“You are insane,” Keira whispered as they reached the next floor. The floor with the children. “Why the hell would you antagonise Sapphire and the Coattails?”

Nimh didn’t answer as he walked toward one of the children’s rooms. “Have you decided what you are going to do with them?” he asked.

Keira was wrongfooted by the question. “What?”

“Are you going to try and heal them, or have you accepted that you cannot do it?” He looked at her, compassion in his eyes. “If you are going to save them, they will need to eat eventually.”

Keira’s eyes opened wide in understanding. It had been almost two days since Wolfgang and his people had been killed. At least that long since anyone would have fed them.

“Now is the time to choose. Either they are saved by you today, or I put them out of their misery. If you are undecided, then believe me when I say this. If they die today, they will go to a place where their dreams with become their eternity. A far kinder reality than this one.”

“How do you know that?” Keira said disbelievingly. “How do you know that there is something better waiting for them if they die.”

Nimh shook his head. “I did not say it was better.” He corrected. “I said it was a far kinder reality. They will not starve, be abused, or be subjected to anyone’s authority. They will be free to dream their own existence away in a place where no one can touch them again.”

The last bit I said intending for Marcus to hear. It was his final destination as well.

“How do you know that?’ she repeated.

Nimh just spread his hands. “One of my many secrets. Of course, I could be lying. You may never know the truth. But you can always believe what you wish.”

“I can’t save them,” Keira whispered, sinking to her knees. Nimh patted her shoulder as he entered the room.

Gently, he spoke calming words to the child, a small boy, as he approached. The boy gave no sign of noticing him. With the care of a father handling his child, Nimh placed his palm on the boy's chest and murmured a prayer of his homeland.

Then, with a gentle touch of his spirit, he drew the child into its own fragmented spirit well and pushed him into his own, weak spiritual seed before withdrawing himself.

A heartbeat later, Nimh could sense the child’s spirit pass through into the Realm of Infinite Dreams, escaping this living hell.

Before leaving the room, Nimh placed the small boy on the bed, covering him with a thin sheet.

Emerging back into the corridor, Keira stared at him with tear-streaked cheeks and red eyes. Nodding to her, he went to the next room and repeated his mercy.

By the time he was done, he felt sick. Those children deserved better, and he hated that he couldn’t provide what they needed. But he did not have the luxury of weakness.

He passed Keira as he went back downstairs. The bodies had been removed and the basement was quiet as a tomb.

“Are you going somewhere?” Keira asked.

Shaking his head, Nimh walked to the stairs leading to the street, placing his hands on the archway. “There is a passageway here.” He said. “I need you to go down it and secure it. If anyone comes through there to try gaining access, I want you to stop them.”

He turned and looked at her. “Can you do it?”

Keira frowned. “What game are you playing?” she replied.

“Well, if my guess is right, there will be some tough E Ranks coming this way. I don’t really want you in eyesight or they might try using you to screw with me.” He gave her a level stare. “It won’t work and if they try, you likely won’t survive. So, I want to stash you away from where they can’t see you and I can kill them in peace.”

The shocked look on Keira’s face made Nimh smirk. “Yes, you are a liability to me. If you want to change that and stop being deadweight, get stronger. Until then, in the hole.”

With that, he pulled open a hidden door that led down. By the smell, there was a sewer line nearby.

“How did you know it was there?” Keira asked dubiously.

If Nimh was, to be honest, he could vaguely sense the spiritual energy coming from below, the water, the air, even the rats. He could feel it all. But he didn’t want to reveal that. So, he smiled knowingly and waved her down.

After giving him one last hard look, Keira made her descent.

“One day,” Nimh said to her back, “I hope that I can have you fight alongside me. But until then, keep training.”

Before she could turn back around, Nimh closed the door. Taking slow steps, Nimh made his way to the street outside, all the while, his spirit sense spread out.

Below, he could sense Keira. The passageway did not seem to have gone far and he could feel her cycling her vital energy. That girl would go far.

“I’m starting to look forward to her future.” He silent said to Marcus.

He snorted in disdain. “You just like her because she is pretty.’

“That’s why you like her,” Nimh corrected. “I like her because she is good material. Talent and work ethic combined into one being. You could learn a thing from that. She might even ascend to S Rank before me.”

That left Marcus with a sceptical air. “You really think either you or her will make it to S Rank?”

“Me? For sure. Her, rather confident.”

They debated it for a few silent moments as Nimh watched the street. It was an interesting sight and very alien to him. The pathways were a black stone that seemed to have been melted into place with few people walking by. That made sense, Wolfgang had a reputation, and few knew he was dead.

It was not smart to loiter around a gangster's home.

That would change soon.

Before long, Nimh could sense a disturbance. Immediately, he sent his spirit sense downward to confirm that Keira was safe. He could feel nothing moving towards her which was a relief.

What was less of a relief was the small army coming toward him. Dozens of F Ranks and five E Ranks. Though they were still a distance away, Nimh guessed they would arrive soon.

He was looking forward to this. Marcus voiced his opinion on Nimh’s sanity and Nimh smiled larger.

Because Marcus did not understand.

One of Nimh’s earliest lessons was that his training would never truly be complete. He had mastered a great deal of the arts passed down from his ancestors. He had taken his spiritual arts further than most thought possible and his physical arts were among the best for his age group.

But there was one area that he and every other combatant from his world lacked.

True experience. A fight with one’s life on the line. The tempering fire to forge the weapon.

It was not the simple act of killing. A child could do that. It was not the comparing of strength with sparring. That held no true cost for failure. It was the battle that pitted one combatant against the other. And only one walking away. Because they were the superior warrior

Nimh had trained his whole life, knowing that this day would come. Trained, knowing that a day would come when he would prove his worthiness as a warrior. Or be forgotten as one more soul who failed despite the opportunities granted them.

And trepidation surged through him. He felt the nagging stab of fear in his gut even as excitement shivered through him. It was a hard sensation to claim mastery over.

In his mind, he knew it was but the first step of many. But decades of preparation left him hungry for the fight.

And it was coming.

Perhaps something of Nimh’s feeling transferred to Marcus because he shut up and started paying closer attention.

Nimh followed suit as the first of the F Ranks appeared. They were clad in simple clothes, held weapons and emanated hostility. Only the five E ranks wore anything resembling decent clothes. One woman and four men, each wearing what Marcus would describe as tailored suits.

The F Ranks surround Nimh, though they kept a distance and Nimh stood still. He had stopped a few feet from the doorway to the basement and considered retreating. Fighting a large group in a narrow area would make the fight easier and offer some advantage to him.

But he didn’t want to have to clean up that mess. Besides, Nimh wanted to send a message.

Outside the circle of F ranks, Nimh noticed people peering out of windows nearby. Shop owners close their doors and parents usher children inside. Many more people watched and Nimh wanted them to see this show.

Taking a long deep breath, Nimh stepped forward. It was time to begin his conquest.