A Psyker's reincarnation

A new journey had begun.

However, this time things were vastly different.

His surroundings were obscured from view as the cart he was in closed off completely, creating a sound-proof environment.

He could not feel any physical movement. It was as if he were in a state of gravitational suspension.

Even worse, for the first time in his life, he felt disconnected from the Warp.

It was an extremely unpleasant sensation, as if he was missing something vital to his being; as if part of his soul was missing, causing extreme unease.

He wanted nothing more than to move his body, get out of there, or just move around to try and alleviate his discomfort, but his paranoia got the better of him.

Perhaps this was already a test, and they were monitoring everyone's reaction to determine who was sensitive to the Warp.

If that was the case, it was extremely clever, as there was no better way to determine who had psychic affinities than to cut their connection to the warp.

Any child who showed a reaction would be easily identifiable, and who knew what fate would await them.

So he forced himself to stay incredibly still and show no reaction.

In doing so, he realised that this could also be used as a form of psychic training:

It was a way of tempering the mind.

If you could prevent yourself from spiralling into uncontrollable emotion and panic when cut off from the Warp, it meant that your mental strength was increasing.

This would make it easier for you to withstand the power of the Warp.

It was a happy discovery that transformed a negative experience into a positive one.

Although it was almost unbearable, he would take it any day if it meant becoming stronger as a Psycher and improving his chances of survival.

However, despite his desire to grow stronger, he could feel his resistance weakening by the minute.

He was close to reaching breaking point, at which point he would lose control of his reactions no matter how hard he tried.

Fortunately, the phenomenon stopped when the casquet opened and he reconnected to the Warp.

"Everything just seems to work out for me. It's almost as if I'm blessed by some pretty strong plot armour,' he mused.

Not that he was complaining; who would be interested in a story where the main character died at the beginning in the pretext of being more realistic.

For exemple, what if, instead of being saved by the bell, his journey had continued and he had lost control?

What if he reacted like a Psyker would in this situation?

What if it was a test designed by the Custodes to identify potential psychics?

What if the result was the Inquisition sentencing him to death?

Who would ever be interested in such a story where the one presented as the main character dies off at the beginning of his story? 

Anyway, what could be called 'plot armour' exists in real life too, and it happens all the time.

People call it fate, destiny, luck or the will of God — it's all the same.

Sometimes things just went your way, and you just had to be grateful for that.

And grateful he was.

However, his digression ended there as he took in his surroundings when he felt the cold of the steel table upon which he had been placed, with bight lights shining on him.

He was greeted by four faces looking down upon him.

They were all heavily modified by mechanical augmentation, with robotic tentacle arms emerging from their backs.

They lifted him up, turned him around and thoroughly inspected and scanned his entire naked body.

They also took multiple blood samples from him.

Their inspection continued for a long time.

 They took numerous notes, repeatedly moving between a table and a workstation where they entered data into specific terminals and ran calculations on others.

They worked together seamlessly, each performing a specific role and task.

Documents were being printed out of their machines, which they reviewed and annotated, typing new information into their terminals.

They scanned him again and took more samples, ranging from blood to spinal fluid. 

This process continued until finally, a single document was printed out from the largest terminal in the room.

They stopped all activities and waited for the long piece of paper to finish printing. 

Then, one by one, they went to read it.

It seemed that the process had reached its conclusion as they placed him back into his casquet and closed it off, leaving him in complete darkness.

As he felt himself become weightless and lose his connection to the Warp once more, he wondered what that was all about. 

But before he could reach a conclusion, he felt the Warp again.

He was still in total darkness and it felt as though his body was suspended in liquid.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain coming from his back, as if he had been stabbed and he cried out. 

As he did so, he felt a large quantity of liquid enter his mouth and fill his lungs completely.

He thought he was going to choke to death, but strangely enough, he could breathe in the liquid, and the pain in his back left just as quickly as it had come.

He felt a strange sense of comfort at that moment.

However, it did not last long, as an excruciating pain shot through his back and spread throughout his entire body in no time.

His final thoughts, before losing consciousness due to the unbearable pain, were ones of understanding about the events that had occurred.

"It has begun," he thought to himself.

The process of transforming him into a Custodes had started.

It would either transform him into a god of war or kill him.

Whether or not he survived was out of his control.

The last thing he could remember was the sensations from his body as he felt it changing at the deepest level.