40 Thousand Reasons

Chapter 188: Magnus

"Want to meet Big E?" I asked Griselda with a wide grin.

"He's back?" she asked in a hopeful voice, while packing up the glass throne and retracting the feeder roots.

"Not all of him. His mind and soul are...fractured. Dispersed into the Warp and spread all over the galaxy. However, a good chunk is still here. The Golden Throne has served as an anchor, tethering him to his body and binding his soul to his birthplace." I explained in a soft tone.

The strange Sister of Battle had appeared at my side, eyes glowing blue with Warplight while she examined the old throne and the new.

"I wish to meet him as well." she demanded with a far away voice, then turned those eyes directly at me. "I really do."

"Perhaps later, Miss Stern. Right now, I want you to seal back the Webgate and then heal the wounded, cleanse the Chaos corruption in these halls and destroy the attackers on the other side. Sister Fidelia and my Lamenters will escort you for the day." I demanded in a stern voice, while patting her silver hair and storing the magical Shariax into the tesseract.

Her eyes flickered at my left glove, perhaps tracing some invisible emanation that lingered about the glass throne. "I see. A task that will earn me recognition among Imperial forces." Sister Stern mused as she glanced at the tired troops holding defense positions around the Golden Throne.

I shrugged and began walking towards the Eternity Gate, and sending the necessary orders via the Manifold circuit of my brain implant. The Custodes wouldn't listen to me anyway, and the various Eldar allies were keeping themselves at a good distance to avoid friendly fire. But I doubted the peace would hold, after I left.

So a second before I stepped out, the collected the Harlequins into my tesseract, including the strange Pariah. He might be useful soon, most likely. Cegorach might be slightly insane, but he was still a god. It just made sense to keep his messenger close at hand.

Next step, I found myself once again at the base of the giant adamantium gate, overlooking the stairway and the ongoing battlefield. Captain Semnai was locked in a melee duel with a distorted demon, probably a Prince going by size and might.

My Captain's blackstone armored plates were singed and scorched with Warp fire, and his Rosarius shield was glowing brightly with the strain of combat.

My demon lance streaked a line of red fire and impaled the invader, then retracted slowly with a new victim. Another rune lit up and the weapon became stronger once more. I could feel the demon eager for more, more souls to devour and fuel the demonic fires. Perhaps one day, my alien friend. For now, get back into your cage.

"Good job, Semnai. Now go and rest inside the throne room. Miss Stern will deal with the unwanted guests, soon enough." I said in a level voice.

The Lamenter measured me for a long moment, then scanned Griselda with obvious suspicion. "As you wish, my liege. Follow me, Brothers!"

"That's an Ether lance, right? I learned about them at the Psykana School. The weapon of a potent Chaos Lord, or even a Daemon Prince. But I never knew they could be so strong." the psyker whispered in an impressed voice, while my sons ran inside the Eternity Gate after their Captain.

"It only looks like one, my dear. So, what else do you see around us?" I asked curious, while examining Terra with my tesseract vision. Religious fervor and mass hysteria filled the streets, adding to the pandemonium already in progress.

The blind woman glanced around and upwards, her white blindfold being no obstacle for her psyker senses. "Thousands of ships are lost in the Warp, and trillions of people are panicking without the guiding light of the Astronomican. Warp portals are opening all over the sector, and the enemies of the Imperium are massing for a final strike. In a month, or maybe less, the Eye will open and humanity will be lost." Griselda whispered in a prophetic voice.

I nodded sadly. Her predictions might come true, if I wasn't here.

The next second, we appeared beside the rulers of the Imperium, the Emperor and his sons standing face to face with Magnus in chains.

Captain Valoris looked at me with golden eyes, then promptly ignored me and turned back towards Magnus. "He's too corrupted and filled with hate, Sanguinius. I know he's your brother, but he's fallen." the Custodes spoke with a different voice, alien and yet so familiar.

With a flick of my hand, I stole the Emperor's Sword from Guilliman and held it out. I could feel its immense power vibrating in pulsing waves through the blade and handle, eerily similar to the demon lance and yet completely opposite.

This sword wasn't a killing tool, but something else. A conversion weapon, working in and out, even for Blanks.

So I held it out, placing the pommel in the hand of the Pariah Grey Knight. "Sever his ties with the Ruinous Powers, Brother. The stomach should be a good place to start." I offered in a kind voice, then sat down in my command chair and returned to duty, commanding my troops all over the system.

While I was gone, the Necron forces on Mars had vanished without a trace, some of them disappearing from firefights with my own troops. Almost like they were collected in a pocket dimension by someone.

A dozen more Warp portals had opened in the Solar System, most of them unleashing additional Chaos demons and worshipers, and targeting Luna and Saturn with ships and invasion forces.

Also, the Eldar fleet had bypassed most terran defenses and reached Jupiter as well, with a gentle grace and speed and holographic tricks.

Guilliman observed the Ferryman Grey Knight with a frown, then walked beside me to see the shifting troop markers on the holographic screen. "There's an Inquisition Fortress on Saturn and old gene-labs on Luna. They're after demonic lore and genetic samples, to build up more corrupted Space Marines and bind stronger demons in their service." the Primarch deduced, simply by observing my troop movements countering the Chaos forces.

I nodded slowly, while mentally deploying tanks and Knights to plug the breaches into the system defenses, while my fleet was repositioned to provide orbital support and direct fire on the emerging portals. Sadly, it was like trying to patch up a sinking ship, as more two invasion portals opened, as soon as the ships bombarded and closed a Warp portal.

"The Eldar are here too. At your request, if I'm not mistaken, Primarch." I said instead, marking the Ynnari vessels with a yellow highlight on the screen.

"Archmagos Cowl had a plan, to revive my father with their help. These C'tan sacrifices that you've tried were not enough, Pef Lancefire. I think we'll go on with the initial plan." the Primarch explained in a cold voice, followed by a desperate scream from Magnus.

The corrupted Primarch had split in two, a gaseous shade trying to flee the stabbed body, while the psyker Primarch fell to the metal floor and began morphing into his old shape, resuming a human appearance.

Janice and Sanguinius pooled their psyker powers to restrain the fleeing demon, aided by Griselda, Rose and the two Silent Sisters keeping watch over Magnus. Then the Grey Knight drew his black blade and stabbed once, movement so fast and graceful I might have missed it without my enhanced senses.

"It is done, Pef Lancefire. Lord Magnus is restored." the Grey Knight announced in a proud voice.

A pained cough and a metallic sound followed, as Magnus stood up and expelled the Emperor's Sword from his stomach. "It's like...the fog has lifted and my mind is free once more. And I'm before my father now, beside my brothers once more." Magnus declared in a raspy voice, then coughed again, spitting clots of blood.

"Pick the sword up, Magnus. Then go fix your mess on Luna. Janice and Dessima, you look after him." I commanded with a casual voice, my attention focused on the approaching Eldar ship.

The God of Death had sent his messenger as well, and my bridge was not a receiving hall. "Ordela, prepare the reception hall for visitors. Have the servitors wipe the blood stains as well." I continued in the same voice.

Primarch Sanguinius sighed and flared his powers for a second, then vanished in a golden light. A second later, he was back on Terra, commanding his troops and restoring a sense of control over the hectic situation.

Yeah, my Primarch wasn't the type to impose himself with psyker powers and grand gestures, not anymore, but he was now possibly the equal of Magnus, in psyker powers and skill. I helped with that as well.

That Lord Regent rank wasn't gained only by name and reputation. Sanguinius was strong even before, and now he was much stronger. He had observed my moves and motives, until he was certain I wasn't placing the Emperor or the Imperium in danger, then just went back to work.

"Well then. I better head up to the reception hall as well. Come, Captain Valoris. It's not every day we meet an Avatar of a God, is it?" Roboute Guilliman asked in a calm voice, then patted my head on his way out.

"This better work, Primarch." the Custodes muttered in a warning voice, then pushed the wheelchair with the Emperor and followed.

Griselda sat beside me, and let out a pained sob. "It is so dark."

"The night is always darker before dawn." I answered in a wise voice.

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