Scarlet blood ran down Horus's face. He clutched himself fiercely with both hands, as if he wanted to tear himself apart.
His bloodshot eyes fixed on them as he growled, "I don't trust any of you!"
"Magnus, contact Father. I only trust Father now!"
"I want to hear it from him personally!"
Magnus looked at Horus, and his heart ached.
Just as he instinctively started to contact the Emperor, Francis grabbed Magnus's hand and barked, "Have you forgotten what I told you?"
"Do you understand what using psychic power on Terra right now could destroy?"
Magnus jolted, breaking into a cold sweat. In the end, he could only say helplessly, "No, not now, at least. But you can trust us. We're brothers!"
Horus laughed bitterly and involuntarily took two steps back. "Magnus, you've already been deceived by the Xenos. You've betrayed the Imperium!"
"I thought you'd become my greatest ally. Hahaha..."
Suddenly.
More images appeared in Horus's eyes. His expression grew increasingly despairing, and he trembled as he murmured,
"No, no, no. It can't be like this."
Horus saw the Emperor bargaining with four indistinct figures.
He could hear the Emperor's promise.
He heard the Emperor offer up half the Primarchs in exchange for ancient, secret knowledge and technology.
The Emperor would use that knowledge and technology to create the Primarchs!
Then the scene shifted. Horus passed countless worlds, all occupied by humanity. There wasn't an Astartes in sight.
It was as if they had no place in the future.
Horus curled into a ball in agony, despairing images flashing through his mind without end.
Just as Francis and Magnus tried to reason with him, a suffocating feeling of nausea swept over them.
The void was in turmoil, and a psychic storm was rapidly forming, hurtling straight toward them.
Boom!
Their connection to the Warp shattered in an instant, and their consciousnesses began to fade from it.
It seemed the psychic storm had been waiting for them.
Meanwhile, Sarpedon came to Horus's side. He produced a jar of thick, golden-yellow liquid from nowhere and poured it into Horus's ear.
As he poured, he said, "The False Emperor isn't worthy of your loyalty. Oh, no. You shouldn't follow anyone."
"The False Emperor only wants to become a god, and he's using you to do it!"
"He's using you to help frail humanity develop, until it becomes strong enough for him to ascend to godhood."
"But you're different. You're a gift from the Warp. You should embrace the power of the Warp."
Sarpedon continued to lead Horus astray. With his mind completely closed off, Horus echoed him in a murmur, "I am a gift from the Warp. I should embrace the power of the Warp!"
"Only by destroying the False Emperor can humanity be saved. Only by destroying..."
"..."
Seeing that Horus was nearly brainwashed, Sarpedon raised a hand and pointed toward the psychic storm in the distance.
"Do you see that psychic storm? It's so dangerous that even battleships have to avoid it."
Horus stared at it blankly. Then he watched Sarpedon merely wave his hand—and the terrifying psychic storm vanished without a trace.
"How is that possible? How did you do that?"
Horus stared at Sarpedon in shock. Sarpedon simply smiled faintly and waved again.
Several psychic storms formed in quick succession, sweeping away all matter around them.
"This is the power of the Chaos Gods. With their power, you can defeat the False Emperor!"
"Tear away his hypocritical mask, and you'll become master of the Imperium!"
As Sarpedon declared this again and again, Horus lost himself completely.
Horus began to see countless tentacles, rotting flesh, twisted bones, and pink mist appear before him.
He felt as if something had wrapped around him.
At that very moment, Sarpedon's form gradually turned illusory, then reverted to the appearance of the Word Bearer Erebus.
He gazed toward Horus with boundless adoration, like a devout believer.
Horus occasionally struggled, but not much.
On Prospero.
"Francis, what do we do? What's going to happen to Horus?"
"I have a bad feeling!"
Magnus paced back and forth in a panic. He wanted to enter the Warp again.
But he could sense countless psychic storms waiting for him. He couldn't get in right now.
"Why are you panicking? Didn't I tell you? He's not going to die. At worst, he'll be given..."
Hearing Francis's words, Magnus looked confused. "Given what? He's being corrupted! If this goes on, he'll become a heretic!"
"Given the title of a Chaos God, obviously. He's just being corrupted, not getting married. Don't panic." Francis stretched, pausing halfway through and almost biting his tongue.
"Come on, he's about to rebel. Of course he's a heretic! As long as he's alive, there's a way."
Perhaps the flesh of the Thousand Sons was taking effect. Francis's body seemed to be gradually returning to its original form.
Magnus: "..."
He really didn't know what to do. Under normal circumstances, he would already have been making a psychic "call" to the Emperor.
"I know you're worried, but don't panic just yet."
Hearing the commotion outside, Francis pulled Magnus toward the exit.
"As long as the Webway isn't destroyed, what do you have to worry about with your psychic power?"
"You're my most psychically gifted brother. The task of protecting the Emperor is yours and yours alone."
"Think about it. Just as Father's life is threatened..."
"You—Magnus, lord of Prospero, Crimson King, Sorcerer King, Red Devil—suddenly appear and turn the tide!"
Hearing Francis praise him like that, Magnus's lips curled up despite himself. "That's right. I'll protect Father no matter what."
"If that happens, you'll be Father's favorite child!" Francis whispered softly in Magnus's ear.
Magnus's eyes lit up at once. He stared at Francis, too excited to speak.
Then they saw the chaos outside: the Space Wolves on one side, and the Thousand Sons and Soul Drinkers on the other.
"You can't go in! The Primarchs are doing something very important." The Thousand Sons warriors held Force Staves, whose gems flashed with light.
"Something terrible has happened! The Adeptus Mechanicus are here. They're looking for a Primarch!"
"Our Primarch is still facing them down. They've been at a stalemate for a whole day." The Space Wolves warrior's face was etched with anxiety.
They could hardly believe that, in their search for a Primarch, the Adeptus Mechanicus had brought an Apocalypse-class battleship.
It was a battleship renowned for its tremendous firepower and heavy armor, usually deployed for large-scale battles and strategic assaults.
Hearing this, Magnus pushed through the crowd and declared proudly, "Lead the way. I'll go take a look with you."
Space Wolves: "..."
Even the Thousand Sons warriors blushed. They tugged at Magnus's Power Armour and whispered, "Primarch, they're looking for the esteemed Primarch Francis."
"Pfft!" The Soul Drinkers nearly burst out laughing, but Sarpedon silenced them with a glare.
"Ahem. Then I'll go with Magnus," Francis said, patting him on the shoulder.
Magnus blushed a little, though fortunately he was already red.
"What we need to focus on most right now is getting back to Terra. After all, it's Father's mission. Maybe he has a plan of his own." Francis bluffed.
"Good point! But when you said Horus would rebel, did you mean others would join him?" Magnus suddenly realized that Horus couldn't possibly fight his way back to Terra alone.
"Well, that, um... This place is nice. A lot of people can use psychic power. Good grief, someone's even using it to move bricks." Francis looked at the streets of the City of Light.
Obsidian obelisks covered in runes and pyramids soaring into the heavens stood everywhere. Most people on the streets used psychic power to help with their daily work.
"Heh, that's because of Prospero's harsh environment. There used to be many dangerous Warp creatures here. Ordinary people probably couldn't survive here at all..."
Whenever he talked about Prospero, Magnus was like a child showing off his treasures, endlessly describing what he had seen and heard.
He even forgot the question he'd just asked.
The Space Wolves warrior beside them was just as engrossed.
The group walked straight through the standoff between the Space Wolves and the Adeptus Mechanicus without even slowing down.
Space Wolves: "..."
Adeptus Mechanicus: "..."
Before you continue