Ka'Bandha observed the demons' reactions and nodded secretly in satisfaction.
This was exactly the effect he had aid for.
The stronger the enemy appeared, the more formidable his own strength would seem.
If he had given a straightforward account of the so-called Savior's appearance, the other demons might have doubted him.
They might even suspect him of lying.
In truth, what he had said wasn't entirely false.
Sowhere in the galaxy, there was a champion of the Accursed One, possessing terrifying abilities.
This being could wield the Accursed One's power, inflicting imnse harm upon demons.
It just wasn't as exaggerated as Ka'Bandha had made it sound.
Khorne had issued a bounty—besides Ka'Bandha, whoever could bring the Savior's head to the Skull Throne would receive unparalleled favor.
Ka'Bandha frowned slightly at this.
He could foresee that if another daemon killed the Savior, his newly acquired prestige would be stripped away.
He considered it for a mont—should he gain even greater power and kill the Savior himself to eliminate the threat?
But the instant he recalled the Savior's image, his heart clenched involuntarily.
After this ordeal, he had beco far more cautious and temporarily dismissed the thought.
That wretch was cunning and deceitful—what if he had even more terrifying tricks hidden away? Wouldn't Ka'Bandha just be rushing to his own death?
For now, it was best to stay as far away as possible.
The fear the Savior had instilled in Ka'Bandha ran deep—it was a ntal scar.
Not even against Sanguinius had he ever felt true fear—only seething hatred.
But the Accursed One's power had inflicted an indescribable tornt upon him.
And that tornt had beco transferred onto the more tangible figure of the Savior.
Ka'Bandha's heart burned with rage, frustration, and an unfulfilled need for violence.
He had to do sothing.
Suddenly, he rembered the scent he had detected on the battlefield—the scent of the Blood Angels.
Even a faint trace of it was enough.
Since he couldn't deal with the Savior for now, why not take out his wrath on the Blood Angels?
Ka'Bandha had already begun planning his revenge.
As for the Savior—he would wait for the right mont, probe his weaknesses, and then claim his head!
Having made up his mind, Ka'Bandha exhaled a wave of scorching heat and awaited Khorne's command.
This gathering of the Blood God's demons must have a greater purpose.
...
The Brass Throne
From atop the Brass Throne, Khorne, after issuing the bounty, also declared several war preparations.
The Blood God had sensed a shift in the material universe.
Rumors had spread through the Warp—the Imperium sought to revive a Primarch.
This was what truly concerned him.
The Accursed One's champion had only just appeared.
And while certainly a threat, he could not alter the greater war.
A Primarch, however—that was a true nightmare.
It wasn't just about personal might.
The real danger of a Primarch lay in the millennia of accumulated legend and authority behind them.
The ergence of the Great Rift had fractured the Imperium, stretching it thin across countless conflicts, pushing it toward collapse.
But if a Primarch returned...
They could unite the Imperium once more.
A reunited Imperium would hinder the spread of slaughter and destruction.
And this wasn't just Khorne's concern—none of the Chaos Gods wanted this to happen.
After issuing his war preparations, Khorne dismissed his daemonic horde.
Alone in his Brass Hall, the Blood God fell into contemplation.
He was considering the Accursed One.
After Ka'Bandha's return, Khorne had directed his awareness to inspect the region in question...
But he found nothing.
And yet, the Accursed One's energy had been there.
It had even been mingled with another presence—one that Khorne despised.
That presence belonged to the Accursed One's champion.
This eerie and inexplicable phenonon reeked of conspiracy.
Khorne suppressed his mounting rage.
He thought of his most hated foe—that ever-changing trickster.
That wretch had always sched against him.
That wretch had even corrupted his once-favored Skarbrand.
A plan so devious and elusive...
Khorne had every reason to believe that this was Tzeentch's doing.
The Trickster God must have used the Accursed One's power against him!
Suddenly, Khorne sensed a prying gaze from that scheming coward.
Tzeentch!
Old grudges and new rage surged within the Blood God like a volcanic eruption.
Without hesitation, Khorne struck back at the intrusive gaze!
No matter what, he would find an excuse to hack that scheming wretch to pieces!
...
The Realm of Tzeentch
A labyrinth of impossible geotry stretched endlessly—a crystal maze of shifting, polished surfaces that reflected nothing.
The corridors endlessly appeared, dissolved, rged, split, and twisted in random directions.
At the heart of the maze lay a hidden library.
A tiless Hall of Infinite Knowledge, ho to the legendary Well of Eternity.
The enchanted waters within the well could reveal countless unseen threads of fate across the cosmos.
Above the crystal labyrinth, a massive iridescent mass of ever-shifting forms hovered.
One mont, it took the shape of a vulture-headed, multi-winged daemon.
Then, it beca a grotesque giant, its oversized head protruding from its chest, two venomous serpents writhing on its shoulders.
Soon, its form morphed again, twisting into an incomprehensible array of shifting shapes.
This was the Changer of Ways—Tzeentch.
Monts earlier, the Lord of Change had sensed a disturbance in Khorne's domain and cast a probing gaze toward it...
Only to be t with a massive, rage-fueled blood-axe swinging at his face.
The sudden attack shattered part of the crystal maze, even reaching the library itself.
And then another blood-axe ca hurtling toward him.
Tzeentch barely blocked it, montarily stunned.
Turning his gaze to the enormous blood-red shadow, his voice dripped with disdain:
"You brutish oaf—do you seek war?"
The Chaos Gods were far from allies—they were eternal rivals and schers, locked in endless conflict.
Yet their grudging stalemate had lasted eons, held together only by necessity.
For despite their hatred for each other, the Chaos Gods shared a common enemy—the Accursed One.
A full-scale war between them would only weaken them all, leaving the Imperium and the Accursed One an opportunity to strike.
The clash between Khorne and Tzeentch soon drew the attention of two other Chaos Gods.
Two new figures erged.
One was swathed in pink mist, exuding an aura of pleasure and tornt.
The other radiated a sickly green glow, carrying a stench of decay yet watching with an air of strange affection.
They remained silent, rely observing.
Khorne's voice bood with wrath:
"Was it not you who caused the disturbance in my realm? You sow chaos in my domain, and now you dare feign innocence?"
"If you ddle again, I will unleash my full wrath upon you!"
With that, Khorne swung his axe one last ti, dealing even greater devastation before vanishing.
Returning to his Brass Throne, Khorne felt sowhat appeased.
That was... satisfying.
Above the crystal labyrinth, the two other figures faded away, leaving Tzeentch standing alone.
.....????
"I didn't even do anything!"
Tzeentch, of course, knew that brute had manufactured an excuse for violence.
But such blunt and crude tactics... disgusted him.
Had he retaliated, Khorne would have imdiately escalated the conflict into an all-out war.
The labyrinth and the library would have suffered imnse damage.
Tzeentch despised such senseless destruction.
He preferred manipulation, gradual descent into madness, weaving intricate webs of fate.
This sudden, chaotic, uncontrollable ss—infuriating!
But in the blink of an eye, Tzeentch composed himself.
"I must stay rational. I must stay in control."
Calming himself, he began plotting his revenge.
Ka'Bandha... yes, Ka'Bandha would be the perfect pawn.
At the sa ti, he sought to understand the real cause of this entire ss.
Soon, Khorne's ssage reached the other Chaos Gods—the so-called Savior.
Tzeentch gazed upon the image of the Savior...
And imdiately sensed sothing was off.
Sothing was wrong with this image.
And that ant only one thing—a mystery to unravel.
Approaching the Well of Eternity, Tzeentch reached out, searching for the true threads of fate behind the Savior...
(End of Chapter)
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