"You’re not afraid to face those things?"

The question made Marcus turn to face both of them sitting. Almost lying down, Dante rested his entire body on his right elbow, holding a pear in his hand. They had found a fruit tree on their way back from Luma, taking some and placing them in baskets.

What made Dante even more determined to hear the question again was that Clara had been acting strange since they returned. The answer she wanted—he wasn’t sure if he actually had it to give.

"I don’t think so." He wasn’t confident in his response, but he ate the rest of the fruit before continuing. "It’s kind of strange to say I need to be afraid of them. It’s all a matter of intention. They always carry that thirst for blood and violence, so it’s easy to predict when that happens. It’s harder to predict people than creatures—my father used to say that a lot."

Even though he laughed casually, it didn’t seem enough for Clara.

"And because you’ve been doing this for so long, you don’t fear fighting them the way you did at the Reservoir?"

"Contrary to how it seems, I haven’t been fighting for that long, Clara. If you count the time I’ve been here with the time I served in the Capital, it’s a little over a month. And that’s not much for a soldier." He looked at her face—her skin was smooth, even with some traces of youth fading away. "The same way I fight, you all do too, but in the way you think is right. A fight where there are more people to protect—that’s how people find their strength."

"That’s not it, Dante. It’s far from that." Clara seemed distressed, clasping her hands together and placing them between her legs. "You’ve seen how big Kappz is. Luma takes care of the forested area, Antton handles hunting, and the Jones had a problem and took control of both gathering and the forges. They have more than I do, more than we’ll ever have. The only thing we managed to gain was thanks to you two."

Still at the counter, Marcus held his wide-mouthed carbine pistol. He said nothing but waited for a response. Dante didn’t fully understand how these people acted or why they feared the unknown so much. Maybe it was his upbringing that shaped him this way.

He should have thanked his father and mother more often over time.

"I don’t consider any of them owners of anything. You underestimate your own leadership—don’t you see? Is this speech because I’m strong or because you’re afraid something will happen?"

"Of course, I’m afraid, Dante. Luma said Jones needs electricity and people to go to the prison. She always knows things. She warned us about a problem…"

"What’s the point of them going down there? Sharm is the name, right?" Dante shrugged. "I don’t care about those people. What you did for me that day was enough. No one throws themselves into the mud, takes care of someone else, and pulls them out of trouble."

Only then did Marcus get up from the counter and sit around them. He picked a pear from the fruit bowl between them and cut it with a small pocket knife.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"I can understand her feelings," Marcus said, slicing the fruit into four smaller pieces. "Dante, protecting people is one thing—what you do is another. If I had been alone inside the Reservoir, I wouldn’t have even come close to bringing the battery back. Your strength, your physical ability—it’s not something the two of us… can afford."

"Afford?" The discomfort grew in Dante’s chest. He adjusted himself, sitting up properly for the first time. "Do you think I should be paid for what I am or for what I do?"

"Your arrival was a miracle," Clara said without a hint of shame. "We can’t just dismiss the fact that you’d be better used somewhere else than here in the middle of the city."

Marcus nodded in agreement.

"It seems I’m being misunderstood." Dante chuckled and placed a hand on his neck. "There’s no reason for me to want to go somewhere else when I’m where I want to be. This is where I fell—no one but you helped me, and I’m grateful for that. And Marcus, you say you wouldn’t have done half of what we did, but if it weren’t for you in there, I would’ve died. This—" he stretched his hand back, touching the cold metal of the recharging battery, "—was powered by your Cosmic Energy. I’m alive because of both of you, and I owe you that at all costs."

"But we have nothing." Clara still kept her head down, her gaze sad. "They all have resources. We only have this."

"Only?"

Dante wouldn’t let them sink into that depressive mindset.

"This energy is wanted by all of them. Antton wanted it, Luma, this Jones guy—they all want it. Do you understand that as long as you control the energy and clean water from the reservoir, you can have anything? People know this—they started coming back here." Dante pointed forward, toward another building island. "They’re waiting to be called to see if they can stay and witness something that repels the fear of the night. Why do you think this is so little? Look around, both of you."

Clara lifted her head, and Marcus was already gazing at the horizon of houses and skyscrapers. Dante stretched his hand in that direction.

"They have a small area to work in, but you have all of this. The entire city. And we have resources to work with. People don’t want to feel like they’re here to be exploited—you don’t want that."

"But they provide something to survive," Clara responded more firmly. "We don’t have food, we don’t have shelter. We spend more time on top of a building than we should, and now they want what took us years to achieve. My fear is that they’ll take what is rightfully ours."

Dante immediately shook his head.

"They won’t do that."

"And how can you be so sure?"

Dante picked up another pear and stood it upright in his hand. With a single finger, he split it in half.

"Because they’re afraid too." He placed one piece back in the fruit bowl, keeping one for himself. "They knew there was a creature in the Reservoir, and now there isn’t. If it had died to another Felroz, they would have gone there to check, but they didn’t. They know from rumors that the creature died because of us, which makes it clear that we are stronger than what lived there. Clara, it doesn’t matter if the rumor is true or not—living in fear of what might happen will only cloud your judgment on what you can and cannot do."

Her face flushed—a natural color returning. Even with fear, her eyes shone with a dazzling hue, eager to move forward. Dante had no idea how much they had suffered here, but in the Capital, the privilege of having everything was unquestionable.

In Kappz, on the other hand, obtaining even the basics was extremely difficult.

"As long as we’re alive, they can’t do anything against us. So, if you really want to help these people, start with those who are asking for your help."

The people on the other side, still watching them talk, sat on crates. They didn’t want trouble, they didn’t want conflict. Children, animals, women, and the elderly—the men didn’t let them stand, giving up their seats.

There was hope that they would be welcomed.

"I may not know how to run a place, but I believe you have the largest share of the city under your control, Clara," Dante said as he lay back down. "You just need to want to make it better."