Light surrounded Gaius, a sea of gold without horizon or floor. There was no sense of distance, only a warm brilliance that filled every corner of his mind. He stood in his black and blue war-plate, yet felt weightless, as if the armor was part of the light itself.
A smaller sun floated before him. It glowed gently, no larger than a man, its surface shifting with soft flares. When it spoke, the voice carried not through air but through thought.
"Even if I cannot see it," the sun said, "I can feel your mind."
Gaius stiffened. Few things in the galaxy could surprise a Space Marine, yet those words did. "You can see my mory, Emperor?" His voice echoed into the light.
The sun brightened and dimd like a slow heartbeat.
"Before you vanished from this reality for a short ti, yes. After you returned, I could not. Your will is stronger than before. I can still feel your thoughts, but I cannot read them."
The answer settled heavily inside Gaius. So the Multiversal Chat did this, he thought. The last reward hardened my mind even against Him.
The Emperor continued, as if following the feeling rather than the words.
"I sensed a strange change in you, sothing beyond my reach. I tested you, and I was right. You can see sothing I cannot. Is it the Multiversal Chat?"
Gaius let the silence stretch. To hide or to speak? The Emperor already knew enough. "It is," he said at last. His voice stayed calm. "It is the Multiversal Chat."
A pause. Then he asked the question that had been waiting in his thoughts since the first mont. "Why do you sound so… human? The records and My Primarch Guilliman say you are more than that."
The light pulsed, warr now.
"I am the little that remains of my humanity," the Emperor said. "The rest is sacrifice."
The words were neither proud nor sad. They were simply true.
The golden sun drifted closer.
"I will assist you from now on, Gaius."
Its glow grew stronger until it filled his vision. He raised a hand on instinct but felt no heat. The sun touched his chest and flowed inside like liquid fire. A rush of strength surged through every nerve. In his mind the Emperor's voice echoed, steady and certain:
"I still cannot see the Multiversal Chat."
Darkness closed around him for a heartbeat, and then the world returned.
Cold marble pressed against his knees. The sound of chanting filled his ears: the low voices of priests and the deep hum of ancient machines. He was back in the Throne Room of Terra.
Gaius swayed. A heavy hand caught his shoulder and steadied him. Roboute Guilliman, Lord Commander of the Imperium, stood beside him. "Easy," Guilliman said, his voice low but sure.
The dizziness faded as quickly as it had co. A new sensation followed, an ache that started in his chest and spread outward. His armor groaned as if the ceramite itself resisted what ca next.
Veins rose across his skin like cords. Bones stretched. Muscles swelled. Pain burned through every organ. Gaius did not move or cry out. He held his ground as the change swept through him.
The growth reached its peak. He felt taller, heavier, then denser, as though every cell had been reforged. The pressure eased. His breath ca deep and slow. The black undersuit beneath his armor pulled tight, and the blue-and-gold plate strained to contain the larger fra.
Guilliman watched with open curiosity, then a faint smile. "It seems you will need new armor, my son," he said. "And a weapon that fits your new strength."
Before Gaius could answer, a quiet voice filled his mind once more.
"I want you to travel to another universe," the Emperor said. "Breathe the air of humanity untainted by the Warp."
Another universe. The words carried weight but no fear. Gaius thought back without speaking aloud. I will need new armor and a weapon first.
A soft hiss ca from the far side of the chamber. A tall Custodian entered through a narrow door, carrying a long black case marked with gold sigils. He bowed deeply to Guilliman, then set the case at his feet.
Guilliman opened it with care. Inside lay a suit of armor that seed to hold the light of the Emperor Himself.
The plate shone a deep auramite gold, chased with the rich Ultramarine blue of Guilliman's own Chapter. The left pauldron bore the white Oga, crisp against the dark enal. Across the chest, the Imperial Aquila stretched its wings, each feather etched with tiny scripture. Laurel leaves wound across the vambraces and greaves. At the helm's crest a thin halo-device curved like a crown, ready to project a soft aureate shine.
Even in the vast Throne Room the armor seed alive, a quiet hum beneath its surface. Holy fire glimred faintly along the engraved lines, as if a piece of the Emperor's own light rested within.
Guilliman studied it for a long mont, pride and sothing like envy in his eyes. "The Emperor foresaw your need," he said. "It is already prepared. But you will still require a weapon worthy of it."
Gaius stepped forward and placed a gauntleted hand on the breastplate. A low vibration answered his touch, steady and warm. "Yes," he said evenly. "The weapon can wait. The Emperor has asked for sothing first."
Guilliman's smile deepened, quiet but unmistakably warm. "I see. Then we will see you equipped for what cos next."
He rested a massive hand on Gaius's shoulder, the gesture both command and blessing. "Wherever this new path leads, rember: you are not only my son, but the Emperor's as well."
(image)
~~~
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ps.Also the image, is what i visioned of the armor, at least closed to that, and i strengthen Gaius now, since his enemies will be far more stronger, like hulk, you dont think in a brawl, an astartes can defeat him, gaius might supressed it with his experience but only for a short ti as the hulk will prolly crush normal astartes, but rember astartes are soldier, they can prolly assasinate hulk, or abomination, if prepared. and gaius for a long ti wont be be strenghtened, since he is now very strong
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