Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 682 Awakening the Lion
Following the Dark Watchers, Chen Xi and his group traversed the unknown core area of ​​the "Stone" fortress.

The passageways here no longer feature grand Gothic decorations; instead, they are characterized by rough, primitive rock walls, as if they were carved directly from the massive fragment that remained after Caliban's destruction.

The air was filled with the cold aura of ancient rocks and an indescribable, stagnant energy, as if time itself had slowed down here.

The vibrations beneath my feet became more pronounced, and fine dust occasionally drifted down from above.

The sounds of battle in the distance were muffled and distant, blocked by the thick rock layers, but each violent explosion could still be transmitted through the structure, reminding them that the fierce battle outside was in full swing.

The Dark Watchers moved silently, leading the way like ghosts. They knew the intricate path like the back of their hand, as if walking in their own home.

After passing through a stone gate opened by the Dark Watcher and emitting a faint aura of energy, the view suddenly opened up before them.

This is a huge natural cave, larger than imagined, with a high dome that plunges into darkness.

In the center of the cave, there was not a magnificent palace or altar, but a huge underground lake that was calm and still, like a black mirror.

The lake is deep and bottomless, seemingly connected to the void of the universe.

A powerful psychic stasis field permeated the air, making one's thoughts seem viscous.

In the center of the lake, a flat, massive rock, resembling an ancient altar, juts out from the water.

A huge figure lay silently on the rock.

He wore an ancient and magnificent dark green power armor, decorated with the Dark Angel Legion, symbolizing his authority and solemnity.

He slept peacefully, his arms crossed over his chest, like a Caliban knight taking a nap deep in the forest.

However, even in his slumber, his massive body still exuded an awe-inspiring majesty, and a powerful sense of strength originating from the essence of life filled the entire space, causing all onlookers to involuntarily hold their breath.

The Lion King Leon Aljonsen, the Primarch of the First Order, lies dormant here.

No introduction or confirmation is needed; anyone who steps into this place will naturally understand this deep within their soul.

The Dark Watchers stopped by the water's edge, transforming into another group of statues, silently guarding this sacred place.

Chen Xi's attendant slowly stepped forward, walked to the lakeside, and gazed at the figure on the rock in the center of the lake. In her obsidian-like eyes, there was a complex and incomprehensible halo, with awe, remembrance, and perhaps even a trace of... expectation.

Chen Xi signaled the others to stay near the entrance and keep watch. He then walked alone onto a nearly invisible, transparent path maintained by psychic energy on the water's surface, heading towards the center of the lake.

The closer you get, the stronger the static force that envelops the rocks becomes.

Chen Xi could feel that the spiritual energy in his body was like being stuck in quagmire, and its circulation became extremely difficult.

He finally stood on the edge of the rock, looking closely at the demigod who had been sleeping for ten thousand years.

"What should we do now?" Chen Xi asked in a low voice, glancing at the attendant beside him. Awakening a Primarch was no easy task.

The guide raised her hand, also concealed in her sleeve, and pointed to the sleeping Lion King. She looked at Chen Xi and finally spoke: "Sleep... stems from his own trauma and the sedimentation of time. Your psychic power, derived from the Emperor's grace, is the key to piercing this veil... Call upon him, Inquisitor. With the memories of Caliban, with the crisis of the chapter."

Chen Xi understood. He needed to use his spiritual energy as a bridge to penetrate this stagnant barrier formed by his injuries and millennia of time, and directly invoke the Lion King's hidden consciousness.

This is a risky move. The slightest misstep could impact the lion king's dormant spirit, or even trigger his instinctive defensive reactions.

He took a deep breath, cleared his mind of all distractions, and focused his spiritual energy at his fingertips.

A golden glow shone from his fingertips, stubbornly flickering despite being suppressed by the inexplicable power of this place—the imprint of the emperor's power on his soul.

He reached out, but instead of touching the Lion King directly, he hovered his fingertips above the green power armor, extending his psionic energy like the gentlest tendrils into the vast and silent sea of ​​spirit.

In an instant, a massive flow of information and fragments of emotion surged into his consciousness like a flood bursting its banks.

That wasn't the Lion King's conscious thought, but rather an unconscious projection of his spirit accumulated during his millennia-long slumber—the lush landscape of the Caliban Forest, the glory and strife of the knightly era, the pain and anger of fratricide, loyalty to the Emperor and confusion, and a deep, almost soul-freezing... self-reproach.

Chen Xi groaned, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Even a mere touch upon the edge of the Primarch-level spiritual world is enough to make a mortal soul feel unbearable.

He steadied himself and tried to guide his spiritual energy, like a slender yet resilient probe, carefully touching the dormant will.

“Leon El-Jonson…” he murmured to himself, sending his will along with the scenes of battle unfolding outside—the Death Guard’s invasion, the Dark Angels’ bitter struggle, Typhon’s covetousness of Caliban’s legacy—towards him, “…Awaken. Your offspring need you, the Empire needs you.”

At first, there was no reaction.

The enormous figure remained silent, and the static field remained stable.

Just as Chen Xi felt his spiritual energy was about to run out and his consciousness began to blur, he sensed a very faint ripple coming from that silent sea of ​​spirit.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable will, as vast as the core of a star, slowly began to awaken, carrying with it the stagnation of millennia of slumber.

The enormous figure on the rock twitched its fingers very slightly.

The first deep and powerful undulation appeared on the armored chest.

An ancient, majestic spiritual pressure, imbued with the scent of the forest and the will of steel, spread out like a lion just awakened, beginning to dispel the stagnant energy around it.

Then, those eyes, which had been closed for ten thousand years, slowly opened.

His emerald green eyes, like the deepest forest in Caliban, initially carried fragments of a hazy, distant dream, but quickly focused, becoming sharp as an eagle, landing on Chen Xi, who was standing close by.

Like a sleeping lion awakening, the Lion King gazed at the judge before him, then shifted his gaze to his attendants, exuding a powerful aura, and asked the two, "Who are you? Who are you? Who is calling upon the Lord of Caliban?"

“It is I who am calling for your awakening, it is the Empire that is calling for its Primarch, it is the Emperor that is calling for his son.” The attendant lifted his hood, revealing a young girl’s face that was almost identical to the Lion King’s, only more feminine and younger.

(End of this chapter)