After hearing Byrne's question, Joralan arched an eyebrow. "Heh. Cunning boy. Is that really just one question?"
Byrne curled his lip. "Don't sweat the details. Just tell me if you can answer it."
Joralan considered for a moment before replying:
"Cullen did speak to me about this. However, Byrne, you might be mistaken on one point. Because he lost his reproductive capacity, you and Cullen share no blood relation, it's true—but you do share one with your mother."
Hearing this, Byrne let out a cold snort. "No kidding. She's my mother, of course we have a blood—"
He stopped mid-sentence as the realization hit him. If he had been adopted after the marriage, he shouldn't have been related to either of them. But Joralan said he was related to his mother, which meant...
Byrne arrived at the answer almost instantly.
"You mean my mother was already pregnant with me when she married the old man?"
Joralan sighed.
"Your mother was a tragic soul. Her fiancé had died, and she had contracted a terminal wasting disease; she didn't have many years left. With no one to lean on and a child in her womb she wanted to see live, she was desperate. Through an intermediary, she found Cullen.
"Initially, Cullen refused. Bearing a Chaos curse, how could he drag others into his plight? But later, he changed his mind. Byrne, do you know why?"
Byrne shook his head.
Joralan pointed a finger at him. "Because of your appearance, the symptoms of Cullen's curse erosion actually began to recede."
The statement was like a thunderclap in Byrne's mind, leaving him frozen in place. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He could only stare at Joralan in disbelief, waiting for an explanation.
Joralan spread his hands helplessly.
"Don't look at me like that. I was more shocked than you when I first heard it from Cullen. He didn't know why either; he was simply stating a fact. Before meeting your mother, the Chaos curse inside him would flare up periodically.
"Every time it did, he endured the agony of a twisting mind, as if countless hands from the Warp were shredding his soul. Chapter pharmaceuticals could only suppress it temporarily; they couldn't stop the rot. Eventually, he would have fallen completely."
Joralan's gaze drifted toward the window, as if seeing his cursed comrade again.
"But from the moment your mother appeared before him with you in her womb, that sensation of his soul being torn apart miraculously eased. At first, he thought it was a delusion. But as your mother's pregnancy progressed, the recession became so obvious that he could reduce his medication by more than half."
"Cullen realized then that you were the key to suppressing his curse. He had given everything to the Chapter and the Empire, long ago placing his life and death aside. But to be swallowed by the curse and turned into a puppet... that was a disaster he could not face.
"Byrne, your arrival was like a ray of light in the dark. It gave him hope that he wouldn't be consumed."
Hearing this, Byrne suddenly let out a cold laugh and clapped his hands.
"Brilliant. Truly brilliant. I have to admit, for a priest, you've got a silver tongue. I almost believed your story. Unfortunately, you've overlooked a fatal flaw."
Joralan didn't panic. He looked up at Byrne. "Oh? I'd like to hear what you consider a fatal flaw."
Byrne leaned forward slightly, retracting his second finger.
"Almost everyone in the Empire knows that Space Marines possess massive bodies far exceeding a normal person's. My old man was tall, sure, but he was within the range of a normal human.
"So, my second question: how did my father—and how do you, sitting right in front of me—hide a giant frame over two meters tall?"
Instead of looking flustered, Joralan looked disappointed. "Sigh. I thought you were going to point out some incredible loophole. That's it?"
Byrne sneered. "Don't just talk. Explain."
Joralan raised his right hand and rolled up his sleeve, exposing his arm. "Byrne, does this arm look thick to you?"
Byrne arched an eyebrow and looked. The muscle definition on Joralan's arm was only slightly more developed than an average adult male's. It lacked the signature knotted, massive musculature of an Astartes; even some veteran blacksmiths looked sturdier.
"It's pretty ordinary. What's your point?"
Byrne hadn't forgotten that the genetic modification of a Space Marine caused irreversible, dramatic physical changes. It shouldn't be possible to look like a commoner.
"Watch closely. Don't blink."
Joralan took a deep breath, as if exerting hidden force. A second later, the muscles in his arm began to bulge visibly, and his bones seemed to elongate quietly. The normal-sized limb instantly thickened by a massive margin. The rolled-up sleeve became skin-tight, and Byrne could almost see the muscle fibers rippling beneath the skin.
Even more startling, Joralan's entire frame began to rise. Though sitting, he had been roughly at Byrne's height; in a few seconds, he was half a head taller, radiating a staggering sense of pressure.
Byrne's pupils shrank. His right hand instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist, ready for a sudden outburst. The change was too eerie—it completely defied his understanding of Space Marines.
"Byrne, don't be tense. This is a genetic secret unique to the Raven Guard, a gift from our father Corax. It is called Shadow-Cloak Camouflage."
As Joralan spoke, the bulging muscles subsided, and his height receded to its original state, as if the transformation had been a mere hallucination.
"Shadow-Cloak Camouflage?"
Joralan pulled his sleeve down and explained:
"Yes. Unlike other Chapters that pursue raw destructive power, the Raven Guard gene-seed carries the stealth talent of Corax. Through specialized training, we can actively regulate our genetic energy, compressing bone gaps and tightening muscle lines to temporarily maintain a human-sized frame.
"This disguise doesn't just change the exterior; it suppresses the unique energy fluctuations of a Raven Guard. Unless you encounter a high-level psyker or specialized detection equipment, it is impossible to see through."
The explanation cleared some of the fog in Byrne's mind. But then another thought struck him: "But can this camouflage last for twenty-odd years?"
Joralan shook his head.
"Under normal circumstances, it lasts a few hours at most. It cannot be maintained long-term. Its essence is active regulation, like keeping your muscles in a constant state of high-tension exertion. Over time, it drains massive energy and can cause irreversible genetic damage.
"But your father's situation was different. First, as the Honour Guard Captain, his control over his genetic energy far exceeded a common Battle-Brother. Even in long-term disguise, he could minimize the drain. Second—and most importantly—was your existence."
"Me again?"
Seeing Byrne pointing at himself with a look of utter confusion, Joralan nodded.
"Yes. Don't forget, I said you were the key to suppressing the Chaos curse. That curse is itself a form of energy. Under normal circumstances, Cullen couldn't use it; it was harmful to him.
"But your presence changed that. Cullen used that very Chaos energy—the energy you were suppressing—to fuel his Shadow-Cloak Camouflage indefinitely."
Byrne fell silent. At that moment, only one thought occupied his mind.
So... I'm actually that impressive?