Sanguinius looked at the ruined planet before them and shook his head. It had been a terrifying battle, but while Magnus might have unleashed his full power, Axis certainly had not.
If Axis had launched an all-out assault from the very beginning, his terrifying speed and explosive power would have defeated Magnus before he even had a chance to cast a single spell.
That golden transformation of his was truly dreadful; a fifty-fold increase in power that then rose to a hundred-fold was an amplification beyond comprehension.
Furthermore, Magnus's spells had too long of a wind-up time. If an opponent seized that opening, victory would be difficult.
Still, his current strength was more than enough to face the other Primarchs. Thanks to the immense physical enhancement from the Fruit of the Tree of Might, Magnus could now easily defeat any of his brothers even without resorting to his psychic abilities.
Now, Sanguinius felt a profound interest in the apotheosis Magnus had mentioned.
"Destroying a planet is nothing special," Magnus said, "If we Primarchs unleash our full psychic might, it is not a difficult task. In that giant form, a single self-detonation attack from me could obliterate this world."
The three of them conversed in the vacuum of space, their potent psychic abilities allowing them to speak without issue.
"Magnus is right," Axis added, "But the Emperor's psychic power is what is truly mighty. The Emperor can compress an entire star if he so wished."
"Hahaha, our Father's strength is indeed far beyond our imagination," Magnus said with a laugh. "His psychic power is the greatest in the entire materium. I am merely approaching his level."
Once he completed his apotheosis, fully mastered the power of a minor Warp god, and possessed a physical form to match, he believed he would not be much weaker than his Father. At that point, compressing a star or even commanding a black hole would be well within his reach.
Axis smiled at his brother's words but remained silent. Magnus was certainly confident. Axis recalled his own fight against the Emperor at full power. Even after achieving the legendary Super Saiyan transformation and stacking a second level on top of it, the Emperor had still put him down.
Against Magnus, however, Axis would not even need to transform; if he fought seriously, Magnus would never get the chance to cast a single spell. While magic pony suspected that their Father was a being from the Warp, he could never have imagined that the Emperor was the Dark King himself. The so-called minor gods of the Warp were nothing before him.
"Magnus, your psychic power is formidable, and very dangerous," Sanguinius said, turning to his other brother, "And Axis, your Ki… in terms of raw destructive force, your Ki is even more potent."
One was more terrifying than the other. Perhaps he truly ought to begin training his own psychic abilities, or he would be left behind.
He wondered if his other brothers would ever accept such power. Mortarion, Rogal Dorn, and the lost primarchs of the Second and Eleventh legions held a deep-seated revulsion for all things psychic.
"Hahaha, Sanguinius, do you see? This is true power!" Magnus declared. He wanted his angelic brother to witness what psychic energy could truly achieve: it could bend space and time, violate the laws of physics, and annihilate worlds with ease. This was the power of the psyker.
"When I return, I will begin training my psychic abilities," Sanguinius resolved. "But this is a power that is not suited for public display."
"Use this power well, Sanguinius," Magnus urged. "You will discover that we Primarchs possess strength far beyond what we imagine."
"Alright, it is time for us to depart," Axis said, intervening. "We should part ways here. Magnus, you will need to take care of wiping the memories of the crew on the ships. We cannot let word of our battle get out." Their objective for this meeting had been accomplished, with some unexpected gains besides.
The three Primarchs nodded to one another and prepared to leave. Just then, a strange, unsettling presence began to creep into the space around them.
During his battle with Axis, Magnus had torn a rift into the Warp to channel its energies and bind his opponent.
Normally, without Magnus's psychic power to sustain it, such a tear in reality would have slowly sealed itself over time. But now, the violet gash in space was widening, as if an unseen, colossal hand was prying it open from the other side.
"Something is not right," Axis said, his brow furrowed. "Magnus, try to close that Warp rift, now."
With his powerful psionic senses and sanctified soul, Axis could clearly perceive a great, formless hand on the other side, clawing the wound in reality wider.
At that moment, countless violet daemons began to pour from the rift. They were lesser creatures, beings formed entirely from the raw energy of the Warp. The daemons appeared androgynous, their forms alluring yet repulsive. With a single glance, Axis knew they were the servants of a certain perverse entity.
Magnus nodded grimly and raised his psychic staff, attempting to force the Warp rift shut. His duel with Axis had indeed caused something terrible.
Standing beside him, Sanguinius did not remain idle.
A golden radiance, unlike the explosive aura of Axis, emanated from his body, filled with a comforting warmth. He focused his own golden psychic energy, lending his strength to Magnus's effort to seal the breach.
"I did not expect we would meet so soon," a voice echoed from the other side, a disturbing amalgam of masculine and feminine tones, "My master wants you dead, wretch. You who dared to steal the food of a great god."
The voice shifted from seductive to booming as a towering, five-meter-tall purple figure emerged from the Immaterium.
Its appearance was bizarrely alien, with one half of its body male and the other female. The daemon had six arms, each wielding a different weapon: a hammer, a sword, a scimitar, and others.
"Shalaxi Helbane?" Axis asked, a slight smile touching his lips. A mere Keeper of Secrets. Who had given it the courage to be so arrogant?
"It seems you have heard my name! That will make this much easier," Shalaxi Helbane said, stretching its monstrous form.
"You two don't need to interfere. Just watch the show," Axis said, waving a hand at Magnus and Sanguinius.
He floated forward until he was directly in front of the Greater Daemon. To Axis, this battle was little more than light entertainment.
Sanguinius and Magnus exchanged a glance.
It was truly unfortunate for this Greater Daemon to have provoked Axis. With the distraction handled, the two of them could focus on their task. The Primarchs joined forces, increasing the output of their psychic energies to seal the rift.
They simultaneously unleashed a powerful psychic storm, annihilating the endless tide of Slaaneshi daemons that swarmed out. The Warp rift had to be closed quickly, for the daemons of Chaos were infinite and could never all be slain.
It was fortunate they were in the void of space; if a rift of this magnitude had opened on a planet, the situation would have been catastrophic.
A savage grin spread across Shalaxi Helbane's alien face. "Beg for mercy. Perhaps I will grant you a swift death."
Axis simply tilted his head, a mocking curve to his lips. "Fuck you. Let me show you what real power is, bitch."
As he spoke, his form vanished.
There was a dull thud. Shalaxi Helbane's abdomen caved in, its entire body doubling over violently.
The weapons in its six hands clattered loose, drifting silently in the vacuum of space.
Axis brutally seized Shalaxi by one of its daemonic horns, hoisting its entire body into the air.
What did it matter if you were Slaanesh's most powerful Keeper of Secrets? Before him, you still had to kneel.
"Did your master not tell you not to provoke those stronger than yourself?"
Shalaxi Helbane roared in fury. Warp energy surged within it, its shattered torso rapidly regenerating. It lunged, its six arms clawing for Axis, but it grasped only empty space. Axis's speed was beyond its comprehension.
With a sharp crack, Axis clamped a hand over Shalaxi's face. Golden Ki burned in his palm, the sheer force of his grip crushing the daemon's skull. Violet daemonic blood splattered into the void as its head was twisted out of shape, its eerily beautiful face shattering completely.
Axis sneered, tossing Shalaxi aside like rubbish. "Is this all a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh can do? With such pathetic strength, where did your arrogance from moments ago go?" Was this truly the best Slaanesh could send?
Shalaxi tumbled through the vacuum, its fury replaced by a complete, unhinged madness. It shrieked, and from the Warp rift, countless more daemons of Slaanesh surged forth, a tidal wave of corruption flooding towards Axis.
Axis, however, simply stood his ground, not even bothering to assume a fighting stance. "This is boring," he said with a cold snort.
A thunderous explosion of golden energy erupted from his body. Every single Slaaneshi daemon that came into contact with the light was instantly vaporized, disintegrating into nothingness before they could even utter a scream.
Axis slowly raised a hand. At his fingertip, a colossal sphere of energy coalesced, which he then casually hurled towards the Warp rift.
Shalaxi watched in horror as its minions were effortlessly erased, finally realizing the nature of the being it had provoked.
It turned to flee back into the Immaterium.
"Where are you running?"
Axis shot forward and grabbed one of Shalaxi's arms.
With a simple tug, there was a gruesome tearing sound. The entire limb was ripped clean from its socket, dissolving into a chaotic swirl of Warp energy before dissipating into nothing.
..
..
Have a great day/night! and some powerstones!