holy shit. i just remembered. the opening scene of chapter 1 is literally Seb and Orok trying to undo a ward on the door into the Conjugation Department. and they couldn't do it. Orok had to climb the wall and open the door from the other side. it seemed like just a fun little best friend adventure but knowing their history now it's hitting in a different way... DAMN. what a crazy parallel to open the book with, not knowing what we're gonna learn about them