Following Mua'dib's guidance, the two young men wound their way through a maze of intricate metal corridors before stopping in front of a massive alloy door.
With a deep mechanical rumble, the door slowly slid open, revealing a spacious, sterile laboratory.
Rows of transparent glass cylinders stretched as far as the eye could see, arranged at varying heights along both sides of the room. They glowed with faint green and amber light, casting eerie reflections across the polished metal floor.
Inside each vessel floated biological specimens of every imaginable kind. Some contained fully formed organs that gently pulsed within the nutrient solution, while others held shapeless masses of flesh connected to a web of tubes and monitoring devices.
The air was thick with the sharp scent of disinfectant, mingled with the sickly-sweet odor of biological culture medium—a smell that made the skin crawl.
"...Yeah, this definitely doesn't look reassuring," Caleb muttered, instinctively tensing. His stomach churned as he stared at the slowly writhing organs. It looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
"I don't know," Andrew replied calmly as he looked around. "This is pretty much exactly what I imagined an advanced biotech laboratory would look like."
Before Caleb could respond, a tall figure stepped out of the shadows at the far end of the laboratory.
Magos Reddito.
His mechanical eyes glowed a cold crimson beneath the laboratory lights, his expression as impassive and detached as polished steel.
"You have arrived."
His emotionless voice echoed through the room as he raised one metal finger toward two surgical beds positioned side by side in the center of the laboratory. Countless precision instruments surrounded them.
"Lie down."
The brothers exchanged uneasy glances.
Despite their apprehension, the dream of becoming Astartes outweighed their fear.
One after another, they climbed onto the freezing metal beds.
As Caleb settled into place, curiosity once again got the better of him.
"So..." he asked casually, "which of those organs are actually usable?"
"None."
Magos Reddito answered without looking up as he made his final adjustments. His mechanical fingers deftly calibrated an articulated surgical arm, producing a soft mechanical hum.
"...Huh?"
Caleb blinked.
Magos Reddito turned slightly toward them.
"I am not a Magos Biologis. Although I possess numerous preserved organs for analysis and recovered both the remaining augmentation equipment and technical data from the Martyr battle group's facility, the Omnissiah's creations are not so easily replicated."
For perhaps the first time, a trace of regret entered his otherwise mechanical voice.
"Unfortunately, the Magos responsible for the implantation procedures perished long ago. His encryption protocols did not. I recovered only fragments of his knowledge."
He paused.
"Had I obtained the complete data archive, this process would be considerably simpler. I could even reconstruct the organ cultivation systems themselves."
His glowing eyes shifted toward the brothers.
"As matters stand, I require extensive human experimentation to determine the missing biological variables."
Andrew raised an eyebrow.
"Is it really okay to tell us all this?"
"It is irrelevant."
The Magos never stopped working.
His crimson eyes swept across them with clinical indifference.
"You are both about to die."
"...You know," Andrew nodded thoughtfully, "that's such solid logic I can't even argue with it."
Caleb stared at him.
"Seriously?"
Andrew shrugged.
"But what if we survive?"
"Then you will become Space Marines."
Magos Reddito finished his preparations and stepped beside Caleb's bed.
"In that case, you will possess the necessary clearance to know."
His mechanical gaze locked onto Caleb.
"Enough conversation."
"We begin with you."
Caleb slowly looked upward.
Behind the Tech-Priest, a high-speed rotary saw unfolded with a metallic whine.
Rows of scalpels, injectors, bone drills, and surgical manipulators gleamed beneath the sterile lights.
His face immediately turned pale.
"...Wait."
He swallowed hard.
"Can I at least get anesthesia?"
"No."
The refusal was immediate.
"I will restrain your body. Anesthetic compounds introduce unnecessary variables and reduce the accuracy of my data."
Mechanical restraints extended from the operating table.
With a series of metallic clicks, Caleb's wrists, ankles, chest, and waist were firmly secured.
"It's fine, Caleb," Andrew said, barely suppressing a grin. "Think of it this way—the worst pain you'll feel is probably like smashing your finger with a hammer."
Caleb stared at him in disbelief.
"That's insanely painful!"
The restraints tightened.
Magos Reddito's surgical arms slowly descended.
The rotary saw began spinning faster.
"..."
Darkness.
Endless darkness.
A slight vibration.
Then—
Hiss.
A familiar sound, like a pressure valve releasing.
Caleb's eyelashes twitched.
His consciousness slowly emerged from the darkness as he opened his eyes.
The cold metal ceiling had vanished.
Instead, he found himself staring at the familiar, slightly messy ceiling of his bedroom.
Warm white light from the energy-saving lamp illuminated the room, while the faint scent of household cleaner drifted through the air.
He instinctively sat upright.
His body felt stiff, but there was none of the unbearable pain he had expected.
He was lying inside the sleek gaming pod.
Its transparent lid had already opened automatically.
Rubbing his aching forehead, he leaned over to inspect it.
A red warning light blinked repeatedly on the inner panel.
His gaze dropped to the nutrient reservoir beneath the pod.
Empty.
Only a layer of cloudy residue remained at the bottom.
"...The nutrient solution ran out."
Understanding dawned almost immediately.
The pod had automatically terminated the session as a safety precaution.
Right then—
Hiss.
The neighboring pod opened as well.
Andrew sat up slowly, his hair completely disheveled and his eyes still clouded with sleep.
"Hmm?"
He glanced inside his pod before frowning.
"The nutrient solution's empty?"
"I filled enough for an entire week."
Caleb gradually recalled everything.
"If I remember correctly..."
"About forty in-game days passed after we started the implantation process."
"We died more than twenty times during testing before that damned oil-man finally figured out the Black Carapace."
"He said we got lucky, declared the procedure ready, then gave me an anesthetic injection..."
Suddenly, Caleb's eyes widened.
An enormous grin spread across his face.
"Wait..."
"Doesn't that mean..."
"When we log back in, we'll finally be Space Marines?!"
Andrew remained far calmer.
"Maybe."
He poured cold water over Caleb's excitement.
"Adult implantation still has a relatively low survival rate."
"Granted, it depends on the Chapter. The Space Wolves, for example, often recruit adults."
He stretched before adding,
"But one thing's certain."
"We won't be logging back in for at least another month."
Caleb's excitement deflated.
"...Right."
He sighed.
"So what are we supposed to do for an entire month?"
Andrew shrugged.
"How about checking the forums?"
"Good idea."
Caleb climbed out of the pod and walked over to his computer.
A press of the power button.
The monitor lit up.
Desktop icons appeared one after another.
Moments later, the game's official forum loaded.
His eyes immediately widened.
The pinned announcements dominated the front page.
His pupils contracted.
"Holy crap!"
He whipped around toward Andrew, shock written all over his face.
"Bro!"
"The game updated while we were unconscious!"