The central simulation chamber of the research hub was quiet.
Thick reinforced walls, void-dampening fields, and shield emitters framed the space. The lighting was practical, meant to reduce sensor interference instead of impress visitors.
At the center of the room, Kaiser stood encased in his new armor.
The locking sequence hummed, moving through internal actuators, neural links, and power distribution.
The weight of the suit settled around him, integrating itself into his movement. Every part of the armor shifted fluidly to match his intentions.
"Does the result show anomaly?" Kaiser asked.
Minister Konrad stood behind. "All systems are optimal, Mein Führer. No abnormal strain detected. The armor follows your movements, not the other way around."
William moved his fingers across a console, activating holographic overlays of structural schematics.
"Neural interface synchronization is working perfectly. The suit adjusts faster than expected for someone your size, Mein Führer."
Kaiser nodded and stepped forward. Where each step is pressed lightly on the floor; the armor is adjusted automatically.
He rotated his shoulders, testing flexibility, then raised his arms. The massive pauldrons shifted without resistance. He circled the platform slowly, examining every joint. This was more than a simulation. This was calculation, observation, and anticipation all in one.
The scientists said nothing. They knew better than to speak over his Führer during these moments.
The simulation finally initiated.
Walls around the chamber shifted and extended, creating a wide-scale urban battlefield—recovered from the operative in Gaulle.
Cracked ferrocrete streets, fractured buildings, and drifting fog made it feel real. Automated combat drones rolled into view, heavy and angular, armed with kinetic and energy weapons scaled pierced a Jaeger.
Kaiser inhaled once. The armor responded instantly. He did not dodge conventionally. He advanced, striking the first drone with a punch that buckled its torso. Sparks rained, yet the suit absorbed the impact without throwing even an inch.
"That's surprising. Stronger than I expected," he muttered. A slight grin crossed his face.
Konrad and William watched, tense but silent. They understood the armor' potential but had no understanding of the subtle connection Kaiser was about to make.
Another wave approached. He lifted his palm and exhaled slightly. The air near him rippled. It was not obvious but enough that sensors flickered and the fog swirled in unnatural patterns.
William's brow furrowed. "The psionic detector catches weird graphics."
Konrad leaned closer, panicking. "Mein Führer?"
The people within Germania knew what psionic is. It was a rare phenomenon and exclusive to those who have awakened. They gain supernatural power which possess non-conventional ability.
In the game-campaign, Kaiser unlocked psion ability to his people as his Reich subjugated an ancient race called Merkolov; insect-like creatures where only a handful of them were left. They resided in an artificial planet, which has various super-advanced relics that boost the reich' technology.
The psionic users in the reich were called psion; wielded power no man ever held before. Psionic appears very similar to the psychic ability; therefore capable to connect with the warp. Within the past few days, there were already cases where one was possessed by a daemon—which immediately after, erased.
Kaiser wouldn't admit it, but he does need the absolute power he has right now to ensure that these occurrences would never bring harm to the people. After all, erasing someone in a mega-interstellar empire was never an easy feat—especially if you rule a democratic and slow empire.
Thank god, Kaiser didn't.
He closed his eyes. The world contracted to a single point. He did not do it intentionally, yet it happens regardless. Thus, he focused inward, drawing from a place no one else in the hub could understand.
He envisioned energy as a sea, vast and unshaped. With deliberate care, he dipped a hand in. Just a small portion, enough to feel the flow.
Immediately, the drones' targeting systems shifted slightly. Projectiles missed by barely a hair's breadth. It would be nowhere near the power to harm Kaiser, but what just happened was impressive enough.
Kaiser opened his eyes. He felt it: a connection deeper than the psionic abilities Germania scientists had ever measured.
He allowed himself a thought, whispered to himself: 'So, is this what they call psychic power?'
Konrad lifted his head. "Mein Führer, the fluctuation is unprecedented."
He paused, registering new numbers each time passed.
"We can only identify it as a local human energy phenomenon." His tone betrayed awe but also caution.
"I understand," Kaiser said. "Keep your observations precise, but do not speak of it beyond this chamber."
He moved again, this time focusing on the drones while subtly extending his inner connection. Sensors and projectiles faltered just enough, and the drones collapsed under his strikes. His psychic adjustment was minimal but highly effective.
William' voice was almost a whisper. "I have seen multiple psionic records, and this is just too similar. If so, perhaps these were only variants of psionic energy?"
Kaiser straightened, lifting his armored head to look at the raised observation decks. The simulation continued to feed new waves, but he ignored them momentarily, focusing on understanding the subtle pull he now felt.
'The Reich does not yet understand this,' he thought. 'I cannot teach them too much. They would suspect, or worse, fear me! That wouldn't do.'
He returned his focus to the combat. The drones approached, and he moved fluidly, the armor augmenting strength, as he struck down every enemy effortlessly. Every movement was calculated, informed by the psychic feedback he was only beginning to understand.
He could feel the flow of energy through the suit and into the environment, though the scientists saw only anomalies and fluctuations which they described as natural resistance or adaptive interference.
Minutes passed. Drones fell one by one—where once stood hundreds now scattered with mechanical parts.
The simulation paused automatically at the programmed interval. Kaiser lowered his arm. Sweat nearly formed along his hairline, though the armor had compensated for every movement, almost perfectly.
"Impressive, Mein Führer!" Konrad cheers carefully. "Not even the most advanced psions we studied could produce readings like this."
Kaiser allowed a small smirk. "There shall be more in the near future."
William shook his head slightly, dry humor peeking through. "Impossible, Mein Führer. Were it anyone else, they would already be reduced to ash."
Kaiser almost chuckled. He stepped back, inspecting the armor's surface. The mechanical wings retracted slightly, aligned with Kaiser' own neural connection.
'This felt fascinating,' he thought.