"After all, 10,000 years have passed, and so many things have become different from the beginning."

Killman's voice came from the suite that had been used as a cloakroom.

"When I first woke up, I even noticed that my children had placed a stasis field on all the furnishings in this room so that it would always be the same as it was when I left 10,000 years ago. They even developed a lot of obsession with it, and I had to quarrel with my current warband leader to regain the right to use my own room. What a weird thing – can you imagine? ”

As he told the story out of bounds, his voice sounded very laughable. After saying this, Killiman fell silent for a moment, and the slight grinding of clothes coming from the suite explained the reason for the silence for Corax.

The latter adjusted his wings and sat vigilantly on a small single couch in the room, nervously grasping the slightest rustling sound for his hearing—unnecessary, but in great need of a little external stimulation to prove to him that the "Robert Killman" he had just met was not a fantasy of his imagination.

“…… I do not know. He whispered so softly that it was more like answering another person's question than answering another person's question, "I didn't think about going back......

What qualifications do I have to go back? Koraks thought. I couldn't do anything, I always missed appointments, I dragged my companions and old friends on my home planet into an expedition with no end in sight, I-

"Then you really have to think about it." Killiman's voice in the cloakroom interrupted his downward thoughts, "This may be a little hard for you to accept at once, but in a sense, it may become a general trend in the next few years." ”

The Regent of the Empire was not sure about this, but as a qualified politician, he knew how to draw cakes for others: "If you don't go back and actually see what has become of your heirs in the past 10,000 years." I'm sure the Raven Guard is looking forward to your return as well. I can provide some experience on how to get along with my own heirs in 10,000 years, and if you feel that our Legion is too different in style to be useful, you can also ask Ferus. ”

“……？”

Unexpected names appeared in the conversation. Confused, Korax put aside the idea of "going back and seeing" for a while, and instead asked, "...... Ferrus? ”

He quietly got up from the small sofa, touched a CNC pen as he passed by the table, and approached the door of the cloakroom without making the slightest sound. Killiman's voice, unaware of this, became clearer by the proximity of the distance:

"Yes, that's the Ferus Manus you thought." As Corax approached the door, which was already open with a gap, Killiman unguardedly facing the other mirror in the deepest part of the suite, with his back to the outside, his shirt already changed, and he was dealing with the buttons of his coat, and the clothes that had been changed because of the blood were messed up to the side, like his desk that was far from neat, "I was also shocked when I first learned about it: how could this be? But—to confirm, are you trying to poke that pen in my throat? ”

When pressed against the edge of a wound on his neck by a CNC pen that was not sharp, but could still be used as a lethal weapon to the original, Killiman was very calm. He hadn't expected this, but it wasn't hard for Killiman to understand why Corax behaved the way he first heard that "Ferus had also been resurrected" in the same amount as he had when he first heard that "Ferus had also been resurrected". Even, for the Lord of the Ravens, who had been wandering in the subspace for thousands of years, it was already a sign of Coracux's restraint to immediately plunge this pen directly into his throat or directly pierce his brain stem before he heard about this "nonsense of the evil creatures of the subspace".

“…… Ferrus is dead. The voice of the Raven Lord trembled in pain, "In Istavan V., ......"

Killiman could see that his brother was hesitating. Corax was still unsure whether what he was seeing was real or fanciful, or if it was some kind of enemy trick. All of this was too good for him: he was able to make normal small talk with his brother again, without any condemnation of past failures, resentment of the current state of the Empire, or angry denunciation of his enemies. Everything was too calm, and for Kolax, it was because of this that everything seemed unreal.

He felt that this could not be true, and he refused to make up his mind to convince himself that it was indeed not true. For a variety of reasons, the way Corax makes decisions today is far less crisp than it was 10,000 years ago. Partly he coveted this calm "now" and tried to believe what the "Killiman" in front of him was saying; Some shouted, "It's an illusion, kill him!" urging him to return to the painful reality; There is another concern about the former: what happens if what is happening in front of you is true?

The tip of the pen against Killman's neck trembled uncontrollably. The Ultramarines didn't know what was going on in his brother's mind, but he could see that the flickering expression on the mirror in the cloakroom proved that the other party was engaged in a painful psychological struggle.

He relaxed himself as much as he could, gently pressed the numerical control pen pointed at his neck with a force that did not feel threatening, turned in place in a harmless manner, and faced his brother again: "I understand, I understand, you don't have to force yourself to remember—"

"Shut up! You liar who has taken the form of my brother and is full of lies! Corax took the opportunity to tug tightly at Killman's unbuttoned placket, a roar of rage that echoed in subspace, "Whatever you want from me, you're not going to get it!" Reveal who you really are! Then you will know, except for death—"

"—I didn't want anything from you." Kiriman calmly replied, "I just want to know what you need right now." If you will tell me, I will provide it to you as best I can. ”

Under the shocked, almost black eyes of the other party, Killiman opened his arms, ignoring the fact that the other party was still tugging at his shirt, making the incident look a little funny: "At least for now, I feel like you need a hug. ”

This seemed to completely confuse Corax. Killiman didn't know exactly what he was thinking, but he could easily tell that the phrase "I don't know what to do" was clearly written on Corax's face. The hand he was tugging on Kiliman's front gradually slackened, and the pen that was intended to be pointed at the other man's throat also fell to the ground unconsciously. Now that "Corvus Colax" had almost lost his decisiveness as a legion leader, the look of confusion on his face when facing another loyal brother was no better than that of a recruit who had just graduated from the Loyal Heir Academy.

"I don't know......," he replied dreamily, as if the sentence hadn't been uttered by the judgment of Coraks' brain, but was a mere reflex. But for Kiliman, he apparently sees this noncommittal answer as an answer.

He really stepped forward, trying to figure out how to bypass the wings that had grown from Corax's back, giving his brother who was almost completely broken mentally a warm hug.

After a few moments, he let go of the seemingly completely confused Corax as if nothing had happened before, turned back to smooth the hem of his shirt, and then dealt with his buttons, "I know this sounds too good to be true. Everyone mourned what happened to Ferus, but ...... I have reason to believe that at the time of the tragedy, our father managed to save his soul, which made it possible for him to reappear in reality 10,000 years later. ”

Coraks' mind was still confused, and his voice sounded weak and uncertain: "But this ...... How is that possible? ”

"I've seen some ...... Evidence. Killiman had wanted to add a "conclusive" touch before the "evidence", but given that the most conclusive piece of evidence, which he had "had to believe" at the time, had some catastrophic chemistry with Corax a day earlier, he had to swallow it back into his stomach and instead prove it to his brother in a more roundabout way.

"We haven't actually met since I knew about it, but Ferrus passed me a video recording." The Imperial Regent had finally put his appearance in order, but he was clearly not going to immediately attend the next meeting he had to attend, and instead turned to face his brother again, "I must have stored a copy of it in this room before, do you want to see it?" ”

Corax's expression showed hesitation, though it seemed, so far, that the idea that "this was indeed Kiliman" had had prevailed slightly in his somewhat fragmented mind. His actions and thoughts were once again gentle: "But you just changed your clothes. Isn't that to move on to what you're going to do next? ”

"Work can wait." Killiman dragged Coraks away from the small suite in the room, "The work is never done, and I don't have anything urgent or important to do right now than a brother I haven't seen in years." ”

"It makes you sound like you're a dumbfounder." Corax grumbled slightly, and Killiman smiled a little.

At least, his brother was trying to laugh again. Killeman thinks it's a good change.

Miwoo (diving into an ice cave)

(End of chapter)