Inside the Twin Islands base, Nolan walked with purpose through metal corridors.
He was draped in his white wolf-skin cloak, the fur rippling with each step. The golden power sword, newly forged from Antarctic vibranium, hung at his side. Its weight was negligible but its value incalculable.
He moved quickly through the passage, boots ringing against metal flooring. His destination was singular. Private. Urgent.
He stepped into his private room and immediately sealed the heavy metal door completely from the inside. Locks engaged with solid clanks. Privacy secured.
Then, with eyes half-closed in anticipation, he eagerly activated the simulator that had been constantly sending signals for the past hour.
The display materialized before his vision.
[A new hazardous substance has been discovered: Antarctic vibranium (metal)]
[Current holdings: 20 kg]
[Resources can be acquired for 2000 hours]
[Extract?]
The offer was straightforward. Immediate gratification available.
But then came new information. Text he'd never seen before.
[Currently identified hazardous substances: firearms, genes, melee weapons, magic (witchcraft), ???.]
[Note: Please be aware that enabling new features on the simulator requires a random time interval ranging from 13 hours, 13 minutes, and 13 seconds to 99 hours, 99 minutes, and 99 seconds.]
[Note: Please be aware that after enabling more new features, the simulator itself will undergo a significant change. Further exploration of its features is required.]
[Note: Since all five hazardous substances have been collected, if the simulator is not updated, many of its current functions will be temporarily disabled, but stored resources can still be retrieved normally.]
The implications crystallized. Update or lose functionality. Progress or stagnate.
Then came the final line, ominous and familiar:
[Note: "In the distant, dark future, there is only war in the universe."]
At this moment, Nolan subconsciously gripped the golden power sword in his palm tighter. The hilt pressed into ceramite gauntlets. Solid. Real. Anchoring.
With a slight frown creasing his features, he stared at the text on the simulator. His voice emerged as a mutter to himself in the empty room.
"If I don't update, I'll be deactivated? Isn't this forcing me to update the simulator? Holding my progress hostage?"
The coercion was obvious. Unwelcome. But effective.
"Furthermore, I have a feeling that gathering all five substances was a mistake..." His voice dropped lower, worry coloring the words. "Could it be that the Emperor's psychic prophecy was referring to this? The disaster mentioned?"
Lost in troubled thought, Nolan walked to the metal bed with heavy steps. The golden power sword remained clutched in his hand, knuckles white beneath armor.
His expression shifted between anger and uncertainty as he slowly sat down. The bed creaked under the weight of his concerns.
The stakes were clear. If he didn't update the simulator, everything changed.
He'd undergone less than a quarter of the Astartes enhancement surgery. Still mostly human. Still vulnerable. Completion required simulator access.
And their access to more technology might be completely cut off, resulting in significant losses. No new equipment. No new simulations. No further progress.
But Nolan was deeply worried about what would happen after the simulator was updated.
What if the new simulator brought other unexpected changes? What if enabling new features opened doors that should remain closed?
For example, the Chaos problem that he was most worried about! The daemonic incursions. The warp predation. The corruption that consumed entire civilizations.
"Damn it! I'll just accept my fate! So what if it's an endless war? I'm not afraid of anything!" The declaration emerged fierce, forced confidence masking genuine terror.
"May the Emperor bless us, may the Emperor bless us!" The prayer tumbled out automatically, seeking protection from forces beyond comprehension.
But as time passed in the silent room, as minutes stretched toward decision point, something shifted.
Nolan's jaw clenched hard enough that teeth ground together audibly. His eyes, which had been closed in contemplation, suddenly opened wide.
He stared at the simulator display before him with new resolve and let out a low sigh that carried acceptance of inevitable consequences.
"Extract!"
At this moment, Nolan, who had hesitated for so long, made his choice. The word emerged firm despite internal turmoil.
In the end, he extracted the Antarctic vibranium power sword from his palm, offering it to the simulator's assessment!
[PROCESSING—]
[Hazardous substance detected: Antarctic vibranium (metal)]
[Currently identified hazardous substances: firearms, genes, melee weapons, magic (witchcraft), metals.]
[The simulator will update.]
[Simulator updating in progress—]
[More new features are under construction—]
[Time elapsed: 00:00:13]
[Please wait.]
After the simulator began undergoing unknown changes, after the point of no return passed, Nolan exhaled forcefully with eyes slightly closed.
Relief and dread mixed equally. Done. Committed. No going back.
His expression returned to studied indifference, emotion locked down behind practiced walls. He sat on the metal bed in a daze for several minutes, mind racing through possibilities.
Then he rose with sudden purpose and walked out of the room.
"Automatic servo robots! Bring me the Terminator armor and the phased sword!"
Nolan, who had just stepped into the corridor, shouted in a deep voice at a passing automated servo robot without hesitation. His tone carried command that brooked no delay.
Shortly afterward, summoned machines dispersed throughout the base. Within minutes, a team of servo robots arrived bearing requested equipment.
Nolan quickly donned the Terminator power armor, the massive plates locking into place with familiar weight. Then he picked up the C'tan phased sword, the weapon humming with barely contained energies.
Armed. Armored. As prepared as he could make himself for whatever came next.
He walked slowly toward a specific location deep within the Twin Islands base. His expression was completely blank, emotion suppressed entirely.
Thump thump thump—
The heavy footsteps of Terminator armor echoed through corridors. Each impact resonated. Announced his passage. Marked his determination.
With solemn expression hardening his features, Nolan headed directly to the core area of the base.
This was the hidden location where the ship-based machine spirit Procellas was planned to be permanently stationed. The sanctum. The heart.
Buzzing—
As bright lights gradually activated overhead in response to his approach, illumination flooded the space.
On the metal walls surrounding the wide passageway, inscriptions became visible.
Prayers praising the Omnissiah and the Emperor appeared, engraved with careful devotion. Purity seals drifted slowly on barely perceptible air currents, their wax seals gleaming.
After Nolan had fully entered the circular metal hall at the passage's terminus, he stopped.
There, directly before him, a sight commanded attention.
A five-meter-tall Imperial metal statue stood, with only half of its carving completed. The upper portions were detailed. The lower sections remained rough, unfinished.
Nolan's lips pursed. He stared at the figure leaning on its flaming sword. The Emperor's statue, its face deliberately left blurred, incomplete, unknowable. As it should be.
He remained silent for long moments. Processing. Preparing.
Then, without further hesitation, he strode forward in his Terminator armor. Purpose drove each step.
Thump!
The sound of his kneeling was accompanied by a very dull metallic clang that rang through the hall. Ceramite striking metal floor. Weight distributed. Position assumed.
Wearing Terminator armor that weighed hundreds of kilograms, Nolan knelt down on one knee before the unfinished Imperial statue.
He began performing an unprecedented act of worship before the effigy!
"By the Emperor..."
With eyes slightly closed, shutting out distractions, Nolan placed the phased sword horizontally across his raised knee. The weapon rested in proper position. Offering. Dedication.
His lips moved slightly, forming words barely audible. As if he were performing some kind of spiritual solace before the statue. Prayer. Meditation. Communion.
This was to eliminate the fear, anxiety, and restlessness churning in his heart. To find peace before the storm.
Da da da—
Just then, interrupting the sacred moment, Man of Iron David appeared. The ancient machine's slightly hunched metal back moved through the brightly lit metal tunnel.
He brushed past prayers and purity seals without acknowledging them, focused on his task. David had originally intended to complete the finishing touches on the Imperial statue, continuing the sacred work.
And then, after David entered the circular hall, his systems registered the scene.
His optical sensors, gleaming with blue light, immediately spotted Nolan kneeling in prayer. The Primarch. In supplication. Unprecedented.
"Hmm? My lord, what's wrong..."
However, before the puzzled David could finish his question, before explanation could be requested, everything changed.
Hiss hiss hiss—
Accompanied by a barely audible sound like escaping gas or whispering voices, reality bent.
The Imperial statue, standing under the bright overhead lights, gradually began emitting wisps of drifting black mist!
The substance wasn't smoke. Wasn't vapor. Was something else entirely. It flowed like liquid. Moved like thought. Radiated presence that pressed against the mind.
At this moment, the blue light in David's optical sensors began flickering rapidly. Emergency protocols activated. Threat assessment impossible. Unknown phenomenon detected.
The ancient machine hurriedly dropped, servos driving it down. It knelt before the unfinished Imperial statue without hesitation or thought.
Even its entire metal head didn't dare lift upward an inch! Pressed to the floor. Submissive. Terrified and awed in equal measure.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty above!" The mechanical voice carried genuine reverence. Fear. Worship.
At this moment, Nolan, still kneeling on one knee, seemed to have entered a dazed state of complete detachment from his surroundings. Consciousness focused inward or perhaps elsewhere entirely.
The Imperial statue standing before him began transforming into something more real at a speed visible to the naked eye!
The black mist thickened. Coalesced. The statue's features sharpened.
Sizzle!
The incredibly thick golden power armor adorning the statue seemed to shine even brighter than before. Not reflected light. Generated luminescence. Divine radiance.
Even the flaming sword it held, previously just carved metal, seemed to rise with wisps of scorching psychic flames! Fire that burned without fuel. Power that existed beyond physics.
"Mm?"
At this moment, David lay firmly pressed against the metal floor. His form was prostrate. Subservient.
Even though David's metal head dared not lift an inch, even though his optical sensors pointed downward, he seemed to hear something. Some kind of whispered murmur that went deep into his very core. His soul, if machines possessed such things.
The communication bypassed auditory sensors. Spoke directly to consciousness. Was felt rather than heard.
David hurriedly and respectfully addressed the direction of the Emperor's statue, though he couldn't see it. Voice shaking.
"By Your Majesty, thank you for your recognition. This humble servant is one hundred percent loyal to Primarch Nolan! My loyalty is absolute! Unquestionable! Eternal!"
Then came understanding. Warning. Prophecy confirmed. "I understand, disaster is imminent..."
His voice rose despite fear, proclaiming faith. "By Your Majesty the Emperor! Your great glory will surely illuminate the entire universe and galaxy!"
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