Another Timeline
The Past
"..."
Custodian Guard Valdor remained silent. He stood behind the Emperor. Lorgar had only just hurried away, her face streaked with tears, yet her eyes full of resolve.
"The future..."
The Emperor muttered to himself. No one stood beside him—the former Malcador had already been personally killed by the Emperor after that riot on Terra.
"Lorgar..."
"Fate was never absolute."
The Emperor blinked and stared into the vast galaxy. Humanity should be the ruler of the galaxy.
"But I sensed the absolute certainty that outsider spoke of... Would Lorgar be a new beginning?"
He chose to trust Lorgar, to trust his second child—this gentle, humble child.
The Emperor of Mankind remained silent as the light of the Solar System fell over him. It was dazzling and blinding, yet it brought no warmth. Instead, it was bitterly cold.
He could feel that violent power.
Guilliman curled his lip slightly, yet maintained a courteous smile.
Before him stood Mortarion, his face gloomy. The Traitor Primarch had removed every weapon from his body, solely to demonstrate his sincerity.
Yet Guilliman saw an unusual color in Mortarion's eyes.
The scent of Warp contamination.
After speaking with Lorgar, Guilliman was no longer someone who blindly ignored the Warp—
The Word Bearers' efficiency had made it impossible for him to overlook the immense gains in productivity that the Warp could bring.
From Mortarion, Guilliman smelled the scent of his own kind.
No... not quite the same... Though Guilliman could not "see," he sensed that Mortarion had perhaps gone much farther than he had. Given Mortarion's character, he had most likely already embarked upon a road from which there was no return.
[Where is your lieutenant, Karras? He did not come? I had hoped to meet this brave and resourceful Death Guard.]