"Now..."

Reon leaned backward and comfortably sat on the couch.

"The real question is: are our guesses true, or are they purely just a way to cope?"

Henrietta wiped her tears away gracefully with her thumb and nodded.

"I'd rather consider your ideas to be the actual truth. You've proven to be a rather smart individual out of the many people I've met."

"Orion most likely inherited that from you, though he appears to be denser than gas at times."

Slightly taken by surprise, Reon raised an eyebrow before laughing out loud.

"Hahaha~"

Karteira nodded while stroking Amelia's hair gently.

"I can't say that's wrong. Orion was decisive but always struggled with us. Even with Stella."

She recalled the first time the two had met and how he stayed by her bedside the entire time.

Orion had a seriously difficult time accepting his feelings at the time, but he accepted the young girl as his daughter in the end.

"That's most likely coming from his mother. She can be... difficult every so often. She has tunnel vision when it concerns me or Orion."

"But I can't blame her for that. Her family is everything, and I feel the same way."

A small electric discharge escaped the tip of his index finger and disappeared inside his thumb.

Noticing the ionized air around him, Henrietta looked at him with a worried expression. There was a question she wanted to ask him since being revived.

"Are you perhaps angry at us? We Remnants haven't been openly acting during the largest events in history."

Reon nodded.

"Slightly."

"I see."

Henrietta closed her eyes as Reon turned to her.

"I say that, but I won't blame you. I am not petty enough to spit on the efforts you've made."

"I understand well enough the necessity to stay hidden with a power like yours of Tetra's. This was definitely the best outcome possible."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You think so?"

"I do. Instead of sacrificing yourself or the other Remnants, I believe the current path we are on is the correct one."

He nodded.

"Even without Orion, everything continues to work in a way that helps him. I'd say that this is a sign of providence, but all I can think of is a meddling of 'Nature' at this point."

"If it obtained a will of its own, which seems to be the case, it's highly likely that it supports Orion's endeavor."

"And the end goal would be..."

His words echoed loudly in Henrietta's head. She knew exactly what Reon was thinking about.

"The invaders that we hide from..."

She exhaled those words with a heavy breath. Her tone slightly trembled at the memories of the Valkyrie killers, Devourer of Purity.

There was no information on them in the 'Book of Fate', as if their entire existences were an out-of-this-world fable.

Yet, their existence caused the greatest shift in history. They caused Miasma to be born, the Remnant 'faction' to exist, and the story of two Heroes who worked toward peace.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Yet, absolutely nothing was written about them. What they were, where they came from, their goals— nothing.

The only element written was their title, the Devourers of Purity.

"I cannot think of any other reason for an almighty system like 'Nature' that supposedly controls all aspects of the world to act like this."

"Creating Remnants, giving them their powers, and voluntarily hindering the progress of corruption. As if..."

Henrietta nodded and continued his sentence.

"As if 'Nature' was biding her time."

Reon tilted his head.

"Her? Is it not a system?"

But the Remnant's eyes stared into nothing.

"From all the interactions I had with 'Nature', you should consider it a woman. There is a reason we call 'Mother Nature' such."

Seemingly intrigued by the concept, Reon pondered. But rapidly, his head dropped, and he gave a nod to Henrietta.

"Alright. I'll consider 'Nature' to be a woman. It doesn't influence the matter of whether I agree to it or not."

His pragmatism was shining through his words and movements.

This was the essence of a researcher who studied every aspect of life.

"Let's consider that Orion were to fight against those creatures."

Reon couldn't imagine the pressure these monsters exerted on the world or their power.

But Henrietta could, as she saw it with her own eyes.

"First, Orion would need to be stronger than Miasma. This is already the first blockade. His previous fight appeared to be neither a victory nor a defeat."

"If we have to classify it, it was a good attempt, but he was lacking the power to do so. He also did not prepare enough for the defense around his house, which would have avoided what happened to Tetra."

Karteira and Stella both listened and nodded, while Henrietta silently stared at him.

She wasn't expecting such harsh words from Orion's father himself. The bluntness of his observation made it somehow relatable, as they were all familiar with Orion's struggles.

"To be completely frank, since obtaining that power, the 'Abyssal Sovereign' demonic form, Orion has long since passed our level."

Karteira opened her visible eye wide.

"Really?!"

"This will sound harsh, but Orion lacks control more than power. This came from a lack of time, mostly."

He nodded.

"With the return of Elliott and Miasma's plans to invade Horizon, he had barely any time to correctly prepare in an environment where he could relax and ponder."

Reon's eyes flickered with a white light as he pointed his finger in front of his face.

*ZZZT*

Two lightning bolts shot in front of his eyes and wrapped around each other for a moment.

"That's control."

Then, the two bolts merged and transformed into a sphere of plasma that levitated above his finger.

"Again, control."

In the end, Reon extended his hand and caught the small sphere in his palm, crushing it and absorbing the magic back into his body.

"There was no waste of magic the entire time."

Henrietta looked at the magic in awe.

"Exactly. That's why we were able to hold Elliott for a few hours. Orion couldn't even get through ten minutes without being knocked down by him."

"Orianne and I had more than a hundred years to perfect our usage of magic. That and... luck, I suppose."

His face shifted a little as a few memories resurfaced from a corner of his mind.

But he frowned right after.

"Time Orion didn't have. It was, if I have to be completely honest, a miracle beyond anything possible."

"The entire world was against him, yet why was Orion able to create a new element? What went differently this time that never happened before?"

He closed his eyes and lifted his finger.

"The books."

Henrietta tilted her head, while Karteira pondered. Stella stayed neutral, as she had no idea what those books were.

"Henrietta, Orion read a lot. He is practically a walking library."

"His knowledge is on par with mine, but on different topics. If I understand the intrinsic details of machinery and the soul, Orion understands the entire system that makes the 'World'."

"That's where his knowledge became the turning point of this timeline. Still, what about those books? Who made them?"

Reon sincerely hoped Henrietta had the answer, but she could only shake her head.

"I do not know. I have never held one myself, so I cannot give you a definite answer."

"Hmm~ Even the Remnant of Fate and Destiny do not know... This is a mystery quite interesting."

Still, Reon shrugged.

"Nonetheless, if Orion were to learn how to control his power correctly and perfect the void magic into an actual ability in battle, the situation would be entirely different."

Henrietta closed her eyes and inhaled sharply.

"Actually, Orion has zero chances against those beings. None of us have, and this is a fact I dread to acknowledge, even now."

"You, Orianne, the Remnants, and even Elliott... None of us would even survive a single minute against one of them. These beings are a cataclysmic threat to us."

"Even the sun would be more merciful to us than them."

Her words were heavy with the weight of reality. She remembered her mother inflicting an injury on the enemy, only to disappear a few seconds later, as if nothing had happened.

Henrietta's mother was a Valkyrie. The actual power of a Valkyrie was far superior compared to even Titania, the most formidable Remnant at this moment.

And she lost. All Valkyries were lost to those beings. Only a greater being would ever be able to have a fighting chance against them.

Reon sighed.

"Orion will have to transcend himself to become strong enough. Hopefully, he will realize what is important before it is too late."

"Transcend?!"

Stella stood up from her kneeling position.

Her eyes showed the beautiful spiraling galaxy sigil as she pondered.

"Will he be alright?"

Not knowing what to say, he looked at her with an uncertain expression.

"That is for him to learn. But this might also be something he has to go through. His void element is only a fledgling element. Who knows how powerful it truly is?"

"Even his light element was only evolving toward its true power. The radiance of his wings was a good indication."

Stella's eyes shone brightly, like stars.

"I wish I had seen that!"

In the past, she only saw Orion's 'Abyssal Sovereign' form. His ink-black wings, dark coat, and cold gaze were all she could remember.

It was a stark contrast to his angelic form, which showed warmth and purity on an incredible scale.

"Stella."

Karteira caught the young lady's attention.

"Yes?"

Rapidly, she turned to the Cerulean fairy.

"You have his elements in you. Don't you want to be like him?"

For a second, Stella appeared to be in shock. She seriously pondered the question before smiling.

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"That's impossible."

"I am a Remnant."

The sigil in her eyes appeared stronger than before, answering her will.

"My body is one of a human. I will never share the same blood as him. I cannot be like him."

Her tone was heartbreaking, but she smiled through it.

"That's why I will be myself. The only thing I can do is copy his clothing, but I cannot be Orion. But, I will fight the same fight. This power is my way to give back the happiness he gave me..."

"And the happiness I will receive in the future."

Her words echoed in Karteira's head.

"You became stronger. It pains me to say it, but you almost sound like him, too."

A small giggle escaped Karteira's mouth as she saw Orion's back behind Stella.

"Really, you had to turn out like him, huh?"

A bright smile formed on Stella's face.

"He is my dad!"

...

Thereafter, the discussion shifted entirely.

Reon and Henrietta continued to discuss the potential abilities Orion would need to fight the overworldly beings, while the others returned.

"Amelia."

Olivia and Dramia kneeled in front of Karteira and Amelia with a bowl of watery soup full of nutrients.

Karteira lightly tapped on her friend's cheek until she slowly opened her eyes.

"It's us."

With a smile, Olivia caught her attention.

"You need to drink this soup, or you won't get better. You understand?"

"Hey! Can't you be gentler with your tone?"

"Shush, Drania."

Amelia watched as Dramia leaned forward with the small bowl in her hands. Karteira gently lifted Amelia's back so she could sit and drink the soup.

*Sssss*

Carefully, Dramia placed the edge of the bowl on her lips and made Amelia ingest the food.

"Good."

As she swallowed calmly, Dramia gave her a gentle smile.

"That's good."

Her smile took everyone by surprise. It was at this moment that they all became aware.

They had missed Amelia dearly, and her presence brought them the energy to work harder.