Khârn was utterly stunned.
This was even more outrageous than he had imagined. What did fiftyfold truly mean? He was someone experienced enough with golden transformation, he knew how utterly absured the power of the transformation was.
Even the Emperor, the great Master of Mankind…could he be compared to such a thing?
A dangerous thought surfaced in Khârn's mind, and he quickly shook his head to banish it. That was far too disloyal, far too treacherous.
"Lord Father," Khârn said, his voice low with both awe and shame, "I feel I have disgraced Your power. But believe me, within a year, perhaps only a few months, I will achieve sevenfold transformation."
Axis chuckled at the words. This was only the beginning.
He still had two hundredfold Super Saiyan Two, four hundredfold Super Saiyan Three, and even more.
"You have ambition. I trust in your ability," Axis said, "But you should also train your base strength.
"Other than when you eat or sleep, maintain a state of twofold or threefold transformation constantly. Let your body adapt to this state. That way, when you fight, you will be able to unleash greatest potential of these transformations. I trained in this manner myself."
This method should work for his gene-sons as well, though not all of them. For ordinary Astartes, the physical strain would be too much.
Only those with extraordinary gifts could withstand it.
"I understand now, Lord Father," Khârn answered quickly. The more he used these forms, the more natural they would become. By remaining transformed whenever possible, his body would grow accustomed to the burden, and he could carry it with ease in true battle.
"One more thing you must remember," Axis warned, "Train diligently, but never overexert yourself. At your current level, you can only train safely in the twofold or threefold states. Master the lower before climbing higher.
"Overreaching yourself will cripple your body, perhaps permanently. Then you will be ruined."
After all, these sons carried only implanted S-Cells.
They did not possess the terrifying physique of true Saiyans, nor did they possess ki. They could not withstand the crushing weight of transformations like a hybrid could. Khârn was one of the rare exceptions, a prodigy among Astartes, able to climb higher than the rest.
"I will take it to heart, Lord father," Khârn said with a bow.
Axis gave a satisfied nod, then waved him away.
Afterward, Axis took the fruit of the Spirit Tree, diluted their power, and used them to strengthen his entire Legion.
He used more than two hundred and thirty Spirit Tree fruits, juicing them and mixing them into water. With that, he completed the transformation of two hundred and ten thousand Astartes.
The entire Legion's strength rose, surpassing that of ordinary Legions by nearly half in sheer physical power.
Once the strengthening was finished, Axis reorganized his forces.
He divided them into groups of ten thousand, creating twenty expeditionary units, and paired them with mortal auxilia sent by the Emperor.
Together they went on with the Great Crusade.
Veterans of the War Hounds fought side by side with the newly-forged recruits, five thousand with five thousand, letting the old temper the young in the crucible of war.
Another ten thousand remained on the homeworld under Axis' command, serving as both defense and deterrence.
With the mortal auxilia, even this smaller force could conquer an entire planet with ease. Not that with axis there, the planet needed any extra defending.
Axis estimated that his expeditionary forces might bring down as many as sixty worlds each year.
During this time he spoke with both Russ and the Lion.
Lion El'Jonson expressed thanks for the gift of the fruit but said little else.
Russ asked instead if there were more fruits to spare, for he wished to strengthen his Space Wolves.
For him, Axis did not hesitate. He immediately sent one hundred fruits, enough to enhance the entire VI Legion.
The transport was carried out in secret, entrusted to Odoro, once a captain of the Wolves, who now served as a link between the two brother Legions.
Born on Fenris, they shared bonds and secrets that belonged to both Legions.
…
A month later, Magnus sent word through psychic communion, requesting a private audience.
"Axis, the effect of these fruits is beyond belief! You may not realize this, but after consuming one, my strength has doubled at least, and my psychic power has grown vastly," Magnus said with excitement.
He had received the gift months ago, and upon consuming it had been overwhelmed by its force.
He secluded himself for months to properly assimilate the flood of life-force, weaving it into his soul and strengthening his powers.
For others, the fruit enhanced only the flesh.
For Magnus, it fortified the soul itself. That was why it had taken so long for him to emerge and speak.
"I'm glad you like it," Axis replied, "The fruit's effects are extraordinary. You can let your Thousand Sons enhanced with the extras that I gave you. Their battle strength will rise exponentially."
"I will," Magnus said. "But I must ask… do you still have more of these fruits?"
Axis smiled. "If any other Primarch asked me, I would say no. But if it is you, tell me, how many do you need?"
Axis had a good relationship with the magic pony, so he had no intention of deceiving him. Besides, Axis already planned to plant another another Tree of might soon.
"If possible, ten more fruits would be enough," Magnus said after a moment of hesitation.
By his calculations, ten should suffice.
"? You mean for yourself?" Axis asked.
He had assumed Magnus wanted the fruit to strengthen his Legion.
But it seemed the greedy pony intended to consume them personally.
"Yes, Axis. I can feel that this fruit strengthens both my soul and my flesh. It is as if there is a thin, invisible barrier, that's limiting me from achieving what beyond. I don't know how to describe it. It's there, and I can perceive it, and I'm damn sure that I can reach past it with at least ten fruits.
"Axis, I think, I can replicate your state, where I can contain my soul in my own body!" Magnus said with excitement.
"What? What do you mean your flesh will finally contain your soul??" Axis asked.
"Axis, I will not hide it from you. I've been using Gris, my saibaman son, to use his Ki to fortify my body.
"It not only helps me resist the predations of the Warp, but it also strengthens my soul. Over these decades, my soul has grown at least twice as strong.
"After consuming this fruit, the feeling became clearer. You know this, Axis: all Primarchs come from the Warp. We may very well be lesser gods of the Immaterium.
"The Primarch is Father's most perfect creation, using His own gene-essence and the most advanced science to craft the mightiest human forms. Yet even so, our bodies remain insufficient to fully contain the souls of lesser gods.
"But this fruit, and your Ki, have changed that. I feel I can transcend, to truly step into the domain of the divine," Magnus confessed.
If not for Axis visiting him all those years ago, teaching him the use of Ki, gifting him a son who possessed it, and now sending him these miraculous fruits, he might never have touched this threshold.
"You… you aren't trying to awaken your Warp essence, are you?" Axis asked.
If a Primarch accepted his Warp essence, his power would multiply dramatically.
Awakening his shadow-borne nature, the Ravenlord Corvus Corax delved into the Eye of Terror to hunt traitors; during one pursuit, he single-handedly blocked the portal's threshold, and the gap between powers could not be bridged by numbers.
Lion El'Jonson, when walking the forests of Caliban, instinctively avoided all attacks. Upon his return, the Lion gained the power to rend the veil between Warp and Materium, entering the spectral forests of Caliban projected within the Immaterium.
Walking those woods, he could cut through the veil again to reemerge anywhere in the galaxy he wished. He could even transport an entire Chapter this way.
Awakening or accepting one's Warp essence caused a Primarch's power to rise dramatically.
Even in age and weakness, the Lion defeated a Daemon-Primarch Angron.
"Awakening Warp essence? That is a fitting description," Magnus mused, "But I do not think 'awakening' is the right word. This power was always within us. Our bodies were simply too weak, or some other reason prevented us from wielding it.
"Yet my state feels different from what you describe. Awakening Warp essence means accepting that we are Warp-born and claiming that power.
"What I feel is more like an ascension of soul and flesh. I will become something more perfect, not merely reclaim what was already mine.
"If I must name it, then I would call it apotheosis."
In the Warp, gods had no bodies.
But now, his body would soon match his soul.
What kind of being would that make him, an Immaterium god with a physical vessel in the Materium?
With a body strong enough to bear it, he would be invincible in realspace.
"So you still need ten fruits, yes?" Axis asked.
"Correct. Ten. At the density of life-force within each, ten will be enough," Magnus said.
"That may be difficult, Magnus. I could give you ten, but after the first, their effect diminishes.
"This fruit is peculiar. To cultivate it requires the destruction of an entire world.
"The first fruit grants the true effect. The second does not match the first at all," Axis explained.
Had they been fruits of a divine world, it would be different. But planted in mortal soil, they were flawed, never reaching perfection. Otherwise, Turles would have surpassed a million in battle power long ago, perhaps even worse.
In Dragon Ball Heroes, Turles, by consuming many, he gained enough strength to rival even Super Saiyan Three. But these lesser fruits, cultivated on ordinary planets, were defective.
That was why Axis had never given Kasha a second fruit. Its effect would halve, and afterward it only restored life-force, useful for healing wounds.
"There is such a limitation? Then by your account, I would need ten worlds destroyed to complete my ascension!" Magnus said.
"Ten worlds is not so difficult. Many require Exterminatus. We can keep watch," Axis replied.
He too wanted to see what the magical pony would become once his Warp essence, or perhaps his soul and flesh, evolved.
"If you put it like that, I already have one such world. It is infested with xenos and twisted profane structures. There is no reason to preserve it. I planned to carry out Exterminatus there already. Why don't you come by?" Magnus offered.
"Very well. Send me the coordinates. I will meet you," Axis said.
He was curious himself. Would Magnus awaken his Warp essence, or would he ascend his flesh and soul?
An Immaterium god with a body worthy of it, such a foe would be worth facing.
…
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powerstones?!