Present-day main story opens with MC helping a child catch a red Flammula — the small fish that is the recurring heraldic creature of the Rafayel-MC bond, appearing across multiple past lives. Rafayel identifies the Flammula immediately on sight, which is itself a quiet tell. MC warns him about Hat Island. He acknowledges her and walks off. This is their first conscious meeting in the present timeline — mundane on the surface, weight-laden beneath given what the Flammula represents across their shared history.