"I understand, Axis. Then I leave the matter with the Emperor in your hands; you will handle the negotiations with him," Sanguinius said.
Some negotiation with this world's Emperor was necessary, and Axis was naturally the most suitable person for the task.
Axis nodded. The two exchanged a few more words within the Warp before Sanguinius bid his farewells and departed. Axis then began to establish contact with the Corpse Emperor seated upon the Golden Throne.
"You heard all of that just now, didn't you?" Axis asked point-blank.
Given the Emperor's control over psychic energy, his mental force covered the entire galaxy much like the Chaos Gods, let alone the happenings within the Warp. Furthermore, Axis and Sanguinius had made no attempt to conceal their conversation, so it would have been abnormal if he hadn't heard it.
"I heard it. It seems the me from that other world is under slightly less pressure. He is living quite a nice life," the Corpse Emperor upon the Golden Throne communicated through his immense psychic power.
"True. The Emperor of our world faced the same early circumstances as you, but things shifted slightly after I appeared," Axis replied. "At the very least, the pressure isn't entirely on him alone anymore. I've shared a significant portion of the burden, as have the other Primarchs. Additionally, the things I brought with me changed many events."
Axis continued, "Take Magnus, for example. In this world, Magnus betrayed you due to the Burning of Prospero. But in our world, Magnus successfully returned to Holy Terra. The you of that world sat upon the Golden Throne alongside him, and together you successfully stabilized the Webway. Although demons are still attacking, at least the Webway wasn't destroyed."
"Magnus?" The Emperor's soul seemed to sigh, and an inexplicable aura of sorrow enveloped Axis. "I warned him. I told him not to touch those things, but he just wouldn't listen to me! He even made a private deal with the Chaos God Tzeentch, sacrificing an eye to obtain forbidden knowledge. When I discovered all of this, it was too late. If he had been willing to listen to my counsel back then and take the Golden Throne, perhaps humanity might still have had a chance."
As a god, his mood affected the surrounding reality, though this influence did not trouble Axis; his own divine power easily negated the Emperor's pressure.
"I apologize, I don't mean to interrupt you, but I need to clarify one point. Even if you had made Magnus sit on the Golden Throne, it would have been futile. You saw the Dark King I brought from the other universe," Axis said, shrugging his shoulders. "So you should know what would happen. Even if Magnus hadn't betrayed you, and even if he hadn't destroyed the Webway, the Dark King would have joined forces with the Ruinous Powers to blow up the Webway regardless. You were destined to sit on the Golden Throne, unless there was someone with the strength to stand on equal footing with that entity."
Without the power to flip the table, one was destined to be led by the nose by the enemy.
In his own world, Axis had managed Magnus and prevented him from making that fatal psychic call. Consequently, Horus had simply utilized Chaos Sorcerers to destroy the Webway instead.
"So you mean to say fate cannot be changed?" the Corpse Emperor upon the Golden Throne asked.
"No. I mean that you can only change things when you have the power to flip the table. If you don't, then you can't change anything," Axis smiled, offering his answer.
It was a simple logic.
For instance, this Emperor, ten thousand years later, possessed the power to flip the table. One only had to look at whether the four Chaos Gods dared to truly exterminate humanity. If the human race were truly wiped out, the Emperor would rise from the Golden Throne without hesitation and ascend as the Dark King. At that point, the entire universe would end together.
In the galaxy, human technology was not actually that advanced; it could even be said to have regressed compared to the Great Crusade era of ten millennia prior.
Yet, even so, humanity firmly held the position of galactic hegemon. Why? Because the Emperor, this fifth Chaos God, existed.
"Hahaha! You are right. Just like now, I possess the power to flip the table. If the me of ten thousand years ago had my current strength, I wouldn't have ended up sitting on the Golden Throne," the Corpse Emperor said.
"That is a certainty. So, are you willing to accept the trade? State your conditions; I will agree to anything within my power," Axis asked.
"You have already helped me resurrect Guilliman, and you have aided Sanguinius's sons, bringing hope to the Imperium. What reason do I have to refuse this transaction?" The Corpse Emperor readily agreed to Axis's deal.
"Excellent! Tell me what you need. As long as it's not excessive and I can achieve it, I'll get it done for you," Axis said.
He liked the straightforward nature of the old man on the Throne. Since the Emperor was being so direct, Axis wouldn't be stingy either.
"If possible, I hope you will help this Imperium to the best of your ability, within your means, and try your best to find the other Primarchs. That would be the greatest gratitude you could show me," the Corpse Emperor offered a somewhat ambiguous condition.
It required Axis to help the Imperium within a his abilities, but exactly how large that range was would be up to Axis to decide. The Emperor trusted this young god before him, for he was not an insidious or deceitful deity.
"I understand. I will help you with all my strength. Now, regarding the item I want…can you have it ready for me when I go to Holy Terra?" Axis asked.
"Of course. However, I must remind you," the Emperor said. " The reason I have become as powerful as I am now is not only due to the power of human faith. It is also because I understood a portion of the Dark King's power."
"You understood a portion of the Dark King's power?" Axis looked stunned.
"Correct. You didn't think I spent the last ten thousand years doing nothing, did you? Sitting on the Golden Throne, aside from maintaining the safety of the Webway and lighting the Astronomican, I am largely idle. After obtaining the power of humanity's hope, I attempted to analyze the Dark King's power. I discovered his power wasn't actually that difficult to control. Furthermore, since the Dark King had fallen into a slumber, I seized control of a portion of his power and forced him into an even deeper sleep. As long as I do not rise from the Golden Throne, and as long as the human race is not extinct, theoretically, he will never wake up."
Axis nodded upon hearing this. It was no wonder the old man was so powerful ten thousand years later; he had acquired a piece of the Dark King's power. In some of the original books, it was indeed described that while the Emperor shone with radiant, holy power, his essence contained a force of dark despair.
Come to think of it, when the Emperor dueled him back in his own timeline and released 100% of his psychic power, he had also displayed some of the Dark King's energy.
"But the Dark King has already been killed by me. I can't exactly have the Emperor of our world analyze the Dark King's power now," Axis said.
The Dark King had already been dealt with.
"Don't worry. The Dark King is an entity tied to the very origin of this universe. With your current level, you could only have defeated a projection of his. While that is no issue, if you wanted to completely kill him, your current level is insufficient," the Emperor said.
'Boy, you didn't think the Dark King only had that much power, did you?' The Emperor seemed to imply. 'What you defeated was merely a sliver of his projection, not his true form upon birth.'
However, even defeating a projection was a remarkable achievement for Axis. The loss of this projection had forced the Dark King into a slumber, a situation even better than what the Emperor currently faced.
The Dark King would be unable to act for at least another twenty or thirty thousand years, providing a perfect window of opportunity for his alternate self.
"I see. That sets my mind at ease."
"I will entrust the method of controlling the Dark King's power, along with my experiences in using it, to the other me," the Emperor continued. "I will use an artifact to carry my memories. You simply need to take this artifact to him. He will be able to absorb this portion of my memory, though as it spans ten millennia, the me of that other world will likely need some time to digest it."
After becoming a Warp God no weaker than the Chaos Four, the Emperor could craft his own divine artifacts, in fact, he could make them even before ascending.
"Then it's a deal. By the way, aside from the Lion, do you know the whereabouts of any other Primarchs? I can help you find them one by one," Axis said.
"Jaghatai is lost within the Webway; even I cannot pinpoint his location precisely. If the Eldar gods are willing to help, there might be hope of finding him. Beyond him, there is Rogal Dorn. Ten thousand years ago, he was ambushed by a despicable individual, imprisoned, and kept as a collection piece. That Necron bastard.
"As for Vulkan, after he perished taking down the Ork Warlord known as The Beast, his soul was captured by the Ork gods, Gork and Mork. If you want to save him, you must go to those two Ork gods to demand his release. Russ went into the Eye of Terror to search for the Tree of Life; it is not yet time for his return. The same applies to Corax. You can help me save Rogal Dorn and Vulkan. As for Jaghatai, see if the Eldar gods can locate him," the Emperor explained.
"I understand. I have one last question. The method you used to steal the Dark King's power... can you teach me?" Axis asked, very interested in this technique.
There was wisdom in learning from others; after all, he intended to absorb the fragment of the God of War.
"Hahaha, certainly."
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ps?