Emperor's Bane

Chapter 981 The Birth of the Demon

Chapter 981 The Birth of the Demon
As a pure believer in the truth of the Empire.

Fabius had actually begun to seriously and deeply study the power of the warp long ago.

Of course, he did not consider this an act of betrayal of his faith, nor did he believe that he had blasphemed the emperor's thoughts.

Ask any Astartes warrior who experienced the entire Great Crusade, and they will tell you: Imperial Truth is an ideology promoted by the Emperor himself, centered on rationalism, and is also a general system of thought that combines materialism, scientism, and secular progress.

As early as the first year of the Great Crusade, the Lord of Mankind had already promulgated to his legions some of the most important principles of the Imperial Code.

These include:

Humans are the overlords of the Milky Way, and their dominance over the entire galaxy is well-deserved.

Artificial intelligence of any degree must be absolutely prohibited.

There are no gods in the universe, nor is there anything that cannot be explained by science and reason.

Religion, faith, and superstition are all things that can be completely eradicated by any means necessary: only ruthless logic and science can help humanity achieve its destiny of ruling the galaxy.

As one of the earliest and most steadfast believers in the imperial truth, Fabius knew these prohibitions and red lines by heart, so he was confident that his actions had not crossed any red lines.

On the contrary: to conduct scientific investigations and experiments on the forces of the subspace, things that truly exist but have not been fully explained, and to incorporate them from the bizarre and incomprehensible forces of humans into the existing world that can be understood by mortals and even written into textbooks: isn't this exactly what the Emperor encouraged them to do in the Imperial Truth?
It is important to understand that the essence of materialism is not simply to deny the existence of gods.

If the so-called "gods" are not the ethereal words in religious texts, but real material beings that exist in the real universe and can be discovered, deconstructed, and perceived by humankind, then true materialists would gladly accept the existence of gods in their lives. Then, they would be willing to spend their entire lives incorporating these new discoveries into the scientific system.

They were pulled from the lofty heights of consciousness into the simplicity and objectivity of the material world.

Deconstructing the gods.

Deconstructing the mystery surrounding them.

Where does that powerful force, which seems illogical and unscientific to modern humans, come from?

What is the basis for its existence?
What is its theoretical upper limit?
How should we understand its operating framework?

Can it be controlled? Can it be replicated? Or systematically cultivated? Can it be acquired, either naturally or through artificial means, in human hands?

Is it possible for humans to use it?
And could it help humanity see through the last piece of "strategic fog" in this universe?
Until the entire world, for humankind, is free from any fear of darkness or blind spots?

For Fabius, he had long ago vowed to dedicate his life to this great cause.

The power of the warp is the "life lesson" that this son of the emperor, as the chief apothecary, has chosen for himself.

He believes that the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of the universe for the human race lies within this: the subspace is the last stumbling block for human civilization toward eternity. Although it is as majestic and towering as a mountain, its challenges are ultimately insignificant compared to the countless crises and predicaments that human civilization has encountered since its inception.

At least, in Fabius's eyes.

The subspace is neither a monstrous flood nor a miasma or venomous scorpion to be avoided at all costs.

It is a subject of study.

A grand and lengthy subject.

A subject that requires risking one's life and slowly accumulating lessons through cruelty and bloodshed.

It will bring endless mysteries and wealth to the challengers.

The price to be paid is merely the few bottom lines that are trampled on in the process, and the little bit of humanity that is forgotten.

That's all: not worth mentioning.

------

In a sense, science is also a discipline that values romanticism.

Although its underlying principles are rigor and logic, scientific invention, like any artistic creation, also requires a flash of inspiration.

Often, a single, keenly grasped idea will write a new page in the history of science.

Like the story of Newton and the apple, the parable of Bell and the telephone, and the past of Franklin and the lightning rod: even in the sky of the thirtieth millennium, the stars of human history can still be remembered.

For Fabius, however, the beginning of his story with the power of the warp was far from romantic.

But it is definitely well-known.

Because the inspiration in his mind is forever linked to a notorious name.

Nicaea.

It was in that world, amidst the greatest political crisis in the empire's history, that he gained the greatest inspiration and the most important treasure of his life.

What a strange irony.

Whenever Fabius thinks of this, he can't help but think of Magnus.

The former leader of the Legion has now been completely erased from existence and glory by the Empire. Although he has not yet met the same fate as the Eleventh Primarch, both the Terran side and the Warmaster's side seem to be tacitly downplaying Magnus's existence, as if the Thousand Sons and their father were just a mythical legend.

Clearly, the tragedy that occurred on Nicaea is unforgivable in everyone's eyes.

Even today, despite Horus's rebellion dragging the galaxy back into war, many still consider Magnus's betrayal on Nicaea to be the greatest crisis in the history of the human empire: compared to the bloodshed of the Astartes Legion across several worlds, the negative impact of Magnus on the human empire is clearly far more profound.

You can even say that.

Even today, the scars on Nicaea continue to plague the entire human empire.

The balance that the system had been trying to maintain was torn apart by Magnus's power, and countless chaos and evils that should have been suppressed were released. The source of these disasters that would later plague the galaxy can be traced back to Magnus's foolishness on Nicaia, the calamity that severely damaged the entire human empire.

However, Fabius personally felt that he could not hate Magnus more, even though he had lost a few friends on Nicaea. He had gained more than he had lost in that wasteland.

At least, in his lab log.

That's what he admitted.

------

The year 151 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

To my surprise, despite the devastation that occurred on Nicaea, the Emperor did not change his schedule to return to Holy Terra.

He left us, abandoning the entire Great Crusade front and the distraught Warchiefs, departing us at the very pinnacle of this great expedition: the Highlords Council and the Primarchs of the various Legions will continue to maintain his rule, but it is clear that no one can truly replace the Emperor.

Everything will be very different.

And I... do not dislike this change.

Because this decline in authority means I have more freedom to do my own thing.

……

Just as I expected.

Our genetic father would never have devoted all his attention to ruling. He had no interest in spending his life building an empire that he could completely control, like Guilliman or Morgan.

He still firmly controls Chemos, as well as the most valuable territory in the entire Maelstrom region, but more land has been granted to those he trusts: Acudona or Edoron as company commanders and lord commanders, who can exercise their power in hundreds or thousands of worlds, with ten or more core worlds to rule.

Even researchers like myself now have the opportunity to wear a crown.

Of course, as an apothecary, I don't have the authority to establish my own administrative district, but I still obtained land in several star systems from the Primarch: Lord Forgrim has always been generous in this regard, as long as the necessary raw material production areas and experimental sites are used as an excuse.

He gave me the most remote part of his territory, the part where I would be least disturbed by outsiders.

At the same time, I also received a guard: I could choose the members myself.

With the necessary experimental subjects, mortal servants, and governors at my beck and call: everything is ready.

Now, it's time to conduct my first experiment.

------

The year 151 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

My first experimental goal is to replicate the creation that the Lord of Mankind is most proud of.

Imperial Guards.

Of course, I also know that, strictly speaking, the Primarch is a greater being than the Imperial Guard.

However, I do not believe that the original gene was created by the emperor alone; rather, it was the Imperial Guard.

If I have the opportunity in the future, I might take on some projects related to protogenes; but since the technology and conditions are not yet sufficient, let's choose something simpler for now.

After all, building Astartes is no longer a difficult task for me.

That's one of the benefits of being a pharmacist.

When your scalpel has cut across the flesh of thousands of Astartes warriors, you will naturally know their physiology by heart: apart from the incomprehensible technology of the Gene Seed, I can completely replicate the entirety of the nineteen modification surgeries given sufficient conditions.

But the Imperial Guard was another matter: they were a completely different species from the Astartes.
However, fate was on their side.

After the catastrophe of Nicaea, this secret, which the Emperor had kept hidden the deepest, also fell into my hands.

……

Looking back now, it's truly incredible that I managed to evade the Imperial Guard's search.

I'm pretty sure those few guards didn't completely rule out my suspicions, but luckily those World Eaters happened to cause trouble at the same time, and Magnus's shockwave did indeed blast the slain guards beyond recognition, leaving them so mangled that even if I extracted the remains, no one would be able to detect anything more.

But I was even luckier; before those Imperial Guards arrived, I had enough time to get what I wanted from their corpses.

When I left Nicaea, priceless treasures lay hidden beneath my apothecary robes.

The genetic module of the Imperial Guard.

Their flesh and blood, their bones, fragments of their internal organs and skin tissue, their brain extracts and every kind of endocrine substance: I have never been more grateful that I like to carry a full set of sampling tools with me.

I even cut out a piece from their shattered eyeballs and brains: when I stand here, what lies before me is the entirety of the Imperial Guard: though less than one percent of its full size, all the secrets that should be revealed are already before me.

I may not be considered a top genius.

But even if the conditions are so favorable, I still cannot achieve my ambitions.

Then I would truly be a fool.
------

The year 160 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

The research is progressing better than I expected... but also not so well.

I can hardly describe this situation.

From a purely scientific theoretical perspective, I am certain that I can understand the psychology and methods used by the Lord of Mankind in creating the Imperial Guard, and I also believe that I understand the concept of the Imperial Guard in terms of its overall structure.

If I had been born a few hundred years earlier, perhaps I would have been qualified to join that great team of biological scientists.

However, in terms of details, the difficulties and challenges left behind by the emperor were so numerous that they were a real headache.

First of all, it's complicated.

The Imperial Guard and the Astartes were completely different.

Although the Astartes of each legion appear quite distinct, they are fundamentally created through the standard nineteen-step modification process: this means they are products of an assembly line, different classifications of the same large product.

However, after years of research, it can be determined that the Imperial Guards do not possess any standardized features.

Their technique comes from bioalchemy: a costly and extremely complex traditional process that I used to believe was just a legend.

In addition, I collected several samples that showed clear individual differences. Each of them had undergone completely unique genetic potential modification, a customized service that was completely different from that of the Astartes. Moreover, I did not find any genetic seeds, so the source of the Guard's power clearly came from elsewhere.

It will probably take a long time to figure these things out.

Moreover, its research costs would be unimaginably high.

Now I finally understand why the emperor was only willing to form a single Imperial Guard of 10,000 men.

If he intends to build a Guards force to the standard of an Astartes Legion: then the Empire can currently only have a maximum of ten Astartes Legions.

For me, the cost of building a royal guard is not unacceptable, but the time required for it far exceeds my expectations: although I am confident that I can replace anyone in the Emperor's research team, if I want to complete the culmination of hundreds of scientific geniuses, including the Lord of Humanity, it would take me at least a century.

This is still while standing on the shoulders of giants.

I don't have that kind of time.

But I have a new idea.

……

Perhaps I cannot build a true royal guard from a fertilized egg, like an emperor.

But neither flesh and blood proliferation nor reverse engineering of gene modules is difficult for me.

Even if it were just for experimental purposes, based on the flesh and blood of these Imperial Guards who had not yet completely lost their vitality, I could deduce their original masters.

These are not my Imperial Guards.

But if he were merely an experimental subject, the help he provided me would be unimaginable.

Putting aside other things, I can find out exactly where the marks the emperor left on these imperial guards are.

Where are their genetic seeds?

Only by eliminating or thoroughly understanding this point can I build a true Imperial Guard that belongs to me.

Moreover, I'm also very curious.

If it was resurrected through my hands.

Will this Imperial Guard maintain their admirable loyalty?
------

The year 169 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

This time, things really went very smoothly.

Compared to building something from scratch, working backward from an existing foundation is practically a beginner's task.

It's even easier than completing a university paper.

Over the past eight years, what has consumed the most of my time is the inherent delicacy of the Imperial Guards' flesh and blood. Despite their terrifyingly strong regenerative abilities, they are extremely demanding in terms of the required environment. A sterile room in the traditional sense is no different from a garbage dump for them: I really cannot imagine why the Emperor would design it this way.

It was as if these imperial guards existed to combat a concept related to disease itself.

But this is so contrary to imperial truth.

However, in any case, my first successful work is currently in the incubation chamber.

He seemed rather unintelligent, showing no reaction to my series of probing attempts and displaying the intelligence of a child not even a few years old. It was regrettable; I had originally thought that I could at least replicate a complete Imperial Guard, even if it wasn't entirely mine, but it should at least demonstrate that enviable all-around power.

But on the other hand, if his foundation only comes from a few scattered pieces of flesh and blood, then perhaps my skills haven't reached that level of mastery yet.

Regardless, as the first cornerstone, this is a successful work.

Perhaps I can teach him slowly.

Then, little by little, I checked how far I was from creating a true Imperial Guard.
How many years? Or more than ten years?

It's ok.

From a scientific perspective: this is tolerable.

------

The year 174 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

The first Imperial Guard I trained still failed to demonstrate the qualities expected of the Golden Legion.

He doesn't remember his original name, his intelligence is roughly equivalent to that of a fifteen-year-old mortal child, and he shows an extremely high degree of dependence and trust in me: I have to fabricate lies to the combat brothers guarding my laboratory, making them believe that I am not conducting the Forbidden Army experiments, but that this is just an effort to achieve the perfect humanity that the Primarch desires.

Unfortunately, my subsequent experiments over the next few years were unsuccessful, which inevitably made me feel somewhat frustrated: if I can't even reverse engineer existing successful works, when will I be able to see through the Emperor's bio-alchemy and create a real Imperial Guard from scratch like him?
But to my relief, fate did not close all the windows to me at this time.

Just as I was struggling with the experiment, I found that some memories in my mind suddenly resurfaced.

Those are memories of Nicaea.

Incredible: Everyone knows that the Emperor cleansed everything related to Nicaea. If these memories weren't the result of a conspiracy orchestrated by some psionicist, then they must be the result of the modifications I made to my mind during the Great Crusade, which allowed me to successfully withstand the will of the Lord of Mankind.

Come to think of it: after all, I always remember how I obtained the flesh and blood of these Imperial Guards.

But in any case, during these days, the scene of Nicaea always appears in my dreams.

And the thing that Magnus summoned.

That is the power of psychic energy.

Specifically... it's the power of the subspace.

They would be a great subject: that was the first thought that popped into my head.

That's wonderful.

Perhaps, when I encounter obstacles in my experiments with the Imperial Guard, this will open a new door for me?
------

The year 175 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

The idea in my mind is gradually taking shape.

After banishing my Imperial Guard from the lab and sending him to watch over the other experimental subjects, I preferred to lock myself in the meditation room to clear my mind.

Study the forces of subspace.

It works.

But the biggest problem is that I myself cannot stay in the warp for long: and I don't want to do that.

The power of the subspace cannot exist for long in the real universe.

So, how can I obtain stable subspace forces in the real universe for my research?

Without a doubt, this is the biggest problem I'm facing right now.

Once I understand it, my experiments will proceed smoothly.

……

Perhaps fate has smiled upon me once again.

This time, it was an accident: a real accident.

One of my experimental subjects, a psionicist, went berserk during transport, and my poor creation, the Imperial Guard, was right next to him. Judging from his pain, the Imperial Guard's body has a relatively low resistance to psionic forces, a type of warp power.

Of course, this lower level is relative to the versatility of the Imperial Guard in other aspects.

But that's enough.

Now: I have a bold idea. ——————

The year 176 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

The new experiment was a success: as expected.

The newly created flesh and blood of the Imperial Guard exhibited two completely different properties in the face of the power of the warp.

Extremely low resistance and extremely high tolerance.

Using only the full power of an ordinary psionicist as an intermediary, I successfully infused warp energy into the flesh and blood of the Imperial Guard. It was truly amazing; it was as if these warp elements could read my mind, and they were incredibly stable.

For ordinary people, these warp forces would be enough to completely mutate their flesh and blood, but the flesh and blood of the Imperial Guards could withstand all of this perfectly. Although they could not resist the erosion of the warp forces, they could resist the mutations brought about by the warp forces.

Conversely, their flesh and blood allow these warp forces to remain within them for a long time.

It's like being locked inside.

In other words, I finally have a means to conduct research on subspace.

This is truly a delightful discovery.

The only sad thing is that this experiment almost used up all the specific experimental subjects I had on hand.

I must add something.

But before I leave, I have to lock up my Imperial Guard artwork: even if it's just for his safety.

------

The year 177 of the Great Expedition Calendar, on the day of month x.

Damn!

Damn damn damn!

why!
Why why why why!
Fuck!
I was so blind!

I'm so... fucking scammed!

That damn bastard!
He betrayed my trust!

God knows how he did it.

How dare he? How could he!
He ruined everything!
Fuck him! Fuck him! Fuck him!
------

How exactly did he escape from the cage?

How exactly did he evade my cameras and traps?

When exactly did he get the key?

How could he possibly have taken down the emperor's son and the mortal guards standing outside the room with his bare hands?

When did he manage to contact those damned experimental subjects and prisoners outside? And how did he manage to incite them to join him in a foolish rebellion?

Why should those lowly people believe him?

Where did they get their weapons?
damn it!!!
He lied to me!

Nine years! A full nine years!
He's making a fool of me!
I thought he was my son, I thought he only had the intelligence of a child, I thought his memories of the Imperial Guard had long since vanished!
Damn it... Damn it...

No.

Nothing has changed.

He was also a member of the Imperial Guard.

A tattered Imperial Guard.

A cobbled-together imitation, but all he could think about was loyalty.

……

He ruined everything I had.

------

"Yes, everything."

After the bombardment by naval guns, both sophisticated laboratories and vast residential areas vanished in the face of indiscriminate destruction. The iron fist of war ruthlessly ravaged the land that Fabius had once been proud of, leaving him only with the emptiness after successfully suppressing the rebels and the meaninglessness of the past seventeen years.

At this moment, Fabius stood fully armed before the instigator of all this.

His greatest work.

As it turns out, he was indeed the greatest one.

Looking at the work he had created, Fabius didn't know whether to be angry or laugh.

He looked ahead, at the [Imperial Guard Warrior] whose body was reduced to half a torso amidst the ruins: he was now willing to call him that, because he had not only seized the opportunity when Fabius left the laboratory, but also instigated a rebellion that nearly destroyed the entire world, released all the experimental subjects, incited the people they had exploited and suppressed, and killed all the remaining Imperial Sons troops, seizing the entire world with the most rudimentary weaponry and the smallest army.

Even for the Imperial Guards, this was only a theoretically achievable feat.

He was not a complete Imperial Guard.

He was indeed a qualified, even great, Imperial Guard.

Fabius can be proud of his skills.

If the surviving sons of the emperor had not retreated to their warships in time, and if Fabius had not returned and ordered the destruction of his world without hesitation, the rebellion would have ended in an unknown manner.

Faced with all this, Fabius only wanted to ask the guard in front of him one thing.

"When did you start planning this?"

he asked.

"One year ago? Or two years ago?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Even through his tattered trachea, the weak laughter of the Imperial Guard could still pierce Fabius's nerves.

He looked at him, so disheveled, yet so awe-inspiring and unapproachable: this hastily assembled Imperial Guard warrior, relying only on the few weapons he had found, had successfully left the Emperor's son with an unforgettable nightmare.

After the orbital bombardment, Fabius thought there should be no living creatures left on the surface. He ordered his fighting brothers to land on a large scale, but unexpectedly, this damned Imperial Guard survived the viral bombs: he fought them almost bare-handed, and before he died, he sent at least forty sons of the emperor to hell.

Even Fabius himself hadn't expected that his creation would be so powerful.

He had clearly tested him so many times.

Damn it: When exactly is it?!
"From the very beginning..."

In their final moments, the Imperial Guards looked at the Emperor's son with nothing but contempt.

That wasn't the gaze of a creator looking at its creator.

That was an arrogant warrior looking at a clown who was trying to plagiarize and replace someone else's work.

"From the moment I saw you... traitor!"

"boom!"

Fabius pulled the trigger.

He took one last look at the corpse in front of him, then turned and left expressionlessly.

“Move him to my lab.”

"Then: capture a new batch of test subjects."

------

He will succeed.

He just needs... a little time.

------

"traitor!"

The figure in the cage was battered and bruised, but even with only a pair of pupils remaining, the raging flames within them were still enough to engulf Fabius.

"A traitor to the Emperor!"

"..."

He had long since become numb to these words.

With a gentle press of a button, a torrent of plasma, poised to erupt, engulfed the life before him.

How many is this?

The seventh? Or the eighth?
Ever since they learned to spot their lies, their anger has flared up exceptionally quickly.

No matter how much he modifies or optimizes it.

Even though it was just a lump of flesh and blood, he could not erase the mark left by the emperor on it.

damn it……

It was as if he really was just a pathetic plagiarist.

……

No.

Maybe next time...

------

"traitor!"

"boom!"

------

“Son of the Emperor, your genetic father and your fall from grace do not surprise me.”

"boom!"

------

"Do you remember your experiment back then? You would be ashamed of who you are now!"

"boom!"

"..."

"I know."

------

Why do you always do this?

"Don't you know? You are not a member of the Imperial Guard, you are not a true member of the Imperial Guard."

“You are merely a clumsy creation of mine, modeled after the real Imperial Guard: a stepping stone in my experiments.”

"What good will this do you?"

"Loyalty needs no reason, a rebel against the emperor's son."

"Someone like you will never understand."

"..."

"boom!"

------

again.

Sitting before the corpse, whose blood had already congealed, Fabius seemed to be the defeated one.

He had lost count of how many this was.

It's like this every time.

Even if he used the smallest amount of flesh and blood.

Even though he had carefully avoided every aspect that the emperor might influence.

Even though he had done his best to prevent the new product from carrying the memories of the past.

Even if he were willing to cross the line and add his own stuff to these pure products.

But it didn't work.

None of it worked...

From the moment they opened their eyes, the emperor's sons could clearly sense it.

They remain the royal guard of the Lord of Mankind.

They are not his works.

Even if their thoughts are merely a tiny, insignificant remnant of their physical bodies, they cannot shake this fact.

Perhaps... that's really how it is.

Without making real changes, he will only ever create the next batch of imperial fanatics.

He could never go any further down this path.

What he wanted to do was build the Imperial Guard: the real Imperial Guard.

His personal guard.

His "new human".

But now, he can't even stand on the shoulders of giants and successfully replicate it.

He couldn't even be sure where the mark the Emperor left for the Imperial Guard was hidden.
If he can't do that, even if he can use bio-alchemy to start from scratch, the product he creates will most likely be like the one in front of him.

So what exactly is the problem?
While pondering, Fabius casually began the operation that he already knew by heart.

A brand new imperial guard, proliferating with flesh and blood.

Bones, skin, fibers, internal organs, brain...

……

and many more?

The emperor's son paused for a moment.

It seemed as if a voice was echoing in his ear.

After a while, he remained silent and quietly removed the brain organ from the experiment.

He had done this before: but at least he would leave something behind that was better than nothing.

The ingredients may differ, but he insists that the work before him must be a complete Imperial Guard: he must possess every part that belongs to the Imperial Guard.

However, it's time to make some changes.

Perhaps that's where the problem lies.

Fabius touched his chin.

Yes: a new kind of human being.

He should start completely from scratch: at least all his thinking should be entirely new.

but……

Without a brain: where does consciousness come from?
The emperor's son blinked.

This was no challenge for his genius mind.

it's time.

Fabius thought of it.

------

It's time to examine that thought that has been lurking in his mind for so long.