Confirming his concerns from the night before, Kyrian found himself at the mercy of his supervisor as soon as he stepped onto Aegis premises.
He let a weary sigh escape, no longer disguising the irritation he felt towards Seok.
His supervisor, neither an Esper nor a Guide, had an uncanny ability to empathize with him when he was fatigued from Guiding.
Usually. When there wasn't something he wanted.
Unbothered by the intense stare being directed his way, Seok carelessly shuffled papers across his desk. He seemed determined to ignore Kyrian, who had given up on standing at attention.
By now the Guide had taken a seat, slumped forward as if he had the weight of the entire world upon his shoulders.
Resisting the strong desire to roll his eyes skyward and sigh a bit louder, Kyrian pressed his teeth firmly into his bottom lip. He had to maintain his poker face, even if he was disrespectfully slouched in a chair.
"Cerberus contacted us this morning."
The casual statement snapped him to attention, and he couldn't help the way his eyes widened with surprise.
Thoughts spun through his mind, wondering if they were putting pressure on Aegis Division, or maybe they had changed their mind…
Deciding that he had been unprofessional enough for today, he inhaled slowly through his nose. Posture straightening in his seat, he dipped his head in acknowledgment.
"Why?" He asked quietly, lacing his sweaty fingers together.
Despite trying to feign disinterest, he knew he wasn't fooling anyone. His shock had been obvious enough.
"Hmm…" Seok finally looked up at him, mouth set in a firm line. "They had a rift emergency late last night."
A rift emergency meant that a seal had likely been compromised… whether it was from a cycle breaking, or a faulty seal was another story.
If the cycle broke though…
Kyrian's eyes drifted down to his lap, feeling conflicted by the news. Cycle breaks were messy, and required heavy firepower to clean up.
"He… He didn't get involved, did he?" He asked slowly, his words almost slurred. Somehow, the answer already seemed obvious, but he wanted to know.
Understanding what he was alluding to, Seok nodded briefly, but remained silent. As if waiting for Kyrian to piece together his thoughts.
Feeling ill as his stomach swam uneasily, he stared down at his hands as they tightly balled. "Even though his condition was dangerous enough to seek an external Guide?"
Kyrian held back a snort, finding the entire thing laughable. Either Cerberus lied, or they didn't care… What was the more plausible of the two?
Espers on the brink of rampage were to be treated as disaster level threats.
Who would knowingly push an Esper to the brink?
"Listen," Seok began, "I don't agree with what they did… I hope it was out of necessity, I really do." He fell silent, watching Kyrian.
"You know this makes your decision that much more important, Kyrian. It sounds like this Esper is at his limit."
Jaw tight, Kyrian uncurled his fingers and muttered a hushed, "fuck… Why does it feel as if they've forced my hand here?"
Instead of a response, the older man's calloused hands found a pen to absently tap against the surface of his desk. It was a cluttered mess, and the fact that he had found a pen at all was a miracle in itself.
Kyrian felt angry, helpless… He wanted his supervisor to tell him what to do, because he honestly didn't know anymore.
Just tell me I have to go, fuck, stop staring at me like that!
"Would you have accepted the contract if this hadn't happened?" Seok's blunt question hung heavy in the space between them.
Wanting to boldly claim that he would have, Kyrian instead lowered his head to stare at the floor. He knew he wouldn't have… Before, he didn't know enough to want to care.
Now though? Now he had no choice. He felt compelled, be it an obsessive sense of justice, or something else driving him. He was drawn towards Espers in need.
It was unavoidable, just as much as it was justifiable.
"Eventually…?" Was all he could muster.
Seok lifted a yellow folder from his disaster of a desk, and held it out to be taken.
"Then we have no problem… Take these, they're your accommodation and transfer documents."
Subdued, Kyrian accepted the folder and bowed his head. "Right… I apologize, sir."
Voices rang in his ears, screams and pleas. He lifted his head, trying to maintain his composure and ignore the haunting sounds of the Espers he'd been unable to save.
Feeling numb, he was ready to turn and leave the office, but Seok opened his mouth to speak.
"I know you've experienced some… tragic situations," he said quietly, "so don't go adding another name to your list of regrets."
The words pricked Kyrian's conscience. They felt like a perfectly timed dig at his own shortcomings he was wrestling with… but he didn't think anything of it.
"I won't." He murmured, eyes downcast.
Promises… don't make promises you can't keep, Kyrian.
Seok nodded wordlessly, and turned his attention to shuffling papers around the surface of his desk again. The conversation was over.
As he left the office, Kyrian hesitated in the doorway. His fingers anxiously fiddled with the folder of his important documents.
"Sir, when will I be leaving?"
"They should be sending a car to fetch you in 0300 hours. Be ready to leave."
He pursed his lips, and left without another word. Even as it stung that he was scheduled to leave so soon… he hadn't even agreed until now.
***
"I do appreciate you being able to accommodate such a last minute request, Mr. Averin." The secretary cooed.
Kyrian lifted his gaze from the beta fish swimming lazy circles in its marble filled tank. The marbles glittered a blood red in the lights, but the tank was oddly empty aside from the orbs of glass.
For being a centerpiece of the room it certainly was… bleak.
"It's alright," he breathed, curbing the sigh that threatened to escape. "I heard the situation prompted such a meeting."
He had been contracted to Cerberus' offshoot facility for research and Esper rampage management. The Coppice.
It was here that they sent their Espers in severe condition to be treated.
His eyes wandered the empty room, wondering if the entire facility was so sparsely decorated.
"Yes, about that…" The secretary lowered her head to peer down at the tablet in her hand. "The Esper has been relocated to an isolation room in our contamination zone, floor-0."
"Floor-0?" He repeated, half to himself.
"Yes. The underground levels ensure more protection against… rampages."
Though vague, the explanation left a bitter taste in Kyrian's mouth.
He tilted his head backwards, feeling like a child for the challenging stance he was taking.
"Well, can I go to him now?"