A crack in space opened, which made Tetra open her mouth wide.

"That's... not the same as my Remnant power. You weren't lying."

She acknowledged at last that Orion truly possessed the power to manipulate 'Space' and 'Time' to some extent.

"Well..."

A groan escaped Orion's mouth as he closed the portal without leaving a trace of it behind.

"What is it?"

Surprised by his behavior, Tetra placed a hand behind his back. His face was rather pale compared to a few minutes ago.

"The curse... It's still there."

Orion could feel his magical vessels close up as he spoke, causing his magic output to dwindle.

What Alyssia did was create only a brief moment of recovery.

"Fuck..."

The corruption was harder to remove this time than it was previously. As it was growing back to block his magic from flowing freely in his body, the Remnant in his core suddenly shouted.

"Don't lose hope!"

A number appeared in his left eye, and a strange distortion, similar yet different from before, enveloped Orion.

"That number!"

Tetra's eye flashed the same number, reacting to her power being used by someone else.

'Sorry, me! But I'll use you to make this work!'

While the magical veins were still leaking magic, the two Tetras linked for a split moment.

Draining a chunk of the past Tetra's magic, the future Tetra forced the corruption to stall while a distortion formed in the veins.

'Now!'

When ordering the void element to act, it was immediately understood. The void element created portals inside Orion himself, where the blocked areas were.

Since Tetra wasn't able to use much of her original power alone, all she could do was hold it for three seconds before the corruption blocked the entire system again.

'I can't hold it any longer!'

The magic she pulled from her physical self was depleted, and the corruption finished plugging up the magic flow.

Everything returned to normal as Orion breathed heavily.

His body was burning up, and his muscles were aching. But...

'That's fucking right! I made it!'

A voice full of joy exploded in his head. He could imagine Tetra jumping up and down as her plan succeeded, her fist clenched above her head in a victory pose.

'Like I said... You're not that dumb.'

Orion smiled faintly before fainting in Tetra's arms.

...

"What happened?"

"..."

Alyssia asked Tetra, who supported Orion with ease. He was taller than her, but she was not a frail woman unable to carry a man.

Hesitantly, she turned to the worried woman.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"I... really don't know. All I know is that he drained some of my magical energy when I was touching him and that he did something to himself."

With a confused expression, Tetra looked at Orion's exhausted face.

Moving her free hand in front of her face, she closed it and opened it multiple times.

'Nothing's out of the ordinary. My Remnant power is still right there.'

Making sure that Orion hadn't done something to her, she finally relaxed.

At that moment, she recalled what had just happened.

Alyssia appeared to be pondering the same thing.

"Something was... inside him."

The puddle of dark matter was no more. With no hesitation, Orion erased the corruption before it could take over anyone around him.

"That was corruption."

With a nod, Tetra answered her. At first, she was wary of the silver-haired woman, but after seeing how neutral she was about Noah and that she showed some form of care for Orion, she decided that Alyssia was trustworthy.

"So corruption does have a physical presence in the body. This is knowledge I'm grateful to have obtained."

With a faint smile, Alyssia lifted her hand and reached toward Orion.

"..."

Tetra watched her with a neutral face. Seeing the intense gaze upon her, Alyssia glanced at Tetra.

"You don't have to be so on guard. I'm not doing anything."

As her hand fell on Orion's silky black hair, she gently caressed it.

"Thanks to him, we'll be able to avoid following the same path of destruction we were set on."

Her eyes turned to Tetra as a small hint of anger gleamed inside them. She was furious at her for having brought the items that caused the destruction of her colony.

Yet, she couldn't entirely blame her.

"What?"

Noticing the expression on her face, Tetra frowned and asked her.

"I was thinking that we aren't much better, you and I."

"..."

Not knowing what to make of what she had said, Tetra kept quiet. She knew Alyssia was somehow angered by her, but she had no idea why.

She knew that it wouldn't be wise to bring this up, especially if that matter was related to Orion.

Alyssia closed her eyes, pulled her hand back from Orion's hair, and took a step back.

"In any case, that's where our paths separate."

With a saddened grimace, she looked at Orion.

"I've done what I could. The rest..."

As she turned around, she ignored Tetra.

"It is in your hands, our successor."

The pink-haired woman's eyes opened widely.

"Successor?"

As Alyssia walked in the distance, Tetra glanced at Orion.

"..."

"I think I know why I'm not liked."

With a neutral expression, she warped back to the hideout with Orion, where she and Henrietta placed him on a bed until he awakened.

~

Orion opened his eyes.

"The prince finally opened his eyes."

"..."

A very irritating voice rang in Orion's ears, forcing him to rapidly stand up.

"A damp, uncomfortable floor..."

He only knew one place similar to this one.

"Darkness everywhere, but surprisingly lit up."

"I thought we wouldn't be seeing each other soon, but I wasn't expecting actual eons before it happened."

A darkened figure walked in front of Orion, revealing himself to him.

"You..."

His eyes fell on himself, sporting a mischievous grin on his face.

"How have you been after losing your battle against Miasma?"

"..."

Orion glared at the figure. He recalled speaking to it after Tetra had been killed by Miasma, right before their showdown in Eogis.

"Don't glare at me. I told you so, wasn't it? If only you had accepted my power, we would've been doing fine."

A grunt escaped Orion's mouth as the words his other self spoke infuriated him.

"And having no mind to even differentiate between those important to you and the enemy."

"Miasma, fuck off."

Pure hatred shaped the words Orion let out.

"So, you knew."

The dark shape of Orion morphed into a shadow with red eyes.

"Of course I do. I'm not that stupid to not understand your machinations. The first time was in my nightmare."

Orion scowled at Miasma with fury in his eyes.

"The second time was after you dared go after Tetra."

Having learned his lesson, Orion kept Stella's relationship with him hidden to avoid her being targeted in the future.

"And the third is right now, after I've managed to bypass your blockage. How pitiful do you have to be to tempt me into becoming a husk?"

"Ha~ Pitiful, you say..."

The Remnant of 'Corruption' laughed lightly.

"You might be right on this one."

Miasma wasn't actually physically here compared to the time he invaded Orion's nightmare. Only a shadow with bright red eyes was present, trying to whisper sweet temptations to the Hero.

"That curse of yours. I was never freed of it. I learned that recently."

"Otherwise, you would never be able to interact with me like this."

Waving left and right, the thick cloud of dark energy dispersed everywhere under Miasma.

"Really, I'm not concerned about your little curse. You can get rid of it, but either way, it wouldn't change much for me."

"Since you've refused to become my power two times, I have very little need to continue bothering with you."

Orion frowned.

"I bet it was something stupid, like hindering Noah's movement or creating a situation where you could strike at him before your inevitable defeat."

"..."

Miasma fell silent, speaking louder than any words he could have used to defend himself.

'You don't know anything, do you?'

'Henrietta was right. Miasma is unable to know anything about us, even through me.'

Thinking about the entire time since coming to this era, Orion smirked.

"Anyway, how were your attempts to rescue the Valkyrie?"

This question was a genuine curiosity. Since Miasma was in front of him, he felt like this was the only chance to ask.

Miasma noticed the respectful tone Orion used to cite his wife. He could've aggressively asked or disrespectfully called her 'that Valkyrie'.

"I'm not telling you shit."

Orion could tell Miasma was pleased by the question. He immediately went the other way.

"Don't take me wrong. I'm simply interested in the details. I know you've failed."

'Probably as much as Henrietta did, looking at your reaction.'

"Grrr!"

A very menacing growl echoed in the empty darkness, and Orion knew exactly where it came from.

The way he spoke made Miasma even more frustrated than he already was.

"What do you know about that, huh? If you, Heroes, weren't constantly trying to hinder my plans, I would've long been able to get my revenge on that monster."

Rage escaped Miasma as if years of accumulated wrath were finally released.

Unfazed by his foes anger, Orion shrugged.

"It's sad that you're unable to understand that you became the same kind of monster you are trying to get revenge on."

Miasma blanked.

"Anyway, I don't have the time to talk to you."

A bright light enveloped Orion's entire right arm.

"I'll keep your curse inside me for now, as a reminder of your failed attempts to corrupt me."

Keeping hidden the fact that he was unable to completely remove it from his core and that it actually caused trouble for him with humans, Orion glared at the Remnant.

As Orion slammed his hand on the ground, light exploded, devouring the surrounding darkness.

...

"Orion?"

Slowly, he opened his eyes.

He was inside the house in the Remnants' hideout, where he and Noah rested.

Seeing that Orion was finally opening his eyes, Noah closed the book he was writing into and posed the pen on the table before rotating his entire body toward Orion.

"You've been unconscious for two weeks. How are you doing?"

"..."

Orion sat on the bed's edge and sighed.

"I'm hungry."

"Haha~ I bet. Are you feeling good enough to eat?"

Looking at himself, Orion nodded. His conversation with Miasma returned to him, but he kept it inside him.

'Thank the world, you're alright!'

Tetra's voice finally broke the silence in his mind. With a smile, he stood up.

"Let's go eat."

Noah and Orion walked out of the house to get something to eat.

With Tetra's help, they prepared a warm, filling soup that gave back the strength Orion had lost during the two weeks he had missed.