Ten Years

The Emperor gazed at the enormous laboratory with some nostalgia. He and Malcador and Erda had once worked here together to cultivate the Primarchs.

Erda had regarded the Primarchs as her children. Yet in the end, it was this woman who betrayed him—the woman who had stood by his side for tens of thousands of years.

The Warp was the thing most capable of corrupting the human heart, no matter how important the person or how dear the friend.

Your sons, wives, fathers, and mothers could all be tempted by the Chaos Entities of the Warp.

That was the truth of the Warp. That was why even the Primarchs knew nothing of the Chaos Gods. But the Emperor had decided to tell Axis something about the Warp!

The boy's qi could effectively resist the corrosive effects of Warp energy. Axis would be the ultimate weapon against all Chaos Daemons and Chaos itself.

Once the boy had completed his modifications, the Emperor planned to send him to Russ to train.

After Axis realized how terrifying the Chaos Entities of the Warp were, he would come back on his own.

Axis looked around the room carefully and noticed that it seemed to have been tidied up recently. There was still dust in some places, so it had probably only just been put back into use. It had been abandoned for quite some time.

There had once been space for 21 giant incubation pods in the distance, but now they had all completely disappeared.

In their place stood two new giant incubation pods. This was where the Primarchs were cultivated, right? Hadn't he agreed to the Adeptus Custodes modifications? What was the Emperor up to?

And why were there two incubation pods? If he was the only one being modified, surely one was enough. Who was the other one for?

"Come on, Axis. Take off your clothes and lie down in the incubation pod. You don't need to worry about what happens next. Just relax," the Emperor said.

"Emperor, what's the other incubation pod for?" Axis asked, pointing at it.

"Don't worry about it. Just do as I say." The Emperor didn't answer Axis's question.

Axis asked no more. Following the Emperor's instructions, he went to one of the giant incubation pods, took off his clothes, and climbed inside.

"See you in a little while, Axis," Malcador said with a smile from beside him.

For a long time, Malcador would be the one staying with the boy here. The Emperor was extremely busy; he was only handling some of the preliminary work.

A breathing mask was fitted over Axis's face. Countless streams of nutrient fluid enveloped his body, and gradually, he lost consciousness.

"Let's begin. First, use this special nutrient fluid to strengthen his cells. Then draw his blood and start growing his superhuman organs," the Emperor said.

Malcador nodded and began assisting the Emperor with the various genetic enhancements.

Then Malcador sat down at a station, put on a virtual-reality headset, and connected his consciousness.

After Axis fell unconscious, he found himself in a digital virtual world. Humanity had mastered this kind of virtual technology long ago.

A moment later, a virtual Malcador appeared before Axis.

"Hello, little one! I'll be your teacher for a long time from now on.

"I'll teach you all kinds of knowledge from across the Imperium, whether astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics, music, or painting," Malcador said.

As a Perpetual like the Emperor, Malcador's long life had given him time to learn all kinds of human knowledge.

He could be called the finest teacher in human society, bar none.

"Do I really need to learn all that?" Axis asked.

"Of course. If you master only the use of force, you'll always be nothing more than a brute!

"Through learning, you'll gain unimaginable riches—the riches of the mind, which will make your spirit more resilient," Malcador said.

And help you resist Chaos.

Well, it was said that besides being incredibly powerful, the Emperor's Adeptus Custodes were experts in other fields too, from tactics to the arts.

Malcador smiled at Axis and snapped his fingers. At once, countless pieces of knowledge flooded directly into Axis's brain, making his exceptionally powerful mind ache.

His body in the outside world even twitched twice. It felt as if his entire brain were about to burst.

"Our way of learning is a little unusual. I'll first transfer knowledge directly into your brain, then summarize and explain it to you.

"We'll move quickly. You'll learn the knowledge humanity has accumulated over tens of thousands of years, and you only have a few decades," Malcador said.

This precious knowledge was what would be most useful to you, Axis. When you truly understood that, you would see how much thought I had put into this.

In the first year, Axis had to learn all the major languages in human history and master the writing systems of various civilizations.

In the second year, Axis studied all of human history, from the first millennium through the thirtieth.

In the third year, Axis began learning about the major events in human history and all the famous wars, whether ancient, early modern, or modern. He studied humanity's entry into the age of interstellar exploration, the Dark Age of Technology, and the Age of Strife.

He also entered virtual scenes to witness these major events and learn about every famous war.

Meanwhile, three years passed in the outside world. Axis's cells had been fully strengthened, and the special superhuman organs cultivated from his genes had finished developing.

The Emperor began surgically modifying Axis's body. The Life Forge, a Primarch-grade Special Brain Core, the Ultimate Heart, Super Skeletal Augmentation, specially cultivated bio-skin, and various specialized internal organs were implanted one by one.

In the fourth year, Axis began studying tactical principles and reviewing the military history he had learned in the third year.

During the fourth year in the outside world, the Emperor was away for more than half a year. He found the Second Primarch and took command of the Second Legion.

The fifth, sixth, and seventh years continued to repeat the fourth year's lessons.

824.M30

During this time, the Emperor left once again. On the Medusa Planet, he found the Primarch of the Tenth Legion, Ferrus Manus, and formally founded the Iron Hands Legion.

In the eighth year, Axis began cultivating his artistic talents, learning to paint, play the piano, and perform on various musical instruments.

In the ninth year, Axis began studying the poetry and literature of various cultures and civilizations, and reading famous classics.

In the tenth year, 830.M30.

Malcador began teaching Axis biology, physics, chemistry, and other subjects.

The Emperor left once again and found the Primarch of the Third Legion, Fulgrim.