"Take the title of the strongest? How do you plan on doing that?" Quinn asked.
Shinra looked up. "There are families with deep ties to the Republic. I come from one of them. Logically, I have the best odds. Five main families—Amane, Aokami, Mitsuda, Tsukihara, and Sazanami. Most of the Republic's strongest come from those bloodlines. If you're born into one of them, you're expected to serve. No exceptions."
Quinn's brow furrowed. "Is that what you plan to do? To be one of their servants?"
Shinra's eyes hardened. "No. I'll use them to climb into the inner circle. The Republic controls everything resonance-related. My real goal…" He paused, voice dropping. "…is to collapse it. But that's impossible. Not while Akashi lives."
Quinn's breath caught. "Akashi…? Oh, the one you referred to as the strongest?"
"I've never seen him fight," Shinra admitted, "but from what I've heard, he's perfection. He's erased entire organizations single-handedly. Even without him, I can't touch the other S-rank enforcers as I am now." He waved it off, almost carelessly. "Forget what I said about bringing down the Republic."
Then Shinra's gaze locked onto Quinn with a weight that made his chest tighten.
Collapse the Republic…? Is that even possible? Quinn thought.
Breaking the silence, Shinra suddenly asked, "Oh, right. Aren't you making your oath tomorrow?"
"Huh? Oath?" Quinn asked, confused.
Shinra tilted his head. "They really didn't tell you much, huh? Fine, I'll explain. In our world, you can form oaths—with weapons or remnants. I say 'weapon,' but it differs for each resonator. The choice isn't yours. It's your resonance's. The process is simple. I'll take you there tomorrow."
Quinn hesitated. "Do you… have a weapon?"
Shinra gave a small laugh. "Nah. I'm incompatible. They said it's so rare, it's only happened a handful of times in history. Doesn't bother me." His tone shifted, serious again. "Tomorrow, one of three things will happen: your resonance chooses a weapon from the Republic's arsenal, your resonance creates its own weapon… or it rejects the oath entirely, like mine did.
Our resonances—they're not alive, but they do make choices. Choices they believe are best for us. That's why…" Shinra leaned closer.
"Always trust your resonance."
"Oh, and speaking of Resonances, you still haven't told me what you can do."
What I can do? Well, I don't really know yet, do I? Quinn thought to himself.
"I'm still trying to figure that out," he said casually, brushing the question aside. But Shinra's expression made it clear he didn't buy that answer.
Quinn knew he had to discover his abilities—and soon. So far, the only thing he could do was summon that girl. Not much to build on.
Wait. Didn't Rin say Shinra was going to challenge me? Am I so weak he doesn't even see me as a threat?
"Well, it's been a long day. I'm heading to bed," Quinn muttered, turning toward his bunk.
But then it hit him. A shiver ran down his spine. Something—something monstrous—lingered just outside the door.
Knock. Knock.
"Announce yourself," Shinra demanded.
"It's me! Open the door," a woman's voice called back.
Shinra sighed, visibly annoyed. "Yeah, one second."
He walked over and opened the door. A girl stood there, brushing past him as though she owned the room.
"What do you want?" Shinra asked flatly.
"Nothing really. I just wanted to meet our new squad member." She flashed Quinn a quick smile. "My name's Yuzuki, but you can call me Yuzu."
Quinn blinked. Shinra added with a groan, "Her last name's Amane, but she hates being called that."
Yuzuki's eyes snapped toward him. "What did I tell you about saying that name around me?" Her tone sharpened, dripping with hostility.
Quinn could almost feel the air shift. But just as quickly, she dropped it. "Anyway, Shinra—Aki's coming back tomorrow."
Shinra raised a brow. "Damn, already? Two weeks gone, just like that?"
"Who's Aki?" Quinn asked.
Yuzu turned back to him. "When we joined the Republic, there were three of us—me, Shinra, and Aki Araki. He's in another squad, but we keep in touch. He's been on a mission in America these past two weeks. You'll meet him soon."
"Yeah, maybe," Quinn said. "I've got to get my Oath Weapon tomorrow, but maybe after that."
"Right, right. Anyway, it's time for me to go. Bye now," Yuzuki said casually.
Shinra waved her off. "Finally."
She ignored him. "We should be getting a high-ranking mission soon, so be ready," she warned before slipping out, the door clicking shut behind her.
Quinn sat back on his bed. Minutes passed. Sleep refused to come. Something gnawed at him—like invisible hands keeping his eyes open.
Quinn. Quinn.
The voice echoed in his head. His eyes darted around the room, but the only one there was Shinra—already knocked out cold.
Am I going insane?
He clenched the sheets. No… maybe I'm just too wound up. The oath tomorrow, the weapon…
Finally, exhaustion won, and Quinn drifted into uneasy sleep.