The Corpse Emperor of this universe existed in a state completely unlike the one in Axis's own world. Back home, the Emperor had consumed numerous fruits from the Tree of Might, and Axis had spent ten years reinforcing the Emperor's body with Ki. Consequently, that Emperor's physical constitution had strengthened immensely; even after sitting on the Golden Throne for over three hundred years, he remained lifelike and unchanged.
But the Emperor of this world was different.
This world's Emperor had received no such augmentation. He had struggled on the Golden Throne for seven years before immediately descending to duel Horus. That duel had not been a performance. It was a true battle of life and death.
The result was a pyrrhic victory: the Emperor slew Horus at a terrible cost, ending up critically wounded and on the verge of death. Ultimately, with no other choice, he was forced onto the Golden Throne. That was his original fate.
Ten thousand years had passed, and the Emperor was now a rotting corpse. Axis wanted to see the true state of this world's Emperor and help if he could.
Whether it was the Fruit of the Tree of Might or his own life energy, he could offer assistance. He could not make the Emperor simply walk off the Golden Throne, but alleviating his condition was well within his capabilities.
Trajann Valoris looked up upon hearing this. The entity before him was far more powerful than he had imagined. Is he truly the Emperor's son-in-law? he wondered.
If so, why didn't they return ten thousand years ago to help the Emperor against Horus?
Trajann recalled the brief exchange just moments ago; he had been utterly helpless, defeated instantly without a chance to retaliate. The opponent's combat power was absurd.
As the Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes, Trajann was the strongest Custodes.
Trajann had once fought against the simulacra of a primarch in virtual training scenarios. While he acknowledged he was not the equal of a Primarch, he would not be instantly obliterated by one.
Yet, the being before him was stronger than a Primarch, Trajann could not say by exactly how much, only that fighting Axis felt no different from a mere mortal fighting him.
If such a supreme being had been able to participate in the war ten thousand years ago, the history of the battlefield would likely have been rewritten. The Emperor would not have been crippled by Horus, nor forced onto the Golden Throne to become that rotting carcass.
"Harbor no doubts, Captain-General Trajann," Saint Celestine, standing to the side, spoke calmly. "This one's identity is unique. You do not need to know the details at this moment; you only need to lead him to the Golden Throne."
Hearing this, Trajann glanced at Celestine, then nodded.
He waved his hand, ordering the Custodians to clear a path, and personally led Axis, Roboute Guilliman, Kratos, Kasha, and the others toward the Golden Throne.
Although the situation remained unclear, the fact that the Emperor had communicated with them again after ten thousand years was cause enough for celebration.
Before entering the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra, Axis sent a telepathic message through his divine will to Ahriman, ordering him to clean up the Imperium's high command.
He was to eliminate the High Lords of Terra, including their families and support groups.
To express his gratitude, Ynnead, the Eldar God of the Dead, sent Eldar warriors to support Ahriman. The entire mission was to be conducted in secret, with Ahriman staging the scene to look like a Daemonic incursion.
…
It was a place that felt both familiar and strange to Axis, Kratos, and Kasha.
This was the Imperial Palace of Holy Terra, yet compared to ten thousand years ago, the palace of this era was incomparably desolate and dilapidated.
When the group passed through the layers of heavy guard and stood before the Golden Throne, Kasha could hardly believe the figure upon it was her father.
Kratos, too, trembled as he looked at the corpse. Was that his grandfather? Was that truly the Emperor?
"Father! How... how did you become like this? What happened? Why? Why did it come to this?" Kasha's voice trembled as she slowly approached the Golden Throne, addressing the massive, desiccated corpse.
At this moment, the Emperor's flesh was completely withered, wrapping tightly around a skeletal frame, his face nothing more than a giant skull.
Yet his form remained enormous, visually estimated at over ten meters tall, truly the appearance of a giant.
"The Emperor dueled Horus ten thousand years ago and sustained critical injuries," Trajann explained with a heavy sigh. "Although he was brought back to the Golden Throne and the Stasis Field has delayed the passage of time, his physical body inevitably continues to die. We have tried many things over the years, but the Emperor still became this way."
As the group most loyal to the Emperor, the Custodes had practically watched the Master of Mankind decay into this ghastly state, yet who among them had the power to change it?
No one could change this fate.
To Axis's eyes, however, the Emperor looked different from what others saw. The Emperor's body was indeed rotting and withered, yet it contained terrifying power, enough that even a slight release could destroy an entire planet.
The Emperor's mind, anchored to the Golden Throne, projected his psychic will to cover almost the entire galaxy.
Axis attempted to link his spirit with the Emperor. It was the first time he had conversed with the corpse on the Golden Throne at such close range.
He immediately felt countless voices screaming, shrieks so shrill and miserable they sounded like wronged spirits.
"Daemon's lackey!"
"Dead monster, stay away from me!"
"Fool, do not approach my throne."
"Step forward, savior of mankind."
"You help only to steal my power, you shameless scoundrel."
"Ignore these voices. They are dark emotions, my negative personas."
"We are not negative personas! We are the true Emperor!"
"Hypocrites. False benevolence."
Just like the first time Axis had communicated remotely with the Emperor, these negative personalities persisted.
For a mortal, this psychic barrage would be torment, but for Axis, who had attained godhood, it was merely the sound of buzzing flies.
Axis's body erupted with golden light, instantly dispelling the cold, dark consciousnesses. Powerful Holy Light energy enveloped the Emperor's body, driving away the gloom that hung over the Golden Throne.
Those dark intents and negative personas vanished the moment they made contact with Axis's holy energy.
The Custodians surrounding the Throne looked on nervously, terrified that Axis might harm the Master of Mankind.
But then, the unthinkable happened.
The giant skeletal face on the Golden Throne shifted, revealing an expression of comfort. The Custodians present turned pale with shock; there was no mistake, the Emperor had made an expression, and it was one of relief.
"Do not worry, Custodians," Kratos said, waving a hand. He used powerful Holy Light energy and the authority of the Emperor's own psychic resonance to soothe the surrounding guards.
"My father is helping the Emperor. You need only watch quietly. Trust me, my father would absolutely never harm Grandfather."
There was no other choice for them; if the Custodes actually charged in to stop his father, Axis would need only to flare his Ki and the golden warriors would be instantly vaporized, leaving not even ash behind.
"Damn you, you wretched bastard!"
"We curse you! We curse you to a wretched end!"
"Darkness will swallow you! Despair will consume you!"
The Emperor's dark personalities began to curse Axis frantically, but Axis paid them no mind.
He increased the output of Holy Light, the golden radiance nearly blinding the entire Throne Room.
"That feels truly wonderful... those have tormented me for a long time," the Emperor's voice echoed directly into Axis's mind.
With Axis's help, the dark personas that had plagued him for millennia were finally dispersed.
Some were merely dark thoughts from his own heart, but a large portion were negative personas born from the daily sacrifice of psykers and their vengeful souls. Their only purpose had been to drive him insane.
When the golden light faded, the Emperor's corpse itself seemed to have turned golden.
The Custodians noticed with distinct clarity that the Emperor's body seemed fuller, still corroded, yes, but no longer as withered as before.
"The Emperor Protects. Glory to the Master of Mankind."
All the Custodians knelt, offering their highest respects to Axis.
"Great Lord Axis, please forgive our previous offense. Your power is indeed astonishing," Trajann said, taking the lead.
"The treatment isn't finished yet! Save your thanks for later," Axis said, waving his hand.
He stepped up to the Golden Throne at close range. Not a single Custodian dared to stop him.
"Emperor, I will now attempt to use my Divine Ki and life energy to repair your body. Although I cannot make you stand up from the Golden Throne, I should be able to alleviate your pain and allow you to endure on the Throne for a longer time," Axis conveyed his intent telepathically.
"Understood, Axis. Do as you will. If you can grant me even slight relief, it is a good thing," the Corpse Emperor replied.
Axis nodded and placed his palm on the chest of the rotting corpse.
Massive quantities of Life Energy, Divine Power, and Holy Light began to surge simultaneously.
The three energies worked in concert to repair the Emperor's decaying frame. Whether it was the aura of a God, the Life Energy Axis controlled, or the Holy Light, all possessed healing properties. Applied together, the regenerative capacity was terrifying.
The Emperor's body radiated emerald green life-light, through which flowed red streams of Divine Power and golden rays of Holy Light.
Emerald Life Energy containing the vitality of the cosmos, crimson Divine Ki derived from the origin of gods, and pure, flawless golden Holy Light, like three surging rivers of stars, they poured into the colossal husk that had long been deemed a "corpse."
Hum—!
The entire Sanctum Imperialis seemed to be plunged into an ocean of energy. The air vibrated violently, emitting a low resonance. The Custodians felt an indescribable warmth and pressure descend simultaneously, it was the raw power of life itself mixed with sacred majesty, forcing them to nearly prostrate themselves, even as they held their breath and watched.
Where the energy passed, miracles occurred.
The Holy Light purified. On the surface of the Emperor's decaying body, the filth and gloom accumulated over ten thousand years of pain, despair, and sacrificed souls evaporated like snow under a blazing sun, issuing hissing sounds of mournful release. The grey, dead aura clinging to the skeletal bones was driven away, revealing the pale, metallic hue the bones originally possessed.
The Life Energy nourished. Following the light, majestic green energy permeated every inch of dried tissue like a gentle spring rain. Withered muscle fibers, like a riverbed long struck by drought, began to swell and reorganize at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Although far from full health, the heartbreaking state of "skin wrapped over bone" was changing. A thin layer of muscle tissue, elastic with life, began to cover the skeleton. While the bone contours remained visible, it was no longer a pure skeleton; it now possessed the texture of a living thing.
The Divine Ki sculpted. The red energy acted like invisible shaping hands, guiding and stabilizing the life energy's repair process. It penetrated deep into the cellular level, repairing the psychic and physical wounds left by Horus ten thousand years ago, wounds that had been impossible to heal.
It forcibly reactivated the remaining divine essence within the Emperor's body, supporting the newborn tissue to prevent it from collapsing under the immense burden of the Golden Throne.
The Emperor's colossal body, woven within the three lights, underwent a metamorphosis unseen in ten millennia.
In the deep, sunken sockets of his eyes, two small but impossibly clear flames, like molten gold, ignited quietly, replacing the hollow darkness.
His skull-like face was now covered by the thin texture of new muscle. Although still shockingly gaunt, with skin clinging tight to cheekbones and jaw, he was no longer a rotting carcass. He looked more like a giant who was extremely frail and weathered, yet tenaciously alive.
The dry, bark-like skin regained a faint but genuine luster of life, shedding the grey decay of death.
Tears streamed down the faces of Trajann, the Custodes, and the Sisters of Silence, but this time they were not tears of despair. They were tears of incredulous ecstasy mixed with profound heartache.
They could see it, under Axis's palm, that chest began to rise and fall, however faintly!
It was breath!
For the first time in ten thousand years, the Master of Mankind, the Emperor, possessed the ability to breathe on his own. Though the breath was as weak as a candle in the wind, it symbolized that the fire of life had never truly been extinguished!
It symbolized the rebirth of the Great Master of Mankind.
...
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ps?