Rein's room at the Aegis Sacra headquarters was located on the fourth floor of the east wing. It was larger than the hotel room from the night before, featuring a desk, a wardrobe, and a bed with a mattress that felt far too luxurious for someone accustomed to the thin foam of academy dorms. The window overlooked the central courtyard. From here, he could clearly see the Monument of the Nine Swords, including the ninth sword, which was noticeably smaller than the others.
He dropped his bag in the corner and sat on the edge of the bed. It was 2:30 PM. Just twelve hours ago, he had still been stocking milk shelves at Calton Mart.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in."
It wasn't Seraphine. A young woman, perhaps around Rein's age, wearing the blue uniform of the administrative staff and sporting twin ponytails, entered carrying a tablet. She wore a smile that looked well-practiced in its professional kindness.
"Rein Calvert?"
"Yes."
"I'm Nadia, the orientation staff for new Bearers." She held out the tablet. "There are several things we need to finalize today: the orientation schedule, your initial Soul Gauge check, uniform fitting, and a briefing on active Bearer regulations. If you're ready, sir..."
"Sir?"
Nadia paused, looking from Rein back to her tablet. "...My apologies. If you're ready, Rein."
"I'm ready."
The first Soul Gauge examination took place on the second floor in a medical suite equipped with technology more advanced than any hospital Rein had ever visited. A technician attached small sensors to Rein's wrist and chest, then read the results on a screen.
"Dormant Obsidian Class One," the technician murmured while typing. "This is the first time I've seen one in person." He sounded like someone observing a rare species at a zoo. "Your Soul Gauge is currently at 73 out of 100. It's a bit below normal, but expected after your first Resonance Call yesterday."
"What's normal?"
"80 or above for a resting state," the technician noted. "This means you'll need a day or two of full recovery before you can be utilized in the field again. Warden IX has been notified."
Notified. The word felt strange to Rein. It made him feel like a piece of equipment currently undergoing maintenance. He chose not to comment.
The fitting for his active Bearer uniform followed on the third floor. Unlike the academy uniforms he knew, this one was cleaner and sharper, made of a material that felt heavier than it looked. It was dark gray with red accents on the right shoulder, the marker of the fire element. On the left chest was a small patch: the Aegis Sacra logo with a small Roman numeral freshly stitched beneath it.
IX.
Rein stared at the patch in the fitting room mirror.
"That number," Nadia said, looking up from her tablet, "means you are officially registered as the Bearer for Warden IX. If you are separated from your Warden in the field, that number is used for identification and evacuation."
"So if I go missing, they look for the person with this patch."
"More or less," Nadia typed something.
"Hopefully, it never comes to that."
"I hope so."
The regulatory briefing was held in a small room with a round table and a projector that slanted slightly to the left. Nadia recited the points with a tone that suggested she had repeated them countless times memorized but not bored, professional to the core.
"First: Active Bearers are not permitted to leave the complex without permission from their respective Warden or the Director of Operations. Second: Soul Gauge levels must be reported every three days. If it drops below 40, a medical report is mandatory and the Warden is notified automatically. Third: Soul Return is a legal obligation for the Warden. If there are complaints regarding this, a Bearer can report directly to the oversight division."
"Has anyone actually reported it?" Rein asked.
Nadia stopped. "What do you mean?"
"Can a Bearer really report if a Warden refuses to perform a Soul Return?"
"Yes, the mechanism exists." She hesitated slightly. "But it's rarely used. Usually, the bond between Warden and Bearer involves enough mutual trust."
"How many active Warden-Bearer pairs are there now?"
"Seven pairs. Wardens I and III are currently searching for new Bearers." Nadia moved to the next point, but Rein had already filed that number away in his mind.
Seven out of nine Wardens had Bearers. Seraphine had only just secured hers yesterday. And Warden V...
"Warden V," Rein interrupted. "Who is their Bearer?"
Nadia looked surprised by the question. "That... isn't part of the standard briefing."
"It's fine if you can't answer."
Nadia was silent for a moment. Then, in a slightly lower voice: "Warden V just received a new Bearer three months ago. Previously, she shared a Bearer with..." She stopped herself. "I'm sorry. That really isn't part of the briefing. I shouldn't have—"
"It's enough," Rein said. "Thank you."
By 5:00 PM, the orientation was over. Nadia excused herself with the same polite smile, handed him a weekly schedule card, and reminded him that dinner at the canteen began at 6:30 PM.
Rein returned to his room. He sat at the desk, staring at the schedule. Physical training every morning. Soul Gauge checks twice a week. Mission briefings as needed. And every Tuesday and Friday, there was a block of time with a simple label: Warden IX — Coordination Session.
He set the card on the desk. Outside the window, the sky over the headquarters turned golden. In the central courtyard, several Warden-Bearer pairs were practicing. Rein could see flashes of light as magic weapons were summoned and dismissed repeatedly. The movements were natural, a rhythm ingrained in their bodies.
He watched them for a long time.
A knock at the door. Rein knew who it was before opening it because the cadence was different. Two knocks, perfectly spaced, unhurried.
"Come in."
Seraphine entered wearing simpler clothes than this morning. No coat, just a shirt and dark trousers. Without her usual Warden regalia, she looked slightly more like a normal human.
She closed the door and stood in the center of the room, scanning Rein's quarters with an unreadable expression. "Orientation done?"
"Done."
"Any problems?"
"No." Rein paused. "My questions were a bit much for Nadia, but it wasn't an issue."
Seraphine turned to him. "Questions about what?"
"Warden V."
The room grew a bit quieter. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but rather the kind that happens when someone is deciding exactly how much to reveal. Seraphine walked to the window. She stood with her back to Rein, looking at the field below.
"You don't need to know the details of that situation to work with me," she said finally.
"I know."
"But you still want to know."
"I want to know things that could affect our situation." Rein stared at her back. "If Warden V has an interest in weakening your position, that affects my position too."
Seraphine was silent for a moment.
"Her name is Lyra Voss," she said softly. "Warden V. Lightning element." A long pause followed. "My husband left me for her three months ago."
Rein said nothing.
"My ex-husband, Aldric, was my Bearer for seven years." Her voice didn't tremble at all. However, the way she stood changed slightly her shoulders dropped a fraction of a centimeter, her head tilted almost imperceptibly forward. "When he left, a Soul Fracture occurred. I lost my weapon and my bond at the same time."
"That's what made your position unstable."
"Yes." She turned around. Her expression had returned to its normal, controlled, and closed state. But Rein had seen the flicker of vulnerability, and he wasn't going to pretend he hadn't. "Lyra knows exactly what she took. And she knows that without a Bearer, the position of Warden IX can be challenged in the council meetings."
"When is the meeting?"
"Six weeks from now."
Rein nodded slowly. "So we have six weeks to prove you have a functional weapon."
"More or less."
"Okay."
Seraphine looked at him. "Is that your only reaction?"
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know." She sounded like she truly didn't. "Most people would feel pity or try to use this information as leverage."
"I'm not most people." Rein stood up from his chair. "And I don't need leverage. Our contract is clear enough."
Seraphine watched him for a few seconds.
"Your Soul Gauge was at 73," she said, shifting topics in her characteristic way. "Eat a proper dinner tonight. Get enough sleep. Tomorrow morning, we start coordination training."
"What does coordination training involve?"
"I summon and dismiss you repeatedly until the process is faster and more efficient." A pause. "It will be exhausting."
"How exhausting?"
"Exhausting enough to require a Soul Return afterward."
Rein processed that. "...Okay."
Seraphine walked toward the door. In the threshold, she stopped in the same position Rein had occupied the previous night in room 214.
"Rein."
"Yes?"
She didn't speak immediately, as if weighing whether her next words were necessary.
"Thank you," she said finally. "For not asking more than was needed."
Before Rein could answer, the door closed.
Rein stared at the door for a moment. Then he glanced out the window at the courtyard below, where the Warden-Bearer pairs were still training under the darkening sky. For the first time since leaving Calton yesterday morning, there was something in his chest that wasn't just the warmth of the Core Crystal.
It was something smaller. Calmer.
Like someone who had just discovered he didn't have to face everything alone, and didn't yet know how to feel about it.