He saw himself lying in the Emperor's arms.
He saw everything he had tried to avoid become reality because of him.
He saw that Chaos—
Then more complicated memories flooded into his mind.
Horus's subsequent experiences, as well as the Imperium's history, replayed before him like scenes from a historical record.
All of history appeared in his mind with perfect clarity.
It matched the visions of the Imperium that the Four Gods had once shown him.
He had once believed that the Emperor had abandoned them, leaving the battlefield to return to the Imperium and seek a path to godhood. Yet the god they had imagined now sat upon the Golden Throne, desperately holding the Imperium together.
The entire Imperium existed only because the Emperor supported it.
If the Emperor had wanted to become a god, he would have done so long ago.
There would have been no present day.
And he had personally pushed history toward every scene he had witnessed.
The galaxy was filled with war, and Chaos daemons infested every corner of the Imperium.
The Imperium's Chapters had been split apart again and again.
When he saw the Imperium as it was now, Horus's mind held nothing but endless pain and regret.
If he had not doubted the Emperor back then...
If he had been just a little more cautious back then...
Perhaps none of this would have happened.
Although the benevolent soul within him had long since been pierced by Erebus's weapon, allowing the Four Gods to completely take control of his body, he had still dragged the Imperium into the abyss at that time.
If none of that had happened...
Would everything have been different?
Horus's physical body had only just formed and was still in the state of being pierced by the Emperor's Sword.