"The current state of the Imperium, however, has allowed the High Lords to position themselves as the God-Emperor's spokespeople. Could they truly represent the Emperor? Were it not for the sudden appearance of Axis, there would still be no one capable of communicating normally with the Emperor!"
The idea that the High Lords represented the Emperor, claiming some sort of divine right to rule, was simply preposterous. Guilliman felt sickened by their conduct.
"I will change all of this," Guilliman said slowly as he rose and approached the envoy. "I will change this filthy Imperium. I will restore it to its original form. No matter how much effort it takes, no matter the hardship, I will do it."
"You wish to be an enemy of the Imperium? You want to betray the Emperor and wage war against the Imperium? Has a Primarch truly fallen so low?" The envoy snorted coldly, seeming intent on pinning the label of traitor upon Guilliman.
"It is not I who has betrayed the Emperor, but you. It is you and your ilk who are the scum." Guilliman had no desire to speak further.
He simply waved his hand, summoning the Ultramarines to take the envoy into custody.
"Well then, do you still harbor a sliver of fantasy about this Dark Imperium?" Axis asked, crossing his legs casually.
"No more. You are right, Axis. What I must do now is very simple: thoroughly purge this dark empire," Guilliman said, taking a deep breath.
If he were alone, he would have had to proceed slowly and deliberately. But with Axis's help, he was fully capable of cutting the Gordian knot.
The Ultramarines' recruitment and production speed was fast. Given the Five Hundred Worlds of Ultramar and ten years of time, he could restore the XIII Legion. Furthermore, the even more powerful Primaris Space Marines were ready. These individuals, taller, fiercer, and stronger than the Firstborn Space Marines, were the key to this revolution.
"I plan to hold my wedding tomorrow, Axis, and then demand usage rights to the Webway from Yvraine. Will your son be getting married on the same day as me?" Guilliman asked.
"Of course not. I thought it over carefully; my son's wedding must be held on Holy Terra. Furthermore, the one on the Golden Throne needs to act as a witness," Axis laughed.
He naturally could not handle his son's wedding carelessly. It had to be performed on Holy Terra. Moreover, after holding it there, Axis planned to hold another ceremony once they returned to their own world.
"I understand. Then let your son and the Living Saint prepare for an engagement ceremony at my wedding tomorrow," Guilliman nodded.
He needed to marry quickly, and then utilize the Eldar Webway to launch a raid on Holy Terra. Controlling Terra was equivalent to controlling the entire Imperium's core.
With his prestige as a Primarch, the military might of the Ultramarines, and the hundreds of thousands of Primaris Space Marines that Archmagos Belisarius Cawl had prepared for him, Guilliman could rule the entire Imperium.
"The only one among the High Lords of Terra worth keeping is the current Captain-General of the Adeptus Custodes. As for the rest, I suggest you purge them all, along with their entire families," Axis said.
The only crucial seat in the High Lords' council was the Captain-General, as the Custodes were loyal solely to the Emperor.
"I know. I will meet with the current Captain-General. I trust the Custodes will not disobey the Emperor's command," Guilliman said.
Axis nodded with a smile. Just then, a psychic communication wave rippled through the Warp. Sanguinius was calling.
"You carry on with your work; I'll take this call," Axis waved to Guilliman, then sent his spirit into the Warp to connect with Sanguinius.
"Sanguinius, are things settled on your end? What is your impression of the Tyranids?" Axis asked.
"I have temporarily repelled the Tyranid offensive, but my feelings toward this particular species are not good. This race is terrifying. If the Imperium did not have Primarchs, or existences like you and me, the Imperium of Man would absolutely never defeat the Tyranids," Sanguinius gave a very frank assessment.
One only realized how horrifying the Tyranids were after engaging them in battle. They were purely a biological weapon of war.
Even if the Imperium possessed transhuman Space Marines, valiant Sisters of Battle, and vast mortal armies, they were insignificant compared to the Tyranids. The Tyranids utilized total mobilization and could convert biomass directly into soldiers with maximum efficiency, something humanity could not do.
Moreover, the Tyranids were masters of biochemical warfare and genetic modification. Viral weapons were useless against them, and they could develop various unit strains to adapt to any combat environment.
Even with Guilliman returned, he would fall into a disadvantage against the Tyranids. Unless they had "outlier" forces like Magnus or Axis, the outcome of the war would not change. Humanity losing to the Tyranids was merely a matter of time.
Sanguinius relayed all his findings to Axis.
"That is why I told you this empire is called the Dark Imperium. This galaxy is filled with despair and darkness. If we do not make changes, if we allow the Dark King's plan to proceed, our own universe will look like this in ten thousand years," Axis said.
"Only now do I realize how important your persistence and your resistance were. You were right, Axis. If we had chosen to compromise with the Dark King like Magnus did, humanity would have no hope. We would simply be food slowly being cooked," Sanguinius said.
He felt a wave of fear in retrospect.
Back then, he had almost compromised, agreeing to the Dark King's terms to go into hiding with Axis and the others. But Axis had chosen to fight. He chose never to bow his head, winning a sliver of survival for their universe.
"I'm glad you understand my good intentions. Do you know why I am staying in this universe?" Axis asked.
"I have roughly guessed your goal, Axis. The Father of this world is incredibly powerful; his strength is not inferior to the four Chaos Gods. His only issue is being trapped on the Golden Throne, but the power he wields is no less than theirs. Since we changed the dark fate of our own universe, our Father will not achieve this level of growth. He won't become as powerful as the Father of this universe. You want to obtain something from here to bring back to the Father of our universe to help him improve, correct?" Sanguinius speculated, constructing a noble narrative for Axis's decision to stay.
"Ahem. That's right, Sanguinius. That is exactly what I was thinking," Axis coughed dryly.
Right! Why didn't I think of that?
This world's Emperor was powerful.
Learning from him, taking a page from the "Corpse Emperor's" book to help the Emperor back home improve, wasn't a bad idea. At the very least, obtaining the memories of this world's Emperor from the last ten thousand years would be particularly helpful to their own Emperor.
"You also want to recruit the gods of this world? You want to take this world's Goddess of Life back to our universe? Then both Goddesses of Life can be upgraded to Kai. They could help the Divine Tree grow even better, and you could even be liberated from your farming duties. Am I right?" Sanguinius laughed.
"Hahaha. You guessed that part correctly. I do intend to take this world's Goddess of Life," Axis said.
Axis had held that thought previously, though he hadn't acted on it yet. Sanguinius had guessed Axis's intentions there.
But regarding the first guess... Axis thought, Great Angel, you're overthinking it. Originally, he just wanted to stay here to relax; he hadn't thought about learning from the Corpse Emperor at all. Saiyans didn't usually have brains that complex.
But now, Axis had a new objective: ask this world's Corpse Emperor for a ten-thousand-year power-leveling guide.
"To hold the Emperor's ten thousand years of memories, you need a suitable vessel. Ordinary objects cannot withstand the Emperor's memory," Sanguinius warned.
The memories of the Father of this world contained ten millennia of darkness and despair, and belonged to a true god. An ordinary container would shatter.
"I actually hadn't thought about that. Do you have any suggestions?" Axis asked.
"Perhaps we should ask this world's Emperor. First, we must ensure he is willing to cooperate with us," Sanguinius said.
The one who knew him best was himself. The entity on the Golden Throne would know what could hold his memories.
"No problem. It's settled then. Trust me, he will agree," Axis said.
This world's Corpse Emperor had no reason to refuse. Axis could bring true hope to this world and prevent the Dark Imperium's destruction.
If Axis felt generous, he might even create an ascended Primarch for him. Such genetic upgrade technology was something the Corpse Emperor dreamed of.
All he had to pay in return was his ten thousand years of memory.
"Then I am relieved. Axis, there are two more things I need to tell you, having come to find you this time," Sanguinius said, nodding.
"Go ahead."
"First, I spoke with this world's version of myself. We decided to use my perfect gene-seed to replace his. This will thoroughly solve the issue of the Red Thirst," Sanguinius explained.
"That is no problem. That is between you two; you don't need to report to me. You can decide. When you return, you can have Belisarius Cawl extract the gene-seed for you.
"Additionally, Cawl has stockpiled hundreds of thousands of Primaris Space Marines. A portion of them are for the Blood Angels. You can swap their gene-seed and send them over to your side," Axis said.
"Primaris Space Marines? What are those? Are they an upgraded version of the Space Marines?"
"Yes. An upgraded version of the Firstborn Space Marines. Stronger, faster, with three new superhuman organs added. Their overall strength is roughly comparable to my sons in their base state. If this technology is applied to our legion, their basic combat power will increase, as will their lifespan," Axis said.
The Primaris technology was excellent. Axis estimated some of the technology unsed in them could be used to help his own sons master their transformation abilities.
Guilliman had already agreed to give Axis the Primaris technology and the cultivation methods, allowing Axis to package the tech and take it home.
"That is indeed good stuff. I understand. The second thing is, I want you to come to Baal. The Tyranids failed this time, but they won't let it go. They are gathering even larger forces to attack," Sanguinius stated his second objective.
"That is no problem, but we must go to Holy Terra first. After we handle matters on Holy Terra, we will come to Baal to support you," Axis nodded, agreeing to Sanguinius's plan.
This return to Holy Terra involved many tasks. For instance, he wanted to meet this world's Magic Pony, Magnus the Red.
In this world, the pony had fallen.
His son also needed to go to Holy Terra to complete his wedding with the Living Saint. These were all matters to consider. As for purging the nobles and the High Lords Council on Terra, that was Guilliman's job.
"You had best be quick. I estimate the Tyranids will reach Baal in two or three years at most," Sanguinius said.
"Don't worry. There is plenty of time. Don't forget we can use the Eldar Webway," Axis said.
With the Webway World available, their movement speed was incredibly fast.
Moreover, regarding the Tyranids in the galaxy, the largest tendril was the one currently in the Octarius Sector, locked in a death struggle with the Orks.
That was the true monster. The Imperium had once calculated that if the battle between them ended, the victor, whether it was the Tyranids who had devoured massive amounts of biomass, or the Orks who had evolved to their limits, would be a monster the Imperium could not face.
And facts proved this to be true; eventually, the bugs won the war. In the Fourth Tyranid War, even with Guilliman returned, the Imperium was beaten severely. Holy Terra itself was threatened, forcing the Imperium to purge several star systems around Terra to establish a cordon just to protect it.