Nova and Millie lingered outside Annelie's door, scuffing their feet against the polished marble floor. The formation that kept the door sealed glowed with a faint blue light. Nova could feasibly decrypt it to let himself in, but doing so felt a bit wrong.

"...Should we go somewhere else, Millie? Ask if there are other rooms available?" Nova glanced down at the small girl pressed against his side. Blood still flaked from his clothes with each movement, leaving a light dusting on the floor.

"Okay." Millie's fingers twisted in the fabric of his robe.

She had turned quiet after their reunion, sticking to Nova's side like he was a fresh bath. The dark circles under her eyes told of sleepless hours spent wondering if anyone would return. She seemed to be in just as much need of sleep as Annelie.

It pained him to see her like this, almost enough to make him regret going into the rift in the first place. But he would find it difficult to justify not doing his utmost to stop it.

"Hey, you two!" An older female voice echoed down the corridor. Sar strode toward them with quick steps, with relief written on her face. Her grey hair escaped its tight bun, and her robes showed signs of a hasty dressing. "I've been looking for you!"

"Well, I've been busy," Nova replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Nice to see you're still alive. I would hate to negotiate a deal about Collport with someone else."

"Of course that's the reason..." Sar's eyes darted between Nova's blood-covered form and Millie's death grip on his robe. Her lips curved into a tired smile. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad to see you two alive as well. And not just because my life depends on it."

"I'm sure." Nova's flat tone carried a weight of skepticism.

"No, really." Sar's smile faded as she wrapped her arms around herself. "The Cardinals might not appreciate you properly, but I think the church owes you much more than they'll end up giving. It was quite terrible being in the safe rooms with all those children, watching them turn one by one."

Nova's jaw tightened at her words. "...Well, remember that when we return to Taurel Kingdom, then."

"You still don't trust me?"

"I don't trust anything that's not in a contract. Your word might be worth its weight in gold, but I no longer feel that the church is a trustworthy ally. Or rather, I still don't."

"Fine then, make another contract with me." Sar's fingers smoothed over her rumpled robes in a nervous gesture. "You've already held up your side of the deal, so it should be easy enough to make it, right?"

"...Sure." Nova's eyes scanned the empty corridor before he spoke.

He drew essence into his palm, letting the familiar warmth of contractual magic flow through his fingers. Golden light bloomed across the floor as he traced the formation around them. Then he looked at Sar, waiting for her response.

"I promise to do everything in my power to grant you a place to keep two thousand children by the end of the month in the city of Collport." Sar's voice rang clear in the enclosed space. "Be it by raw purchasing power or by throwing out the members of the school, it will be done."

Nova felt the raw sincerity pulse through the formation, carrying more weight than simple words. A small smile tugged at his lips despite his exhaustion. Sar at least proved she could be trusted more than most.

"Good. Then it's done." The golden light faded from the floor, leaving only faint traces of warmth behind.

"Perfect." Sar released a long breath. "Now I only need to survive the next four days before we leave, right?"

"Actually..." Nova glanced at Millie's exhausted face before continuing. "I see no reason for us to stay much longer. If it's fine by you, maybe we could alter our first contract?"

"That can be done?" Sar's eyebrows rose with surprise.

"If both parties agree, sure. But would you?"

Sar considered his words carefully, letting her eyes search through her memory. "The Signus seemed to be done with you after the first day, so… I have no reason to stay longer than needed. Especially now that the crisis is over."

"Good then. We can leave tomorrow after I get my compensation. Let's change the contract."

Nova activated the spell again, but this time, it connected to the contract already hanging around his soul. Sar seemed to sense the same thing, holding a hand to her chest.

"So we remove the condition that we must stay here for an entire week." Nova traced new patterns into the glowing formation. "And to make it fair, I'll let your honesty and promise to let Millie and me stay together fall away as well."

"That sounds lovely." Sar's fingers drummed against her chest. The contract's essence pulsed with each tap. "But your safety is still important, as well as the promise not to look for you after we return?"

"We could change the latter a bit, since we already plan to cooperate in the future. You promise not to seek either of us out for the sake of recruitment, but we can stay in touch."

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"That sounds fine." Sar's lips curved into a small smile. Her eyes drifted to Millie. "I'll find another successor in time—unless she comes to us willingly, of course."

Millie's fingers dug deeper into Nova's blood-stained robe. Her thoughts on the matter were quite clear, even if she didn't follow the conversation perfectly.

"Right," Nova replied with a smirk. "It could happen."

The formation pulsed once more before fading. Nova felt the contract settle around his soul like a thin veil.

"Well then, I've got plans," Nova said, impolitely telling her to leave them alone. "Where will I find you when it's time to return to Taurel?"

Sar only smiled at his words, turning to leave. "Just ask one of the priests for the Archbishop's quarters. The name is on my door."

"Got it. I'll see you then."

Sar's footsteps echoed against the stone as she walked away.

"We can leave soon?" Millie's voice came out soft. Her eyes followed Sar until she disappeared around the corner.

"Yeah, tomorrow." Nova squeezed her shoulder. "Then we'll go to Quinn, like I told you earlier."

"...What about Anny?" Millie lifted her head from his side.

"Anny?" Nova needed a second to realize who she meant. "Oh, she'll come along with us, somehow."

"Yay! Can we take her to meet the others as well?" Her grip on Nova's robe finally loosened as she danced lightly in joy.

"Eventually, we will." Nova steadied her with a gentle hand. "But not right away. We need to plan ahead a bit first."

Millie's face lit up with a warm smile. She wrapped her arms around Nova's waist, squeezing tight. "I can't wait!"

"Yeah, me neither." Nova turned toward the door. "Now, let's see if we might disturb her slumber ever so slightly."

Nova raised his hand to knock, but the door swung open before his knuckles touched wood. Darkness spilled from the room beyond.

"Just come in already..." Annelie's voice drifted from the darkness, heavy with exhaustion. Blankets rustled as she shifted in bed. "And give me one of those mute formations. The walls are too thin."

Nova smiled as he guided Millie into the room. The door clicked shut behind them. "I'll make a formation around your bed right away. Sleep well."

"Wait… Is everything okay?" Her words came out in their old language, telling him what kind of information she was asking about—the secret kind.

Nova paused, not sure how much he should say. 'If I tell you my suspicions about Shivere, will you be able to rest?'

He chose the easy option in the end. "Yes."

Annelie narrowed her eyes at him. "You hesitated."

"Nothing you need to worry about now. You need rest."

"I hope you're not prioritizing my rest over something important I could potentially help you with." The blankets shifted as she sat up fully.

Nova released a heavy sigh before looking down at Millie. "Why don't you go lay down on the couch for now? You can sleep for a while if you want to."

Millie was about to reply, but Annelie cut her off. "No, let her sleep in the bed. Come here, Millie." She patted a spot on the mattress beside her, leaving plenty of room for Millie to lie.

Millie smiled and walked over, tumbling into the bed with heavy movements. "Thanks, Anny."

"My bed is your bed, sweety." Annelie stroked a bit of hair from Millie's face, looking as gentle as a mother. Then her eyes hardened as she stared at Nova, returning to their secret language. "So?"

Nova's feet carried him to the bedside, where he settled on the edge of the mattress. "If you're sure… I suspect that Shivere planned for all of this to happen."

"What?" The bed creaked as Annelie straightened.

"Yeah. She was alone with every single Cardinal before they went mad, and the contract worked out so well for her. And if she was actually restraining the spatial formation instead of empowering it, that would explain why it didn't work properly. Even Petyr died while we were gone, by her hand."

"...That is all circumstantial evidence." Despite her exhaustion, Annelie's voice sharpened. "You're assuming she has a way to make someone mad if she is alone with them, that she can conjure void rifts, and that she is the one behind the Signus's absence. How could she do all that?"

"She would need help from some powerful figure in the void, but I don't know if it's possible even then." Nova's fingers twisted in the bedsheets as he stared into the dark corners of the room. "It's just too… too perfect. Too clever. And that's exactly the impression I got from her. That she is too clever."

"...Maybe. But what would be her motive? She grew up here and has been part of the church nearly all her life."

"Well, you said it yourself. They're the ones who failed to become Signus. By every metric I have seen, she is a better fit for the role. So, I can only assume something hindered her from getting the role. She was too clever, too logical. Not indoctrinated hard enough."

"You think she wanted change? Just like me?"

"She might be the perfect example of what would happen if you were to stay." Nova's voice dropped lower. His hand found Millie's shoulder in the dark. "And if that's the case, she's more aligned with us than the church."

"But, if this is all true, her methods are vile." Annelie's words came out sharp.

"I agree." Nova released a quiet breath. "She is far too aggressive in her methods, not caring about the lives she might sacrifice."

"...But what does this all imply?" Annelie leaned forward, putting a hand on Nova's shoulder. "That she is planning a final act?"

"That would be my guess. Something that could potentially cripple the church for good—killing the Signus."

"I don't think that's possible. Even with all the Cardinal souls combined, she is far from strong enough to match the Signus."

"He's that strong?"

Annelie nodded heavily, leaving no doubt. "Oh yeah. He's on another level entirely. Probably even in the hundreds of millions."

Nova's eyebrows shot up. In his mind, only the Mountain King was at that level. A Being from before the system was created. Close to the power he held in his past life. "Oh… In that case… Well, maybe whatever being she contacted will come to fight him? Or maybe she's satisfied and leaves before he returns?"

"A void being? Fighting in the Holy City?" Annelie snorted. "She's probably halfway to the border already with those souls in her pocket."

"...Fantastic." Nova's shoulders slumped. Millie's steady breathing told him she'd finally drifted off against his side. "There goes my sixty thousand Soul Power. Unless Sar can somehow convince them."

"...You'll find other ways to earn what you need." Her hand slid down his shoulder, finding his hand. "We both will. Together."

Nova wasn't quite sure how to react to that. Memories of what happened between them in the rift resurfaced at her touch. But he had no reason to disagree either. "Yeah, we will."

"You hesitated."

"...It's just a new experience for me to work so closely with someone. And after what happened in the void, I'm not sure how to act around you."

"Oh." Annelie drew her hand back. The darkness softened her words. "Just act like you normally would. I'm not expecting anything to change."

"Are you sure?" Nova glanced at her shape in the darkness. "I've seen what unrequited love can do to someone."

"I'm not a little girl, Nova." A touch of steel entered her voice. "These feelings are rather new to me, but I can handle them without causing issues."

"...Good." Nova stood, careful not to wake Millie. "Then, let's discuss our next steps."

'Do we try to figure out what happened to the Signus? Or do we leave it?'

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