| Magnus POV |
Beginning of the assault…
In the core chamber of the Photep—an area where the Crimson Arbiter's assemble for relations of new mandates from the Primarch or the War Council—Magnus hovered high in the air, maintaining a psychic network connecting the legionaires while simultaneously pouring more psychic energy into the modified warp nexus.
Around him was half of his Sekhmet; they were standing in formation, guarding him from anything that dared to get too close. As for the other half of his Sekhmet, they were currently located in a vault near the Photep's main gun, guarding and working with most of the Librarians and some gifted Space Marines in maintaining the modified warp nexus spell.
Everyone, including Magnus, braced themselves for a battle that would inflict heavy casualties, but luckily the Emperor bought them some time to complete the spell in peace. But now, that peace has come to an end due to the arrival of a greater daemon of Tzeentch.
Magnus was the first to sense its presence, and he immediately locked eyes with it, then he began to frown. He instantly recognized who it was because of its tall humanoid bird-like appearance and its two heads.
It was Kairos Fateweaver, a greater daemon of Tzeentch, a daemon Magnus had learned of from his father long ago. Magnus wanted to kill Kairos not only because of its relation to Tzeentch, but also due to its appearance being an open mockery of the Imperial Aquila.
So, in preparation to annihilate this hateful greater daemon, Magnus fully donned the Sanctified Judicator, his mastercrafted crimson and gold armor made with arcane runes and psychic glyphs to enhance his control and power.
As if in response to his action, a voice boomed everywhere mockingly, "Magnus, did you truly believe you could escape your fate? You belong to the Changer of Ways. Your laughable attempts at avoiding his influence are just another part of his plan. Your struggle is futile and weak, just like the wards on your flagship."
With his focus already heavily divided, Magnus couldn't react in time to Kairos' sudden surge of power, which caused many of the wards on the flagship to instantly fail. The chaos daemons present took advantage of the failure of the wards and began their intrusions into the Photep.
Kairos sneered at Magnus and, in a false benevolent tone, continued, "I'll give you one chance, Magnus… Surrender yourself and your legion, become what you all were always fated to be. A daemon primarch and sorcerers in service of the Changer of Ways."
Annoyed by his lapse in attention and the nonsense Kairos was spewing, Magnus scowled in anger and replied, "My legion and I answer only to my father, the Emperor. We choose death before dishonor, now and forever. All of you are more than welcome to board my flagship, just don't expect to leave alive."
In response to his words, Kairos simply shook both of his heads and muttered, "How foolish… It seems I will have to drag you all the way to my lord's side."
With that said, and as if he had all the time in the world, Kairos calmly floated closer to the Photep. He phased directly through the flagship, heading straight to Magnus's location.
Faced with such open contempt and seeing the way Kairos felt no hurry to fight, Magnus grew cautious instead of letting his growing anger consume him. From what Magnus knows about daemons of Tzeentch, there is always a scheme inside another scheme that involves every party.
Some schemes of Tzeentchian daemons sometimes reach a point where even they themselves get lost in what the purpose of the scheme was. And Kairos would be amongst the top of that because of his nature and what his two heads do.
'Kairos is not this brave,' Magnus mused in disbelief at Kairos' actions of slowly getting closer to him. 'Indeed, he possesses great power due to his left head being able to see the unvarnished truth of the past, while his right head perceives all potential futures with absolute clarity.
He is the master of the future and past, but not the present. He cannot see anything in the present moment, which makes him vulnerable to sudden attacks and incapable of close quarters combat. So… Is it truly my current weakened state that encourages him to get close, or has he already foreseen something and made a scheme for it?'
Magnus eyed Kairos wearily, trying to spot anything off about him, but in the short moment he detected nothing. It really was just Kairos with his Staff of Tomorrow, a powerful chaos construct made by Kairos after the fateful moment he was thrown into the Well of Eternity by Tzeentch and clawed his way out as a completely different daemon.
The Staff of Tomorrow was imbued in its core with the arcane essence of rival Lords of Change. The rod is wrought of changefire, and is saturated with prophetic visions glimpsed in the Well of Eternity. This staff acts as the foundation of the artefact known as Kairos' Tome of Destiny, which rests atop it. This book records what both of Kairos' heads proclaim, mixing insights into the shrouded past with visions of possible futures.
As Kairos croaks, new text scribes across the pages, morphing and rewriting itself even as time and events unfold. To look upon those pages induces madness, but to be struck by the staff itself is worse, for it is flux made manifest. Those blessed by its touch ripple with agonising transmutations. As he is blind to the present, Kairos often uses the book as reference, judging his position in time by the pages currently being written.
This knowledge is known by all of a certain strength in the warp, and it is for this very reason that Magnus decided to act first to forcibly uncover this oddity.
Magnus channeled the warp to create powerful thought blades infused with focused howling crimson warp fire upon his eagle staff. Clutching his self-created double-bladed halberd in his right hand, Magnus launched his body forward through walls and floors at speeds few can follow.
With a roar, Magnus lunged his weapon forward, piercing straight through Kairos' chest with zero resistance and twisted his weapon so that the blades were now horizontal. Then with a pull, the blades of his weapon went back out of Kairos again, but this time effectively cutting him in half.
'It seems I'm right,' Magnus thought after seeing the Kairos before him slowly dissolve back into warp energy. 'There's no way Kairos would enter single combat, now then where is—'
SLICK…
Magnus was dragged out of his calculations by the brutal sound of his own armor and flesh being ruthlessly pierced. Right in front of him was the same illusion of Kairos he had previously cut down, except now he was the one being pierced through the chest by Kairos's boney blue hand.
Ignoring his pain, Magnus quickly moved backward, narrowly avoiding Kairos' follow-up move of igniting his hand with blue warp fire.
"You are not Kairos… Which greater daemon of Tzeentch are you?" Magnus asked while he stabilized himself.
Kairos merely chuckled, and his left head replied, "Oh, but I am Kairos." Then his right head followed up by saying, "Kairos is me."
Magnus's brow furrowed at Kairos's response and began to speculate.
'I cannot tell which head is telling the believable lie, but what I do know is that before we fought, he spoke far too clearly, acted way too calmly, and his mastery of the warp exceeds mine. I need to—'
"Magnus, our future Prince of Regrets… Have you already forgotten your mistake of trying to calculate before me? You must enjoy mistakes."
"Indeed he has," the right head of Kairos said in continuation of the left head. "It was a mistake that he did not make twice. Mistakes and Magnus are the same; a mistake is all he ever will be."
This time Magnus did not allow a spark of any emotion in his being nor allow a thought to take hold in his mind. Relying on pure instinct, Magnus made his next move by conjuring warp lightning with beyond exceptional control.
He bound the warp lightning to the top of his weapon and swung his newly created whip right at Kairos. The whip traced a deadly arc through the air, cutting through the nearby plasteel and incinerating it before direct contact was even made.
Everything in its path was cut, including Kairos, whose body once again turned into warp energy, and unlike last time, Magnus was ready for the unexpected. His instincts took hold of him as he immediately canceled his levitation and dropped to the floor below.
Right above his head was a wing of blue vulturine feathers accented with white and purple coloring. Had he not reacted in time, the wing that was enhanced with raw psychic might would have left a deep gash on his back.
Quickly flexing his wrist, Magnus swung the whip backwards straight at the newly appeared Kairos, but it only crashed harmlessly and slowly dissipated against a storm of psychic force made by Kairos.
Then suddenly, the dissipating energy increased and froze around Kairos, creating a very brief time stop. During that brief time stop, Magnus pivoted to face Kairos directly, and he placed himself under a temporal surge.
His body sprung upward, instantly closing the distance between him and Kairos. Now within range of Kairos, Magnus executed a brutal underhand diagonal sweep. The blade of his halberd sunk deep into Kairos's left side, but it was stopped halfway across its chest.
Kairos had cast his own temporal surge to evade Magnus's attack before it caused truly fatal damage. In response to Magnus's attack, Kairos did something that made Magnus's eyes widen in shock.
Kairos created multiple phantasms of himself, and they were each engulfed in blue flames, charging directly at Magnus. Magnus channeled his energy and created a psychic energy blast around him that repelled and annihilated the phantasms.
However, even that was not enough, because more phantasms charged him, wielding their staffs like proper weapons. The heads of the closest phantasm shrieked loudly in a cluster of endless whispers while aiming the butt of its staff at Magnus's heart. It was a dual attack meant to weaken his mind and force his hand.
With masterful sweeps of his double-bladed halberd, Magnus parried the staff and guided it harmlessly to the side. At the same time, he invoked a crimson warp fire on his left hand and executed a spearhead strike that left a blazing hole through the phantasm, causing it to dissolve back into the warp.
An intense battle followed as the countless Kairos phantasms engaged in close combat with Magnus. Some were instantly destroyed, while others managed to land a hit on him, leaving shallow cuts either on his armor or his flesh.
During this exchange, Magnus used thought blades, time alteration, warp fire, warp lightning, energy blasts, and even telepathy to control the surrounding plasteel to attack or defend. Yet, despite his cleverest uses of his abilities, it simply wasn't enough against this opponent, who employed endless phantasms capable of physical attacks, suicide attacks, and warp attacks.
Even though Magnus was capable of creating illusionary doubles, it wasn't to this extent, and he still had to conserve his energy as much as possible. After all, this being before him was definitely not Kairos, and who knows what its real methods of attack are. Furthermore, it had only been around seven minutes, and these remaining three minutes would be the most crucial.
And that was proven by the abrupt disappearance of every phantasm, leaving only what may possibly be the real Kairos behind.
In a sudden twist of events, Kairos' left head said, "This next attack will reveal the fate that awaits you and your sons."
Kairos' right head followed up, saying, "You, along with your sons, will face their fate."
In a brief flash of colored flames, Kairos disappeared from Magnus's sight, and in his place was a whirling storm of rippling pink fire that spread across the entirety of the ceiling of the ruined corridors they were in. Then, like a comet, it descended on Magnus, blocking any conventional attempt at evasion.
Acting quickly, Magnus forced his will upon the warp around him and teleported himself above the far-reaching pink warp firestorm. However, as he looked down at the descending fire, his expression warped into horror.
Nine floors below were thirteen of his sons, led by a legionaire with a legion vexilla, an honor awarded to Space Marines where the legion's standard or battle-banner is attached to their power pack.
Under the command of the legion vexilla bearer, they bravely held their own against the tides of daemons coming through the warp breach in front of them. Yet in an instant, with no time to react or scream, the pink firestorm descended upon them, leaving nothing but ash.
A cacophony of sound burst from Magnus's surroundings—a low-pitched rumble that turned into a screeching cackle full of ridicule. Before Magnus was Kairos, both of his heads laughing in glee at the horror on Magnus's face.
Kairos's left head stared at Magnus and taunted, "How does it feel seeing a preview of your sons' inevitable future? Take a good look around you, you foolishly ignored your surroundings. Never once realizing the true damage."
"Your future is the same," Kairos's right head added, while still gazing in admiration at its handiwork below. "Poor Thousand Sons… Never able to escape returning to ash. Their pleas heard by none, not even their own father."
Both of Kairos' heads stared at Magnus and, in unison, said, "Like always, arrogance and ignorance blinds you and your sons. To believe you can enter this deep into the warp and leave is a fool's dream. The fate of ash will befall your entire legion, fate cannot be avoided. Death is all that awaits you and your sons unless… you accept your rightful place as Daemon Prince of Tzeentch. Choose wisely…"
Magnus stared blankly at the ashes of his sons below and looked around at the paths of destruction caused by his fight with Kairos. Only now did Magnus realize that Kairos had perfectly calculated every one of their clashes. Every attack that Magnus dodged ended up traveling through walls and floors, inevitably striking one of his sons and turning them into ash.
That taunt of Poor Thousand Sons referred to the thousand that died without him knowing he indirectly caused it. Kairos had shown terrifying calculation ability by choosing which of Magnus's attacks to redirect or ignore.
These attacks ended up impeding many of his sons in stopping the multiple intrusions, and even worse, the shock of their own father's attacks striking near them caused quite a few to be interrupted mid-incantation.
Which caused them to either combust on the spot in flames that turned them to ash, allow daemons in the distance to possess their bodies, or even send them to an unknown location in the warp.
Faced with this unforeseen truth, Magnus remorsefully mused, 'My sons I am so very sorry… How could I not have realized sooner what this daemon was doing. What I myself was aiding.'
Magnus's remorse then turned into a burning fury that consumed him whole, and he made a silent promise, 'ALL OF YOU WILL BE AVENGED.'
Turning away from the ashes of his sons below and removing his senses from observing the ashes of his sons in the distance, Magnus refocused and momentarily recalled his spars with Alpharius and Malcador.
Alpharius and Malcador were sparring with him to train him in facing opponents with overwhelming martial and psychic abilities. Alpharius had attacked him with his strange weapon that could disassemble and reassemble itself into a multitude of weapons.
Anytime Magnus thought he was holding on or even got the upper hand, Alpharius would simply change his weapon mid-exchange. It was a marvel to look at: one second he was using a scythe, then it briefly returned to its default state as a double-bladed spear, then split and turned into batons.
Magnus could not understand how Alpharius kept managing to get away with changing his weapon mid-fight without creating an opening. And Alpharius was not the only one that was a marvel to behold. Malcador showed unique applications of telepathy that tricked his senses countless times.
Under this assault, it became clear that a double-bladed halberd and his own mastery of the warp were not enough. He needed a new weapon that would aid him in fights of this caliber, one that would allow him to be an immovable object and an unstoppable force, just like his brother who is a master of weapons and deceit.
Magnus thought his hardest and eventually came up with the perfect solution, one that was so simple that he couldn't help but curse himself for being an idiot.
His solution was changing his staff into a normal-sized double-bladed halberd and equipping himself with a massive tower shield that is imbued with multiple spells that can be cast instantaneously.
It worked magnificently, allowing him to survive for two more minutes in his spars against Alpharius and Malcador. After the spar, he didn't have it fully mastercrafted since he wanted to test it in real combat.
Magnus enhanced the spells on it and created a prototype of his ideal tower shield. That same prototype is what Magnus summoned forth and now held tightly in his left hand.
With his shield and halberd in hand, Magnus took a poised stance and glared at Kairos in unnaturally focused fury. In a voice full of raw spite and intent to harm, Magnus firmly declared, "I CHOOSE DEATH."
Taking a small step forward, Magnus readied himself to attack, then paused. Magnus expanded his senses to try and understand the change he was feeling.
'What is happening,' Magnus thought in alarm. 'My surroundings. No… The Photep itself is being cut off from the warp?! How?!?! The spell hasn't been completed yet, are we being dragged els—'
"Confused are you," a voice said condescendingly, then one voice became hundreds, then thousands, then millions, and finally, from millions to simply uncountable.
The myriad of voices laughed together in a dreadful symphony full of screams, whispers, and secrets, and then it stopped to continue speaking.
"The ninth minute draws near and it has come time for the climax of your end. You chose death, you say… Very well then, I shall expedite your fate."
Following those words, a white face with no features manifested, and from this face countless other faces appeared. Unlike the original one, these faces all carried features of a person stuck in a scream. It was as if someone paused their moment of death and immortalized it.
Magnus watched on in abhorrence as every face that appeared looked at him and, in unison, they continued, "You were right that I am not Kairos, I merely enjoy taking his form. It's amusing how he boasts about being a master of the past and future, yet he uses it so ineptly."
The countless faces began to coalesce into a form, an amalgamation of faces twisting into limbs, yet despite having limbs it still somehow remained formless. Each face present began to shift from one person to the next, or rather, from one tortured soul to the next. Even while the voices were speaking, Magnus could still hear the screams of agony coming from the innumerable souls manifesting.
"For an incomplete tool, you are strong, but we are beyond strength. You asked who we are, we are the Distorter of Worlds, The Shadow of All Colours and None, Render of Veils… We are A͚̰̓ͤẹ̷̲̠ͭ̎t̵͎̞͆͆͋âo̵̙̹̱͆ͤ͒s'̧̹͛̍ͅr̶a̰u̓̏'͇̯ḱ̶͈ͧe̵̻͇͆r̷͙̟̓̑e͗s̍ͧ̏, the Slayer of Souls. And we have come for you, tool of Anathema."
The truth was now clear to Magnus: he was up against the true strongest greater daemon of Tzeentch and was doomed to die in its trap. The odd feeling from earlier was Aetaos'rau'keres's true body absorbing the entirety of the Photep. He and his sons were now stuck inside its body, where it was restricting the concept of time, connection to the warp, and forcibly trying to consume them all.
'It seems I will be the first amongst my brothers to fall,' Magnus thought in acceptance. 'Father, I've failed you. Hopefully another one of my brothers who is more worthy than me will complete this mission in my place.'
Magnus inhaled and exhaled lightly, then he firmed himself for the incoming onslaught. Even if he was to die today, he would see to it that he made the daemon before him bleed, and no matter the cost. He would find a way to allow at least one of his sons to live on.
With the ferocity of a cornered beast, Magnus fought using every technique he knew, and even techniques he had only theorized about. He gave his all, but to Aetaos'rau'keres it was just a spectacle he allowed to occur.
Minute after minute went by, and over time, Magnus's once resplendent armor was now fragmented pieces. Half his helmet had broken off from a vicious bolt of warp energy that left him dazed. His shield had long since broken from trying to stop a harrowing blast of screaming deceased souls Aetaos'rau'keres had purposefully aimed at a squad of Space Marines.
Magnus could barely maintain the blades on his staff, and he was bleeding profusely from gashes from blades that Aetaos'rau'keres conjured, which struck not only his body but his soul too. Lances made from the suffering of souls were deeply embedded inside his body; he could hear their cries like it was his own.
'What is this? Where am I? Who is screaming, is it me? Why am I still fighting?' Magnus questioned.
Another blast of souls sent him flying through multiple floors of the Photep until he finally stabilized himself in a large area. Leaning heavily on his staff, his chest heaved as he tried to make sense of everything. Then, feeling the presence of others, Magnus looked over and saw members of his Sekhmet, the Librarium, and a Chaplain. In that moment, ignoring the insufferable cries of the damned and his own pain, he recalled his reason.
'Right, RIGHT!! MY SONS… I MUST ENSURE THAT THEY AT LEAST SURVIVE EVEN IF IT IS JUST ONE,' Magnus roared internally.
Magnus straightened his back and, being once again filled with resolution, he quickly tried to yell at his approaching sons to run away. But then he noticed something: the Chaplain farther behind was actually High Chaplain Osiris, a well-respected son of his whom he entrusted a lot to, and in this moment he just stood there with his hands clasped behind his back as if he was hiding something.
Osiris slowly approached closer, then he tapped something on his wrist, chanted very familiar words, and threw a black cube at him and his sons before him. Magnus's eyes dilated because he couldn't process why Osiris would throw a Tesseract Labyrinth at them.
Magnus had no time to dodge because the cube had already been activated, and as he felt himself be drawn into it, he noticed that Osiris was wearing a Telos Bomb on his back and held an odd sigil that strangely seemed to contain some of the Emperor's power. Now he realized that Osiris was planning to sacrifice himself.
"WAIT," Magnus tried to call out, but it was far too late. Magnus and the present Space Marines were violently pulled into the Tesseract Labyrinth and were safely placed back into the Sub-Dimensional Bubble thanks to the chant and temporary access port Osiris pre-prepared.
The last thing Magnus saw was Osiris taking his helmet off and mouthing the words, "Sorry father, but you must live on no matter the cost."
-To Be Continued...
(A/N: Tried mimicking the tone normal GW books use during fights, lmk if anything felt off or if I used any lore abilities wrong. Next chapter will be the last of Magnus and back to the MC.)