You're the War God of the Eldar! Now you want to become the War God of humanity?
Rhodes looked at Khaine with a strange expression.
"That might be a bit difficult. Humans don't like gods, and we don't really have a 'War God' concept," Rhodes said.
"How's that possible? From what I've learned, humans have had many War Gods throughout history, whether in myth or in reality.
There's Ares in the West, Tyr in Norse myth – I remember these figures.
Even though they were weak at the time, as humanity set foot among the stars, they grew stronger and stronger!
Until the Emperor completely erased their worship, shattering them into countless fragments," said Khaine.
As a god presiding over war in the galaxy, Khaine knew there had once been many human War Gods in the Warp. Back when humanity hadn't left their homeworld, these gods were weak in the Warp.
So why couldn't he become humanity's new War God? The human population was far, far greater than the Eldar.
And though humanity's psychic power was less than the Eldar's, their sheer numbers made up for everything.
"The problem is, the Emperor does not acknowledge any gods. If you want to be humanity's War God, you'd be making yourself his enemy," Rhodes replied.
What is wrong with this War God? The Emperor went to extreme lengths to prevent Warp gods from influencing humanity!
At the dawn of the Imperium, all faiths were eradicated, every cult ever known on Holy Terra was wiped out.
So, you want to be humanity's War God? That's basically impossible!
The Emperor would never allow such a thing!
"If the Emperor doesn't want any gods, why is he cooperating with Eldar gods? Your wife is even pregnant with a god-child, and you yourself are a god," Khaine asked, coming across like a clueless rookie, leaving Rhodes speechless.
"Let me explain, Khaine," Isha said. "That's because Rhodes is human, with deep ties to the Emperor. My child is half-human, so the Emperor accepts them!
But you're different. You're the Eldar War God, a being born in the Warp. Humans will never worship you; they only shout, 'For the Emperor!' and fight for him."
"I don't need human faith. I just want to become humanity's War God. Every human war would involve me, and I'd use my power to protect their battlefields, making their soldiers stronger. Their combat power increases, and so does my godly power. It's a win-win," Khaine said.
He really didn't understand why Rhodes refused him. Humanity was the most warlike species in the galaxy, second only to Orks!
If such a belligerent race had his blessing, they'd be even mightier. Every soldier would benefit.
"Besides, humans don't acknowledge only one god. There's also the Omnissiah, right? I can't sense him in the Warp at all. Or rather, his faith is being intercepted by another powerful god," Khaine added. Humans don't just worship the Emperor!
"No way. You have no connection to the Emperor, get it? And you're not human," Rhodes shook his head.
This guy's brain was fried after being shattered for ten thousand years! Seriously, is your head full of crap? How did you come up with such nonsense?
"So you're saying, only someone with a tacit connection to the Emperor, and who is human, can be humanity's War God?" Khaine asked, stroking his chin.
"Exactly. So you don't stand a chance. Just stay as the Eldar's War God and lead your people to revival," Rhodes replied.
Finally, this guy recognizes reality!
"But what if I become human? You can clone me a human body, like you did with my Eldar one. Then I'd be human.
As for my relationship with the Emperor, you're his Primarch – so I could be as well. I could even acknowledge the Emperor as my adoptive father!
Or you could be my adoptive father, since you and the Emperor are responsible for my resurrection.
According to human custom, it's like being reborn. Why not adopt me, and I'll be on humanity's side," Khaine said, painting a scene that left Rhodes stunned.
In Rhodes' heart, thousands of wild horses thundered by. Even Aisha was speechless, staring at Khaine.
Khaine's real personality was supremely arrogant and cold. He'd never suggest recognizing someone else as a father, let alone switch bodies!
Rhodes wanted to refuse, but Isha stopped him.
"Rhodes! I think the War God's proposal is great. Why not accept him as your adopted son?
You can use your blood to clone him a new body, making him your genetic offspring," Isha suggested.
The Eldar War God is extremely powerful. Social norms are for ordinary people.
The Emperor's ideas don't fit the entire universe! Sometimes you need both kindness and power. As long as humanity remains dominant, other races can survive too.
If you're human supremacist, you'll be the enemy of all life in the universe.
"Rhodes, you can accept! If you don't want to, use my blood to clone him a Primarch body.
I'll teach you how to make a Primarch. You make the body, then transfer his soul," the Emperor's voice suddenly sounded in Rhodes' mind as he hesitated.
The Emperor had been watching all along. Khaine's resurrection was a big deal. His divine sense always watched Rhodes' palace, observing Khaine's entire revival.
The Emperor wanted to see if the resurrected Khaine was still as stubborn and brutal as before. If so, he'd need to know his attitude toward humanity.
The hardest part of making a Primarch is the soul, and the War God's soul is top-tier.
Essentially, all Warp-born gods, whether of humanity or other sentient races, are Warp creatures. Give them a human body, and they're human.
He'd also observed that this Khaine had truly forgotten his past! He retained War God knowledge, but his personality was no longer the same as the old Khaine.
So, making him a new Primarch wasn't a bad idea. Rhodes' scientists could handle it easily now.
"Fine! Khaine, the Emperor just spoke to me. He agrees for you to become humanity's War God, a Primarch, his adoptive son!
That means you'll have to give up your current body and grow up as an infant, like a new generation Primarch, to be accepted by human society," Rhodes said.
Since the Emperor had spoken, what else could he say?
"Human Emperor, my adoptive father, please accept my bow!
From today, I join humanity, become your son, and fight for the Imperium!" Khaine declared, without shame – or rather, his new personality only retained War God knowledge, not social norms.
He didn't realize how bizarre it was for Khaine to acknowledge the Emperor as his father in the eyes of other Eldar gods!
To him, recognizing the Emperor as father was better than Rhodes. Rhodes was just a Primarch; the Emperor was the true master of humanity. With the Emperor's approval, he'd gain more power as War God.
It was all for strength.
"From now on, you're my 21st son!
You have 21 siblings ahead of you – 20 brothers and one sister," the Emperor said, very satisfied.
He'd gained a War God as a son – that was a major win!
Not only did the Imperium gain another Primarch, but more importantly, humanity's military power would soar.
Rhodes quietly gave the Emperor a thumbs-up. Old man, you've got style. I could never bring myself to create such a big son out of nowhere!
"This body won't work. Give me some time, I'll clone you a human Primarch body.
And no need for any beastification upgrades. You can merge with a cosmic beast right away," Rhodes said.
Primarchs have such high life force, they can directly merge with top cosmic beasts, so the upgraded ex-Red King would fit perfectly!
But now there was a key issue: the human-Eldar alliance had agreed to revive Khaine, while the Eldar had helped revive Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders!
But now the Emperor was stealing the Eldar's War God! If Rhodes were Eldar, he'd be cursing the Emperor to high heaven!
"This body won't go to waste. I can leave some power in it, letting it become my avatar," Khaine said.
With his divine power, this body could become a War God avatar.
"Do whatever you want! Since you want to be human, you'd better start learning about humanity," Rhodes said, waving him off.
Soon, a group of Custodians arrived to take the newly revived Khaine to study human knowledge, while Rhodes ordered his scientists to start cloning a Primarch body.
After Khaine left, Rhodes reached out to the Emperor via psychic power.
"So about our alliance with the Eldar? Isn't this burning the bridge after crossing it? The War God was their hope! They were counting on him and the Death God to revive their race!" Rhodes said.
"What's the problem? We've done our part. Besides, remember the Laughing God helped rescue Vulkan – that deal was set long ago. We've always been drawing Chaos' attention for them.
Their Death God now has a body and can walk the material universe.
The Death God is their prophesied savior. The War God, on the other hand, is seen as a threat," the Emperor replied.
Rhodes was speechless. When it comes to scheming, you're the master, old Emperor! You never leave a scrap behind.
Just like that, you tricked the Eldar's new War God into becoming your Primarch. Impressive!
I need to learn from you!