Horus's name set off alarms throughout the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.
Helros, the Grand Inquisitor of the Inquisition stationed at the Obsidian Fortress, who had arrived to investigate following the xenos invasion, also received the Astropaths' message of prohibition at once.
"Horus?"
"What kind of joke is this?!"
He looked at the name recorded by the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, along with the news and coordinates of Horus's return.
The man was on the dark side of the Great Rift, within the Imperium's shadowed half.
Horus had returned?
Helros could no longer remain seated.
This all seemed to be real.
Astropaths might transmit false information, but they would not transmit something this absurd. It was like telling people that the one seated upon the Golden Throne was not The Emperor at all, but someone else.
It was like something utterly impossible happening right before his eyes.
"Confirm the source of the information. Determine whether it is true."
He believed this absolutely could not be true, but what if it was?
If it truly was real—
Then the upheaval it would cause for the Imperium might be no less devastating than when the Chaos Warmaster tore Cadia apart, shattering the myth of an invincible Imperium proclaimed by the Ecclesiarchy.
Whether it was true or not, he had to investigate it thoroughly.
Horus. Horus.
Meanwhile, on the Fourth Legion's journey home with the portion of the Expeditionary Force carried by Seraph—
The benevolent side of Seraph "Sanguinius" was considering his next task.
He had no desire to return to the Imperium's embrace, for he possessed almost no memories of it.
Yet the reverent gazes of those Blood Angels, and the trust they placed in him, left him no choice but to honor their request and return to the Imperium.
And through their conversations—
Seraph