Editing Mephiston (section)

==Blood of Baal==
The third book of the [[Psychic Awakening]] event, it seems that two things are very clear: Mephiston has become [[Primaris Space Marines|Primaris]] and that the battle between the Blood Angels and Tyranids is going to have a rematch.

''Darkness in the Blood'' expands on Mephiston's transformation. Mephiston was being used as a kind of pseudo-guide for the fleets in Imperium Nihilus, and Mephiston seemed to be growing in power with the opening of the Great Rift. But despite his caution and his emphatic loyalty to Sanguinius and The Emperor, the sheer level of power increase occurring so rapidly, outpaced his self-discipline, and so Mephiston was losing control of it. This all came to a head during a trap laid by [[Slaanesh]], where Mephiston pretty much wiped the floor with Kyriss, but damn near succumbed to the Black Rage as a result. Fortunately however, Dante knocked Mephiston the fuck out so that they could return him to Baal, where the Lord of Death was volunteered to test the Rubicon Primaris. During the process, Mephiston's soul was cast into the ethereal plane, and ultimately greeted by none other than Sanguinius himself, who explained to the Lord of Death that the Sanguinor and his counterpart, the Angel of Darkness, represented the Purity and Red Thirst/Black Rage, respectively, inherent to all those of Sanguinius' bloodline, (who refer to themselves collectively as "brothers of the blood"). Mephiston was given the choice to take the embodiment of the Flaw into himself, similar to the Sanguinor, but acting as its opposite counterpart, with all the most savage parts of the Blood Angels.

After his rebirth, Primaris Mephiston is now a containment vessel for the Flaw, but realizes that drawing on that strength without restraint will make the Black Rage stronger and eventually reduce all those of the blood into something exponentially worse than even the [[World Eaters]]. That being said, when coupled with their self-discipline, the power boost granted by the flaw to those of the blood (and Mephiston in particular) becomes immeasurable. To paraphrase from the book somewhat, though it takes a toll, the flaw acts as a tool; one that may harm its wielder if not handled with care, but when tempered by disciple, duty, and loyalty to [[Emperor|The Master of Mankind]], becomes invaluable. To illustrate this point, Mephiston's first combat action after crossing the Rubicon Primaris saw him solo-ing a fucking [[Genestealer Patriarch]] (including the attending dozens of elites of its inner circle), all while simultaneously entirely blocking the psychic call they were attempting to send to the Hivemind. Mephiston didn't even break a sweat.

None but Mephiston himself are fully aware of the responsibility he accepted (though Dante has intuited a vague outline), but no one can deny Mephiston is still utterly loyal to Big-E, even if he is most likely the single most dangerous individual threat to the Blood Angels' souls. Astorath was prepared to kill him and Dante even considered it. But Dante judged (probably correctly) that the Space Vampires need Mephiston more than ever. It's also worth noting that though he is unsure whether or not his meeting with Sanguinius was real (an uncertainty that Dante does not share however), it nonetheless had a profound impact on him, seeming to instill in him some humility and even restoring some small traces of the humanity that he'd previously thought gone from him forever. Nowhere was this more apparent than when he met Sanguinius; from the first moment Sanguinius revealed his identity, Mephiston, the Lord of Death himself, was so awe-struck that he fell to his knees and wept, immediately addressing him as "my father".