Kratos's own trump card was Super Saiyan 2, a state that could more than double his current power, elevating it to one hundred times his base form. Horus, however, had yet to unleash the full might of the Chaos Gods.
Both his father and grandfather had spoken of the Four Gods' power. It was a strange and formidable force. The Four Ruinous Powers of Chaos were arguably the apex lifeforms within the Immaterium.
A mere sliver of their power, leaking into reality, could effortlessly destroy entire planets. Within the warp, they were immortal and indestructible. They possessed a supreme might, limited only by the laws of the physical universe, which prevented them from manifesting directly in realspace.
Horus had pledged himself to these dark gods and earned the right to wield their power. Once he did so, his combat strength would multiply exponentially, rising to an inconceivable level.
"Kratos! Did you truly believe this was enough to challenge me? I will not lose to the mere son of Axis." Horus, unable to land a decisive blow, felt his rage ignite.
The violet-black flames in his eyes surged violently. The power of Chaos churned within him. He absolutely could not lose to the son of Axis. He had already lost to that man, a loss so profound he feared to even face him in battle. If he were defeated today by the man's son, before even reaching the Emperor, what would become of his pride? Where could he, Horus, possibly show his face?
"Allow me to show you the true power gifted to me by the Chaos Gods! This is ultimate power."
Before his voice had even faded, a horrifying, indescribable pressure erupted from Horus, causing the entire Vengeful Spirit to tremble.
His form blurred and swelled. Behind him, four vast and twisted phantoms flickered into existence.
There was a phantasm of Khorne, the Blood God, formed from countless skulls and roaring with blood-red flames.
There was a phantasm of Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, composed of innumerable shifting runes and blinking eyes.
There was a phantasm of Nurgle, the Plaguefather, a bloated mass dripping with endless plagues and a despairing ooze.
And there was a phantasm of Slaanesh, the Prince of Pleasure, an avatar of ultimate temptation and eternal agony.
With the power of the four Chaos Gods coursing through him, Horus's body swelled in size, making him appear utterly malevolent.
A terrifying warp energy radiated from his being, distorting everything around him, even twisting the flow of time on Holy Terra itself.
"Die, son of Axis!" Horus bellowed, his voice no longer human.
His movements instantly shattered his previous limits.
The Talon of Horus, infused with the power to tear reality asunder, lunged toward Kratos's heart at a speed several times faster than before. Even before the claws reached him, the crushing pressure and annihilating energy threatened to suffocate Kratos.
Danger. Mortal danger.
Kratos's pupils contracted violently. He felt the chilling touch of death. He could not block this attack. He could not evade it.
In that critical moment, an unprecedented and terrifying golden light erupted from Kratos's eyes.
He let out a roar that seemed to shatter the soul, a cry filled with an unyielding will and the primal fury buried deep within his Saiyan bloodline.
An aura more violent, more brilliant, and more suffused with destruction than before burst forth from his body.
The golden light was no longer like fire; it was a tangible storm of energy, crackling with arcs of golden lightning. His hair spiked up even more sharply as countless fine bolts of electricity danced around his body, snapping and popping with explosive force.
This was Super Saiyan 2. But unlike his father Axis's transformation, which was supported by ki, Kratos's Super Saiyan 2 was fueled by his own immense psychic might.
Upon transforming, a terrifying surge of warp energy also emanated from Kratos. Due to the laws of this universe, only Axis possessed the power of ki. Kratos, however, had amplified his psychic abilities to a truly monstrous degree.
"Horus!" Kratos's voice echoed like thunder, a fusion of the Emperor's power and Saiyan strength made manifest.
This formidable, sacred golden power truly belonged to the Emperor, and now, it also belonged to Axis's son.
A cataclysmic battle erupted.
Horus, unafraid, swung the Talon of Horus with one hand and the great mace Worldbreaker with the other.
The clash of their powers went far beyond mortal comprehension. Golden lightning and violet-black Chaos energy collided, annihilated one another, and exploded in torrents of force. Shattered metal was flash-melted into molten slag before being instantly vaporized in the energy storm.
Space itself was torn open, then twisted back together. Under the strain of their non-human combat, the Vengeful Spirit trembled and groaned as if it might completely disintegrate at any moment.
Even the Emperor and Dorn, who were rushing to the location, felt the intense waves of energy. A flicker of approval passed through the Emperor's eyes.
As expected of the son of Axis, of his own bloodline.
The child had perfectly inherited Axis's lineage while also receiving his own formidable psychic might. With children like these protecting humanity, he could ascend the Golden Throne with a peaceful heart, entrusting the future to them.
The Emperor quickened his pace toward Horus's position, but subtle ripples of psychic power manifested silently in his path.
A wave of spatial power enveloped him, attempting to impede his advance. It seemed the Ruinous Powers did not want him to reach the battlefield so quickly.
The Emperor gave a cold snort, and a terrifying psychic force exploded from his body, shattering the spatial barriers around him as he continued his inexorable march.
Back on the bridge, the battle raged on.
After transforming into a Super Saiyan 2, Kratos's power seemed to be no less than that of Horus empowered by the Four Gods.
Within the warp, the Four Gods themselves were drawn to the power Kratos had unleashed.
They had thought Axis was formidable and difficult enough, but they had never expected his son to possess such terrifying strength.
"Incredible. The boy is like another Emperor, yet his soul is undeniably that of a mortal," said Tzeentch.
"Axis possessed a similar transformation," Slaanesh mused, "When he fought me, he used a form that greatly increased his height and muscle mass. The aura it gave off was green."
"Meaning this whelp likely has that transformation as well?" Khorne demanded.
The son of Axis was a tantalizing prize. If not for the agreement he already had with Axis, he would be tempted to claim the boy for his own.
"Theoretically, yes. I had assumed that since Axis was from another world, his power could not be passed down to his descendants. But to think this boy has substituted ki with psychic power to achieve this new transformation," Slaanesh added.
"This grows more and more interesting," Tzeentch cackled, "Let us grant Horus more power. Let him test the boy's limits."
The four Chaos Gods nodded in unison, funneling an even greater surge of their divine power into Horus's body.
Empowered by this new influx of divine energy from the Four, Horus's chaotic strength became even more overwhelming, and he gradually began to gain the upper hand.
Yet Kratos, armed with the terrifying power and speed of his golden Super Saiyan form and the Emperor's psychic energy which gave him an extreme resistance to and ability to purify chaotic energies, managed to hold on tenaciously against the fully empowered Horus's relentless assault.
His golden aura was continuously eroded and corroded by the chaotic energy, but at its core, the Emperor's sacred flame and the Saiyan fighting spirit burned defiantly. Arcs of golden lightning constantly tore through and purified the encroaching filth.
A concussive shockwave, far more powerful than any before, exploded in an expanding ring. The superstructure of the Vengeful Spirit in this section could no longer bear the strain and, like glass struck by a giant hammer, it utterly shattered and disintegrated.
A gaping hole hundreds of meters in diameter was torn open in the ship's hull, revealing the burning skies of Terra and the twisted, writhing backdrop of the Immaterium.
Countless fragments of warped metal and the remains of daemonic constructs were ejected into the cold void. The collision of their immense psychic powers had even torn a hole in the fabric of the Materium itself.
Kratos and Horus became two warring stars, locked in a deadly spiral as they clashed madly within this shattered patch of space.
Horus had descended into a frenzy.
The phantoms of the Four Gods roared, whispered, and blessed him from behind. His attacks were both savage and strange. The Talon of Horus, imbued with space-rending Chaos energy, seemed capable of shattering stars with every swipe. The mace Worldbreaker, wreathed in foul green flames and a crushing gravity field, hammered down upon Kratos. Horus's speed, strength, and regenerative abilities had reached an inhuman pinnacle. The violet-black Chaos energy boiled like a virulent poison, ceaselessly corrupting the space around them.
"Your defeat is sealed, boy!" Horus's crazed laughter echoed, "You cannot possibly defeat me. I possess the blessings of the Chaos Gods! My power is endless!"
With the infinite power of the Ruinous Powers backing him, he was about to win this fight and slay the son of Axis.
"The outcome is not yet decided, Horus. Did you really think this was my final hand?" Kratos scoffed, creating distance between them. He pulled a vial from within his armor, filled with the juice of a Tree of Might fruit, and drank it down.
A potent life energy flowed through his body, instantly healing his wounds and restoring his stamina to its peak.
"Watch closely, Horus. This is my true power." Kratos sneered, placing his palms together. With his psychic power, he conjured a false, silvery-white moon in the void before him.
"Is that your trump card? Creating a fake moon?" Horus sneered back.
"You'll see soon enough," Kratos said, looking up at the psychic construct, "Now I will show you the true power of a Saiyan."
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound of a terrifying heartbeat began to echo through the void.
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