Halden enlarged the scan until the web of light filled most of the panel.
"What do the lines mean exactly?" Elias asked. "They look too organized to be damage."
"We think they are channels for soul energy, or something close enough that the term keeps showing up in Ikona descriptions. The shard sits between you and Dot. It translates, conducts, filters, or all three, depending on which theory survives the week."
Dot looked at him. "That is a lot of uncertainty for a man holding my picture."
"Science is mostly uncertainty with better furniture."
Elias almost smiled despite himself.
Halden pointed to several bright intersections near Elias's spine and chest. "The reason I can partially perceive Ikonas is residue. Blood samples from bearers contain tiny particles that break down fast but leave a measurable pocket effect. Under the right conditions, that effect lets sound or image bleed through for a second."
Dot shot closer to his face.
"You have seen me before and did not introduce yourself properly?"
"I have seen fragments of several Ikonas and been insulted by at least two of them, so your group is socially active."
"Was I impressive at least once?"
Halden looked at Elias rather than answering her directly. "Your Ikona has a strong projection pattern. That is the professional version of yes."
Dot folded her arms with deep satisfaction.
Elias shook his head. "Please do not reward her behavior."
"Too late for that request now," Halden said, already preparing a kit on the counter. "We are done with the scan, but I need blood before you leave, standard protocol and not optional cruelty."
Elias rolled up his sleeve.
The needle was quick. Blood filled the vial dark red, and Halden sealed it inside a small case with Elias's temporary code printed across the lid.
"All set now, and Oliver will take you to the stadium zone for physical testing and training suit issue."
Elias stepped down from the table. "Stadium zone sounds like the kind of name people choose when they expect injuries."
Oliver had been silent near the wall. He opened the door and gestured for Elias to follow.
"It is where controlled injuries are preferred over uncontrolled ones."
"That did not improve the name."
They moved through a long corridor that sloped down instead of up. The walls changed from white medical panels to reinforced concrete and dark metal. The air grew warmer. Sound carried differently here, lower and wider, as if the building had opened its throat beneath them.
Elias kept seeing the scan in his head, and installed was the word he could not shake.
Dot floated close enough that her shoulder brushed his jaw.
"You are worried about the lines."
"I am worried that the lines look intentional."
"I am also intentional, so try not to make that sound ugly."
He looked at her and let the point land.
"Fair enough, because I am worried about who did the intending."
The corridor ended at double doors tall enough for equipment carriers. Oliver placed his palm against the panel. The doors opened inward with a heavy mechanical shift.
The stadium zone spread out below them.
It was an indoor field, long and rectangular, with packed dirt under bright overhead rigs. White circles marked lanes and testing positions across the ground. Equipment stations lined the sides: weighted frames, target racks, padded barriers, suit stands, and a machine tall enough to make Elias wonder whether it was for training or punishment.
A man waited near the center.
He wore a black suit threaded with green metal panels, close in design to Elara's gear. The memory clicked into place before Elias reached him.
"You were at the road fight with Elara."
The man looked him over once.
"Correct, First Lieutenant Yui Rakamaki, and you may call me Yui because you are not military personnel and I do not need you damaging my patience with titles."
Elias stopped beside Oliver. "Elias Kael, and I would say good to meet you, but you look like you already disagree."
Yui's expression did not move.
"You are underpowered, poorly conditioned, low perception, and recently attacked by a hostile bearer. That means today is measurement rather than training."
"Measurement sounds gentler than getting beaten."
"Only because you have not been measured by me."
Oliver handed Yui a small tablet. "Geras ordered full baseline, no permanent damage, and immediate report if Dot manifests under stress."
"Understood, no permanent damage today unless ordered."
Yui pointed toward a suit stand near the first white circle.
"Put him in the training suit and leave. Return in one hour unless the medical alarm triggers earlier."
Elias looked from the suit to Yui as Dot whispered near his ear. "I dislike his tone with impressive speed."
Elias adjusted the badge on his chest and started toward the suit.
"At least he is direct about it."
Yui answered as if he had heard him.
"Direct keeps weak people alive longer than comfort, so move."