Inside the dining room, an hour after Stella disappeared.

The situation was getting worse by the minute for the family.

"..."

After Karteira explained the confrontation between them and Miasma in Eogis, they all fell silent.

Until one of them pressed her head on the table.

"What are we supposed to do?"

Senia's heartbroken voice recalled everyone from their inner thoughts. They turned their gaze to her, understanding the pain in her heart.

Olivia, who had remained silent until now, buried her face into her arms.

As the one with the most experience in dealing with difficult tasks alongside May, she was normally the one to move the conversation into the right direction.

But she was too emotionally unstable to even do that anymore. On the other hand, May was trying her best not to let those emotions get the better of her.

"What is there to do?"

She answered Senia with a cold tone. It wasn't enough to hide the pain in her voice, which made her realize that hiding it would be harder than she had originally thought.

Karteira looked at her, before continuing.

"Miasma is gone. There isn't any corruption remaining, either. Most of the corrupted beasts are probably dead by now. There's nothing for us to do."

Deveralna slammed her hands on the table.

"Can't we find a way to bring him back?! Are we going to let him go just like that?!"

"It's by giving up that it becomes truly over, am I wrong?"

She tried to get the others to feel better, but it backfired on her.

"Stop it..."

Dramia, who was quietly consoling her sister, sent a bone-chilling glare toward her, which made Deveralna freeze on the spot.

"I know that feeling, but what happened can't be changed anymore. If it were this easy, then Noah would have survived his fight against Miasma."

Her vision shifted to her sister, hiding her face on her shoulder, hands tightly wrapped around her back.

"You might mean well, but the fact is, Orion is gone. The faster we acknowledge that, the better it will be for us."

Deveralna watched as Dramia tried to apply her own advice to herself, miserably failing as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.

"This is... fucked up."

Karteira placed her hand on her forehead and looked at the ceiling.

"Amelia is out cold from the shock, which means our second in charge is gone. There's nothing we can do, or even care at this point."

"Orion is gone, and Stella disappeared."

"Is there a reason for us to stay here?"

These words cut deep into the women's hearts around the table.

May looked at her, a big frown on her face.

"Are you trying to disband this gathering? Do you want us to go our separate way now that Orion is gone?"

"What?!"

Senia straightened, shocked beyond belief.

"This is our home! Why should we split up?! Aren't we supposed to work together, especially now?!"

Unable to contain her thoughts, Senia spilled everything on her mind.

"Are we strangers now? Without Orion or Amelia, is it impossible for us to look toward the future?!"

"After everything Orion fought for, you're the one who's going to dismiss it?!"

Gritting her teeth, Karteira was unable to take more.

"Then what are we supposed to do?! Waking up every morning in this wonderful house, not able to see the one we love, remembering until our last moment how pitiful we were?!"

"No matter how long will live, the fact that Orion isn't there is undeniable. Senia, Orion is gone! I don't have the willpower to suffer through this life without him..."

"..."

Thereafter, the grief stricken Karteira laid on her chair, holding her emotions back.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

They all knew that, alongside Amelia, she was the last to have seen him, before his body vanished into an unknown rift.

No one could mock her reaction, as it was perfectly understandable.

Defeated, Senia slumped unto the table, silent.

No one remained to push them forward, no one there to whisper sweet nothing, and no one to return home to either.

This was the end of the Agathion faction, and the end of this large family...

"Wait..."

Olivia suddenly broke the silence, alarmingly standing up from her chair.

"Olivia?"

Karteira and the others looked with confusion as Olivia walked toward the corridor.

Intrigued, they all stood up and followed, even Drania, who started to let go of her sister.

Drania also realized something strange. Her face, even though red from her tears, appeared full of hope.

"Drania?"

Perplexed in front of her sister's reaction, she followed behind her.

Olivia opened the door, greeted by her twenty-seven maids, who bent their upper body forward.

Sirius, who looked dispirited, lifted his right ear while barely lifting his head up.

The others walked outside, and stood behind Olivia.

"Don't you find it strange?"

Her gaze fell on everything surrounding her.

On the far left, a massive tree no more holding the consciousness of the Tree of Life, a forest full of arachnea further south, and large plains with hills and verdant vegetation stretching even further.

Directly in front of her, the Elemental Shrine, with the training area slightly closer to them than the temple.

On her right, in the far distance, a village of fairies that recently made Horizon their new home, with the Remnant of Life sitting at its very center.

Closer to them, the hub of portals kept working just fine, leading to the destinations set to them.

Behind her, on her right, the large Siren Sea spread as usual, its waves gently crashing on the sand after Senia returned it to normal after her fight.

And, at last, the secondary house where Elliott, and the rescued Layla were staying.

The girls followed her eyes. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Nothing is out of the ordinary?!"

Suddenly realizing the implications, May exclaimed.

"Olivia! Are you...? No, you wouldn't instill false hope at this point."

She appeared angry for a second, before her face relaxed.

Drania walked next to Olivia, and pointed at the portal hub.

"Don't you think it's weird that the place Orion created with his void element still stands, unaffected by his death?"

They opened their mouths in utter disbelief.

"We... were so shocked about the news of his death, that we hadn't noticed something so obvious...?"

Deveralna said with complete shock. Yet, her tail writhed in joy at the thought.

"It's... impossible. I saw him die... Amelia and I watched him as he disappeared!"

Having difficulty acknowledging what Olivia and Drania were telling, Karteira shook her head violently.

But Dramia, who finally recovered her cold nature, walked next to her friend and stood there without looking at her face.

"Do you know what happened in here when Orion was about to die after his battle with Elliott? The whole place shook and rumbled. The light dimmed out all the time Orion spent unconscious."

"Are you stupid enough to not believe in this fact?"

She glanced at Karteira with a faint smile.

A smile returned to Senia's face, May breathed a long sigh of relief, and Deveralna felt the tension leave her shoulders as they dropped lower.

Olivia and Drania looked at each other, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Hope... is still there."

Three people walked toward them. The voice of a mature woman caught their attention, as she approached with a smile.

"Henrietta."

Karteira glanced in her direction, still unsure of what to think.

But Henrietta's words finally removed the last bit of fear in her heart.

"Orion. He managed to create his own fate."

Hearing those words, Karteira bit her lower lip, and looked at the starry white sky with black stars.

"Really..."

Her voice trembled.

"Where did he go?"

"That, we don't know."

Elliott, standing next to Henrietta, smiled at the group.

"Even though we don't know, it is great news to know that he is still alive. We've also come to the same conclusion after a bit of thinking."

Henrietta nodded, but then, her face relaxed.

"I hope you weren't thinking of disbanding this merry group? What else would he think if he returns? And what about Amelia when she wakes up?"

They all showed a shocked expression. That's right, Henrietta was still suffering.

Her daughter was in a coma, showing no signs of awakening. She had lost her friend, but also her daughter, in this battle.

Yet, she smiled warmly at them, holding her emotions like the mature adult she was.

When remembering the tragedies she went through during her constant struggle to rewind time perpetually, the news of Orion's state was but a gift from Nature herself.

"Right... We should... stick together."

Karteira finally let go of her worries, and smiled at the others.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

They shook their heads, knowing full-well that what she said was correct. Leaving in this empty house without the main pillar in their life would be a reminder of their happy life.

But with the thought that Orion was alive, somewhere, it cleared the doubts in their hearts.

Until someone hurriedly crashed the moment.

"Oh! You're all still here!"

A man covered in lightly, holding his side painfully, suddenly stopped near the group.

"Florian?!"

Seeing the blood pouring from the man's flank, Karteira hurriedly ran toward him, and placed her hand on his wound.

"Right. Thank you for that. I had completely forgotten."

"But I'm sorry, while you do that, I have to relay something. Where's Orion?"

They looked at each other, before Olivia took the lead.

"His gone for an indefinite period of time. Why do you need him?"

Reading between the lines, Florian frowned.

"Well, the thing is..."

"Giant portals opened in every corner of Triazils."

"!"

The group lifted their eyebrows, while Elliott turned around.

"Corrupted giants are walking through them at an alarming rate, and not two or three."

"We're talking hundreds here."

Elliott vanished from the spot, only to reappear with Vanitas in hand.

"I knew something like that would happen. Layla, we're heading back to Triazils."

"Yes, my Lord!"

He walked next to Florian and asked him a short question.

"Florian, where's the most dangerous place?"

"..."

A quick thought later, Florian answered him.

"Turric."

"Alright."

Elliott and Layla walked toward the portal hub together.

"Oh..."

Touching his side, Florian finally noticed that the pain had vanished. Not a single trace of the wound remained, not even a scar.

"Thank you, Karteira."

"My pleasure. Orion would have done the same."

"You should go to Turric too... I don't think Eric will be able to fight with his injury."

Karteira glanced at May.

"You're coming?"

"I am."

The two turned around, entering the house. After a few minutes, they were in their battle attire.

They nodded at the others, before leaving Horizon with Elliott and Layla.

"Come inside, we need more details about this invading force. Then, we'll dispatch everyone to various locations."

With a determined expression, Florian followed Olivia and the others inside the house, telling them everything he learned from the others.

Not even a day after Miasma was brought down, his influence on the continent lingered.

Oblivious to what was actually happening, the Agathion factions acted to preserve the world their companion sacrificed himself to protect, for him to return to one day.