A full three hundred kilometers away, in the capital city, Gorwell, an older lady sat in her favorite spot, looking out at the many rooftops. She was chewing on a piece of dried meat, slowly savoring its taste in the midday sun.

It was far from the safest spot to sit in, being on top of the clock tower of the giant cathedral, but it was the place with the best view—except for a few towers in the royal castle.

'I wish someone would kill that scheming king already. His desperation to avoid giving talents to the church is annoying, not to mention the vile methods he uses. Be like other countries, send the talentless to the battlefields and tax the ones who return.'

With a casual wave of her hand, she created a barrier that slowly spread around the cathedral below her, expanding from the tower like a giant blanket.

"Your holiness!" a voice shouted from below, begging for her attention.

She sighed, finishing the final piece of meat while glancing at the distant mountains. Then she leaned over the tower's edge. "Yes, Mortimer?"

"Urgent news from the holy city, your holiness! A black letter came through the inner chamber!"

"What?! From Damascus?" Realizing the severity of the situation, she jumped from the tower with light feet. Just before she was about to hit the roof, an invisible force stopped her momentum, allowing her to land neatly. "Do you have it?" she asked, reaching her hand out.

Mortimer fished a black letter from his inner pocket, still sealed. He was sweating, but it was hard to tell if it was due to the trip to the roof or the letter in his hand. A black letter signified that it came from the Holy Signus himself.

She plucked the letter from his fingers with practiced grace, though her own hands quivered slightly. A tiny needle protruded from the wax seal. She pressed her thumb against it firmly. Blood seeped into the wax, and the seal crumbled to dust.

Taking a steadying breath, she unfolded the paper. Four lines of precise script filled the page:

"A candidate has been found.

Travel to Collport and retrieve him.

But beware, the child has traits unseen. He might be born from ashes nine times.

Only use the carrot, not the stick."

"A candidate?" Her eyes widened. "For the Holy Signus? And… born nine times?" She clutched the letter tighter. "What could that mean?"

"Sar, please," Mortimer said quietly, using her name without the usual formalities. "I'm not supposed to hear anything of the contents."

"Oh! My apologies, Mortimer." She quickly folded the letter. "I'm heading to Collport immediately."

"Then I wish you a safe trip." He wrung his hands. "Please try not to fight anyone this time."

"It's not that type of mission. I hope." She smoothed her robes. "Is the second chamber ready?"

"Yes. I will get the coordinates right away."

"Thanks. I'll see you there."

She jumped again, an even greater height this time, straight to the entrance of the cathedral. And, once again, her fall was dampened by an invisible force.

'A personal mission from the Holy Signus… I cannot fail!'

Nova stood from his spot beside Millie, taking a deep breath. "I will have to scout a bit before we leave, Millie. Can you stay here for a while longer?"

"Mmh, okay," Millie replied, getting up from the floor and sitting on the bedframe. "But you'll come back?"

"Of course, you're the entire reason I came here. I'm not leaving without you."

Millie nodded, letting her white sheets fall to the side. She was wearing a white robe, much like the one Brother Morrin wore, but with a silver amulet hanging at her chest.

Nova paused upon seeing it, noticing a faint glow on its surface. "... When did they give you that amulet?"

"When I got here. They said keep it on." She touched it with small fingers. "Should I take it off?"

"No. Not yet, at least."

'There could be a tracking formation in that thing. Despite this place being near impossible to escape, I'm sure they've taken some precautions.'

[Fragment of Nova Noctis equipped.]

Instantly, Nova could feel the power coursing through his body. The increase was far from as great as it used to be, but it was still at the level of being hard to control.

"I'll be back," he told her, leaving the room quietly.

[Dampen activated.]

[Lesser Life Detect activated.]

[Mirror Skin Invocation activated.]

[Shadow Sprint activated.]

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'I could have used the detection formation, but I'm afraid they will notice it easily in here… Could the easiest escape route be straight up?'

The life detection told him there were people below him, but he could see nothing up above. Either there was a barrier blocking his senses, or they were deeper underground than he thought.

'Will I need one of those amulets to escape? Brother Morrin probably went back to the entrance, but the guy near the stairway should have one.'

The door wasn't so thick he couldn't brute force it open, but he had to consider Millie as well. She could hardly run fast enough to escape, despite her relatively great power.

He snuck out of the dormitory, sensing no lives in the hallway outside. Then he ran along the corridor in perfect silence, back to where he came from.

'The light from the windows is causing some issues with my Shadow Sprint. Everything is illuminated… But whatever, I'm still allowed to be here.'

Luckily, no one was nearby. The trip back to the stairway went as smoothly as he could have hoped for. Now he only needed to figure out which door to knock on.

'This one looks like a broom closet, but there seems to be a person inside. Sitting by a desk, judging by the signature.'

He knocked carefully, politely waiting for a reply. The sound of a chair rubbing against the floor could be heard as the silhouette moved to answer. The door swung open to reveal a young man in church robes.

'No amulet… I'll have to improvise a bit.'

Brother Norbert stared at Nova with uncertain eyes. "You're a new face… Do you need any help?"

"Yes, sir. I was wondering if you could let me back upstairs. I need to speak to Brother Morrin about the girl I met."

"Girl?" Brother Norbert furrowed his brows. "What's wrong with her?"

Nova dropped his voice to a frightened whisper. "I... I think she's dead."

"What?" Norbert's eyes widened. "Why would you think that?"

"She's not breathing." Nova hunched his shoulders. "And her skin was so cold..."

Norbert burst out of his room, nearly knocking Nova aside. "In the dormitory?! Kid, where was she?!"

"No, in the lavatory! On the third floor!" Nova yelled after him, watching him run off. As soon as Norbert's footsteps faded, he slipped through the open door into the office.

'The more I'm around these guys, the better my impression becomes… Now I just need to find the amulet. And if it's a magical object…'

[You have learned the skill: Sense of Essence (Expert - 44%) {Grade 5}]

[You gain a sixth sense for essence-infused objects, able to feel their location nearby. Only works on objects of a similar tier or lower.]

'Huh, the skill I knew was called Mana Detection. But, as long as it works on the same principles…'

Nova sent out a pulse of essence. Several spots in the room lit up in his mind's eye—one beneath the bed, another inside a tall closet, and two more emanating from the desk in the corner. Each glowed with the distinct signature of infused essence—some more than others.

He moved to the closet first, pushing aside heavy robes and silk scarves. Hidden behind them, a leather whip radiated faint magical energy. Though someone had tried to clean it, dark stains had seeped deep into the material. Old blood.

'... I see. This doesn't prove anything, but… the dam is cracking.'

He put it back and moved on to the desk, opening the two drawers in a hurry. He had no idea how far the lavatory was, but assumed he didn't have much time.

One drawer revealed the amulet he was searching for, the exact same as Brother Morrin had worn. Nova put it in his pocket, but he didn't leave just yet. The other signature in the desk hadn't moved with the drawer.

'Is it a secret drawer? That's the strongest signature as well.'

He bent down slightly to look inside the drawer. Sure enough, his tiny fingers found a concealed panel at the back. With careful pressure, it slid open to reveal a wooden box no bigger than a fist.

Nova pulled it out and lifted the lid. His medical experience identified the contents instantly, and his blood ran cold.

A heart.

More accurately, a child's heart. Not much larger than his own. Still red and fresh.

'... What the fuck?'

Anyone inside the room at that moment would have been frozen in place, drenched in the primal fear that would grip their hearts. A killing intent so dense it could almost be touched.

Hurried steps could be heard approaching the room, but they stopped long before reaching the door, almost tripping over themselves.

"H-hello?" Brother Norbert's voice quavered, barely above a whisper.

"Who does the heart belong to?" Nova's words held no emotion, no mercy. Just cold, deadly purpose.

"H-Heart?... Oh, i-it's… my brother."

"Why do you have it?"

"H-He died w-when we were young, sir." Norbert's teeth chattered audibly. "I-It was my f-fault. I k-keep it to remind myself of my sins."

The crushing pressure in the air gradually lifted as Norbert spoke, though fear still rolled off him in waves.

"... And what is the whip for?" Despite the lifted pressure, Nova's voice remained flat.

"That's… for discipline, sir."

"For the children?"

"Only the truly d-disobedient ones." Norbert's voice strengthened slightly. "Those who won't listen to reason."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop another few degrees.

Nova moved from the desk, exiting through the half-open door. "You say it so casually. Like there's nothing wrong with it." His hands left imprints on the iron handle of the door. "Best to beat them early, right? So the lesson sinks in? So they learn their place as early as possible, preventing issues in the future?"

Brother Norbert's eyes widened as he finally saw his tiny adversary. "You? What in the—"

"I wish I had time to teach you a lesson in punishment." Nova's muscles coiled. "This will have to do."

He exploded forward, crossing the distance in a blur. His fist tightened as he jumped, hitting Norbert in the jaw hard enough to shake his skull. The force lifted the man off his feet before he crumpled to the floor, out cold.

Nova landed gracefully several meters past him and released a heavy breath. His crimes weren't to the point of being punishable by death, but that didn't mean he didn't want to.

'At least they're not systematically murdering children.' Nova ran a hand through his white hair. 'But damn it, I hate going against religious zealots. And this church was near global, right? It's too early to take on such an enemy. I just need to get out of here with Millie, then there's no hurry.'

He grabbed Norbert's robes and started dragging. The man's deadweight proved challenging for his tiny stature. Despite his inhuman strength, he had no weight to leverage.

'What was the spell for sticky feet again? Something like…'

[You have learned the skill: Grounded (Novice - 84%) {Grade 5}]

[Your soles are magically attached to the ground, consuming essence to increase friction and creating a magnetic force.]

'Novice? That's the lowest so far, isn't it? I must have messed up somewhere. But it's good enough.'

With his feet now attached to the ground, pulling the heavy body along became significantly easier. His feet stuck firmly to the stone floor with each step as he hauled the unconscious man across the door. The body made a dull thud as it rolled onto the carpet in the middle of the room.

Before leaving the room, Nova opened the closet and retrieved the whip. He gripped the whip in both hands, tearing through the leather with ease. The weapon's core snapped with a satisfying crack, releasing a burst of essence that made his skin tingle.

The pieces were discarded on Brother Norbert's back, in hopes it was a clear enough sign. Then, he left, closing the door behind him.

'Now I need to open this steel door. Let's hope this damn amulet works.'

Nova pulled the stolen jewelry from his pocket. Before he could reach the stairway, however, the massive doors began to swing open on their own.

Nova's muscles tensed to leap into the shadows, but a woman's aged voice froze him in place.

"Let's have a talk, child. Or, perhaps, you are older than you seem?"

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