For an entire month, Orion was unable to correctly use his void magic.

Thanks to Tetra's quick action in creating a passage nullifying the corruption from blocking his magic circuit, Orion could bring a bit of void magic out.

The problem was that the constant need to feed the magic used to create this passage drained most of his magic.

It was terribly inefficient to do so, leaving Orion with less than one tenth of his original magic output.

Two options were left for him.

Either try and push his magical limits further, giving him more leeway to work around his natural limitations, or wait for a way to break the curse, which would stop the need to maintain the bridge.

In the end, Orion chose to work toward augmenting his magical limits.

But even after an entire month, nothing of real value was found.

After a month, Tetra and Orion's relationship also began to change for the better.

After inadvertently letting out her true feelings, Tetra made him aware of the changes inside her.

At first, they slowly discussed what this would entail for them in the future.

—

'I feel bad for Amelia and the others.'

After Orion recovered from his two weeks of unconsciousness, the two began to seriously consider the implications of a new relationship.

'Because they can't say anything about your feelings? If that's the problem, then you shouldn't worry about it. I don't think they would mind it that much.'

Tetra groaned.

'You don't understand. Women are more possessive than you think. That's why Amelia explicitly states that she's the 'first' and that no one is allowed to get one over her.'

'If we're talking about possessiveness... then I think I understand.'

Orion frowned, recalling the few moments he had lost his temper when other men approached his companions.

'You aren't even close to understanding. Women are dangerous when love is at play. It is because of you that they managed to form an alliance of sorts to avoid harming your feelings.'

'Amelia might be more open-minded, but she's still number one. Imagine if you had taken someone else to bed before her. Let's say, Olivia.'

'What do you think would have happened?'

Closing his eyes with a defeated smile, he gave up the argument.

'You're right, it would've turned into a very nasty situation.'

Coughing briefly to return to the matter at hand, Tetra continued.

'Now, what am I going to say to her when I get back to my body?'

'I've spent more than a thousand years with you inside your body. Sure, I'm kind enough to close the connection when you have your needs, but I know practically anything about you.'

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

He could feel the sweet scent of love in his nose as she spoke because of the source inside his body.

'How your body is built, how you think, how you've changed, how you struggle... Most things no one apart from you should be able to know.'

'Now, how do I explain to Amelia that I have a long lead over her?'

To that, Orion shrugged.

'But you don't? Sure, you know about me very well, but Amelia just about knows exactly what I've been thinking most of the time. Karteira is also beginning to do the same.'

Without even thinking about it, he placed the last nail in the coffin, angering Tetra slightly in the process.

'And I've slept with her already. She has that over you.'

'Sure, she does have that! And I'm fucking jealous! I'm stuck in your core, so I can't even touch you! Do you even understand how frustrating it is for me?'

He heard a groan and then a discontented exhalation, as if Tetra were puffing her cheeks.

'I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to rub this in your face.'

'...'

He could feel that she was truly feeling mixed feelings. On one side, she hated being unable to do anything, but on the other, she was glad to be by his side at all times.

'Orion...'

'Yes?'

She let out a sweet voice, which Orion wasn't expecting.

'I'm seriously trying to get over Noah. Would you consider... having me?'

Orion silently stared at the ground.

'I can. But you need to understand.'

The words that Tetra was expecting entered her ears.

'As of now, I have no feelings for you. I'm sure you know about it.'

'Yes.'

Her answer had no frustration, sadness, or defeat in it.

'I understand it better than anyone else. I'm the Remnant of 'Love' for a reason.'

'I see.'

Not knowing how to give the correct answer, Orion simply nodded.

'That's why...'

Then, Tetra explained her plan for the future, which made Orion blink with a blank stare.

'I'll keep saying that I love you from time to time. Maybe one day you'll turn to me, and you'll repeat those words back.'

'...'

'Speechless?'

Orion smiled.

'That's on the level of what Amelia would do. I can go through that without a problem.'

With a worried tone, she asked him.

'Do you dislike me?'

Instantly shaking his head, Orion frowned.

'No. Far from it. I learned many things from you, and I sincerely enjoy our conversations. But to say that I'm in love with you...'

He looked at the wall in front of him with a neutral expression.

'I won't lie. I don't.'

But Tetra wasn't about to give up. She wasted thousands of years thinking about Noah, so she could also do it for him.

'That leaves me room to seduce you, then.'

'Prepare yourself. I'm unrelenting when I love someone.'

With that conversation done, Orion became the bearer of a soul that tried to make his feelings grow for her.

They discussed this many times again after, but the answer always ended up the same.

But, Tetra had six years to try to get Orion to love her. If she wasn't able to, she swore to stop pestering him after returning home.

—

Returning to the present day, a month later.

Inside Orion's core, Tetra was unusually tensed.

'...'

She groaned, sighed, and weirdly answered when Orion called out to her.

'What is happening to you?'

She wasn't acting her usual self, and it was worrying him.

'Won't you at least answer me?'

He was starting to think that he had done something to make her this way.

Sure, he was like usual, prioritizing training over anything else, but he never said anything that would trigger this situation.

'It's today...'

After hearing Orion's genuine anxiety, she finally decided to speak.

'Today? What's today?'

Orion hadn't been keeping track of the days since coming here. With the urgency to recover his void magic and the need to get used to his ancestors' help, he was oblivious to whatever was happening outside.

'I can't believe you've forgotten. Here I was, stressing over nothing.'

Releasing a sigh of relief, Tetra relaxed.

'If you haven't paid attention, I suppose it's nothing.'

These words attached themselves to Orion's mind, weighting heavily as he realized that something was missing.

'Forgetting something? Something that would justify your behavior...'

'Don't think too much about it! There's no reason to-'

It didn't take long for Orion to recall one of the most important days of this era. As the air grew heavier around him, a dark veil covered his eyes.

His feet carried his will to exit the room and to enter the room where the Remnants observed Noah.

"Orion?!"

Henrietta jumped the moment Orion opened the heavy door, not expecting his sudden entrance.

Tetra, who was intently looking into the water, didn't even register him.

"Tetra."

"Hiee!"

Hearing her name being spoken so abruptly, the woman shrieked and almost fell down her chair.

"W-What?! What is it? Oh... Orion?"

Seeing that the one calling her name was Orion, she sighed in relief.

'Why did we jump like this? We're not usually this sensible.'

Henrietta looked at Orion, and then she realized why she felt tense.

'His eyes...'

Under the dark veil covering his face, she could see the bright gray-colored pupils staring straight at the other Remnant in the room.

She knew it wasn't directed at her, and she felt no danger emanating from him, so she let it go.

"Send me to Noah, please."

"Why? I mean, it was said politely, so I have no reason to refuse, but I am curious. You haven't joined him much recently."

Orion approached the table and peered inside the water, where Noah was waiting for the army of corrupt beasts to come.

"There's something I have to witness directly. I have to..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. The heavy tone spoke louder than any words he could utter, which made Tetra understand that it was significant to him.

"Come here. I'll transport you safely."

Walking next to her, he waited for her to place her hand on his shoulder.

With a moment of gratitude, his heavy aura vanished, and he nodded to her, wearing a normal smile.

"Thanks."

"Sure."

...

Orion's vision instantly recovered. The usual sickening feeling wasn't as pronounced as before after recovering some of his void magic.

"That's rare to see you actually participate in defending a village. What happened? Feeling rusty and in need of moving around?"

Noah glanced over his shoulder as Orion approached him.

"No. Nothing like that."

He stood in front of Noah, watching the village. Then, he turned around.

"I came to tell you not to defend the village until all of it is destroyed."

The first Hero's face darkened.

"I hope you understand who you're saying that to."

"Right, Orion?"

The two Heroes stood face-to-face, a heavy air around them.