Whether Sanguinius could return in his original archangel form, Rhodes couldn't guarantee. The Warp was too strange!
This heavenly realm's psychic and dream power could permanently alter realspace.
The current Sanguinius was his true form; the archangel's appearance was just a shell the Emperor had put on him.
"So you can't guarantee I'll return as I once was. In that case, let it be—no need to force it."
Sanguinius waved his hand.
If he couldn't return as an archangel, and only as this demon-like figure, he would never accept it!
He was everyone's holy archangel—not this vampire-god.
If he returned to reality, his power would influence his gene-sons even more.
Sanguinius could already foresee his sons being completely transformed into a new kind of monster, different from Astartes.
All of this would be due to the passive effect of his resurrection, just like the Black Rage.
His rage at Horus had already affected all his gene-sons.
"Sanguinius, you've been in the Warp for ten thousand years. Have you never tried to fully master your power? You've always rejected it, haven't you?"
Guilliman asked.
Sanguinius had accepted himself, but not fully—he still resisted his true power, believing it was evil, that his angelic power had been tainted by the blood god's power.
"Guilliman, how much do you know about the Warp? There's no real concept of time here.
Only because realspace has time can you project a Geller Field-like power to let us talk here.
For me, my death was like yesterday—I remember being pierced by Horus's claw as if it were yesterday.
So, I can't accept this form, nor this evil power.
You don't know how terrifying it is!
If I fully accept it, I could create vampires across countless mortal worlds just through the Warp's influence,"
Sanguinius said.
Accepting this power—even just keeping his current form—would be blasphemy.
It was so terrifying that he could create vampires at will, letting them exist in reality like daemons tempting mortals.
And these vampires, being transformed from humans, wouldn't be Warp entities; they would proliferate rapidly in human society.
Who could resist immortality and eternal youth? Even rejuvenation surgery couldn't compare.
All vampires would call him father and ancestor, worshipping him.
His vampire dynasty could quickly control all human nobility—no aristocrat could resist such power!
If he fully accepted it, Sanguinius could become the fifth Chaos God, consumed by an endless thirst for blood.
He'd become exactly what Khorne desired—a true blood god!
Sanguinius told Rhodes and Guilliman all his worries.
"So you understand, my brothers!
It's not just that I cling to my old form or refuse this power.
Accepting it means falling completely as a Warp daemon god,"
Sanguinius said.
Rhodes, on the other hand, frowned. This didn't match what the Emperor had said—if so, then resurrecting Sanguinius would be dangerous. His blood-god power was truly evil!
Yet the Emperor had said Sanguinius's power was the purest. This was contradictory.
Surely the Emperor knew Sanguinius's true Warp form.
Suddenly, Rhodes had a guess.
Maybe the Emperor was worried that even his black-armored giants would be corrupted by this blood-god power!
When Rhodes mentioned using the super-beast plan to resurrect Sanguinius, the Emperor had only sighed!
The Emperor knew his son's true state!
Letting him help his gene-sons from the Warp, and then sending out the Sanguinor, might be best!
If he returned to realspace, the vampire problem would explode.
The Emperor had probably already seen how terrifying vampires could be and had a hand in wiping them out.
He knew that the entire Imperium's upper class could be corrupted, all nobles turned to vampires—immortality was too tempting!
He couldn't be sure Sanguinius could stay good under mass worship as a blood god, so leaving things as they were was best.
This was why the Emperor had refused Rhodes' resurrection plan so many times.
But was there no way? The Emperor's Avatar couldn't suppress Sanguinius's power.
But what if he tried disguising it? Like turning a demon into an angel's appearance.
In some TV shows, the final boss appears as a pure archangel—very impressive.
In the Warhammer universe, light and dark, good and evil, are opposites but can transform into each other.
"If I just seal your blood angel form and give you an archangel shell, would that work?" Rhodes asked.
"Impossible. My god-soul is fully awakened.
Even if you create a vessel matching my soul, it will inevitably transform into my form.
The purer the vessel's holy power, the stronger the corruption.
I once had half angelic power, but after Horus killed me and I entered the Warp, for some reason, even that angelic power has become pure blood god power,"
Sanguinius said.
It wasn't that simple!
What was he supposed to do?
Give a pep talk?
"Sanguinius, you must face your dark side!"
Yeah, right! If it were that easy, the Emperor would have done it!
In this mad, dark, desperate universe, hope can turn to despair, and love to hate, but never the other way.
Besides, Rhodes had nothing ready. He still needed millions of system points to buy the necessary tools.
Rhodes didn't like giving empty promises—it was meaningless.
"All right, let's end the conversation here.
Thank you, new brother, for helping my gene-sons—I'm deeply grateful. As for fully resurrecting me, you can't do it yet,"
Sanguinius said.
Rhodes nodded. After some small talk, the three parted ways, and Rhodes' soul, guided by Guilliman, returned to realspace.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the three who had been anxiously waiting for him.
"Lord Rhodes, did you see our Gene-Father? What did he say?" Dante asked.
"Don't worry. I've spoken with your Gene-Father—he's agreed to let me install a neural core controller so you can control the vampire transformation.
But remember: only use this power in life-or-death situations. This special neural core is for control, not to let you go wild," Rhodes said.
"Understood, Lord Rhodes. That's what we intended—we'll never use this power lightly, only to control it," Mephiston sighed in relief.
Lord Rhodes didn't know how bad things were.
In the Battle of Baal, nearly all Blood Angels experienced blood rage.
From now on, they would enter that state in battle.
Without a control device, the Blood Angels and their successors would be doomed.
With control, at least they had a switch—a way to manage it.
"I'll tell my scientists. Bring some gene-seed and a couple of test subjects—those completely lost to the Red Thirst and Black Rage.
Since we're upgrading, let's make it as optimal as possible—I'll help suppress the blood rage as much as possible," Rhodes said.
"Understood, Lord Rhodes. I'll bring them tomorrow. Thank you, Lord Rhodes!"
Mephiston and Dante thanked Rhodes and left.
The night passed uneventfully.
...
Early the next morning, Chapter Master Dante personally brought some gene-seed and several Death Company members.
They were tightly restrained in stasis fields.
These Death Company members had been completely consumed by the Red Thirst and Black Rage: their eyes were crimson, and they had grown fangs.