Johannes Volkner bid farewell to Mexico. For a brief moment, his swimming vision saw the deployment room's walls and floors, before he promptly blacked out once more. The next time Johannes came to, it was in the medical wing - the place he least wanted to be. Even the Director herself had very clearly warned the Caller candidates about the medical staff, one of whom seemed to be humming to herself several cabinets down. She was short, maybe five foot even if he was being generous, with raven hair that seemed to seep together into a wave in the worst, shudder-inducing way. Even his Flash of Inspiration was practically screaming that whoever, or whatever, she was, it was a danger to him. When he bolted upright, she turned his way, yellow eyes staring him down as if they were the only pinpoints of color in the room, before smiling.

  "You're free to go, Volkner. You're not one of the interesting ones, haha."

  He had never run so fast in his life.

  Once he began to get his bearings and understand that he'd been out for several hours due to exhaustion, he learned that the debriefing was to be held soon. They'd waited just long enough for all of the Callers involved to be present, sans the one who had betrayed them. Once again, they were in the meeting room, the Director at the head of the table, and several more seats vacant. Aylin and Martin had made it back, as had Pádraig. Takahashi and Wilhelm were fine, as were the Spirits they'd summoned, and even Lady Tomoe had come back with Wilhelm. Once Johannes took his seat, the Director started.

  "With the plug secured, the foray into the first Distortion is ultimately a success. But this is a pyrrhic victory, we lost several Spirits that might have proven far more useful in later Distortions, and a Caller defected to the enemy. Indeed, it seems that the Excavator was an enemy from the start.

  Taking a deep breath, she gave everyone a brief moment to let that sink in, as many of them hadn't been present for the fight in the temple, or wherever else the traitor might have been. "Additionally, we have compiled files using the recording implants in all of your minds. These implants were originally also to foster communication between Callers, Spirits, and Heliopolis itself mid-Distortion, but we underestimated the interference they would receive. In the next Distortion, you will be able to access mental communications, fostering better teamwork and allowing news to travel more quickly from one Caller to the next."

  "As for those Callers who have lost their Spirits, they will be permitted to undertake the Summoning ritual once more. That being said, many of you have undergone extreme mental stress during this stint of active duty, and as such, we will be rotating out most of you for active duty in the next Distortion for other Callers. You may think of this as a recuperation period of sorts. We will be conducting a basic review between the higher staff, and posting a public notice of which Callers are expected to be on active duty for the next Distortion team to your mail accounts shortly."

  Soon enough, Wilhelm raised one hand. Once she nodded her head in acknowledgement, he spoke. "Director, when can we expect to be shipped out for the next Distortion? You said that our mission was time sensitive, so I can only assume we won't be getting a full two weeks of recovery and recuperation."

  "Exactly, Candidate 012. Barring any sudden, jarring changes, the next Distortion expedition will be happening in one week. Hence why we will be shifting out many of the members unlikely to be fit for duty in that timeline."

  Johannes couldn't help but catch her wording there in his head. 'many of' the members, but not necessarily all of them. Did that mean some of them were considered 'disposable enough' to be thrown right back into hell anyway? He couldn't help but feel a bit of worry for everyone involved. Several of them had already experienced heavy losses and extreme stress, if they were thrown back in, it would be like a ticking timebomb. Hadn't they already lost enough people? As it was, Spirits weren't 'human' in the same way, but it wasn't like their deaths didn't happen, even if they weren't quite as heavy hitting.

  Jill's death... He knew that it would happen eventually, but he'd hoped that he could've at least said goodbye to her properly. Instead, it was as if she'd simply vanished one day, never to be seen again. Still, there was no use in just continuing to regret. He would have to be stronger. Smarter. He couldn't let it happen again. The people he was fighting alongside, both Caller and Spirit alike... He didn't want to lose them, even if that felt a little selfish to think.

  "Now then, barring any further issues, you may all consider yourselves dismissed. I recommend a visit to psychiatric for anyone who has lost a Spirit, as the impact can still be harsh even when acknowledging that they are not 'human'. As stated in your contracts, payment will be withheld until the day that you are officially discharged from Heliopolis, but performing in this Distortion has netted each of you five hundred thousand USD, to be calculated for inflation at payout date."

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Johannes was the first to leave, as soon as she had officially declared them dismissed. He needed to stop being so weak. First, there was repair work to do on the armor. Whether he was giving it over to Pádraig or not, leaving it half-broken was a no-go. Beyond that, though, he had a few other things to sort out. The Director hadn't commented on his modifications to the Command Array, but even if she somehow wasn't aware yet, when the time came to refuel the Command Arrays, what he'd done would be obvious.

  More importantly, once he'd slipped his way into the workshop, he got straight to work. The scorch marks on the armor could stay, they weren't actually causing any structural damage and it was possible he wouldn't have time to truly fix them. Instead, he focused on dealing with the massive strike the armor had taken, since he couldn't simply remake the magically tempered steel himself. What he could do, however, was re-weld the steel itself to join the plate back into one whole piece. The place where it'd been struck was clearly still a weak spot, but it was ultimately more safe than it had been prior.

  ...It was unlikely Pádraig would be going into the next Distortion, given how hard Tadakatsu's death had hit him. Johannes couldn't blame him for his reaction, but it meant he would likely be taking the armor into battle again himself. He continued working, adding several basic hardening arrays made of Fehu and Ansuz to the gauntlets and greaves, to give a better protection option as well as a way to strike down incoming attacks. He would have continued to harden the entire suit, were it not for the fact he had other plans for the rest of it. The next thing he did was to requisition a rubberized bodysuit, something that was bizarre at face value. Yet, given metal's conductivity to heat and electricity, he'd rather not take any chances with incoming attacks conducting through the armor and into him, as opposed to down from the armor to the ground itself.

  He went to sleep late that night, more comfortable yet distant from the barracks room he'd been given in Heliopolis. He hadn't spent much time here to begin with, and most of that time Jill was beside him. Jill, who he'd never see again, because he'd been too weak to pull his side of the weight. To do his half of the responsibility when a Caller and Spirit worked side by side.

  He fell asleep stewing in those thoughts, and woke up early in the morning to a growling stomach. Soon enough, it was obvious as to why - He hadn't eaten at all the previous day, after returning from the Distortion with the rest. After stopping by the cafeteria to fill himself up, rather uneventfully, he left for Daedalus's office. The Spirit simply gave him a quirked up eyebrow when they met face to face.

  "Really, you're going to be asking for a refuel? I would've thought a man of your intelligence would realize your limitations. It really would be smarter to go talk with the psych department, leave this all behind for a bit."

  ...His tone was somewhat less disinterested than normal. If nothing else, he almost seemed to have some form of genuine concern. But Johannes knew that even if his sentiment was genuine, it was something that he couldn't abide by. Not if he really wanted to be a better man than the scared boy who had come to join Heliopolis.

  "Thanks, Daedalus, but I'll be fine. I have plans to summon a new Spirit and maintain my spot, so long as the Director permits it. You can call it a form of personal obligation."

  Daedalus scoffed lightly, but ultimately stepped away from the door, inviting Johannes in. The actual process of refueling it was surprisingly painless, a small wire that looked suspiciously similar to an IV drip was inserted to the Array's circuitry, and there was slight discomfort as magical energy was directly poured into and through the Array.

  "You know, Candidate 015, I can't help but notice your modifications. I'm sure the Director has noticed as well... Just be aware, blindness can be considered a form of tacit approval."

  Johannes chuckled lightly, but the sentiment came with a worrying pressure. If the Director was letting this one slide, when would he overstep the bounds? What could be the straw that would break the camel's back? It was as if he was a criminal who knew the police had evidence on him, but were waiting to utilize it until it would be more effective. He could feel sweat prickling at his brow as the refueling process finished, before taking the wire out himself once the thrum of magical energy had ended.

  "Daedalus, I don't suppose you have any pointers after seeing the records from Distortion one? Perhaps some ideas on spells, or tactics to keep in mind?"

  Daedalus's eye seemed to briefly sparkle, even as his words were as hoarse as ever. "But of course. The first step is to stop being so damned reckless. You and the rest of your ilk are human mages, and it's best to act like a human rather than trying to get into range with Spirits that can instantly kill you. Let monsters deal with monsters, in other words. And perhaps more importantly even than that, make any steps possible to ensure you don't end up in the medical team's clutches again. You're at less risk than Candidate 012 there, but it's still not a particularly good place for you to be."

  Johannes was half tempted to ask why he didn't want to be there, but found Flash of Inspiration nagging in the back of his head not to. Simply nodding lightly, he politely excused himself and got back to work. Soon enough, he would be summoning a new Spirit, and entering the brink once more.

  Next time, he wouldn't fail.

  Next time, he would be stronger, smarter, more experienced.

  Next time, he would work properly with whoever he summoned, regardless of their background.

  Next time, he would fulfill expectations, and not leave himself unsatisfied.

  Next time, he would not be left hollow and useless after all was said and done.

  End of Volume One, Onboarding