Numerous questions circled above their heads. Zeke and the Emperor could not for the life of them figure out what was going on.
Although, to Zeke and the Emperor, they had a natural bias toward Guilliman. After all, he was the one shouldering the burden of the Imperium of Man right now. Compared to him, what could the other Primarchs do besides lead troops into battle?
Only The Angel was slightly better; the rest were basically useless, only capable of leading troops into combat.
Even Corax, who was prepared to bring liberation to others, chose to retreat when faced with the administrative affairs of the T'au Empire, opting instead to lead troops into battle.
Humanity desperately needed a Primarch capable of handling internal affairs, and only Guilliman could fulfill that role.
It was because of this bias that even though the two of them had long sensed that something was wrong, they were only willing to admit it now.
This was a Warp Storm sweeping across the Ultramar 500 Worlds, capable of dragging the entirety of the Ultramar 500 Worlds into the Warp. The only one in the storm was Guilliman.
Besides Zeke acting personally, no one in the entire Imperium of Man could sacrifice the entire Ultramar 500 Worlds to the Chaos Gods without Guilliman reacting.
However, the specifics of the situation still required investigation. For now, the Emperor could only intervene to solve the immediate problem they faced.
The Emperor's Psychic Power erupted like a star, and the brilliant golden light instantly tore apart the edge of the Warp Storm.
Even though the Emperor had personally taken action at this moment, the Warp Storm did not dissipate with his intervention.
The Warp Storm, summoned at the cost of countless humans from the Ultramar 500 Worlds, could not be easily destroyed, even when blocked by the Divine Power of the Dark King.
The golden Divine Power and the Warp Storm began to rapidly erode each other. This was arguably the first time the Emperor and Zeke had encountered such a terrifying Warp Storm, and Zeke watched the powerful storm with some surprise.
While Zeke and the Emperor were preparing to deal with this Warp Storm, the Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, was with his brother Angron, preparing to resist the attack of the Warp Storm.
Unexpectedly, just as the two prepared to defend themselves, a golden light from the Emperor blocked the Warp Storm, causing Lorgar to fall into contemplation.
The Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, knew about the Warp, or at least a part of it, even if not everything.
Regarding the concept of gods, the Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, was different from Pontiff Lorgar under the Emperor.
The Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, believed that statement was complete nonsense.
The Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, believed that the best way to respect a god was to practice the god's ideals and advance alongside the god.
Therefore, what was important was not the god, but the ideals the god represented!
This Lorgar did not believe in the existence of gods at all, but the Emperor personally intervening to block the Warp Storm for him made him witness the existence of a god, yet it still could not shake Lorgar's beliefs.
The Emissary of the Golden Word merely watched curiously as the golden light outside the Warship blocked the arrival of the Warp Storm. He could sense an aura on the golden light similar to his Father, but something was off.
His Father was warm and sublime. Although this golden light also possessed warmth and sublimity, it carried destruction and ultimate finality.
The Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, could clearly perceive that the Psychic Power was unusual, so he was extremely curious about who was blocking the Warp Storm for him.
Angron was equally curious. He stood beside Lorgar, walking shoulder to shoulder with him.
Angron, unaffected by the Butcher's Nails, was undoubtedly a great ruler, just like Guilliman.
But unlike Guilliman, the influence of the Warp's essence meant he also possessed the ability to understand the thoughts of others, which brought more human warmth to his rule.
It couldn't be said that Angron's rule was definitively better than Guilliman's; they merely had their own merits.
If Zeke were here, he might feel happy for Guilliman, because both Lorgar and Angron could become new imperial regents.
Guilliman had finally received help from his brothers.
Even if those brothers were a bit abstract.
The fleets of the World Eaters and the Word Bearers made no moves in the Warp Storm. They merely stopped in the starry sky of Kaos, waiting for the person who saved them to appear.
Lorgar believed that the person who saved them would surely come out to meet them.
There was no other reason; it was purely the intuition belonging to the Emissary of the Golden Word.
And his intuition came true.
The Emperor used all the power he could without being rejected by Real Space to block the Warp Storm as much as possible.
But clearly, Guilliman's decades-long scheme was not something that could be resolved so simply.
The Emperor was extremely restrained; he did not want to cause further trouble for Zeke.
Yet this restraint was ultimately not powerful enough.
"It's still too difficult to solve this matter without alarming the Chaos Gods of the Warp or the Rules of Real Space."
Zeke watched the Emperor struggling to deal with the situation, but the Warp Storm remained fierce, causing him to sigh with emotion.
"Yes," the Emperor, who was dealing with the Warp Storm, also nodded.
"The power I can use right now is too limited. If I use power within acceptable limits, I estimate I'll need about two years to completely quell this Warp Storm."
The Emperor estimated the time required to erase the Warp Storm using the power he was currently deploying.
"Forget it. Erasing the Warp Storm over the entire Ultramar 500 Worlds isn't that easy. Let's go check on the situation with the Word Bearers Legion and the World Eaters Legion first."
"Let's not take risks yet. Let's first clarify the specific situation of this Galaxy."
Zeke pondered for a moment and finally decided not to resolve the Warp Storm yet, but to first go find the World Eaters and the Word Bearers to ask about the specific situation.
Originally, their plan was to rely on the Ultramar 500 Worlds and Guilliman to acquire resources.
With the help of Guilliman and the Ultramar 500 Worlds, Zeke would only need to cheat once more, produce a few Engineering Ships, and he could construct a stargate.
However, it was clearly impossible to do this now.
Since Guilliman had betrayed them, the Word Bearers Legion and the World Eaters Legion who had come looking for Guilliman must undoubtedly be the Loyalists. Perhaps they could tell him and the Emperor the real answer.
Hearing this, the Emperor fully agreed, and he began concentrating his power.
A few minutes later, the Emperor cleared a path for their Warship toward the location of the Word Bearers and World Eaters Legion fleets.
"Then let's go ask them."
As the Emperor personally intervened to clear a path, the Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, realized someone was coming for him, confirming that he was right to stay put.
"Angron, my brother, let us prepare. We are about to have guests."
"Perhaps we will soon get the answer to who is blocking the Warp Storm for us."
The Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, looked thoughtfully at the cleared route.
The two Primarchs ordered their fleet to maintain a defensive formation but to lower the highest state of alert as a gesture of goodwill. They walked together towards the bridge's docking bay area, preparing to welcome their visitors.
Soon, the blade-class frigate created by the Emperor and Zeke headed towards the location where their two battleships were moored.
With faster-than-light travel speed, before the Primarchs could even react, Zeke and the Emperor's battleship had already docked steadily alongside the Word Bearers Legion's Glorious Queen-class battleship, the *Loyalty's Law*.
The blade-class frigate easily completed its docking with the *Loyalty's Law*, and soon a pathway was established between the two battleships.
Neither Lorgar nor Angron reacted much to this; they had known someone was coming and had been waiting for a long time. The two remained in place, awaiting their guests' arrival.
The airtight door slid open silently, and Zeke and the Emperor stepped out side-by-side.
The Emperor had reined in his blinding divine radiance, revealing a form closer to that of a mortal.
Yet, his millennia-old majesty and towering stature still seemed to make the surrounding air condense.
More importantly, apart from those of equal standing like Zeke, most people couldn't see what the Emperor truly looked like.
Everyone who looked at the Emperor saw the image they most desired to see in their hearts.
Unlike the Emperor, Zeke's aura was restrained, yet he possessed an inherent profound stability, his presence no less significant than the Emperor beside him.
Lorgar and Angron's gazes instantly focused. The resonance deep within their bloodline and their Primarch-level perception allowed them to immediately confirm the essence of the Emperor's identity.
Yet, they also keenly detected a tremendous difference, originating from the same source but flowing in a different direction.
In this world of the *Warhammer* Apocrypha, the Emperor had long since abandoned the essence of the Dark King, which made him more human.
At the same time, he lost the sense of finality.
"A… unfamiliar father," Lorgar was the first to speak, his voice calm, carrying a scholar's prudence.
He placed his right hand on his chest and performed a solemn bow, but did not kneel.
"Your arrival is unexpected, but the Word Bearers will remember this assistance. May I ask, who are you and the gentleman beside you, truly?"
The Emissary of the Golden Word's gaze turned to Zeke, filled with undisguised scrutiny.
Angron also stepped forward, his face, unmarred by the Butcher's Nails, etched with gravity and confusion.
"Your aura… is indeed Father's, but why… is it so different? Filled with… a sense of ending that I cannot comprehend."
The Emperor said nothing; he merely looked at these two "sons" who were so different from his memories, his heart filled with myriad emotions.
A Lorgar who was supremely rational and rejected blind faith, an Angron who was mentally sound and possessed a leader's charisma—these were vastly different from the images of the Word Bearers and World Eaters Primarchs he knew.
In stark contrast to the Emperor, Zeke looked at the two Primarchs before him; he seemed to see Guilliman's days off.
As the imperial regent, Guilliman bore too much, and Zeke had always remembered to relieve him of some troubles, but Zeke couldn't find suitable candidates to work alongside Guilliman.
At this moment, the appearance of the Emissary of the Golden Word and Angron became a turning point.
The Emperor did not speak first; he was still lost in thought, wondering if his two children could have turned out this way if he had had a bit more patience back then.
Seeing The Emperor fall silent, Zeke naturally knew what he was thinking, so he had no choice but to break the silence himself.
"Angron, Lorgar, we could say this is our first meeting, but we could also say we've met countless times."
Zeke immediately threw out an ambiguous statement. Lorgar and Angron did not interject but continued to listen quietly.
"Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Zeke, or you can call me Uncle Zeke."
"Call me whatever you like; I'm not particular about it."
"As for this gentleman," Zeke gestured to the Emperor beside him, "as you perceive, he is the Emperor, but not the Human Emperor you are familiar with, who sits high on the Golden Throne of Terra.
We come from a… different galaxy."
Zeke's words could undoubtedly reshape the Primarchs' worldview, but the Emissary of the Golden Word, Lorgar, merely acknowledged this with calm acceptance.
"So that's it. You come from another galaxy. I understand."
Lorgar wasn't very surprised; when the Emperor appeared, he had already confirmed that this father was distinctly different from his own father.
Now, Zeke's explanation undoubtedly validated his conjecture. It made sense; only another galaxy could produce a second Emperor.
"You asked me to call you Uncle Zeke, so I presume that the Lorgar in your galaxy must have a rather good relationship with you."
"Since that is the case, I will naturally choose to call you Uncle Zeke."
To stand alongside his own father and walk in as an existence he felt no difference from, calling him Uncle wouldn't be a loss.
"Uncle Zeke" X2
It wasn't just Lorgar who spoke; Angron also called out.
Since Lorgar had accepted it, why shouldn't he?
Angron simply called out "Uncle Zeke" as well.
This made the Emperor even more envious. The Emperor envied the Emperor of this galaxy for having sons like Lorgar, unlike his own Lorgar, who gave him such a headache.
"Father, please allow me to address you as such, for you are indeed my father." After everyone had addressed Zeke, they bowed towards the Emperor.
"Father, may I be so fortunate as to know how you two arrived in this galaxy?"
"It was an accident." He still had to answer his son's question.
Although this son wasn't one he created, he and the planetary ring of this galaxy were one, so what difference did a son make?
"We were fighting a powerful civilization, and at the last moment of our victory, they used some special means to directly transport us to this galaxy."
Although the Emperor did not explain the detailed antecedents, Lorgar chose to trust him.
The Emissary of the Golden Word believed his father; there was no possibility or need for him to deceive them.
"Alright, you've asked us so many questions, so now it's our turn to ask some and learn about this galaxy."
Zeke interrupted their father-son conversation, interjecting.
Lorgar had no objections to this; instead, he turned back to Zeke and bowed again.
"Please ask whatever you wish to know; we will answer everything truthfully."
"First, my first question: is this the Ultramar 500 Worlds, the territory of the Ultramarines?"
Zeke posed his first question, and Lorgar had no trouble answering it.
"Of course, this is the Ultramar 500 Worlds, the core sector of the Ultima Segmentum in the eastern Imperium where the Ultramarines are located."
"Very good," Zeke nodded, then asked his second question.
"My second question: what are you doing here? Why is there such a terrifying Warp storm and Chaos corruption in this place?"
This question concerned why Lorgar and his forces were here.
But Lorgar did not conceal anything; instead, he answered directly again.
"Our mission is to attack Ultramar with our fleet, on the orders of Warmaster Horus."
"This is the stronghold of the Thirteenth Legion; we must make the traitors' kingdom pay the price."
To prevent Zeke and the Emperor from misunderstanding, Emissary of the Golden Word Lorgar explained, "Guilliman has betrayed the Imperium."
"He claims the Emperor has abandoned humanity, handing over the Imperium, which his warriors fought for with their blood, to incompetent mortals."
"And he simultaneously declared the Ultramar 500 Worlds' secession from the Imperium!"
"Guilliman swore to overthrow the Imperium, overthrow your rule, Father, and also avenge his so-called 'betrayal.'"
????
Guilliman hated the Emperor for giving control to mortals—how absurd was this??
How could Guilliman do such a thing?
The Emperor and Zeke exchanged glances, both seeing disbelief in the other's eyes.
They couldn't believe Guilliman would do such a thing; this was not the Guilliman they knew.
It's chaotic, everything is chaotic and messed up, unable to discern the true historical timeline.
As if sensing the disbelief of both Zeke and the Emperor, Emissary of the Golden Word Lorgar continued.
"Besides Guilliman betraying the Imperium, three other brothers have joined him in his treachery on the Imperium's side."
"Sanguinius, Ferrus, and Rogal Dorn—the three of them betrayed the Imperium alongside Roboute Guilliman."
????
Now the confusion of the Emperor and Zeke intensified.
Guilliman, Sanguinius, and Ferrus were considered staunch loyalists; now, for these three to betray the Imperium, what an ironic scene!
Suddenly, Zeke and the Emperor both felt that something was wrong, and they already had a certain suspicion in their hearts: perhaps this galaxy and their galaxy were exactly opposite?
Otherwise, how could the current situation be explained?
Those currently betraying were the loyalists in the Emperor's and Zeke's minds.
Zeke and the Emperor exchanged glances, and finally, the Emperor spoke.
"Lorgar, tell me, where are the fleets of these four traitors?"
The Emperor personally asked, and Lorgar would not conceal anything: "Father, these four traitors have gathered their fleets in the Istvaan System and massacred the loyalists within their respective Legions."
"If not for one ship escaping the sea of blood, the Imperium might not have known about this rebellion before the traitors' next strike."
It matches.
Some things match.
The Istvaan massacre of loyalists—that place truly is ominous.
"Then tell me, which fleets are going to confront Guilliman and his forces?"
The Emperor could almost confirm that the loyalist Primarchs in this galaxy were the opposite of those he had.
The Emperor wanted to see if he could prevent all this before the great massacre at Istvaan erupted.
Lorgar pondered for a moment, then gave his answer.
"The Imperial Legion fleets participating in the Istvaan Campaign are the dreaded Death Guard, followed by the Night Lords' forces, the Dark Angels fleet, the Salamanders' fleet, the Nineteenth Legion Raven Guard, the Alpha Legion, and finally, the White Scars."
"The Raven Guard Legion is the most numerous of these Legions; they are the second-largest Legion in the Imperium, thanks to the gene-masters of Corax's homeworld, Kiavahr."
The author explained the intelligence he currently possessed to the Emperor and Zeke, and upon hearing this long list of Legion names, Zeke and the Emperor exchanged glances once more.
"If we follow the historical trajectory that occurred in our reality, then without a doubt, four more Legions on your side will betray."
"According to the intelligence currently available, in the operations in the Istvaan System, the Dark Angels Legion, Raven Guard, White Scars, and Salamanders—these four Legions will become traitors, subsequently attacking the remaining three loyalist Legions."
The Emperor voiced his conjecture, and upon hearing such a conjecture, Lorgar's face drastically changed.
Without any logical reason, Lorgar chose to trust what the Emperor said; he believed his Father would never lie to him about this matter.
Therefore, what his Father said was certain.
Thus, the number of rebel Legions allied with Guilliman totaled nine Legions!
And they themselves also had nine Legions, but now, three Legions were about to be annihilated at Istvaan, and their two Legions were trapped in the Ultramar 500 Worlds... At this moment, the Imperial defenders in the Terra region were only left with the Luna Wolves, Sons of Horus, Perturabo's Iron Warriors, and Magnus's Thousand Sons Legion.
Guilliman would have the strength of nine Legions to attack Terra...
Angron and Lorgar had already understood the severity of the problem.
But how could Guilliman's meticulously laid ambush against their two Legions be so easily broken?
Although the World Eaters Legion and the Word Bearers Legion had decent combat power, facing the Warp storm meticulously created by Guilliman, even Emissary of the Golden Word Lorgar could not directly break through.
The two almost simultaneously turned their gazes to the unfamiliar Father in front of them and to Zeke.
Now, the hope that could help them escape Guilliman's conspiracy and return to Terra in time for defense rested with this unfamiliar Father in front of them.
Angron and Lorgar knelt before the Emperor without any hesitation.
"Father, please help us; we need to return to Terra; we need to stop Guilliman's conspiracy."
Angron and Lorgar knelt on the ground, while the Emperor remained silent for a long time.
Whether to help was not up to him; if he acted with full power, he would inevitably be pulled back into the Warp, and only Zeke could help them.
The Emperor turned his gaze to Zeke, and Lorgar, kneeling on the ground, also saw this scene. He quickly stood up, came before Zeke, and knelt again.
"Please help us, Uncle Zeke, I know you have no obligation to help us, but I beg you..."
Looking at Lorgar kneeling before him, Zeke did not speak immediately, but gently helped him up.
"Next, I have some questions for you. I hope you can answer me truthfully, as this relates to whether I can help you."
Of course, Zeke could help Lorgar and his group, but if Lorgar and his group went back, could they truly prevent all of this from happening?
Could The Emperor's completion prevent all of this from happening?
Facing the situation across the entire galactic map, just the two of them were not enough.
The Evil Gods in the Warp were not to be trifled with, and Roboute Guilliman, the champion of the material universe jointly chosen by the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods, was also no joke.
Just as Horus, who was fully inflated into a puff by the Chaos Gods / The Four Gods, could even severely wound the Emperor.
Roboute Guilliman, who willingly fell to Chaos, possessed the characteristics of the Sons of Vengeance, making his combat power almost unpredictable.
Zeke's power was recovering too slowly; he desperately needed replenishment from the eternal throne, and for that, he first needed to establish a stargate here.
Originally, they had set this goal on Guilliman. The Ultramar 500 Worlds were rich in any part of the galaxy.
However, with Guilliman's complete fall into Chaos.
Zeke and the Emperor had to abandon their current idea. But didn't a galaxy that was completely opposite mean that Lorgar should also have a rich star system in his hands?
Of course, all of this was just Zeke's speculation, so he now needed to ask Lorgar to confirm if his guess was correct.
"I need you to tell me, according to your current calculations, even if we open a path for you and you successfully return to Terra, will you be a match for Guilliman?"
Zeke posed his first question. Lorgar thought seriously for a moment before answering.
"Although Guilliman has a vast rebel army and it would be difficult for us to be their match, if Angron and I can return in time, with the Custodes, we would be more than enough."
Guilliman was a master of operations. Although his fall to Chaos directly sacrificed his 500 Worlds to the Dark Gods as an offering.
This action made Guilliman one of the most powerful beings in the material universe, but it also caused the Ultramarines to lose their ability to rapidly raise armies.
But Guilliman was a master of operations!
He abandoned the Ultramar 500 Worlds, sacrificing them to the Dark Gods. Neither Lorgar nor anyone else believed that Guilliman would have no contingency plan; his current army must be immeasurably vast.
Therefore, even if their five fleets converged, facing the Imperial Fists Legion, the largest legion in the Imperium, and the Raven Guard Legion, the second-largest legion in the Imperium.
Even Lorgar lacked sufficient confidence; they needed the aid of the Custodes.
"The Custodes? You don't need to think about Custodes support." Zeke directly rejected Lorgar's idea.
"The Custodes must currently be fighting in the Webway. This happened in our galaxy, but there, Magnus broke through the Webway with a psychic communication, allowing a large number of Chaos Daemons to flood into the Webway, plunging Terra into war."
"Although your galaxy is different from ours, Magnus of the Thousand Sons Legion is absolutely loyal there."
"However, what happened in our galaxy has essentially also happened in yours."
"Under these circumstances, I guarantee that the Webway War has also broken out, and I estimate it was probably done by Leman Russ. Russ must have done something to the Webway, causing it to be breached."
Zeke offered his speculation, which sounded quite absurd to Lorgar and his group.
But Zeke stood with the Emperor and presented logical reasoning, which forced Lorgar to place more than 70% trust in this speculation.
"Assuming your speculation is correct, then if it's just a few of our legions, we indeed wouldn't be a match for Guilliman."
It was due to his trust in Zeke's words that Lorgar applied the current situation, thought for a moment, and again arrived at an answer.
"You are very smart, Lorgar!" Zeke praised Lorgar, who had just made a correct analysis, from the bottom of his heart.
This Emissary of the Golden Word was much better than the Lorgar on his side, who was so foolishly easily swayed.
"However, your analysis still has some flaws, because you missed one thing."
Although Lorgar was very smart and immediately grasped the situation.
He was still not someone who had experienced these events, so he still missed one thing. Zeke chose to supplement it for him.
"Please tell me," Lorgar maintained a listening posture.
"The Webway War is a war waged by Warp Daemons against Terra. So, as you said, with the Thousand Sons Legion there, how could the Thousand Sons Legion not be deployed by the Emperor to fight in the Webway?"
"I imagine you haven't directly faced the Four Evil Gods of the Warp yet, and don't know the scale of their legions, do you?
I can tell you that the Custodes alone cannot stop the daemons in the Webway. It also requires the deployment of a large number of mortal auxiliary forces and a large number of Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii from Mars."
"Endless armies will be thrown into that war, and as a Psyker Legion, the Thousand Sons Legion will naturally also be deployed into this war."
Lorgar was very intelligent; he understood the situation as soon as he heard what Zeke meant: "You mean, by the time we rush back, it won't be five legions fighting their eight legions, but possibly four legions fighting their eight legions."
"Furthermore, we may also need to deploy our respective forces into the Webway for battle. Guilliman can be said to have the absolute upper hand."
"Yes, that's right," the Emperor affirmed Lorgar's words from the side. He was now contemplating how terrifying a scene it would be for the Imperium if Guilliman were to launch a great heresy.
The Warmaster's rebellion indeed severely damaged the Imperium of Man at the time.
But if it were different, and the Dark Angels Legion and the Ultramarines Legion rebelled.
And even the Raven Guard Legion became the second-largest legion in the Imperium.
That outcome, even if Warmaster Horus had not betrayed the Imperium, victory would have been very slim.
Thinking of this terrible outcome, the Emperor shook his head violently.
Although his Lorgar was weak, not as good as this Lorgar, he had Guilliman there!
And Lion El'Jonson also did not betray.
This gave the Imperium the best chance of survival.
If the traitor had been Guilliman, with his detailed plans, the loyalists would have had almost no chance of victory.
"The rebellion that broke out on your side is truly terrifying. If you rely solely on your own strength, it will probably be difficult to achieve victory."
The map of Yan State pretty much ended here. Next, Zeke would naturally reveal his true intentions.