Rhodes's eyes lit up.
Tartarus made sense—Tiga used the hope of humanity to become Shining Tiga.
Against Gatanothor, the effects were obvious—besides human light, even the light of ancient giants could make Tiga shine.
In the Ultra universe, it's established: after constructing the Plasma Spark Tower, the people of the Land of Light became Giants of Light. Before that, they were humanoid beings.
The Emperor, after absorbing ten thousand years of hope-light from the galaxy, changed from a Dark King into a golden Emperor, suppressing his darkness completely.
That's how powerful human hope is!
"You're right, Tartarus. That's a perfect solution—I didn't expect you to know so much about the Land of Light," Rhodes said.
"Master! My people, the Absolutians, were once similar to humans. We faced a fate like the Land of Light, developed our own King's Tower, and evolved into super lifeforms, wielding our own form of light.
So we tried to seize the Plasma Spark Tower. In some ways, we Absolutians are light historians—we can sense things even the Emperor misses," Tartarus explained.
If there were a Dark Tiga statue now, the best candidate would be the Emperor!
He and Tiga are too similar. With the statue, the Emperor could always activate Shining Form, and if he accepted his darkness, could even achieve a fusion of light and dark—the ultimate form.
That kind of power is far beyond a simple sum.
After finishing his conversation with Tartarus, Rhodes turned to the Emperor and the bickering Primarchs.
Guilliman and Magnus were defending the Emperor, trying to sway their brothers, while Vulkan stood aside in silence.
He was disappointed in the Imperium—otherwise, he wouldn't have hide for two thousand years, only returning during the War of the Beast when the enemy attacked Terra itself.
This time, he didn't support either side—he didn't agree with the Emperor, but wouldn't openly oppose him either.
Elena tried to mediate, but with little effect.
"Everyone, can we stop arguing?" Rhodes sighed.
"This fight is pointless! What matters now is leading humanity to strength. The Imperium is just beginning to recover—are you two going to ruin it?" Guilliman said.
Honestly, every awakened Primarch wanted to kill Horus. He'd wanted to, too, when he first woke up.
But Horus's actions in recent years had genuinely helped the Imperium—he even took on dirty work willingly.
"Don't accuse me, Guilliman. I never wanted to betray the Imperium—I just want justice for my brother Sanguinius," Lion said.
"Enough. The real issue with reviving Sanguinius is the darkness in his heart. If we can purify that, it's solved," Rhodes said.
"Rhodes, I appreciate your help, but the darkness I carry is a thousand years of bitterness, my hatred for Horus. Even I can't control it.
Now that I know Horus is alive—never mind. This argument is pointless, big brother. Let me stay in the Warp.
Don't blame Horus. He's on Father's side now," Sanguinius said, giving in.
He couldn't resolve his anger. As the brightest Archangel, the stain of darkness had pushed him to extremes.
This wasn't something that could be fixed by simply thinking it through.
"Wait for Rhodes's solution. If you won't accept perfect resurrection, maybe purifying your soul, removing the darkness, and restoring you as an Archangel—wouldn't you want that?" the Emperor asked.
"I just don't want to owe Rhodes even more!" Sanguinius said.
Unlike the other Primarchs, Sanguinius couldn't hate Rhodes—he'd helped him unconditionally at Baal, fighting off the Tyranids and saving his sons.
He owed Rhodes too much already.
"If you're worried about owing favors, you should blame Horus and the Emperor—purifying your darkness will need both of them to help!" Rhodes laughed.
This time, Rhodes planned to play a trick—according to Tartarus, the Emperor could 100% purify Horus and the Dark Giant, turning Daram into a Giant of Light.
To do so, he'd need Horus's light and the Emperor's hope-light—but both were unaware of this.
Rhodes decided to embellish the story.
"Horus yearns for the light. His corruption was Chaos's work; only the Emperor could resist.
Ten thousand years ago, his dark side died. Now, only his light remains.
He's merged with the Dark Giant, absorbing some of the Emperor's dark power.
If the Emperor is willing, he can use his light to purify Daram, and with Horus's heart, turn Daram into a Giant of Light.
With that power, Sanguinius's darkness can be purified—Daram can leave Horus and take Sanguinius as his host," Rhodes said.
"How can darkness become light?" the Emperor asked.
"Why not? You're the best example. In another universe, a Dark Giant called Tiga became a Giant of Light, even achieving ultimate brilliance.
The only risk is Horus: if his heart isn't pure, the Emperor's light will destroy him completely.
If he can accept it, he'll become a Giant of Light. If not, he'll be annihilated," Rhodes said.
Everyone fell silent.