Magnus had already guessed what Hogg's solution was when he first heard it, but after seeing the results, he'd chosen to forget that little detail.
Reality wasn't a fairy tale. There was no such thing as getting lucky. He could only accept the truth.
What he'd experienced in the illusion had shown him how vile the Warp was, and more than a month of experiments had taught him that the Legion's mutations were caused by contamination from Warp energy.
But the Thousand Sons absolutely couldn't give up using psychic powers if the Great Crusade was to continue. The gene-seed of the veterans had been fundamentally contaminated. He had to make a choice.
Should he watch them suffer until they became slaves to the Warp, or let them pass with dignity and allow fresh blood to take their place in the fight for humanity's survival? He already knew the answer.
Magnus, utterly lost, climbed to his feet. In silence, he used his psychic powers to cremate the body of his dead son, carefully gathered the ashes, and compressed them into a tiny pyramid.
Seeing Little Pony on the verge of drowning in grief, Hogg realized he'd probably misunderstood something and hurried over to comfort him.
"Little Pony! I never said every mutant had to die. That one was the most severely mutated I've seen. The others can still be saved."
At that, Magnus came back to himself and roared:
"Why the hell didn't you say so earlier, you damn Dwarf Ogryn! I...I thought I was going to lose all my sons. You... Sigh! Forget it!"
"You didn't ask. How was I supposed to know what you were thinking? Besides, you took part in the experiments. If you can't read the reports, how's that my fault?"
Magnus wanted to throw his head back and laugh, but couldn't. After all the ups and downs he'd been through lately, he was already numb. Even if the Emperor were paralyzed right now, he wouldn't so much as furrow his brow.
With the treatment plan settled, the two got to work. When Hogg had taken apart the Blackstone Device before, he'd figured out how it worked and gained plenty of experience modifying it.
This time was different from his own case. The mutated Thousand Sons couldn't withstand a null field at such high power, so once they turned it down, the whole device became much smaller.
Hogg, indulging his own twisted sense of humor, shaped the Blackstone Device into a coffin and named it the "Black Coffin." The Thousand Sons probably wouldn't hold it against him.
As far as Hogg was concerned, as long as he had the materials, he could create whatever he wanted out of thin air. Dozens of Black Coffins were set up in the laboratory, and he directed Magnus as he installed them.
Once the assembly was complete, Magnus began summoning the Legion. The Fifteenth Legion, now reduced to just a thousand warriors, quickly gathered aboard the Blacklight. They also brought several hundred stasis pods.
A large quantity of materials for producing gene-seed was taken from the XV Legion's stores and transported to the Blacklight.
After receiving the data packet Hogg sent, the Blackwatch Tech-Magos began examining every Thousand Son and sorting them according to the severity of their mutations.
The mildly mutated Space Marines were shoved straight into the Black Coffins so their gene-seed could be removed. Several Biologis Magi worked the mechanical arms, scraping away the diseased flesh. Before long, every mutated organ had been cut out.
Those with severe mutations were hooked up to life-support systems. Everything that could be cut was cut, and they were amputated from the neck down before being tossed into the Flesh Reshaping Chambers for a complete rebuild.
You might ask what they did with those whose heads were mutated too. Naturally, they gave them a dignified end, cremated them, and packed the ashes up for Little Pony.
Many hands make light work. The Blackwatch Medical Sergeants had been mobilized too, and each was given a Black Coffin to practice with.
It took only two days to operate on every surviving Thousand Son. All their mutated tissue had been removed.
But for the veterans whose gene-seed had already mutated, this solution only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. Hogg, however, already had a solution.
Using Magnus's blood, a large amount of Blackstone, and the flesh of a creature called a Catachan Devil, Hogg created a psychic nullification injection.
Once injected, it formed a living circulatory system attached to the recipient's blood vessels, accelerating the replacement of all the body's tissues. After seven Terran days, it would die and be expelled from the body.
With enough materials gathered, Hogg had already begun making new gene-seed. Once it was ready, they could implant it in these blank-slate Thousand Sons, giving the next generation a supply of pure gene-seed.
With the mutation problem fully resolved, the Fifteenth Legion was revitalized. Magnus, however, imposed strict standards on the use of psychic powers within the Legion.
To ensure they'd have enough potential to churn out troops in the future, Magnus's entire stockpile was used up. After another warehouse's worth of blood had been drained from him, Hogg handed over the complete set of technical data.
When Magnus returned to Terra, he held a grand celebration in the plaza before the Imperial Palace to commemorate the Thousand Sons' rebirth. The Emperor even made time to attend.
Hogg heard there'd be free food and drink, so he hurried over with the entire Blackwatch to offer his congratulations. When the Thousand Sons saw a Primarch who'd solved the Flesh Change arrive, they welcomed the Blackwatch with heartfelt gratitude.
This made the Blackwatch soldiers, who'd been stuffing themselves, stop sneaking food and pretend nothing was amiss as they greeted their cousins.
After the celebration, the Emperor summoned Magnus to the palace. He went deep beneath it, into the Gate of Endings. No one knew what happened inside, but before long, the Fifteenth Legion began to muster.
Just as Magnus, with his worries behind him, was about to say goodbye to Hogg and hurry off to join the Great Crusade and carry out the Emperor's plan, Hogg mysteriously dragged him into a room aboard the Blacklight.
"What are you doing?"
Honestly, Magnus still couldn't figure out how Hogg's tiny body could hold so much strength. He couldn't resist at all as Hogg dragged him along.
"Little Pony, your big brother wants to talk something over with you."
Hearing Hogg speak so kindly, Magnus, who knew him all too well by now, knew the bastard was up to no good. Hogg had already rubbed off on him, too, and the scholar's refined manners were nowhere to be seen.
"Spit it out. I'm in a hurry to join the Great Crusade! I only came over to say goodbye."
Hogg ignored his bluster and, wearing a mysterious expression, dragged Magnus to a corner of the room. He twisted a vase, and a hidden room appeared before them.
Inside, Magnus saw three banners hanging on the wall, bearing the distinctive insignia of the Blackwatch, the Ultramarines, and the World Eaters.
Nearby lay a banner bearing the Fourth Legion's steel skull emblem, not yet hung on the wall. Seeing this, Magnus couldn't understand why Hogg had brought him here.
"Magnus, I want you to understand something. One person's strength is limited. In this vast, cruel Galaxy, even a Legion's strength can't solve every problem.
"So those of us among the later-born brothers need to stick together. Guilliman and Angron have already agreed to form an alliance with me. You're the only one left. Listen to your big brother—there are benefits to joining us."
"So you want me to join your little club? I'm in, I'm in! Just move that Vortex Torpedo away! If this thing goes off, we're both done for."
After hearing the affirmative answer, Hogg let go of the torpedo and said solemnly:
"Words aren't enough. I've already recorded you. Go to Macragge and ask Guilliman's mother, Euten, to be your godmother. Otherwise, I'll send this recording to Malcador and accuse you of plotting a rebellion."
There were so many things wrong with that, Magnus couldn't even speak.
"Little Pony, you just don't get it. The bunch of us together can definitely make something of ourselves.
"With your peerless wisdom, Guilliman's superb martial prowess, Angron's scientific expertise, and my brilliant leadership, our Imperium Secundus will surely make the Emperor proud."
"? Imperium Secundus? (⊙⊙)(._.) Croak!!! I don't want to join!!!"
(.)ノIt really had to be you, Alphabet Company—you went and made a female Adeptus Custodes. So this is your own fanfiction, huh?
Before you continue