Ales held the lid of the coffee cup to his mouth, but he didn't drink. Hope wasn't something he thought about while fighting the Cult of Narayana, not when planning how to counterattack Palitutu, not when figuring out how to best revert the Calamity. He wanted to survive and prevent another potential home from being overtaken by the mistakes of the past. Survival was key.

"When we work hard enough, we find a way." He tiled the cup and look a large sip of the hot liquid.