After everything with Emily was done, Isaac helped her clean, then tucked her in the bed. She was exhausted and she would most likely sleep straight through until breakfast. He watched her for a moment before turning off the lamp, then quietly let himself out.
The morning air outside was cool and thin, and the farm stretched ahead of him in the grey pre-dawn light.
He rolled his shoulders and started walking toward the fields, ready to settle into the rhythm of work.
But he hadn't taken more than a dozen steps before he noticed the two figures standing near the edge of his land.
The first was something that looked, at a glance, like a large mechanical automaton: a large silver ant with segmented limbs and a head that moved with mechanical precision.
But Isaac could feel "life" from it, thanks to his Life Affinity. It was different from the cold hum of a constructed thing, and instead was an actual, genuine life.
