When he first received the news, Axis could hardly believe it.
"You said what? You captured a Necron Chronomancer?"
This was no ordinary rabble. This was an elite unit of the Necrons, directly serving their Overlords.
They possessed the most advanced technology imaginable, and each of them was a master Crypteks.
Chronometron, Timesplinter Cloak, Aeonstave, these were among the most sophisticated temporal tech in existence.
Necron science had already reached the pinnacle of the material universe, even venturing into the mysteries of time and space.
"Lord Axis, if it weren't for me, no one in the entire fleet could have faced this Necron Chronomancer. My psychic power was strong enough, and during my time on Prospero, I studied specific techniques to counter time manipulators. Even so, the battle was hard," Mader explained.
Axis gave a short nod. If the opponent had been a powerful Rune Priest, defeating a Necron Chronomancer was not impossible.
No matter how many Astartes you threw at one, they would be helpless. But a Rune Priest was a different story.
"Has he been infected with the Flayer curse? What's his mental state?" Axis asked.
"Lord Axis, I'm not certain if he's infected with that strange curse. These Necrons have no flesh; if they were infected, it would be by some kind of curse within their minds. I'm not well-versed in that, but his mental state seemed stable. He retains full self-awareness and cognition," Mader replied honestly.
"Good. Keep him under constant guard, 24/7. Strip him of all equipment and bring him to me," Axis ordered.
A Necron Chronomancer was, at his core, still a Cryptek. There was a good chance he could open King Vegeta's box.
He could try to persuade the Necore to comply willingly, or he could try experiment. He'd been itching to get his hands on another sentient Ai to recreate what he'd done with Solus Prime, and necrons came close.
Axis was, in a sense, half a living Spark of Creation, capable of transforming even Ai into Machine Spirits.
Once transformed, the target's computational ability would increase drastically, and they would gain, in the truest sense, a soul, while being able to perfectly control their own mechanical body.
Transformation, adaptation, and any other functions would become effortless.
However, the subject needed to possess exceptionally high intelligence. Ordinary machine spirits were inadequate, and so were standard AIs.
Only those with true self-awareness could be turned into Super Machine Spirits, and Necrons fit that requirement perfectly.
These beings had once been organic intelligences before their conversion.
The lower classes had been stripped of all emotion and individuality, their thoughts irrelevant to anyone. In Necron society, only the nobility retained full mental faculties.
That was the angle Axis intended to exploit. No Necron could refuse the chance to regain a soul, even if it meant having that soul dwell in a cold, mechanical body.
There were a few Crypteks who believed their current metal forms to be the pinnacle of evolution, but that was no issue.
Axis could reshape their very thinking, binding them to him completely, just as it had with Solus Prime.
"I understand, Lord Axis. I will not leave his side, not even to eat or sleep," Mader promised.
"Good. Be careful on the way. Soon, I'll be returning to Holy Terra. Set your course directly for Terra," Axis said.
Mader nodded and ended the link.
The journey toward the necron system had taken Mader and his group over a year. It was highly abnormal for a voyage of that distance.
In theory, a distance of several thousand light-years should have taken only one to two months to cross.
Yet they had taken more than ten times that long to arrive.
But such was the nature of the Warp, delays of a year, a decade, or even a century were possible.
Axis could do nothing about it and hope they returned back faster.
Warp navigation was simply too unreliable.
If only he had another Saiyan ship.
He wanted to see if Solus Prime could easily absorb its systems and scale up the FTL drive to fit its own frame.
Though the engine's speed was only a few hundred times that of light, it was exceptionally safe for short-range travel.
He wondered if King Vegeta's lockbox would yield a surprise.
It supposedly contained some form of spatial technology, not capsules, but another type of space-storage device.
Axis no longer expected the Imperium to replicate FTL drives anytime soon.
Even in the 30th Millennium, the state of human technology could only be described as pitiful.
For example, the loading of shells and torpedoes aboard starships was not automated at all, but done manually by human deckhands.
That was why an Imperial battleship required tens of thousands of crew. Without such numbers, it could not function.
The Imperium of Man was like a civilization that had fallen from 21st-century technology back to the Age of Sail.
It had been more than fifty years since he had offered them an FTL engine, and the Emperor had made no real progress.
They had only managed to produce blasters, and even those were rare, only Astartes of company captain rank or higher could be equipped with them.
Axis sometimes wondered how humanity in the 42nd Millennium could possibly survive in an even worse state.
"What is it, Axis? Did something happen with Mader?" Kasha asked, walking over as soon as he emerged from his psychic trance.
"How should I put it? Although I wasn't able to establish formal relations with that Necron dynasty, we still gained an unexpected reward," Axis said.
"Oh," Kasha was interested, and they discussed.
Before long, both were in their bed, Kasah lay on Axis' bare chest, wirling circles around his bar chest.
"Axis, you should prepare yourself. Once we reach Holy Terra, your ultimate trial will begin," Kasha said, abruptly.
She was nervous about it, whether she could regain her status as Imperial High Princess and whether Axis could be officially recognized as a Primarch now depended on him.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me." Axis said in a gentle voice, rubbing Kasha's bare back in a soothing way, letting his Ki flow thorough her tense muscles.
Kasha tried not to show it, but her body, being with him was true to her mind. She was undeniably tense about going back to Holy Terra, and to meet the emperor.
As the tightness around her mind and body was soothed by Axis's Ki, Kasha eventually fell asleep.
…
Half a month later, the war between the Imperium and the Rangda xenos had finally drawn to a close.
Axis piloted his Gloriana-class battleship alongside the Lion, into the Warp, setting course for Holy Terra.
For the next month or so, Axis remained aboard his vessel, training his ki, soothing Kasha and refining his psychic power.
The Gloriana-class possessed highly advanced navigation systems, making it virtually impossible to lose one's way in the Warp, especially when traveling alongside another ship.
In just a month and a half, they crossed thousands of light-years, emerging into the Sol System and arriving at Pluto.
It had been nearly thirty years since Axis had last departed Holy Terra.
Over half a century earlier, he had undergone his transformation surgery there, evolving from an ordinary Super Saiyan into the legendary form itself.
Decades had passed.
When he had left, he had not yet mastered the transformation, but now he had control over Legendary Super Saiyan transformation, and had even brushed against the threshold of Super Saiyan 2. Not to mention the various application of Ki he had uncovered.
"Are you nervous, Axis?" Kasha asked, holding Axis's hand, her fingers intertwined around Axis' own.
"Not in the least. I have absolute confidence this journey will go smoothly," Axis replied.
He knew he only needed the right opportunity to transform into Super Saiyan 2.
A battle with a powerful opponent could do it, and the Golden corn would be the perfect opponent.
He was considering challenging the Emperor himself.
Even if he was a transmigrant, deep down he was still a Saiyan.
And as a Saiyan, how could he not yearn to fight the strongest?
Endlessly battling small fry had become dull beyond measure.
"I'm nervous enough for the both of us," Kasha admitted.
After two more days of travel, Axis and his companions arrived at the Imperial starport on Luna. Once docked, he, Kasha, and the Lion boarded a transport shuttle bound for Holy Terra.
The Emperor had returned from the far western front of the Great Crusade several days earlier and now awaited them within the Imperial Palace.
This meeting would determine whether a new Adeptus Astartes Legion could be formed, whether the Imperium would gain another Primarch, and whether Kasha's identity as the Emperor's daughter could be restored.
It was of the highest importance.
On the way, Axis encountered an old acquaintance.
It was Caesar, a Custodian Guard with whom he had a history.
The man was no longer a rank-and-file Custodian, but now a Shield-Captain, commanding over a dozen Custodian Guards.
"Lord Axis, it has been far too long. Do you still remember me?" The last time they had seen each other was when Custodians were tasked with escorting the Second Primarch back to Terra.
Soon after, the Emperor had ordered Caesar to remain in the Palace.
Axis had commanded them as Shield-Captain for only two or three months.
Those months had been both hell and paradise for Caesar. Hell, because Axis had drilled him mercilessly, leaving him battered and half-dead; paradise, because Axis's ki had reforged his body into something stronger.
Though beaten countless times and pushed beyond his limits, Caesar's strength had undergone a qualitative leap.
His combat power far exceeded that of an ordinary Custodian, earning him the personal favor of Captain-General Valdor himself.
Valdor had even suggested he take the rank of Shield-Captain. Caesar's promotion and rise in pay were now facts.
"Hahaha! Of course I remember. It really has been a while. We should spar again sometime," Axis said with a pat on his shoulder.
This man had been his very first Custodian sparring partner.
Custodians were precious. They were second only to the Primarchs themselves in physical capability and combat skill.
They had been the golden training partners of his early growth, and Caesar and his comrades had contributed enormously to his development.
"Lord Axis, you jest. We haven't seen each other in nearly thirty years. Your strength must have grown terrifyingly since then. I doubt I could be any kind of opponent for you. Perhaps you should spar with one of the Primarchs instead," Caesar said with a rueful smile.
Better that than having Axis break him again.
"Ahem." The Lion coughed lightly from the side.
Finding a Primarch to spar might not help. He knew firsthand. When they had first met, he had agreed to a spar with Axis, only to be overwhelmed by a single finger of condensed ki.
Early in the voyage back to Terra, Axis had even suggested that the Lion move aboard his ship for training.
Tempted by the promise of ki enhancement, the Lion had agreed.
Ki had indeed boosted his already formidable Primarch physiology by twenty percent. His combat power now, he believed, could easily surpass Horus's.
But he had also endured over a month of daily beatings, enough to make even the Lion question himself.
Fortunately, the journey had ended before Axis could break him completely.
If anyone was going to be Axis's next sparring partner, let it be Horus.
"The Emperor is waiting. Let's go, Axis."
Axis waved goodbye to his old friend and followed the Lion deep into the Palace, where he came before the Emperor himself.
The Emperor stood clad in his Armor, radiating golden light.
"Axis, you have succeeded in repelling the Xenos who invaded the Imperium. What reward do you desire?" the Emperor asked.
Axis and Kasha had both rendered exceptional service, and the Emperor intended to reward them accordingly.
Kasha's reward was the restoration of her title as Imperial High Princess. Axis was to choose his own.
"Anything?" Axis asked.
"So long as it is not excessive," the Emperor replied.
"In that case, great Lord of Humanity, please fight me. With all your strength," Axis said.
The words fell, and the entire Palace fell silent.
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