[Kael—Guardian Head-Floor]

Two knocks against wood echoed.

"Come in."

The clicking sound of a door handle followed, and the creaking of wood reverberated as a crimson-robed guardian stepped into a large office.

It was large, yet simple.

Light brown carpet floored the office, and parallel to the entry doors, there were no walls but instead large, thick panes of clear glass spanning the entire room, giving a clear view of the sprawling beauty of Kael.

In the distance, near the room’s far end, a large marbled wooden desk could be seen, stark against the ivory-white wall behind it—the only wall in the office, directly facing the entry door.

The white wall was covered in weapons of all kinds, from spears to swords, daggers, bows, sabers, rapiers, and much more obscure tools.

Seated at the desk, which was covered in documents, was a young man. He looked entirely unassuming, and unlike all those in the Guardian headquarters, he wore no veil.

He had simple, short brown hair, deep green eyes, tanned skin, and a charming yet neutral face. He wore a fitted white tunic.

Simple to a tee, and yet he radiated a deep and heavy aura—one that only the most blood-forged of warriors could emit.

As the crimson-robed guardian entered his office and closed the door behind him, the young man continued working, intently focused on a parchment he held in his hand.

He studied the parchment, then pulled a sheet of paper upon which he began writing with a feathered pen.

"Yes?" the young man spoke without lifting his gaze.

The guardian approached the desk, then deeply bowed to the young man, remaining inclined for dozens of seconds before rising once more.

"Sir, I come to report on various matters."

The guardian pulled out a stack of documents from his abode mark, and without daring to waste the young man’s time, he began his report.

"As you ordered, following the two tribulation events that occurred in the past week, we activated all the bane-type formations at our disposal and have stabilised the situation."

"From now on, and until the formations are turned off, no tribulations will affect the city. We’ve also handled all damage caused by them."

The young man didn’t react.

Seeing this, the guardian nodded to himself, then continued.

"While activating the formations, we decided to run our radars in case the spikes of energy caused by the tribulations attracted anything dangerous."

"And, unfortunately, we have found that a dual Horror and Beast wave is coming our way. More urgently, the signals show they are led by a group of Kings."

"We’ve identified a total of five hundred previously documented King-tier creatures, but we suspect that in total they may range upwards of a thousand, each leading their own small legions."

"What are your orders regarding the matter, sir?"

The young man didn’t immediately answer.

As if the guardian wasn’t there, he remained focused. He switched between documents, taking his time reading and understanding, then pulling notepads upon which he scribbled away.

Midway through, he regularly paused to pull out thick books from the low shelves in his desk, using them to cross-reference and confirm his findings as he ticked boxes and completed his work in pure silence.

It stayed like that for an entire hour.

Eventually, the young man put his pen down and leaned back in his chair, exhaling a deep breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. Only then did he truly acknowledge the guardian’s presence.

His emerald gaze flickered with deep-seated indifference at the sight of the man.

"..."

During the entirety of it, the guardian had remained silent and unmoving, the thought of complaining not even crossing his mind once.

He met the young man’s gaze with nothing but respect, even in spite of its clear disregard and frigidness.

"A Beast and Horror wave... hm." His voice was smooth and deep, yet not loud in the least, echoing almost like a whisper, yet heard clearly by all.

The young man’s chair spun slightly to face the glass walls framing his office.

He stared at Kael silently—he stared at the city, at his city, a place named by his father in his honor.

"Gather all the Red Robes and tell them to prepare. Once I’m done with my work, we’ll set out and slaughter the wave before it can reach us."

"We’ve had too many issues arise as of late. I don’t want the people to be worried about yet another looming danger."

He paused for a moment. "See if the smiths have finished repairing my War-Frame. If not, tell them to prepare a replacement for the coming expedition."

The guardian nodded. "Understood."

Silence reigned for a while.

Kael spun to face the guardian once more. "Is that it? If it is, then this could have been transferred to me via the ACO network."

"I’ve told you before that I do not like wasted time, have I not? These systems exist to save us both precious time."

The guardian instantly shook his head. "Yes, of course, I understand. But I mainly came to inform you on the topics related to the prisoner."

"These were just complementary matters." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Hearing him, Kael raised a brow, clearly intrigued. He leaned further back in his seat and exhaled again. "Go on."

"I’m listening."

The guardian flipped through the pages of the documents in his hands until he found the right one.

"One of our patrol teams alerted me to the capture of three high-value targets. The first is the kin of the prisoner whom we’ve been looking for over the last year, and—"

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

"—the second is the boy responsible for the tribulations that swept through the city. The third, shockingly, is the rogue operative you’ve been asking us to monitor."

"She gave herself up alongside the two boys. From our initial interrogation, it seems she brought the boys to us in hopes of having a chance to converse with you."

Kael frowned. "You’re telling me that... three of our most sought-after targets were all captured in one day by a mere... patrol unit?"

His frown deepened. "And that all of this happened days before a tide, days after a series of chaotic tribulations, and a week before I have to leave for the capitals?"

The guardian didn’t say anything. He, too, was aware of just how incredibly strange all of it was, but he was as confused as Kael.

In fact, all the other Red Robes were confused.

None knew if this was a setup for a trap, or something even more sinister.

Kael’s frown eased, and he sighed as he stood up.

"Alright. Take me to them."