The strategy room doors slid open.
The two applicants stepped inside, paused for a fraction of a second as their eyes swept over the assembled team, and then kept moving as if they had realized that backing out now would be a far worse fate.
Mira leaned toward Lucien, her voice a stage whisper. "We do look terrifying from this angle."
"We are not helping that," Lucien whispered back, his posture stiffly professional.
"I'm being quiet."
"You're never quiet."
Lucien cleared his throat and gestured toward the two empty chairs across the table. "Sit."
They complied immediately. The first applicant straightened his back, meeting their collective gaze with a steady focus. "Aurel Rowan."
The second followed his lead, her voice calm despite the high-pressure environment. "Lyra Vossen."
Kaida's fingers blurred across her tablet as she typed both names into the system. Nox spoke before anyone else could, his voice cutting through the silence of the room. "First question. Are you already registered with KAMB?"
"Yes," Aurel said without hesitation.
Lyra nodded. "This morning."
"Fully registered?" Kaida asked, her eyes not leaving her screen. "Authority classification, preliminary rank, stability screening?"
"Yes," Lyra confirmed.
Aurel added, "All of it."
Lucien folded his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Rank?"
"A+," Aurel stated.
"A," Lyra followed.
Mira blinked, leaning forward with genuine surprise. "That's actually good."
Kaida gave her a sharp look. "Yes. That is generally how applicants reach this room."
Mira leaned back with a huff. "I was being supportive."
Seris ignored the bickering, her focus entirely on the newcomers. "Authorities?"
Aurel took a deep breath, centering himself. "Authority: Sol."
That got everyone's attention. Even Nox's gaze sharpened. Kaida's stylus paused over the glass. "Light manifestation?"
"Light shaping," Aurel explained. "Constructs, concentrated output, reinforcement. It's mostly offensive."
Lucien's eyebrows lifted. "Show us."
Aurel stood, lifting a hand into the space between them. He gathered a flicker of light along his forearm, and it sharpened quickly into a clean, solid spear-form. It was bright, pulsing with energy, but notably stable.
Mira pointed, her eyes reflecting the glow. "Oh, that's pretty."
"Stable, too," Garrick noted, his voice low and appreciative.
Aurel dismissed the light and sat back down, the room dimming as the construct vanished. Seris turned her attention to Lyra. "And yours?"
"Authority: Calliope."
Kaida sat up a little straighter at that. "Expression-based cognition."
Lyra nodded. "Voice-linked enhancement, pattern reading, mental structuring. It helps with communication, recall, analysis, and maintaining control under pressure."
Mira blinked. "That sounds terrifying in a very elegant way."
Kaida didn't look away from Lyra. "Combat application?"
"Support first," Lyra answered honestly. "But if I can understand the rhythm of a fight, I can help control the flow of it."
Orion finally spoke from his position by the console. "How fast?"
Lyra met his stoic gaze. "Fast enough to be useful."
That earned a small, almost imperceptible nod from him—a gesture that somehow felt more intimidating than outright praise.
Lucien leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table. "Second question. Why come directly to Aurora when we never announced recruitment?"
Aurel glanced at Lyra. She gave him the tiniest of nods, a silent signal of trust, so he answered first. "Because you didn't announce it."
Lucien stared at him, confused. "That sounds backwards."
"It probably does," Aurel admitted. "But the other guilds moved immediately. That told us what they already wanted."
Kaida's expression sharpened with genuine interest. Lyra picked up the thread for him. "Tempest Choir already sounded structured. Iron Bastion already knew its intake priorities. Crimson Banner sounded like it wanted people to prove themselves before even entering the door."
Mira nodded solemnly. "That does sound like them."
Lucien crossed his arms. "And us?"
Lyra looked at him, then shifted her gaze to Nox. "You took time."
Nobody interrupted her.
"That meant one of two things," she continued. "Either Aurora wasn't ready... or Aurora was careful."
Kaida tapped her stylus once against the table. "Good answer."
Mira pointed triumphantly. "See? I like them."
"That is still not the process," Kaida reminded her.
"It should count a little."
Seris stepped in before the debate could derail. "Why Aurora, specifically?"
Aurel answered this time without a hint of hesitation. "Because everyone saw the first S-rank raid."
The room quieted at the mention of the broadcast. He looked around the table, his voice dropping into a more careful tone. "People talk about power first. That's normal. But that's not the only thing people said after that broadcast."
Lyra finished the thought. "They said Aurora moved like a real team."
Mira's expression softened immediately, her skepticism melting away. Lucien looked away for a second, a flicker of something like pride or embarrassment crossing his face, which only made Mira's grin widen. Garrick stayed still as a statue, while Seris watched the two applicants with newfound intensity.
Kairos had been quiet until then. He asked softly, "Why does that matter to you?"
Both applicants turned toward him. Aurel answered first. "Because independent awakened won't last long."
Lyra nodded in agreement. "And because power without trust looks unstable now."
That landed with a heavy weight. Kaida wrote something down, her stylus scratching against the screen. Nox finally spoke again. "Why a guild at all?"
Lyra answered him directly. "Because gates won't stay manageable."
Aurel added, "And because if the country is organizing, then choosing where you stand matters."
Lucien looked at them for a long beat, then asked, "Why not Regulated Order?"
Lyra answered carefully. "Because they belong to the government first."
Aurel said, "And Aurora feels more... human."
Nobody said anything for a second. Then Mira put a hand over her heart, her eyes shimmering. "That's devastating. I'm keeping them."
"You are not keeping anyone," Seris said, though her own gaze had thawed.
"Emotionally, I already have."
Nox broke the moment. "Last question for now." Both applicants straightened their posture once more. "If Aurora says no today, what do you do?"
Aurel answered first. "Apply somewhere else."
"Where?" Kaida asked.
"Iron Bastion, probably."
Garrick gave a small, approving nod at that. Lyra took longer to answer. She seemed to be weighing her words. "I'd wait."
Kaida looked up. "Wait?"
Lyra nodded. "Rushed choices become bad loyalties."
That changed the temperature of the room. Lucien leaned back slowly, a look of genuine respect on his face. "That's not a careless answer."
"No," Seris agreed. "It isn't."
Mira looked between her teammates. "Can I vote now?"
"You were always going to vote yes," Kaida said.
"That does not make my vote less meaningful."
"It makes it predictable."
Lucien looked around the table. "Thoughts?"
Garrick was the first to answer. "Steady."
Seris nodded. "Self-aware."
Kaida glanced at her notes. "Useful authorities. Good judgment. No obvious instability."
Orion added, "Trainable."
Kairos hesitated, then added quietly, "They came back."
Mira turned to him with both hands over her heart. "That's so cute."
Kairos looked confused. "I meant it seriously."
"I know. That's why it's cute."
Lucien looked at Nox. "Guildmaster."
The room turned with him. Aurel and Lyra both sat a little straighter, their breath held. Nox let the silence sit long enough to make the tension thick. Then he said, "You are not members yet."
Neither of them moved.
"But you pass the first stage."
Aurel exhaled so fast and so loud that Mira almost laughed. Lyra stayed composed, but the visible tension in her shoulders finally eased.
Kaida was already writing again. "Next stage is authority assessment and controlled team trial."
"When?" Aurel asked, his voice eager.
"Tomorrow morning," Lucien said.
"That soon?" Lyra asked.
"You came to Aurora," Lucien replied. "We move."
Mira tilted her head, watching him. "That was almost cool."
"It was cool," Lucien insisted.
"It was almost cool."
Seris stood up. "Before you leave, give Orion your contact information. We'll send the next instructions directly."
Both applicants rose immediately. "Thank you," Aurel said.
Lyra inclined her head. "We won't waste the chance."
Mira pointed at them as they headed toward the door. "I still like them."
Kaida muttered, "Deeply shocking."
__
The doors slid shut behind them. Lucien leaned back and blew out a breath. "That went well."
"It went reasonably," Kaida corrected.
"That is the same thing in your language."
Before Mira could celebrate properly, the wall display lit up again. Kaida frowned. "Again?"
The KAMB insignia flashed, and then Adrian Cross appeared on screen. "This is a supplementary notice from KAMB regarding post-raid resource valuation."
That got everyone's attention instantly. Charts filled the display. Crystal images rotated on screen, showcasing different colors, sizes, and densities.
Cross continued, "Initial analysis of mana crystals is complete. Effective immediately, licensed crystal exchange is authorized under government channels."
Mira blinked, leaning in. "So they're money now."
"Partly," Kaida said.
Cross went on. "Monetary value varies by color, purity, and density. Common colors will be priced at lower utility rates. Higher-density and rarer-spectrum colors will command significantly greater value."
The chart enlarged to show different price brackets. Lucien stared at the screen. "That's fast."
"It was inevitable," Seris said.
Kaida was already pulling up Aurora's inventory logs on her tablet. "We need to sort ours before the market destabilizes."
Garrick moved closer to the screen. "How many do we have worth selling?"
"Enough," Kaida said. "Not enough to be reckless."
Mira turned dramatically toward Orion. "Good. You no longer get to secretly carry the financial burden of our expansion."
Orion looked at her. "I wasn't aware I was."
"You were radiating it architecturally."
"That means nothing."
Nox looked at the inventory list. "We keep the highest-value colors."
Lucien nodded immediately. "Agreed."
Seris added, "And anything with strategic use."
Kaida scanned the list, then the estimates for the second building. "If we sell the rest, we can cover the early renovation stages without touching the rarest stock."
Garrick nodded. "That's better."
Mira grinned. "Look at us. Functional and solvent."
Lucien looked at Orion. "And now you don't get to quietly pay for all of it just because you can."
Orion gave a small shrug. "That was never the plan."
Mira narrowed her eyes. "That sounds like something a secret-building owner would say."
Kaida kept scrolling. "We can fund intake rooms, basic housing, and initial utilities with a partial sale."
Nox nodded once. "Do it."
Kaida looked pleased that nobody argued with her numbers. Kairos looked toward the closed doors where Aurel and Lyra had just left. "So they're really coming back tomorrow."
Lucien smiled faintly. "Looks like it."
Mira clasped her hands. "We interviewed people, got richer, and expanded our criminally hidden real estate empire in the same day."
"It is not criminal," Orion said.
"No one believes you."
Nox looked once more at the crystal list, then at the second-building estimates. "Aurora moves forward," he said.
This time, nobody in the room mistook that for a small thing.