‘We are not making the same mistakes,’ said the Emperor. They began walking again. ‘You are not Horus. And I am not asking you to be Warmaster. The time for that role has passed.’

‘What are you asking?’ Sanguinius asked. He knew, yet he did not believe.

‘I am asking you take up a mantle you have already borne. You must be Imperator Regis.’

Sanguinius shook his head. ‘The Imperium Secundus was a mistake. It was a sin against you.’

‘You acted in error, but you acted correctly. What would have happened had you refused Guilliman’s plea? By accepting, by being my regent, you forged the unity between the three Legions that led to the victory over Horus. The Imperium would be lucky to experience more such errors.’

‘Why me, Father?’

‘Because you have already proven yourself worthy. You took up rule reluctantly, and set it aside with gratitude.’

Sanguinius sighed. ‘I am still reluctant.’

‘Good. But it is not merely that you are not a usurper, Sanguinius. You are also the leader the Imperium will need. You have the strength. You have the power. You defeated Lorgar. It was to you that they bent the knee in surrender.’

‘You were fighting elsewhere.’

‘That is my point. Even they recognised who stood in my stead. Your destiny is to be my regent.’

This is the choice. This the path you must accept. I will guide your hand at the crucial moment.

Sanguinius recognised the voice in his head now. It was the Emperor’s.­ It had been all along. Even now, he heard no sound, but he recognised the authority, the wisdom, the knowledge and the power behind the words.

The Emperor had stopped walking. The water murmured. A breeze disturbed the Master of Mankind’s raven hair. He looked at the Angel expectantly.

Sanguinius’ consciousness divided. He stood before the Emperor in the Imperial Palace, and a part of him looked on from within the radiant limbo of the portal, conscious that this moment had not happened yet, that this was the future he must bring about. He had to break the bonds of fate, to make this possibility a reality. He had to strike the blow, through the knot of destiny and through Horus’ skull. To reach that moment, he understood now, he had to accept the guidance of the voice. And why wouldn’t he listen to his father?