Horus, Hopelessly Trapped in the Golden Ring

Tagus slowly rotates in the weak Radiance.

This is a Radiance forever far from the Astronomican, a desert world forever buried in the sand and gravel.

Tagus perfectly embodies the spirit of the Eighth Legion: a land of suffering, born of air and fire like other planets, possessing boundless potential, yet faltering at the end of its growth, never able to flourish like other worlds with more benevolent suns.

Before its arrival, this place was unremarkable. Yet, some people call it home.

They viewed their legions with the same gaze as the Night Lords.

In the early days of the Great Crusade, the Night Lords's life wasn't too bad—although the Primarch would often fall into a period of hallucination-filled madness—which the Legion's high command explained was a ailment stemming from his innate sorcery.

Fortunately, the Primarch's hallucinations did not last long, and Primarch was mostly normal—which was quite rare for a Legion.

However, as the Great Crusade progressed, especially after Imperium Warmaster Fulgrim officially took control of Great Crusade and the Emperor retired from the Crusade, Primarch Konrad Curze's condition worsened, and his behavior and motivations became increasingly incomprehensible.

The Legion Lord's personality gradually became erratic and capricious, frequently plunging into prolonged agonizing howls and indiscriminate destruction, regardless of friend or foe.

Fortunately, while Konrad Curze locked himself in the secret chamber, there was a true legion commander— Prince of Crows —Sevitar who, with his outstanding combat skills and command abilities, was still able to lead the legion into battle even when the Primarch lost control.

—Even better than the Primarch.

Although everyone secretly considers Sevitar to be the Lord of the Legion, the Night Lords still have to meet the Primarch's demands in public.

For example, right now.

The Primarch has gone mad again—after the Warp Storm began to sweep across the galaxy, Konrad Curze's mental state worsened, with hallucinations becoming more frequent and lasting longer.

Even after the hallucination ended, his mental state did not improve much.

It was he who ordered all the members of the Night Lords's legion to come to this remote planet and demanded that the Night Lords build him a colossal tower of Blackstone in this sparsely populated world.

This kind of thing often happened in the Eighth Legion, and nobody knew what he was trying to do.

But the Primarch's commands are absolute and cannot be disobeyed.

Left with no other choice, a towering structure rose from the desolate plain, swaying eternally in the winds of Tagus.

Inside the tower, a sculptor is at work.

He hummed a tune that few people could recognize, a little melody composed by a foolish businessman on a planet that had been shattered decades ago.

He stopped, took a half step back, and re-examined his work. After a moment, he realized that he was still very dissatisfied with it.

The work still lacks soul.

He understood his own desire—the sculpture needed more flesh and blood than he could have used to create it; he needed to search for more sinners and use their bodies to adorn this great gift.

Moreover, nothing was left of the sculpture's face either.

Or rather, it once existed, but was forcibly erased by the dissatisfied Curze.

"I can't grasp the soul of that face."

Konrad Curze admitted with frustration.

Even if he could find enough guilty people and use their mutilated bodies to embellish this flesh and blood sculpture, he still wouldn't be able to complete the work in his heart.

Curze couldn't do it.

A surge of anger and discontent rose within him, making him want to destroy the unfinished statue of flesh and blood, and to destroy everything.

Go get it!

More corpses are needed, more vigilance is needed. He is not killing criminals efficiently enough, and he needs to punish more minor offenders. Only in this way can everyone maintain peace and tranquility.

He wants to kill even more guilty people.

No.

Maintaining restraint Curze restraint

Suppress those instinctive desires. A righteous person will not use their own desires as an excuse to fabricate charges against the innocent.

Curze looked around at the room he was in—it was enclosed by Blackstone on all sides, and the room was filled with the stench of blood and decay, with dregs piled up at Curze feet.

Only one space was unusually clean—it was a steel chanting platform with bat wings extending from both sides, upon which lay a thick book bound in human skin.

In this universe, other things may be lacking, but there are definitely a lot of people.

"Let's continue. Let's continue."

"I will catch you, Father."

He took some time to let the face he had chosen adapt to the assembled skull. He stretched it, carefully warmed it, and then pulled it hard with his hands and teeth. Once he determined that the face was the right size, he began to sew it into place as if sewing a taut drumhead.

His efforts were not in vain.

After countless attempts and selections, Konrad Curze was finally satisfied with his result—an Emperor statue made of flesh and blood, a terrifying behemoth, a chilling and evil souvenir.

Konrad Curze took a step back, letting out a satisfied and pleasant hiss, then tiptoed to the other side of the room and sat down facing the statue.

He was waiting for the other person to speak first.

"If you're not going to say anything, then fine."

Clearly, Konrad Curze overestimated his patience.

Although he used to be a very patient person, at this moment, he no longer had much room to quietly wait for the other party to lose patience first.

He piled up a bunch of severed limbs on the ground and sat down. "Let me tell you a story first."

"About why you are a very bad father."

He twitched his neck, his dirty, long black hair swaying wildly with the movement.

"You actually foresaw all of this, didn't you?!"

He suddenly stood up, and like the most righteous Inquisitor, he picked up the severed limb beside him and pointed it at the blood and flesh statue.

The Emperor's Psychic Power far surpassed theirs, surpassed that of Curze and the Angel, and was even greater than that of Magnus.

Since both he and Sanguinius could foresee the future, the Emperor, who possessed even greater power and was also the creator of the Primarch, must have been well-versed in this as well.

The Emperor's foresight was far greater than that of the two of them. How could such an omniscient being be tricked and even lose all of his Primarch?

Even after that, the Emperor didn't react much, and even Erda, who had lost all her Primarch, wasn't punished at all.

"Lie!!!"

"And I told him that too! Your Little Angel!" As if to provide more convincing evidence for his testimony, Curze spoke rapidly and emotionally, "That's right, guess what Sanguinius said?"

"She doesn't trust you either! She also thinks this guy is definitely hiding something from us!"

"But she is Angel! A beautiful Little Angel with beautiful little wings, radiating endless light!"

"She is glorious, great! She said—"

At this point, Curze sharpened his tone, speaking sarcastically, "The Emperor... The Emperor is definitely not a bad person. His intentions in doing these things are undoubtedly benevolent!"

"Pooh!"

Curze spat disdainfully at the Emperor's flesh and blood Colossus.

"He is Angel, so what am I?"

"My tactics helped everyone! The Night Lords suffered the fewest casualties! The planet was also the most intact! But did even one person thank me? No one! Not a single one of your self-important bureaucrats and preachers has said a single good word to me!"

He shook his head hostilely. "Even in your self-proclaimed Great Crusade, no one has ever approved of my methods. Even if it's faster and less bloody than their preferred methods of warfare! They would rather let 'civilized' bombardments and massive invasions kill hundreds of millions of people than let us torture a few thousand with knives!"

"And what about you? You're in cahoots with them, you didn't say a word when I was suffering!"

"This was your design! You led me down this path, you made me the fear in their darkness, you made me brand fear into the hearts of mortals, you made me a tool of control and coercion!"

"This is all because of you!"

"You think you're very smart, right? You're good at delegating tasks and managing. So why don't you explain to them that you're just doing what you're supposed to do? Why don't you tell them that you approved all of this?"

"Ha! So what?"

Curze laughed, his pale face contorted into a wide grin.

"In the end, who launched the surprise attack on you? Who destroyed your Webway? Huh? Answer me, who is stirring up the rebellion now!"

"Did you foresee all of this, oh, great and wondrous Emperor?"

"Pfft."

"Do you know what I saw in the prophecy, right at the beginning of this Horus Heresy?"

Curze laughed.

He continued speaking while sitting on the ground, as if the previous conversation had not yet fully ended.

That was the birth of something called the "Second Imperium".

Moreover, in the prophecy, he saw how the Warmaster of the Second Imperium chased after him, Curze, and was toyed with by him, and how the useless Guilliman almost killed Curze when they fought him two against one.

As for Sanguinius, who didn't know why she had turned into a man, Curze didn't want to concern himself with that.

"And then! And then guess what I saw?"

To catch Lion carelessly leaving Exterminatus everywhere in Ultramar, Guilliman angrily argued with him, insisting on expelling this Second Imperium Warmaster who had only been in office for a few days!

Ha ha!

A useless piece of trash whose fighting ability is even worse than Bu Lai's, a mad executioner—is this the strength of the Second Imperium?

However, even if they captured Curze, the final outcome was as absurd as the most dramatic play ever staged—

And upon learning that the Emperor was not actually dead, and that their Second Imperium was merely a rebellion, the faces of those two complacent fools, Guilliman and Lion, were filled with astonishment and fear—

Hahahaha!

"A bunch of fools, cowards, greedy and despicable scoundrels! Is this the Primarch you thought would come to your rescue in your time of crisis?"

"Tch, of course not! They value their power and territory more than their own lives, can't you tell?"

"Maybe... it really will throw some rescue at you when it's in a good mood, hahaha!"

"Can't you really see at all that those kids you have the best hopes for and the ones you love the most actually have their own ulterior motives?"

"Did you ever foresee this day? Just like you foresaw that the Primarch would be swept into every corner of the world?"

Curze stood up excitedly again, pacing back and forth in the room, his excitement lingering.

"Definitely! Definitely, right? What can possibly escape your notice?"

His face was almost pressed against the face of the bloody statue. "Isn't it? Isn't it!!!"

"You foresaw that your Primarch would rebel, oppose you, and turn those Space Marine weapons back against you. And your expedition, which killed countless people, ended up being utterly useless after killing hundreds of millions, even trillions! Wasn't that right?"

"And there's Webway!!!"

"The Webway! The Webway!! The Webway!!!" Curze's emotions grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, his eyes fixed on the bloody statue so close before him. "You liar!!!"

"You can't fix the Webway at all, you don't know how! All your promises and so-called research are lies!!!"

"I saw it all! I can see it!"

Curze arched his back and roared.

This was what he had witnessed in his prophecies of the future, and it was also the greatest accusation he could level against the Emperor.

"You lied to us!"

"You lied to all of us!!!"

The Cygnus System.

"Istvan III."

Faced with the Angel's prophetic location, Kasgar fell into deep thought.

It's like the location where the fateful battle will take place, either in Istvaan III or nearby Istvan V.

"Did you also foresee this place?"

The Angel seemed pleased with the corroboration, but her next words were filled with remorse. "But it seems I didn't see myself on that planet."

Sanguinius and the Blood Angels are not on that star.

"Perhaps. But we cannot let prophecy hold us back," Kasgar responded. "From what I know, this region appears to be the location of Horus and his Lunar Wolves."

That's right, Horus!

Horus is the key—even though it seems that Philus has become the Chosen of Chaos, the true Chosen of the Four Gods has not yet appeared!

Otherwise, they wouldn't have lured Sanguinius to the Cygnus System, wanting her to become the Chaos Warmaster.

Aside from Horus and the Angel, there really don't seem to be any other suitable candidates for this position.

Who else could it be?

Abaddon?

Now that the Angel's crisis has been resolved, the next target of the defeated Four Gods is obviously Horus himself!

We must stop these guys from successfully luring Horus.

If Horus hadn't survived, and had ultimately had his soul shattered by the Four Gods and been forcibly stuffed into a cream puff, then...

With countless cutting-edge technologies and a fully mechanized Iron Hands, not to mention the mechanized force that has been blessed by the power of the evil god and become even more powerful;

Add to that Horus, who was empowered by the Four Gods and wouldn't stop until he had plundered the Emperor, and his fighting power alone could rival that of an entire Legiones Astartes!

A powerful alliance!

There are no Legions or Daemon Primarch from the original storyline that were useless except for being a hindrance.

The two of them alone are enough to overturn the entire Terra!

Even if all the other legions are loyal, these two elite legions will directly attack Terra and might even break through it!

The strength of Iron Hands Philus has become too overwhelming through countless enhancements. Although his individual combat ability is insufficient, his mechanized steel torrent is even more terrifying than Perturabo's.

As for the lack of individual strength, it is clear that this minor deficiency was eliminated after Horus and his Lunar Wolves joined and formed a united army.

Moreover, the Lunar Wolves also have the most powerful, domineering, and strongest Astartes warriors!

—Abaddon!

No.

We must strike ahead of time and arrive before Horus is tricked to dispel the influence of the Four Gods!

If this can be achieved, Horus can be positioned on the side of the Loyalist, and the Wolf King can return to Terra smoothly in the future.

With the Blood Angels and Lunar Wolves in place, and the Imperial Fists and Space Wolves stationed on Terra, even if Philus's firepower is fierce, a boarding maneuver will allow them to seize control of the entire Iron Hands fleet.

This would prevent the Dark King's Arena from being held!

"Angel Highness, did your prophecy contain any clues about Horus? Can you sense his current state?"

Kasgar quickly pressed for more information.

In his view, now that the Angel have been saved, as long as Horus can be saved, the Horus Heresy can be declared a victory for mankind.

"Horus," said Sanguinius, closing his eyes. "I will try to sense Him during this time, and if I receive any relevant prophecies, I will contact you immediately."

There's no time left.

Kasgar felt a growing sense of anxiety spreading through his heart.

Then came the golden-red flames that enveloped his entire body.

At this critical juncture, there is no longer any way to wait for those vague prophecies or guidance.

In this urgent situation, Kasgar must take the initiative and venture into the Warp in the form of Psychic Flame to investigate!

In the original timeline, while Horus was being empowered by the Four Gods, Magnus could still sense the strangeness of his Primarch brothers by entering the Empyrean in his soul form.

With the protection of the Psychic Flame, he might not be unable to do it!

"Isn't this too dangerous for Kasgar— "

Fulgrim was uneasy about what Kasgar was about to do.

The Warp is currently in a state of extreme turmoil, with all sorts of demons and evil creations pouring into the real world. At this time, it is also necessary to use sorcery rituals to probe the movements of other Primarch brothers and sisters, in case they are attacked by some unknown entity...

The consequences would be unimaginable.

"There is no time to hesitate now. The situation is too unclear. We have no idea whether each legion is friend or foe," Kasgar said. "If we advance rashly, we may fall into their trap. We must find out the situation first."

"Kasgar, you must return safely!" Fulgrim continued, her voice trailing off. "At worst, we'll build a smaller third, like that Guilliman did—"

"Cough cough."

The Third Legion, right? Ah, I get it, I get it.

"Don't worry, we will all live to see this Warp Storm end."

Kasgar smiled and closed his eyes.

He was going to the Empyrean to find out what was going on.

At this moment, raging waves surged in the Empyrean, obscuring all light. Apart from the still bright light of the Pharos Beacon, Kasgar could hardly find any clues about Horus here.

Finding Horus here seems like finding a needle in a haystack.

But Kasgar clearly has his own special techniques for finding Horus.

[Thirty-and-a-Half-Year Centaur gold ring]

The moment the words were uttered like a spell, Kasgar could feel the response from a certain coordinate in the Warp.

Here it is, found it.

—Just as Kasgar feared most, Horus was not in good condition at this time.

Horus's skin turned grayish-white, his lips turned purple, and his limbs became stiff.

His body was losing life, and Kasgar could feel it. As for those around him, they seemed unwilling to accept that the Primarch was about to leave them.

Abaddon, on the other hand, sobbed in public, completely lacking any manliness (this is the original text). At that moment, Ahriman, a former member of the Thousand Sons Legion who was accompanying them, stepped forward and told the despairing Lunar Wolves that he had an ancient sorcery ritual that could save them—

"No! Wait!"

"Ahriman, don't be Erebus!!! No!!!"

Kasgar realized something was wrong. It was the Thousand Sons, the Thousand Sons scattered throughout the Legion, whose perception of the Thousand Sons had been distorted by Pokémon and the Imperial Two-Headed Eagle!

It was them! Kasgar had overlooked them!

Thinking of this, Kasgar desperately tried to reach out and stop him, but he only touched a mirage.

—All of this is nothing but an illusion of the past.

The tragedy was destined to happen.

Horus himself had now been brought into the location of the sorcery ritual—yes, it was Istvan III, the Choral City.

At this moment, the young Ahriman, who inherited the will of Erebus, also held the ritual dagger that had reappeared at some unknown time, and with a smile, carried Horus onto the blasphemous altar of the Four Gods.

He is about to tear Horus's mind apart, turning him into a Chaos Warmaster.

No!

Stop the ceremony immediately!

In his anxiety, Kasgar tried to wake him up again.

Horus! Wake up!

Wake up! You must—

Etc.

It seems that Kasgar is not the only one who is anxious.

Lord Horus?

Ahriman was also in a hurry.

In the illusion, he takes the form of Sanguinius, the member of the Lunar Wolves Council of Four Kings whom he assassinated, and attempts to lure Horus into seeing the so-called "truth."

But Horus didn't even look at it.

[Hehe. Centaur gold ring]

He's become so engrossed in his own world that he can't escape it.

Kasgar: "."

I'm speechless.

Never mind, bro, forget I said anything.

You'd better not wake up yet, we're coming to rescue you.