Warhammer: Lord of the Endless Monster Horde [313]

"Good idea—I want to catch one too," said Tzeentch.

The other three just wanted new toys, but Tzeentch saw greater value.

The C'tan and Old Ones once dominated the physical universe, C'tan being the stronger individuals, able to manipulate reality.

 They could control physical laws, but they were immune to the Warp, on par with the Chaos Gods—but the Chaos Gods were bound to the Warp.

 The C'tan were not bound to the physical universe; they were just powerful lifeforms, but if they died, they were truly gone.

Their fragments, though powerful, were useless to the Chaos Gods.

But these Cosmic Beasts are different: they exist on both spiritual and physical levels, and their spiritual energy can enter the Warp.

If their power could be analyzed, the Chaos Gods might upgrade themselves, becoming even higher beings—ruling both the Warp and reality.

But the other three didn't see this; they just wanted toys. Tzeentch began plotting to corrupt them, make them his.

"Hurry up! But don't push the Emperor too far. Our main task is to observe these creatures.

Remember their soul aura; next time they appear, we'll try to capture them," Tzeentch said.

"We know what you're up to," Slaanesh snorted.

No one was fooled by Tzeentch.

 He might master schemes, but that didn't make him the only schemer.

Nurgle, for example, played the fool in public but was very cunning.

If they weren't cunning, they wouldn't be Chaos Gods—top beings in the universe.

They were more than lifeforms—they were incarnations of universal rules!

The four Chaos Gods now worked together—these Cosmic Beasts, able to evolve mortals to godhood, must be caught.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's get to it! I'd love to put the Emperor's head in my skull throne."

The Chaos Gods attacked with blood-red, purple, green, and blue energy, pressing down on the defenders.

Rhodes' Cosmic Beasts cried out in pain—the Chaos Gods especially targeted them, draining their energy and bombarding them with negative emotions.

Even Rhodes bled from the mouth, his head dizzy.

 But the Chaos Gods failed to corrupt the Cosmic Beasts, as they were bound to Rhodes and his system. The Chaos Gods couldn't break that link.

"Vile Chaos Gods! Everyone, give it your all!" the Emperor shouted.

But everyone had reached their limit. If no reinforcements arrived, it would become a contest of stamina, which was hopeless—the Chaos Gods had the whole Warp behind them.

If they lost, the Emperor would be forced to rise from the Throne, dooming humanity.

If the Emperor became a Chaos God, he would no longer care about vengeance for mankind. He would become someone else.

"Father! There should still be many psykers in the Imperial Palace—let them come and sacrifice themselves!" Guilliman turned to the Emperor.

Since sitting on the Golden Throne, the Emperor had to burn 1,000 psykers a day for power.

In the Astronomican, many psykers were held as Imperial fuel, burned for the Emperor!

Now, with no other way, they had to try this gamble—sacrifice those who would have died anyway.

"It's our only choice," the Emperor nodded, agreeing with Guilliman.

He sent a mental command to the Custodians, with Rhodes' help.

"My loyal guards, bring all the psykers in the Astronomican. Humanity's fate depends on them," the Emperor said.

"As you command, great Emperor!"

The Custodians acted quickly, soon bringing large numbers of blindfolded psykers before them.

"For the Imperium, for the Emperor! Thank you for your sacrifice."

"For the Imperium! Loyalty!"

"It's time to burn our souls. For the Emperor! After death, our souls will return to the Golden Throne," said the leading psykers—many were volunteers, former members of Imperial organizations.

Facing death, they chose to return to Terra to sacrifice themselves for the Emperor.

Some unwilling were fitted with control devices to ensure their compliance.

These psykers were pitiful—vital to the Imperium, yet shunned by ordinary people and the Imperium alike.

The psykers began burning their souls, sacrificing their lives, and turning themselves into pure psychic and soul power to restore the defenders and the weakened Cosmic Beasts.

With this energy, Rhodes, the Emperor, Guilliman, Magnus, and the Cosmic Beasts revived, their vitality and spirit restored.

"It's time! Let's finish this in one go," the Emperor's psychic form rose as a golden giant.

With Rhodes, Magnus, Guilliman, and ten Cosmic Beasts, wielding powerful psychic power to seal the rift.

Hundreds of thousands of psykers sacrificed their souls, giving the Emperor and allies the upper hand; the warp rift shrank.

But the Chaos Gods were not so easily defeated—their power remained immense.

The rift was mostly closed, but a small part resisted.

The energy from the psykers' sacrifice wouldn't last long.

At that moment, a familiar power came from the Warp—Sanguinius's soul appeared, helping to repair the rift.

"Father! Let me help you," Sanguinius's soul said, appearing through the rift.

"Is it you, Sanguinius, my son? You came at this key moment," the Emperor said, complex emotions in his gaze.

Sanguinius, once the purest angel, had become the progenitor of vampires because of Horus and the Chaos Gods—a source of pain for the Emperor.

"Father! I must protect Terra, as I did ten thousand years ago," Sanguinius's soul said, aiding the Emperor.

With Sanguinius's help, the tide turned; the Chaos Gods' power was suppressed, the great rift closing. But four massive hands—red, purple, green, blue—reached out, targeting Rhodes' Cosmic Beasts.

Those four Chaos bastards were after Rhodes' Cosmic Beasts!

Guilliman recalled his Black Tortoise, Rhodes pulled Barton, and the rest were shrunk into the system space.

The four hands grasped nothing.