"Yes. From the very beginning."

Orion placed his hand on his forehead and looked down.

"We've been playing in the palm of your hands from the very beginning. I did found it strange that after we've left Ormrdivin, the robotic voice changed to something similar to us, but to learn that it was a Remnant playing with us makes it... rather frustrating."

Learning the truth was both a blessing and a curse at the same time. One of his greatest mystery was resolved, but on the other hand, he learned that this was all an act.

"You make it sound worse than it really is. I've never manipulated you in doing anything, and I haven't done that to Amelia either."

She crossed her arms and began to pout.

"Really, all I've done was help you in tough situations, and tell you what you needed to know."

"Fine. I'll trust those words for now. So in exchange, tell me why you and your friends were acting like that? Why the secretive actions?"

A give and take situation. The cautious Orion decided to trust her, but he wanted more informations in exchange.

Uncrossing her arms, she looked in his eyes for a few seconds, before answering.

"Our life is at stake on multiple fronts. Miasma is after us for reasons, and those beings, the ones that hunted the 'Valkyries'. They're after us too."

"Why?"

Skeptical, Orion kept in gaze on her.

"Enri and I... we're both daughters of Valkyries. But we're special in that we were humans before Remnants."

"That's the most bullshit I think I've ever heard. Wait, Elliott being a good person might be the worst?"

He shook his head in disbelief. There was no way he would believe that.

"Trust it or not, that's why Miasma is after us. We, like Elliott, still have a lot of purity in us. Enri believe that by turning us corrupted, it might trigger these being to reappear."

This was only guesses, but for Tia, it was real.

"From all the destruction that happened that day, very few humans survived. Enough to rebuild their civilization. But from the children of the Valkyries, I believe only us three survived out of the nine."

Orion thought for a moment.

'If what she said is true, then Amelia's mother is in danger. This woman too. But what can I even do at this point? I can't win against them, let alone survive a fight against Elliott...'

"What are... or what were the Valkyries? Humans?"

"Enhanced humans. Nature herself created them as a way to counter the elites of beastmen. We call them 'Saviors' today. Though, this natural order spread to the other factions, there are no such thing for humans."

This, Orion knew. Now that he learned that Elliott wasn't entirely human, he understood that the only human Hero was Noah, and that since then, humans had no one else to defend them.

'Miasma might have protected the humans inadvertently through Elliott while slowly corrupting them.'

"But in that case, who created humans? Nature again?"

"I have no idea. All we know is that we were the only one on Triazils for a long time. After the catastrophe, Nature observed Miasma, and to counter him, she gave her own power to us, survivors."

"That's us, Remnants. Only vestiges of a forgotten past. We've spread around Triazils, and while the cycle of life and death continued, some beings appeared from seemingly nowhere, and became Remnants."

"Velridar was one of them. The Elementals were one single entity at one point. Silka was human too before mutating. Even Tiohr-nam, she was just a seed at first."

All of that information began to suffocate Orion.

"Wait. Give me a moment to breathe. That's way too much compared to what Elliott said. Way to much for the question I've asked."

He walked to the window and opened it to breathe some fresh air.

"Remnants are from that era. The era after humans near annihilation, right?"

"Right."

Slowly, Orion began to make order in his mind.

"Nature shared her power to various beings, some that even didn't exist at first."

"Correct."

"Humans were the only one without powerful protectors, so Nature herself gave them the Valkyries. But what does that have to do with purity?"

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Tia tilted her head.

"Isn't that obvious? It's because they are born from Nature herself. They are her children, unsoiled by time and people's ego. They took orders from her and her only."

"So you, daughter of a Valkyrie, has not the same purity?"

Nodding her head, she answered him.

"We possess the amount of purity they had when they were created. For some reasons nobody understands, their purity increased tremendously before the attack."

It was Orion's time to tilt his head.

"I'm sorry, but that's obvious too, isn't it? Wasn't happiness the culprit? They found happiness, and became even purer. They found a real reason to live for, founded a family, and passed on their knowledge."

"..."

Tia opened her mouth as if it finally clicked.

"You've heard that? Right?"

A sudden shiver traveled through his back.

"aH~ HaP...nEss? SucH a ...inG?"

A motherly voice, soft as a whisper, echoed in his head. It came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.

"If... hAd KnoWn..."

The voice sounded sad, but it was hard to make out exactly what it said.

Then it vanished completely.

"Who... was that?"

While Orion recovered from the strange feeling that overtook him, he looked at Tia who smiled very gently at him.

"The fact that she talked to you speaks greatly on your role in this world. There are only four people that heard her voice. Enri, me, Noah, and you."

Orion's brain began to work at full speed. From the previous conversation, the answer to his question quickly revealed itself.

"Was that Nature's voice? I thought she had no will?"

"Haha~"

Tia turned around. She walked away from Orion, back into the corridor.

He closed the window and hurriedly followed her. When he caught up to her, she answered.

"If she had no will, our world would have no meaning."

"Life itself would be meaningless. There would be no future worth living through, no goals to attain, no sights to see, no encounters to make. Though, she is not perfect. As you heard, she cannot stay very long in our realm."

She placed her finger on her chin and looked at Orion.

"It's not exactly like that either. It's like..."

"Yes. Imagine Tiohr-nam trying to speak with you from your magical space."

Orion nodded. He imagined that.

"I wouldn't be able to hear anything, even if I'm the master of that magic."

Of course. If he was able to hear each and every sounds coming from Horizon, he would definitely go crazy.

"Then what about that? Place a portal near her, and open it like you did in Kaios."

The idea returned to him.

"Placing a portal on someone else's and only letting through the sounds?"

"Oh. I get it. Her voice does the same as that."

He understood partially.

"It's a little more complexe than that. Her voice seems unable to travel in our world, only in our mind. That's why it feels like an echo. She also can't speak for long, and only to people she wants to speak to."

"But that's all I know about her. I've heard her voice only a handful of times during my long life, same for Enri. But she was the one to warn us about the dangers and to hide ourselves."

Her expression became frustrated.

"Though, Enri seems to know more than she lets me believe. Maybe she will tell you and Amelia about it?"

She stopped, turned to Orion and placed her hand into his back pocket.

"What are you doing?"

Orion simply watched her, as she took out his pocket watch from the pocket.

"Hmmm~"

Looking at the time, she tilted her head, before she closed the watch and returned it to the pocket.

"Right, sorry. It should be fine now, so why don't you follow me back to Enri and Amelia?"

Walking at a slow pace again, she traced her steps back to the room her friend stayed at, followed by Orion.

"I'm a little interested? How many women are currently catching your eyes at the moment?"

Surprised, Orion turned his face and made a slight noise, akin to a sneeze.

"Pff- W-What are you asking me all of the sudden?"

"I am a Remnant, the one that rules over many traits, and one of them is 'Affection'."

"You can't foul me, young man. Besides Amelia and Karteira, there are definitely a few that have left a good impression on you. The smell of love is all over the place, coming from many women."

"When you're alone, it definitely settles down, but when I speak about either of those two... it smells very sweet."

Orion blinked a few times, and looked forward.

"I have no reasons to answer yo-"

"May. Deveralna. Senia. Dramia and Drania. Amelia. Karteira. Olivia."

"..."

Tia began to count on her fingers the number of woman around him.

"I think that's all the women concerned at this point. Don't ignore them for too long, that makes a woman incredibly sad and doubtful of their own charm."

"Especially those that are comparing themselves to the others."

She looked very understanding, and supportive of everyone's love.

"Ah~"

A few seconds later, she stretched.

"It's been so long since I've felt the sweetness of love in the air. Being cooped up in that cave was so boring."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

A third person appeared in front of them. Orion's eyes squinted, as he recognized the man immediately.

"Elliott."

As they both stared at each other, you could feel the mood become tense.

"You should calm down."

Tia, who was around the same height as Amelia, tapped on his shoulder and continued forward.

"..."

Orion followed her words and calmed his emotions. He followed behind her quietly.

"Is it possible to follow you? I would like to hear whatever you two Remnant have been privy to. Things that I don't know."

"Sure. Like Orion, I don't trust you, but you've been hiding us so far perfectly. I can at least authorize that, and Enri shouldn't mind. Though, she will make it clear she doesn't like you either."

Elliott only smiled. He acknowledged that no one in this time would accept him with open arms.

"Then let's go."

The three of them returned to Enri's room.

...

*Knock* *Knock*

"Oh, she's finally back. Let's stop our conversation there for now."

"Sure."

Amelia and Enri-Ann stopped their conversation when the door opened.

Both made a hard expression when they saw Elliott behind Tia and Orion, but they ignored him in the end.

"Enri, I think it's time you tell us everything you know."

"Again with that? I told you, I don't-"

Tia shook her head, while Orion and Elliott sat next to each other. Of course, Orion felt the need to go away, but he took it upon himself not to.

"Lie all you want, Henrietta. The Remnant of Destiny cannot know less than me. Spit everything you know. And I said 'everything'."

"..."

Enri-Ann glared at Tia, but quickly sighed.

"Fine."

Tia sat next to her friend, opposite to Amelia, before Enri began to talk.

"I'll introduce myself then. I am Enri-Ann, or Henrietta as I was called before, the Remnant of 'Destiny', 'Fate', 'Encounters', and 'Providence'."

Orion and Amelia opened their eyes wide.

"Now that I've done that, do it too, Tetra."

Tia looked at her with a blank stare.

"You would do that? Really?"

The pink haired woman looked incredibly disappointed.

"Alright, I get it. I'm Tia-Norun, also known as Tetra, which is my human name. I'm also a Remnant. I rule over 'Time', 'Space', 'Concealment', and 'Affection'."

The second wave of shock took over both of them.

Reality was about to hit them hard, as Henrietta prepared herself to reveal everything to her daughter, and the new Hero of Triazils.