"The Imperium of Man has actually declined to this extent! This isn't the empire I wanted to see! This isn't the empire I woke to after 8,000 years," Vulkan shook his head and said.
During the 32nd millennium, he lived in seclusion on a human world, but the Beast Wars broke out.
He couldn't stay out of it—he was a Primarch, and when humanity faced catastrophe, he had to step forward, no matter the cost.
On that planet, he led Imperial forces against the ancient warlord Beasts. In the end, he perished together with the warlord Beast. According to his Perpetual nature, he was destined to resurrect soon after—reborn once again.
But his tremendous power attracted the attention of the two Ork gods. The Ork gods used some method to snatch his soul from the material universe and imprison him in the Warp.
During those days of captivity, the two Ork gods' favorite pastime was to fight each other, venting their boundless energy.
Apart from the initial period, the Ork gods lost interest in him, and over time, it was as if the two gods completely forgot about him.
He remained in the corner, until one day, a Harlequin snuck into the Ork gods' abode and spirited him away.
After several months, he finally rebuilt his body on an unknown planet, thanks to the clone body the Harlequin had brought.
Without that clone shell, his resurrection could have taken centuries.
He'd thought his father, the Emperor, had struck a deal with the Harlequin god to bring him back, and that the Emperor's situation should now be much improved. But after ten thousand years, the news he received was that the Imperium was in even worse shape than in the 32nd millennium!
Especially in the past millennium—the challenges humanity faced surpassed even the calamities of the Golden Age.
If he hadn't been captured by the Ork gods and locked in the Warp, he would have stood up immediately, leading the Imperium back on track. No matter how much he disliked it, that was his responsibility as a Primarch.
But it didn't seem too late—his father needed him now more than ever.
"But! Everything started to improve a little over two years ago—a most unexpected human appeared.
He brought new hope to this decaying Imperium, and gave us Eldar new hope as well. The last two years have been more eventful than the previous tens of thousands combined.
We've recorded many dramas about him. If you're interested, we can show you a performance when we arrive.
The Eye of Terror, the Fall of Cadia, the great battle between the purple daemon and the golden giant, the Battle of Baal against the Tyranid swarm, and the Holy Terra War! Each a dazzling spectacle. We've documented every battle we could."
The Eldar Harlequin in front of him piloted a small craft, chattering away to Vulkan, who had just been resurrected.
He recounted the Battle of Cadia at the end of the 41st millennium, half the human worlds falling into the Imperium's dark side, the Primarch Roboute Guilliman's awakening, and subsequently, the return of two more Primarchs.
The Imperium then underwent sweeping reforms, with legions restored. Later, another Primarch—Magnus—returned.
Guilliman was the key. Without his return, the Imperium would have faced utter disaster. In these cruel times, only Guilliman's awakening could truly benefit humanity.
But what surprised Vulkan most was the existence of a new brother and sister—new Primarchs. It seemed their father had been busy!
Yet, compared to new siblings, he was more concerned about Magnus's return. How could Magnus come back? Over ten thousand years ago, he'd defected to the Chaos gods.
"You said Magnus returned to the Imperium, and was even accepted by all the people. How's that possible?" Vulkan asked.
"We were surprised too when we heard. But the Emperor's explanation was that Magnus had been sent as an undercover agent among the Chaos gods to gather intelligence.
Magnus sacrificed for all mankind! He accepted infamy, allowed himself to be corrupted by Chaos, and even gave up his original body.
And since his return, the Imperium has been much more adept at fighting daemons.
Now, the Imperium has developed a new type of psyker—Warlocks—who can fight Chaos with Warp power.
At present, Warlocks are only a small part of the military, mainly among the aristocratic orders and some Chapter librarians. They wield mysterious spells that not only destroy daemons but can even enslave them through certain contracts," the Harlequin explained.
Truth be told, the Eldar were very interested in these new human psykers! In terms of psychic might, no race in the galaxy could rival the Eldar. Every Eldar was born a master of psychic energy.
Especially now, with the Warp and reality so entwined, Eldar psykers were stronger than ever.
Sadly, the Warlock profession was just starting. It was only spreading among the upper echelons, not yet mainstream. Some Eldar even suggested capturing trained Warlocks to extract their secrets by force, but the proposal was rejected by the High Farseer of the Seers, the Death Jester Grand Farseer, and the Harlequin Troupe leader.
The Eldar used to disregard human feelings—if a single Eldar could be saved by destroying a human world, so be it.
But now the two races were allied, and the cooperation was going extremely well.
Thanks to humanity, the Eldar were living much better. Human merchants no longer feared Corsairs.
So, to turn on an ally over a few psychic techniques would be irrational.
"I never imagined things would turn out this way! But, knowing Magnus, he's the most likely to develop Chaos sorcery," Vulkan nodded.
There must be hidden secrets—those brothers who turned to Chaos lost their human bodies, transformed into daemon princes by the gods, their souls and demi-god powers devoured.
To bring them back, it wasn't enough for them to want it—they'd have to be freed from the Chaos gods' control, given new bodies, and have their souls restored.
Creating a new body wasn't hard—cloning a Primarch wasn't a problem.
The real challenge was freeing a Chaos Primarch from the gods' grasp.
Undivided Chaos was easier, but the four who served the four gods were the hardest to recover.
Magnus, the servant of Tzeentch—the most cunning of all—was the most difficult.
And restoring a Primarch's demi-god soul was even harder! Father, how did you do it?
If Magnus could return, what about the other fallen brothers?
"You're asking the wrong person! When we arrive in the Imperium, ask your father or your brother Magnus yourself," the Harlequin said.
"I will. Your ships seem to have advanced greatly in ten thousand years. This ship can travel between stars without entering the Webway—a remarkable technology," Vulkan observed.
He'd expected them to use the Webway to reach Holy Terra, but this ship traveled FTL through real space! The Imperium would kill for this tech, yet here the Xenos had mastered it.
"This ship? Hahaha! Don't envy us. It was your humans who developed this. You've recovered FTL engines from the Golden Age, and they're being installed everywhere.
They only work for short-range jumps—500 to 1,000 lightyears—otherwise the Warp is faster.
You're mass-producing some engines, refitting your battle barges, but it'll take time," the Harlequin explained.
No wonder the Death Jester Grand Farseer considered the trade worthwhile—trading away some dignity for a mothership and a dozen small ships was a bargain!
The Lord of the Salamanders was reeling. What had happened in these two years? Humanity achieved FTL travel? The times had changed too fast!
He felt out of place. After ten days of travel, they rendezvoused a few lightyears from Holy Terra.
For the first time, Vulkan was led onto a medium-sized Pedan ship, heavily modified by the Eldar—twice as large, filled with wraithbone tech, and an exotic Eldar style.
Following the Harlequins, Vulkan saw Craftworld Eldar, Exodites, Corsairs, and even Dark Eldar all gathered together.
Soon, he was led before a tall, stunningly beautiful Eldar woman.
"Grand Prophet, as you ordered, I've brought him,"
"Thank you. Go rest," Yvraine smiled, then turned to the newly resurrected Vulkan.
Faced with this Eldar woman, Vulkan was instantly on guard, breaking into a cold sweat. He sensed an overwhelming, indescribable pressure.
It was monstrous, as if this was not a delicate Eldar maiden but a humanoid beast!
A single misstep and she could unleash unimaginable power and tear him apart.
No wonder his father, who once viewed Xenos as insects, had allied with the Eldar—this Death Prophet's power far surpassed ordinary Primarchs! Even several Primarchs together might not beat her.
"Greetings, honored Vulkan. On behalf of the Emperor and Primarch Rhodes, I am here to bring you back to Holy Terra," Yvraine radiated terrifying, beast-like energy.
"Greetings, honored Death Prophet. Thank you all for your trouble," Vulkan replied politely.
Their first meeting was formal and polite, satisfying Yvraine's vanity.
Since merging with the cosmic phoenix and receiving the goddess's blessing, she was undoubtedly the Eldar's strongest.
But this meant nothing before Rhodes—if he wished, he could destroy her.
Now, at least, she could regain her pride before an old-model Primarch.