Reborn as an SSS-Rank Guide in the Sentinel Academy [BL]

Julian didn’t answer right away. He just stood there, back pressed against the balcony railing, staring at this scarred stranger who somehow already knew exactly what question would knock the wind out of him.

’okay. how does he know that. how does anybody here know that, really this is really going to freak me out’ Julian thought, heart hammering a little faster than he wanted to admit.

[This is Commander Reid Calloway. SSS-Rank Sentinel. Head of the Empire’s border defense force. Threat level: extremely high]

’great. another SSS-Rank. does this place run out of those ever. I mean how many SSS-Class Sentinels do they have really’

[Negative]

"I asked you a question," Reid said, stepping closer, boots echoing off the stone floor slow and even, like a man who never rushed anything in his life because nothing had ever needed him to. "what kind of monster."

Julian straightened himself up, forcing his voice steady even though his stomach still felt like it dropped clean out of his body a minute ago. "why do you even care about that huh."

Reid’s eyes narrowed just slightly. "because I’ve spent the last three months watching my scouts come back from the northern border describing things that don’t match anything in our records. slow. relentless. they don’t stop, don’t feel pain, don’t retreat even when they should. my men are dying out there trying to figure out what we’re even fighting."

’that’s them. that’s exactly them, no doubt’ Julian thought, and the cold feeling from earlier crept right back up his spine.

"and then," Reid continued, "less than an hour ago, some kid nobody’s ever heard of pulls SSS-Rank out of nowhere, first one in Empire history, right after Aberration sightings start spiking for the first time in a decade. you’ll forgive me if I don’t believe in coincidences."

Julian didn’t say anything for a second, just stared at him, weighing exactly how much to say and how much to keep locked down tight.

[Host should proceed with caution. Revealing previous world knowledge carries unknown risk]

’yeah I figured that much out myself thanks’

"I don’t know what you’re fighting," Julian said finally, which wasn’t exactly a lie, more like a very careful dodge. "I just got my rank today. I don’t know anything about your border."

Reid studied him for a long moment, eyes doing that thing where they seemed to be reading straight through him instead of just looking at him. "you’re lying," he said, not angry, just flat, matter of fact. "not about everything. but about something."

Julian kept his face still, or at least he hoped he did. "you don’t know me."

"no," Reid agreed. "but I know that look. I’ve seen it on soldiers who’ve been to hell and made it back out the other side. you’ve got that look, kid, and you’ve had it about five minutes after getting handed a rank nobody’s ever seen before. that’s not coincidence either."

Footsteps sounded from the hallway again, faster this time, and Jayden came striding out onto the balcony with that same easy confidence from before, eyes flicking between Julian and Reid like he’d just walked into something interesting.

"Reid," Jayden said, tone shifting into something almost formal, "I see you’ve already found my new Guide."

"your Guide," Reid repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"working on it," Jayden said, smiling in that sharp way of his.

"I’m not his guide," Julian cut in immediately.

Reid ignored the both of them completely, still watching Julian close, like Jayden showing up hadn’t changed a single thing about what mattered to him right now. "you said you don’t know anything about the border," Reid said slowly, "but you went pale the second I mentioned Aberrations acting different. so let me ask you something else instead."

Julian’s jaw tightened.

"have you ever," Reid said, voice dropping even lower, "seen something claw its way back up after you thought you already killed it?"

The whole balcony went quiet, wind picking up just slightly, rustling through the gardens down below where those Sentinels kept training, completely oblivious to the conversation happening above them.

Julian felt his own pulse in his ears, felt the ghost of claws digging into his side all over again, felt six hours on a wall and three years of a world that never, ever stayed dead the way it was supposed to.

"yeah," Julian said quietly, before he could stop himself. "yeah, maybe I have."

Reid’s expression didn’t change, but something behind his eyes sharpened into focus, like a hunter finally spotting the thing he’d been tracking for miles.

"then you and I," Reid said, "need to have a very long talk."

And right as he said it, an alarm ripped through the entire academy, loud and screeching, red light flooding the hallway behind them, and a voice boomed out over some kind of speaker system, panicked and shaking...

"Aberration breach at the northern gate. all Sentinels report immediately. I repeat, this is not a drill."