Recovering Number Sixteen was undoubtedly tremendous news for the Emperor.
Due to the influence of the Warp, the field of genetic modification could easily spiral out of control.
During the Age of Darkness, countless indescribable horrors had been born from genetic experiments.
A small portion had been deliberately created by madmen.
But the vast majority had simply been the result of experiments running amok.
To possess a stable army of superhumans capable of conquering the stars,
the Emperor had first created the Primarchs as anchors.
Then, using the Primarchs as templates, he had created the Astartes Legions.
Just as the Emperor had ambitiously planned how to use the Primarchs to conquer the stars, he suffered his first setback.
The Chaos Gods invaded his laboratory, stole the Primarchs, and scattered them across the galaxy.
"Bring him before me at once."
The Emperor ordered Horus brought before him.
The recovery of Number Sixteen filled him with joy.
The Primarchs contained Origin Power he had stolen from the Warp.
They possessed the dual traits of both the Warp and the material universe, making them unique anchors.
In a sense, they were infant gods existing in reality within human shells.
"Have you thought about what you'll say to him?" Raven said. "Big Guy, don't tell me you plan to talk to that child about fatherly love and tell him he has a duty to save humanity."
"Shouldn't I?"
The Emperor looked at Raven and asked for his opinion.
They were equals.
The Imperial Double-headed Eagle represented the Emperor and Raven.
The two were bound together, the two sides of a single symbol.
Neither could exist without the other.
"We aren't gods," Raven said. "A child being born to become some world-saving savior is something that only happens in myths."
"Or do you want to imitate the gods from those stories and arrange the fates of all living beings from the start? If that's the case, what would be the point of saying 'I am not a god' a thousand times?"
"Treat him like an ordinary person. If he cannot understand the suffering and pain of ordinary people, how can you expect him to save this species?"
"But!" The Emperor hesitated. "They are immensely powerful. They should not be wasted. With them, we can conquer the universe faster."
Raven said, "We already possess the knowledge and technology to make ordinary people powerful as well."
"Have you forgotten what happened in that other universe? Those frail ordinary people relied on their own resilience and wisdom to fight enemies far stronger than themselves."
"If we want humanity to ascend, then we must believe in humanity's potential."
"You are right, Raven," the Emperor said. "I will carefully consider how I should get along with him."
Had it been Malcador or Waldo, the Emperor would certainly have stubbornly insisted on his own view.
But when it came to Raven's words, the Emperor still had to listen.
Horus was led inside by the Adeptus Custodes.
He was exceptionally tall, carrying an oppressive presence and a distinctive charm.
Near-limitless power lay hidden within his powerful body.
After the Chaos Gods had stolen him from the Emperor's secret laboratory,
Horus had fallen upon Kossonia,
a gang world not too far from the Solar System.
Horus's Cultivation Pod exploded as it descended toward the surface.
The blast had gravely injured Horus, who had still been a child at the time.
The wounded boy was discovered by the owner of a slaughterhouse, a butcher wearing a human-skin mask, who took him back intending to turn him into soup.
When the local gang boss, Hagerton, passed by the slaughterhouse, he saved Horus, who had been hanging from an iron hook and was about to be disemboweled.
No one knew what the brutal gang boss had been thinking.
Perhaps it had been fate, or perhaps the Primarch possessed some mysterious power that influenced others to ensure his own survival.
Horus, taken in by Hagerton, was named Nel'igu, a meaningless name.
It was an ancient word from Kossonia's first colonists.
Its literal meaning was nameless.
To earn a name of slaughter for himself, Horus left the tribe and headed to the surface.
There, he found the Cultivation Pod that had nurtured him and killed a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus who had been exploring the surface.
His physical features were captured by the Mechanicus Sages, who confirmed through comparison that he was the Emperor's precious lost creation.
Horus took the weapon of the Tech-Priest he had killed as a trophy.
He brought it back to the tribe, hoping to earn his own name of slaughter.
Hagerton responded by slapping him and accusing him of bringing disaster upon the tribe.
And events unfolded exactly as Hagerton had predicted.
The Adeptus Mechanicus's retaliation arrived close on the heels of Horus's return.
In the tribe's final moments before its destruction, Hagerton said to Horus, "Do it, nameless boy. If you want a name of slaughter, you must stain yourself with my blood."
Thus, Horus killed his adoptive father.
Before dying, Hagerton bestowed upon him his name of slaughter: Horus.
Once Horus possessed his own name, he activated the power within him.
His dormant genes awakened and reshaped his body, making him rapidly grow into a powerful Primarch, after which the Mechanicus Sages brought him before the Emperor.
So this is a Primarch? Such an overwhelming presence—a god walking the mortal world in human flesh. No wonder the gods coveted them.
Raven sighed inwardly.
He did not tell the Emperor that Horus would rebel in the future.
The predetermined fate of the Warhammer universe had already changed greatly because of his intervention.
The future was no longer fixed.
Horus's rebellion was not something destined to happen.
It was even possible that the Second Empire would stab the First Empire in the back, the three giants would gang up on the Emperor, Horus would come to his rescue, and they would forever be nine hours too late.
"Who are you?" Horus looked at the Emperor. He found the other man strangely familiar.
"You may think of me as your father, because I created you with my own hands," the Emperor said. "But certain people stole you away from my side."
Raven watched the affectionate father-and-son scene with some boredom.
After confirming that the Emperor would not rashly hand the Sixteenth Legion over to Horus,
he flapped his wings and flew out.
He landed on Waldo's shoulder, where he stood guard at the entrance.
"There is something I need you to do, Big Corn Cob."
Waldo said teasingly, "Which world's ketchup and fries have you set your sights on now? The loyal Adeptus Custodes shall fight for your fries and ketchup."
"I like that attitude, but I preferred your old tsundere act."
After tossing out a couple of barbed remarks, Raven continued.
"I'll give you a star map. Send a few Adeptus Custodes squads to visit the worlds I've marked and retrieve Big Guy's belongings."
After seeing Horus, Raven realized the value of the Primarchs.
When it came to creating gods, the mainstream civilizations of the Super God Universe were still not enough; Big Guy was the one to look to.
What he had created were true gods.
Even in Marvel, they would be the kind capable of pinning down the Eight Great Demon Gods and beating them.
Though Raven did not want the Primarchs directly commanding the Legions and planting the seeds of rebellion within the Empire,
such powerful individuals could not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Chaos Gods either.
Raven decided to have the Adeptus Custodes retrieve them ahead of time and place them under the Empire's control.
"You'd better take this seriously. If you mess it up, Big Corn Cob, you really will be sent to guard a pond."
"Don't worry," Waldo said. "Where is the first target?"
"Nukeria," Raven said.
PS: Young Horus.
Couldn't find a picture of him with hair.
Before you continue