The warehouse's dim light cast shadows across Nihil's face, highlighting the network of scars that told their own story of survival against impossible odds.

"...What of the children?" Nova asked, unable to leave that question unasked, even now.

Nihil's eyes clouded with something that might have been regret, though his face remained hard. He tried to shift his position and winced as broken bones ground together. "Something has to give, hero… Rats don't have boats, they can't hunt, they can't farm…"

He paused, sucking in a painful breath that made his entire body shudder. When he continued, his voice had dropped even lower, forcing Nova to lean in to hear.

"You probably don't like the thought… but the brothels used to serve two purposes… Both earned us money. Money for food." His eyes fixed on Nova with a terrible honesty. "Just like the children..."

'Yes, the children… The entire reason I'm here.'

"That is the one thing that I cannot forgive. Kidnapping children and selling them to their deaths." Nova's voice turned hard. His small fists clenched as memories of Quinn flashed through his mind—the fishmonger's haunted eyes when he spoke of his lost child, the empty bedroom preserved like a shrine, the hollowness in his wife's accusations. So much unjust suffering for some gold. "There must have been a better way."

Nihil's breathing had become shallower, with his chest barely rising. The pool of blood beneath him had spread, soaking into the rough-hewn planks of the warehouse floor.

"Maybe there was..." he conceded. A violent tremor ran through his body, and he squeezed his eyes shut against a wave of pain before continuing. "It was an easy way out, only costing us the morals we barely had in the first place."

Nova studied the dying man. Centuries of experience allowed him to read the truth in Nihil's face. Despite everything, there was no deception there. Only the raw honesty that often comes when death draws near, stripping away pretenses and leaving only what truly matters.

"...This is costing me a lot," Nova said after a long moment. "If I let you live, can you keep the lower district under control?"

Nihil's eyes widened slightly, surprise momentarily overriding pain. He tried to laugh, but it emerged as a wet, choking sound that sent fresh blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm already dying here, Noctis," he managed, gesturing weakly at his broken body. "And even if I could... You'll just hunt me down again… once you find another way."

Nova shook his head. "What is your goal?"

Nihil's brow furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Why do you do the things you do? Why do you care if people kill each other for souls and leave the lower district?"

The question seemed to pull Nihil back from the edge of unconsciousness. He focused on Nova with effort, pale as a ghost.

"...It's my home," he said finally. Blood bubbled at his lips with each syllable, but he continued, determined to make Nova understand. "They're my people… I want to make it… a better place than it used to be."

Nova recognized something in Nihil then—an echo of his own determination, twisted by different circumstances but fundamentally driven by the same core belief: that things could be better than they were.

He sighed deeply, looking up at the moon shining through one of the broken warehouse windows. Its cold light spilled across the carnage below, illuminating the aftermath of his wrath. He felt like it was watching closely, eager to see his choice.

His skin stopped glowing as he shrank back down to his child form. Then he unequipped his fragment as he knelt down next to Nihil. He would need his full mental control for this.

"I have saved the lives of people split in half." His small hands hovered over Nihil's broken chest, already gathering essence for what would come next. "Healing you is no trouble."

Nihil stared up at him in disbelief. "...Why would you?"

"I might need your help after all," Nova replied. His fingers began to trace complex patterns in the air above Nihil's injuries. Blood started floating in the air, drained from the wood, and slowly filtering through a small film of essence.

"You're right; I'm not forgiving you." Essence gathered at his fingertips, glowing faintly in the dim warehouse. "But if you really do care about your people, help me do what I do best."

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Hope and wariness battled in Nihil's expression. His eyes tracked Nova's movements with the cautious calculation of a man who had survived by never fully trusting anyone. "...What if I run?"

Nova's fingers didn't pause in their intricate dance as he met Nihil's gaze directly. In that moment, despite his childlike appearance, the weight of nine lifetimes was visible in his eyes.

"Then I will have made another mistake," he said.

Three days later, the first carriage arrived. Then the second. Followed by tens more. The procession stretched down the road leading to the New Garden, wheels crunching on gravel and horses snorting in the crisp morning air.

The headmaster stood by the entrance, welcoming each child through the barrier one by one. Larena's face glowed with genuine joy as she smiled and patted their heads, not missing a single one. Her uniform gleamed in the sunlight, polished buttons catching the light as she bent down to speak encouraging words to the more frightened children.

The hired caretakers were guiding the children in groups to their dormitories. Their voices called out directions, rising above the excited chatter of the young voices.

Larena had chosen to split the dormitories based on gender. She reasoned they might as well, since it would have to happen at some point. The massive buildings seemed to swallow the steady stream of small bodies.

Nova, Millie, and Annelie stood in Larena's office, watching through the tall windows. The glass was cool against their palms as they pressed closer.

"That's Iver!" Millie yelled, pointing at a familiar figure. "And there's Estus! And Patty!" She bounced on her toes, nearly knocking over a stack of papers on the floor.

Nova smiled, steadying the wobbling papers with his foot. The sun warmed his face as he watched the children below. "You'll get to meet them later, once they've settled in a bit. They need some time to adjust."

"Mmmh!" Millie responded with a half-annoyed, half-excited hum. She tugged at the hem of her shirt, twisting the fabric between restless fingers. "But I adjusted fine!"

"Oh yeah? In the School of Order?" Nova raised an eyebrow. He didn't quite agree that she had adjusted at that time.

"I was alone! They have each other!" Millie's cheeks puffed out indignantly.

"That's true. And no one could have expected you to be fine back then, so don't worry." Nova placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, feeling the tension gradually release beneath his touch.

Millie's eyes dropped to the floor. "...Are you sure they still like me?" Her voice came out quieter, betraying the insecurity beneath her excitement.

"Yes. But there are a thousand children who don't know you yet, so you should try to make a good impression." Nova squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before turning back to the window. Below, another carriage had arrived, its doors opening to reveal more small faces peering out with uncertainty.

"...It feels unfair that only we get a home." Millie pressed her forehead against the cool glass, creating a small circle with her breath.

"It couldn't be helped." Nova watched a young boy stumble as he exited a carriage, only to be caught by one of the caretakers. "We're the only ones who are strong enough to take care of them, so we need to handle things they don't know about."

"Me too?"

"Of course!" Nova nodded firmly. "And you'll only get stronger and stronger with your trait. But for now, you can leave most of it to Annelie and me."

"Yeah, you just focus on growing, Millie." Annelie smiled as she stroked Millie's golden hair. The blonde strands caught the sunlight, gleaming like spun gold between her fingers.

"Okay! I'll get super strong!" Millie punched the air with determination, nearly hitting Annelie in the process. "Then I can protect everyone when you two are busy."

"Exactly." Nova returned his gaze to the courtyard, feeling his chest warming as he watched the children pour into their new home. It had been a long road to get this far.

The trio kept watching the children arrive until the last carriage had left. All twelve hundred and sixteen children had arrived, as agreed upon. Newark had done a good job.

"You don't feel like greeting them, Nova?" Annelie asked. "They wouldn't recognize you if you turned big first."

"If I didn't glow, I might have considered it." Nova stepped back from the window, rolling his shoulders. "But I'd rather finish the forge."

Annelie groaned lightly, tilting her head back. "You're going to be spending an annoying amount of time in there, aren't you?"

"Maybe." Nova shrugged. His eyes drifted to the other buildings visible from the window. "I need to make a lot of stuff before we go to the dungeon. That's my next plan."

"I wanna go to the dungeon!" Millie yelled. She looked optimistic, like they hadn't already denied her four times since first talking about it. But they had.

"No. You can go when you beat me or Annelie in combat." Nova crossed his arms.

"But that's unfair!" Millie's lower lip jutted out in a stubborn pout.

"Nope, the strongest decides in many places in the world." Nova stared at her firmly, nearly immune to her charms.

"Then why can Anny join you?" Millie pointed an accusing finger at Annelie, who tried to hide her amusement.

"Because she doesn't need to be protected. You do."

Millie folded her arms and stubbornly stomped her foot on the floor, shaking the floorboards. Dust motes danced in the sunlight disturbed by her tantrum.

Nova sighed. This wasn't the first time she was being stubborn. Far from it. "You know how to get stronger. You understand most of the basics of magic already, but those won't help you much in a fight. And you're not allowed to use the system as a shortcut."

"Fight me then! I'll show you!" Millie thrust her chin forward, staring at Nova with determined eyes.

"...Sure. Let's go outside."

"What? Really?" Millie's anger vanished instantly, replaced by surprise and excitement.

"Yeah, let's see how far you've gotten." Nova turned toward the door, already sensing the magical energy beginning to gather around Millie.

"Okay!" She bounced after him, nearly tripping in her eagerness to prove herself.

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