Cawl: Truly, I Was So Foolish

If counted from Lox's awakening, he and Guilliman had known each other for only a little over a decade.

Yet it was during those short years that the two of them had weathered the hardest days of the Horus Heresy together.

Friendship forged in the fires of war was the deepest and most unshakable of all. Besides, Guilliman had sat in that position for a full century, accumulating far too much bitterness and frustration in his heart.

From Terra to Ganymede, the Imperial commander's mouth had not stopped moving for even a second as he poured out his grievances to Lox in an endless stream.

The Ever-Victorious Guard and the Imperial Fists standing watch nearby exchanged bewildered looks.

"So Father had always been this unhappy."

"And I knew nothing about it. I thought that now that Father could finally command the entire Imperium of Humanity, he would seize the chance to fulfill his ambitions and make a grand showing."

Auguston reproached himself inwardly. That was simply his nature: careless and unconcerned with trifles, which also meant he was not especially perceptive when it came to the human heart.

"If only Hill were here. Gage, Lamiad, and the others would definitely handle this better than I could."

Because of the order issued by the Emperor before he ascended the Golden Throne, every Primarch had established an independent fiefdom within the region surrounding his Legion's homeworld.

Guilliman, however, had been trapped on Terra by Malcador and unable to leave, so the affairs of the Five Hundred Worlds could only be managed by Marius Gage and the Four Heroes in his stead.

Who could have imagined that this temporary arrangement would last an entire century?

Guilliman had not returned to Macragge in a very long time.

Other than learning of the Five Hundred