"Yes, that would be everything."

Kyle nodded as he finished recounting the incident from beginning to end. There wasn’t much to report, but he made sure not to omit a single detail. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The man seated behind the glass panel, who had been recording the entire statement, looked up from his notes and spoke into the microphone.

"Alright. I’ve noted everything down. However, would you mind answering a few questions my superior has?"

The request caught Kyle slightly off guard, but he didn’t dwell on it for long.

"Sure."

"Kyle."

A different voice resonated through the speaker.

"First of all, I’m glad to see you survived two unexpected incidents without serious harm. You should give some credit to both your luck and your abilities."

A wry smile tugged at Kyle’s lips.

Luck?

That was difficult to believe.

Considering how frequently he found himself stumbling into situations like these, he often felt the exact opposite.

First the incident during the trip.

Now two consecutive days of chaos at work.

If that was luck, it had a strange way of showing itself.

"Hearing your report, I noticed something rather interesting," the voice continued. "Your ability to adapt to rapidly changing situations is exceptional. However, after reviewing your previous missions, including those you carried out as a rogue, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised."

Kyle’s expression remained calm.

The observation wasn’t far from the conclusion he himself had reached long ago.

Experience had taught him that plans rarely survived contact with reality.

The moment things went wrong, hesitation became a death sentence.

Adapt or die.

It was a simple lesson, but one the world had drilled into him a few times.

Kyle sighed.

"Well, you could say I have a talent for attracting trouble... or diving headfirst into it."

"I’d prefer to believe it’s all a series of coincidences," the voice replied. "Otherwise, we may have to find an office desk for you here instead of letting you participate in missions."

Kyle chuckled.

"In that case, I might have to start wearing a hood and a mask again."

The person behind the microphone laughed at that.

The man seated behind the glass panel, however, looked anything but amused.

"Getting back to the matter at hand," the voice continued, "would you be willing to carry out a solo exploration tomorrow?"

Kyle frowned slightly.

"I don’t quite understand. You want me to inspect a site on my own? Just on my third day at internship?"

"In a sense, yes."

The voice paused briefly before continuing.

"This is mainly to address a growing belief among some people that your presence is somehow connected to the anomalous activity occurring around these rifts."

The amusement vanished from Kyle’s face.

His expression turned completely blank.

The implication behind those words was impossible to miss.

The voice quickly added,

"Trust me, even if something unusual does occur tomorrow, your freedom of movement will not be restricted. And if my word alone isn’t enough, you can verify it yourself on the terminal in front of you."

Kyle lowered his gaze.

Several new emails were appearing on the screen one after another.

He tapped the first one open.

As the contents unfolded before him, his eyes narrowed slightly while the room fell into silence.

It was a report from the central east.

The attached images showed a rift that had expanded to such an extent that it resembled the entrance of a massive cave rather than a simple spatial tear.

"This was recorded yesterday," the voice explained. "And as you can see, you weren’t anywhere near the location. So no, this isn’t about you."

Kyle studied the report for a moment before asking,

"If I can see this, then shouldn’t the people who doubt my involvement be able to see it as well?"

"That’s a fair question."

The voice paused briefly.

"However, sometimes evidence alone isn’t enough to silence speculation. To put those concerns to rest completely, I believe it’s perfectly reasonable for you to inspect a site on your own. Don’t worry. An officer will remain nearby in case of an emergency."

Kyle let out a quiet sigh.

Now he was actually worried.

Not because of the assignment itself, but because fate seemed to have developed an unhealthy obsession with throwing him into bizarre situations.

The last thing he needed was another impossible incident occurring while he was alone.

That would only give people more reasons to point fingers at him.

’Please... just don’t let anything strange happen tomorrow.’

The silent wish passed through his mind as he rose from his seat.

His report was complete.

As far as today’s responsibilities were concerned, he was finished.

Stepping outside the room, he found a woman in a black suit waiting nearby.

The moment she noticed him, she straightened slightly.

"The Commander has summoned you."

Kyle nodded.

Taking out his phone, he quickly sent Amanda a message.

’Head back home and wait for me there. I might be a little late.’

She was already close to his house anyway. Earlier, she had gone out to buy a few things for the place, so there was no point wandering around while she waited.

The reply arrived almost instantly.

’I was already planning to. But is everything alright? Did something happen during the report?’

He quickly reassured her.

’Everything went fine. I even got my assignment for tomorrow.’

Speaking of tomorrow, his cousin and parents would be coming over as well.

If he finished his work early enough, he could probably spare an hour or two to meet them.

The guests themselves weren’t what made him hesitate.

It was his parents.

For some reason, thoughts of them always left him wondering whether he should return to the family home or continue keeping his distance.

Still, he couldn’t avoid the issue forever.

Tomorrow, he would go.

Knock.

"Come in."

After receiving permission, Kyle pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The rich aroma of coffee mixed with the faint scent of incense greeted him immediately.

His gaze shifted toward the woman standing beside a bookshelf, carefully scanning its contents.

"Sit."

Without looking back, she pulled a book from the shelf.

Kyle dragged a chair forward and took a seat.

Resting his hands on the table, he glanced at the book she placed before him.

Historic Observation of Knull.

"This...?" Kyle asked.

"Since you’ll be taking a crash course, I doubt you’ll have enough time to cover the entire academic curriculum," she replied. "And I thought you might find this particular subject interesting."

Kyle hummed thoughtfully.

"So these are observation records related to the rifts?"

"More or less." She nodded. "You could say they’re a collection of theories, observations, and historical accounts. They document what people from different eras believed about the origin of Knull, the cause behind the rifts, and the changes they observed over the decades."

"Knull?" Kyle leaned back in his chair.

"You mean the place beyond the rifts?"

His eyes remained fixed on the title.

"I remember hearing that nobody who entered that place ever came back."

The woman nodded in assent. A faint smile appeared on her face.

"Yes, you’re correct," Veronica said. "However, there have been individuals throughout history who claimed to have caught a glimpse of what lies beyond."

Kyle looked genuinely surprised.

"And those claims were actually taken seriously enough to be recorded in academic material? I have to admit, that’s a little disappointing."

Veronica chuckled.

"Just treat them as stories. The sort of fantasies people come up with when they’re seeking attention or letting paranoia get the better of them."

Her gaze lowered briefly before she added,

"That said, the observations in that particular book were recorded by one of the greatest researchers and warriors humanity has ever produced. So perhaps don’t dismiss everything too quickly."

"Of course." Kyle picked up the book. "At this point, I’m practically a child in this world. I need to absorb as much information as possible just to keep up."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks."

Veronica nodded.

"Alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow."

With that, she rose from her seat, assuming Kyle would do the same and leave.

Instead, he remained where he was.

The book rested in his hands as he stared at her with an expression she couldn’t quite decipher.

"Kyle?"

A hint of confusion crept into her voice.

"Why do I get the feeling you’ve been distancing yourself lately?" he asked.

Veronica blinked.

"I mean, we only interact when work forces us to. It couldn’t be that you’re deliberately creating boundaries because I’m one of your cadets now, could it?"

Veronica shook her head immediately.

"No, it’s not like that. I mean... that’s completely different and..."

Her words faltered midway.

"Oh?" Kyle tilted his head slightly. "Then why haven’t you contacted me unless there was a professional reason to do so? What changed over the last three days?"

Veronica’s shoulders slumped.

The explanation she had prepared suddenly felt flimsy under his direct gaze.

"Kyle..." she began softly. "I feel like Amanda becomes a little guarded whenever I try to get closer. And because of that, I worry my presence might end up restricting you in one way or another."

She paused before continuing.

"I don’t want you to feel burdened by the tension between the two of us."

Silence settled over the room.

Kyle studied her for several seconds.

Then, slowly, he rose from his chair.

The movement made Veronica instinctively straighten.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

She blinked.

"What?"

"If you don’t already have plans, I want you to come over and have dinner with Amanda and me."

Kyle took a slow breath before continuing.

"Because I don’t think you’ve truly understood what kind of person Amanda is. So tonight, I will be waiting for you.

°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.