"It sure has been a while since we've been here."

Amelia stepped inside the tree room.

"It sure has been. I feel like it has been around 3 months since we've left the realm."

Right behind her was Karteira. When she saw her mother, she bowed lightly.

"In reality, it's only been around a month since we've left, right?"

"Less than a month."

The one who knew most about the time was Orion.

With the group reunited, Orion closed the portal.

"Karteira, Amelia, welcome back."

Dramia displayed a little smile after seeing that they were indeed well.

"Hmm?"

For Drania, it became instantly impossible not to fly at top speed around them. Every details she saw in an instant.

"Whoa! Karteira grew up!"

She touched the tail's base, which had the thick protection around it.

"Drania, did you fall on your head? You were there when that happened."

Her sisters followed up with little insult.

"Eh? Did it? I don't remember."

"Of course you don't remember, you were asleep."

"Forget about my sister, how are you two?"

Karteira and Amelia managed to focus back on the conversation.

"Good. We've progressed a lot thanks to Orion's new element."

Since Karteira was the one most used to talk with the sisters, Amelia chose to remain mostly silent. She made friends with Dramia before they split up, but she was not used to how to approach her.

"We've got a lot to tell you, on what happened after we've left."

Orion sad back on the chair, after bringing two others for his companions.

"Let us hear your recent exploits."

Tiohr-nam smiled at Orion, thinking that it will be a nice change of mood for the sisters.

To begin with Orion told them about what happened in Lavira, how he saved a woman that had been corrupted and resisted it from the sheer will to live on.

They understood a little more about Orion's principles when he finished this story.

He then explained how rough the desert was for Karteira. That it was too hot, and that the sand kept going into her mouth.

This made them laugh at Karteira for a moment.

Then, Orion talked about what had happened in Hocride. The invasion by corrupted human soldiers, and his first encounter with the Apostle Ivan Borias, and his now ally Kamala Genathis.

The fact that Ivan managed to escape was still a bitter memory for Orion.

He described the city of Hocride in details, and how it was a rare occurrence. The lack of discriminatory acts against the other factions, the laws built around them, and most of all, the lack of corruption that the Lord was supposed to have.

Shock was painted on their faces when they learned that Orion decided to spare one of his enemies. Once again, they learned that they had to be classified as 'enemy' for Orion to hunt. Since she was simply leading her city toward the right track, killing her would have been more than a waste.

Tiohr-nam agreed that making her an ally was a wise decision, to which Orion replied.

"I don't need the blood of innocent on my hands."

They immediately recognized that he did not changed. Even though it hadn't been long, anything can change a man's heart, especially one that walks the road of conflict.

Orion arrived at the point where he described how he obtained his new element. The idea of mixing both light and dark was already a crazy idea, but now that they saw it, they couldn't ignore that it was possible.

At that point, they took a little break. It already took one and a half hour to arrive to this point, and there was still a lot to tell.

Once they drank some water, Orion continued by explaining what had happened with Karteira. The fact that she got attacked by another Apostle was strange to them.

He omitted the part where they walked around in the city, since this was more personal to him.

Kamala's training was next. The moment where he decided to train her for a month inside of Horizon, while managing her progress to stand a chance against Ivan.

When they got out was the moment to attack Kaios. Orion explained that the citizens were getting murdered at Ivan's ordered.

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So Kamala and her army moved through a portal, and began a rescue mission. He did not forget to explain a single detail.

At the end, the fight against Ivan had to be told too. The fight against Ivan, Orion and Kamala. After many tries to take him down, they were victorious. But this was where things turned strange, with Ivan dying and leaving behind a corrupted corpse that only attacked Orion.

They still managed to best the remains of Ivan, and return to Hocride victorious.

After that went pretty quickly. He enjoyed some time inside Horizon, when he learned that the lamias were getting attacked and that the man that appeared near the lack at the time was trying to defend them.

Orion quickly went over there, and discovered that Florian finished off one of the Apostles that was murdering the lamias.

And here he arrived at the current moment. Where he had to wait for the news coming from Florian.

"That is quite the achievements. In less than a month, you've done more than anyone could do."

"Even Noah never managed to do that much in so little time."

Tiohr-nam and Dramia were more than impressed. He already managed to rule out two of his enemies in so little time.

"It's Orion we're talking about! Of course he his awesome!"

Drania, who was quiet the all time, suddenly jumped from her chair and flew at Orion. Without causing a crash, she turned and managed to sat on his lap.

"He's always been awesome. I dodged my water shots like a king too, so nothing can stop him at this point."

Amelia's eyes twitched a little, and Karteira's tail began to sway up and down when they saw Drania becoming a little too close to Orion.

"Without these two, I'm sure the outcome of the battle against Ivan would have been different. I didn't do that alone."

Orion was modest about his own prowess.

"I realized a long time ago that alone, I would have lost hope. I can't do everything by myself."

"That is true. I am curious though, what can't you do by yourself?"

Tiohr-nam completely ignored Drania's childish behavior, and Orion did the same, though he did caress her hair.

"Many things. I can't cook for one."

A little chuckle escaped everyone's mouth. They weren't expecting an answer so simple.

"Glad to know that it makes you laugh. Anyway, I can't take care of the aftermath. If I manage to kill Elliot, then what? What's going to happen to the humans, now that the Apostles and their leader died?"

"I know that I want Eogis back. I want that land, to finally have a monument to remember all the dead that happened. And a place to remember my parents."

"But leading the humans on the right track is not my job. I can't do that for them."

Even though he knew that some were good, and that the citizens were more likely unknowing of what happened to Eogis, he couldn't bring himself to like the humans. He despised that faction at its core.

Individually, he could accept some of them, but accepting the whole human faction was a different story.

"That's why, even if it wasn't my first thought at the time, having people like Kamala and Florian is a good idea for the future."

"Without Amelia and Karteira, I would be unable to improve. Without you three, I would have been unable to accept others."

He looked at Drania on his lap, then at Dramia, and finally at Tiohr-nam.

They all remembered how he stared at them the first time they met. He was bothered, distant, and kind of unfriendly.

It was completely different nowadays. He always had a smile around them.

The five of them couldn't keep their eyes straight. They never expected him to acknowledge them at this very moment.

"Did that answer your question?"

He smiled at the Avatar.

"Yes, thank you."

She cleared her throat and asked another question.

"I have a feeling you have something to ask me. What could it be?"

'As usual, she's sharp.'

Orion closed his eyes and laughed a little. When he opened them back, his mood became serious.

"It's a serious matter. I have a request from Kamala Genathis, the human that rules over Hocride."

Tiohr-nam and the sisters tensed up at his words.

"What could a human leader want with us? If you spoke about us to her, that means you trust her that much, right?"

"I do trust her, that is the reason why I even bothered to bring it up. You make your own opinion on what I'm relaying."

Taking a straight posture, they all listened carefully.

"She asked if she could talk to you personally, that she had to apologize for what happened in the past, and by not resolving this, the peace between the humans and the other factions would never happen."

Her eyes, who had the symbol of her power, glowed brightly. Drania looked at her from her comfy seat, and Dramia turned around on her own seat to look at Tiohr-nam.

"Those words, can I trust it? Aren't they full of the malice the humans bring with them?"

Orion shook his head.

"If that was the case, she wouldn't be alive to propose that."

She kept glaring at Orion, who never backed down either.

"Dramia, Drania, go prepare some tea for our future guest."

The pure shock on the sisters' face was in full display.

"What?! You're really going to receive a human leader?!"

"Sis, you are human too."

"..."

She turned around and glared at Drania.

"Am I wrong?"

"No..."

"Then let's go. We'll see if we can trust her the moment we see her."

"Right."

Drania stood up from Orion's lap and grabbed her sister's arm, before walking out of the room. When the door closed, Tiohr-nam asked.

"Are you really sure she won't bring us trouble?"

Her eyes were still glowing strongly.

"You've accepted Amelia when she came with me, you just have to do the same. At least, tolerate her presence. If you just hear her out, maybe you will find a common ground."

'Though I know that the grudge she had for humans is not that easy to erase.'

Her eyes stopped glowing, and she smiled at him.

"Right, I will give her a chance. "

"Thank you. I have another matter to bring out, way less serious. It's about Horizon."

A little stunned by the sudden switch in topic, she blinked.

"About Horizon? The space you have created? What about it?"

"Do you know how we would be able to bring trees in there? We have a system that let us change how it is inside, but taking trees from the Triazils sounds to much of a pain."

Tiohr-nam thought for a moment.

"What do you want exactly? A way to grow trees? Are the trees directly?"

Orion already had the answer to that without having to think.

"We want to grow them, and then place them around the area. And we need a LOT. We also need some to make furniture."

"If that's all you need, then it will be quick. Come closer."

'I have a feeling of déjà vu... and a bad one at that.'

His intuition was right, it was already happened before.

The Avatar opened her mouth, and spat a seed.

'Damn it!'

Orion caught it this time, instead of letting it fall to the ground.

"I knew this would happen. This is still disgusting."

"At least you don't have to eat it, do not complain."

He remembered swallowing the seed that tasted like honey.

"Wait, I just realized, you don't salivate, so it's just sap."

"You just realized that now? I thought you were observant?"

"Not for that kind of thing!"

Orion turned around with the seed in his hand, and sat back on his chair.

"So, what do we have to do with this?"

"Plant it in a dirt plot, and let it grow. It will create a smaller version of the Tree of Life, though it will not have a soul like me. It will take root all over the area were dirt is, and grow trees were it feels like it. Cut it, and one will grow again."

"That is useful, thank you. I knew it was right to ask you."

"You are welcome."

They waited until the sisters came back with the tea.

"We're back with the tea."

"Then shall we invite that human, Orion?"

He nodded.

"Let me go get her."

Opening a portal, he stepped inside and disappeared. After a few minutes, Orion stepped out of the portal, followed by a woman that looked incredibly stressed.

She looked around the room, until her eyes fell on the giant trunk of a tree, and a woman encased inside it.

They exchange a long stare, before Tiohr-nam spoke.

"Kamala Genathis, The Charismatic Lord, please take a seat."