"Yes, that's what I cannot comprehend. How is that possible?"

Orion and May began their conversation again, this time, without secrets.

"It's what I tried to hide. How did someone other than me learn about my secret, I would really love to know."

She looked a little perplexed, but still continued.

"What I told you earlier is something only me and Lord Eric know. Well, that makes you the third, and that woman the fourth, I guess."

-

Earlier.

"You? Dead?"

Orion's eyes opened wide in shock.

"That's right."

Bringing a small knife out of one of the pockets of her coat, she sliced one of her fingers.

'No blood. How is that even possible?'

Past his astonishment, Orion was more worried about the person in front of him.

"How long?"

"Twenty-two years ago."

Orion brought his hand near his chin and began to think at high speed.

'Once again, it is related to the Dragon's Rampage event. But that doesn't explain how she still lives. Her skin doesn't look unhealthy, and her body seems to be hot like us.'

'...'

May stayed silent after noticing how deep in thought he was.

'Death, fire user, Monolavir... no, Monolavir has nothing to do with it. I'll confirm my thought though.'

"You are not from Haravel, right?"

"Huh? No. Why do you ask?"

Looking at the white snow, he returned to his thinking.

'What a strange man. He didn't let me explain anything and simply went to think.'

While amused, it didn't last very long. A bead of sweat rolled from Orion's temple and fell down his cheek.

He removed his hand from his chin and looked at May with a grave expression.

"I don't want to be right. I really hope it isn't what I thought off."

"You are from Bandir... am I right?"

A very audible gulping sound was heard from May.

"How did you arrive to that conclusion?"

'Someone other than Amelia 'survived.'

There was compassion, and gratitude in his gaze.

"Before helping with the invasion, we stopped there. Because Amelia was the only known survivor of this event."

"Amelia is?!"

Orion confirmed with a nod.

"It makes some sense. That ghostly flame is keeping you alive somehow, isn't it? I really hope it isn't a remain of that Apostle's fire magic."

Both were processing what the other had said.

On one side, May had to accept that someone else survived other than her, and on the other, Orion had to accept that May did not really 'survived'.

"But that still doesn't explain how you were able to come back in this state."

She averted her eyes and looked away.

"I don't know. I was found by Lord Eric when he went to check on the damages."

'Something's fishy about that reaction.'

"After taking me back to Turric, I told him that I remembered dying for sure by that awful fire, and that I originally wasn't able to use magic."

"He quickly told me to keep it to myself, and before long, I was living next door, I'd obtained the status of aid, and I was chief of the army."

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Her eyes returned to their original position, and she smiled half-heartedly.

"..."

"Am I supposed to trust that? This is the third most absurd revelation I've heard since leaving Auro."

-

"So everything was true?"

Orion needed confirmation after remembering what happened.

"There was no lie. I was honest on everything I've said."

"You've just kept things from me, right?"

He noticed May playing with her finger in embarrassment.

"I was sure you wouldn't believe me anyways."

When she stopped intertwining her fingers together, she approached her right hand to her head. With her left hand, she moved her long red hair out of the way, and showed her nape to Orion.

"That's what I've kept hidden."

The moment her hand touched her nape, her skin opened in a spade shape, revealing a crimson red crystal under.

"..."

Orion looked intently at the crystal, and thought of his father's ring.

'The crystal is not the same. Sure, their not the same element, strictly speaking, but it should have been similar. This one is rougher, unpolished. There's something else.'

Noticing the faint beat coming from it, everything clicked in his head.

"That crystal is replacing you heart?!"

He brought his hand to his mouth in shock.

"Are you a-"

But May couldn't let him finish that sentence.

"I'm not corrupted. This is completely different."

After seeing the giant corrupted during the invasion, she questioned her own nature. What made her realized that she wasn't was that the crystal was in a different shape than the spherical cores, and that it had a red color instead of being dark purple.

"Do I look corrupted to you?"

Calming his mind, Orion's common sense returned.

"Definitely not. It was so similar that I immediately mistook it for the corrupted cores. But to be sure, give me your hand."

She calmly brought her hand to his. Orion grabbed it and used his light element to inspect her body.

'Her hand is warm, yet I can't sense anything working inside of her. This is really a walking corpse. I never healed her after the invasion, because she had no injuries, but now I understand. She can't go in the front line because she could be found out.'

He made sure there wasn't any corruption in her, before letting go of her hand.

'That is terrible. Is that a curse? Can magic even do-'

A frown formed on his face.

"Elementals."

The look on May's face was pure surprise, mixed with shock.

Orion looked at the artifact he took with him, and noticed a very subtle light coming from the red jewels incrusted in the wand.

"Are you alive because of a fire elemental? This is the only answer. Now I understand."

Switching his gaze to May, he asked.

"Do you hear its voice?"

The answer was a simple nod.

'I see. That is most unexpected. A human can survive if it is possessed by an elemental... but what is an elemental? Is it a simple crystal?'

'I suppose we should move then. Let's return to ground zero.'

Readying himself for another expedition, he bridged two portals together, one next to him, the other near Bandir.

'Leaving portals everywhere we went sure is useful.'

Noticing the sudden change from Orion, she blinked.

"What are you doing?"

"We're going to find more about the elementals. Now walk through this."

Orion thoughts for a second, before making something clear for her.

"If it makes you anxious, just tell me. I'll bring you away from that place."

She tilted her head in confusion, before walking through the portal in confusion. The moment her mind processed the scene in front of her, many memories resurfaced.

The shout of pain from the neighbors, the smell of burnt flesh, the burning pain in her arms, and Eric's face after finding her under the rubble.

In front of her, in the distance, was the burnt city, Bandir.

"How are you holding up? The portal is open, so if you can't..."

May shook her head.

"I don't feel much. Maybe my heart died at that moment. I just have those memories."

"Twenty-two years. I really haven't changed."

Staring at her hands, she had a very saddened smile on her face.

To Orion, that smile reminded him of Amelia. She often displayed that expression when the topic of the orphanage came up.

"If you're fine, then follow me. We'll try to learn more about you."

Orion looked toward Bandir, and thought.

'Is this city going to haunt these two much longer? I could've gone alone, but that merchant said to bring her with me.'

Without thinking, his hand moved by itself, and fell on the top of May's head.

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

They looked at each others for a moment, in silence. All the while, May never rejected his sympathy, so Orion stayed like this until she looked relaxed enough.

"I think I've forgotten the most important. Revealing your secret most likely took courage to do, even more in front of a total stranger."

"So, I'll make it loud and clear for you to understand."

His eyes pierced far inside her soul, and his words broke the last defenses she had.

"I am not your enemy. I will keep your secret to myself until the day I die."

May opened her eyes wide. A red shimmer ran across her pupil, before she looked down with a gentle smile on her face.

"Hmm."

A gentle nod, then silence. The sound of the breeze, and the leaves it went through entered their ears.

'Amelia wasn't lying. Once you get him to open his heart, he his very kind. Way too much even.'

'#éà#'

'Yes.'

Now determined to follow Orion and help him find the lost faction of the elementals, she looked at the artifact in his left hand.

"Is that going to help you find other elementals?"

Orion nodded.

"It's an item that helped me find the fairies. It was a gift from that strange lady."

"How does it work?"

"I don't know."

May smiled.

"I thought you were all knowing? You guessed easily who I was, can't you do it for this thing?"

"What do you take me for? I'm smart because of my teachings, but there are things that are still out of my expertise."

He shrugged and began to walk forward.

"We'll see how it works further inside. Let's see it as a surprise until then."

Following next to him, they both walked toward the remains of Bandir.

...

"As I thought, there's nothing knew in this place."

Orion looked around, while avoiding the worst areas. He pointed the wand in multiple directions, in various areas, but there was no change in color.

'Not even a flicker of light. I suppose this is not the right place.'

As he turned around with the wand in hand, he inadvertently turned toward the coast were Velridar unleashed his beam of magic.

*Flash*

A very brief but bright flash of colors appeared from the wand, before disappearing as if nothing happened.

"I saw that too. What's this way?"

"Just a simple coastal area. Or so I thought."

An excited smile formed on his face.

'I've found you.'

He opened a portal, and with May, disappeared from Bandir as if they were never here.