Warhammer: Primarch's Life from the Beginning

When Leo woke up, the first thing he saw was the servo arm slowly rotating on the ceiling, and a light, which was a bit dazzling as it shone with the reflection from the metal casing.

The conversation from earlier still lingered in his mind, leaving him with mixed feelings.

Leo lay there stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but raise his hand to press his forehead.

"I guess I won't be able to chat with Him like this again in the future."

As soon as Leo sat up, a series of hushed gasps and the clanging of machinery came from all around.

Leo then realized that he was surrounded by people.

Nearby were medical nuns. Their hemostats and syringes were still suspended in mid-air, their expressions frozen, as if unsure whether to continue or retreat. Beside them stood a cyborg priest, his visor pointed directly at him, several cyborgs with their mechanical arms drooping, emitting low hums. Further out, fully armed Ultramarines blocked the bedside and aisle, their hands already at their weapons. Beyond that was a group of State priests, desperately trying to push their way in, muttering something under their breath, some with tears welling in their eyes.

The room's security gate was open, and the over ten-meter-tall Archsage of the Mechanicus, Caul, stood there, his mechanical body motionless. Guilliman stood beside him, hands behind his back, watching them with a somber expression. Celestine remained silent, standing quietly a little behind him.

Leo looked at the group of people, completely bewildered.

"What are you doing?"

No one responded.

A priest suddenly pushed his way up, his hand trembling as he tried to touch Leo's hand. Leo immediately stepped aside, brushed aside the mechanical priest blocking his way, and stood up from the bedside.

The Ultra Warriors present immediately tensed up.

Leo walked towards the door, avoiding the priests who tried to approach him. A nun instinctively stepped aside, nearly dropping her medicine tray. When Leo reached Guilliman, the Astartes around him were already drawing their guns.

Killieman raised his hand.

"All of you, step back."

His voice wasn't loud, but the room immediately fell silent.

Kaul's face, a patchwork of machinery and dried flesh, turned to Guilliman and gave him a few words of advice, to which Guilliman nodded.

"Understood, I'll come back later."

Kaul turned and left, and the medical nun, servants, priests, and Ultramarines followed suit, gradually leaving the room. The priests kept turning back as they left, as if trying to etch Leo's image into their minds. Finally, the door closed, leaving only Leo, Guilliman, and Celestine in the room.

.

.

After a brief silence, Killieman spoke first.

"I am Robert Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines."

He kept looking into Leo's eyes as he said this, as if confirming his every reaction.

"I know who you are." Leo nodded. "My name is Leo, I don't have a surname."

Killieman nodded slightly, accepting the name.

He actually knew a little bit of the inside story.

After the Horus Rebellion ended, he spent a considerable amount of time in Terra. At that time, the Imperial order was in disarray, and political affairs were piling up. He dealt with the aftermath while simultaneously pushing forward the Astartes Codex. It was during that period that he came into contact with parts of the Primarch Zero Project through the Imperial Palace and related archives.

At that time, the beings developing in the experimental chamber did not yet have names.

Killieman did not support the plan at the time.

The Empire had just been reopened by the Primarchs themselves, and creating another Primarch seemed unwise to him. But it was the Emperor's will, and Guilliman could only think about it; he couldn't possibly stop the plan. He had even made a contingency plan: if the plan was to continue, he would have to personally guide this newborn brother and rebuild the Empire with him.

But a series of accidents that followed interrupted everything. He was seriously injured by Forgrim's sword and fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up again, it was ten thousand years later.

These thoughts flashed through Guilliman's mind quickly. He didn't go into too much detail, but said in a deep voice, "I've heard of Project Zero, but my knowledge of it is incomplete."

At Killieman's request, Celestine stood aside as the judge, her gaze calmly fixed on Leo.

She was in charge of judging whether Leo had been corrupted by Chaos. Although Celestine had previously confirmed that it was impossible, Guilliman asked her to be present because of the precedent set by Luo Jia, and she understood.

Leo understood this, so he asked the most direct question first.

"How long did I sleep?"

Guilliman answered quickly.

"Strictly speaking, not long. We just transported you from the moon to this medical room and you woke up; treatment hasn't even started yet."

Leo nodded; then his sleep was short enough.

Guilliman continued, "When did you wake up?"

"I just woke up," Leo said. "I woke up underground on the moon. You'll be here by the time I walk to the surface."

Leo then asked, "So, I'm already on Terra now?"

"Not yet," Guilliman said. "The fleet is still in lunar orbit. This is the Glory of Macragge."

Leo's expression changed when he heard the name.

"Wait, what's the Glory of Macragge doing here?" he blurted out. "Shouldn't she be at Blackrock Fortress right now?"

Killieman frowned.

"Blackrock Fortress?" He looked at Leo. "After I woke up, I rushed to Terra aboard this flagship. It has always been under my command, and I haven't encountered the building you mentioned."

Leo didn't say anything more, but his heart sank.

History has indeed been altered.

Guilliman also sensed something was wrong. He stared at Leo, his tone softening but becoming more serious.

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask. You and I are both Primarchs. But you've only been born a short time, so why do you know so much?"

Leo had assumed Guilliman knew everything, but now he realized the man knew very little. He paused for a moment, carefully choosing his words to make Guilliman understand.

"Because Primarch Zero was born earlier than all of you." Leo looked up at Guilliman. "It's just that the original Primarch was unconscious, went out of control, and destroyed many things, so he was shelved by the Emperor. It wasn't until before the Siege of Terra that the Emperor personally selected a suitable soul from among the warriors who had been by his side for many years and restarted Primarch Zero."

He paused.

"The person standing in front of you now is me after the reboot."

Killman didn't speak immediately, but turned to look at Celestine.

Sellers returned a very faint expression, as if to say, "I already told you there was no problem."

"There is no sign of corruption on him." Her voice was gentle yet firm. "On the contrary, all I see in him is the light of the divine emperor."

After he said that, the tense look in Killieman's eyes finally relaxed.

He stepped forward, opened his arms, and hugged Leo.

This action startled Leo for a moment.

"Welcome back, Leo," Killieman said softly. "The doors are always open for you. By all accounts, you should be my older brother, but unfortunately, I don't have a gift ready for us."

Guilliman wasn't lying; he was genuinely overjoyed to have a blood brother by his side. Since his awakening, the inner turmoil had been driving him crazy.

Leo smiled.

"I don't need gifts," he said. "Besides, you know better than I do what's going on with the Empire right now. If you're in trouble, I'm willing to help."

Killieman released him, his gaze becoming more serious.

"With the strength you demonstrated when you repelled Magnus on the moon, you can be of great use in many parts of the Empire."

Leo shook his head.

"That's not my power," he said. "It's just a safety device the Emperor left inside me to protect me from harm. But while I was asleep just now, the Emperor and I exchanged a few words—"

The moment those words were spoken, both Killieman and Sellers' expressions changed.

Sellers even took a step forward.

She disregarded all formalities, her eyes filled with barely suppressed urgency.

"Did the God-Emperor reveal something to you?" she asked. "What did He say?"

Leo looked at her, thought for a moment, and then told the truth.

"The Emperor separated a part of himself to create me," Leo said slowly. "And He allowed me to draw upon His own power."

The room fell silent.

These words carried immense weight, and Celestine immediately offered a prayer, thanking the God-King for his favor.

Even Guilliman was silent for a moment. He looked at Leo's face, which was almost identical to the Emperor's, and suddenly felt that many things made sense, while many more things became more complicated.

Cyrusin laughed first.

Her smile was gentle, but also tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"As a servant of the God-Emperor, my reaction has been quite restrained," she said softly. "If the State Religion knew, their reaction would only be greater."

When Leo thought of the group of priests who had been desperately pushing forward, he immediately believed it.

He turned to look at Killieman.

"Could I explore the Macragge's Glory by myself first?"

Killieman nodded.

"Of course," he said, "but the fleet will be heading to Terra soon. You probably won't have much time to tour my flagship."

"It's alright," Leo said. "It's enough for me to get my way around."

Guilliman looked at him, as if he wanted to ask something more, but in the end he didn't speak, probably already thinking about how to get this brother to share the burden with him.

.

.

Soon, news of the emergence of another loyal Primarch, along with the statement from the eldest son of the God-Emperor, spread throughout the entire fleet via the decks, prayer rooms, armories, and bridge communications network.

Some people knelt down in prayer with excitement, some were skeptical, and some just stood there in a daze, feeling that they had witnessed a moment that would be recorded in the sacred texts.

Meanwhile, Leo himself, strolling and looking around on the magnificent bridge, was completely unaware of the situation.

But he knew that the quiet days were probably over.