That wooden door—Roboute Guilliman, Regent of Chaos, realized almost instantly what lay beyond it. A trace of bitterness crossed his lips. Horus had actually fallen so quickly...
Then again, Alexander must have long prepared a contingency plan specifically tailored for Horus.
Guilliman's figure transformed into a swirling storm of blue and gold. The four shadows crouching behind his form manifested physical shapes nearly instantly, turning into four storms of distinct colors to intercept Alexander. Khorne displayed a boundless, blood-soaked aspect, screaming and howling as he manifested as a King of War clad in Macragge attire, wielding weapons. Tzeentch's intellect was driven by Guilliman, manifesting as a calm-faced Macragge philosopher wearing robes and holding scrolls.
Slaanesh was likewise tamed by Guilliman. Guilliman had promised him ultimate joy—every shred of pleasure would be shared by every single living being in the world, and every ounce of delight would echo in everyone's mind. All living beings would converge as one, existing solely for the supreme bliss of all life.
Slaanesh's figure also manifested, taking the form of a temple courtesan from the shrines of Macragge, stepping forward with slender feet and performing an alluring dance.
Nurgle also succumbed to the bargaining chips Guilliman offered. Guilliman promised him that true death would no longer exist for all living beings; every single life would fall under Guilliman's order, death would become a distant concept, and all life would achieve true harmonious coexistence and prosperity together.
Nurgle's figure manifested, turning into an old man holding gardening shears in a Macragge garden, swinging the shears with a chuckle as plant sap splattered from his trouser legs.
These four aspects manifested at the exact same moment, together blocking the path of the Emperor and Alexander, while Guilliman charged straight toward that door.
Intercepting him was that bright red helmet. It was truly astonishing—Guilliman had to admit that Thiel had perfectly anticipated his path of advancement. One of Guilliman's thread-like thoughts expressed surprise, a second thread-like thought expressed admiration, and a third calculated how to resolve Thiel while consuming the absolute least amount of time.
He understood he had to kill Thiel, just as he had been forced to kill many of his own scions in the past. He had committed transgressions and would continue to commit them; he had to do this. But a transgression was a transgression. Guilliman could not deny his own cruelty, yet responsibility forced him to be a realist.
The Loyal Short Sword thrust toward Thiel's throat in a flawless stance. But to Guilliman's surprise once more, Thiel actually blocked his blade using the weapon he had taken from Guilliman's own armory. The blade shattered, causing the Loyal Short Sword to deflect slightly and losing some of its momentum. The blade hacked into Thiel's bright red helmet but failed to cleanly take off his head. Thiel's reactions were exceptionally fast; seizing the opportunity, he thrust his own broken blade toward Guilliman's face. Guilliman extended the Hand of Dominion, throttling Thiel's wrist and hoisting him up. The Loyal Short Sword swung down, but ultimately halted less than two millimeters away from Thiel.
All of Guilliman's multi-threaded thoughts arrived at the exact same answer: Thiel had fulfilled his duty beautifully. He had delayed Guilliman for 1322 milliseconds. Though this duration was brief, it was already enough. Guilliman could no longer make it in time to stop the opening of the Anywhere Door. As such, killing Thiel was completely meaningless; at the very least, he would not indulge in indiscriminate slaughter...
"I lose to you, Thiel."
Guilliman released Thiel's arm, speaking with a smile, "Do you know? In another possibility, within the forty-first millennium of that world over there, people will say: a mortal Imperial Guardsman stood between the Emperor and Horus, creating a momentary opportunity for the Emperor to defeat Horus."
"You have done the same thing. You delayed me for 1322 milliseconds. This critical, one-and-a-bit seconds caused my failure."
"No, Father." Thiel straightened his posture, looking toward Guilliman. "It wasn't me, Father. It really wasn't me."
"A voice... since just moments ago, I felt a voice, a power guiding me. My ability to intercept you and catch your blade was entirely bestowed by that power..."
Alexander?
Guilliman was stunned for a fleeting instant, initially suspecting Alexander, but he quickly ruled it out. He slowly lowered his head, looking at his own hands. He always pretended to be a realist, but when it came down to it, was there still a line of thought deep within his heart that transcended icy logic, choosing to believe in loyal ideals?
This particular ideal had only managed to resist for 1322 milliseconds in the face of icy reality...
Creak—
The wooden door swung open violently at this moment. Screaming, wildness, madness, roaring, extinction, killing intent, and extremes—a force originating from the same source as Guilliman, yet completely distinct, surged out from the door. The form of Chaos Warmaster Horus emerged from the Anywhere Door, the two Chaos Warmaster Horuses howling wildly as they fused into one. The four shadows originating from the self-destructive aspect of the Gods roared as they flooded into the Macragge's Honour. The Chaos Warmaster spotted the Chaos Regent; the two were mutually exclusive existences, a living paradox. One could not exist alongside the other. They should have been absolutely incapable of ever meeting, but Alexander's gadget—that Anywhere Door—shattered this impossibility, causing them to clearly and directly perceive each other's existence, carving a mark upon their mutual causality.
The forms of the Four Gods behind Guilliman disintegrated in an instant, colliding, merging, and blending together with the self-destructive aspect of the Four Gods behind Horus. The Gods hissed, roared, spat at one another, and contradicted themselves. A wave of weakness simultaneously assaulted both the Chaos Warmaster and the Chaos Regent; the power of the Gods was temporarily drained away due to self-contradiction.
This was precisely Alexander's plan: using the Chaos Warmaster to defeat the Chaos Regent, and using the Chaos Regent to defeat the Chaos Warmaster.
Power was like a cloak that swept away their flesh and blood, shedding from their husks.
Chaos Warmaster Horus let out a howl, attempting to reclaim that power. He did succeed in reclaiming some, but it was ultimately a drop in the bucket. Guilliman could reclaim more than Horus, but Guilliman did not do so. It was already meaningless; he wished to end all of this in a manner possessing more honor and courage. The internal nature of the Gods fell into contradiction and chaos, and they needed time to pacify their own existence. Prior to that, neither the Chaos Warmaster nor the Chaos Regent could wring out sufficient power from the complex and chaotic pantheon. Right now, within the Great Game, even the Gods themselves did not know what they truly wanted.
+Thrust into him.+
A voice rang out beside the ear of Horus Lupercal, who was holding Drach'nyen. Alexander's gaze was akin to a torch, locking dead onto Horus Lupercal. For the first time, the Primarch of the Luna Wolves discovered that a mortal husk could actually possess such powerful authority. His arm thrust out almost the instant Alexander's command was delivered—the moment Chaos Warmaster Horus stepped out from the door.
Virtually nothing could destroy or kill Horus as a vessel of Chaos, even if the power within the vessel had already been drained away. However, the fate etched upon human lineage during humanity's first murder could. Back then, the Emperor used the obsidian dagger that had executed the first murder of old to kill Horus. Drach'nyen, the blade born from humanity's first murder, could achieve the exact same thing. Crucially, Alexander had chosen a flawless swordsman—he wanted Horus to kill himself. The chest of Chaos Warmaster Horus was pierced through by the blade. Drach'nyen let out a bloodthirsty hiss as the murder was substantiated at this moment. Then, the profane energy of Chaos shed from the Warmaster's form, and light returned once more to those eyes that had been filled with darkness. The Horus clad in moonlight-white armor and the Horus clad in pitch-black armor locked gazes, a trace of a relieved smile crossing the lips of both Warmasters almost simultaneously. This particular murder was himself killing himself, but this was always better than a son killing a father, or a father killing a son.
The forms of both Horuses dissolved simultaneously, leaving only Drach'nyen falling onto the deck. The two were originally the exact same existence, merely different outcomes within different lines of causality. With one dead, the other naturally followed suit.
From within the Anywhere Door, the Alexander bearing the divinity of the Omnissiah emerged and picked up Drach'nyen from the ground. The Alexander bearing the divinity of the Eternal Dragon walked toward his other self. Guilliman stepped aside to clear a path for Alexander, making no move to stop him.
The two Alexanders converged once more, their dual divinities returning into a single entity.
"My turn," Chaos Regent Guilliman said almost calmly, though he did not lower the Loyal Short Sword in his hand.
The Emperor gripped His sword, but Guilliman gently shook his head, looking toward Alexander instead.
Alexander gave a slight nod, and they stepped toward each other.
Thus, blade collided with blade.
The cold wind of Macragge was always quite chilly. The warm wind coming from the ocean was blocked by the mountains, cooling into a brisk breeze before blowing into the mountain cities. The sparse stars could already be faintly seen in the sky, like a stream hanging down from the dark blue heavens, falling upon the shoulders of the golden-haired youth.
"What kind of person do you want to become?"
The youth retreated, gripping his short sword, blocking the incoming attack.
"I want to become a person who works for others."
"Why?" The voice and the sword assaulted him simultaneously.
The youth blocked this strike.
"Because I am a human."
"Many people believe I am a child fallen from the heavens, that I am some sort of creature transcending mankind. But my parents taught me, letting me comprehend: I am human, simply a better human."
"I possess all the talents and traits of a human, I merely perform better... And the reason humans were initially distinguished from other creatures lies in the fact that humans will work for others, will care for completely unrelated weaklings, will heal the dying and wounded, and will sacrifice themselves for something greater. The human spirit resides precisely within this."
"As a person possessing greater capability, I have a responsibility to work for the welfare of more human beings."
"Even if this will be exceptionally difficult?"
"Even if this will be exceptionally difficult."
"Even if this will be exceptionally exhausting?"
"Even if this will be exceptionally exhausting."
"Even if sometimes you are forced to commit crimes and suffer the condemnation of others?"
"...I will strive to let fewer people be sacrificed. I will strive to uphold justice."
That golden-haired youth spoke with resolution. This was the first time he revealed a child's innocence, naivety, and stubbornness...
No, perhaps that was...
"That sounds entirely unrealistic, illogical, and irrational."
"This is an ideal." The youth deflected Alexander's sword for the final time, already starting to pant for breath.
He looked toward the sky which had completely darkened, toward the brilliant stars in the heavens, and toward the Alexander standing opposite him. "It's dark. Today has already ended."
He said to Alexander, "So, will tomorrow be better?"
"It will."
Alexander's sword assaulted him once more, and the sword in the youth's hand fell.
"Roboute!" A call rang out from afar. Upon the mountain steps, a long-haired woman smiled as she looked toward the golden-haired youth. A middle-aged man stood side-by-side with the woman, a gentle smile appearing on his wrinkled face, the gaze he directed toward Roboute filled entirely with pride.
"It's time to go home," the woman said to Roboute Guilliman.
"I'm coming!" The youth cast aside his blade, walking toward the woman and the middle-aged man.
The woman gently ruffled the youth's golden hair, the middle-aged man patted the youth's back, and the youth waved his hand to bid Alexander farewell.
"Were you happy today?" The woman leaned close to the youth with a smile, asking gently.
"Happy!"
"And why is that?"
The youth smiled. "Because tomorrow will be better."
Thus, the youth and his parents disappeared among the mountains.
Tomorrow will be better.
Alexander gently turned his head. Only a single person remained.
The Emperor stood before Alexander. The two of them were the final candidates for the Dark King. Drach'nyen pressed against the Emperor's chest, and the Emperor gently reached out, gripping the blade of this daemon sword. "I once only wished to be a kind person."
The Emperor said to Alexander, "Yet I ultimately became the Dark King, the destroyer of worlds."
"Now, I hand this black crown over to you, while I walk toward the final curtain."
"But if life is akin to a play and all living beings are mere actors, have I... truly played my role well?"
"When the performance ends, can I receive an evaluation?"
Alexander looked toward this brown-haired youth before his eyes. The stream beside the Sakarya River flowed gently, the reeds swaying. The youth gently placed two seashells onto his father's eyes, then looked toward Alexander, waiting for the answer from this final audience member.
"You are a kind, good man."
The Emperor was stunned for a moment, and then He smiled, as if everything of the past had obtained a good outcome at this very moment.
Thus, the sharp blade pierced through the chest of the Emperor of Mankind. Blood flowed gently down; this was the final sacrifice of this world.
Thus, the crown of the Dark King was placed upon Alexander's head. The eight-pointed star of Chaos spun once more, eroding and destroying. The Dark King, Malice Craft; the Omnissiah, Greedy Dissolution; the Eternal Dragon... now, it was the end of eternity.