Nova stared at Millie in surprise. He had never expected her to be some kind of rare talent, or that they even existed in this world in the first place.

'Her Soul Power is more than twice as high as mine from the get-go? Hmm… Well, it's not a big deal, considering I can get just as strong in about a week. But this makes it dangerous to leave her here.'

"Millie, can you ask the system to show you your aspects?" he asked, hoping to learn just how strong she was.

"Ask the system?" Millie tilted her head in confusion. "Uhm, hey, system? Can you show me aspect?"

Her eyes started darting back and forth on an invisible page, tracking words and numbers only she could see. Her brows drew together, creating tiny furrows of concentration. "... I never learned to count this much. I don't have enough fingers."

"But can you understand the numbers? Can you tell me what it says near the top where it says Soul Power?"

"Mmmh," Millie squinted, moving her lips silently as she studied the ethereal text. "It says two, three, five, six."

"... There are four numbers?" Nova asked, trying to remain calm.

"Yeah," she mumbled, staring at Nova timidly. "Is four bad?"

"Uh, no. Four is very good… Very good…"

'I can't let anyone figure out how much her soul is worth! But teaching her to hide it will be difficult! I need to speak with Larena to figure out if I can leave Millie here.'

Millie kept staring at the invisible page, looking confused. "What does progi— uhm, pro-di-gy mean?"

"It says that? Under traits?"

"Yes," she nodded. The glow of her skin made her look divine. "Magic progi-digy. That's also good?"

"What color is it?"

"Uhm..." She tilted her head, studying the unseen text. "Orange?"

"It says mythic next to it?"

"Yeah."

"... Very good. Hmm…"

Nova stared at the quietly glowing girl before him, reminded of some of the geniuses he had taught in the past. None had revealed themselves this early before.

'This feels too incredible to be a coincidence, doesn't it? I doubt any of the other children here will have powers like this. If they did, two ordinary people wouldn't be able to handle them, like they did with Carl.'

"Magic prodigy… That's perfect," Nova whispered under his breath, hoping the trait would translate to comprehensive ability. "Millie, first of all, you are no longer allowed to play-fight with the others."

"What?! Why?" she protested, leaning to the side to look past the stat page and stare at Nova.

"You're too strong now. You will probably hurt them just by grabbing their arms."

She looked down at her hands, gripping them slowly. "It does feel weird… Okay, I won't grab them."

"Good." Nova nodded, satisfied with her quick understanding. "The first thing I'm going to teach you is the magical language. It looks like this," he said, putting his hands up and condensing his essence into five large runes in the air.

"Whoah…" Millie stared at them in wonder. "What do they do?"

"Well, each has a unique function, which becomes more complicated once you combine them. These five are simple on their own, but together, they will create a barrier that can reflect energy."

"Oh, yeah, you feel more… hard to… feel?" she said, struggling to find the words. "When I feel you through the runes."

"... You can feel me?"

Millie nodded, looking at the other children sleeping in the room. "It's only you, though. Like you're… glowing? But invisible?"

Nova sighed, feeling like he was missing a vital component of his skill set. 'First Larena, now Millie. I need to learn how to sense Soul Power without any skills.'

"Well, that's good. Then you understand how it works. Once you learn this incantation and spread it across your skin, you will be able to hide your power from others. Like this."

[Mirror Skin Invocation activated.]

"Oohh! The runes are spread all over you!" Millie leaned over, studying his face intently. "You look shiny."

"What?" Nova asked, looking at his skin. It seemed unchanged to his eyes. "What do you mean, shiny?"

"Like… the light from before is less, but it… shines. You know?"

He turned to Millie, wondering how sharp her new senses could be. 'Larena said she didn't feel any difference between me and a normal human when I used this invocation. Perhaps there's an obvious difference to someone with sharper senses. Like a prodigy.'

"Well, you will need to learn this before I leave. Let's look at the runes one by one, shall we?"

She moved closer, sitting by his side leaned against the wall. "Teach me all of them!"

The moon watched closely as Newark sat down at his desk, letting out a long sigh. His trembling hand let go of the amulet around his neck, removing the barrier surrounding the study.

"... Not even fazed by my strongest barrier." His voice equal parts wonder and concern. "Do you know any skills capable of such a thing?"

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Nihil materialized from the shadows in a corner of the room, holding his chin thoughtfully. "Nothing like what he just used, no. But there are teleportation spells and warp objects, of course."

"Yeah, but nothing as silent as that!" Newark's fingers drummed nervously on his desk. "I couldn't sense him until the end."

"... This makes him much more dangerous. If barriers can't stop him, and I can't detect him… I think it was a good choice to make a deal."

"Hah!" Newark's laugh held no mirth, echoing hollowly in the quiet study. "You should meet the king before saying that. Even if I give him all the souls he might lose, he won't like that I'm halting the program. And when he doesn't like something…"

The silence that followed spoke volumes.

"... What the hell?" Nihil eventually said, sounding frustrated. "He wants the harvesting to continue even when there are other options?"

"It's a simple system, not easily replaced in the long term… You think this Noctis will manage?"

Nihil nodded, lightly stepping to the front of the desk where he sat in a simple chair. "He seems quite competent, in many areas."

"Yeah," Newark sighed, opening a drawer. He pulled out a pouch, which jingled with the familiar sound of coins as it landed on the wood. "The treatment sounded simple enough, though I've never heard of anything like it before."

"Beings of the void? Isn't that part of why the madness is spreading in the east?"

"... Well, maybe," Newark replied, leaving his thoughts unsaid. He knocked firmly on the desk three times, and then he sat up straight in the chair. "Since the assassin is no longer a major threat, or at least not something you can do anything about, I relieve you of your services, Nihil."

"Ah, yeah, I figured." Nihil's scarred lips twisted into a mercenary's smile. "But it's past midnight, so I get paid for the next day as well, right?"

"... As long as you keep the secrets you've learned here. That was already part of the deal, but I feel a need to repeat it."

"I'll be honest, I never understood that part of the deal. I'm the one you usually try to keep secrets from."

"... You can think of this job as an outstretched hand." Newark's fingers traced the carved letter on his desk, a reminder of simpler times. "As I rule the city in the day, you do in the shadows. There's no reason for us to be enemies."

"I understand." Nihil's form began to blur at the edges, melding with the darkness that pooled in the study's corners. "I'm going to stay in the shadows, though, if you don't mind."

"That's where you're needed. Try to halt the kidnappings, will you? I have a feeling we won't be buying the children for much longer."

"I'll do what I can; tell them the prices will drop soon." Nihil turned to leave, but he stopped with a final question on his mind. "…And what about the… future kids?"

"... Leave them to it for a while longer. If the harvesting stops, I'm sure Noctis will have room for more homeless children in the future."

Nihil nodded, and then he was gone, whisked away by the shadows.

A few moments later, three precise knocks came from the door to the study, breaking the silence. "You knocked, Governor?"

"Yes, come in, Hawthorne."

A middle-aged man dressed in something reminiscent of a blue tunic entered the study and bowed. "What can I do for you this evening, sir?"

"I want all iron in Liz's room removed by the morning—everything, including nails and the bed frame. Then I need you to wake the jeweler and have him create small pearls of silver. I will need one every day for the foreseeable future."

"As you wish, sir." Hawthorne's measured voice betrayed no judgment. "Should we wake the young lady from her sleep while clearing her bedroom, or wait for the morning?"

"... Have her father take her in their bed for the night." Newark's voice softened at the edges. "Tell him we might have a way to help her now."

Hawthorne was a man who was usually unmoved by emotions and always professional during his duties. But still, a small smile played on his lips as he bowed a final time, leaving the study in silence.

Left alone, Newark drew a deep breath that seemed to carry the weight of his city. He turned his chair toward the window, gazing out at the sprawl of Collport below. "... I'm not sure what I'll do if you've lied to me, assassin. But it most certainly won't be pretty."

Larena stood at her office window, watching the sun's amber light paint shadows across the courtyard below. A simple note lay on her desk, the signature catching her eye each time she glanced back: Nova.

'What could be so urgent that he has to see me during the day?' She had already received orders to halt the harvesting indefinitely—perhaps his meeting with the governor had gone well. Or perhaps not.

She grabbed her keys and headed out, walking through the door to the damned hallway. The long walk was made all the longer with every metal door she passed, each one feeling like a mallet to her soul. The sound of children laughing drifted through one—a rare sound these days. But as she neared the final door, the laughter died away.

Once she entered, the few children she could see went to their respective chambers, looking at her with curious glances—all except two, who remained standing in the courtyard at the end of the narrow passage.

Their bright hair caught the evening light, but it was their completed souls that made them stand out from the others. She closed the door behind her, forcing herself to look straight ahead rather than at the cramped chambers that lined the hall.

Nova greeted her with a nod. "Welcome, once again, to our humble garden," he said with a bow, but his face turned serious once he straightened. "Thank you for coming."

"It's no problem. Is this girl why you asked me to come?" she asked, looking at the cute little girl. She was smiling for some reason, like she knew something Larena didn't.

"Yes, she is. Can you feel her completed soul?"

"Yeah, as soon as I walked in. Did it happen recently?"

"Can you feel anything unusual?" Nova asked, ignoring her question.

Larena tried using her senses some more. "It's… No, not really. It kind of feels strange, but I can't put words to it."

Nova smiled, patting the girl on her shoulder. "You can stop now."

The little girl took a deep breath, and then the veil was lifted. Her entire body was filled with power, nearly equal to Larena's, which she had endured countless hardships to gather.

"What?! How?" Larena asked, feeling her eyes widen at the sight. "What did you do, Nova?"

Nova simply shrugged. "She was like this the moment she completed her soul. Her Soul Power is four digits. And she has a Mythic trait called Magic Prodigy."

"Myth— hmm…" It was just one crazy thing after the other with this guy. Larena found it hard to believe he didn't have anything to do with it. "Okay. Yeah, that's… Mhm."

"Very eloquent of you," Nova teased, stretching his neck to look at the hallway behind her. "Do you think she will be fine here as long as she keeps that invocation active?"

"Oh!" Larena yelped, realizing what he was thinking. "You're leaving, then?"

Nova simply nodded, waiting for her reply. There was a hint of emotion behind his short answers, beyond his usual calm demeanor.

"... Yeah, she will be fine. No one will be able to tell that she's more than a typical child with a completed soul."

"Perfect! She can tell the difference, though," he noted, pointing at Millie. "The prodigy title isn't for show, I can assure you."

Larena looked at the girl again, now seeing a hint of sadness in her eyes. Nova's leaving might be hard for her to accept. "I believe you. I'll handle things here, so don't worry about the kids."

"I wasn't planning to worry, but then this happened yesterday. I would already be gone if it wasn't for this silly girl begging me to stay. But now I must leave."

His last words seemed more for the girl than for Larena. He pulled the girl, who now had tears falling from her eyes, in for a hug. "You practice every day, okay, Millie? Talent is worthless without effort."

Millie nodded quietly, sniffling into his shoulder. Her teary blue eyes reflected the sunlight like pristine jewels. "I will train! And teach the others!"

"Good. Then I'll see you all soon." He released his embrace, and as soon as Millie did the same, he was gone. Red and blonde hair swayed in the gust of wind caused by his escape.

Larena could not follow him with her eyes, almost wondering if he had been standing there in the first place. She offered a reassuring smile while bending down by Millie's side. "Let's wait for him patiently, okay?"

Millie was still on the verge of tears, but she managed to hold it in, biting her lips together. "He will come back. After visiting the city from his dream. Then he will take us with him!" A smile as bright as the evening sun beamed from her face, showing complete confidence in Nova.

Larena smiled back, praying she was right. But she didn't let her insecurity show. "He will. I'm sure of it."

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