Gun of Ashes

Corey walked to the window and pulled open the curtains, allowing the noonday sunlight to flood inside and slightly brighten the dim room.

The light rendered his cheeks deathly pale. Perhaps he had been hiding in the darkness for too long, giving him a sickly impression, with skin so fair it seemed as if no blood flowed beneath it.

”Are you feeling okay?”

Corey asked towards the darkness behind him. He turned around, his movements rather stiff, and he was somewhat unsteady on his feet for a moment.

”This thing needs replacing too.”

Corey murmured to himself, and after steadying his posture, he lifted his coat, revealing a series of steel pins attached to his leg, mechanically linked together to aid his movement.

”Ah, humans can never escape the ravages of time. I used to think my foot was just a bit lame, but within a few years, it became completely crippled.”

It seemed Corey was talking to another person, yet it also appeared as if he were talking to himself.

”How did it happen back then? A bomb exploded beside me, the shrapnel sliced into my thigh and chest, and ever since, I’ve been tormented by these ailments. Every year, the Iron Law Bureau spends a fortune just to keep me alive.”

As Corey spoke, he touched his chest, where beneath the fabric lay a vicious scar, faintly aching.

There was no response from the darkness, as if the other party didn’t want to acknowledge him, or perhaps he was simply a silent person.

”Let’s have a chat, Ivar. I’m very curious about you Vikings.”

Corey said, pulling the curtains fully open, filling the room with blinding sunlight, and illuminating the man seated in the depths.

He was a somewhat fragile man, his exposed skin resembled Corey’s, probably also too long without sunlight, giving him an eerie pallor.

He was curled up in the corner of an iron bed, wrapped in a blanket, head bowed low, his breathing deep, like a silent statue.

Ivar Rodbrock.

The man didn’t have obvious scars on his body, and it seemed Ivar hadn’t suffered any torture or beatings. Apart from this somewhat poor living environment, for a captive hostage, Ivar’s treatment appeared quite decent.

”What to talk about? There’s nothing to talk about.”

Ivar’s voice was hoarse, perhaps from not speaking for a long time.

He raised his head, his sickly face devoid of expression, yet even such an expressionless face made Corey feel a certain animalistic ferocity, as if facing some terrifying monster.

”How interesting…”

Corey murmured softly.

Looking at the bedraggled figure of Ivar, even after seeing him many times, Corey still felt a slight divine tremor, finding it hard to describe Ivar with existing vocabulary; he was contradictory and mysterious.

Perhaps because of his Viking blood, although Ivar was born deformed, with an incredibly weak body, in those eyes, it seemed as if a violent heart was bound within the fragile shell.

Indeed, Ivar was a child of God Odin, a child of the Rodbrock family, if he really was a cowardly person, Corey might have felt disappointed instead.

”I just received a letter, the Viking nations sent envoys to negotiate an exchange of hostages with us... meaning your father agreed to our proposal. Soon, you will leave Gaulunaro and return to the Viking nations; this might be our last chance to spend time together, Ivar.”

Corey sat by the bed, looking at Ivar in the corner. After hearing his words, Ivar’s eyes visibly flickered, perhaps not expecting the Viking nations to truly agree to Gaulunaro’s proposal, no... this wasn’t just a proposal, for the Viking nations, it was a threat from Gaulunaro.

But they compromised, facing this threat, they actually compromised.

Ivar’s pupils constricted, but quickly relaxed again. He ignored Corey, maintaining his previous posture, sitting quietly in the corner.

”Don’t you have anything you want to say? This might be the first time you’ve left the domain of the Viking nations, right? Gaulunaro is much warmer than there; there’s no need to keep wrapping yourself in a blanket.”

Corey continued attempting to communicate with Ivar.

Ivar said nothing, instead tightly grasping the blanket, wrapping it securely around himself.

He looked up, gazing at the outside world, where the gentle sunlight fell upon a beautiful azure sky.

Indeed, as Corey said, the living environment here was much better than the Viking nations, without the bitter cold winds, and without the extreme low temperatures and endless glaciers.

Sometimes Ivar felt that the Viking nations were a cursed place, where the sea was forever roaring and howling, the solid, cold land unable to produce any crops, resources were extremely scarce, leading all Vikings to become pirates for survival.

Thinking like this, Ivar appeared somewhat sad.

”I heard from Erin about you, she referred to you as father... a blood relative?”

Ivar finally spoke, asking somewhat curiously.

”No, I am the father of many. The Iron Law Bureau needs the most loyal people.”

Corey hadn’t expected Ivar to speak, although the conversation was different from what he anticipated, it was a good start.

Corey knew little about the intelligence of the King of the Ice Sea, though the Viking nations were preparing to ally with Gaulunaro, making adequate preparations was Corey’s style.