A year had crawled past since Valkyrie turned his back on his family home to enlist in the active-duty military. He had thrown himself into the grueling rhythm of the base, hoping that physical exhaustion might act as a purge. During the day, under the merciless sun, the relentless hand-to-hand drills, live-fire exercises, and brutal physical conditioning worked as intended; there were precious hours where the strain pushed every thought of Brown entirely out of his mind.
Yet, nightfall was an unyielding judge.
