Morning at Sanctum felt different from the rest of the city.
Outside, the world rushed—trains whining on rails, vendors shouting, office districts waking with sharp, metallic focus. Inside the guild, things began slower. Staff arrived in quiet waves. Lights hummed on one section at a time. The air smelled faintly of old coffee and fresh paper.
Shinra stood in the corridor outside the logistics office, watching a small cart try very hard to defeat a Mundane clerk.
The cart was winning.
"Come on, don't jam now…" the clerk muttered.
She was the same woman who had bumped into him yesterday—short hair tied back messily, Sanctum tag clipped to her collar. She pulled on the handle of the delivery cart, which refused to roll forward, one wheel twisted to the side like it had given up on life.
Shinra tilted his head.
"You're losing," he said mildly.
She jumped a little, then looked over, face flushing. "S-Sir— I mean, Mr. Shinra— I mean—"
"Shinra is fine," he said. "And I'm not a 'sir.'"
She swallowed. "Right. Sorry. I just— this thing is stuck again and we're behind on stocking the supply room and Hana will be here any minute and if she sees empty shelves she'll—"
"Be disappointed?" he suggested.
"…Yes," she admitted weakly.
He stepped forward and crouched beside the wheel. The axle had bent slightly, catching against the frame whenever the weight shifted.
He placed his hand on the metal, carefully.
[Output?] Arios asked.
Barely above none, Shinra thought. Just enough to nudge.
He pushed.
The warped metal straightened with a soft groan, as if it had only needed to be reminded where it was supposed to be. The wheel turned experimentally once, then twice.
The cart rolled forward smoothly.
The clerk stared.
"You…" She blinked. "You fixed it."
"Yes," he said. "It was bent."
"With your hand," she added, as if that were the important part.
"It wasn't difficult," he said. "It just needed the right kind of pressure."
She bowed her head slightly. "Thank you," she said. "Really. We don't have approval to request a new one yet. Budget review."
"Sanctum's great weakness," Shinra murmured. "Paper."
She laughed, a quick sound, surprised out of her. "You're… different than I expected," she said.
"In what way?" he asked.
"Most high-tier Ascendants who walk in here don't touch carts," she said. "Or talk to logistics. Or… notice bent wheels."
"I don't like inefficient systems," he replied. "If I can correct one, I do."
Her eyes crinkled faintly. "I'm Lila," she said. "Logistics and storage. If you ever need equipment that the system forgot you requested, I probably know where it ended up."
"I'll keep that in mind," he said.
"Lila," a voice called from down the hall. "Did the new supply order arrive?"
They both looked up.
Hana stood at the corridor's end, arms folded loosely, expression neutral but expectant.
"Yes!" Lila said quickly. "I was just bringing it in. The cart was being difficult, but Mr— Shinra helped."
Hana's gaze flicked to the cart, then to Shinra.
"…I see," she said.
Shinra stepped back, giving Lila room to move.
"If you tilt the front slightly when you turn corners," he said, "it'll strain the wheels less."
She nodded earnestly. "I'll do that. Thank you again."
She pushed the cart past them toward the supply room.
Hana watched her go, then looked at Shinra properly.
"You don't have to do that," she said.
"Do what?" he asked.
"Fix carts," she said. "Help logistics. Adjust the guild's weak points. That's not what we brought you in for."
"I don't like stepping over broken things someone else will trip on later," Shinra said. "If I can spare them the fall, I might as well."
Hana's mouth curved, just a little.
"…Mizuki is going to like you more than she admits," she said.
"I'm not trying to impress anyone," he replied.
"Which is why it works," Hana said.
His band buzzed.
He glanced down.
[Internal Meeting — Guild Leader Office — In 10 minutes.]
[Attendees: Kaizen, Mizuki, Yuna, Shinra.]
Hana's eyes darted to her own band as it pinged a different notification.
"Squad planning," she murmured. "You've got a higher-level meeting."
"Seems so," he said.
Hana adjusted one of her disks idly. "If they ask about Unit 3," she said, "don't let Kaizen pretend we're chaotic. We function."
"I know," Shinra said. "I've seen it."
She nodded, satisfied.
"That's all I needed to hear," she said, and turned away.
[You are being woven into their patterns, Great Master,] Arios observed.
[Threads pulling tighter.]
Good, Shinra thought. It means I'm exactly where I should be when something tugs on them.
Kaizen's office was lit by natural light when Shinra entered.
The blinds were half-open, letting in thin bands of sun that striped the floor and caught in the dust motes drifting lazily near the ceiling.
Yuna was already there, leaning against the wall near the window, arms crossed loosely. Mizuki sat in her usual chair, tablet raised, a dozen windows minimized but waiting.
Kaizen stood behind his desk, not sitting, hands braced on the wood.
"Shinra," he said. "Come in."
Shinra stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The noise of the guild dulled.
Kaizen gestured toward the sofa. "Sit if you like," he said. "This isn't an interrogation."
"That remains to be seen," Shinra replied, but he sat anyway.
Yuna snorted quietly. Mizuki hid a small flicker at the corner of her mouth.
Kaizen leaned back against his desk and crossed his arms.
"Let's start with the obvious," he said. "You've made an impression."
"In the Breach," Shinra said. "And in training."
"Those too," Kaizen said. "But more than that, your name has started traveling without you."
Mizuki tapped her tablet. A feed popped up in the air—snippets of messages, board posts, comm fragments.
"Sanctum picked up a Tier 1? Since when?"
"He's not on any prior mission logs. Where did they find him?"
"He's probably Authority's dog."
"No way, Authority wouldn't send Tier 1s to small guilds."
"Name's Shinra. No surname. Stinks of something."
Yuna's jaw tightened slightly.
"Some of the bigger guilds don't like what you represent here," Mizuki said. "Obsidian Crown already sent a pair of their people to 'ask questions.'"
"I heard," Shinra said. "Arios mentioned them watching."
Kaizen's eyes flickered. "Your system can see that?" he asked.
"Arios reads information flows more finely than most organizations," Shinra said. "Not everything. Enough."
[Flattering, Great Master,] Arios said.
You're useful, Shinra replied. Don't let it inflate you.
Mizuki slid another window to the front—a short report.
"Obsidian Crown has been pushing against Sanctum for a while," she said. "They don't like that we 'waste resources' on low-tiers and Mundanes. We expected some friction. You…" She nodded toward him. "…give them a new angle."
"Assets," Yuna muttered. "They think people like you are things to move on a board."
"Power is a resource," Kaizen said. "But people are more than that. Try explaining that to guilds who recruit like they're buying weapons."
He straightened slightly, expression sharpening.
"We need to be clear," he said. "You're not a prisoner here. If some other guild tries to recruit you, you're free to say no, free to walk out."
"I won't," Shinra said.
Yuna looked at him. "You're that sure?" she asked.
"For now," Shinra said. "This guild aligns with how I prefer to move. That's rare. I'm not interested in joining a place that treats people like disposable shields."
"Good," Kaizen said. "Because I'm not planning to roll you out like a trophy for anyone."
Mizuki's gaze narrowed thoughtfully. "Still," she said, "if they can't convince you, some of them will try to pressure us instead. Undermine missions, poach low-level members, apply public and financial pressure."
"Or they'll poke from the edges," Yuna said. "Start fights in places that are technically 'off guild record.'"
Kaizen nodded. "Exactly," he said. "We need to know how far we can trust your restraint when that happens."
Shinra met his eyes.
"I'm not going to start dropping buildings because someone insults Sanctum in a bar," he said. "I understand scale."
Yuna relaxed a fraction.
"But," Shinra added, "if they harm low-tiers or Mundanes under your protection to provoke a reaction, I won't stay still."
Mizuki let out a quiet breath. "That," she said, "I'm willing to accept."
Kaizen smiled faintly.
"Same," he said. "I want to protect this guild. But I'm not interested in being stepped on in silence."
He looked at Shinra seriously.
"If things escalate," he said, "I need you to talk to us before you decide to tear something down. We'll find a way that doesn't get everyone killed or erased."
Shinra thought of the last time he'd stood alone at the top, surrounded by enemies and too much power, making decisions with no one to temper them.
"I can do that," he said. "As long as you're willing to listen."
Kaizen's grin sharpened. "Listening is why I hired Mizuki," he said.
Mizuki rolled her eyes. "I manage the damage from your impulses," she corrected.
Yuna pushed off from the wall.
"So," she said, "we have a Tier 1 who doesn't want to rule the world and doesn't want to be used to crush people. That already puts us ahead of thirty percent of the top ranks."
"That's a depressingly low bar," Mizuki said.
Yuna shrugged. "Reality."
[This is what you wanted, Great Master,] Arios said.
[A place where your power is not immediately turned into a crown.]
Yes, Shinra replied. Now we see how long it can last.
Kaizen clapped his hands once, lightly.
"Anyway," he said, letting some tension dissolve. "That's most of it. Be aware Obsidian Crown and others are sniffing around. Don't agree to 'friendly meetings' off-site if they invite you. If you want to punch anyone, talk to me first."
"I don't punch lightly," Shinra said.
"That's exactly why I want you to talk to me first," Kaizen replied.
Mizuki folded her tablet closed. "We'll handle the politics," she said. "You focus on surviving Breaches and not terrifying Unit 3 more than necessary."
"I'm already used to him," Yuna said. "Riku's skeptical ego will take longer."
"I'll adjust his expectations gradually," Shinra said.
"Please do," Mizuki muttered.
Kaizen nodded toward the door. "That's all for now," he said. "You're dismissed. Go… exist quietly for a few hours, if you can."
"I can," Shinra said. "Whether the world lets me is another matter."
He left the office.
Behind him, for a few seconds, the three remaining leaders sat in silence.
Then Yuna said, "If we survive this, it's going to make a very good story one day."
Kaizen's smile was lopsided. "If we don't," he said, "no one will be around to tell it."
"Then," Mizuki said dryly, "we should plan to survive."
Shinra didn't get to exist quietly for long.
The first sign came from Arios.
[Master.]
He was walking along one of the side streets just beyond Sanctum's main entrance, hands in his pockets, letting the city's rhythm wash over him.
"Yes?" he asked.
[I am detecting an elevated cluster of Ascendant energy signatures ahead,] Arios said.
[Proximity: two hundred meters. Composition: mixed tiers. Behavioral pattern: confrontational.]
"Toward Sanctum?" Shinra asked.
[Parallel to it. But within your walking path.]
He turned the next corner.
The cluster came into view.
On a quieter street, near a small grocery stall and a narrow alley, a group of Ascendants in matching dark jackets were gathered around someone.
The jackets carried the emblem he'd seen on the visitors earlier—jagged crown, thorned edges.
Obsidian Crown.
Their auras weren't subtle. Tier 4s and 5s mostly, bright and just controlled enough not to explode. They held themselves with the lazy confidence of people who believed their guild's name would do half their work for them.
In the middle of their loose circle stood Lila.
Her arms hugged a small box of supplies to her chest, shoulders stiff, eyes fixed on the ground. Her expression was composed enough—but he could see the strain in the set of her mouth.
One of the Obsidian Crown men, younger, with an easy smirk, leaned slightly toward her.
"Come on," he said. "You work logistics. You see things. Just tell us if he's dangerous."
"I told you already," Lila said quietly. "I'm just storage staff. I don't know anything important."
"That's a lie," another said. "You work at Sanctum. They got a Tier 1. You telling me you haven't seen him?"
Her fingers tightened on the box.
Shinra slowed his steps.
Of course, he thought. Start with the ones they think can't bite back.
[Master,] Arios said.
[There are six of them. Their leader is Tier 3. Their intent is intimidation, not open assault. Yet.]
Yet, Shinra echoed.
The smirking one clicked his tongue.
"Come on," he repeated. "We're not asking for your guild's secrets. Just some impressions. Is he scary? Does he lose control? Does he look like he's going to snap and destroy half the block?"
Lila drew in a breath.
"No," she said.
He frowned. "No what?"
"No, he's not like that," she said, eyes still down. "He's just… quiet. He helps. He fixed a cart this morning. That's all I know."
Some of the Obsidian Crown members snickered.
"A Tier 1 fixing carts," one said. "Sanctum really doesn't know what to do with what they have."
"At least we know he's soft," another muttered. "Or pretending to be."
The smirked shifted.
"He's there now?" he pressed. "In the building?"
"I don't know," Lila said.
He reached forward.
He didn't touch her—but his fingers came close, near her chin, like he meant to lift it.
"Look at me when you answer," he said.
That was as far as he got.
Shinra's hand closed, lightly, around the man's wrist before he could move further.
The Obsidian Crown member stiffened, eyes turning sharply.
"Don't," Shinra said.
His voice wasn't loud.
It didn't have to be.
The other five turned, focus shifting toward him in an instant.
Lila's head snapped up. Her eyes widened.
"Shinra—" she started.
He didn't look at her yet.
The man whose wrist he held tried to jerk free.
"What the—" He scowled. "Who are you supposed to be?"
Shinra let go without resistance.
The man stumbled back half a step, shook his hand out.
"You're from Sanctum?" another asked, eyeing the guild band at Shinra's wrist.
"Yes," Shinra said.
"Then mind your own business," the smirking one said. "We're just talking."
"No," Shinra said. "You're cornering someone weaker than you because you believe your name protects you from consequences."
A faint hush settled over the small street.
The smirk turned brittle.
"You think we care what a mid-tier from Sanctum thinks?" he asked.
"Mid-tier," Shinra repeated.
Lila made a small sound.
One of the others stared more closely.
"Wait," he said slowly. "The band. That's—"
The leader cut him off with a sharp gesture.
He stepped closer to Shinra, aura flaring just a little, enough to make the air heavier.
"We heard Sanctum picked up a Tier 1," he said. "You don't look like one."
Shinra regarded him, calm.
"What does a Tier 1 look like?" he asked.
"Not like you," the man said. "No presence. No weight. You feel like any other high-tier pretending to be something you're not."
[He is trying to provoke you into defending your pride, Great Master,] Arios said.
[Basic dominance play.]
I've seen better, Shinra replied.
He could feel Lila behind him, pressing herself slightly closer to the wall, as if afraid any sudden movement would draw attention back to her.
"Walk away," Shinra said simply.
The man laughed.
"You don't give orders here," he said. "You're not in your soft little building now. This is neutral ground."
"No," Shinra said. "The ground is always something. In this case, it's in front of someone Sanctum protects."
The man's eyes thinned.
"So you are their Tier 1," he said slowly.
Shinra didn't confirm or deny it.
He didn't have to.
"Show us, then," another Obsidian Crown member said. "If you are, prove it. Otherwise stop pretending you're worth anyone's time."
Lila exhaled shakily. "Please," she whispered. "You don't have to—"
"I know," Shinra said quietly, to her.
Then, to the group.
"No," he said again. "If I prove it here, someone's going to scrape your remains off the sidewalk. That would be inconvenient for the city's cleaning crews."
It wasn't a threat.
It was just a statement.
They felt it anyway.
A brief, instinctive spike of unease passed through their auras.
The leader's jaw clenched.
"You think you're funny?" he snapped.
"No," Shinra said. "I think you're wasting my time."
He let his aura slip.
Just a little.
A fraction of a fraction.
The air changed.
It didn't explode outward. It didn't burn or freeze or crackle. It simply became… heavier. As if something vast had turned its attention this way and then, mercifully, decided not to step fully into the space.
The Obsidian Crown group stiffened as one.
Their auras, bright and loud, shrank reflexively, like small flames realizing they were standing in a room filled with oxygen and something that might decide to ignite it.
The leader's eyes went wide for half a heartbeat before he forced his expression flat again.
"…Tch," he clicked his tongue. "Fine. Keep your pet. We're not here to fight sanctimonious nobodies."
He jerked his head at the others.
"Let's go," he said.
They retreated—not running, not turning their backs, but with that particular tension of people who had touched a boundary they didn't understand and didn't want to cross again without backup.
The last to leave glanced over his shoulder.
"That was enough," he muttered to the leader. "He's real."
"Shut up," the leader said. "We'll report. They'll decide."
They disappeared around the corner.
The street exhaled.
Lila sagged slightly against the wall, clutching the box tighter.
"…You didn't have to do that," she said. "They would've left eventually."
"No," Shinra said. "They wouldn't have. Not without taking something."
She looked at him, then dropped her gaze.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to cause trouble—"
"You didn't," he cut in. "They did."
Her mouth closed.
He looked at her for a moment longer.
"If anyone from other guilds approaches you again," he said, "you're allowed to walk away. If they don't let you, call someone."
"Yuna?" she asked.
"Yuna. Hana. Daren. Riku. Kaizen. Mizuki." He paused. "Or me."
She hesitated.
"Everyone is busy," she said. "I don't want to burden—"
"You work in Sanctum," he said quietly. "You're part of what makes it stand. If you fall, something cracks. That concerns me."
Her throat worked.
"…Okay," she whispered. "I'll call."
He nodded once.
"Go," he said. "Before the ice cream in that box melts."
She blinked. "How did you—"
He tilted his head.
"The box is cold," he said. "And sweating."
She looked down.
"…Right," she muttered. "Right."
She hurried off, steps unsteady but faster now.
Shinra remained where he was for a moment, watching the direction Obsidian Crown had gone.
[You kept your restraint, Great Master,] Arios said.
[Though you enjoyed that a little.]
I enjoyed them backing away from someone they thought they could press, Shinra thought. Pride needs reminders.
[Obsidian Crown will relay this,] Arios warned.
[They will not let it rest.]
"I know," Shinra said aloud.
He turned back toward Sanctum.
The building waited, emblem bright in the weak daylight.
He walked through the doors.
The receptionist glanced up and relaxed slightly when she recognized him. "Welcome back," she said.
"Thank you," he replied.
As he moved deeper into the guild's familiar halls, the world outside buzzed—messages being drafted, reports being filed, questions being asked about the Tier 1 with no past who had stared down Obsidian Crown's probing squad and decided, very deliberately, not to kill anyone.
Curiosity tightened.
Fear deepened.
And somewhere, further up the ladder of power, a man with slicked-back hair read the latest report and smiled thinly.
"So," he murmured, tapping Shinra's name on his holo-screen. "You are interesting."
His gaze shifted to a city map, Sanctum's location pulsing softly.
"Let's see," he said, "how far that little guild's shield can stretch."
***
In Sanctum's corridor, Yuna intercepted Shinra halfway to the squad room.
"Hey," she said. "You busy?"
"I just finished not being," he said.
Her brows rose. "That sounds like you've done something," she said. "Do I want to know?"
"Obsidian Crown tried to shake information out of your logistics," he said. "I discouraged them."
She stared for a heartbeat.
"Discouraged how?" she asked.
"Minimal aura," he said. "No damage. No injuries. A bruise on their pride at most."
Yuna's shoulders relaxed a fraction.
"…Good," she said. "If they're starting with logistics, it means they're probing, not striking. Yet."
"The pattern is familiar," Shinra said.
She studied him.
"Does it bother you?" she asked. "Being the excuse people use to pressure Sanctum?"
"Yes," he said. "Which is why I'll stay. If I walk away now, they'll keep pushing. If I'm here, I can push back."
Her lips curved.
"That," she said, "might be the most Sanctum thing I've heard you say so far."
[You are becoming entangled, Great Master,] Arios whispered.
That was always the risk, Shinra answered.
Yuna jerked her head toward the squad room.
"Come on," she said. "Unit 3 is on standby, but Riku started another argument about soup. You might as well suffer with us. If the world is going to stare at our guild, let's at least eat properly first."
Shinra let out a soft breath that might have been a laugh.
"Not a bad place to stand," he said.
He followed her down the hall.
Behind them, unseen, the city adjusted its gaze—
not away from him, but closer, sharper, more intent.
Hidden eyes turned toward Shinra, toward Sanctum, toward the small guild that dared to protect the weak—
and the sealed sovereign who had chosen, for now, to stand among them.