Stanley looked around as he walked through the massive, bright hall. Many people walked around, with many staring at the both of them as they did so.

There was information floating around in the form of holographic screens that showed faces and words, which he couldn’t yet read. He saw pictures of destroyed buildings, multiple dead bodies, bloody scenes, and many other horrible things. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"What are those?" he couldn’t help but ask.

"News," Gray said. "We only get the worst and most terrible of them all. Come."

The center of the hall was a massive pillar that went straight to the ceiling hundreds of meters to the top. Not only was it tall, but it was also thick as well. It was thick enough that Stanley couldn’t see the entirety of it.

An elevator door opened and Gray walked in, with Stanley following right behind him. The door closed and they started moving upward.

"Reena, I need to go take a nap. Can you handle this kid’s registration for me please?" Gray spoke into something.

"What? You just sent me to get Sheila to Amy," the girl’s furious voice came as a small screeching noise from Gray’s metal mask.

"Yes, but you are the only one that doesn’t need to sleep, while I am tired so can you do it?" Gray asked.

"If you don’t want to do it yourself then say so. Stop making excuses," Reena shouted again. "Fine, stay with him in the administration room. I’ll come and deal with it."

"Thanks, you’re amazing," Gray said and closed off the call before the girl could reply back. The elevator dinged and the door opened, revealing a long bridge with glass railings on either side that led to the rest buildings that were built onto the inner walls of the hollowed-out mountain.

Gray walked out and turned right. Instead of walking the bridge, he walked the platform path that went around the central hub of the mountain.

Stanley quickly followed him, looking around with the same curiosity. The walls seemed so smooth, and the glass floor was polished to a state that it almost looked like it wasn’t there at all.

Stanley worried a little, wondering if he would fall. A fall with was over a hundred meters down and would easily kill him if he did so. However, seeing how confident everyone was while walking on it and how so much of the material used in this place was just glass, he figured he had no reason to worry.

His powers would tell him if something bad was going to happen anyway.

After going around the central hub, passing multiple doors and bridges, they arrived in front of one that said a word that he didn’t understand.

"Alright, this is it," Gray said. "Reena will come in a few minutes and help get you registered. Most people should be able to do it on their own, but you are a special case so just wait, okay?"

"Okay?" Stanley said meekly.

"Alright, see you later," Gray said and walked away, leaving him there alone.

Stanley looked around, confused a little. Had he arrived at the administration place? Wasn’t that where he was to meet the other person?

He leaned against the wall next to the door, waiting for her. A few people walked by him, most of them moving away from him when they saw him. They showed quite hateful expressions.

It felt no different from when he would walk in the town with his mother. People always walked away from him, no matter where he was.

Stanley sighed a little, not wanting to think about the past right now. There was a difference between being a Dull and a Nova.

The first one was them being disgusted. The second one was them being afraid. There was a difference. He was the one above them this time around.

A few minutes later, a girl came running from the right and saw Stanley. She stopped next to him and looked inside.

"Huh? Where’s Gray?" she asked.

Stanley looked at the girl. She was taller than him and wore a pair of thick pin glasses. Her slick black hair was tied in a ponytail and she wore the same tight black suits that both Sheila and Ulia wore.

He hadn’t seen anyone else wear that outfit other than these 3 now.

She also had an elongated face with small eyes and a slightly pointed nose. She couldn’t exactly be called the most beautiful girl out there, but she wasn’t bad.

"Gray left a few minutes ago," he answered the girl.

"What?" the girl quickly looked inside and back toward him before slowly backing away. "Why did he leave?"

Stanley shrugged. "I don’t know," he said. "And you don’t have to be scared of me, you know? I’m not going to kill you."

"Is that so?" the girl asked with a bit of a dry laugh.

"I’ve only ever killed 2 people in my life," Stanley said. "The person who tried to kill my brother and the one that did. I’m not a monster that seeks to kill for anything other than revenge."

Stanley felt sad talking about it and lowered his head as the emotions came for him again.

Seeing his serious and somewhat saddened face, Reena finally lost a bit of her apprehension. "I’m sorry," she said. "I shouldn’t have made my fear so apparent. I’ll try to improve myself."

Stanley saw a hand appear in front of his eyes. He looked back up and saw the girl present her hand for a shake. He shook her hand and leaned away from the wall.

"My name is Reena," the girl introduced herself.

"I am Stanley," Stanley introduced himself as well.

"Nice to meet you, Stanley," Reena said with a smile. "I hope you truly do turn out to be another good Nova. God knows we need more of you to help us keep the peace when everyone else seems to want to do the exact opposite."

Stanley couldn’t help but copy her and smile as well. "I’ll do my best to not disappoint you then," he replied.