Ain wandered the vast city for hours—his expression empty as his thoughts drifted to Kael's offer. A new squad, and a new beginning in a world that has forgotten him.
His feet carried him to different sectors of the vast city: He passed the Vaulted Commons, where the Court of Elders held its seat of power, governing the world and its inhabitants; the Arcadia Commercial District, where businesses still boomed despite the chaos that lurked at the system edges; Stygian Helix, a hub of research and science; the resolute infrastructures of Aegis Fatalis, where Valkyries trained relentlessly in the art of war; and finally, the ever-encompassing Obsidian Spire, a palace of dominance and authority, where its ruler, Kael, presides as the planet's Lord Sovereign.
He wanted to go back, wanted to tell Kael that he didn't want anything to do with the war, the Valkyries, the Deviants, and humanity as a whole. Wanted to tell him that he was right; his time had long passed.
Stopping in his tracks, Ain's fists clenched. Torn between peace and conflict.
Then, suddenly, a voice whispered from beyond the veil; beyond space, beyond time.
Go.
Illya.
"Illya..." She breathed her name, a hint of longing.
It was a voice Ain had grown familiar with the moment it assimilated with him centuries ago.
Naturally, he had learned not to trust it.
The lies it spoke, the truths—its manipulations were all designed for its own, sick, twisted sense of satisfaction.
He went against it countless times, only to fail at the very end.
Ain hated it. Despised it at the deepest core of his being, where he imagined was still uncorrupted.
Still.
In the darker recesses of his mind, he also knew there was meaning to them. Almost as if it's shaping him into its own ideal image.
And so, Ain resumed walking, his decision already made.
It didn't matter which road he took. As long as it leads to her.
When Ain finally reached his destination, a great structure loomed over him—its shadow stretching across a significant portion of the streets.
The Grand Archives.
Looking around, he soon realized it was only the second-tallest structure in the city—the rest, he assumed, were the Vaulted Commons and Kael's palace.
Upon entering the lobby, he's greeted with a sight he hasn't seen in a long time—highly advanced robotics moving about with precise, automated efficiency, great towering bookshelves, and stairways that seem to reach the heavens themselves—linking floor after floor.
Ain approached the female receptionist.
"Excuse me, I'd like to go inside."
The receptionist paused briefly, eyes trailing over the barely-concealed scars that marked his face and neck—her professional smile sharpening with interest.
"No problem, sir. Simply present your ID to the scanner—" The receptionist gestured toward the sleek panel beside the gate. "— and the gate will open shortly."
"A what? I don't think I—"
"Ain!"
A name called from behind him. Even with his back turned, he immediately knew who it was—something about that loud, high-energy pitch he easily recognized.
Finally, he turned around. "Aria."
"Surprised to see you here! Your meeting with the Elders over? How did it go?"
"Yeah," Ain paused, memories briefly flashing to the heated events that transpired, "It was okay."
Before Aria could say more, the receptionist chimed in.
"Good afternoon, Miss Aria. We have recently received a wonderful assortment of popular BL novels from our neighbors at Lumiere. We hope you enjoy them."
Ain's brow twitched slightly.
"H-how do you know that?!" Aria flinched, looking flustered.
"One of our staff members recently mentioned your fondness for them..." The receptionist paused, meeting Aria's gaze with a mischievous look. "With quite the vivid details, might I add..."
Aria blushed profusely, glancing at Ain—who simply stood there, expression unchanged.
"I-I can explain..." She stammered, at a loss for words.
"You don't have to."
Aria blushed even more and fled—sprinting through the gates like a retreating animal.
The receptionist giggled softly, clearly amused—and after a few taps on her screen, the gates immediately opened.
"Feel free to enter. Being acquainted with Miss Aria is all the clearance you need."
"Thank you." Ain nodded, approaching the gates.
As Ain passed the counter, the receptionist turned and called out to him—almost too quickly.
"By the way, if you ever want to—"
"No."
Ain turned on his heel and made his way into the Grand Archives without another word.
For the next two hours, he immersed himself in one of many sections of the Grand Archives:
Archivum Eruditio—a collection of volumes detailing general knowledge on history, culture, and technology. There, he learned what he could about humanity and the current state of its war against the eldritch forces.
After being asleep for 472 years, mankind lost its greatest weapon, Ain. Without him, they began losing ground. Worse still, Deviants continued to evolve over the centuries through cannibalism and consumption of other living prey.
Xenologists eventually classified these variants into five distinct categories:
Riftwraith
Aberrant
Ascendant
Dominator
Primarch
Though information about Primarchs is limited and largely speculative, reconnaissance squads uncovered something deeply unsettling during one of their investigations: a Dominator seemingly receiving orders through an unknown conduit—behaving with reverence and awe toward the presence on the other side—suggesting the existence of an entity far greater than themselves, and further reinforces the idea of a hierarchical ladder among them.
Having learned what he could, Ain moved to another section of the Archives:
Aedes Militiae—a section on military and warfare. As well as information about Valkyries.
There, he saw a familiar figure, Aria. She sat elegantly at the table, fingers swiping across the holographic displays containing information of what Ain can only assume is about him.
Approaching her from behind, Ain said. "You could have just asked."
At the sound of Ain's voice, Aria immediately scrambled to turn off the displays and hid some very "questionable" books underneath the piles already there.
Turning to face him, she spoke finally. "A-Ain! You surprised me... What brings you here?"
Ain's gaze flickered down to a part of a book only partially covered by the pile—grabbing the attention of Aria, who noticed and subtly reached back to hide it completely.
"I could ask you the same thing. You left without saying anything."
With her secrets laid bare and the purpose of her visit revealed, she fixed her gaze downward, unable to meet Ain's colder one.
"I umm... Just doing some research, that's all. How about you?"
"I'm doing some research as well. Do you know where I can find the information about currently-active Valkyrie squads?"
"Oh. Umm, right there." Aria pointed at the farthest section of the towering bookshelves. "Row 12, shelf number 32. Though you need security clearance to go there." She hands him her ID. "You can use mine for the time being."
"Thanks."
When Ain finally left, Aria breathed a sigh of relief.
Settling back to her seat, she turned on the holographic device once more to continue her research—now swiping to the oldest known public information related to Ain.
⌈ Militiae Record – First Reclamation Division⌋
"The First Reclamation Division. Humanity's first major offensive to retake Earth and establish a base of operations that went on to deploy thousands of Sentinels under the command of one individual whom many called "Captain" despite his actual rank stating otherwise. A prominent squad among them, designated: Nihilate, comprised only of five members: One Captain and four female soldiers.
They paved the way for humanity's retaliation. Though only small in number, their Captain, on top of being an immortal, is also a living legend in his own right—possessing knowledge about Deviants, tactical strategies, and all manners of weaponry with what can only be described as inhuman."
Curious, Aria tapped on the hyperlink leading to public information about the Nihilate squad.
Designation: [Nihilate]
Status: [Unknown]
Times Deployed: [1,953]
Mission Success Rate: [99.9%]
"99.9%...?! Our squad sits just a bit over 51%. The only one who's at least close to that success rate is the General, and—" Aria's gaze flickered lower.
Casualty Rate: [0%]
"Casualty Rate: 0%... Immortal... Could it be...?"
Deviants Eliminated: [Classified]
Combat Efficiency Rating: [S]
"Ain must have gone through a lot... I can't imagin—"
Aria paused instantly—eyes drawn to the strikingly beautiful woman in the displays. Without hesitation, she immediately opened the woman's codex entry.
"Is that an I or an l? How do you even pronounce her name? Illya?"
"Illya." A voice said behind her.
"Ain! You need to stop doing that!"
"Sorry."
He took a seat beside her, setting down a single codex on the table.
"Her name is Silvaris Illya. She was a member of my squad 472 years ago."
A flicker of concern formed on Aria's face—something with the casual way he mentions the centuries gap between them as if it were nothing.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to be more expressive. You're taking this whole "472 years" really well."
"I'm not," Ain said coldly, turning a page. "I just don't know how to."
Aria's expression softened—her mouth briefly opening, then closing as if she wanted to say something but decided against it.
Ain swiped across both pages of the codex—a display of familiar faces suddenly popping up as well as small, bullet-point details about them.
Aria's eyes widen slightly at the sight. "Wait. That's us, isn't it?!"
"Yes."
Closing the codex, Ain held it to the side of his waist as he stood up.
Looking over his shoulder, he said, with cold, hard certainty.
"I'll be leading the Kimaris Squad from now on."