When Abaddon received Erebus's reply, he wanted to kill that accursed bastard.
Abaddon clearly remembered that when Horus and the four gods formed an alliance and declared rebellion against the Emperor, Erebus had stood beside the Warmaster.
He told Abaddon and the Sons of Horus.
Because the Emperor tried to become a god, he had to abandon the entire Imperium and all Astartes, and only Horus could stop him.
He also promised Horus that he would become the Imperium's ruler in the Emperor's place, become humanity's new sovereign, and establish a new Imperium ruled by Astartes no longer bound by humans or Terra's bureaucrats.
The Sons of Horus, led by Abaddon, believed it.
They burned the Imperial aquila-banner they had sworn to protect with their lives.
The emblems on the power armour that had once symbolised the glory of the Luna Wolves were painted over in deep-red paint into the shape of an eight-pointed star.
On Isstvan III and Isstvan V, he killed with his own hands the brothers who refused to betray.
Therefore, when the truth became clear, he was enraged.
Everything they had believed was a lie. The Warp had deceived them all.
This great rebellion will neither make Horus humanity's ruler nor a new god.
He was merely a tool of the four Chaos Gods.
The four gods never wished Horus to become humanity's ruler, still less considered him becoming their companion.
There are only two conceivable results.
According to one theory, the Emperor, in despair, absorbs excessive Warp energy, ascends as the Dark King, slaughters all people, and plunges the galaxy into eternal ruin.
This is Chaos's eternal victory.
Or the Emperor may abandon power and be killed by Horus, yet Horus himself will absorb excessive Chaos power and perish.
The galaxy will become the four gods' plaything; Chaos will again claim victory.
The four gods wished this game to continue forever and to grow without limit, feeding on pain and despair.
"You lied to us." Abaddon glared at Erebus and turned a gaze of fierce anger, as if piercing the ceramite behind the lenses.
"That is not what you promised us. We swore to take the Emperor's place and build an Imperium led by Horus and ruled by Astartes."
"But this is the Warmaster's will. You swore loyalty to him, so you should fulfil his grand ambition." Erebus stared at Abaddon without fear.
That is Erebus's talent. No matter how many times he is exposed, he can always find an explanation without contradiction.
Even after logic collapses, they can use the rhetoric of faith and will to rebuild an unstable framework of justification at any time.
"Go to hell!" Abaddon shouted, pointing at Erebus.
However, after finishing the curse, he abandoned the thought of killing Erebus.
In this situation, killing Erebus would solve nothing.
At this point, only the Warmaster himself can end all of this.
"You need not grieve over the truth I told you, because neither the former nor the latter will be realised," Erebus said. "Everything has changed. The Lord of Absurdity will dominate everything and reconstruct the entire space-time."
"Who on earth is that? Stronger than the Four?" Confusion seeped into Abaddon's voice.
He had originally thought the four gods were the most powerful existences in the universe and that this war was the final battle between the four gods and the Emperor.
Yet now suddenly an outrageous master has appeared.
"I don't know. But I can feel that the gods fear him." Erebus looked at Abaddon, sighed softly, then continued.
"Now let us go; we must head for the palace. At this point, the only hope of overturning the war situation left is the Warmaster. If even he fails, everything is over."
Erebus turned and left; Abaddon led his subordinates and followed.
Led by the First Chaplain Abaddon, the others quickly emerged from strange ruins and again set foot in the corridors of the Vengeful Spirit.
Having boarded the Vengeful Spirit, Abaddon saw the path he should take.
"We must find Horus before the false Emperor's minions."
Abaddon and his party increased speed and headed for the centre of the Vengeful Spirit — the very place where the rebellion began.
They will witness the ending of every story.
...
Hollow Mountain, Starlight Courtyard.
Receiving the alarm, Corswain led Dark Angels guards through the last blast door and plunged into the core hall.
The last message he received was that someone had assaulted the core region; afterward, there was no information.
Therefore, he first had to pull subordinates back from the front in order to deal with the intruder.
They must protect the starlight and activate it.
Only by showing Terra to the reinforcements is there a slight chance of overturning the war situation.
However, when Corswain and the others rushed in, the intruders had been repairing the Astronomican for them.
"Who on earth are you?" Corswain asked, looking at Datch wearing the Emperor's armour.
Datch ignored Corswain, put away the golden hammer, and under everyone's gaze quietly slipped toward the doorway.
Then he hopped from the main hall to other places and helped the loyalists recover the advantage.
"Who on earth is he?" Corswain turned, intending to ask the others, yet numerous Dark Angels looked at one another with confused expressions; no one could answer him.
Seeing everyone silent, Corswain resolved to confirm the truth with his own eyes and had no choice but to fly out of the main hall.
Datch continued repairing Hollow Mountain's facilities and fortresses.
The sound of metal colliding continued without cease.
Having no other choice, Corswain led subordinates and began pursuit. Just as they tried to catch the other party and interrogate him, combat sounds were heard from outside.
Typhus, leading the Death Guard, was recklessly charging toward the centre immediately outside.
"Who on earth are you?" Corswain asked again.
Datch ignored him, passed straight beside him, left the centre area, and headed for the battlefield.
Corswain: ...
The situation is urgent, yet please refrain from such a passive-aggressive attitude!
Very irritating, and cold!
I am a Grand Master of the Dark Angels, the Lion's most trusted son.
Do you know the Lion? The Imperium's highest leader, the son the Emperor trusts most, a Primarch.
Even if you will not give me face, at least give the Lion face!
Datch left the centre area and discovered Sigismund leading Dark Angels and other Astartes fighting the Death Guard.
After the Exultant Wall collapsed, the Imperial Fists company captain had been cut off from the main force.
He had been searching the ruins alone for rebel special units that had infiltrated inside the walls when he unexpectedly discovered the Living Saint Keeler confined in an almost collapsed civilian shelter.
Keeler said she must go to Hollow Mountain; out of trust,
Sigismund escorted her through ruins cut off by Death Guard skirmishers and felled with the black sword, enemies trying to stop her one after another.
Keeler had previously given Sigismund a prophecy forbidding him to leave Dorn.
By this action, Sigismund received a reprimand from Dorn, yet was able to survive and, as the prophecy said, become the Emperor's chosen.
Taking up the black sword, Sigismund's combat power improved dramatically; his killing ability also rose dramatically.
It is noteworthy that at the very early stage of the siege, he directly confronted Khârn and was nearly executed.
After obtaining the black sword, he confronted Khârn again and easily defeated that bastard blessed by Khorne.
Sigismund did not move an inch, like a killing machine born of loyalty.
His swordsmanship is no longer complex; it consists of very simple slashes and sweeps.
Every stroke of the sword pursues speed and brevity.
Each blow of the black sword accurately struck the weakest seal-ring of the enemy's power armour.
It easily punched through armour, pierced semi-liquefied flesh; when withdrawn, a large quantity of viscous pus and blood, emitting a morbid fluorescence, flowed out.
Those Death Guard no longer possessed ordinary blood. As a result of repeatedly receiving Nurgle's blessing, their bodily fluids had changed into a sticky mixture of deep green and deep brown.
Every drop that fell to the ground left a small scorch mark that hissed.
Sigismund swung the sword and felled enemies one after another without showing any rise or fall of emotion.
"Hurry!" Typhus shouted again, encouraging the Death Guard warriors.
"Stop them!" Sigismund shouted.
The Dark Angels Terminators behind them took up storm shields, formed a linked shield-wall, and created a solid barrier. An ancient, sturdy iron fortress.
By that time Corswain had moved from the original search position to the very centre of the defensive line.
He did not know why the Death Guard were so excited, nor why Typhus was recklessly plunging into the core,
yet he had only one clear thought: never give the enemy what they want.
Fierce combat unfolded between both sides around the passage leading to the centre.
Dark Angels offered their lives for the Emperor and fell one after another.
However, with every step the enemy advanced, they would pay a still heavier price.
At every fortress, frontier, and combat strongpoint, fierce combat erupted.
Smoke rose. Half of it was smoke from gunfire; the remaining half was steam rising from scorched metal and blood.
They slowly scattered into the biting cold wind of a deep valley.
Typhus and the others charged at the front, riding a hell-chariot.
That chariot was made of wet bone, as if of opened ribs.
Traces of death are carved into every corner of the bone.
They are requiems and funeral prayers recorded in the sacred books of death of thousands of civilisations.
Those civilisations vanished long ago; all that remains today is their words, carved into bone, worshipping death and praising death's inevitable victory over life.
An eerie, terrible hymn echoed sadly in the freezing air.
That chariot was dragged by terrible monsters.
Their bodies were swollen, twisted, covered in deformed cancerous tumours and cysts, covered in mud-soiled winding-sheets, bound with rusted chains, becoming filthy chariot-drivers.
Typhus's body was gigantic.
That huge body looked still taller due to grooved cancerous armour, filthy spines, and countless swarms of flies.
From black bone chimneys and seepage-holes protruding from the camel's back, countless flies erupted and covered the camel completely like a living cloak.
In the original plan, Hollow Mountain was to become the Emperor's tomb — a sepulchre.
The hell-chariot Typhus rode was a coffin specially made by the four gods for this funeral.
Chaos will bid farewell to its greatest enemy in the most solemn form.
After the final battle, the Emperor who met a tragic end will be buried in Hollow Mountain; his soul and entire past will be devoured by the four Chaos Gods.
However, now everything has been destroyed.
Starlight has lit again; humanity's hymn has disturbed the harmony of the chaotic octet.
We must somehow stop this situation and return everything to its original orbit.
Before Typhus even took action, from the instant he arrived on the battlefield, the power of plague had already affected the surrounding area.
Many Dark Angels knelt on the ground; lungs invaded by infection; every time they coughed, they spat pale-green foam emitting a morbid light from the back of the throat.
"We are death, we are darkness," Typhus shouted. "Feel Father's power!"
Sigismund raised the black sword, roared toward Typhus, and charged toward the accursed traitor.
Just then Datch hopped and rushed onto the battlefield.
He took a red-and-white Monster Ball from the in-game inventory, pressed the round button on the front, and threw it into the air.
The sphere split in two and released dazzling bright light.
A plump little creature popped out and let out a cute laugh.
This little creature transformed from Nurgle still had a round, plump figure. Because of that thickness, limbs and joints were almost invisible. In time with its movements, holy light of life gushed forth and grew flowers, grass, and trees around it.
With Pugh's appearance, Nurgle's power of death and plague rapidly vanished.
Death Guard warriors covered in abscesses, various parasites writhing, raised cries of pain the instant they touched the green light.
They fell one after another and, together with cries of pain, became pools of foul pus.
The plague-power Typhus held was neutralized by the life-force Pugh released.
The Dark Angels who had collapsed under torture all recovered their health.
Who are you?
From the plump little green boy before his eyes, Typhus felt an order-valuing life-force opposite to the loving father.
"Pugh! Pugh!" Pugh tilted his head, stared at the swollen monster before his eyes, and cried twice.
"Your existence is a blasphemy against Father God." Typhus firmly gripped the gigantic plague-scythe in his hand.
"Pugh! Pugh!" Pugh raised two short, thick forelimbs whose joints could not be distinguished and waved them forcefully toward Typhus.
To be honest, there is no intimidation at all.
"For beloved Father, join forces and defeat these monsters!"
Typhus raised the plague-scythe and ordered all surrounding Death Guard to surround Pugh and attack.
However, the next instant, Orange, first angel of the great God of Life, suddenly appeared.
That combat power is terribly strong; with a casual stroke of the sword, it can defeat Death Guard who can withstand several times the damage of ordinary Astartes.
As an angel of life, it possesses special attacks against the Plague God's minions and can inflict fatal damage with each blow.
The Death Guard who charged were all finished and slaughtered by Orange.
"Damn!!"
Typhus, raising the gigantic scythe, charged on the chariot and began combat with Orange.
However, in a mere few exchanges, the sword in Orange's hand pierced Typhus's body.
"No..."
Typhus stared at the sword piercing his own body; his face was filled with despair.
He had actually lost.
Where is the loving father?
Please hurry and come help!!
Typhus called Father in his heart and wished Father would save him, yet there was no response.
Why, why do you abandon even me?
Amid Typhus's despairing cry, countless green plants covered his body and bit into rotting wounds made by maggots and holes left by honeycombs.
In an instant, countless vines and roots wrapped Typhus's entire body, tore him apart alive, and turned him into fertiliser.
With Typhus's death, the Death Guard's morale collapsed.
"In the name of His Majesty the Emperor, kill them all!" Sigismund shouted, raised the black sword, and pointed it at the decaying figures withdrawing.
"For His Majesty the Emperor!" many Dark Angels shouted in unison.
Blessed by the light of life, they did not flinch from the viral miasma emitted by the Death Guard and fought bravely and without fear.
At lightning speed, they seized the entire Astronomican core region and recovered all lost territory.
However, when they tried to return to search for the mysterious man who had helped repair the Astronomican and defeat Typhus, he had already vanished.
After confirming Typhus's failure, Datch used the Space Stone and opened a spatial portal.
His next target is the Emperor. The Emperor is desperately absorbing energy and is one step from ascending as the Dark King.
The Emperor, together with Sanguinius and Dorn, boarded the Vengeful Spirit only after learning this fact.
Horus obtained the power of the four gods and created his own unique domain.
It fused the timelines of the Vengeful Spirit and the Imperial Palace and summoned the City of Dust to display that power.
The Emperor's bodyguard had only just finished teleporting when they were forcibly controlled by Chaos Horus and launched attacks on their own lord, the Emperor.
The cornered Emperor had no choice but to kill the Custodes with his own hands.
Realising the power of the four Chaos Gods, the Emperor began desperately absorbing energy from the Warp.
At this point, the Emperor was on the verge of becoming the Dark King.
That image at a glance changed into a completely dark sun, yet white light was released from its edge.
The sun roared, smashed every enemy, and headed straight for Horus.
Countless daemons screamed in terror; the Dark King's name appeared in every kind of book and document.
Even the voice whispered in the ear spoke this name.
When Datch passed through the portal, he happened to encounter Ollanius Persson, John, Loken, and others who were trying to persuade the Emperor.
"Please use your present power and review the plan from a god's perspective. You always pursue only speed and will not listen to counsel."
"You always make a plan and firmly believe that plan will be realised perfectly according to your will."
"There is no shortcut to civilisation and no universal solution to problems."
Ollanius Persson begged the Emperor and wished he would examine his own past deeds from the Dark King's perspective.
You must not solve problems by the same method.
That would only lead to the extinction of all humanity.
Datch's appearance interrupted the serious conversation; including Ollanius Persson and the Emperor, everyone paid attention to Datch.
"Wait!" Datch shouted, seeing the black sphere the Emperor had transformed into, then summoned the TARDIS telephone box.
The Emperor and numerous Primarchs from the new world-line were summoned.
The instant they came out, they were shocked by the sight before their eyes.
Ollanius Persson, Loken, and the others too opened their eyes wide in surprise.
Together with Horus, Magnus, and other rebellious Primarchs — how could another Emperor appear?
"What on earth does this mean? Can there be two Emperors?" Oll looked at John.
The other party is a member of a secret society and holds many secrets concerning the Warp.
In the process, Oll frequently asked the other party about the Warp.
"I don't understand either. Why are there two Emperors?" John too was confused.
Among the numerous future-images the Eldar farseer Eldrad showed, not one depicted such a scenario.
"Another Emperor!?"
Cortas Dasco, a member of the guardian army dominated by the old-world Emperor, raised his voice.
His body was blackened and scorched by the Emperor's tremendous power.
If not for the traces Malcador left, he would long since have become ash like the other Imperial Custodes.
"This is me??" The new-age Emperor stared at the floating black sphere.
Without the Nameless Ones' help, how would I have been driven into such a situation?
My plan was perfect, flawless; I had prepared many backup plans — did they all fail?
In the end, they were forced to do something extremely irrational: completely destroy everything.