Inside a house on Earth.

A strange phenomenon happened.

Out of nowhere, a rift opened and spat out a man.

Noah Stralicht, a man who was considered a Hero in another world, was thrown into his bedroom.

*Crash*

His back slid on the floor until his body bumped into a piece of furniture, sending flying everything that was on it.

"What was that?!"

A woman's voice shouted from another room, panicked by the sudden noise.

The sounds of running steps became louder as she approached the room that was the source of the loud noise.

Barging into the room, she frantically looked around.

"Ouch..."

Pushing the stuff that had fallen on him, Noah rubbed the back of his head.

After a second, he looked around the room.

"This is... our room."

Astonishment was painted over his face. As he smelled the familiar smell of his house, his eyes slowly turned to the figure standing at the door.

"S-Sonia."

Seeing the woman he longed to see for ten long years, Noah forced himself to his feet.

Before he could take a step forward, the woman rushed him and jumped into his arms. The two fell into their bed.

"Where have you been?! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

Feeling the weight of his loved one on his chest, he looked down.

His wife, Sonia Stralicht, was a slender woman with shoulder-length light black hair.

The tip of her hair was spiraling on itself, which was created by an apparel in their house.

"Ha-Haha~"

Noah kept his right arm around the back of his wife while placing his left hand over his eyes.

'Orion, you truly made it.'

'I'm home...'

Gritting his teeth, the middle-aged man felt his emotions build up.

"..."

They stayed glued to each other for a long time, until Sonia finally had enough.

"Where have you been?"

Lifting her head from his chest, she noticed the sorrow on his face.

Noah looked at the ceiling, feeling estranged from it.

He lifted his hand toward it and, as naturally as ever, formed a sphere of light in his hand.

"Huh?!"

Opening his eyes wide, he sat in bed in astonishment.

"N-Noah... What is this?"

The magic in his body was entirely gone, but a vestige of his time as a Hero of Triazils stayed with him, manifesting in small orbs of light and darkness, completely harmless.

"It's going to be a... long story."

...

Sonia listened quietly.

At first, she thought Noah had been kidnapped by a weird cult, but after seeing the orbs manifesting at will around him, she couldn't dismiss his tale.

The more she listened, the more she felt horrible for him.

When Noah arrived at the end of the story, she was a crying mess.

"That's unfair. Why you?"

"I don't know."

They were hugging each other tightly.

"How long was I gone?"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Two weeks. Those were the longest, most painful two weeks of our lives. Your coworkers were turning over the entire city to find a trace of you."

Noah smiled, recalling his friends patrolling the city and protecting the peace around here.

Suddenly, the front door opened.

With the sun settling down, their son, who had finished his day of school, returned as usual.

"Mom, I'm home."

Hearing the voice of his son, Noah felt another surge of emotion. As he prepared himself, footsteps became louder.

"Where are you?"

Seeing the door to his mother's bedroom open, he peeked inside.

"Are you in he-"

His bag fell to the ground in a loud thud.

"D-Dad!"

"Ethan..."

Sonia moved over to the side and let Noah stand up. With a heavy heart, he walked up to his son, Ethan Stralicht.

A teenager with the same hair color as his mother but way shorter, like his father.

Noah stopped a meter away from him. Ready to hear a complaint from him, he patiently waited.

But contrary to his belief, Ethan gritted his teeth. Noah was sure that Ethan would act spoiled like he always did.

Instead, his son threw himself at his father and hugged him.

"You're... finally back."

With trembling hands, Noah hugged him back.

"I'm home."

This display of affection was rare between them, which made Noah even more emotional.

What happened next was a reunited family's story.

But, as Sonia and Ethan walked out of the bedroom, Noah turned around.

*Roll*

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed a weird item.

"What's this?"

He crouched down to pick it up and brought it in front of his eyes.

It was a small pearl, the size of his thumb.

A perfectly round, light pink pearl.

With a genuine smile, Noah clenched it in his hand firmly.

"Thanks, Orion. I'll never forget what you've done for me."

His friend's last gift, a pearl from the Cape of Pearl Waters in hand, Noah closed the door to his bedroom.

The last chapter of Noah's time in Triazils came to an end.

~

"Hmm~"

'What is it?'

Orion and Tetra were inside the 'Corridors of Time' walking freely on a path inverse to the one they took to return to the past.

Over his pupils, the sigil of Tetra's power was etched, protecting him from the effect of time.

"How long have we been walking?"

'Probably less than a week? Aren't you hungry?'

He shook his head.

"No. It was the same last time I was here. Time seems to only affect your body growth, but only the hair."

"I don't get hungry, and I don't get older. What a strange place."

Tetra had a guess, but that was all.

'Maybe there is also an instance of 'Space' mixed with 'Time'. It could also be because you have both the void element and my power inside you that make you immune to its effects.'

Orion shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

'It's mostly a guessing game at this point.'

"You're right."

Suddenly, he stopped.

'Are you feeling something?'

Giving a nod, he turned around.

In the corner of his eyes, he noticed a white opening on the side.

"It can't be..."

With a smile, he walked up to the opening.

"Haha~ Damn!"

Without a moment of hesitation, Orion forcefully breached through the opening with his left hand.

~

"Do you think it'll work?"

"It's our best creation so far. If it doesn't, we'll simply create another."

Stella and Reon were looking at a metallic circle with empty displays all around. There were five of them.

Everyone was here, watching them power on the device.

"Amelia."

Reon turned to her.

"One year... That's how long it's been, huh?"

Walking forward gracefully, she pushed her golden hair behind her back as she approached the device.

"It's the third device we've created. Let's hope this one is the right one."

Crossing his arms with a serious frown, Reon took a step back.

"Breaching the space-time border isn't something easily attainable, but luckily..."

He turned to Henrietta and slightly bowed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

She shook her head firmly.

"It's fine. Tetra not being here is the reason we can try getting him back."

As Amelia brought both hands in front of her, she aimed at the device.

"Are you guys ready?"

Glancing over her shoulder, she looked at her friends.

"Ready."

May walked past her and placed her hand on the left side of the circular device.

"I'm ready, too."

Senia, holding her fist in front of her chest, flew over Amelia and settled on the top side, just over the center of it.

"We're next."

"Let's go, sis!"

Dramia and Drania flew to both sides of Senia. Dramia placed her feet on the device lightly, while Drania sat on it.

"I'm last."

Deveralna slithered next to Amelia before stopping on the right side, her hand placed near the display.

Henrietta, Orianne, Nylon, Titania, and all the Remnants were watching from a relative distance away.

'You better come back, Orion.'

Elliott, his back to a tree, was waiting with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

The tension could be felt. This wasn't their first try, and it wouldn't be their last.

"One... Two..."

Reon began to announce a countdown.

"Three!"

The five women around the device began to inject a single type of element into the device.

"Please work."

"We have to get him back."

Olivia and Karteira were watching behind Amelia, ready to react if anything were to go wrong.

"It'll work."

With a definite nod, Amelia focused on her magic.

As the display began to light up brighter and brighter with the colors of each element, a buzzing noise emanated from the device.

"Deveralna, ease up on the lightning magic!"

"Drania, take this seriously. You're not putting enough magic into it!"

Reon gave his orders, and they listened.

"The others can keep it like that."

"Yes!"

They all answered in unison.

"Stella, tell me when I need to act."

"I will."

Stella was observing her creation with great concern. Each detail was calculated and under the control of her Remnant power.

The growing auras of the women were overwhelming. The device absorbed their magic and made it a part of its systems.

*Bling*

One after the other, the display began to blink.

"You can begin."

At this sign, Stella signaled the start of their trial to bring back Orion.

"..."

Amelia closed her eyes, and with her hands aimed at the portal, she focused.

A heavier aura formed around her, strong enough to choke a normal person. The pressure was strong, but she managed to contain it around her and not spread it.

Placing one hand on top of the other, she opened her eyes.

"!"

A beam of stars fired at the portal.

The device devoured her magic, which began to spiral in its center into a larger phenomenon.

"Please..."

Stella was clenching her clothes, and her eyes were locked on the central point of the spiral.

Firing continuously the energy to create another singularity, Amelia gritted her teeth.

"This better be worth it!"

Dishing out an energy as powerful as Deveralna, she resisted the recoil with everything she had.

While her shoes were sliding slightly, she managed to dig her heels into the dirt to avoid being pushed backward.

As a few minutes went by and everyone was being drained of their energy, the spiral began to spread to the border of the circular device.

"Just a bit! It's almost complete!"

Reon was seeing the success happening in front of his eyes.

The instant the spiral merged with the edge, it stabilized.

"Amelia! Do not falter!"

"You can do it!"

The women behind her gave encouragement, which helped keep her mind from losing focus.

"What do we do now?"

Stella looked at Reon, unsure of what to do.

"We wait."

"If Orion is stuck in the 'Corridors of Time', then..."

"He will answer our call."

Amelia smiled and groaned.

"If it was this easy-"

But just as she was about to finish her sentence, a hand broke through the portal.

"!"

Everyone stopped breathing.

Immediately, Amelia shouted.

"OLIVIA! KARTEIRA!"

"ON IT!"

The two changed states as panic appeared on everyone's faces.

Karteira instantly vanished from her spot, leaving a trail of light behind her. Olivia changed to her demonic form, flying straight to the right side of the portal.

"I GOT YOU!"

Even though they were in panic mode, they all had a clear mind. They knew what to do, and they weren't going to let this opportunity slip by.

Jumping on the left side of the device, right between May and Drania. Her stinger pierced the ground below as she tightly clenched Orion's left hand.

"HNG!"

Forcefully, she began to pull him out. As she did, his right hand emerged from the portal too.

"GET BACK HERE!"

Olivia grabbed it and, with desperation, pulled alongside Karteira.

Everyone was watching with anticipation as the person they wanted to see was about to return.

"!"

Orion's head popped up from the portal, and at the same time, the two pulling on his arms gave their entire being to making this a success.

As Amelia kept pouring void energy into the portal, she watched with teary eyes while Orion's legs were pulled back from the 'Corridors of Time'.

When Karteira and Olivia dropped him to the ground and his feet made contact with it, they all looked at him.

"ORION!"

Eight women threw themselves at him. Before anyone could, Amelia was already hugging his chest.

"O-ooh..."

Feeling the intense emotions back in full force now that he was surrounded by his companions, Orion felt strange.

He reached for the first one, hugging his chest.

His hand touched Amelia's silky golden hair.

'We made it...'

Hearing Tetra confirm his thoughts, he nodded, still unsure.

"I'm... back."

He looked around at the seven women surrounding him, and finally, reality struck him down.

"I'm back."

A feeling stronger than relief and peace devoured the anxiety accumulated in his heart.

Seeing the faces of the people he treasured, at last, was his greatest desire.

Finally, the second Hero returned home from his long, long voyage through the past.