"Hahaha! I have you to thank for this, Khorne," Axis's voice was no longer the roar of a Great Ape, but a deep growl edged with primal ferocity, "As thanks, you will be the first to witness the power of Super Saiyan 4!"
His body was now covered in crimson fur, and his long, black hair cascaded down like a wild lion's mane. A tail was wrapped securely around his waist, and he emanated an aura of raw, untamed power.
This new strength was utterly different from that of the Golden Great Ape.
The two forms were on completely separate tiers of power; Axis was now far stronger than ever before. The amplification from Super Saiyan 4 surpassed his wildest imagination. Unlike Super Saiyan 2 or 3, transformations that placed a heavy burden on the body and could not be sustained for long, Super Saiyan 4 felt more like the original Super Saiyan transformation. It was a more natural state.
Perhaps this was the true, primordial form of the Saiyan race.
"Hahaha, fascinating! Truly fascinating!" Khorne's laughter boomed. This battle was proving to be more entertaining than he had anticipated.
The Blood God roared and charged forward, swinging his colossal, blood-red axe down with furious might.
This time, however, Axis simply raised one hand and caught the blade. He stopped the attack with casual ease, pinching the enormous axe head between two fingers. Khorne's great axe was stopped in its tracks, unable to move another inch.
"What?!" An expression of disbelief crossed Khorne's face. How could this be? The very being he had been dominating just moments ago had achieved such a level of power in an instant.
"Don't be too surprised. The power of my people defies logic," Axis said with a slight smile. "Combat is the best catalyst for a Saiyan's growth. A single intense battle can grant me more progress than a decade of hard training."
With a gentle squeeze, the massive axe in Khorne's grasp shattered into pieces. The power of Super Saiyan 4 was far beyond anything the Chaos God could have imagined.
A cruel grin spread across Axis's lips. He balled his other hand into a fist and drove it into Khorne's abdomen.
An immense shockwave erupted.
The punch tore straight through Khorne's daemonic form, vaporizing his entire upper body in the process.
"Kagh…!"
Khorne's reconstructed armor cracked and shattered as blood like molten magma spewed from the wound that seemed to persist even through the reconstruction.
For the first time, shock flickered in his eyes, quickly followed by an even greater surge of excitement.
"Your power… how could it increase so much so suddenly?" Khorne asked, his interest piqued. "You have the ability to change forms, and with each transformation, your combat strength multiplies."
In the brief time it took for them to speak, Khorne's wound and the armour had already sealed and healed completely.
Axis gave no answer.
His figure vanished and reappeared in an instant behind Khorne, lashing out with a whip-like kick that descended like a battle axe.
With a deafening crack, Khorne's back caved in from the impact, and his body was sent hurtling through the blood-red domain like a meteor. The terrifying shockwave from the crash swept across the entire domain.
Axis frowned. Beings with this kind of immortality were always the most difficult to deal with.
Axis seized Khorne's avatar, launched them both into the sky, and began to deliver a merciless beating.
The flurry of blows was so ferocious that the Blood God had no chance to react. The raw, visceral feeling of each punch connecting filled Axis with savage satisfaction.
"Become my Chosen Champion, Axis! I can give you everything!" Khorne bellowed amidst the assault, "If you are willing, I will even use my full power to help you become the fifth Chaos God. I give you my word."
The only reply he received was Axis's iron fist. To believe the words of a Chaos God was the mark of a true fool.
"Enough of your nonsense. Right now, all I want to do is put you down."
Axis crossed his hands over his chest as crimson energy converged around him with insane intensity.
His tail whipped up, and scarlet lightning crackled around his body. The very fabric of the Warp trembled under the sheer pressure of his Super Saiyan 4 energy.
"Super Kamehameha !"
An overwhelming torrent of destructive energy poured forth. Trapped within the blinding beam, Khorne's avatar let out a defiant roar before it was utterly obliterated, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.
The battle was won.
In that moment, Axis's power had thoroughly surpassed that of his previous Golden Great Ape form.
He would never transform into that rampaging beast again; by mastering Super Saiyan 4, he had finally gained complete control over the power of the Great Ape.
The blood-red energy permeating the environment dissipated completely.
Within the formless void of the Warp, Axis floated alone, the aura of his Super Saiyan 4 state burning like a magnificent flame.
Axis clenched his fist, feeling the boundless energy surging within him. But this was not his limit. He knew it was not the limit of a Saiyan.
A grin stretched across his face, and the fighting spirit in his beast-like pupils burned with a raging intensity.
However that grin quickly faded
Now, how was he supposed to get out? The Warp rift through which he had entered seemed to have vanished completely, not to mention the sphear of he had left behind to safeguard the rift. He had senesed it disappearing mid battle, but he was in no condition to do anything about it at that time.
He knew something was off about this whole situation before he even entered the rift. And now it seems, he had indeed thoroughly fallen for the trap. Who knew how long he had been fighting and how much time passed in the outside world.
He vaguely recalled hearing someone calling his name during his battle with Slaanesh.
"Can I somehow sense the Astronomican?"
…
In the distant depths of the Immaterium, four terrifying wills turned their attention to the event.
The pleasure of Slaanesh, the schemes of Tzeentch, the decay of Nurgle, and the war of Khorne.
The true form of the Blood God rose abruptly from his Brass Throne, slamming his colossal gore-splattered axe onto the ground.
"Interesting! So very interesting!" Khorne's true voice echoed through the Warp. "Axis, you whelp, I will remember you! We will fight again one day. I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent."
It was a truly amusing outcome.
The mighty avatar he had created, a being whose power could only be fully unleashed within the Warp, had actually been defeated by this mortal. Had such a manifestation appeared in the material universe, it would have been invincible. But alas.
Khorne's gaze shifted to another battlefield. There, the man named Horus was engaged in a frenzied slaughter. To gain the strength to confront the Emperor, he was enduring a trial of war that had lasted for millennia.
It was still not enough. His power was still lacking.
"Horus, my boy, you must become stronger. We have prepared gifts for you."
On a chaotic battlefield, Horus led his legions of daemons against another massive daemonic host. Here, in the timeless expanse of the Warp, the Chaos Gods had provided him with an infinite stretch of time and an endless supply of soldiers.
His black armor now shimmered with the light of Chaos. The Imperial Warmaster was a changed man. The Horus of old had been a man of grace and charisma, but the being who stood here now was a ruthless and cold Warmaster of Chaos.
"It seems your plan was a success," Horus said, looking up at the manifestation of Khorne that had appeared before him, "Axis has no idea how long he has truly been trapped here."
Horus thought. The concept of time does not exist in the Warp. You have already forgotten how long you have been fighting, have you not? Did you think it was just a moment? It was not.
"Heh, there is no concept of time here," a blue, avian figure cawed as it appeared, "You can wage war for ten thousand years, while he can fight for a few hours. You saw the battle just now. We have some good news and some bad news for you. Which would you like to hear first?"
Axis was the only variable in the grand plan he had once created. Once they removed the variable, it became easier for the things he had set in motion to finally bear fruit.
One of these fruits was the imp that was standing before him, he was still being played by the four, despite all that Axis had done to change the final outcome.
"My current strength is no match for Axis," Horus stated, his voice flat, "What was this method you spoke of before, the one that would increase my power?"
The good news, he assumed, had to be the way to enhance his strength. As for the bad news, he would deal with it later. He had already fallen so far; how much worse could things possibly get?
"The good news is that the battles Slaanesh and I had with Axis resulted in us isolating a massive amount of his Ki," Khorne explained, "This Ki, when paired with the blessing of our own Warp energies, can be used to strengthen you."
Horus was their collective choice. To achieve a certain goal, the four of them had entered into a brief alliance.
The Ki Axis had unleashed in his battles had reached a truly astonishing level, and they had isolated every last bit of it to be used.
Now, they would use it, combined with their own blessings, to empower Horus and elevate his strength to an unimaginable degree.
"Then what is the bad news?" Horus asked.
"What bad news? Do not frighten the child. I would say it is two pieces of good news!" a corpulent, green being said as he waddled forward, carrying a bubbling cauldron, "Little Horus, you must first consume this special broth I have so carefully brewed. It is a concoction I designed especially for you. Then you can attempt to absorb this new power.
"Once you have absorbed this to strengthen your body, and with the divine blessings from the four of us, you will finally gain the power to contend with Axis and the Emperor."
How could drinking his carefully crafted life-giving soup be considered bad news? The others were just spouting nonsense.
Horus's brow furrowed, his expression turning grim. So this was the bad news. Aside from Nurgle's own followers and daemons, who in their right mind would want to drink a brew made by the Plaguefather?
"Come, drink up!" Nurgle urged with a sickening cheerfulness, "I added some special ingredients! They will be very beneficial for you and will greatly enhance your strength."
The Warp was a reflection of the material universe. No matter what appeared in reality, it would produce a warped reflection within the Immaterium. This was a fundamental rule of the cosmos, something that could not be changed.
Something like, for example, a certain special kind of fruit. While it was wraped by the nature of the wrap, the essence remained the same.
Taking a deep breath, Horus stepped forward, took the cauldron of green soup, and drank it all in one go.
The voices of the four gods boomed in unison as they watched Horus begin to absorb the new power. "Let us see how far you can evolve!"
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... ps?