Noor created a fire extinguisher using his imagination and began to put out the flames, cutting a path into the collapsing house as he dodged falling pieces of wood. But when he reached the source of the sound, he found no children.

He was baffled and spun around the small room until the flames licked at him and the smoke choked him. He coughed violently, then stumbled out of the house, his face black with soot. He saw Tulkas sitting on the ground, and the children were gathered around, playing with him as he played back.

Noor furrowed his brow and glared at him. "How did you get past me, grab the children, and return to your spot without me even seeing you?"

Tulkas was carrying a small Ghlizan girl on his shoulders. She was round-faced, as beautiful as the moon, with hair as black as coal cascading down her back. She looked at Noor with her yellow eyes and said, "Is this your friend, Uncle?"

The rest of the children looked at Noor. There were three of them: a boy who looked to be about six, a five-year-old girl with orange hair, and the little girl who looked to be about three.

Their faces were covered in grime. Noor took a defensive stance. "What do you plan on doing with these children, Tulkas? Are you going to kill them?"

Tulkas lifted the little girl from his shoulders and set her gently on the ground. He held up a hand to calm Noor. "Relax. Do you think I'm some kind of killer? I am a man who wants to change the universe so that the children of the future do not see what the children of today have seen."

Noor lowered his guard slightly but remained on alert for any trickery. "But you told me to let them burn. You said the mission was more important. So why did you save them?"

Tulkas shrugged. "I was testing you. And I saw that your emotions prevent you from being one of the Enix. That's why you don't want to join us. We let everything burn if necessary to reach our ultimate goal."

"We might even burn one planet to save several others. We judge matters by the balance of absolute evil versus relative evil. Meaning, we destroyed Earth because humans were on the verge of starting a destructive war, annihilating their planet and killing billions of their own people."

"So, we decided to destroy it ourselves using robots and machines. It would unite humanity against a single, common enemy. They would all come together and forget their old hatreds. At the same time, we could exploit humanity's vast experience in warfare to bring down the tyrant Gaia, who cast his own people out of their world. You must always look at the bigger picture."

"We did not destroy your planet; you were the ones destroying your world and your people. All we did was save you from killing each other and give you a common goal and purpose. Aren't you friends now with your human companions, who come from different races, beliefs, and religions? Don't you see? You are now an ally to the very people who once threatened you and wanted to destroy your homeland."

Noor looked at him in silence. He was right about one part—humans had united. But that didn't give the Enix the right to determine humanity's fate.

"That's what plenty of scoundrels on my planet said right before they wiped out millions of innocents," Noor said sternly. "It seems the universe isn't so different from Earth. The desolation is just vaster, and the evil is greater."

Tulkas stood and advanced on Noor, his voice laced with anger. "Listen, boy. You cannot create a perfect, evil-free world through absolute goodness and leniency. There are many bastards in this universe who deserve to be killed. Don't be soft with anyone, and don't let your heart yield, because if you fall into their hands, they will torture you without mercy. You have to see the bigger picture. Wars have raged since the dawn of the universe, and it is time we stopped them, even if many must die. Stop this emotional nonsense and look at the reality around you."

Noor looked around at the burning village, at the scattered and charred corpses. He heard Tulkas resume, his tone even sharper. "This is reality. The innocent die every day. If we try to convince everyone to follow the path of good, the wars will last forever. We must punish those who deserve it and build this future that no emperor or king in the history of the universe has ever dared to build before."

"And what is this future you're always talking about?"

"You are not ready for me to tell you. You are still a reckless boy."

The children looked back and forth between them, not understanding a word. The little girl, Lala, began to cry at Tulkas's angry tone. He immediately knelt and looked at her, his voice softening. "Don't cry, little one. This fool can't hurt you while I'm here."

Tulkas lifted the little girl back onto his shoulders, and she laughed, her mood instantly brightening. Noor raised an eyebrow, baffled by the contradiction. How could this man participate in the slaughter of millions and then play with a child with such tenderness? He felt he had much to understand.

Noor saw the other children looking at him fearfully, hiding behind Tulkas. He put his hand behind his back. "Look at this," he said.

He brought his hand out, having created three wooden dolls with his imagination. One of them was a perfect likeness of Tulkas. Tulkas put his hand over his masked face in frustration.

Noor held the dolls out to the children. They hesitated for a moment, but Tulkas encouraged them to take them. They came out from behind him, took the toys, and after examining them for a moment, they beamed with joy, smiling at each other.

Noor then created three small translation earpieces and gently placed them in each child's ear so they could understand him. He spoke again. "Can you understand what I'm saying now?"

The children's mouths fell open. They nodded. The oldest boy spoke up. "Thank you for the dolls, Uncle. But who are you? And why are you wearing those cool, weird masks? Can you give me a mask like that? I want to scare those awful Franks and protect my little siblings."

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