A long sigh escaped Orion's mouse seconds after he walked through the portal leading back to Horizon.

"Can't I go an hour away without something happening?"

He looked at the giant tree in the distance, before putting his hand on his face, tired.

"The day hasn't even started yet. It's around... 10PM right now, and I already feel like going back to bed."

Looking at his pocket watch, he couldn't believe how fast things were going recently.

In just a few days, after helping the sirens, so many things happened right after the other, that he couldn't relax a single moment.

"If not for Horizon, I would have died from exhaustion by now. The sirens, Velridar, Bandir, the south invasion, Logran, Tiohr-nam's anger, the lamias' problems, this tree, and the new project..."

Counting on his fingers the things he had done and that needed to be done, he really wanted to simply forget about everything.

"Alright."

Breathing slowly, he composed himself before warping toward the massive tree.

...

In less than a minute, he appeared next to Karteira and Amelia.

"O-Orion! Don't scare me like that!"

Amelia jumped at his sudden appearance. Only Karteira remained calm, her gaze stuck on the Avatar that appeared from the tree's trunk.

"So, someone can tell me what is- wait, what is Tiohr-nam doing in Horizon!"

His sudden realization made Karteira look at him.

"So you think that too?"

She said with a calm tone.

Orion stared at the tree for a minute. He quickly noticed the cracked sigil of Tiohr-nam around the Avatar.

"That's..."

"Do you know what that is?"

Amelia asked, following his gaze.

"That's Tiohr-nam's symbol. A mark specific to Remnants."

Only Orion saw it. The only ones who knew about it other than him were the sisters.

"So it really is mother. But how? She said the tree wasn't special in any ways."

Karteira couldn't believe it. Did Tiohr-nam lie to her? Or did something unexpected happen? She could get her head around it.

'And this happened right after discussing with her.'

He started at the Avatar, who looked way younger than Tiohr-nam. If the original looked forty, this one was closer to his age. There was no signs of aging on her.

But, it was lacking 'life' itself. There was no trace of consciousness inside its eyes.

"..."

Orion walked up to the tree's base, and looked around.

'Nothing unusual except the size. What about the roots?'

His right hand opened, before the tablet used to supervise the space appeared in it.

"Hmm..."

With his index finger, he clicked on the area where the tree was located, and read the description written on the side.

'Nothing to worry about. The ground shifted to let the root spread.'

'So an inanimate object can't pass through the ground, though a living being can manipulate it. We made the Siren Sea ourselves, so sure, I can agree to that.'

As he continued to read, a word caught his attention.

"Magic... This tree is magical by nature while being a living being. What does that mean?"

The girls listened quietly as he began to walk in front of them.

"Where have I heard something like similar?"

He began to ponder. While doing so, he placed his left hand against the tree's bark.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"!"

His eyes opened wide, as he looked at his hand.

'Of course.'

"Something wrong?"

Amelia noticed his sudden reaction. Worried, she approached him.

"Well."

He removed his hand, and showed to them a long, thick substance connecting his palm and the tree.

"Gross! What's this!"

Orion smiled at her reaction, before explaining.

"It's quite similar to what I've experienced with Velridar. This is a magic thread."

Karteira placed her face right in front of it and poked it.

"Quite big for a thread. It feels like sap. Why is it so goopy? Isn't magic supposed to be colorless and formless?"

Both Orion and Amelia looked at each other, before thinking.

"True, we've never really thought about magic like that. We're so used to elements that we forgot about that."

Shrugging, Amelia made a water sphere appear from thin air.

"Magic is more like water. You have a big container filled with it, that deplete and fill with time. It is colorless, or that's what I would have said before seeing Velridar's beam of pure magic."

"The more condensed and refined your magic is inside those containers, the whiter it seems to become. Though, I think no one other than Velridar is able to use magic like that. Elements are the conduits to use magic."

She was not very knowledgeable when it concerned magic, so Karteira listened to his words carefully.

"What about its shape?"

Straightening her back after she stopped playing with the thread, she asked.

"That's the connection Remnants creates. That's how they maintain their link to their children and offsprings. Or at least that's what I managed to deduce while talking with Tiohr-nam and Velridar."

In confusion, Amelia tilted her head.

"But your not one of their children. And this is not really Tiohr-nam. So how can this thread exist?"

Orion smiled while squeezing his fist, cutting the thread successfully.

"She will explain it to us."

His gaze went to the Avatar.

"Right? Tiohr-nam?"

*Crack*

The sound of cracking wood could be heard from the tree.

Its branches began to move as if the wind was blowing through its leaves.

The light of life appeared in the eyes of the Avatar, changing the previous greyish green color to a vibrant leafy green.

It stretched its body before looking at Orion.

"Sure, let me get accustomed to this place first."

~

"Eh?"

Drania turned to look at Tiohr-nam when she felt something wrong.

Both sisters were chatting together at the table while drinking tea, when all of the sudden, something felt wrong.

The usual movements of the Tree of Life's branches suddenly stopped, making everyone in the realm confused.

"Sis... I think we've got a problem."

Her sister, Dramia, stared at Tiohr-nam. Seconds later, her gaze changed to a darker one.

"What have she done this time?!"

"T-Tiohr! She's not responding! Her eyes too... Sis!"

While Drania was panicking and looking at the Avatar's lifeless body, Dramia was coldly thinking.

'She can't be dead. Not like this at least. The realm would have changed. Which means she still have control over it.'

"Tiohr! Tiohr!"

'...'

"Hey!"

A vein popped on Dramia's face.

"Shut up! She's not gone. No be quiet and let me think in-"

"I'm going to Orion's place!"

Before she registered what her sister said, Drania was already gone through the portal leading to Horizon.

"..."

*GRIT*

"COME BACK HERE!"

In anger, she used the same speed her sister used to approach others, which was very rare for her.

With a very angry Dramia flying through the portal pursing her sister, quietude returned to the manor, leaving only a lifeless Avatar alone.

~

"Hmmmm!"

The younger Avatar of Tiohr-nam stretched again. Her arms weren't sealed inside the tree, but her lower half still was.

"Don't look!"

Amelia tried to hide Orion's eyes, but he pushed her hands away.

"Why? Do you think I care about that frail body?"

"I heard that!"

Orion pointed at the half naked body of Tiohr-nam. Her breasts were barely hidden by her long green hair, but it was still noticeable.

"I like yours and Karteira's body more. At least you have those-"

His eyes flashed briefly as reason returned.

"Sorry, I've said too much. Tiohr-nam do something about your body."

She smiled before holding her hands above her head, taking quite the seductive pose at the same time.

"Fine."

Particles of magic fell from her hand, covering her body. After a few seconds, a dress of green leaves was formed covering her body to her neck.

"Is it bett-"

But she could finish.

"Tiohr!"

A flying girl flew straight at her, before throwing herself into her arms.

"Drania? Oh!"

She turned her face in the direction Drania came from, noticing another familiar face staring at her.

"'Oh!' Is that all you have to say? Before I begin to rip that tree in half?"

Dramia wasn't joking, she was ready to destroy everything in her anger.

'Look at those veins...'

Whispering to Orion, Amelia was about to laugh.

"Come here a second."

Her gaze fell to Orion who made a gesture with his hand telling her to come down to him.

With mixed feelings, she dropped to the ground and walked up to him with very gracious steps. It was to wonder if being angry made her a better 'queen' than being cold.

Once she was in front of him, she stared inside his eyes. She saw his arm move upward, and before she understood anything, he was caressing her head.

"Calm yourself. You look better with your usual stone cold expression. That angry face of yours ruins your charm."

Dramia blinked a few times.

"Eh? Are you mocking me?"

He shook his head in response.

Once she felt the warmth from his hand, she felt embarrassed. She avoided his gaze and looked at the ground.

'That too is cute. I won't find that in anyone else.'

Orion smiled with a warm expression on his face. For him, she was very much what a little sister would be.

Her and the other sister were like his little sisters. One was rowdy, the other more distant. He very much appreciated their company.

"Ah! That's not fair!"

Drania dropped down from where Tiohr-nam's Avatar was, pouting while crossing her arms.

"So that's how these children have been acting around you. That is refreshing to see."

They heard a giggle coming from above. Both sisters looked at her with a slight blush.

"Is that a problem?"

Karteira asked her mother, curious.

"Of course not! Contrary to that, I am all for it. Being stuck in the role of 'Queen' might be tiresome."

They all observed her in silence.

"W-What is it?"

Feeling a little awkward at their silence, she asked.

"What are you doing here? Will you explain?"

"That? Of course."

She answered Orion with a nod, before pointing at him.

"I just used your body as a vessel, carried my own soul through yours, and link my body to this tree. It was not easy to locate my own seed in another realm, you know?"

Orion facepalmed.

'Did her brain rot after switching to this tree? Or is it because she's younger?"

He looked at her with exhaustion.

"Explain better. I don't speak stupid."

Once again, silence. Until everyone around him laughed.

"E-Eh? Ah... sure. Sorry."

Ashamed, Tiohr-nam returned to her older self, and began to explain with more details what she did.