"Do you understand how worried I was?"

Tiohr-nam's Avatar was right in front of Orion. Her nose was glued to his, and her eyes were peering inside his at the same time.

She was so angry that the moment she saw him, she used branches and vines to grab him and lift him toward her.

"Awawa... Sis, this is bad!"

"Stop talking for a moment."

-

Right before Orion walked through the portal.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?"

Karteira asked, worried that her mother would do something strange. She was a Remnant in the end, what she was thinking about was different from any other faction.

"I haven't done anything that would make her that angry against me. I already know why she's angered anyway. I'll simply have a talk with her, and ease her worries before returning."

The portal to the fairy realm opened, and Orion entered it, closely followed by the sisters.

Before anyone could understand anything, or even greet her, Orion had already been caught.

-

"Of course I know. I'm not that stupid."

Looking for a way to free himself, he realized that the only way would be to hurt Tiohr-nam, and that was something he didn't want.

Resigning himself, he looked inside her green eyes.

'She's really pissed. The leaf symbol in her eyes is blinking wildly.'

"Then why did you do something like that without speaking to me first!"

Her voice exploded, taking everyone by surprise.

"Can I explain what happened before you continue losing your mind?"

"Hmm."

The Avatar made a cute noise, and listened to Orion.

"I wanted Velridar to be indebted to me."

"You would gamble your life for something so... stupid?"

He knew that whatever he would say was only fuel for her anger, so he went straight to the point.

"Of course I do. You know better than me how strong the Remnants are. I can't have the Remnant of Strength lose its power and magic."

This was part of the truth behind his action to help Velridar.

"Do not try to hide the truth from me. I am not so blind as to not notice you averting your eyes from mine. Why?"

"Why would you bring more burden on your soul to help yet another Remnant? Maybe if it was another, I would not have reacted this strongly, but the Remnant of Strength? This monster would have siphoned you dry of magic, and destroyed your soul if not for me!"

Tiohr-nam removed her left arm from the tree, and touched his chest.

"Do you even understand? I am not all powerful, even if I am called the Remnant of Life."

"I managed to protect your soul because it is my specialty, but it is weighting on your potential... or so I would have loved to say, if that dumb dragon would have not helped me."

*sigh*

A long sight escaped her mouth, and caressed Orion's cheek.

'What does she mean by that?'

As he questioned her words, she continued.

"Anyway, tell me what happened. Why did that giant walking magic reservoir ended up dried and down one tank?"

"You are not planning on letting me go, are you?"

He wasn't uncomfortable, as the vines and branches were holding him as if he was on a chair, but he felt uneasy so close to her face.

"I am not satisfied, so no."

She turned her face away, and began to pout.

'Since when are you imitating my mother?'

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Orion coughed at that thought, and returned to the conversation.

"Fine, let me tell you then. It won't take long anyway."

...

"The fact that the corruption managed to take over Velridar ever so slightly. It is terrifying."

Tiohr-nam calmed down after listening to the full story.

"He lost control because all of the emotions shared by his children blocked until know returned all at once. I... do not think I would have fared better, I concede.

She had a very bothered expression on her face.

'When? When could such a thing happen? Was there a time where Velridar made contact with...!'

"That rotten and deceitful Remnant! He did the same to me!"

Her face became angrier than it was against Orion.

"What do you mean, Tiohr? Did you think of something?"

Dramia, who was sitting on a chair next to Drania, called out to her.

"Yes, now I get the full picture."

She looked at her and nodded.

"When Noah destroyed Miasma, that deceitful being sent corruption around him. It lodged part of itself on us Remnants. I was infected in some ways, while Velridar's connection to the lamias ended up blocked."

"I remember finding it weird that only after I reincarnated did the corruption manifested itself. I was too weak to notice it, yet it was already there. The moment I created this realm, the Miasma spread the corruption from my roots, infecting the insects that lived underground."

'That makes so much more sense than corruption coming from the ring. What would have happened to me if I did not die, two thousand years ago? Would I be corrupted by now?'

It was useless to think about that right now, and she knew it.

"Does that satisfy you?"

Orion brought her back to reality.

"Partially. It does not make me understand your choice to help him. He would regain his magic in a few hundred years anyways, there was no need to help him."

*sigh*

A quiet sigh left Orion's mouth, which Tiohr-nam noticed.

He bent his head backward and looked at the ceiling.

"Velridar was like you. He was dying. If I chose to ignore him, Deveralna would have been sad, just like those two would have been losing you."

The sisters flinched, because they knew it was true. They didn't want to think about it.

"The lamia Queen you spoke about earlier... It does not make sense, she was not familiar with her creator until this very moment, so why would she be saddened?"

"Would Karteira reject you if she never knew her creator, that being you? Do you find it strange that she hoped to save her creator?"

His head dropped, and he locked eyes with her once again. There was no wavering in his eyes.

"No..."

Orion continued.

"I will not betray the wishes of good individuals, especially friends. When I brought up the idea to create a connection between him and me, I placed all of my trust in you, knowing you would do something about it."

"Only you, the Remnant of Life, can manage a soul linked to you. Have I wrongly placed my trust? Was it such a bad idea to save a being who had thousand years of catching up to do with his children?"

Tiohr-nam looked away.

"N-No."

"I did what I thought best, and I don't regret it. In fact, I haven't felt a change even with another Remnant draining my magic. I'm not dead, so I don't care about 'what if' stories."

"Alright! I get it already. You do not have to continue."

Finally, Tiohr-nam created some distance between her and Orion.

"Still, I apologize. I did this without your input on it, while all of it was yours to manage."

The Avatar placed her arm back inside the tree while shaking her head.

"You do not understand why I was angry."

Orion looked surprised.

"I do not care how many Remnants you befriend. I do not care about what happens to them either. But you, it is a different matter. I have a debt of life I have to repay, and while it is the main reason, the other is that I refuse to let you die. Am I not one of your 'friends'?"

Astonished, he kept his eyes on Tiohr-nam.

"I would not go this far just because I am indebted to you. I did this simply because I value your life. Please, do not make me worry over this anymore."

The sisters remained silent, but inside, they were conflicted.

'She's finally being honest, but Tiohr is still a Remnant.'

'They don't think like us.'

But there was a detail they missed. How many years did Tiohr-nam live with those two? The two 'humans' she saved.

With time, she learned how to behave like others, even though the pride of a creator was unshakable. She learned, and changed.

"I never acted with the thought of throwing my life away. Even when I protected Karteira, I kept fighting until the very end. Sure, I died once, but that is the path I chose."

His right arm managed to free itself from the vines. Carefully, he extended his hand forward.

"..."

'Argh! That's not it!'

Orion scratched his head in frustration.

'That's not what I want to say. Why can I only bring excuses in these situations?'

Tiohr-nam looked at him with a confused expression.

"I-"

His eyes became freed of doubt. His expression changed to a serious one, as he made up his mind.

-

"Do not apologize, there was a thousand different ways I could have brought it up, and the way I did was the worst of them."

-

"We are the same. We suck at speaking what's on our mind."

His hand fell on the Avatar's head. Tiohr-nam looked at the conflicted smile on his face, and stared at it until she understood what had happened.

'He's... caressing my head? Why?'

The Avatar wasn't her real body, so she had trouble understanding, but deep inside, it made her core warm.

"When I saw Velridar in that pitiful state, I thought of you. How could I ignore him, when I helped you before. I really did not think about the consequences, and that's why it felt like I was throwing my life away."

"I simply thought of successfully creating a connection with him, and when I did, I noticed you were already working on controlling the impact."

"I was in a hurry, forgetting about your opinion on the matter. That was my fault, and I'm sorry."

He removed his hand from her head, and jumped down the branches and vines to fall back on solid ground.

Once down, he looked up at the Avatar.

"And of course, I consider you as a friend. If not, I wouldn't have returned."

Orion turned his face away, hiding his expression. He walked past the sisters who were sitting at the table, and went through his portal without speaking another word.

"..."

Silence only made the situation worse for them.

'Was that really Orion?'

Drania kept her mouth opened like a goldfish, while Dramia stared at Tiohr-nam with a fierce look.

'Why did you do that? Now she will-'

As her thought finished, the Avatar's mouth opened.

"Dramia, Drania, tell me. What happened?"

To say that the Remnant's mind was shaken was an understatement.

"You both decided to be honest. That's what happened."

Dramia's answer was simple.

"At least they made more progress than you, sis."

"Gh! Shut your mouth!"

The sisters began to run around the room, with Drania trying to avoid being karate chopped by her angry sister.

'Being honest... to each other.'

As she watched the sisters play around, she smiled warmly, the symbols in her eyes glowing brightly.