8 Chapter 8
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Guilliman considers his next steps and reviews the current state of affairs.
According to the nature of this universe's development, the gods would have already noticed him the moment he awakened.
Those traitorous Primarchs would also soon launch their plans against him.
The traitorous Primarch of the Sons of the Emperor Legion - Fulgrim, if he remembers correctly, will be the first to make a move.
This guy killed Ferrus, the Primarch of the Iron Hands Legion, ten thousand years ago, becoming the first traitorous Primarch to kill his own brother.
After the failure of Horus' rebellion, he was severely injured in the Battle at Thessala.
Most importantly, he has become the Chosen of the Chaos God - Slaanesh, indulging in the art of torturing people.
Demons and followers of Slaanesh, how should I put it?
They're quite something; very lustful, very indulgent, without taboos. In pursuit of pleasure, they will do anything.
Many young men might think that they'd be suited to Slaanesh, the God of Excess, since its demonettes are quite voluptuous. They believe they can handle such beings. However, in reality, no one can bear the horrors of Slaanesh's followers. It's a truth universally acknowledged that one would rather die at the hands of the followers of Khorne than exist under the hand of Slaanesh's demons and followers.
Khorne simply wishes for death, Tzeentch enjoys manipulating fate, Nurgle wants to give people a twisted form of love, but Slaanesh truly seeks to make everyone suffer in their pursuit of pleasure. Fulgrim's threat level: off the charts. One must not fall into that one's hands at any cost.
Apart from him, there's also the Primarch of the Thousand Sons - Magnus, nicknamed 'Little Brother Magnus'. He has likewise ascended to daemonhood and become Tzeentch's chosen, wielding incomparable magic. His most impressive feat is moving an entire planet across half the galaxy.
Thinking of this, Guilliman feels a headache coming on. Moving an entire planet across tens of thousands of light years - in a fantasy novel, this would certainly qualify someone as a celestial being. The more he thinks about it, the more speechless he becomes. Technology is technology, magic is magic. What does it mean when technology contains magic?
Little Brother Magnus is a formidable warrior, fully initiated in the ultimate secrets of the Chaos God Tzeentch, with a fondness for plotting and scheming. One misstep and he'll have you caught in a trap.
Additionally, there's the Primarch of the Word Bearers, Lorgar, known as the 'Preacher'. The former two are mostly concerned with the struggle between Chaos and humanity, not bearing any personal grudges. However, Lorgar bears a personal grudge against Guilliman.
The grudge between them is such that they can't rest until one of them falls. This originated when Guilliman, following the Emperor's orders, burned the City of Faith. The Emperor even forced the entire Word Bearers Legion to kneel and admit their mistakes, leading to enmity.
During the early stages of the Horus Heresy, the Word Bearers executed the Betrayal at Calth against the Ultramarines, turning a planet into glass. Guilliman was stabbed by the First Captain of the Word Bearers, Kor Phaeron, creating a weak spot that Fulgrim exploited during the Battle of Thessala.
You could say Guilliman was continually undermined by the Word Bearers. During the Betrayal at Calth, the Ultramarines were caught off guard and severely beaten. The Imperial Auxilia and civilians suffered countless casualties, and the entire system was so heavily irradiated that it was no longer habitable, hence the deep-seated enmity.
Guilliman weighed the balance of power between himself and his enemies, and his heart sank. All those traitor Primarchs were still alive, and the Chaos Gods were constantly watching him. On his side, he was alone! The loyal Primarchs were all gone, the Emperor was half-dead, and the corrupt High Lords of Terra, the fanatic Ecclesiarchy, the reclusive Custodes, and the Space Marines, who obeyed orders but not proclamations, were all that was left.
Currently, the Imperium is torn apart by the Great Rift; the guidance of the Emperor's Astronomican has been lost on the other side, and all contact has been severed.
The Imperium is like a heavily bleeding patient, teetering on the brink of death.
The Imperium's enemies are not just Chaos; besides Chaos, there are the Tyranid hordes from outside the galaxy, the awakening Necrons, the emerging Tau Imperium, and the Eldar, who are close to extinction.
Roboute Guilliman wondered if he could negotiate a surrender.
Considering all these opposing forces and the state of the Imperium, humanity is truly in a dire situation.
Without the Lord of Dominion's templates and databases, Guilliman was tempted to flee.
There was no victory to be had, why should he stay?
"Support sprite," Guilliman called out in his mind.
"Here to assist, how may I help, Host?" it replied.
"Where is my reward?" Guilliman asked.
"You have been granted level one access to the database; you just haven't opened it yet."
"Then open the database."
"Understood, I will help you connect to the database."
As the support sprite spoke, a holographic screen appeared in front of Guilliman. He reached out and touched it, realizing it was not physically present but an ethereal entity.
As he focused, the contents of the screen continuously changed.
"First Generation Astartes enhancement technology, Dark Matter Engine technology from the First Generation Angels, blueprints for Yamato-class battleships, single soldier auxiliary combat suits, blueprints for the Venom Plasma Gun, curvature engine schematics, Star Destroyer blueprints, blueprints for the planet-destroying weapon - Death Star, principles of biological genetic enhancement surgery, principles of biologically induced evolution, genetic sequence remodeling...a handbook on cultivating special extraterrestrial plants, a comprehensive guide on pig care, and 108 ways to train a husky."
Looking through the contents, Guilliman found the knowledge contained within the database to be immense and varied, even terrifying.
"Is this the knowledge attainable with level one access?" Guilliman asked.
"Yes, Host, this is the knowledge attainable with level one access."
Guilliman gazed at the entries about the Death Star and the Dark Matter Engine technology, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "How many levels of access does the database have in total?"
"There are ten levels in total, each with an associated task. Upon completion of all tasks, you will gain full access to the database."
"If level one includes the Death Star and Astartes technology, wouldn't levels two and three be even more terrifying? Is it all technological knowledge or will there be mysterious aspects as access levels increase?" Guilliman voiced his curiosity.
The offerings at level one were already astounding; what could be waiting at levels two and three?!
By levels four and five, there might be void computing engines and temporal annihilation bombs.
What could possibly be on offer at levels seven and eight?!
Guilliman speculated that it should be something mysterious, like a top-level divine object that can make a person immortal or a powerful practice.
"The database only contains civilized knowledge, and does not record things that are of no use to the development of civilization," the assistant spirit responded.
Hearing this, Guilliman paused for a moment, "Then what's in the level ten database? A cross-universe engine, or a pan-universe concept weapon, or a universe restart device?"
"The path of technology is endless, the host does not need to guess too much, please aim at the ultimate goal, transcend civilization, govern the universe," the assistant spirit replied.
Hearing the assistant spirit's words, Guilliman laughed. Being able to survive was already a great fortune, and yet they still spoke of transcendence.
Unable to find out what was inside the level ten database, Guilliman didn't pay any more attention to it.
"Take it slow. One day I'll unlock the level ten permission, and then I'll be able to peek into what's inside the level ten database," Guilliman thought to himself.
Guilliman calmed down and began to examine the knowledge in the database.
This knowledge would be his important trump card in rebuilding the Imperium and restoring human combat power.
Relying on the terrifying computational ability of his brain, Guilliman quickly selected the most important and currently most helpful technological knowledge.
"Summon the Mechanicus, the Saint, and the Battle-Captains. I need to hold a meeting," Guilliman opened the communicator in his room and ordered the guards waiting outside.
He needed to hold a meeting to determine the baseline for development, prepare the fleet, and clear up the remnants of chaos in the five hundred worlds.
Then, using the five hundred worlds as a foundation, he would sweep across the entire Imperium, purge chaos and alien creatures, and stop the bleeding of the Imperium.
