Darkness.

Or was it a long corridor of light?

A dizzying space that confused senses, where the top was the bottom and left was right.

As if space itself were devoid of gravity, a lone figure traveled through the corridors of space and time.

Unconscious, Orion continued down the endless path.

Each second that passed inside this space, memories of the continent played back around, skipping through in reverse.

Orion's life appeared as a literal blink in the continent's history. As the time before his birth continued to go by, his eyes opened.

"Where... am I?"

The exhaustion of his mind and muscles immediately confirmed to him that he was still alive, to his extreme astonishment.

"I can't move?"

Feelings of helplessness took over his body as he scanned his surroundings.

"Ugh... This sickening feeling..."

This reminded him of the time he was transported to the elemental realm through the gate that trapped him and May for a short period of time.

The sickening path of light churned his stomach, which forced him to close his eyes.

"..."

Yet, now that he had regained consciousness, questions began to flood his mind, one after the other.

The first question was finding where he was, but at the current time, it was impossible to know.

He could see his arms, his legs, and his chest. With one glance, he confirmed that he had no injuries.

Even though he was unable to move, Orion's eyes were able to drift freely.

Slowly, he closed his eyes, letting his body drift into the endless void.

...

"How long has it been?"

When Orion opened his eyes again, the sickening feeling coming from the space was no more.

A light blue dot pattern replaced the alternating light and dark corridor, making it less rough on his mind.

His sense of time was slowly being eroded, creating increasing unease that Orion was unable to free himself from.

"..."

Having no choice but to remain in his current state, he began to work his brain to avoid boredom.

"Let's recall everything that happened; maybe I'll find a clue about this place."

Orion brought out the memories of his last battle.

Miasma's dragon form, the paradox created by their clashing powers, and...

The moment when he used every ounce of strength available to stop the black hole from engulfing the entirety of Triazils.

Thereafter, everything became hazy.

"I... somehow remember Amelia and Henrietta calling my name, but that's all. I was gazing at the blue sky when I blacked out."

"!"

With a sudden twitch, Orion forcefully fought the force pressuring him and moved his left hand.

After struggling for a while, he slowly opened his hand.

"It's there."

Relief appeared on his face as a familiar bracelet rested in the palm of his hand.

But, the device itself was inactive.

"Damn it! It's been a long time since I've fed it energy... I hope it's not too late."

Without waiting, Orion focused on releasing his magic.

"..."

Nothing.

"Wait, what's happening?"

Neither of his elements manifested.

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Panic took over him as he closed his eyes to scan his soul.

"H-Huh?"

Inside his core, the only energy remaining was void magic. There were no traces of either light or dark elements.

A devouring sense of loss ate at his mind as he opened his eyes again.

The scenery changed once again, bathing him in a fiery red hue.

"W-Wait! No! No! That's impossible!"

With the device shutting down and his inability to feed it energy, Orion was despairing.

"Mom... Dad..."

He clenched his hand and forcefully pulled his hand to his chest. The pain inside his chest rampaged violently, but Orion contained it nonetheless.

"..."

Drifting endlessly with agony, he closed his eyes once again.

...

"I miss them."

Solitude was rapidly settling as he recalled his time with his friends.

"I hope they are fine."

Orion looked at the light yellow waves passing him with a heavy frown.

"Were they saddened by my disappearance? Are they looking for me?"

An even more severe expression accentuated the frown.

"Or did they forget about me?"

This was something he wanted to ignore, but anxiety was eating at him to the point of turning his thoughts around.

"Amelia."

The picture of his childhood friend flashed through his mind.

"Karteira."

Then, the fairy commander he met after arriving in the fairy realm.

"Dramia and Drania."

Recalling the cold and the free-spirited sisters brought a smile to his face.

"Senia."

The siren he saved from that poacher in Hocride brought back a wave of intense hatred toward humanity that he shook away rapidly.

"May."

A hardworking general in Turric was transplanted with an elemental to keep her alive.

"Deveralna."

The lamia who became the ruler of her faction after Orion's first interaction with the Apostles.

"Olivia."

Being the youngest of the group and a demon, she worked incredibly hard toward peace on Triazils.

All of them were ever-present in his mind. Using their image to keep his sanity in check, Orion remained unable to do anything.

...

Years, maybe centuries, passed. Orion was unable to clearly define time anymore.

"..."

Even the faces of his friends faded from his mind. Even Stella, his adorable daughter, slowly disappeared from his memories.

His eyes showed how unfocused he was; as time passed, this space broke his mind.

Loneliness, despair, and sorrow— this isolated space destroyed the identity of the man called Orion.

No emotions could be seen on his face, as not a single thought traversed his head.

Even his heart grew empty. The lingering need to meet with his family again also disappeared.

A husk of himself who managed to break free from his fated death.

"..."

But, even after all this time alone, there was someone else with him. Even though her voice was inaudible, she was still within him, bringing a small light into his darkened soul.

"Te...tra."

The source of the Remnant of Space and Time, Tetra, was still shining within the deepest parts of his core.

Instinctively, without a trace of will, Orion used the void element, which responded to his call.

...

Probably a century later, changes appeared.

Orion, still lifelessly floating in the void, had grown a long beard. His hair was a mess, double the length of his body.

Inside his soul, a little spark of life ignited. The source of Tetra absorbed that spark and gently shook.

The void element worked tirelessly, draining the infinite pool of magic from its master and bringing about this second miracle.

It took many more years for the source to stabilize, but rapidly, a will returned. The soul of Tetra began to function again.

"..."

"W-Where?"

A heartbeat resounded inside Orion. One that wasn't his own.

Yet, he showed no reaction to it.

"I... remember having my soul siphoned."

Her voice echoed inside him.

"Why am I... thinking?"

Suddenly, the lethargy disappeared, and the source grew.

*Thump*

Her own heartbeat synchronized with Orion's, immediately bringing the state of her host to her attention.

"I'm inside... Orion? Wait!"

Panic overtook her as she noticed his lack of response.

"His heart is beating too slowly for it to be healthy! And why is his mind so... empty?"

She could feel everything coming from him, as her soul shared the same space as him.

"Shit! He's dying..."

Then, the void element appeared in front of her in an incredibly worrisome state.

Just like Orion, its spirit was dying alongside its master.

"You... brought me back?"

Slowly fading, the element came to rest in front of her.

"There's no time for that."

The choice she made was instantaneous. There was no time to lose; she needed to bring him back at all costs.

'You saved me.'

'You recovered my source and soul from Miasma.'

'Not saving you in return... Henrietta would berate me for that.'

Her soul flew straight toward the flickering flame of his soul.

"Orion!"

Calling his name, she approached the flame.

"Orion! Answer me! I know you can hear my voice!"

She continued to call his name while turning around the flame.

"Tsk! You leave me no choice."

The small bead that was Tetra's soul moved away.

"Wake up!"

Before ramming into his soul with all her might to force a reaction out of him.

*BZZT*

Both souls rejected each other, with Tetra being sent flying backward.

"I'm not giving up! You have to wake up!"

Relentlessly, she tried to reignite the flame.

"Kh... Why is he not responding?"

She was starting to give up. Every attempt made to bring him back exhausted her soul.

"I..."

Stopping at last, she remained in place as the flame continued to dwindle.

"If you die, what will happen to me?"

"Will I die too?"

But just as she finished those words, the flame of life exploded in front of her.

"W-Wha-"

A bright, colorful flame turned into a sphere of light, glowing as brightly as the sun.

The darkness in Orion's soul dissipated, lighting the surrounding area.

"That's... not happening."

A breathless Orion answered her worries.

"O-Orion! You're alive!"

"Of course... I am."

Her despairing voice called him back. The solitude was no longer present, shattering the numbness enveloping him.

"But... why are you...?"

After many years of silence, Orion had trouble speaking properly.

"I have no idea. The void element brought me back."

Now that Orion had regained consciousness, the void element was floating in a more relaxed way in front of Orion's soul.

"It probably... repaired your soul."

He recalled what had happened with Layla. Although, his mind was behind after not being used for years.

Forcing his mind to work was a bit too difficult for him to clearly understand what had happened.

"I'm just glad you are fine."

Tetra's voice soothed his broken mind.

After being alone for a long time, Orion obtained some well-deserved peace of mind.

...

Once Orion regained the ability to think and speak properly, they discussed everything and anything.

Time continued to flow endlessly before Tetra and Orion came to a conclusion together.

"Let's break free from this space."

"Alright."

With the power of Time and Space in Tetra's hands and Orion's void element, they worked toward their freedom.