As Yog-Sothoth's gaze receded, the Webway was no longer filled with the frenzy of a torrent of knowledge, but with an even more suffocating, absolute pressure.
An Emperor whose humanity had been obliterated and whose divinity had completely spiraled out of control was descending upon the world in the guise of a god.
The pure golden radiance that had once shone around Him was swiftly tainted by an ominous darkness.
The Abyssal Corruption creatures and twisted monsters at the other end of the Webway weakened as Yog-Sothoth's gaze departed, reverting to the scale they had possessed before assaulting the Webway.
Beneath the black-gold light emanating from the God-Emperor, their bodies rapidly disintegrated into viscous black matter before evaporating completely, leaving only devastation in their wake.
The threat... seemed to have been lifted.
Yet everyone who remained conscious turned their eyes toward the very front of the defensive line—toward the sole black-gold being still emanating immense waves of energy.
"F-Father... what happened..." Guilliman struggled up from the ground and stared at the black-gold figure.
He tried to ask what had happened just now.
But the only response was the God-Emperor slowly raising one hand.
No words. No warning.
An irresistible, terrifying suction force originating from the very source of the soul erupted fiercely from the God-Emperor!
"Ah—!"
Everyone present let out shrill screams.
They had suffered no physical injuries, yet their bodies shriveled at a visible rate, and the light of life in their eyes swiftly faded.
Strands of faint yet distinct soul-light were forcibly drawn from their seven apertures, wailing as they flew toward the black-gold figure.
This horrifying extraction was not confined to the Webway alone!
At that very moment, every human who believed in the Emperor throughout Terra—and indeed, across the entire Imperium of Man—felt an unprecedented agony