Chapter 219: Who Is Saint Guilliman

"Your Black Rage? A reflection of Horus within your essence?"

Zhou Yun slightly raised an eyebrow, half-understanding.

"The Black Rage is the echo of my moment of death. When you and Mephiston reach the Chrysalis Fortress, many things will become clear," Saint Guilliman said softly.

Here, Saint Guilliman's voice paused slightly, his gaze toward Zhou Yun tinged with hesitation.

"." Zhou Yun silently took another step back.

This time, Zhou Yun was certain: Saint Guilliman was sizing him up.

Saint Guilliman cleared his throat and whispered, "Lend me your Gate of Anywhere for a moment."

The air instantly fell silent; Zhou Yun and Saint Guilliman stared at each other, awkwardly standing on the rampart.

". No way." Zhou Yun clutched his fourth-dimensional pocket, frowning. "You can borrow anything else—but not my most valuable item!"

"The Xukong energy of Bara Prime is completely depleted, but I can't just abandon Bara Two and Bara One," Saint Guilliman's face twisted with bitterness.

"Can't you just fly out yourself or cast a warp-space teleportation spell?" Zhou Yun scrutinized Saint Guilliman with skepticism.

Even the Lion can teleport people across planets—why do you need my Gate of Anywhere??

Besides, Zhou Yun had heard from Mephiston that the entire warp storm enveloping Bara was likely stirred up by Saint Guilliman himself.

"Short on ships? Ninth Brother, just wait for Thirteenth Brother. Under normal circumstances—"

According to Zhou Yun's past-life memories, the opening of the Great Rift created a two-hundred-year temporal discrepancy between Bara and the Imperium's Holy Realm.

By the time the Battle of Bara ended, Guilliman had already been resurrected, completed the Indomitus Crusade, and arrived to reinforce Bara.

Fortunately, the Great Rift's time differential meant the Regent would not arrive only to bury the Blood Angels.

"I've realigned the timeline around Bara. Now, Bara follows the correct temporal path—your memories won't come to pass."

"Guilliman understands warp-space too little. I can't trust him alone to meet our Father. I fear he'll become a vessel for the Emperor's divine descent."

Zhou Yun nodded in agreement; in the original timeline, that was indeed the case.

"But if you can adjust timelines, why still need my Gate of Anywhere?" Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow.

"Help your brother—I'll pay you with feathers," Saint Guilliman murmured.

Zhou Yun's expression grew slightly odd.

But after a moment's thought, he truly had no immediate need for the Gate of Anywhere.

Even if he did need it urgently, his current reserves were enough to exchange for a replacement.

Renting it out temporarily to Saint Guilliman for some extra income was acceptable.

Zhou Yun hesitated, then reached into his fourth-dimensional pocket and pulled out the Gate of Anywhere.

"Pay up," Zhou Yun extended his hand.

Saint Guilliman gently flapped his wings; over a dozen feathers, glowing faintly golden, drifted from his body and, guided by his psychic energy, landed in Zhou Yun's palm.

"You're shedding badly—gonna go bald?" Zhou Yun slipped the feathers into his fourth-dimensional pocket without expression.

Saint Guilliman's expression remained unchanged; his gaze drifted to the horizon.

Rhino transports and Stormraven gunships roared across the skyline; a group of Blood Angels returned from clearing the xenos front.

"They brought back some xenos carcasses. We also found several biomass pools—collected some biomass."

Saint Guilliman smiled slightly and said:

"I reckon it should be—"

Before Saint Guilliman finished speaking, he noticed Zhou Yun had vanished from his side.

Then he saw Zhou Yun, wearing his psychic hat, suddenly appear on the desert outside Angel's Keep, beside the newly halted transports.

Saint Guilliman couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head—

The piercing pain made Saint Guilliman's expression flicker.

Beneath his adamantium armor, the grotesque wound writhed, its profane energy—infused by the Four Gods and Horus—continually corroding Saint Guilliman's body and soul.

But Saint Guilliman let out a low grunt and suppressed the pain.

Long ago, Horus had been saturated with the Four Gods' power; his attacks inflicted wounds that transcended time, lingering eternally on Saint Guilliman's flesh.

This wound was conceptual: as long as Saint Guilliman existed, it would keep returning, seeking to tear apart his spirit and body.

Most of his strength had been spent stirring the warp storm to shield from the Four Gods' gaze and correcting Bara's timeline—so weak now he could barely fly.

Saint Guilliman suspected Zhou Yun's gear might contain something to heal this wound, but Bara was a barren world, offering Zhou Yun insufficient resources.

In contrast, Ultramar was far wealthier!

"Can't delay much longer. Need to pull Guilliman in quickly."

"Father divided some of the God of Death's authority to Zhou Yun. If he awakens even a little more of his warp essence, my plan can proceed."

Saint Guilliman pressed his hand to his chest, suppressing the pain, his perfect, flawless expression returning to his face.

Then he turned to the Gate of Anywhere and whispered, "Bara One."

A biting cold wind struck Saint Guilliman as he stepped slowly into it.

Bara One was shrouded in icy wind; the stench of blood drifted through the air—xenos, human, and Blood Knight blood mingled, swirling in this cold, dark world.

In the distant haze, faint roars of Astartes and xenos echoed, indistinguishably intertwined.

Saint Guilliman let out a soft sigh and stepped into the darkness.

Instantly, the light radiating from his body dispelled Bara One's darkness like a warm sun.

Corpses—countless corpses—piled into mountains; blood pooled beneath his feet into rivers.

He walked toward the end of this sea of corpses and blood, where a warrior, his power armor nearly shattered, clutched a toy short sword and leaned against his brother's corpse, trembling as he lifted his head.

"F-Father…"

The Astartes rasped, disbelieving at the sight before him.

"Do I still deserve to stand beside you? Is this a hallucination before death—or have you forgiven this vile soul of mine?"

"Or have you come to punish me—for the sins we committed?"

Saint Guilliman said nothing, only walked gently to the Blood Knight's side.

He knelt on one knee in the blood, reaching toward the Blood Knight's only intact helmet.

"No, Father," the Blood Knight shuddered in terror. "Please, don't—Father!"

Saint Guilliman merely shook his head and gently removed the helmet.

The Blood Knight let out a pained cry, reaching to cover his face—only to realize his own face was reflected in Saint Guilliman's armor.

It was a normal face, human, free of any bloody mutation.

The Blood Knight wept uncontrollably, touching his own face in disbelief.

"Father…" his voice trembled: "Father, we fought to the very last moment."

"Anggrath killed many of our brothers. Lord Yor was the last—he held this relic and fought Anggrath."

". This relic suddenly blazed with light; Lord Yor and Anggrath battled until the light faded."

". Then I took this relic from his corpse. Father, have we at least repaid a fraction of our past sins?"

Saint Guilliman gazed upon his son with tenderness and mercy.

"You have paid far more than you ever owed."

"By the name of the Lord of the Ninth Legion, Son of the Emperor, Primarch Saint Guilliman, I swear to the last Blood Knight: the Blood Knights have atoned for their sins, sacrificing in loyalty."

"I shall eternally remember with life and soul: you are my sons I am proud of."

Zhou Yun glanced at the rampart, where Saint Guilliman's figure had vanished into the Gate of Anywhere.

Through the thread in the depths of his consciousness, Zhou Yun faintly sensed Saint Guilliman's condition was poor.

His soul, flesh, and will all bore wounds—wounds slowly spreading.

Saint Guilliman seemed to want to hide this from Zhou Yun; he hadn't realized Zhou Yun could sense it.

Zhou Yun had initially only suspected—but now, seeing Saint Guilliman, who could summon warp storms, still needed his Gate of Anywhere to cross planets, Zhou Yun confirmed his judgment.

Was it Horus's wound?

In warp-space, time does not exist. Horus's wound, infused by the Four Gods, may have transcended time's limits—even the Time Wrapping Cloth cannot fully erase it.

Would the Medical Kit work?

Zhou Yun glanced at the 22nd-century medical device in his fourth-dimensional pocket; its price made his expression flicker.

It cost significantly more than renting the Time Wrapping Cloth once?

With this money, I'd rather just exchange for the Time Wrapping Cloth and go to Terra to revive the Emperor—let him fix this.

Though I don't know if the Time Wrapping Cloth would even work on the Emperor now—he's too steeped in warp-space, where true time doesn't exist.

As Zhou Yun pondered, Mephiston walked up beside him.

"My lord, what are we going to do?" Mephiston asked, puzzled.

Zhou Yun had merely summoned him here via a Blood Angel, without explaining the purpose.

"Who is Saint Guilliman's purest offspring?" Zhou Yun suddenly asked.

Mephiston paused slightly, but before he could answer, Zhou Yun began answering himself:

"Surely, it must be the Blood Angels—the original legion?"

"The Howling Griffins inherited the nobility of the old Ninth Legion."

"The Grave Wardens preserve relics from ten thousand years ago—possible."

"The Flesh Tearers may be steeped in Black Rage and Bloodlust, but isn't that Saint Guilliman's blessing?"

"Holy shit—what the hell is the Chrysalis Saint Guilliman Cult?"

(End of Chapter)