The festival should have felt lighter.
Lanterns swayed overhead while music drifted through crowded streets. Vendors shouted final deals from colorful stalls, trying to empty wagons before dawn arrived.
Jax walked beside the Vixens half-listening as they debated the future home they planned to build together.
"I want a massive bath," Nyxian declared dramatically. "One that comfortably fits at least five people."
Bunny's ears perked up immediately.
"I want one of those waters you talked about. The ones you swim in."
"A pool," Jax translated.
"Yes. A giant permanent bath."
"Noted."
Zee smiled softly.
"I'd like a garden."
Llandra crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"I'd like walls thick enough that Nyxian can't hear through them."
Nyxian looked offended.
"I am deeply wounded by this accusation."
"You literally hear through walls."
"That is unrelated."
Jax laughed quietly beneath his breath.
For a moment—
everything felt normal.
Then the crowd changed.
The sound shifted first.
Not celebration.
Tension.
Raised voices.
Harsh commands.
Uneasy silence spreading unevenly through the streets.
Bunny slowed immediately.
Her ears lowered.
"…I hate this part of the festival."
Jax frowned slightly.
"What part?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Zee swallowed hard.
"The last night of the festival," she said softly, "is when they do the slave auctions."
The words hit like a punch to the ribs.
Jax stopped walking.
Ahead, the square had become packed with people gathered around heavy wagons reinforced with iron bars.
Cages.
Inside them—
beastkin.
Some standing.
Some crouched.
Some clutching one another silently while chains rattled softly against wood and metal.
Children.
Jax felt his jaw tighten.
The auctioneer's voice carried loudly across the square.
"Strong laborers! Trained fighters! Excellent condition!"
Condition.
The word alone made him sick.
Llandra lightly caught his arm before he could move forward.
"Jax…"
He didn't look away from the cages.
"This is legal?"
"Yes," Llandra answered quietly.
"Especially in the Empire."
Nyxian crossed her arms tightly.
"The Slave Guild practically owns portions of the southern trade routes."
"They pay Solmere to host the auctions," Zee added softly.
Jax finally looked toward them.
"What?"
The girls exchanged uncomfortable glances.
Then Bunny answered quietly.
"The festival…"
Her ears lowered further.
"It exists because of the Slave Guild."
Jax stared at her silently.
Llandra stepped in carefully.
"The Guild funds most of the Festival of Summer every year. Merchants travel from all over because the auctions attract enormous traffic."
"The town makes enough profit during these two weeks to survive the Empire's taxes," Zee explained softly.
Nyxian's expression darkened.
"Without the festival, Solmere probably couldn't pay what the Empire demands."
"And if taxes aren't paid?" Jax asked.
Llandra's jaw tightened.
"The Empire can legally seize assets. Businesses. Property."
Zee looked sick saying the next part.
"…People."
Silence settled heavily after that.
Jax slowly looked back toward the cages.
So this town wasn't supporting slavery because it wanted to.
It was surviving because it had to.
That somehow made it worse.
Inside one of the cages sat a bunnykin woman holding two small children tightly against her chest.
Terrified.
Bunny's eyes immediately filled with tears.
"They do the men first," she whispered shakily.
"Then the women and children."
Something cold settled quietly inside Jax after that.
Not rage.
Not exactly.
Resolve.
The first group was brought forward.
Male fighters.
Scarred.
Silent.
The bidding started high.
Too high.
Too fast.
Jax watched three men sold in less than three minutes.
Gone.
The fourth looked directly toward the crowd while chains pulled him forward.
No hatred.
No pleading.
Just exhaustion.
Jax turned away sharply.
The Vixens immediately guided him down a side street, trying to pull him away from the square before he did something dangerous.
They made it nearly halfway down the block before he stopped walking.
"Is there an orphanage in Solmere?"
The girls exchanged glances.
"There's a school," Llandra said carefully.
"It takes in children when it can."
Jax nodded once.
Then turned around.
This time—
nobody tried stopping him.
The Vixens simply followed.
Because they knew that look in his eyes already.
The square had grown quieter by the time he returned.
Several lots had already sold.
Too many.
Jax stepped forward calmly while the next cage was rolled into position.
"I bid."
The auctioneer blinked.
"Name and offer?"
"Jax Darquebane."
Murmurs immediately spread through the crowd.
Some recognized the name instantly.
Others clearly did not.
Jax's voice remained calm.
"Match the current bid. Add one gold."
A merchant near the front laughed mockingly.
"Think you can keep up with real buyers, beastlover?"
Jax finally looked at him.
Not angry.
Not emotional.
Just unimpressed.
"I don't see anyone here who concerns me."
The bidding climbed.
Jax matched every increase immediately.
No hesitation.
No frustration.
No emotional reactions.
That unsettled people more than shouting would have.
One merchant started aggressively escalating the numbers beyond reasonable market value.
Jax noticed immediately.
His perception sharpened.
Sweat near the man's collar.
Dilated pupils.
Rapid breathing.
The man couldn't actually afford the bid anymore.
Interesting.
Jax tilted his head slightly.
"You willing to pay this much?"
The merchant sneered nervously.
"What? Running out of money?"
Jax almost smiled.
The next bid came.
Higher again.
The merchant looked pleased with himself.
Then Jax calmly raised one finger.
"One copper higher."
Silence.
The auctioneer blinked.
"…Do you wish to counter?"
The merchant's face drained completely.
Because now he understood.
If Jax stopped bidding—
he would be financially ruined.
And if he failed to pay…
the Guild could legally claim him instead.
The merchant backed away immediately without another word.
Jax won the lot.
After that—
the crowd changed.
Nobody stopped bidding entirely.
But the confidence disappeared.
Half-hearted offers.
Weak competition.
Fear.
By the time the final cages rolled forward—
Jax bought every remaining child at heavily reduced prices because most buyers had already left.
The slave merchants looked furious.
Good.
When the final hammer fell, the square had become eerily quiet.
Four adult men.
Twenty women.
Eighteen children.
Jax stepped toward the cages.
"Remove the chains."
The auctioneer hesitated.
Jax looked directly at him.
"They're mine now."
The chains came off.
Some of the freed beastkin flinched instinctively anyway.
Others simply stared blankly, too shocked to react.
One child immediately burst into tears once the collar around her neck hit the ground.
Jax crouched slowly until he was eye-level with her.
"You're safe," he said gently.
"No one here owns you anymore."
The girl stared at him like she didn't understand the words.
Maybe she didn't.
Jax personally led them through the city afterward while the Vixens stayed close around the group protectively.
Crowds parted silently to let them pass.
Nobody spoke loudly anymore.
People watched.
Because something unusual was happening.
Someone with power had chosen compassion publicly.
That mattered.
At the school, the exhausted headmistress nearly collapsed when she saw the number of children.
Then Jax placed a heavy pouch of gold onto her desk.
The sound alone silenced the room.
"This funds the school for the next year," he said calmly.
"Food. Supplies. Staff."
The woman looked stunned.
Then Jax turned toward the freed beastkin.
They looked terrified.
Confused.
Suspicious.
Like they still expected this to become cruel somehow.
Jax took a slow breath.
"According to the Slave Guild," he said calmly, "I own all of you now."
Several flinched hearing the words.
Jax continued anyway.
"So hear my first and only order carefully."
The room became completely silent.
"I order every single one of you… to take this second chance and build something wonderful with it."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Jax's voice remained steady.
"You are free."
His eyes moved slowly across the room.
"No chains."
"No masters."
"No debts owed to me."
He gestured toward the children quietly sleeping nearby.
"I genuinely hope all of you find happiness."
The bunnykin mother from earlier immediately broke down crying.
One of the adult men covered his eyes with both hands.
Another simply fell to his knees.
Jax continued softly.
"I want you to succeed."
"I want you to heal."
"And I hope someday… each of you leaves a positive mark on this world."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Emotional.
Real.
Then Jax placed another stack of gold onto the table.
"Anyone who stays and helps raise the children will be paid fairly. Fed. Housed."
Another pouch landed beside it.
"Anyone who wants to leave—find family, start over, disappear somewhere peaceful…"
He paused.
"…you leave with thirty gold and no judgment."
Some stayed immediately.
Some cried.
A few quietly chose freedom elsewhere.
Nobody was condemned for either choice.
Later that night, Jax stood outside the school watching warm lanternlight glow through the windows.
Inside—
children were eating.
Safe.
The Vixens gathered quietly around him afterward.
Nyxian spoke first.
"You made enemies tonight."
"I know."
"Powerful enemies," Llandra added carefully.
"I know."
Bunny stepped closer beside him.
"But you changed lives."
Jax stared silently toward the school for several moments.
Still thinking about the people he hadn't reached in time.
Still thinking about the men already sold before he arrived.
Then finally he spoke.
Quietly.
Firmly.
"This practice ends."
The Vixens looked toward him immediately.
Not because of the words.
Because they believed him.
Jax slowly looked back toward the glowing streets of Solmere.
Originally, he hadn't wanted to change this world.
He wanted comfort.
Adventure.
Peace.
But now?
Now he understood something important.
If people with power refused to act—
then cruelty became tradition.
And tradition became normal.
Jax looked back toward the school one final time.
Then toward the Empire beyond the horizon.
"If change is going to happen," he said softly,
"…then it starts here."