"Dante, you've been standing watch here for so long — surely you must have seen something?"
"Tell me what you saw. Tell Mama!"
Sanguinius's smile remained as warm and radiant as a mother's.
Behind her, she shone like a blazing sun, illuminating every person present.
Her features appeared even more perfect in her current state. Sanguinius could now modulate her appearance to match the individual aesthetic sensibilities of whoever was looking at her.
In other words, everyone who saw Sanguinius for the first time would feel a certain instinctive goodwill — and simultaneously, a sense of closeness and warmth.
This was entirely unlike the Emperor. With him, you might feel drawn to him from a distance — but the moment he opened his mouth, that good feeling would vanish instantly.
Because the Emperor, beneath his human exterior, remained at his core what he had always been: a being of the primordial dark. His humanity and his divinity had been ground away through ten thousand years of unending war. The Emperor's emotional intelligence, frankly, left much to be desired.
"My Lady Mother, this—"
And so Dante haltingly described everything he had witnessed.
When he had seen that colossal eye turn its gaze upon him, he had been unable to suppress his fear. Yet when he had gathered his courage and looked directly into that immense orb, something approaching an instinctive sense of closeness had washed over him, causing his fear to dissolve entirely.
Dante described the experience with straightforward candour. In a torrent of earnest praise, he made clear that he cared not one whit about what Sanguinius had become at her core.
Watching her child's passionate, animated account, Sanguinius nodded.
It seemed her true form — her true appearance — had not instilled fear in her children.
"Dante — after this battle, remember to keep this secret. I know not many people saw what I truly look like—"
"But I still wouldn't want my sweet children to be afraid of Mama!"
Sanguinius continued to play the role of a devoted mother to perfection. Her Warp-nature had always carried within it a great portion of humanity's finest qualities — nobility and kindness both. That emotional resonance had been accumulating since the first year of the Common Era.
It was purer, even, than the Emperor's own.
"Yes, Gene-Mother — I won't breathe a word of it!"
"I'll ensure the veterans maintain strict secrecy. No idle gossip will be permitted to sully the honour of the Blood Angels!"
"Mm—" Sanguinius nodded with satisfaction, and as she did, she couldn't help floating up to give the boy a fond pat on the head.
Dante was deeply moved by the Gene-Mother's tenderness toward him.
But at that moment, two Chapter Masters crashed through the entrance — both drenched head-to-toe in blood.
"Dante, the front line is critical — we can barely hold on!"
"What the — Primarch, Dante, what are you two doing?!"
The two severely wounded Chapter Masters had barely walked in before they were confronted with a scene of absolute outrage.
They had been fighting for their very lives out there, and not once had they received this sort of tenderness — yet Dante, who had simply been standing here on watch duty, had managed it. How was that remotely acceptable?!
"Oh my, you two are badly hurt!"
"Come here — both of you — let Mama have a proper look at you!"
Sanguinius chose not to continue her scheming at Dante's expense in this moment. She could sense that if she kept needling him, her well-behaved son Dante might actually be done in by her own hand.
There was a principle at work here: love must be distributed evenly. These two Chapter Masters had fought their way here through a meat-grinder — as their mother, Sanguinius naturally owed them both some warmth and attention.
The moment Sanguinius spoke, the hostility in the two Chapter Masters' eyes evaporated.
Dante had no idea why, but his heart gave a small lurch.
He had noticed it — just moments before, those two Chapter Masters had looked as though they'd happily kill him. Watching them now, behaving so meekly and earnestly before their mother, Dante could only scratch his head and let the matter go.
When the two gravely wounded Chapter Masters drank of Sanguinius's blood, an indescribable torrent of vitality surged into their bodies.
Withered frames were restored. Ruptured organs and shattered hearts knit themselves back together in the same instant.
Within their bodies it was as though a new spring of blood had taken root — one that pulsed and welled ceaselessly — and as long as that spring flowed, their regenerative capacity would be without limit.
"In the name of Sanguinius's blood!"
That battle-cry was now etched into the minds of every warrior in every Chapter present.
More than a rallying slogan — it had become a statement of fact.
All those blessed by the Sacred Blood were bound not to bring shame upon Sanguinius's honour.
For a warrior who had drunk the Sacred Blood gained not only boundless resilience, but something approaching eternal life itself.
"Very well — it's time for me to lead you out of this personally!"
"These wretched daemons have come to my door. As your mother, it falls to me to make sure every last one of them stays here permanently."
Spear raised high, Sanguinius streaked forward like a meteor.
Behind her, Dante and the surviving Chapter Masters charged out together.
The remaining force — barely a thousand strong — launched a counter-charge. And simultaneously, across the battlefield, descendants of Sanguinius from different times and places began appearing as if from nowhere.
"Children — purge these daemons in the Emperor's name!"
"While I stand, Baal shall never fall!"
"While I stand, humanity's hope shall never fall!"
"Drive these wretched daemons out — cast them from our nation, purge them utterly from our domain!"
With a single Sacred Lance of Light cast downward, Skarbrand — who had been surging forward at the very head of the assault — was pierced clean through.
Skarbrand had already scaled the walls of the last fortress. Yet beneath that single lance blow, the Great Daemon of Khorne was erased on the spot.
[Khorne: AAAGH — what a magnificent SSR, and it's not in MY collection!]
[Why did I pull Angron all those years ago?! I refuse to accept this! I refuse!]
"Achoo!"
Aboard the Conqueror, the red-haired girl sneezed out of nowhere.
She had sensed something in the Warp cursing her — her psychically sensitive mind had caught the faint echo of someone's furious profanity.
"Angron-Mama, is someone swearing at you?! Tell us who — we'll go chop them up right now!"
Her mother-loving World Eaters instantly raised their great axes, ready to charge off and die on their mother's behalf.
But Angron was not angry. She soothed her agitated, hot-tempered children with a calm gesture.
Then she announced their next destination.
"Easy, all of you — settle down."
"People cursing me is nothing new. A sneeze here and there is entirely normal."
"After all, the slaughter I committed when I was a daemon — of course there are those who curse me for it. Isn't that only natural?"
"Our next destination: a visit to Perturabo. I can even locate his identifier in the Warp. He hasn't taken service under any of the Chaos Gods — and that makes me genuinely curious."
With a purpose provided by their Primarch, the several thousand World Eaters had no grounds to refuse.
In recent months, their cooperation with the Orks had seen the World Eaters take in quite a few new members with a spirit of defiance.
Many of these recruits were revolutionary leaders from feral worlds — slave rebellion commanders who had led successful uprisings and seized territory. When they had proven themselves by winning power — the World Eaters would recognise them as having passed the test, and absorb the most defiant among them as Astartes warriors.
Moreover, Liberator Monasteries were being established in those territories, staffed by wounded veterans to serve as their custodians.
The policy had indeed brought the World Eaters a steady flow of fresh blood — though their combat technique, admittedly, left a little something to be desired.
"I hope this encounter with another of our brothers will prove to be a pleasant exchange."
"I only wish to meet with Perturabo briefly, nothing more."
"He and I were both castoffs, once. We always had something to talk about."
"Though at the time, I didn't yet have the ability to sense others' emotions. Perhaps now we can have a more... meaningful conversation."
Angron's side had settled on the next journey's destination.
Meanwhile, Sanguinius stared down at the golden Skarbrand now before her and fell into thought.
This version of Skarbrand bore none of the murderous savagery of its former self. There was even a Holy Lance still embedded in its chest.
And this Skarbrand was declaring its intention to serve Sanguinius — it had already begun shouting about fighting for the glory of the Angel.
"Primarch — is this your ability?"
"You can actually purify daemons and put them to work for you? That's extraordinary!"
Wave after wave of golden daemons surged toward the Chaos host like a tide.
The thoroughly baffled Sanguinius finally couldn't hold it together any longer.
[Sanguinius: Father — this is your doing, isn't it?]
[How are there this many daemons who are loyal to the Imperium? Is your charisma really that overwhelming?]
[Caleb: Not at all — I simply forced them to believe they are human. And now they genuinely do.]
[If they're human, then fighting for the Master of Mankind is perfectly logical, isn't it?]
[Admittedly, when they die they'll be reclaimed by Chaos.]
[But in the meantime, thoroughly annoying those four is its own reward.]
"Ahh, I see!"
Sanguinius exclaimed aloud where she stood — and her blank, wide-eyed expression completely bewildered the Blood Angels around her.
"Mum, what did you just figure out?! Tell us!"
"You haven't been deceived by Chaos, have you? Please don't start listening to strange whispers and voices!"
Every one of Sanguinius's sons on the battlefield had to resist Chaos's constant whispering. The Librarians especially could hear the Chaos Gods extending their overtures directly into their minds.
Of course, in such moments, the correct response was to trust none of it — not a single word. Silence was the only safe choice.
To believe those honeyed words was a fate worse than death.
The Four Chaos Gods would wring every last drop from the body, then plunder the soul entire.
"Dante — do you think your Mama is really that easy to fool?"
"The daemons ought to be worried that Mama might trick them."
"Not the other way around."
[Task Complete — successfully defended against the daemon host.]
[Reward: 1/3 of Sanguinius's Warp-nature essence.]
[Sanguinius has gained a new ability: Essence Warp.]
[Enemies defeated by Sanguinius can be forcibly distorted into humans.]
[They will believe in their own humanity, and gradually reshape their physical forms into humanoid beings.]
"Holy — that's insane!"
Caleb hadn't anticipated that the next stage of Sanguinius's Warp-nature would be this utterly absurd.
The ability to directly distort a daemon's Warp-nature — that was completely broken.
Of course, Caleb had no clear sense yet of what it looked like in practice, so the only way to find out was to let Sanguinius try it.
[Caleb: Sanguinius — grab a Greater Daemon and test your new ability.]
[The new ability has already synced into your mind. Go give it a try.]
The scheming Sanguinius said nothing. She simply smiled to herself, leapt into the sky, snatched a Lord of Change lurking in the upper air, and began her work.
First, she severed its wings — grounding it completely. Then she ripped off its beak and granted it a human mouth in its place.
Then Sanguinius began chanting softly into the Lord of Change's ear.
The content of the chant was simple — just as the Emperor had done in ages past.
[You are human. You are human. You are human.]
[You are loyal to the Imperium. You are loyal to the God-Emperor of Mankind.]
The Lord of Change struggled to resist, but quickly found that resistance was effectively impossible.
Its deep blue body was gilded with a thin layer of golden light.
And the Lord of Change — missing one head now — began slowly, piece by piece, to be hypnotised into a humanoid shape.
"What the—"
Everyone stared at the scene, utterly stupefied. After some time had passed — the Lord of Change before them had been completely and thoroughly hypnotised by Sanguinius into a birdman.
"Heheh — how adorable!"
Sanguinius beamed at the birdman she had sculpted from what had once been a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch.
So this was how satisfying it felt to reshape someone's form from scratch. The birdman was so endearing — it might even make a decent pet.
But as everyone was still reeling from shock, the first words the bizarre birdman spoke in a human tongue struck all present like a thunderbolt.
"Long live Sanguinius! Long live the Second Imperium!"
"I shall be forever loyal to His Majesty Sanguinius — forever loyal to the Second Imperium!"
The birdman grinned and launched itself into the battle. With the full power of a Greater Daemon behind it, it threw itself into the fight.
The lightning that had been hurled at the Blood Angels now redirected itself toward the daemon lines.
Every spell cast was a massive area-of-effect strike. Every utterance seemed like a personal affront directed straight at Tzeentch.
[Tzeentch: DAMN YOU — Sanguinius, you absolute wretch! You stole my Lord of Change!]
[This was not part of the plan. The plan was NOTHING like this!]
Slaanesh, witnessing this spectacular act of theft, couldn't contain a laugh.
[Slaanesh: My Lord of Change, don't be so hasty — look at what happened to Lord Khorne, didn't he go through something similar?]
[He even lost a critical daemon Primarch like Angron. Did you hear him complaining about it?]
[Tzeentch: That is completely different!]
Tzeentch wanted to argue further — but had to concede, however reluctantly, that these developments genuinely had introduced a remarkable number of unexpected variables.
Sometimes, even when you lose, you have to accept it.
Tzeentch was not quite so far gone as to be entirely unable to take a loss.
...Or was he?
Tzeentch quietly produced his ledger and crossed out the Lord of Change's true name.
Either way, they were all just game pieces — temporary employees. Losing one was losing one. He'd simply recruit another next time.
"Good grief."
Caleb stared at the battlefield, where a birdman was now carving through the enemy at Greater Daemon-level power.
The Warhammer universe had thoroughly become something even he couldn't have imagined.
Caleb had nearly forgotten — he was the one most capable of causing chaos in the first place.
Sanguinius could merely invoke the power of faith to convince a Chaos Greater Daemon that it was human.
But Caleb himself?
Every piece he deployed could be made to believe it was human.
[Sanguinius: Heheh — this thing is so much fun!]
[Actually — can any kind of being be made to believe it's human and do the same thing?]
[What if I made a Tyranid acknowledge it was human?]
[Would it transform like this too?!]
Sanguinius's scheming mind was sharp indeed.
Or perhaps more accurately — all of Sanguinius's intelligence had been invested in this particular direction.
You could never expect Sanguinius to manage administrative affairs the way Roboute Guilliman did.
But devious schemes and cunning stratagems? Sanguinius had those in abundance.