In Philos Year 214 (approximate), Xavier encounters the first known past-life of MC: a girl afflicted with Protocore Syndrome, too frail to survive long. Together they watch a once-a-century meteor shower at the Skymirror Salt Flat. She gifts him a handmade star-shaped tassel, which he ties to his wooden training sword. Desperate to save her, Xavier risks his life to procure a rare Protocore that could cure her condition. He returns too late — she dies in his arms. This is the event that establishes the star motif that recurs across every timeline. The red Evol-suppressor collar around his neck appears around this period, apparently acquired under duress as a condition of accessing the rare Protocore.