The emperor raised his hands in the air and clenched, the entire square fell silent in an instant.
"I have one more matter to announce." The Emperor's voice thundered across the halls of the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra.
The citizens of the Imperium who had been cheering, along with the assembled officials, turned their eyes to the radiant golden figure.
Everyone prepared themselves to hear the words of the Master of Mankind.
"Today, I shall introduce you to someone, someone of great importance to me." At the Emperor's gesture, Kasha drew a deep breath.
Dressed in a long robe of pale violet, with a psychic staff in her hand, she slowly stepped forward to stand beside Him.
The sight of this mysterious woman appearing at the Emperor's side stirred great curiosity among the people.
Even Horus and Rogal Dorn, both Primarchs, wore expressions of wonder.
This woman clearly possessed the aura of a powerful psyker, and she had long been seen in the company of Axis.
They had assumed she was merely Axis's servant. Now it seemed she had another, far greater identity.
Among the Primarchs, only the Lion, Lion El'Jonson, knew Kasha's true nature. Even Russ remained ignorant.
"You may wonder who she is. I declare to you now: she is my daughter. My natural born daughter, the First Princess of the Imperium." The Emperor proclaimed Kasha's identity with solemn pride.
At once, an uproar surged among the gathered citizens and Terran officials. None had imagined that the Emperor possessed a daughter.
Even the two Primarchs were stunned. Their father had a daughter? Then she was their sister?
"Kasha was born centuries ago. Like me, she is a Perpetual, blessed with eternal life and unending youth. For a long time, she carried out secret missions on my behalf. It was she who sought out and guided the new Primarch, Axis, back to me. Only recently did she return to the Imperium at my side. She is the elder sister to all Primarchs," said the Emperor.
Over the long ages, the Emperor had sired many children, yet only Kasha had inherited the gift of near-perpetuality.
The offspring of mortal women could not bear his eternal nature. Their lives might stretch longer than common men, but in the end, they were still mortal.
The Emperor's true consort, his only true consort, had always been Erda, though circumstance and strife had at times driven them apart.
Each had taken others as companions.
Until the day when tragedy struck.
Their bond was shattered utterly, and even his daughter had been drawn into that act, believing she aided her mother in righteousness, yet in truth bringing harm upon her brothers.
The Emperor's fierce protection of the Primarchs arose from his foresight and the curses of the Chaos Gods. He knew full well half of his sons would betray him. Keeping them on Terra, raising them under his direct guidance, would have at least delayed the inevitable.
But Erda's misguided choices and the whispers of Chaos had cast the Primarchs to the far corners of the galaxy, leaving many beyond his reach.
Now, at last, Kasha had repented of her error and worked to atone by guiding Axis, humanity's mightiest champion save only the Emperor himself. She had restored her father's trust.
Unlike the Emperor, Axis had no need to constantly restrain his power against the threat warp. His future growth knew no bounds. He was a card the imperium couldn't afford to lose.
"Father… You mean, Lady Kasha—she is our sister?" Horus asked in astonishment from the Emperor's side.
He had assumed she was a younger sister.
To learn she was an elder sibling struck him deeply. He was not the firstborn child of the Emperor after all. Even though he wasn't the first primarch in title, he was still the first to be recovered, and that had held meaning. But now,
The thought stung.
Horus had always cherished that title, seeing it as a badge of his father's trust, a near-sacred distinction.
"Yes," the Emperor replied with a smile, "Kasha is your elder sister in every true sense of the word."
Unlike his other mortal children, Kasha had inherited his psychic might and his unending nature. After being strengthened by Axis's ki, her power had grown further, and her perpetual nature had begun to awaken fully.
The Primarchs had been fashioned from the Emperor's and Erda's essence. Kasha, too, was born of both. Thus she was not merely their sister in spirit, but in blood.
Rogal Dorn, calmer than Horus, stepped forward. He inclined his head with formal respect and said:
"It is an honor to meet you.
"Greetings, First Princess of the Imperium, eldest daughter of our father, and sister to us all."
For him, it was simply the addition of an elder sister. His loyalty and duty remained unchanged.
Kasha smiled warmly as she accepted Rogal Dorn's bow, then turned her gaze to Horus, who was still frozen in surprise.
"Greetings, Brother Dorn, Brother Horus," she said with gentle grace.
At last, Horus recovered from his daze.
He stepped forward, bowed slightly, and addressed her.
"Greetings, Sister Kasha!" He acknowledged her with respect, though a faint sense of loss lingered in his heart.
He reminded himself that he was still the Emperor's first son, still his most trusted child. The presence of an elder sister did not change that.
"Praise the Emperor, praise the First Princess of the Imperium!"
"All blessings upon the Princess!"
"Welcome home, Princess!"
On the plaza of Holy Terra, countless citizens showered the air with flowers, celebrating the return of the Emperor's daughter.
It was truly a day of significance: not only had a new Primarch been revealed to the Imperium, but the Emperor's daughter had returned as well.
Yet beyond the jubilant palace square, a robed woman stood apart, her gaze complicated as she watched the Emperor and Kasha upon the high dais.
Kasha… she had been forgiven.
She had even been released from the dungeons. What had happened to make this possible?
And that new Primarch…he did not seem to be one of those she remembered hidden beneath the Himalazian.
She had no recollection of him at all.
Erda had long lived in hiding, yet something, someone had drawn her back here, to Holy Terra, the very place she had once fought for.
The Emperor had been convinced she had fallen to Chaos. But in truth her will had always been her own; she had never acted against it.
After that calamity, she had withdrawn with a portion of the Thunder Warriors, vanishing.
Only days ago had she secretly returned to Terra.
Now the Emperor narrowed his eyes, for within the crowd, he had glimpsed her.
Even at such distance, he knew her instantly. The woman he had once loved most dearly, and hated most bitterly.
Erda.
He had always known where she hid. With a single command, his Custodians could have hunted her down. She could never have escaped.
Yet he had never sent them. To others, he could be merciless, destroying any who threatened humanity's survival. yet.
Some small part of him still hoped she might return, might repent, might at last admit the grievou error of her choices.
Axis too had noticed.
Narrowing his eyes, he sensed through his ki the immense presence hidden below. Unlike ordinary mortals, he could perceive the sheer vitality radiating from her perpetual body.
A female Perpetual, watched with conflicted eyes by the Emperor.
Axis did not need to guess further.
He thought grimly to himself: 'What would the Emperor do now? Leave her be, or demand she pay for scattering the Primarchs to the stars?'
Yet knowing the Emperor's nature, Axis suspected the answer. If he had wished vengeance, Erda would have long been dead.
This woman was fated to perish during the Siege of Terra, slain by Erebus.
Pitiful fool, Axis thought. She believed herself free of Chaos, but she had always been a pawn. Her so-called free will was nothing but the illusion Chaos allowed her to see.
She had feared that the Primarchs, serving beside their father, would make the Emperor a tyrant and condemn the galaxy to misery. But in truth, it was her actions that sowed the ruin of the Age of the Imperium.
"What are you looking at?"
The Emperor's golden light blazed outward as he waved to the cheering people, but his mind brushed against Axis's through psychic communion.
Though Axis had only glanced once, the Emperor had already discerned what he had noticed.
Axis replied slyly, "I have good news, father. I just sensed another Perpetual among the crow below. You know of my ki, I can sense things with life clearly. And she's standing there like a beacon in my sight."
"There are many Perpetuals in this world," the Emperor answered, though his expression was strained, "Perhaps she has come only to observe."
"Father-in-law," Axis pressed, his tone light, "the Imperium has great need of every hand. I sense her psychic might, it is formidable, scarcely weaker than Lord Malcador himself.
"Compared to Kasha, she is only slightly lesser. Surely she could be of use. Shall I attempt to persuade her?"
The Emperor said nothing.
...
Here's your second chapter! also powerstones!