"Boy, congratulations… you've become Bound," Flora said, her voice calm yet tinged with awe. "And one unlike anything we've seen before, judging by your manifesting essence."
She had spoken first, deliberately steering the topic away from what Nim might truly want to say.
"Ah, yes," Nim responded with a weary smile. "I'm really exhausted. The transformation… it's not easy. My body—it doesn't even feel like mine anymore. It's… stronger, healthier…" He paused, then added with a low breath, "And colder. Much colder."
He looked down at his hands as if seeing them for the first time.
"I think… it's one of my abilities. A passive one, maybe. Some kind of embodiment."
"That's wonderful, Nim," Flora said, eyes glinting with intrigue. "How many abilities do you have now?"
Nim was silent for a few moments, then answered simply, "Four."
Flora's breath caught. Four? That couldn't be. Never in her life had she met a Bound with four abilities. Only in the oldest texts, buried in the Archives, were there records of such anomalies—and even then, they were referred to as Lesser Angels. But an angel was still an angel, not to be compared with any ordinary Bound or even a Lord.
This was knowledge known only to the Four Elders. And yet… here it was—alive and real before her.
Nim's voice pulled her from the spiral of thought.
"I feel like… I've lost something. Or maybe forgotten it. I can't tell if it was important or not, but… it feels missing."
Flora moved to offer an explanation, but Nim cut her off with a calm, unexpected grace.
"I forgive you, Commander. And I thank you too—for the gift you gave me. I was foolish, childish when I lashed out at Gina… I'm sorry. It was a moment of emotion from a child who lost his father. Please, forgive me."
He paused, then added with a faint smile:
"And thank you again—for letting my father remain with me, even if only a piece of him. That means everything."
He turned his head, finally acknowledging Gina, who sat curled up silently in the corner, guilt weighing her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Gina," he said softly. "But consider this a lesson… never lower your guard."
He held his face with one hand and suddenly laughed.
"Are you insane or something?" the Dark Knight grumbled from beside Flora.
"Ah, yes… yes, I suppose I am," Nim replied with mock sincerity, still grinning.
The knight opened his mouth to say more, but Flora tugged lightly at his cloak, silencing him with a single glance. He complied wordlessly.
"Anyway," Nim continued, brushing the frost from his sleeves. "I'd like a room to rest in, if you don't mind. I need time to… explore what's changed in me. To understand these new abilities."
And inwardly, he thought to himself:
So… I truly am an angel. I never knew. But maybe—just maybe—that's the hope I've been searching for… a warmth like sunlight, a light that feels like safety.