Nova stood outside, hidden in one of the many shadows littering the castle's roof. The guard seemed very experienced, and was clearly stronger than Nova, even with the fragment.

'This is problematic… How will I negotiate with the governor without any leverage? I don't have the power to stop the harvesting without him, unless I protect every child that comes of age. No, I need his cooperation.'

Now that he knew there were people with more strength than himself, Nova had to think of a peaceful solution. Previously, it had been an option to crush all opposition, but that was no longer the case.

'Well, I need to get back at any rate. Only three minutes remain of my time.'

Taking a final glance around the outside of the governor's living quarters, he started preparing to leave. But some movement in one of the windows caught his attention.

A young girl in a white nightgown opened a window and leaned out, lying her body over the windowsill like a doll with her strings cut and arms dangling down. It was a long drop, making Nova worry.

'...Is she okay?'

At a closer look, he could see her light brown hair matted to her forehead and her chest rising and falling rapidly. It was clear she wasn't in good condition.

After a moment's hesitation, he stepped through the shadows onto another spot on the roof to get a closer look at the young girl. Ragged breaths, unfocused eyes, hands grabbing at air… All signs of a severe illness.

'Hallucinations, even? I need to help. At least to make sure she's okay.'

Nova made a decision, jumping from the shadow of the roof to another inside the room she was standing in. It was a large bedroom decorated with plushies and pink ribbons. Some medical equipment was also present, but none of it seemed very advanced.

Looking at the back of the girl in the window, he knew he had to act fast if he was going to get back in time. "Hey, girl," he whispered. "Can you hear me?"

There was no response, only ragged breaths and faint mumbling.

Left with no choice, he took hold of her gown and pulled her back from the window, gently laying her on the floor. Her eyes were half open, flashing back and forth like she was reading something in the air.

'Is she reading system notifications? What type of diagnostic technique should I use? Pulse echoing? Roscharch flow?'

Nova placed two fingers on her wrist, channeling a tiny amount of essence through her body.

[You have learned the skill: Pulse Echo (Master - 43%) {Grade 5}]

[You sense every part of the meridians and veins of the subject, letting you know if anything is out of place.]

[You have discovered a new skill. Bonus mastery applied: Master - 63%]

The rhythm was erratic, but other than that, she seemed fine. The meridians were clear, with essence flowing smoothly, and her body was in excellent condition.

'...Something with the mind, then. I'll have to tread carefully here.'

Letting go of her writs, he put a palm against her forehead instead, feeling unusual heat. But his goal wasn't to sense her temperature.

[You have learned the skill: Dream Touch (Expert - 84%) {Grade 6}]

[Your mind connects to the subject's subconscious, letting you read everything on the surface of the mind.]

[You have discovered a new skill. Bonus mastery applied: Master - 4%]

[Updated skill info: Your mind connects to the subject's subconscious, letting you read deeper into their minds than themselves.]

A sudden influx of images and scattered thoughts flew into Nova's mind, forcing him to focus on them entirely. Images of family, tea gatherings, dresses, archery competitions, a kidnapping, the void, mind-shattering beings, cake, and horses.

While his focus was entirely on her inner mind, there was something else—a strange resonance that seemed to counter his essence, something connected to another realm.

He let go of her, feeling his mind reeling at the images. There was something he had felt before there. Something that didn't give him much confidence in being able to help.

'A being of the void... There are beings of the void here, just like I feared.'

Flashes of a previous life went through his mind—the humble life of a doctor, in a land slowly ravaged by madness. The lighthouse, the deep, the infinite void. Relentless, uncaring, and incomprehensible by its very nature.

The doctor had lived, but he had to watch all his patients step into the sea. He had stared out from the lighthouse in rage, daring the abyss to take him as well. But it never did.

'...All in the past. But I learned, in time.'

He scanned the room for metals, hoping to find something in time. In seconds, he retrieved a handle from a dresser, a copper coin from a coin purse, and a silver necklace from the jewelry shrine on a desk.

With utmost precision, he placed the objects in a triangle around the girl's head and started infusing each with essence, mumbling a word for each. "Grounding" over the iron handle, "life" over the copper coin, and "celestial" over the silver.

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The metals reacted instantly—iron darkened to an oily black, copper grew warm but dim, and the silver necklace trembled and gave off a soft luminescence.

'Alright, it seems to be similar. Perhaps this is why they don't have any barriers here. A barrier would hinder the moonlight in alleviating the symptoms. The void entity has strong grounding elements, but it's draining her life force to maintain the connection. I'll have to rely on Larena to tell them how to help her.'

He turned his attention to the girl still lying on the floor. He already knew who she was from the images in her mind: the governor's only granddaughter.

'I hate to use this as leverage, but I might not have a choice… I should get her back to bed at least.'

Even with his enhanced strength, lifting someone twice his size proved awkward. He managed to get his arms under her shoulders and knees, then carefully raised her while keeping his balance.

'At least my body cultivation is helping already. I should also get something from the other elements once I have the chance...'

The few steps to her bed felt much longer than they should have, but he managed to lay her down gently, pulling the covers up to her chin. Her breathing had steadied somewhat, though her eyes still darted beneath closed eyelids.

'I'll find a way to help you properly. But first, your grandfather needs to understand that some things are unacceptable.'

With barely half a minute of fragment time remaining, Nova collected the metals and returned them to their places. Then he slipped back into the shadows, leaving no evidence of his visit.

He hurried back to the Garden, gliding through the hallway and into Chamber Seven without a sound. His head hit the bedroll seconds before the fragment was out of time.

'She was in bad shape, so I must get to Larena tomorrow… Unless I can go there again and speak with the guard. Keeping Larena out of it would probably be better for now.'

With a final glance at the moon, making another chill run down his back, Nova turned his mind to the children again. The ones he has sworn to protect with all his power.

'I'm getting you out of here, kids. If I can't even do this, what chance do I have to make more significant changes to this world?'

"In my dream, I saw a city surrounded by a tall stone wall, filled with tens of thousands of houses, all built in their own style. Then, at the top of a cliff on the north side, there stood a large stone castle. A port covered the eastern side, with hundreds of ships waiting to sail on the seas!"

The children all listened intently as Nova gestured theatrically, telling them of the wondrous city of Collport. Their absentminded chewing as they imagined this wondrous landscape of impossible scale made him smile, knowing they would get to see it soon enough.

"And a cathedral of white and gold, with towers a hundred meters tall! Surrounded on all sides by simple houses, making it stand out all the more. As a white bird, I flew through the city, smelling the freshly baked bread and the heated metal from the forges, the horses, and the fish from the port."

"What is horses?" Millie asked eagerly. Then she put her hand up once Nova gave her a short smile.

"Yes, Millie?"

"What is horses?" she asked again, a bit more timid this time.

Nova nodded, giving her a satisfied smile. "A horse is sort of like a large dog, with four legs and a long face. They are large enough for adults to ride on, making them great for traveling long distances. They're not dangerous, but they can kick very hard, so stay away from their back feet if you see one."

Once again, their eyes wandered to the imagination, each with a different idea of what a horse might look like. Judging by a few faces, some were probably quite horrific.

"That's all we have time for today, guys! Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the man in the big castle!"

Some sounds of disappointment reached his ears, but they stopped as soon as the lock of the metal door clicked open. All the children knew when they had to behave.

Nova put the final piece of bread in his mouth and walked back to the chamber, planning to continue his training. He found it quite fun to watch the numbers climb, and now he had also discovered how to increase his mastery.

'No wonder it never increased. I have to improve it manually, using the skill from scratch again. Activating it through the system only gives the version I've already performed. Now that Inner Blossoming Invocation is at Master level, I can use it a while longer.'

He brought up the status window of his soul, looking at his progress so far.

[Nova's Soul Status]

[Core Stats] [Soul Power: 141] [Soul Purity: Bright] [Held Souls: 0]

[Essence] [447/447]

[Aspects]

[Physical Force: 49] [Physical Control: 57] [Physical Resilience: 53 + 20] [Mental Force: 43] [Mental Control: 60] [Essence Generation: 45] [Essence Capacity: 51]

[Soul Traits]

[Legacy of Nine Lives] [UNIQUE] [Void Touched Mind] [MYTHIC] [Presence Of The Don] [RARE] [Blessed Physique] [RARE]

'Great! I should be close to 200 Soul Power by the end of the day. My Soul Purity has increased, and the body cultivation bonus also shows up. Very nice. I should have no trouble visiting Larena without the fragment tonight.'

The rest of the day was spent cultivating and growing his power, only occasionally interrupted by Millie asking him a question on behalf of the other kids.

Moonlight spilled through the barred window, casting a soft glow across Millie's bedroll. "Nova, why you sit with eyes closed all day?" she asked, watching him with quiet curiosity.

Without opening his eyes, Nova started moving his arms like two snakes dancing together, testing the new limits of his Physical Control. It was already past what an average human would be capable of.

"I am training, Millie. I'll teach you when you get a bit older."

"But I am older than you, Nova," she protested, sitting up straighter.

"Yes, you are," Nova conceded with a hint of amusement. "But I am Nova."

"Not fair!" Millie's eyes fixed on his chest. "I want to glow too!"

Nova opened his eyes, meeting her eager gaze with a gentle smile. "That can only happen once your soul completes itself. I wish I knew how to speed it up, but perhaps you could try discovering it on your own?"

"Soul?" Millie asked, confused. "What is that?"

He chose his words carefully, trying to explain something so abstract to a child. "It's the deepest part of you—like a light that lives inside your body. When people die, their body stays behind, but their soul continues on."

Millie was still a few months away from turning five, but it was clearly possible to complete the soul before then, judging by his own process. He had theorized that a powerful emotion or shock would be needed, but testing such theories seemed too dangerous. He kept these thoughts to himself, watching her process his words.

"So..." Millie's brow furrowed in concentration. "It's me?"

"In a way," he said. "Try becoming more yourself than you already are... while you sleep."

She eyed him suspiciously with a slight pout. "You just want me to sleep."

"Well..." Nova couldn't quite hide his smile at her perceptiveness. "Sleep is important."

Millie leaned back on the bedroll and closed her eyes, still with a hint of discontent on her face. "Good night, then."

"Good night, Millie. Dream of grand cities and white castles."

He waited, listening as the breathing throughout the chamber gradually settled into the steady rhythm of sleep. Only then did he gather essence into his eyes, preparing for another excursion into the hallways.

[Lesser Life Detect activated.]

'Time for another talk with Larena.'

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