Lion El'Jonson looked at his father with undisguised disappointment—there was even a hint of sadness in his eyes as he gazed at the Emperor.
"What's with that look, Lion? Are you questioning your father? Are you doubting the Master of Mankind?" the Emperor asked.
"I do want to question you, Father. If you had allowed me to lead a fleet to hunt down that traitor—to bring you his head—
then I would have no suspicions. But now… I'm starting to believe what Sanguinius once said to me," Lion replied.
The Emperor was startled. What had Sanguinius told Lion? Had they shared secrets?
"What did Sanguinius say to you?" the Emperor asked.
"Sanguinius told me he'd give his life for you, that he'd do anything to save humanity!
But your favorite is still Horus! You brought him back," Lion said.
If he'd only discovered traces of Horus, he wouldn't have barged into the Imperial Palace, let alone violently pushed open the doors.
He'd have happily found the Emperor and reported: "Father, I found the traitor! Let me destroy him!"
But today, his forceful entry—his confrontational tone—stemmed from things he'd discussed recently with Sanguinius.
He'd even promised Sanguinius that something like this would never happen, that their father would never resurrect Horus.
He'd planned to bring this news to the Emperor and then lead the army to execute the traitor. But the Emperor's ambiguous response had left Lion deeply disappointed.
His answer was vague, with no clear intent to act against Horus, even though the core of the Legion, the Dark Angels, was still loyal to the Imperium's dark side, and several of their successor chapters' home worlds were located there.
In this situation, eliminating Horus and his Chaos Space Marines was the best choice for the Imperium, and with its current strength, it was possible.
Rhodes commanded over 700,000 Space Marines; Guilliman's forces numbered over 500,000;
including the newly formed legions, the Imperium could field over 1.5 million Astartes, with the number still growing—New Age Astartes were being produced at a frenzied pace.
Not only that, Rhodes had brought the Imperium a new enhancement serum, made from the Emperor's avatar's blood, which could elevate ordinary humans' physical abilities to the level of a Primarch-era Space Marine.
While lacking the Primarchs' special organs, the recipients' physical might directly matched the originals, and these serums were being used on mortal regiments—whose numbers were beyond the Imperium's ability to tally.
The Imperium was in a period of wild expansion and rearmament, poised for a grand war—and once that was resolved, Horus could be dealt with, easily, by one or several Primarchs.
Yet the Emperor had refused Lion's request, raising his suspicions.
After all, it was the Emperor who killed Horus, and the Chaos gods would never resurrect someone who opposed them.
"Since you've already found out, I won't hide it. I was going to tell you and Vulkan after some time," the Emperor said.
Since his eldest son already knew, there was no point keeping secrets—especially since the truth would eventually come out.
"You were going to tell me and Vulkan? Father, do you mean Guilliman, Rhodes, even Magnus and Sister Elena… they all already knew?" Lion asked incredulously.
He hadn't expected to be the only one kept in the dark!
The sense of disparity was immense—it made Lion sway on his feet, and even the White Tiger, who had only recently fused with him, sensed his distress.
The White Tiger immediately used its power to stabilize Lion and notified Rhodes.
"Stay strong, my friend. Whatever happens, hold onto your heart," the White Tiger said.
"Father! You actually resurrected Horus? How could you—how could you do this? What about Sanguinius?" Lion cried.
"I can explain to you and Sanguinius. Back then, whoever sat on the Warmaster's throne would inevitably be corrupted by Chaos. It was unavoidable.
And in the final battle, Horus went to his death willingly—he was even afraid I wouldn't be able to do it, after he killed Sanguinius," the Emperor explained.
If Sanguinius hadn't died before him, he might not have had the heart to slay his most beloved son.
"But is that fair to Sanguinius? He was your Archangel—your most proud son," Lion said.
Sanguinius had defended Holy Terra, held back the Chaos rebels, and died heroically before the Emperor faced Horus.
Yet the hero was not resurrected—the traitor was, and by Sanguinius's observations in the Warp, Horus was likely revived even before Guilliman.
"This was a tragedy—one that could have been avoided, but the Warmaster's curse made it unavoidable," the Emperor said.
For the Warmaster, corruption was inescapable.
"Yes, none of this was Horus's intention, but he still betrayed you, betrayed the Imperium, and caused the deaths of Ferrus Manus and Sanguinius.
He led other Primarchs to rebel! You taught me not to act impulsively, and I punished Luther, but you brought Horus back," Lion said.
"That's why I gave you the right to punish Luther. Whatever you decide, I will not interfere.
And Horus paid a price—his body was destroyed by me, and at least half his soul as well.
If not for Rhodes's help, he couldn't have come back. Rhodes gave him this chance—so I gave half his soul to Rhodes for revival," the Emperor explained.
Horus's case was unique; unlike other Primarchs, his soul was mostly destroyed by the Emperor, and only a being like the Dark Giant could revive him.
Even fusing with a cosmic beast wouldn't have sufficed.
"I want to know the whole truth, Father. Stop deceiving me," Lion demanded.
"Alright, I promise. It started when Rhodes came to Holy Terra to repair the Golden Throne.
I learned about the Dark Giant's life, and Rhodes suggested reviving Sanguinius. In the end, we decided to revive Horus first. That's how it happened," the Emperor explained everything.
"So, Horus's soul is now light, free, but still able to use Chaos and dark powers?" Lion asked.
"Yes! That's why I didn't revive Sanguinius—this darkness isn't suitable for him. If it were possible, I'd have brought Sanguinius back long ago.
During the last great battle on Terra, I was trying everything. If I could, he's the one I'd most want to save. Can you tell me what happened to Sanguinius?" the Emperor said.
If possible, he'd never let his Archangel son fall to Chaos. He wanted to make amends.
He knew Sanguinius must be deeply hurt, but everything was for the Imperium; at that time, Horus was the only choice.
"He'll tell you himself, Father!" Lion said. He sat cross-legged, summoned his Warp power,
and with his Tiger Soul Blade, sliced open the air, creating a Warp rift in the Throne Room.
This was a power Lion gained after fusing with the White Tiger—using his weapon and Warp might to create a temporary rift.
A handsome man with huge blood-red wings and long crimson hair appeared as a phantom in the palace.
"Sanguinius! My proud Archangel."
"Father! It's been so long.
If you'd said that before, I'd have been happy. But look at me now—I'm no longer your Archangel, I'm a Blood Angel.
After all, your favorite son is Horus. No matter what he did, you'd save him, wouldn't you?" Sanguinius's tone was icy.
Since the battle for Holy Terra, he'd hidden in the Warp, evading the Chaos gods' hunt.
One day, he saw a figure—so familiar, so hated—the man who killed him: Horus.
At first, he thought Horus was just a clone, like those Abaddon had destroyed. But the power Horus displayed proved otherwise.
He could transform into a giant nearly 80 meters tall, with terrifying strength—stronger than any other Primarch.
Sanguinius realized this was the true Horus, and wondered how he'd returned from death.
Watching him, Sanguinius saw Horus collecting Chaos Space Marines, subduing Chaos forces, even fighting Abaddon, and sometimes protecting Imperial worlds from Chaos.
Such odd behavior made Sanguinius suspect Horus was acting for the Imperium.
So he deduced: the Emperor and Rhodes had revived Horus, assigning their once-rebellious son a special mission.
How did he know Rhodes was involved? Because only Rhodes's arrival had triggered the era of giant warriors—now, if you couldn't become gigantic, you weren't top-tier.
Old Chaos Champions, Daemon Princes, Greater Daemons—all were weak compared to these new giants.
The Dark Giant was obviously the same type as the cosmic beasts—so Sanguinius told Lion everything.
He didn't tell Guilliman or Magnus—because he suspected they already knew.
Sanguinius explained everything, clearing the Emperor's doubts.
"If killing Horus would make you and Sanguinius feel better, then go ahead. I won't stop you. Horus won't resist," the Emperor said quietly.
"That's the answer I wanted, Father. This is unfair to Sanguinius.
Sanguinius, come with me! I will avenged you—let's kill Horus. Nothing he says matters," Lion said.
He knew he'd acted terribly in all this.
Just then, the doors of the palace opened again; Rhodes walked in with a smile, flanked by Elena, Guilliman, and Vulkan.
"Seems like you're having a discussion?" Rhodes said, smiling at the Emperor on the Golden Throne and the Primarchs confronting him.
"Calm down, Lion and Sanguinius. Things aren't as you think," Guilliman said.
"You know the truth, so don't stop me, Guilliman, Rhodes," Lion said.
"I'm not here to stop you. I've come with good news.
I've found a way to resurrect Sanguinius, you'll soon be back. Isn't that worth celebrating?" Rhodes said with a grin.