Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [286]

Rhodes's plan was perfect. In this world, no matter what you do, you can always say "It was Tzeentch's plot!" and people will believe it.

So long as everyone believes it was Tzeentch, then it was Tzeentch.

The Emperor himself had doubts: with Magnus's psychic power, he shouldn't have been able to destroy the Webway.

Even with Magnus and all his Thousand Sons psykers, it should've been impossible.

He'd built the Webway himself, connecting it to the Eldar's. It shouldn't have interacted with the Warp.

How did an endless tide of daemons pour in? That was suspicious. And he used Old One technology to do it.

The Webway he built was identical; otherwise, it couldn't have linked to the ancient system.

So, who taught Magnus the psychic message spell? No doubt, Tzeentch.

After all, the Emperor himself knew little of Chao's sorcery. He was powerful but didn't study such evil spells.

Rhodes might be trying to frame Tzeentch, but the Emperor was starting to think Tzeentch had set them up. The more he thought, the more likely it seemed that Magnus was innocent.

So conveniently, the Golden Throne was destroyed, so conveniently, he had to sit on it, so conveniently, the Custodes were distracted, so conveniently, he sent Russ to fetch Magnus—and just as conveniently, Russ destroyed Magnus's world.

"What the hell happened back then, Father?" Magnus asked.

The golden giant before him was his father, or at least part of his soul, projected into the armor.

He looked just like his father!

"Think about it, Magnus. Before the other Primarchs returned, you and I could communicate psychically in the Warp, even from across the galaxy.

But why couldn't we later? Isn't that strange?

At the time, I wasn't even on the Throne—I was just researching the Webway. I kept it secret from you, but you should still have been able to contact me through the Warp," the Emperor said.

Too suspicious! Far too suspicious!

He and Magnus could always communicate, even across storms. But after he learned of Horus's corruption and turned to Chaos, suddenly they couldn't talk anymore.

He was forced to use a dangerous spell.

"I thought it was strange too, Father. We always used to chat in the Warp, and explore its mysteries together," Magnus replied.

That had always puzzled him. Before, he and the Emperor could always talk, even through Warp storms.

But when he discovered Horus's corruption and turned to Chaos, suddenly he couldn't reach the Emperor—forcing him to use a dangerous spell.

"I should have realized—the Changer of Ways is the master of deception," the Emperor's avatar said.

He'd only meant to put on an act, but now he realized it was Tzeentch's doing!

Rhodes was impressed, even giving the Emperor a mental thumbs-up. Little did he know the Emperor wasn't acting anymore—they were genuinely uncovering the truth.

Before, the Emperor thought it was the Warp storms that cut off communication. But now, he realized it was all a plot: Horus's corruption, and the Chaos Gods' schemes, were all interconnected!

The Emperor was annoyed—he had only just pieced it all together. He should have realized when he saw the Thousand Sons' gene-seed problems, that it wasn't like Sanguinius or Russ—Magnus's gene-seed was perfect.

Magnus had incredible psychic power and Warp resistance, second only to the Emperor—a perfect candidate to sit on the Throne.

Chaos had targeted him from the start, weaving a web of schemes.

"It was all Tzeentch's plan—one plot after another, each linked to the next," Rhodes said.

"It's my fault—I didn't see Chaos's schemes in time. This tragedy could have been avoided," the Emperor said.

From the moment the Emperor began to deceive the Primarchs, the Chaos Gods had been scheming, forcing the Emperor onto the Throne and turning half the Primarchs into Chaos. Only Tzeentch, the master of schemes, could have orchestrated it.

"I should have listened to you, Father! I shouldn't have delved too deeply into the Warp. I not only harmed you but also my sons and my homeworld!" Magnus said bitterly.

Horus squatted down, patting Magnus's shoulder, while Guilliman released him.

After the Emperor and Magnus's analysis, the two Primarchs realized that, just like with Horus, Magnus had been set up by the Chaos Gods.

Magnus was key to the Heresy. If he had stayed loyal and reached Terra, he could have replaced the Emperor on the Throne, giving the Emperor time to end the rebellion before it destroyed the Imperium.

"Sorry, Father! Only now do I see Tzeentch's true face! I can only atone for my sins with death—do it, Father. To die by your hand is my greatest honor," Magnus knelt before the Emperor's avatar.

It was time to atone. Magnus decided to accept his death.

He would die before the Emperor, never to return.

His death would end it all. As for serving the Imperium again—impossible. Even if he was willing, Tzeentch would never allow it.

After accepting Tzeentch's power in the Warp and becoming a Daemon Prince, there was no going back.

His soul belonged to a Chaos God. At any sign of betrayal, Tzeentch could kill him instantly.

"Choosing death is the act of a coward! Magnus, if you truly want to atone, you should return to the Imperium, fight Tzeentch, fight the Chaos Gods," Rhodes said.

"New brother, I can't go back. My body was destroyed. The one I have now was shaped by Chaos energy—I am a daemon in essence," Magnus sighed.

If he betrayed Tzeentch, all his powers would be stripped away—and he would die for good.

In the battle with Russ, his body was destroyed. If not for Tzeentch, he would have died. Now his body is made of Warp energy, and his soul belongs to Tzeentch.

"Magnus, if you truly want to atone, then come back! Lead your legion again, and serve humanity.

I can free you from Tzeentch's control, restore your soul and body," the Emperor said.

He had a fragment of Magnus's soul—a bright part. As a demi-god, with the right rituals, he could restore him.

As for the body, Rhodes surely had a way. For the Emperor, the hard part was the body; for Rhodes, it was the soul—they could complement each other.

"Father! You—you can free me from Chaos?" Magnus was shocked.

If he really could be freed, he would want revenge on the one who ruined him and his world.