Chapter 13 Essence and Cognition

"So you are an Astarte?" Calvin asked with a little excitement.

From the limited information he could access, this is a group of warriors who are not afraid but can bring fear and death to the enemy. The heavy power armor and the height of more than 2.5 meters after wearing the armor are their iconic images. Once they launch a charge, the inertial kinetic energy of several tons of armor and people is enough for them to easily destroy most enemies.

Compared with the elite of mortal troops, they also have many inhuman characteristics: the strength and patience to wield weapons weighing dozens of kilograms for several days; the reaction speed reaching microseconds, the dynamic vision like reptiles, and the heavy weapons that can only be fully exerted with them, etc. ...

Putting aside these external manifestations, Calvin, who has been a soldier all his life, is more interested in the psychological endurance of the Astartes on the battlefield that is beyond mortals. What makes them turn a blind eye to the battlefield environment full of bullets and blood and flesh flying, and what makes them able to fight in extremely harsh environments? Will or faith?

In the texts of some famous battles in the Empire that Calvin had read, the words used to describe the inhuman characteristics of these Astartes demigods from the Emperor made Calvin feel in awe of them.

In his opinion, these demigods walking in the starry sky themselves have enough legendary colors. And the stories related to them made him shudder. They are the Emperor's angels of death, and they are also the iron wall of the Empire; they are the black nightmare of the rebels, and they are also the destruction of the alien monsters.

But now, he is so close to this mysterious group, and even has the opportunity to become one of them, which makes him excited and curious.

"Yes, my name is Aidan. If you are talking about that Astarte, then I am. And you, 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 body did not seem to age with time. The short silver-gray hair and gray robe could not hide the powerful deterrence brought by the peak state of the body. The young body and the eyes that have experienced the world make you feel confused when you see him, as if you see a god walking out of the mural.

"What do I need to do?" Calvin calmed down from the excitement, and the soldier's instinct made him find the core of the problem.

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

"Problem? What's my problem?" This unexpected answer made Calvin feel uneasy. He didn't have many secrets, and his soul and the identity of the outsider were precisely what he couldn't say.

"Don't be nervous, young man. Think about it, if you really have any trouble, it's not me who will deal with you, but the Inquisition. What I mean is your recent small problem with the use of psychic energy."

The troubles caused by the mismatch between soul and body have been accompanying Calvin recently. The special nature of the soul makes Calvin's total psychic energy stronger and stronger with the accumulation of time, and the physical strength that stops in place and the uncoordinated soul fluctuations make Calvin more and more difficult to control when using psychic energy.

Every time he uses this power, his mental pressure becomes greater and greater. But whether in training or in life, Calvin never showed it. Strangely, Aidan obviously knew this.

"Your psychic power is getting harder and harder to control, right?"

Aidan took Calvin to an elevator at the edge of the training ground, saying as he walked.

"............Yes, I think I can overcome it."

"Have you ever thought about the reason?" Aidan did not look back, as if he knew him much better than Calvin.

The strength of his soul caused the psychic power he carried to be too huge, and the difference in the nature of the outsider was the reason for everything. This was the core secret that he could not and dared not say. Before Calvin could figure out how to explain it, Aidan said again:

"Everyone has his own secrets, we should allow it to exist, and I am not curious about your secrets. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?" Calvin raised his head and asked in a slightly 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, that's enough.

Since the unification of Terra, there has never been a lack of heroes from all over the universe. In the Emperor's grand vision, each of us is a part of it.

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 does not contain malicious intent, why can't we tolerate it? When you are a civilian, we are willing to protect you. This is our profession and mission.

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

"Okay, so where are we going?" Hearing this, Calvin decided not to discuss this topic anymore. The elevator is still descending, and their destination seems to be far away.

"Go somewhere that can prove to me that your little secret is harmless and somewhere that can solve your current problem," said Aidan.

The elevator stopped descending, and after a brief pause, the elevator door opened to both sides. In the middle of the empty giant space, a huge device of unknown purpose appeared in front of Calvin. A chair was placed on a huge metal base. Above his head was a giant furnace-like device that looked like an upside-down tree root. A dozen-meter-long pipes penetrated the ceiling and led to an unknown place.

"What is this?" Calvin asked

"A psychic amplification device that can share the burden of psychic users while amplifying psychic signals. It gives you the opportunity to observe your own essence in depth while reducing the burden as much 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 of this device was directly connected from the palace to here with the authorization of the commander of the imperial guards. Its purpose is to ensure that when the user loses control or is contaminated by the warp, the light of the star torch lit by the emperor himself will purify the user as soon as possible.

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

I received the station section continuously this afternoon, and I have to make two recommendations at the same time on May Day! I tried to update twice in excitement! As expected, my clumsy attempt failed. But the good news is that I have straightened out the plot logic, which reduces the difficulty of future writing. In short, I would like to thank the book friends and the editor for their support and love, which allows me, a newcomer, to get so many resources in my first book. I dare not say I am tired, but I am dying.

April 30, 2022 at 3 am

Love you Yuexia