After the most uncomfortable and gruelling hour of his life, spent trying to Guide Eiden, Kyrian left utterly drained and irritated.

He couldn’t shake the unsettling sensation that had crept into his bones being in that room.

Huff. Heaving a weary sigh, Kyrian stared up at the ceiling of his temporary living quarters, reliving the first impression he received of Eiden.

He really does bite…

The thought popped into his mind, and the corner of his lip twitched upwards in amusement. It was almost funny in a twisted sort of way, that what had initially been a moment of grumbling dislike towards the Esper turned into reality.

As quickly as it came, the smile soon disappeared from his face. The sobering reality was that he very easily could have died, along with everyone in the facility. Despite the uncomfortable methods, the shock collar had done its job and effectively saved lives.

While the realization was settling over him, a quiet buzzing filled the room, quelling the silence that had fallen.

Kyrian turned his head to look at the stainless steel bedside table where he had left his Aegis communicator. Its small screen was lit up, and it continued to rumble, desperately alerting of an incoming call.

Groaning, he leaned across the gap between the table and the bed to snatch the communicator, and pressed the ‘accept’ button on the side. Seok’s brazen tone filled the room, immediately chastising the Guide for taking too long to answer his call.

“I bet you’re just holed up in your room anyways, I can’t fathom what was more important than answering your superior’s summons.” He sniffed, voice diminished by the tinny echo of the communicator.

Feeling as if he’d been run over by a stampede of rift beasts, Kyrian rolled his eyes in heavy silence before responding with great effort. The fatigue of Guiding was incredible with Eiden, like he’d quite literally sapped lifeforce in the process.

Shoulders ached, and his limbs felt weighted and sluggish. In Seok’s favor, his mind was still relatively clear in comparison to the physical fatigue, or he would have ignored the call altogether.

“I know you like being ignored for a bit, that’s all.” He said flatly to his supervisor.

“...”

“I’ll pretend like you didn’t just say that.”

A brief smile crossed his face, and he settled back onto the bed with the communicator resting on his chest and hands clasped behind his head. The perfect image of relaxation, but in truth his body felt like a coiled spring under too much pressure. His eyes ached deeply, so he closed them while he spoke.

“I assume you’re calling to see how I got settled in today, and hear my thoughts on the mess you got me involved in?”

“Is it really that bad?” Seok asked doubtfully.

Kyrian paused, deliberating on his response. The intense psychic pressure on his chest, making it nearly impossible to breathe, squeezing the air from his lungs, and furious green eyes reflecting nothing short of malice.

“Considering this guy would happily kill me, rampage or not, I’d safely say that yes. It is.”

A low whistle sounded from the communicator as Seok showed his disbelief. Irritatingly enough, his tone seemed to curl at the edges, the smirk obvious.

“Kyrian, you always have a knack for taming the wild ones, don’t you?”

“Absolutely not,” Kyrian objected immediately, eyes opening with a deep frown.

He explained the encounter, talking over Seok’s incessant laughter until he quieted down to listen seriously.

As he explained, he felt the cold chill settling in once more how close he had come to death. More worrying though, was the fact that Cerberus had allowed one of their highest ranked Espers lose control to such an extent.

“Why did they let it get that bad?” He asked, voicing his thoughts aloud in a cautiously hushed tone. 

Seok’s reply took a beat to come, as if he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to say what he was about to.

“It’s not an uncommon practice you know. Back in the day, I’ve heard that when the militaries had control of Espers, they used them like batteries. When they were empty and no longer able to charge, they simply euthanized them.”

The words made Kyrian wince, but he couldn’t deny the fact that this was an unspoken truth. 

“Anyways, I’m not sure they even planned on it coming to that, I looked into their rift situation from this morning, and it really was just a fluke.” Seok let out an uncharacteristic sigh, letting his own weariness show.

“The soft-sync was a success, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to do it again.” Kyrian muttered.

“... If it looks like it’s going to be too hairy, just walk away.”

Walk away?

“But, the contract?” Kyrian stammered, unsure what his supervisor was thinking. Walking away and breaching the contract with Cerberus would be nothing short of a damaging blow to Aegis Division’s public image.

“Yeah, I know there’s a contract, but I didn’t agree to risking one of the best Guides out there for Cerberus. I’ll handle the contract, so just take care of your end.” 

Seok grumbled, but his concern was genuine. Kyrian knew that much.

Even though the man couldn’t see, Kyrian nodded his head in agreement, a soft smile on his lips.

“Alright, I will.”

“Good,” Seok huffed irritably. “Get some rest, and keep Aegis updated on your every move - especially if it starts looking dangerous -  or so-help-me I’ll drag you out of there myself.”

“Yes sir, I wouldn’t want to take up any more of your precious time. I’ll check in later.”

The communicator blipped, and went silent. Huff.

Kyrian rested an arm across his face, the other shifting to rest above his head.

The air vents located on the wall near the seamless transition to the ceiling kick-started and began emitting a gentle hum, the noise deafening in the eerie quiet.

His body screamed at him to relax the tension in his muscles, but the image of a fragile and broken body was seared into his mind's eye. Beeping vitals echoed in his ears, phantom sounds.

How the hell did he look so delicate one second, and ferocious the next? 

Maybe he had imagined it. 

The thought should have eased his mind, but instead it made him restless, wondering if he’d be given an opportunity to confirm if it had been a trick… or real.