Chapter 22: Lelei In Prospero pt 2

-M29. 671. Forzare System. Prospero-

It had been two hours after dawn, and Lelei was currently wearing a student robe. She had prepared for this day. Since yesterday, she has been more than enthusiastic about learning more and more. Thus, she spent her nighttime reading books present in her room.

The pieces of information stored within every book are more than remarkable. The knowledge is perfectly recorded, written in detail, and easy to understand.

It nearly caused her to wake up late. If that happens, she can barely ably imagine Lord Ahelax's expression. Tying to do it was already giving her a chill.

A flash of light appeared from behind her. Lalei turned her body. "Lord Orias."

"Good morning Lelei. I hope you are ready for the class today." Said the male psyker with a smile.

"Of course." Lelei nodded.

"Well then, follow me." With that, both of them entered the teleportarium, teleporting them to the school section of the arcology.

Orias stepped forward first, followed by the astonished Lelei. Her eyes scanned through the structure, only finding a flawlessly constructed hallway.

Then something clicked in her brain.

"The psychic power. Why I can't feel them, Lord Orias?" She asked the transhuman.

"The Schola sections are modified to suppress psychic power. Just in case the unexpected happens." The man answered, albeit in a tone near a whisper.

Lelei immediately knew what the psyker meant. An untrained psyker is simply the doom of the entire world. It flooded the world with chaotic warp power or enslavement of the whole world's population.

The night prior, she also studied psyker rank in Imperium of Man.

Epsilon, Delta, Gamma, Beta, and Alpha. Each of them represents the might of a psyker. Epsilon is the weakest, and Alpha is the strongest. Their powers varied for each host.

Then there is Alpha plus psyker. A being so mighty that it can potentially obliterate the entire solar system. Alpha Plus itself is an enigma. A rank that supposedly does not exist.

The most famous person in this rank is the Emperor of Mankind himself. However, many had speculated that the Emperor vastly exceeded the tier system.

Interestingly enough, two of the Presperian Council member are Alpha plus psykers, and one serves as the High Lord of Terra.

Imperium held more mysteries and wonders than she had been able to imagine.

"Here's your class," Orias mentally used his psychic power to open the door.

The blue-haired mage kicked her leg to enter. Her eyes meet dozens of others. The signal is clear that the whole students are psykers.

"Class, I introduce you to a new student. She will be with us for the next week. You may introduce yourself, Lelei." The man addressed the mage beside him.

"Greetings, my honored classmate. My name is Lelei Lelena. I came from Falmart." She introduced herself politely.

"You may take your seat, Lelei."

Lalei nodded in confirmation, walking to the empty seat in the room. She saw her colleague staring at her with curiosity. She took a silent deep breath, staring ahead as she strengthened her focus.

"Let's begin our lesson, then." Orias declared with a smile.

Lelei watched with all of her concentration; even others saw her unblinking. The lesson concerns the Empyreans and their nature and how they are connected with their power.

The realm is like a vast ocean that is both serene and dangerous. The lesson goes on as the interest within the young mage only grows even stronger.

Then, the last straw was let loose by Orioas.

"Now, let's talk about Aethermyic Formula," Orias said with a smirk. His hand is placed on top of his table, revealing The Empyrean's nature and some kind of calculation formula. But upon closer inspection, it was not a calculation formula but a magic formula that had been arranged in such a way as to be easy to understand and modify.

"Can anyone tell me what Aethermyic Formula is?" He asked, raising his voice.

A male student raised his hand into the air.

"Can you explain it to us, Mr. Atvesta?" The transhuman addressed the student.

"It is an invention created by Prospero after the fall of the Aeldar. This formula was designed based on our previous version of the Aethermyic Formula, Psion Cogitatum. With that knowledge, we can manipulate the Empyrean energy with our own will, like the Aeldari. But we are perfecting it to the point the Aeldari can't." He explained clearly.

"Perfecting it. Care to elaborate further?" The boy nodded to Orias' question.

"The flaw within the Aeldari's method that their over-reliance on their Webway's power and their... Gods' realms. Moreover, the Aeldari Dominion still held vast control over the Empyreans. But it was flawed due to their nature as nearly immortal beings, leading to their depraved sentiments resulting in another Primordial Annihilator's birth, dooming their race at the end of the Third Galactic War." Atvesta paused momentarily, "They did not expect the most predictable, sending their own fate to oblivion. Their psychic technologies were heavily exposed to the Empyrean, causing the psychic blast of the Primordial Annihilators managed to destroy their entire race."

The way of Atvesta explained caused the young mage to wonder. The Imperium hates the Aeldar, a race like Tuka with passion. Since Captain Raias' mentioned the Third Galactic War, she immediately sought an answer.

It was a war between gods.

It mentioned the Aledari's gods also taking a direct involvement during the war.

Gods fully manifested as no one can oppose them. Yet, humanity still prevails using the legendary Seven Legions, master-crafted by the Emperor, to achieve victory.

A war that tore the very concept of time and space, splitting reality apart. It wounded the entire universe, flooding the real world with psychic power.

Then, the climax happens when the born of the Primordial Annihilator comes into the fold. It obliterated the entire Aeldari's forces and gods and even wreaked havoc on humanity's mightiest bastion.

No one really knows the reason behind humanity's victory over the impossible. The majority claimed it was because of the Emperor's involvement with the Golden Throne. But still, no one really knows.

"A good answer, young man." Said Orias with a nod. "But still, can you dispel the difference?"

"Of course I can, sir." He cleared his throat. "Aethermyic Formula is designed to be the middle ground of our Psion Cogitatum and Aeldari's manipulation of the warp. It can manipulate the Empyrean's energy and reconstruct its power to serve our needs. Unlike Aeldar, the psychic power is utterly separate when it manifests to us. So that we didn't need to fear the same flaw as the Aeldar."

"Correct, Mr. Atvesta," Orias said pleasantly. "Indeed, Aethermyic Formula is a form of warp science that we created to reach the exact height of the Aeldari Dominion. It did not bear the same weakness as them. But, Aethermyic Formula is much, much more than you think."

Hearing this, Lelei sharpened her hearing. The information is invaluable for her as it is a lifetime experience.

"Aethermyic Formula is a calculating method that enables us to calculate the madness of the warp. Thus, it opens a path that previously only Aaeldar could achieve. With this Formula, we can do anything and extract everything from the warp. Some called warp a source of madness and void. But it is an infinitely massive form of data we can alter." Orias could not hide his smirk.

Several students gasped slightly at the revelation. The entire class is psykers, so they had some experience with the Sea of Soul. Nothing can describe that ream other than a maelstrom of madness. Yet, no one can deny that the warp is the source of infinite power.

The truth about the material universe as free data is not news to them. It enabled them to create wonders beyond even the transhuman mind to understand.

But the psychic wonders of the Imperium still intrigued them. They have learned about the Formula, yet it is only described as a method to manipulate the warp beyond the Aledari's.

But this truth is new to some of them.

"Data? Is that mean we can use them like... Data? Altering it as we please and even erasing it when needed? And even materialize everything from nothing without the influence of dark matter?" One of the students asked, confusion clearly emitted from his eyes.

"We can. I will give you one example." Orias took an empty glass from his table. Steadily, the psychic power is being channeled by Orias to his body. The entire classroom can feel the warp's unending tide slowly becoming thinner, more controllable, and less violent.

"Behold, the might of the Imperium's warp science." Orias proclaimed as an ethereal aura enveloped the empty glass. With a few crackling noises, the glass filled with wine. Holding the glass, Orias addressed his students. "This is one of the Formula implications."

Lelei could not command her head to move, petrified by the marvel before her eyes. In Falmart, magic is a craft that manipulates the raw magical energy to create miracles like controlling four basic elements. However, manifesting objects from nothingness is a craft that touches the realm of gods.

Lelei could not hold her curiosity anymore. She raises her hand and clears her throat. "May I ask, sir?"

"You may," He replied with a smile.

"In my home, Falmart. We must use incantation to perform our magic. A bold contrast from what I've seen here. Based on my readings about psychic power, in my place, psykers were born due to mutations inside their bodies. Mages are abundant, even with the world's population of nowhere near one billion souls. And since the history of Rondel, a magician city, there is no record regarding the psykers incident. Is there any particular reason for that? And if it can, can the Aethermyic Formula solve this?" Lelei asked with determination, ignoring the expression that her class had given to her. She only needs her question answered.

"Interesting question, Miss Lelei." Orias closed his eyes, trying to find the correct answer. "We have gathered much information on your world. Magicians are included."

"What did you find, sir?" Lelei asked carefully.

"Be patient, Lelei Lelena." Orias stated calmly, "Your psyker is born from mutations like ours. But the difference is that their psychic power did not directly originate from the warp."

"Is that possible?" She asked again.

"It happens to many planets with World Spirits in their core." With a wave of his hand, a holovid appeared. It shows them the scheme of Prospero, complete with its World Spirit. "As we know, Prospero's World Spirit can cultivate a non-psychic human into the psychic-active one. Yet, this world, Falmart, is drastically different from any of our World Spirit. Even, it wasn't a World Spirit at all."

It took a short time for Lelei to realize the subject's point. The realization came to her mind like a bolt of thunderous lightning.

"The gods," She muttered.

"Yes. Those creatures who called themselves gods are the leading cause of your phenomenon. They… Filter the pure energy of the Empyran and then spread it all over your planet." Answered Orias, hand on his chin. "Care to enlighten me, Miss Lelei?"

"Based on the ancient scriptures, gods are benevolent beings who seek to treat their garden with utmost love. I think that was the reason." Lelei stated calmly.

"Gods? They are just parasites, using your world as a plaything!" Barked one of the students.

"Using your power to filter the warp so that you can properly use magic. Ha! What a joke!" Another outburst resounded throughout the room.

"Calm yourself, or I will do it myself," Orias declared firmly. Thus, the classroom returned to its initial state. "Good. I know the terms gods are anathema to us, but please, we have a guest."

The students nodded in affirmation, giving Orias room to sigh. "Return to our topic. Falmart's gods are why you didn't go insane, Lelei. But don't worry. We are here to help you."

"O-One more question, Sir." Said Lelei tentatively, swallowing her saliva bitterly.

"Yes, Lelei?"

"Now I'm far from my god's range. Then why I didn't go insane or be corrupted by the... Primordial Annihilators." Lelei chooses to use Primordial Anniilators as it would be easier for her to get the desired answer.

"Back on Terra, you were protected by His Majesty's power. When you travel here, the Webway protects you from their prying hands. Finally, Prospero's World Spirit completely shelters your psychic presence." Orias explained, smiling.

Lelei recollected her past moments when she arrived at the Imperium of Man. She had been protected since she came to Terra, causing her to be untouched by the so-called Primordial Annihilators.

"I see," She muttered in realization.

"Now, let's move to our next topic." Said the male teacher to his students.

"Yes, sir." The class answered at the same time.

____________________________________________________________________

After hours of studying, Lelei was satisfied, as if she had drank the entire ocean to satisfy her thirst. The lecture is beyond her to imagine, expanding her understanding of the universe.

"Lelei," Orias called from behind her.

"Yes, teacher?" Lelei turned, face showing confusion.

"Came closer," Orias said gently.

The young mage obliged, drawing closer to her teacher. "Is there something I can do, Lord Orias?"

"Your next class is psychic channeling by Lord Ahelax," Orias replied slowly. "Thus, we want you to have this."

Orias extends his arm, hiding something in particular in his palm. Lelei received it, opening her palm as she saw a metal Aquila that took the form of a necklace.

"A necklace," Lelei asked quietly.

"It's a psychic controller. It will protect you from your own psychic backlash whenever you are utilizing your power."

"Thank you, Lord Orias," Lelei replied with a smile. However, she felt something was off with the transhuman. His emotion is wholly concealed beneath his flawless poker face, yet there is a crack. He is trembling, albeit slightly.

"Please, wear it." He asked politely.

"Of course," Lelei did what he had instructed.

"Ah, you are so beautiful, Lelei. His Majesty's judgment is always unquestionable indeed." Orias smiled weakly, eyes radiating nostalgia.

"Is something wrong with me, Lord Orias?" Lelei asked while titled her head in confusion.

"Nothing to be worried about, I guess. Now, catch up with your friend, then."

"Of course. Thank you very much, Lord Orias." Lelei bowed her body in respect before making her way to follow her colleagues.

It did not take a long time for her to arrive at the location. Opening the metallic gate, she was greeted with the sight of impossibility.

It is a field that spans kilometers with a blue sky above and clouds floating with their regal value—a magnificent place for those wanting.

"Amazing." She lost her words as she tried to unveil the mysteries behind its god-like creation. Her feet touched the grass as she took a step into the field.

"Imperium of Man, what kind of nation that built to be intended to rival gods themselves?" Lelei asked herself. Uncertainty became conflicting in her chest.

The wind touches her skin, calling her concentration back to reality. Scanning the vest field to find other students, she was greeted by a flash of psychic light from the corner of her eyes.

"I demand an answer for your near lateness, Lelei Lelena." A booming voice ripped the air. From behind that light, a giant appears. It is Lord Ahelax, bearing her armor but helmetless. His facial features made Lelei's brows furrow. He is pale but alive, having long raven hair and eyes glaring emerald.

She expects many from him, such as a perfect figure and a flawless as it is regal face. She found the opposite. This man is average in his figure. Nothing is special about him.

But the eyes are different matters entirely. He is a being beyond her grasp of knowledge and wisdom. A perfect human that did not born from mortals like Captain Raias and others. Lord Ahelax is far beyond them.

"My profound, Lord Ahelax." Lelei bowed in apology.

"Cease that, and now join your friend." He declared with his dooming voice, causing Lelei to flinch.

"Yes, Lord Ahelax," Lelei kicked her feet to move.

She went to her friend. After taking a few seconds, she spotted the other students, joining them to sit beside the tree.

A blast of psychics ripped the reality, revealing Lord Ahelax. "I will be quick. Lelei Lelena, because of your tardiness, I asked you to demonstrate my lesson."

Murmurs grow in the crowd. They argued with their own arguments, trying to predict Lelei's punishment.

"Yes, Lord Ahelax," Said Lelei, unflinching by the sheer negative emotions around her.

"I expect nothing less from you, Lelei Lelena." He said firmly, only receiving a nod from the young mage. "Now concentrate,"

Lelei closed her eyes, drawing every inch of her power to her mind.

"Warp is a sea, sea of souls and infinite power. Feels the essence around you as if you feel the wind and the fragrance in this place." The Astartes dictated to the blue-haired mage.

She closed her eyes, trying to feel the universe around her better. Slowly, the necklace began to glow.

"Focuse like when you were using your magic. Take it slowly; feels Prospero's World Spirit around you." Said the Arcanum legionnaire calmly as he used his power to guide Lelei in her concentration.

Lelei could feel her sense had gone deeper and deeper into the power of the Immmaterium. Yet, she felts a gentle embrace around her, protecting her from any malevolent intents.

The power she can feel the raw power begin to enter her body. It is drastically different from her usual spell casting. This is much heavier due to the untold weight channeling through her veins.

{Ease your mind, Lelei Lelena.} Ahelax's voice whispered in her ears.

Lelei did what her teacher had instructed her. Lelei began to ease her mind, clearing her thought and steeling her mental strength.

The power within her body started to heat up, filling her muscle with might.

{Let it flow into that stone.} He whispered again.

Lelei uses her psychic sense to detect the said rock. Like a sentient wind, she located the stone. Lelei focuses all her power on her right palm, drawing further from the Empyrean.

"Kuh," Lelei's body feels like she will explode soon. She tries to excess her power to reduce the strain on her body.

Unbeknownst to her, the necklace shone brighter, absorbing her psychic power and carefully releasing it to the Immaterium. The strain became more bearable. Thus, Lelei can channel her power safely.

Like a blast of powerful energy, Lelei let the power out from her palm. The lightning ripped the air, rendering the stone into a pile of dust as it exploded violently.

Lelei opens her eyes, witnessing her own destructive power. Her face turned into both awe and fear.

A massive crater born from her power.

"Remarkable. A high Beta-class psyker. No, maybe an Alpha class." Said Ahelax in a whisper.

Lelei heard his whispers. She stilled, eyes widening in shock. "Me? A Beta-Class?"

"Yes, you are. Astonishingly, you did not lose your sanity." The Astartes remarked neutrally. "From now on, you will have more hours in my class, Lelei Lelena."