"Mmh~"

The answer Alyssia gave wasn't what he was expecting, which made Orion frown in frustration.

Yet, after a few seconds, his expression softened, and a neutral gaze replaced the previous mood.

"I get it. This is your problem to resolve, and you would like to avoid any interference in it."

She nodded.

"After understanding the feelings of my future self, I can say without hesitation."

"The less you know about the time after Noah's demise in this current time, the better the chances will be for me to act."

Orion looked at her, but his eyes showed that he was lost in his thoughts.

'This is something I can always ask you and Henrietta once we're back.'

Tetra grumbled slightly.

'You want me to look into the past and tell you exactly what happened?'

With a firm voice, Orion made it clear to her.

'To some extent, yes. But I will be there to heal you constantly. I wouldn't risk anything happening to you again just to satisfy my curiosity.'

The more she paused on his words, the more she felt her feelings grow. Tetra wasn't used to this kindness.

With Noah's mind always somewhere else, there was no place for her. But with Orion, it was different. At this very moment, she was the only one to occupy his thoughts.

Still, she could feel that he wasn't in love with her.

Yet.

'T-Then, I supposed I wouldn't mind doing it for you. Enri won't be thrilled, but I'll do something about her.'

Inadvertently stuttering, she tried to play it cool.

'Thank you. Nonetheless, there will probably be nothing much to see, as the event itself will change. I can only make a blurry picture of the event in my head from what she explained.'

Having recovered her composure, she agreed.

'It might be better to not ponder too long on this matter. Enri, in our time, will tell you anything about the invaders.'

Frustration echoed in Orion's head, which made him curious.

'What's on your mind, Tetra?'

'...'

She quietly pondered before finally answering him.

'Those invaders... We missed it completely.'

'I know it is inexcusable, but if we had only turned our way to support the angels and demons, maybe we could've stopped their separation.'

Guilt was the only emotion in her soul.

'Our eyes were focused on Miasma to such an extent that we forgot to actually care for the ones we helped in the beginning.'

'I helped Noah rescue those orphans, and yet, I used them to bring you to life, the second Hero.'

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

'Why are we like this? Always prioritizing ourselves when everything becomes bleak? Normally, you'd help those around you and support each other, right?'

Tetra knew that the longer she stayed in this era, the more information she had previously been unaware of would resurface.

Of course, Henrietta and Tetra knew that the orphans had been torn apart by Noah's death, but anything that happened while they made plans to deal with Miasma, they had no knowledge about.

The same could be said for the entire period of time across the continent. They had no idea how the Frigoria Plains came to be or how the human faction managed to create a larger civilization.

'Even if Enri can perceive 'Fate' and 'Destiny', it's not like she can actually understand everything that is happening in the present moment.'

'Her brain cannot process this range of information, so that's why the 'Book of Destiny' exists. With it, she can read the details of somebody or something, a specific state of an object, whatever exists.'

Orion listened carefully as Tetra revealed more details about Henrietta's power as a Remnant.

'She can't see the future, since this is my specialty. All that is written in the book are the past events and the actual present. Even then, it is a taxing effort to bring that book out.'

'I heard Enri has incredibly vivid nightmares when she uses that book for an extended period of time. Her nightmares are on the mentally draining side of the spectrum, too. She never told me what she exactly dreamed about, though.'

What she said was a secret only she knew until now, but she trusted Orion too much to let him in the dark. She was done letting Henrietta endure her troubles alone.

'Thanks for telling me that. I'll be careful when talking to Henrietta so that she doesn't bring that book out often.'

'Hmm.'

He heard a meek acknowledgment from her before his mind focused on something else.

'A Remnant's power isn't necessarily a good thing, all things considered. Seeing that limitations like these are placed to avoid any form of abuse, it's to wonder why even give these powers to begin with.'

Tetra nodded internally.

'Nature is a system. It's difficult to know for sure what the point behind her actions is. We are living beings, so our thought processes are entirely different.'

'Even if she developed an ego, she remains a machine, is what you're saying?'

'Yes.'

This made it clearer. It was useless to try to find a reason for the Remnants being a part of the ecosystem of Triazils, as Nature herself probably had no answer to it.

'Blanc was the first of the Remnants, so maybe the system reproduced his existence and broke the laws of the world between a few people to avoid losing the entire system in case corruption were to swallow her.'

'We have no way to be precisely certain, so let's simply ignore the matter for now.'

Orion's words confused Tetra, but she felt like his idea was probably the closest to being true. How a system would react to potential destruction would be to preserve what can be protected.

In that case, the entire world.

'You might be correct. Honestly speaking, someone like Enri would be better at having this kind of conversation. I'm not that bright...'

His left eyebrow twitched.

'Who said that? It wasn't me, at least.'

'Huh?'

Tetra's self-deprecation was something Orion didn't like.

'Everyone is different. Maybe you are comparing yourself to Henrietta too much and being a tad too hard on yourself.'

'I may be smart and can read the mood, but I'm no stranger to making mistakes or ignoring some crucial details.'

'Karteira isn't as intelligent as Amelia, but does that make her less likeable? I don't think so.'

He frowned physically, which Alyssia watched with curiosity. His thoughts were actually quite intriguing to her.

Still, he continued to speak to Tetra, ignoring the woman, who was his ancestor, in front of him.

'The same can be said about you. If you don't think you are smart enough, rely on me, Amelia, or even Henrietta. No one will judge you for being who you are.'

'I promise you, I'll better myself. But I want you to do the same. Be a little more positive. I know it might be difficult for someone who can observe the bleak future laying in front of us, but I want you to try nonetheless.'

She was lost for words. This was the type of kindness she always desired. To be treated like a person and not a freak with strange, inhuman powers.

In a state of emotional weakness, she blurted out words she had contained until now.

'W-What you said... It's dangerous. You'll make me fall for you.'

A profound feeling of overwhelming love grew inside Orion's chest, but it wasn't his.

At first, he opened his eyes in shock as the choking emotion rampaged inside his core, but as seconds passed, he felt it becoming similar to Amelia.

Since the two were connected by the 'Key' and the 'Shackles', they were often inadvertently leaking emotions when touching each other.

During the nights they slept together, the same emotion was felt in Orion.

Love. True, relentless, and eternal love.

One that wouldn't break through words, that even death wouldn't be able to tamper with.

'Shit...'

Orion smiled dryly, understanding the mistake he had made.

'It makes more sense as to why you were acting weirdly previously.'

Thinking back on the strange outburst Tetra had made after the Henrietta of this era asked if they were a couple in the future, it began to spell something to Orion.

Coupled with the intense feeling in his core, there was no way he could ignore her.

'Eh?! Oh, no! W-Wait!'

'What have I done?!'

Suddenly, Tetra began to panic when she realized what she had said. The embarrassment was unbearable, but most of all, she was afraid.

Afraid of his reaction.

'Let's put your feelings on hold for now.'

'Orion?'

Surprised by his response that wasn't a clear rejection, Tetra felt her mind blanking out.

'This is neither the time nor the place to have this kind of conversation. I'm glad to finally be aware of it, but this is something we'll have to discuss some more somewhere private.'

'S-Sure...'

Alyssia was slowly inching toward Orion, observing his wide range of emotions that reminded her of Alaric.

She was about to ask him about his thoughts when Orion suddenly leaned back on his chair, creating distance between their faces.

"In that case, it's better to stop this conversation. Now, it's time for me to tell you everything you need to know about the time after your death."

With a frown and a nod, Alyssia sat back on her chair while playing with her pen.

Everything that was recorded in the history of the angels and demons, which had been revealed to Orion in the recordings his parents had left him, was disclosed to the 'Priestess of Light'.

*

This era became a confined mess. Multiple people knew about future events, and in normal circumstances, this would never happen.

But with Nature stepping out of the picture entirely, the rules that she kept enforcing disappeared, opening up a path for those inadvertently traveling to the past.

Orion, the second Hero and breaker of 'Fate'.

Tetra, Remnant of 'Space and Time', survived a fate worse than death.

Noah, the first Hero from another world, was predestined to die but still battled with the faint hope of returning home.

Henrietta, the Remnant of 'Destiny' and 'Fate', was unable to change anything, bitterly fighting against the worst endings.

Alyssia, the future 'Radiant Priestess', bears the memories of a distant future, leading to a tragic end.

And...

Miasma, the Remnant of Corruption.

No one knew what was happening to him after he had obtained the ability to breach through 'Space' and 'Time'.

But, his machinations still continued.