Chapter 13 Essence and Cognition

"So you are an Astartes?" Calvin asked slightly excitedly.

From the limited information he has access to, this is a group of warriors who are not afraid but can bring fear and death to their enemies. The thick power armor and the height of more than 2.5 meters behind the armor are their iconic image. Once they launch a charge, the inertial kinetic energy of several tons, including the man and the armor, is enough for them to easily destroy most enemies.

Compared with the elites of the mortal army, they also possess many inhuman characteristics: the strength and endurance to wield dozens of kilograms of weapons and fight for days; microsecond-level reaction speed, reptilian-like dynamic vision, and matching Heavy weapons can fully exert their power, etc...

Putting aside these external manifestations, Calvin, who has been a soldier all his life, is more interested in the Astartes' extraordinary psychological endurance for the battlefield. What makes them adapt to a battlefield filled with bullets, bullets, and flesh flying everywhere? Turning a blind eye to the environment, what enables them to fight fiercely and not retreat in extremely harsh environments? Will or faith?

Calvin was in awe of the words used to describe the inhuman characteristics of these Astartes demigods from the Emperor in the texts of some of the Empire's famous battles recorded in the sources he had read.

In his opinion, these demigods walking on the stars are legendary enough in themselves. And the stories related to them made him tremble even more. They are the death angels of the Emperor, and they are the iron walls of the Empire; they are the black nightmare of the rebels, and they are the destruction itself of the alien monsters.

But now, he was so close to this mysterious group and even had the opportunity to become one of them, which made him excited and curious.

"Yes, my name is Aidan. If you are talking about the Astartes, then I am indeed. And if you can pass the test, you can naturally become one of us."

The old man looked down at him and admitted. Aidan's tall and straight body seems not to have aged with time. The silver-gray short hair and gray burqa could not conceal the powerful intimidation brought by the peak physical state. The young body and the eyes that have experienced the world make you feel as if you are seeing a god walking out of the mural when you see him.

"What do I need to do?" Calvin calmed down from his excitement, and his military instinct allowed him to find the core of the problem.

"You don't need to do anything. On the contrary, if possible, I will help solve some minor problems about you." Aidan was satisfied with Calvin's keen insight, and he turned and walked towards the inside of the training ground.

"Question? What's my problem?" This unexpected answer made Calvin feel uneasy. He didn't have many secrets, and his identity as a soul and a stranger couldn't be revealed.

"There is no need to be nervous, young man. Think about it, if you really have any trouble, it will not be me, but the Inquisition that will deal with you. What I am referring to is your recent minor problem with the use of psychic powers."

The trouble arising from the mismatch between soul and body had been with Calvin lately. The particularity of the soul makes Calvin's total psychic energy become more powerful as time accumulates. However, the stagnant physical strength and the uncoordinated soul fluctuations make Calvin become more and more difficult to use psychic energy. The harder it is to control.

Every time he used this power, his mental pressure became more and more intense. But whether in training or in life, Calvin never showed it. Oddly enough, Aidan obviously knew this.

"Your psychic powers are getting harder and harder to control, aren't you?"

Aidan led Calvin to an elevator at the edge of the training ground and said as he walked.

"...Yeah, I think I can get over it."

"Have you ever thought about the reason?" Aidan did not look back and seemed to know him far more than Calvin did.

The power of the soul causes the spiritual energy it carries to be too large, and the different nature of the outsider is the reason for everything. This is the core secret that he cannot and dare not tell. Before Calvin could think of how to explain, Aidan said again:

"Everyone has their own secret, we should allow it to exist, and I'm not curious about your secret. Want to know why?"

"Why?" Calvin raised his head and asked in a dry tone.

"Because you are a human being, this purity is what we value most. Everyone has their own desires, and we don't want much. You think you are a human being and are willing to fight for the emperor and this country. This enough.

During the 10,000-year journey since the unification of Terra, there has been no shortage of heroes from all over the universe. Each of us is a part of the Emperor's grand vision.

We don't care where you come from, as long as you agree with our mission; we don't care what you want, as long as you are willing to be a part of us.

As long as your little secret isn't malicious, why can't we tolerate it? When you are a civilian, we are willing to protect you. This is our profession and our mission.

And when you have proven your loyalty by going through many difficulties and obstacles, and are willing to put on the armor and take up arms to fight for the Emperor. We will become brothers, and by then, you will definitely be willing to share it with me, right? The Emperor is far more generous than you think, and so are we. "Aidan said.

"Okay, so where are we going?" Calvin heard this and decided not to discuss the topic. The elevator was still descending, and their destination seemed far away.

"Go to a place where you can prove to me that your little secret is harmless and a place that can solve your current problems." Aidan said.

The elevator began to stop descending. After a brief pause, the elevator doors opened to both sides. In the middle of the huge empty space, a huge device with an unknown purpose appeared in front of Calvin. A seat is placed on a huge metal base. Above the head is a giant furnace-like device like an upside-down tree root. Pipes more than ten meters long penetrate the ceiling and lead to unknown places.

"What is this?" Calvin asked

"A psionic amplification device that can amplify psionic signals while sharing the burden of the psionic user. It will give you the opportunity to deeply observe your own nature with as little burden as possible. I think This will help you solve your problem,” Aidan replied.

What he didn't say was that one of the many pipelines in this equipment was directly connected from the palace to here with the personal authorization of the commander of the Forbidden Army. Its purpose is to ensure that when the user loses control or is even contaminated by the warp, the light from the star torch lit by the Emperor himself will purify the user immediately.

"If you can't solve the problem, then solving the person who caused the problem is usually a more effective way." Aidan thought silently in his heart.

I received consecutive station sections this afternoon, and I will give two recommendations at the same time on May Day! I'm excited to try double updates! Sure enough, my attempt failed miserably. But the good news is that I have smoothed out the plot logic again, making future writing a little less difficult. In short, I am here to thank my book friends and editors for their support and love, so that I, a newcomer, can get so many resources in my first book. I don't dare to say I'm tired, I just want to die.

3 a.m. on April 30, 2022

Love you under the moon