Nico Paolo stepped onto the stage, his eyes scanning the audience with a disguised mix of curiosity and trepidation. The faces before him were no longer entranced, no longer adoring; instead, they seemed terrified, their eyes wide as they gazed upon him. His mind reeled as he realized that he and the arsonist lad hadn't been alone in the piazza. Some audience members had witnessed Nico's display of power, and now all saw him as a villain!

Willful defiance ignited within him! He would show them he was not the true villain! With a faint smirk, he began to croon, his voice patronizing the night air! His nightmare affinity swirled around him, infusing his voice with a negative energy as he deviated from his il Cantante di Legno persona for the first time ever! The audience's fear turned to rapt attention as his song and emphatic posturing wove a spell of hypnic suggestions, implanting dark visions in their minds! They daydreamed–nay, “daymared”–of Italy's true villains: tyrants and oppressors… those who brought significant fire to the land!

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As the final notes of his song faded, his now smug gaze swept across the traumatized but adoring audience. His eyes glinted with triumph, for he knew he turned their perceptions around within minutes. Having absolved him of their fears by comparative proxy, they concluded Nico was not the villain in the arson scene!

Contrarily, Nico's parents, who had secretly been in the audience, confronted him with unexpected lucidity. Lost in demented delusions at the time, they were immune to Nico's nightmare power!

"Nico, what have you done?!" his father asked, his voice firm and clear. "You've allegedly terrorized and permanently injured another boy!"

Nico shrugged, but his parents pressed on. "This one's parents are wealthy," his father continued. "They'll get him the best care, and he'll recover. But that's not the point. The point is your actions demonstrate a desire for control and harm!"

His mother's expression turned bitter. "And it's not just about this boy, Nico. It's about the system that allows people like his parents to buy their way out of consequences–the same system that screwed us over, that stole our dreams!"

"As of now, you're part of that system, Nico!” his father warned!