In the sweet comfort of a fresh robe after a nice, warm bath, Nova sat in a meditative pose in Annelie's bed. His eyes were closed, focusing on the sensation his essence was returning to him.

"Do you feel the Soul Power better if I do this?" Annelie asked, suddenly tensing her muscles in front of him. She was sitting in the same pose across from Nova. And by her side, Millie was doing the same.

"Not at all… It's still just a faint fog. I can feel the difference between you and Millie, though."

"Heh, at least you're not completely hopeless."

Nova opened his eyes, seeing the annoying smirk he expected to see on Annelie's face. "Millie completed her first Inner Blossoming Invocation an hour ago. How far along are you again?"

"That's unfair. She's a magical prodigy. I've never done this type of magic before."

Millie hummed a satisfied tune at the sudden praise. She patted Annelie encouragingly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Anny. You'll figure it out soon enough."

Nova watched in real-time as Annelie's expression turned from silent frustration to forced calm. "...Thank you, Millie." She didn't quite manage to mask her frustration at being outpaced by a child.

Her eyes opened ever so slightly, finding the wide grin on Nova's face. They turned incredibly cold as she stared at him.

"Are you training your killing intent as well? I don't think that can be taught."

"You mean you don't feel the daggers I'm trying to stab you with?" Annelie's jaw tightened as she maintained her rigid posture. Luckily, there was a hint of a smile hidden under her sharp expression.

"Not for lack of trying, I'm sure." Nova's grin softened as he turned to Millie. He needed to be careful not to make her feel too talented. "How are you coming along, Millie? Does the Crashing Waves Meridian Cleanse make sense?"

Millie's small face scrunched up in concentration as she fiddled with the hem of her robe. "Uhm… Not really. I don't remember all the points you talked about. There are so many of them."

Nova nodded encouragingly. "That's okay, it's a difficult technique. And it's not as related to magic as the other ones. I'll draw you a more accurate map when we return to Collport. It's important to learn, since it increases the number of times you can use the invocation in a day. And, of course, how it helps regenerate essence."

Annelie let herself fall back into the bed with a dramatic sigh, spreading her arms to the sides. Her small limbs barely made a dent in the mattress. "There have to be other ways to increase essence generation, though. Your method seems amazing, but all it does is improve our ability to generate essence."

Nova's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You think it's generated internally?"

"You don't? If it was gained from our surroundings, I'm sure the church would make a formation to gather it instead of forcing us to offer it up in prayer all the time."

"...That's how they maintain the system?"

"You didn't know?" A hint of satisfaction crept into Annelie's voice at having caught him off guard, rare as it was.

"Not the how of it, no. But that makes sense. They took prayers very seriously back in the school. Right, Millie?"

The young girl nodded, shuffling to lean back in the bed next to Annelie. "All of them had to go pray every day. They let me stay in my room, but everyone was tired when they returned."

"...Another reason for them to gather talents. It's not surprising they have such a global reach." Nova's jaw tightened briefly before he forced himself to relax, also leaning back into the white mattress. The soft feathers formed comfortably around his tiny body. "We should get some rest. We're leaving tomorrow."

Neither of the girls responded at first. Then Annelie sat back up, wrapping her arms around her knees in a gesture that made her look every bit the child she appeared to be. Only her eyes revealed the wisdom underneath. "I would like to know more about the situation over there before we leave."

"Me too!" Millie chimed in enthusiastically, raising her arms above her head. Her bright eyes sparkled with innocent curiosity, completely missing the tension between the adults.

Nova's lips curved into a crooked smile. She wasn't ready to hear the actual situation, far from it. "...Sure, but it's top secret stuff. We will need to speak our secret language. Have you learned it yet, Millie?"

She groaned dramatically, flopping onto her stomach and burying her head in her arms. "Stupid secrets," she mumbled through the mattress.

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Nova could feel his expression softening with affection as he watched her theatrics. "Would you rather sleep in a silencing formation while Annelie and I talk alone?"

A formation shimmered into existence around them without Millie so much as twitching a finger. Her abilities were growing faster than Nova could have expected.

"Let's go," Annelie spoke in their old language, getting up from the bed. "Before she realizes the secret language is useless when we have silencing formations."

"Good call." Nova followed her to the couches by one of the windows, where a beam of moonlight cast long shadows across the floor. He sat on the opposite side of where Annelie chose to sit, ignoring the very brief look she gave him.

"...I'm keeping this distance for your sake." He spoke softly, almost apologetically.

Annelie snorted lightly. "I'm hardly going to jump you." She pulled her legs up onto the couch, looking quite comfortable despite the situation. But somehow, she seemed guarded.

"You understand why. I don't want to make it harder for you." Nova's voice was gentle, but his posture remained rigid, uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

Annelie's jaw tightened, her eyes fixed on the moonlit window rather than meeting his gaze. "I would much rather you don't think about it. They won't go away by you being caring and understanding." She spoke with the calm certainty of someone who had navigated far more complex emotional waters over centuries.

Nova shifted in his seat, recalling similar situations in his past lives. They rarely ended well. "...It's hard to ignore it. I feel bad."

"Nova, come on." Her tone was firm but patient, like explaining something obvious to a worried friend. "Whatever young love you've had to navigate away from in the past, this is completely different. I am old, I am experienced, and I am not someone you need to pity."

Nova's gaze dropped to his hands folded in his lap. "I just need it to be clear." The words came out softer than intended, betraying his discomfort with the topic.

"It's fine!" Annelie's voice was genuinely light, carrying none of the weight he seemed determined to assign to the situation. "As long as your heart isn't stolen by someone else, I can't even imagine it becoming a problem."

'...What I saw in the void told me differently. I know you can act, which is why I hesitate to believe you so easily.'

"You don't have to worry about that. If anyone was going to steal my heart…" He left the sentence hanging, searching her face for any signs of joy. He knew she understood his meaning. It was true, after all.

Only the briefest flash of happiness showed in her eyes before she turned back to the moonlight. "Good. Then let's talk business."

"Right. As you know, Millie and I grew up in one of those harvesting facilities. Before I left, I made a deal with the city governor to halt the harvesting for one month. But that was in exchange for saving his granddaughter, who I now realize might have already been rescued…"

"...Okay?" Annelie leaned forward slightly, letting her feet drop off the edge of the couch.

"Yeah, she was probably being influenced by Grat'zhe'lan, the rift being…" Nova's mouth twisted with distaste. Whatever the truth of the matter was, he still hated that being passionately. "...But the governor should still hold his part of the deal. I had to bring him eight hundred Soul Power by the end of each month to keep the harvesting stopped."

"Well, you'll have plenty now. And Sar will help you set up a shelter for the children, right?"

"That's the plan." Nova's voice dropped lower, taking on a dangerous edge. "The only issue, if everything goes as I think, is that I don't want to let the governor live."

Annelie frowned, staring at him with grey eyes reflecting the moonlight. "Is this revenge or justice?" Her voice carried no judgment, counter to his expectations.

"Both. Justice for all the children killed…" His small hands clenched into fists in his lap. "And revenge for the ones I knew and cared for."

'And the ones I failed to save in time.'

Annelie's eyes were filled with empathy as she stared at him. "...I won't stand in your way, then. There is no justifying what he has allowed to happen under his own roof."

Nova nodded in gratitude. "I hoped you would understand."

"Of course. But what effects might it have, killing a governor?"

Nova ran a hand through his hair, frustrated by his lack of knowledge. "I don't know, but I'm sure the king would take some kind of action. Maybe send an investigator to learn what happened."

"And you're not strong enough to take on the king?"

"No." Nova shook his head grimly. "His power is probably on the level of a Cardinal, if not greater."

"That's a giant enemy to make." Annelie's expression grew thoughtful. "I suggest going the peaceful route, at least for a few years. Maybe more."

"The peaceful route won't let us save children in other facilities. We can gather power, sure, but at a great cost. And the king grows faster."

Annelie smiled at him. "I figured you would say that. Not saving all the children is out of the question, right?"

"...Not completely." Nova's gaze drifted to the moonlit window. "I know I can't feasibly save everyone, even in a single kingdom. But this is the system I was born into. Even someone like me would have been powerless to survive if things had been a little different. It leaves no room for luck or fate to be changed. I am their only hope."

"We really are."

Nova's tension eased slightly at her reminder. He wasn't alone, and he needed to remember that. "Yeah, sorry. We are their only hope. So I don't want to leave them."

"Can't you use the Soul Power earned from the children in Collport to make similar deals in other cities?"

"That would require a level of organization and oversight that would take ages to build. And after watching you, I'm no longer confident I can teach four-year-olds how to grow Soul Power."

Annelie's eyebrows rose slightly. "...I know you didn't mean to be hurtful there."

"Oh, I did." Nova's lips quirked into a slight smirk. "It's a heavy subject. Need some levity, for my own sake."

"I'm so glad I can be of help." She rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of appreciation for his attempt to lighten the mood.

Nova sighed, looking down at the table between them. "I think we need more info before laying a plan. You know the general situation now, so we can continue this after we return."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Tomorrow is another big day, so let's get some rest." She stretched her arms above her head and yawned, clearly ready for bed.

"Let's." Nova jumped out of the couch and glanced over at Millie's sleeping form. The young girl lay spread out on her stomach, somehow managing to take up the entire bottom of the bed.

"Looks like we'll need to cuddle together—I mean, huddle together." Annelie's voice carried a touch of mischief.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as Nova replied. "Don't push your luck."

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