As for the Dark King's claim that the alliance between their two races could continue, the Aeldari God of the Dead did not believe a word of it. He had no interest in trusting a being whose very nature bent toward destroying the reality.
Gods existed for their divine missions.
Without that mission, a god had no meaning or purpose. The Dark King's purpose was the annihilation of this universe, and one day, he would undoubtedly carry it out.
Whether he wanted to or not, he was bound to it, just as he was naturally opposed to Slaanesh. Therefore, if Axis simply left now, leaving Ynnead alone to face the four Chaos Gods and a Dark King, it would be impossible to survive.
Axis glanced at the Aeldari God of the Dead and spoke.
"Sometimes, people have to rely on themselves. However, rest assured, I always keep my word. If your world truly faces a cataclysm in the future, I will return to defeat the Dark King," Axis said.
Naturally, he had to offer some encouragement to the God of the Dead. Otherwise, what if the young god gave up out of despair and stopped trying?
Moreover, Axis was not lying. In the future, once his strength had grown and he had fully mastered the Energy of Destruction, he would return.
At that time, regardless of the circumstances, he would obliterate the Dark King. The very existence of that entity was a disrespect and a hazard to the universe.
However, what he needed most right now was time. Whether it was to deal with the Dark King, the mysterious mastermind, or that potentially existing race of Old Ones, Axis needed time.
"Many thanks, Lord Axis. With your guarantee, I can rest easy. This is the shard of the Aeldari God of War I have collected; please accept it." After receiving Axis's assurance, Ynnead breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly handed over the fragment of Khaine, the Bloody-Handed, that he had gathered during this period.
He even offered a greeting to the Goddess of Life, Isha, whom he had never met but who belonged to the same pantheon, as if to say, Please take care of us and speak well of us to Lord Axis in the future.
"Don't worry. I always do what I say. But you cannot slack off either. I can see your potential is immense, so work hard to become stronger. Now that you have a true physical body, you can break through your original limits. Or rather, your original potential was already on the same level as Slaanesh, one of the four Chaos Gods. I believe that one day you will be able to hold up the sky for this universe," Axis said.
"I will, Lord Axis!" The God of the Dead nodded in response.
Relying on oneself was better than relying on others; this was not just a saying. He had to strive to become stronger.
Until then, he would avoid tearing up the agreement with the Dark King. As long as that fellow did not attack the Aeldari, the alliance would remain.
Axis nodded and exchanged a few more words with Ynnead before the Aeldari God of the Dead bid farewell and departed.
The battle was over, and he needed to return to the Ynnari to consolidate the power of the entire Aeldari race.
As for Axis, the Goddess of Life Isha, they returned to the materium to wait for the Dark King to send the others over.
About a few days later, Kratos, who was launching the Indomitus Crusade alongside Rogal Dorn, suddenly received the Emperor's edict.
The Emperor then specifically opened a Webway passage, allowing Kratos and his wife, Living Saint Celestine, to pass through and arrive before Axis.
During the wait, Axis had opened a universal rift and brought the Aeldari Goddess of Life, 40K Isha, to his life Domain.
When the two goddesses of life met, the atmosphere was slightly strange, but as they were both deities of life, communication was not an issue.
Axis simply repeated his previous method, having the Goddess of Life from the other world project her own life domain onto the life domain within the Webway world.
With the superimposed life domain of 40k Isha, the growing Tree of Might received a massive replenishment. Its trunk and branches became thicker and more lush.
The life force of two Life Goddesses was incredibly beneficial for the Divine Tree. After completing this, Axis used a first-generation Saibaman seed to create a divine body for 40K Isha.
His own universe's Isha, who had become a Supreme Kai, also came out to assist. She used her own divine life energy to help her alternate self recover better and fuse more perfectly with the divine body.
"It is truly incredible. I actually have a body. Thank you, Lord Axis, and thank you, the um… 'me'?!"
"You are welcome. Next, we will help Lord Axis cultivate the Tree of Might together. With your help, I think the Tree will mature much faster," Supreme Kai Isha said.
Next, she would teach her alternate self how to wield the power of a Supreme Kai, and then they would help Axis tend the Tree.
With an alternate version of herself, the maturation time could be shortened to within a thousand years. Perhaps even shorter, because they were two Life Goddesses with physical bodies; after ascending to Supreme Kai status, the result was not as simple as one plus one.
"Alright, you two get along well in the future. Khorne, you should return to your own domain as well. Familiarize yourself with the use of this body. I look forward to you becoming stronger, and then we shall have a good fight," Axis said.
"Then I shall leave first," Khorne said, controlling his newly acquired body to return to his Brass Throne. From this day forth, he was the first god since the birth of the Warp to possess a tangible, physical body.
After settling the Goddess of Life and Khorne, Axis returned alone to the other world, ten thousand years into the Warhammer 40k timeline, to await his son's return.
Axis had fought a great battle against the Chaos God Nurgle in the Warp. There was no concept of time there, but over a decade had passed in the outside world, and the Indomitus Crusade had already progressed to its second phase.
Kratos and Living Saint Celestine cut through space and arrived before Axis.
"Father, why did you summon me so suddenly? The Indomitus Crusade is at a critical stage," Kratos asked, looking puzzled.
The war had been going very well. Axis had suppressed the Plague Wars earlier, whereas before, his Uncle Guilliman had been suppressed miserably, fighting a difficult battle even with Yvraine's help. Kratos had arrived to support them at the perfect moment. Following that, his father had defeated Grandfather Nurgle in the Warp, inflicting unimaginable damage upon the entire Plague Legion.
The Imperium had won a complete victory in the Plague Wars. Even the Daemon Primarch Mortarion had been captured alive by Guilliman. Humanity had achieved an unprecedented victory.
Now, with two Primarchs returned and himself, the Emperor's grandson, the morale of the entire Imperium was like a rainbow. They were even preparing to launch a crusade toward the galactic rim to completely reclaim all the Imperium's lost territories.
"There are things I must tell you, but let us go back first. Bring your girlfriend; we are returning to my world," Axis said, patting his son's shoulder.
"Lord Axis! What has happened? It is somewhat inappropriate for us to leave the battlefield now," Celestine said.
"We are not lifeforms of this world after all. Everything in this world has nothing to do with us anymore. We have done what we could; it is time to return to our own home," Axis said.
Axis did not plan to tell them that the Emperor had completely vanished and that the Dark King was now in charge.
Otherwise, his Living Saint daughter-in-law standing before him might suffer a mental breakdown.
One could never underestimate the faith of a Battle Sister, especially a Living Saint who had ascended through belief in the Emperor.
"I understand, Father. It's just... we are leaving in such a hurry. I didn't even say goodbye to Rogal Dorn or Uncle Guilliman," Kratos sighed. It felt as though his father was leaving in a rush this time.
Hadn't he promised the grandfather of this universe that he would help find the remaining Primarchs? Why give up halfway?
"No feast lasts forever. You can't stay here for eternity, can you?" Axis remarked.
Hearing this, Kratos no longer insisted. He nodded to his wife, and the two stood beside Axis, ready to depart.
Axis took a deep breath and circulated his divine power, tearing open a cosmic rift. However, for some reason, Axis felt that tearing the universe apart this time consumed nearly a hundred times more energy than before.
His God Ki was being drained as if a dam had burst. Axis sensed a strange sensation coming from the spatial rift. He felt a powerful suction from the black hole, violently pulling him in.
"No!!"
Kratos instinctively sensed a threat. At the critical moment, he pushed his wife away.
However, the father and son did not have time to escape. Axis and Kratos were sucked into the black hole, leaving behind a bewildered Living Saint.
Celestine stood there, looking at the empty universe, completely unsure of what had just happened.
Following a dizzying sensation, Axis and Kratos suddenly landed on a planet.
Axis, exhausted from the massive consumption, crouched on the ground, unable to catch his breath for a long time.
This trip had consumed nearly ninety percent of his God Ki. If not for his prior training, his body might have been completely drained.
"Father, are you alright?" Kratos hurried forward to help Axis up.
"I'm fine! Wait!"
Axis suddenly sensed the Ki of two pure-blooded Saiyans, as well as the signature of Lord Frieza.
Could it be? No way!
...
..
.
ps?