Ferrus hesitated, unsure how to answer Vitan M's question.
After thinking for a moment, he carefully chose his words and said, "Vitan M, it is not that we cannot accept it."
"With your identity, such a thing is not permitted. You should not become lovers with Vivis. That will only harm her and Detroit."
Vitan M slightly furrowed his brows and showed a puzzled expression.
"My identity?"
The voice of Primarch II was calm, but a faint confusion seeped through.
"In Detroit, it is perfectly ordinary for humans and Synths to fall in love. Even if I am a governor, people will not treat me specially."
After a long silence, Ferrus opened his mouth again.
"Do you ever feel that you are different from other people?"
"For example, you are stronger and smarter than them. Ordinary people cannot compare to you."
"If your body were thoroughly examined, it would become clear that its internal structure is completely different from that of ordinary people. You possess far higher strength and damage resistance than other carbon-based life-forms."
Vitan M nodded. He had known for a long time that he was not an ordinary human.
The scientists of Detroit had performed cell and gene scans and researched his physical structure.
Those designs were so complex that one's hair stood on end; even using a supercomputer, reverse-engineering was impossible.
It is hard to imagine that there exists a human with such wisdom capable of creating such an extraordinary life-form.
They cannot even imagine how this complex life system was made to function.
"Tell me everything you know about my true identity and the person who created me," Vitan M pressed.
"You and I are both Primarchs," Ferrus said while organizing his thoughts. "We were born in the Himalayan laboratories of Terra and were scattered throughout the galaxy by an accident."
"Our creator and father is the ruler of the Imperium of Man, the Emperor. He is about to dispatch an expedition to defeat all enemies and rebuild the glory of human civilization."
Ferrus paused for a moment before continuing.
"However, the Emperor shows an extremely strong resistance toward artificial intelligence and has even signed the Treaty of Mars, which regards any research into artificial intelligence that exceeds the permitted scope as an unforgivable crime."
Vitan M understood and continued in imitation of Ferrus. "In other words, he simply decided that he cannot tolerate Vivis's existence and therefore intends to force me to separate from her."
"That is the best outcome," Ferrus's voice lowered. "In the worst case, he will kill your lover and erase your memories."
The moment he heard those words, Vitan M clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming with terrifying anger.
"I will never allow him to do such a thing. Even if he is my creator, I will never permit him to harm Vivis."
Ferrus sighed. "You probably do not know just how powerful the Emperor is. Can you see the sun in the sky?"
Ferrus pointed at the sky where the sun was shining brightly.
"He can use his psychic power to compress it down to the size of a palm."
While Ferrus was speaking, Vitan M's mind unconsciously pictured the detailed form of the star that illuminated Detroit.
He could not imagine what kind of power could compress such a star down to the size of a palm.
Only the gods of myth could do such a thing.
"How can such a thing be possible?" Vitan M said as if on the verge of death.
"That is exactly why I said you do not understand the power of the Master of Mankind. He possesses power that even the gods fear," Ferrus said. "It is not that we refuse to acknowledge it. The problem is whether our father, the Emperor, can accept it."
"If he cannot accept it, everything will be wasted, and nothing we say will have meaning."
Vitan M looked at Ferrus, but not the slightest trace of deception could be seen in his eyes.
In this galaxy, there truly existed a god who could compress a star to the size of a palm, and that god was his creator.
"I will fight. No matter what happens, I will not abandon Vivis. And I will protect the safety of Detroit."
Ferrus shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Your resistance is meaningless. Even if you and the entire planet of Detroit join forces, before the Emperor you are nothing more than ants that can be destroyed with a light flick of the wrist."
"Detroit will be mercilessly destroyed. You will be captured, your memories reconstructed, and then you will continue to serve in the Great Crusade."
As Vitan M pictured that future, despair and anger welled up in his heart.
Why is that father he has never met, who calls himself the Master of Mankind, so tyrannical and despotic?
Must everything proceed according to his wishes?
Vivis sat quietly beside Vitan M.
Seeing that her lover was extremely angry, she stretched out her translucent, beautiful hand, embraced him, and tried to soothe him with that action.
"Or," she said quietly, like the sound of wind blowing through silk, "we could leave Detroit and go look for a planet that no one knows about."
Vitan M turned his face, a ray of hope appearing in his eyes.
"It is useless." Ferrus's voice came from the other side, like a cold scalpel cutting through the fleeting tenderness. "As the Primarchs grow up, the Emperor's awareness of them will become increasingly intense."
"He can accurately pinpoint our locations. Running is useless. We will be caught anyway."
Vivis's fingers gripped the back of Vitan M's hand a little more tightly.
Does this mean that she and Vitan M truly cannot be together?
"Then is there nothing we can do?"
Vitan M's voice carried a desperate will that refused to give up.
"Must we simply wait for destruction and accept the judgment of fate handed down by that Master of Mankind?"
Ferrus shifted his gaze from Vitan M's face to the silent Nameless One.
"The only way is to seek help from the Nameless One."
Datch did not reply.
At that moment, he was using the power of the Time Stone embedded in the Infinity Gauntlet to verify the established storyline concerning Primarch II.
Green light surged in his pupils, and countless images of Primarch II raced through Datch's field of vision as if fast-forwarded.
In the original story, Primarch II's return to the Imperium occurred relatively late.
During the Emperor's Great Crusade, several planets inhabited by Iron Men and synthetic life-forms were conquered by the expeditionary forces.
Among the Iron Men and synthetic humans who luckily escaped the Imperial army's massacre, there were some who had nowhere to go.
Unexpectedly, they discovered the coordinates of Detroit in an old database, began their escape, and safely reached their destination.
Vitan M learned from these refugees what had happened in the galaxy.
Upon learning that the Master of Mankind, with the help of the Primarchs and the Astartes, was rapidly conquering the galaxy and annihilating all non-human forces.
Every day, countless civilized worlds were being discovered by the Imperium of Man and then destroyed.
Realizing the terror of the Imperium of Man, Vitan M felt despair for the future of Detroit.
However, he quickly became aware of his own special identity.
In order to protect Detroit and the Iron Men and synthetic humans who had taken refuge there,
he bid farewell to Vivis, left Detroit, and chose to pretend to make an emergency landing on another backward planet, where he unified that planet in the shortest possible time.
And it was the same scenario as the other Primarchs.
The Emperor found him, brought him back to the Imperium, gave him command of the Second Legion "Thunder," and made him participate in the Great Crusade.
During the expedition, Vitan M specially undertook the mission of destroying Omnic civilizations.
In reality, they secretly released them and allowed them to hide and develop on more remote frontier planets.
However, the expansion of the Imperium of Man was far too rapid.
During military operations, the expeditionary forces unexpectedly discovered the existence of Detroit.
Upon learning the local situation, they immediately dispatched three Legions — the Dark Angels, the Space Wolves, and the Ultramarines — to carry out an annihilation operation.
Upon learning this news, Vitan M immediately led his own Legion toward Detroit in an attempt to stop his three brothers.
When the Ultramarines and Dark Angels arrived at Detroit first and decided to carry out the annihilation operation, the representatives of Detroit took the initiative to propose a meeting.
They declared that they had no intention whatsoever of making an enemy of the Imperium of Man and sincerely wished for the revival of human civilization.
They only wanted to live peacefully in Detroit and did not want to become any threat to the Imperium.
During the negotiations, they presented the emblem of the Second Legion as collateral.
Lion El'Jonson and Guilliman realized that this planet was not simple, refused combat, and imposed a blockade while waiting for the Second Legion to explain the situation.
However, Terra continued to issue orders.
The Space Wolves, who arrived late, were carried away by the excitement of battle, ignored the Ultramarines and Dark Angels, and began the attack on Detroit.
By the time the Second Legion arrived, it was already too late.
The planet Detroit had been completely destroyed by the Space Wolves, and Vitan M's lover Vivis had lost her life in the fierce fighting.
Driven by the despair and anger of losing his lover, Vitan M completely lost his sanity.
For the sake of avenging the deaths of the innocent people, he ordered the Second Legion to attack the Sixth Legion.
When Leman Russ learned that the Second Legion had attacked his own sons, he was initially furious, believed that Vitan M had lost his mind, and was about to order a counterattack.
However, one of his advisors, from the other side's roars and the clues obtained from the Ultramarines and Dark Angels, deduced the truth of the matter.
The planet Detroit that the Space Wolves had extinguished was Vitan M's true homeworld, and he also had a lover composed of artificial intelligence and synthetic life-forms.
Upon learning this fact, the Wolf King was a little bewildered. He had destroyed his brother's homeworld with his own hands and killed his brother's lover.
Although he himself had been completely unaware, a deep sense of guilt welled up in his heart.
Just then, the Emperor and Malcador appeared.
It turned out that Terra had intended to act before the Second Legion arrived and had deliberately taken this action.
Malcador's information network had unexpectedly discovered that some of the Omnics that should have been eliminated by the Second Legion were still active within the galaxy.
Feeling that something was wrong, Malcador ordered a thorough investigation, and as a result the truth was revealed.
When the Emperor learned of this, he was enraged, and that led to the destruction of Detroit.
The moment the Emperor appeared, he used his psychic power to force the entire Second Legion to kneel amid the ruins, while at the same time giving Vitan M a chance.
If you admit your mistakes and beg me for forgiveness, I will erase all memories concerning Detroit from your heart.
Let us consider this matter settled.
Vitan M can continue to command the Second Legion and enjoy its honor and power.
However, Vitan M, who had lost Vivis, was deeply despairing and considered suicide.
"I do not admit my mistakes." His voice was hoarse and quiet, like sandpaper rubbing across a wooden board. "And I will never again submit to a tyrant like you."
"You are not the savior of human civilization. You are an arrogant, haughty, and self-centered human."
"You killed my lover and even claim that it is justice. There is no such thing as justice. Justice is the legitimate murder of innocent people."
"She is nothing more than a synthetic human equipped with artificial intelligence. She is not human." The Emperor glared at Vitan M and spoke in a severe tone.
"Am I not also an artificial human created by you? Am I not even human?"
Vitan M stared at the Emperor without fear, as if he did not care at all that his words might anger the Master of Mankind.
"After the crusade is over, do you intend to eradicate all of us androids?"
"It is useless to argue with you about this. Admit your mistakes, Vitan M. Then I will forgive you," the Emperor said.
But in the next moment, Vitam forcibly broke free from the Emperor's psychic domination, activated his weapon, and charged toward the other party while roaring.
"But I will not forgive you. Die, tyrant."
The Emperor, already weakened by criticism, saw that his rebellious son dared to take action and retaliated without hesitation.
With a light wave of his hand, terrifying psychic lightning struck Vitan M.
It hit Vitan M's chest, and in that instant Datch witnessed the Primarch's soul shatter.
The Emperor's sword followed immediately after. Its golden blade pierced Vitan M's abdomen and protruded from his back.
The Primarch's body trembled on the blade for several seconds, then completely stopped moving and lost its life forever.
The process unfolded in an instant and ended before the three Primarchs could react.
They stared at Vitan M's corpse in disbelief.
Seeing that the Emperor was about to order the massacre of the soldiers of the Second Legion, the three Primarchs knelt and begged for their lives.
Seeing his three sons begging for their lives, and looking at Vitan M's corpse, the Emperor realized that he had acted far too impulsively.
If the Second Legion were annihilated, the expeditionary forces that had already suffered setbacks in the operation against Rangdan would be further weakened and would be unable to deal with the coming war.
In the end, everyone's memories were erased by the Emperor, and they were scattered and incorporated into the First Legion and the Thirteenth Legion.
Out of guilt, Leman Russ was too ashamed to face the soldiers of the Second Legion and did not accept the offer.
…
"The situation is bad."
After witnessing the entire sequence of events, Datch felt emotions welling up in his chest.
As the mission drew toward its end, Datch suddenly recalled Number Eleven and decided to investigate that side as well in order to proceed smoothly with future missions.
From the moment Datch decided to join Number Eleven's storyline, he had already begun to regret his decision.
The story of Primarch Eleven is even more outrageous than Horus's desire to build a pantheon of gods together with the Emperor.
Even the Chaos Gods avoided him. They never even considered elevating him to the status of a daemon. They feared that even a glance at him might cause their own daemons to fall.
Compared to Slaanesh, both of them were regarded as respectable women.
Datch would rather watch Nurgle perform a strip show than look at Eleven's storyline again.
This is outrageous, blasphemous behavior.
Before being executed, they would have to be burned at the stake and roasted over a low fire for forty-nine days.
"There is no need for a happy ending for the entire family."
Datch was overwhelmed by the story development of Number Eleven and had almost given up on the idea of a perfect ending.
All he wanted now was to wash his eyes and heart with water.
Those things are too filthy. Unbearable. Absolutely unbearable.
This is ridiculous!
"Nameless one." Because the nameless one did not reply, Ferrus called out again. "What should we do?"
Datch came back to himself there, drove the lewd images of Primarch Eleven from his mind, and turned his gaze toward the three of them.
"The problem does not lie with Vitan M, but with the Emperor. The solution is simple. We just need to persuade the Emperor to give up his approach toward artificial intelligence."
Ferrus: ...
Hey, are you joking?
If someone could persuade the Master of Mankind to acknowledge the existence of artificial intelligence, would they need to struggle here?
"That is absolutely impossible. He will not listen to us. The Emperor of thirty thousand years ago was unbelievably stubborn. Even Malcador would find it difficult to change his mind."
Hearing Ferrus's words, Datch grinned.
"Then let's bury him in the ground and make him cosplay as ginseng," Datch said casually. "Once he comes to his senses, we can just pull him out."
"Let's make him directly experience the power of the galaxy's number-one swords, guns, and cannons."
Ferrus's eyes widened. "Is this really okay? After all, he is the father of the Primarchs, the Emperor of the Imperium, and the savior of mankind?"
Hearing this, Datch was about to turn toward Ferrus, but he heard Ferrus continue speaking.
"However, this is the nameless one's decision, and I can only fully support it. Who needs to dig the hole? As you know, I am extremely fast."
"I think burying the Emperor in the ground like this is a bit excessive. How about buying some fireworks and setting them off to create a ceremonial atmosphere?"
Dutch: ...
Ferrus, I never imagined that your thick eyebrows and big eyes could be this cunning.
He has some affection for his father, but it is not that deep.
Hearing their conversation, Vitan M showed a puzzled expression. "Doesn't the Emperor have the power to change stars? How can such a being be defeated?"
Ferrus scratched his head. "I forgot to mention, this man is the nameless one. He can easily destroy stars, freely change a planet's environment, and even alter universal constants."
Vitan M's eyes widened, and he began to suspect that Ferrus was exaggerating.
Why are there so many powerful beings in the Milky Way galaxy?
Ferrus, not noticing Visam's confusion and doubt, approached the nameless one.
"When do we take action?"
"Now." After confirming the Emperor's location using the minimap, Datch chose to open a spatial portal to the Dream Ship using the power of the Space Stone in the Infinity Gauntlet.
In order to complete the mission, he intended to teach the Emperor two lessons.
…
The Emperor was examining the star charts and, relying on his own awareness of the Primarchs, was preparing to get ahead of the nameless one and find his sons.
"Don't bump into me. Otherwise I'll stick you into the ground like ginseng and show you the power of Terra's strongest weapons."
Suddenly, he noticed that something unusual was happening in the surrounding space.
The next moment, a hole of light suddenly appeared at his feet, and he instantly fell into it.
Valdor realized that his master was under attack and rushed over, but he was blown away together with his master.
By the time the other Imperial Guards noticed the situation, the Master of Mankind and the commander of the Imperial Guard had already disappeared.