They met at dawn.
Because, apparently, even existential crises have a schedule.
Kazuki sat on a crate in the ruined barn, arms crossed, trying very hard not to look like he wanted to run. Mistral was already judging him from a nearby windowsill, tail flicking like a metronome of disdain.
Darin leaned against the doorframe, cheerful as ever, except his eyes were sharper than usual. Like his optimism was a mask that had started slipping.
Vera stood with her arms folded, cloak billowing like the breeze respected her emotional damage. She hadn't spoken yet. That was not comforting.
Kaelith paced.
She was the one who'd called this "meeting." Which meant someone was going to cry, probably Kazuki.
"So," Kaelith began, "we've all been dancing around it."
Kazuki flinched. "Dancing's a strong word. I've been sprinting in the opposite direction."
"You're the Vessel," she said. "The cult wants you. The gods are betting on you. And the shrines are tied to you. So it's time we stopped pretending this is normal adventurer stuff."
Kazuki looked down. "I didn't ask to be important."
"That's the problem," Vera snapped. "You are."
Silence.
Then Darin stepped forward, surprisingly serious.
"Look, man. I like you. You're weird, and you attract problems like a wet towel attracts mildew, but you're... good. But you're also dangerous. And I think you know that."
Kazuki looked up, eyes haunted.
"I see things. Dream echoes. Visions. Versions of me that aren't me. And every time I level up, I feel something... wake up. Inside. Like I'm not climbing a skill tree—I'm climbing back into something I was."
Vera turned, her voice lower now. "I found something in that shrine. A sealed record. It called the Vessel a 'carrier of consequences.' Said that once awakened, you carry the weight of every failed cycle before you."
Kazuki swallowed hard. "So I'm a walking bad decision repository?"
"No," she said. "You're a weapon. A reset switch."
Kaelith stepped in. "And that means people are going to come after you. Not just cults. Empires. Maybe even other adventurers. People who think killing you ends the threat—or activates it."
Kazuki looked at them all. His weird, chaotic, overpowered-and-underprepared squad.
"I'm not ready for this."
Mistral yawned. "No one ever is. But you're stuck with us now."
They sat in silence for a while, the weight of destiny pressing down like an unpaid tax.
Then Kazuki said, "Okay. New plan. We stay together. We clear the shrines. We figure this out before I go full apocalypse."
Kaelith nodded. "Fine."
Vera muttered, "Temporary truce."
Darin smiled. "Team name?"
Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "What now?"
"Come on," Darin grinned. "We can't just keep being 'Provisional Squad 3.' It sounds like we're an experimental meal at a bad restaurant."
Kazuki thought for a moment.
Then: "How about... Team Catastrophe?"
Mistral purred. "Now that's branding I can get behind."