Atomic Abyss

"Mei, do you trust me?" Claude asked as he stood beside Mei in front of a large, black door, a small sign on the wall beside it was engraved with the word "Archive" neatly signed onto it.

Mei glanced at Claude. Her sleepy expression remained neutral. "Did Michael tell you he doesn't trust you?... He's protective of me and Claire... He trusts me because I lived with the Regents for a while... In time he'll come to trust you too... given your history I don't blame him for being cautious..."

She glanced at a card scanner attached to the door, she reached into her right pocket for a few seconds before she pulled out a small, black card.

Claude looked at Mei and sighed. He raised his voice a little. "You dodged the question. Don't do that. What did you say about my history? What do you know about me Mei? Answer me! Do you trust me or not?!"

Claude straightened his back and stood in front of her, he glared at her, the same piercing glare he used to bend Hecate to his will. His Abyssal Authority.

Mei yawned and shrugged. "Don't raise your voice at me Claude... I don't know anything... I just assumed I guess..." She faced down towards the floor but her eyes were fixed on Claude, glaring at him in equal measure. "Your Abyssal Authority only works on Demons by the way..." She sleepily nodded at him.

Claude's shoulders sagged and he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I kinda did that by accident. I didn't realise what I was doing."

Mei shrugged nonchalantly. "If you want people to trust you... don't try to use your authority to influence them..." She grabbed Claude's arm and he suddenly blacked out.

He woke up on the ground several minutes later. Mei was standing over him sleepily. She turned back to face the door in complete silence. A subtle warning of what she was capable of.

Claude slowly stood up beside her.

Mei used her card she pulled from her pocket on the card scanner.

A small beep and a pop-up on a screen above it appeared. It displayed "Administrative Access Granted." The door slid open with a click and Mei quietly walked inside with Claude following behind her.

The archive room was filled with servers all along the walls and various terminals connecting to each. All labelled from A to Z.

In the back there were old boxes stacked full of dusty files and binders. A security camera sat high up on the wall and various cables and wires snaked along the floor in neat tubes. The room was dimly lit with various flat circular lights on the ceiling.

Claude turned to Mei. "What did it mean Administrative access? What's that card for?" Mei yawned. "It's an admin card... I borrowed it..." She walked over to one of the terminals and tapped the touchscreen.

"I'm looking for something specific... if you want to find things about your power check the "Powers" section of the archive... and if you want to know about the Abyssal Authority... don't check "Curses"... it's not a curse..." She shrugged. "Check "Authorities"... you'll find it there..."

She turned to the terminal she was stood at and began scrolling across the touchscreen.

Claude followed the signs on the servers along to the letter "P", he touched the terminal and various digital files popped up.

"Powers, this must be the one. Let's see."

He scrolled through the files. Each one a case study documenting a specific power. Some he was familiar with, such as Mei's dream power, and some he wasn't, such as one titled "Protector's Vow".

Claude turned around. "Hey Mei, who's power is this?" He pointed to the terminal. Mei sleepily wandered to Claude. She reached the terminal and silently read the file on display.