Man in Warhammer, starting Primarch

The Battle Sister vaguely sensed the will of the Emperor and the Primarch in the dazzling golden lettering.

This caught her off guard.

She chose the only available option.

Moments later, as she confirmed her choice with her consciousness—

Squeak——

The sharp, grating sound was like countless fingernails scratching a blackboard simultaneously. It carried a peculiar frequency, potent enough to make an ordinary citizen of the Imperium faint instantly.

The moment the Battle Sister heard it, her hair stood on end, and her toes curled tightly.

Fortunately, she had undergone rigorous willpower training, and her mental fortitude far surpassed that of ordinary people, enabling her to endure.

"For humanity!"

She prayed silently in her heart, persevering against the excruciating frequency.

Five full hours.

During this grueling period, all her muscles remained tense.

The first half of the ordeal was sheer agony, her teeth clenched tightly.

Only in the latter half did the situation begin to improve. The piercing, high-pitched tone gradually softened, transforming into a soothing lullaby that caressed her soul. Her eyelids twitched uncontrollably, but she resisted the pull of sleep.

Then, at last, the sound ceased entirely.

The Battle Sister's vision darkened.

"Huh? What is this place?"

"There are already more than 500 members. Did you all come here after hearing that sound?"

"Of course. For the sake of the Imperium, we fear no trial."

"What are your real identities? I'll start. I'm a nun from the Anglican monastery."

"Imperial Guard."

"Planetary Defense Force."

"Adeptus Mechanicus."

"..."

"Can we truly save the Imperium of Man?"

"Now that we've entered, what's our next step? I'm willing to sacrifice everything for the Imperium!"

The Battle Sister stared at the scrolling text before her, her breathing quickening.

At this moment, even she—no matter how skeptical—realized that the strange audio had connected her to others.

She couldn't comprehend how this was possible.

But perhaps, just perhaps, this could truly save the Imperium from its encroaching darkness.

As time passed, more and more individuals joined the Heart Network.

The computing power controlled by Dukel surged exponentially.

Twelve hours after the Heart Network began its spread, the number of connections had exceeded 500.

Though not a vast number, it was far beyond Dukel's expectations.

The Heart Network's configuration included two firewalls:

Loyalty to Humanity: The nascent Heart Network required unwavering faith for a stable connection.

Mental Endurance: The sharp, bizarre frequency was a litmus test, capable of breaking the will of any ordinary person untrained in mental fortitude or devoid of brain modifications.

Those who failed the test would recall only fragmented, dreamlike memories, as if nothing significant had occurred.

Through this dual-layered filtering, Dukel secured absolute authority over the minds linked to the Heart Network.

He could freely access their life memories and even modify their subconscious, ensuring that agents of Chaos could not infiltrate and corrupt the system.

In its infancy, the Heart Network was fragile, and Dukel approached its expansion with meticulous caution.

"The number of connections is rising rapidly. We can begin hypothesis testing and, at the same time, expand the Heart Network's influence," Dukel mused.

"By disseminating the visualization method, we can strengthen the spiritual resilience of these individuals. Not only will this provide more computing power, but it will also fortify them against the corruption of Chaos."

"Perhaps... the Heart Network can serve as the foundation for rebuilding the Second Legion."

The thought lingered in Dukel's mind.

The Second Legion—his Legion—had been eradicated due to catastrophic failures in its genetic makeup. Guilliman, despite possessing their gene-seed, dared not deploy it, knowing its defects were too severe.

During the Heresy, Guilliman even considered reviving the Second Legion to tip the scales of war, but he ultimately abandoned the idea.

Now, Dukel glanced at himself.

As the genetic progenitor of the Second Legion, he should theoretically share their defects. Yet, through his long journey across time and space, he had not experienced any issues.

Curiously, gaps in his memory obscured knowledge about his original form and the precise nature of the genetic flaws.

"Even so," Dukel thought, "it may be safer to rebuild the Second Legion through the Heart Network. Connections established through this system appear inherently stable."

Sitting at his desk, Dukel began drafting ideas for cultivating the mind, drawing inspiration from scattered memories of his past life.

For hours and hours.

Another sleepless night passed. By now, he had not rested in three days.

"Haah..."

He exhaled deeply. Even with his enhanced physiology, exhaustion gnawed at his core.

Yet his eyes shone with resolve. "Meditation and visualization can genuinely strengthen the mind and will!"

With the Heart Network's computational support, Dukel finally unearthed a method.

The spiritual visualization method, or the mind cultivation technique, was designed to harness and amplify mental power through structured exercises.

When fully developed, this power could manifest tangible effects on reality. Combined with individual traits, its potential was limitless.

For instance:

Blanks (Pariahs) could use it to create subspace-nullification zones.Tech-Priests could enhance their communion with the machine spirits.Psykers could suppress Warp corruption and maintain control over their abilities.

This discovery marked the birth of an entirely new system—one that could empower humanity against the horrors of the Warp.

"The first step," Dukel noted, "is training mental power through a visualization object. But what should that object be?"

Most methods in his previous life relied on divine figures as visualization anchors.

But in this world, that posed risks.

"Imagine accidentally creating a Slaanesh visualization. The planet would fall to Chaos in an instant."

He shuddered.

The Emperor, too, was a questionable choice. While feasible, it risked accelerating his transformation into a Warp entity.

"Once the Emperor ascends from the Golden Throne, things might spiral out of control."

Finally, Dukel considered his own projection in the Warp: a wildfire burning unbridled.

"Yes... I am a Primarch. I possess the essence of the Warp as well."

"Why not visualize myself?"

Though uncertain of the consequences, it seemed far safer than the alternatives.

With this decision, Dukel resolved to use the Heart Network to extract and amplify the mental energy of its users, ensuring absolute control over the process.

It's settled.

(End of this chapter)