The temporary camp in the underhive ruins bustled with activity.
Titus led the way.
His Grenade Launcher still emitted faint wisps of smoke.
Behind him, two veteran Lamenters clad in Indomitable Terminator Armor escorted a Tech-Priest in crimson robes.
Rather than walking…
They were practically dragging him.
Magos Hades’ mechanical legs scraped helplessly across the floor.
His optical sensors flickered erratically.
Streams of meaningless binary poured continuously from his vox-speaker.
Even now…
His processors still refused to accept reality.
A priceless Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought…
Had been mined into fragments by an Iron Pickaxe.
“My lord.” Titus stopped before Roya.
“The Magos has been brought back.” The two Terminators released him.
Hades collapsed onto the steel floor.
Roya merely glanced at the broken Tech-Priest before shifting his attention elsewhere.
Behind him…
Several sterile operating rooms had been constructed entirely from Minecraft dirt blocks.
Inside them…
A plan capable of overturning the Imperium’s understanding of biology was about to begin.
Earlier…
Roya had ordered Phoros to retrieve every piece of surgical equipment aboard the Chapter’s Strike Cruiser.
The Chapter’s Apothecaries had carefully isolated every organ implant required to create a Space Marine.
Nineteen implants.
Prepared for immediate surgery.
The moment the order was given…
The Lamenters’ senior officers had nearly panicked.
Chapter Master Phoros…
Chief Librarian Karkullis…
Both stood outside the operating room.
“My lord.” Phoros finally stepped forward.
“Please forgive my bluntness…” “But this procedure is simply too dangerous.” Roya looked at him calmly.
Karkullis continued.
“The implantation process must begin during adolescence.” “The organs must mature alongside the recruit.” “These candidates are fully grown adults.” “Their skeletal structures have already developed.” “The rejection response alone will kill them.” Phoros nodded heavily.
“Ordinary adults cannot survive even the first few implantations.” “Total organ failure is inevitable.” “In our experience…” “The survival rate is zero.” To them…
Every gene-seed was priceless.
Using them on adults amounted to throwing away irreplaceable resources.
Roya merely smiled.
“Everything you know…” “…is based upon the rules of this universe.” He lightly patted Phoros’ shoulder.
“My rules are different.” “As long as I’m here…” “No one will die from implant rejection.” He wasn’t boasting.
He simply trusted Minecraft’s mechanics.
As long as hunger remained full…
Health constantly regenerated.
Whenever health reached maximum…
The system judged the body to be in perfect condition.
Rejection.
Organ degeneration.
Bone incompatibility.
Everything would simply be overwritten.
At that moment…
Chief Apothecary Samuel stepped forward.
“My lord.” “Everything has been prepared.” “All nineteen organ implants have been isolated.” “They’re ready for transplantation.” “Good.” “Let’s begin.” Inside the operating room…
A veteran Imperial Guardsman lay upon the surgical table.
His name was James.
One of the bravest soldiers during the hive’s defense.
Despite his courage…
He looked understandably nervous beneath the gaze of several towering Space Marines.
“Relax.” Roya approached.
A loaf of Bread appeared in his hand.
He placed it into James’ palm.
“Whatever happens…” “No matter how much it hurts…” “Keep eating.” “That’s your only job.” James nodded immediately.
“Yes, my lord.” Three Apothecaries positioned themselves around the operating table.
Their instruments were ready.
“Begin.” “First implant.” “Secondary Heart.” Samuel inhaled deeply.
The plasma scalpel sliced open James’ chest.
Blood immediately flowed across the operating table.
Fortunately…
Powerful sedatives had already rendered him unconscious.
Otherwise…
The pain alone would have killed him.
Another Apothecary carefully implanted the immature Secondary Heart.
At that exact moment…
James bit into the Bread.
Minecraft’s regeneration activated instantly.
Samuel’s hands froze.
The newly implanted organ immediately extended countless blood vessels and nerve fibers.
It fused perfectly with James’ cardiovascular system.
The open wound rapidly closed.
Moments later…
Not even a scar remained.
Then…
Thump.
Thump.
Two perfectly synchronized heartbeats echoed throughout the room.
“There…” “…there’s no rejection…” Samuel’s voice trembled.
Roya remained perfectly calm.
“Don’t stop.” “Continue.” The surgeries accelerated.
Ossmodula.
A bite of Bread.
Biscopea.
Another bite.
Haemastamen.
Another bite.
Every implant matured almost instantly.
Throughout the operating room…
Bones cracked.
Muscles expanded.
New organs developed.
James’ body grew larger and larger.
His skeleton lengthened.
His muscles thickened dramatically.
Any ordinary human would have died from the unbearable pain.
Yet…
Whenever his health dropped…
Another bite of Bread restored him completely.
Standing nearby…
Phoros…
Karkullis…
Kahn…
Could only stare.
An adult…
Successfully undergoing the complete transformation into an Adeptus Astartes.
Without rejection.
Without fatal complications.
Without years of recovery.
The impossible unfolded before their eyes.
Finally…
The last implant…
The Black Carapace…
Finished integrating beneath James’ skin.
Neural connections formed almost immediately.
James slowly sat upright.
He was no longer the same man.
Now…
He stood nearly 2.2 meters tall.
Broad shoulders.
Perfect musculature.
Every movement radiated the unmistakable presence of a Space Marine.
Samuel stepped backward in disbelief.
His narthecium scanner continuously displayed impossible readings.
“All organs…” “…fully functional…” “Integration rate…” “…one hundred percent…” His voice had become hoarse.
Then he checked another reading.
His entire body shook.
“My lord…” “The progenoid glands…” “…have also matured completely.” Silence consumed the room.
The surgeries had only just finished.
Yet the gene-seed had already matured.
Roya nodded casually.
“If they’re mature…” “Harvest them.” “There is no reason to wait.” He pointed toward James’ neck.
“Remove the cervical progenoid.” “We’ll use it to create the next recruit.” Samuel snapped back to reality.
His scalpel moved expertly.
A precise incision.
Removal.
Regeneration.
Everything happened seamlessly.
Moments later…
A perfectly mature cervical progenoid rested inside a sterile container.
Roya smiled.
Exactly as expected.
Without warning…
Phoros and Karkullis both dropped to their knees.
“My lord…” Phoros lowered his head deeply.
“We doubted your power.” “We deserve punishment.” Roya waved dismissively.
“Stand up.” “I don’t care about that.” “Yes, my lord!” Phoros rose.
His entire body still trembled from excitement.
With this miracle…
The Lamenters would no longer remain a dying Chapter.
Within days…
Their strength could rival the mighty Legions of the Great Crusade.
Roya then looked toward Samuel.
“Apothecary.” “We’ll soon require enormous quantities of gene-seed.” “I intend to use the Adeptus Mechanicus’ cultivation methods.” Samuel blinked.
“You mean…” “The gene-seed cultivation vats?” “Exactly.” Bread eliminated the decades normally required for maturation.
Only one limitation remained.
Each Space Marine possessed two progenoid glands.
The cervical gland could be harvested while alive.
The thoracic gland normally required the Marine’s death.
But if gene-seed cultivation techniques were combined with Minecraft’s healing mechanics…
Production would increase dramatically.
Phoros immediately understood.
“You intend to cultivate progenoids inside biological hosts?” “Correct.” Roya nodded.
“They no longer need years to mature.” “They simply need bread.” “Then they can continue producing indefinitely.” A single mature progenoid…
Could ultimately generate thousands of descendants through repeated cultivation.
Kahn finally spoke.
“My lord…” “Gene-seed cultivation technology belongs to the Adeptus Mechanicus.” “I doubt our Chapter possesses that knowledge.” Roya smiled faintly.
The Lamenters were infamous throughout the Imperium.
If something could go wrong…
It usually happened to them.
Yet despite all their disasters…
They somehow always survived.
“You really think…” “They’ve never encountered that technology?” Phoros…
Karkullis…
And Samuel exchanged amused glances.
Then…
All three smiled knowingly.