Becoming Extraordinary

In the foundry, after a furnace that had been vacant for hundreds of years was cleaned out, Nimrod drove everyone within a hundred-meter radius away and locked the surveillance room.

He picked up a rubber spatula and began to prepare the potion.

Preparing a potion did not require profound technique; it only required adding the auxiliary materials followed by the main ingredients in the exact order specified by the formula, then stirring.

Nimrod poured 1100 milliliters of Helas Volt into the furnace and ignited the fire.

He immediately tossed in one Spine Crystal. As the crystal cluster crackled and exploded within the furnace, he threw in a two-meter-long Hive Giant Rat that had been rendered unconscious.

He stirred a few times with the rubber spatula, watching the giant rat melt at a speed visible to the naked eye; this was not just the effect of thousands of crystal shards cutting through it, but the marvelous reaction of the potion materials.

Nimrod knew that a slight variation in the amount of auxiliary materials made no difference, but the main ingredients could not be off by even a fraction; he had repeatedly verified the length of the Wire Grass beforehand.

He tossed in 1100 millimeters of Wire Grass. Corrosive, acidic juices splashed, further accelerating the reaction. A splashing sound erupted from within, and the surrounding light became tinged with a faint black.

By the time he threw in the tongue of a Chem-Dog, the churning liquid in the furnace had reduced to about half a meter.

As soon as the long tongue hit the furnace, black mist surged instantly, shrouding the area around the furnace in haze.

A few seconds later, the black mist receded, and Nimrod scooped out the viscous black liquid with the rubber spatula.

The liquid possessed a strange property: it remained connected to itself, never separating, leaving not a single drop behind in the furnace.

Nimrod knew this was the unique characteristic of the potion; the "Lawyer" potion had been successfully prepared.

Those who did not know the potion formula could never succeed by luck, as the order of the materials could not be wrong, and the quantities had to be precise.

If one were to add the giant rat before the Spine Crystal, they would only end up with a pot of stewed rat.

If there were even a little too much Wire Grass, madness would be the best-case scenario upon consumption.

Nimrod poured the black liquid into a bowl. He knew that the more he hesitated or feared, the worse the absorption effect would be. As a Primarch, he did not worry about poison and tilted his head back to drink it down.

Immediately, he felt a sensation of intense cold in his mouth, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of ice cream, which then slid down his esophagus and into his stomach.

The icy sensation burrowed into every cell instantly. His vision blurred rapidly, and all colors intensified.

The gray furnace became grayer, the red flames redder...

The blocks of color were rich, like an oil painting.

At the same time, a massive stream of information flooded his mind.

Having experienced this once before, he adapted immediately.

Gradually, Nimrod saw the surroundings clearly; all colors were distinct, overlapping, and permeated with black mist.

He also "saw" his own body standing in place below, trembling. His consciousness plunged downward, merging with his physical form.

Nimrod felt his head expand, his temples throbbing with pain.

He knew this was the overflowing power of the potion, lacking a method of control.

He needed to imagine a common, simple, and easy object in his mind, and he chose the Chainsword.

As he shifted his focus bit by bit onto the imagined Chainsword, the double images in his eyes slowly overlapped, no longer blurred.

Nimrod picked up the mirror he had prepared and looked at his eyes, discovering that the entire eyeball, including the white sclera, had turned pitch black.

He knew this was the external manifestation of the potion's power; once he learned to meditate and understood how to restrain it, his eyes would return to normal.

He immediately attempted this, walking to the back of the furnace and turning off the lumen lamp overhead, leaving himself in the dimness.

The first step of meditation, just like before, was to close his eyes and outline the Chainsword in his mind.

When imagining things that did not exist in this world, Nimrod found himself in a bind; there were so many worlds in the galaxy that he couldn't even imagine a suitable object.

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck his mind, and he imagined the emblem of the "Black Emperor" pathway.

He first outlined the disordered black arcs, followed by the surrounding wings, the spikes, and the abstract crown above.

As Nimrod gradually replaced the Chainsword with the "Black Emperor" pathway emblem, he also merged with the transcendent "Self," the infinite "Self," and the cosmic "Self," gaining knowledge that only he could comprehend.

In the field of mysticism, this was known as "mystical experience," while the Thousand Sons called it Aetheric Voyaging.

Nimrod emptied his thoughts, his body and mind quieting down. The black mist reappeared, and his spirituality extended bit by bit.

Like a stone dropped into a lake, ancient texts from Terra such as the Napoleonic Code and the Imperial Code established by The Emperor flashed through his mind, along with human physiological structures, the composition of mechanical constructs, and even the physiological structures and weaknesses of xenos like Orks.

Nimrod realized with clarity that the former clearly stemmed from his identity as a "Lawyer" Beyonder, while the latter must have been implanted into the Primarchs by The Emperor, combining genetic science and psychic power, which he had absorbed a portion of during his "mystical experience."

A moment later, after his superhuman brain absorbed all the knowledge, he decided to take this opportunity to practice the most common ability in the field of mysticism, one that most Beyonders could master—Spirit Vision.

Nimrod raised his hands, placing them in front of his eyes, index fingers facing each other but not touching.

He opened his eyes, instantly adapting to the dark environment. He focused his gaze behind his hands, moving his fingers slowly.

Once, twice...

Nimrod saw a hint of fiery red color between his fingers. He knew this was the initial stage of Spirit Vision; the color he saw was his own aura.

The field of mysticism divided the non-physical part of every person into four layers, the core of which was the "Spirit Body," also known as the soul, which was called spirituality when it overflowed.

The resilience of the "Spirit Body" determined a person's resistance when facing the Warp and various horrors.

The Lawyer potion strengthens one's spirituality, granting the Beyonder a talent for discovering and exploiting loopholes in rules and the weaknesses of opponents, striking them down through the power of order.

While both involve striking at weaknesses, what The Emperor granted him was the ability to slaughter enemies, whereas the Lawyer potion grants the ability to strike at opponents by utilizing rules.

Beyond the Mental Body lies the Astral Body, which is the method of communicating with the Spirit World and the starry sky; it is the external manifestation of the former, directly related to one's own will and current emotions.

The scenes witnessed after consuming the potion were the images seen by the Astral Body as it wandered the Spirit World, a place that does not abide by the rules of the material world, where the past, present, and future may overlap.

Through experience, combined with the knowledge obtained while in the gestation pod, he learned that the so-called Spirit World is simply another name for the Warp.

The Astral Body is the focus of the Thousand Sons' cultivation—the mind—and Magnus created a method of cultivation for this aspect: the Mindset, which he taught to his progeny.

He also knew that Ahriman and the other Thousand Sons would detach their Astral Body—which they called the Body of Light—from their physical forms to roam the Warp.

The Lawyer potion did not strengthen the Astral Body, but he knew that the essence of the Warp was infused into the manufacturing process of every Primarch; just now, during his first attempt, he had obtained knowledge directly from the Warp.

Further out from the Astral Body is the Mental Body, which involves the intellect.

The Lawyer potion strengthened and elevated his critical logic.

The outermost layer is the Ether Body, which is the manifestation of life energy and physical condition.

The colors of the various parts of the body differed; the hands he had seen just moments ago were red, while the head was purple...

If the colors were incorrect, it meant there was a problem with the body.

Nimrod checked each part one by one, finding them all healthy; the whole body even radiated a dazzling light, whereas ordinary people appeared white.

Immediately, he practiced the method of exiting Spirit Vision, focusing his attention, switching to a meditative state, closing his eyes, and controlling his spirituality by repeatedly telling it to cease.

Opening his eyes again, he found that the Spirit Vision had ended.

Through repeated practice, repeated self-suggestion, and repeatedly influencing his spirituality, Nimrod established a simple trigger mechanism.

He tapped his brow twice to activate Spirit Vision, but the surrounding furnaces, machine tools, and other objects remained unchanged, devoid of any luster.

Most inanimate objects possess no spirituality.

When his gaze swept over the Chainsword, he discovered a blood-colored radiance emanating from within.

[Hmm? There is residual spirituality on Vulture's Chainsword; it might even be a potion ingredient.]

Nimrod had previously felt that this weapon was somewhat special, so he was not surprised to find it contained spirituality after activating Spirit Vision.

He tapped his brow twice more to deactivate Spirit Vision, preparing to observe the auras of others later.

Nimrod then recalled the extraordinary abilities he had gained from drinking the Lawyer potion.

Synthesizing the non-physical aspects of Warhammer and Lord of the Mysteries for explanation: in truth, both originate from occultism and share many commonalities, with only the terminology differing slightly. For instance, the Spirit World, like the Warp, is not restricted by physical rules, where the past, present, and future intersect. Furthermore, the official novel Horus Rising used the term "Spirit World" to refer to the Warp.

Considering the readers, the Warhammer terminology will be used for the most part hereafter, with the sole exception of "spirituality."