|3rd POV|
The Emperor swings his sword, watching as Perturabo blocks the blow. Their warp-based weapons clash, warping reality itself through the psychic pressure they generate. To an observer, they move at blinding speeds, but the truth is far more complex.
Perturabo has constructed a device that allows him to bend time, accelerating his movements and the space around him. The machine generates a temporal bubble, making him appear as a blur of motion to those outside its influence.
However, the Emperor counters with the same technique, relying on pure psychic might rather than technology. The two battle for dominance, each attempting to slow time further than the other.
Nearby, Lorgar fights Roboute Guilliman. The Primarch of the Ultramarines harbors a deep grudge against the Word Bearer for the betrayal of his Legion and the destruction of his home. Though eons have passed for some, for Guilliman, the memory remains fresh and raw.
Lorgar grins from ear to ear, taunting Guilliman and attempting to lure him toward the darkness.
"Is this all you have, Brother? You are weak. Join us. Once you see the truth, you shall be reborn as something more. You shall become what you were meant to be. You are not the pencil-pusher our Father created you to be; you are more than that. Come, Brother. Join us, and we shall set you free."
"Silence!"
Guilliman roars, swinging a replica of the Emperor's sword. Crafted by Kael with the aid of the Emperor and Isha, the blade is infused with enough psychic power to grant True Death to any daemon it slays.
"Weak! You are weak, Brother! With the Gods at my side, nothing can defeat us!"
As Lorgar speaks, a shadowy creature manifests beside him. It grows rapidly, reaching a height of seventeen feet. The form is that of a humanoid raven, and one of its massive talons siezes Lorgar by the head.
"I AM HERE, LORGAR!"
This is Corvus Corax in his warp-mutated form. He has pierced the veil between realities, fueled by his intense hatred for Lorgar. With a violent swing, he hurls Lorgar to the ground, the impact carving a massive crater into the earth. He is not done; he stabs his claw into Lorgar's body. His claw punches through the armor with ease and savagely pulls his claws, taking away a good chunk of flesh from Lorgar.
Shadows dance around Corax as he flies toward Lorgar. The Word Bearer unleashes every daemon under his command to repel his two brothers as they attack in unison.
Corax is not the only Primarch to arrive. Jaghatai Khan appears through a portable webway gate given by Isha to complete his mission of gathering his brothers, and he is accompanied by two others. The first is a feral man wielding a massive blade. This is Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves. Beside them stands a giant in dark-green armor, carrying a golden shield and a heavy broadsword. This is Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels.
The three immediately engage the mad Daemon Prince before them. They draw Angron away from the main conflict, fighting like a pack of wolves covering each other's flanks, while Angron thrashes with the desperation of a wounded bull.
However, a desperate bull is still lethal. Despite their teamwork, Angron deals massive damage to the trio. His wings provide a maneuverability the loyalists cannot match. As Angron takes to the air, Leman looks to his brothers.
"Brothers! Throw me at him!"
Without hesitation, Jaghatai and the Lion launch Russ toward the flying Daemon Prince. The Great Wolf grins, shifting his weight in mid-air to drive his sword deep into Angron's torso.
"Down! Down, you traitorous bastard!"
With all his strength, Russ drags Angron down. They crash into the ground just meters from where Guilliman and Corax are battling Lorgar.
The two Daemon Princes fight as a single, devastating force. The tide shifts, however, as the Lion and Russ join the fray. Lorgar resorts to dark sorcery, summoning more powerful daemons as the veil between the Warp and Realspace thins to a breaking point.
As the barrier weakens, Lorgar receives a blessing from one of the Gods he worships. It was a blessing and a command, a command that he happily obeys. His grin widens, and he begins a final ritual, sacrificing half of his own Legion without a moment's hesitation.
Cackling with madness, Lorgar throws his arms wide in worship and bellows.
"Witness! Witness! Witness the Lord of Blood! The Lord of Skulls! The Lord of Rage! Taker of Skulls! Lord of the Butcher! Master of the Brazen Throne! The Lord of Battle! The God of War!"
The Emperor strikes Perturabo with a psychic shockwave, throwing him hundreds of meters away. He turns his gaze to Lorgar and teleports instantly. He recognizes the energy; he knows this ritual. It is an attempt to summon a Chaos God into Realspace, an act that had been attempted once in the past.
In the past, the ritual failed due to a lack of sacrifice. Now, after an accumulation of mountains of corpses and oceans of blood spilled in Khorne's name, it requires only the final push of hundreds of powerful psykers to bridge the gap. All of Word Beares are powerful psykers, and they are more than happy to be sacrificed in the name of their Gods.
The Emperor reaches Lorgar and swings his blade, but Angron appears and blocks his attack. The Red Angel roars and prepares to attack, but the Emperor moves first. Though the Emperor's psychic fire disintegrates half of the Daemon Prince's form, Angron continues to move, stubbornly pushing his father back.
Lorgar's grin becomes a feral mask as he screams the final incantation.
"Let the Eight Pillars twist! Let the Eight Seas of Blood churn! Let the Eight Gates open! Let the Master of War awaken! Come, O Master of War! Come and bathe the galaxy in blood!"
A wound tears open in reality, and something massive claws its way through. From the rift emerges a colossal creature with blood-red skin, its face a mosaic of the agonizing screams of millions. It wields twin axes dripping with boiling gore beneath a crown of blazing horns. Wings of fire and blood unfurl, radiating an intensity that sears the air. The overwhelming stench of hot metal and decay fills the battlefield.
Khorne has manifested in Realspace. His mere presence is enough to overwhelm the null-fields of the Sisters of Silence, corrupting nearly half of their number instantly. They roar like rabid beasts, turning their blades upon their own sisters who struggle to resist the Blood God's corruptive aura.
Even the Custodes are affected, though their specialized conditioning and specialized implants made by the emperor allow them to withstand total corruption; nevertheless, their combat effectiveness is crippled by the sheer aura of Khorne.
The Emperor unleashes his psychic power to shield his loyal sons and prevent the corruption from affecting them. He grunts under the strain, feeling the full weight of Khorne pressing against his mind, attempting to shatter his resolve.
However, even without the psychic-booster equipment in the Golden Throne, he remains the Emperor of Mankind, the greatest human psyker in history. He holds back the tide and prepares to fight with everything he has.
He knows that unleashing his full power might destroy half of his own Custodes, but it is a sacrifice he is prepared to make to banish Khorne back to the Warp.
However, before he can strike, a powerful beam of crimson light catches Khorne in the face. The explosion is enough to level a mountain, yet the Blood God remains unmoved. Floating in the air to the right is a figure in red armor, a green jewel glowing at the center of his chest.
This is Kael, joining the fray. Khorne grins and levels his axes at the newcomer. Kael takes a combat stance and flies directly toward the Chaos God.
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