Chapter 36: The Outsider

Aboard the *Emperor's Vision*, within the laboratory.

"Lord, the subject's body has been fully treated. His vital signs are stable now."

"The data indicates that he's ready for the augmentation surgery."

"Prepare for the procedure."

The Emperor set down his golden quill, rising from his workstation. He wore a simple, standard white lab coat, which barely concealed the golden threads woven within.

He approached a nutrient vat, over twice the height of a man. The blue nutrient fluid shimmered faintly, bubbles rising steadily from the bottom. Numerous thick tubes extended from the top of the vat, connecting to the figure suspended within.

Hades, eyes shut, floated naked and unconscious. After treatment and nourishment, his already impressive height of 1.9 meters had grown closer to two meters, making him a true giant of a man.

Scars crisscrossed his limbs, but surprisingly, his torso bore few. The most striking feature was his head.

His hair had been shaved, revealing a metallic cybernetic half-brain on the left side. Through the transparent casing, neatly arranged cables could be seen, lights flickering. A brutal, inverted triangular scar ran from the top of his cybernetic brain down to his chin.

Hades' left eye had been replaced with a simple bionic one, glowing red.

Initially, the Mechanicum researchers suggested using bio-technology to regenerate Hades' brain. But the Emperor vetoed this, opting instead for a semi-independent mechanical half-brain. The researchers were puzzled but followed the Emperor's directive without question.

The nutrient fluid began to drain, alarms sounding. The Emperor gazed at Hades through the vat's glass.

Hades' eyelids twitched but he remained unconscious.

The Emperor traced a few symbols on the glass with his finger. A faint golden light flashed across Hades' head.

+Caution is wise, but sometimes unnecessary.+

+I hope you fulfill the destiny I've chosen for you, Outsider.+

In the Emperor's world, there existed both the physical universe and the sub-space.

Beyond this world was chaos, devoid of rules.

Even the seemingly bizarre sub-space had its own laws.

Gods adhered to these rules, but some sought to meddle beyond their world.

Sub-space needed to expand.

The gods' games shouldn't be confined to one world.

Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways, was the first to try. He attempted to expand sub-space or break its rules. He succeeded in tearing a small hole, damaging a corner of this world. Chaotic currents surged, obliterating all they touched.

Fortunately, the damage was minimal. Tzeentch, using his power, mended the breach. But the world's barriers had been weakened.

By chance or as punishment for Tzeentch's hubris, another world, governed purely by physical laws, existed on the other side of the chaotic currents.

On rare occasions, beings from that physical world were swept into this one.

These fortunate or unfortunate beings acted like walking rifts, absorbing sub-space laws around them and casting them into the chaos.

Being from a physical world, they didn't reject its laws and existed in their purest form there.

If left unchecked, the rifts in sub-space would grow, leading to its collapse.

This wasn't good news for humanity. Humans in this world weren't purely physical beings; they had soul projections in sub-space. If sub-space was destroyed, humanity would cease to exist.

Thus, the Emperor and the four gods had an understanding.

Encounter an Outsider, and they must be destroyed.

If an Outsider was found, destroy their physical form, and they would vanish.

But now, with the Emperor's encounter with Hades, the agreement had changed.

A single Outsider posed little threat. And the original entities of sub-space were becoming restless.

Even if the Emperor didn't act, they would break the agreement.

Greed. How wonderful, the Emperor thought.

Few Outsiders could traverse the chaotic currents. Fewer still could land on a habitable planet and survive. Even fewer could land on Barbarus, a planet under the control of Nurgle, and avoid immediate capture by Tzeentch.

And it was rarer still for such an Outsider to possess admirable qualities.

The Emperor saw the Hades from Mortarion's memories, the one who sacrificed himself to help Mortarion defeat the xenos.

This deal would be profitable, the Emperor mused.

But it all depended on Hades' performance.

For now, Hades was just one of many contingency plans. The Emperor couldn't afford to invest too much attention or energy in him.

+Good luck.+

The Emperor pressed his palm against the vat's glass. A blinding golden light erupted!

His long hair billowed in the shockwave.

In sub-space, a pure black rift was suddenly enveloped in gold. The golden light aggressively compressed the rift, which began to resist. But the tiny rift was no match for the overwhelming golden force.

Soon, the rift quieted, allowing the golden light to compress it further.

When the rift was reduced to a size smaller than a human, the golden light halted its advance.

The light receded, fading to transparency.

"We can begin the surgery now."

The golden light in the lab vanished as if it had been a dream. The Emperor stood still, his expression unreadable.

This was a cage.

But was it to keep out external threats or to contain the monster within? That remained to be seen.

Happy reading!

In the future, I might introduce many original concepts or modify existing ones for the sake of the story. I apologize to those who prefer a more authentic experience. My skills and imagination sometimes limit me.

I'd also appreciate any recommendations on resources about the 30K era. There's so much out there, it's overwhelming.