NUVIA'S HISTORY

[utinam]

During the mid-20th century, humanity began to have a difficult time trying to control many known issues that had been plaguing the planet for a very long time, such as global warming, famine, war, and corruption. All these unresolved issues finally reached the planet's limit. Due to the rising sea levels, many islands and small countries disappeared while much bigger countries shrank. Volcanic and earthquake activity increased significantly in many places, and heavy droughts destroyed many more civilizations and drastically changed established ecosystems. The surviving humans believed the apocalypse had arrived, marking the end of civilization. It would have been the end until the arrival of an alien species known as the Nevu made their presence known to everyone on Earth.

At first, many thought their end had arrived, while others' faith was restored. However, the Nevu had other plans, announcing their true intentions by declaring they would collect 1% of humanity's remaining population to add to their growing collection. It was the only announcement made, leaving everyone bewildered over who would be chosen. An endless supply of scouts was sent to scour the Earth. At first, there was peace between the humans and scouts until the humans felt their privacy was being invaded. Many of the scouts were attacked, used in attempts to communicate with the Nevu, and others were captured for experimentation. Many more people were killed as the scouts defended themselves, while remaining laboratories and secret government areas were revealed as well. The violence escalated to the point where war was declared by the remaining human governments. In less than a year, the Nevu had overwhelmed the human armies by using their larger numbers against them. The more powerful nations decided to retreat, hoping to gather more information about their new enemies. The Nevu seemed overpowered by numbers and an endless supply of abilities. Many surviving humans believed they were immortal due to witnessing Nevu scouts surviving their own explosions by regenerating.

The war came to a standstill when the Nevu revealed to all humanity their ruler's deceit via global broadcasts. There were endless hours of the rich and powerful striking a deal with the Nevu by sacrificing their remaining citizens, using the war to gather the 1% needed to be collected with the promise that the Nevu would only take the best and brightest humanity had to offer. Riots broke out among the remaining populations against those in charge or who had any type of power. The Nevu took a neutral stance by giving everyone advanced technology to use for the war. The average citizen fought against those with power for being traitors, while those in power fought against the average citizen with the hope of being the 1% to be collected. Everyone else decided to use the advanced technology for numerous reasons: to hide, to help, or to learn.

It would take over 500 years for humanity to make any type of advancements. The global war against the government ended in victory for the average person. Humanity had to reset their laws, government, language, culture, and education by forming a new system. An impossible feat was accomplished by many different groups of people deciding to unite their efforts. These groups were able to master the technology given to them by the Nevu. By bringing their efforts together, by the end of the 20th century, humanity was able to restore Earth to its former glory by making the necessary changes needed for its survival. Over half of the population of all species on the planet was lost in exchange. Not to mention, mankind had a change of heart concerning the Nevu. Or at least, that is what they wanted the Nevu to think by creating a peace treaty with them, where they would allow the Nevu to willingly collect them once they reached 1% of their population as long as the Nevu did not meddle in their affairs. A deal the Nevu accepted wholeheartedly because they were interested in collecting the best humanity had to offer.

There was peace among all the species (including the Nevu) until the beginning of the 30th century.

Another war was declared by the humans towards the Nevu once they were able to create the perfect weapons to combat them, known as the Horizonix. Only seven could be created in total. Seven humans with Olympic-level abilities, in both physical and intelligence, were able to harness its power. Together they created a group known as Humanity's Hand. Each member would rally a large number of supporters to join their fight against the Nevu. Only those seven members were able to successfully eliminate the Nevu, which they publicly did to garner more support. Over time, the Nevu began to back away from humanity until they were no longer welcomed within human cities, towns, settlements, or communities. Due to their very large numbers, humanity was unable to eradicate them but was able to keep them at bay.

Due to their heroic achievements, Humanity's Hand was able to grow their influence from being a simple army representing mankind to law enforcement, emergency workers, celebrities, and much more. The only aspect of the world they did not touch was government. The original members of the group led the next generations to defend mankind by picking and training their successors. Only the seven most powerful pure humans can take the mantle as the next heroes. Many rules were implemented to search for those powerful humans while organizing which individuals were best suited to which positions. By the sixth generation, two out of the seven members mysteriously disappeared after difficult battles against the Nevu army. Everyone conducted a global search for them, which lasted a decade until they were declared dead. No one knew where they had disappeared to, as the Nevu never made any type of announcements concerning any achievements because it was already well-established they were a hive-minded community. All Nevu knew about their triumphs through telepathy.

The structure for Humanity's Hand had to change. Their motif shifted from superheroes to a more militaristic mindset. Each member of the group and their teams had to change their terms to playing card suits—diamond, ace, clubs, and hearts. It was the best way to organize everyone into positions after losing two members. The structure remained the same for the next hundred years.

While the world continued to change and evolve its tactics in the fight against the Nevu, a mother and daughter lived peacefully on a manmade island a few miles off the coast of a small harbor town. The island was surrounded by golden apple trees, and other fruits and vegetables of all kinds. They lived in a quaint cottage, just the two of them, with a large flower garden. The mother was a human woman named Joan, while her daughter was a hybrid child between human and Nevu named Nuvia. They had been living peacefully together for over ninety years. Nuvia helped her mother take care of the fruits and vegetables along with keeping their island and home clean of all debris. Every night, Nuvia fed her mother blood to help heal and nourish her cells from aging. Until one day, Nuvia's mother announced her intentions to visit the nearby human town as she normally did bimonthly to restock on supplies. Nuvia bid her mother farewell and waited for her return.

After two months of waiting, Nuvia decided to search for her mother after noticing drastic changes to the weather on their island. Joan had forbidden Nuvia to ever leave the safety of the island, which was one of the many reasons she had not gone out to search for her sooner when she wanted to. Nuvia floated away from her island home once the wind changed in the direction her mother used to visit the nearby human town. From there, she noticed the path among the heavy forest leading down a road. Nuvia followed the road until reaching the first human town she could find, which was an hour's flight using her levitation abilities. After landing, Nuvia began to search for her mother by asking each person she encountered, only to be met with cold and angry or frightful stares. Many evaded her questions, while others made threatening gestures from a distance. Once the locals grew tired of her, they began to attack by throwing rocks and other items, demanding she leave. Nuvia was adamant about only obeying once she found her mother. It wasn't until law enforcement arrived that the attacks against her stopped. The citizens explained the situation to the officers, who then requested everyone to leave. At first, the officers were compliant in listening to Nuvia's side of the story, learning about her search for her mother, the length of time she was missing, and about her home. Once the officers had all the information concerning the situation, they spoke to their superiors. It wasn't until handcuffs were placed on Nuvia's wrists, leaving her speechless, that the officers decided to detain her for the murder of an unknown woman found over a cliff near the town, which was now turning into a cold case. Nuvia was left confused by the allegations, denying it because she knew it couldn't be her mother. Her mother was not dead! Realizing she wasn't going to leave peacefully with them, the officers pointed their energy weapons at her, only to meet with backfire. Nuvia had activated her ability to create a bubble barrier for the first time. The shock was enough for her to run away from the officers, one of whom continued to fire while the other used a plasma sword in an attempt to stab her. She was hit by some of the energy blasts while she felt the other incoming officer heading towards her with another weapon. In her desperate attempt to defend herself, Nuvia accidentally activated her ice ability for the first time. As she raised her arm, a sudden, intense cold emanated from her hand, forming jagged ice spikes that shot towards the approaching officer. The ice spikes collided with the officer's weapon, encasing it in a thick layer of ice and rendering it useless. This gave Nuvia the crucial moment she needed to escape by levitating away once the wind changed in the direction she had previously come from.

Once she felt the wind was going to change direction again, Nuvia stopped levitating and began to glide across the tree branches in the direction of her island home. Realizing the wind was no longer going to help her cross to her home by levitating, she decided to take her chances by using her new powers to cross the water. Every step she took would freeze the water underneath, as she thought; however, the movement of the waves would destroy her small platforms. Deciding to run across the water by skipping over the waves, she levitated to her island once the wind had changed directions once more.

Arriving at her home, Nuvia relaxed from her journey to the human town, but she couldn't stop thinking about the accusations made against her. Deep down, she knew her mother wasn't dead. She decided to search through her mother's room to find any clues. Inside one of the picture books, she found a cryptic message from an unknown man requesting her mother to activate the "safehouse" once the time came to defend themselves against the upcoming war. Another message hid a clue about finding the device to lead her to its location. Nuvia figured out the device was hidden in the greenhouse. Finding the device, she began to follow its instructions to the "safehouse," which was across the island but within the forest.

Enemy soldiers and their autonomous drones were searching in the middle of the forest for signs of Nuvia. She quickly realized they were too close to both her home and the "safehouse." Levitating to the top of the trees, she began to jump across the branches to escape her pursuers. The autonomous drones chased after her once they realized she was using the trees. Attacks were blasted towards her, which she avoided using the bubble barrier, realizing it was now surrounding her inside a sphere. Some of the drones broke from their own blasts. The remainder continued to pursue and even drove her to a specific part of the forest where one unexpectedly blasted the branch she was on, causing her to quickly levitate down towards the ground. A group of soldiers surrounded her, all weapons pointing towards her in every direction. Nuvia remained frozen, uncertain of what to do. Then a Nevu appeared out of nowhere, attacking all the soldiers and drones alike using fire. Some of the soldiers screamed about a plant monster attacking them while the drones called a "Nevu" alert. Once the battle was over, Nuvia turned to the shadowy, gas-like savior with two red eyes but surrounded by giant blue eyes on top of their head, forehead, neck, shoulders, chest, and knees. She couldn't see a plant monster. All she saw was a human form. The Nevu noticed Nuvia wasn't afraid of it and questioned the reason for it. Nuvia simply said he looked "normal" to her. The Nevu inquired about her name and the reason for being in the forest. She explained the situation to them, only to learn the Nevu lived in the forest. When it sensed the human soldiers, it thought it was chasing them only to find them chasing her. They could tell she was and wasn't a Nevu. Nuvia didn't understand them, not knowing what a Nevu was. They explained the Nevu were an alien species that had arrived on Earth to save humanity, only for the humans to attack them in response. They were being hunted down for simply being different, which gained Nuvia's sympathy. She decided to take the Nevu with her to the safehouse. Maybe they would find something to help them too.

Their journey through the forest was met with more enemy soldiers and drones. Both Nuvia and the Nevu used their combined abilities to protect one another. Throughout their journey, Nuvia learned more about the Nevu, a hive-minded species always connected through telepathy, where everyone was considered equals unlike human society. She argued against the belief that humans were inherently violent and lacking morals, citing her mother as an example who was human and embodied none of those qualities. The Nevu apologized for upsetting Nuvia, attributing it to their limited experiences with humans. Despite their initial differences, Nuvia began to notice similarities the more they discussed their respective species.

Upon finding the "safehouse" hidden inside a cave, Nuvia and the Nevu were about to enter when they encountered more enemies surrounding them. The Nevu ordered Nuvia to unlock the "safehouse" so they could escape. She did so and informed the Nevu, unaware that they had inadvertently killed another group of humans.

Exploring inside the cave, Nuvia was surprised to find a clean white space filled with various technologies, gadgets, bookshelves, clothing, and other items she didn't recognize. It was huge! As they explored further, the device urged Nuvia to touch something, which activated a hologram message from the same man who welcomed them to the cave and explained its purpose. As the hologram was about to detail how the "safehouse" was meant to defend against both humans and other Nevu, the Nevu warrior attacked the hologram's machine in a fit of rage upon discovering the traitor's location. The destruction of the machine activated an AI version of the same individual, which intervened between the Nevu and Nuvia. The AI instructed Nuvia to run while attempting to order the Nevu to stand down. The Nevu revealed true anger and disgust upon learning that Nuvia was the child of an elder and a human, believing she needed to be destroyed to preserve their pure lineage. Terrified by the Nevu's sudden hostility and feeling rejected by their collective, Nuvia fled deeper into the cave as the AI protected her from the Nevu's attacks. Standing in front of another opening leading to a garden, Nuvia realized it was a trap set to kill the Nevu and pleaded with them to stop. However, the AI triggered another trap that blasted Nuvia deeper into the garden while the original trap killed the Nevu. Stunned, Nuvia witnessed the Nevu's body transform into pure energy before the AI teleported it away from the cave. Mourning the loss, Nuvia was informed by the AI that it needed to neutralize the Nevu for her safety. When she asked about its identity, the AI revealed itself as her father.

The AI explained that it had scanned its brain to create the AI version of itself and everything found within the cave. Nuvia inquired about her father's whereabouts, learning that he had passed away before she was born but had created everything in anticipation of the conflicts between humans and Nevu that would threaten her and her mother. The AI asked about her mother, and Nuvia explained her disappearance, prompting a grim response from the AI. Guiding Nuvia back to the entrance of the cave, the AI showed her the array of materials and assured her safety inside. However, Nuvia insisted on leaving to find her mother despite the dangers. The AI warned her about the ongoing war between humans and Nevu and stressed the importance of mastering her newfound powers to survive. It estimated it would take her a decade to fully learn. Nuvia argued that she couldn't wait and pressed about her father's love for her mother, to which the AI revealed his deep affection and loyalty towards her, referring to her as their "firefly." Nuvia emphasized that finding her mother was her priority, and the AI reluctantly agreed to assist her, sensing activity at other safehouses across the world. With eight safehouses in total, six more remained to unlock for Nuvia to reach her true potential.

Over the next few days, Nuvia remained in the cave, learning about Nevu and human societies and mastering her powers. When the AI provided her with the locations of the remaining safehouses, it cautioned her not to lose the key needed to unlock the AI's features, which included teleportation between safehouses. Nuvia prepared for her journey, mounted a hover bike, and departed the safety of the cave towards the next town.

In the next town, Nuvia found herself surrounded by a criminal gang composed of humanoid animals. Uncertain of each other's intentions, they decided to rob and potentially sell Nuvia due to her unique appearance. Just as they were about to attack, a mysterious man appeared and swiftly dealt with the gang. After ensuring Nuvia's safety, he questioned her unusual appearance, leading her to discover the term "splicer" referring to genetically altered humans, which she denied being as her mother was a normal human. When asked about her father, Nuvia hesitated, unsure how to respond. Changing the subject, she explained her journey to find the safehouses left by her father in search of her missing mother. Intrigued by her story, the man offered to guide her safely out of town, to which Nuvia gratefully accepted.

As they navigated through the town, the man suddenly turned-on Nuvia, attempting to decapitate her and steal her belongings. To his surprise, Nuvia regenerated her head, shocking him and causing him to suspect she might be a Nevu. Confused by the accusation, Nuvia chased after him as he fled back into the town.

Through nimble movements and levitation, Nuvia pursued the man across rooftops and walls, but eventually lost track of him due to his familiarity with the town. Returning to the outskirts, she concealed her bike and continued her search, encountering resistance when seeking information. Eventually overhearing a group discussing a government-restricted area, she investigated and followed the sound of gunshots, leading her to find the man conversing with a government agent. From their conversation, Nuvia learned the agent was a scorned lover seeking retribution by threatening orphaned children, while the man reluctantly cooperated to protect himself. Taking action, Nuvia intervened by destroying drones and shielding the man with her ice abilities when more arrived. The agent panicked at Nuvia's sudden intervention, and the man questioned why she was helping him. She cited his previous aid in saving her and her gratitude. As the situation escalated, Nuvia pursued the fleeing agent only to witness the man being killed by a nearby Nevu.

The town fell into chaos at the sight of the Nevu's appearance. Paralyzed with fear, Nuvia faced the Nevu, recognizing its resemblance to the Nevu who had accompanied her to the first safehouse. Before the Nevu could harm her, the man reappeared, decapitating the Nevu and shielding Nuvia from its attack. As more Nevu emerged and began attacking indiscriminately, the man dragged Nuvia away, seeking to escape before more government forces arrived. Confused by his sudden protective behavior, Nuvia followed him obediently as they fled to the outskirts of town. There, the man asked about her bike and instructed her to avoid nearby towns, warning of the government's pursuit to obtain information about the safehouses and their keys. Nuvia speculated that if the government knew about the key, they might have already discovered one of the safehouses. The man agreed and planned to return to the town to help others escape, but Nuvia persuaded him to accompany her instead, valuing his knowledge and skills in combating the Nevu. Reluctant but intrigued, the man agreed to join her on the condition that if the safehouses yielded nothing of value, he would sell her to the government. Nuvia accepted the terms, eager to continue her search.

During their journey to the next town, Nuvia learns that the other man's name is Kael and learns more about his qualifications. Nuvia feels safer having him on her side. Once more, he reminds Nuvia of their ongoing deal. They figure out the safest route to the next safehouse, even if it means taking the longest route.

Arriving at the next town, Kael leaves to stock up on supplies while realizing that both he and Nuvia are now wanted criminals after seeing the local broadcasts. He quickly gathers everything before returning to inform Nuvia about the situation. He tells her that a hover bike won't be sufficient for their travels and that they will need to steal a vehicle. Nuvia is against the idea, but Kael explains the benefits: better concealment and longer travel distances compared to a bike. In the end, Nuvia agrees. Before forming a plan, Kael inquires about her skills, only to learn that she only knows how to farm and garden and has no battle experience other than the encounters she’s already had. He is amazed by her luck, as she would have been killed if higher-level soldiers had hunted her down.

Kael decides to teach Nuvia some survival skills to help him locate and steal a vehicle. Fortunately, he finds Nuvia to be a fast learner. In no time, they locate a vehicle to take. Kael speaks to the owner while Nuvia observes from a distance. She learns the importance of using flattery to lower others' guards. After gathering all the needed information, Kael instructs Nuvia on their plan to steal the vehicle after midnight. Thanks to their teamwork, they successfully execute the plan.

As they are about to leave the town with their hidden supplies and the bike, they are ambushed by more enemy soldiers on custom vehicles. Kael learns from the soldiers that the man he had originally spoken to and stolen from had recognized him. He quickly drives back into the town and changes direction while the soldiers chase after them. During the chase, Kael explains to Nuvia that he had suspected this exact situation and knew a few escape routes. However, more enemy soldiers block these routes. The soldiers chasing them are met with Nuvia throwing pillars of ice, which have no effect. Kael explains that their vehicles are specially made to withstand potential Nevu attacks. Unsure of what else to do, Nuvia is instructed by Kael to create bubble barriers on his command.

As they continue their chase across town, they reach a dead end and are surrounded by the enemy. Kael is uncertain of what else to do other than to forcefully push through the custom-made vehicles, hoping to get enough speed and momentum to jump over them. However, they get blocked from behind as well. Nuvia overhears Kael's frustrations and notices that there are no more vehicles behind the ones blocking their way in front of them. Deciding to take action, Nuvia gets out of the vehicle despite Kael's attempt to stop her. She creates a wall of ice to block the vehicle behind them before the soldiers can surround them. She does the same for the streets on either side.

Kael is confused by Nuvia's plan, especially when she climbs on top of the hood and orders him to drive ahead at full speed. Without hesitation, he drives toward the car in front of them as the enemy soldiers begin shooting at them. Nuvia turns her chest and dress to ice, creating an ice ramp using the vehicle as a base for the car to drive over. Once the car returns to the ground, Nuvia uses her levitation ability to create another wall before the custom vehicle can back up the same way Kael did. Kael gains more respect for Nuvia's quick thinking. When she returns to the vehicle, he wonders why she never told him about her ice abilities. She teases him, saying a girl needs to keep a secret or two for emergencies.

After inspecting the state of their vehicle, Kael suggests getting it repainted and changing other important details now that the military is aware of their situation. Nuvia wonders where they'll be able to get something like that done for free. Kael quickly informs her not to worry because he knows someone who can help them. It will take them a couple of days on the road to reach their next destination, which is a much bigger city. Kael suggests that Nuvia hide in the back seat due to her appearance. She begins to argue because she wants to see the city. He suggests she lie on the ground while keeping an eye out the window. She does this and finds the large buildings amazing.

It is not long until they reach their destination. Nuvia watches as Kael gets out of the vehicle and begins speaking to a small child. It does not take long until another man appears to give Kael a strong hug. She later learns the man is a mechanic named Axel, one of Kael's closest friends, who owes Kael a large debt. Axel decides to help Kael by customizing the vehicle and changing its information so the military won't notice them, in exchange for clearing the debt. As the men continue to discuss business, Axel mentions the cloud-looking girl seen on the news. Kael explains the situation with Nuvia before introducing them. As Nuvia is about to introduce herself, she is interrupted by the surprised reaction of another child, a little girl named Lily who finds Nuvia very pretty. Lily asks her father if Nuvia can play with her. Axel gives his approval after convincing Kael to stay a few days before heading out on the road again.

While Axel is working on the vehicle, Nuvia and Lily play together almost every single day. Lily teaches Nuvia about toys and playing pretend whenever Kael isn't training Nuvia in survival skills. The few days quickly turn into a week, and Kael begins to suspect foul play due to Axel's excuses sounding flimsier. Nuvia doesn't notice the issues at first because she is enjoying her time with Lily. The young girl is very intelligent and reads all kinds of stories to Nuvia after realizing Nuvia doesn't know how to read.

One day after Axel and Lily return from a shopping trip, Lily comes home sick in her father's arms. Axel explains to Nuvia and Kael that Lily has delicate health, and he'll need to stop working on the vehicle to care for her as a single father. Kael is outraged by the situation but understands. Nuvia decides to visit Lily with the hope of helping the girl feel better so her dad can return to fixing the vehicle. When she tells Lily to drink a special tea she made for her, Lily drinks it without realizing it contains Nuvia's blood, which makes her feel much better. To Axel's surprise, he celebrates the miracle Nuvia performed to save his daughter. He decides to make a celebration dinner just for Kael and Nuvia to celebrate Lily's restored health.

During the celebration dinner, Kael is eating alongside Axel and the rest of his men while Nuvia simply watches everything from another room. She doesn't feel comfortable joining the dinner with so many other people present. Nuvia begins to search for Lily, realizing she isn't around. A boy grabs Nuvia's attention by signaling her to follow him. He takes her to the garage to reveal that their stolen vehicle has been completely remodeled. Nuvia is confused and unsure what to say until the boy reveals that the vehicle has been ready for over a week. Axel has been lying to her and Kael. She wonders why he hasn't informed Kael about it. The boy explains that Kael has been under surveillance the entire time, just like she was until now. Nuvia wonders why now is different. The boy admits that Axel no longer believes her to be a threat, unlike Kael. Axel believes he has Nuvia under his control because of Lily.

Nuvia wonders about Lily's whereabouts, and the boy leads her to a secret room filled with monitors showing each room in the household. The boy shows a broadcast of Axel with Lily, leaving Nuvia speechless and then enraged. Axel has been poisoning his daughter for the past few years, not having the heart to kill her but making her sick enough to get help from the government. Nuvia asks about Lily's current whereabouts, and the boy reveals that Axel has killed his daughter. The boy admits that Lily did not deserve her fate, just like Nuvia and Kael don't deserve theirs. He reveals Axel's plan with the government to pin Lily's death on Nuvia while Kael is set up to kill his henchmen during the dinner after being drugged to increase his paranoia. The government has promised Axel to pardon all of his crimes and offer him riches in exchange for Kael and Nuvia's capture.

Nuvia quickly leaves the room and heads upstairs, the boy questioning her decision not to head straight to the party. She reveals her intention to find Lily. She finds the girl peacefully lying in her room, no longer breathing. Nuvia painfully holds her small form, finding her cold. She tries to force Lily to drink her blood, but it doesn't help. The boy is curious throughout the entire scene. Nuvia notices him and decides to give him some of her blood in one of Lily's teacups. She orders him to hide in the stolen vehicle, warning him to drink the blood only if he gets injured. Nuvia is determined to save Kael and everyone else.

Appearing at the party while holding Lily in her arms, everyone is curious about the scene. Nuvia calmly reveals that Lily is dead. Axel acts shocked by the news, pretending not to believe it, but as he tries to get closer to touch Lily, Nuvia moves out of the way. She angrily accuses him of being the murderer. Axel acts outraged by Nuvia's accusations, deciding to pin it on her, only for Nuvia to broadcast the footage to everyone in the room. Unfortunately, the broadcast breaks once it ends, and Axel laughs, revealing it was the original copy. He orders his men to kill Kael and Nuvia, only to find his men already dead. Kael had taken care of them throughout the party by poisoning each of them. He suspected Axel had something planned from the very beginning, considering Axel never cared for his daughter.

Nuvia reveals that Axel has teamed up with the government to capture them. Kael isn't mad about Axel's betrayal; he is outraged about Lily's death. Axel is afraid of Kael hurting him, but Nuvia stands between them, holding Lily in her arms. She tries to reason with Kael about letting Axel go, arguing that Lily wouldn't want her father to meet the same fate as her. Kael argues back about leaving any witnesses, but Nuvia reminds him they're already wanted criminals. Kael points out that whatever they do doesn't matter to the government anymore. One more won't hurt. Nuvia argues that it will hurt her. Kael and Nuvia have a stare-down until Kael reveals that her kindness will be her undoing. He decides to knock Axel out while Nuvia freezes him to the ground.

Kael returns Lily to her room and apologizes to the dead girl. Nuvia creates a flower out of ice, remembering that her favorite flower was roses. They both leave, taking the vehicle of one of the goons. Nuvia wonders about the little boy, and Kael admits avoiding taking him because his life will be ruined otherwise. He doesn't want to make the boy's life harder than it already is. Once Kael successfully changes the vehicle's information, they quickly leave the scene, returning to their mission of finding the next safehouse.

In the next town closer to the safehouse, Kael is talking on a public phone to someone while researching information about their criminal status. He informs Nuvia about Axel's death, hinting that the government has pinned the massacre more on her than on him. Nuvia doesn't mind being blamed for more deaths because she knows the truth. They continue their drive until they reach the next safehouse. Nuvia activates it and allows Kael to drive their vehicle inside the enclosed space. She uses the key to unlock the cave's true power, allowing the AI to reappear. It welcomes Nuvia to the next cave, then notices Kael. It already has information about the other man, which impresses Kael. Nuvia admits to him that the AI is her father. The AI inquires about Nuvia's progress, and Kael answers for her by admitting she is reliable but still very stupid. The AI agrees with Kael's assessment of her. Nuvia is annoyed by their agreement. She informs her father about her new abilities, which the AI documents. They wonder about any weaknesses to report other than her stupidity and brash behavior. Nuvia isn't certain about it, other than that her ice pillars can be knocked over by custom cars. The AI tries to teach Nuvia about the effects of temperature differences and kinetic energy, but she ignores it due to not understanding it. Kael wonders about Nuvia's education level, only to learn she never received one. The AI isn't too shocked about it, knowing that Nuvia's mother always found education to be pointless even though she was highly intelligent due to her fantastic memory. Nuvia doesn't believe she needs it, but Kael disagrees. He decides to allow Nuvia to remain in the safehouse long enough to learn more about her powers. The AI decides to educate her on it while repairing their vehicle. It informs Kael to make himself at home with anything he finds in the cave. Kael reveals his deal with Nuvia, to which the AI allows him to take anything he believes to be valuable.

Nuvia and Kael remain in the cave for a week. The AI is making necessary repairs and modifications to their vehicle, Kael is reading and exploring the cave, and Nuvia is learning more about science. It is a slow process due to her stubbornness about not needing to learn about temperature, ice, etc. The AI encourages her to learn to become a better support for Kael. Whenever she isn't studying science, Kael is teaching her self-defense and other survival skills. Suddenly, an alarm sounds, warning Kael and Nuvia that one of the other safehouses has been uncovered by someone other than Nuvia. The AI is unable to find more information due to the cave's high security, but it determines that an intruder has found and forcefully opened it. Kael wonders if the AI can determine the amount of time it took to unlock it. The AI can only determine through the weaponry that it has been in use for over a year. Kael and Nuvia decide to leave the safehouse to find the rest before another one is unlocked. At least they have time on their side, even if the AI is uncertain of the amount now that one has been forcefully opened. Kael prepares the newly remodeled vehicle with supplies and items he wants to sell. He informs Nuvia about heading to his headquarters next to inform his group about the new plan. Nuvia is confused to learn that Kael has his own headquarters, to which he reveals that, on the outside, it is an organization created to protect orphan children from being forced to join the military. He reveals that he was a child soldier. In reality, their group is an anti-government organization that works alongside the black market and other criminals. Nuvia feels uneasy about it all, but Kael reveals that the black market has a lot of available resources. Maybe they'll have clues concerning her mother. Nuvia is willing to try if it means she'll be a step closer to finding her.

They use the teleportation device to arrive in the cave Nuvia had opened beforehand and then head over to the town under Kael's influence. It is a short drive that takes them a few days to reach. Nuvia looks out of the window to find they are in a small village filled with nature and much more peaceful compared to the first town she had visited. Once they reach their destination, Kael orders her to remain in the car as he speaks with someone. Moments later, a woman around her mother's age appears and opens the car door to welcome Nuvia. Kael reveals her name to be Amara, an indie blogger and a very well-known reporter on social media. Amara is excited to meet Nuvia, as she has been wanting to reach out to her. Nuvia is just as excited to meet Amara. Amara can already tell that Nuvia is nothing like how the government is portraying her. When Nuvia asks about it, Amara reveals that the government has painted her as an enemy created by the Nevu in their war against humanity. Nuvia rejects this idea, revealing she is simply searching for her mother. Amara feels sympathy towards her and decides to show her around the mansion. Kael returns to his office to get settled.

As Amara shows Nuvia around, she notices the contrasting looks everyone gives her compared to the friendly ones from Amara and Lily. She even recalls Axel’s initial gaze resembling the ones she received on her first trip to a human town. Once the tour is over, Amara tries to offer Nuvia refreshments, only to learn she doesn't need anything other than water. Amara learns that Nuvia is self-sustained due to her Nevu genes, a detail Nuvia learned from her father. Amara is surprised to learn that the Nevu don't need to eat or drink and is excited about discussing these details on her podcasts. Nuvia isn't certain it's a smart idea considering her current status, but Amara assures her that she is protected by her job as a reporter and won't get into trouble for it. Their conversation is interrupted by a message from Kael to meet him in his office.

Once the girls arrive at the office, Kael informs them about his next mission from the black market. He needs to leave. Nuvia decides to join him, but he orders her to remain in the mansion because he doesn't want to involve her in his business if he doesn't have to. He suggests that she continue studying the material her father made for her. Nuvia reveals she can't read without an AI doing it for her. Amara decides to teach her while Kael is away.

For the next few days, it is peaceful with Amara teaching Nuvia the science material while allowing her to visit the village occasionally for a break. Nuvia showcases her powers to help with chores, earning the trust of some villagers, while others remain wary. One day, the village is attacked by the Nevu, who are searching for Nuvia. Simultaneously, Kael's group is ambushed by the government, preventing them from offering each other any support. Kael reassures Nuvia that he will return to the village before the end of the day. Nuvia decides to face the Nevu to protect the village, despite Amara’s warnings about the large number of enemies.

Some people in the mansion decide to help Nuvia in the fight, trusting Kael's judgment. Nuvia informs everyone of the Nevu's weaknesses and joins them as their support. The battle begins with everyone being cautious of the Nevu's shapeshifting abilities and their transformation into pure energy upon death. The villagers follow Nuvia's strategy while she takes on the more challenging Nevu, especially those using human hostages. Nuvia realizes the fight seems easier than usual and starts evacuating villagers into the mansion's basement for protection.

Once inside, Nuvia quickly realizes most of the volunteers are actually Nevu warriors, with everyone in the basement being Nevu. She tries to remain calm and act normally. Amara notices Nuvia's awkward behavior, and Nuvia explains she feels overwhelmed by the number of people in the mansion. Amara suggests she take a break in the bathroom, but Nuvia heads to Kael's office instead.

In Kael's office, Nuvia contacts Kael to reveal the situation. Kael is surprised and wonders how Nuvia missed it. She explains she only noticed once inside. Kael reveals he installed a security device from Nuvia's AI father to detect the Nevu after she informed him of the attack. Nuvia recalls the volunteers were all human until now. Kael tells Nuvia he is heading back and instructs her to survive until he arrives. Nuvia calms her nerves and returns to the basement. Amara interrupts, and they head back together, where Nuvia notices the Nevu acting normally. She spots a small group of humans and tries to approach them, but the Nevu surround them, using them as hostages.

Nuvia wants to go outside to gather more information about the dead Nevu, but Amara stops her, suggesting she serve refreshments to everyone. Nuvia complies and notices that all the Nevu request drinks, while the humans decline except for one, who drinks in front of her. Nuvia tries to ask him questions, but he ignores most of them, leaving her feeling disappointed.

As the night progresses, Nuvia continues serving refreshments. Amara informs her that Kael has returned. Nuvia runs to Kael's office, finding more Nevu entering the mansion. Once there, she encounters a Nevu warrior and attacks, believing them to be an intruder. The Nevu, claiming to be Kael, tries to calm her using his voice, but Nuvia doesn't believe him and continues her ice attacks. The Nevu dodges her attacks, not wanting to hurt her. Amara and more Nevu warriors intervene, and they knock Nuvia out.

When Nuvia regains consciousness, Amara is thrilled to see her awake in a guest bedroom. Nuvia wonders what happened, and Amara explains she attacked Kael in his office, mistaking him for a Nevu. Kael knocked her out and saved the villagers. The anti-Nevu system had malfunctioned, detecting few Nevu in the basement, and Kael and his men took care of them. Unfortunately, there were a few casualties. Kael, bandaged, enters the room. Nuvia apologizes, but Kael reassures her it wasn't her fault and praises her quick thinking. He acknowledges her need for more training but sees her becoming more reliable. Nuvia is relieved and happy to hear it.

Kael prepares for their next trip to search for the safehouses now that he has completed his black-market mission. Nuvia bids Amara and some of the people from the mansion farewell. Amara promises they will cross paths again because she needs to return to her usual duties. Just as Nuvia is about to ask about Amara's additional duties, Kael lectures Amara for revealing too much, stating that there are things Nuvia does not need to know. They bid everyone farewell and travel back to the safehouse to use it to teleport to the next recently unlocked safehouse. Kael admits it will take a few weeks to reach the next one due to taking a longer route. They both enjoy their road trip, traveling through different towns and cities. Occasionally, they camp to allow Kael time to rest and give Nuvia time to practice her abilities, including new ones she is working to master.

One evening, Nuvia hears a familiar voice calling out to her, belonging to Lily. Just as she decides to investigate, the little girl disappears. Nuvia begins to believe she is seeing illusions due to missing her. The next day, as Kael drives, he notices Nuvia deep in thought. He worries about her, but Nuvia brushes it off, saying she is simply feeling tired. At the next stop, Kael buys them an ice cream cone for himself and a sundae for Nuvia. When he gives it to her, she informs him that she cannot have it. Kael asks her to try it and enjoy. Nuvia cautiously eats the ice cream, finding it cold. When Kael asks if she likes the flavor, she looks confused, saying all she can feel is the cold, which confuses Kael further. Even so, Nuvia enjoys eating something alongside Kael, which helps raise her morale. Nuvia notices another vision of Lily in the distance, enjoying her ice cream too.

A couple of hours later, they needed to stop because Nuvia was feeling sick, trying to spit something out. Kael decided to set up camp to give her time to recover. Nuvia was given her own tent while Kael busied himself with other tasks. Left alone, she felt a cold hand touching her skin, comforting her with a voice that sounded just like Lily. Nuvia quickly regained consciousness and finally spit out whatever her body was rejecting. It was a disgusting transparent ooze. She decided to get out of her tent and found it was early morning with a thick fog. She saw Kael in the vehicle, getting it ready. He noticed Nuvia was awake and asked about her condition. She said she felt okay but gross. She asked if there was somewhere she could bathe. Kael informed her about a lake not far from their campsite. She could use it. Nuvia decided to do so, and when Kael offered her a towel, she rejected it, explaining that she could use her clouds to create her dress again. Kael was impressed by this revelation about her clothes.

Heading to the lake, Nuvia made her clothes disappear, allowing herself to be naked. She swam into the water, her hair floating above her head. As Nuvia enjoyed the chilly water, she noticed another vision of Lily warning her not to lower her guard because she was in danger. Suddenly, pillars of ice were thrown her way, narrowly missing her. She turned towards the source, demanding to know who was there. In no time, a version of herself levitated above the water, glaring at her. Nuvia was shocked to find another version of herself. The other Nuvia began to freeze the water, forcing Nuvia to levitate away.

Nuvia and her clone engaged in a fierce battle. The clone mirrored Nuvia's abilities, creating ice constructs and attacking with precision. Nuvia countered with her own ice pillars, but the clone seemed to anticipate her every move, using a bubble barrier. They clashed in mid-air, their ice skin shattering on impact. Nuvia struggled to gain the upper hand, realizing her clone was equally matched in power and skill.

As the fight continued, Nuvia grew more fatigued, her hair beginning to grow shorter. Her clone used this to its advantage, launching a relentless barrage of ice shards. Nuvia barely managed to deflect them, feeling the cold bites on her skin. Realizing she couldn't win this fight alone, she decided to retreat. She quickly turned into mist to obscure the clone's vision, then quickly regained her physical body with shorter hair and ran back towards the camp, hoping to find Kael.

When she arrived, she found Kael already engaged in combat with another clone of hers. He was fending off the clone's attacks with difficulty. Nuvia joined in, using her remaining strength to assist him. Together, they managed to overpower the clone, but it was a hard-fought battle. Kael wondered if the Nuvia next to him was the original, only for Nuvia to confirm she was. He noticed her hair was short and she wasn't wearing her dress. Nuvia admitted she had used too much power against the clone that ambushed her.

The other clone caught up to them, and Kael ordered Nuvia to get in the car to drive away. The clone tried to use ice attacks against the car to block it, only to find the car was unaffected. Kael informed Nuvia that the car was not only Nevu-proof but ice-proof as well. He began to drive away even as the clone attempted to freeze the road underneath them. The clone continued to use all its ice abilities to slow them down, but it didn’t work. Then it attempted to attack the car directly. Nuvia watched as the car began to take some damage due to the clone increasing its weight onto it.

Just as the clone was increasing more weight onto the car, both Kael and Nuvia overheard Lily's voice warning the Nuvia clone to leave her friends alone. Lily used her water abilities to push the clone off the car. The clone fell onto the road, where Kael ran her over with the car, shattering her to pieces. Nuvia and Kael wondered if that had stopped the clone, but it began to slowly rebuild itself, resembling regeneration, except it looked smaller in comparison. Lily informed them that the clone would continue to attack as long as there was a water source feeding it, and fog was considered one.

Nuvia wondered about the Lily clone, only for said clone to urge her to leave as fast as they could while she held the clones back. When Nuvia asked about there being more clones, the one from before reappeared to join the other one. Nuvia wished to fight, but Kael rejected the idea, hoping they could rely on Lily. They drove away.

Once the sun began to rise in the distance, Kael and Nuvia felt a sense of relief, realizing the fog was beginning to disappear. They both did not know what to make of the situation concerning the Nuvia and Lily clones. Kael decided to head to the next town to make a quick phone call while giving Nuvia time to rest. Drinking some of the fresh water from their tanks helped her hair grow some more, enough to create another outfit to cover herself with.

Her mind was going through the chain of events, realizing the Lily images were real instead of being all inside her mind. Lily reappeared behind the backseat, feeling weak. Nuvia was alarmed about it. She wondered about her situation, and Lily requested some water. As Nuvia was going to give her some to drink, Lily shook her head, admitting she needed all of the water inside the canteen to rest. Nuvia gave her permission to come inside, which she did by turning into water. They continued to talk while using the canteen to hide the fact that she was talking to someone. Nuvia asked about the situation, only to learn Lily didn't know much other than waking up in a lab after her father had killed her. Nuvia winced at the realization that Lily remembered her death, to which Lily informed her in detail about her father forcing her to drink all of the poison. It took some time for her to die. She remembered mentally calling out to her for help, only for Nuvia to feel guilty about being unable to help her. When Lily had reawakened, she remembered feeling pure rage about it, but her rage was directed at Nuvia instead of her father. When Nuvia wondered what snapped her out of it because she was calm now, Lily admitted having seen pictures of her dead body holding an ice rose in her hand. She knew it came from Nuvia because only she knew about her favorite flower. She thanked Nuvia for it as Nuvia silently cried about it.

When Kael returned from his phone call, he will inform Nuvia about the plan to continue on their journey to the next safehouse except they'll have to use the shorter route instead of going the long way. It was clear someone must have found out about their plan. When Nuvia asks about the reason they were taking the longer routes in the first place, Kael explains the area the next safehouse was in the middle of an active battlefield between the Nevu and military. It wasn't one of the main battle grounds, but it was large enough to be a pain in the ass to go through. He would rather avoid it but there was no other choice. They'll be in the next safehouse in less than two weeks.

As they head to the roads directly to the battlefield, they'll find many military roadblocks requesting them to turn around or avoid the street entirely. Nuvia was alarmed none of the military recognized them in which Kael explained it was another Nevu technology to hide their identity as long as they keep the windows up. Fortunately, it was still working properly unlike the other anti-Nevu tech. Once Kael realized he could not use any of the short roads to head to the safehouse, he'll ask the military about it only to learn all the roads surrounding the safehouse were all blocked. There was no other way to reach it unless they flew over them. Nuvia wonders if the military knew about the safehouses just like the Nevu to which Kael admits of them probably knowing about it before she had. Reminding her what her father said about one of the safehouses taking a year to infiltrate. They'll need to go to a safehouse that was further away. The next one to them was at the other side of the country which will take over a month to reach.

The duo began their long road trip across the country. Kael intended to stop in the next town to restock on supplies, but Lily, through the canteen, advised them to avoid the next town and head to the one after that. Kael was shocked to hear the young girl's voice, and Nuvia explained that Lily was now with them. He wondered about the other clones, to which Lily proudly admitted to defeating them all on her own. Nuvia explained Lily's situation to Kael, which made him curious about the process of cloning Lily using Nuvia's cells. Unfortunately, Lily didn't know much about it other than that she now existed. Kael didn't trust the clone but kept his opinion to himself, hoping Nuvia would learn from the experience.

Following Lily's advice, they skipped the next town in favor of the one beyond it. The journey was peaceful, with no ambushes by the Nevu, the military, or more clones. Kael reminded the girls to always be on their guard, as silence was never a good sign. They stopped to camp whenever Kael felt tired. He noted that Lily and Nuvia did not need to rest due to being self-sustained. Whenever Lily got tired, she rested in the canteen full of water, while Nuvia would occupy herself with other activities while waiting for them to recover, occasionally spitting out more transparent ooze.

Arriving in the city, Kael searched for another public phone to gather more information. He ordered the girls to stay in the car. The girls began to have small talk until they felt loud explosions and vibrations nearby. Quickly, they noticed a group of people running past them, shouting about a monster attack. Passing by their car were more Nuvia clones wreaking havoc on the city. The girls hid further down in the car as they witnessed everything. Lily was confused about the situation because she only knew the clones were attacking the city they had skipped over. Nuvia was surprised to hear Lily's confession concerning the situation. She inquired more about it, only for Lily to admit that the Nuvia clones were created with the intention of ruining her reputation, making it harder for her to hide, while she was created to capture her. Nuvia wanted to know the identity of the person who created them, only for Lily to lower her head in shame, being unable to inform her or else she would be reset to act like her original self. Kael returned to the car, relieved to find the girls still in the vehicle. He had every intention to escape, except Nuvia got out of the car with the intention of stopping her clones from destroying the city. Kael attempted to stop her by yelling at her to return to the vehicle because the city was a lost cause. Nuvia didn't obey him in the slightest.

Nuvia began to challenge her clones, and their response was to throw vehicles in her direction. She used her bubble barrier to block the cars from flying past her. The cars exploded on collision with the barrier, and the clones used the smoke screen to hide their location and attack her from behind. Nuvia allowed herself to get hit, landing on more cars. The clone created a sharp pillar of ice in her dominant arm to attack Nuvia with. Nuvia narrowly dodged the hit by opening her legs apart and using the ice's moisture to control the gravity, pushing the clone away from her. The clone increased its weight to stop from flying further away. It returned to attack Nuvia by literally ice skating towards her, aiming to stab her once more. Nuvia suddenly created a wall of ice at the last minute for the clone to smack right into. Just as planned, the clone hit it and broke into pieces as before. Nuvia levitated to notice the clone rebuilding itself, except it looked a lot smaller. As Nuvia was about to absorb more of the moisture surrounding her, another clone attacked from behind, and two more from either side deeply cut her arms.

Landing softly on the ground as her injuries were actively being healed by nearby water droplets, Nuvia faced the clones as they fused into a much bigger version of herself. Nuvia was stunned to learn they had new abilities. Just as the bigger version was about to throw sharp pillars of ice at her, Lily intervened with a powerful water attack. She created water barriers, shielding Nuvia from the oncoming ice pillars. Lily and Nuvia fought side by side, combining their abilities to fend off the giant clone. Lily used her water attacks to keep the clone at bay, forming whips and jets of water to disrupt its movements, while Nuvia created ice barriers and launched ice projectiles. Despite their efforts, the clone's size and strength made it a tough opponent.

As the battle intensified, Lily began to grow weak, realizing the water she had been hiding in contained poison. Her attacks became less effective, and she struggled to maintain her form. Sensing Lily's distress, Nuvia protected her against the much bigger clone, using her bubble barrier to shield Lily from harm. The clone, seeing an opportunity, put civilians in danger by hurling debris and creating chaos in the surrounding area. Nuvia was faced with the choice to save Lily or protect the civilians. Lily, understanding the gravity of the situation, urged Nuvia to prioritize the citizens, assuring her that she would be okay. Kael, trying to help the civilians, hoped Nuvia would rescue Lily instead. However, the situation was becoming critical, with the clone's attacks threatening to cause widespread destruction. Nuvia made the difficult decision to save the civilians and Kael, promising Lily that she would come back for her.

The moment Nuvia headed to rescue the civilians and Kael, the giant clone version of herself attempted to grab Lily to take her away. Due to Lily's weakened state, the clone had a tough time getting all of her. It decided to freeze Lily in a block of ice and levitate her away inside the bubble barrier. Nuvia had a difficult time helping the citizens as none of them trusted her or Kael. Realizing she had very little time left, she created a bubble barrier big enough to save everyone from the ongoing car and building explosions. Once the dust settled, everyone realized they were still alive, but instead of celebrating Nuvia's help, they attacked her as a group, realizing she was too weak to do anything about it. They blamed Nuvia for the destruction of their city. Kael protected Nuvia by getting everyone away from her. The citizens argued with Kael over protecting a monster instead of them. It was now his chance to escape from her. Nuvia was left a little broken by everyone's reaction; however, she didn't blame them for their fears because they weren't entirely wrong in blaming her. She used the little strength she had left to levitate herself and Kael away from the group and back towards the car. Kael got Nuvia into the vehicle before driving out of the city before the government arrived.

Just as they were driving away, Nuvia reacted by hitting the car with force, realizing she had failed Lily. Kael silently observed her inner turmoil about letting a friend down. He inquired if she regretted rescuing the civilians, to which Nuvia sincerely responded that if it hadn't been for Lily encouraging her to rescue them, she would have prioritized Lily. Kael repeated his question, believing she hadn't answered it fully. Nuvia began to feel more frustrated over her response because she did regret it, while at the same time, she didn't. She shook her head, admitting she would never have forgiven herself if she had allowed the citizens to die due to her selfishness. Kael ended the conversation and changed the topic, revealing that the black market had a lead on the identity of the Lily and Nuvia clones.

It was a top genetic doctor by the name of Dr. Victoria Weller. She was well-known for the advancement of splicing and for convincing the government to accept it as a form of plastic surgery like in the Old-World days. She was the leading doctor who knew how to undo splicing to return an individual in being fully human. Nuvia was confused about the reason for this, so Kael explained that many criminal gangs forced their members to undergo illegal splicing to better retain their numbers. Just like the Nevu, humanity regarded splicers as less than human, even though they were technically still human, just in animal form. Nuvia found the idea of rejecting someone for being different to be wrong, and Kael agreed.

He further explains that the next black-market mission was to search for Dr. Weller's whereabouts due to her having gone missing. The black market wants her to return at all costs, or else the government will overrule their decision concerning splicing. They still need splicers to be on their team because if it becomes illegal, they'll have to turn their backs on them as everyone else has. Splicers are regarded as lower-class citizens with little to no government help. They aren't even accepted into the military. Nuvia asks if he knew where to search. Kael was ahead of her, having already planned to search her home and work office. He decided to allow Nuvia to search her home while he searched her office. They'll be there in two days.

Arriving in the city in the middle of the night, Kael leaves Nuvia a few blocks away from Dr. Weller's home with instructions to wait for her partner to arrive. Nuvia doesn't believe she needs anyone to help her, but Kael reminds her of her inability to read and use technology. He suggests she use the opportunity to learn from someone new. Nuvia begrudgingly agrees.

Once Kael is gone, a few minutes later an unknown vehicle passes by without any lights on. Nuvia finds the vehicle suspicious until it is revealed that Amara is inside the car. She invites Nuvia in, revealing she is her new partner for the evening. The girls have small talk about their adventures as they arrive at Dr. Weller's house. Amara advises Nuvia to stay by her side at all times until she gives the all-clear. She begins by hacking into the home's mainframe until it is unlocked, and all the security is reset. Nuvia helps Amara enter the household by levitating them to the roof. Amara asks Nuvia to enter the home first while explaining what to look for.

Nuvia silently sneaks into the home through the window. She starts searching Dr. Weller's room, finding it filled with all types of solid PDF disks. None of them have any pictures, so Nuvia has no idea what any of them are about. She signals for Amara to enter, and Amara begins to go through the collection. Nuvia silently continues searching each room until she finds a locked one. She calls out for Amara to show her the locked room. Amara starts hacking it while ordering Nuvia to check downstairs.

As Nuvia walks down the steps, she continues to search through the rest of the rooms until she hears a strange sound. A small kitten-like child is standing there, wondering if their mom has finally returned. Nuvia feels nervous about being discovered but, upon noticing the very small cat-like child, she wonders if they are okay. The cat-like child wonders if Nuvia is their mom's new experiment and if she is their new older sister. Nuvia sadly shakes her head, admitting she is a friend of his mom's and is searching for her. The cat boy says he hasn't seen his mom in a long time, but it's normal because she has a lot of enemies. He'll be fine as long as there is enough food in the house.

Amara finds Nuvia talking to the splicer child and asks if she has found any information. Nuvia repeats everything the young boy has said about the situation. Fortunately, Amara says she found interesting files Kael might like, which could be a clue. Just as Amara tells Nuvia to move out, the small cat boy wonders if they'll come back to play with him again. Nuvia promises that once she finds his mom, she'll come back to visit him. Once the cat boy is satisfied, he helps the women secretly leave the house using a side door nobody other than his mom knows about.

Kael and Amara begin to look through the clues each has collected concerning Dr. Weller's whereabouts. Nuvia is outside the car keeping watch due to working in an unknown dark alley. Once they have gone through everything and compiled all the information, Amara leaves the car to give the black market the requested information. She bids her friends farewell before heading back to her vehicle to leave. Nuvia returns to the car with Kael, who reveals possible locations where the doctor might be. All they need is to hear back from the black market in a couple of days to confirm the situation. Amara has left her reusable phone with them so they do not have to wait in the city for the call. Both of them camp out on the city's outskirts, using the opportunity for Kael to continue training Nuvia for the possible upcoming mission.

The call arrives a few days later, with the black-market agent giving Kael the location, information, and order to rescue Dr. Weller from enemy captivity. Kael drives to the laboratory's location to check on its security and size. Afterwards, he takes Nuvia to the city's local library while it is closed to gather more information about the site. They find the place used to be a warehouse before transforming into a military headquarters. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city. Kael teaches Nuvia about strategy while forming a solid plan to save the doctor.

The day arrives when the laboratory is filled with fewer people due to a holiday. Even though security will be slack, Kael reminds Nuvia to be on her guard and follow his orders without fail if she wants to successfully save the doctor and find Lily. Nuvia agrees to Kael's conditions with her own, asking him to absolutely trust her judgment. Kael finds humor in Nuvia's response but makes no promises. They prepare for the upcoming mission alongside a group of three other black-market operatives acting as Nuvia and Kael's eyes.

They successfully infiltrate the laboratory without much trouble, thanks to the hackers easing up security and altering the camera footage. Kael and Nuvia carefully navigate through the lab, searching for signs of traps. The hackers are keeping the halls static unless guards pass by, allowing Kael and Nuvia to evade most of them until they reach a particular room.

The hackers inform them they can't breach the highly encrypted settings of this specific room. When Kael questions their expertise, they reveal that this type of encryption dates back to the Old World, part of the million-dollar bounties that original law enforcement agencies used to recruit skilled hackers from the deep web. Kael is surprised to encounter such high-level security, but the hackers suggest it might simply be a large storage room separating the main and secret laboratories.

Kael wonders if they will need to go underground, and the hackers confirm it's a possibility with Dr. Weller involved. He signals Nuvia to approach and reminds her of their mission: no matter what they encounter, she must remain calm and follow his orders because they will be on their own for a while. Nuvia agrees, urging Kael to trust her abilities.

Carefully entering the room together, Nuvia finds the giant storage area astonishing. It's stocked with everything employees might need, regardless of rank. She wonders if all labs are similar, and Kael admits this is one of the largest he's encountered to date. They continue sneaking until they encounter floor drones patrolling the area. Kael signals Nuvia to levitate them towards the highest shelves, but they soon notice additional flying military drones. Nuvia recognizes them from her previous encounter in the forest. Kael realizes the flying drones pose a greater threat despite the ground drones not being state-of-the-art.

He signals Nuvia to navigate between the ground and flying drone boundaries. Nuvia questions why they can't simply climb across the shelves instead of levitating, and Kael explains they must avoid leaving any evidence behind. He lectures her to focus and stop being lazy. As they maneuver past the drones, Nuvia finds she can no longer use her levitation due to the presence of human guards standing by the door leading to the other lab.

Nuvia and Kael find a corner among the mid-shelves to hide and observe from a distance. Nuvia realizes the guards have hostages with them—children. She plans to move closer to find a way to save them, but Kael quickly stops her, questioning her desire to act without him. He acknowledges her wish to rescue the children but reminds her their priority is Dr. Weller. Everything else must be set aside for the greater mission.

Though Nuvia disagrees, Kael emphasizes that Dr. Weller is their only lead on finding Lily. He asks if she's willing to sacrifice Lily for unknown children who could potentially be disguised child soldiers. Nuvia sadly shakes her head, and Kael asks for their next plan to get the soldiers to move.

Nuvia surveys her surroundings and notices something intriguing: the flying drones avoid a specific area due to the strong air conditioning and delicate glasses nearby. She suggests using a drone to create a distraction by pushing it into the air conditioner to shatter the glass. Kael praises her observation and points out another weakness with the floor drones. They plan to coordinate their actions to create enough noise to draw the soldiers away, allowing some of the children to be left unguarded.

Kael and Nuvia execute their plan at staggered times to avoid arousing suspicion. The noise successfully distracts the soldiers, who begin investigating the sounds, leaving some of the children momentarily unguarded. Moving swiftly through the mid-shelves, Kael ensures the safety of the children by deploying a sleeping gas bomb. Within moments, the remaining children are asleep, and Kael instructs Nuvia to eliminate any trace of the smoke screen.

Nuvia levitates over and transforms into her mist form to neutralize the smell of the smoke before reverting to her physical form, absorbing the residual mist back into her hair. Kael commends Nuvia for her quick action before turning his attention to the door, only to find it requires a specific employee keycard for access. Nuvia recalls seeing guards with badges on their armor, suggesting those badges might be the key they need.

However, Kael considers using the keycard too risky without knowing if the hackers can quickly alter the ID information once they're inside. Nuvia argues they don't have time to be overly cautious, as the guards will return to their posts soon. Kael insists there are less risky ways to proceed; they just need more information. As Nuvia spots a guard approaching, instead of following Kael's order to hide, she decides to incapacitate the guard using her ice powers.

Kael chastises Nuvia for her impulsive action, but she defends herself, emphasizing the need for the keycard. Concerned about the injured guard, Kael asks what she plans to do. Nuvia decides to cut herself and uses her blood to heal the guard's injury, then levitates him to a nearby corner to make it appear he fell asleep on duty. Meanwhile, Kael cleans the blood using a spill kit he found while dealing with the floor drone.

Gaining access to the next room, Kael quickly enters to reconnect with the hackers and explain the situation, while Nuvia returns the guard's keycard. As she prepares to return to Kael's side, she notices one of the children watching her fearfully. She signals for him to be quiet before proceeding through the lab door. The hackers successfully override the information, gaining access to the new area, but they warn that their connection will weaken the lower they descend to find the doctor. Kael accepts the challenge, with the condition that Nuvia behaves. She glares at him, almost wanting to remind him of her successful idea, but decides to hold her tongue instead.

They navigate through the hallways until they reach the stairwell. The hackers inform them that most of the guards are concentrated on a particular floor, leading them to believe the doctor is there. Kael asks for the probability, only to find the hackers uncertain because they cannot gather more information due to the main office of the secret labs being located on the very bottom floor, beyond their current connection range. Kael wonders if they can manually extend their connection to the system, and the hackers confirm it's possible.

Kael instructs Nuvia to head to the floor with the guards while he heads to the main office. Once he establishes the connection with the hackers, she should be able to hear them and act as his eyes in the meantime. He reminds her not to act impulsively until ordered. Nuvia begrudgingly agrees.

Nuvia heads to the floor with the most guards and finds a corner to hide in, keeping out of sight. She quickly notices that all the rooms are empty except for one, which she suspects could be where the doctor is located. Believing it will be a while until Kael reconnects with her, she decides it's safe to investigate the empty rooms.

Entering one of the rooms, she finds it empty except for the old ventilation ducts. This makes her wonder if all the rooms are interconnected. She wants to investigate further but overhears approaching footsteps. Quickly hiding under the bed, she sees a guard enter and investigate the open door, thinking someone might have been smoking there, before deciding to close the door. Once the guard leaves, Nuvia attempts to open the door again but finds it locked. She knows Kael will lecture her about it later, but this situation provides her with an opportunity to investigate the vents as she originally intended.

Using the bed to reach higher, Nuvia struggles to levitate close enough to open the vent cover. Finally managing to do so, she climbs into the ventilation duct and begins to carefully crawl ahead, feeling out of breath. She crosses each empty room until she overhears soft music being played ahead of her. Following the music, Nuvia discovers a room with a woman trying to relax by listening to music, deep in thought.

Nuvia continues to observe the room, wondering if there are only guards. The woman suddenly points out that she is alone, surprising Nuvia. The woman encourages her to get out of the vents before she alerts the guards. Nuvia tries to open the vent cover only to find it locked. With no other way to get in, she decides to use her mist form but finds it difficult to concentrate.

At that moment, she hears Kael's voice, which helps her transform into her mist form and blow out of the vent into the woman's room. The woman finds the process fascinating while Nuvia struggles to regain her physical form. She begins to have a near panic attack, which bewilders Kael. The woman helps Nuvia ground herself by reminding her to count objects using her senses.

Kael, uneasy about overhearing another person's voice, orders Nuvia to respond. The woman reveals herself as Dr. Victoria Weller. Kael demands to know why Nuvia is with the doctor but quickly shifts topics. Dr. Weller takes control of the situation, explaining that there are guards outside her door. She doesn't know the exact number but suggests that Nuvia can crawl through the vents without being noticed. Kael informs the doctor about being her rescue party. He will take care of the guards. All he asks of the doctor is to look after Nuvia and wait. Dr. Weller is on board with the plan before checking on Nuvia once more to find the girl has calmed down enough to speak. Nuvia doesn't want Kael to kill the guards, but Dr. Weller informs her it is best for them to die by her partner's hands than to be tortured to death. Nuvia inquires if that is what happens to those who survive which Dr. Weller confirms. Nuvia is disappointed by the news to which the doctor continues to find Nuvia fascinating due to her knowledge about the Nevu relying more on logic than emotion. She explains the Nevu have their own version of empathy while Nuvia reacts like a normal human girl. Nuvia says she is human. And yet the doctor points out her clones act more like the Nevu than human. She wants to know the missing link.

A struggle is heard outside the doctor's room. Nuvia recognizes Kael's voice as he fights the guards. A moment later, Kael unlocks the room and politely requests the doctor to follow him. He assures her he will lead her out safely. The doctor is ready to go at any time. Kael checks on Nuvia, noticing her hair is shorter and her clothes are tighter, but she has calmed down. He grabs her, demanding to know the reason for her disobedience. Nuvia, too tired to argue, remains silent. They decide to go deeper into the basement levels after Kael discovers another escape option while trying to manually connect the hackers to the system.

Nuvia grows weaker the deeper underground they go, eventually reaching her limit. Kael tries to force Nuvia to move, but she can't. The doctor explains that it could be due to her water-based physiology. Kael grows impatient, but Nuvia inquires about Lily. The doctor recognizes the name and explains that Lily's dead body was brought to her. The ice flower along with the blood found in Lily's mouth was used to make the clone after discovering it contained Nuvia's DNA. The clone was very unstable and violent, refusing to obey until the doctor found its more human qualities by showing it pictures of the ice flower. Due to this, the clone no longer obeyed them, feeling loyal to Nuvia. Unfortunately, they couldn't make more clones of Lily due to having very little material left. The government then wanted to create Nuvia clones instead. The doctor was taken to a cell after helping Lily escape.

When Nuvia asks about Lily's whereabouts, the doctor informs her that Lily was taken to a different lab along with the original body. She believes Lily was taken to a lab housing one of the world's leading scientists, Dr. Lucian Voss. Upon hearing the name, Kael reacts violently, knowing the scientist is a madman. Dr. Voss was responsible for convincing the government to allow children to join the military because they were better test subjects. Nuvia begins to fear for Lily's safety. She tells Kael they need to save Lily, to which Kael begrudgingly agrees.

Asking about the children she saw with the soldiers in the storage room, Dr. Weller admits those are test subjects the scientists use for experiments. If they are with the soldiers, it is because the scientists were unable to break their spirits, unlike the rest. When Nuvia questions her about the rest, the doctor explains that there is a floor solely dedicated to housing the samples. Nuvia finds the practice unforgivable, especially learning that these are orphaned or kidnapped children. Kael notices Nuvia heading in the opposite direction and asks her why. Nuvia reveals she is going to rescue the children.

Both Kael and Dr. Weller are against the idea, finding it too dangerous. Nuvia doesn't care because she couldn't leave them behind in good conscience. Kael reminds her of the mission priority, while Nuvia reminds him that Dr. Weller is technically as good as rescued, and they have gained the necessary information about Lily. Kael counters that it would be a waste if Nuvia gets captured or worse. Nuvia simply tells Kael she trusts he won't abandon Lily even if she dies, shutting Kael up. As Nuvia continues to slowly climb the stairs, Dr. Weller reveals she knows top-secret information concerning the true relationship between the Nevu and humans. She encourages Nuvia to survive so she can tell her about it. Nuvia promises she will return with all of the children.

Climbing up the steps within the basement was not an easy feat, but the higher she went, the better she felt. Some of her stamina returned by the time she reached the first basement level. Encountering the door to the storage room, Nuvia began to form a plan for the best way to open it. She didn't want to use her powers for fear of harming the children and was uncertain about the situation on the other side of the door. She decided to simply open it. Cautiously, she peeked inside to find more soldiers guarding the door, with the children chained to them like armor. Nuvia did not understand the change in security since the hackers had manipulated the information. Something else was going on.

Nuvia closed her eyes, trying to form a plan, and remembered her mother's voice reminding her to stop playing pranks by using the fog to create illusions. She recalled a time when the island was engulfed in fog, and she had made multiple copies of herself to startle her mother, for which she got into a lot of trouble. Nuvia wondered if she could use this to her advantage.

Suddenly opening the doors, she got all the soldiers' attention. They began to attack her by shooting, but Nuvia turned into her mist form, covering the entire area in fog. The soldiers moved closer to each other to improve their defenses. Silence reigned as the fog remained in the air until the mist began to take her shape, causing the soldiers to fire, only to find it was just the mist. The soldiers grew nervous, especially when all they could see was her shape within the fog. Some soldiers began to approach the figures to check on them. As they moved, their armor and weapons began to freeze. The children, sensing the change in temperature, began to move. Some freed themselves, while others were struck by the soldiers.

A version of Nuvia appeared, gliding toward the soldiers who hadn't moved. No amount of ammunition could stop her illusion. As it reached them, their armor and weapons froze. Some of the freed children helped pull the others out of their chains, while others, chased by floor drones, brought them back to the soldiers. The floor drones attacked the remaining soldiers due to the children tied to their armor. Unfortunately, some children died in the collision.

Once all the soldiers were taken care of, Nuvia regained her physical body while absorbing the remaining moisture. Very few children stayed behind, including the boy Nuvia had seen earlier. He asked why she returned, and she admitted she wanted to rescue them. The children were wary, except for the boy. He wanted to know if she had a plan. She inquired if any of them knew where the soldiers' armor supply was in the storage room. One of the children did, but it was heavily guarded by drones. Nuvia decided to take care of the drones with the limited power she had to prepare the children with armor and weapons.

The children knew how to use the weapons from watching the soldiers and taught the remaining children who didn't know but were willing to carry a weapon. More children told Nuvia about the secret of the changing hallways, revealing that they changed direction every five minutes. This was the time they had to figure out the floor plan. Some children decided to stay behind with the injured soldiers to avoid alarming security. Once everyone was prepared to leave the storage area, the children who remained behind unlocked the other storage room, allowing them to head upstairs. The boy informed Nuvia which floor the human specimens were being kept on.

Nuvia led the children through the many hallways, searching for the stairwell that would connect them to the other floors. The children suggested using the elevator. Nuvia was hesitant until the boy suggested disguising her in armor with the children chained to her, which could serve as a good cover, especially with the soldiers’ shift change approaching. Nuvia agreed to the plan, disguising herself in the armor she gave the children. Fortunately, they found the elevator, and she quickly got the children onto her. She soon realized she couldn't carry all the children, so they were chained to her instead.

Using the elevator, the children pointed out that the floor they needed to reach was higher than the locker room. Upon reaching the floor where the specimens were being kept, Nuvia quickly realized she needed someone from the main office floor to let her in. Hiding her identity, she informed the office she needed the door opened to return the children before she had to leave. The doors mysteriously opened, and the boy pointed out that the person in charge usually had small talk with the soldiers. It was strange they weren't being very chatty now. However, Nuvia didn’t worry about this detail because she wanted to check on the rest of the children.

They entered the room to find it filled with shelves. Nuvia inquired about the rest of the children, only to learn that inside the files were the children—two in each of them. Nuvia discovered there were over 50 different files, meaning there were more than 100 children.

She attempted to forcefully open the files, but the children revealed they didn't know how to unlock them. Nuvia began searching for a hint, only to find they were quickly surrounded by more guards. The new guards pointed their weapons directly at Nuvia and the children, ordering everyone to freeze. As Nuvia tried to use her powers, the armor she was wearing began to shock her. She fell to the ground, confused about the situation. The guards revealed that all the suits were armed to harm traitors, which they deemed her to be. They knew she was trying to save the children the moment she opened the storage room door and attacked the soldiers. Everything was recorded.

That's when she realized why it was so easy to bypass the lab's security—it was all a trap to capture them. The boy asked about the children left behind and learned they were all dead, just like their group would be in a moment. The lead soldier ordered everyone to get ready to fire and leave no survivors. Just before he could order the attack, all the files in the room suddenly activated, allowing all the specimens to awaken. The soldiers were left confused, wondering what was going on in the main office, only to hear Kael announcing a complete takeover. The soldiers decided to resume their original plan, but they were all electrocuted, including Nuvia.

Dr. Weller apologized to Nuvia for harming her, explaining she wasn't sure which armor code was hers. Kael brushed it off, revealing that Nuvia deserved it. Nuvia was upset about getting shocked but expected no less from Kael. The children helped Nuvia remove the armor and allowed her a moment of rest while Kael headed to the floor.

Upon arriving on the floor filled with the children, Kael gives Nuvia some clean water to help her regain more of her stamina and strength. Nuvia wonders why Kael returned instead of saving Dr. Weller, only to learn that the doctor didn't want to leave without her and the rest of the children. She gets a little upset about Kael not lecturing the doctor about mission priorities, to which Kael reveals that maybe Nuvia's stubbornness is beginning to rub off on him. They decide to form a plan to get everyone out before more guards arrive. Dr. Weller reveals from the main office that more guards are now blocking all the exits, including the one in the basement. Kael asks which would be the best way for them to escape. Dr. Weller reveals that the roof is their best option. Kael requests the hackers to check if it's possible for the black market to send an aircraft to rescue them. The hackers will try but make no promises.

Kael and Nuvia lead the children to the roof, taking the stairs while alternating lead roles to fight against more guards and traps. Dr. Weller joins the group once they reach the main office floor. Heading to the roof, both Kael and Nuvia work together to take care of the rest of the armed guards waiting for them.

On the roof, the hackers reveal that the black market rejected the idea of sending aircraft to rescue them, ordering them to figure it out on their own because the priority was only Dr. Weller's safety. The hackers leave the scene as more guards begin to surround the laboratory. Kael is frustrated by the decision but not surprised. Everyone begins to panic over the situation, with Kael fighting against incoming guards heading to the roof. Dr. Weller tries to keep the children calm while Nuvia tries to figure out a way to save everyone. She looks up at the clouds, wondering why she couldn't use them to help. An idea forms in her mind, and she uses the last of her strength, concentration, and faith to create a portal using the clouds. It’s big enough for everyone to go through.

Dr. Weller is curious about the portal, remembering that the Nevu have the ability to teleport. She decides to go through it. Moments later, she returns and requests everyone to follow her because it is safe. Everyone goes through the portal except for Kael, who runs to Nuvia. He quickly realizes she's too heavily concentrated on the task of keeping the portal open. Kael carries Nuvia towards the portal and forcefully breaks her concentration. Once Nuvia snaps out of it, the portal closes just as the last remaining guards try to use it, only to scream in agony. Nuvia wonders about the situation, only to learn that everyone has been teleported to a library.

Realizing everyone is safe, the children begin to celebrate their newfound freedom. Kael puts Nuvia down, and she is quickly surrounded by the children, who express their gratitude, calling her a hero. Dr. Weller also offers her thanks for Nuvia's compassion and decides to reveal a secret about the Nevu and human relationship: the Nevu are more connected to human society than anyone knows. Just before Nuvia can inquire further, one of the grateful children spontaneously gives her a big hug. Surprised by the sudden touch, both Nuvia and the child experience a telepathic backlash. Overwhelmed by numerous images, sounds, and feelings, Nuvia loses consciousness.

Regaining consciousness, Nuvia finds herself resting in an unfamiliar room with Kael by her side. He asks if she is okay, but Nuvia is more concerned about the situation. Kael informs her that she lost consciousness after a child unexpectedly touched her. When she inquires about the child's condition, Kael reveals that the child is in a coma because the telepathic feedback was too much for their mind to handle. Nuvia begins to cry silently, realizing she had unintentionally hurt someone. Unfortunately, there is more bad news: Kael reveals that the government has surrounded the library. They transported the children away along with Dr. Weller.

Nuvia begins to panic, but Kael explains that those who came to pick up the children had no choice but to take them to the hospital due to the large number of people in the area. The library was in the downtown area of the city. Dr. Weller is safe after the black market kidnapped her back from the government while transporting her to the hospital. Although Nuvia feels somewhat relieved, the memories of Lily and the small child leave her feeling broken. She begins to understand why others refer to her as a monster because she feels she is one.

They resume their road trip across the country. Kael tries to show Nuvia more cities, villages, and towns, hoping it will help her snap out of her current state. However, Nuvia continues to cry nonstop and hurt herself. Kael, though beginning to lose patience, gives her the time needed to mourn over the situation. As they get closer to the next safehouse, they are attacked by more soldiers, Nevu, and clones. Kael handles the guards and Nevu while Nuvia fights against her clones more aggressively than usual. Kael initially thinks this might be therapeutic for her, until he realizes it's doing more harm than good.

One evening while camping, after Kael has rested fully, he checks on Nuvia and finds her making no effort to improve herself. Upset by what he perceives as laziness, he demands to know why she's not training. Nuvia admits she's afraid of becoming an even bigger monster than she already feels she is. Kael doesn't understand her mindset and presses her further. Nuvia blames herself for being unable to help her mother, feeling certain that her non-human nature caused her mother to abandon her. She believes that if she were a normal human girl, her mother wouldn't have left.

Kael becomes upset with Nuvia and argues back, revealing his true feelings about her. He doesn't believe she's a monster; in fact, he thinks she's too kind and caring to be one. He tells her he's never met anyone more human than her because of her true compassion for others, whether she knows them or not. Her compassion has made a real difference not just for Lily and himself, but for everyone she has encountered.

Nuvia mentions Axel, noting that her kindness didn't affect him. Kael reminds her that it did make a difference to another child she helped. Nuvia begins to think about the boy to whom she gave her blood. Kael reveals he hasn't betrayed her; the only reason they could make clones of Lily and Nuvia was because Lily had Nuvia's blood in her mouth. Overwhelmed by Kael's kindness, Nuvia tearfully cries. He tries to comfort her, but she initially pulls away. Kael insists he's okay with holding her, reminding her that despite their contact, he's never been harmed by her.

Realizing this, Nuvia wonders about Kael always wearing gloves and long sleeves. She begins to suspect there's a reason for it. Kael decides to help her understand how her telepathy works. They discover that skin-to-skin touch is the only way for Nuvia to exchange information. Kael demonstrates by telling her what's on his mind, and Nuvia realizes he can read her thoughts just as she can read his.

For the remainder of their journey, every time they camp, Kael and Nuvia work on understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each skill she has learned. Learning more about herself encourages Nuvia to accept herself, especially knowing she can use her powers to protect others. They finally reach the next safehouse and find it clear of enemies.

Unlocking the next safehouse, the AI is relieved to find Nuvia and Kael safe. They both question its concern, only to learn the Nevu had forcibly unlocked the safehouse. Nuvia worries about the AI's safety against them, but her father reveals he is a higher-level Nevu compared to those who found the safehouse. He would have a tough time fighting someone on his level. Nuvia seeks clarification on what he means, and the AI explains there are four evolutionary states in Nevu civilization: scouts, sentinels, councillors, and elders. The AI itself is considered an elder, with over a billion years of existence, shocking both Nuvia and Kael. They inquire about the Nevu lifespan, and the AI reveals that only one Elder Nevu has died in its lifespan, turning into a star after living for billions upon billions of years. Nuvia wonders if her lifespan will be similarly long, and her father suggests it's probable, but being the first offspring between two species makes it uncertain.

The Nevu are asexual, and only sentinels can create scouts and evolve into councillors. Once a Nevu becomes an Elder, they are considered all-powerful and immortal, impossible to defeat. Kael asks how humans can defeat the Nevu, and the AI explains that the Horizonx is the only way to defeat any Nevu below Elder status, which only Humanity Hand's Defenders can use.

Nuvia changes the subject to discuss her new abilities, detailing their strengths and weaknesses. The AI records this data proudly. When it asks about any clues regarding her mother, Nuvia admits she hasn't found any new leads, as she's been occupied battling humans, Nevu, and clones. When the AI inquires about the clones, Nuvia fills it in on the situation. The AI feels helpless about the clones and resolves to find a way to prevent humanity from creating them, fearing it would give the Nevu further reason to target her, given the Nevu's prideful nature. Kael realizes there is much about the Nevu they don't know.

Nuvia informs the AI about Dr. Victoria Weller's hint regarding the Nevu's deeper involvement with humans than society knows. The AI agrees with the doctor's words but doesn't elaborate, instead encouraging Nuvia and Kael to learn more about the Nevu during their stay.

They both remain in the safehouse for another week until Kael reminds Nuvia about the need to rescue Lily now that they know her location. The only problem is that Lily may be on a completely different continent. He doesn't know how they'll be able to travel there without the government or Nevu stopping them. The AI asks for more information about Lily's situation, which Kael provides. The AI suggests teleporting the safehouse to merge with other unlocked safehouses and caves simultaneously, impressing Nuvia and Kael with its capabilities. However, the AI mentions it has used all its resources to create a safe environment for its family, anticipating that their Nevu brethren wouldn't ignore them, much like Nuvia's mother knew humanity wouldn't ignore them for long.

When the AI asks where Lily might be, Kael admits he doesn't know and suggests he'll need to ask the black market for assistance. Nuvia questions the safety of him doing so, but Kael reassures her he has a close relationship with the person in charge and needs only to talk and make a deal. Nuvia decides to accompany him, but Kael stops her, explaining that she would be too tempting for him not to use as a bargaining chip, suggesting it would be safer for her to remain with her father. Nuvia argues against the idea, worried she'll never see him again.

The AI suggests creating a telepathic connection between Nuvia and Kael, but Nuvia learns it's impossible without physical touch. The AI reveals there might be a way for her to create a similar connection with Kael, explaining it's likely due to her connection with her mother, formed when she was in her mother's womb. They investigate further and discover that the tongue, despite not having a digestive system, was meant for creating telepathic connections. The AI suggests testing the theory by deeply kissing. Hesitantly, both Kael and Nuvia agree, and they find the connection works—they can hear and feel each other clearly.

Kael leaves the safety of the cave to speak with the black market, while Nuvia remains behind. She spends her time training and learning more about her powers, occasionally checking up on Kael. However, she doesn't hear back from him for over a year. Kael eventually informs Nuvia telepathically about his deal with the black market. He needs to complete a number of missions to gather information on Dr. Voss's location. Finding the doctor proves difficult due to tight security, and it takes another five years before Kael returns with the necessary information. The AI then teleports the safehouse to the closest cave in the area.

During those five years, while Kael was away, Nuvia learns that two more safehouses were forcefully unlocked, with only one currently in use. She reveals the Nevu were responsible for unlocking one, while they suspect the other safehouse was infiltrated by humans. Once the warehouses had merged, whenever there was a nearby clone or Nevu attacks, Nuvia would head to the area to fight against them to gain battle experience while trying out her new powers.

Arriving to the new area, Kael and Nuvia had to form a new plan to infiltrate the laboratory housing Dr. Lucian Voss. Unlike in the last mission, they will not have any help from the black market and were totally on their own. The AI will offer them a variety of gadgets to use to help them hack through any system created from Nevu technology. Anything less will need to be manually hacked to which Kael reveals he had it covered by using an invention another reliable source gave to him. Unfortunately, it only has a limited number of times it may hack an old system. Due to their telepathic bond, there was no need to take anything to keep them connected. With time, both Nuvia and Kael were ready to infiltrate the laboratory base.

At first, their infiltration was successful due to the help of their gadgets and better teamwork. The further they progressed into the laboratory, the harder it became to bypass the traps and battle not only the soldier guards but also their state-of-the-art drones. Most of the drones were ice-proof, clearly designed to counter Nuvia's abilities. However, Nuvia had improved her control over ice, mist, and water in the last five years, as she had learned that she was composed of 90% water. Kael was impressed by her progress and effort.

They continued through the lab until they reached an area where they faced experiments created in the lab. Each battle became increasingly difficult, but they managed to overcome them. Finally, they located the doctor's private room, which was a complete mess compared to Dr. Weller's orderly space.

Dr. Lucius Voss introduced himself to them. Kael couldn't contain his hatred for the doctor and attempted to attack him, only to be thwarted by the doctor's strong defenses. The doctor mocked Kael for his attempt on his life and explained that he had many enemies, even among his own allies. Nuvia questioned him about this, not understanding why he needed to protect himself from his own allies. Dr. Voss revealed his love for science and his disillusionment with the government, which had turned his inventions into weapons instead of tools for good. He compared it to how the Old World's governments had treated their great minds. Nuvia began to pity the doctor, but Kael warned her that it could all be a ploy to lower her guard.

The doctor challenged them to explain why they had infiltrated his "prison" instead of his laboratory. When Nuvia learned that he was essentially imprisoned to provide ideas and inventions to the government, she sympathized with him. Dr. Voss admitted that if he didn't comply, he would be replaced by another genius deemed more useful by the government. He revealed that he had lost all his family and friends, either legally or illegally, when they tried to help him.

Nuvia proposed a deal to the doctor: she would help him escape in exchange for information about Lily's whereabouts. The doctor doubted they could assist him effectively, but Nuvia reassured him by explaining the origin and security of her father's safehouse. She pointed out that despite the government's efforts, they had been unable to capture her for years, and the Nevu had failed to kill her. Intrigued, the doctor contemplated her offer.

Nuvia decided to use her telepathy to show the doctor everything, despite Kael's objections. The doctor, curious and never having experienced telepathy before, agreed. Nuvia instructed him to allow her to touch his skin directly to facilitate the telepathic connection. The exchange of information left the doctor excited and convinced to join their cause. He revealed a secret weapon he had kept for years: a self-destruct button capable of destroying the entire laboratory-prison.

With less than half an hour before detonation, Kael thought the doctor was insane, but Dr. Voss was resolute, willing to sacrifice himself if the plan failed.

With little time to spare, the trio decided to risk their escape from the facility. They had to navigate through numerous traps and face an increasing number of enemies. Kael questioned the heightened security, and the Doctor revealed that the government likely knew about his secret weapon and had taken extensive precautions. They would rather see him dead than let him escape.

Kael was becoming weary of the constant battles, a sentiment quickly noticed by Nuvia through their telepathic link. She asked the Doctor if he knew of any secret routes they could use to expedite their escape. The Doctor used to know some, but over time, the government had either removed them or turned them into deadly traps to thwart his escape attempts.

Despite the grim situation, Nuvia refused to lose hope, especially upon seeing so many helpless experiments facing certain death. Kael understood Nuvia's determination to save everyone, much like she had done before. However, he argued that their priority should be to escape with their lives while Nuvia believes it was better to increase their chances of escaping by forcing the government to make a critical choice—protect their secrets from public exposure or eliminate the Doctor.

She questions the doctor about knowing any rooms that have windows for her to use especially ones she can open. The doctor reveals there is a break room for the scientists to use which contains such a window. It was in the lower levels of the building. Nuvia will inform Kael to take the Doctor to the area while she gathers as many experiments and people as she can. Kael doesn't have time to argue with Nuvia instead requesting for the doctor to lead the way which Dr. Voss gladly does but not before offering his gratitude to Nuvia for not just trying to help him but the rest of his babies as well.

With less than five minutes to spare, Nuvia returned with a large group of people willing to follow her to safety. She attempted to teleport the group using clouds as she had done before, only to find she was unable to, even with the window open. Dr. Voss, along with a group of armed soldiers, decided to destroy the walls and window with their weapons, creating enough space for Nuvia to attempt the teleportation. It took some time, but she was eventually able to use the clouds to create another portal. It was close enough for others to jump through without getting hurt. The first group of people began to go through while Kael helped organize the escape.

By the time the last batch, including the doctor, went through, a small army of flying drones appeared, attacking Nuvia. She took the hits, knowing she could easily heal from them. Kael decided to stay with Nuvia to help her, but she used her power to push Kael through the portal, realizing there was less than a minute to spare. Once he was on the other side, the portal closed, and the building exploded in the distance. Everyone witnessed the complete destruction of the building, with some of the experiments escaping as the armed soldiers called for immediate backup.

Moments later, deep in an unknown swamp, Nuvia regained consciousness near a foggy shore. She found that most of the bottom half of her body had been destroyed in the building's blast, but her core was safe and uninjured. Nuvia wondered how long she had been unconscious. It couldn't have been long, as her body was already healing. She tried to contact Kael but was unable to due to the severe migraine she was experiencing—a very foreign sensation for her. As Nuvia attempted to get out of the water, she noticed her hair was very short and unable to cover her body.

Suddenly, bright lights filled her vision, and a male voice asked about her identity. The lights disoriented her due to the migraine, and she requested the person to turn them off. They complied and reached out to help her. Nuvia noticed the man was wearing gloves and a long-sleeved shirt, understanding why she couldn't read his mind. Due to her weakened state, she didn't dare to fight against him. The man tried to soothe her concerns by revealing his name was Raphael. He decided to take her back to his cottage home.

Nuvia was relaxing in a large luxury tub filled with clean water. Raphael had kindly left her there along with a glass of clean water to drink, giving her time to heal. Drinking the water helped alleviate her migraines. She didn't know how much time had passed until she regained the ability to cover herself with her hair. When she emerged from the bathroom, Raphael welcomed her back to the living room as he prepared food. Nuvia declined the meal but appreciated the gesture. Raphael revealed that the food was for him and his children.

When Nuvia asked about the children, a group of six appeared, all wary of her, recognizing her as the monster from the television. Curious, Nuvia asked about it, and the children showed her the latest broadcast where the government pinned the blame for the laboratory blast on her. Raphael turned off the broadcast, reminding the children not to believe everything they see, especially when they have the person in question in front of them.

One of the children mustered the courage to demand an explanation from Nuvia, and the others agreed, willing to hear her out. Nuvia explained the story behind the laboratory's destruction. The children were intrigued, but some found it difficult to believe she would sacrifice herself in such a way, thinking it sounded foolish. Nuvia explained that she needed to take a risk to save everyone, and she would have accepted her death as long as something good came out of it. One of the children reminded her that the government was blaming her for the incident, while another pointed out that she didn't save everyone either. Raphael ended the discussion by asking the children if they had learned anything from Nuvia's story. Some pointed out that she was doing a good thing, a brave thing, but also a stupid thing. Nuvia laughed at their responses, realizing they reminded her so much of Kael. She thought they were very cute kids.

In exchange for their help, Nuvia decided to assist around the house by doing everyone's chores except for cooking. Many of the children were happy to have her around, while a few remained wary of her. Raphael decided to help Nuvia find her way home by heading to the nearest human town to get in contact with someone. When Nuvia realized she didn't know anyone's contact information, Raphael decided to help her in any way he could by using his home's AI, known as Astra. Astra kindly greeted Nuvia, reminding her of her father's AI. Nuvia wondered if Astra could get in touch with him but realized it might be impossible due to her father using advanced Nevu technology.

While Raphael was away, Astra was more active in helping Nuvia care for the children. Through her efforts, Nuvia became friends with most of them, except for one boy named Zane. He still didn't believe Nuvia's story and remained very suspicious of her. Nuvia didn't argue with him because she understood his desire to protect his family from harm. She learned the children under Raphael's care were all adopted. Many of them lost their home due to the war or were abandoned by their families. Nuvia had heard countless stories about it, especially when she was in Kael's village.

During one of the quiet afternoons, she discovered the children listening to a podcast with a very familiar voice. Nuvia inquired about the host from Astra, only to learn it was Amara. She asked Astra to help her get in touch with Amara because she was a friend who could contact Kael. After the podcast was over, it became easier to get in touch with Amara, who accepted Astra's call after realizing it was from Nuvia. At first, Amara thought the call was for social reasons, only to discover that Nuvia had been separated from Kael for a long time. She didn't know Nuvia was missing because she hadn't been in touch with Kael for a while, but she knew a way to reach him. Amara told Nuvia to remain where she was because Kael would find her soon. Nuvia was grateful for Amara's help.

Nuvia stayed with Raphael and his family over the summer, learning that they didn't actually live in the cottage but were there on vacation. Her days with the family were peaceful and fun until one day they received an announcement about a group of Nevu being spotted in the swamp area. Raphael announced he would be leaving the cottage to help with the military efforts. He left Astra in charge of the children and Nuvia. He further instructed Nuvia under no circumstances to leave the safety of the cottage because the government army would be in the area as well. Nuvia understood and decided to remain indoors to better protect his family. Raphael then left for his mission.

Nuvia learned from the children that Raphael was actually a high-ranking member of the group Humanity's Hand. They didn't know which department he was part of, but the children liked to believe he was part of the Diamond squad. Nuvia began to wonder why Raphael hadn't detained her for the government yet. Astra added that Raphael believed in the concept of "innocent until proven guilty." Unless Nuvia showed signs of being exactly the way the government portrayed her, he would not give up on her.

One afternoon, while Nuvia and most of the children were enjoying Amara's podcast, Zane noticed that one of the younger children was missing and found the sliding door open. He decided to leave and search for them. Another child noticed Zane leaving and informed Astra and Nuvia. They discovered the open sliding door, and Nuvia, worried about the children, decided to search for them while leaving Astra in charge. Astra assured Nuvia she would contact Raphael to inform him about the situation.

With a plan in motion, Nuvia began to search for the children but realized she didn't know which direction they had gone. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping to find any clue left behind. At that moment, she managed to connect with Kael, who was relieved to finally hear from her after many failed attempts. Nuvia wondered about their reconnection, having tried to contact him all summer without success. Kael asked if she had moved, and Nuvia revealed she was outside the cottage she was staying in, which belonged to Raphael in a swamp area. Kael was surprised to hear Amara's name and realized why Amara had been trying to contact him. He hadn't answered her, but she had sent him unknown coordinates. Nuvia suggested it might be the information Astra sent her.

Kael and Nuvia realized she was closer to the safehouse than they originally thought. Nuvia then revealed she was busy searching for lost children but didn't know which way they might have gone. Kael reminded her of her tracking skills, and although she was using them, the swamp area made it difficult. He encouraged her to calm down and think of a solution, asking if any of her abilities could help. Nuvia remembered an article about bioluminescence and how everyone leaves a trail. She recalled one of the missing children had a habit of taking baths with her throughout the summer. Nuvia wondered if she could use this ability due to being 90% water. She concentrated deeply and believed in the idea until she noticed small glowing footprints on the ground. Overjoyed by the results, she informed Kael she might have found a clue and would follow it. Kael said he would be at the cottage very soon, although it would take him a few hours to get there.

Nuvia began to follow the footprints only to encounter a large number of Nevu in the area. She fought them using her ice abilities. Human soldiers appeared and attacked her as well. Nuvia avoided fighting them, hoping they would allow her to move forward and find the missing children, but they didn't believe her claims. Just as they were about to overwhelm her, a masked man appeared and stopped the fighting by singlehandedly destroying all the Nevu surrounding them. He reminded the soldiers to always keep their guard up, as the enemy might be using Nuvia as a trap. The men apologized to him.

Nuvia wondered about the man's identity and realized he was the Diamond Defender, one of the holders of the ancient Horizonx. The man threatened Nuvia by pointing his weapon at her, demanding a reason not to kill her. Nuvia revealed she was searching for two lost children, a little girl and a boy. The masked man asked for proof, so Nuvia offered her hand to show him what she could see. The soldiers believed it was a trap, but the masked man, wanting to ensure the children's safety, decided to check. Their skins touched, and he noticed small glowing footprints. He questioned her about them, and Nuvia explained they belonged to one of the children who had a habit of taking daily baths with her.

The masked man was outraged to learn she had been living among humans without anyone reporting her. He accused those sheltering her of being traitors to the human race. Nuvia begged for his forgiveness on behalf of the family, insisting they were good people who helped her when they didn't have to. She took all the blame, claiming she had manipulated them into keeping her a secret and even went as far as saying the children were hostages she needed for her own safety. The masked man didn't believe her because her actions suggested otherwise, but Nuvia insisted it was the case.

The masked man decided to allow Nuvia to find the children while he and his men continued to fight the Nevu. The soldiers were outraged by the decision but understood when more Nevu appeared. Nuvia left the area as quickly as she could before the man changed his mind.

Moments later, Nuvia was able to locate the children after hearing their terrified screams in the distance, as a Nevu chased after them. One of the children fell while Zane did his best to protect her. Nuvia glided towards them and used her bubble barrier to shield them from the attack. The Nevu were impressed by Nuvia's speed in protecting the human children, realizing she was stronger than they had originally thought.

Ready to fight, Nuvia realized they were surrounded by more enemies. The Nevu understood she couldn't fight properly as long as she had the children with her. Nuvia removed the cloud clothing from her body and used it as a shield wrapped around the children on her back. Her body began to be covered in a layer of icy armor as Nuvia prepared to skate away using the ice forming under her feet over the swamp. The Nevu began to chase after her as she began to skate as far away from them as possible.

Throughout the chaos, the masked hero will notice the Nevu chasing after Nuvia and the two children being protected on her back. He ordered his men to attack the incoming Nevu while he used his weapon to eliminate them. Nuvia made sure to skate in circles, avoiding the enemies from following her back to the cottage. Once she knew the coast was clear, she returned to the cottage with the children in tow. She instructed the children to go inside while she figured out how to meet Kael halfway. Just as she was about to leave, she was attacked by the masked man and his weapon. The children began to scream for the masked defender to leave Nuvia alone because she isn't evil. The masked man reassured the children by promising to free them from this supposed evil monster. Nuvia decided to stick to her initial plan and skate away, hoping to find Kael.

The masked man made the mission harder by relentlessly attacking Nuvia with everything he had. She had to learn to avoid many of his projectiles and traps; some of the traps slowed her down while other projectiles hurt her a great deal. Nuvia's injuries were taking longer to heal compared to her usual injuries. The masked man got the confirmation he needed about Nuvia being a Nevu because the weapon didn't harm humans. She reminded him that she was human as well, which explained why the direct attacks were hurting her but not killing her, unlike the Nevu. The masked man had to give her credit for the realization. He decided to become more serious about capturing her for the safety of the family she was threatening. Nuvia decided to get serious too, preparing to give the masked man a fair fight.

They have a tense and decisive battle, with Nuvia and the masked man trying to outwit each other through a barrage of attacks. Throughout the battle, Nuvia realizes she can't directly affect his weapon, unlike the other weapons, while the masked man realizes he can't completely defend himself against her water attacks. They are evenly matched in skill and determination.

The masked man decides to unleash his ultimate attack against her in hopes of gaining the upper hand. However, he is suddenly distracted by another nearby attack aimed at him. Nuvia identifies the energy attack as coming from Kael and their newly remodeled vehicle. With precision, Kael jumps out of the vehicle, determined to confront the masked man directly using his own weapon.

The masked man is visibly shocked upon recognizing Kael, an old acquaintance from a distance. They engage in a heated battle, with the masked man demanding to know Kael's motives. Kael admits he's here to rescue his friend, Nuvia. Meanwhile, the vehicle continues moving autonomously until it reaches Nuvia's position. She realizes it's being remotely controlled by Dr. Voss, who urges her to join them so they can escape safely.

Nuvia enters the vehicle and quickly informs Kael that she's now safe, urging him to end his confrontation with the masked man. Kael swiftly disarms the masked man of the Horizonx, bringing the battle to an end. The masked man, conceding defeat, allows them to leave but warns them not to expect such leniency in the future. Kael bids the masked man farewell and expresses his gratitude for sparing Nuvia.

Once inside the vehicle, Kael checks up on Nuvia, ensuring she's unharmed. Dr. Voss takes the wheel and drives them back to the safehouse.

Nuvia is placed inside a pod where her vitals and other information are processed while her injuries are healed. Dr. Voss explains that the pod is an invention created by him and the AI specifically to aid Nuvia. He managed to adapt advanced Nevu technology to recognize human DNA as well. Impressed by the efficiency of the machine, Nuvia receives the results of the analysis through the AI, which reveals that it took her two weeks to regenerate her body in the swamp.

Confused by this information, Nuvia learns that while her human body was lost in the explosion, her core remained intact. It found a water source and used it to regenerate a new human body. She wonders if she's now made of swamp goo but learns that isn't the case—her body is still 90% water. As long as her core isn't destroyed, it can regenerate a new body as long as there's a water source available. Despite this ability, Nuvia realizes she is still human.

When Nuvia asks what would happen if her core is destroyed, the AI somberly explains that she would die, just like any other species. While she may have longevity on her side, she is not immortal or invincible. Which prompts Kael to lecture her on the importance of prioritizing her safety in every decision she makes. Nuvia couldn't help but feel a little awkward, unsure of how she could promise to keep her safety in mind when planning.

Dr. Voss took the opportunity to welcome Nuvia to the safehouse, offering his deepest apologies for the time it took to find her. They had tried everything, but Nuvia was just relieved to see the doctor unharmed, despite her initial concern that Kael might have tried to harm him again. The doctor assured her that they had come to understand each other better during her absence. Nuvia was eager to hear all about their experiences and any new inventions the doctor might have created. Dr. Voss was excited to show Nuvia his latest inventions and to get to know her better now that she had returned.

Everyone remained in the safety of the cave for a long time, with Nuvia spending most of her time with the doctor and her AI father. Kael realized that after Nuvia informed him about everything that happened during the summer, she was spending less time with him. This was especially noticeable after the doctor invented something to help Nuvia train and improve her fighting skills. Kael began to feel like he was becoming less useful to her.

Then he reminds Nuvia about their mission to find the rest of the safehouses while searching for Lily. She emphasizes the importance of also searching for clues about her mother's whereabouts, something she hadn't focused on in the last six years. Kael decides it's time to start their research about her, only to find that the AI father has no information to offer. Dr. Voss tries searching as well, but they find nothing due to not knowing Joan's surname, a detail Nuvia hadn't known because she only knew her by one name and assumed everyone did too. Kael believes the name Joan might be an alias rather than her actual name. They try to get more information from the AI, only to learn he also knew her only by the name Joan. Everything else is a complete mystery. Dr. Voss suggests returning to Nuvia's home to see if any of his inventions can shed light on new information. Nuvia agrees to the idea, but Kael argues they need to find the safehouses before someone else does; they can search for Nuvia's mother later. Nuvia argues they can do both now that the safehouse can teleport to other caves, while it's been a long time since she found anything about her mother. Kael and Nuvia begin to argue about it until the AI reveals the next safehouse is on the current continent they are on, while Nuvia's home is quite far away. Nuvia suggests the idea of splitting up the work now that there are more of them. Kael agrees to have the doctor leave with the safehouse to visit Nuvia's home while he and Nuvia head to the next safehouse. Nuvia is against the idea because she wanted to return home. When Kael asks the reason behind it, Nuvia admits to feeling homesick.

They all decide to head back to Nuvia's home to check on its status. Dr. Voss heard that the government had originally taken control of it for a couple of years but realizing they couldn't find anything worthwhile, they decided to abandon it as is. He believes there shouldn't be any issues for them to visit it. Arriving at the beach separating the island from the mainland, Nuvia is surprised to find Amara waiting for them. The girls greet each other warmly, especially since it has been a little over 5 years since they last saw each other. Amara is very relieved to see Nuvia.

When Nuvia asks the reason for her appearance, Amara admits that Kael informed her about their plan and she happened to be in the area. For the past five years, Amara has been gathering information about Nuvia to try to prove her innocence on her podcast. Nuvia is surprised to hear this and wonders if it was allowed, while Amara admits to having received some backlash about it, but Dr. Weller's support has been of great help. She has been working hard to convince the government using proof that Nuvia was innocent regardless of her lineage. There has been growing support for her, especially from the splicing community.

Unfortunately, due to the splicing community's support, progress has been slow because they are still considered lower-class citizens. Nuvia, instead of being known as the enemy of humanity, has been upgraded to having criminal connections. Nuvia is relieved about the change but isn't too bothered because she knows her friends aren't criminals. This kind thought prompts Amara to hug her, believing she is a sweet girl.

Kael decides to end the reunion by reminding them of their original purpose for this outing. He invited Amara to join them because she might find more information about Nuvia's mother using her connections. Amara is grateful for Kael's faith in her, to which he simply points out the facts.

Dr. Voss uses another Nevu invention, allowing them all to be surrounded in a transparent box to levitate to the island. Nuvia finds it really useful and begins to wonder why they never used it before. Kael gets annoyed by her inquiry, revealing he isn't a genius like certain people, while the AI informs him he's not asking the right questions. Nuvia is surprised to suddenly hear the AI's voice, only to find Dr. Voss holding it in a locket. He admits to creating the locket in the hope that the AI could join Nuvia and Kael on their future missions, feeling sorry for it. The AI is grateful for the opportunity, and Nuvia is very impressed by it. Amara gives her own seal of approval, after which Kael leaves the box, reminding them to search the island quickly because they don't have all day to waste on this.

Everyone began searching through Nuvia's island home, only to find the flower garden and many trees destroyed. The greenhouse had been torn down as well. Nuvia hurried to her home, finding the door missing and the inside vandalized and ransacked. Amara was shocked by the state of everything, while Nuvia felt hurt. Amara tried to comfort her, apologizing, but Nuvia reminded her it wasn't her fault. Kael admitted it was normal, as this was how the government reacted when searching for information. Dr. Voss began using his inventions to search the area for clues, asking everyone to go outside to avoid confusing his equipment. They left to give him space.

Amara suggested Nuvia show her around to better understand her home, as she wanted to discuss it in her next podcast to further prove Nuvia's innocence. Nuvia agreed, showing Amara everything as she remembered it, with Kael silently trailing behind. Amara learned of the hard work Nuvia and her mother had put into creating a warm home, imagining the island at its peak. Nuvia admitted she enjoyed drinking nectar from the golden apple trees because it didn't make her sick. Amara wondered if she could taste it, but Nuvia said she knew its flavor through her mother. Amara was curious to learn how, and Nuvia admitted to her telepathic connection with her mother. Amara asked if Nuvia had used telepathy to reach out, but Nuvia said she hadn't, though she could still feel her mother's presence and knew she was alive.

Kael made a snide comment, questioning why Nuvia's mother hadn't reached out if their connection was real. He mentioned his own telepathic connection with Nuvia and accused her of not valuing it. Nuvia, upset by his words, explained she didn't know much about her connection with her mother, having discovered it recently, and doubted it was similar to their own. Kael grew upset, arguing about the uniqueness of their telepathic bond compared to Nuvia's connection with her mother. Nuvia defended herself, denying she didn't value their connection, which led to a heated argument between them.

Amara intervened, asking why they were fighting and mainly addressing Kael. He was outraged by Amara's suggestion, blaming Nuvia for being spoiled and not valuing others. Nuvia was puzzled by the accusation and Kael pointed out her increased time with Dr. Voss and the AI father figure. Nuvia defended herself, stating she was just trying to get to know them better, but Kael challenged her about how much she knew about him beyond their deal. Upset, Nuvia confronted Kael, and Amara intervened again, suggesting they take a time-out.

Kael, frustrated, decided to leave, seeing the expedition as a waste of time. He told them if he wasn't at the safehouse in half an hour, he would head to the warehouse instead. Nuvia tells him to leave because it was clear he cared more about getting rich than helping her find her mother.

Nuvia angrily headed back to the house, hoping to rest in her mother's bedroom alone. Amara gave her the much-needed space, while Dr. Voss continued his search for clues outside. He handed Nuvia the locket with the AI father inside. She didn't understand the need for it but decided to keep it close by. The AI remained silent, focusing on its surroundings, which Nuvia found comforting.

Moments later, the AI informed Nuvia about Kael's decision to teleport the safehouse back to the other continent, which he had already done. Nuvia wasn't bothered by the news as Kael had warned her. The AI wondered why she wasn't with him, and Nuvia explained they had a fight because he accused her of not valuing him. The AI found the accusations strange and didn't see it that way at all, which reassured Nuvia. However, Amara, standing by the door with a cup in her hands, understood Kael's feelings and sided with him.

Nuvia was curious about the cup, and Amara revealed she found some edible golden apples and made juice out of them using a fruit juicer that still worked after Dr. Voss had toyed with it. Nuvia was grateful but wondered why the nectar was warm. Amara explained she enjoyed drinking apple juice warm instead of cold because it helped her relax and sleep on restless nights. Though Nuvia couldn't taste it, she found the warmth comforting, as the smell reminded her of her mother. Amara was pleased to hear this.

The AI decided to give them privacy and returned to the safehouse, which Amara appreciated. She gave Nuvia time to calm down before Nuvia asked why Amara understood her feelings so well. Amara shared that she once had a very close friend who was special to her. They used to do everything together until her friend fell in love with someone else. Initially, Amara felt her friend no longer appreciated their relationship and favored the new one, but she eventually realized it wasn't the case.

Nuvia struggled to understand this, believing friends should be happy for each other. Amara explained that people can sometimes be selfish and forget others' feelings. She mentioned Kael as an example, saying he was one of those who didn't understand the concept of love, especially after losing the love of his life.

Amara explains that before Kael met his first love, known as Asumi, he was a high-ranking soldier who undertook many infiltration, espionage, and assassination missions. In fact, his meeting with Asumi was part of a mission. Asumi was the owner of a local orphanage where she protected children from being sold to the military. She was a dedicated teacher who could teach anyone without asking for anything in return, other than their support for the orphanage and the children. Despite coming from a prestigious family, she made a name for herself in her local community, and everyone loved her dearly. Unfortunately, her outspoken advocacy against child enlistment in the military made her a bigger target.

Kael transferred to the orphanage under the guise of volunteering as a teacher to get closer to Asumi and facilitate her assassination. Asumi accepted his help enthusiastically and put him to work immediately. Kael proved to be an exceptional teacher, although his discipline with the children sometimes crossed the line, which caught Asumi's attention. She managed to persuade Kael to be more patient with the children. As Kael spent more time with Asumi, he gradually abandoned his mission, especially when he realized he had fallen deeply in love with her. He decided to quit the military and stay by her side.

Tragically, Asumi was assassinated, and the orphanage was burned down along with the children, leaving Kael devastated. It took him a long time to recover, but eventually, he abandoned thoughts of vengeance after being reminded of Asumi's true wishes by a child. This led Kael to buy the village and establish the organization he has today, with support from the black market, using the proceeds to help many children.

Nuvia begins to cry, realizing Kael had experienced loneliness much like her own. She wonders if he considers her a friend.

A decision is made. Nuvia instructs the AI to return the safehouse to their current location so she can join Kael on his mission to find the next safehouse. Amara encourages her to go and work things out with him, assuring they'll talk again soon. Nuvia wears the locket around her neck as she runs off the island and levitates back to the forest.

Inside the safehouse, she commands it to return to its last location and prepares for the upcoming mission. Nuvia tries multiple times to reach out to Kael, but he ignores her. She uses her hover bike to follow Kael's trail to the next safehouse while the AI guides her there. The AI estimates she'll reach it in just over an hour.

While traveling to the next safehouse, Nuvia suddenly feels intense pain in her chest, compelling her to stop using the bike. The AI asks if she's okay, to which Nuvia admits her chest hurts. The AI finds it odd until it detects that the safehouse's weapons have been activated. Nuvia wonders what this means, and the AI informs her that the safehouse might be under attack at that moment. Nuvia becomes very concerned for Kael's safety, but before she can call out to him, the AI informs her that the government has attacked the island. Nuvia is bewildered by this news, learning that Dr. Voss had just informed the AI, requesting the safehouse be returned to their location to escape. The AI asks for Nuvia's next orders, to which she urgently instructs it to protect Dr. Voss and Amara while she goes to help Kael. The AI understands and disappears. Another wave of pain courses through her body as Nuvia decides to ride her bike again, though she feels significantly more pain. Calling out for Kael yields silence. She resolves to abandon her bike and skate to the safehouse instead.

The pain grows worse the more time Nuvia uses her powers to reach the safehouse until an even more intense pain knocks her off her feet entirely. The extreme pain is unbearable, worse than when she was caught in the laboratory explosion. It was enough for her to lose consciousness.

Nuvia awakens from the pain to find herself in an unfamiliar room. She looks around and realizes her head is pounding as much as her chest. Kael is surprised to see Nuvia awake, which helps her calm down a bit. She's relieved to see him again. He's equally surprised because he didn't expect her to wake up, especially after their fight. Nuvia admits she felt angry and hurt. Kael explains she was right about her island home. Confused by his statement, Nuvia realizes she's in her mother's bedroom. Kael was examining the pictures and wonders why Nuvia's decorations are so simple. She explains she doesn't have a bedroom because she doesn't need to sleep. Kael feels honored to be the first person inside her dream. Nuvia is even more confused, but before she can ask, Kael asks her to be silent for a moment because they might not have much time left.

He apologizes to Nuvia for their fight, admitting he shouldn't have been jealous of the connections she was forming with others. He should have been happy for her, but he felt insecure, fearing she might abandon him like so many others have. Nuvia shakes her head and admits she should have made more time for him because he was right too. She realizes she was taking him for granted. Kael disagrees, knowing Nuvia loves him more than anyone else, especially now that they've gone through their memories together. His only regret is not having ice cream with her again, the right way. Nuvia still doesn't understand his words, so he reassures her that no matter what happens, he won't blame her for anything. He just wishes he could be there to see her reunited with her mom. Nuvia believes he will get that chance. She's scared because it feels like he's saying goodbye. Kael denies it; they will see each other again. Until then, he wishes only for her happiness.

Nuvia regains consciousness, realizing it's now raining where she is. She gets up from the ground and heads toward the safehouse.

Arriving at the safehouse in the rain, she discovers the vehicle destroyed and overturned. Her mind slows as numbness sets in. She cautiously proceeds toward the cave, finding traces of explosions and signs of a fight. Moving deeper inside, she discovers small amounts of blood on the floor, which soon leads to a trail that grows larger. Ahead, she encounters a door. Stepping closer, it opens, revealing more of the red liquid, its color distorted by the darkness, momentarily revealed by flashes of lightning. The floor feels sticky. Continuing into the darkness, the AI in her locket commands her to stop. It informs her the safehouse has been opened but not fully unlocked—she needs to complete the process. Instructing her to take the locket to the usual spot, it will unlock it like her key typically does. Nuvia complies silently, looking ahead as instructed, carefully avoiding looking down. Placing the locket over the machine, she waits for it to activate, including the lights.

The AI orders her to stay put, but Nuvia insists on finding Kael. She needs to apologize to him. As she turns to begin her search, warm arms suddenly embrace her—Amara's. Amara tells Nuvia not to look, even begging her not to. Dr. Voss quickly instructs the AI to move the body to a nearby pod for preservation. Nuvia doesn't comprehend their words as their reactions blend together. She pushes Amara away, determined to see what is being hidden, briefly glimpsing it through telepathy. Amara tries to restrain Nuvia, but the AI intervenes, urging Amara to let her see for herself. Reluctantly, Amara steps back.

Nuvia continues to move forward slowly, her focus fixed on the door ahead. She tries everything to avoid looking at the floor, not yet, not until she feels something under her shoes. Nuvia doesn't usually need to breathe, not as much as a human, at least. She believes this to be the case in her mind, but she takes one final deep breath, closes her eyes, and then looks down. She knows what's there but is too afraid to open her eyes, not wanting to admit it's real. Slowly opening her eyes, Nuvia finds Kael peacefully lying there, just as she's seen him many times during their camping adventures. However, this time it's different. As Nuvia continues to look down, she realizes the reason for the peaceful appearance—Kael is missing the bottom half of his body. It's completely gone.

Nuvia leans down to touch him and feels that Kael is no longer breathing, as cold as she is. The realization hits Nuvia, and she screams Kael's name with all the strength she can muster, realizing he's dead. Kael is gone. Nuvia breaks down, sobbing uncontrollably, wanting to understand why this happened.

It will take Nuvia a long time to calm down from the pain of losing Kael. Many years will pass as Nuvia becomes inconsolable and unresponsive to everything around her. Amara will regularly visit her, while Dr. Voss continues to watch over the girl's health, reminding her to drink water and take care of herself. The AI has no words to offer her, unsure of how best to comfort her.

Every once in a while, Nuvia would daydream about her mother and their cozy life on their island home. In her dreams, her mother would ask Nuvia about her day and hold her tightly, reminding her she is stronger than she knows.

Until one day, a harsh voice demanded to know why she wasn't training or doing what needed to be done. It commanded her to get up, forcing Nuvia out of her stupor as she realized she had been resting on a random stone tablet in the safehouse all this time. Nuvia was confused about it.

The AI is the first to realize Nuvia is moving again, catching her heading to the bathroom to take a bath. It's clear it's been a long time since she last did so. Once she's done, she finds an older version of Dr. Voss waiting for her, asking if she enjoyed her bath. Nuvia admits that she did but wonders why he looks so different. The doctor laughs heartily, wondering if he should be the one asking her that very same question. Nuvia is confused by his words until she overhears Amara's reaction to seeing her friend again. She notices Amara looks different too. Before she can say anything, Amara hugs Nuvia tightly, welcoming her back. Just as Nuvia is about to speak, she catches a glimpse of Kael in her mind. Nuvia begins to tear up, remembering the reason she felt the way she did: she was mourning the death of her beloved friend.

Once she calmed down, everyone brought Nuvia up to date on Kael's situation, his funeral, her condition, the war, and much more. The AI showed Nuvia a broadcast of Kael's final moments fighting against the Nevu, revealing that an Elder Nevu had killed him. The AI's worst fears came true when they realized the identity of the Elder Nevu was Astorex, one of the youngest Elder Nevu. Amara inquired about the number of Elder Nevu in existence, and the AI revealed that excluding himself, there should be seven more in total. Nuvia was silent as she continued to watch the broadcast, wondering if Astorex was on Earth. The AI admitted that Elder Nevu rarely visited Earth, and if they did, no one would be able to tell who they were, not even other Elders. Amara explained that she did more research on the Nevu known as Astorex but found no further information about him other than the name being connected to a devil from Old World myths.

The war between the Nevu and humans has become more peaceful due to Nuvia's disappearance. An agreement was signed for a ceasefire until it can be proven that Nuvia is acting on her own without the help of either side. Both humans and Nevu deny any responsibility for her existence. Support for Nuvia has halted due to this, but the splicers still believe in her innocence. Many splicers were forced to leave human territories and now live in camps to hide their identities.

Kael's village and organization were taken over by the black market. It is now under their control. While they continue to appear to help orphaned children to outsiders, in reality, they are selling them for profit.

Amara has been investigating more information about Nuvia's mother. She has found a couple of leads to investigate but hasn't had the time to since she lost her podcast, which was shut down. She found a new job researching family lineages for the rich and powerful who want to display their heritage in private exhibits.

Nuvia decides to help Amara with the investigation into uncovering her mother's identity. Amara gives her all the information she has, which the AI reads to Nuvia. Dr. Voss wonders if Nuvia has plans to do anything else. She decides to start with her mother and see where it takes her.

The safehouse teleports to a national park near the art exhibit Amara found. Nuvia takes the restored vehicle she used to travel with Kael, except this time her AI father is driving it to the city they are heading for. Nuvia has little to worry about due to the car's functions in hiding her identity. She arrives at the exhibit during the early hours of the next day. Since it doesn't open for another hour, Nuvia decides to explore the city without the vehicle. The AI tells her to be careful, even though she has Dr. Voss's invention to hide her identity digitally. Nuvia promises she will as she begins to explore her new area.

The city was vibrant and beautiful, full of life as Nuvia encountered many other tourists enjoying their time off. She noticed the positive changes the ceasefire had brought to everyone. There were more families together compared to the past. As she continued her visit, she noticed a lost individual on the street trying to ask for directions, but everyone seemed to be ignoring him. Nuvia decided to help him and learned he wasn't from the area. He was looking for the local art exhibit because he wanted to see a specific art piece before it disappeared. Nuvia wondered why it was disappearing and learned that it had been bought by someone who had no intentions of showcasing it again. Today was supposed to be the last day. She decided to accompany him to the art exhibit since she planned to go as well.

At the exhibit, they encountered a giant painting of a beautiful blonde woman praying over a field of yellow plants. The person next to her explained that it was one of the final paintings using watercolor. The details were extraordinary for its time. Nuvia noticed that the woman resembled her mother, except she looked much younger. This seemed impossible, especially since the painting was over 800 years old. Nuvia learned the name of the painting and took a pamphlet with her. She showed it to the AI, wondering about the painting's location. The AI was unable to recognize it due to changes in the landscape, but it promised to research it for her. It would simply take time.

Nuvia returned to the safehouse and decided to restart her training. She asked Dr. Voss if it was possible for her to learn Kael's fighting style. He informed her that he had already added the feature to his invention. Nuvia began to use it, only to find his movements were tough to replicate, but she made the effort. From that day on, Nuvia retrained her body and used her abilities to regain mastery over it. She continued her daily training until the AI announced the results of her inquiry regarding the painting. It had found the closest location resembling it. Nuvia decided to further investigate the location.

Arriving at the area, she found that the yellow plants were gone and had been replaced by a huge city. She explored the area until encountering a tourist guide reliving the final events of the monarchy from the Old World. Nuvia decided to join the tour, hoping to gain more information concerning the painting. She followed the tour guide, who explained that the monarchy was overthrown because they were caught making a deal with the Nevu, sacrificing their people to improve their chances in the war. The royal family was killed once they lost the war; however, one of their children successfully escaped. She was known as Florence, the youngest daughter of the empire. Rumors say she was only able to escape successfully due to the court's support, unlike the rest of her siblings. Others believe it was due to her half-sister, birthed from a maid, who looked so much like her that it was difficult to tell which was the real princess. The guide led the group to the area where Florence prayed for safe passage, only to find the way through a dream. This was one of the reasons her life was spared. Nuvia began to wonder about the story and asked the guide if Florence was the girl in a specific watercolor painting. The guide confirmed that this was the case.

Once the tour was over, Nuvia decided to return home to inform the AI about everything she had learned, but someone stopped her. They had noticed Nuvia's interest in the girl in the painting and their similarities. The person wondered if she was related to her. Nuvia denied it, explaining she was a fan of history and enjoyed learning details about paintings that caught her attention. The person decided to invite Nuvia to a meeting, offering more information about Florence that she wouldn't find anywhere else. Nuvia was interested in learning more and took the necessary information about the meeting.

The next day, Nuvia and the AI decided to investigate the meeting. It was located in an underground basement at the back of the building, accessed through a certain alleyway. Nuvia felt it was a risky trip, and the AI shared her suspicions. Once they found the location, she was asked to enter and take a nearby seat to watch a broadcast about their organization. Nuvia watched the presentation and learned that the group worshipped the original six members of the Horizonx. They believed only these six members could help save the world from the Nevu. The AI realized the group was a cult and urged Nuvia to leave, but she remembered seeing someone resembling Florence in the broadcast. She wondered which of the six members the modern version of Florence represented.

Nuvia decided to ask the woman who had invited her about it. They revealed that the person similar to Florence was one of the missing members from the original six. Apparently, Humanity's Hand had to reorganize their organization after losing two members under mysterious circumstances during the war. Originally, there were six members, not just the four known today. Nuvia tried to understand why this information was not widely known. It turned out that the modern Humanity's Hand had erased this part of their history to maintain public support. Nuvia found it to be sleezy practice. The woman agreed as well. She wonders if Nuvia was interested to join their ranks to preserve that history. Nuvia was uncertain on the best way to accomplish it. The woman decides to get Nuvia a refreshment to discuss more about it. She leaves to do so in which the AI tries to convince Nuvia to find an excuse to leave. It senses something isn't right about the group. Nuvia knows but she was curious to know what it was. When the women returned, she offered Nuvia a cup to drink while they continue to talk only for Nuvia to realize it was drugged. She will lose consciousness in a matter of moments.

Regaining consciousness, Nuvia finds herself in another elegant room, seemingly alone. To her surprise, a woman resembling her mother appears and checks up on her. Nuvia learns the woman's name is Elizabeth, a normal human girl. Confused about her whereabouts, Nuvia discovers she has been kidnapped by a cult that takes people who resemble members of the Horizonx, regardless of gender, to their various locations. Elizabeth, however, notices something unusual about Nuvia – she appears not entirely human, which she discerns from Nuvia's mirror reflection.

Elizabeth gives Nuvia a tour of the giant mansion where they are held captive, explaining the rules, procedures, and expectations. Nuvia learns that their belongings have been confiscated and will be sold by the cult to make money. She has less than a week before this happens. Each member is expected to stay in the mansion for a year until a ceremony determines if they are the genuine descendant of the original Horizonx member they resemble. Those who fail this test never return, leaving their fate uncertain.

Nuvia settles into her new life, enduring rigorous daily routines of study, gardening, cleaning, and more. As she investigates her surroundings, she discovers that many within the mansion believe they are destined to save the world. Nuvia suspects they are being indoctrinated, which Elizabeth confirms happens through their meals. New members are starved and then fed watered-down soup, conditioning them gradually.

By the third evening, Nuvia has memorized the guards' patrol schedules and decides to escape her room in the middle of the night to search for her lost locket. First, she acquires a disguise by overpowering the person changing sheets, hides her underneath dirty linens, and takes her clothes. To access forbidden areas, she needs a keycard, which she manages to obtain. While exploring, she uncovers connections between the cult and the black market but remains focused on retrieving her locket.

After switching places with others and performing good deeds to blend in, Nuvia finally discovers the storage room containing everyone's belongings. As she sifts through the piles, she notices a familiar light emanating from her AI, which had been waiting for her to find it. Once assured of her safety, Nuvia updates the AI on their predicament. The AI struggles with the Old-World encryption but suggests it might hack it once outside the compound. Nuvia plans to use her gardening time the next day to help the AI track her down.

Despite being aware of her powers through broadcasts, the cult members have not neutralized Nuvia, which she finds suspicious. The AI warns her to remain vigilant, and Nuvia resolves to escape at the earliest opportunity, confident in her ability to do so.

The next day, there is an announcement celebrating Elizabeth's successful year in the mansion. In the coming days, she will undergo the ritual to determine if she is a descendant of one of the Horizonx. Nuvia is concerned about her friend's well-being, but Elizabeth reassures her that such worries are normal given the uncertainty of what lies ahead. She hopes Nuvia will manage in her absence and expresses gratitude for Nuvia's support when she needed it most. The following day, Elizabeth is taken away to prepare for the ceremony, leaving Nuvia alone to contemplate their situation.

Elizabeth became the subject of gossip among those around Nuvia. She overheard many speculating that Elizabeth might be a descendant due to her resemblance to Florence. Others argued against it, citing that they had never seen Elizabeth display any powers, except for taming the monsters in the mansion.

As the sun began to set, Nuvia learned that Elizabeth's ceremony was about to begin. If Elizabeth could create a fire rainbow before the sun disappeared, she would pass the test. Nuvia waited anxiously for updates, but through her AI, she discovered the true purpose of the rituals: not to identify a Horizonx member, but to sell the person's identity to the highest bidder. It was all part of a scheme orchestrated by the black market to legally traffic corpses. Disgusted by this revelation, Nuvia decided it was time to escape. She activated her powers, seizing control of the mansion's main water supply system and initiating its destruction.

As Nuvia unleashed her powers upon the mansion, chaos erupted with alarms blaring, lights flickering, and confusion reigned among the cult members and guards scrambling to regain control. In the midst of the turmoil, Nuvia remained focused, determine to rescue Elizabeth.

Using her AI to navigate the labyrinthine corridors of the mansion, Nuvia swiftly located the room where Elizabeth was held captive. Guards stood watch to keep their prisoner from escaping. Nuvia incapacitated the guards, then swung the door open, revealing Elizabeth inside, visibly shaken but relieved at Nuvia's arrival.

Nuvia guided Elizabeth through the chaotic halls, teeming with panicked cult members. They darted through corridors, evading patrols and security checkpoints, shielded by Nuvia's powers. As they pressed forward, they encountered the cult's leaders desperately trying to salvage their control, electrocuting anyone who crossed their path. Nuvia erected bubble barriers to protect as many people as possible, freezing the cultists' weapons until they malfunctioned. The AI reminded Nuvia that backup was on its way.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth began rallying others to follow them out of the mansion. The first group attempted to escape, only to be met with gunfire from armed cult members. The attackers threatened to shoot anyone else who tried to move. Reluctantly, Elizabeth and the others obeyed, while Nuvia stared them down defiantly.

The armed members, wary of Nuvia's abilities, warned her against making any moves, threatening to destroy the mansion if she did. Nuvia demanded answers, questioning why they had kidnapped her, especially upon realizing her true identity. The cult members admitted they had taken her to use as a scapegoat if their plans unraveled. Humanity's Hand had been closing in on them for some time, shutting down many of their operations, and they feared they were next on the list. If they learned she was in the compound, they would be pardoned in exchange regardless of what everyone else had to say.

Nuvia remarked that she was tired of hearing the same exact excuse being used. She doubted it would work because she had encountered a member of Humanity's Hand before and had witnessed their sense of justice. Their plan didn't make any sense. After speaking her mind, multiple shots were fired, instantly killing each of the cult members. Everyone was shocked by the sudden turn of events. Nuvia knew her friends weren't responsible.

Without warning, government agents appeared, surrounding the compound and pointing their weapons directly at Nuvia. She held her hands up in surrender, unsure of what to expect. Elizabeth ordered everyone to lower their weapons, and the agents complied. Nuvia wondered if she could lower her hands, and Elizabeth asked if she considered her hands weapons. Nuvia lowered them without a second thought. Elizabeth informed the agents that she had used a Nuvia clone for the operation, which was enough to scare the cult members into submission. Elizabeth had done everything in her power to prevent them from selling Nuvia from the moment they captured her. The brief explanation was enough to convince Nuvia for the time being.

Elizabeth began giving orders to the agents, directing them to start cleaning up and assisting the injured. Nuvia watched them pass by, not used to being ignored but noticing their suspicious glances. Elizabeth instructed Nuvia to follow her, and she complied. Once they were a safe distance from the compound, Elizabeth expressed her gratitude to Nuvia for helping her. She hadn't expected Nuvia to intervene. Nuvia acknowledged it was the least she could do for a friend.

Elizabeth shook her head, revealing they weren't friends. Nuvia wasn't surprised but admitted she felt a pang of hurt. Elizabeth dismissed any sentimentality, warning Nuvia to leave before she had to apprehend her. Nuvia considered her words and began to levitate but paused halfway to ask Elizabeth if she had ever seen a fire rainbow. Elizabeth shook her head.

Nuvia decided to demonstrate by enveloping Elizabeth in rainbow-colored flames. At first, she panicked until realizing she couldn't feel heat or pain. Before she could scold Nuvia, she was gone.

Returning to the safehouse, the doctor and AI greeted Nuvia, wondering if she had found any new clues about her mother. Nuvia was somber about not finding anything, but she did learn that the government was planning to use her clones for future missions with Humanity's Hand. The doctor wasn’t surprised to learn they still had her clones but was caught off guard by the news that they planned to use them publicly. Nuvia decided it was time to announce her return to the world.

She called Amara, requesting a meeting with Kael's contact in the black market. Amara was surprised to learn Nuvia knew about it and wondered why she wanted the meeting. Nuvia informed her that Kael had mentioned the contact being a top-level member. Amara tried to figure out which one it was, as Kael was connected to everyone in the black market due to many original members having abandoned Humanity's Hand for various reasons. Kael knew all of them. Nuvia only knew it was someone who helped him find information about Dr. Voss. Amara had an idea who it was but said he wasn’t very high up in command, just someone with a lot of information. Nuvia didn’t care about his rank; she simply wanted to meet with him.

Amara arranged a meeting between Nuvia and the contact at the village Kael used to own. Despite Amara’s advice for everyone to accompany her, Nuvia decided to go alone, with only the AI, and without a disguise. Nuvia felt comfortable in the village. She headed to a newly established family-owned restaurant, a location she didn’t recognize from her last visit. She searched for the contact until a waitress asked her to follow her to a private room. The room was crowded with people of all ages, genders, and not all of them were human. The contact was impressed that Nuvia came without a disguise and alone. She smiled and politely introduced herself, asking if he was the contact she was supposed to meet. The man laughed at her formalities, finding them refreshing. He commented that he now understood why Kael never brought her to meetings, even under direct orders to do so.

Nuvia pried for more information, and the contact explained that the black market had wanted to use her services for a long time, but Kael had been against the idea. He asked the reason behind the meeting. Nuvia admitted she needed the black market’s resources to help her find her mother. The man was intrigued, learning that this was all she was requesting. He had thought Nuvia wanted the village and Kael's organization back or wanted to play superhero to improve her reputation. Nuvia shook her head, admitting she simply wanted to find her mother. The contact thought about it, uncertain if he could trust her yet. He decided to give her a mission, and if she completed it, he would consider helping her. Nuvia accepted his terms except she warns him about rejecting all missions containing murder or hurting someone. The contact assures her it won't be the case because he wouldn't want to tarnish an innocent girl's hands. He gives her the needed information for her first mission and expects it to be done before the end of the week.

Nuvia and the AI worked together to gather all the necessary information for the mission. Once fully prepared, she infiltrated a high-security government office to retrieve the requested data. The AI guided Nuvia to the locations she needed to access and provided simple instructions on how to use the Nevu gadgets to steal the correct information. Nuvia was careful not to take more than she needed.

The first mission was a success, and she completed it in less than a week. The contact was impressed by her efficiency. However, he then assigned her another mission, which upset Nuvia because he had promised to help her after she completed the initial task. The contact corrected her, explaining that the first mission was to help him decide if he would assist her. He hadn't made his decision yet.

Nuvia was given another mission to complete, similar to the initial task, except this time she was sent to a different government office. Nuvia and the AI quickly prepared for it, just as they had done before. The task was completed in the same amount of time without many issues. The contact was pleased until he assigned her yet another task, which again involved gathering information.

This time, the location was better guarded. Nuvia had to use her powers to overwhelm the armed guards, retrieve the necessary information, and escape undetected. Each subsequent task was increasingly difficult, requiring Nuvia and the AI to be more meticulous in their planning and prepared for the unexpected.

After a series of challenging missions, the AI began to wonder if the contact would truly help them or if they were being exploited. Nuvia admitted that she felt like she was being used but decided to be patient for the time being. The AI expressed concern for her, asking if she was still mourning Kael. Nuvia didn't respond.

The AI suggested she take time to escape and travel the world using the safehouse until she was ready to find her mother. Nuvia became upset at the idea, feeling she had already wasted enough time. The AI understood but cautioned her not to rush. Nuvia was frustrated, recalling how the AI had rushed her to find the safehouses. The AI explained that it was necessary to gain its current abilities. Nuvia ended the conversation, wondering what the AI truly wanted from her.

The next mission was another success, even though Nuvia had a difficult time dealing with the traps and armed forces. Unlike previous times, Nuvia was injured. She watched as her body healed itself using the water molecules around her. A sigh of relief escaped her, realizing she was very close to escaping, when she was suddenly attacked. Nuvia barely dodged and looked around to find a girl standing before her.

The girl commented on Nuvia's improved speed since the last time she saw her. Nuvia didn't recognize the girl and wondered who she was. The girl simply warned Nuvia to give up, or she would need to use force. Nuvia decided to run away, using her ice ability to skate away. The girl chased after her, following the trail of ice, until Nuvia disappeared from her sight.

Nuvia roughly threw the digital information toward the contact, angrily demanding to know if he was going to help her or not. She warned him that if he gave her another pointless mission, she would leave. The contact's armed men pointed their weapons at Nuvia, but the contact ordered them to stand down. He wasn’t upset by Nuvia's reaction; instead, he was glad to see she wasn’t a pushover. The contact handed Nuvia a digital disk. She wondered about it, and he informed her it contained some information he had managed to scrape from the government concerning her mother. It was highly encrypted, and he couldn't do much with it. He wondered if she would have better luck solving it. Nuvia decided to take the information back to the safehouse.

The AI informed Nuvia it would take some time to bypass the encryption. Dr. Voss offered his assistance, but the AI rejected it, preferring to work on it to give the doctor more time to rest. Nuvia noticed that the doctor had been getting sicker. The old man admitted it was due to his age but promised he was okay. Nuvia preferred the doctor to rest because it was clear he really needed it. Dr. Voss assured her that the only time he would rest was when it was time for him to die.

The AI revealed the results of the encryption about Nuvia's mother, showing a picture of her holding a baby in her arms. Nuvia was stunned, realizing the picture was truly of her mother. The AI explained that the government had been watching them longer than anticipated. All the information found was about Joan's health throughout the years. Nuvia didn’t understand. The AI explained that Joan had been willingly giving the government information about their whereabouts for years. Nuvia began to wonder why, recalling that her mother used to visit the human town bimonthly after she was old enough to be left alone. The AI continued to look through the information, hoping to learn the reason, as it didn’t sound like his "firefly." Nuvia doubted her mother was betraying them and was certain there was a plausible explanation behind her decision. The AI continued to showcase more pictures of Joan, and Nuvia noticed she barely changed appearance throughout the years.

Amara made her presence known as she entered the safehouse, feeling impressed by the pictures of Nuvia's mother. She believed the other woman was quite beautiful. Nuvia was happy to see Amara and wondered about her visit. Amara surprised Nuvia with a new lead concerning her mother and asked if Nuvia wanted to investigate with her. Nuvia decided to go.

They ended up in another large city. Nuvia learned it was one of the oldest cities in the New World. Amara decided to show Nuvia around by inviting her to all the attractions the city had to offer. Nuvia went along because she was interested in learning more about it. They played games, saw 4D attractions, went shopping, sightseeing, and ate some ice cream together. Nuvia was having a lot of fun with Amara until she reminded the older woman about their original purpose in the city. Amara assured her they would follow their lead once they got better acquainted with how everything worked. Nuvia wondered if Amara simply wanted an excuse for them to have fun, which she appreciated.

Amara ended up guiding Nuvia to the location she wanted to show her. It was another exhibit talking about the history of Horizonx. Nuvia didn't understand the reason for it, but Amara assured her there was one. They entered the exhibit and found it filled with fans of the group. The attraction was filled with all kinds of stories about the original group, along with replicas of their original outfits, weapons, and other items connected to them. As Nuvia continued to look through it, she noticed the name Florence appear again. There were more pictures of the same blonde-haired woman that she found in the paintings and cult group. Nuvia realized she truly did exist but wasn't certain she was her mother. Amara pointed out their similarities.

They continued to research more about Florence and learned her successor was one of the members who went missing. They never found her Horizonx. Nuvia learned Florence's Horizonx had the ability to both heal and poison others. She wondered what happened to the successor, but unfortunately, there was no further information about her, almost as if the successor never existed. Amara added the reason for this was the successor was an orphan with little information about their past. Florence preferred members to take up her mantle from unknown origins because Florence was the child of royalty and a maid. She further explained that over time, Humanity's Hand members would give their positions to those with special privileges rather than to those who deserved it by proving their strength and intelligence.

Nuvia and Amara left the exhibit and headed to their vehicle. They were driving through the city when Nuvia noticed a peculiar sight—a group of furry people moving into the alleyways. Nuvia asked Amara to stop the vehicle for a moment so she could investigate. She removed her disguise and began to levitate over to the alleyway. In no time, she found a group of people in different animal forms catching their breaths. Nuvia noticed one of them was injured and decided to make her presence known, wondering why they looked so haggard.

The group of splicers was surprised to see Nuvia, uncertain if they were imagining her. Nuvia reached out to them to prove her existence. Some of the splicers grew closer to her, explaining their situation. They had escaped the nearby camp where their kind was trapped. Nuvia pried for more information and learned a girl had helped them out, but due to the number of drones, it was impossible for everyone to escape.

Amara appeared on the scene and found the group of injured splicers. Nuvia explained the situation to her. Amara decided to invite them into the car to take them somewhere safe, but before they could, someone commanded them to halt. A group of government agents appeared along with another masked individual. Nuvia wondered if the masked individual was a defender, but noticed his attire was different. The man demanded to know what she was doing with the group of splicers. Nuvia told everyone to run away while she dealt with the group. Amara guided everyone further into the alleyway while Nuvia added a wall of ice to block the government agents. The masked man challenged Nuvia to a fight, which she accepted.

They both began to fight, with the masked man using his weapon while Nuvia used her ice arms. Their skills were matched until the man activated his weapon, heavily injuring Nuvia's hands. She realized the item might be a Horizonx, but the masked man didn’t respond and instead continued to attack her. Nuvia used her bubble barrier to avoid the attack, only for the weapon to go through it. She dodged the strike and began to levitate away from the masked man.

He wondered if Nuvia was afraid of him, only for her to transform into her mist form. The masked man was uncertain what to expect until he noticed his armed men beginning to panic as their weapons and armor malfunctioned. The masked man waved his weapon through the mist, but it didn’t affect her at all. She decided to freeze the masked man. It didn’t affect his weapon, but it did affect everything else. The masked man removed his frozen mask to reveal his identity. Nuvia regained her physical form, realizing the item he was carrying wasn’t a Horizonx but was similar. She taunted the group by inviting them to relax and enjoy their break as she levitated away, searching for Amara and the group of splicers.

OOnce she regrouped with the others in the vehicle, Amara wondered where to take the group of splicers, but Nuvia was uncertain because she doubted they would want to head to the safehouse. One of the splicers pleaded for Nuvia to help their families who were still at the camp. Nuvia wasn’t certain if she could, but she decided to give it a try. She asked the splicers to tell her where the camp was. They gave her directions but warned her the camp moves every couple of hours. There was a probability the camp might already be gone, along with the evidence of their fallen comrades.

Nuvia, along with her AI, began to search for any signs of the camp. Just as the splicers predicted, the camp was nowhere to be found. She continued to search around the area, realizing she was starting to feel warm even with her cloud dress protecting her. The AI realized the desert's temperature was responsible for Nuvia feeling warm. It suggested she take a break by guiding her to a nearby water source.

The moment Nuvia found it, she noticed someone was already there—a girl. The AI warned Nuvia she needed to cool down now or else she would grow sick. Nuvia headed straight to the water source at full speed, surprising the relaxing girl. The girl demanded to know who was there, only for Nuvia to reveal herself by popping her head out. The girl was shocked to see her. Nuvia calmed her down by explaining she needed to use the water source because she was getting very hot. The girl didn’t care and demanded to know the reason she was there. Nuvia revealed the situation concerning the splicers, which surprised the girl. She demanded more information, which Nuvia provided by contacting Amara to showcase the group of splicers in her back seat. The girl's defenses lowered a bit, relieved to see them.

Nuvia wondered if she was the same girl who helped them escape. The girl explained she was currently on a mission to save them after locating one of their camps. Nuvia pried for more information, knowing the human government was responsible for pushing the splicers out of human society. The girl admitted it was wrong of them to have done it but said they were desperate for peace with the Nevu. She realized it was a mistake to have trusted them. Nuvia wondered what she meant, only to learn the humans weren’t responsible for the splicers' current situation but the Nevu. Nuvia asked for proof, and the girl decided to show her instead.

By the time they located the camp, it was nightfall. The girl pointed out the amount of security the camp had. Nuvia noticed many security drones and Nevu dressed in government armor. She couldn’t help feeling confused about it, which surprised the girl to learn Nuvia could see the Nevu. Nuvia revealed the Councillors' hypnosis did not affect her like it did other humans. The girl was confused by the term, so Nuvia explained it was the Nevu's third evolutionary form. The girl was shocked to learn the Nevu had different forms. Nuvia admitted she felt the same way when she first learned about it.

Nuvia wondered if the girl had a plan to save the camp. The girl admitted she didn’t because she was awaiting new orders. She had already informed her superiors that she had found the camp again and passed along the information Nuvia knew about the Nevu. Nuvia didn’t mind her doing it because she wanted her to have protection. The girl couldn’t help but remark how happy she was that Nuvia hadn’t changed. Nuvia was confused by her comment but was interrupted by the girl receiving new orders to stall the camp from moving until sunrise.

The two girls wondered about the best way to keep the camp from moving. Nuvia requested her AI to research the camp's security, to which the AI informed her she needed to be within the campground for it to hack it. Nuvia decided to get closer to find a weak spot. The girl told Nuvia to be careful or else it might trigger the camp to leave again.

Flying over the camp, Nuvia kept a safe distance to avoid detection by the drones' boundaries. The AI scanned the area for weak spots and identified one, but Nuvia needed to time her approach carefully due to the guards' patrols. From a distance, she watched, counting the seconds until she could make her move. It seemed tight, but she believed she could squeeze through using her mist form if needed. The AI reminded her to be mindful of the wind, which could obstruct her entry. Nuvia acknowledged this, noting the current wind flow into the camp. She timed her approach carefully, adjusting her gravitational pull before transforming into mist and swiftly slipping past the guards and drones.

However, once inside, she realized the airflow was part of the camp's cooling system, which threatened to push her out again. Nuvia hurriedly returned to her physical form outside the camp's boundaries.

Despite feeling cooler now, she noticed her speed in changing forms had slowed, something she had experienced during her earlier encounter with the government agents. Encouraged by the AI, Nuvia psyched herself up for another attempt. Instead of adjusting her gravitational pull, she transformed into mist again, cautiously following the airflow. As she neared the ground, Nuvia solidified, preventing the current from expelling her. She remained still, allowing the AI to scan her surroundings. It reported she was now in the middle of the camp, amidst both security drones and splicers.

Carefully moving around, Nuvia sought cover in a corner and asked the AI if it could hack into the camp's security. It confirmed it could, but it would take time. Aware of the risk of being caught activating the camp's security, Nuvia suddenly heard a sound in the distance. Realizing someone had spotted her, she chased after the figure, soon catching a middle-aged woman.

Surprised to find a human in the camp, Nuvia listened as the woman explained she had come to be with her child, who was forced to become a splicer after joining a gang. She had no choice but to join him in the camp to stay close. Nuvia sympathized with her and admired her dedication to her child. As they talked, the woman gradually trusted Nuvia and asked about her presence in the camp. Nuvia confessed she was there to rescue everyone.

The middle-aged woman guided Nuvia to her home, providing her with the necessary time for her AI to hack into the camp's security, a process that would take some time. The woman did her best to protect Nuvia, distracting the drones that requested entrance to scan her designated area. Nuvia, while hidden, urged the AI to expedite its efforts. Just as a drone was about to scan Nuvia's hiding spot, it suddenly deactivated and fell to the ground. While the AI hadn't fully hacked the camp's system, it had managed to disable the drone inside the household. Emerging from her hiding spot, Nuvia was checked on by the middle-aged woman, who, seeing her state, offered water to quench her thirst, which Nuvia gratefully accepted. As Nuvia continued to drink, the AI noticed her increased thirst, prompting it to question why she was feeling overheated. Nuvia had no answer, focused solely on the AI finishing its hacking so she could rejoin the other girl. The AI persisted in its work as Nuvia continued drinking more water.

Successfully gaining access to the camp and its security, the AI informed Nuvia of the information it had gathered, confirming the camp's connection to the Nevu, news that didn't sit well with Nuvia. Asking the AI for its next plan of action, it advised her to regroup with the girl. Nuvia bid farewell to the middle-aged woman, thanking her for the help and receiving well-wishes for the camp's rescue efforts.

Reuniting with the girl, they fought and defeated Nevu guards as they made their way towards the camp's mainframe at its center. Along the way, they encountered and engaged newly reactivated guards and drones. Deep inside the camp, they discovered more hostages threatened by drones, prompting the girl to order them to stand down, an order they ignored by attacking her. Nuvia intervened, using her barriers to protect the girl, who attempted to use water abilities against the drones, only to find them ineffective. Nuvia then crafted an ice weapon to destroy the drones, sparking the girl's desire for a similar weapon. She sadly admitted her inability to create one with her water abilities. Nuvia transformed her weapon from ice to water and offered it to the girl, who accepted and wielded it.

Upon reaching the camp's center, they encountered a human man awaiting them, realizing their interference had prevented him from regaining control. The girl demanded to know if he was behind the camps, but he confessed to being a supporter of the cause. His boss believed, like the Nevu, in keeping humanity pure from genetic mutations, explaining the discrimination against splicers. Nuvia grew angry at the splicers' mistreatment based on their appearance, but the man clarified that it was about genetics rather than looks. He expressed tolerance towards splicers for not losing human uniqueness. Suspecting he wasn't entirely human, Nuvia demanded his name, and he introduced himself as Asterox, an Elder Nevu. Asterox then attempted to attack Nuvia, but the girl pushed her out of harm's way. Realizing he had missed Nuvia, Asterox decided to depart, having completed his part in the plan. Despite Nuvia's attempt to stop him, Asterox teleported away.

The girl began to cry, prompting Nuvia to rush to her side. She found the girl melting and asked if she could heal herself, but the girl revealed she couldn't. Nuvia panicked and froze most of the girl's body, hoping to prevent her from disappearing, but the girl reassured Nuvia, grateful for the chance to see her again after so long. Confused by the girl's familiarity, Nuvia asked for her name, but the girl decided to reveal it only when Nuvia remembered. Creating a rose out of water, she asked Nuvia to freeze it, which Nuvia did. In that moment, Nuvia recognized the girl's identity. Before she could say her name, the girl stopped her, instead asking if Nuvia was willing to hear her story. Nuvia agreed and connected telepathically with the girl, witnessing countless memories of Lily's life, filled with both hardships and joys, concluding with a final image of Lily being kissed by the boy Nuvia had earlier fought. Lily bid farewell to Nuvia.

Overcome with emotion, Nuvia cried, realizing that the girl she had been with all along was Lily, who had become a member of Humanity's Hand through her efforts. Determined to preserve Lily, Nuvia froze her body solid. As she left the camp, she encountered the masked man from before, who noticed her tears and understood that something significant had occurred. Without asking for details, he simply turned away and urged Nuvia to leave while she could. Grateful, Nuvia thanked him for loving Lily all this time before departing.

Nuvia returned to the safehouse, which took longer because Amara didn't drive her back. She found Amara and Dr. Voss looking upset, and learned that all the splicers except one had not survived. Amara explained they were attacked by the Nevu and were surrounded with no way to escape. The splicers sacrificed themselves to ensure the injured boy and Amara could survive.

Upon hearing this, Nuvia began to cry and hugged Amara tightly, relieved that she was safe, apologizing for not being able to protect her. Amara reassured her it wasn't her fault, emphasizing that Nuvia was needed to rescue the camp. Dr. Voss turned on a broadcast to announce that Humanity's Hand had successfully rescued not just one camp, but all of them. Nuvia felt immense relief knowing the splicer camps were no longer operational and that the boy could be reunited with his mother. Amara decided to drive him back to return him to the local authorities.

Nuvia silently mourned Lily's death over the next few weeks while continuing to train and work on her abilities. She wondered why she hadn't used her blood to save Lily, and as she dwelled on it, she grew upset with herself. Dr. Voss noticed her emotional distress and tried to calm her down. Nuvia apologized for alarming him, explaining that she was regretting some decisions she had made. The doctor empathized with her pain but reminded her that sometimes bad decisions have their reasons and that it's okay to make mistakes.

Nuvia weakly smiled at the doctor and agreed with his advice. However, she became concerned when Dr. Voss started coughing, indicating he was getting sick again. Worried about her friend, Nuvia offered her blood to help him, but he bluntly explained that her blood couldn't heal the sickness he had lived with his entire life. He reassured her that there was no cure for it, and despite her insistence on helping, he remained realistic. Nuvia wished he could be more optimistic, but Dr. Voss gently reminded her that she might understand someday, albeit in the distant future.

The black market contacted Nuvia, offering her a new mission in exchange for more information about her mother. Nuvia accepted the mission on the condition that it did not involve harming or assassinating others. The contact reassured her it wasn't, and sent her the details.

The next mission was a protective one. Nuvia received all the necessary information. This time, she was tasked with protecting a renowned hacker. She was introduced to Ari, an individual with a sharp mind and striking appearance. Nuvia was excited about the opportunity to assist them. Ari didn't mind Nuvia's enthusiasm but assured her it wasn't necessary because they could take care of themselves. Nuvia believed them, especially after learning Ari had become a target for the Nevu due to using their hacking skills against them. The black market coveted the information Ari possessed but couldn't obtain it due to Nevu interference. Nuvia began her new job by shadowing Ari everywhere they went. Whenever a Nevu came too close, Nuvia intervened and defeated them. Ari was impressed by Nuvia's ability to see through the Nevu's disguises.

While Nuvia protected Ari, she learned that Dr. Voss's health was deteriorating. She couldn't leave Ari's side until the mission was complete, but the doctor reassured Nuvia to continue her job and not to worry about him, which she did.

Days passed until Nuvia received confirmation of Ari and the black market's upcoming meeting at a secret location to exchange information. Nuvia didn't know the location and would only find out by following Ari. A few hours before the meeting, Amara contacted Nuvia to inform her that the doctor's health had suddenly declined and she believed he didn't have much time left. Nuvia began to panic, uncertain whether she should leave her post or not, especially so close to the time of the exchange. Amara offered to take Nuvia's place if she knew the location, but Nuvia admitted she didn't know it either. Amara decided to stay by the doctor's side and promised to keep Nuvia updated with any new information, which Nuvia appreciated.

An hour before the exchange, Nuvia accompanied Ari to the secret location where they waited for the contact to arrive for the trade. The AI sent Nuvia a message confirming Dr. Voss's deteriorating health. According to their vitals, he didn't have much time left. Nuvia was left speechless by the news, unsure if the doctor could wait for her to complete the mission. She asked the AI to contact Amara, only to find out she wasn't available to help the doctor. Ari noticed Nuvia's concern and inquired about it. Nuvia explained the situation regarding Dr. Voss, but Ari assumed she was talking about a dying relative. They released Nuvia from her duties, believing she had completed them successfully. Nuvia began to argue about leaving until she received confirmation from her boss.

A mysterious car arrived, and the driver slowly opened the door for their rider. Ari pointed out that the black-market agent had arrived, indicating there was no reason for Nuvia to stay. She asked again if it was really okay, to which Ari reminded her they could take care of themselves and told her to go. Nuvia decided to quickly leave and headed back to the safehouse.

Upon arriving at the safehouse, Nuvia found the doctor was indeed very weak. He was now resting on his bed, a sight Nuvia rarely saw. She checked on her friend and found he was barely able to speak. Nuvia reached for his hand to have a telepathic conversation with him. The doctor was grateful to see Nuvia one last time. She reminded him that he would be okay once he rested, just needing more sleep to get better. The doctor chuckled at her optimism, expressing his reluctance to leave her alone now that she didn't have Kael. Nuvia began to cry, wishing he didn't have to leave either. She was going to miss him deeply.

The doctor reassured Nuvia that he had lived a very long and difficult life. Nuvia looked through his memories to learn more about his past, wishing she could have changed it for him. He reassured her that she had already made a difference, especially since she and Kael had rescued him from his prison, which were his happiest years. Nuvia lamented not having more time with him, which he also wished for. The doctor gently held her face and asked if he could make one more selfish wish. Nuvia agreed to grant him anything he desired. The doctor was glad to hear it because he had one final assignment for her—to live a long and happy life, so when they reunited, she could tell him all about her adventures. He believed her life would be so full that it would take over a millennium to recount it all.

Nuvia cried harder but promised him. She vowed to live a long and happy life with her mother, father, Kael, Lily, Amara, and him too. The old man was touched to be included in her future. Nuvia affirmed that he was family to her. The doctor revealed that Nuvia might have already granted his true wish, as he had always wanted a granddaughter. After their emotional conversation, Nuvia realized the connection was broken, and the doctor was now gone. She continued to cry over his cold body while the AI silently remained by her side.

After placing the doctor's body inside one of his pods to preserve him, Nuvia received a new message regarding the mission. The contact revealed that Nuvia had failed her mission to protect Ari. Startled by this realization, Nuvia wondered if Ari was in danger. The black-market contact assured her that Ari was safe and currently under their protection. The issue was that Ari had been tricked into giving their information to the wrong person.

Nuvia was surprised because she distinctly remembered seeing their car and driver arrive at the destination. The contact clarified that Nuvia was not to blame for the mistake; their own agents had screwed up and been ambushed by someone within their ranks. There was a traitor involved. Curious, Nuvia asked if they knew the identity of the traitor, to which the contact revealed that she did.

Armed with this information about the traitor, Nuvia decided to confront them directly...

Heading to the outskirts of the city, Nuvia encountered Amara speaking with another person. They stopped talking upon noticing her. Nuvia looked directly at Amara, intending to express upset but was filled with concern instead. She wondered why Amara had stolen the information while the doctor was dying.

Amara explained that it was crucial for her to take the information to prevent the black market from obtaining it. Nuvia asked if the information was more important than the doctor. Amara revealed that if she hadn't gone, Ari would have been killed. She assumed Nuvia would be relieved to know that Ari was still alive. Nuvia admitted that she was, but expressed frustration that Amara wasn't there when the doctor needed her most.

Amara corrected Nuvia, reminding her that the doctor had wanted Nuvia to be there, not her. When Nuvia asked for the reason, Amara revealed that she was the reason the doctor had died in the first place. Nuvia was stunned by this revelation. Amara further explained that the doctor knew he was being slowly poisoned and that she was behind it, but he decided to keep it a secret. Nuvia didn't believe her, but the man beside Amara confirmed it, revealing he had been helping her the entire time. Not even the AI realized the doctor was being poisoned until it was too late.

Nuvia asked her AI if it was true, and to her dismay, it confirmed it. She couldn't believe it and wondered why the AI hadn't told her sooner, only to learn that by the time it realized, it was too late. No one could have saved the doctor. Nuvia didn't believe the AI, thinking there could have been a way if it had just allowed her to find it. Amara reassured Nuvia that his death wouldn't be in vain, unlike Kael's. She claimed she was going to save Nuvia by making her the most powerful being on Earth. Nuvia was confused by Amara's admission. The man quickly corrected Amara, revealing that Nuvia would make the perfect weapon against the council.

Growing impatient with their cryptic conversation, Nuvia asked for clarification. Amara wondered to the man if it was time to begin Nuvia's true journey, to which he agreed. They fused together to create a monstrosity. Amara revealed the true power of a human and Nevu fusion.

Nuvia was left stunned by Amara's transformation. Asterox, the man, revealed their form resembled devils from myths. He believed it was time for Nuvia to stop them. Nuvia asked why, only to learn that Amara and Asterox planned to destroy the oldest city of the New World, causing everyone to die a painful death if she didn't interfere. Nuvia quickly decided to join the fight, directly attacking them, only to find they were protected by a barrier similar to hers but made of blood.

The AI tried to help Nuvia calm down and concentrate on the battle, noting that they were using a mix of DNA to fight. Nuvia asked the AI what to expect, and it revealed that their opponents would be using blood as their main source of power.

Nuvia and Amara begin their fight, with Amara testing Nuvia's power and mastery of her abilities. Nuvia uses her powers defensively, hoping to gauge Amara's new form, but Amara punishes her by attacking the city. Chaos ensues below as people try to flee from Amara's attacks. Nuvia attempts to help the citizens, but Amara's relentless attacks force her to focus solely on the battle. Nuvia has no choice but to engage Amara directly to draw her attention back.

Amara increases her power level, and her attacks become more aggressive, testing Nuvia. Initially struggling, Nuvia manages to levitate higher into the sky to keep Amara away from the city. However, Amara quickly overpowers her and throws her back down. Nuvia controls her descent, using the wind to push herself back into the sky, realizing her speed and attacks are improving. Amara, too caught up in the battle to question this, continues her relentless assault.

As Amara feels their powers are becoming evenly matched, she allows Asterox to take more control, making her attacks more ruthless. Nuvia takes the hits, losing pieces of herself, but heals faster due to the high altitude. Asterox decides to turn his attacks towards the citizens below, forcing Nuvia to block them. Knowing her power would decrease if she left the sky, she is relieved when government agents arrive to fight Asterox. Among them is the same masked man who had allowed her to escape earlier. He tells Nuvia not to worry about the city, as they will protect it, and urges her to concentrate on the battle. Nuvia agrees and uses her ability to force Asterox back into the skies.

Amara takes over again, continuing to fight Nuvia while making confessions designed to anger her. Instead of getting angry, Nuvia feels hurt by Amara's heartless betrayal of everyone who loved her. Amara dismisses this, saying she never asked to be loved, especially by Nuvia. Nuvia admits she still loves Amara, explaining that if she didn't, the fight would be very different.

Amara decides to use the battle to convince Nuvia to detest her. She allows Asterox to take over, increasing their power level to overwhelm Nuvia. Nuvia continues to use the altitude to help increase her power and defense. Asterox finds Nuvia too strong in the skies, so he decides to attack the city, only for the government agents to block him again. Tired of the humans getting in the way, Asterox decides to kill them all in one attack. Nuvia, upset at witnessing the deaths of more innocent people, leaves the safety of the sky to attack Asterox, only for him to switch with Amara again, who informs Nuvia it was her idea to kill them. Nuvia reminds her she is human, which makes Amara laugh because she hasn't considered herself weak for a long time.

Amara becomes more aggressive with her attacks, keeping Nuvia above the city. Nuvia tries to defend herself, but Amara starts breaking her body parts off. The people in the city watch the battle above them in fear, not knowing who to cheer for. Nuvia sacrifices more of her body to get Amara to release her. Amara finds the strategy interesting, figuring Nuvia has no choice but to make that call. Nuvia dodges Amara, giving herself time to heal. When Amara shows signs of slowing down, Nuvia attacks her directly and with purpose, impressing Amara. They continue to fight until Asterox takes over, increasing their power level one final time to end the fight.

Amara overwhelms Nuvia with her attacks. Once Amara believes Nuvia can no longer take it, she is surprised to find Nuvia unwilling to give up, knowing full well the outcome for the city otherwise. Amara respects Nuvia's dedication but wants her to give up. Nuvia decides she'll only give up when she's dead, something she knows Amara and Asterox don't want to happen. Upset by this, they decide to overwhelm her until she can no longer speak, hitting her directly in her core and causing her the most pain she's ever felt. Nuvia crashes into the city, struggling to recover.

Amara believes it's their victory and decides to summon enough power to destroy the city. Just as they are about to unleash it, Nuvia surprises them with one final attack, forcing them to take the hit instead. Amara screams in agony while Nuvia tries to regain her breath, only to find that once the dust settles, Amara is perfectly fine and was just acting. Nuvia acts defeated, and as Asterox decides to punish her for the surprise attack, Nuvia defends herself using her water abilities to stab through their body. Amara laughs and cancels the water attack with her blood ones, finally defeating Nuvia.

Nuvia falls to the ground in defeat, no longer having the energy or stamina to continue. Just as Asterox is thinking of destroying the city, he realizes that Nuvia's last attack did hit him. He begins to cough up blood, astonished because she hasn't done such a thing in a long time. He comments that Nuvia is really her mother's daughter. Nuvia wonders what he means, only for Asterox to give her a chance to save the city. He challenges Nuvia to locate the five human bombs scattered somewhere in the city, hinting that the bombs are orphans. Nuvia is upset but forces herself to move. Asterox decides to leave, hoping Nuvia wins, or else this entire journey was a waste of time.