Roderick's Confusion

Roderick's Confusion

The fish soup did not taste very good. There were too few spices, the fishy smell was far too strong, and damn it, there were too many fish bones! Having lost his Space Marine body, Roderick wolfed it down as he remembered eating in the past and nearly got a fish bone stuck in his throat. Mayor Heni Mareb's cooking was clearly only good enough to fill one's stomach. If the girl before him had not been even less suited to cooking, he would definitely have refused it.

Slightly distracted, Roderick's gaze turned toward the girl lying beside him.

"Remilia." Almost unconsciously, Roderick's hand stroked down the girl's soft long hair. Having only just recovered from her grief, the girl was like a clingy kitten, gently nuzzling her head into her brother's arms, completely unconcerned that her silky golden hair had become somewhat messy. At the same time, she carefully raised her head, as though afraid her movements might hurt her brother, who had only just awakened from serious injuries.

Swallowing hard and finally dealing with the fish bone, Roderick happened to meet Remilia's upturned eyes. His pale face was reflected in her sapphire-blue pupils. The girl instead lowered her little head shyly, muttering something under her breath.

What a beautiful girl. She was Heaven's darling, the Emperor's gift. Even in the age of Space Marines, with the development of nanorobots and genetic modification technology and the continual unlocking of genetic locks, humanity's appearance—or rather, attractiveness—had become utterly meaningless.

Civilian organizations like the Appearance Association had completely lost their place to exist. The power of technology allowed everyone to alter their appearance at will.

A naturally beautiful girl like Remilia would have driven the old maids of the Inquisition mad. Her smooth golden hair cascaded over both shoulders, while her swan-like slender neck was fair and flawless. From that brief glance earlier, Roderick had noticed that her sapphire-like eyes were slightly swollen and red. She had probably cried for too long. He could not help feeling a little guilty; perhaps he should have woken up sooner.

Thinking of this, Roderick suddenly realized the problem with himself. Space Marines were the Imperium's most powerful war machines. Every warrior could be regarded as a war god from ancient times. A surprise assault by several companies could destroy a colonial planet fully occupied by rebels, while an entire Chapter could effortlessly devastate a star system.

A Space Marine who had undergone the full suite of augmentation surgeries could barely be considered human anymore, more like an artificial construct. Fearless, they faced death head-on. How had he, who had endured so much slaughter, become so sentimental? Such pointless emotions were merely the innate weakness of mortals.

Roderick could not help feeling a trace of panic. Slowly, he asked in his mind, "Astartes?"

Several seconds of waiting now felt unbearably long. Roderick shook his head with self-mockery. How had he become so weak? Beneath a high-energy particle storm, no matter could survive. Even as powerful as Space Marines were, they would not fare much better than Greenskins in such circumstances.

High heat, melting, solidification, decomposition, and finally dust—enduring with the Imperium.

Just as Roderick was about to give up, a familiar synthesized mechanical voice rang out in his mind. "Long live the Imperium. The Forge Temple of Second Lieutenant Angus Mareotis sends you greetings. The Omnissiah watches over you. Imperial calendar..."

Astartes was the crystallization of artificial intelligence. The one implanted in Roderick's body had been specially customized for Space Marines. The priests of the Martian Mechanicum had simply named it the Multifunction Combat Personal Terminal, or MCPT. For convenience, Roderick usually called it Astartes, after the Codex.

"Do not doubt it, Second Lieutenant. What can be confirmed is that your body truly turned to ash on Nova IV, but you did not die."

"You mean my body is gone, but my consciousness still exists?"

"A simpler way to put it is—"

"Second Lieutenant, your soul was not destroyed."

"Then what is happening now? Are we inside the Warp consciousness of some Chaos God? How did Raven Guard become a native knight named Roderick?"

"Do not worry. This is not a place of Chaos. I have not detected the presence of any Chaos Gods. The simplest explanation for the current situation is this: your soul entered the body of this man named Roderick..."

"...Emperor above, I would rather face an entire company of Daemon Princes!"

"The fact that you can awaken me proves that you have already fused with his soul. Angus and Roderick have now become one person. Roderick's memories and emotions will influence you to a certain extent. You need to try to accept them. Matters of the soul are not within the research scope of the Mechanicus..."

"All right, all right! Astartes, you are always right. With this fragile body, I will not end up choking to death on a fish bone, will I? Let my epitaph read: Beware! Fish bones are deadlier than demons!"

"Of course not. At your most difficult times, you even consumed undeveloped Tyranid eggs. The toxins inside were enough to bring down one hundred Abyssal Mammoths. Believe me, Second Lieutenant, you need a long period of adjustment."

Before he could respond, a soft, timid voice called out, "Brother?" A delicate, fair little hand waved before Roderick's eyes. Remilia's call finally pulled him from his internal conversation.

"Why were you sitting there so blankly without moving? You did not react no matter how I called you." There was a trace of confusion in the girl's eyes. She keenly sensed that her brother seemed somewhat different after waking this time. The only thing unchanged was that reassuring presence that made one want to lay down everything.

"Roderick's sister. Judging from the thoughts extracted from your memories, this person is very important to you. If necessary, you would even pay the price of your life for her. However, an unknown energy surrounds her. It is currently very weak. Overall, she is a harmless life-form. Of course, she also values you greatly. Perhaps I should further investigate this unusual energy..."

"Hmm, Astartes?" The communication in his consciousness suddenly cut off.

Receiving no response, Roderick tried his best to make the expression known as a smile at the girl. Then he braced himself with both hands and attempted to sit up. An intense pain shot along his neural pathways into his central brain. Roderick clenched his teeth and made no sound, but an unhealthy flush quickly spread across his face. Remilia hurriedly helped her brother sit at the edge of the bed, then stood up at a loss.

"I am already fine, Remi," Roderick said according to the way he had addressed her in his memories.

"I will recover soon. Brother is Southshore's strongest knight. Did you not always say that? Stop worrying about my body."

"Second Lieutenant, based on your memories, the strange energy surrounding Remilia is very likely the unknown energy that the humans of this world call magic. Those who wield magical energy manifest externally in a manner similar to the Imperium's psykers. More information is required to better understand magic."

"Additionally, your body has lost too much blood. You have four major injuries. The puncture wound on the left side of your seventh rib has damaged your lung. I have completely decomposed the rust that entered your body and stored it in other parts of your body. One major reason you were able to regain consciousness appears to be a strange energy called Holy Light, which can effectively heal the injuries inside your body. In fact, this young man's body is quite good. Your injuries are not as severe as they appear."

Psykers? Here, they seemed to be called mages? Those pitiful people who lived beneath the shadow of the Inquisition all day. There was no need to worry about such messy matters for now. Considering that he had been viciously attacked by a group of Murloc warriors, stabbed through the abdomen, hacked until the skin and flesh on his back split open, and finally knocked unconscious by a Chain Lightning spell without dying, Roderick really was remarkably tenacious.

"Remi, I want to go out onto the balcony and get some sun."

"But your injuries... The priest said you need rest..."

"It is fine. I am the strongest knight, after all. Sunlight will help me recover better. Did the priest not say just now that I was recovering well?"

Giving up on reasoning with her brother, the girl could only stop forcing Roderick to remain in bed. The still-feeble-looking man endured without letting the corners of his mouth twitch. Supported by his sister, Roderick walked out of the bedroom and along the wooden corridor to the southeastern corner of the house.

The girl pushed open a wooden door carved with some unknown animal, and Roderick's entire body was immediately bathed in warm sunlight. He could not help marveling inwardly at his strange fate.

"I will make a pot of honey tea, and there is also some Black Forest cake someone brought over." After helping her brother stand steadily, the girl hurried off to the kitchen, finally leaving Roderick with some time to himself.

Squinting, he surveyed the small balcony. It was no more than fifteen feet long and roughly five feet wide. Calling it a balcony was a stretch; it was really just the outer corridor on the second floor of the family's wooden house. The carved railing barely reached his abdomen. Numerous unknown potted plants were scattered across the floor. Irregular white and pink petals bloomed faintly, and with the breeze came waves of floral fragrance that filled his senses.

Leaning on the railing, Roderick looked into the distance. Dozens of wooden and brick buildings stretched all the way to the docks by the sea. Fishing boats at the shore were unloading their cargo, while white seagulls circled beside them with clear cries. A street paved with long strips of bluish stone wound past the wooden house. There did not seem to be many shops on either side, and most pedestrians hurried along. As Roderick gazed over the peaceful little town, he began communicating with Astartes once more.