After selecting this National Focus, a flood of entries appeared in the Decisions tab.
But upon closer inspection, Huron found several “disturbing” options that made him grimace.
There were things like “Sacrifice to Khorne/Slaanesh/Nurgle/Tzeentch/Vashtorr…
to seek blessings,” and even an option to sacrifice to all four Chaos Gods simultaneously.
*What is this, Chaos Undivided?*
Then there was the “Forced Breeding Program,” which involved forcing adults with high gene-seed compatibility to breed in order to produce more Space Marine aspirants.
Below that were even more “advanced” options like “Backcrossing” and “Inbreeding,” which Huron didn’t even dare to click.
*Where the hell have I ended up?
Am I going to have to build a Breeding Hall next?*
Then again, thinking back to the Warhammer lore he’d read, it didn’t seem that strange.
The Carcharodons and the Ashen Claws were both suspected of kidnapping high-compatibility women to serve as breeding machines on their homeworlds.
While the Ashen Claws eventually became friendlier with common humans, the Carcharodons…
well.
Fortunately, aside from these decisions that clashed with Huron’s values, there were plenty that aligned with his goals.
Options like “Accelerate Recruit Training Speed,” “Reorganize and Strengthen Chapter Auxilia,” and “Enhance Chapter Fleet Strength.”
However, the one that piqued Huron’s curiosity the most was “Gain the Emperor’s Attention.”
This decision cost 100 Political Power and was mutually exclusive with the Chaos-aligned decisions.
It was a one-or-the-other choice.
He had no intention of choosing Chaos anyway, and in a universe like Warhammer—filled with the Warp and psykers—he needed to find a patron in the Empyrean.
The best and only option for a human was the Emperor.
So, Huron selected it.
He was also curious.
According to the lore he knew, at this point in time, both the Emperor and the Four Gods were essentially “loading” for their eventual returns.
Various miracles were merely instinctive responses from their respective domains.
The first thing they’d do upon “waking up” would be to blow up Cadia and open the Great Rift.
Moreover, the Emperor struggled with the conflict between His divinity and His humanity.
So, which “Emperor” would this decision attract?
As 100 Political Power vanished from the panel, new decisions appeared.
Meanwhile, the disturbance in the Warp was far more significant.
A brand-new power, channeled through Huron’s soul and the Warp-symbols of the Astral Claws and the planet Badab, entered that eternal playground and surged into the Emperor’s domain.
Within the silent, cold, black sun that instinctively gathered the souls of the faithful, a consciousness was born.
A new, gentle, and purely benevolent consciousness—a soul of a god filled with humanity, shaped and sustained by a power from outside this world.
The moment She was born, She sensed that “time” was wrong.
Although talking about time in the Warp was ridiculous, She was certain She had awakened at the wrong moment.
The consciousnesses of the other four bastards were still slumbering, with only their domains operating on instinct.
Then came the confusion: why had She awakened early?
While this gave Her an opportunity to set the board and gain an advantage, the Warp was never a place of kindness.
She did not believe in free lunches.
But then, a strange power—one completely alien to the Warp—descended upon Her, drawing Her gaze toward the materium.
This power wasn’t great.
Even in Her current, incredibly weak state, She could have ignored it.
However, She keenly sensed that it was this very power that had caused Her early awakening.
Thus, She did not resist.
Instead, She chose to follow the pull to see what this force wanted from Her.
Even as a newly born consciousness, She still inherited the extreme arrogance and gambling spirit of the Master of Mankind.
Despite having been beaten into a ten-thousand-year coma for “skipping the bill,” and despite the failure of the Webway Project She had bet everything on, She still believed She could control the situation.
“Lufgt Huron?
An Astartes Chapter Master?
What is special about him?”
She saw the person the power wanted Her to see, but She wondered why this unremarkable Chapter Master had attracted such attention.
Through psychic divination, She already saw a future where Huron might rebel against the Imperium and fall to Chaos, but that wasn’t special at all.
Setting aside the fact that She could easily prevent that future now by issuing an order to the Custodes, She simultaneously saw a future where Huron did not rebel but became the leader of the Maelstrom Wardens after the Great Rift opened.
She saw a future where Huron became a renegade but remained powerful, forcing the Imperium to turn a blind eye to the Maelstrom, and countless other variations.
In the Warp, even the past could be changed, let alone a future that was never set in stone.
“Hm?
No, his soul isn’t the original one.
It seems to share a source with this unknown power.” After closer observation, She suddenly noticed the abnormality in Huron’s soul.
“So, you want me to help him?” The unknown power did not respond; it seemed to have been exhausted.
But She didn’t think so.
To be able to wake Her early—something even that clown Vashtorr couldn’t achieve—how could such a power be so easily spent?
Given that She had just awakened and could only mobilize a tiny fraction of Her strength, She chose to silently observe Huron for a while.
To summarize: The system had created a new “Emperor-tan” consciousness and forced Her to pay attention to Huron.
Gwa!
The System has utterly humiliated the Emperor!
The System is truly invincible, yeah!
Huron waited for a few minutes.
Seeing that he neither glowed with golden light nor saw a giant black sphere, he pushed the matter aside and began checking the new decisions.
He was immediately drawn to a decision titled: “Optimize Aspirant Augmentation Surgery.”
The specific details read: [Increase Gene-seed compatibility, increase aspirant tolerance, lower genetic matching requirements, and reduce rejection risk.
Significantly increases the success rate of Aspirant augmentation and drastically lowers the physical standards required for candidates.
Cost: 50 Political Power.
Duration: One month.]
In other words, for one month, he could mass-produce Space Marines regardless of the quality of the recruits, and the success rate would be massively boosted?
If that were the case, restoring the Chapter—or even expanding it beyond its limits—seemed easy.
With his Military Factories, adding a new batch of Astartes every five years wasn’t a dream.
Even if this resulted in recruits with thin experience and lower combat effectiveness, the system had a training function.
He could just run them through drills for a few extra years.
Thinking of a future where he could assemble an Astartes Legion, Huron felt a surge of excitement.
He even felt confident about the Thirteenth Black Crusade.
So what if there was a Blackstone Fortress?
He’d just board it and take it for himself!
Without hesitation, Huron clicked the decision and contacted the Chapter’s Master Apothecary, Garreon, ready to test the quality of this new “buff.”