The dorm room was small, but it was his.
Shinra stood by the narrow window, looking out at the slice of city framed between neighboring buildings. From this angle, the Neon District looked less like a spectacle and more like a stacked mess of lives—lights blinking in cramped apartments, steam rising from vents, the occasional line of traffic cutting through the air.
A simple bed, a desk, a narrow wardrobe. A small bathroom attached. Everything functional. Nothing excessive.
It was more than he had when he woke up.
[You slept, Great Master.]
Arios' voice slipped into his thoughts like a gentle knock.
Shinra blinked once, realizing the light had changed—morning had become something closer to late day. The guild's schedule was flexible, but he hadn't meant to lie down for that long after the tour.
"I closed my eyes," he replied. "I don't think it counts as proper sleep."
[Your vitals shifted to a resting pattern for four hours and twelve minutes.]
[I would classify that as sleep.]
He didn't argue.
His body felt lighter than it should, given the weight in his mind.
"Any news?" he asked.
[Several internal files have been generated.] Arios said.
[You are now officially registered in Sanctum's internal system as "Shinra", combat class, Tier 1, provisional member, assigned to Unit 3.]
"And outside?" he asked.
There was a half-second pause.
[The Ascendant Authority has received Sanctum's notification.]
[Your file is flagged as "under review", just as Mizuki intended. It will delay direct intervention—but not erase curiosity.]
"Anyone else?"
[Other guilds with access to Authority channels will see a new Tier 1 in the region soon.]
[Some have already queried Sanctum's public mission record to cross-check your name.]
He smiled faintly.
"They found nothing, I assume."
[Correct, Great Master. Your history begins here, one day ago.]
A thousand years erased. One day written.
He moved away from the window and rolled his shoulders once, loosening the faint stiffness sleep had left behind.
His guild band—simple, dark, with Sanctum's emblem faintly etched into it—rested on the desk. He picked it up and fastened it around his wrist.
The band hummed softly, syncing.
A small notification appeared in the corner of his vision:
[Unit 3 assembly — 15 minutes. Location: Squad Room 03.]
"Yuna," he murmured.
[Yes, Great Master.] Arios said.
[She is listed as the commanding officer for that session.]
"Good," Shinra said. "I should at least meet everyone before we go out to fight something together."
He stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.
***
The dorm halls were quieter than the main building.
He passed a few guild members leaning against walls, chatting in low tones. A young Tier 6 girl with weak aura and a stack of books walked by, clutching them nervously. Two Tier 5s argued about who owed who lunch. No one stopped him, though more than a few pairs of eyes lingered on him for a heartbeat longer than casual.
By the time he crossed into the main building and headed toward the squad wing, the atmosphere had shifted again—more focused, more restless. People in partial gear came and went, some fresh from missions, some preparing for them.
He heard it before he saw it.
"…I'm just saying, there has to be something off."
"Tier 1s don't appear out of nowhere."
"What if he's a plant from Authority? Or somebody's experiment?"
"Or a rich guild brat who got his rank bumped up on paper."
Shinra turned the corner into the squad hallway.
Voices coming from behind a slightly open door.
The plate beside it read: UNIT 3 – SQUAD ROOM.
He stopped outside for a moment.
[Do you intend to listen, Great Master?] Arios asked.
"I don't have to," Shinra said. "They're not being subtle."
He reached for the door and slid it open.
The room inside was a controlled mess.
A large table occupied the center, covered in mission maps, old reports, a few empty cans, and a small plant that looked like it was surviving purely out of stubbornness. Lockers lined one wall, some open, some closed. A holo-board on another wall had rough notes scribbled across it—patrol rotations, inside jokes, someone's doodle of what looked like a monstrous Breach creature with a smiley face.
Three people were already there.
Shinra recognized them from yesterday's brief glance in the hallways and names from Kaizen and Yuna's summary.
A young man with short pale hair and a laid-back posture sat half-raised on the edge of the table, a pair of sleek rifles leaning against his chair.
Riku.
A girl with glasses and neatly tied hair stood by the board, arms crossed, gaze sharp even with the slightly tired circles under her eyes. Small, disc-shaped devices were strapped into slots along the bracer on her forearm.
Hana.
A broad-shouldered man in a fitted jacket leaned back against a locker, arms folded, his gauntlets hanging at his waist. He looked like he belonged in a brawl, not a strategy meeting.
Daren.
All three turned when he entered.
The conversation died mid-sentence.
Shinra stepped inside, the door sliding shut behind him.
For a heartbeat, no one said anything.
Then Riku slid off the table, landed lightly on his feet, and squinted at him.
"So you're the rumor," he said. "The Tier 1 with no past."
"That's the phrase they're using?" Shinra asked.
"Pretty much," Riku replied. "Sounds dramatic. Fits the gossip."
Hana adjusted her glasses. "Shinra, right?" she asked. "No surname, no recorded origin, no Authority file until yesterday, and first reading as Tier 1. I'm Hana. I prefer accurate data over vague rumors, so I'll ask directly."
"Go ahead," he said.
"Are you actually Tier 1," she said, "or is your rank fabricated?"
Daren groaned. "Hana."
"What?" she asked. "Everyone's thinking it."
Riku didn't deny that.
Shinra looked at her, unbothered.
"If it were fabricated," he said, "would asking me change anything?"
She paused.
"…No," she admitted.
"Then the question is mostly for your own satisfaction," Shinra said mildly. "You can watch and decide later."
Riku snorted.
"You're calm," he said. "I'll give you that."
"Being offended would be inefficient," Shinra replied.
[Your restraint is impressive as always, Great Master.] Arios remarked.
[You are effectively telling them, 'You'll see when it matters.']
Because they will, Shinra thought.
The squad room door opened again.
"Don't bully the new guy before I get here," Yuna said, stepping inside with a brisk stride.
She wore her normal gear today—light armor over flexible clothes, the guild band on her wrist synced to a compact device at her hip. Her hair was tied up a little higher than yesterday, practical and out of the way.
Riku threw her a look. "He walked in while we were having a reasonable conversation," he said. "That's not bullying."
"You called him a fabricated Tier 1 five minutes ago," Hana reminded him.
"Allegedly," Riku corrected.
Daren hit his shoulder lightly. "You're hopeless."
Yuna clapped her hands once.
"All right," she said. "Let's not scare him off before his first mission."
"I'm not that fragile," Shinra said.
"I know," Yuna replied. "They're the fragile ones. Their egos can't handle ranking below someone who looks this casual."
Riku made a wounded sound. "Et tu, Yuna?"
She ignored him and gestured around the room.
"Proper introductions this time," she said. She pointed at each of them in turn. "Riku—sniper, mid-range suppression, professional complainer. Hana—support, barriers, bindings, healing patches, the reason we're not dead yet. Daren—front-line bruiser, close combat, hits like a truck, thinks like one sometimes too."
Daren grunted. "Rude," he said, but without heat.
"And I," Yuna concluded, "am your squad captain. You already know I'm Tier 1. We'll skip the rankings speech. Shinra, this is Unit 3. We're not the strongest squad on paper, but we tend to get sent where things get messy."
Shinra nodded once. "Understood."
Yuna crossed her arms.
"You've already heard the word around the guild," she said. "A Tier 1 with no past. No Authority record. No origin. People are curious. People are suspicious. That includes us."
"That's natural," Shinra said.
Riku shot him a searching look. "You're seriously okay with us not trusting you right away?" he asked.
"I'd be more concerned if you did," Shinra said. "Trust without reason is as dangerous as distrust without cause."
Hana's eyes softened slightly. "Reasonable," she murmured.
Yuna moved around the table and leaned against it, facing them.
"Here's how we're going to handle this," she said. "Shinra joins us on patrol and Breach-watch today. That's a mid-level mission—real danger, but controlled enough that we can pull back if needed."
Riku tilted his head. "We're taking him straight to a Breach?"
"Yes," Yuna said. "But not a major one. Fluctuation in Lower Sector transit line. It's good for observation and testing how we move together."
Daren cracked his knuckles. "Finally," he said. "I was getting bored with paperwork dodge requests."
Yuna rolled her eyes faintly, then looked back at Shinra.
"You said yesterday you wanted to watch how we fight first," she said. "That's fine. But understand this: if I call for help, you move. I don't care if you're testing something or curious about how we fail. We don't fail if we can help it."
Shinra held her gaze.
"I'm not here to watch you die," he said. "I'll observe as long as the situation allows. When it stops allowing that, I'll act."
Her eyes sharpened, then relaxed.
"Good," she said. "Then we're on the same page."
Riku sighed. "He talks like some old general," he muttered.
Hana smoothed the edge of her sleeve. "Do you have any preferences in combat style?" she asked Shinra. "Weapons? Distance?"
"Yes," he said. "But I can adapt to anything."
"That's not an answer," Riku said.
"I'm better in close to mid-range," Shinra said. "I prefer precision over spectacle. I can handle more if needed, but I'd rather not collapse the infrastructure your guild is supposed to protect."
There was a brief pause.
Yuna barked a short laugh. "He's already thinking like us," she said. "Or like Mizuki."
"Don't compare anyone to Mizuki," Daren said. "That's dangerous."
[They are… comfortable with each other, Great Master.] Arios observed.
[This squad has high cohesion.]
That's why I wanted to see them first, Shinra thought.
Yuna picked up a compact device on the table and tapped it. A projection of the city's lower sectors lit up above the surface—streets, old transit lines, small housing blocks.
She pointed at one particular point on the map.
"Transit Tunnel 9-A," she said. "Old line. Closed to the public for years. Authorities detected a Breach fluctuation yesterday. It hasn't opened fully yet, but the energy signature is unstable."
Hana studied it. "Level estimate?"
"Mid," Yuna said. "Small entities, maybe one mid-tier. No major structural risk unless we screw up."
"Comforting," Riku murmured.
"Our job," Yuna continued, "is to go in, assess, and suppress before it escalates. Clear entities, stabilize the area. Simple."
She looked at Shinra again.
"For you," she said, "this is where we see if your Tier 1 is actually Tier 1, or just a number on a screen."
Riku nodded. "We'll be watching."
Daren smirked. "Don't worry. I won't hit you if you hide behind Hana."
"I'm not hiding behind anyone," Shinra said.
"And if you really are Tier 1," Hana said, calm as ever, "you'll adapt to our formation quickly."
Yuna clapped her hands once more.
"All right," she said. "Gear check in thirty minutes. We leave after that. Shinra, do you have equipment?"
"I can fight with or without," he said. "But I'll look through what you have. If only to match expectations."
"Good," Yuna said. "You'll stand out enough already. No need to do it visually too."
Riku slung his rifles onto his back. "If he starts glowing or something, I'm blaming you for jinxing it," he told her.
"Move," Yuna said, pointing to the door. "You can panic later. Right now we prep."
The squad began to scatter.
Hana walked by Shinra, pausing as she passed.
"Shinra," she said.
He looked at her.
"If you have any injuries, even minor ones, tell me during or after the mission," she said. "Don't try to hide them because you're 'fine'."
"I'll keep that in mind," he said.
She nodded and left.
Riku followed, but not before tossing over his shoulder, "I'm still leaning toward 'fabricated Tier 1', just so you know. You can change my mind."
"I don't need to," Shinra said. "You'll change it yourself."
Riku snorted. "We'll see."
Daren rolled his shoulders as he headed out last, giving Shinra a level look.
"Whatever your past is," he said quietly, "it doesn't matter to me as long as you don't screw us over."
Shinra inclined his head slightly. "I don't waste allies," he said.
"Then we're good," Daren said, and left.
The room fell quiet.
Yuna remained by the table, watching Shinra.
"You handled that well," she said. "Could've gone worse."
"I expected worse," he replied.
She smiled faintly. "That's Unit 3 on a good day," she said. "On a bad day, Riku hides under the table during briefings."
"Hey!" Riku's offended voice carried faintly from the hallway.
Yuna rolled her eyes.
"Don't let them get to you," she said more softly. "They're suspicious, but they're not malicious. We've been burned before by people who thought our guild was an easy step up."
"I won't hold their doubt against them," Shinra said. "It's… refreshing."
"Refreshing?" she repeated.
"Where I came from," he said, "most people either bowed or tried to kill me. Having someone question my rank to my face is new."
She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head.
"You're going to drop weird lines like that and pretend it's normal, aren't you?" she said.
"Probably," he said.
[You have always done that, Great Master.] Arios commented.
He ignored that.
Yuna pushed herself off the table.
"Come on," she said. "Let's get you something that looks like proper gear. Even if you don't need it, it'll make everyone less nervous."
He followed her out into the hall.
As they walked, he caught fragments of conversation from other squads and staff.
"…Did you hear? Unit 3 got the Tier 1."
"Lucky. Or doomed. Hard to tell."
"I heard he doesn't have a past."
"Everyone has a past. His is just… blank on paper."
"Think he'll stay?"
"Tier 1 in Sanctum… The big guilds are gonna hate that."
The words slid by, quiet but continuous.
[Your existence has already begun reshaping their internal structure, Great Master,] Arios said.
[Just by standing here.]
They'll adjust, Shinra answered. Or they won't. That's up to them.
I have other things to worry about.
They reached the equipment room.
Inside, racks of weapons lined the walls—blades, staves, rifles, spell-conducting frames, reinforced armor, and specially designed bands for channeling energy.
Yuna gestured around. "Pick what you think you'll tolerate wearing," she said. "Sanctum doesn't have top-tier toys, but we keep our gear functional."
Shinra walked among the racks, fingers barely brushing some of the equipment.
Most of it felt like crutches.
He stopped near a shelf of simple reinforced gloves—flexible, padded lightly across the knuckles, made to conduct energy without tearing.
He picked up a pair, slid them on, flexed his hands. They didn't hinder his movement.
"This is enough," he said.
Yuna stared. "That's it?" she asked. "Just gloves?"
"I don't need more," Shinra said. "Armor won't matter much if something actually hits me. Better to move freely."
She opened her mouth, then closed it again.
"…Fine," she said. "But if Hana yells at me because you come back with torn clothes, I'm sending her to you."
"I'll explain," he said.
She shook her head, amused.
They left the equipment room and returned toward the squad wing.
By the time they re-entered Unit 3's room, the others were already gathered—gear adjusted, weapons checked, ready to move.
Riku eyed Shinra's gloves. "That's it?" he asked.
"Yes," Shinra said.
Daren smirked. "Confident," he said.
"Or stupid," Riku countered.
"We'll see," Hana murmured.
Yuna stepped forward, band lighting as she opened a mission channel.
"Unit 3," she said, voice turning crisp, familiar command dropping into place. "Objective: Breach fluctuation at Transit Tunnel 9-A, Lower Sector. Suppression and stabilization. No civilian casualties allowed. No unnecessary property damage. Standard formation. You know your roles."
Riku slung his rifles across his back and rolled his neck. "Ready."
Hana checked her disks. "Ready."
Daren cracked his knuckles. "Ready."
Yuna's eyes met Shinra's.
"Shinra?"
He flexed his hands once in the gloves.
"I'll move when you do," he said. "And I won't let anything reach you that you can't handle."
Her gaze held his for a moment.
"Good answer," she said.
She turned toward the door.
"Unit 3," she said. "Let's go."
They filed out of the room together.
Walking through the guild halls with them felt different than walking alone. Conversations dipped when they passed, then resumed in low murmurs.
"…That's him."
"Unit 3's taking him out already?"
"They're either insane or confident."
"Or both. It's Sanctum."
Shinra walked at an easy pace beneath the weight of curious eyes.
A Tier 1 with no past.
No records.
No history.
Just a name borrowed from an ancient tongue, a sealed one buried too deep to touch, and a fraction of power the world still thought was the top.
[Your first mission as a registered Ascendant in this era, Great Master,] Arios said.
Not my first mission, Shinra thought.
Just the first with witnesses who didn't know what he was.
They stepped out of Sanctum's doors into the city's light.
Somewhere in the distance, the energy of a Breach pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat out of rhythm.
Shinra looked ahead as Yuna took the lead, Unit 3 falling into formation around her.
"Master," Arios said quietly, almost solemn.
[Shall we show this age what Tier 1 truly means?]
No, Shinra replied.
Not yet.
He followed his new squad into the lower sectors, aura compressed, name stolen, past erased—and still, somehow, more dangerous than anything the city believed it could measure.