Lillian entered Nova City right behind Ace. He had insisted on her calling him that instead of his given name, and once was all it took. Out of all her new comrades, Ace was the most human. Lukhan and Isabella were more like the angels of old Nova mythos, Ansem's dedication to his work seemed more robotic than human determination, and Cassandra and Amos had an otherworldly air about them. Lillian didn't know much about Etras, but from what little she heard, it was hell-like.

Lillian's attention turned to the city, her old home. She picked up her pace, keeping close to Ace. The city, the one and only hub for civilized life on Paranova, was the one home its citizens would ever know. Each building was a tower, the purpose of its floors decided by the landowner. The vast majority of cityspace was rented out, making landlording a highly competitive calling. As such, buildings, and life in them, left few wanting. It was far from a utopia, obviously. Nova City's criminal underworld operated… somewhere. Lillian reminded herself that she was just a painter.

The pair passed the cafe where a Cinraal attempted to take Lillian hostage. She remembered that Ace saved her with a strange device that killed the Cinraal outright from a distance. She was painting on the bottom floor when it barged in and grabbed her, a moment that changed her life. Ace and Ansem's previous workplace was just across the street, the headquarters for Ace's "contract killing", as he put it.

"Well, this is where they came from," Ace said, breaking the silence between them. He prodded at the ground with his boot, the spot where the portal appeared. "You're magic, right? Can you sense anything weird about this?"

Lillian knew the answer without trying to feel the world's energy. She shook her head. "There's no energy in the city. The ley lines all point to me, and I'm not even that strong."

"What? ley lines? How many different names for magic do I need to keep track of?"

"Everyone interprets it differently, Ace. Mine is the power of nature. I feel the energy of the world through what can be seen as roots, or currents. Ley lines. Ether is what makes up the energy of the world."

Ace shook his head, and turned to look Lillian in her eyes. "That doesn't answer my question."

Lillian sighed. Ace was becoming a piece of work. "As many as there are forms of 'magic'. Whenever you hear a term you don't understand, just assume it's another interpretation of it. Just please don't use such an archaic term for it. Magic is what wizards do in myths, with catalysts and incantations. What we do is natural, like painting. Do you know how many more forms of visual art there are?"

Ace smiled at her. It was a smirk, exclusive to his smug face. It was punchable. "I got you to open up, and I didn't even have to try."

Lillian felt her face turn chilli red. She had never seen a chilli, but was familiar with its pigment. She turned on her heel, giving Ace a view of her back. "I can tell when other gifted people are nearby, I learned that yesterday when Lukhan visited you. My apartment is a few blocks from here, and I spent most of my time painting here. So it's safe to say that I'm the only gifted in this part of the city."

"Then there wouldn't be anything around here. The Shadows would set up somewhere near at least a few gifted, the ether-starved bastards." Then, after a short pause, "for a painter, you're kinda fit. Look pretty good from the back."

Lilian's cheeks turned from chilli red to scarlet. She whirled around and began pushing Ace away, attempting to prod him to continue the search. "Could you not?!"

Ace immediately relented, and resumed his march. "I definitely could, but cracking your shell is pretty fun."

Lillian could feel Ace's smirk spread across his face. He was getting under her skin, and he knew it. The temptation to smack him with a poisonous vine rose, but was pushed down by her desire to complete the mission with no complications. "So where are we headed?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Ace withdrew a small piece of paper from his coat and waved it at Lillian. "There's a few places I'm gonna check. You meet a lot of interesting people in my line of work, and some of them are magic. We'll see what we can find there. You'll let me know if you see anything, right, hourglass?"

"Hour-" Lillian stifled herself. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a reaction, especially the visual one she felt creeping back.

"Sure, you will," Ace agreed for her.

Their first stop was in a largely deserted part of the city. Most of the buildings around these blocks were abandoned; the landowner suddenly died earlier that year, and his will was never found. The area's population was soon replaced with dead air, a few squatters, and one of Ace's contacts. Until the matter found its way through the bureaucratic process, this part of town would continue to be a creepy part of the city.

Lillian stood outside a particularly faded building while Ace went inside. She was glad he didn't insist on her joining him. Lillian wanted some space to breathe. Ironically enough, the alleys had enough passersby to still be suffocating. Every pair of eyes was another two reasons Lillian regretted taking care of her figure. She crossed her arms over her chest, hoping Ace didn't take long.

Almost immediately, two quick shots sounded from within the building. Ace smashed through a second floor window, landing hard on the dirt path in front of Lillian. She nearly let out a squeal.

"Wow that was a terrible idea, I won't feel my hand for the next ten seconds," Ace groaned. "I hope you aren't entirely useless, because I just put a lot of trust in you and there's a Shadow coming out of the door right now."

A Cinraal emerged from the building, eyes locked on Ace. After a split second of entertaining the idea of letting the Cinraal have at Ace, Lillian reached into the earth with her gift. A thin vine shot out, wrapping around the Cinraal's ankle, tripping it. The vine grew thicker, producing thorns. A thin, flax yellow venom seeped from the thorns, including the ones embedded in the Cinraal's ankle. It whirled around, ready to strike Lillian, but fell on its face instead of standing up. Its leg, once dark and opaque, was now the same sickly yellow as the venom working its way through its body.

Ace stepped over, stretching his hurt shoulder. "Thanks Lilly. Knew you could do it." He held out a hand for Lillian to take. "Care to head back home? I think we learned a lot today, and I'd like to test out whatever medical Ansem can throw together for me."

Lillian walked past him, letting the vine dig deeper into its victim's leg. The creature was likely completely paralyzed already. "You could have warned me that we would be hanging out in a seedy part of town. I was being ogled by every guy on the block, and you were doing who knows what. Why was this even our first ? What was your second idea, a guy's club?"

Ace let out a hearty laugh, and quickened his pace to match hers. "Lilly, you slay me. This was the first stop because it was a likely place to find Shadows roosting. My intuition, as usual, wasn't wrong, and I know what kind of racket they're running. On a side note, I know of a joint you'd be perfect for-"

"Ace, if you hit on me once more, you're going to learn firsthand what kind of venom that Cinraal is choking on right now."

"Alright, I'll let up," Ace relented. "At least you're out of your shell."

"When we get home I'm going right back in it. But first, you're going to tell me for what reason I was put on display back there."

Ace took a deep breath. His demeanor suddenly changed. The time for jokes was past. "I only went up that one floor, but I saw at least a few dozen people in there. Each one was encased in some kind of mound. There were a few Cinraal there, tending to them. It was some kind of bioengineering, I'm sure. I bet it was one of those 'hives' our friend Malachi mentioned. If the Cinraal are reproducing here, then it means the costs or risks of doing so are lower than transporting them through their portals. I think I'm getting into Chaos's head a little, figuring out what the point of his invasion is."

Lillian stopped walking. Her jaw was slack. When Ace noticed, he relaxed his posture and clapped her shoulder.

"Lilly, wake up. Is it that surprising to you? I'm an assassin, for God's sakes. That's not the kind of job that being a goofball works for."

Lillian began to see the logic. Of course? Do all assassins have the same meticulous, detail oriented, strategic minds? Lukhan's reasoning for recruiting Ace and his business partner became crystal clear for Lillian.

What else that was crystal clear was the Cinraal's operations: reproduction, likely mass production.

AN: idk do something menacing. It's your problem now, not mine.