Magnus knelt in the ruins he had created, utterly devastated.
"Impossible..."
He repeated the word unconsciously, over and over again.
In his massive cyclopean eye, all the flames had been extinguished, leaving only a deathly silence, a void and bewilderment like the end of the universe.
His pride—his pride as a Primarch, his pride as a top-tier Psyker—had been thoroughly, cruelly, and mercilessly ground into dust by that incomprehensible strike.
He could not even comprehend how he had been defeated.
It was not an overwhelming of power, nor a victory of technique.
It was a declaration of absolute "Truth" from a higher dimension, as if a god were rewriting the laws of reality.
Before that "Truth," the "knowledge" he had spent his entire life learning was like a sandcastle built by a child, vanishing into nothingness with a gentle wave of the tide.
His mental defenses collapsed completely at this moment.
His soul's bulwarks crumbled with a roar at this moment.
In the sky, the Subspace rift that had been temporarily pushed back by Leticia's majesty sensed the moment Magnus's soul lost all defense, and it began to expand madly and greedily once again!
This time, Chaos God Tzeentch did not bother with any concealment or disguise!
Countless nauseating tentacles, formed from pure lies and malice, surged out from the rift like vultures smelling rotting flesh, covering the sky!
They emitted sharp shrieks filled with mockery and ecstasy, and at a speed a hundred times faster than before, they viciously pounced toward that shattered soul that had already given up all resistance!
The Lord of Change had lost its patience.
It wanted to forcibly drag this collection piece, which was about to slip out of its grasp, back into its display room!
Magnus looked up, numbly watching the firmament formed of countless schemes and malice pressing down upon him.
He did not resist.
He had no strength to resist either.
Let it be...
Just like this, to be devoured, to be toyed with, to be dragged into that endless abyss filled with lies.
Perhaps this was the only destination for a fool like him.
He slowly closed his cyclopean eye, which was flowing with golden ichor, preparing to welcome his fate of being completely devoured.
Just then.
A voice rang out.
It was a soft, crisp, childish voice, as tender as a kitten's meow.
But this voice contained a supreme will, as if originating from the very source of blood and soul, a will that even Leticia's divine words did not possess.
"Magnus."
Terrania, who had been carefully protected behind Sanguinia's wings, had somehow broken free from that warm shelter.
Her innocent little face was filled with pure compassion and pity.
She looked at the giant red figure kneeling on the ground, trembling all over, and felt he was so pitiful.
Just like a big dog that had lost its way, been injured, and been abandoned by the whole world.
So, she took two steps forward, summoned her courage, and shouted at the giant about to be completely devoured by darkness, using the loudest voice she could muster, earnestly and enunciating every word:
"Quiet."
Boom—!!!
This sentence itself had no power.
But the moment it was spoken from Terrania's lips, a supreme, eternal golden will, as if it had existed since the dawn of the universe, descended along with these two words!
This will was merciful, majestic, and warm; it was an indelible brand deeply engraved in the deepest parts of the souls and genes of all Primarchs!
That was... Father's will!
A pure golden divine halo, impossible to look at with the naked eye, erupted from Terrania's small body and spread outward!
Wherever the halo passed, time seemed to stand still.
Those hideous, filthy tentacles from Chaos God Tzeentch that were lunging at Magnus were, the moment they touched this golden divinity, like ice and snow thrown into the core of a supernova!
They didn't even have time to shriek before they were instantly purified, dissolved, and completely erased from the conceptual level under that pure, absolute will!
The massive Subspace rift in the sky, like flesh burned by a branding iron, emitted a shrill, silent scream and, at a speed ten thousand times faster than when it appeared, snapped back and vanished without a trace!
As if it had seen something more ancient and terrifying than the universe itself!
And that golden halo, after dispelling all the filth, gently and soothingly enveloped Magnus's massive body.
A miracle happened.
The violent psychic storm within Magnus, which had been completely out of control due to his mental breakdown and was about to tear him to pieces, instantly calmed down under the shroud of this golden halo, like a frightened beast that had been soothed.
All the rage, all the chaos, and all the pain were gently and unquestioningly smoothed away before this will.
The wounds on his body, which had been cracking open and leaking golden blood due to the psychic backlash, also slowly healed at a visible rate.
Magnus was completely stunned.
He slowly opened his cyclopean eye.
He felt it.
He felt the aura, so familiar that his soul trembled and he wanted to weep aloud.
It was not the majestic "Emperor" on the Golden Throne, casting a cold, judgmental gaze from billions of light-years away.
It was...
It was the golden age of the Great Crusade, in the library of Prospero, the one who would listen with interest as he expounded on the mysteries of the Subspace, the one who would smile and pat his shoulder, discussing the truths of the universe with him, the one who would show undisguised approval and pride in his eyes when he achieved something...
The warm, "Father."
He turned his head stiffly and with difficulty.
His massive cyclopean eye passed through the burning battlefield, over the black-robed goddess who looked calm as if everything were under control, and finally landed on the small Blonde Girl bathed in golden radiance.
The girl was looking at him with a worried expression; in those pure golden eyes, there was no judgment, no mockery, only the purest, unadulterated... concern.
Crack.
It was as if something in the deepest part of Magnus's soul had shattered.
That was the incredibly thick mental bulwark he had built for himself using pride, knowledge, and ten thousand years of pain and regret.
The next second.
Scalding, uncontrollable tears burst forth from his massive cyclopean eye.
These were not the golden ichor formed of psychic energy.
They were real, salty tears belonging to a child who had been lost for ten thousand years and had finally felt a father's love again.
Everyone present fell into absolute silence because of this sudden scene.
Angronia's amber pupils contracted violently; she looked at Terrania, her eyes filled with confusion and a trace of instinctive awe.
On Fogremia's perfect face, for the first time, appeared an extreme shock that could not be explained by logic.
Only Sanguinia, the moment she felt that golden will, was already in tears.
She looked at Terrania's back, and her sky-blue eyes were filled with ecstasy, piety, and supreme adoration, as if she had seen the only meaning of her existence.
"Father..."
A murmur filled with endless grievance, adoration, and dependence squeezed out from Magnus's trembling throat.
He completely let down all his mental defenses toward Terrania, and like a drowning person reaching for the last piece of driftwood, he unconsciously and slowly reached out his hand, which was as huge as a mountain rock.
Leticia seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
She knew that Magnus's shattered heart had been completely opened.
Now, it was time to pull him completely out of the quagmire called "Fate."
She took a step, calmly walked up to the shattered giant who had completely given up all resistance, and prepared to issue that final invitation from a brand-new family.
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