The gravity machine was running normally, but Custodian Caesar's mind was reeling.
Then what—what was going on with that kid in there? He was acting as if nothing was wrong! It was as though there wasn't ten times the gravity in there at all, as if he were outside the ship.
This was absurd! Ten times the gravity meant your body had to withstand more than ten times its normal weight. To give the simplest example, if an ordinary mortal weighing 60 kilograms went inside, his body would be under 600 kilograms of pressure.
This wasn't simply like lifting 600 kilograms. Every cell would bear more than ten times its usual weight, meaning every part of your body would be under enormous pressure every moment of the day.
Without their Gravity Armor, Space Marines entering a ten-gravity environment would struggle even to move. Don't be fooled by the heavy power armor they wore.
To a Space Marine, though, that power armor felt completely weightless. Instead, it increased their defense, strength, and speed.
Moreover, thanks to the Black Carapace, power armor was like a second skin to a Space Marine.
Even the Adeptus Custodes could only move at an ordinary person's speed in a ten-gravity environment. If they went in wearing power armor and activated the Anti-Gravity System, they could withstand some of the force.
But to enter without any equipment and act as if nothing were wrong, relying on nothing but his own body—that was a complete monster!
Axis was having a great time in the Gravity Chamber, doing push-ups and sit-ups, jogging, and throwing punches.
"This child can adapt to a ten-gravity environment. His physical capabilities have already reached the level of an ordinary Custodian recruit," the Emperor said, his face full of admiration.
His body could withstand ten times the gravity with ease, and that didn't even seem to be this kid's limit. He hadn't undergone any enhancements yet!
His physical capabilities completely surpassed those of the Thunder Warriors, reaching the level of a Custodian recruit. His bloodline was simply too exceptional!
"Emperor! I think that even without the Custodians' surgical modifications, this child's future achievements won't be much inferior to those of a Primarch," Caesar said with a sigh, watching Axis move around in the ten-gravity environment.
"No! He needs genetic surgery. I tested his blood, and his bloodline is indeed exceptionally powerful, but if he undergoes no genetic enhancement,
"his theoretical lifespan is only two hundred years. If he goes through high-intensity combat and training, he may live only one hundred and fifty years, or even less.
"A little over a hundred years is of little use to the Imperium, so I must do everything I can to extend his lifespan," the Emperor said.
The Custodian guard Caesar nodded from where he stood nearby. That was true. His lifespan was the child's greatest concern. If he couldn't surpass his natural limit, he would be nothing more than a fleeting wonder of the universe.
Worse, as he grew older, he might be tempted by a Chaos Entity, ascend, and become a Daemon Prince in exchange for eternal life. That was the most terrifying possibility.
So they had to increase the child's lifespan. Of all the genetic enhancement surgeries available, the Custodians' was the best. It could extend his life to at least several thousand years.
"We'll reach Holy Terra in a little over ten days. When we do, I'll personally arrange his genetic enhancement surgery," the Emperor said.
Being able to withstand ten times the gravity meant that the child's cells were at least ten times stronger than those of an ordinary person! At the same age, a Primarch had about the same figures.
The Custodians' genetic enhancement surgery had been designed for ordinary humans. Even a Primarch's genetic strength had initially been that of an ordinary human. It had been created by combining his genes with Erda's.
Then the Emperor had incorporated the technology he had obtained from the Warp, along with fragments of the souls of lesser Warp gods. Only then had he completed his masterpiece.
Even so, the Emperor didn't think the Primarchs were as perfect as he had once imagined.
Perhaps this child could withstand even more intensive genetic optimization. In the distant Dark Age of Technology, during humanity's Golden Age, the Emperor had once been a member of the Golden Men.
He and the Sigillite, Malcador, possessed many genetic technologies humanity had lost. All of these technologies had been used on the Primarchs.
Ordinary humans could never withstand genetic modification of that sort. Could this child endure it?
The Emperor had already planned to give Axis the Primarchs' fully enhanced Special Brain Core. Since that was the case, he might as well add a few other things.
For example, the Primarchs' Ultimate Heart, enhanced skeleton, and specialized meninges. Apart from the fragments of lesser Warp gods and his own genes, he could give the child every Primarch enhancement. Axis's genes could withstand it.
For the next ten days or so, Axis spent nearly all his time in the Gravity Chamber, enduring ten times the gravity. He ate, drank, relieved himself, and trained there.
During that time, the Emperor came to visit Axis once. He said some very strange things, then told Axis to get plenty of rest over the next few days before leaving.
To thank the Custodian who had trained with him, Axis used the power of ki to give Caesar a daily treatment.
The goal, naturally, was to make this punching bag more durable. Over half a month, the power of ki increased Caesar's combat strength by several dozen points.
It rose from 1,120 to 1,160, a clear improvement.
The Emperor of Mankind had seen all of this and silently recorded the data on Axis's ki enhancements.
Axis's combat strength had also soared to around 900. A ten-gravity environment was a blessing for Saiyans!
After a full month of Warp travel, the Emperor's Dream finally reached the Solar System, arriving at Holy Terra, the true capital of the Imperium of Man.
Holy Terra had another name: Earth. But the Earth of this era was completely different from the one Axis knew. To him, it was an utterly unfamiliar world.
The Emperor brought Axis down to the Imperial Palace on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. There, they met an old man holding a staff: the Emperor's close friend and, after the Emperor, the second most powerful person in the Imperium of Man—the Sigillite and Imperial Chancellor, Malcador.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Malcador gave Axis a curious look, then led everyone back into the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra.
"So this is the remarkable child you told me about?" On the way, Malcador used psychic power to speak with the Emperor in secret.
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