Annelie got up, sitting on the edge of the bed. Millie slept silently near the lower half, undisturbed by their talks. She was used to sleeping around others, so much so that anything else felt alien.

"Our next steps," Annelie repeated, looking at Nova. "How about we simply leave this place alone, whatever Shivere might be planning? If she ruins the church, won't that solve most of your problems?"

"Yes. It might." Nova walked over to the window with heavy curtains drawn, only letting in glimmers of the midday sun. "Even if she has left, she dealt them a heavy blow. And she might return to do further damage. At a time when I'm not here to save the day."

"...But you don't like letting that happen?"

"I'm not a saint. I only closed the rift because I was here when it appeared. And partly because I wanted to use the opportunity to earn Soul Power."

"So… We can leave? Go back to that city of yours and focus on saving the children there?"

"Yeah. I think that's for the best. We're not strong enough to be at this scene yet. We still need time to grow."

"I'm glad to hear it." She stood from the bed, but quickly sat back down again. "Ooh, I really need to sleep. My mind is swimming."

"You go ahead. I'll put that silencing formation around you both."

"Mmh." Annelie laid her head on the pillow, closing her eyes. "Will you stay here?"

"Yeah, I'll stick around. I've got some loot to sort through."

"Loot?" She sat back up, staring at him. "Don't tell me you got loot from the rift being?"

"I did. And they're probably too valuable to sell. Would you be able to use them for your body thing?"

"...What tier are they?"

"Eleven and twelve, Rare and Epic. Plus I got a soul that I haven't looked at yet."

Annelie stared at him, then she shut her eyes hard while taking a deep breath. "That's way more than I can handle. Can't you use them in a weapon or something?"

"I would need some divine metal to be able to contain the power. Probably."

"So we're stuck with materials that are too great to use?" She laid back down, putting her palms over her face. "Too valuable to sell, too strong to use…"

"I'll figure something out. My Gorton fragment can figure out if they'll be useful"

"Right. Let's hope they sing in tune. Now use the formation before I lose consciousness."

Nova just smiled, wordlessly activating the formation he had prepared around the bed. Both the little girls slept peacefully, slowly drawing breaths.

Nova looked down at himself, seeing mostly red reflecting in the darkness. 'I should really take a bath. But important things first. I'm really curious about this soul.'

He walked around the bed and sat in one of the couches, feeling it's comfort exorcise some of his fatigue. Then he pulled up the massive soul in his core.

'Ahh, of course. It's completely corrupted. If I were to absorb it, it would blacken my soul, and I'd only gain forty thousand soul power. I can't imagine those traits will do me any good either.'

'Right. Completely useless. At least as long as they are corrupted. And, as far as I know, only the church has the ability to purify souls. Right now I can't even use it in emergencies…'

The traits made it impossible to use the soul outside of the void. And even if the Void Born trait was removed, Scarred Mind was scary enough on its own.

'The Lord was once feared… Would the trait become good if the corruption is removed? I'll have to ask Sar about purifying souls later. Without arousing suspicion.'

He dismissed the system prompts, leaving the soul for later. Then he pulled the materials he had gained to the surface of his core.

[Void Lord Flesh (Rare) {Grade 11}]

[Void Lord Eye (Epic) {Grade 11}]

[Void Lord Heart (Epic) {Grade 12}]

'Even the flesh should be worth hundreds of thousands, and the heart probably millions… At least as long as they don't have similar issues to the soul. But there's nothing about corruption in the names. What will their sound tell me?'

[Fragment of Nova Gorton Equipped.]

With the fragment equipped, he retrieved the flesh of the Void Lord from his core. It was dark brown in color, looking sickly and unhealthy. A black aura surrounded its surface, like the void had sunk into its core.

A haunting melody, incredibly strong and deep, resounded from its midst. Both beautiful and wrong at once.

'It has strong protective qualities, but it feels sick. I wouldn't try using it for body enhancement unless I had to. But I'll ask Annelie more about that later.'

Nova stored the flesh back in his core and pulled out the Eye. The dark orb floated above his palm, blacker than the room would ever be. There was no visible pupil, yet Nova felt watched. The haunting melody shifted, becoming higher and more intense.

'Interesting. Spatial properties… And something else... Like it's trying to peek into my mind.' Nova turned the Eye in his palm. 'But somehow twisted. More corruption? Or simply the way it was created?'

Stolen novel; please report.

He quickly returned it to his core, unsettled by its gaze. Finally, he drew out the Heart. The organ hung suspended in the air, much larger than any human heart. Its surface looked almost metallic, reflecting what little light filtered through the curtains.

Then it beat.

The sound filled the room, only repelled by the silencing formation. Deep and resonant, it sent vibrations through Nova's bones. A second beat followed, then a third.

'What the—'

Movement caught his eye. Annelie stood beside the couch with her eyes closed, still in her sleep.

"Annelie? Are you—"

Before he could ask, her hand reached toward the Heart. It was like she was drawn to it, unable to resist.

'No, I don't think that's a good idea!'

Nova shoved the Heart back into his core before she could reach it. Annelie swayed on her feet for a moment before he caught her shoulders.

''...That's concerning.' Nova guided her sleeping form back to the bed. 'Some kind of pull on the soul? Or did it awaken some memories in her? I'll need to be more careful with that one.'

He drew the blanket over her as she settled back into normal sleep. Millie hadn't stirred at all.

'Maybe I should wait to examine these further. Somewhere far from other people.'

Nova stared at the reddish-brown stains covering his clothes. Even in the dim light, dried blood flaked from the fabric with each movement.

'Sleep sounds pretty good right now, but I can't rest like this.'

He slipped out of the room, returning after half an hour in a fresh white robe from the church's bath. His skin was cleaned, his hair was back to its usual white, and his spirit was lifted. Fatigue pulled at his limbs as he carefully shed the robe and found a spot between Annelie and Millie.

The silencing formation kept the room perfectly quiet. Only soft breathing and the rustle of blankets marked his movement as he settled in. Both girls slept undisturbed—Millie curled tight against his side while Annelie stretched out nearby. Nova's eyes grew heavy.

'Another long day in the books. Well, night technically. And so many things to think about… The void, Annelie's feelings, Shivere's suspicious actions, the church… And the villagers. I still find it so hard to believe it was all a fabrication, but… It had no reason to lie anymore either. It's just too good to be true. I think I'll need more time before I can believe it…'

After a while, exhaustion won out, dragging him down into dreamless sleep.

Nova opened his eyes to find soft afternoon light filtering through the curtains. The silencing formation still hummed around them, creating a peaceful bubble untouched by the world outside.

'They've slept long enough,' he thought, studying the two girls beside him. 'We need to maintain some semblance of a normal schedule for when we return.'

He sat up carefully, trying not to disturb them. Millie had somehow managed to wrap herself around his arm during their rest, while Annelie had claimed most of the blanket.

"Time to wake up, girls," he announced. His voice seemed unnaturally loud in the formation's silence.

Neither girl stirred.

Nova sighed. "Come on, you two. We can't sleep all day."

Millie mumbled something and squeezed his arm tighter. Annelie responded by pulling the blanket over her head.

"If you don't get up, I'll have to use drastic measures." Nova kept his voice serious despite the smile tugging at his lips.

"Five more minutes..." Annelie's muffled voice carried a hint of their old language.

Nova raised an eyebrow. "You remember what happened last time someone wanted five more minutes?"

Millie's eyes shot open. "No! Not the tickle monster!"

"The what now?" Annelie peeked out from under the blanket, looking confused.

Nova's fingers wiggled menacingly. "Last chance..."

"Run, Anny!" Millie released Nova's arm and dove under the covers with Annelie. "He's ruthless!"

Annelie's eyes widened as Nova's hands descended toward them. She tried to roll away, but the tangled blanket trapped her. "Wait, I'm not mentally prepared for—"

Her words dissolved into laughter as Nova's fingers found their targets. Millie squealed and tried to escape, but Nova's reach was too long. Soon both girls were gasping for breath between fits of giggles.

A black foot suddenly lunged for Nova's face, but he was prepared and ducked away, not letting up his attacks.

"Okay! Okay!" Annelie managed between laughs. "We're up! We surrender!"

Nova withdrew his hands, wearing a satisfied smile. "See? That wasn't so hard."

"You're evil," Annelie declared, still catching her breath. Her face was flushed from laughing.

"The evilest," Millie agreed, but her bright smile betrayed her true feelings.

Nova stood from the bed, putting on his white robe. "Now that you're both awake, we should discuss our plans. We leave tomorrow."

"After breakfast?" Millie asked hopefully.

"After breakfast," Nova confirmed. "Though it's probably dinner by now..."

Annelie sat up, trying to fix her disheveled hair. "I can't believe you used tickling as a wake-up method. Aren't you supposed to be above such things?"

"When there's time for fun, one should enjoy it," Nova replied with a completely straight face. "Besides, we're only four years old. I'm heading to our room to pick something up, but after that, let's find some food."

The dining hall buzzed with life and conversation, a stark contrast to the tense silence that had gripped the cathedral during the rift's presence. Late afternoon sunlight streamed through tall windows, casting warm patterns across tables filled with priests, attendants, and candidates enjoying a hearty meal.

"Nova! Millie!" Helen's voice rang out across the hall. She waved enthusiastically from a table crowded with young talents. It was refreshing to see her with a smile on her face.

'Did all the talents survive the rift? I don't see any sour faces at all. Sar must have protected them well…'

Nova guided Millie and Annelie toward the group. The smell of fresh bread and roasted meat made his stomach growl, reminding him how long it had been since they'd eaten properly.

"Where have you guys been?" One of the younger talents asked as they approached. "The rest of us candidates all stayed in the safe rooms during the rift. It was not fun…"

"I told you, Howard," Helen said, sliding over to make room. Her eyes studied Nova's clean white robe. "They helped with closing it. Especially Nova, he's—"

"I'm just a child," Nova interrupted, settling onto the bench and helping Millie sit beside him. "We only did a small part. The Cardinals did most of the work."

"You did a small part?" Another talent scoffed. "The Cardinals are stronger than you think, kid!"

'It's nice to see them all so cheerful,' Nova thought, observing the animated faces around the table. 'Even if they don't know the full story, their relief is genuine.'

Helen leaned forward, trying to catch Nova's eyes. She seemed to understand that he didn't want to cause a scene. "...So where have you guys been? Special protection?"

Annelie caught Nova's eye from across the table, hiding a knowing smile behind her hand.

"Somewhere dark," Nova replied simply, reaching for a loaf of bread. "But we only had to stay until the rift closed. It wasn't very fun."

"Oh…" Helen seemed disappointed. "Well, at least He is here."

Nova leaned forward. "What?"

"He is here," Helen repeated, along with three others on the table. Then more joined it on the strange chorus, turning to Nova. "He is right outside the door."

'What the hell is this?'

"Will you let Him in?"

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