Warfare Augmented Intelligent Frame Unit

Chapter 104 - Neil's Origin

Chapter 104 - Neil's Origin

The shadows in my room deepened as the last light of day faded away. A soft orange hue bathed the walls, casting long streaks across the floor from the half-shut blinds. I glanced toward the window—there it was, the sun dipping below the skyline like a silent farewell. 

Normally, this would be the hour I'd fix myself dinner and dive into study sessions for the looming Finals. But tonight was different. Neil had arrived, bringing with him matters far too pressing to ignore.

With a quiet sigh, I shut the window and drew the curtains tight, cloaking the room in a dusky twilight. No eyes, no ears—just us. Not that I expected anyone to eavesdrop. Neil's cyberpunk implant, sleek and humming with a faint blue glow beneath the skin of his temple, was already jamming any surveillance tech in a half-kilometer radius.

"HUSBANDO, huh," I muttered under my breath, reaching for the electric thermos nestled at the edge of my desk. It had been steadily reheating the oolong tea I'd set aside since Neil arrived—an aged blend I'd been saving for a night that demanded clarity. I retrieved two porcelain cups from my shelf and poured the steaming tea with practiced care.

"Can't say I've never heard that term before," I said, handing Neil his cup. "Ismail Arondight practically told me that one while giving some threats."

"Good." Neil accepted the cup with a nod and a faint smile. "That saves me the trouble of explaining it from scratch."

I sipped the tea, its earthy bitterness and slight sweetness grounding me. "So..." I began cautiously, eyes fixed on the rippling surface of the liquid. "You can transform into a Frame Unit—like Fei and Myrrh?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Neil said, the warmth of the cup steaming up his glasses. "But WAIFUs are superior. WAIFUs like Myrrh are almost indistinguishable from real humans. They're emotionally adaptable, and fully integrated with Weaponry Enhancement Engineering Bios. They're built to support. We, on the other hand—HUSBANDOs—we're flawed attempts. We can shift into mech forms, but they're deformed, clumsy. Half-sentient machines we barely command."

I looked up sharply. "So Ismail was right. About you—about the HUSBANDOs. Experimental humans?"

Neil's silence was brief, but heavy. He just nodded.

"I've heard... whispers," I continued, voice low. "That you were the first drafts. Prototypes. The male chromosome doesn't bond with the nanomachines the way the female one does. So instead of soldiers... they made guinea pigs."

Neil gently set his teacup on the table, the soft clink barely audible in the hushed room. He nodded once, solemnly. "Yeah. That's the short of it."

Then his gaze met mine—calm, steady, and unexpectedly warm. Oh no. I know that look. He is about to slap me with a flashback.

"I was four years old when the Cosmic Beast Raid tore my life apart. I survived... somehow. I don't remember the attack itself, just the aftermath—waking up entangled in these bizarre, crimson tendrils. They pulsed and curled like roots from another world, wrapping around me like they didn't want to let go." He paused, his brow furrowing slightly as if reaching back into a fogged memory. "I remember being pried loose by men in hazard suits. Scientists, I think. Then, boarding a spaceship under the orange-red sky. It felt like a dream."

He gave a breathless, almost bitter laugh. "It's strange. I've forgotten almost everything about my early childhood. I couldn't tell you what my parents looked like if I tried. But those days after the raid—the smell of burning metal, the taste of IV drips, the silence inside that ship—those memories are branded into me."

"You said they took you to a spaceship," I said, leaning forward. "Where did they bring you?"

Neil looked away, his voice softening. "Exestia. Capital of the Xyraxis Cluster," he murmured. "Specifically, the Treenity Innovation headquarters. That's where I was raised... if you can call it that."