Across the entire battlefield, from the Daemons charging in madness to the Adeptus Custodes fighting bathed in blood, and even the Imperial Fists observing from the distant high walls of the Palace, a momentary, deathly silence descended.
Only the golden aura blazing around Kratos, and the fiery battle-lust in his eyes, remained as the sole source of light and focus within this purgatory.
The Keeper of Secrets of Slaanesh that had just been slain was no trivial weakling. It was a Greater Daemon, an entity far superior to any Space Marine.
Even an ordinary Custodian might not be a match for a Greater Daemon. While some exceptionally powerful Space Marines could defeat one, that only amounted to banishment; it did not truly, permanently kill them.
Unless one wielded a divine artifact, such as the Emperor's own weapon, it was generally impossible to kill Greater Daemons or Daemon Princes. At most, they would be banished back to the Warp.
Yet now, a Greater Daemon had been instantly killed with a single, effortless punch.
"There is no mistake. That power is unmistakable. It is the power of the Emperor," a Sister of Silence said with a frown.
The other Sisters of Silence nodded in agreement.
As Blanks, they recognized the Emperor's psychic energy. Furthermore, the man before them possessed incredibly potent psychic power. Blanks had hierarchy levels too and the stronger they were, the greater their suppression.
Yet even the most powerful Sister of Silence could not fully negate the Emperor's psychic might; at most, they could pierce through his psychic disguises to see his true face.
However, this man was not using psychic power to disguise himself, and the presence of this group of Silent Sisters did not hinder his use of power in the slightest!
At that moment, a golden figure arrived beside Kratos. The Imperial Living Saint, Celestine, had descended upon the battlefield.
Having spent the last two or three months with Axis and his son, she had learned to wield the Holy Light. A Living Saint was already a firm believer, possessing the qualities required for the Holy Light!
Therefore, she did not need Sanguinius to remotely inject a seed of light; she could communicate with and use this power directly.
The Living Saint already possessed great strength, but with the Holy Light and the new body prepared for her by Axis, she now erupted with even more formidable power.
However, having just flown down, there was nothing for the Living Saint to do, as almost every Daemon present had been wiped out by Kratos in a single move.
The couple nodded to each other and landed together beside the Custodes. Captain-General Trajann looked at Kratos with a complex expression, unsure how to face this man.
Should he treat him as the Emperor's bloodline, or ignore him? If he acknowledged him as the Emperor's kin, would the Custodes be bound to obey his commands in the future?
"Is that angel in the sky the Living Saint?" Captain-General Trajann asked, looking at the Sister Commander beside him.
He intended to change the subject; that Living Saint gave him a strange feeling.
"How should I put it, Captain-General? She is Celestine, but she is not the Living Saint we are familiar with," one of the Sisters of Silence said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Incorrect. She is still a Living Saint. She possesses all the abilities of a Living Saint, only... only different from what we have seen before," another Sister of Silence added.
This left Trajann somewhat bewildered. What are you doing? What exactly are you doing?
What is this nonsense?
What do you mean she is a Living Saint, yet not a Living Saint? She is Celestine, yet not a Living Saint?
"The situation is somewhat complex, Lord Trajann! This individual indeed possesses the power of a Living Saint, but she also holds another kind of holy power, distinct from the Emperor's divinity. Furthermore, she possesses a true physical body, not a body of the Warp," a Sister of Silence briefly explained Celestine's condition.
All Living Saints had bodies composed of Warp energy. They were deceased Battle Sisters or high-ranking members of the Ecclesiarchy, chosen by the great God-Emperor to be reborn within the Warp, walking the mortal realm in the Emperor's name to spread His majesty and faith.
However, Living Saints were existences that had already died. Although they still "lived," their physical structure was not much different from a Warp Daemon.
They were more like Daemons, or Greater Daemons—perhaps even Daemon Princes who had ascended.
"I received the Emperor's blessing, and I received Lord Axis's blessing. I now possess a true body. And the one before me is named Kratos. He is the son of the Emperor's daughter, Kasha. He possesses the Emperor's bloodline and the Emperor's psychic power," Celestine introduced herself first, then pointed to her fiancé.
"Greetings, Custodes. My name is Kratos. Do not doubt it; I am of the Emperor's bloodline, the genuine article. All Daemons here have been wiped out. This war is over," Kratos stated.
Above in orbit, on the bridge of the Axis.
Axis watched his son's god-of-war-like figure below, nodding with satisfaction particularly at the clean, one-punch kill of the Keeper of Secrets.
He smiled at Kasha and Guilliman beside him and said, "It seems our son had a lot of fun. Let's go. It is time for us to go down and have a good talk with your old man on this world."
The ship began its descent. A massive shadow cast over the burning battlefield below.
A new storm was about to descend upon the heart of Holy Terra, deep within the Imperial Palace, upon the Golden Throne.
The Corpse Emperor had also sensed Axis's true body descending.
"I cannot trust you. Although the power within you feels familiar, there is also power I am unfamiliar with. I even suspect you are a monster cloned from the Emperor's DNA by someone with ulterior motives," Trajann said, taking a deep breath.
He had reason to harbor such suspicions. Not long ago, some foolish Imperial Inquisitors had attempted to repair the Golden Throne, as it had been operating for ten thousand years.
Serious problems had emerged. It now required burning not one thousand psykers a day, but over three thousand, and sometimes even more.
Most of the Golden Throne's components were failing. Without repairs, the Golden Throne would collapse within a few hundred years, certainly no more than a millennium. Without the Golden Throne and the Emperor's guidance, the consequences were unimaginable.
Consequently, an Inquisitor and a Rogue Trader had journeyed to the Dark Eldar city of Commorragh to find a Haemonculus to repair the Golden Throne.
However, after arriving, this Dark Eldar did not fulfill the contract with the Imperium. Instead, he engaged in sabotage, planning to copy the Golden Throne and even clone an Emperor of their own.
They intended to use it to protect their Webway realm from invasion. The Dark Eldar had even mocked humanity, claiming they did not understand the Golden Throne's true usage at all, that the Throne was not a machine created by humans.
It was an Old One artifact found by the Emperor, with only some human modifications added. Humanity had no understanding of its true purpose.
That rebellion was ultimately quelled by the Custodes, but no one could guarantee that the Emperor's genes hadn't truly been leaked and used to clone such a thing.
The man before him even resembled the Emperor in his youth. The strength the Emperor possessed when walking among mortals back then was likely at this level!
"You suspect I am a clone? A clone of the Emperor? That is too ridiculous, isn't it?" Kratos looked at Trajann with a bewildered expression.
Open your eyes and look. Where do I look like a clone? Damn it.
"Perhaps your body contains other genes mixed in... some impure genes. You—!" Trajann did not finish his sentence.
A massive slap struck his face. Before the Captain-General could react, his helmet was knocked off, several teeth flew out, and he was flattened to the ground. A large foot then stepped directly onto his head.
"I dare you to say what you just said one more time. Whose genes did you say were impure?" Axis said with annoyance, pressing his foot down hard, causing Trajann's body to tremble.
The surrounding Custodes finally reacted, immediately wielding their weapons to attack Axis.
The latter merely gave a cold snort, and a terrifying pressure erupted from his body. In an instant, all the Custodes were crushed to the ground, unable to move.
"Motherfu—Ahem. You actually said my genes are impure?!! Let me tell you, my genes are the root of my son's power" Axis scoffed.
"Father, calm down a little. These Custodes are just a bit nervous," Kratos hurriedly stepped in front of his father to mediate.
He was genuinely afraid his father would kill all these Custodes in a fit of rage.
There was no need to doubt his terrifying father; Axis could definitely do it. To his father, there was little difference between Custodes and mortal soldiers.
"Axis, stop immediately. There is a misunderstanding here. I am Guilliman, the Primarch of the XIII Legion, Roboute Guilliman!" At this moment, Guilliman also walked over.
Just then, Celestine's body suddenly flashed with golden light. A terrifying presence descended upon her, and her eyes emitted the golden light of psychic energy.
"My Custodians, Kratos is indeed my grandson; do not doubt this. As for Axis, he is my son-in-law. Let them enter Holy Terra." The voice that emerged from Celestine's mouth was not a woman's voice, but a deep, resonant male voice.
All the Custodes trembled, faces filled with excitement. They had not heard their Master's voice in ten thousand years.
"Hurry up and take me to the Golden Throne," Axis said. "I might be able to make the Emperor a little better."
...
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ps?