CHAPTER 185 — The Will of Man
The corridor outside the medicae wing was quiet.
Soft white lights ran along the high ceiling of the Imperial Palace, their glow reflecting off polished marble floors and tall golden pillars. The air carried the faint smell of oil and clean metal, a sign that countless machines worked quietly behind the walls.
Roboute Guilliman walked down the wide hallway with long, steady steps. His blue armor, the Armor of Fate, moved smoothly with every stride despite its immense weight.
Beside him walked Gaius.
In Guilliman's large armored hand rested the strange fruit Gaius had summoned earlier. Its pale surface was covered in spiral patterns, dry and cracked like old wood.
Neither man spoke for several moments.
They walked deeper into the palace, heading toward the Strategium. Guilliman still had many matters waiting for him there. Reports from distant war zones. Messages from the High Lords of Terra. Endless work.
Yet the discoveries of today lingered in his thoughts.
The meat from another universe that could strengthen the body.
And the strange fruits that carried supernatural power.
For most rulers, such things would already be extraordinary.
But Gaius slowed slightly.
"And there is one more thing," he said.
Guilliman stopped.
He turned his head slowly.
For the first time since they left the medicae chamber, real surprise showed on the Primarch's face.
One more thing?
He had already been presented with two discoveries that could change the Imperium in meaningful ways.
And now Gaius said there was something even more important.
Guilliman faced him fully.
"What is it, Gaius?"
Gaius met his gaze calmly.
"It's the Haki."
Guilliman frowned slightly.
The word meant nothing to him.
Gaius expected that.
"The Haki," he explained, "is the power of that world. It is a power that allows will itself to take form."
Guilliman listened carefully.
Gaius continued.
"If it can exist in our universe as well… then the strength of the Imperium would increase greatly."
As he spoke, Gaius raised his right hand.
His auramite gauntlet gleamed under the palace lights.
Then he slowly closed his fingers into a fist.
For a moment nothing seemed to happen.
But Guilliman felt it.
A strange pressure gathered around the fist.
Not psychic.
Not mechanical.
Something else.
Something pure.
The air around Gaius's fist seemed to tighten, as if invisible layers were forming over the metal. Guilliman could not see the change clearly, yet he could sense it.
Gaius's voice remained calm.
"This is called Armament Haki."
Guilliman stepped closer.
He reached out and placed one armored finger against Gaius's fist.
The moment he touched it, he understood.
The surface had hardened.
Not by metal.
Not by energy.
But by something deeper.
Will.
Guilliman pressed slightly harder.
The hardness increased.
He applied more strength.
The invisible layer resisted him. It felt like striking a shield made of pure determination.
Guilliman increased the pressure again.
For a brief moment, he felt the hardened will begin to strain.
A faint creaking sensation reached his senses.
Guilliman stopped immediately.
He removed his hand.
Gaius relaxed his fist.
The invisible pressure faded.
"I only learned this power recently," Gaius said. "So my control is still weak. But it grows stronger the stronger the will becomes."
Guilliman looked at him with deep interest.
"The stronger the will…" he repeated quietly.
He fell silent for a moment.
His mind was already moving quickly.
Humanity in the Imperium lived under endless pressure.
War.
Loss.
Duty.
Survival.
Few civilizations in the galaxy possessed stronger determination.
If this power truly came from will itself…
Then the people of the Imperium might be able to learn it.
Guilliman nodded slowly.
"I see."
Then he looked directly at Gaius.
"Then teach me how to learn this power."
Gaius nodded.
He began explaining as they resumed walking toward the Strategium.
"I learned the basics from a man." he said. "He taught it through simple steps. First you must feel your own will. Not your thoughts, not your emotions. Just the will to act."
He repeated the same instructions Rayleigh had given him.
But Gaius also added what he had learned from the training manuals he had read at the Marine branch in that other world.
Those documents had explained the process in a more organized way.
Gaius combined both teachings together as he spoke.
"Armament Haki is the will that strengthens the body."
"Observation Haki is the will that senses others."
"And the rarest type… Conqueror's Haki."
He paused.
"That is the will that dominates others."
Guilliman listened quietly.
Every word was stored and analyzed by his powerful mind.
The Primarch's brain worked far beyond human limits. Patterns, logic, and understanding formed almost instantly.
They continued walking through the long hallway.
Custodians stood at attention near distant doors, their golden armor silent and watchful.
Gaius finished explaining the basic training.
"The first step," he said, "is simply to focus your will."
Guilliman nodded.
Then he extended his own hand.
His massive armored fingers slowly closed into a fist.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then something changed.
Even without Observation Haki, Gaius could feel it clearly.
A pressure began forming around Guilliman's fist.
Armament Haki.
It appeared for the first time.
The invisible layer was thin and fragile at first.
But it strengthened almost immediately.
Every second that passed, the will behind it grew stronger.
Gaius blinked.
He was slightly surprised, though not truly shocked, after all, he had done the same thing before.
The Primarch relaxed his hand slightly, examining the sensation.
"Interesting," he said calmly.
But that was not the end.
Gaius suddenly felt something else.
A strange sensation touched his mind.
A feeling like distant eyes watching.
Observation Haki.
Guilliman had awakened it as well.
Without effort.
Then Guilliman suddenly frowned.
A heavy pressure formed around him.
His shoulders tensed.
A deep sound escaped his throat.
A quiet grunt.
The pressure exploded outward.
Invisible force burst from Guilliman's body like a storm.
Lightning streaks flashed through the air.
The marble floor trembled.
The air itself felt heavy.
Gaius widened his eyes.
Conqueror's Haki.
Guilliman had awakened it.
The pressure spread through the corridor instantly.
The force was immense.
Within seconds, movement erupted all around them.
Golden figures appeared in the hallway.
Adeptus Custodes.
They moved with incredible speed, arriving from every nearby doorway.
Spears ready.
Helmets turning.
At the same time, several Sisters of Silence arrived as well, their dark armor silent as shadows.
The hallway filled with warriors in moments.
They had felt the oppressive force and believed an enemy had appeared within the Imperial Palace itself.
But when they arrived…
They saw only two figures.
Roboute Guilliman.
And Gaius.
The Custodes froze.
Even without seeing it directly, they could sense the source.
The oppressive pressure came from Guilliman.
It covered the entire corridor like an invisible storm.
Gaius stood beside him.
He felt the full weight of the force. Even for him it was immense, pressing against him like a heavy storm. But he did not falter.
Though Gaius was loyal to Guilliman and the Imperium,
He was Gaius Maximor Thassor, the blade of the Primarch, one of the first Primaris. He had fought Chaos, daemons, cultists, traitors, and countless xenos.
He had marched across endless battlefields without rest, fighting from one war to the next across the stars, bringing death and blood to the enemies of the Imperium.
Compared to that… this pressure was not enough to break him.
He clenched his fist.
A storm-like force rose from him as well.
His Conqueror's Haki awakened at that moment.
Two waves of invisible power collided between them.
Guilliman's will spread outward like quiet authority made real.
Calm.
Heavy.
Unshakable.
There was nothing wild about it. Nothing uncontrolled. It carried the same steady certainty of someone who had commanded empires and expected to be obeyed. It did not shout or rage.
It simply existed.
Absolute.
Gaius felt it immediately.
The pressure of it.
The weight.
It was vast, far greater than his own.
But Gaius did not retreat.
His will answered.
Not calm.
Not controlled.
It rose like a storm.
Unyielding.
Relentless.
Where Guilliman's presence was steady and commanding, Gaius's was raw force. It pushed forward without hesitation, refusing to bend even when facing something far larger than itself.
The two forces met.
If it could be seen, it would have looked like two massive balloons pressing against each other.
Guilliman's was enormous.
It dwarfed Gaius's completely.
His will surrounded Gaius from every side, expanding outward until the smaller force was almost swallowed by it.
From the outside, it looked one-sided.
Like a giant mass of pressure closing around something much smaller.
But Gaius's will did not collapse.
It did not shrink.
It held.
Where Guilliman's will felt broad and overwhelming, Gaius's felt dense.
Solid.
Like a balloon made of metal.
Guilliman's pressure pushed harder.
The space around Gaius's will tightened.
Compressed.
Pressed inward again and again by the greater force surrounding it.
Yet it did not burst.
It did not give way.
Instead, it compacted.
Tighter.
Denser.
Like metal being forced into shape under a great weight.
The more pressure Guilliman applied, the more Gaius's will hardened rather than breaking.
Still, the difference remained clear.
Guilliman's presence was far larger.
Far heavier.
His authority pressed down from every direction, steady and overwhelming.
But it could not erase Gaius.
And Gaius could not overcome him either.
His storm-like will pushed back again and again, stubborn and relentless.
Yet it could not break through the immense weight surrounding it.
So the two forces remained locked together.
Authority pressing down.
Defiance refusing to bend.
Guilliman's will swallowed Gaius's from every side
Yet the smaller presence at the center did not disappear.
It only compressed further.
Harder.
Stronger.
Neither man yielding.
Neither man able to completely overwhelm the other.
After several seconds, Guilliman regained control.
His mind quickly reined in the unleashed power.
The Conqueror's Haki faded.
Gaius followed a moment later, calming his own will.
The pressure vanished.
The corridor returned to silence.
Custodians surrounded them on all sides.
Their weapons remained lowered, but their attention was sharp.
Some looked toward Gaius with caution.
After all, Guilliman was the son of the Emperor.
The Regent of the Imperium.
Gaius, though respected and blessed by the Emperor, was still an outsider compared to the Primarch.
Yet no one attacked.
Both men were protected by the Emperor's approval.
Then something unexpected happened.
Guilliman laughed, a deep, powerful sound that echoed through the corridor.
Gaius stared for a moment.
Then he laughed too.
Rarely did Gaius show emotion, but here, he laughed with his father.
The tension broke instantly.
After a few seconds, Guilliman calmed himself.
He looked around at the assembled warriors.
"Everyone disperse," he said with a broad smile. "There is no battle here."
The Custodes remained still for a moment.
Then one by one, they returned to their posts.
The Sisters of Silence also withdrew quietly.
They were much weaker than the Custodians, though their will was strong. Yet even they had been struck by the Conqueror's Haki. It was their first time encountering such a spiritual force. Their talent, "Blanks," couldn't stop it, after all, Haki was not tied to any dimension or the Warp, so it could not be blocked.
Once the corridor was clear again, Guilliman looked at Gaius with bright eyes.
He was excited.
The meat and Devil Fruits were valuable discoveries.
But they required time.
Testing.
Production.
Before they could truly affect the Imperium.
Haki was different.
If humans could learn it…
The strength of the Imperium could increase immediately.
Gaius felt a sense of satisfaction as well.
He had not expected to awaken Conqueror's Haki, yet Guilliman's overwhelming will had triggered it.
Even though he did not fully understand the power, for now he knew one thing, it could be used to knock out weaker enemies in large number, like the skill Warcry of the Emperor.
They finally reached the Strategium.
The massive doors opened.
Inside, a large circular room waited, filled with glowing hololithic displays showing war maps across the galaxy.
Guilliman walked to the central table and sat down.
Gaius sat across from him.
The Primarch looked at him with a small smile.
"I know you are only a captain right now," Guilliman said.
"And your position is… unique."
Gaius understood what he meant.
He did not truly belong to any normal command structure.
Guilliman continued.
"But your contributions, both today and before, are too great to ignore."
Gaius shook his head slightly.
"There is no need for reward."
Guilliman raised one hand.
The gesture stopped him immediately.
"No need to say anything."
The Primarch leaned back slightly.
His expression remained calm, but the decision was already made.
"Wait for one month," Guilliman said.
"For the Bestowment."
Gaius frowned slightly.
But he said nothing more.
The matter was already decided.
And Guilliman had work to do.
~~~
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