But his return was growing slower and slower. Evan felt there might be only one prayer from the past mixed in among every ten prayers from the present.
Tzeentch's followers exploited the Astronomican's "change," calling on the Ecclesiarchy's faithful to pray more and lend the Emperor their strength.
How could ordinary mortals understand the difference between the Astronomican and the Pharos? A Navigator needed only to say they could no longer sense the Emperor to plunge an entire planet into panic.
Mass rituals swept through the Ecclesiarchy. Holy bells rang endlessly, and hymns never ceased.
They preached about the difficulties facing the Emperor, demanding more strength from the faithful, more donations, more prayers, and more work in His name.
The wealth of these sanctuary worlds never reached Terra. The Ecclesiarchy did not even use it to equip the Sisters of Battle.
The people's suffering deepened. Half of those with higher standing knelt in cathedrals all night, doing nothing but praying to the Emperor, while the other half bore ever greater, harsher workloads. People worked themselves to death without end, and rebels gathered.
Likewise, countless pilgrim ships across the galaxy set sail for Terra.
Devout prayers surged toward the Golden Throne in numbers several times greater than usual.
Who was protecting the Golden Throne?
Chaos, too.
Other dark gods and xenos mercilessly harvested poorly defended Imperial worlds, twisting their thoughts and breaking their backs.
The prayers of Chaos cultists would never reach the Emperor.
Abaddon, meanwhile, had become an important driving force. Every world that submitted to the Chaos Warmaster slightly reduced the flood of thoughts pouring into Evan's mind.
Thoughts drifted, and hearts wavered. Videos of Guilliman's speeches played on repeat throughout the Imperium. Even figures from the Adeptus Custodes appeared in the footage.
The rather ill-omened title of Warmaster