Warhammer [407-409] (Patreon)

Chapter 407: How to Kill Slaanesh! The God of War Awakens

"I've heard much about you, Emperor of Mankind." The Eldar Death God, Inisid, gazed at the mummified figure atop the Golden Throne and spoke.

In truth, the two were quite similar. Before the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, throughout the galaxy, the one most believed destined to become the Dark King wasn't the Emperor, but rather the Eldar Death God. Even during the Horus Heresy, many powerful beings considered Horus to be the true Dark King.

The Emperor's exploits were legendary. But between him and the Emperor, who would ultimately become the Dark King?

"Eldar Death God Ynnead! Why have you come to see me?" the Emperor asked.

"I propose an alliance between our races. Now that I've formally entered the material universe, I felt it appropriate to meet you, the Master of Mankind, rather than just converse with one of your Primarchs," Ynnead replied.

"Negotiations are fine. But first, let me clarify: Rhodes was never my subordinate. Make that clear. I only brought him into the human camp and gave him the identity of a Primarch," the Emperor said.

This was an understanding they'd reached long ago. Unlike the other Primarchs, Rhodes didn't call the Emperor "father" or any such thing—he simply addressed him as the Emperor. Their relationship was one of cooperation.

The Emperor provided Rhodes with protection and support in the beginning. Rhodes, in turn, aided the Imperium and humanity as a whole.

The basis of their cooperation: Rhodes was human.

"Is that so? I thought he was one of your subordinates."

"We're just like-minded friends working together for humanity. The Imperium is different from your Eldar. We're all human, and we have no gods of our own," said the Emperor.

"No gods of your own? Aren't you the mightiest human god? Humanity's faith for over ten thousand years has been channeled into you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so powerful," Ynnead mocked.

The Emperor has let humanity build a religion around him—worshiping him as the one true god. For him to claim he's not a god is the greatest joke!

The Emperor didn't deny it. His immense power was indeed built upon the continuous faith of humanity over ten thousand years.

He alone suppressed the Dark Emperor, prevented the birth of the Dark King, and kept himself from becoming the Dark King.

Still, his core belief never changed: the world does not need gods. This was the foundation for the Imperium, even if it meant telling countless lies.

Guilliman stood to the side, mouth open as if to say something, but restrained himself.

Their father, the Emperor, truly had it hard.

For the sake of humanity's development, he deceived the entire species, telling them there were no gods—when in reality, true gods existed in the Warp.

In fact, the Primarchs and even the Emperor himself were, in a sense, gods. Even the unborn child of Rhodes would become a god.

The Emperor's dream of freeing humanity from the Warp was unrealistic. The Warp would never disappear; it was the shadow and projection of the material universe.

Even the Old Ones, for all their might, couldn't erase the Warp's influence. And to say there were no gods in the material universe was simply false. For example, the C'tan.

Or those ultimate beings Rhodes spoke of—able to rewrite the laws of the universe at will, even surpassing the cosmos itself. Isn't that godhood?

"You didn't come here to debate whether I'm a god, did you? If that's all, then we have nothing more to discuss," the Emperor said.

That question no longer mattered. Since humanity couldn't escape the Warp, all that remained was to figure out how to coexist with it—something that still needed to be explored.

"I want to know, after the Eldar God of War is resurrected, with you, myself, Cegorach, Isha, and all your sons—could we together slay a Chaos God?" Ynnead asked.

"Which Chaos God do you want to kill?"

"Of course, the one I am destined to destroy: Slaanesh—the Chaos God born of the Eldar," Ynnead replied.

Since his identity was revealed, countless Eldar had asked him the same thing: When would Ynnead, the Death God, slay Slaanesh as foretold?

The reason the Eldar persisted to this day, storing their souls in infinity circuits, was to await the coming of their Death God.

The Death God Legion's ability to unite all factions was not because of Yvraine's charisma, but because of Ynnead.

Though he hadn't yet been born, he now had a physical form in reality. He had to do something to earn the trust of the Eldar.

"It seems you don't understand. Those four are true gods of the Warp—immortal and undying from the moment of their birth. Unless the universe is destroyed, unless both reality and the Warp are erased, they cannot be killed," the Emperor said.

If it were possible to slay the Chaos Gods, he'd have done it long ago—even at the cost of most of humanity.

But the only true method is to let the Dark King born—to wipe out the entire universe. Otherwise, these four cannot be slain.

"So you're saying, once they ascended to Chaos Godhood, they became truly invincible?" Ynnead's face darkened.

"If you were born as prophesied, with all Eldar dying, you'd emerge from Slaanesh, slaying her current persona. But you can't destroy her godhood.

At most, you'd slay the personality Slaanesh chose. Her divinity would persist, choosing a new host—maybe you, maybe someone else," the Emperor explained.

That was the critical difference. As long as the Warp endures, those four are undying. And the Warp could accommodate eight such beings—or even more, if life in the universe continues to grow.

The Dark King is essentially a cosmic reset button. When the universe can no longer contain the forces of Chaos, the Dark King will appear and erase everything.

"I understand. But no matter what, I will destroy Slaanesh, even if it's just her current persona," Ynead said after a pause.

No matter what, he must slay Slaanesh. This was his duty to the Eldar—a mission for which he was born. Otherwise, he would become a laughingstock.

"That's none of my concern. Besides, Slaanesh is sealed by some mysterious force. You probably won't have a chance soon," the Emperor said.

"That golden power—isn't it yours? Don't tell me you have nothing to do with it," Ynnead pressed.

The Emperor was speechless. Why did everyone think he was behind it? Who the hell sealed Slaanesh with a power so similar to his own? Now he's being blamed!

Even the Chaos Gods suspect he's in league with Slaanesh! Now, even the Eldar Death God thinks so?

"Hmph! If you're not involved, then you'd better not help Slaanesh, either!" Ynnead snorted and left the Imperial Palace, ending his meeting with the Emperor.

"Father, isn't this Death God a bit too arrogant?" Magnus said.

"He's only just been born, and prophecy says his power rivals the Chaos Gods. Of course he's proud," the Emperor replied.

"It's none of our business. With the Eldar God of War and this Death God revived, the eyes of Chaos will be on them for a long time. Humanity should use this chance to grow," Guilliman said.

Vulkan nodded in agreement.

"Guilliman is right. Vulkan, prepare yourself. Rhodes has readied a cosmic phantom beast for you—you'll be merging with it soon," said the Emperor.

Now, nothing else mattered. The most important thing was to strengthen the Primarchs—let Vulkan reach demigod status first.

…

In the following days, the Eldar and humanity worked out some cooperative agreements. The meeting between Ynnead and the Emperor was reported as a friendly discussion, further solidifying future cooperation.

But what exactly they discussed, no one knew.

At that moment, in Rhodes's room, the Goddess of Life, Isha, smiled. After days and nights of tireless effort, she had finally used her divine power to gather all the fragments of the God of War Khaine, restoring him with life energy.

Khaine's soul was reborn—a crimson figure appeared before Rhodes and Isha.

"Did it work?" Rhodes asked.

"Yes, this is Khaine," Isha replied.

"Who am I? Who are you? Where am I?" The newly resurrected Khaine looked lost.

Chapter 408: The Amnesiac God of War! Isha's Scheming

"What's wrong with him? He seems a bit off," Rhodes whispered to Isha.

"There's an issue, yes. But I did my best! His soul was shattered, then forced to fight for over ten thousand years. A little mental trouble is normal," Isha replied.

The main culprit here was Aisha. During the attack on the Pantheon, Khaine was an unwitting victim—his soul shattered, a chunk even devoured by Aisha herself.

After ten thousand years and Isha's personal restoration, it was still uncertain if the real Khaine could return.

The newly revived Khaine felt a splitting headache. Fuzzy memories flickered—he seemed to be the god of war! Some catastrophe had defeated him. He'd never known such powerful foes before.

He'd even forgotten his own name! Only the desire for vengeance against a purple-glowing goddess remained, and a need to compete with a crimson being—though he seemed to have lost to both.

Isha and Rhodes exchanged glances, then silently switched to communicating via system channel.

Because Isha also had a cosmic phantom beast, she could access Rhodes's chat channel.

"This guy seems brain-damaged. Will our plan still work? Can he still draw Chaos's attention?" Rhodes asked.

"How should I know? I did my best to gather all his fragments and used my life power to repair him, even tapped into my phantom beast's order abilities. Otherwise he might not have survived at all," Isha replied.

"Isha! Remind Rhodes we might have to control Khaine by other means. Khaine, as the god of war, is naturally opposed to Khorne, able to steal much of his power," Aisha said in the mental realm.

"Want me to just hand over control of the body to you? Khaine wouldn't even notice—he's completely out of it," Isha said.

"Fine, I'll do it. But when Khaine merges with his body, I'll still need your life power," Aisha replied.

The two goddesses quickly swapped personalities.

"Rhodes, this might be a great opportunity. We could use certain methods to control Khaine," Aisha said.

If Khaine was this confused, they had to take advantage.

"Are you kidding? Control Khaine? He's out of it, not a complete idiot. What if he recovers?" Rhodes replied.

"Trust me. Most of his memories are gone forever—Slaanesh ate those soul fragments," Aisha said.

She knew best—she was the one who shattered and ate part of Khaine's soul back then!

"So how do we do it? Just trick him? If he goes back to the Eldar, Ynnead will play him like a fiddle," Rhodes said.

If it were the original Khaine, no problem. But in this state, he was vulnerable—Ynnead was not to be underestimated.

"There are other ways. When your phantom beast merges with him, you'll control a part of his fate. Befriend him, win him over," Aisha said.

She almost wanted to do it herself—after being a Chaos God for ten thousand years, she was an expert at deception.

"You—you seem familiar!" Khaine pointed at Aisha.

Aisha rolled her eyes. Of course he'd find her familiar—she'd eaten part of his soul!

"Khaine, your name is Khaine. You're the Eldar God of War, slain by Slaanesh ten thousand years ago, your soul shattered," Rhodes explained.

First, see if he could recover any memories.

"I am the Eldar God of War… I do feel related to war, but I can't recall my name. Who are you?" Khaine asked, rubbing his head.

He felt a force pulling him elsewhere—a message in his mind: he was a Warp god. Without a physical vessel, he couldn't linger in the material universe.

"I saved your life. I'm Rhodes, Primarch of Humanity. This is Isha, the Eldar Goddess of Life. We gathered your soul fragments and revived you," Rhodes said.

"I must have died, or I wouldn't have lost so many memories. Thank you for reviving me. The name Goddess of Life sounds familiar… Isha, you seem weak?" Khaine said.

He was grateful for being saved, but the name "Goddess of Life" struck him as weak.

Isha grinned. Once, she was indeed weak—a pitiable outcast! But now, with her giant body, even she was a little afraid of herself.

After ten thousand years, the once-weak goddess had changed; she was much stronger now.

"I was weak ten thousand years ago, but things are different now. You're our God of War—revived because Chaos is pushing the Eldar to the brink. We need you to lead us to glory again!" Isha said.

"Eldar? I don't care for them. I even want to destroy them," Khaine shook his head.

For some reason, he felt a distaste for the Eldar. Though his mind provided some information, he was the god of war, not a tribal god—he had no special love for the Eldar.

"He really is off—he doesn't think he's the Eldar's god anymore," Rhodes said through the system channel.

"That's not so strange. The Eldar gods arose from the Eldar's faith, but their domains aren't limited to the Eldar alone. Their laws apply across the universe.

And remember, Khaine once almost killed me—he nearly wiped out the Eldar, because prophecy said they'd be the death of him," Aisha said.

She, the goddess of love and beauty, became a Chaos God after the Eldar's collective downfall—fulfilling the prophecy by killing Khaine.

"Thank you for reviving me. I'll repay you, but I must leave now. I can't stay in the material realm much longer; I must return to the Warp," Khaine said.

He could feel the pull of the Warp—he needed to return.

"No, Khaine. I've prepared a special body for you, so you can remain in the material universe," Rhodes said.

"A body in the material realm—like yours?" Khaine asked.

These two had powerful souls—if they had no bodies, they'd also return to the Warp. If he had a body, he could remain longer. But what was in it for him?

"Why should I stay in reality? I do fine in the Warp."

"Don't make me laugh. The Warp isn't what you think—it's full of demons now. All the gods are Chaos-aligned! The Warp is no longer safe.

Order gods are almost extinct, and there's a God of Blood—who rules war, blood, violence, terror, and cruelty—eyeing you hungrily," Rhodes said.

Chapter 409: Ex-Red King, Fire Golzan, Frost Monster Guigass, and Phantom Beast Fusion

Khorne is extremely eager to get his hands on the Eldar God of War!

If Khaine returned to the Warp, Khorne would likely seize him—and for certain reasons, Rhodes couldn't let Khaine return.

"Khaine, the Warp is dangerous. Your top priority is to stay in the material universe and fight Chaos," Isha said.

"If I get a suitable body, I can wield great power. As wars increase, my power will also grow," Khaine said.

Even after a few minutes, he could feel it—the universe was at war, everywhere. His power was returning! Staying in material space let him absorb more power, and with a body, he could freely move between reality and the Warp—and retreat instantly if threatened.

But there was a fundamental problem: what kind of body could contain a god's soul? No mortal had ever reached that level.

"We've prepared a suitable body and a very powerful lifeform for you," Rhodes clapped his hands.

A golden portal opened, and Tartarus entered with an Eldar super-beast body cloned by Yapool.

This vessel was pure Eldar, crafted from massive extra-dimensional energy.

"This body is strong—barely enough for my soul. But I can only use half my power," Khaine said, nodding.

Clearly, these two cared for him greatly—or they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to revive him and prepare a body.

This made Khaine, memories erased, feel deep goodwill towards Rhodes and Isha.

"This body isn't perfect yet, but after fusing with a cosmic phantom beast, you'll grow much stronger. The phantom beast's power matches your order divinity and can even repair your soul," Rhodes explained.

Phantom beast fusion had many benefits: soul repair, power upgrades, energy purification.

For perfect soul repair, merging with the giant race was best—but the phantom beast was more than enough.

"Perfect. Thank you both. I owe you a debt—no, two debts, for reviving me and giving me a body," Khaine said.

It was instinctual—he remembered some craftsman god had once tricked him with 100 swords, but he'd kept his word.

"No need for thanks. Merge with the body—it's made just for you," Rhodes said.

Khaine nodded, entered the vessel, or his soul would be yanked back to the Warp.

As his soul entered, Isha quietly infused life energy to help the fusion. The Eldar body began to change, wild godly power reshaping it.

From a slender 2.1-meter Eldar, he became a 2.5-meter muscular giant—wild, savage, almost like an Astartes. This form suited the God of War perfectly.

After merging, Khaine activated the transformation ability, turning into a 60-meter giant.

This super-beast body had only basic abilities—flight, space survival—but after fusing with a phantom beast, Khaine's power would soar.

"Truly a perfect vessel," Khaine said after testing it. He was very pleased.

"Now, see your next gift!"

Rhodes grinned and summoned the cosmic phantom beast for Khaine.

A crimson monster with massive fists—ex-Red King. Rhodes had recently upgraded his monsters to ex-status, giving Red King fire powers.

Fire Golzan, empowered by magma, and frost monster Guigass—all eligible for phantom beast fusion.

Rhodes spent 3 million system gold, transforming all three.

Frost Guigass was for Magnus—perfect for a mage. Fire Golzan would go to the Lord of Salamanders, Vulkan. Ex-Red King was meant for Khaine—Red King's violent, war-loving nature matched Khaine perfectly.

Fusing with ex-Red King would greatly boost Khaine's body and grant him fire manipulation.

Crucially, the phantom beast fusion gave Rhodes a trump card—if Khaine ever betrayed him, Rhodes could use this to restrain him.

But for now, with Khaine amnesiac, it was all upside for Rhodes!

"I can sense it—this beast is filled with wild battlelust. I like it. I admire it," Khaine said, eyes sparkling at the ex-Red King.

This brute was exactly his type—powerful and battle-hungry.

"I picked it for you. After fusion, you'll gain fire attacks. Go ahead, Red King—merge with your host," Rhodes ordered.

Red King roared, turned into crimson energy, and flowed into Khaine.

A surge of wild power filled Khaine's body, empowering every cell. His flesh matched his soul perfectly.

Not only that, ex-Red King's energy complemented Khaine's order power, boosting his divinity.

In giant form, Khaine grew from 60 to 70 meters.

He could now manifest Red King's giant fists and tail attacks. Unlike other phantom beasts, Red King didn't teach him any martial arts or armor—just raw, wild strength.

This matched Khaine perfectly.

Even in human form, Khaine could use Red King's fire attacks.

"Alright, Khaine. Your power in the material universe is now unmatched. The Eldar Death God has also awakened with a new body—you'll lead the Eldar together," Rhodes said.

"I don't want to lead the Eldar. I just scanned the universe with my power—Orks are the most war-hungry race. I wanted them as followers, but I feel an innate disgust for them, and they seem tied to a Warp god already," Khaine said.

"So?" Rhodes asked.

"So, second best: I see humanity is almost as passionate for war as Orks. Maybe I'll become the God of War for humans instead," Khaine said.

"..." Rhodes.