He did it! A rush of relief filled Sadie's chest, and she ran faster, her eyes focused on Klink's chest as it struggled against Angus's magic. She didn't know how long Angus would be able to hold it off, but Samuel had told her that Angus had substantial amounts of magic – and that even when he had been resting, he could tell he still had some left.

"Most likely, he planned on using it to kill the Klink." Samuel had said. Gritting her teeth, Sadie leapt onto the Klink's shoulder, careful to avoid its lower back where its body turned into a dangerous, digesting substance. One misstep and she'd be trapped. Clinging to its neck, she spotted the red, beating heart through its glassy black chest and slammed her dagger down on it, barely chipping it.

Her heart sank, but she tried again, digging the side deeper and using the hilt to crack the tough surface, to no avail. Fear rising in her throat, Sadie hopped down and scanned the ground, desperate for a rock or anything that could break through.

Ignoring the tightening in her chest, Sadie ran back to the wagon, eyes desperately scanning it for a sign of a weapon as Hashim observed her–a calm, soft expression on his pale face.

"Hurry up, Sadie." he laughed gently, "I'll lose control soon." Ignoring him, Sadie grabbed a small hammer and sprinted back to the Klink. She re-arranged herself on the creature's shoulders and, using all her strength, slammed the hammer down onto its chest. A giant crack appeared, and the Klink roared, jerking about and nearly causing Sadie to fall off. She glanced over her shoulder in fear, seeing Hashim's eyebrows narrow in concentration as he regained control. Heart racing, Sadie got to work, sweat dripping down her forehead as she continuously used all her body weight against the creature.

With every crack, the Klink jerked harder, and several times, Sadie fell off. It seemed to go on forever, her heart thumping in her chest with each hammer strike, until finally, the chest broke open, exposing the Klink's massive purple-red heart, completely covered in dark purple blood. Quickly, Sadie thrust her hand into its chest, and the Klink screamed in pain, twisting around. Sadie locked her legs around its neck and continued to pull as Hashim finally lost control. Gritting her teeth as the Klink tried to grab her, she was thrown against its back. With one final tug, she managed to pull the heart from the Klink just as it threw her to the ground.

Without giving herself time to breathe, Sadie took the hammer and began beating down on the heart. Huge splatters of purple blood covered her face, but instantly, the Klink stopped moving and fell to the ground, writhing in agony. Sadie kept hitting it repeatedly, her breath catching fast, pulse-quickening, until she felt Samuel grab her arm, yelling at her to stop.

"It's dead, Sadie," he said, gripping Sadie's shoulders, "We need to go now. He's going to die."

It was bad. Everything past his stomach was dark purple and leaking strange black puss, while the initial wound he had received from Everand was bright red–open and steadily bleeding...red blood. Why red? Wasn't he a Nova?

Samuel stepped back at the sight of Angus's body and said, "I can't touch him. The blood is still toxic."

"I'll carry him," Sadie said, crouching before Angus, "Give me the last two potions, and then lead me to the nearest Nova base."

Samuel handed Sadie the two potions, and she quickly forced Angus to drink them. His lethargic face managed a faint smile as he swallowed the contents. Once he finished, Sadie gripped his arms, hoisted him over her shoulder, and began climbing up the wagon, trying her best to move Angus as little as possible.

Instead of returning to the main Caves, where most hospitals were, Samuel led her in the opposite direction. His eyes warily scanned their surroundings until they had all but left the mountain. Sand whipped up around them as the sun began to rise, and Sadie coughed, shielding her face as the gritty particles stung her mouth and eyes.

"This way!" Samuel shouted, leading her alongside the mountain until they reached what seemed to Sadie to be a solid wall of stone. For a second, she wondered if Samuel meant to kill them both, but then he placed his hand against the stone and whispered something she couldn't understand. A doorway materialized before them, revealing a stone staircase leading further into a cave. Sadie stepped back in surprise, her eyes widening at the sudden transformation.

"Hurry, let's go," Samuel demanded.

"I can go in there?" Sadie said in surprise.

"Not really, but we have no choice. You're the only one who can touch him," Samuel said, nervously staring at Angus's unconscious head slumped over Sadie's shoulder. Gripping Angus's shoulder harder, Sadie took a deep breath and followed Samuel down the narrow hallway. As soon as they entered, the door slammed shut behind them, and six Novas swarmed them in thick, all-covering clothes and helmets. They quickly seized Angus, placing him on a stretcher. A strange white bubble immediately enveloped him, and Sadie watched in fascination and fear as magic began working on the wound in Angus's chest.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Novas rolled him down the hallway at a breakneck pace, warm lights flashing by as Samuel and Sadie sprinted to keep up.

"T-they can heal him?" Sadie said nervously as they passed multiple corridors and open rooms–seemingly empty despite the obvious look that it was often used, "Even though its Klink blood?"

"He's a Nova," Samuel said, "They can use stronger magic on him than on a Terran. His chances of surviving are higher but not guaranteed. If it has reached his heart, he'll die."

Was he? Sadie had not failed to miss the red blood flowing from his chest. She did not understand. As she attempted to utter some words, a sudden commotion caught her attention. It was a tall man who brushed past her and hurried towards a visibly petrified Samuel. What startled her the most was the man's striking blood-red skin, which contrasted sharply with his neatly shaved black hair and his muscular frame. Despite his calm and collected tone, his deep and serene voice contrasted starkly with his tense and rigid posture as he inquired, "What happened?"

"H-he was s-saving a Terran, s-sir," Samuel stammered nervously, his pale face glancing over at Sadie, who was huddled in a corner of the dimly lit room. As the air filled with tension, the man with clear, golden yellow eyes resembling those of a dragon's slowly turned to look at Sadie, causing her to freeze in fear. A smile spread across his face, revealing a row of sharp teeth and a sense of underlying malice.

"Sadie Walker, is that right?" he inquired, his hand extended towards her, its appearance resembling that of sharp claws. "I am Cyrus."

She carefully returned the gesture as Cyrus spoke again, "You have caused me quite a bit of problems, young lady. Do you know he might not live?"

"I-I don't think it reached his heart." Sadie said quietly, blue eyes watching Cyru's pupils turn to small slits at her words.

"He is in another form, Sadie Walker–it does not matter if it has not reached his heart. I will personally blame you for this even when you no longer remember this talk." he hissed. With that he walked into the operating room–leaving Samuel and Sadie alone once again.

"Who was that?" Sadie whispered. Samuel shook his pale face and said, "Cyrus Briggs–a very high ranking Nova. If he is here then this Nova you saved is important."

A spark of fear and hope made Sadie dare to ask Samuel, "How important?"

"Important enough to get a Hero involved."

—---

They attempted to erase her memory, and Sadie played along, allowing them to escort her back to her residence. They guided her through the hidden and enigmatic structures of the Nova tunnels, which Terrans regarded with fear, before tucking her into bed and urging her to sleep. Although she feigned compliance, she secretly hoped for the day when she wouldn't have to pretend anymore.

At one point, she thought of simply running away. After all, she was certain that Will and Everand thought she was dead. However, every time she thought about this, Will's dark, cold expression came back to her, and she could not bring herself to do it. Had they told her brother yet? What would he do? Would he get angry? Would he cry for her? He might, but for different reasons than she wished. They abandoned you. Yes, but could she really blame them? No, no she could not.

Sadie's face was flushed with emotion, and warm, hot tears trickled down her cheeks and nose, making soft sounds as they landed on her cold pillow. She closed her eyes to fight away the stinging sensation. In that moment, her only hope was that Angus had managed to survive. Otto, in one of his random spouts of consciousness, had shared with her the profound concept that the ultimate act of selflessness for a Nova was to save a fellow Nova when they were not meant to be saved. This idea weighed heavily on her mind as she grappled with the uncertain fate of Angus.

"There are rules. Heavy, intrusive, and demanding rules that state a Nova should never sacrifice themselves for another. If they do and both manage to survive–then the Nova is required to devote themselves to that Nova for the rest of their lives."

"By magic?" Sadie had asked.

"No, by virtue for simply because death for a Nova is the worst form of punishment."

Sadie hadn't forgotten that conversation. She still didn't understand what Otto meant by death, but she had clung to his first words. The memory came to her mind when she was running away and ran into Samuel. She hadn't saved Angus for selfless reasons, but if she had saved him, shouldn't the same logic be applied to her and Angus? If so, her one request of him would be to cure her. If he could heal her, then everything would be normal; her father would love her, her brother would be proud of her, Will would marry her, and she would strengthen Quimath. Everything would be okay. A life for a life. It would work. It had to.