The night had settled over Collport by the time Nova made his way back through the quiet streets. Magical lanterns cast pools of golden light onto the cobblestones, illuminating his path as he walked. His back had recovered from the wound Morten had inflicted, but there was still a dull pain.

He paused at a small bridge overlooking one of the city's many canals. The moon reflected on the dark water below, wavering and rippling with each passing breeze.

'This is the start. We finally overcame the first stack of challenges, and now, children will no longer die without reason in Collport. Only the rest of the country remains…'

Nova continued walking, casting a long shadow under the streetlamps. The familiar scent of salt and fish grew stronger as he approached Quinn's shop. No light shone from the front windows, but a faint glow spilled from the cracks around the door to the living quarters.

He entered quietly, not wanting to disturb Millie or Annelie if they were already asleep. The shop was dark, counters cleaned and ready for tomorrow's business. Nova climbed the creaking stairs, each step carefully placed to minimize noise.

The main room upstairs was dimly lit by a single oil lamp. Quinn sat alone on the worn couch, hunched forward with something clutched in his large hands. As Nova drew closer, he saw it was a small teddy bear, worn thin from years of handling. Quinn stared at it with an expression that mixed deep contemplation with barely contained grief.

"You alright, Quinn?" Nova asked softly.

Quinn startled, his broad shoulders tensing before he recognized who had spoken. "Ah, Nova... I didn't hear you come in." He made no move to hide the teddy bear. "I don't know."

Nova moved closer, settling into a chair across from the fishmonger. "What's bothering you?"

Quinn's fingers tightened around the stuffed toy. "I..." He hesitated, searching for words. "I don't feel like I should be happy."

Nova studied Quinn's face in the lamplight. Deep lines etched around the man's eyes spoke of years of sorrow. Nova exhaled slowly. "I understand. You think your duty is to grieve for the rest of your life."

"Well... Yeah." Quinn's voice cracked slightly, the admission seeming to cost him something.

"It's not." Nova leaned forward, keeping his voice gentle. "You're more than just a parent. You're also a good man. And that carries many duties, if that's how you want to look at it." He glanced toward the ceiling, in the direction of the room where Millie slept. "I don't know how far you plan to go with our group, but there is absolutely a place for you among the children. And if you want to join, you'll have to allow yourself to be happy."

Quinn's gaze dropped to the teddy bear in his hands. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the distant sound of waves against the docks. "I would like that. But I still feel stuck in the past."

"It will never go away, Quinn." Nova kept his voice soft, knowing the weight behind his words. "But you don't have to make it worse than it is. Anyone who cares for you would want you to be more happy than sad. Even your wife, however much she wants you two to grieve together."

Quinn's brows furrowed. "You barely met her."

"I have seen marriages like yours before." Nova shrugged slightly, careful not to sound judgmental. "And the way she reacted to me using that room told me a few things about her. But I could always be wrong."

"No..." Quinn set the teddy bear down beside him on the couch with careful reverence. "No, I think you're right. I feel the same way, I guess. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this grief. Which is another reason it's harder to let it go."

Nova nodded, understanding the complex tangle of emotions that bound the man to his sorrow. "Could you invite your wife over tomorrow? I think you both need to talk."

Quinn ran a hand through his thinning hair. "I feel like that ship has sailed."

"I'm not trying to get you back together," Nova clarified. "I just want you both to understand what I'm saying, and for you to allow yourself to move past this." He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "You know what I've seen in your behavior since we met?"

"I dunno..." Quinn shrugged, looking tired. "Grief?"

"I've seen a man who willingly accepts everything, who uses good deeds to feel a spark of joy, and who doesn't care about his own life." Nova's blue eyes held Quinn's gaze steadily. "You use your lack of self-preservation to join in on crazy things most people would be too uncaring or too afraid to do."

"...And that's an issue for you now?"

"I won't pretend I haven't been helped by that attitude of yours," Nova admitted. "But now that Millie is here..." He gestured toward the bedroom. "I need you to either go all in, or I take her somewhere else. Now that there is a caretaker and a space..."

Understanding dawned on Quinn's face. "I see what you mean." He rubbed his palms against his knees, thinking. "It seems like an easy choice."

"Logically, sure." Nova's lips curved in a slight smile. "But we're so rarely creatures of logic. And that's part of what makes us wonderful." His expression darkened slightly. "And horrible."

Quinn nodded slowly. "I'll think about it till tomorrow. You'll have your answer then."

"Good. You know what I'm rooting for." Nova stood, ready to end the conversation, then paused. "Before I go, has Millie been fine?"

"Oh, yeah." Quinn's expression lightened slightly. "She does go quiet sometimes, but she usually livens up again quickly." He hesitated, then added, "Oh, and she occasionally talks to some imaginary friends, but that seems pretty normal."

Nova smiled, though the expression held a bitter edge. "They might be more real than you think."

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"What do you mean?" Quinn's brow furrowed.

"Well, you know what happened before she was sent to the church. Two children died in that explosion."

Quinn's eyes widened as understanding struck him. "Oh, god. She has their souls?"

"Yeah. And somehow, she's able to communicate with them." Nova spread his hands. "I don't know enough about souls in this world to say if it's really them or if it's more like an echo of their former selves, but either way..."

"That might need to be handled sooner rather than later," Quinn finished for him.

"Exactly. But if they really are in there..." Nova's voice softened. "I couldn't bring myself to tear them apart."

Quinn leaned back against the couch, considering. "...Well, most people believe the 'souls' are just collections of power made by the system, and that the self moves on to the afterlife." He shrugged his broad shoulders. "At least it's easier to think of it that way."

"That certainly sounds better than everyone being absorbed or left in soul stones." Nova stood, stretching his small arms above his head. The movement caused a twinge in his back. "I'll do some research on it later. For now, we might just leave her be."

"Yeah, they seemed like good friends when she talked." Quinn gazed toward the bedroom where Millie slept. He sighed deeply. "Another thing to think about."

"I'll leave you to it." Nova turned toward the stairs, ascending them quietly so he wouldn't disturb the two girls. "Good night, Quinn."

"Night, Nova. Good job today."

Nova smiled quietly to himself as he opened the bedroom door. 'It's not often I get praise like that. I really do like that guy. But he needs to figure out what to do on his own.'

Nova pushed the bedroom door open quietly. As he expected, Annelie was still awake, looking back at him as he scouted the dark room. And once again, she was on the floor, lying under the blanket.

Nova didn't bother to wait, setting up a silencing barrier as soon as he closed the door. "How sweet of you to stay awake for me."

Annelie sat up, pulling the blanket around her shoulders and hugging her knees to her chest. "I figured you'd have stories to tell," she replied, keeping her voice low despite the barrier. "How did things go with our overseer friend?"

Nova settled on the floor beside her, wincing slightly as his muscles protested. The fight with Morten had taken more out of him than he cared to admit. "Better than expected. He's under contract now."

"What?" Annelie's eyes widened. "Did you fight?"

"Yeah, brought him outside of the city." Nova stretched his legs out in front of him, massaging his calves. "He had some interesting tricks. A teleportation skill I'd never seen before."

"Oh? How did it work?"

"He just appeared behind me out of nowhere." Nova gestured with his hands, mimicking the sudden movement. "As far as I could tell, there wasn't even a cast time. But he had to wait a bit between each use."

"Oh, that sounds like blink."

"Blink?"

"Yeah, an ability one of my beast forms has." Annelie flicked a strand of hair from her face. "One that's still locked behind a higher Soul Power."

"How does it work?"

"...Uhm, I just use it instinctively when I'm in that form." Annelie shrugged, looking slightly embarrassed at her lack of technical understanding.

"Yeah, but there has to be a logic behind it, right?" Nova pressed, leaning closer.

"You're asking for the inner workings of something that has evolved over thousands of generations."

"Yes, those are a great inspiration for learning useful spells. That's how I made the wind cloak, after looking at a wind-elemental."

"Good for you." Annelie studied his face for a moment, then changed course. "What's the plan going forward?"

"That's a very smooth transition." Nova smiled, acknowledging her obvious attempt to shift the conversation. "But I guess just take everything as it comes. Now that we have both the overseer of the area and the governor on our side, it won't be an issue to move all the children as soon as the church gives us our shelter."

"You're not worried about someone in the castle sending word to the king?" Annelie pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders as a draft from the window chilled the room.

"Newark promised to handle it. And even if something slips through, Morten is the one who receives stuff like that for Collport." His voice lowered slightly. "I'd like to put all the caretakers in a casket, but that would leave too much of a trail. Family would report them missing."

"I'm surprised you're so lenient," Annelie murmured.

"Revenge is only an option if it doesn't endanger innocents." Nova looked up at Millie, sleeping with her limbs in all directions. She seemed to be getting used to the soft beds. "We're too vulnerable to do as we wish."

"Agreed." Annelie nodded. "Did Morten say anything about the king?"

"Only that he created the harvesting system about forty years ago." Nova's expression darkened. "And that he's using some kind of magic to maintain his youth."

Annelie's lips thinned. "Never a good sign."

"No," Nova agreed. "But that's a problem for another day. How did things go with the children?"

"They all settled at the inn with our new caretaker. She's good—strict but gentle. The room is a bit crowded, but they don't seem to mind. Most are just excited about being in a new place."

"And the caretaker has no questions about where they came from?"

"I told her they were orphans rescued from an abusive institution. It's close enough to the truth." Annelie shrugged. "She doesn't need to know about the soul harvesting."

"That's probably for the best." Nova leaned back against the wall. The day's exertions weighed heavy on his muscles. "Tomorrow will be easier. We don't really need to save more children before the week is over, but Newark might need help with keeping the illusion going."

"What are you planning to do for the rest of the week, then?"

"Well, continue teleporting when it's needed. And I think I'll pay a visit to the underworld boss these next few days. Give him an ultimatum." Nova counted off tasks on his fingers. "Then I should start smithing some stuff, maybe make my own forge. But that might need to wait until we get our place from the church. I should find some metal to strengthen my unification skill, and then I need to research souls a bit. Then I think we should visit the orphanages around the city, see if the children there would like to join our program. I can't use too many souls since Newark will need them for paying the king, so I need another way to earn more. Do you have any suggestions?"

Annelie watched him with a calculating expression. "You're pushing yourself again."

"Am I?"

"Yes." Her tone left no room for argument. "I can handle at least half of those things. Rely on me, please."

"...You're right, sorry." Nova looked down at his hands. "I'm still a bit too used to dealing with things alone."

"But you're not." Annelie's voice softened. "And neither am I. Not anymore."

Nova studied her face in the dim moonlight, noting the slight furrow in her brow. "It's strange, isn't it? After so many lives spent handling everything ourselves..."

"It takes adjustment," she agreed, pulling the blanket closer around her shoulders. "But it's... nice. Having someone who understands."

"Right..." Nova felt a warmth spread through his chest. "I'm really happy to have you here, Annelie."

"I thought we finished this conversation the night we met." Annelie tucked her knees closer to her chest, but Nova caught the slight change in her breathing.

"That was different. I was glad to see you again. Now I'm glad to have you by my side. Not just as an assistant or partner, but as a friend." Nova met her eyes directly. "Things have been a lot more enjoyable since I met you."

Annelie ducked her head. Even in the darkness, Nova could see the flush spreading across her cheeks. "Are you about to confess to me or what?"

"...No. Not yet." Nova's voice came out quieter than intended.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Annelie's eyes widened.

"Mmh, that I feel a certain way about you that I haven't felt for anyone else before." Nova stared at the moonlight patterns on the floor. "But I don't think it's that. Not yet."

"You don't... have to be so honest." Annelie's fingers twisted in the blanket.

"Sorry, just forget about it." Nova felt a twinge of regret at making her uncomfortable.

"Mmh, I'll try." Annelie settled back down onto her blanket. "Sleep well, Nova."

"You too."

As sleep began to claim him, Nova's mind drifted to the battles yet to come. The city. The king. The entire harvesting system throughout the kingdom. But for tonight, at least, eight children would sleep in safety because of what they'd accomplished.

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