Invincible: Escape from Viltrum

His instructor, on the other hand, was not so fortunate.

The absence of the bars transformed Nouwl-an into an ordinary Viltrumite, stripped of all hierarchical authority even if his genetic classification said otherwise.

His uniform, though still white and immaculate, had lost the elegance granted by the insignias of command. Even his posture, once so straight and authoritative, seemed to have softened tremendously.

It was as though his new condition had hunched him over in some barely perceptible way—or rather, had set him free.

But regardless of everything, one thing was clear; his military career had been ruined for the rest of his long life.

"May I... may I sit down?" Nouwl-an asked, pointing to the empty space beside Korr on the edge of the slab. "I've flown here from the Dorymathos. The journey has been... longer than I remembered."

Korr nodded, not knowing what to say other than to obey his orders (even if it was no longer supposed to be that way).

He watched as his former instructor sat down on the edge of the slab, mirroring the posture he himself had adopted moments earlier. Nouwl-an's legs hung over the void, and for an instant, the young man seemed to lose himself in contemplating the nocturnal horizon.

Silence stretched between them, the unspoken words whispering throughout that moment. Korr did not know how to act before the man who had been both his executioner and his mentor in equal measure.

Nouwl-an had tortured him in the pressure chambers, had beaten him until he bled, had forced him to face a Venatici executioner... he had tortured him in ways that he simply could not put aside and forgive.

He had been forced to do things so horrible that he simply did not know what to say about them, and yet, he recognized that he had also saved him.

When other mentors hinted at recommending his execution, Nouwl-an had protected him, saving him from the gravest consequences of his acts of disobedience.

Korr-Add wanted to believe, deceived himself into trusting and considering that his mentor, deep down, had seen him as something more than just a simple tool for the Empire.

"You know?" Nouwl-an finally said, without taking his eyes off the horizon. "When I was assigned to the Dorymathos, I thought it would be a boring job. Great things were supposed to await me, that I would command my own campaign, that I would create my own military faction and bring glory to the Empire. But instead, they left me to train natos because I had been the best of my own generation. In part, though faithful to the Empire's directives, I was like you, Korr-Add."

Korr looked at him with some surprise, but did not interrupt him.

"I was... a very calculating and observant nato. I protected my companions, especially my half-brother on my father's side. I was a coward, a great coward, but I was stronger. I loved flying and going out into the atmosphere. I longed to... I longed one day to go into space and visit Elisium; a paradise planet for soldiers retired because of irreversible injuries." His words remained hanging in the air, as though searching through his mind, lost within those memories. Suddenly, with hardened eyes, he continued. "I killed him with my own hands and... I... learned to kill without hesitation, according to the directives for which we were created. They saw my potential, I was trained to the highest standard, and I achieved the merit of Imperial Excellence. I earned two bars, one of which I dedicated to my own brother. And now I've lost them."

Nouwl-an turned his gaze toward an incredulous Korr, who merely remained there, holding his breath.

"Even if I disliked the idea of taking care of natos, it was my duty, my mission, to prevent my mistake from happening again. Understand that regardless of our setbacks, none of this was personal. To shape you, to turn you into good soldiers... that was the mission I turned into routine work... until you arrived."

Korr did not answer, but his ears sharpened, curious and bewildered in equal measure.

"You were... different, though it was almost as if you made me remember. Not only because of your exasperating rebelliousness or your dangerous way of thinking for a mere nato." Nouwl-an paused, as though searching for the right words. "You had a... a spark... like my cowardly brother's. And now, looking at you, I see that spark has become fire; it makes me think that perhaps, had I not killed him at that moment, he probably would have gone much farther than I ever did... if only someone like Vexa had..." Nouwl-an did not dare finish those words.

Korr, after carefully measuring his words, finally spoke.

"I... probably... no. He definitely would have been the best of all, sir." Korr-Add said with a defeated smile.

"Yes... he would have been the best of all." He nodded.

The seconds passed, during which neither of them spoke a single word. They simply remained there, observing the view, indifferent, entangled within the labyrinth of what could have been and never was, of a future that time refused to write.

"Not because I want to bother you, sir, but if you'll allow me to ask... why have you come?" Korr finally asked.

Nouwl-an smiled with a bitter smile that never reached his eyes.

"To say goodbye, I suppose. Or... to apologize? Or to... I don't know, really. Perhaps to understand why, despite everything, I can't hate you for what happened."

Silence returned, this time different. The tension had dissolved by a miserable fraction; Korr sat down once again beside his former instructor, mirroring his posture.

"I heard you'd been demoted," Korr finally said. "But I didn't expect... I didn't expect to see you, much less that they would strip you of so much."

Nouwl-an nodded.

"The laws of the Empire must be obeyed, regardless of the circumstances. Disobedience, even when it leads to favorable results, is still disobedience. The high command needed a... small scapegoat, and I was the most convenient option." He paused, his tone growing darker. "Fortunately for me, I was lucky. My father probably did something, I'm sure of it. But thanks to that, I was only demoted. I could have been executed, you know? The negligence that allowed the natos to leave their barracks during the attack... that could have cost every one of you your lives. Do you understand the gravity of that?"

Korr felt a chill run down his spine.

"But we didn't die, and I think that's all that matters."

"Don't lie to yourself, Korr-Add. I hope something like this never happens again, for your own sake. The mere fact that your disobedience saved the planet was the only thing that saved your life." After scolding him and warning him, Nouwl-an let out a heavy sigh. "It's ironic. My failure as an instructor became my salvation thanks to your insubordination."

Korr did not know how to respond. Nouwl-an's words echoed through his mind, blending with his own thoughts about the nature of the Empire.

It was strange, sitting beside the man who had been his executioner and speaking as though they were... equals? Accomplices? He did not know how to define it.

"Where will you go now?" he finally asked, seeking to change the subject.

Nouwl-an shrugged.

"The trenches, I suppose. The Coalition of Planets remains a persistent threat along the frontiers. They need soldiers, and now I am a soldier. It is my duty as a soldier to go wherever they send me."

"Is there... any chance that...?"

"My career ended the day I allowed you to leave the barracks. Everything else has been... everything else doesn't matter. Even if there are possibilities, it would probably be easier to die of old age than to ever be promoted to officer again."

Silence spread between them once more, but this time it was Nouwl-an who broke it.

"However, there is something else I must tell you."

Korr looked at him, waiting.

"I want to congratulate you."