The Lion King, Lion El'Johnson, was wildly swinging his fists, furiously pummeling the sinner before him. Right now, he didn't care why Magnus was appearing in the Imperial Palace on Terra, nor why, after his own resurrection, this guy was the first thing he saw.
All he wanted was to beat this guy to death—nothing more!
At that moment, two strong arms pulled the Lion back from behind, forcibly dragging him off. The ones restraining him were Guilliman and Vulkan.
Magnus wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shook his head helplessly as he stood up.
"Let me go! How can you be with him? Let me kill him, let me bash his head in!" Lion El'Johnson struggled wildly.
He even leapt up, using both feet to kick Magnus back down again. Now Magnus's face not only bore fist marks but also two big boot prints.
"Is this your way of greeting me, brother? At least hear my side of the story first!" Magnus spat out the blood in his mouth and tried to explain.
"Save your breath! Guilliman, Vulkan, let me go right now! Let's take him down together!" the Lion roared.
Nearby, Stark hid fearfully behind his mother, peeking at this wild blond stranger.
The Lion paused and looked at the Emperor, disbelief written all over his face.
"Enough, Lion! Don't you see I'm still here? I won't allow any more of this nonsense. If you have any grievances, at least let us finish speaking first," the Emperor shouted, psychic might pressing down on the Lion.
"Father, I…you!!" Feeling his father's psychic presence, the Lion looked at the Emperor's avatar nearby, eyes widening in shock.
What was going on? Why were there two fathers?
The one in golden armor, built like an Emperor-class Titan, was his father, but what was with the corpse sitting on the Golden Throne?
When the Lion fell asleep, the Emperor had only just taken the throne—his body was not yet decayed. The Lion didn't know his father had become a mummified corpse after ten thousand years.
In his memory, he'd only fought with his closest friend, got knocked out by a sneak attack, and when he awoke…here he was!
The golden-armored giant looked just like his father in his memory, even stronger, but the corpse on the throne radiated his father's psychic might!
The psychic power and soul energy of the golden-armored giant was much weaker than the corpse on the throne—but the contrast was striking!
"Lion! There are things I need to explain. Magnus never betrayed the Imperium or me. In fact, he was the first to discover Horus's rebellion.
He wanted to warn me, but we were all deceived by the Chaos Gods.
You know my original order—I only wanted Magnus to return and take my place on the Golden Throne.
But Horus falsified my orders, leading to tragedy on the Planet of Sorcerers. Magnus's body and soul were shattered by Leman Russ.
I managed to save a part of his pure soul and gave him a special mission—to infiltrate the Changer of Ways as a spy.
For ten thousand years, Magnus endured humiliation, gathering intelligence on Chaos.
He returned to the Imperium two years ago and has contributed greatly—helping us banish many Chaos Daemons and Daemon Princes, and exposing countless Tzeentch cultists.
He also developed the Warlock profession, allowing powerful psykers to control or suppress Warp entities and use them in battle.
So, Magnus is still your brother—not your enemy," the Emperor explained.
Magnus had been redeemed by special means arranged by Rhodes; only the Emperor, Guilliman, and Horus knew this.
The Emperor had already told Guilliman and Rhodes—no one else was to know the truth about Magnus. From now on, whoever asked, the answer was always that Magnus was sent undercover by the Emperor.
This was to protect Magnus, so even primarchs who awoke or returned later would not be told, not even Vulkan, who had already been back for months.
"What? Father, you mean I wronged him? Magnus was undercover? Wait—ten thousand years? How long have I been unconscious?" the Lion blurted out.
When he first awoke, he thought he'd only been out a short while and been rescued by his father's forces. But hearing "ten thousand years" left Lion El'Johnson bewildered!
"It's been ten thousand years, my brother. You've been asleep the whole time.
I was struck down too, right after you—ambushed by Fulgrim. I just woke up a bit earlier than you," Guilliman explained.
"Is that so? How about you, Vulkan? What about your ten thousand years—did you stay in the Imperium?" the Lion asked.
"I was trapped for over eight thousand years, spent two thousand on Imperial worlds. Much has happened, my brother," Vulkan replied.
The two primarchs began to explain to Lion El'Johnson the major events of the past ten millennia.
They told him the corpse on the Golden Throne was indeed their father, the Emperor.
"How is this possible? Father, someone as powerful as you…has become this?" The Lion couldn't believe his invincible father was now a withered corpse.
In his heart, his father was the very symbol of invincibility—not even Horus, empowered by all four Chaos Gods, could beat him.
"As you see, my child, this is how I am now! But even so, I still fight for humanity!" the Emperor said.
"And this giant? Who is he?" the Lion asked, pointing at the 60-meter-tall Emperor's avatar.
"That is the Emperor's Avatar—a special bioweapon created by our new brother. It can perfectly channel Father's power and even resemble how Father looked in his prime—just much larger," Guilliman explained.
Guilliman then introduced Rhodes and Elena, and Stark, who stood behind his parents, staring at the Lion in fear.
To Stark, this golden-haired uncle was terrifying! He'd just beaten Uncle Magnus so badly!
But why didn't Uncle Magnus use the power of the Cosmic Beast to protect himself? If he had, he wouldn't be hurt like this!
Little did he know, Magnus bore a great burden and could not defend himself against his brother's fists and kicks—for the sake of his conscience!
"A new brother and a sister! Haha, this is great, I've always wanted a sister!" the Lion said happily.
Finally, some good news!
"Brother! I am Elena, Daughter of the Emperor!" Elena bowed to the Lion.
She deeply respected the primarchs from history, and now, as the Emperor's adopted daughter, she was Imperial Princess.
She'd never dared to dream, as a child, that she'd one day be recognized as the Emperor's daughter and be a primarch's sister.
"Hello, Lion! I am Elena's husband and the new primarch, Rhodes," Rhodes introduced himself.
"Welcome to the family, you should call me big brother—why are you not calling me brother?" the Lion asked.
All primarchs were created by the Emperor, so they were siblings in every sense.
"It's complicated. Rhodes is not my son—he gained his current strength through an extraordinary encounter.
He also commands a powerful Cosmic Beast, which can elevate an ordinary being to the level of a primarch.
Elena is my daughter, and after receiving the beast's power, she became a female primarch," the Emperor explained.
"Cosmic Beast? What kind of being can turn a regular human into a primarch?" the Lion asked in shock.
"A supremely powerful entity—akin to a C'tan, but even purer, a force for good," the Emperor said.
Such a being was truly miraculous; if he'd known about it ten thousand years ago, he'd have tried to get one for every primarch—even for himself and Malcador!
"A fascinating lifeform! Welcome to the Imperium—you're my brother as well," the Lion told Rhodes.