The time has come for me to continue where we left off. I thank you all for your patience and anticipation of this book, and I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations. Now then, let's get started with a recap, for the sake of those who haven't read the first book ( or feel reluctant to ).

Enjoy.

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The Imperium of Man was losing the Great War.

Mankind's greatest champions, the Primarchs, were all but lost- whether it be through complete surrender to the foul promises of the Warp, claimed by death, or driven far to despair. Its forces were scattered, weakened by untold years of infighting. Seizing this grand opportunity to drive the final nail on the coffin, an acolyte of Chaos Undivided stole the gene-seed of the Great Betrayer Horus Lupercal and began his sinister work of recreating the Primarch of the Luna Wolves to usher in a new age- one dominated by the Ruinous Powers.

Instead, the clone forged therein captured the true soul of the Primarch. Upon awakening, Horus slew all who were within the corrupted temple. Realizing that the actions committed in that horrible age, though it was through the influence of the Warp, the resurrected Primarch despaired and mourned the state of the Imperium of which he had given all his life for. In desperation, he called for his father, unsure whether an answer would come.

But it did, and the Emperor appeared before his son. He renewed the Primarch's purpose, instructing him to save what was lost and restore the Imperium to its former glory- or at least a semblance of that whole. He bestowed upon him the godspear Soulrender, a weapon imbued with the essence of a god and capable of erasing all it struck from existence. It proved to be his greatest weapon, and would become instrumental in the destruction of many powerful foes.

Escaping from the temple, Horus Lupercal encountered Sergeant Marcus Aggregius, a Blood Raven astartes and the last survivor of his squad from a tyranid attack. From his new ally, Horus learned all he could about the state of the Imperium at present, and grew even more depressed at the news of its stagnating state. Determined to right his wrongs, the Primarch concealed his true identity under the moniker of the Nameless Hero. Together, the two piloted a space-hulk out of the Warp, which was conveniently trapped in the middle of a trans-warp jump, and out into realspace.

Once freed, the transhumans met Captain Maranda Goodwill, daughter of the famed Ursarkar Creed and leader of Battlegroup Imperatis. The remains of the captain's fleet were trapped under heavy fire from a heretic fleet, whose bloodcrazed commander desired nothing more than to lay waste to all the worlds in his path. Utilizing the tools at his disposal, timing and gravity, Horus directed the space-hulk onto a collision course with the enemy flagship and laid waste instead upon the heretic battleships, thereby saving Captain Goodwill and earning himself another ally.

Meanwhile, as the forces of Chaos stirred and rallied beneath his banner, the Despoiler rose up from his bloodstained throne and hurled his fateful challenge for the Thirteenth time. Abaddon sought to destroy the Cadian Gate to usher in the Red Age, and to rid the universe of the corpse upon the Golden Throne forever. For the Thirteenth time, a thousand voidships poured out of the Eye of Terror to realspace. For the Thirteenth time, and what would be the final throw, Abaddon encroached upon the Imperial border. With his arrival, the entire sector was set ablaze. Millions perished as the Planetkiller wiped out countless worlds and sundered fleets where they stood.

It was here that Horus realized he could do some good, and so devoted his time and effort to save Cadia from its fate.

And so he traveled back and forth, lending aid to those in need and guiding the hands of the defenders to better forestall their oncoming judgement. The Emperor, knowing Horus would need all the help he could get, then moved to bring back the Saint Celestine from the abyss. Though instructed directly by her god to aid his son, the hatred for the Betrayer's sins proved too great and Celestine endeavored to test the Primarch for herself.

As the shadow of the Despoiler loomed over the Cadian Gate, news reached Horus that another familiar name surfaced upon a cathedral world called Ibrium. His mind goaded by the promise of vengeance, Horus hurled himself down to the world to face the Dark Apostle Erebus- eager to visit a thousand years of betrayal upon the man and doom him into oblivion. He succeeded, but in the midst of the battle revealed his true identity to the sergeant, whose loyalty up till now remained unquestioned. Realizing who he truly was, and holding him at gunpoint, Aggregius became torn between duty and passion. On one hand, he had every reason to kill the Archtraitor. On the other, he questioned the reason behind Horus' benevolent actions about the Cadian Gate. Horus managed to convince Aggregius of his intentions, saying that he came to save Cadia, not destroy it- albeit earning himself a broken nose for the deception.

So when the day came when Abaddon at last reached Cadia Prime, facing the host of Imperial warships from every corner of the sector, Horus and Aggregius were not found absent from the battlefields. Here they stood with all of Cadia's finest, and many other astartes chapters with an axe to grind against the Despoiler. Among them were the Adepta Sororitas Order of Our Martyred Lady, led personally by Saint Celestine herself.

Even though Horus proved instrumental against the forces of Chaos down in the Muster Fields of Cadia, the Saint had yet to believe what even her god sanctioned. And so there came a moment where the Primarch could have been judged falsely and executed before the vengeful masses, had Aggregius not decided to confirm the truth. Though many still believed him as the vile traitor he was, the bigger threat was apparent.

The Despoiler's taloned hand closed over Cadia, and the Blackstone Fortresses at his command loomed above the cracked and bleeding world.

But just as the Thirteenth Black Crusade reached its frightening peak, Archmagos Belisarius Cawl of the Adeptus Mechanicus activated the dormant Necron arc pylons within Cadia's aged crust, and through the anti-psionic effects did the daemonic entities were snapped out of realspace- crippling the forces of Chaos critically and leaving the Despoiler completely at the mercy of the vengeful Imperial fleets.

No longer protected from teleportation means, the Planetkiller flagship was soon assailed by the Lupercal and his allies.

The battle that ensued was ironically mirrored to the Siege of Terra in the dark days of the Horus Heresy. Scores of loyalists and traitors died before the battle reached the bridge, upon which the Despoiler himself awaited his coming judgement. It was Horus' chance at redemption, and so he seized it.

In the midst of the conflict, Sergeant Marcus Aggregius fell before the Despoiler's power, his corpse merely adding to the billions sacrificed for the cause. This further spurred Horus onward, and Abaddon soon found himself facing the full wrath of his gene-sire. Momentarily, the Despoiler was bought a few minutes of life as his blade struck out against Horus, halting him on his path of vengeance. Seeking to aid him, Saint Celestine engaged the Despoiler, who then overpowered her in the latter moments and broke her wings.

Seized by a cold rage, Horus plucked the damnable blade out of his body and drove his spear through Abaddon's heart, though the battle came at a heavy price, he ultimately won and vanquished the Despoiler from all existence.

After Abaddon's death, a warp gate tore open and dragged Horus out of the flagship and into the Blackstone Fortress below. There, he chanced upon the Farseer Eldrad Ulthran, who snuck through the Imperial defensive line to aid, somewhat, the people of Cadia by ridding the forces of Chaos their prized Blackstone Fortresses. What came next was beyond anything the two unlikely allies could ever anticipate, for the Blackstone Fortress was in fact dedicated solely to the Dark God Slaanesh!

What followed was a harrowing ordeal, one shared by the two, as Slaanesh tossed them into her private arena to petition for her favors. Whether it was out of a mere whim or some dark and perverse calculated scheme, the facts were lost upon the reluctant gladiators, and they had no choice but to comply. Weeks were spent in the Warp with non-stop fighting, until the two emerged victorious. Sated momentarily, the dark god's favor was seized by Eldrad, who demanded she depart from the sector immediately.

The deal was cast, and Slaanesh returned the contenders to Cadian space.

Once there, the Farseer and his one-time ally parted ways, and Horus went back to his allies on Cadia Prime. There, the victorious loyalists gathered upon the Muster Fields to honor the fallen who had given their lives for the preservation of Cadia, Horus' name placed among them. The Primarch's return was met with joyous elation, and even the revered Saint Celestine, who harbored a deep feeling of suspicion against the Primarch's intentions initially, felt all her doubts fade away as his true convictions were made evident by his actions done upon Cadia.

By his timely intervention, an act that played a pivotal role in the shifting tides of the conflict, Cadia remained standing and the Eye of Terror had been contained. The Despoiler would never threaten the realms of man again.

But to Horus, his mission for redemption had not yet ended, and neither did the war as far as he was concerned. So, seizing this chance to rally all to his cause, Horus called for every banner to come to him that he may make for the borders of Ultramar. Convinced that the forces of Chaos, now scattered across the Imperium after Abaddon's defeat, would undoubtedly make for the sub-sector, Horus made haste and journeyed to Ultramar to save his brother- the Primarch Roboute Guilliman, who sat interred upon a stasis chamber deep in the heart of Ultramar Prime.

There, he arrived at just the right time, for the realms of Ultramar were under siege by the legions of Chaos Undivided, who took it upon themselves to forever lay low the preserved Primarch within. Utilizing all the meager resources at hand, Horus brought with him the Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, of whom the answer to his brother's revivification lay. And so, keeping all that sought to do his brother harm at bay, Horus led the Archmagos to the throneroom and set him to purpose.

There, a spark of hope lit up for the realm of Ultramar, for the Primarch was soon successfully revived.

And yet, after beating back the heretics assailing his fortress, Guilliman turned on his brother and attempted to strike him down. The kinship between them had been sundered from the dark days of Horus Heresy, and all that was left was murderous desire and undiluted rage. Though he initially disarmed him, Horus allowed Guilliman to wraps his hands upon his throat, feeling responsible for all that the Imperium had lost the day Chaos claimed his soul. But before Guilliman would have the satisfaction of killing the Primarch, the Emperor of Mankind appeared and intervened on his son's behalf.

Here, he rebuked Guilliman and instructed all who were present to give Horus the due respect and loyalty he deserved, declaring that he had already pardoned him for all his sins. Satisfied that his word was kept, the Emperor left his sons to continue in their work to restore the fading Imperium.

Absorbing himself into his work, Guilliman endeavored to cleanse Ultramar Prime of any opposition, and with his leadership the defense of his homeworld was successfully made. Reeling from the overwhelming skill shown in every theatre of war, the forces of Chaos retreated then were hunted down, routed and massacred out of existence. One day, as he was left to contemplate on all that had happened, Guilliman again faced Horus.

Though the animosity was still fresh between them, he listened to his brother's words, expecting some kind of weak excuse to save him from blame but got, instead, a sincere plea for forgiveness that touched the Primarch's otherwise stubborn heart.

To Guilliman, he saw that even the people of Cadia saw in Horus what they would otherwise remain blind to, and asked himself what kind of a Primarch would he be that he should show any less compassion than those who lived in the dark age ushered by the Horus Heresy. Though the kinship between them would never be fully restored, Horus felt content with his brother's new perspective on the matter and lent whatever aid he could give in preparing their forces for the journey back to Terra, as per instructed by the Emperor himself.

Meanwhile, the Emperor reached out to his son trapped within the Warp on his millennia long voyage of penance, that he may rouse him from his solitary confinement and bring him back to realspace. Corvus Corax, overjoyed that his purpose had been renewed, listened intently to his father's instruction. For when the Terran Crusade began their long and arduous trek through the Immaterium, the Raven Lord's involvement in the coming battles proved to be instrumental in keeping the Primarchs more or less intact for their arrival on the capital.

As the brother Primarchs journeyed slowly towards Terra, the unshakable feeling of doom could be felt at the corners of their minds, and though caution was held in highest regard along the crusade, disaster still struck. An expertly planned and executed trap caught the Terran Crusade as they exited through the mouth of the Maelstrom and into the roaring guns of the Thousand Sons battlefleets! Losses were critical and mounting, and desperate measures were taken to keep the Crusade from being utterly destroyed.

The Fateweaver, Kairos, took it upon himself to rid the Crusade of one Primarch and attacked Guilliman's vessel personally. While he managed to successfully overcome the Primarch's defenses, he had forgotten Horus Lupercal and had not counted on the timely intervention of the Raven Lord. For when the hour drew near, Corvus Corax descended upon the forces of Chaos like a bird of prey coming to steal a meal from the battlefield. This, in turn, resulted in the death of the Greater Daemon and plunged the Imperial fleets into the bloodstained borders of Huron Blackheart's domain.

Though Guilliman suggested that they continue back on their way to Terra, Horus revealed that they had a chance to rid the galaxy of another serious threat and called for his forces to converge on the Blackstone Fortress that held the Tyrant of Badab and slay him while they still had the momentum.

And so they did, with bolter and sword they laid waste to the fortress just as coincidentally the bloodcrazed hordes of the Chaos God Khorne assaulted the Blackstone Fortress on the other front. Caught between two powerful foes, Huron Blackheart's time came to an end, and the Tyrant made his last stand on the Maelstrom before Horus slew him and blotted him out of existence with the godspear.

In the moments where he was found alone, Horus spent his time talking with Saint Celestine, who had grown quite fond of the Primarch over time. His story, to her, was one that stood as a testament to the Emperor's unending grace and limitless compassion, and truly something she had come to admire. This admiration blossomed into a form of platonic affection, one that forged a strong bond between the Primarch and Saint that kept each other strong in the future conflict that they soon faced upon reaching Terra.

For when the ruling government of the capital learned of the approaching Primarchs, fear and confusion stirred by none other than the Great Deceiver Tzeentch caused them to turn against their would-be saviors and fired upon the approaching Terran Crusade.

A brief civil war broke out in the sector, stopped only by the intervention of the Emperor himself, who knew that there would be no word but his that could sway the zealous masses into accepting his redeemed son. This intervention also caused so many tears in the fabric of reality, for the Emperor had to tear himself free from his mortal vessel in order to soundly rebuke the instigators of the conflict, that the daemons swarmed through the streets of the Imperial Palace. Once all had been dealt with, and with great haste, the Emperor left his instructions to the leaders of the Crusade.

Corvus Corax was named Lord Vanquisher, and he was instructed to protect the borders, particularly the Damocles Gulf, from the encroaching xenos. Roboute Guilliman was named Lord Commander of the Realms, and was tasked to fix the crumbling logistics aspects, the economical status of the Imperium, and the waning Imperial Armies- a task he was felt better suited for. Saint Celestine, whom the Emperor declared officially with the honorable title of 'daughter', was instructed to reform the Ecclesiarchy, as per request from his son Horus.

The reasons, as stated, was not because Horus saw his father as a god like Lorgar Aurelian thought in the past. Rather, Horus saw that the faith in the Emperor made him stronger in the Warp, and only through that faith could the citizens of the Imperium continue through the dark days of this grim future. He begged the Emperor not to plunge mankind into an age of unbelief, for to do so will bring only ruin to mankind and give the forces of Chaos ground to exploit and eventually win. Reluctantly, the Emperor agreed and told Celestine to reform the Ecclesiarchy into something better than it was before, and one such reform was to destroy the Tenets of Penance, as it lent the Dark God Slaanesh power through the excesses of pain and suffering done by the willing hands of the Sisters Repentia.

For Horus, he was tasked to reform his legion, a task he at first felt unworthy of. With directions to journey to the Vaults of Mars, the Emperor gave permission to have the new legion be made stronger than before, saying that it would serve Horus well in his future tasks ahead. And the Emperor gave one last task before leaving, revealing a plan that would serve as his trump card to change the Great Game. Horus was instructed to utilize whatever resources he had to wrest the Aeldari Goddess Isha from the Realm of Chaos, and bring her to him that he may be resurrected from the brink of death.

And so the leaders parted ways, with each a daunting quest to fulfill.

Horus reformed the Luna Wolves, of whose young ranks were places under the leadership of the Bannerless Brethren, outcasts and ancients that stood by Horus when he retrieved the STC responsible for the remodified gene-seed necessary for the formation of the new legion. There was Galio, the last known original Luna Wolf. There was Graves, an Imperial Fist turned mercenary. There was Thavos, a hulk of an astartes hailing from the Mastodon chapter. There was Alduin, an absolved Emperor's Child. There was Otho Galatian, and his fellow Doomslayer, a mute named Mordekai.

As if to test the legion's strength, the champion of Nurgle, the foul wretch Typhus the Traveler, arrived on site to despoil the Luna Wolves project while it remained at its infancy. They were stopped only through the involvement of an unlikely foe, and a very unlikely ally for the Luna Wolves- the Ynnari and their Prophetess Yvraine!

Though held in high suspicion by his sons, Horus gave Yvraine the benefit of the doubt, seeing as how her intervention gave them ample opportunity to slay Typhus and rid the galaxy of another disease. This act later forged a better relationship between the aeldari and mankind, though in this particular instance, exclusive to the Luna Wolves.

Once the danger had passed, the Luna Wolves journeyed towards Fenris, the Space Wolves' homeworld to inquire of the Rune Priests of the visions pertaining to their missing Primarch's location. Concluding his visit with a promise to restore their lost Primarch, the Luna Wolves joined forces with the Space Wolves and mustered their fleets to make the bold trek into the Plague God's realms.

But before they could leave, the Prophetess Yvraine left a parting gift unto Horus, one that would better shift the odds in their favor should they tread the perilous gardens of Nurgle. Here, she revealed that the godspear that Horus held contained the hidden form of one of the five Croneswords- powerful artifacts of the aeldari's lost age that would aid in her quest to revive her patron god Ynnead. But when the Primarch demanded that she return the spear to him, Yvraine acquiesced and wished him good fortune in the wars to come- to the dismay of her coterie of warlocks and exarchs.

Protected by the artifact- the Rose of Isha- Horus and his legions chanced upon Leman Russ after countless years wandering through the Warp. Akin to Guilliman's reaction to Horus' return, Leman attempted to strike him down, for the marks of the Horus Heresy were still fresh on his mind. But unlike the first time, Horus had a higher purpose to this quest, and he needed Leman Russ' aid- aside from the fact that he preferred to be more or less intact in the approaching battle.

Though it took him a great while to absorb all that had happened in his long absence, Leman eventually came around and aided Horus in the battle against the forces of Nurgle. Together, the Primarchs wrested Isha away from Nurgle's palace and made straight for the borders of Terra. With the goddess at their side, they returned to the Golden Throne.

And by her touch, the Emperor returned to life.

Now, as the millennia draws to a close, an enraged Nurgle summons all his followers from every corner of the material and immaterial realms. Promising an eternity of suffering upon mankind for the slight he received from the Lupercal, he dispatches his favored champion, the Daemon Prince Mortarion on a quest to retrieve Isha and put her back in her cage where she belonged.

It is now the 42nd Millennium, and in the grim darkness of the far future...

There is only war...

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Shipping the Emprah and Isha? Yes yes, I know it is heresy...

Aaaaaand, I don't care :)