As the alarm clock rang, Valentin slowly awoke from his sleep. His long red hair was still tousled, a pillow mark remained on his cheek, and his pyjamas looked more like a rag... He stared at his alarm clock for a while; it read 06:07. His eyes seemed lost in space, struggling to emerge from the darkness. As if he wanted to wake up completely, Valentin raised both hands and tapped his cheeks twice. Two slight pink marks appeared on his pale skin. Leaving his bed in disarray, he headed to the bathroom and began his morning routine. He busied himself combing his tousled hair and styling it into a high ponytail, adjusting his fringe. He then went to his dresser and put on his new uniform, marking the start of this exceptional day and the beginning of his practical year at the Time Agency. The uniform retained the agency's iconic monochrome grey, but the pieces were different. Valentin now wore a jumpsuit consisting of a short-sleeved top and shorts that fell just below his knees. Over this jumpsuit, he wore a sleeveless coat in a darker shade of grey. Finally, another coat made of transparent plastic completed the uniform. Valentin stood in front of the mirror, observing each piece and adjusting them carefully. He thought:
"This uniform is much more structured and functional than the previous one. So cool!"
Stepping closer to the mirror, he adjusted his red fringe one last time. He felt a mixture of excitement and nervousness. He checked the time on his alarm clock: 6:50 a.m. After adjusting his collar one last time, he took a deep breath and left his room. The Timeline glowed as always, casting a warm light on the corridor leading to the cafeteria. A few familiar figures in uniform crossed the space in silence, their eyes still half-closed, steaming cups in hand. The familiar smell of roasted coffee and pastries was already in the air. But when he entered the cafeteria, a completely different atmosphere greeted him. An electric energy spread throughout the room. It was crowded. Much more so than usual. All the trainee time agents, like Valentin, had gathered here for breakfast. And... they had taken up almost all the available tables. Conversations buzzed through the air like a nervous hive, punctuated by muffled laughter, glasses being set down, trays clattering together. Valentin, not very comfortable in crowds like this, tried to make his way to the tray dispensers. He opted for a Shiftlandian and Shizusekain fruit salad, Beamlanternian pancakes with maple syrup, and a Baggernois red fruit tea latte. Politely thanking the chefs and robots behind the counter, he turned around to scan the room.
"No..." he sighed at the sight of a group sitting at his usual table near the bay window, "Everything but today..."
He sighed again, before spotting his friends sitting at a small round table near the stairs leading to the Hall of Time — clearly a backup solution. Klein seemed to be tapping the table with his fingers, looking annoyed, while Rosa's irritation was evident as she stared at their stolen table. Valentin began to run towards them, zigzagging between the aisles and trying not to knock over his tray.
"Ah! Finally! It's about time!" exclaimed Klein when Valentin joined them. "Aren't you the one who usually wakes up earlier than everyone else?"
"Sorry... I slept really well after our party yesterday... So I didn't hear my first alarm..." apologised Valentin, setting down his tray.
"Apologies not accepted! We were counting on you to reserve our table! Now look! They've stolen it from us!" he said irritably.
"It was your job!" cried Rosa, crossing her arms and sighing dramatically.
"Honestly, Valentin... After everything we've been through with that table... You couldn't do that to us..." Klein continued, "All those moments we shared, all those study sessions, all those eating contests... How could you do that to it?!"
"All right, all right!" Valentin replied, "It's my fault, I get it..."
He sat down, adjusting his uniform. Klein was wearing the same uniform as him, except that he hadn't done up all the buttons on his collar, leaving it deliberately open for a more 'relaxed' look. His coat slung casually over his left shoulder, as if he refused to bow to the formality of the moment.
"Anyway!" sighed Valentin, taking a bite of his pancakes, "Can I ask why you're wearing your uniform like that? Are you trying to make a bad impression or seduce your mentor?"
"It's a tribute to my magnificent body, obviously!" replied Klein, puffing out his chest with pride.
"No, but we've heard it all now!" laughed Rosa, "Just admit the truth! You've got a new flirting target, that's all!"
Rosa, for her part, wore a more stylish version of the uniform. Her outfit was a dazzling shade of grey, subtly shimmering under the pale lights of the agency. Silver inserts dotted the sleeves of her coat, creating shifting reflections with every movement. Part of her hair was tied back in two small pigtails held in place by black bows, while the rest flowed freely down her back.
"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," Klein replied, feigning hurt. "And anyway, it's not my fault that people chase after me because of my dream body!"
"Of course! Especially since, in reality, you're the one chasing after them, not the other way around!" Valentin said ironically.
"Those are just details! Klein dismissed with a wave of his hand.
"It's not details, it's the truth!" exclaimed Rosa, nudging him in the ribs.
"Why am I even bothering to explain this to you guys?! You don't understand anything anyway. Nothing at all. It's so painful to live in a world of blind people!"
"No, but it's okay... Do you want a napkin to wipe your tears, while we're at it?" Rosa said ironically.
"Or a mirror to admire yourself even more?" added Valentin, finishing his fruit salad.
Their chatter began to mingle with the many discussions and bustle of the cafeteria. Rosa and Klein continued to bicker over their definitions of beauty, while Valentin acted as judge in their debate, smiling calmly. His heart was soothed by his friends. His anxiety was gone. His Baggernois red fruit latte filled his body with a feeling of sweetness, calming him even more.
With their trays now empty and the cafeteria bustle seemingly at its peak, a soft but insistent bell rang throughout the cafeteria and the Time Agency. Everyone fell silent in an instant. The usual hubbub gave way to a heavy silence. It was the signal. The start of the back-to-school ceremony. The Day of Beginning was finally here. The three friends rushed to the tray return counter, then headed for the Hall of Time.
"Right, let's go!" whispered Rosa, mechanically smoothing the creases in her uniform as she took out her pocket mirror.
They left the cafeteria and took one of the Agency's curved corridors, illuminated by the golden glow of the Timeline. Around them, other groups of students converged on the same destination, their footsteps hurried and their voices full of excitement. An electric atmosphere hung in the air. Valentin felt his heart tighten in his chest again as his anxiety returned. When they entered the hall, they were immediately struck by the solemn atmosphere that reigned there. The Hall of Time was a huge circular room with a ceiling so high that it seemed to disappear into a luminous mist. Dozens of LEDs suspended on the sides of the metal walls diffused a soft, silver-tinged light that made the shiny metal walls sparkle. In the centre, a modestly raised stage faced rows of students seated on chairs, all separated according to the departments to which they belonged. The three friends headed for the section reserved for DTSA. They found their seats with their names on them. They had to split into two groups. Rosa and Klein had seats next to each other in the tenth row, while Valentin was in the third row.
"Don't worry, Valentin!" exclaimed Rosa, "Mum and Dad are watching over you anyway!"
Valentin sighed and rolled his eyes, then went to take his seat. The general buzz gradually subsided until a solemn silence fell. A figure had just appeared on the stage. It was a man in his twenties. He walked slowly towards the lectern, dressed in a suit in shades of deep purple and midnight blue, tailored with almost supernatural precision. His long lavender hair, fading to a cool turquoise, was smooth and carefully styled into a loose ponytail. His silver-rimmed glasses, connected by a metal chain that ended in one of his jacket pockets, added a very distinguished touch to his unique appearance and highlighted his dark skin and the pale glow of his amethyst eyes. He looked like an icon frozen in time, a mixture of elegance and hypnotic strangeness. And yet, when he looked up at the audience, he exuded a reassuring calm. His deep, steady voice resonated clearly throughout the room.
"Temporal agents of tomorrow..."
He paused, as if to better capture everyone's attention. Valentin couldn't help but hold his breath involuntarily. He listened, captivated. Orion's voice was almost musical, enveloping, as if each word gently caressed the mind.
"Today marks your entry into a new era. An era where theory gives way to action, where hypothesis becomes decision, and where observation turns into intervention. Some of you will be called upon to maintain the great balances. Others to intervene in crises at a moment's notice. Still others to ensure the security of our timeline. But whatever path you take, remember: we are not here to impose our will on time..."
He paused briefly, scanning the room with his gaze. Then Orion continued, more slowly.
"...We are here to listen to it. To understand it. And if necessary... to defend it."
At that precise moment, his eyes scanned the assembly once more. And they stopped on Valentin. Orion stared at him for a moment. His deep violet gaze was warm, almost paternal. As if he were encouraging him from afar. Valentin felt a slight discomfort rising within him, nervous at the idea that the founder of the Time Agency himself was supporting him and staring at him. His fingers began to grip a strand of his red hair and play with it nervously. He held Orion's gaze, purely out of instinct, without looking away, even though the pressure was growing inside him, and responded with a simple, nervous smile. Then Orion finally looked away, as if nothing had happened, and continued.
"In a few moments, you will receive the name of the agent you are assigned to. Your mentor. This person will not be a mere instructor. They will be the one who will pass on to you not only knowledge, but a way of being, a responsibility."
He smiled very slightly.
"And sometimes... a bit of their madness."
A few stifled laughs rose from the room, breaking the tension for a moment. Then Orion concluded.
"Welcome to the Time Agency, dear future agents. And remember this: In the fold of time, history is woven."
A thunderous applause erupted as soon as Orion left the stage. The solemn calm of the Hall of Time was immediately swept away by a feverish cacophony: voices overlapped, laughter rang out, and some students were already getting up to try to see what was coming next: the announcement of the mentors' names. They jostled each other, discussed Orion's speech, and whispered absurd bets about who would get the strictest, coolest, or most mysterious mentor. But Valentin remained motionless. He had applauded, almost mechanically, but his thoughts were elsewhere. The speech had moved him—both in terms of its content and the way it had been delivered. Orion Nova had an undeniable presence, a magnetism that even he, usually unimpressed, found difficult to ignore. But it wasn't just that. But it wasn't just that. It was the look in his eyes. After catching his gaze, Valentin had felt embarrassed, but now he couldn't help but smile with excitement and pride. He had noticed him! The founder of the Time Agency himself! It was impressive, of course, but so exciting! If only he could...
"Valentin!"
Valentin snapped out of his thoughts and turned towards the voice. Rosa was calling him from a few seats away, Klein beside her, waving for him to join them. He sighed, shook his doubts away with a flick of his head, and got up to join them.
"Are you okay?" Klein asked him, his arms crossed behind his head. "You don't look yourself..."
"Everything's fine, don't worry!" Valentin replied with a smile. "I was just lost in my thoughts, that's all!"
He didn't want to mention the exchange of glances he'd had with Orion Nova. Not out of embarrassment, shame, or secrecy, but because he didn't know what to say about it at the time... Maybe it was just an impression or something else... Klein looked him up and down before saying, "If you say so..." Rosa was about to talk about her new fashion ideas after the Time Agency president's speech when a high-pitched but soft ringing sounded from their time bracelets. Everyone automatically looked down at their wrists. On Valentin's bracelet screen, a blue light came on and a hologram of a message appeared before his eyes:
- [Announcement] -
- [Assigning mentors to temporal agents] -
[DTSA]
Please note the following information:
Assignment: Renge Yukimi
Meeting Place: Desk B-482, Wing 3
Please join your mentor within the next ten minutes.
- Actual Administrator Level: 1 -
After reading the message, Valentin frowned slightly.
"Renge... Yukimi...?"
No matter how hard he searched his memory, the name did not ring a bell. It was unfamiliar to him, but it seemed to take hold of his thoughts. A bubble had formed around him, where no sound seemed to penetrate.
"I have a cool name!" exclaimed Klein, readjusting the collar of his uniform again. "Gabriel Lionny! Here we go!"
"Can you stop fantasising about your mentor for a second?!" replied Rosa. "Anyway! My mentor is Luca Unterhaltung! He seems to be from Baggern, like you, Klein!"
"What about you, Valentin? Who's your mentor?" Klein asked.
Valentin didn't answer. His mind was elsewhere. Renge Yukimi. Who could she be? Why did her name evoke such a strange feeling in him?
"Valentin! Valentin!"
A voice brought him back to reality. Rosa was waving her hand in front of his eyes. And Klein was staring at him, raising one of his eyebrows.
"Are you okay?" Rosa asked him. "Do you need to be left alone?"
"Huh? What? No! No! Everything's fine!" Valentin exclaimed, blushing slightly.
"'Are you sure?" Rosa insisted. "Since the end of the ceremony, you've been a bit out of it..."
"I promise! Everything's fine!" Valentin continued. "What was the question?"
"Who's your mentor?" Klein asked him again.
"Ah... That... It's Renge Yukimi."
There was silence for a few seconds, which seemed like hours to Valentin. And suddenly, Rosa and Klein exchanged glances and turned to him, their eyes wide.
"Renge Yukimi?!" exclaimed his two friends in unison.
Valentin feigned confusion.
"What?" he asked them, "What's going on?"
"Haven't you heard the rumours about her?!" Rosa asked, jumping in front of him.
"Huh? What rumours?"
"Judging by the look on your face, the answer is no..."
"Renge Yukimi is the most talented agent at DTSA," Klein replied. "She is known for her exceptional combat skills, particularly in weaponry and martial arts."
"What's more, I hear she's also the youngest agent at DTSA!" added Rosa, her eyes sparkling. "She's a year younger than us! Can you imagine! That would mean she joined the Time Agency when she was 12, maybe even younger! She's a pure genius! You're so lucky!"
"Ah... That's good then! Well, I suppose..." replied Valentin.