Chapter 108 The Folly of Magnus

The fleet departed from the Chalnath Expanse and, utilizing the Webway, quickly arrived at Macragge.

By this time, thanks to the Webway, the beacon, and the Obsidian Highway tunnels, Macragge had effectively become the central hub of the Imperium. A massive volume of starships arrived and departed daily, making the system exceptionally prosperous and bustling.

Guilliman really is an ambitious one. Let him shoulder the heavy burden of this Imperium.

Looking out into the void through the viewport and taking in the prosperous scene, the Emperor silently made his decision.

Back when Malcador was around to handle the state affairs, he could still fake it. But without Malcador processing the endless paperwork, he couldn’t stand working this soul-crushing, dead-end job of being the Emperor for even a single day. Then again, if he was going to abdicate, he really ought to trick those good sons of his into taking on some of the debt. Five hundred billion star systems—he’d be working until the end of time to hit that quota himself. He definitely had to pawn this off on his boys.

“Big E, let’s go. The comms say there’s a Troupe performing The Folly of Magnus over at the exhibition hall. If we hurry, we can still catch the show.”

The Emperor pulled his attention back and looked at Vane, who was busy setting up a portal. Noticing the hat on Vane’s head, he was suddenly curious.

“Traveler, why are you wearing a hat?”

Vane pointed at the cap on his head. “Oh, this? It’s the Hat of the Forgotten.”

“It makes the world forget the wearer. No matter what you do, no one will pay you any mind. With this hat, we can just stroll in and out of wherever we want. We won’t have to deal with the crowds, and we can move around freely.”

Vane had snagged the Hat of the Forgotten as a reward for clearing a rule-based horror world. It was a ridiculously overpowered item that erased the user from the world’s perception, allowing them to completely bypass aggro from monsters and deadly rule mechanics.

“Is it really that powerful?” The Emperor stared at the hat, genuinely surprised.

“It’s no big deal. Come on, let’s go.”

Vane finished calibrating the portal and activated it. Stepping through, they arrived at an open clearing right by the exhibition hall. Thanks to the Hat of the Forgotten, even if anyone happened to spot the portal materializing out of nowhere, they subconsciously forgot about it the very next second.

While the Emperor was looking around trying to spot the Harlequin Troupe, Vane suddenly grabbed him by the arm and pointed at two statues in the distance.

“Big E, look over there.”

The Emperor looked at the statues, confused. “They’re just two statues. What’s so special about them?”

“Those are the statues of Konor and Tarasha Euten,” Vane explained, gesturing at the stone figures.

“I know that. And?” The Emperor looked even more baffled.

“Aren’t you gonna get on your knees and kowtow to them?” Vane turned to look the Emperor dead in the eye. “Look at how well they raised Guilliman for you. The son of war grew up to be the Primarch who understands management the best—the Imperial Regent who actually gives a damn about everyday, normal people.”

I suddenly have the urge to join Chaos!!

—

The Harlequin Troupe performing at the exhibition hall was called Dawn’s Hope.

They were performing The Folly of Magnus for the humans and Aeldari gathered outside the theater, a play they had only recently choreographed. It had to be said, watching the play while the actual Traitor Primarch Magnus was locked in a cage right next to the stage made for an incredibly immersive experience. It had quickly become a must-see tourist attraction for anyone visiting Macragge.

The plot of The Folly of Magnus was quite long, basically covering the entire sequence of events where the arrogant and prideful Primarch was manipulated and ultimately driven to betrayal.

After being ordered by the Emperor to return to Prospero, Magnus didn’t give up his research into the Warp; he just continued to secretly harvest its knowledge. Through the Immaterium, he learned of Horus’s betrayal. Eager to prove his worth and show the Emperor just how practical and powerful sorcery could be, Magnus decided to use blood sacrifices and dark magic to send a warning to his father, who was busy working on the Webway.

However, his psychic projection was blocked by the psychic wards the Emperor had placed to protect the Webway project. Borrowing power from the Chaos Gods, Magnus forcefully shattered the barrier and breached the Imperial Palace. Realizing the catastrophic mistake he’d just made, he panicked and ran, completely forgetting the very reason he came in the first place.

Furious, the Emperor ordered Leman Russ to take the Space Wolves and drag Magnus back to Terra. Horus, however, secretly altered the orders, commanding the Wolf King to execute Magnus instead.

When Leman Russ arrived at Prospero, he demanded that Magnus come back with him to explain everything to their father. But Magnus, consumed by fear and guilt, locked himself away. No matter how Leman Russ called out to him, Magnus refused to answer. He even ordered his sons to deactivate all their planetary defense systems, fully resigning himself to judgment.

Leman Russ never received a reply, and the only communication lines left were controlled by traitors who had already fallen to Chaos. Ultimately, the Wolf King ordered an all-out assault on Prospero.

The warriors of the Thousand Sons didn’t know the truth. When they saw the Space Wolves attacking, their first thought was that the Wolves had gone rogue. It wasn’t until the very end that the Thousand Sons realized they were the ones being labeled traitors, with absolutely no point of return. A Legion built on glory and honor was completely screwed over by their own Gene-Father, forced to forever bear the brand of heresy.

The storyline was incredibly dramatic, and the Harlequin Troupe acted their hearts out, treating the audience to a spectacular theatrical feast.