59: Reclaiming Hope (16)

Orikan was not particularly familiar with war—his race had indeed fought two terrifying wars, but what did that have to do with him?

Back then, he had merely been a frail astronomer. Though he had been born into a family full of soldiers and warriors, his weak body simply could not support a life in the military, so he had no choice but to turn to other fields.

Orikan still remembered the look on his father's face when the physicians told him he was unfit for service. Even after so much time had passed, the memory still pierced his heart and caught in his throat.

He had argued with his father about it more than once. There had been a few shouting matches, but more often they merely talked. Neither side lost control; they simply sat at opposite ends of a table and spoke calmly to one another.

On one such occasion, his father had said, "I hope you enlist. Even if that means you die on the training grounds, at least our family's honor and traditions will be preserved."

After that, Orikan never spoke another word to his father, until everything became irreversible.

It truly feels like another life, the Astromancer thought dazedly.

Scalding blood sprayed from the monkey's shattered body, staining his ribs red. The living metal was still attempting to repair itself, but even it was helpless before a loss as grave as half his body. At most, it could only restore the hands that had been snapped apart when the attacker seized him.

Still, for now, that was enough.

Orikan pulled his hands from the mud and sand, grabbing hold of a monkey that happened to run past him.

The immense strength granted by his advanced Necron body drove his fingers deep into the creature's flesh