Chapter 83: Chapter 81: The discipline of Projecting Soul
"You can speak your mind, Axis. You've helped me greatly this time. If there's anything I can do for you, I'll do my best," Magnus said with sincerity.
"Lord Magnus, you're the most powerful psyker among the Primarchs, aren't you?" Axis asked.
"You flatter me. My psychic power is only somewhat strong," Magnus replied, neither agreeing nor denying Axis's statement about him being the strongest psyker among the Primarchs.
"That's very humble of you!" Axis replied with a smile, continuing, "I had to favour to ask of you about a certain discipline of sorcery. I'd imagine it wouldn't be a problem with the wealth of knowledge Prospero possesses."
Magnus nodded.
"Prospero is a planet with a long history of psykers. Countless powerful psykers have arisen here, leaving behind a wealth of knowledge and various schools of thought. So yes, there are all sorts of disciplines recorded in Prospero.
"But Axis, you aren't a psyker; these things would be of no use to you. Or perhaps, is this for that female friend of yours?".
Unlike others in the Imperium, this Axis fellow didn't seem particularly prejudiced against psykers, not like Rogal Dorn, who had slandered them to the Emperor and demanded restrictions ever since his return.
What most people didn't realize was that, without psykers, the Imperium wouldn't even be able to navigate the Warp or communicate across the stars.
Navigating the Warp itself required the Navigator Houses, and interstellar communication required Astropaths.
Even the Gellar Fields depended on psykers, their maintenance literally burned away a psyker's soul, using them as fuel.
Psykers were used by the Imperium in every possible way, but they never received the status they deserved.
What crime had they committed to deserve such treatment?
"No, it's for me. Lord Magnus, could you help me project my consciousness onto the wrap?" Axis said bluntly, getting straight to the point.
"??? You—are you saying you want to wield psychic power?" Magnus was visibly surprised.
Ordinary humans avoided psykers like the plague.
Becoming a psyker was terrifying, because you only had two options: serve the Imperium willingly, or be forced into service!
Now, someone actually wanted to become a psyker of their own accord?
"Lord Axis, to become a psyker, you need a powerful soul. Normally, this isn't something that can be acquired later in life." Magnus hesitated.
Normally it would be impossible, but sometimes, there were exceptions, like using his own gene-seed.
Magnus's gene-seed was extremely unique.
After implantation, if the recipient adapted to it, there was a high chance they would awaken psychic powers in the future.
Of course, they had to survive the resulting mutations. It was no small feat.
If he had found this Axis character first and implanted his gene-seed, with Axis's Ki and his resistance to Warp energies, the results could have been extraordinary.
As for the soul projection, it required an innately powerful soul.
"You have a way, don't you?" Axis pressed.
The Warp in Warhammer truly was dangerous, filled with all sorts of malignant Chaos entities.
The four Chaos Gods were like four piles of dung dumped into a swimming pool, polluting the entire environment.
Honestly, if Axis didn't have the power of Ki, he too would steer clear of the Warp.
Who wanted to swim in a cesspool, after all?
But with Ki, things were different!
Plus, he possessed the Halo. Who knew what kind of incredible perks it brought about. Surely, the incredibly holy looking halo wouldn't be mere decoration.
In the future, he would definitely have to face the Four Chaos Gods.
Without psychic power, he would be at a huge disadvantage, especially against other daemons.
To defeat your enemy, you must first understand them.
Ki was powerful, but since his own soul was so strong and his Ki could resist the Warp, he should make good use of it!
"To be honest, Axis, if you're interested in psychic abilities, I can arrange for someone from the Legion to be your advisor. But as for learning psychic powers yourself, I strongly advise against it. I don't want you to get hurt. The Warp is far more dangerous than you imagine," Magnus said, shaking his head.
He had a good impression of Axis and didn't want any harm to come to him.
Warp-based psychic power was best avoided.
"The Emperor himself is a psyker, and so is Miss Kasha, who travels with me. She's a powerful psyker. I know both the advantages and dangers of being a psyker, so I'd like to ask for your help: can you help create a projection of me in the Warp?" Axis said.
He had no intention of revealing the true nature of his soul or the Angel Halo to Magnus.
Magnus's connection to the Warp ran too deep, and he was under the constant surveillance of the Malignant Powers.
Axis simply wanted Magnus to create a powerful soul projection for him in the Warp.
"I do have a method that comes close to what you want, Axis.
"But the prerequisite is that your soul must be strong enough. If your soul is too weak, the projection can cause you harm," Magnus explained.
Some sorcerers on Prospero had once tried to explore the secrets of the Warp.
To protect themselves from its daemons, they would create a projected soul-clone, or consciousnes into the warp as a safeguard.
This kind of soul projection would enter the Warp in place of the original, allowing the real soul and body to be protected from harm.
But while this method had its advantages, it also carried risks.
If the soul was too weak, it simply couldn't withstand the effects of the spell.
Moreover, if the soul projection were destroyed by a daemon or some other mishap occurred, the real soul would fall into a prolonged state of weakness and could even suffer permanent injury.
"I'm confident in the strength of my soul, Lord Magnus. Please, help me with this," Axis insisted.
Magnus pondered for a moment before speaking. "Well, if you insist.."
"Thank you very much," Axis replied.
"Don't thank me yet, Axis. Let me be clear: if you suffer any side effects from this, I take no responsibility. If the spell succeeds, and your soul is strong enough to produce a projection, then I'll need you to pay me a fee.
"Just stay in my Legion for fifty years, that's not so long in my opinion," Magnus proposed what he considered a fair condition.
Since Axis had come to him privately, that meant there was room for negotiation. As long as Axis agreed, even Russ wouldn't be able to say much.
"Lord Magnus, I actually have a better offer.
"Actually, I'm not the only one in this world who possesses Ki. I can create a being with Ki to remain in your Legion and serve you permanently. How about that?" Axis offered.
"??? Are you sure? Create a being with Ki?" Magnus asked in surprise.
The Emperor had once said that, aside from Axis, no living being should be able to wield such power!
Clearly, Axis had some secrets even the Emperor didn't know.
"I'm certain. So, do you accept my proposal?" Axis asked.
Magnus pondered for a moment.
"If things are as you say, I accept the deal. When shall we begin?" Magnus nodded.
"Right now!" Axis declared.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Alright, if you insist, no problem." Magnus nodded, then had Axis stand still.
He then raised his psychic staff, gathered his immense psychic power, chanted an incantation, and cast the spell upon Axis.
The moment the spell succeeded, Axis experienced a peculiar sensation.
It was as if some kind of interdimensional printer had duplicated him, separating his soul into an alternate form.
Within the Warp, Axis's soul became a large golden-green light, appearing amidst the Immaterium.
Axis could clearly sense that, using this soul projection, he could channel a portion of the Warp's energy directly into his body.
Sitting where he was, Axis immediately began experimenting, using his soul projection to guide and manipulate chaotic Warp energy.
He drew it into his body, where it transformed into a strange golden-green psychic force.
Ki truly could effectively resist the corruption of Warp energy.
Axis had guessed correctly.
He really could purify the energy of the Warp and release it in a usable form.
"What the! How can this be? It–how powerful is your soul, really?" Magnus stood nearby, utterly astonished.
Axis's soul projection was far stronger than Magnus had imagined, even surpassing the elite psykers of his Legion and rivalling some of his strongest men.
"Thank you very much, Lord Magnus. I will now fulfill my promise," Axis said with great satisfaction.
"No need for thanks," Magnus regained his composure with a light cough, "it's just a transaction. I hope what you provide will satisfy me."
In any case, this spell hadn't been difficult for him cast.
...
Guys, if every one you donate only one powerstone per day, I'll be wrung dry of the backlog of chapters I have in a week. I know you guys can do it. gimme powerstones!
oh and no update from pa-treon yet, they're playing dead ig.