'I had a feeling.' By the time An'xhur mentioned to Valyr that he was the reason why the higher-ups of the orc race still wavered in their support for his half-sibling, the latter inwardly let out a chuckle, though his body language still remained the same.
Of course, it was not like he had to mull over it for a long time to come to such a conclusion. With how An'xhur seemed to be the ideal heir of the orc race, formulating a new system of magic and a new physical combat style that would increase the strength of the orc race to greater heights, it wasn't surprising to Valyr that there would be a few others who would grow envious of his feats.
It's only unfortunate that one of those people would be his half-sibling.
"As I've mentioned earlier, by the time I was already in my seventies, changing my goals to transcend the concept of mortality and become a Myth, my half-sibling had approached me one day in the hopes of making amends." Feeling the rage he had inadvertently released earlier bubbling up once more, An'xhur took the initiative to suppress it, taking a long and deep breath to calm his emotions.
"Naturally, with the information I had on my half-sibling regarding his currying of favor with the empire's higher-ups, I became wary of his intentions from the very start, wondering what he planned on doing. After all, I was a hindrance to his goal." As An'xhur began narrating this portion of his life, it was as if he had forgotten the existence of the sphere altogether, prompting Valyr to rely on his mind to imagine what had transpired through the half-orc's words.
"However, out of all the things I expected him to say to me after growing apart for a very long time, I definitely wasn't expecting him to say that to me."
"What did he say?" asked Valyr, his mind hard at work imagining the scenario An'xhur was narrating.
"I know I was the one who distanced myself from you, but is it possible for us to still return to how we were back then?" As An'xhur said these words, Valyr felt a multitude of emotions from the man's voice.
Considering how the half-orc and his half-sibling had distanced themselves from each other for over six decades, it was no surprise that Valyr felt longing, relief, as well as a hint of sadness from An'xhur's tone. To him, it felt as if An'xhur was conveying to him how the statement meant a lot to him at the time.
However, amidst those emotions, there was one that stood far above all of those, being the most obvious emotion Valyr felt from the man's tone.
Pain.
Unimaginable pain.
Allowing the statement he had uttered to linger in his mind, tears started to well up around An'xhur's eyes as his voice carried that same feeling. "At that moment, it was as if all my suspicion had disappeared within an instant. Then, for a while after that, I wondered how my half-sibling and I would've grown up to become if we had continued to stick together."
"Of course, my suspicion towards him was still there, but…" An'xhur let out a deep sigh. "Man, was I a fool."
"Because of just one statement, I thought to myself… why not give the man a second chance?"
"How utterly foolish I was to do so." Looking at An'xhur as he said these words, Valyr noticed that the tears that welled around his eyes earlier had now trickled down, even though the man tried his best not to make it obvious through his voice.
Doing what he had been doing all this time, Valyr remained silent, allowing An'xhur to collect his thoughts and compose himself, sniffling from time to time as the man relived the memories he had brought back up in his mind. Eventually, after a couple of minutes, the half-orc let out a long and deep sigh, the feeling of pain An'xhur felt from making such a decision palpable to Valyr through the sigh he let out.
"Apologies for letting my emotions get the better of me," said An'xhur after the sigh, flashing a bitter smile at Valyr whilst his face remained stained with tears. "Also, thank you for giving me time to collect myself."
"Haah…" Once more, An'xhur let out yet another deep sigh, being reminded of the foolish choice he had made. "After that meeting, it was if he and I had returned to our younger days, becoming an inseparable duo that everyone in the empire knew of."
"Whilst I was preparing for my ascension to a Rank 6 class, he would accompany me, asking me a couple of things from time to time regarding my understanding of my Force, as well as a couple of other things regarding the magic style and fighting style I had made."
"In exchange, I would accompany him to his meetings with the higher-ups, engaging in the pleasantries they generally took delight in as the relationship between them and us two would deepen." At these words, a slightly pained expression took over An'xhur's face. "With how much time had passed since we started accompanying each other again and how he was transparent in everything he did in front of me, my suspicions regarding his intentions gradually disappeared."
"This arrangement continued for about five years or so," said An'xhur, his expression returning to normal. "At that point, I felt that I was more than ready to ascend to a Rank 6 class…"
"So, I asked him and a few others to guard me while doing so."
"With that, we headed to a secluded yet distant area in the empire, making sure that my ascension process wouldn't be disturbed in any way." An'xhur let out a low sigh. "After everyone had made sure that they were ready, I then began ascending to Rank 6."
"At first, everything was going smoothly. My Legacy was as solid as it could be, allowing me to choose the class and species I would evolve into without any difficulty."
"With that, the only thing left was to transform my Force into a Concept. Thanks to the environment the ascension process had put me in, I wholeheartedly focused on increasing my understanding of my Force to where it would achieve yet another qualitative breakthrough, eventually being successful in doing so."
"As you know, all of us need a period of rest to fully acclimate to our newfound power. Of course, ascending to Rank 6 was no different, with the feeling of lethargy taking over my body the very moment I was done."
"However, just as I was about to lay on the ground to get a bit of rest somehow…"
"…"
"…he went ahead and stabbed me in the back."
