Stanley still felt a little betrayed, but hearing that he could’ve been killed, but was instead protected, he let his anger die a little.

"Now, I’m curious where you came from," Gray said. "Where have you been hiding all this time? A cult? How come there is no information about you in any database?"

Stanley tried to answer, but he didn’t understand what most of those words meant. Cult? Database?

"He was on a farm," Sheila answered. "A very elaborate one, made to make the people inside think they were actually living a normal life."

"What?" Gray asked in surprise. "Interesting. And where was this farm?"

"In the northwestern coast of Eyland, hiding inside the massive cliffs. They had signal-jamming equipment everywhere, so I couldn’t even contact them. It’s honestly a lot to explain right now," Sheila said.

"Hmm, so the gist of it is that he is a Nova, and was being fed from a farm?" Gray asked.

"No, he wasn’t being fed," Sheila said. "The farm existed for over 150 years, long before any of us were born, long before the advent of the modern world. He was just born on the farm. The one the farm was feeding was actually a Nova from 150 years ago that started the idea of the farm itself."

"The Shadow Nova, Raven Darkwing."

Multiple gasps could be heard from the crowd, as most who knew the name were immediately surprised. Gray’s face turned very serious as well.

"Raven Darkwing? THE Raven Darkwing?" he asked.

"Yes," Sheila said. "She wasn’t dead. She and her brother had instead taken their cult to Eyland and formed a farm where they let generations of people be born and die, all so they could feed her."

The ones that heard of the information couldn’t help but be afraid.

"How many souls did you think she’s consumed?" Gray asked.

"I don’t know how many she could’ve consumed over the 150 years, but just a day or two ago, she killed more than 20 thousand people that lived in that farm, the entirety of it, and has become quite empowered."

Many of them couldn’t help but feel their leg tremble at the news.

"She’s consumed 20 thousand souls?" Gray asked.

"Not all of it," Sheila said. "Stanley here stole around 7 thousand souls away from her while she massacred everyone. Not a single person in that farm was aware that a Nova was born amongst them."

Gray looked at Stanley for a moment before thinking. "How did you guys survive?" he asked.

"It’s a long story. All you need to know is that he killed the Shadow Nova’s brother, and helped me escape. If I left him out there, he would never know how to traverse the world, and most likely soon be found by her so she can take back her thousands of souls he’s still yet to absorb."

"Who knows, she might also have already figured out that he killed her brother," Sheila said.

Her head turned toward Stanley.

"I hope that helps clear up a bit of confusion," Sheila said. "I brought you here to protect you since this is the only place I know for certain can keep you safe."

Stanley nodded a little, understanding somewhat of what she meant.

"Great! Now we have the Shadow Nova with thousands and thousands of souls to worry about. Reena, take her to Amy will you," Gray said as Sheila’s hovering stretcher moved forward without anyone doing anything. It went to a girl toward the edge of the crowd, and she grabbed it before pulling it along with her.

Once she disappeared, the others also slowly started leaving, not before eying Stanley a glance or two.

Ulia also stared at him with fearful eyes while walking away from them quickly. Once she was gone, no one else was outside.

Only the two men remained.

"If you want, I can still give you the choice we give everyone that is given a chance to be recruited here," Gray said. "Do you want it?"

"What... choice?" Stanley asked.

"You have two choices. Either join the AAA, or get punished for the crime," Gray said jovially.

"What’s the punishment?" Stanley asked.

"Simple," Gray said. "Death."

Stanley frowned. "You’re going to kill me?" he asked.

"If that’s what you choose," Gray said.

"But why? Just because I’m a Nova?" Stanley asked.

"So you do not know of the Nova problem, I assume?" Gray said.

"The what?" Stanley asked.

"It’s like this," Gray said. "Imagine you have a newborn child that you know is a Nova. Since he is a nova, sooner or later, he is going to get strong. He is going to realize just how good it is when he kills others and gets strong himself."

"In that instance, knowing that there is a possibility of a widespread massacre in the future, do you take the chance and let the kid live, or do you kill him to save humanity even if there was a chance that he would never turn out bad?"

Gray’s question made Stanley pause for a bit. He questioned himself about what he would do. He could be killing one person, or he could be killing thousands. The choice was in his hand.

However, no matter how much he thought about it, the choice wasn’t an easy one at all. He couldn’t make such a choice at the moment.

"It’s not easy, is it?" Gray asked. "Saving thousands is good, but killing one person just because of a possibility of them turning out bad still doesn’t sit right with a normal person."

"However, this is a world that has already suffered enough. Millions have died at the hands of Novas throughout the years, so if you ask anyone who had come into contact with a Nova, they will more than likely tell you that killing them is the only choice."

"Which is why they were so ready to kill you today. Because it is impossible to tell just when a Nova will turn against them."

Stanley nodded slowly, understanding what the man meant. "Then why did you choose to protect me? Is it because Sheila asked for it?" he asked.

"Partly," Gray said. "But it’s mostly because if I was presented with the Nova problem, I would always choose to protect the Nova."

"Why? Even when you know he can turn out to be a killer," Stanley asked.

"Because I know he can also turn out to not be one," Gray said.

"You know?" Stanley asked. "You know of a Nova that turned out good?"

"Know? My young friend, have you not realized it yet?" Gray asked as he spread his arms. "You’re looking at one."

Stanley took a moment to understand what Gray meant. When he did, his eyes widened in surprise. "You’re a Nova?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," Gray said. "Why do you think no one dared to fight me just now? It’s because they knew they couldn’t defeat me. Same reason why Sheila asked me for help. She knew I was the only one here that could empathize with you." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"So, let me ask you this once again. Do you wish to be punished, or do you wish to become part of the AAA?" Gray asked.

"I wish to become part of the AAA," Stanley said without hesitation.

"Great choice," Gray said. "You’re now a part of the AAA. I hope you like your time here. Let’s go."

Gray turned and started walking away. Stanley quickly followed him and tried to get close, but he found himself not being able to.

"Excuse me, but... what’s the AAA exactly? What have I become a part of?" Stanley asked.

"Huh? Oh right, I forgot to explain to you about this place huh?" Gray said. "AAA or also known as Triple A stands for Anti Awakeners Association. This is an organization created by countries all over the world to combat the evils of this world that people with power mostly commit."

"When the normal authorities of a country become incapable of taking care of the criminals in their country, we are called to take care of them," Gray said. "Our job is to go in, kill the ones that are causing trouble and leave without anyone finding out our involvement."

"So... we’re just a secret police?" Stanley asked.

"Hmm, basically," Gray said. "Except, instead of recruiting actual good people who wish to defend the place, we recruit people who have done something bad and force them to fight for us instead."

"So everyone here is a criminal?" Stanley asked.

"Everyone," Gray said. "This organization was created just after the modern world was established and has been ever since then using criminals to fight for their cause."

"That means you are a criminal too," Stanley said.

"Once again, I’m a Nova, so yes," Gray said.

"And Sheila?" Stanley asked.

"She’s a criminal too," Gray said.

"What crime did she commit?" Stanley asked.

"Uhh... I would rather not say," Gray said. "How about you ask her? If she is willing to give you the answer, then she will. I don’t want to do it in her stead."

"Okay," Stanley said meekly.

They walked through the front door of the building with the dark windows, and as soon as they did, Stanley was introduced to a flood of light as a massive hall that went up hundreds of meters stood before him.

The entire area was so massive that Stanley could only believe that the building itself was built throughout the whole mountain.

"You can tour the place later," Gray said. "For now, let’s go get you registered."