"Huh. I guess it makes sense that they built a playground here," Daz mumbled as he looked at the large space just outside of the esper dormitory that had apparently been transformed into a space for the kids to spend their time.

A few of the human-like androids were helping the disabled children clamber over jungle gyms or enjoy the slides and swings.

"What time is it, system?" Daz asked.

Confirmed. The local time is: 7:32PM.

"I guess it makes sense that they're playing. I thought it was later than it is." Daz peered up above and stared at the crescent moon that was slowly making its way across the night sky. "Well, it is winter, I guess."

Daz shook his head and continued onwards. He was here to visit Emma, not to contemplate on why previously abused children were enjoying themselves with a playground.

He had been busy today with his experiments and had chosen to skip all of his kingly duties, instead choosing to delegate them to Lyle and Crosius as he focused on learning about his bloodlines.

One of those duties was offering Emma a job. He had come to the dormitory directly to hear her answer.

However, as soon as he entered the building's lobby, he was stopped by someone unexpected.

"These footstep vibrations... Are you perhaps King Daz?" a soft and almost inaudible voice said with exceeding clarity.

Daz faced the voice's owner and saw a young girl a little older than Rose sitting on a sofa with a braille book in her hands.

'Lindsey Blanchard, if I recall correctly. Her mutations were... blindness and deafness, right? Her voice is incredibly smooth and her pronunciation is impressive for someone who has never once heard her own voice before. Perhaps she fixed that with the system. Anyway, the question is, how do I respond?' Daz wondered as he stood still in thought.

"Ah, forgive me. You must be confused. I would... I would like to speak with you if you have a moment, Your Majesty," the girl asked. "I am limited due to my... unique traits but if you hold my hand we can speak if you squeeze for yes and do nothing for no... Would that be okay?" Lindsey requested as she inclined her head softly.

'Emma isn't going anywhere and this girl is the sister of one of those fools that antagonised Madison during the auction. It certainly wouldn't hurt to hear her out if for no other reason than to understand her better,' Daz concluded.

He took a seat next to the girl and placed her free hand in his then squeezed it lightly.

"T-Thank you, Your Majesty." Lindsey wore a smile as she put her book to one side then said, "I was there at the speech yesterday. I sadly couldn't hear anything but I did purchase a recording of the event from the system afterwards and have watched it on repeat almost nonstop ever since. Did you know that I can actually see and hear inside of my mind? The system is able to let me experience sights and sounds... It's quite... magical."

Daz did, in fact, know this, as Rose had informed him about every single one of the esper children and what they were capable of both with and without the system. In light of that, he squeezed her hand.

"Oh. You knew..." Lindsey appeared saddened to learn this.

'Did she want to explain it to me herself or something?' Daz thought as he remained silent.

"W-Well, Your Majesty, your words and Lord Mu's display have truly moved me. I have set my heart on obtaining an Ember, no matter the cost. I know I and my brothers and sisters here cannot help you with our powers as your own sister can but please don't worry, we will repay the debt we owe to you. If I have to, I alone will reimburse your kindness," Lindsey declared resolutely.

Daz frowned but didn't move his hand or do anything else.

"Ah, I-I seem to have gotten ahead of myself, Your Majesty." She freed her hand from his and smiled softly. "Thank you for listening to me - a worthless cripple. I did mean what I said though. I won't be worthless forever."

Lindsey felt Daz standing up but he didn't walk away for some reason. Half a minute of awkwardness passed and just as Lindsey was about to ask if she had done something wrong, she felt a hand gently pat her head as a cold... something landed on her lap.

Fumbling with her hands she went to grab the 'something'. 'Is this... a wooden slate? It-It has braille on it!'

She quickly traced her fingers over the words to see what Daz had said to her.

'You are not worthless. No person is without value. Do not think I will abandon you nor the other espers I have sheltered here.

Though your life has been an endless stream of mistreatment and abuse, that does not define you as it did not define me.

If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

I support your desire to gain an Ember but do not push yourself beyond your limits for my sake.

One day you will be healthy, free from your mutations. Thank me on that day, not this one. For now, enjoy the childhood that was stolen from you by your abhorrent family.'

Tears flowed from Lindsey's closed eyes. She felt the king pat her head once more before she felt the vibrations of his feet leaving the lobby, having headed towards the central flight of stairs.

"Your Majesty..." Lindsey whispered as she brought the wooden slate to her chest and hugged it. "Okay... I won't thank you today..."

----------------------------------------

'Was that wood special?' Reika asked as she flew through the floor of the hallway Daz was walking down.

"It's odd of you to spy on an emotional teenager. Shouldn't you be pretending to sleep on my halo like usual?" Daz asked monotonously.

Reika shrugged. 'We have never seen a person who is deprived of both the sense of sight and hearing grow to be so old before. She seems to really treasure that wooden plank. We were wondering if you wrote anything on it but there were only little bumps on it, not words.'

"What, did your nation murder people like her at birth or something?" Daz asked.

Reika nodded. 'Planet, not nation, but yes. We now know of the existence of various types of healing sciences and magics, but our world had none of those. It was the less cruel option to kill them before they could live a life of suffering. We have heard of some such people surviving for many decades on our homeworld but we never met one. This was an interesting experience.'

"I see. Well, the bumps are braille. It's a written language for the blind which uses the 3rd dimension to allow them to read," Daz answered plainly.

'Huh. How creative,' Reika commented before she closed her eyes and got comfy on his halo.

Daz pondered over the brief conversation for a moment. 'I guess I didn't have Reika with me when Ellie was still deaf. I wonder if it's common on less advanced worlds to kill those with major disabilities? Perhaps it was unique to Reika's homeworld. I can see the sense in it given the lacking means to care for such people but it is absolutely needlessly inhumane.'

Regardless, he had reached the door to Emma's room so he knocked on it and shifted his mind's focus.

"Come in. The door's unlocked," a smooth but decisively lifeless voice answered.

'An android, huh?' Daz did as instructed and closed the door behind him. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm still falling to pieces but it doesn't hurt as much anymore. I can move my head too. Happy days, huh?" Emma, laying on her new bed, responded as she turned to look at Daz. "This android here is useful too. I don't need to embarrass myself when I need to eat or go to the toilet anymore."

"That's certainly nice," Daz said as he gave the handsome male android a cursory glance. "Regarding my offer, your thoughts?"

"Helping these kids work around their mutations and learn how to use their powers? Daz, I'll be honest, that's impossible. Your sister is a special case," Emma claimed with confidence. "I've never once heard of a mutation formed from a lack of a bloodline offering benefits before, especially not a benefit like allowing the use of the esper power. Rose is special, not a case example."

Daz shook his head. "I do not care. Will you or will you not do it? I would honestly rather not try to find another esper who isn't a twisted and evil person. Madison struggles to communicate with others and Rose is too busy for the job. With your condition you have nothing else better to do, do you?"

"Smooth," Emma retorted with a chuckle.

"I am not trying to cajole you into taking the role, Emma. You are a valuable asset to me. One that I intend to keep alive. You have a very specific use that no one else under my rule can fill. Your efforts will not go unrewarded," Daz said.

"Is this where you blackmail me? 'Work for me or I won't bother trying to heal you'. Something like that? Good luck. You'll need more than stats or skills to convince me since death looks like a pretty nice alternative to whatever you can call this," Emma replied as she gestured to her ashy body with her chin.

"No, Emma. I have no intentions to bargain with your life. I will try my best to cure your condition so long as you do not actively work against me just like anyone else amongst my citizens. I actually already potentially have a method to cure you, but that is a last resort," Daz said. 'The fewer people that know about El Dorado's ability to grant Stars of Permanence, the better.'

"What then? I'd rather sit here and watch T.V all day since you have electricity. You even have a barebones version of the internet. In all honestly, Daz, I don't want anything to do with espers anymore, not after your dad left me high and dry to die in New York," Emma spat out bitterly.

"How does redemption sound to you?" Daz questioned.

"Redemption?" Emma scowled. "Redemption for what?"

"For being one of the lucky ones and not doing anything about the others. Do you have any siblings?" the reaper asked.

"... 3 older sisters. They all died before their 15th birthday," Emma answered honestly though something in her voice gave away that she knew what Daz was getting at with this line of conversation.

"I see. I don't doubt that your parents were over the moon to be graced with a child born possessing a bloodline," Daz said, sarcasm oozing from his tone. "Were you aware of the depraved nature of the esper societies before you became an adult?"

"I'd have been an idiot to not have," Emma admitted.

"Did you ever try to fight against it? Did you ever disagree with it? Or did you simply live your life trying your best to ignore the fact that all 3 of your elder sisters had died with you taking their place as the only real daughter of the Cromwell house?" Daz inquired with a steely gaze that showed more of his emotions that perhaps he would have liked.

"I get it. I fucking get it. What could I have done anyway? It's not like I could break boulders or bend minds. I certainly couldn't see into the future like the damned Hamilios can. All I can do is make people like me and maybe, fucking maybe, do what I tell them to!" Emma shouted before falling into a coughing fit.

"I am not forcing you, Emma, only trying to motivate you," Daz said as he walked towards the door. "You see no reason to live, here I am giving you one. Do what you want. I will manage with or without you but I truly do wish for you to become a reliable ally who can help foster the youths who have experienced nothing but a waking hell ever since they left the womb. Their lives have been without hope for far, far too long."

He opened the door then nodded in her direction. "Thank you for listening to me." With that, he left the room.

Emma curled up her lips as she lay there in her bed. "I can see it now... Those two... They're like the same person... Fucking Hamilios... Damn it. Fine. I'll teach your stupid mutated espers how to use their stupid internal energy. Don't come crying to me when one of them actually taps into it and fucking explodes or something."

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "I miss those days of willful ignorance... As much as I hated the arranged marriage meetings, I can now see how fun they actually were... compared to this anyway. Damn it... Am I going to spend my entire adult life in service of the damned Hamilio line just like my dad did?"

She didn't know the answer to that, and perhaps, she never would.