Barbarus had long been destroyed. The place Mortarion brought Yuki to was merely an imitation of the planet, woven from his own warp power within the threshold between reality and the Immaterium.
"This is where I grew up. You are perhaps more familiar with the tales of this place than I am."
The marks of corruption upon Mortarion's form receded, making him look almost exactly like the youth he once was back on Barbarus.
"It was here that I met my friends, grew accustomed to the toxic air, and gained everything I possessed at the very start."
"And now, Mortarion? Do you regret it?"
"I do not regret it, Yuki. Every choice I made over the years was logical. Back then, I fought and slaughtered for the Imperium of Man, only to end up in that wretched state anyway—"
Yuki did not entirely understand, prompting him to ask, "But shouldn't that be blamed on—"
"We of the Death Guard were always destined for this; the numbers revealed it all to me. We walk the correct path, though I still harbor a certain bitter grief for the losses suffered along the way."
Mortarion fell silent for a moment before continuing.
"A Primarch must never show vulnerability. We are demigods, individuals hovering on the cusp of being truly invincible. We can only validate our own strength through sheer force, no matter what we endure.
"Because of that, I almost never speak of these things to anyone, not even to my brothers. Yuki, your identity is highly unique—enough for me to share a few words I would absolutely never utter under ordinary circumstances."
"Should I feel honored?"
"No."
Yuki gazed at the towering peaks of Barbarus, catching the scent of the world's notoriously foul, poisonous atmosphere. He saw exactly what Mortarion intended for him to see—a peaceful version of Barbarus. Though under the oppressive yolk of the xenos overlords, the Primarch was here.
Typhon and Mortarion's other companions were hard at work in the fields, eagerly anticipating the day their Primarch would ascend to slay the monstrosity atop the mountain peak.
"For many of my brothers, the finest period of their lives was likely the time spent upon their respective homeworlds. Though, of course, that does not include Angron, Lorgar, or Horus... my brothers, whose names I have not spoken aloud in many years."
Yuki watched warships descend from the heavens as the Emperor intervened to save Mortarion, who had been on the verge of being slain by his alien adoptive father.
"At that moment, I truly hated Him. Why couldn't He let me slay that wretch with my own hands? Later on, I hated myself just as much—for not being strong enough, for failing to kill the bastard entirely on my own."
Yuki was deeply profoundly struck. He was well aware of this history, naturally, but hearing a tale and bearing witness to it personally were two entirely different matters. Mortarion was practically re-enacting events from over ten thousand years ago right before his eyes.
"Why are you showing me this?"
" Yuki, there is doubt lingering within your heart. I can sense it. I do not know if such doubt is a good thing for me to notice, but I still hope you can see through it clearly."
"Why?"
"Whether you are a human or a Tyranid does not matter; your destiny was bound to the Great Devourer long ago. But will it always remain this way?" Mortarion murmured in recollection. "I do not care whether you judge my actions over the millennia as right or wrong, but I must admit that some of my choices were indeed short-sighted. At the very least, I should never have allowed my homeworld and my progeny to suffer such agony."
Yuki remained quiet, asking one final question: "Mortarion, do you regret it?"
Mortarion looked back at Yuki. "It is far too late."
Yuno's advance preparations were finally complete. Armed with a thoroughly structured synapse network pathway, both Yuki and Yuno could now navigate the Warp with absolute freedom—even within the Garden of Nurgle.
The portal leading into the Immaterium opened. War and Eleven remained behind to guard the fleet; if anything suspicious occurred, the two of them would immediately lead the Tyranids charging into the Warp to fight Nurgle to the absolute death.
Yuki had already grown accustomed to all manner of absurd situations; a mere social call to Nurgle's Garden was nothing to lose sleep over. With that thought in mind, he took Yuno's hand and stepped through the warp gate.
Nurgle—one of the four Chaos Gods, known as the Grandfather, the God of Life, and the Lord of Pestilence.
To receive these exceptionally rare guests, Nurgle had specifically made a few minor alterations to his garden, crafting a patch of land around his modest manor that could actually pass for a clean, ordinary garden. It was precisely here that Yuki and Yuno materialized.
"The old man actually put some heart into this. Fascinating."
Mortarion pushed open the door but did not step inside himself. A massive swarm of Nurglings came scurrying out of the house, followed by the appearance of a rotund, bulbous sphere. A massive maw split open across the sphere, welcoming Yuki and Yuno in flawless High Gothic.
"You've finally arrived. I've been waiting for quite some time."
This is Nurgle's true manifestation?
" Yuki, for entities of our nature, the physical forms we project into the material universe do not matter. But given your presence, I found it best to adopt a slightly less threatening appearance."
"Boring talk, Nurgle. Have you caught the human habit of rambling as well?"
"Great Devourer, you—who have fallen in love with a human—possess absolutely no right to criticize me on that front."
Nurgle guided them inside, not missing the chance to banter. "When I first caught wind of the news, I simply couldn't bring myself to believe it. I assumed it was some new trick engineered by Tzeentch. After all, you belong to the same tier of existence as us; falling in love with a mortal... is rather terrifying."
"It is my choice, Nurgle. Stop wasting time with this nonsense."
Nurgle nodded. "Fine, fine, I understand. Have you mapped out what that virus is all about?"
"It's your own engineered pathogen, isn't it?"
Nurgle paused, his tone shifting into one of genuine admiration. "You noticed after all. Though I suppose if you couldn't even discern that much, curing this toxin would have been utterly impossible."
Yuno's tone was thoroughly cold and uninviting. "So, you used this entire matter just to amuse yourself at my expense?"
"How could that be? This was merely an accident." Nurgle continued leading the two toward Isha's location.
"As you know, Isha occasionally sneaks sips from my cauldron outside of the portions I allocate to her, using them to secretly concoct and distribute panaceas. I personally have no real objection to this, but this time she happened to taste a sample of my hyper-potent brew. If I were to cure it myself, it would drain a portion of my core essence. I've been fighting quite fiercely with the other three jackals lately, so I cannot afford to suffer that kind of damage right now."
"So you came looking for me?"
"Indeed."
Yuki felt a surge of anger. Hadn't he just been thoroughly swindled by Nurgle? If Yuno hadn't—
"Still lying. This toxin isn't even that powerful."
Nurgle's voice carried a distinct chuckle. "Of course, it is merely difficult to unravel, not highly lethal. The ones that are truly lethal, I wouldn't dream of wasting!"
As they spoke, the group arrived before the Eldar Goddess of Life, Isha.