Axis paused, his mind reeling. Even with his presence, the future had not changed?
"Father-in-law, what exactly did you see?" Axis asked.
"The Golden Throne," the Emperor replied, "I saw myself seated upon it, my body reduced to a monstrous, withered husk."
"If that's what happens, then why not simply refuse to sit on it?" Axis suggested.
A bitter smile touched the Emperor's lips.
If only it were so simple.
The futures foreseen by a psyker were nearly impossible to alter, not to ntion sothing foreseen by soone as powerful as himself.
Furthermore, he had seen sothing even more distant, a future of absolute, hopeless despair.
"It is not as simple as you imagine, Axis," the Emperor explained, "While I saw myself upon the Golden Throne, I did not see the specific events leading to it. It seems, however, to be connected to a rebellion. I saw at least half of the Primarchs turn against ."
Even if he could prevent that great rebellion, he knew he must still ascend the Golden Throne.
Otherwise, the birth of the Dark King would co early.
The Emperor had long known that half of the Primarchs would betray him.
This vision, in a way, only confird his earlier premonitions, or perhaps, it was the fulfillnt of the manipulation by the Four Chaos Gods.
"So we already know there's going to be a rebellion. Why not take precautions now?" Axis countered, "Won't we be able to stop the future then. What great rebellion? Even if the entire universe turns against us, we simply need to crush it.
"And what's with the golden throne? Why would you have to sit on it buy ti?"
In his mind, Axis thought the plan was simple.
They just had to prevent Magnus from breaching the Webway, keep a close watch on Horus, and eliminate bitches like Erebus beforehand.
The entire rebellion could be avoided, just like that.
"We can take precautions, but the future I've foreseen has already taken into account our actions," the Emperor said, a deep weariness in his voice, "And the Golden Throne is a crucial to the Webway Project, to the future of all humanity.
"Not to ntion, the throne will delay the Dark King's birth for more than ten thousand years. If I do not sit upon it, it will erge in just a few centuries."
This was the most agonizing part of his vision, the most difficult outco to accept.
He knew that taking his place on the throne ant being tornted until his humanity was stripped away, transforming him into sothing else entirely as his personality fractured into countless dark and corrupt fragnts.
In the end, that all-consuming darkness would devour everything.
It was unavoidable. If he did not take his seat, the Dark King would burst forth from within him prematurely.
The Emperor then explained the full context of the situation to Axis.
"So you an, no matter what, you must sit on the Golden Throne?" Axis asked, his voice low.
"Yes," the Emperor affird, "It is an almost inevitable outco. The Dark King is an obstacle that cannot be bypassed. If there were another way, I would not be so desperate."
For a fleeting mont, upon seeing that future of darkness, of his own desiccated form, the Emperor had nearly lost control, almost allowing the Dark King to erge then and there.
He could not accept such a future for himself. Yet he was powerless against it.
The Dark King, he explained, was technically born in the future, but in another sense, it had already been born.
It existed throughout the tiline, much like Slaanesh.
Its influence could be felt across all of ti.
The Emperor's own creation in the ancient past, brought into being by the assembled human shamans, had the Dark King's influence.
His immortality, his entire existence, even the birth of humanity itself, the Dark King had a hand in it all.
If he deviated from the script it had laid out for its own birth, the entity would imdiately erase his personality and burst forth from his body. The only reason it had not done so already was its desire to accumulate even greater power, to ensure its birth occurred in the most perfect form imaginable.
"I understand," Axis said, his voice, "One day, I will defeat the Dark King. I will save you. I promise you that." He t the Emperor's gaze.
"If it can destroy the universe, then I will transcend this universe."
He could feel a new resolve hardening within him.
If Super Saiyan 3 was not enough, he would beco a Super Saiyan 4. If that failed, he would achieve the power of a Super Saiyan God, and then Super Saiyan Blue. If even that was insufficient, he would master Ultra Instinct.
A raw, sharp laugh escaped the Emperor's lips. "Hahaha! This only serves to fuel your fighting spirit, does it not? A future that contains an opponent you can finally fight with all your power, that's sothing you ought to look forward to."
"You're right about that," Axis admitted, a fierce grin spreading across his face, "I'm actually incredibly excited right now."
Before, Axis's goal had been to puml the four Chaos Gods. Now, he had a new target to add to the list: the Dark King.
"As long as you are confident," the Emperor said, his voice a low rumble, "In the future, half of the Primarchs will rebel. My visions have shown a few of them, and I intend to eliminate them beforehand."
"Father-in-law," Axis asked, "did you see who betrayed you?"
He silently hoped it was not Magnus.
After all he had done, could it be that his brother would still shatter the Webway and be lured away by blue feathered bastard?
"I saw only vague shadows," the Emperor answered, "I could not be certain of the nine, but there was one I could identify with certainty. A furiously crazed and bloodthirsty man with nails hamred into his head.
"I saw the 12th Legion, the War Hounds, behind him. He is the 12th Primarch, whom I have not yet found."
Of all the things his foresight revealed, this was the one traitor he could definitively identify. As for the others, their identities remained shrouded.
So, was there no sign of Horus?
Angron's story truly was a tragedy.
Now that the Emperor had a clear image of him and had confird his identity, it would be difficult for him to escape death.
And to think, Axis had been planning on using his ki to help Angron remove the Butcher's Nails.
"Just over half a month ago, Axis, I received intelligence from Malcador," the Emperor continued, "A suspected Primarch has been found on a newly discovered Imperial world. If I am not mistaken, it is the 12th Primarch. The one who will betray and bring endless slaughter and bloodshed to the galaxy."
"So you wish to go?" Axis asked.
"Correct," the Emperor replied, his expression hardening into one of cold resolve, "I intend for you to eliminate him beforehand. This Primarch is a complete and utter failure."
Without exception, all his other sons, no matter how difficult their upbringing, had risen to beco leaders on their respective howorlds.
They had all beco champions among their people.
Yet this one had beco a slave, debased and broken by those so-called Butcher's Nails.
The Emperor suspected that even if he did not turn traitor, he would never have cared for this son.
In his vision of the future, this son had even slain his own Custodian Guard at their first eting.
Even if he did not fall to treason, he would still murder his own sons.
"Could we not try another way?" Axis proposed, "Perhaps we could prevent his betrayal, rather than resorting to annihilation. It might be that this very act of trying to kill him is what causes him to turn."
"You do not understand, Axis," the Emperor countered, "Psychic premonitions, once seen, are nearly immutable. I once dreamt as you do, attempting to alter the futures I witnessed, but I failed every single ti, without exception."
He had wanted nothing more than to prevent these tragedies.
Ard with the knowledge of the future, he had tried long ago to change what was to co. The death of his own father, the incident with the Void Dragon, humanity's rebellion of the n of Iron, and the eventual treason of half the Primarchs, in the end, experience had proven that all of it was unchangeable.
That was why, when the Second Primarch was controlled by the Rangda, the Emperor had sent Axis to erase him. Right, Axis did change that outco, maybe…
But back then, he had only known that half the Primarchs would fall.
Now, he had seen a clear vision. He had witnessed the devastation Angron would unleash upon the galaxy and all of humanity. He had seen him beco a Daemon Prince of Khorne.
"And what of the 12th Legion?" Axis asked. "Do you intend to destroy them as well?"
"The 12th Legion are loyal Space Marines," the Emperor declared, "They have done nothing wrong, so I intend to give them a chance. I will recall all mbers of the 12th Legion and replace their gene-seed.
"You will beco their new Primarch. All warriors of the 12th Legion will beco your gene-sons."
According to his original plans, the 12th Legion was to be erased.
But now, they could beco the sons of Axis. They were loyal Astartes, after all. He did not wish to utterly destroy them unless he had no other choice, though the necessary ntal reconditioning would still have to be perford.
"The 12th Legion… there must be over a hundred thousand of them, correct?" Axis mused. "Does this an my Legion will instantly beco the largest of all?"
The thought was…
"I trust you, because in the future I have seen, you are standing by my side," the Emperor stated, "Your gene-sons are also loyal."
Just as he had seen a confird traitor, he had also seen one confird loyalist among the Primarchs: Axis. As long as Axis was on his side, then even if half the Primarchs betrayed him, it would be of little consequence.
"I understand," Axis said, his decision made. "I will prepare for departure at once."
The Emperor nodded in satisfaction. He led Axis from the training chamber and began to issue a series of commands. Among them was the order to recall every mber of the 12th Legion.
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powerstones?
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