|3rd POV|
Kael flinches at the foul energy pouring from the portal. Even with his [Curse Devouring Physique] boosted through the roof, it struggles to consume the curses spilling out of the rift. At least he does not need to worry about his boosting limit; his limit continues to rise faster than the boost he activates.
"Boost."
His power surges once more as an army of Nurglings marches through, bringing pestilence, disease, and corruption into realspace. Fortunately, the portal is not large enough for a bigger daemon or, worse, Greater Daemons to pass through.
Hundreds of Nurglings scurry forward, and Kael unleashes a massive torrent of banishing fire across the horde. He immediately follows up with [Call Thunder], bringing down a colossal bolt of blue lightning from the sky while his Banishing Fire sweeps across the swarm.
But instead of dying outright, something reinforces them from beyond the portal. A branch-like rod emerges from the rift, shaped into the symbol of the Plague God. Through the portal, Kael sees a massive Daemon nearly twenty meters tall — a bloated figure, pus leaking from every pore. Its stomach is split open into a maw of teeth, maggots, and rot, while a sheet of skin drapes over its head like a hood.
It looks at him with a sickeningly cheerful expression — a merry executioner delighted by its task. It spreads disease by its creator's will and welcomes every world into its festering embrace.
This is Rotigus, the Rainfather — one of the Great Unclean Ones.
Rotigus laughs, though to Kael it sounds like a wet, gurgling mockery that crawls beneath his skin. The Daemon waves its rod, releasing a cloud of toxic green mist that floats upward before raining down disease across the battlefield.
He immediately covers his entire body with his banishing fire, protecting him from the 'rain' that appears above him. However, even with that protection, he can feel the foul energy, and it makes him shiver in disgust.
The Nurglings chitter with joy while the cultists scream in agony as their bodies and souls mutate into warp-borne plagues.
"Partner, we need to destroy that portal. Now!"
Kael nods his head in agreement. He also thinks the same thing.
"Boost."
He pours Banishing Fire into the portal, but Rotigus blocks the flames with its rod. Even with stacked boosts, his power cannot overcome a Greater Daemon drawing strength directly from the Warp. It might be weaker on the Realspace, but Rotigus standing inside the warp, especially the Realm of Nurgle.
"Boost."
More energy flows through him. Nurglings burn, yet the portal remains—and worse, it begins expanding, slowly but steadily—a millimeter per second.
"Boost."
Kael grits his teeth and unleashes everything he has: thunder in relentless succession, earth reshaping itself into crushing weapons, firestorm after firestorm. None of it matters. Rotigus continues laughing, watching with amused disgust.
"Give up, mortal. Join the Grandfather's embrace. He accepts all things. Why struggle when you can rest? Feel his warmth. Welcome him. Welcome him, who sits at the back of your mind."
Something crawls through Kael's body—thousands of centipede-like tendrils writhing toward his brain. But Ddraig roars from within him, and the sensation vanishes. Ddraig is able to handle the corruption that tries to lure Kael into damnation.
For the first time, Rotigus stops laughing. It studies Kael silently before smiling wider. The next laugh is louder—still mirthful, but tinged with fury.
"Boost."
[Blessing of Hestia] surges, straining to block Rotigus's mental assault. It will shatter quickly, but it functions long enough to help where Ddraig previously had to intervene alone.
"Partner, we need to enter the Balance Breaker mode. Maybe even Juggernaut Drive."
"Let's do this. Balance Breaker!"
Kael roars as red armor materializes around his body, power rising exponentially. His Banishing Fire intensifies, forcing Rotigus to push more warp-energy through the portal.
"Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost."
Five rapid boosts erupt in succession, the roaring white flames doubling in intensity for each boost. Still, Rotigus holds the barrier and continues expanding the portal—now large enough for a bigger daemon to squeeze through.
He can see Plaguebeares walking toward the portal, ready to unleash even more potent plague.
Kael refuses to let that happen. Thunder falls every second like divine judgment. The ground moves like liquid stone, reshaping into weapons that crush daemons as they escape the fire. He also enlarges all the stones he summons, turning them into hundreds of tons of boulders.
"Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost."
Seven more boosts. Kael can feel pain flood his body, but he continues pushing forward. Rotigus now struggles to hold the barrier; Kael's [Curse Devouring Physique] devours warp energy like a starving predator.
The once-jovial Daemon no longer smiles. He is now snarling at Kael, and he roars in anger a second later.
"One last push, partner. Condense your attack into a single point. We will break his defense."
"ARROGANT FOOL! TASTE THE POWER OF PLAGUE, MORTAL! YOUR DEATH SHALL BE PAINFUL AND ETERNAL!"
A swarm of fly-spawned horrors surges toward the portal while Rotigus prepares a world-killing plague. Luckily, Kael is faster than the Greater Daemon.
"Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost. Boost."
His body screams in protest. He can feel his body reaching its limit, and he will go unconscious when he is done here.
He breathes in, condenses an energy into his mouth, and releases it.
"Dragon's Holy Breath!"
A beam of condensed white flame erupts from his mouth — a dragon's breath weapon enhanced with Banishing Fire. However, that is not the only thing that is happening at once. His [Curse Devouring Physique] devours Rotigus's curses mid-flight, weakening the daemon's defenses further.
The beam punches through the barrier and strikes Rotigus in the stomach.
For the first time, Rotigus feels pain.
He collapses, and the fire spreads into Nurgle's Garden. Nurgle roars in rage, his anger warping reality and strengthening the warp storm, but before he can do anything, the portal collapses under Banishing Fire and seals shut.
With the last of his strength, Kael unleashes a final wave of white flame, purifying the battlefield and incinerating cultists, mutants, and daemons alike. He also makes sure to cover his body and the area around him using his banishing fire as he falls to the ground.
He releases one last wave of hand, creating a thick wall around him as he see his people fighting through the remaining cultists before darkness take him.
==| Line Break |==
While Kael is carried away by his people after destroying the wall he made, something shifts within the Warp. For the first time since His birth, Nurgle is wounded. The wound causes no pain, weakens him, and diminishes no influence. It basically does nothing to him.
However, it is a wound nonetheless. The remainder that a mortal is able to wound him.
Nurgle bellows in fury. The denizens of his Garden recoil in terror. Their God is enraged, and they know something catastrophic is coming.
A man holding a massive scythe opens his eyes as his god calls his name. The Plague Lord does not permit refusal. Mortarion, Daemon Primarch, rises and calls his entire Legion. No one rejects the call because his call is backed by their God. The Death Guard awakens, ready to harvest billions to appease their God.
Nor is Nurgle alone. The other Chaos Gods stir. Khorne demands slaughter across the Moebian System. Tzeentch begins new schemes. Slaanesh gazes upon the system with unspeakable hunger.
But before they act, something impossible occurs.
The Warp changes color. The warp changing color is not something special. It is a place where all colors exist simultaneously, yet not. It's color shifting from one color to another, or even a combination of colors.
However, change into one color.
GOLD.
A golden radiance spreads across the Immaterium. Every psyker in the galaxy sees it. Worshippers of Chaos are annihilated when they gaze upon it; the untainted hear a single command.
[Protect] [Light of Humanity]
A massive figure seated on a Golden Throne appears in every mind. Even those without psychic talent hear the call. The Emperor of Mankind — ruler of millions of worlds, God-Martyr of Humanity — stirs for the first time in millennia.
The corpse on the throne straightens. Golden light floods the palace, illuminating even the deepest vaults below Terra.
The Custodes stand frozen, seeing their Emperor — not a corpse, but a vision made manifest. It is a massive figure sitting on the Golden Throne. His face is filled with golden light, his body covered by the brightest golden color, and his gaze can pierce one's soul. Even some Sisters of Silence see Him, their blanks overwhelmed by His psychic might.
He does not speak aloud, yet His decree fills their minds.
They move at once. They receive their order, and they shall complete the order even if they die trying to fulfill it.
Then the light fades. The Emperor resumes His original position, and the Warp returns to its shifting hues.
But the Chaos Gods howl in answer.
Angron roars murder in Khorne's name. Fulgrim pauses his torment with a serpentine smile. Magnus abandons his studies as a new path unfolds.
The galaxy shifts, its fate resting on a single man.
Behind the veil of unreality, a being — Rob, as Kael calls him — watches. Countless timelines flicker across his eyes. He hums and waves a hand.
Everything proceeds according to plan.
This universe needs one final test — one last push before it is either preserved or pruned. In most timelines, Roboute Guilliman fails his purpose, and the Emperor becomes the Dark King — a Chaos God of Order, Supreme Tyrant of Reality. The universe collapses as the Golden Throne breaks and the new god rises.
But here, the Anathema endures. He regains a fragment of humanity as he witnesses Nurgle's garden burn without his intervention. His will reignite. He gambles everything for this final push. His original plan abandoned, as outside-of-context enters the field, breaking all vision and flipping the playing board to start a new game.
The coming war will be brutal — and Kael is far from prepared.
Rob gestures, intervening slightly. The four cancers of Chaos will arrive from different corners of the galaxy. They will face Kael one by one, giving him a fighting chance. It will give others time to rally to him.
Rob can only say one thing:
"Good luck."
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