Alyssia's life.

It was a relatively normal life.

Many tragedies happened, and many moments of happiness made it possible to keep a bright smile from fading away.

Before Noah rescued her, she was living in a peaceful village in a temperate climate on the west side of the continent.

She and Alaric were acquaintances in this rather large village of five hundred inhabitants.

But one day, a stampede of large creatures trampled on their peace. They destroyed everything, killed everyone, and joyfully brought chaos to the humans.

Out of the entire village, only two survived.

When Noah arrived in the village, it was too late. All he managed to find was Alaric protecting her with a bloodied expression.

Alaric was younger than Alyssia by a year, but he was a feisty man. He immediately spat at Noah, thinking that he was someone who had come to capture them.

She was eighteen at the time, and Alaric was seventeen. The smile on their faces was no longer present, replaced by the devastating realization that their entire world came crumbling down on them out of nowhere.

Alyssia had lost her will to live the instant she saw her parents being ripped apart in front of her.

The young Alaric was forcing himself to endure the pain he was feeling physically and mentally to protect the only other survivor.

But, the instant the young people looked at Noah, they noticed the expression of intense sadness on his face. If he could, he would have shed tears for them, but he did not.

Instead, he swore to protect them. He hugged the two teenagers as they released their pent-up anguish in his arms.

After this terrible event, Noah, with the help of a pink-haired woman, brought them to this massive island.

He gave them materials, food, and necessities to survive. At first, they were two. Then, Noah began to bring more and more orphans from destroyed villages.

The scale of destruction drastically decreased after Noah proactively went around the continent, and fewer orphans were forced to leave their lives behind.

Nonetheless, at least one orphan was brought to them each month. During the entire ten years in which Noah walked the land, a hundred and forty-three children were released from a painful and lonely life.

But, it was after Noah's death.

A strange energy began to transform the bodies of the orphans. With time, some of them grew wings, tails, horns, and halos.

The two factions, the angels and demons, were born. This created even more friction between the orphans.

Alaric and Alyssia had become a family a year before Noah's death. When they began to show changes, their daughter was already born.

Maybe because of their closeness to the Hero, they were the first to become different.

...

During the following five years, small conflicts began to arise, generated by the adults.

It wasn't all. An invading force was marching on Eogis, coming from another continent.

These people were ruthlessly killing every living being on the island, be it animals or faction members.

The first to suffer were the kobolds. For better or for worse, this faction was despised by all entities for a reason that was unknown to the orphans.

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Yet, something had to be done. One day, a scout of the invading force found out about their little village.

People began to panic. Chaos ensued for a while, as they feared for their lives now that Noah wasn't there to help them.

Ultimately, one man stepped forward, becoming the commander of the fighting force.

Alaric.

The young, powerless man was no more. In the face of the pioneering enemy, his resolve was unshakable.

Answering that determination, Alyssia, the only person who knew of his innate bravery, walked alongside him to defend everyone.

This was the only time when angels and demons fought on equal ground against a common enemy.

Many lost their lives still trying to use their new power, but as more and more enemies began to appear in front of them, they were forced to abandon the fight.

Magic was only slightly blooming in their bodies, which made it impossible to fight back efficiently.

Only Alaric and Alyssia remained, desperately fighting with their lives on the line.

Through the toughest fights, where blood spilled incessantly, something awakened inside of them.

The power of darkness exploded from Alaric as his fury swallowed his enemies, and the power of light enveloped Alyssia, while her will to live protected her from the weapons of her foes.

In an unforeseen act of rebellion, they pushed the invaders back to the sea and destroyed everything within reach.

Boats were broken into fragments, and people were disintegrated or swallowed by the darkness.

They were both given titles by the enemy generals. Alaric became the 'Prince of the Abyss', while Alyssia obtained the nickname 'Radiant Priestess'.

Their power was stronger than that of Noah in terms of destruction. That's why they sealed it after using it.

Agreeing to never use this monstrous energy to bring chaos to their factions, they returned home.

After many months of fighting incessantly, the end came at last.

But, their troubles weren't over.

The angels and demons, who were starting to distance themselves, couldn't tolerate each other anymore.

People began to frown at the idea of having children with each other. Angels and demons were not to be mixed, and their leaders had broken this unfounded taboo by having a mixed-blooded child.

Everyone who had relations with the other faction was a traitor in their eyes, and they were treated like outcasts, going so far as to break the family forcefully.

Still, Alyssia and Alaric were the heads of the colony. Nothing other than small fights broke out between the two factions.

With a great deal of effort, they managed to protect those in a similar situation.

...

After many years, enough to let their child grow, the event that sparked the age of conflict happened.

At that time, someone brought items that were significant for the orphans.

Tia-Norun brought the two artifacts that were part of Noah's belongings, and things began to escalate rapidly.

One of them was given to Alyssia, while the other was given to Alaric.

The two agreed to place it inside a shrine in the center of the village, where the two artifacts that Noah had left behind could rest in peace.

One of them was named the 'Key', while the other was named the 'Shackles'.

But only a few weeks after obtaining the artifacts, a demon broke through the shrine and stole the 'Shackles' in front of many witnesses.

The war between the angels and demons began this very day.

Alyssia and Alaric tried to mediate with the two factions, but nothing came to fruition.

In fact, their meddling only sparked even more conflicts when an angel attacked their child.

Alaric, in rage, unleashed his dark power and swallowed the angel whole. To avoid making the matter even worse, Alyssia tried to stop his dark magic by unleashing her light.

This created a clash on a larger scale, where both factions attacked each other mindlessly.

At the end of it all, Alaric received a fatal injury while defending his child, and Alyssia perished while fighting off Alaric's wrath.

It looked like the two were fighting against one another, but even through all that, they managed to protect their daughter from an unjust death.

Their child managed to flee somewhere and hide secretly after the two factions split off in two different directions.

That was the awful fate of the orphans, the angels, and the demons as a whole.

—

"In hindsight, this might have been the corruption that played a major role in separating both of us."

Alyssia slumped in her chair and looked at the ceiling.

Orion breathed a sigh that showed the conflicted emotions fighting within him.

"I knew the events leading to the two factions breaking off were difficult, but I had no idea it was to that extent."

He placed his mouth between his hands while his elbows met the table. Knowing the actual history of his people was something he always wanted to learn, but the reality was exactly as he expected it to be.

"There are numerous events that I will need to focus on."

With the information from Alyssia herself, there were already a few events to be wary of.

"First are the adults who decided to act against us, spreading the seeds of discord."

The Alyssia in front of Orion wasn't the same person he had met earlier. Her smile was still radiant, but her mind was focused on the future.

Knowing the future was a boon, but also a curse. Both Orion and Alyssia knew about it. The weight of altering history was on their shoulders, and they had to work around it to achieve their ideals.

"What are you planning to do with them? You won't execute them, do you?"

Orion knew that the fastest way to avoid a problem was to snuff its flame before it could grow stronger.

But Alyssia shook her head. Tetra added something at that moment.

'If you were to do that, she would get on everyone's wrong side instantly. She would become a tyrant.'

'I know. That's why I asked her for her opinion on the matter. This wouldn't help her cause, since they are still orphans.'

Pondering for an instant, Alyssia made up her mind.

"I'll use Alaric for that. Since we are fated to be together, I have no reason to go against my feelings."

She smiled with such happiness that she radiated a warm feeling. This felt like Amelia's love after he had accepted her advances.

'Knowing that her feelings would be reciprocated... What a lucky woman.'

A tinge of envy escaped Tetra's non-existent mouth, yet she was genuinely happy for her.

'You'll be happy one day, too, Tetra.'

Orion spoke those words before keeping quiet.

'...'

Tetra gasped slightly.

"Can Alaric stop the conflicts?"

Alyssia nodded.

"He has a foul mouth and can be relatively rude, but he is kind-hearted. Still, he is quite the bully when he wants to be."

"Especially when others show disrespect. This hasn't changed since before being dropped here."

Suddenly, she stopped talking and looked at Orion, dropping her head dramatically.

"Orion, which one of your parents is our direct descendant?"

Surprised, he looked down, thinking.

"Most likely my father."

Reon was the one with the blood of his ancestors. Orianne was from an entirely different bloodline.

Because the daughter of Alaric and Alyssia was an angel. Of course, he had no way to know for certain.

"I see. This wasn't a vital question, but I was simply curious."

"This is nothing. Still, I have a question."

"Yes?"

Alyssia straightened.

"What was it about those invaders? Could you describe the event more precisely?"

As Orion leaned forward with a dark gleam in his eyes, Alyssia shook her head.

"I can't."