Chronos just sighed.

"I can bring it to 50%." he told her.

"But given that I will be maintaining dreams for a while, that'll be taxing for me." he said.

"But I CAN and WILL do that." he stressed.

"And YOU." he then said to Leo.

"....y-yes?" Leo asked.

"The records system of the Order has become too archaic. Can you bring it more into the technology age?" Chronos asked him.

"....that... presents some interesting challenges, but I think it's not outside the realm of possibility..." Leo admitted.

"....well..." Leo mumbled.

"Actually... I've been in contact with some friends, and we may be able to produce a system and hub that is entirely mana based." he told her.

"Now, granted, it'd need to be electric mana, but we MIGHT get it to work." he continued.

"Which is to say, it'd be a system that exists entirely for the Order, connecting to nothing else, but we might need to... refill the tank every so often... so to speak." he added.

"If it's feasible, do it." Chronos told him.

"And I will do what I can to help rebuild the Order." he then told Syraene.

"I want it back as much as you two do."

"I... yeah, I should be all right." Illias responded.

"With what I know now, I should be able to finish this on my own." he added.

"Yes, the head vanished." Chronos confirmed.

"Well, the old one did." he then clarified. "The new head should do a much better job." he went on.

"Who's the new head?" Leo asked.

Chronos just smirked, and gestured towards Syraene.

"I am." Chronos responded.

"You may not be the most level-headed. You may let personal bias get in the way. You may not be perfect. But since you started working at the Order, things have done nothing but improve." he told her.

"But that improvement eventually stopped when those relics at the top realized you were shaking things up and threatening their little cushy lives on their cushy little 'thrones'." he went on.

"So it matters not to me whether or not you act like the head, you ARE the head. And I KNOW that it'll make the Order better." he finished, certainty in his tone.

She had been so distracted, that she really hadn't noticed where, in the cafeteria, she had sat down. However, it did NOT go unnoticed by someone else there.

He smirked to himself, seeing how distracted and concerned she looked, before glancing at someone else who was standing nearby. They were keeping an eye on him, but were also allowing themselves to scan the area and say hello to people, carry on small conversations, and such.

He guessed it was because of the special 'bracelets' that they had outfitted him with.

He then waited for the standing person to look away and engage in a small conversation, before looking at the young woman.

"Someone seems a bit down in the dumps." he commented offhand.

'...heh.' the man thought.

'Already a good start.' he told himself.

"Well, sometimes it helps to talk." he said.

"What's got you so down?" he asked, sounding slightly concerned.

"Whatever it is, it really seems like it's weighing you down." he then added.

"A few days?" he asked.

'........hmmm...' he thought.

"I see." he said.

"Well, I'm new here, but I do hear things people talk about." he then told her.

"Perhaps I can help. Who's your friend?" he asked.

".....Angela?" he asked.

"Angela Edwards?" he asked further.

She nodded in response.

"Oh.... oh, I see." he then said, looking away some.

"I... well... I heard that... she's in the hospital." he told her.

"Overheard some people talking about it. Really worried about her."

The man just smirked, and chuckled to himself when she left.

"What's so funny?" he heard his guard ask.

"....absolutely nothing, nothing at all." he replied confidently.

Meanwhile, Hal looked at the woman from behind his desk, and nodded.

"Of course, Peyton." he replied, gesturing for her to sit down.

"What can I help you with?" he asked her.

"........." Hal was silent.

"Damn it all." he cursed quietly.

"Yes. It's true." he said.

"I thought someone had told you. I don't know why I thought that, but I did." he commented, clearly sounding guilty over this.

"I'm sorry." he apologized.