The golem didn't wait for a greeting. It stared directly into Ren Askar's eyes, its presence a heavy, unblinking weight in the center of the training grounds.
"Reincarnator... and a hero designation," the golem rumbled, the sound vibrating in Ren's very marrow. "Flagged for the reconstruction's secondary assessment tier."
Ren Askar froze. The fluid grace of his combat form died instantly, replaced by the rigid, lethal stillness of a predator sensing a trap.
He didn't ask if he was dreaming; his eyes were already scanning the golem for structural weaknesses, for energy flow, and for intent. "A Golem that could talk..."
"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice cutting through the morning mist like a blade.
"The underlayer's new governance structure is conducting an island-wide assessment of its reincarnator population," the golem declared, its voice devoid of warmth or malice. "You are being notified of your flagged status."
