Danger! Corruption! (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Hiss hiss hiss~ Your mutations are quite varied," Francis mused, stroking his chin. He wondered if he could get a taste of the Thousand Sons Legion today.

"Is it difficult to treat?" Magnus asked, a mix of nervousness and excitement in his voice.

He was nervous about whether his sons could be cured, but excited to witness Francis's superb gene-craftsmanship.

"No! Of course not. I'm just afraid they won't be able to handle the pain."

Upon hearing this, the Thousand Sons warriors suddenly looked up, their gazes fixed on Francis. "Esteemed Primarch Francis, we have heard! As long as we can be freed from our fleshly mutations, we can endure any pain."

"Mm! Excellent. Let us begin then." With that, Francis started formulating a treatment plan.

"You have scales covering your entire body, and tentacles growing from your fingertips. Your condition is mild. Go to room six; the Soul Drinkers there will treat you."

With a zzzzip, Francis tore off a slip of paper and handed it to the warrior, instructing him to give it to the Soul Drinker inside.

Entering room six, he saw bone saws, chainswords, power claws, blood packs, and more hanging on the walls. On the table were various strange jars.

The viscous, eerie, lime-green liquid within looked unsettling.

"Give me the note. We're ready to begin," the Soul Drinker, clad in a pristine white medical gown, said as he took the note and started.

"First, we'll scrape off the scales, then trim the extra tentacles. After that, we'll apply a growth agent, repeating this process to remove the mutated tissue. Finally, we'll add new gene supplements and gene stabilizers."

When the Thousand Sons warrior entered, he saw a gleaming silver bed in the center. It seemed to possess a strange allure, drawing him onto it involuntarily.

The moment he lay down, several clack sounds echoed. The warrior's limbs were locked onto the bed, rendering him immobile.

"Brother Soul Drinker, what are you doing with that chainsword?"

"Why are you locking me up?"

"Don't come near me!"

Alas, the Soul Drinker warrior merely replied calmly, "Don't struggle, or it will be more painful. Bear with it, it'll be over soon, brother."

The Thousand Sons warrior: "???"

Immediately after, a piercing scream echoed from within the room. For the Thousand Sons warriors still waiting outside, their eyes held a mixture of fear and excitement.

A thought inexplicably arose in their minds: This is good!

"Next. You've grown multiple tentacles with mouthparts on them. Hmm, quite severe. Go to room two; Salpador will treat you."

"Next. Your backside has split into eight sections and sprouted numerous excretory glands? Hiss hiss hiss~ This is rather serious. You go queue in room one; I'll handle it all at once later."

"..."

"Next, why do you have a string of grapes growing? Go to room two. Salpador is good with those."

There were a total of ten rooms, and each room had a long line of people outside.

"Ahhhhhh~"

The screams from within were incessant, and to Francis, it almost sounded like a symphony.

Suddenly.

Something seemed to glance at Francis. He turned his head but found nothing, which struck him as odd.

Gradually, Thousand Sons warriors began to emerge from the rooms. They walked out stooped and weak, a stark contrast to the tall and mighty figures they were upon entering.

Their eyes were filled with both terror and relief.

When asked about their condition, they would lift their clothes to reveal their now unmutated bodies.

"It's real! They're actually cured!"

"This is wonderful! We can finally escape our fleshly mutations!"

"Praise the Emperor! Praise the Imperium!"

Watching the Thousand Sons warriors, who were already rejoicing before their surgery, the ones who had undergone it remained silent about the agonizing pain.

Furthermore, they hadn't even been given any anesthetic!

The now-normal Thousand Sons warriors could only cast a resentful glance at the Primarch before sitting in a corner to contemplate life.

"Francis, you're truly something! You're even more capable than Father... Wuwuwu..."

Before Magnus could finish, Francis clamped a hand over his mouth. "You brat! How can you say such a thing? That's heresy!"

After arranging everyone, Francis entered room one under Magnus's admiring gaze.

Francis pushed open the door and stepped inside, thinking to himself.

Heh heh, today I'm definitely going to get a taste of the Thousand Sons Legion!

"You with the split backside, come in first. Let me see how severe it is."

Meanwhile.

On Daedalus Planet.

An ancient ruin stood, its walls covered in forgotten runes and patterns.

These runes shimmered with an eerie light under the moonlight, as if recounting the ancient history and secrets of the Serpent's Lair.

The ruins were surrounded by dense vegetation, hiding countless traps and dangers within.

On the way here, Abaddon and his companions had already encountered many attacks from serpentine creatures twisted by the power of Chaos.

"Is this it?" Abaddon asked, turning back to the other.

"That's right!" Erebus the Word Bearer looked even more sinister in the moonlight.

However, Abaddon had a chainsword in his hand and didn't feel anything amiss.

In the center of the Serpent's Lair, there was a huge altar.

The altar was made of unknown materials and emitted a faint blue light. A massive serpentine pattern was carved on it, its eyes seeming to see through everything.

The five of them placed the unconscious Horus beneath the altar, directly facing the serpentine pattern.

Then, following Erebus the Word Bearer's instructions, they had the local priests perform an ancient Chaos ritual for Horus.

They left the altar and waited outside for Horus to awaken.

A quarter of an hour passed.

"Didn't you say he'd wake up as soon as we came in? Huh!" Abaddon grabbed Erebus the Word Bearer by the collar and roared.

"It's not that fast! The Warmaster has been affected by an unknown power, how could he wake up so quickly?"

"At worst, I'll go in and check on him after a while, is that okay?"

Erebus the Word Bearer waved his hand helplessly, indicating that this was not what he wanted either.

Little did they know, Erebus the Word Bearer possessed the ability to enter dreams and minds, and he was waiting for this very moment!

The eyes of the pattern within the Serpent's Lair glowed red as they looked at Horus.

The unconscious Horus began to show signs of distress.

"Where am I?"

"Erebus! Abaddon! Sanguinius! Torquedon!"

"Where are you?"

Horus stood weakly in a snowy landscape, the white sky and ground seeming to merge into one.

He called out loudly to his sons, but his voice echoed in the air without a response.

Suddenly.

A greyish-white snow wolf appeared before him, just like the wolf depicted on his Power Armour.

Whenever he tried to approach it, it would retreat just in time.

No matter how he chased it, he couldn't catch it; the two always maintained a certain distance.

The snow wolf's eyes were fixed on him, and Horus felt like his head was about to split open.

Horus kept chasing, the snow wolf kept running, until they appeared by a small river.

With a splash, Horus, not paying attention, fell into the river.

The icy water stimulated the weak Horus, and just as Horus felt himself becoming drowsy.

A large hand pulled him up. When Horus came to his senses, he saw the deceased Fourth Captain of the Sons of Horus—Hastur Cygnus.

"Cygnus! How could it be you! What are you doing here? Are you alright?"

Horus excitedly hugged his child. The death of each of his sons brought Horus immense grief.

Now that he saw his deceased child wasn't truly dead, he was overjoyed!

"Father, it was the great Chaos Gods who took me in." Cygnus hugged Horus back.

Hearing the word "Gods," Horus frowned slightly, then let go of Cygnus and asked, "Do you know where this is?"

"I was clearly on Devon Planet?"

Cygnus didn't answer Horus's question, instead asking, "Father, do you know what will happen to us after the Great Crusade ends?"

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Horus vaguely felt something was wrong.

"Father, I saw the future from the Chaos Gods. It's a future without us," Cygnus continued.

"Impossible! I am the Warmaster! I am the Emperor's son!"

"The Emperor wouldn't harm us!"

"You're not Cygnus, who are you!"

Horus looked at the face that was so familiar yet filled with a sense of incongruity!

Meanwhile, far away on Prospero.

Magnus also sensed the change in Horus and rushed to Room 1, shouting at Francis.

"Something's happened to Horus! I can feel him being corrupted by Chaos!"

"We have to save him!"