Warhammer: Saiyan Adopted by the Wolf King

The conversation between Axis and the Emperor was one that no third person would ever know.

The Emperor chose to conceal it even from Malcador, his most trusted confidant, for the matter of the Dark King was simply too cruel and terrifying.

If fate could not be broken, then according to the final prophesied outcome, humanity would descend, step by step, into the deepest abyss of despair.

The Emperor himself would become another being, splintering into countless dark and negative personalities until he was neither man nor monster.

Then, from that despair, the Dark King would be born, bathed in the blood of mankind. This was a future the Emperor could never accept.

For this reason, he had chosen to retain eighty percent of Axis's Ki within his body. This energy, rich with powerful life force, would be enough to help him withstand the torment of the Golden Throne.

Once enthroned, his soul would enter the Warp, where it would spend millennia absorbing the power of humanity's hope, ceaselessly strengthening his psychic might.

The Emperor estimated that after ten thousand years, his psychic level would rival that of the four Chaos Gods. He would be able to create his own Daemon Princes, even Greater Daemons and their legions.

His psychic energy would be converted into a force of holy aspect, further delaying the birth of the Dark King and buying precious time for Axis and for all humanity.

…

Upon receiving their new orders, the 12th Legion, the War Hounds, dared not a moment's delay.

They immediately began to assemble their fleet and set course for Holy Terra. The War Hounds were a stalwart force in the Great Crusade, and in their decades of service, they had always been diligent, earning great merit for the Imperium.

Their warriors were excellent, and their Captains should not have died ignominious deaths at Angron's hand. More than that, they should never have been forced to accept the Butcher's Nails for the sake of their father, transforming into bloodthirsty, frenzied monsters who would unleash a disaster of madness upon the galaxy.

The great tides of fate could not be altered, but the Emperor was determined to change the smaller currents where he could.

Malcador and Kasha were both puzzled by the Emperor's decision to summon the 12th Legion.

Nevertheless, they carried out his command without question. The War Hounds were expected to arrive at Holy Terra in three months.

During this interval, the Emperor once again summoned Malcador, along with the couple, Axis and Kasha.

"My old friend," the Emperor began, looking at Malcador, "you must be wondering why I have recalled the 12th Legion."

"I am, but you are the Emperor. Whatever decision you make, I will support it. Still, can you tell me the reason?" Malcador asked.

"Of course," the Emperor replied, "You are the friend I trust most. When Axis used his Ki to reinforce my body, my physical form was strengthened more than threefold, and my psychic power also saw a significant increase. Because of this, I was able to see visions of the future."

"Visions of the future?" Malcador's expression turned to one of shock. "Neoth, what did you see?" As Axis already knew the Emperor's true name, Malcador would use it when they were in private, though he would refer to him as 'Emperor' or 'Master of Mankind' in the presence of others.

"I saw a betrayal," the Emperor stated grimly, "The primarch of the 12th Legion… the twelfth one we created. He will betray me."

He could not speak of the Dark King or the Golden Throne, but some details of the great heresy could be revealed.

"What!" Malcador exclaimed in disbelief, "Are you certain? He is a traitor?"

"I am," the Emperor affirmed, "I know it is difficult to believe. Well, see for yourself."

A golden light emanated from the Emperor's eyes, psychically linking him with Malcador, Kasha, and Axis.

He projected a portion of the vision he had seen directly into their minds.

They saw the bridge of a flagship.

Angron roared in fury at the Emperor, raising his axe and charging, only to cut down a Custodian Guard who stood in his way.

They watched as the Emperor's overwhelming psychic might subdued him and sent him back to his Legion.

Yet, the vision showed Angron had no desire to lead them. He even murdered several of his own Captains who had tried to reason with him.

This continued until a Captain named Khârn came forward, surviving his primarchs onslaught, and gaining Angron's recognition. Kharn then volunteered to be implanted with the butchers nail, which had a 100% mortality rate at that time, becoming the first of his countless brothers to survive the process. It was all done in a desperate measure to gain his Primarchs trust, to get closer to him, and understand him, and in the end, Kharn gained Angron's trust.

The vision shifted, showing the trail of carnage they would carve across the Great Crusade. Angron demanded his Legion complete their conquests within thirty-one hours, the length of a single day on his homeworld, Nuceria, where he and his gladiator brethren had once razed a city in the same amount of time.

If his gene-sons failed, Angron would enact a brutal decimation, executing one legionary for every ten.

The gruesome task was carried out by their own brothers, who tore the unfortunate souls to pieces. Angron would unleash a storm of blood across the galaxy, and wherever the 12th Legion passed, rivers of blood would flow and mountains of corpses would rise.

"The man is utterly ruthless," Kasha said, her voice strained, "To decimate his own… he is so cold. He does not even see life as life."

Malcador, Lord Regent of Terra, nodded in agreement.

Though the Primarchs were vital to the Great Crusade and some civilian casualties were unavoidable in war, the carnage wrought by the 12th Legion was beyond acceptable limits.

They killed for the sheer sake of killing.

"He is an extremely violent madman," the Emperor explained, "His unique ability was supposed to allows him to absorb the negative emotions of those around into himself, sooth them. What fate has brought him to…."

The Emperor had created each of his primarchs, and he understood their Warp-born natures better than anyone. He knew the inherent flaws of each of his sons.

Angron was meant to be a compassionate warrior, like a knight from Old Terra, dedicated to a code of chivalry, self-sacrifice, and virtue. But fate had twisted that design.

The Butcher's Nails had destroyed this unique ability of his, making the primarch who could have been a paragon of virtue into a monster who reveled in slaughter.

"Was this because of mother's mistake?" Kasha asked softly, "If… if he had been raised on Holy Terra, none of this would have happened."

"Yes," the Emperor said, "Of all the primarchs, Angron suffered the most from your mother's actions." Without the Butcher's Nails, Angron would never have become this monster. He should've been the very embodiment of Chivalry.

"Neoth, is this why you intend to eliminate him?" Malcador asked, his gaze fixed on the Emperor.

To his mind, if the issue was merely excessive brutality, there was still a chance for correction. Such actions warranted severe punishment, but they did not yet constitute treason.

This was because, within the ranks of the Space Marines, there were many hidden secrets.

Quite a few legions were known to slaughter civilians in moments of madness, the 9th Legion was one such case.

They even had a thirst for human blood. Sanguinius believed he and his sons had hidden this secret well, but in truth, the Emperor and Malcador were acutely aware of the Red Thirst.

"If that were the only issue, I would not be so determined to erase him. I saw more," the Emperor said, and the golden light flashed in his eyes once more.

The final vision showed Angron standing with several other primarchs, raising his twin axes and roaring in defiance at the Emperor as they unleashed the Betrayal.

In the ten thousand years that followed, they would drench the galaxy in blood and war.

The Angron of the far future was a creature wholly demonic, an entity utterly corrupted by the powers of Chaos and ascended to the rank of Daemon Prince.

"A primarch has immense value, damaged as he is, but, he was corrupted by the power of Chaos. Even now, I suspect that brbaric bastard has an eye on him!"

"How… how is this possible?" Kasha was aghast, "A rebellion… half of the primarchs took part in it."

Malcador's face was grim.

The Emperor's prophecy, the one he had made when the primarchs were first created, had truly come to pass.

The one the emperor was talking about could only be that of bastard, the oldest and most powerful of the Chaos Gods. This time, the Emperor had seen the events with clarity, though among all the traitor primarchs in the vision, only Angron was clearly recognizable.

"Half of my sons will turn against me," the Emperor stated, "I am not certain of all their identities, but I am certain that this Great Heresy is inevitable."

The Dark King, along with the four Chaos Gods, wished to see him upon the Golden Throne.

He would ascend it, but they would have to possess sufficient strength to force him there.

At this, a question formed in Malcador's mind. If half of the primarchs were to fall, why was Axis here? By rights, Axis should have been excluded from this meeting; a fifty-percent chance of betrayal was far too great a risk.

"In this future rebellion, I saw a traitor, but I also saw a primarch who remained loyal," the Emperor said, directly addressing Malcador's unspoken concern, "That man is Axis. That is why he is here, at my side, to be part of this council."

With those words, any doubt vanished from the Lord Regent's mind.

It now made sense why Axis was present. Without the reinforcement Axis had given him, the Emperor would never have been able to witness the Great Heresy in such detail.

Perhaps, Malcador mused, the time had come to reconsider the choice for Warmaster.

"There are indeed flaws in the character of several primarchs," Malcador said, his voice heavy with thought, "I believe there are a few individuals we should observe with particular scrutiny."

"Speak your mind," the Emperor commanded. He, too, wanted to hear his old friend's judgment on which of his sons might betray him.

"First is Angron, without question," Malcador began, "The second I believe might fall is Mortarion. The environment in which he was raised was not a healthy one. The same is true for Perturabo of the IV Legion; his upbringing has left him with significant defects.

"And then… there is Sanguinius of the IX Legion. Lion El'Jonson must also be watched carefully."

Axis was inwardly stunned.

Wait, what? The Great Angel and the Lion, listed among potential traitors?

The first few names Malcador mentioned were indeed among the fallen primarchs, but the last two… surely his mentor was mistaken.

Those two were arguably the most loyal of all the primarchs. One had even died heroically during the Heresy itself, and Lion El'Jonson's loyalty to the Emperor was absolute. But his recent actions of opposing Horus could indeed…

"Sanguinius is an angel, as is the Lion," the Emperor explained, sensing Axis's confusion, "But even angels can fall. Consider Sanguinius's own sons; they harbor the curse of the Red Thirst.

"When we created Sanguinius and the Lion, the materials we used were unique. They are, in essence, true angels."

The Emperor revealed the core secret of the primarchs.

They were all demigods, formed from the essences of deities humanity had once worshipped from the Warp.

Guilliman, for instance, was an amalgam of fragments from the gods of ancient Roma. Leman Russ's soul was drawn from pieces of the old Norse pantheon. Angron's was derived from the war gods of human mythology.

The materials for Sanguinius and the Lion, however, came from the angels of the old Terran bible.

Humanity's collective works of literature had generated a powerful fascination with angelic beings over millennia, giving them form and power in the Sea of Souls.

All his sons, the Emperor confessed, were reincarnations of gods born from the human psyche.

"So they truly are Archangels?" Axis asked. His mind was reeling to say the least.

"Yes," the Emperor confirmed.

Why else would their Legions be named the Blood Angels and the Dark Angels? he thought. Their very natures were of extremes. Sanguinius appeared gentle and refined, but in battle, he became a creature of unparalleled bloodlust and fury. Lion El'Jonson was much the same; how else could he have become my greatest executioner?

"Could it be… Imperium Secundus?" Axis muttered under his breath. With that thought, he reconsidered.

Perhaps listing those two among potential traitors was not so far-fetched after all. In the strictest sense, they had, in fact, once betrayed the Emperor. Both of them had joined Guilliman in founding the Unremembered Empire.

Strictly speaking, Sanguinius had been the emperor of that new realm.

Although Guilliman held the real power, Sanguinius had been crowned its leader. The Lion served as its Lord Protector. That brief chapter was an eternal mark on the history of all three primarchs.

In a certain sense, they had betrayed their father, even if they later returned to the fold, their actions had been in a desperate attempt to safeguard the future of humanity. Maybe Malcador's foresight triggered a response from that direction.

The Emperor's brow furrowed. He closed his eyes for a second. He had heard Axis's murmur. Imperium Secundus.

With his psychic sight, the Emperor's consciousness precisely located that thread in the future and began to watch the history unfold.

He saw his three sons, believing him dead, founding a new empire on Guilliman's proposal. Sanguinius was its Emperor Regent, Guilliman its Lord Warden, and the Lion its Lord Protector. They had even made Macragge its capital and constructed a device akin to a lesser Astronomican.

The founding of Imperium Secundus was, in a sense, an act of treason.

Yet, it was also a desperate measure to stand against the true traitors and preserve the light of humanity. In that, the three were loyal.

But a question lingered in the Emperor's mind as the vision faded.

Would the Imperium Secundus they were to build remain independent even after the Great Heresy had ended?

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bonus chapter will be uploaded in an hour!

also powerstones!