The next morning Kyrian found himself once more at the mercies of his laid-back supervisor. 

Seok had been an Aegis Division employee for as long as Kyrian had known him. Which, as Kyrian watched the older man dubiously, felt had been a few years too many.

He was neither an Esper or Guide, nor did he have a secondary gender. The man was relatively normal, aside from his terrible personality and ruthless business practices.

Unbothered by the other’s intense stare, Seok shuffled papers across his desk, seemingly intent on finding something of interest in the paperwork at hand rather than address the man waiting at attention.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes skyward and sigh, Kyrian pressed his teeth firmly into his bottom lip to maintain his poker face.

There was no point in giving Seok the reaction that he wanted.

His gaze drifted away, mind wandering to how he would pull off a transfer to Cerberus for the position. It was going to be a pain, especially when transferring back to Aegis, but it couldn’t be helped. It was part of the contract.

“Cerberus contacted us again.”

Seok’s voice snapped him back to the present, his eyes widening in surprise.

Brows lifted, words rose and raced through his mind threatening to spill from his mouth. Why? Did they change their minds? Are they being impatient?

A slow inhale through his nose brought a calm over his shoulders, and he dipped his head in acknowledgment.

“Why?”

The question feigned disinterest, a complete opposite to how he had overwhelmingly felt seconds prior.

“They had a rift emergency this morning.”

Silence.

A frown settled across his features as he processed this information and tried to correlate it with why Cerberus contacted them again.

It hadn’t even been four days since they had first made contact.

‘We would not dare to approach such a busy and esteemed Guide as yourself if not for the dire situation we are in.'

His chest tightened with guilt as he recalled the mutt’s words. He’d tried putting off making a decision, but if it was as bad as they had made it sound… 

“Did Eiden get involved?”

Seok finally released the paperwork from his hands, allowing it to fall in a restless pile so he could lace his fingers together.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Even though his condition was so dangerous they needed to reach out to a different organization for a Guide?”

Kyrian held back a shout, wondering who had allowed an Esper at risk of rampaging to make a rift run. His thoughts were scattered and disoriented, blinded by his shock and anger.

Rampaging Espers were a death sentence to everyone within a twenty kilometer radius. That wasn’t even considering the range of simple damage and injury.

“Listen, I don’t agree with what they did… I hope it was a necessity, genuinely I do. But all this does is make your decision that much more important, because it sounds like this Esper is at his limit.”

“... fuck.”

Teeth gritted, Kyrian clenched his fists tightly, and released them.

“Why does it feel like they’ve forced my hand?” He muttered, brows creased as he glared at the floor.

Seok sat in silence watching him with an inscrutable expression. 

His fingers tapped a pen they had plucked from where it had been discarded on the disorganized desk.

“Well say something, damn it!”

Be angry, or tell me I have to go– don’t just sit there!

“Would you have gone if this hadn’t happened?” Seok’s question hung heavy in the office.

Wanting to boldly claim that he would have, Kyrian lowered his head to glare at the floor.

“Eventually…” He murmured.

Seok lifted a yellow folder from his desk drawer, and held it out to the Guide.

“Then we have no problem. Same results, just quicker than you would have preferred.”

Subdued, Kyrian accepted the folder and bowed his head. “Right… I apologize for my outburst.”

He could hear the voices ringing in his ears, haunting his memory. The Esper’s he’d been unable to save from rampage.

The sensation left his body numb, but he straightened and stared squarely across the desk at his supervisor.

“I know you’ve experienced some tragic situations,” Seok said quietly, wanting to offer his sympathy, “so don’t go adding another name to your list of regrets.”

The words pricked Kyrian’s conscience, and he nodded his head. 

“I won’t.”

Promises. ‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Kyrian’.

Satisfied, Seok leaned back in his chair and gestured with his chin towards the folder he’d handed over.

“That would be your transfer paperwork and documents. You can head straight to Cerberus’ facilities today for an emergency soft sync.”

Kyrian’s gaze slid to the folder in his hand.

“You can pack your belongings later, I expect that Cerberus will have living quarters for you to use.” Seok pursed his lips, studying Kyrian’s posture. “They should be sending a car to fetch you soon, I would prepare to leave if I was you.”

Hiding his surprise that the decision had been made before he was even made aware of the recent developments, Kyrian bowed and left the office.

Outside in the hall, he released a deep breath he had been holding, and once more stared down at the folder in his possession.

***

“I apologize for the last minute call, Mr. Averin.”

Kyrian lifted his gaze from the beta fish swimming circles in its marble filled tank. The marbles glimmered in the bright white lights, but the tank was oddly empty despite being a centerpiece to the room.

“It’s alright, I heard the situation prompted such a meeting.” He held back a quiet sigh, wanting nothing more than to leave the enormous Cerberus facilities they had taken him to.

It wasn’t even their main building, located closer to the heart of the city, but an offshoot for studying and treating Espers.

“Yes, about that…” The woman speaking to him lowered her head to read from her tablet screen. “The Esper has been relocated to an isolation room on floor-0.”

“Floor-0?” He repeated, half to himself.

“The underground levels; they ensure more protection against… rampaging.”

Though vague, the explanation left a bitter taste in Kyrian’s mouth. He nodded in understanding, but fought to maintain a neutral expression. 

“Then can I go to him?”