The Coliseo.

Before he was taken in by the Imperial Guard, Arcturius remembered going to the Coliseo every half-year with the entire orphanage to enjoy the Imperial Games. There, the Imperial Legions fought in mock battles and individual soldiers competed in different contests of valor, showing the citizenry the discipline and prowess of the Imperial Army. The Games instilled in the people pride and assurance in the Empire, and even enough patriotism in many young men and women for them to enlist in the Army.

While it was true that the Games inspired the Imperial People, for Arcturius, the Coliseo itself played a significant part in inspiring Arcturius to pursue knighthood. Arcturius remembered being always awed at the sheer presence of the titanic Coliseo. He remembered how the titanic structure exuded a sense of eternity, of immortality. He remembered the giant statues of Imperial Heroes and Knights holding up the Coliseo, serving as the Coliseo's solid pillars. Reading each of their stories etched into their pillars always filled the young Arcturius with a desire to become a man of virtue and valor as well.

Even as he matured and joined the Imperial Guard, Arcturius held a deep appreciation of the Coliseo. To him, the Coliseo became a symbol of the Empire itself. The entire structure seemingly eternally strong but also held up by the leal and valorous heroes and knights of the Empire. It was a not-so subtle symbolism to the relationship between him and the Empire, something he also took pride in.

To Arcturius, the Coliseo held great personal meaning. A symbol of the Empire. A symbol of service. A symbol of purpose. To see it now, along with the rest of the City of Roma, as a historic ruin, gave Arcturius a dull pain and a sense of disappointment in his heart.

The people of the modern era found them beautiful, magnificent. Even as ruins, the skill of the greatest architects of the Empire shone through, easily garnering the admiration of men and women alike. Each stone spoke of unwritten history, exciting historians like his colleague, Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck. But Arcturius once saw them in their full magnificence, their full brilliance, so to see them in a ruined state just hammered in the truth that the Empire was gone, his era was gone. He was all that was left of such times.

He was alone.

"Lien for your thoughts, stranger?"

In just a quick moment, Arcturius broke from his internal musings to twist his body to the new voice, unconsciously placing a hand on the sword attached to his hip.

In front of him, Arcturius saw a clean-faced man raising his hands up in a show of surrender. He wore a plain white toga, prompting Arcturius to initially think that the man was a tour guide or tourist. Arcturius dismissed that quick almost as quickly as he noted that compared to the simplistic and comfortable bastardization of the toga that was sold as merchandise and some of the local tour guides wore, the man's toga was intricate and flowing, reminiscent of how they were in his own times.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. You just seemed so deep in thought while in front of the Coliseo that I was curious to know if you were a fellow scholar." The young man explained in a slightly nervous tone, taking a few steps back to give Arcturius space.

Acknowledging that the man meant no harm, Arcturius removed his hand from his sword and relaxed his posture.

"I apologize as well. I must have been very deep in thought since I usually would notice a person's presence near me." Arcturius apologized to the man with a small bow of his head.

The man, seeing that Arcturius had relaxed, brought down his hands and gave a small, nervous chuckle.

"Hehe, no worries. It was my fault anyway. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Byzantine Eldonac, self-professed scholar of Roma." The man said with slight awkwardness in his voice as he offered up his hand for Arcturius to shake.

"Turius Arc. Beacon faculty." Arcturius introduced himself as he shook Byzantine's offered hand.

"Ahh, Beacon? Are you, perhaps, a professor?" Byzantine asked, his body gradually relaxing from its slightly fearful state previously.

"No, no. I would not dare assume that honor. I am simply an assistant to the professors there." Arcturius corrected the young adult, settling into the conversation as well.

"I see. Are you then, perhaps, on a research expedition here in Roma, Mr. Arc?" Byzantine continued, his curiosity now outweighing his prior awkwardness.

"Officially, no. I am on other Beacon business. Though my colleague, Doctor Oobleck, is also using this time as an opportunity to study the city more." Arcturius explained, smiling as he remembered how excited Bartholomew was when he set off to study the tunnels of the Roma Palace. Arcturius would have joined him in any other place, but the Roma Palace held too many memories that Arcturius didn't think he was ready to relive again.

"Anyways, I am curious about your outfit. It is… different from what I usually see the tourists and guides wear here." Arcturius asked, wishing to change the topic.

Byzantine seemingly didn't notice the change of conversation and smiled as he looked down on his clothes.

"I was wondering if you would notice that. Unlike what they sell in those tourist stores, which are essentially bedsheets, this is a more faithful rendition of the togas of old, being made from wool and made far larger than bedsheets." Byzantine explained, spreading his arms open to better showcase the full toga.

"Is there a reason why you wear it?" Arcturius asked again, becoming truly curious about it.

"Ah, yes, yes. You see, I am part of the Order of Stewards here in Roma. My family is one of the several Romano families that served as stewards of Roma you see. The order used to be of considerable prestige in the past, but we're now no more than just pomp and ceremony with the ushering of the modern era." Byzantine began his explanation, looking excited to share his story.

"Anyways, even with the order's diminished role and influence, us families of stewards still took great pride in our titular role. And to show our status, the order chose to continue the usage of togas inside the city. It is little more than a symbolic gesture, but the prestige it once held before was great." Byzantine finished, his voice taking a more reminiscent tone.

"Preserving a legacy is a noble effort. I commend you and your order for keeping the memories of the past alive." Arcturius sincerely offered, feeling a sort of kinship with the young man.

"Thank you. There are few left who appreciate the full meaning of our legacy beyond just titles and history. It was our families' duty and purpose as well." Byzantine returned with sincerity as well, giving the older man a grateful smile.

Arcturius and Byzantine soon moved towards more mundane topics for conversation, discussing general history and other contemporary topics of Remnant with a natural flow. Arcturius didn't understand exactly why but he felt a sort of understanding between him and Byzantine. Even with his family, Arcturius struggled to share everything on his mind since much of what he had experienced in his life were incomparable to anything else in their modern world. And yet with Byzantine, he found himself being able to explain himself more freely and easily. Maybe it was because of Byzantine's family background that gave the young man an unusual insight to his centuries-old mind. Whatever the reason, Arcturius just felt happy to have someone he could hold a comfortable conversation.

After about half an hour of conversing with each other, Arcturius suddenly felt his scroll buzz in his pocket.

"Just a moment, I think I received a message." Arcturius interjected as he fished out his scroll from his pocket. Byzantine merely stopped with what he was saying and gave a nod of understanding to Arcturius.

Arcturius navigated his scroll and got to the recent message sent by Bartholomew Oobleck.

'Sorry to disturb you but we're needed in the Plaza Center. There's apparently an altercation involving Miss Valkyrie and as her legal guardians for the time being, both of us have to be present.'

Arcturius smiled in amusement at the message. He knew there was blood of a troublemaker in that orangette teen the moment he met her. Bubbly personality added with the strength to wield that war hammer of hers could only amount to some kind of trouble at some point. Of course, that just made her male companion- Lie Ren, was it? -more commendable for keeping his sanity and sticking with her. What an odd yet oddly fitting pair of teens.

Arcturius quickly shook his head from those thoughts as he typed a simple response of acknowledgement to Barty.

"I am sorry, Byzantine. Apparently, I am needed at the Plaza Center. Beacon business." Arcturius apologized as he moved to leave towards the Plaza Center.

"Wait! Before you go, let's exchange contact numbers so we could keep in touch. I'd like to continue our discussion some time." Byzantine said as he brought out his own scroll from somewhere inside his toga.

Byzantine touched his scroll to Arcturius' own scroll until a chime sounded from both devices.

"There. Hopefully, we can meet again in the future." Byzantine said as he brought his scroll back into his toga.

"Likewise. Stay safe in the meantime, Byzantine." Arcturius replied before jogging away towards the city proper of Roma, leaving Byzantine to look at his retreating figure with intrigued eyes.

"Yes, stay safe as well, Ser Arcturius."