Daniel's dream felt like forever.
In the nightmare, he did the right thing and stood up to suppress the Colin family, just as Shalatath and the others advised.
But on the other side of the coin, Abaddon got wind of his existence and realized the Corpse-Emperor was meddling in the real universe. To seal the deal on the Imperium's defeat, Abaddon went all-out, sending more troops to hunt down Belisarius Cawl's party.
He brought in Chaos warlords like Warsmith Honsou and Lucius the Eternal. Heroes of the Imperium—Black Templar Marshal Amalrich, Inquisitor Greyfax, and even the Living Saint Celestine—bit the dust trying to protect Archmagos Cawl before he reached Macragge.
When the Aeldari and Cawl finally worked together to resurrect Guilliman, countless Chaos warbands attacked, plunging all of Macragge into a frantic war.
Calgar and his men fought like cornered animals, and countless loyal soldiers died, but they couldn't hold the line.
Finally, a squad of Black Legion Berzerkers slipped past the besieged Ultramarines, destroyed the Armor of Fate, and chopped off the Primarch's head with a single sword.
Guilliman was never resurrected; Macragge fell. Calgar watched his Primarch's head roll away and lost his mind. The Ultramarines, the poster children of the Imperium, went completely off the rails with vengeful rage.
They launched scorched-earth offensives, destroying everything in sight. Macragge itself was blown to smithereens.
The Ultramarines weren't done.
They launched a revenge crusade, squeezing every last drop of war potential from the five hundred worlds of Ultramar.
Hunting Chaos minions, Calgar, Sicarius, and Ventris bit off more than they could chew and were trapped by the forces of Khorne.
Calgar completely fell off the deep end, becoming a slave to Khorne, consumed by the endless slaughter.
Without Guilliman's leadership, the Imperium fell apart. The strongest Space Marines had descended into madness and began issuing Exterminatus orders everywhere. The entire galaxy ignited, and order collapsed completely.
When the Lion, Primarch of the First Legion, finally returned, he was looking at an impossible situation.
His former dark apostles—the Fallen—were back and raising hell. Most of the galaxy was engulfed in flames, and Daemons were running rampant.
He did his best, desperately gathering remaining troops and fighting on every front, but the Imperium was in total chaos. Communications had gone dark, and the Astronomican was useless.
Eventually, he was surrounded by the Butcher's Nail-driven Angron and his Khorne army. Under the desperate cover of the Fallen Angels, the Lion escaped, seriously injured, but everything he had tried to build was reduced to ruins.
On Baal, the Blood Angels and their successors never got the rescue Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade would have brought.
They fought to the bitter end, ultimately perishing in rage. Sanguinius's body was devoured by the Tyranid swarm, who used it to create a new, terrifying strain of creature.
The Calixis Sector, under Daniel's command, had been doing great. Warmaster, Mordecai, and the combat players collected STC fragments and Xenos tech for Arale to devour, making their technology more and more advanced.
Farming and tech players like Doraemon and Fred built vast fortresses and created devastating weapons like the Colossus Fleet and the Star Wave Cannon.
Plans for Gundams and even reactivating the Webway were on the drawing board.
But with the Primarchs either dead, corrupted, or seriously wounded, the Chaos Gods turned the full force of their attention on Daniel.
They started seducing the ignorant masses and inciting revolt, unleashing new plagues to cause panic, and sending endless Daemonic armies that wore Daniel down.
At first, Daniel could hold the line and even put the Daemons through the wringer. But as the Eye of Terror expanded, the Daemons' power grew stronger.
The technology he had painstakingly developed was either contaminated by the enemy or shot down by raw Warp energy. His territory shrank by the day until he was finally pushed back to Planet Atomal.
In the end, he faced Abaddon the Despoiler, who was jacked up by all Four Gods. Daniel landed a punch on the Black Legion leader, but Abaddon beat him into a bloody pulp, just like Sanguinius.
The galaxy plunged into total despair, becoming a mere playground for the Gods.
The dream ended with humanity's despair devouring the last shred of the Emperor's humanity. A black sun rose over Terra, and the galaxy was burned to cinders in destructive fire.
Daniel woke up drenched in a cold sweat.
He had the power of foresight, and he knew deep down this dream was likely a glimpse of the future. Destiny was a delicate thing; even Gods and Primarchs couldn't fully control it.
No one knew what kind of butterfly effect his arrival and the players' presence would cause.
"I've got to get to Macragge. I need to see Guilliman resurrected with my own two eyes," Daniel muttered to himself.
He was scared stiff. If they lost, the players could just walk away.
He couldn't.
Atomal was doing fine. The Calixis Sector was a mess, but the Imperial Army hadn't completely gone belly-up. He could send a squad of players to Macragge and use the Holy Advent skill to zip back and forth, managing both crises.
"Sir Guide," Faraday's voice rang out from outside the lounge.
"What's the trouble?" Daniel asked.
"The meeting is about to start. Should we delay it?"
"No need, I'll be right there," Daniel said, standing up.
He washed up and got his thoughts in order.
Arriving at the meeting, Daniel put his foot down, shutting down any preamble and getting straight to the point.
"I'm leading my troops to reinforce Macragge."
Everyone in the room was taken aback. Why would the Guide travel halfway across the galaxy? The Ultramarines had tons of successor Chapters; surely they didn't need them to bail them out?
"My Lord," Shalatath pleaded, "The Calixis Sector is in the trenches; those trapped in despair need you here."
"I don't have a choice," Daniel insisted.
"You can't abandon them!" Shalatath begged. "Running around trying to put out every fire will just run you ragged, and you'll save nothing in the end!
Save the people of Calixis! The rebellion started by the Corrin family will lead to countless deaths. You're the only one who can stop this."
Daniel shook his head. "Archmagos Cawl is trying to resurrect the Ultramarines Primarch. The Imperium is falling apart, and I can't fix this single-handedly.
If Roboute Guilliman returns, he's the best shot the Imperium has. The Black Legion is pulling out all the stops to stop the resurrection. I have to be there to ensure the safe return of one of the Emperor's sons."
"Captain Lothar will stay here to call the shots, and I promise you I will return the moment the battle for Macragge is over. I'm not abandoning you, and I'm not abandoning the people of this star sector."
Daniel won the room over and ordered everyone to prepare for the urgent trip to Macragge.
After the meeting, Daniel edited a new player task.
Mission: Rush to Macragge's Aid
Archmagos Belisarius Cawl is heading to Macragge, transporting the Armor of Fate. Abaddon the Despoiler has sent his hounds to hunt them down. The Four Chaos Gods are watching from the sidelines as humanity makes its final stand. We must ensure the safe delivery of the Armor of Fate and the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines.
Players who wish to travel to Macragge can sign up with Major General Aang.
Registration Requirement: Must be LV10 or above.
Guaranteed Reward: 25,000 Contribution Points, 300 Honor Points.
Bonus: A reward will be given for every Chaos enemy killed. Players who make major contributions to the Primarch's resurrection will receive additional rewards.
+++Daily Thought: Loyalty is our life+++