Why was he here?
Every time Marius walked through the corridors of Revival Palace, he couldn't help asking himself that.
Thin rays of light filtered through the narrow stone windows, dividing this level of corridor into countless alternating fragments of black and white.
He moved through the light and shadows, flickering in and out of sight amid the morning chill.
Soon, the road beneath Marius's feet forked ahead: one path led to the Royal Treasury and the Watcher's secret chamber he often visited, while the other led to the Guard's duty room, which he hated most.
Why was he here?
Marius stepped onto one of the paths without hesitation.
Because he was destined to be here.
After passing the precious portrait of Halva, the "wise minister" from the era of the King of Revival—whose confident, all-knowing expression remained just as glaring—the Watcher greeted two Royal Guard Logistics Officers who happened to pass by. Yet he keenly sensed that their attitudes were peculiar.
That was only natural.
After all, following last night's events, Mindis Hall had become the center of attention for the entire Royal Capital.
Marius thought this calmly.
Besides, the person truly bearing all this pressure...
Marius turned around a corner with practiced ease, pushed open a wooden door, and entered the Guard's first duty room.
"So, Vea, what benefits are there for the New Year?"
Marius stopped before the wall displaying the duty roster. While greeting the people in the room, he removed his longsword and hung it on the sword rack.
Upon touching a weapon, he encountered another.
His Ending Power awakened within him, as instinctive as breathing.
The entire world fell silent.
Barren.
Deathly still.
Cold.
Heavy.
Dim.
Until someone disturbed it.
"Yerba mate."
At the other end of the duty room, a young man—Standard Bearer