Lilith turned her gaze toward the distant, looming silhouette of the Academy, its spires cutting into the morning sky like the teeth of a sleeping giant.
"Ren Askar," she said, her voice low.
She had spent countless hours in the Underlayer's intelligence briefings, memorizing the profiles of the surface reincarnators. She knew the names, the faces, and the potential threats.
"His 'Hero System' combat designation is a useless metric to me," Rex said, his voice cutting through the air with a sharp, dismissive edge.
He didn't even look at the Academy; he didn't need to. He saw the world in layers of utility and friction.
"It is a label designed for a different kind of world..."
"In the political landscape that will exist here after the canyon engagement, a 'hero' is a volatile variable."
