The Emperor Falls.

Part 10 - Prosperous Times.

His eyes open, a large landscape ahead of him. Explosions go off near and far. His fellow men call out, grabbing at him, attempting to pull him back. He looks down, toward his torso. A large gash caused by a bolter hitting him however, not fatal nor disabling. He can barely see, his mind still groggy and eyes still waking. He knows one thing though. He and the ground he lies upon still stand.

Ahead, he finally sees clear and spots what is shooting at him, his enemies. The Blue and Gold Marines, their father's worst enemy behind those dreaded Wolves. One of them skillfully eliminates one of his fellow Thousand Sons with a Stalker Bolter just as they did with the gash in his stomach, his fall splitting the land below him. They were a psychic warband, lucky not to fall to the curse of his Rubric but instead reaping the rewards it brought, incredible psychic strength for those tuned to the warp's blessings, and freedom from the change that doomed their legion. Using these blessings, he frees these men from their service, lifting the Ultramarine into the air, before ripping him to pieces. He next pulls some loose rock from the grounds of Prospero before sending it towards another Ultramarine. He senses Pride in the marine,  before realising the Bolter aimed directly at his face. He hears the trigger click, the propulsion of the bolter shell. He feels the air being pushed as it rams toward his face. He never flinches, never stops looking onward, he just waits.

Nothing. Directly ahead of him lay the marine, in complete shock, attempting to reload. The Bolter shell lies directly between his eyes, just narrowly scraping him. He then sends it back, blowing open the marine's skull before he has time to react, then using it to severely wound the final marine. As the Thousand Son stands directly over the Ultramarine, the marine asks "How? How do you use such power yet still believe you are anything but absolute filth? You give into the machinations of Chaos so easily, just as your worthless father di-" The Thousand Sons marine laughs, loud cackling takes over the nearby landscape. "My father attempted to SAVE your puny Imperium and look at it now. You cast him out for his methods yet you don't realise just how the Emperor damned him personally. How many times we have wished to return, my father has confided in me, but your Emperor wished him to kill us all!"  "Bullshit! You are a failure of a son to your legion and to our great Emperor"  He again cackles, saying to him "If  you wish to insult me, atleast use my name, you failure of a cousin. Call me Ahzek before you die." "Ahzek? What? Ahzek Ahri-" And before he can finish his shocked exclamation, his head is ripped apart by bolter fire.

As he stands over his corpse, he senses a massive disturbance in the warp near him. Believing it to be one of his daemons, he turns to it. Instead however, he is face to face with Sanguinius. The God amongst the Angels, the Blood-letter's demise. Ka'bandha's Killer. His face turns to utter terror. As he attempts to influence his mind, he realises that it is locked. Locked with the Taint of Chaos, that of stronger minds than his. He despairs, calling out to the gods, begging for his safety. "Oh great gods, protect me! In my last moments, save me from this fate!" "For you, Ahriman, there is only one fate that shall be bestowed." As Ahriman prepares to die at the hands of Sanguinius' blade, cowering before him, Sanguinius asks a pivotal question. "Where is Magnus?" 

Ahriman tells him "Magnus is descending from Sortiarius any moment. He is aware of your plan, but refuses to tell me what has occurred or where he has been. I believe he has gone mad."

"Not madness, Magnus wishes to rejoin the fold!" Sanguinius proudly blurts out. 

"What? How dare you! It is due to your decadence that we are even here! You and your legions tore us down and forced us into Tzeentch's worship. Why he would ever wish to rekindle with your dying Imperium would be a fallacy all in itself, now that the Emperor is on that blasted throne!" Ahriman wildly screams out.

"Brother. It is Horus who ordered Leman. Horus had already fallen. The Emperor's orders were to capture Magnus so he could explain, then fix the webway with Father. Leman was then contacted by Horus on the way, informing them the order had changed. Horus orchestrated your fall with Tzeentch. You worked for the man who caused your damnation and worshipped the God who allowed it. Father is dying. His body is holding out on sheer psychic strength for his soul is no more. At my own hands....." Sanguinius trails off, beginning to feel emotions swell.

Pulling himself together, Sanguinius continues. "But not of my own fault, I saw what the gods did to you, what they did to me, what occurred in my absence. For you see, I was pulled from my point of death, the day Horus slew the Emperor. Me and Horus both captured. I slew him under the Black Rage before being killed myself after I was too insane to stop my rampage. Tzeentch captured my soul and turned me into one of the Greatest Daemons to ever stalk the Materium. The Sanguis-Incarnatus. If I may still be in our father's graces then you shall surely be redeemable. We will fix your brothers, whatever curse they are under."

Ahriman in shock does nothing except fall to his knees and look across the landscape. He sees Guilliman leading the Ultramarines, taking down his warband's numbers as much as possible. "It all makes sense. His acceptance of my collusions with the Ynnari, the magic they taught me, possibly the same used to resurrect him." He says, pointing toward Guilliman. 

"I know not of this Ynnari, or how they revived him. But I do know he is the same brother I fought with at Secundus. I respected him the most of my brothers, blessed be all their souls, wherever they may be." Sanguinius states to Ahriman, levelling himself with the Sorceror. As Sanguinius surveys the land, he sees a large ship descending into orbit. Marked with strange runes and daemonic displays, he realises who's ship this may be.

Guilliman calls to Sanguinius. "Brother! We must move toward that ship, it may be Magnus." 
Sanguinius responds "Good, we seem to have an ally formed aswell. "

"Let's move Ahriman." Sanguinius however had not expected the response that Ahriman would give. None. Ahriman does not respond. He is shocked, more than words can or could ever convey. He is aghast at this knowledge. The realisation that all of this treachery was a lie. He was not betrayed. His father was not betrayed. All of this betrayal, death, murder and hatred all due to the whims of the Warmaster. The one who apparently saved them from the Emperor. He breaks down, emotions overclouding him, falling into a shocked depression. Around him however, the Warp bubbles with pride and grim happiness, finally the chance to take one of their greatest Sorcerers through his weakened mind. Daemons errupt into quasi-realspace as they take over his mind and soul. He fights as much as he can but is ultimately powerless against them. However, something brews within Sanguinius.

 As Guilliman looks on, still attempting to defend him and the marines from the Daemons ahead. He makes out his brother from the crowd, straining himself. On the surface, he is looking sternly, almost as if this act of viewing the horror ahead is hard. However, within his mind, the warp has been accepted and Sanguinius is changing. The Taint of Chaos within Sanguinius after his torture by the Ruinous Powers backfires, originally a safeguard incase of his escape and a conduit of his Daemonic power, it now works to actively enhance his strength. Digging through his mind, activating the warply gifts given not just through Chaos but also through his original form before the Emperor extracted him from Molech. Using said gifts, he casts out the Daemons in Ahriman's mind through great power and will, but also through extreme mental pain, the first time using such powers in a mortal body and using such taxing attacks. As Ahriman is cleared, Sanguinius turns toward Guilliman, weak and tired as Ahriman behind him falls face first into the floor, unconscious. His power fades slowly, the taint, in a way, deactivating.

"Brother, are you alright?" Guilliman asks of Sanguinius. "I..I am fine, brother. Just allow me a moment to recompose myself." "Your psychic abilities awoke. The Emperor told me that such things were possible. We are all blessed with it, but only some of us activated it." Guilliman explains. It is with this, they turn towards the ship in the distant. "Let's go talk to one of them" Guilliman finishes, as Sanguinius picks up Ahriman's body, carrying it toward their salvation from chaos, or their damnation to hell itself.