Within the Throne Hall, the air was so heavy it seemed ready to drip with water.
Under Kieran's spacetime field, the fierce conflict had temporarily subsided, but the undercurrents of hatred and confusion still surged.
The restrained Fulgrim clone struggled to raise his head and met Guilliman's gaze, which seemed ready to spit fire. His eyes were filled with bewilderment and pain.
He drew a deep breath and spoke in a trembling yet clear voice:
"I am Fulgrim... at least, according to my understanding and memories, I am. But I am not the... traitor you speak of. My memories end after... a glorious victory celebration, at the height of the Emperor's Children Legion's prosperity. I know nothing of what happened afterward. My memories are fragmented, incomplete. I was imprisoned in a cold place until I broke free not long ago." He glanced around. "I do not even understand why you hate me so much, Robert. Though our ideals differed, we were brothers, were we not?"
This candid yet somewhat feeble explanation was like oil poured onto a fire, instantly igniting Guilliman's deeper rage!
"Brothers?!" Guilliman seemed wounded by the word itself, letting out a sharp, icy laugh. "You do not understand? Fine! Then I will make you understand!"
He all but roared, pouring out the pain and fury etched into his bones over ten thousand years. "Your 'original'! After Horus raised his rebellion, he threw himself into Chaos without hesitation! He indulged in Slaanesh's corrupt temptations and trampled the Emperor's Children's honor beneath his feet! He personally killed the closest brother who had gone to reason with him—Ferrus Manus! On Isstvan V! With that defiled sword, he severed Ferrus's head! He also gravely wounded me and placed me in a stasis field, forcing me to endure ten thousand years of