Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 100: Blood Kin

After leaving the training grounds of the Soms Nobles Academy, Soshyan, who was about to board a Thunderhawk to head to the Winter Palace to handle some affairs, saw a pacing figure at the academy's main gate.

He did not recognize that person, but his instincts told him that this man was looking for him.

In a certain sense, the thing that person represented was also what he had been deliberately avoiding all along.

"Go and meet him."

Gently, a hand was placed on Soshyan's shoulder.

"You should know who he is. Avoidance is not a choice a warrior should make."

Sol's soft whisper helped Soshyan make up his mind. He jumped down from the already hovering Thunderhawk, and under everyone's astonished gazes, walked toward the academy's gate.

It was a bald, slightly plump man sweating profusely, wearing the work uniform of the Nathan Starport.

He had been wandering at the academy gate for several days in a row. The guards had wanted to drive him away, but under the instructions of the academy's upper management, this action was not carried out, nor did they let him in.

Only a very small number of people knew who he was.Seeing the Space Marine approach with heavy steps, the guards at the door immediately raised the cast-iron gate and respectfully stood on both sides of the entrance.

As for that man, upon seeing the person he hoped for appear, he instead hesitated, dawdling for a long time without daring to step through the gate.

Ultimately, it was Soshyan who walked up to him.

A transcendent Angel and a feeble mortal, the two facing each other, was like a scene from an absurdist play.

The man pulled a greasy handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. Facing an Astartes at such close range placed a tremendous amount of pressure on his mind.

However, compared to others, he had more reason to speak to the other party at such a close distance.

After stuffing the handkerchief back into his pocket, the man nervously wrung his hands, bowed at the waist, and said, trembling with fear:

"C-Cousin..."

His voice was very soft, but it was enough to make the surrounding guards cast sidelong glances. In perfect unison, they shuddered at that very instant.

But to Soshyan, being called brother by someone other than an Astartes truly felt a bit bizarre.

Soshyan pondered for a moment over the mystery of family. This was a bond that a mortal found difficult to comprehend again once they became an Astartes.

Usually, their brotherhood within the Chapter would be described as a family.

The term 'brother' itself—was it not a member of a family?

Yet father, mother, son—Soshyan had not distanced himself from humanity so far that he could not understand that those things were entirely different.

Even though their emotions felt as alien as Xenos to him.

"You—"

Soshyan slightly raised his hand, but then lowered it.

He couldn't even remember what this person's name was.

"Cousin, I am Nerio. When you left, I was only six years old."

Looking at the man's earnest face, Soshyan did not feel even the slightest sense of intimacy brought about by blood relations.

"Nerio, what business do you have with me?"

Soshyan tried his best to soften his tone, but to Nerio's ears, it still sounded sufficiently stiff, making him feel somewhat disheartened.

The joyous reunion he had envisioned was thus shattered.

Perhaps the Angels truly were just as the rumors said, having abandoned their humanity to defend the Imperium.

"Cousin, I... I wanted to tell you some things, some things that happened after you left."

"I am sorry, but I am very busy right now. I have many affairs to handle."

"No, no, no!"

Nerio forcefully waved his hands and said in a defiant tone:

"You must listen, you must see!"

Soshyan's brows immediately furrowed together...

——————

In the cemetery of the Alexei family, looking at that tombstone that had been somewhat weathered by the years, Soshyan fell into deep contemplation.

Here lay his father—not the 'Gene-father' in the typical sense of the Chapter, but the father who contributed to the birth of his physical shell and accompanied him during his mortal years.

Nerio stood by his side, saying rather mournfully:

"After you left, Cousin, Uncle began to immerse himself in researching the family history. He repeatedly forgot to sleep and eat. Finally, ten years ago, he fell ill, and the sickness was very severe. Yet, he refused any life-support equipment, and still continued studying the ancient history of the family."

Regarding the man lying in this grave, Soshyan could only scrape together a tiny smidgen of fragments from his memory.

A neat beard, an oily pipe, and that ever-lingering smell of ink.

But no matter what he was like before, he was dead now, turned into withered bones inside a tomb.

Nothing more.

Only this—

Soshyan once again felt that ring against his chest. Even though it had always been on him, it was rarely felt, as Soshyan always deliberately tried to ignore its presence.

He blinked and said softly:

"She—"

Soshyan momentarily didn't know how to speak the rest of his sentence. Nerio froze for a moment before suddenly realizing who Soshyan was referring to.

"Aunt, she..."

Nerio sighed.

Afterward, Nerio led Soshyan to his former home, now a desolate, overgrown estate.

Seeing the towering Astartes appear, two elderly servants in the house were frightened into dropping to their knees. When Nerio revealed the giant's identity, both of them were stunned.

"It's actually... Young Master Soshyan!"

"Young Master Soshyan has returned!?"

Soshyan looked at those two wrinkled faces, but his mind held not a shred of memory of them.

"Our cousin came back to see Aunt."

Hearing Nerio's words, the two hastily scrambled up and led them to a crude little chapel built of wood behind the manor.

"Ever since you left, Young Master, the Madam has prayed for you day and night. Whether sick or mourning her husband, she hasn't stopped for a single day. After the Master passed away, she even moved your old room into the chapel and lived inside it."

An old servant said as tears pattered down.

"She misses you so much, but dared not say it aloud. She could only pray to the God-Emperor for your safety. Many people say she's already gone mad, that she's a crazy woman, but the Madam..."

"She is currently..."

Soshyan interrupted him.

"...how is she."

The two servants looked at each other and shook their heads.

In the end, it was Nerio who told the truth.

"Five years after Uncle passed away, Aunt also collapsed. She slept only four or five hours a day, using the rest of the time to pray. Coupled with other illnesses, her organs have suffered severe failure... The doctors installed a basic life-support system for her, but said it would only last for three years."

As he spoke, Nerio also choked with sobs.

"But one year ago, the doctors said Aunt's brain was already dead and removed the life-support equipment. Yet she... she somehow held on. She is still breathing, only unable to speak or see, and has no feeling to the touch whatsoever."

Soshyan didn't speak. He simply stepped forward and gently pressed his hand against the wooden door.

After taking a deep breath, he carefully pushed open the door...