"Don't dose off now, this section is particularly important." Saphielle said, her tone sharp and impatient. She narrowed her eyes slightly, watching Kai's head jerk up as if pulled by invisible strings. The boy blinked at her, his brows furrowing as he focused on the open tome in front of him. The vast chamber of the Apeiro Vivliothiki stretched around them like the skeleton of a long-forgotten titan. Saphielle adjusted her posture, brushing a silken strand of golden hair behind her ear with the sort of elegance she executed without thought. Her sapphire eyes, sharp and focused, scanned the open scripture in front of her. It was an aged piece: text penned in looping, shimmering ink that shifted hues when touched by the ambient temporal energy.
Across from her, Kai slouched, his hair was a mess, his eyes slightly glazed, but to his credit, there was a flicker of effort in the way he tried to sit upright. She sighed softly. The way humans are okay with being messy and unkept...is something I will never understand. "Let's start with something simple," she said, tapping the page with a gloved finger, her tone smoothing out as she eased into lecture mode. "Temporal Drifters, that is what we call the lowest classification among the Leviathan subspecies. Their threat level is only F-class. Harmless to us unless encountered in overwhelming numbers." She glanced at him. He was listening now, eyes locked onto the strange ink as it gently shimmered beneath her fingertip.
"They have no capacity for temporal manipulation," she continued, voice even and clipped. "No energy-based attacks, no high-tier physical capabilities. Their forms are unstable, barely able to maintain coherence for long periods outside their native dimension. Think of them as.... flickers. Irritating, perhaps. But ultimately insignificant." Kai's brow furrowed, his azure eyes catching the light as he leaned slightly forward. "So they are like... gnats?" he asked, one eyebrow quirking. Saphielle gave a soft, almost imperceptible smile. "If we go by terms humans use, then yes your....observation, is correct. Irritating in swarms. Irrelevant in isolation."
She gestured to another tome at her side, already opened to a few different anatomical sketches of a Drifters. Some resembled a twisted, eel-like creature with transparent skin stretched over an elongated form, its many eyes scattered like constellations across its sinuous body, while some had small spider-like bodies, with glowing fangs under the clusters of eyes on their misshapen heads. "They are drawn to residual energy leaks. Small tears in the temporal fabric. Sometimes they gather near decaying Leviathans, or near a Time-Keeper who has not properly anchored themselves after combat. A minor nuisance, but still worth understanding." She flicked her wrist, and the pages turned with a subtle shimmer of temporal magic, revealing charts, diagrams, and threat protocols. Kai rubbed the back of his neck. "And if too many of these things gather?.....what happens then?"
"If too many drifters gather in one location, they can merge," she said curtly, fixing him with a gaze that told him this part mattered. "And once they merge, their collective consciousness becomes dangerous. While their individual capabilities are limited, in unison, they can mimic higher-tier Leviathans. An imperfect being which can slow, yes, but one that can still inflict fatal wounds if you let your guard down." He swallowed at that, the sense of unease spread across his temple. Finally, she saw it: engagement. The gears in his head turning. Good....looks like the he may be worth the effort after all.
Saphielle leaned back in her chair, the soft rustle of feathers as her pristine white wings adjusted behind her. The glow from the hovering lanterns above caught on the edge of her expression: serene, but unrelenting. "Knowledge is your second blade, Kai," she said quietly, fingers tracing a glowing line of script on the parchment. "It sharpens your instincts. It allows you to predict, prepare..... survive. Do not treat it lightly." Kai gave a slow nod, more solemn this time. "Got it."
Saphielle didn't give him long to breathe. The moment he gave that solemn nod, she was already shifting to the next tome: one bound in dark leather etched with glowing runes that pulsed faintly like a heartbeat. With a wave of her hand, the book unlatched itself and opened, pages fluttering until they stilled on a gruesome, vivid depiction of a creature that looked like it had been pulled from the nightmares of creation. "If Drifters are gnats," she began, her voice smooth but edged like a blade drawn slow, "then these are the dogs that hunt at the heels of death."
Kai's shoulders tensed as he stared at the illustration. The creature had the vague shape of a canine, but its body was far too long, as if stretched by something cruel. Jagged, blackened bone jutted out beneath thin sheets of coarse muscle, and twin rows of fangs curved outward from its snarling jaw like exposed blades. Its eyes: three on each side, glowed with a dull, sickly red. "They are called Temporal Hounds," Saphielle said, crossing one leg over the other as she folded her hands in her lap. "They are considered to be an E-class threat. Still far beneath our notice in isolation, but unlike Drifters.....these can wound you." Kai blinked, glancing between her and the page. "But they don't use energy attacks?"
"No," she confirmed. "They lack the capability to manifest their temporal energy externally. However, their physicality makes up for that deficit. Teeth strong enough to pierce our suits. Claws that can tear through flesh and bone, should they catch you off guard." Her gaze sharpened, watching the way his hands curled slightly on the table, the gears turning again. "They cannot breach into reality on their own, which is why they often appear as companions to higher-tier Leviathans. Think of them as scavengers...or parasites. They latch onto stronger entities and feed off the residual energy those beings emit, energy we call recessive flow. It allows them to persist longer outside their native plane." Kai grimaced. "So...they're basically guard dogs."
"Precisely." She allowed a small nod of approval at the analogy. "But don't make the mistake of assuming they are mindless. Unlike Drifters, Temporal Hounds demonstrate low-tier cognition. Strategy and basic pattern recognition. Some have even been observed executing coordinated ambushes on weakened Time-Keepers." That made him go stiff. His brows drew together, and his fingers tapped absently against the wood as he stared down at the inked sketch. The thought of something like that being capable of thought clearly unsettled him. Good. It should. "They prefer to work in packs," she went on, shifting the page to show another illustration: three of them circling a downed, faceless figure cloaked in temporal armor. "And they are fiercely territorial. Once they bond to a stronger Leviathan, they will follow it until their death or until it no longer emits sufficient energy to sustain them."
Kai's voice was quieter now, more thoughtful. "What happens if their host is killed?" "They often turn feral," Saphielle replied with clinical calm, "lashing out at the nearest source of temporal energy. Which, if you've just slain their alpha, means you." She let that sink in for a beat. The silence hung heavy between them, broken only by the faint flutter of distant pages and the low hum of temporal currents that ran through the foundations of the library. Kai finally exhaled. "So.....don't let your guard down. Even after a fight." Saphielle arched a brow. "Good, looks like you may survive a few decades after all."
She leaned forward slightly, folding her wings tight against her back as she turned another page this one filled with glyphs detailing containment protocols and response tactics. The symbols pulsed softly, casting ripples of light across her gloves as she traced a pattern. "Knowledge serves as an anchor," she murmured. "And right now, you are drifting. So listen carefully.....and tether yourself before the current takes you." Kai straightened a bit more at that, his gaze steady despite the flicker of discomfort behind it.
Saphielle tapped her fingertip against the surface of the next tome, and this one reacted differently. A ripple of energy pulsed outward from the point of contact, and the leather-bound book uncoiled itself like a living thing, pages rustling as if inhaling. Kai watched in silence now, tension coiled behind his eyes, posture more upright. His mind was finally beginning to behave like that of a student. "These," Saphielle began, her voice cool and even, "are Temporal Milites." The page settled on a striking sketch: an armored figure with no face, one hand clenched around a jagged spear made of folded time, the other reaching outward as if summoning something unseen. In the adjacent diagram, the same creature appeared again, but with subtle differences: longer limbs, animalistic features, sharp horns curling back from its head like a ram's.
"Their threat level is D-rank," she stated crisply. "A significant jump from the Hounds. These ones are not to be taken lightly. They have enough temporal energy to project offensively: bolts, waves, even rudimentary constructs in rare cases." Kai's brow furrowed. "So they can cast energy attacks?" he asked hesitantly. "Crude forms of it, yes," she replied, tilting her head slightly as her gaze remained locked on the page. "But do not mistake crude for harmless. A single solid strike from a Milites can rupture bone. If a Time-Keeper is exhausted or already wounded, it can be fatal."
She turned another page. This one showed a Milites with the form of a lithe, feline-like beast, energy lines glowing like molten veins across its black hide. Another resembled a humanoid knight, but with four arms and skin that appeared carved from obsidian. Kai's eyes scanned each with quiet dread. "They take many shapes," Saphielle continued, her tone a touch more intrigued now. "Some animalistic, others more humanoid. There is no consistency to their forms: only to their intent. They are warriors, not berserkers. And they think." Kai looked up at that. "How intelligent?" Saphielle met his gaze. "Comparable to a mature human. They can plan. Adapt. Ambush. Retreat. Even negotiate.....though rarely. They are lone operators, for the most part, and tend to avoid stronger beings unless they have no choice." He frowned. "So they are... cowards?"
"Not cowards," she corrected smoothly. "Survivors." Her wings gave a faint twitch, the downy feathers rustling behind her like whispering parchment. "They are aware of their limitations. And unlike the creatures we've covered so far.....these ones can form loyalties." Kai blinked. "Loyalties? You mean..... like packs?" "No, this one is a step higher than that. I am referring to allegiances." She turned another page, this one depicting a towering Leviathan cloaked in swirling entropy, and beneath its shadow stood several Milites, each kneeling in deference, their energy signatures visibly resonating with the being above them.
"They pledge themselves to stronger Leviathans," Saphielle said. "Not out of reverence, but strategy. So long as they serve and survive, they gain protection. Access to greater reservoirs of energy. A purpose." She paused, allowing the weight of that to settle between them. Kai was staring at the page now, his jaw tight. "So they're like.....soldiers." Her eyes gleamed with quiet approval. "Yes. Soldiers of the void. And like soldiers, they learn. Every encounter with them is different. You may face a beast-like Milites who pounces and claws. Or a knight-variant who wields weaponry forged from compressed time and shadow. You will never know until you engage."
He exhaled slowly, rubbing his temple. "Hmm.....I suppose that means strategy matters. Fighting them is different from just overpowering them." "Exactly," she said. "You cannot merely overpower a Milites. You must outthink them. Because if you don't-" "They'll already have figured out how to kill me," Kai muttered. Saphielle allowed a small, rare smirk. "You're catching on." She rose gracefully from her seat, wings folding tight as she moved toward one of the floating shelves hovering above them. A tome drifted down at her signal, thick and veined with glowing threads, and hovered by her side like a loyal specter. "Take a short reprieve," she said, not looking back at him just yet. "The next ones we study will not tolerate ignorance."
Kai swallowed but gave a quick nod. Behind his weariness, there was something new in his eyes. Not just attention...but intent. And that, she thought, was how one begins to sharpen a blade.