Three individuals broke into the house, and they weren't just thieves or overconfident onlookers. They were all high-level mages, who seemed to know what they were up against. One of them used magic that rendered the house's external defenses useless: spatial magic. The north wall of the wooden building was pierced without a sound, as if it didn't exist, opening a crack through which the three could enter unobstructed.

  Once inside, the apparent leader of the group—a man with an angular face, covered by a dark cloak without insignia—spoke in a low but firm voice: "Seek the heart of the tower, the automaton spirit, before it detects us."

  Perhaps they thought no one would notice them. Perhaps they believed their magical camouflage techniques would make them invisible to anyone. But they made a grave mistake: they didn't take into account that Nana possessed much sharper senses.

  The alarm went off instantly, a general tremor of the house's structure and a kind of animal roar that ran through every corner and room. Joel opened his eyes immediately, and in less than a second the entire house reacted defensively.

  The wooden floor came to life, as if an ancestral will had awakened. The floorboards rose and twisted, trapping the intruders' legs with a speed no normal human could have evaded. In turn, the furniture, sculptures, and decorations surged forward, launching themselves at the attackers with lethal force.

  The leader of the intruders was the first to react, immediately demonstrating his lightning affinity. An explosion of blue lightning surrounded him completely, burning the wooden restraints in milliseconds. With a sharp movement of his arm, he unleashed an electric shock that split one of the sculptures that tried to pounce on him in two.

  The second intruder, the one who had passed through the wall with his spatial magic, simply vanished from each attack. The boards passed through him without harm, as if he weren't there, and as if his body were out of phase with the physical plane.

  But the third, a man with his hair braided in a black braid and a more ornate tunic than the other two, wasn't so lucky. When the ground began to suck in everything in its path, forming a mouth made of planks and shadows, no matter what magical defenses he put up, his water element and the power of his spells couldn't counter the swiftness of the house's attacks. In the blink of an eye, he was swallowed by the house, disappearing without even having time to scream. The dry sound of bones breaking was the last thing anyone heard from him.

  The lightning wizard was the first to panic. His face twisted into an expression of pure terror as he saw how one of his companions had vanished without a trace. "We have to go! Now!" he shouted desperately.

  But the space wizard didn't respond, for something strange was happening to him. His eyes quickly turned red and glassy, as if an alien force were taking control of his body. His expression was blank and inhuman, and without saying a word, he turned toward the back of the house, walking with erratic but determined steps toward one of the walls.

  "Where are you going?! What are you doing, idiot?!" his companion shouted, more in desperation than rage, as he defended himself against the continuous attacks from the furniture and walls.

  But he got no response. The space mage simply passed through the wall, disappearing, as if he had been sucked into the bowels of the house itself.

  The lightning mage's panic turned to hysteria, and he launched a frantic succession of high-powered destruction spells. Blue and white bolts of lightning slammed into the walls, floor, and ceiling. Bursts of electricity charred everything around him, shaking the structure with each attack, leaving the furniture reduced to ash in seconds.

  But the house didn't give up. The scorched walls began to slowly regenerate, shrinking, contracting as if to envelop him. The ceiling descended, the floor rose, and the planks crackled with a lively and furious force. It was as if the house itself was breathing... and ready to crush him.

  "This wasn't my idea! Someone ordered this! It was an order I couldn't refuse! Mercy, please!" the wizard cried, falling to his knees among the smoldering embers, tears and sweat mingling on his sooty face.

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  But the house did not respond, nor did it hesitate. The boards began to close around him like the arms of a wooden executioner. The wizard charged his body with electricity again, trying to generate a protective sphere, a bubble of lightning that would repel the enclosure. The discharge was so powerful that the air began to burn, and soon nothing remained but a suffocating cloud of scorching ozone.

  The air became unbreathable. The wizard coughed and gasped, trying to maintain consciousness and the spell, but without oxygen, his body began to fail. His skin flickered, his muscles spasmed, and his magic began to spiral out of control, burning through his clothes and hair, until his body stopped and the walls slowly closed in, trapping him completely. The last thing heard was a distorted roar, half human scream, half electric shock, before the room fell silent again.

  Joel rushed to the room where the conflict had occurred, sword in hand and senses heightened, prepared for any kind of confrontation. His body was ready to go into overload, and his mind was already contemplating different combat strategies in case the enemy was still present.

  But he found no one, and only desolation remained. The room was completely unrecognizable, with charred fragments on the floor, burn marks, and cracks in the walls. In the center, however, stood something new: a thick wooden sarcophagus, which had not been there before. Above it, like an eternal guardian, stood the iron statue of Nana, now gently pulsing with a red aura, as if breathing slowly.

  Joel moved forward cautiously, trying to communicate with Nana in various ways, but received no response. Only a subtle murmur, a warm, calm feeling, like a simple thought that said, "All is well."

  The sensation unsettled him a little. That calm, in contrast to the devastation around him, was unsettling. He lowered his sword slowly, still staring at the statue. He didn't know whether to feel relieved or even more alert.

  Soon after, the children began to arrive, one by one, curious about the sudden silence. Ariel, the most perceptive, frowned and stared at the statue. She remained silent for a few seconds, as if listening to something the rest couldn't.

  "Nana says she's taken care of everything," she said finally. "The threats were eliminated... and now she's undergoing a transformation. She says the attackers brought the nutrients she needed."

  Joel froze and clenched his fists tightly. Part of him felt relieved. Another part... worried. Nana had always been an enigma, but now more than ever, she seemed to be acting on her own, according to a logic only she understood. A transformation. What exactly did that mean?

  Amidst the nervousness and uncertainty, Joel and the children had no choice but to wait.

  No one dared approach the sarcophagus or the statue. The red aura surrounding it was too dense, almost tangible, and fluctuated with a rhythm resembling a heartbeat. Joel felt his body constantly tense, ready to act, but unable to do anything useful. Every attempt to communicate with Nana was either ignored or responded to with the same comforting feeling that everything was under control… even though it didn't seem that way.

  About an hour later, everything finally seemed to be over, and the red aura dissipated in a warm breeze that passed through the entire room. The sarcophagus slowly cracked, as if the wood itself had already served its purpose, and crumbled into fine dust that was absorbed by the floor. The iron statue glowed brightly for a moment, suspended in the air, and then slowly lowered itself to rest on the floor of the room.

  Her feminine features had become more clearly defined: her silhouette was slimmer, her proportions more human, her fingers articulated, her face less coarse and more expressive. Even her metallic hair seemed to move with an impossible smoothness.

  And then, without warning, the statue opened its eyes. Two opaque spheres, glowing amber, stared directly at Joel.

  "Joel," said a soft, feminine, and clear voice, ringing in the air like a well-tuned bronze bell. "My transformation is complete."

  Joel was speechless for a moment. He had communicated with her, through Ariel, many times, but he never thought he would ever be able to hear the statue's voice directly, and see the movement of its metallic lips.

  "Nana...?" Joel murmured, taking a step toward her.

  "Yes," the metallic figure affirmed, nodding with an elegant, restrained gesture. "I believe I have awakened a little more of my power. Tonight's attack allowed me to absorb vast amounts of energy, like never before. Apparently, it is much more beneficial to absorb individuals completely. I believe I have even been able to acquire some of their magical abilities and affinities."

  Liam watched, mouth agape, and Ariel didn't seem perturbed at all, but rather fascinated.

  "Did you completely absorb the attackers?" Joel finally asked, a little perturbed, his voice still tense.

  Nana lowered her head slightly, as if bowing solemnly. "They were already dead, and it would have been stupid to waste them. I didn't really do it consciously; I just got rid of them as quickly and efficiently as possible. They were very strong, and I had to use all my power to defeat them, especially the leader, who never fell prey to my illusions and only ended up losing because of my control of the environment, in addition to my greater resilience. From their last words, I suspect someone sent them specifically for me. They wanted to capture me."

  "Capture you?"

  "Yes. I was able to access the last thoughts of one of them, and apparently they mistook me for something called an automaton spirit. Something apparently very valuable to some magicians. Besides, they knew you weren't strong enough to defend me.”

  Joel gritted his teeth. Someone had discovered his magical level, surely someone with heightened sensory abilities, overcoming Nana's camouflage. Without a doubt, it must have been those individuals who visited the place just to watch from outside the house.

  Everything he had tried to avoid, to keep a low profile, had collapsed. And now, there was no turning back. It was time to make difficult decisions.