The power of the Omni-King was far beyond his own. The fact that a God of Destruction could obliterate him in an instant was a reality that grated upon Khorne's very being.
However, after a thorough explanation from Axis on the power structure of the Dragon Ball universe and a fierce debate that followed, Khorne was forced to accept a difficult truth.
The rules of the pantheon from that other universe, or rather that other reality, were far more complete than he had ever conceived.
The vastness of the Dragon Ball reality was beyond imagination, far more complex than a mere twelve parallel universes. Dragon Ball Heroes, the various feature films, and even Dragon Ball GT could all be considered independent parallel worlds. The sheer might of a God of Destruction, capable of annihilating a universe with ease, was clearly something the Four Chaos Gods could only dream of achieving.
Though they styled themselves as multiversal deities, this was more of a symbolic title than a literal one.
Axis had further proof in his own mind. The energy wielded by a God of Destruction was a terrifying concept, a power of fundamental erasure. Ki could be annihilated by it, and the very structure of matter could be undone. Top, a God of Destruction in training, could coat his body in this Destruction Energy and become immune to most Ki-based attacks.
Even when Axis had transformed into his Super Saiyan 4 state, the oppressive aura emanating from the God of Destruction sphere could still stir a primal fear within him. Though Super Saiyan 4 pushed his power to its absolute limit, it had not achieved a qualitative transformation.
It merely channeled the power of a Super Saiyan back to its primal state, becoming the ultimate expression of a mortal Saiyan's strength. Even if he were to transform into a Super Saiyan God or Super Saiyan Blue, he could not claim with certainty that he could break free from the shackles of Destruction Energy. It had taken Vegeta, pushed to the brink of desperation and ascending to his Blue Evolved state, to barely defeat the half-trained God of Destruction, Top. This alone was a testament to their incredible power.
Khorne did not argue these points with Axis for long. After all, without a direct confrontation, who was truly stronger remained unknown.
For the four Chaos Gods of the Warp, their existence was an absolute. As long as the material universe did not perish, the Warp would endure. And as long as the Warp endured, they were immortal. Since their genesis, only the Dark King was thought to pose a theoretical threat to them, and even that was purely theoretical.
"Brother Axis! Then it is settled," Khorne's voice boomed through the clamor of the Warp.
"Yes! It is settled. We will act separately when the time comes," Axis replied.
After finalizing a few more details, Axis took the soul fragment of the Chaos-corrupted Khârn and departed Khorne's domain, returning to the material universe.
Due to the strange flow of time in the Warp, to the Primarchs and Kasha, it seemed as if Axis had only been lost in thought for a few seconds. No one knew that in that fleeting moment, his psychic presence had traveled deep into the heart of the Immaterium and struck a secret bargain with the supreme god of Chaos who resided there. It was a deal that, in some ways, would determine the future course of humanity.
With Khârn's soul fragment retrieved, the process of purging the residual Chaos energies became exceptionally smooth.
On the other side of the veil, Khorne had clearly abandoned his former champion, recalling all of his divine power and revoking his blessings.
A few minutes later, the chaotic version of Khârn, or rather, the Khârn from a parallel universe, had been completely cleansed of all Warp contamination. He had fully reverted to his human form.
However, the moment he was restored, a new crisis emerged.
The body of this Khârn from another world began to rapidly disintegrate. His natural lifespan had long since run its course. It was impossible for a Space Marine to live for so many millennia.
Khârn had only managed to cling to life for ten thousand years thanks to the nourishing power of Khorne in the Warp.
Now that the power of Chaos was stripped away, his body, which had been artificially sustained for ages, had finally reached its end. The fruit from the Tree of Might he had consumed earlier had only offset the damage from the purification process; it had not enhanced his strength or constitution, nor had it extended his life.
"Drink the rest of the juice," Axis said, handing him the container with the fruit's liquid, "The life energy within is enough to let you live for another thousand years."
Gazing at the precious gift that promised millennia of life, the Khârn from the parallel universe hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head with unnerving resolve.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Axis. You have truly saved me, allowing me to become human again, free from the corruption of the Chaos Gods." His voice was hoarse and weary, filled with both profound relief and deep sorrow, "But the sins I have committed... they are too numerous to count. I have slaughtered countless innocents. The lives I have taken could fill entire planets. Perhaps death is my final salvation. I implore you, Lord Axis, let me... let me rest in peace as a human."
"This might be the best end for him, Father," Kratos said in a low, somber voice.
The other Primarchs nodded in silent agreement. Only Guilliman looked as though he wanted to object. This warrior from the future possessed too much vital intelligence.
Although their two worlds were not identical, many key pieces of information would still be of immense value. He had hoped Axis would bring him back to Holy Terra.
"If you are determined to die, then dying like this is meaningless," Axis stated, his words both cold and true, "Your soul will still fall into the Warp, where it will be torn to shreds by daemons for all eternity. You lived in the Warp for ten thousand years. You know I speak the truth."
This was the cruelest reality of the Warhammer universe. The Warp was essentially hell, the final, inescapable destination for souls.
A peaceful rest was a luxury, a fantasy.
The Khârn from the future fell into a dead silence. With the mountains of blood on his hands from a ten-thousand-year rampage, there was no chance his soul would ever be accepted by the Emperor's Golden Throne.
Only one fate awaited him: to be cast into the Warp, to be torn apart, devoured, and tormented by his former daemonic colleagues and endless hordes of other monstrosities. As a former Champion of Khorne, he knew the terrors of the Warp better than anyone.
"Death is a coward's escape from responsibility," Guilliman said, stepping forward, his tone radiating an unshakeable authority, "You hold key intelligence about the future. The Imperium needs that information, and you need to atone for your crimes."
He had even considered suggesting to Axis that they secretly seal this 'future Khârn' in a stasis field to preserve him for later extraction of his invaluable memories and knowledge.
"Khârn, the choice is yours. If you insist on death, you don't have to drink. But the intelligence in your head is indeed valuable. Perhaps you should come with us to see the Emperor," Axis offered.
After a fierce internal struggle, the Khârn from the parallel universe finally reached out a trembling hand, took the red juice from the Tree of Might, and drank it all in one gulp. \
A vast surge of life energy poured into his withered body, halting its collapse and granting him a new vitality, restoring his physical form to normal.
"I... I have decided," the Khârn from another world said, lifting his head. His eyes burned with a complex light, a mixture of despair, pain, and a faint glimmer of resolve, "I will continue to live and serve humanity with what strength I have left. In this way... I will repent and atone for my past sins."
He was no longer an impulsive youth.
He understood his value. The Primarchs would never easily relinquish the secrets of another future stored in his mind. Perhaps, only when every last piece of intelligence had been wrung from him could he finally find true release, or... hold onto the faint hope of returning to his own world.
Axis nodded in satisfaction.
This meant the imprisonment of this 'future Khârn' could be relaxed. He would not need to be confined within a cold stasis field. He signaled for his sons to take Khârn to a standard cell under appropriate guard.
"He... is a true warrior," Jaghatai Khan commented with a hint of regret. It was a pity he had followed the wrong primarch.
"But he betrayed the Imperium. That is a fact that cannot be erased," Guilliman's voice remained stern, "We, in our future, must be fully prepared." The Heresy of Horus had sounded a dire warning: a single Primarch in control of a Legion of that size was a colossal risk.
After the war, he knew he must propose to his father that the Legions be broken down into smaller Chapters to distribute that risk. Of course, that was a matter for another time.
Now was not the moment to bring it up.
"Father," Kratos's voice cut through the heavy atmosphere, laced with suppressed fury, "Now, let us go and 'greet' that traitor Lorgar. My fists are itching for a proper conversation."
"I have nothing to say to him," Jaghatai Khan snorted, turning to leave, "You go see him." He knew that if Horus had let Lorgar come here, it was because he was not afraid of him revealing any secrets.
"He is still a prisoner," Guilliman insisted, "He must be made to understand the consequences of betraying the Imperium, betraying the Emperor, and betraying humanity!"
Axis waved his hand. Members of the Golden Legion once again brought up the display for Lorgar's cell and disengaged the stasis field.
Lorgar's eyes shot open. The first thing he saw was the cold, furious glares of several of his brothers. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his temple. But when his gaze locked onto Kratos, a bone-deep hatred instantly overwhelmed that flicker of fear. He gritted his teeth, his face contorting in a vicious snarl.
"Traitor! Look at what you have done! You have brought shame upon the Imperium! You have shamed our father!" Sanguinius's voice was like a final judgment.
"It was the Emperor who betrayed me first!" Lorgar roared back, his voice hoarse with extreme resentment, "I worshiped him as a god! And he refused to be my god! And you, you malevolent demon!" he glared daggers at Kratos. "You and that false Emperor destroyed everything I built! That was my life's work! My everything!"
"I was merely carrying out the Emperor's orders!" Kratos replied, his voice tinged with a weary frustration, "The Monarchia was destroyed, but the Golden Legion did not kill a single person! That was the greatest mercy we could offer! It was a warning! You were the one who refused to see reason, who dragged down the progress of the Great Crusade! If not for that, none of this would have happened!"
The Emperor had never truly cared about that minor religion. If he had, it wouldn't have been allowed to exist for a century. What the Emperor cared about was the stagnation of the Great Crusade, the appallingly slow pace of Lorgar's Word Bearers! Only after repeated warnings were ignored did the Emperor finally unleash his thunderous wrath.
To Kratos, these traitor primarchs were nothing but a group of psychologically twisted, desperately attention-seeking madmen.
"What do you know, you whelp who has been alive for less than a decade? What right do you have to judge me?!" Lorgar's curses grew more vicious, "You, the bastard born of Axis..."
SLAP!
The curse died in his throat. Kasha's figure flashed like lightning, and a resounding slap struck Lorgar across the face, driving his filthy words back down his throat. Her eyes burned with a cold fury.
How dare this monster insult her son by calling him a bastard? He was the true heir of the Emperor's bloodline!
Immediately after, Axis strode forward and delivered another, even heavier backhanded slap.
CRACK!
Several bloody teeth flew from Lorgar's mouth. Axis's voice was like ice. "My son is no bastard! He is of my blood and Kasha's! It was only the treachery of the Chaos Gods that prevented his normal birth! Kratos is of the purest bloodline of the Emperor, ten thousand times nobler than a traitor like you!" he coldly declared the truth, a truth unknown to all present except for Guilliman and Sanguinius.
"Face reality, Lorgar. Betraying the Emperor was your greatest mistake," Sanguinius said, his voice tinged with a sliver of pity.
"Lorgar," Guilliman began, forcing his own rage down as he returned to the matter at hand, "Tell us, where is Horus's main fleet? What is his next scheme?" Guilliman still hoped to extract some intelligence from Lorgar to gain an advantage in the coming war.
"I don't know!" Lorgar spat a wad of blood, his face a mask of twisted defiance. "And even if I did, I would never tell you lackeys of the false Emperor!" His true mission had been to sacrifice Axis's son to please the Chaos Gods and ascend to daemonhood, but that plan had failed. He felt no loyalty to Horus and even harbored ambitions of supplanting him.
"Lorgar, this is your last chance to atone!" Guilliman's voice was sharp, "Tell us Horus's plan, and when we reach Terra, perhaps I can plead for mercy from Father on your behalf!"
"Pah!" Lorgar let out a scornful laugh. "I don't need that hypocrite's forgiveness! He betrayed me! Not the other way around!" Lorgar's expression was savage and fanatical.
"Enough!" Axis's voice cut through the fruitless interrogation. "We will get nothing from him. Our priority now is to proceed to Holy Terra immediately."
The Primarchs shook their heads in frustration.
Filled with disappointment and disgust, they sealed the roaring, struggling Lorgar back into the stasis field. The cold prison door shut, silencing his venomous curses once and for all.
...
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ps?