When Magnus was still a young child, the homeworld where he had landed, Prospero, already had psychic technology.
Little Pony, with his powerful psychic abilities, was one of the best among them. What was more, he could even make psychic calls to Old Man Yellow and receive E's tutelage.
As everyone knew, mischievous brats were good at getting themselves into trouble. And what could be worse than a Primarch with extraordinary powers?
Magnus had ignored the Emperor's warnings and used his psychic powers recklessly. Without taking any precautions, he roamed the Warp in search of knowledge.
Then he discovered a mysterious wonderland, full of friendly and wise sprites—or so Magnus believed.
But Hogg knew it was all a lie. Tzeentch had gone to great lengths to create this deception, all to make Magnus believe the Warp was a place of truth, goodness, and beauty.
Like Tang Seng among the Three Great Bone Demons, proud Magnus possessed astounding wisdom but no common sense. Everything he knew came from the information cocoon Tzeentch had built around him.
Looking at the brightly colored fruit in his hand, Hogg felt sick.
From Hogg's perspective, the fruit had turned into a Nurgling with its limbs cut off, rotting and oozing pus. There was no need to explain what the garden lawn had become. In short, Hogg had to hand it to Little Pony for gobbling down shit.
In high spirits, Magnus continued to wield his psychic powers, and the two of them vanished from the garden and appeared in a vast library.
The enormous library was made of crystal. It needed no lighting to read by, and its endless rows of shelves were crammed with exquisite books.
"Brother! Do you see? This is a miracle of the Great Ocean! So much knowledge and treasure waiting for us to explore."
Excited, Magnus showed off to Hogg like a child with a new toy.
Magnus, who already knew the place well, took Hogg on a tour of the Great Library. Every now and then, Hogg spotted creatures in linen uniforms tidying up.
"Magnus, what are those creatures?"
Looking at the beautiful sprite with its dazzling feathers, Magnus explained:
"They're the library staff. They don't talk much, but they're very friendly. They're also servants of the Djinn I met. Don't bother them, okay?"
"Sure, don't worry. I'm famous for being refined and easygoing."
Hogg looked around and took a book from the shelf. The slick feel of its cover was all too familiar to him from his biochemical research in the lab.
He opened the book. The symbols on its pages turned into a sequence of images, and from what he could tell, it was a collection of fairy tales. Sensing something amiss, Hogg didn't look any closer. He put it back on the shelf, deliberately leaving it crooked.
One of the staff Magnus had mentioned came over and straightened the misplaced fairy-tale book in front of Hogg.
Taking the opportunity to get a closer look at the so-called sprite, Hogg's eyes flashed with a spark of electricity.
It was a humanoid creature with a pair of blue wings covered in beautiful feathers. Its delicate features and ever-present smile made it seem approachable. Perhaps Hogg's gaze had caught its attention.
"Honored visitor, is there anything I can help you with?"
Its clear, melodious voice rang in Hogg's ears, lifting his spirits. Hogg wanted to catch one and take it back to his lab for a closer look—to see if the creature was edible.
"No! Go on about your business. I already have a guide."
Perhaps there was something about Hogg that repulsed it. The so-called sprite hurried away from him.
[No wonder Magnus doesn't suspect a thing. Tzeentch, you really went all out!]
Without the strange creature realizing it, Hogg had seen through it. There were no sprites at all. This thing was just a Warp Daemon placed inside an artificially fabricated shell.
But the valuable part was that the shell had no trace of Chaos Corruption from the Warp. Only the thing lurking inside it had changed.
Most important were the books. Although Hogg couldn't understand a single word, he could still grasp the information conveyed by the images. Yet Magnus, who had read who knew how many books here, hadn't grown suspicious in the slightest.
While no one was around, Hogg secretly took a book and tried to put it in his Dimensional Pocket, but no matter what he did, it wouldn't go in. He could only find a bag and put the book in with the fruit.
After that, Magnus took Hogg to many different places. The creatures there were warm and hospitable, eagerly bringing out exquisite delicacies for the two of them.
Hogg claimed he was full and pushed all the food toward Magnus. The tall Little Pony accepted it all, touring the place with his brother as he ate. He even said it was a shame Hogg couldn't taste such delicious food.
Hogg was delighted. He hurriedly pulled out his camera and snapped several pictures of Magnus eating, then had Little Pony strike a few poses. The two of them looked just like they were on a picnic in the wilderness.
Back in the garden where they had started, Hogg dumped all the things he had collected in the bag onto the grass.
Magnus exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, when did you take all this? I tried before. You can't take anything from here."
Hogg picked out the fruit he had first seen among the pile of odds and ends, then held it out to Magnus, gesturing for him to eat it.
Magnus had no idea what his brother was up to. He looked at the bright, appetizing fruit in his hand and took a big bite. Scarlet juice spilled from his mouth.
Once Magnus had eaten the entire fruit, Hogg plucked another one from the tree and set it on the ground.
"Magnus, remember when you used your psychic powers on me when I first arrived at the palace? Just as you have powerful psychic abilities, I can disrupt psychic spells. So, to make sure this was real, I picked another fruit. I hope you won't hold it against me.
"And, my dear brother, could you open a portal home first? I have a feeling you might be a little busy in a moment."
"Of course I won't blame my brother over one piece of fruit."
Once the portal had formed, Hogg stuck his head through and shouted into the Imperial Palace, "Emperor, you're a damn &...%￥! Go sell your %￥# and let Malcador have some fun!"
Hogg quickly pulled his head back and unleashed his power. Dark red lightning burst forth, sweeping through everything nearby.
Under the impact of an immense surge of Psionic Energy, the garden that should have been like a wonderland changed.
A violent stench flooded Magnus's nostrils. The odds and ends gathered on the ground turned into strange, twisted creatures that scattered in every direction. The bright fruit became bizarre chunks of rotting flesh.
The Spiritlings frolicking on his head shed their disguises and became stinking Nurglings, their bodies crawling with maggots. Rotting flesh and pus flowed into Magnus's open mouth.
The ground beneath his feet turned into a pool of decomposition, filled with rotting flesh and microbial bacteria. Strange, twisted maggots squirmed out clumps of sticky feces, only to swallow them again.
Magnus could no longer think. Violent physical reactions took hold of his body, and he collapsed, convulsing, into the pit of rotting flesh and feces.
"Urgh!!! Urgh!! Ah..."
A torrent of vomit sprayed from Magnus's mouth and splattered at his feet, only to be devoured by the fleeing Nurglings.
The sight sent Magnus into a state of utter shock, and he tumbled headfirst into the pit of shit.
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