This Isn't a Joke, Is It?
Boundless power, eternal rule, ultimate achievement, the love and faith of all mankind, and... the Emperor's "approval" and "abdication".
All this ultimate Pleasure, satisfaction, and vanity is like the most potent poison.
It's so sweet that it could make any being forever lose itself, abandon thought, abandon reality, and only want to live forever in this beautiful dream of self-realization.
He sat on that magnificent Golden Throne?!
!?
Is this a joke?!
Just a moment before consciousness was about to be completely immersed in this "perfect ending".
A cold, mocking thought, belonging to the real "Robert Guilliman," pierced this sweet, dreamlike bubble like an icicle at absolute zero!
Golden Throne?
That's a torture rack that eternally burns the soul!
It's a cage imprisoning living corpses who can neither live nor die!
Is enduring the torment of being burned every second by the prayers of billions of souls, eroded by the Warp, and condemned to eternal damnation a "good thing"?
Is this the end of "glory"?!
Those four damned Chaos bastards, are they too lazy to even tell their brainless subordinates this basic information?!
"Boom--!!!"
The magnificent illusion shattered completely, like fragile glass!
Instead, a surging, purplish-black mist filled with blasphemous pleasure appeared.
From within the mist, one could faintly hear wanton laughter and painful groans, as countless twisted, sensually-seeking tentacles tried to entwine his soul once more.
"Smack!"
In the real world, Guilliman on the reviewing stand suddenly raised his hand and yanked the magnificent "Holy Laurel" he had just been wearing off his head!
The speed and decisiveness of the action brought the cheers to an abrupt halt, turning into a deathly silence of astonishment.
The next second, Guilliman appeared as if by teleportation in front of Governor Arabel, who was still kneeling on the ground with a twisted smile of triumph on his face.
The Primarch's massive hand, with irresistible force, grabbed the Governor's well-maintained face and lifted him off the ground like a chick!
"Uh... ah... Lord Regent... Your Majesty...?"
Arabel let out a choked sob, her eyes filled with feigned terror and confusion.
So, you see...
Guilliman's voice rang out coldly, not loud, but clearly drowning out the Titans's low growl, echoing in every corner:
"Cultural workers must possess 'culture'."
He originally wanted to experience the beauty of Slaanesh's corruption, not to be dragged onto the Golden Throne by this idiot!?
He'd rather fantasize that you're sending him to kill that Slaanesh!
His five fingers, gripping the governor's face, suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden-blue Psionic Energy light!
"Aaaaaahh...
A piercing, inhuman scream erupted from Arabel's mouth!
His body convulsed, swelled, and twisted violently under the burning heat of Psionic Energy!
The governor's magnificent robes were ripped open, and amethyst-like scales and disgusting fleshy tentacles emerged from beneath his skin.
A once handsome face was torn apart, revealing a demonic mouth filled with sharp teeth and dripping with saliva, and the eyes turned into vertical pupils burning with pink evil fire!
A strong and decadent aura of Slaanesh rose into the sky!
A Slaaneshi Daemon, and a high-ranking one at that, second only to Greater Daemon Keeper of Secrets, or something similar, revealed his ugly true form under Guilliman's Psionic Energy!
Millions of people in the audience were stunned!
One second it's a grand celebration of glory, the next it's a terrifying upheaval where the devil reveals himself!
Countless horrified gazes shifted back and forth between the hideous demon and the cold-faced Primarch.
Guilliman held the struggling, foul-mouthed, and seductive Whisper Slaaneshi Daemon in one hand as if it were merely a noisy insect.
He turned to the shocked and chaotic crowd below, and his gaze swept over them, instantly calming the commotion with his invisible authority.
"This stupid thing."
Guilliman pointed at the demon with his other finger, his tone filled with undisguised contempt:
"It, and its even more foolish master behind it, are trying to 'corrupt' me."
Do you know what it showed me?
He paused, as if savoring a bad joke.
"It showed me an infinitely bright future."
In that future, I eradicated all heretics in the Milky Way, countless worlds erected statues in my honor, and all of humanity sincerely believed in and worshipped me.
As I set foot on Terra, the Adeptus Custodes knelt before me, and even the Emperor, seated on his Golden Throne, gave me an approving look.
at last..."
Guilliman scoffed. "I've ascended the Golden Throne."
The crowd remained silent, processing this unbelievable information.
"Everyone."
Guilliman's voice rose, with a strange frankness, "This is my ambition, my base selfishness, my thirst for power and recognition!"
"Everything was clearly seen by this guy in that illusion just now, and then it thought it could use that to lure me."
He looked around at everyone and posed the question, "So why shouldn't I accept this 'corruption'?"
If I nod, from this moment on, I can live forever in that 'perfect' dream, enjoying endless happiness of being worshipped by millions, and fulfilling all my 'ambitions'.
Isn't it good?
No one dared to answer.
Calgar and the other Ultramarines had their hands on their weapons, watching their father with bated breath.
Calgar: No! Absolutely no father! I don't want to be corrupted!!
I've only just met you, I've only just begun to experience the love of the Gene-Father!!
Hatred flashed in Calgar's eyes, and hatred also flashed in the eyes of countless Ultramarines behind him!
If that damned, gender-bending bastard dares to corrupt their father...
Then let the Warp begin to burn!
Five hundred thousand Homelander- level Ultramarines will storm into the Warp after killing Guilliman and smash that guy's divine realm to smithereens!
"Because these scum hiding in the corners of the Warp have made one mistake."
Guilliman's voice suddenly turned sharp, like Emperor's Sword drawn from its sheath, "They actually think that this level of self-indulgent 'pleasure' can conquer a Primarch?"
Could that satisfy my... 'ambition'?
He suddenly tightened his grip on the devil's hand!
The golden-blue Psionic Energy flames erupted like a furnace, instantly engulfing and purifying the demon's screams and struggles!
Guilliman forcibly extracted and absorbed the pure Warp Essence, and the demon's form vanished in a dazzling light.
Guilliman shook his hand as if he were merely brushing away a speck of dust.
He raised his head, and for the first time today, a truly powerful and confident smile appeared on his face—a smile more real and infectious than any illusion.
"My ambitions... they simply cannot satisfy them!"
He stepped forward, walked to the edge of the reviewing stand, and faced his millions of subjects, his 300,000-strong army, and countless war machines.
"What I want is not to sit on a burning rack and indulge in a self-deceiving dream!"
His voice, like a war drum, struck the hearts of everyone. "What I want is not for you to numb yourselves with illusory worship!"
My ambition is--
He suddenly drew the Emperor's Sword from his waist and raised it high!
Golden flames burned fiercely on the blade, illuminating his resolute face and seemingly lighting up the entire Milky Way!
"May all humankind, in the material world, under the true sunlight, and in a safe home, be able to show genuine, heartfelt joy!"
"Not in a pathetic, demon-woven dream!"
"I will shoulder the burdens of humanity! I will face the suffering of humanity! I will destroy the enemies of humanity!"
But human smiles and the future--"
His gaze swept over the faces below, some shocked, some bewildered, and some gradually becoming ignited.
The sound rose to its zenith, like a declaration, like a vow, resounding through the heavens and reaching the stars:
"--It must be created and won by all living people, with their own hands, in the real universe!"
"This is my true ambition, Robert Guilliman!"
"And for this purpose--"
Flames from the Emperor's Sword soared into the sky, mingling with its Psionic Energy radiance.
"Humanity will be great again!!!"