Henrietta clenched the long robes she was wearing with a tight grip.

Exchanging gazes with the eternally young man, Keleanos, memories surged from a time no others remembered.

Silky smooth hazelnut-colored hair, brown irises, and features rival those of the most handsome features on this continent.

His body was slightly on the frail side, but the baggy clothes on his body hid this trait to perfection.

The general air around him was one of deep sorrow, perpetually roaming between memories and reality. The past and present were the same for this man, merging into one scenery, repeating itself each time his eye fell on the plains outside the city.

"I..."

Henrietta hesitated. Was bringing this man along a good idea?

The rather hazy and uncertain future of this man was in her hands. She already knew that Keleanos would probably agree to her request without even questioning her.

He was a kind-hearted man, with no attachment to this world apart from the Remnant duty he was forced upon.

Taking a deep breath, Henrietta relaxed and turned to the sky.

"Keleanos. I already know what you think of this world."

"..."

Silently looking at the woman, his expression remained unchanged.

"I know that the past haunts you to this day."

Her eyes picked up the faint twinkle of a blue star in the sky. Losing herself in its flickering existence, she did something she would normally not even think about.

"If not for this large-scale assault on our civilization, we wouldn't be here, watching the years pass by, freed from the shackles of age."

"Right."

Keleanos smiled faintly. His eye dropped to the street below, brightly lit and crowded with happy residents making their way home.

"I... have hope."

Henrietta's gaze became suddenly serious. Her tone changed along with it, indicating that this matter was something she had thought about for a long time.

"About the future? I can't say my thoughts align with yours."

"The future... Yes, there is that. But that isn't what I am referring to."

In her eyes, a memory of the distant past, one she usually repressed deep inside her mind, was forcefully brought forth.

Threads of steel-colored hair shine like metal under the sun. The back of a woman took her entire vision as she fought to protect the life of her daughter, ultimately losing her life.

Henrietta's mother was also a Valkyrie. The same could be said for the Remnants walking this earth, all except for Velridar.

"Have you ever thought of avenging the Valkyries?"

"..."

Keleanos' face tightened for a second.

"Denying your question would be lying to myself."

In a resolute tone, he glanced at her.

"Recently, that feeling has been growing stronger inside me."

The spark of curiosity slowly rose inside the man's heart.

"Do you have any concrete plans to make it possible?"

Still, there was only doubt in his words. It was impossible to forget the dreadful feeling they all felt in front of these creatures.

They were overworldly monsters that, despite fighting the most powerful individuals in this world, devoured the Valkyries with little effort.

Bringing one down was an idea no one had even thought about until today.

"Miasma, or rather, Blanc's idea, was moronic."

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"Using all lives on this continent as a catalyst to summon the one who killed his wife was bound to fail. It doesn't work like this."

The eternally young man nodded faintly, sharing her thoughts.

"Yet. There is one person who can cross dimensions."

Opening his eyes wider, Keleanos looked at her with interest.

"The Hero of this time?"

"Yes, Orion."

Bringing a finger to his chin, thoughts rushed into Keleanos' head.

Without breaking his posture, he spoke.

"You've said that his magic is capable of crossing dimensions, right? Doesn't Nature punish those who have too much power?"

Having Tetra in mind, he asked.

"To be frank with you... I don't know what she is thinking anymore. Maybe seeing him fight over and over to protect her world birthed a new feeling inside her."

"Perhaps she simply took a liking to him. She could even have purposefully ignored it, which is the reason for our current situation."

Henrietta recalled something else.

'She ignored the magic Olivia created, saying that if it existed in the first place, it wasn't a problem.'

'There's also that sphere of darkness that appeared when Orion and Miasma fought for Tetra's core.'

Many recent happenings showed that Nature's laws were bending, relatively often when Orion was concerned.

"She may have realized that her laws were making it difficult to protect this world, while Miasma ignored them. The void magic existing is one detail that led to this diverging timeline."

"And, against all odds..."

Henrietta glanced into the eyes of Keleanos.

"He changed his fate."

"!"

Keleanos was one of the few who understood the laws of 'Fate' and 'Destiny'. That was why his attempts to rejuvenate the land were indefinitely postponed.

"He survived? From what you've explained, I was persuaded that this Hero had lost his life banishing Miasma."

But she slowly shook her head.

"We've confirmed that he is alive. At least, not in a life-threatening state."

"..."

Falling silent, the gears began to turn in his head.

"This man, Orion... Is most likely lost in time."

Henrietta nodded.

"Yes, that is the only explanation possible. Now, the question is knowing how we're going to bring him back."

"Right. Tetra is gone, which makes this particular task impossible without the power to bend space and time..."

With a faint smile, Henrietta thought of her best friend.

'If she had been given the choice, she would have sacrificed her life to bring Orion from there, without any afterthoughts.'

'That is the kind of person she is.'

"Keleanos."

Brought back to reality, he let go of his thoughts and looked at Henrietta.

"I believe that in the future, Orion will obtain enough power to kill those invaders."

Her hope sank into Keleanos' core. His eyes, which looked almost empty until now, appeared to focus on the present more than ever.

"Are you serious?"

"Do you want to make your dreams a reality? Will you relinquish a future where you could live freely, unbothered by the corruption?"

That question caught his attention.

"How... do you know that I have a dream?"

Henrietta looked down at the street below. A stern expression replaced her smile as she spoke.

"I am cheating, Keleanos. I've seen too many tragedies befall this continent. Is it that surprising that in one of those, you stood up valiantly to protect Albriar?"

"!"

"That's how I came to learn your whereabouts."

His eyes and mouth opened wide. Shocked by her sudden revelation, his mind froze.

"Really? I..."

Staring at his hands, Keleanos was in a state of disbelief.

"Though, like I said, it was... a tragedy."

"Thought so."

The young man smiled in defeat. Still, somewhere in his heart, a weight holding his motivation down disappeared.

"In that case, it becomes difficult to blame you."

Standing up on his feet, his eyes fell on the plains, darkened by the night.

"I want to resolve the problems concerning food. Craftsmanship and agriculture can do only so much when the world is in constant strife."

"Our city was one of poverty in the past. It was difficult to even find a piece of bread. Albriar was in a similar situation until recently."

Henrietta listened quietly.

"Seeing the efforts of the past generations to break the barriers between factions, I followed suit and helped to revitalize the land around Albriar."

East of the city was where the earth was plowed into fields. The many windmills and farms around there showed how serious the Lord of Albriar was about securing food for his people.

So, with Albriar as a first attempt, Keleanos used his Remnant power to help them. Then, after hearing about the three other cities that appeared freed of corruption, his power extended to them.

Hocride became renowned for the food it traded with other continents, bringing exotic meals to those who traveled to the arid desert.

Seafood became Noctelagia's primary resource, and only in this city could such delicacies be enjoyed.

Turric, a land mainly underneath snow, was unable to grow its food. Berries grew rapidly instead, which soldiers used as rations during campaigns in the past.

Since Florian adopted the title of Lord of Albriar, Keleanos' dream came a little closer to being granted.

If not for the constant attacks of corrupt beasts, the plains outside would be covered in a golden hue.

Seeing that Keleanos was done explaining his past actions during the last twenty years, Henrietta stood up too.

"Henrietta, you've given me hope."

His gaze locked on the people below, and Keleanos smiled. A smile that he wasn't able to bring out until this very moment.

"What do you want me to do?"

"To protect the future and create a world without hunger, I am prepared to help you. I had forgotten how much I loved this world, even though difficult times are constantly upon us."

They locked eyes for a second before Henrietta answered him.

"I would like to request that you teach your mother's arts to Orion's companions."

Bringing a hand to his chin, Keleanos pondered. The expression on his face showed that he was recalling the teachings of the Valkyrie more than pondering the actual request.

"If sharing my mother's magic arts is sufficient to stop the giants invading our time, then so be it. I can't use them anyway."

Shrugging slightly, Keleanos walked toward the window leading inside the building.

"Give me an hour. I can't leave Albriar without carefully checking its current situation."

"Sure. We'll wait at the southern gate."

With a nod, Keleanos crawled through the window and disappeared inside the building.

"..."

Henrietta's gaze fell upon the stars shimmering in the night sky.

'That went better than I thought.'

Relieved, she sighed.

Then, she turned around and jumped out of the roof, disappearing into the darker street below.