Chapter 450: This Gift of Yours Truly Delights Me

Kane chose to be the first to undergo the Primarch augmentation.

This was first because Kane understood the intentions of Sanguinius and Zhou Yun.

As the one who had defeated the Primarch's leader, his acceptance of the Primarch augmentation carried symbolic weight.

After all, if even the one who defeated the Primarch's leader was willing to accept the Primarch's power, what reason could others have to claim they didn't need it?

Thus, Kane voluntarily offered to be the first to undergo the augmentation, aligning perfectly with Sanguinius and Zhou Yun's needs.

Ordinary people always believed Kane was a beast controlled by the Butcher's Nail, driven only by rage.

But in truth, it was Kane who had managed the entire Twelfth Legion back then, and he had some understanding of politics.

Second, Kane himself truly craved the Primarch's power.

He had seen the Primarch's power in Sol, the Emperor's Son—no, the Imperial Fists.

Yet the current Primarchs were still too immature to unleash their full strength.

Kane wanted revenge against Erebus, and naturally sought greater power.

Finally, Kane was not afraid of the high mortality rate of the Primarch augmentation surgery; he had survived the implantation of the Butcher's Nail, so how could he not survive the Primarch augmentation?

Of course, Zhou Yun's ability to resurrect the dead was also one reason.

"Remove your hood, strip off your power armor, and enter this surgical chamber for the augmentation."

Deep within the Mechanicum Arkship Sovereign Explorer, before a surgical chamber, Belisarius Cawl spoke to Kane.

The Primarch's Leader stood beside Cawl, while Kane was accompanied by Zhou Yun and Seth, his bodyguard.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Seth glanced at Kane.

Though he didn't know this mysterious man's true identity, Seth had grown somewhat fond of him.

"I can see you still don't like the Primarchs. No need to accompany me." Kane gave a dry smile.

Though Belisarius Cawl had assured Seth that this augmentation would not turn the Blood Angels into Space Marines of the Ultramarines—that was the Emperor's foundational genetic code, impossible to alter easily—

Seth still maintained his usual wariness and suspicion toward the Primarchs.

Seth frowned tightly.

Kane, however, showed no hesitation; he gently removed the hood from his head, its inner lining writhing like flesh before vanishing into his body in an instant.

Kane's face was revealed to all: a long, bronze-hued visage, twisted by rage and bloodlust into grotesque scars, yet still strikingly noble.

But the most striking feature was the grotesque iron chains coiled around his skull, steel cables embedded brutally into his head, humming incessantly, terrifying to behold.

Seth's expression froze rigidly; the Primarch's Leader slightly raised an eyebrow.

Cawl stared at the Butcher's Nail on Kane's head, his expression one of keen interest.

"World Eater," Seth growled, his fangs bared, his hand resting on the hilt of his Bloodthirster: "Traitor Kane!"

The exposed arm, the chainsword, and the Butcher's Nail on his head—

These traits revealed Kane's true identity to Seth.

"I thought we had built a friendship," Kane sneered.

"Shit, traitor!" Seth spat.

"You're just like your ancestor Amon—such honest people are rare. Yes, I am a traitor." Kane smiled.

"Silence! How dare you speak the name of Amon, the First Captain of the Flesh Tearers?" Seth drew his chainsword and lunged at Kane's face.

Kane remained unmoved: "Why not? We were brothers. Friends."

"You, born butcher of the World Eaters, I'll—" Seth was about to strike.

"Seth." Zhou Yun spoke softly.

"My lord, he is Traitor Kane, the Chosen of the Blood God, the Traitor Astartes who slaughtered the most Astartes during the Great Crusade!" Seth turned, incredulous.

At least the last part wasn't true—Zhou Yun smirked slightly and waved for Seth to lower his weapon: "Sanguinius knows."

Seth struggled visibly, then lowered his chainsword.

"You want to kill me?" Kane looked at Seth. "Fine. But I have a debt to settle first."

"After I kill Erebus, if I'm still alive, I leave you the right to kill me—if you can."

"Killed by Amon's descendant? Hmm. Not bad."

Seth glared at Kane with hatred, but ultimately obeyed the will of Zhou Yun and Sanguinius, refraining from attacking.

Kane nodded at Seth without reason.

Then, under Belisarius Cawl's guidance, Kane removed his power armor, revealing his body, warped by the Blood God's blessing and demonic parasitism.

"Heh. This will be a challenge." Belisarius Cawl observed Kane's body as if examining a rare specimen.

"I will do my best to prevent Kane's organs from mutating, Sage. Can you complete the augmentation?" The demon Lorm, possessing Kane, emerged from his body and spoke to Belisarius Cawl.

Seeing the demon appear, Seth's face flushed with veins bulging.

"I can. But whether he survives is beyond my control." Belisarius Cawl glanced at Zhou Yun for confirmation.

Zhou Yun nodded, granting Cawl permission to proceed.

A Primarch-enchanted Champion Astartes? Zhou Yun found the idea intriguing.

As for failure? Zhou Yun could reverse death—he could simply bring Kane back even if he died.

Cawl bowed deeply to Zhou Yun, then led Kane into the surgical chamber.

Zhou Yun casually pulled out the Clock of Madness from his pocket, adjusted the time, and in an instant, the lengthy surgery ended before the eyes of Zhou Yun, Seth, and the Primarch's Leader.

Cawl emerged from the surgical chamber, his robes stained with blood, his mechanical tentacles beneath them adorned with horrifying tools.

"Completed, my lord."

Cawl removed the horrifying tools from his mechanical tentacles and bowed to Zhou Yun:

"I successfully implanted the Song Gland into his damaged brain, the tendon cables into his muscles, and installed the Cawl Furnace. Now, we wait for his body to adapt to these new organs and activate them. If he activates the Cawl Furnace, his organs, bones, and muscles will rapidly repair—he will live."

Zhou Yun nodded slightly, about to adjust time again, when Cawl suddenly spoke.

"My lord, I have something I wish you to see."

Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow, unsure of Cawl's intent.

But he sensed Cawl's tone was slightly tense, like a child nervously offering a gift to a parent, worried it might not please them.

Though he didn't understand Cawl's purpose, Zhou Yun followed his guidance to a room deep within the Sovereign Explorer.

The room was entirely made of steel, its thick, heavy walls enclosing it completely, guarded by numerous servitors and Primarch Astartes designed by Cawl—security was unparalleled.

Cawl unlocked multiple security seals and gestured for Zhou Yun to enter.

The first thing Zhou Yun saw was a truncated cone-shaped machine at the room's center. It was not large—no taller than half a man—with a transparent upper section filled with crimson blood.

Below, numerous semi-mechanical, semi-organic tentacles extended, connecting to other equipment in the room.

On the machine rested a silver plaque, inscribed in High Gothic: "sangprimusportum."

"This is… the Primogenitor Vault?" Zhou Yun raised an eyebrow, recognizing the machine.

It was a mechanical construct storing the genetic sequences of twenty Gene-Primarchs—the foundational genetic code for all Space Marines, the bedrock of Cawl's Primarch technology.

But why was Cawl giving him this?

Zhou Yun couldn't fathom what use the Primogenitor Vault had for him—he was no geneticist.

"You truly know everything," Cawl reverently praised, then gestured Zhou Yun to another direction: "But what I wish to show you is something else."

Zhou Yun turned to where Cawl pointed: a metal platform holding several weapons and armors.

A sniper rifle, two short blades as black as night, a heavily modified paint-can backpack, a suit of power armor as dark as raven feathers.

Zhou Yun's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"I discovered him when recovering the Primogenitor Vault."

Cawl spoke softly, walking toward the metal platform:

"In a hidden space station within the Sol system, he hid in shadows, existing in stasis, clutching the Primogenitor Vault tightly."

"His bodily functions had nearly ceased—he was nearly dead. Even I could not revive him from stasis; I could only preserve him here."

As Cawl operated, the metal platform slowly rose, revealing a life-support pod before Zhou Yun's eyes.

Looking at the figure inside the pod, Zhou Yun couldn't help but smile.

"But I believe you have the power to awaken him."

Cawl noticed Zhou Yun's expression—he knew his gift had pleased him, and his spirits lifted:

"You can surely awaken the sleeping Raven, and restore his duty as the Harbinger."

". ahahaha."

Zhou Yun laughed aloud—he had never imagined Cawl possessed him.

"Cawl, this gift of yours truly delights me."

Zhou Yun stepped forward, placing his hand against the cold glass of the life-support pod, gazing at the pale-skinned, jet-black-haired figure floating within.

"This is, truly, a legend."

(End of Chapter)