"No, this can't be—"
Russ stared at the giant pit left behind by the Tree of Life, and his vision went black. The violent surge of emotion nearly made him faint.
The Tree of Life he had searched for so bitterly had been plundered, its whereabouts unknown!
What grief could compare to that?
Russ had not hesitated to leave behind his Gene-Scion and all his responsibilities and enter the deadly Warp precisely for the legendary Tree of Life, to seek a sliver of hope for The Emperor and humanity.
This Primarch, raised by wolves, felt deeply the torment suffered by The Emperor, his father, and the suffering endured by mortals. He possessed a compassion that was second to none.
That was also why he had resolutely decided to do this. Otherwise, he would never have been able to forgive himself—for failing to protect The Emperor, and failing to protect humanity.
Over the years, Russ had gone through countless battles and come close to falling countless times, but he had held on, all for this obsession with saving everything.
That was his mission, a mission he had been born to bear. He wanted to find the Tree of Life. He wanted to save his father and all mortals.
At last, Russ had endured every danger and torment and reached the land of hope he had dreamed of day and night.
Yet at the moment when he was most expectant, most excited, reality told him he was one step too late. He had failed!
The Tree of Life had long since been plundered by Chaos entities or some other enemy of mankind, extinguishing humanity's hope.
Perhaps the Chaos Gods had seen through his trail and purpose, found the Tree of Life in advance, and plundered it to prevent The Emperor's recovery.
And