Triazils was at peace, at last.

The Remnant, Miasma, who conspired to kill all the life on this land, was no more.

But that came at a price many people were unable to accept.

One Hero sacrificed himself, unknown by the inhabitants of Triazils.

The tale of our Hero, Orion Feales, was over... Or was it?

...

The aftermath of the war was all that was left.

With the armies led by Florian, Kamala, and Eric returning to their corresponding cities through the portals they came from, the Tainted War finally came to an end.

Corrupted corpses were burnt, deceased friends were buried, and hope returned to people.

Or so it was supposed to be.

While the war was most of the picture, something terrible happened while everyone was occupied on the frontline.

Hocride, Turric, Albriar, and Lahro were spared from this terrible event, but the result was still gut-wrenching.

Civilians, in great number no less, died under the abject treachery of Miasma. As his plan finally was put in action, the corruption that was encroached on the inhabitants of the continent awakened, turning many into mindless murderers.

No one escaped this tragedy. Even children were turned into puppets.

This tragedy was stopped only by two dragons, who appeared from the sky and protected the people.

A magnificent azure dragon with four wings, and a captivating green dragon with two tails.

Monolavir and Ruminona acted in response to their friendship and respect for a single man.

Thanks to their actions, the casualties were far less than it could have been. Sadly, with no way to save those already turned, many were lost.

The public opinion on the dragons changed this day, as their appearance in front of total despair brought a glimmer of hope to everyone.

Instead of adding to their worries, like they thought the instant the dragons appeared, they protected humans and beastmen alike.

The tale of the dragons would be told by many in the future, but, that is a story for another time.

...

"..."

Four people and a dog walked through a rift, with one of them being unconscious.

The expression on their faces was one of profound grief.

As they stepped into Horizon, they met with the rest of the group, who were waiting anxiously, but patiently.

Karteira walked through first, followed by Henrietta holding her daughter, Amelia, in her arms.

The last to enter was Elliott. The instant his body was inside Horizon, he turned around, and slashed the rift with Vanitas, destroying it.

May, Senia, Deveralna, Drania, Dramia, and Olivia stared at this with shock.

Someone was missing. Someone they needed to see to appease their worries.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

"..."

Karteira walked between them, and with her gaze cast downward, opened her mouth.

"We were unable to protect Orion."

They all opened their mouths in disbelief.

"W-Wait! What happened?!"

Olivia approached Karteira, who glanced at her.

"And what about Amelia?!"

May walked toward Henrietta, checking on the blonde woman who was unresponsive.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

To the twins, the world came crashing down. Drania turned around, hiding her face from everyone. Dramia hugged her sister, before the will to stop the tears was too weak to matter for the two of them.

Senia fell in complete shock. Her brain shut down, as she flopped to the ground after her floating magic was forcefully stopped by her lack of concentration.

The lamia Queen was in a similar state, but rapidly, anger took over her sadness. Clenching her hands into fists, she silently glared at the starry sky.

Only Olivia and May were keeping a semblance of sanity.

However, the news was particularly tragic for someone.

"No... Papa..."

Stella, who was on the side holding Layla's hand, began to cry.

Suddenly, the seven women stopped thinking, and turned to the poor little girl. Their emotions were nothing compared to what she was about to go through, which made them realized.

They had made a mistake.

"Stella-"

The little girl let go of Layla, and ran toward the Elemental Shrine with an unending stream of tears flowing from her tears.

"Stella..."

Her cries echoed around Horizon, making the news of this tragedy even more painful to the group.

"What are you doing?!"

Elliott suddenly screamed at them.

"She's the last person you want out of your sight! Go after her!"

The girl was already far away, no far from the shrine. The girls blinked for a second, before the seven of them hurriedly followed her.

They were the last emotional support for this child. The grief in their heart was second at this moment.

With Stella being Orion's most precious child, it was impossible for them to simply ignore her pain.

"..."

Elliott, Henrietta, and Layla stared at their backs as they ran after Stella.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Muttering those words loud enough for the two women to hear him, Elliott frowned.

"If you say that, then I fear something terrible will happen."

Henrietta looked at Amelia, who still had the expression of complete hopelessness etched on her face, even as she was unconscious.

"Let's hope this family can survive without shattering..."

After a nod, Elliott looked at the large house in the distance.

"With the pillar gone, everything is about to crumble. With Amelia out cold too, no one is capable of leading them, or appeasing their emotions."

His heart was torn. After being accepted by Orion, he saw him as a friend.

Even though the two had a terrible past together, they worked on making it right instead of being hostile to each other.

He placed his hand on his chest, and spoke words no one expected him to ever let out.

"I had no idea, that not being able to save a friend... could be extremely painful."

This came incredibly close to heart for Henrietta, who agreed with him.

"Right."

With that said, Henrietta walked away, making her way toward the house. Elliott and Layla followed behind her in silence the entire time.

...

"Papa!"

The pain in Stella's chest was unrelenting. Sobbing while clenching her chest with one hand, she ran.

She ran, ran, and ran, as if her feet would lead her to a way to ease this pain, a way to forget about it.

But it was impossible. Orion had taken too much space in her heart to be ignored.

He wasn't like Julian. Orion showered her with affection, listened to every word she said, and helped her build a new life.

She had one father, and it was Orion. But he was gone.

"Where are you?! Papa!"

Her mind was unable to understand completely. She was but a ten-year-old girl. Her mind wasn't strong enough to accept this reality.

As she continued forward, she found the entrance to the Elemental Shrine, and entered without stopping.

Wiping the tears off her face, which blurred and hindered her vision, she stood in front of the altar.

Stella looked at her right hand. She was holding her sketchbook, which she had taken with her after seeing Tetra being murdered.

Placing her back on the altar, her back slid on it, before she sat on the step.

With her eyes still dripping beads of water, she opened the sketchbook.

The first drawing was one of Orion, after she was healed by him.

"Papa..."

Her tears soaked the paper, as she looked at the other page.

There, was drawn a scene in the dining room, with Orion drinking coffee while Amelia was cooking in the background.

The drawings were incredibly detailed, and faithful to reality.

Turning the pages, she looked at her drawings one after the other.

Amelia relaxing on the couch with Orion, Karteira training in the distance alongside him, Sirius playing outside, again with Orion.

Then, the picture of Orion lying in bed.

"...!"

Oblivious to it, Stella was unable to notice the sigil blinking in her eyes as she looked at the drawing.

As she turned the pages further, drawings of Dramia and Drania bickering together next to Orion, Deveralna acting shy around Orion, May discussing a serious matter with Orion...

Olivia fawning over him, and Senia swimming in the sea while Orion watched over her.

That's when she realized. Most of the drawings she made had Orion on them. She loved her father dearly, more than anyone in this world.

Without him, was there a reason to keep on living?

"Stella?!"

She heard the screams of people she knew and loved, too. The memories she had with the various women of the house were still ever-present in her heart.

But, it was still unable to bring her to answer.

"-------"

"?"

Suddenly, a voice echoed in her mind. She looked around searching for it, wiping the remaining tears off her face, which finally stopped after looking at the last drawing.

A light emerged from the vortex above the elemental shrine, which came down on the little girl.

Wrapped in light, her body shone brightly, before exploding into countless particles that flew upward toward the vortex.

The particles phased through the glass roof, and entered the vortex.

"Where are you, Stella?!"

Olivia entered the shrine first, while the others looked around it.

"!"

As she made her way to the altar, she noticed the sketchbook laying on the ground.

"Damn it..."

The only reason her sketchbook would be laying her without her would be if Stella herself had left.

And...

"Damned elementals."

She glared at the sky, into the vortex.

In her hand, the sketchbook was opened to the very last page, where the last drawing was drawn in pure blackness.

Orion's terrifying expression after finding Tetra's lifeless body.

As Olivia clenched the notebook, she made her way to the others, bringing the bad news to them.

The family was on the brink of breaking apart, and Stella's disappearance was only helping to facilitate the process.