Within the raging Sea of the Warp, a suddenly calm stretch of ocean stood out as jarringly anomalous. The Chaos Gods had already begun to exert their influence over it, sending their daemons to gradually devour this territory.
"Damn it, why has it come to this!"
"Is this still the Empire my father fought to build?"
"Viewed this way, isn't this a kind of betrayal?"
"Does Father truly not know about this, or does he simply have no way to fix it?"
During this period, Caleb had also used his own abilities to chat with Sanguinus.
When Sanguinus learned that her father could no longer rise from the Golden Throne, she was immediately overcome with grief and fury.
Caleb had also been quite blunt about it — the skeleton sitting on the Throne right now was nothing more than a living corpse.
Alive, yes — but already locked into an inevitable death.
[Caleb : You don't need to feel sad!]
[The will of humanity must be inherited.]
[Those beautiful, hope-filled beliefs must be set free.]
[If those beliefs flow to me, only destruction awaits — I am already walking toward my end, and there is no turning back.]
[The Emperor: Since when did tricking people into sitting on the Golden Throne become so shameless?]
[Though I do genuinely want to retire.]
When Caleb spoke those words to Sanguinus, the Emperor naturally heard them too.
The Dark King's erosion of the Emperor was growing worse by the day. As the power of faith swelled ever greater, that very faith only added more bricks to the Dark King's foundation.
The Emperor also wanted to cut off the ever-strengthening tide of belief — but the Empire as it stood now could not survive without faith to sustain it.
He had, in truth, already been cornered into a dilemma by Chaos.
Suddenly having a daughter who could stand in for him for a while — well, that wasn't so bad.
"Dad, you're not trying to trick me into becoming a golden toilet, are you!"
"Once I sit down in that bizarre contraption, I won't be able to get back up, will I?"
"And you're saying you want me to become the next Emperor — the moment I sit down, you get to retire, don't you?"
"This 'Lord of Mankind' business — I want no part of it!"
The expression on Sanguinus' face was extremely unpleasant. This was the first time she had ever refused her father.
Because she now had Warp-sight, and just one glance at the state her father was in was enough to terrify her.
[Caleb : Would I really do something like that?]
[You'll have your own throne in the future — you don't need to steal mine!]
[This throne? Even if you wanted to sit on it, I wouldn't let you!]
The moment Caleb finished his retort, a certain living corpse somewhere in the Palace of Terra began howling at the top of its lungs. The noise this time was so extraordinary that even the Custodes were alarmed.
[The Emperor: You bastards, both of you, absolute bastards!]
[As if I enjoy sitting on the Golden Throne!]
[This bad daughter — a traitor — !]
[Sanguinus, so you don't want me anymore — your father — I am so deeply, deeply disappointed!]
The Emperor ranted on and on, but what filtered down to the Custodes below amounted to only a few words:
"Traitor — Sanguinus."
The moment those words dropped, everyone present was scared half to death.
Even the Captain-General of the Custodes didn't dare pass on the Emperor's current proclamation.
"Commander, could there be a malfunction in the apparatus? Maybe we should have the Adeptus Mechanicus take a look — could be the Golden Throne itself, perhaps influenced by Chaos?"
"Do you even hear what you're saying?" The towering Captain-General pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
The situation with the First Legion was already driving everyone to distraction. If the Blood Angels started having problems too, the Empire might as well pack it in.
"That said — in my visions, it is indeed possible that Sanguinus will one day come to be called 'Your Highness,' and usurp the Emperor's faith!"
"This may be an undeniable fact of the future, and I honestly do not know what to do about it."
Even the Captain-General was at a loss when faced with such a future — for it was an Empire he did not recognise, a world utterly foreign to him.
Through Caleb's combination of coaxing and scheming, Sanguinus-chan ultimately agreed to become the Emperor of the Second Empire.
Though of course, this was still just a plan — whether it would actually be carried out was another matter entirely.
[Caleb : No rush — wait until you've gathered all your shards first!]
[After all, you were torn apart and divided among the Four Gods back then. The fact that I managed to reclaim even a portion is already impressive!]
[The Emperor: So this person really is just as shameless as I am. I worked my bones off to reclaim those pieces, and then you turn around and say it was you who did it!]
[So I've just been doing unpaid labour, have I?]
The Emperor, muttering to himself in the Warp, had grown deeply suspicious that Caleb might be some version of himself in an alternate state of being.
After all, he himself had spent ages in the Warp running cons and pulling tricks — and now the boomerang had come swinging right back into his own skull. His own daughter had been spirited away by someone else!
"Fine then. I just hope you're not joking when the time comes, Dad."
"When it comes to scheming and cunning, you're still the master."
Beneath the Black Sun of the Warp, the Emperor's expression looked like he'd swallowed something foul.
To be told that by his own precious daughter, Sanguinus-chan — it was genuinely hurtful.
[The Emperor: Forget it, forget it. Let the girl do as she pleases. As long as she doesn't betray humanity, what does anything else matter?]
[Whatever happens, things will flourish. Isn't it going rather well right now?]
The Emperor turned his attention back to other worlds — countless worlds being invaded by daemons and other xenos.
As the Lord of Mankind, the Emperor had to support those worlds. He had to lower the tide of faith at critical moments, granting a final sliver of hope to those who struggled desperately.
As for Sanguinus' side of things — she too was in a state of utter chaos.
Countless daemonic portals had opened, and Warp daemons kept materialising within her domain to cause havoc at irregular intervals.
These daemons had been severely weakened, but once they appeared inside the capital and began slaughtering ordinary civilians, there was genuinely little to be done about it.
In the world of Warhammer 40,000, ordinary humans were nothing more than a number.
Although the remnants of Dark Age technology allowed the human Empire to sustain its enormous population, the loss of countless branches of the technological tree had left the quality of the average imperial citizen in a deeply lamentable state.
Baal in particular was a place where mutants largely held sway.
And while these mutants were, it had to be said, quite capable fighters — their mental faculties were, shall we say, not always their strongest suit.
"It seems I'll need to meet with Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson at some point."
"I hear two Primarchs have returned. Dante — can you tell me what's happened?"
Seeing Sanguinus ask about this, the Dante of this era wore a face full of worry.
Dante had of course already heard the news, and at the time had hoped his own burdens might lighten somewhat.
What he hadn't anticipated was that Guilliman, barely returned, had inexplicably vanished again for several decades.
As for the mysterious Lion — his whereabouts were even more unknown, and rumours had even circulated within the Empire suggesting the possibility of his rebellion.
The Inquisition and other imperial departments were now keeping a close eye on the First Legion.
Any intelligence pertaining to the Dark Angels would, at the first opportunity, potentially draw the encirclement of other imperial forces.
There was no helping it — anyone who inquired into the affairs of the Inner Circle of the Dark Angels would be silenced.
Whether through psychic means or physical ones in realspace.
The Dark Angels operated without reason when it came to their secrets. Touch upon certain classified matters, and you would be eliminated — the Blood Angels being no exception.
Dante had no choice but to relay the latest news to the Lioness.
Upon learning that Guilliman had inexplicably disappeared and that Lion had inexplicably been branded a traitor, Sanguinus felt a profound, wordless exasperation.
The High Lords on Terra had no idea what they were doing. With so many great enemies threatening the Empire, they were still bickering internally — it was beyond comprehension.
"I see."
Dante could perceive the barely concealed disappointment on the Primarch's face.
But he didn't dare look too long — because the Lady right now was simply too beautiful. She was a mother figure that anyone and everyone would adore.
Right now, Dante was simply fulfilling his filial duties while quietly taking the opportunity to be a little lazy and offload certain matters onto the Primarch to handle.
"I have a feeling the daemons that have come here are far from simple."
"Our forces are stretched desperately thin — just tens of thousands of men."
"By my estimate, we may not even have fifty thousand troops here."
"With numbers this small, we might not even be able to hold the moons orbiting Baal."
"Those moons could very well become the daemons' breakthrough point — they'll build altars there."
His words hanging in the air, Dante tensed with anxiety.
He immediately clasped both fists together and addressed the Primarch with deep reverence.
"Lady Sanguinus, we will drive those heretics out!"
"Please rest assured — I will dispatch the Sanguinary Guard to deal with those wretched vermin."
"I will not allow these damned daemons to defile our home — I will leave not a single one of them to escape!"
Sanguinus shook her head. There on the vast rooftop terrace, she propped her chin in one hand.
White feathers detached themselves from her wings — while simultaneously new ones grew to replace them, creating a spectacular cascade of falling plumage.
Each feather that fell represented the death of no small number of the Emperor's faithful.
And each newly grown feather represented new life.
"Actually, I know the current situation better than any of you."
"I can see countless subjects who believe in me dying without cease."
"I can feel them being oppressed, going hungry, being abused, enduring suffering."
"Father said I must bear all of this. I must receive Father's faith — this is my destiny."
Sanguinus turned to look back at Dante, and that single glance stopped him cold.
"This—!" Dante found himself utterly speechless, because what she'd said verged on outright heresy.
Dante's political mind was no slouch — after all, he was the one who would later be known as the Regent of the Empire's Shadow.
This Primarch was playing for enormously high stakes, and unlike the Empire's current stance of either capitulating to Chaos or pledging absolute loyalty — this was an entirely new and dangerous path. One that was, frankly, scandalously heretical.
"I understand, my Primarch."
"But please, do not speak these words to anyone else — it is far too dangerous. The Empire as it stands today will not tolerate such ideas."
"It's fine—"
Sanguinus smiled warmly as she turned to leave the room, and as she walked away, she shared one more piece of information with her child.
"Don't worry — this is the Emperor's will."
"There is one more thing: you may share this with Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson."
"Beyond that — if you were ever to encounter an old man covered head to toe in runes, you may tell him as well. If he calls himself Malcador, you may."
The Primarch flew away, leaving nothing behind but a floor covered in feathers, waiting to be tidied up.
Yet the sheer volume of information contained in those words was simply overwhelming for Dante.
Good God — my own Primarch isn't about to join her brothers, or even the former Imperial Regent, in some kind of rebellion, is she?
If that's really happening, then things are about to get very, very serious.
He picked up the feathers from the floor — and Dante ultimately decided to collect them all. He would have them made into pillows.
Recently, travelling alongside the Lady, he had made promises to several Chapter Masters and brothers that he would gather feathers and have them crafted into cushions.
These cushions could even become political tokens within the Blood Angels.
As long as Dante could procure feathers like these, those frenzied Chapter Masters might even be willing to charge headlong into heretics and cut them down!
There was no helping it — when the other Chapter Masters heard that Dante had received a good-morning kiss from the Lady, they had wanted to kill him on the spot.
If he wanted to continue surviving within the Blood Angels, he had no real choice but to agree to certain strange and peculiar things.
Those feathers were imbued with the Primarch's own essence — simply possessing a pillow like that, you could feel as though you were enveloped in her embrace.
In the moment you were drawn into that warmth, you would feel that everything you had ever done, every effort and every honour, had been worth it.
As though the Lady were behind you always, watching over you forever.
"Haah—"
Sanguinus hid behind the wall, sneaking furtive peeks at Dante as he gathered feathers.
In truth, Sanguinus had done this deliberately. After all, she genuinely had no way of giving Dante real rest, or anything resembling overtime pay.
[Caleb : You really do love your children dearly — though if you ever saw Dante going feral over a pillow of yours, you might feel differently!]
[Sanguinus: Dad, please stop, I don't want to think about that kind of thing!]
[And come to think of it, it's not just Dante who's going feral over me — it's most people at this point!]
[All I originally intended by leaving those feathers was to keep an eye on the children and make sure they didn't go drinking mortal blood anymore.]
[And yet instead of stopping, they've turned around and gone feral over me!]
Saint Gilles wore an expression of complete despair. Sometimes, knowing other people's secrets was truly not a blessing.
Her children presented themselves before her as models of propriety and wholehearted dedication — willing to work themselves to the bone, to die without regret in service.
But in private, they were screaming "Mama" into her pillows. It was utterly deranged.
Sanguinus had genuinely been on the verge of throwing up throughout this entire period.
Her brood was now rapidly transforming into her own fanatical cult.
Particularly the ones — certain battle-hardened Chapter Masters — who, after receiving a warm embrace from her, had become completely unhinged.
The overwhelming majority of Chapter Masters were now hurling themselves forward in battle as though they had no regard for their own lives.
The casualty rate among Chapter Masters had risen higher than that of Company Captains. It was truly bizarre.
Fortunately, Sanguinus had stopped hugging these children of hers afterward — otherwise, there was no telling what further acts of madness they might have committed.
[Caleb : I've heard of people faking things to get government subsidies — but faking things to get a hug is a new one on me!]
[Your charm is something else. Maybe in the future you, Lion, and Guilliman could form a trio and just debut already!]
[I've mentioned the idea to Malcador— perhaps you can discuss it with Guilliman sometime as well.]
[Sanguinus: ???]
Sanguinus had been about to head out and slay some daemons, but her father's words sent her brain spinning into chaos.
Wait — could it be that Dad had planned all this deliberately? Deliberately turned her into a girl, deliberately set her up to debut?
And her ability to gather the faith of believers — that closed the loop perfectly, didn't it?
At that moment, the way Sanguinus looked up at the sky had changed. The reverence that once lived there was gone, replaced by an inexplicable, quiet contempt.
This father of hers was far too unreliable. This was essentially shoving his own daughter headfirst into a pit of fire. Who does things like that?
"Dad, I strongly suggest you don't push this any further. Otherwise — I will mince myself into a fine paste."
"This kind of thing, go find Guilliman and Lion."
"If those two dare agree to something like this — if they're willing to debut alongside me — then I'll dare to do it too."
"Pfft—" In the real world, Caleb couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Oh my, this little one — even with complete transparency of mind — still thought she could out-scheme him. She was nowhere near ready for that.
[Caleb : Wonderful — you've walked right into my trap!]
[Actually, those two sisters of yours said the exact same thing. They've also been turned into girls. Don't worry — they'll be debuting right alongside you!]
"No — wait!"
By the time Sanguinus tried to use her psychic power to contact her father again, the connection was already gone.
Sanguinus suddenly realised she had been thoroughly played by her own dad.
She could already guess exactly what her father was going to do with that little statement she'd just made.
"How—"
"Is this really what a proper father does? How could he?!"
"Resorting to any means necessary to make me debut — this is too devious, too utterly underhanded!"
Sanguinus cried. For once, she let herself be openly weepy in the face of her father.
There was nothing else to be done — though she could put on a fairly shameless front most of the time, this particular matter was far too embarrassing.
She simply could not, no matter what, stand before her children and sing and dance — something like that would be absolutely hellish.
[The Emperor: Heheh — the language is quite unpleasant, but your grandfather does so enjoy seeing this.]
[When the time comes, we'll have a few bitcoin types come along to cheer — Slaanesh, the first Warmaster, all of them need to show up!]
[With any luck they'll be so moved they cry, and then perhaps I'll be saved!]
Of course, the Emperor was only joking — Malcador, after all, never cried.
Still, he was more than happy to see his daughter make her debut, especially the idea of holding a concert in the Warp.
Who knows — perhaps daemons really could be turned around, becoming Sanguinus' most devoted fans.
At that point, it would no longer be daemons corrupting humanity — it would be Sanguinus
The Emperor now looked at Sanguinus the way one might regard the finest purification tablet ever devised for the Warp.
Right now the Emperor would do whatever it took to keep Sanguinus safe — even unleashing his Custodes in their entirety, if it came to that.