Aurora Covenant Headquarters — 7F Research Floor
Mira was shouting again. "IT MOVED!"
Kaida didn't even look up from her notes. "Mana crystals don't move."
"I'm telling you it moved!" Mira leaned closer to the worktable where three mana crystals sat inside a shallow metal tray. Kairos hovered nervously beside her. "...Maybe don't poke it?"
"I didn't poke it." She poked it. The crystal rolled slightly. Mira froze. Kairos inhaled sharply. "There! It moved again!"
"That's gravity," Orion said from the doorway. Mira turned slowly. "...You're ruining my discovery."
Orion walked into the room, glancing at the tray. "You pushed it."
"Did not."
"You literally said you poked it."
"That's different."
At the far end of the room, Garrick carefully lifted one of the fragments the system had given him. "Still warm."
Seris looked up from a tablet. "Energy residue."
Lucien leaned against the railing beside the large observation window. Below them, the city moved normally—traffic, morning commuters, news drones still circling the skyline. "...Strange morning," he said quietly.
Nox stood beside the table, examining the thin silver catalyst the system had given him. A faint light pulsed inside it. Then—everyone's phone vibrated at the same time.
Lucien checked his first. His expression shifted slightly. "KAMB."
Mira spun around. "Oh, that can't be good."
Lucien read the message aloud. "Mandatory appearance. KAMB Command Center. Immediate."
Kairos swallowed. "...We're getting called to the principal's office."
Mira clapped him on the shoulder. "Relax."
Lucien pocketed his phone. "They want reports."
Nox was already walking toward the door. "They'll get them."
__
KAMB Headquarters
The building dominated the entire block—glass and steel rising above surrounding government structures. Military vehicles lined the perimeter, and security checkpoints stood at every entrance.
Inside, the main briefing hall was already filling with awakened guilds. Aurora Covenant stepped through the entrance together. The reaction was immediate. Whispers spread through the room like a physical wave.
"That's them."
"Aurora Covenant."
"Lucien Ardent... the SSS+ authority."
Mira leaned toward Garrick. "I feel like we should wave."
"Please don't," Seris said calmly.
__
Near the center of the hall stood a group in matching storm-blue uniforms. Ten members. All women. Their leader noticed Aurora first and walked forward immediately. "Elara Voss," she said, offering a hand. "Tempest Choir."
Lucien shook it. "Lucien Ardent."
Elara smiled. "We watched your raid footage." Behind her, several members were whispering excitedly. "That's Mira." "And Orion." "I thought they'd be taller."
Mira gasped. "I like them."
Across the hall, another group stood near the wall—six members with heavy armor plating integrated into their uniforms. Iron Bastion. Their leader gave a single nod. "Lucien."
Ronan Calder. Neutral. Professional. Lucien returned the nod. "Ronan." No hostility. Just recognition.
Then the temperature of the room shifted. Five figures walked in together in crimson jackets with confident strides. Crimson Banner. Their leader stopped a few steps away from Aurora. Darius Kade. Authority: Mars. Rank: S+.
He looked them over slowly. Eight members. Then he scoffed quietly. "That's it?"
Mira blinked. "...Excuse me?"
Darius gestured lazily toward Tempest Choir. "Ten." Then Iron Bastion. "Six." His gaze returned to Aurora. "And somehow you're the ones everyone keeps talking about."
Lucien shrugged slightly. "I know, right?"
For a moment, Darius just stared at him. Then his jaw tightened. Mira covered her mouth to hide a grin.
A voice cut across the room. "That's enough."
The hall fell silent. Regulated Order had arrived. Four figures entered the chamber, Elias Verdan at the front and Helena Vireaux beside him, with Caelum Richter and Viktor Draeg following. Authority alone changed the atmosphere; even Darius stepped aside slightly.
Elias' gaze moved across the room, then briefly toward Nox. A small nod which Nox returned.
__
At the front of the hall, large doors opened. Government officials entered, and at their center was Director Adrian Cross and Cassian Verity, the same appraiser who had evaluated awakened authorities weeks ago.
The hall doors shut. Director Cross stepped forward. "Thank you for attending." His gaze swept the gathered guilds. "The emergence of gates across the country has accelerated our response."
Behind him, a massive display screen activated. Seven classifications appeared:
BREACH
DOMAIN
TRIAL
SOVEREIGN
RELIC
CORRUPTION
ABYSS
Murmurs spread across the hall. Cross continued. "Based on the reports you submitted... these are the classifications currently identified by the system."
Several guild leaders leaned forward slightly as Cross folded his hands behind his back. "Today's briefing will establish our preliminary understanding of these gates and determine how future raids will be coordinated."
Across the hall, Darius Kade leaned back slightly, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Well," he muttered quietly, "this just got interesting."
Beside him, Elias noticed something else. Nox. Watching the screen. Completely calm. As if he had already seen it before.