Sanctum looked different on the way back.
Not physically. The building was the same, the emblem above the doors unchanged. But as Unit 3 crossed the threshold, the air felt heavier with focus and lighter with relief—an odd mixture Shinra had seen before in other lives, in other halls.
Mission done. No casualties. Breach contained.
In the lobby, a few heads turned.
Some recognized Yuna's squad and relaxed automatically. Others' eyes snagged on Shinra, on the way he walked easily among them, a new piece in a familiar picture.
"Unit 3 back already?" someone called.
"Breach that small?" another asked.
Yuna didn't answer immediately. She just held up her band to the front desk. "Unit 3 is back," she said. "Breach at Tunnel 9-A neutralized. Entities cleared. Details in report."
The receptionist's gaze flickered past her to Shinra, then back. "Understood," she said. "Good work."
Unit 3 peeled away from the main flow, heading toward the squad wing.
Riku was the first to break the quiet.
"Okay," he said, hands laced behind his head, "I've decided."
Yuna sighed. "About what?"
"About him," Riku nodded toward Shinra. "Tier 1 confirmed. Not fabricated. Not a glitch. Probably not a rich kid who bribed the machine. I'm upgrading my internal designation from 'Suspicious Fraud' to 'Suspicious Monster.'"
Hana pushed her glasses up with one finger. "That's not really an improvement," she said.
"It is," Riku insisted. "At least monsters are honest about being terrifying."
Daren gave Shinra a sideways glance. "…I can work with that," he said.
[They are adjusting to you, Great Master.] Arios remarked.
[Their wariness is no longer based on doubt of your strength, but on uncertainty of your origin.]
That's more honest, Shinra thought. And easier to deal with.
They reached Unit 3's squad room.
Once inside, Yuna shut the door behind them and let out a long breath, rolling her shoulders.
"First," she said, voice reverting to captain mode, "debrief."
Riku dropped into a chair and groaned. "Can we debrief after food?"
"No," Yuna said. "Debrief first, food after. That way, if we died, at least the report would be done."
"We didn't die," Riku muttered.
"Good," she said. "Then it'll be quick."
She moved to the holo-board and tapped it awake. A fresh mission log floated up, waiting.
"Breach type?" she asked.
Hana answered immediately. "Localized anomaly. Eclipse entities, standard shadow-type with mask cores. One mid-tier anchor entity with increased burst capability."
"Threat level?" Yuna prompted.
"Low to moderate," Hana said. "Escalated briefly due to energy accumulation, then mitigated."
"Mitigated how?" Riku asked dryly. "By Shinra deciding he was done taking notes."
Yuna's gaze slid toward Shinra for a moment, then back to the log.
"Mid-tier entity," she said. "Daren engaged front. Hana maintained barriers. Riku supported with targeted fire. Anchor was eliminated in one direct strike by Shinra."
Hana added, "Collateral damage minimal. No structural compromise. Breach closed fully after the anchor's destruction."
Daren leaned against the table, arms folded.
"That thing hit hard, though," he said. "If those bursts had gone off in the wrong direction, we'd have had more than scratches in the walls."
"Which is why we were there," Yuna replied.
She tapped a few notes into the log, then looked at Shinra.
"From your perspective?" she asked. "You said you wanted to observe. You saw enough to have an opinion."
Shinra considered.
"Formation was solid," he said. "You covered each other without asking. Riku prioritizes the right targets. Hana understands where the battlefield breaks and when to patch it. Daren knows when to stop pushing and hold ground."
Riku blinked. "You got all that while 'just watching'?"
"Yes," Shinra said.
Yuna tried not to smile and failed a little.
"Anything you'd change?" she asked.
He thought.
"You rely on Hana heavily," he said. "If she were taken out, your stability would drop sharply. It might be useful to teach the others emergency barrier deployment or at least basic field patches."
Hana blinked, surprised. "You noticed that?"
"You hold too much alone," Shinra said. "Even if you don't break, being the only one preventing collapse is… heavy."
Her eyes softened, just a little.
"I'll note that," Yuna said. "Mizuki's been saying the same. Coming from a Tier 1, it might actually get through some thicker skulls."
She marked something in the log.
"And you?" she asked. "Anything you'd have done differently… if you were alone?"
The room stilled slightly.
If he had been alone…
He imagined facing that Breach without the need to protect anyone, without constraints, without worrying about a collapsing tunnel and housing blocks.
"I would have closed it faster," he said honestly. "But with more damage. And no one to see it."
Yuna nodded slowly, satisfied with the answer.
"Report stands," she said. "I'll send this to Mizuki with our individual notes attached."
She flicked the log away and rested her hands on the table.
"Good work," she said simply. "All of you. We held ground, got data, and didn't bring any monsters home accidentally."
Riku raised a hand. "Can't confirm the last one," he said, jerking his chin at Shinra. "We very much brought a monster here earlier."
Daren smirked. Hana exhaled softly, amused.
Yuna glanced at Shinra, but didn't deny it.
"If he starts chewing on the furniture," she said, "we'll revisit the classification."
[They are calling you a monster affectionately, Great Master.] Arios said.
[This is progress.]
I've been called worse, Shinra thought.
Yuna checked her band.
"All right," she said. "Debrief over. You're free until next call. Eat, shower, sleep, argue about nothing important. Just be ready when the band buzzes."
"Yes, captain," Riku said. "Can we eat now?"
"Yes, Riku," she said. "We can eat now."
He bolted for the door.
"Food," Daren agreed, pushing off the table.
Hana followed them, neat steps, already compiling extra notes in her head.
Yuna lingered a moment, then looked at Shinra.
"You coming?" she asked. "Cafeteria's not amazing, but it's edible."
Shinra considered.
"I should see what passes for 'food' in this era," he said. "Lead the way."
***
The cafeteria was half full when they arrived.
Long tables, some occupied by squads clumped together, sharing stories between mouthfuls. Screens on the walls showed muted news feeds, mission status summaries, and occasional guild announcements.
Riku was already in line, arguing with someone over the last piece of fried something.
Hana took a tray and chose efficiently—balanced, practical.
Daren grabbed whatever looked heavy and filling.
Yuna eyed the options like a veteran survivor, then picked things with mechanical resignation.
Shinra took a tray and followed.
[Nutritional content is… acceptable, Great Master,] Arios said.
[Taste factors are outside my calculation parameters.]
I'll handle that part, Shinra thought.
He picked simple items. Rice. Some kind of grilled meat with a faint glaze. Vegetables that looked slightly overcooked. As he grabbed a drink at the end of the line, he felt eyes on him again.
He turned his head slightly.
At a nearby table, a trio of Sanctum members were staring—not hostilely, but with a sort of hesitant curiosity reserved for rare beasts in stories.
"That's him, right?" one whispered. "Unit 3's Tier 1?"
"Shinra, yeah," another replied. "He went out with them already."
"Is he really that strong?"
"I heard he cut a mid-tier entity in half with one move."
"That's exaggerated for sure."
Shinra turned away.
He joined Yuna and the others at a table off to the side, not completely isolated, but not dead center either.
Riku took a bite of food and made a face. "Soup is watery again," he declared.
"You say that every time," Hana said.
"Because it is every time," he countered.
Daren ate in steady silence, occasionally nodding at something said without reacting much outwardly.
Yuna poked at her meal.
Shinra took his first bite.
It was… passable. Not exceptional, not terrible.
He'd eaten worse as a king and better as a nameless wanderer.
"You're judging the food," Yuna accused immediately.
"I'm evaluating it," Shinra said.
"That's judging," Riku muttered.
Hana tilted her head. "You're not used to guild cafeterias?" she asked.
"Not this era's," he said.
"You talk like you've tried others," Riku said. "In previous lives or something."
Shinra didn't answer that.
Yuna set her chopsticks down for a moment, looking at him.
"You know," she said, "people are going to keep asking where you came from."
"I know," he said.
"You planning to answer?" she asked.
"Does it matter?" he returned.
"To them? Yes," she said. "To me? Only if your past is going to drop something dangerous on us while we're not looking."
He thought of the seal on his name, the force that had erased him, the blank space where a thousand years should have been.
"It might," he said.
She didn't flinch.
"Then we'll deal with it when it comes," she said. "Sanctum didn't survive this long by only taking the safe bets."
[She believes that,] Arios said.
[She is not simply posturing.]
I know, Shinra replied.
Riku leaned forward.
"One question," he said. "You don't have to answer it. But I'm going to ask anyway."
Shinra gestured with his chopsticks. "Go ahead."
Riku looked him dead in the eyes.
"Before this," he said, "before you showed up here… what were you?"
The cafeteria noise seemed to dip for a moment, though that might have just been Shinra's perception narrowing.
Yuna watched him.
Hana paused with her drink halfway to her lips.
Daren glanced up once, waiting.
Shinra set his chopsticks down softly.
He could lie. He could deflect. He could say "nothing," but that would be its own kind of dishonesty.
He settled on the truth that fit in the smallest space.
"…Once," he said quietly, "I stood above everyone who thought their power meant they could decide who lived or died."
Riku stared.
Hana slowly finished her movement and put her drink down.
Daren exhaled.
Yuna's gaze held his, steady.
"And now?" she asked.
"Now," he said, "I'm sitting in a guild cafeteria, eating overcooked vegetables with people who walk into Breaches for places no one else cares about."
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Not the worst downgrade," she said.
His mouth curved just slightly. "No," he agreed. "It isn't."
Riku groaned quietly. "He gives answers that sound cool but explain nothing," he complained.
"That's a talent," Daren said.
Hana shook her head, amused despite herself. "We'll have to get used to it," she said.
The conversation drifted after that—light complaints about gear, jokes about rival squads, speculation about whether Kaizen would ever approve a new coffee machine for the staff.
Shinra listened more than he spoke, absorbing patterns. The way Yuna nudged Riku and Daren into line without smothering them. The way Hana occasionally cut in with quiet, decisive comments. The way they laughed.
Not like soldiers in a holy war.
Like people who chose, every day, to step where it was dangerous so others wouldn't have to.
[Do you regret it, Master?] Arios asked suddenly.
Regret what? Shinra thought.
[Starting here.]
[With them.]
He watched as Yuna flicked a stray grain of rice at Riku and he pretended to be mortally offended.
"No," Shinra answered inwardly. "Not yet."
"Yet?" Arios repeated.
"Nothing lasts unchanged," Shinra said in his mind. "This guild. These people. The way they treat the weak. Sooner or later, something will try to break it."
[And when it does?]
His eyes lowered briefly to his gloved hands.
"Then we'll see how much of me they really erased," he thought.
***
Elsewhere in the building, on an upper floor, Mizuki sat at a desk with several screens floating in front of her.
Her eyes moved quickly—over mission reports, resource updates, scheduling conflicts, complaint logs. One window pulsed with a new notification.
[MISSION COMPLETE — UNIT 3 — BREACH: TRANSIT 9-A]
She tapped it open.
The summary appeared first.
Breach type. Entities encountered. Estimated risk. Actual outcome.
Her gaze stopped on one line.
Mid-tier anchor entity eliminated in one strike — operative: Shinra (Tier 1).
She narrowed her eyes, then pulled up the detailed internal log Yuna had attached. It wasn't flashy. No exaggerated language. Just clean description.
One thin technique. Minimal output. No collateral damage.
"…Efficient," she murmured.
The door opened without a knock.
Kaizen stepped in, coffee in hand.
"You're reading Unit 3's report?" he asked.
"Yes," she said.
He flopped onto the couch, slouching comfortably. "How'd the new kid do?" he asked, even though he could read it himself.
"New 'kid' erased a mid-tier anchor with one cut," Mizuki said. "Minimal disturbance."
Kaizen whistled. "So the evaluation wasn't lying. Good."
Mizuki's fingers flicked.
Another window appeared—Authority acknowledgement of Shinra's registration.
"Tier 1 Ascendant, provisional," she read. "File: incomplete. Origin: unknown. Notes: 'monitor as needed.'"
Kaizen grimaced. "I hate that phrase," he said. "'As needed' always means 'more than we're told about.'"
"Authority will watch him eventually," Mizuki said. "But they have other problems. For now, we're just another guild with a high-tier asset."
"Not just," Kaizen corrected lightly. "We're the one guild that lets low-tiers and Mundanes breathe in peace."
She shot him a look. "You say that like it doesn't make us a target."
"I say that because it makes us worth being here," he said.
His attention drifted to another window—small, but bright.
Rumors.
Forum threads. Private message chains. Guild chatter boards.
"Anyone heard about a Tier 1 in Sanctum?"
"No way. That small guild?"
"I heard he one-shot a mid-tier Breach entity."
"Sounds like exaggeration."
"Name's Shinra. No last name, no history. Kinda sus."
"Tier 1 with no past? Either he's a fraud or a monster."
Kaizen snorted. "Well," he said. "That didn't take long."
"Word spreads fast when it's about power," Mizuki said. "Especially a kind they didn't see coming."
"You worried?" he asked.
She thought about it.
"Yes," she said plainly. "We just painted a huge sign over our heads. A Tier 1 changes internal balance and external threat assessment both."
"And?" Kaizen pressed.
"And we knew that when we let him stay," she said. "So we deal with it."
He grinned.
"I like it when you agree with my bad decisions," he said.
"They're not all bad," she replied.
She closed the mission window and leaned back, rubbing her eyes briefly.
"Still," she added, "I can't shake the feeling we picked up something… bigger than we can measure."
"You mean besides the machine-breaking aura?" he said.
She gave him a flat look. "Yes."
He stared up at the ceiling.
"…Do you regret it?" he asked. "Letting him in?"
"No," she said without hesitation. "But I'll regret it if we're careless."
Kaizen's smile faded into something more thoughtful.
"Then," he said softly, "let's not be careless."
***
Beyond Sanctum's walls, in a building with darker glass and cleaner floors, someone else read the same mission note.
A man in a crisp uniform, Authority insignia sharp on his shoulder, flicked through data feeds with practiced ease.
His eyes paused on a single line.
Newly registered Tier 1 — Name: Shinra — Guild: Sanctum.
He tapped it.
The file expanded.
Sparse. Nearly empty.
No recorded origin. No known relatives. No prior mission log.
A thousand questions and not one answer.
He leaned back.
"…Interesting," he murmured.
His subordinate, standing nearby, hesitated. "Sir?" she asked.
He gestured toward the screen.
"Add him to the watch list," he said. "Flag: low priority for now. We'll see if he stays quiet."
"Yes, sir."
The screen dimmed.
The city's lights continued to pulse outside.
***
Back in the cafeteria, Shinra finished the last of his meal.
Yuna stretched, chair tipping back slightly on two legs as she looked around the room.
"People are staring again," Riku muttered.
"They'll get bored eventually," Hana said. "Rumors burn fast and then cool."
"Not if he keeps doing that Breach thing," Daren pointed out.
Shinra stood.
"I'll return to my room," he said. "If there are more missions, the band will tell me."
Yuna nodded. "Get some rest," she said. "You might have to carry us again tomorrow."
"Yes," Riku added. "Please keep my continued existence in mind."
"I thought you didn't believe his rank," Hana teased.
"I changed my mind," Riku said. "I do that sometimes."
Daren just nodded once, a quiet acknowledgment.
Shinra left the table, weaving back through the busy cafeteria.
The whispers followed him, overlapping.
"…That's him."
"Tier 1, right?"
"He doesn't look like the others."
"Maybe he's faking it."
"He walked out of a mid-tier tunnel without a scratch."
"Tier 1 with no past… spooky."
[Your reputation is growing in a vaguely inaccurate way, Great Master,] Arios said.
[People always fill gaps with exaggeration.]
Let them, Shinra thought. As long as it's only words.
He stepped back into the quieter hallway and headed toward the dorm wing.
"Master," Arios said once they were alone.
"Hm?" Shinra replied.
[In your previous era, when rumors about you began to spread, how did it end?]
Shinra's hand brushed the wall as he walked, fingers trailing lightly over the cool surface.
"…With people trying very hard to make sure my name would never be spoken again," he said.
[And this time?]
He reached his door and stopped, looking at the simple guild tag with his borrowed name on it.
"Let's see," he murmured. "Maybe this time, the story finishes properly."
He went inside.
Behind him, the building settled.
Within it, a small guild that protected the weak
unknowingly held the eye of something that once stood above gods and kings—
while outside, rumor turned a man with no recorded past
into the first quiet tremor of a coming storm.