The massive warp rift in the sky above Holy Terra had already been sealed. Next, it was time to clear out the remaining demonic armies on Terra, as well as those besieging other planets in the Solar System.
This time, the Emperor was extremely exhausted. After the war ended, he couldn't even relight the Astronomican right away. His psychic strength had been drained to the extreme. The Dark Emperor reappeared, taunting the Emperor in various ways—even mocking Magnus.
"Look! Your good son is back. He once hurt you so badly and forced you onto the Golden Throne, and yet you chose to forgive him. But you still refuse to accept yourself."
The Dark Emperor was in high spirits. The previous Dark Giant had absorbed much of his power, leaving him extremely weak, suppressed by the Emperor for several months.
Then the Chaos Gods made things even worse, weakening the Emperor's light side beyond imagination, nearly to the point where he could no longer suppress his dark self.
"Shut up, this isn't your place to speak," said the Emperor's soul.
Over these ten thousand years, this split-off dark personality of his had become humanity's biggest problem!
"Why haven't you relit the Astronomican to maintain warp navigation? Two days have passed already. By now, many human ships in the warp must be damaged, right?
Your beloved humanity might even face extinction because of this," the Dark Emperor said.
If the Emperor relit the Astronomican, he would have to expend even more power to keep it burning. That would be the Dark Emperor's chance—darkness could take over, allowing him to rise from the Golden Throne.
"I know what you're thinking, Dark King. I won't let you succeed!
Humanity survived a warp storm over ten thousand years ago. Every human world lost contact, but our species endured.
At most, I'll rest for a month before relighting the Astronomican. When that time comes, you still won't be able to stir up trouble.
Though I'm weak now, I can still feel countless humans believing in me, with endless psychic energy flowing into my body, into my soul," the Emperor replied.
When it comes to resilience, humanity has never lost. The Iron Men Rebellion ten thousand years ago had weakened humanity so much, yet many worlds still maintained high civilization, even if countless others regressed to primitive societies.
But overall, humanity retained its dominance of the galaxy, unlike the Aeldari whose empire utterly collapsed. Humanity's terrifying reproductive ability made up for many flaws.
A planet, given just a few decades of peace, would see two or three generations grow up.
This time, there were fewer than a hundred million survivors on Terra. But as long as some people were relocated from nearby hive worlds, Holy Terra would soon prosper again. Countless imperial nobles would fight tooth and nail just to live there.
As long as humanity preserves even a single world, it can quickly regain its strength and dominate the galaxy once more.
The Imperium's dark side had lost contact, but it wasn't totally collapsed—humans continued to resist.
"Hahaha! Yes, prayers make you stronger, but despair, fear, and hatred make me stronger too. Do you think I'm standing still?
The way the Imperium is now, those who hate you outnumber those who pray to you. I can feel it. Soon, my power will surpass yours. Then, I'll ascend as the fifth Chaos God."
"You're overthinking it, Dark Emperor. Even if you break free, don't forget there are already four Chaos Gods in the warp. They don't want a fifth rival to join their great game.
If you destroy humanity and ascend like Slaanesh, the four will immediately shatter your soul and devour you," the Emperor threatened.
He was right: although most people still prayed to the Emperor, more and more, especially in the Imperium's dark side, were beginning to hate him.
This was inevitable. Luckily, there was the Ecclesiarchy. While they mythologized him, it was undeniable that Logar's methods had their merits—focusing all human worship on him increased the power of the dark side's faith.
But the Emperor reminded the Dark Emperor: if you really rise up and become the fifth Chaos God, the four will attack in an instant and devour you before you even succeed.
"That's why I need to keep gathering power. Don't forget—I am you! I'm your dark side, but at my core, I'm still the Emperor.
My dark powers aren't enough to fight the Four but don't forget what we truly possess.
Once I ascend, that thing will awaken. Even the Four together wouldn't be my match," said the Dark Emperor.
If he could fully control the Dark King's power, the power of despair and darkness across the universe, the Four Chaos Gods would be no match for him.
"Would you still be yourself then?
You're just my dark side. But you are not the Dark King. If you want to die, do it now.
I'd like to see if you can really control that dark power," the Emperor sneered.
"Heh!" The Dark Emperor gave a cold laugh.
Rhodes, sitting nearby, listened to the entire conversation between the two Emperors. Clearly, the Emperor had many secrets.
He had thought the Dark Emperor was the Dark King, but now he realized that wasn't the case. The Dark Emperor was just the Emperor's dark side—a product of twisted despair. If he truly were the Dark King, the Emperor would have been destroyed the moment he gained self-awareness.
Too bad Daram wasn't here—otherwise, he could drain more power from the Dark Emperor.
Who knew when the next Dark Giant statue would appear, or if they could make something else to absorb the Dark Emperor's power?
The stronger the Emperor, the more he could delay the birth of the Dark King.
"Rhodes! You still have that Dark Sword, right? Stick it into the Golden Throne.
That sword can absorb some dark power. While I'm recovering, we can't let this guy's strength grow," the Emperor said to Rhodes.
Even though the Dark Giant was gone, Rhodes still had the Empera Sword. Daram had placed a special seal on it, allowing it to absorb the Emperor's dark side power.
It wasn't as strong as the Dark Giant's absorption, but it would still weaken the Dark Emperor.
"Hmph! My first act upon gaining freedom will be to kill you. Second, I'll kill this bastard. And that one who stole my power," the Dark Emperor snorted, then sank back into hiding.
Rhodes stood up, drew Empera Blade, and plunged it into the Golden Throne, letting it continue to absorb dark energy.
With the sword's help, the Emperor no longer needed to suppress the dark side by himself and could recover much faster.
"Emperor, why have your fragmented sub-personalities all disappeared? When I came before, I sensed over a hundred weak consciousnesses around you," Rhodes asked.
"You helped me suppress my dark side, so I finally had time to deal with them. Now all those fragments have been absorbed into my main self," the Emperor replied.
The last time Daram absorbed his power, it greatly benefited the Emperor, allowing him to unify his fragmented minds—leaving only two: one light, one dark.
So this time when Guilliman came to visit, the Emperor didn't appear as a hundred different personalities as in the original.
Rhodes had repaired the Golden Throne, weakened the Dark Emperor, and strengthened the Emperor himself, stirring up a storm in the Warhammer universe.
"My scientists can upgrade your Golden Throne. The Astronomican's range will be wider, illuminating even the dark side of the Imperium," Rhodes said.
"Thank you, Rhodes. I knew I was right about you!
I can't relight the Astronomican yet, but I can use my psychic light to guide your ships back to Terra," the Emperor replied.
"Actually, I have another way to bring them directly here," Rhodes smiled.
He hadn't been sure Terra was safe, so he made everyone travel slowly. But now, with the system's power, he could just recall the ships instantly.