Zion opened a hologram, then turned to Koru.
"Not yet," he said. "But we’re close."
Koru’s eyes widened as he noticed the blue screen.
"What’s that?" he asked, pointing at the hologram.
Zion closed his eyes for a mont, already feeling a headache form.
’Uriel, please tell you can educate him over the next three days.’
[Naturally,] Uriel responded, its tone warm. [Also, there’s one minute remaining until we exit the planet’s atmosphere.]
He let out a sigh of relief and turned to Koru again.
"I’ll explain everything to you later. Just sit tight for now... the ride is about to get a little rough."
Koru nodded enthusiastically, its eyes locked on the front window as the sky gradually turned dark.
A minute later, the entire ship shook violently.
The vibration rattled through the control room, tal groaning as the hull pushed out of the planet’s atmosphere.
Koru let out a startled sound, gripping the tal restraints hard enough to bend them into the shape of his fingers.
’Much rougher than last ti,’ Zion thought, holding on tight. ’Everything alright, Uriel?’
[No problems at all,] Uriel said, quickly relieving Zion’s worries. [The pressure was simply much higher compared to Daresk.]
As they drifted into space, the restraints ca undone, giving both of them full freedom again.
Zion stood up imdiately, cracking his neck.
He glanced at Koru, who remained seated completely still, staring out into space through the front window.
’Seems like a whole other world opened up for him,’ he thought, smiling slightly. ’Though I have to admit... no matter how many tis I see this view, I can never get tired of it.’
Zion stared out the window as well, his eyes wandering across the countless stars filling the infinite darkness.
After a few seconds, he snapped out of it.
"Koru," he said lightly.
Koru snapped out of his daze imdiately, jumping up from his chair.
"Yes?"
Zion turned toward the door.
"If you follow , I have sothing prepared that’ll explain so of the basics to you," he said, gesturing forward.
"Of course, human," Koru replied, a wide grin spreading across his face.
He took a step after Zion—
—and froze.
Zion had stopped and turned around slowly, eting his gaze.
"My na is Zion," he said calmly. "Not ’human.’"
"Ah," Koru let out, scratching his head. "Sorry for not asking."
"It’s fine," Zion said, his eyes narrowing as they darted between Koru and the floor, which was now covered in moss.
He sighed softly and rubbed his temples.
"Co on," he said, turning around.
Koru nodded imdiately and followed, careful this ti not to brush the walls as they moved through the ship.
They stopped inside the training room. Without further ado, Zion placed a hologram projector on the ground and took a step back.
The small device lit up, projecting a wide, translucent screen into the air.
"This is a special teaching tool used throughout the universe," Zion lied through his teeth. "It will interact with you as long as you don’t touch or break it."
Koru’s eyes widened as it took a step forward, leaning closer to the screen.
’Uriel, you can take it from here,’ Zion thought, backing away.
[Affirmative,] Uriel replied. [I’ll make sure the young Sentinel is caught up before we reach the planet.]
The hologram imdiately shifted, revealing rows of text, symbols, and several large images.
"I’ll co pick you up once we eat," Zion said, his mind already enjoying the silence.
Koru looked back and nodded enthusiastically before turning back to the screen again.
A video of a ship’s interior began playing, several warning labels popping up alongside the listed consequences for improper actions.
’I’ll rest for a little,’ Zion thought as the door slid shut behind him. ’After that, I have so planning to do.’
There were too many things he needed to work out, but the exhaustion from facing a life-threatening situation was slowly taking over.
And no good plans could co from soone who was ntally exhausted.
Zion continued to his bedroom and collapsed onto the bed. He stared up at the ceiling, breathing slow and steady.
’I wonder what the Sentinels were doing there,’ he thought as his eyes closed. ’I should ask Koru later...’
His body ached, and the wound on his leg still stung—but despite that, he felt relaxed. It didn’t take long before he dozed off.
Hours later, a familiar voice echoed through his mind, waking Zion instantly.
[Host,] Uriel said. [The young Sentinel’s comprehension rate is exceptional.]
"Uh," Zion muttered, sitting up, confused. "That’s... good."
[Koru has been asking for food nonstop,] Uriel added lightly. [So I thought it best to wake you.]
Zion rubbed his eyes, feeling a little better than before.
"...Got it," he mumbled as he stood up. "I’ll be there in a second."
He let out a groan as he stretched his body.
Finally, he left his room, passing quickly through the control room before arriving at the training room.
As he stepped inside, he froze.
"Uriel, how much ti passed since I dozed off?" he muttered softly, his eyes locked on Koru.
[Nearly five hours,] Uriel responded instantly.
Koru stood at the far side of the room, his stone arm held out in front of him. The arm grew larger as it slowly extended forward, grabbing a small tal object.
Speechless, Zion simply stood there and watched.
[I allowed him to train after each hour of studying,] Uriel said softly. [That proved far more productive than forcing him to continue endlessly.]
Zion nodded slowly, not concerned with why Koru was training.
Rather, it was the racial abilities themselves that caught his eye.
He took a slow step forward, eyes narrowing as he watched the stone arm retract smoothly back to its normal shape.
"Oh, huma—No... Zion," Koru corrected himself, turning around. "Are we going to eat now?"
Zion’s expression changed back to normal, a smile reappearing on his face.
"Yes," he nodded. "But we also have so things to talk about."
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