos departed. After they were gone, Magnus let out another long sigh.
Sometimes fate was a cruel and unyielding thing. His true father had bought Axis this precious time, but the Dark King would not rest for a single moment.
"The only thing I can do now," Magnus whispered to the empty air, "is share this burden with you and protect Sanguinius and Kratos."
The uncle and nephew returned to the headquarters of the Ecclesiarchy to make their final arrangements.
Sanguinius gave new orders to the Legions under his command. He currently led two forces: his own Blood Angels and the Paladins.
While he could command the Paladins through his authority as Ecclesiarch, his control over them was not as absolute as it was over his own sons. Although he was no longer the official Legion Master of the Blood Angels, he knew every one of them would still obey his word without question.
"Kratos, first, return to Planet Vegeta and see to the affairs of your Legion," Sanguinius instructed.
"I understand, Uncle Sanguinius."
"Once your duty is done, return to me at once. And remember, trust no one, not even Malcador the Sigillite," Sanguinius added gravely.
Kratos nodded in understanding.
He took his leave from Sanguinius and journeyed back to his homeworld of Vegeta. There, he arranged for the future of his Legion and appointed a successor to lead them in his absence.
Once their preparations were complete, Sanguinius and Kratos traveled together to the dead world of Nuceria.
Before leaving his post, Sanguinius made one final proclamation to the Imperium: he declared himself the first and only Ecclesiarch of the Adeptus Ministorum. Only a true son of the Emperor, he decreed, could hold the title of Ecclesiarch.
All other mortals, even Space Marines, could rise no higher than Archbishop. The Ecclesiarch was the final arbiter of the Emperor's divine word.
In an Imperium without the Lord Regent or the Emperor's son of equal rank, the Ecclesiarch's authority could even supersede that of the High Lords of Terra.
For nine long years, Sanguinius and Kratos remained on Nuceria, waiting.
Then, on the appointed day in the tenth year, on the 333rd anniversary of the Emperor's interment upon the Golden Throne, Magnus arrived.
Drawing upon his power as a god of the Immaterium, he tore open a rift in reality and stepped onto the blasted surface of Nuceria.
"It is time to fulfill our pact, Magnus," Sanguinius said, stepping forward. "But before we do, I wish to know the Emperor's true secret."
He knew Axis was undertaking a clandestine mission within the Webway, but only Magnus knew its true purpose.
Even Malcador was only aware of the broad strokes of a highly confidential plan. Now that they were about to venture into Axis's domain, the time for secrets was over.
"Let us first enter the Webway," Magnus replied. "It is not safe to speak of such things here. I will tell you everything on the way."
Sanguinius and Kratos exchanged a glance and nodded.
A brilliant golden aura erupted around Sanguinius as he unleashed the power of the Holy Light. At the same time, Kratos transformed into a Super Saiyan 2, his own psychic energy flaring to its absolute peak.
Two columns of golden light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire planet of Nuceria. Magnus responded by opening his third, arcane eye, from which a beam of ethereal blue energy emerged.
Arcane power, psychic might, and the energy of the Holy Light merged into a single, overwhelming force.
Together, they blasted through the layers of mist obscuring the entrance to the Webway. The three of them stepped through the newly formed portal, and with their departure, the Imperium lost its final three Primarchs.
Within the twisting corridors of the Webway, the gazes of Sanguinius and Kratos immediately fell upon Magnus, demanding an answer.
"Our father… he has a chance to rise from the Golden Throne, to be completely healed," Magnus's voice echoed in their minds via a psychic link, laden with a heavy sense of destiny. "The key was a treasure in Axis's possession. It was a fruit from the Tree of Might. You should know of it."
"I remember!" Kratos's mind flashed with a memory. "On that planet deep within the Webway, Father was sitting in meditation beneath a colossal, divine tree! It was larger than the planet itself! He told me it was the 'Tree of Gods' that he was cultivating and swore me to secrecy!"
During his frequent visits over a century ago, Kratos had developed a strong impression of the Domain of Life and its majestic tree. He also remembered the figure there who was his nominal sister, the Goddess of Life, Isha.
"That is correct. It is the Tree of Gods that Axis has been nurturing," Magnus confirmed. "If it can bear a true fruit of the gods, Father could consume it and be fully restored."
"So that was it," Sanguinius breathed, the pieces falling into place. "No wonder Axis has remained in the Webway for so long. Magnus, everything that has happened to our father… you knew about all of it?"
"I did," Magnus's voice grew sombre. "But we can discuss the rest… when we see Axis."
On the Planet of Life, a figure sat cross-legged.
For one hundred and seventy years, Axis had remained perfectly still upon that sacred soil.
Now, a vast and pure form of energy, as if born from the very origin of the cosmos, began to stir and rise from within him.
His eyes, closed for over a century, snapped open.
They no longer held a mortal sheen but now swirled with divine light. His body lifted from the ground, floating weightlessly into the sky above the planet.
A gentle yet overwhelming radiance bloomed from him, illuminating the world below. His physical form underwent a subtle change, his towering frame shrinking slightly, his build becoming leaner.
But this was merely a reflection of a complete and total transformation of his very essence.
An aura of crimson, a divine ki that held within it a power without limit, erupted like a newborn star.
Axis's hair and his eyes slowly bled into a deep and sacred crimson.
Super Saiyan God had been born.
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