This sudden father-son meeting once made the Emperor doubt his life.
Neither Guilliman nor Sanguinius had the same humor they displayed in front of Alex.
The relationship between them was cold,
like familiar strangers.
This inexplicably made the Emperor feel a pang in his heart; he, this old father, was not even as good as the outsider, Saint.
However, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have never played the role of a good father or husband.
Deceiving Erda, treating his own sons as tools.
Anyone doing such a thing would be called a scumbag.
"I apologize for what I've done in the past."
After a long silence, the Emperor uttered a sentence that made all the Primarchs widen their eyes.
Was he possessed by a Chaos God?
How could their old father say such a thing?
Having spent a long time with the God Chosen, the Primarchs also learned to joke.
There were only three people in the entire galaxy with the hardest mouths:
"I am not a god," "This is part of the plan," and "I am Rogal Dorn."
Any God Chosen could eloquently describe the Emperor's temper:
arrogant, conceited, overbearing, and unwilling to listen to advice.
Admit fault?
Sorry, admitting fault is impossible, absolutely impossible.
The words "admit fault" did not exist in the Emperor's dictionary.
Now, he actually said he was sorry.
The sun on Reality would surely rise from the west tomorrow.
The Primarchs looked at each other, their faces filled with shock.
They could all see confusion and bewilderment in each other's eyes.
Even during the Great Crusade, they rarely heard the Emperor speak.
Most of the time, he would project his thoughts directly into their minds using his powerful psychic abilities.
Let alone him apologizing.
Jaghatai Khan placed his hand on his sword hilt, clearly contemplating some uproariously unfilial acts.
"You seem very surprised."
The Emperor's tone was calm. The return of his humanity made him begin to examine his past actions, and he decided to do something to redeem his image as a father.
"That's a bit unlike you," Lion said. "You never used to be so human. I thought you'd coldly give us missions. I had even mentally prepared myself."
"That's because my humanity has been restored," the Emperor explained the whole story. "Before, in order to achieve victory, I stripped away my humanity and chose to act with absolute rationality."
"Facts have proven that while this approach could gain a temporary advantage, in the long run, it would lead to me being abandoned by all, losing everything."
"The result was The Battle of Terra, your brothers slaughtering each other, and the galaxy becoming a playground for the Chaos Gods."
"Alivia Sureka was right; I was too hasty. Perhaps this time, a different approach should be used."
"For this, Saint helped me retrieve my humanity. The me now is the true, complete me. Of course, at this stage, my humanity and divinity are still merging, and I still cannot control my body."
"None of this is your fault," Guilliman stepped forward and said. "To blame the person who stepped up to bear everything for the outbreak of a war, instead of condemning the enemy, is a very foolish decision."
"I agree with that statement," Lion nodded. "The root cause of this war is the Chaos Gods, and you, my father, you merely fought a terrible war."
"A double failure of tactics and strategy," Jaghatai Khan quietly added, "a complete and utter mess."
"Strategy? There was no strategy at all; it was passive throughout, taking hits the whole way," Corax also commented. "If you had half the honesty of Saint, we wouldn't have been completely unaware of the possible betrayal."
"At that time, he should have revealed the existence of the Four Chaos Gods and then brought Lorgar back to Reality for proper guidance," Jaghatai Khan added. "Many subsequent events could have been avoided."
The Emperor: "..."
Such criticism was perhaps too sharp!!
"Did you summon us for something, Father?" Guilliman asked.
"Anyway, I don't believe he missed us; he definitely has something he needs," Lion said.
"Hahaha, there must be a mission."
"..."
The Primarchs' back-and-forth remarks made the Emperor a little awkward.
Goodness, they had all anticipated his anticipation.
His children had grown up; they were not so easily fooled anymore.
"The final battle is about to begin," the Emperor said calmly.
"Those who have passed will return, and your most trusted sons will also come back."
"Loyal warriors will participate as heroic spirits."
"Every one of them?" Jaghatai Khan asked.
"Those who were loyal to humanity will be reborn in strong faith," the Emperor said calmly.
This news shook the Primarchs' hearts.
This news truly touched them.
After their resurrection, everything had changed.
When Guilliman opened his eyes, ten thousand years had passed, and all the sons he was familiar with had died.
If Saint hadn't been there to comfort him, he felt he would have broken down.
Now, hearing that his fallen sons had a chance to return, he was exceptionally excited.
Auguston, Hill, come back, and continue to fight for your Primarch.
Jaghatai Khan was also very excited. Many of his sons had died defending Reality.
If they could be summoned back, it would be a blessing.
Perhaps due to the influence of this good news, the relationship between the Emperor and the Primarchs eased considerably.
When discussing matters, their tone was much more relaxed, and they occasionally even joked.
The Emperor and the Primarchs reviewed the entire Horus Heresy.
They discovered many shortcomings and their missteps in response.
The daemon attacks were too sudden; humans who first encountered them couldn't react in time and didn't find any suitable way to counter them.
Now, facing the Chaos Gods again, they had more confidence.
Currently, the Imperium had faith, a power that could suppress the Warp.
Additionally, they had mastered the use of blackstone, which could be utilized to suppress the Warp.
As long as they could withstand the attacks of the Chaos Gods and wait for the Aether Phase Engine to be completed,
they would achieve true victory.
Just as the father and sons were discussing the current state of the Imperium and its military arrangements,
Senior General Tura walked in and saluted the Emperor, "Midnight Ghosts has been brought to Reality. Do you wish to see him now?"
This statement silenced many Primarchs, all looking at the Emperor.
Especially Sanguinius.
Konrad Curze had once begged him to bring him to Reality to face the Emperor's judgment.
However, Sanguinius directly confined his brother to a stasis pod and cast him into the void, letting him drift indefinitely.
"Bring him in," the Emperor said.
A short while later, Konrad Curze, bound in iron chains, was brought in by the Custodes. He looked extremely dishevelled, his face still somewhat red and swollen.
Clearly, he had been beaten again by the Players escorting him on the way.
Konrad Curze had been depressed during this time.
Those God Chosen seemed to hold a grudge against him, each wanting to beat him soundly.
He was controlled by the shackles implanted in him, unable to unleash his Primarch-level combat power, and could only be suppressed and beaten by them.
As for how Konrad Curze arrived at Reality so quickly,
it was purely due to the upgraded Lighthouse Network.
Currently, the Lighthouse Network could not only transmit things belonging to the God Chosen but also things belonging to non-God Chosen.
However, the scale of transmission could not be too large, otherwise, the transmission network would not be able to bear it.
A Primarch, however, could still be transmitted.
Therefore, as soon as Alex left, he immediately had Konrad Curze brought over.
The efficiency was truly astonishing.
"Hurry up."
Senior General Tura urged Konrad Curze to keep moving forward, occasionally poking his body with his halberd.
Stepping back into the Throne Room, Konrad Curze's mood was extremely complex.
He had forgotten when he had last set foot here.
Walking to the Emperor's throne, Konrad Curze was forcibly made to kneel by the Custodes behind him.
Konrad Curze tried to resist, but the punishment device implanted in him electrocuted him, causing him to convulse repeatedly, eventually losing all his strength.
And so, Midnight Ghosts knelt before his father, to receive ten thousand years of judgment.
"It was my mistake to make you the embodiment of fear, and it was also my mistake to grant you the ability of prescience."
The Emperor said calmly, "But your participation in the Horus Heresy, your torture of Vulkan, and your attempts to harm your own brothers—these crimes are unforgivable."
Hearing the Emperor judge his crimes, Konrad Curze's face instead showed a sense of calm.
Crimes must be repaid; this was his code of conduct.
He was not afraid of death, but afraid that the rules of punishment would be broken by others.
"I admit these crimes," Konrad Curze said. "Now you can announce the verdict. Are you going to execute me publicly?"
"No, the crimes you committed cannot be so lightly dismissed."
The Emperor read Konrad Curze's sentence, "You will be imprisoned in the Dimensional Cube until the universe collapses and all things are destroyed."
"This is your end, Konrad Curze."
The Emperor said calmly.
"You should kill me," Konrad Curze looked up, trying to argue for a death sentence.
"Death has no meaning. You can no longer stop anything, nor can you destroy anything. To let you walk towards death in solitude is the most painful thing."
"No..." Konrad Curze shouted, "Kill me, kill me."
Unfortunately, no one listened to his cries. He was directly escorted away and thrown into the dimensional space.
Of course, he was not truly alone; Silent King Szarekh was also imprisoned there.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, at the ruins of Cadia.
During the Thirteenth Black Crusade, Abaddon, seeing that the siege was prolonged, smashed a Blackstone Fortress into the planet, causing the entire world to disintegrate and collapse.
The Eye of Terror then expanded, forming the Great Rift.
However, the shattered Cadia was not completely swallowed, due to the blackstone obelisks.
The fragments of Cadia managed to survive in the violent Warp Storms.
Those civilians and soldiers who did not manage to evacuate survived on the planetary fragments, protected from the corruption of the Great Rift by the blackstone obelisks.
Many Players from the Battle Roses Chapter, along with a group of Cadian soldiers, returned to this place.
They were ordered to clear out the enemies here, allowing the Adeptus Mechanicus to rebuild a defensive line against the Warp.
The Custodes took on the responsibility of guarding the defensive line and protecting important personnel.
As for why there were Custodes in this desolate place, it harked back to the Blood Games.
When Senior General Tura lost the game, many Custodes were dispatched to various parts of the galaxy to assume the duty of protecting the Emperor's territory.
A portion of these Custodes came to the ruins of Cadia to assist the Imperial forces in resisting the endless hordes of daemons.
A blessed battleship traversed the Warp Storms, heading towards one of the Cadia fragments closest to the Eye of Terror.
Upon arrival, the battleship scanned for life signs.
"There are survivors on the ground."
The detected message surprised everyone.
How could there be people so close to the Eye of Terror?
If there were any survivors, they should be on the outer fragments.
"Be on alert," Little Alpaca said. "We need to be ready for battle."
After ordering preparations for immediate engagement, Little Alpaca and other Players boarded a transport shuttle to investigate the situation on the surface.
Upon landing, the Players discovered that there were still mortal armies stubbornly fighting on this massive fragment.
They had also repaired many damaged blackstone obelisks, enhancing the anti-Warp field to protect themselves from Warp corruption and pollution.
This situation greatly astonished the Players.
Human adaptability was truly strong; they could survive in such an environment. It was truly admirable.
After some contact, both sides planned for their leaders to formally meet to discuss the next steps.
However, when the responsible person appeared before the Players,
they all widened their eyes, filled with disbelief.
"Dorn? Primarch of the Imperial Fists?"
Seeing the Primarch of the Imperial Fists appear as a representative of the survivors, Little Alpaca was also very surprised.
"It seems this Imperium hasn't completely forgotten me."
Dorn's voice carried a sense of vicissitude, as if he had experienced countless years.
Even ten thousand years couldn't produce such a profound sense of age.
It was hard to imagine what Dorn had experienced during these ten thousand years.
"Where have you been for the past ten thousand years?" Gray Bao'er asked the question that most concerned the Players.
"I went to continue an unfinished war," Dorn said calmly.
"What does that mean?" Meng Zhu scratched his helmet.
"The God of Blood and War tried to make me submit, but I didn't, and then he imprisoned me."
"I forget how long I was imprisoned, maybe a hundred thousand years, or a million years."
Dorn's tone was calm, as if the person he was talking about wasn't himself.
Time in the realms of the Chaos Gods is different from the real universe.
When Horus entered the Warp, only a few minutes had passed in reality, yet he claimed to have experienced thousands of years of slaughter.
Dorn was imprisoned by Khorne for thousands of years, thrown into deserts and battlefields, yet all means failed to corrupt him.
In an accident, Dorn found an opportunity and escaped.
Upon returning to the real universe, he unexpectedly appeared on this fragment of Cadia.
At that time, everyone there was anxious and despairing, believing they were doomed to die.
After all, there were no supplies, no support, only these poor wretches.
Dorn, relying on his powerful charisma, rallied the survivors to rebuild defensive lines, organize production, reinforce the obelisks, and resist the endless daemon hordes.
And so, they persevered until now with meager resources.
Dorn's words helped Little Alpaca and the other Players understand the whole story.
Khorne was truly ruthless; to make Dorn submit, he imprisoned him for so many years.
But this fellow was too incompetent; after spending so much time and effort, Dorn still ignored him.
It truly was a case of losing both the wife and the soldiers.