A thousand redemptions for a thousand dead sons.

by ThatRarityIsaSpy


Chapter 5

"Give me one... no two..." Magnus said to his subordinate as Kertus entered the room. Even with his mask on, Magnus could pretty much smell the rage that came from the sorcerer. Had it not been for any of the current circumstances, he wouldn't have been surprised to see the man try something.

"What do you want?" Kertus hissed at the Primarch. The irony. The man who had the worst relationship with their leader got away with speaking to him in the rudest tone.

"What do I want? No my friend. It's something I need." The Daemon said as he gestured to the window. "Observe. Planet Asphodel. It contains an artifact from a forgotten era. It's name? I do not know. Just call it... the device. It looks like this."

The daemon held up an artist's representation of the device to Kertus who scrutinized it carefully.

"Had a good look? In your memory now? Good. Because you are going to go get it for me. And let me let you in on something. You finish this job, I promise you, every slave and captive we have in our holds will be released. Nothing... I promise... no harm or trickery will befall them if you do this for me... Fail however..."

The bolter shots and the sound of blood spraying on the floors and walls was enough to get his point across.

"Now get going."




"My lord, must I let you know that sending him off is folly?" One of Magnus' advisors said as he watched Kertus depart. "What if he finds ou..."

"Shh.... ears everywhere my friend. He won't. By the time he will, he will probably either be dead, or marooned somewhere far enough where we can forget about him. I think I prefer the first... though what of the second? Let him have his wish of being with his friends and family, only to make it an immortality of torment, knowing both that he may not die nor forget."

"Kertus has no loyalty to us. We all know where his true loyalties lie. So what stops him from betraying us in some way or form? If he does find out about our plans, he may end up choosing... and chances are he will destroy us."

"You just answered it. You know where his true loyalties lie. You see... The Emperor isn't just a backstabber, but he's also a weak man, clutching onto the lives of his subjects like a miser holds on to his last piece of silver. If he really is still on their side, or at least wants to be, then he won't do anything that leaves anyone still "innocent" dead. Of course... he can always prove to us that the darkness is in him too by destroying this ship and everyone aboard."

"I still have my doubts lord, though it is not in my place to question your strategies. My only observation is Kertus will show his true colors sooner or later."

"When that happens, he may be a threat to you, to the army, but not to me. I will handle him personally."

What no one knew, was Kertus had been listening.





"So let's go over this again. How did you turn that "rock" into a block of silver?" Galaxia asked as the Emperor kept shaking like he really needed to go on a bathroom break.

"Using the powers of the warp, I teleported a chunk of silver and replaced it with the rock and vice-versa... can we please stop playing this game? Right now, I feel as though my soul is going to jump out of it's body from what Magnus' plan is!" He said. He hadn't moved from the golden throne that entire day despite Malcador and Galaxia's reassurances to him that everything would be alright.

"We got more than 10,000 astartes to deal with that rabble. Why do you continue to worry about him? As we speak, I gave orders to have Leman Russ move more of his legion into the sub-sector. If the Thousand sons aren't dead in 24 hours, then we have reason to worry... but until then, what reason is there to panic?"

"Because if he succeeds, we're all back to square one." The Emperor said. "And this time, it's not just going to be Terra that's in danger. It'll be every world that has been connected to the human webway! Important ones too. Fenris, Titan, Baal, Mars, Macragge and more. If any of those worlds fall, it's going to be complete disaster!"

"That's why you're going to stay on that throne all day and not move? Maybe a disaster won't be a complete disaster if you decide to do something! It's unbecoming of a ruler to sit on his throne and do nothing while his subjects are in peril!"

"And it's a good thing so long as I sit here, nothing will happen."

"I tried to convince you." Galaxia murmured to herself as she left Sigmar on his own.



"Location of Magnus the Red is most likely to be on Asphodel. A civilized world. 80% of the population have now either been killed or captured by the Thousand Sons. 15% are still on the planet offering what meager resistance they can. 5% have fled.

"Thank you Magos." Frakan said as he gave the order to move his ship. "Tavish!"

"Aye?"

"You want to have some fun? Magnus has deployed a sizable force to Asphodel and is currently slaughtering the population."

"That git would attack some poor lads who are smaller than him! It's snakes like him that give war a bad name!"

"You going to do something?"

"DO SOMETHING?! DO SOMETHING LAD?! WE'RE GOING TO GO DOWN THE PAIN TRAIN STATION, AND THOSE GOOD-FOR NOTHING BASSAS ARE GOING TO GET FIRST CLASS TICKETS!"

"That's the spirit." Fraken chuckled as he saw Tavish take out a powersword that was almost his size.

"Come on lads! WE'LL 'EM ALL! IT'S ON!"




"Pathetic things." The sorceror said as he held a man in his massive hands. "Weak. Wretched. All of you! What is the point of your meager lives?! You break far too easy you lot!"

"Put me down devil!"

"Devil? Noooo, I am far worse." The Thousand Son chuckled nastily as he got his other hand which had gotten an odd glow. "Want to know an immortality of torture?"

"Put him down."

"Kertus? So slave, I see you've come down yourself. Would you like to see an innocent soul lose his?"

"You will put him down Shezmu." Kertus said as he approached the sorceror.

"And if I don't? What are you going to do huh? Kill me? You lose more than yo...."

The Sorceror all of a sudden found it rather difficult to breathe, or move as a whole as he felt himself being levitated into the air, a massive invisible hand threatened to smother him as he continued to make his pained wheezing noises.

"No. I won't kill you. I can do something far worse." Kertus said as he listened to the snap. There's a hundred more bones I can still break..."

Turning his head, he looked at the scared mortal who was hiding behind a rock. Eyes fixed on him in terror.

"Run."

He needed no second bidding, in fact, he was out of sight before anyone could as much as count to ten seconds. Turning back to Shezmu, Kertus listened to another audible snap of the bones before letting him down, and kicking him down to the earth.

"YOU ARE A COWARD. YOU ARE WEAK. YOU ARE NO SPACE MARINE. YOU ARE SCUM. YOU WILL NEVER BE A REAL MAN."

He lost his temper as he grinded every syllable, which was followed by a hard kick. When he was finally done, Shezmu could hardly stand from the agony that was inflicted upon him.

"You..will... pay for this." Shezmu hissed as he got up painfully.

"Just like you will pay for your crimes one day." Kertus shot back.

"You're a fool to think that you can still do what is right. Foolish whelp. You really believe after serving Magnus you can be like one of them again? Like they'll even accept you? Wrong. You'll get a bolter in the skull, and when that day comes, you'll regret not siding with us."

"When they've killed you. I can be there to tell you so when your soul is in agony for eternity as punishment for your crimes. I may not deserve to live for my sins, but I will repent and he will forgive. I know he will. You however, you are lost. You were lost by your own choice. I never had a choice."

"Even then, Magnus has won. You really think you can do what's right? You really think that the false Emperor will accept you as one of his own? He betrayed us at Prospero, he will cast you aside the moment you lose your worth. That'll be the same moment you've killed Magnus. Or at least, the same moment when Magnus is dead."

"You don't seem so sure you'll win."

"Of course not. But I am going to tear down everything that the False Emperor has built. I doubt I'll live to fight another day, but knowing that he suffered for his crimes will be enough."

"You are just like the others. Murderers trying to justify your crimes. I have a job to do. When it's over, I promise you. I will throw your corpse into hell's mouth."

"You may be more powerful than me. But you'll never defeat Magnus."

"We'll see."