Darius Virvit — POV
The room went quiet as I walked through it.
I passed the stairs and the two giant doors — that were still open from when I'd kicked them — and turned left into the hallway. Behind me, two sets of footsteps followed.
"So what's the point of all this?"
The brown-haired one asked.
"The point of what?" Elias said.
"Why do I have to wait so long before we actually start with this?"
I thought about the answer as I reached the office door, opened it with my right hand, and stepped through. The air inside was cleaner than the hallway — a faint trace of the wine from earlier still hanging in it.
The office was simple. A large table with two chairs behind it for Elias and me, where we handled paperwork and everything else that came with the job. A small cabinet and shelf along the left wall for our things. A drawers under the window to the right that looked out over the trees and let in enough light to make the room feel less like what it was.
"Sit there," I said, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the table.
The brown-haired one sat. Elias and I took our places behind the table. Elias positioned his clipboard in his left hand, took the pen with his right, settled into his chair, and looked first at the boy and then at his notepad.
"This will take a few minutes," Elias said. "We'll ask questions. You'll answer them. Understood?"
"Do you think I'm stupid?" the boy replied.
"Listen boy." Elias's voice didn't change in tone at all. "You are not a prince here. Say something like that to me again and I'll cut your tongue out."
"Who do you think you are, my parents?" The boy looked at him with open contempt. "Nobody tells me what to do. Understand that."
Elias watched him for a few seconds without reacting. Then glanced down at the table and wrote something in the notebook.
"Oh, yes we will," I said.
The boy turned to me.
"What do you want?" The arrogance was so ingrained it came out even in the smallest sentences that he said.
"You're here in the first place because Elias and I decided you would be. If you keep treating us this way, that decision can change really fast and it will. Now you choose."
„If your plan is to get kicked out like those two weaklings I can help you with that."
His hands tightened into fists under the table. His eyes narrowed — revealing a sharp, hostile look, fixed on me with the particular look of someone who had never been spoken to this way and didn't know what to do with it.
"What is your name?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to the right and leaning back in my chair.
A pause. Then: "Kaien Senzaki."
Senzaki ha? I guess that explains it.
"Good."
"What are your goals?" Elias asked.
"Why does it matter to you?"
"The more you tell us about yourself, the more time and effort we will look to invest in training you specifically."
"What?"
"Forget the reasoning. We simply want to know more about you. Let's say it like that"
Another pause, shorter this time. "I want to get stronger. Stronger than anyone else in this country and prove to others that I am beyond just a normal person."
"Stronger than our three S's?"
"Yes. That's my one and only goal. My father told me that if I came here, I'd be able to achieve such things. That's why I'm here."
"I am going to crush them, every single one of them."
"How old are you?"
"How many questions are left in there?"
"Quite a few," Elias replied immediately. "Though I won't ask all of them, given that you refuse to cooperate."
Silence.
"Seventeen," Kaien said finally.
"Have you had any contact with essence?" Elias continued. "We observed through the mana-share that you're able to produce flames in your palms. That information matters to us, so answer as honestly as you can."
Nothing.
I watched the two of them across the table — or tried to, because calling it a conversation was generous name for it. Kaien was so tightly closed off that getting anything from him required more patience than the exchange was worth. But I'd seen his type before. Arrogant, guarded, obsessed with achieving his goal, absolutely certain that showing anything was showing weakness. Those types either collapsed under real pressure or they climbed faster than anyone expected. There was no middle ground with them.
Looking at them two reminded me of one of those games that I played with my friends when I was younger, the game when I refuse to answer so I could stay in the game longer.
His goals were simple and childish. But then again — that's most people's goals, including mine at his age. I couldn't hold that against him. But that obsession that he carries can take him far.
"All right," I said.
They both looked at me.
"Last question. Why did you attack the white-haired boy?"
His expression shifted immediately — closed off one moment, then sharpened the next, the jaw tightening, the eyes dropping to the table surface between us. Something moved beneath all of that arrogance that I filed away for later.
"That's not your concern," he said slowly, still looking at the table.
"All right," Elias said, his voice softer from the side. "We won't force you to answer that."
Kaien stood and walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?" I called.
"Back to the room. Obviously."
"Bring the two from earlier. The one with the spiky hair and the one with the glasses."
He stopped one step from the door, his left hand resting on the handle.
"Which two exactly?"
"You heard me."
He opened the door and left without another word.
I leaned back and looked at the ceiling. The sound of Elias's pen tapping steadily against the clipboard filled the quiet.
I turned my head toward him. He was writing.
"So?" I said. "What do you think?"
"Nothing good," he replied, without looking up.
As expected.
"He's stubborn, uncooperative, and arrogant goes without saying. If I were running this project alone I'd have removed him already. We're going to have problems with him — I can see it from here."
"Why specifically?"
"He's a Senzaki. Do I need to say more?"
"Hahaha." I laughed. "You really think his father is going to try and do something here?"
"Maybe. Who knows?"
"He can come and kiss my boots. That's the most he'll be able to accomplish."
"Keep joking. He's close to the government. He could cost you this position if he wanted to."
"Me? Lose this position?" I looked at him. "Come on, Elias. I'm too valuable to Nivalis for something like that. Another war is coming — someone has to teach the next generation how to survive it. And beyond that, I'm not working for Nivalis exclusively. Vallaria and Ezoris Kingdom both want my involvement. Even if Senzaki somehow managed to cut my ties to Nivalis, I have two other options waiting."
I waved a hand.
"His father doesn't concern me. Kaien does. Did you pick up anything else from observing him, or is that all?"
"Besides the arrogance — from reading the essence flowing through him, and other proofs I can tell he's awakened a fire element."
"Anything else?"
"He has deep pride in the Senzaki name. Enormous respect for his family, particularly his father." Elias paused. "But I'd say that he is scared of him."
"What gave you that thought?"
"I don't know, but when you told him he wasn't a prince here — his entire body reacted. The essence inside him started moving faster also, which led me to that possible conclusion."
"Maybe. I'm not sure."
"Also—"
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Hold that thought," I said quietly.
"Come in."
The door opened. Two people entered — both well built, both clearly aware of where they were. The one with the glasses came first, stepping immediately toward the table. His feet came together, his hands dropped to his sides, and he faced us directly. His eyes were slightly wide, his breathing audible — steady inhales and exhales through the nose, controlled but not quite calm.
The second one — the spiky hair, the red-dyed strands — came in behind him and stopped to his right, both hands in his pockets. He barely looked at us. His attention moved across the ceiling, the walls, the window, everything except the table.
One glance at them told me more than most questions would.
The one with the glasses: responsibility, alertness, someone who had learned to take things seriously. The look in his eyes held both interest and a slight heaviness that suggested he'd been carrying something for longer than he should have.
The other one: relaxed in the way people are when they've decided nothing here can surprise them. That kind of confidence was either earned or performed. I'd find out which.
"Cool ceiling, isn't it?" I said.
The spiky-haired one turned his head toward me and scratched the back of his neck with his right hand. "Eh. I've seen better."
"Names," Elias said.
"Kieran Straten, sir!" The one with the glasses answered before the sentence was fully finished.
"Viktor Rathen," the other said, with considerably less urgency.
"You got any Plans for the future?" Elias asked, pen moving.
"To protect as many people as I can, sir!" Kieran replied.
"What?" Viktor said looked at him sideways.
"To protect as many people as possible," Kieran continued, "make them proud doing it, and provide everything my family needs. Including my younger sister."
"You have a sister?" I said.
"Yes, sir!"
"How old?"
"Six years old, sir."
"And how exactly do you plan to protect her?"
"By getting stronger, sir."
"So you're here to get stronger in order to protect your younger sister."
"Not just her. Anyone who needs protection — I'll step in. For everyone."
"Then explain to me," Elias said, leaning slightly forward, "why the man who wants to protect everyone was involved in a fight in that room."
"Sir, I didn't start anything."
"We saw what happened. You and that other man were both involved in the confrontation."
"It wasn't my fault, sir." Kieran's hands came forward slightly as he spoke. Then he turned and pointed directly at Viktor beside him. "It was his fault. He provoked people in that room, including me, and his behavior is what led to all of it. I was defending myself. He was the one who threw the first attack."
"What?" Viktor said.
"Is that true, Viktor?" Elias asked.
"No, it isn't." His voice stayed level, but something tightened in his jaw. "I didn't start anything. It was that brown-haired armadillo and that white-haired one — they're the ones who started everything. Not to mention that red-eyed guy who jumped in to protect him."
"Are you trying to avoid blame?"
"What is your problem? Do you want to start this again?" Viktor turned to face him directly, voice rising.
"Both of you — stop." Elias said it once, quietly.
They stopped. Both turned to face him.
"We've heard your plans, Kieran. We'll keep them in mind." Elias looked at Viktor. "And you? What are your plans now that you're here?"
Viktor looked at the ceiling briefly. "Get stronger, I guess."
I put my right hand over my forehead.
Not this again…
"Is there something more specific? Something you want to achieve the way Kieran wants to protect his sister?"
His eyes moved to the ceiling again. "Just get stronger." He looked back. "That's it."
Oh come on don't repeat yourself.
"All good, Darius?" Elias asked.
"Yeah. Don't worry."
"Can I ask something?" Kieran asked raising his left hand.
"Go ahead," Elias said, still writing.
"What exactly are you writing in that notebook?"
"Haha" Viktor chimed in, glancing at him "As if they're going to tell you,"
"It's not your concern," Elias replied, eyes on the page.
"Told ya,"
"Look at it as something that will help us train you more effectively. And in the same time learn something about each one of you." I said.
"You're both free to go. Send someone else in when you get back to the room."
"Who?"
"Anyone. It doesn't matter it's your choice."
They turned and left.
I exhaled.
"Get anything useful from them?"
"Ehh." Elias set down his pen. "At least they knew how to hold a conversation. They weren't behaving like animals like Kaien."
"But nothing that stood out?"
"You sent them way too quickly — I didn't get to ask about their essence experience. "
"My bad."
"It is what it is now."
"But at least I can see potential in both of them. Kieran knows what he wants and why he's here. Viktor—" he paused, "—I don't think he told us his real reason for coming."
"Neither did I. You saw how he looked away when you asked him."
"He's hiding something."
"Everyone is. We'll find out eventually."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Come in," Elias said.
The door handle lowered. And the door opened.
A pair of red eyes appeared in the gap — and held on me. Stayed there for two, three seconds before he turned and closed the door behind him.
"Darius, that's the one who—"
"I know."
He turned back toward the table. The red eyes found mine again across the room, and the unease they produced was immediate — not fear, exactly, but the same instinctive alertness I had felt the first time I'd seen his type. His eyes reminded me of the Devils I had fought in the past. That same red glow in dim light. That same quality of something that didn't quite belong in an ordinary face.
I felt a smirk forming before I had decided on it.
Is this one going to be worth something? I told in myself as I examined him.
His build confirmed what we saw through the mana-share — trained, balanced,
I could sense the readiness coming from him in any moment. A true aura that a soldier of Nivalis should have, ready for anything at any time.
The mana flowed inside him cleanly. Smoothly. Like water finding its own level — slow, unhurried, but completely without interruption.
"Name?" I said, starting a converstaion
"Luiz Takami." Short. No additions.
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"Got any plans?" Elias asked.
His eyes dropped briefly to the floor. Then back up to us, and in that moment — in those red eyes — something shifted. The edge that had been there a moment before softened into something less defined.
"I don't know," he said.
Huh?
"I came here because of someone I looked up to. A soldier from Nivalis. But my reasons have changed since then." A pause. "I just want to get stronger. And be able to stand alongside the three S's."
"Why not aiming for something higher than that?"
"What exactly could that be?"
"Surpassing them. Surpassing everyone that comes ahead of you — your peers, then us, then the Snow Guards, then the proudest names in this country. The three S's becoming something higher than that. A milestone rather than a ceiling."
A quiet moment. Then a small, unhurried smile.
"Standing next to them will be enough for me," he said.
Maybe I was wrong about him.
"Have you had any contact with essence?" Elias asked.
"What counts as contact?"
"Anything — seeing mana or energy from someone else, if you can use elements, techniques, anything related to essence."
"Yes," he said. "I have."
Elias picked up his pen.
"I'm listening."
"I can create water. Not as much as I'd like, and not as easily as I'd like. But I can do it."
Water element.
"What about other elements?"
"Nothing."
"Can you show us how you do it?" I asked.
"Sure, I'll do my best." He brought his right hand in front of him, palm open and wide, and began channeling mana.
For a few seconds, nothing unusual happened. Then his breathing tightened.
"Nngghh—" He gritted his teeth, his left hand coming to brace his right forearm from underneath.
He was fighting himself. I could feel it from across the table — I could sense that he was pulling mana from the wrong place, drawing from his right shoulder rather than from the core in his chest where it should originate. Every second he pushed harder, the resistance increased.
At least he's putting in the effort...
"C-come on!—" he said through his teeth, eyes fixed on his palm.
As he said that, a water appeared.
Not much — a small amount spreading across the surface of his hand, spilling over the edges and falling to the floor in a thin, uneven stream splashing on the floor. But it appeared, and it was real, and it had come entirely from his own effort.
He dropped his hands and breathed. Hard.
"I did it," he said, catching his breath.
I glanced at Elias. He was already writing.
"Well done," I said.
"But I can see that your control over your essence is poor," I continued. "That's the honest assessment. You're drawing it from the wrong place — your shoulder instead of your core. But you have a clear affinity for the water element. We can fix the control problem. That's what training is for."
"When did you first realize you could do this?"
"I think three or four months ago."
"Did you had anyone to teach you this?"
"No. I had to figure it out myself."
That explains the control issue. No foundation, no technique — just instinct and trial.
"Aha, okay. I think we have everything we need from you, Luiz. You're free to go back to the room."
He nodded.
"Tell someone else to come here once you get there."
He nodded again, turning to the back opened the door, and left.
Elias set down his pen.
"You were going to ask me what do I think, weren't you?" Elias said as soon as he set the pen onto the desk
"Yeah."
"We'll have fun teaching him. That's as much as I'll say for now."
"He got your attention, didn't he?"
"Yeah he did. Specifically his eyes. And his mana flowing down his channels — it's cleaner than it should be for someone self-taught. He could become something great in the future."
"Well, that depends on whether he can pass the tests or no Darius"
"Oh sure he will. I have no doubts about it." I paused. "He is the second one as far who showed that can use essence.
"Also, have you saw his eyes? — "
"Of course I did, it was the first thing that I noticed on him."
"I wonder if he got any Devil lineage within him."
"No." Elias shook his head. "From what I know, he's fully human. I think that essence during his birth had some influence that made his eyes that way."
"Where does he come from?" I asked
Elias stood from his chair and walked to the cabinet on the left, opened the drawer, and began going through some papers. He found what he was looking for and brought it back, giving it to me.
I looked at the paper, there were a basic information sheet. I looked it over.
Name: Luiz Takami
Age: 17
Height: 181 cm
Weight: 70 kg
Date of Birth: 27th August, 1845/8
Residence: A village near Drovin City
Sex: Male
Weaknesses: Unknown
Key Element: Unknown
Traits: Unknown
Strengths: Unknown
"And you're going to tell me that you had all of this and didn't give it to me before we started with this?"
"It's just basic information about them after all. I didn't think you'd be that interested for such things."
"I mean you're not totally wrong. But it's still useful to have."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door opened, and the next candidate stepped through. Stepping in the room with us.