Orion faced the Tetra of this time, determined to avoid making the situation worse than it was.

"You've asked who I am, but to answer your question, I will ask for you to calm down."

"Without a level-headed state, I believe you will still perceive me as an enemy even after explaining my situation."

His gaze shifted toward Noah, who understood his concerns. Noah placed a hand on Tetra's shoulder and spoke calmly to her.

"Breathe, Tia."

With those simple words, the past version of Tetra sighed while shifting her gaze away with a slight tinge of red on her cheeks.

"Fine."

She proceeded to do as he said, inhaling and exhaling oxygen at a steady pace, until her nerves calmed down.

"I'm listening. Your power is under control, so I should believe you've earned it fairly. Otherwise, you would've died a long time ago."

Orion nodded. Still, instead of answering directly, he chose another topic.

"Can I call you by your name, Noah?"

Looking at the man in his thirties, Orion asked.

"I don't see why not. My senses aren't picking up any of the darker vibes I feel from the corruption, so you are perfectly fine in my eyes. You can be trusted as far as I am concerned."

With a nod, Orion gratefully took him up on that.

"Noah, are you aware of Te-... Tia-Norun's friend?"

"!"

Tetra's shoulder trembled. Her glare spoke louder than words, questioning Orion with her eyes.

"The Remnant, Enri-Ann? If so, I am already aware of her existence. I heard she was lying low somewhere only Tia could enter."

'Well, I never hid anything from him. Or at least, I only kept things unnecessary to his quest.'

Inside his core, Tetra confirmed what her past self said.

"Tia-Norun, staying hidden won't help this time around. Would you be inclined to bring her out?"

Anger twisted her face.

"Are you serious?! How do you even know about Enri?"

Orion stood his ground and asked her one more time.

"Please, could you give it a try? She needs to be included in this conversation and not stay as a third party. If you cannot trust me, speak this name to her."

Taking a deep breath, Orion spoke the name of his dearest friend and companion.

"Amelia."

"..."

Her face suddenly turned neutral.

"You are a strange person. Your knowledge of us is deeper than I gave it credit for."

Leaving a short blank in the conversation, she pondered. Then, she made her choice.

"Fine. Give me a minute. If what you said makes her leave her hideout, it's your win."

After speaking her mind, Tetra walked behind Noah without reappearing on the other side.

'That was Henrietta's power. Since we were watching over Noah at all times, she could send me anywhere close to him with her power.'

Then, Orion watched as the air warped in front of him.

'It worked... You are pretty cunning, you know that?'

A blonde, mature woman walked in front of Orion with her arms crossed.

"..."

Then, this era's Tetra returned from behind Noah, joining her friend.

"I believe you will explain to me why you know the name of a child I have not yet conceived."

Her gaze wasn't pretty.

"I hope it warrants putting my life in danger."

The cautiousness was visible. If Orion tried anything, she would leave immediately without batting an eye. That was how on edge this Henrietta was.

'This is a time when she still hadn't suffered through countless failures. Now that I see her face, this is undoubtedly the beginning of her agony. I was blind before, but I can see it clearly now.'

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"My name is Orion. Before I go further, may I ask you something, Remnant of Destiny and Fate?"

The surprise on her face showed how troubling it was for her to hear someone else call her by her title.

"How many times?"

Then, confusion replaced the surprise.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm sorry, I should've been clearer. How many times has Noah failed?"

Suddenly, the air grew silent. Noah's eyes opened wide, Tetra's body shook, and Henrietta's face turned pale.

Tetra looked at Henrietta with concern.

"W-What does this mean, Enri?"

"..."

Noah slowly glanced toward her, waiting for her answer. Henrietta closed her eyes, swallowed dryly, and spoke with a trembling voice.

"A-Around five hundred times."

"!"

The news shook both Noah and Tetra.

"As we thought. This is only the beginning of this infinite struggle..."

With a concerned frown, Orion looked at Noah.

"As you might have surmised already, I am from another era. I inadvertently traveled through time after a battle against Miasma."

"W-What?!"

Tetra exclaimed with a loud yell.

"Noah, in history, you died fighting Miasma. Henrietta has tried hundreds of thousands of times to alter your ending, but was unsuccessful in doing so."

"My name is Orion Feales, the second Hero."

The news shocked everyone, including Henrietta. But, Noah's expression wasn't as dramatic as Orion expected it to be.

"You don't look surprised about learning of your death."

"This is something I signed up for when I was brought to this world. I never believed I would survive an encounter with Miasma anyway."

"Noah?!"

Tetra's shoulders trembled while hearing his defeated response.

He stayed silent until Henrietta stepped forward.

"Orion, would you tell me what happened? In every detail if possible."

A weird glimmer of hope appeared in Henrietta's eyes, unmissable to Orion.

"That's why I had you come meet me."

With a severe frown, Orion began to tell them the entirety of his time's history, his parents' past, Miasma pulling the strings, and his own story.

...

"As I traveled through endless time, I suddenly recalled the source of Tetra being in my core."

"I linked it to my soul, pulled a sliver of power enough to be controlled even by me out, and breached through it."

"..."

Orion stopped talking, letting the others process the heavy information he had shared with them.

The air was thick with various thoughts and feelings. Guilt, anger, sadness— every emotion on the spectrum appeared on their faces as he spoke.

"I... died."

The one showing the most shock was Tetra.

"That's why I said that hiding wasn't an option. If I came to this era, it wouldn't be a stretch to think Miasma also made it in some way."

"Noah said earlier that Miasma's demeanor changed and that the corrupt beasts suddenly became free of cores. This was a change in our time."

"If that is true, your hiding spot is of no use. You will die before even being able to do anything, and my future will be ruined."

He looked at his hands.

"If I'm still here, it means that our future is mostly unchanged. Meeting you here hasn't created any paradox, which is a good thing."

As he looked at Henrietta, he continued.

"I have two possibilities in mind concerning that."

Noah looked at him.

"Either this timeline isn't related to yours..."

Orion and Noa spoke at the same time.

"Or Nature has removed herself from overseeing the world."

They nodded in synchronicity.

"Wait, is this why we are unable to contact her?"

With an anxious frown, Tetra stared at Henrietta.

"If someone from the future is here in the past, and our enemy obtained the knowledge of his future self..."

Henrietta looked at her feet.

"Then, I can only see chaos in our current future. This is, by the laws of Nature, impossible and untolerable."

But, her gaze remained focused.

"If she removes herself to avoid causing further adjustments that could break this world even more, then history will correct its course over time."

"Past... The past. And the future."

Her knowledge of the matter piqued her interest.

"I get it... Tetra, you and I are a part of this unfolding story."

"What exactly do you imply by that?"

The two friends began to seriously ponder the prospect of this new future.

One where Henrietta never failed to save Noah, never went under increasing pressure under failure, and where Orion and Noah worked together.

"You will have to instruct Orion on how to use this power. The void element is related to your area of expertise."

She nodded.

"It is, but... I had no idea it ever existed."

"I am in the same boat. All of this is making my brain work in overdrive. We just need to focus."

"Your job is simple. Mine is a little more complex. I will have to overwrite many people's memories to avoid causing paradoxes in Orion's future."

"If history corrects itself, why do you need to do that?"

Henrietta's face grew serious.

"That's my role. Minimizing the impact that this event will cause is in my field of expertise. We all have a role to play presently, which has changed with the arrival of Orion and Miasma's changes."

"Noah."

Noah, the Hero of this era, was strangely quiet.

"..."

Meeting Henrietta's gaze, he listened to her words silently.

"I swear, we will do everything in our power to send you back alive."

Then, a smirk formed on his face.

"I have no choice but to trust you. Nonetheless, my role hasn't changed. I will fight whatever Miasma throws at us, even if it ends in death."

But someone was having none of it.

"No!"

Tetra stomped her foot on the ground before walking closer to him, staring straight into his eyes from below.

"When we said we'd save you, we meant it. You better do your utmost to protect yourself!"

They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Noah agreed.

"I never planned to die willingly. Don't worry about me."

Satisfied, Tetra took a step back and smiled, her hands behind her back.

"That's the answer I wanted."

She walked toward Henrietta, who spoke to Orion.

"Orion."

"Yes?"

"We will discuss this in detail between us. Meanwhile, I would like to know what you plan to do."

Pondering on the subject, his eyes drifted toward Noah.

"I..."

"I would like to follow Noah. I want to see history as it plays out."

His seriousness showed that it wasn't all.

"Learning from him is something I never thought would happen. Are you fine with me sticking around?"

Noah nodded.

"Likewise, I have something I would like to learn from you."

Two orbs appeared in both of his hands: a white orb and a dark orb.

Without needing any other explanation, Orion silently nodded.

"In that case, please do so. We will keep an eye on you."

"Feel free to call for Tetra when you require her. Your combined power might be the key to saving Noah's fate."

With that said, Henrietta and Tetra warped together in their hiding cave, leaving Orion and Noah alone.

"Shall we move ahead?"

"Sure."

Orion and Noah began their journey together. Inside Orion's mind, Tetra was freaking out.

'Was I always this heavy and obsessive?!'

'Aaaaaaah!'

Ignoring her screams in his head, Orion looked in the distance, toward the visible mountains.

In the middle of it, a gigantic tree overlooked the entirety of the continent.

'Seems like our destination is straight north.'

He thought of Tiohr-nam with a faint smile on his face as his legs pushed him forward.