Colt gave a heavy nod, full of solemn pride.
"Yes," he said. "You are my son. A Solarion seed planted on this backward little rock."
Elius kept his voice neutral, careful.
"Are you going to test me to see if I'm worthy?"
Colt laughed once—a short, sharp sound that echoed eerily.
"No. It's not me who will test you."
He pointed a finger up into the sky, toward unseen stars.
"It is the Solarion Empire itself."
Elius tilted his head slightly, feigning innocence.
"I see."
But inside, his mind raced.
He's lying.
He's absolutely going to create circumstances to "train" me.
To break me.
To reshape me into what he wants.
Colt strode forward, standing directly in front of him now, towering like a looming sun.
"Solarion blood," Colt said, his voice gaining momentum, "is the strongest blood of all. It adapts faster than any power, any energy source, any mutation or cosmic anomaly. The higher your pride burns—the deeper your Solarion essence—the stronger you become."
