For a while, Orion continued to meditate.

In a world where his magic was mostly sealed, very few actions could be done.

Instead of pushing his body even harder, he focused on what he couldn't do under the pressure of Elliott's return, and Miasma plans to destroy the continent and kill every living being on it.

Six years in total where he could focus his mind on the void element.

During the past three years, while assisting Noah occasionally to keep his body and mind in shape, Orion tried to understand the power inside of him.

While the void element was new, it was powerful. Even more powerful than Orion gave it credit.

It was overpowering any form of magic he had used in the past and was a condensed energy of light and dark magic.

If he could find a way to separate one element out of the combination, he could use either of the three at any given time.

Alyssia and Alaric's respective elements, while being incredibly useful at this time, were but a stopgap to avoid his demise.

There would be a time when those borrowed elements would vanish after exhausting their limited energy.

But these long sessions of meditation only came to be thanks to someone. Someone who quietly watched over his mental state.

Thanks to Tetra's quick judgment, she managed to render the curse blocking his magic ineffective.

While the curse itself was still present, forcing Orion to avoid contact with humans at large, the blockage in his magical veins disappeared.

With constant work on the element, understanding its overall capabilities, and treating it kindly, Orion learned how to use it.

Yet, the only few times he tried to force it out, his body suffered heavy injuries. Even the bridge created by Tetra's couldn't help resolve this problem.

The flow of magic in his veins was still hindered, limiting the amount of power he could bring out.

Forcing the powerful void element out always caused a surge of magic that damaged his entire body, similar to a magical overload state.

The first time he decided to use his magic was when Mia and Nia were about to lose their precious lives, and the second time was when he saved the kobold Remnant.

As his meditation came to an end, Orion opened his eyes.

'It's bothersome that this Remnant doesn't have a name. I would like to call it something besides 'kobold'.'

Tetra also agreed with his thinking, but something bothered her.

'Enri was unable to find any information about this Remnant in her book. This is an anomaly as far as I'm concerned.'

'The Remnants created by Nature are fundamentally different from us, who were chosen because we were the descendants of Valkyries.'

'The word 'Remnant' came from this derivation.'

Orion listened while turning his head toward the kobold, who had fallen asleep while watching him.

'Then, these are Remnants too? Or are they something entirely different?'

The idea that this being was different was slightly bothersome, but it wasn't too difficult to get around.

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A few Remnants were actually beasts that obtained some form of sentience, separating them from the rest of the animal kingdom. But in this category, another entity could be placed, unrelated to animals.

'Enri and I only met one of them...'

'Honestly, I would rather not recall this meeting, but for you, I'll try.'

Grateful, he nodded. He heard Tetra breathe in and out before telling him a story from around a few hundred years after they had become Remnants.

'Did Enri battle against Miasma?'

'She did.'

Even though surprised, Tetra only exhaled briefly. She then continued.

'So, you've seen the various elementals she carries around.'

'We've also been made aware of the one encrusted in her hand.'

This time, she wasn't surprised.

'If she became serious to this point, then she won't hold it against me if I tell you.'

'The Remnant we've met, as you might have guessed already, was the progenitor of the elementals.'

'A true colossus among the many beings of this world. Even Velridar was tiny in comparison.'

Orion shuddered at the idea.

'Why have I never heard of any sightings of this being? Just hearing it from you, everyone would have seen it, and with such a size, it would be impossible to hide.'

She agreed with him by explaining the entire situation.

'It's sealed away in a dimension unreachable through normal means. Only the elementals possess the door to attain his domain.'

Confused, Orion recalled the elemental realm. All he saw were the gems embedded in the walls, the crystal statues, and the massive white jewel.

'Before the elementals disappeared from this realm, we went to them. After obtaining permission to enter its domain, we met it.'

'It...'

As it was an elemental, he couldn't picture its appearance in his head.

'This thing... it had no voice. Only a primal state that roared occasionally.'

It made him wonder if reasoning could enter the being's mind.

'What was surprising was that it sealed itself because it feared the destruction of the world by its hands.'

'Enri was able to converse with it through the 'Book of Fate' and understand what it wanted.'

'It wanted to be put to rest. In exchange for Enri changing his state to eternal slumber, she was granted the right to look after its children.'

'That's how she forged a pact with multiple elementals. She even went as far as to fuse her body with them.'

Orion's gaze appeared deep in thought.

'Because she was powerless...'

Tetra grunted in response, approving his guess.

'Exactly. I can't say I wasn't thinking the same, though.'

'Never once have I judged her for this. In fact, thanks to that, she did her best to protect everyone against Miasma.'

She sighed, getting to the point he wanted to avoid.

'Now that this little story is out of the way, let's get to the main point.'

'That being was absurdly terrifying. Just like a human would fear your power, I couldn't hold my head high in front of it.'

He could feel the fear still etched in her soul.

'This primordial fear comes from beings that were fundamentally built to rule the world but chose not to. It is instinctively etched in our soul.'

'No names, no voice, no history... It was the same at that time. They are anomalies.'

Her tone changed to disapproval of her own words.

'I'm not saying they shouldn't exist. What I'm sure of, on the other hand, is that they shouldn't be left unsupervised.'

'They do not mean harm to the world, but their appearance or disappearance could lead to disasters unforeseen.'

'I'm sure this being's death caused countless problems. If it exists, it has concepts that we probably cannot understand and are crucial to making the animal world work.'

'If I had to guess, there most likely exists a Remnant of the flora somewhere. These creations by Nature herself serve to protect the balance of all living things.'

'That's all the information Enri was able to pick up. To begin with, there's very little information she can gather on them.'

Orion nodded internally.

'Then, the Remnant that created the griffins, the Remnant of the kelpies, and the others I haven't found? Are all of these Remnants unreachable?'

His question met the answer he expected.

'Yes. I have no idea where the descendants of the Valkyries are, but these people are reachable. Enri probably won't use her book to find them, but out of all of them, we know where most are located.'

An idea came to Orion.

'What if we gathered all the descendants of the Valkyries?'

Tetra dismissed the idea.

'The only one who could do it is Enri. The Enri from this era won't agree to that. Maybe if we were to return home, you would have a chance of making her agree. She will never give in currently.'

'...'

Orion frowned. In fact, the idea instantly crumbled in his mind.

'That would change our path entirely. Needless to say, she'll never agree to it.'

Following a brief smile, he nodded.

'Do you know where they are?'

'Are you going to look for them?'

Shaking his head, he laughed.

'I won't. Not only would I need to request your help—at least the Tetra from this era—but I would also need to somehow appear inconspicuous to Henrietta.'

'With the way she always keeps an eye on us, that's impossible.'

'There's no reason to betray her expectations of me and damage our relationship. This could affect the future too.'

Feeling the genuine carefulness in his voice, she sighed.

'If you do the opposite of what you've said, I'm in deep trouble.'

'But I'll trust you. There's no way I wouldn't.'

With a serious tone, she continued.

'Two of them are in Hocride and one is in Albriar. One of them will fall into slumber because of its wounds after battling Elliott, and another has completely vanished from the continent.'

'You have me, Henrietta, and Tiohr-nam in the same area, and that's just about it. Oh, I have forgotten about Silka. He's in the same place you've been, in the southwest area.'

With this information, Orion pondered.

'There are quite a few people we'll have to gather after returning home.'

'You should worry about yourself first.'

Out of nowhere, Tetra changed the conversation.

'What are you going to say to everyone once you'll return, entirely changed? The instant you'll break that curse... You will lose control.'

'That is an undeniable fact. This is passed the power even a Remnant can muster. You've entered the realm of Velridar, where you can erase half of the continent on a whim.'

'Do you really think it's time to worry about the other Remnant?'

She was genuinely worried about him. Now that Orion accepted her, she couldn't let him waste his life.

There had to be a solution, and she had to find one alongside him.

'I believe we should postpone this discussion. We still have three years ahead of us and no solution to bring out.'

'Not only do I have to think about a way to save this Remnant, but I also have to find a way to save Noah.'

'That is a problem for when I'll remove the corruption from my body, and now it isn't a major focus.'

As Orion gave his opinion on the matter, the Remnant awakened.

'Alright. I'll at least keep that in mind. You have to promise me you'll think about it at the very least.'

'I will.'

With more problems stacking over his shoulders, Orion continued to live in the Remnants' hideout, now protecting a Remnant that lived completely differently from other Remnants.

A few days later, Orion found a name for the kobold.

One that would go down in history, but not the history of the past.