Guilliman, more perfect than him?
Magnus would never admit that! He'd been undead for ten millennia.
But he'd accepted the powers of Chaos and completed his Daemon Prince ascension, becoming supreme.
A Primarch elevated to Daemon Prince far surpassed any regular Daemon Prince. Normal Lords of Change couldn't last a few rounds against him.
For ten thousand years, he'd studied every Tzeentchian sorcery, the magic of the Changer of Ways.
No exaggeration—his magical skill was second only to Tzeentch himself. If, after ten millennia of study, he couldn't defeat a Primarch who'd just lain in a coffin, he might as well quit.
"Don't underestimate your brother, Magnus. For some reason, Guilliman's entire being has been elevated. He's far stronger than you imagine. My master sent me to help you defeat him and, if not, to ensure your safety," Kairos said.
Only the four Chaos Gods knew that Guilliman had become a minor god with a matching body—if the other traitor Primarchs ever found out, it might cause...problems.
After all, for them, their godhood was consumed by their patron gods. They barely cared about rumors.
Primarchs were too proud—since birth, they were unbeatable, beyond mortal comprehension, able to tear apart Eldar warriors even as children.
Even the weakest Primarch could defeat a regular Daemon Prince or Lord of Change with ease.
Magnus's job was to capture Guilliman, or at least not let him be captured.
"You needn't interfere. I'll deal with Guilliman myself and show him the gulf between us," Magnus said.
"What about the other two Primarchs? According to intelligence, Guilliman is accompanied by a new female Primarch and another mysterious one named Rhodes.
That female Primarch already killed Abaddon, turning him into a Chaos Primarch," Kairos added.
The female Primarch's feats were well known—she'd defeated Abaddon and killed his body, turning him into a Chaos Primarch.
"They're fakes. The Emperor's been stuck on the Golden Throne for ten thousand years—he doesn't have time to make new Primarchs.
Those new Primarchs are just smokescreens by Guilliman to make me hesitate.
No new Primarchs can be created.
As for Abaddon, we both know he's only impressive among mortals. To me, he's no better than a baby," Magnus scoffed.
Just like ten millennia ago, when the Emperor warned him not to seek Warp knowledge, not to deal with Chaos gods—he ignored it, made a pact, and lost an eye.
Magnus was arrogant, never believing the Emperor's warnings.
The male Primarch had only recently surfaced, known only by name.
As for the female, her only notable feat was beating Abaddon.
But Abaddon was a loser—beating him meant nothing.
Kairos fell silent.
"Prepare the plan. I'm going to the ambush site," Magnus ordered.
Chaos sorcerers began conjuring a massive Warp storm.
…
A fierce storm raged, even blocking the Astronomican.
The Emperor's light was obscured, and Rhodes' fleet was battered by the violent Warp storm.
In the Warp, a fleet of less than ten battle-barges was hit hard.
The Gellar fields sizzled under the strain—even Rhodes' fortress ships' shields were affected.
"Lord! We've lost the navigation beacon and can't see the Astronomican. We should leave the Warp," Macragge's Honour's psyker said to Guilliman.
They'd been in the Warp for over ten days—until now, it was calm. Suddenly, a fierce psychic storm battered the fleet.
If not for the strong Gellar fields and fortress shields, their small fleet would have been scattered.
Rhodes and Guilliman exchanged a smile—clearly, a certain Daemon Primarch was making his move.
Such a powerful Warp storm could only be the work of the Chaos gods or the second-most powerful psyker after the Emperor.
"Signal all ships: in ten minutes, we drop out and return to realspace."
"Yes, Lord Guilliman. Signaling the other escorts now."
The cruisers and Cawl's Ark Mechanicus acknowledged. Rhodes controlled his fortress ships remotely.
"All ships, prepare for battle! As soon as we exit the Warp, raise shields and gather inside the fortress ships' defenses," Guilliman ordered.
…
Ten minutes later, all ships activated their warp drives and emerged into an unfamiliar sector of realspace.
Immediately, countless Chaos ships appeared ahead, opening fire.
At the center was a huge pyramid-shaped flagship—Magnus's Revenge of Tizca!
It was even larger than Macragge's Honour, though still dwarfed by Rhodes' fortress ships.
Rhodes' fortress shields shimmered with impacts.
"Lord Guilliman! It's an ambush—do we fight?" a mortal officer asked nervously.
There were over a hundred enemy ships, and only eight warships on their side including two flagships and two fortress ships.
"All escorts, do not leave the shields. Stay protected," Guilliman ordered.
"Leave the space battle to me. Nothing beats fortress ships," Rhodes said.
The Pedan fortress ships' main cannons glowed, charging, and countless secondary batteries fired red beams, tearing through Chaos vessels.
In moments, several Chaos ships were destroyed, leaving wreckage.
Chaos cannon-fire was useless against the shields—Rhodes didn't even have both fortresses shielded, one was on standby, the void array inactive.
…
Magnus, in his flagship, was surprised to see the massive fortress ships.
They were enormous, even bigger than the Imperial Fists' Phalanx, and extremely well shielded—this wasn't void shielding, but some new energy barrier. His Chaos ships couldn't breach it.
Had the Imperium unearthed ancient warships again?
But did Guilliman think hiding in a turtle shell would save him?
"All Chaos sorcerers, focus and unleash psychic waves!" Magnus commanded.
At his order, the sorcerers chanted blasphemous rites, channeling Warp energy into a psychic assault.
Terrifying warp forces battered Rhodes' shields, dimming them; blue light flickered inside the ships as Chaos troops teleported aboard.
"Long time no see, Guilliman—and your two fakes," Magnus sneered, appearing on the ship with over a hundred Thousand Sons.