After checking that everything was alright with Tetra, Orion stepped away from the bed.

While Tetra kept her stare on his back, she lovingly smiled at him.

All the women affiliated with Orion felt a sudden shiver down their spines as they looked at the pink-haired woman moving to sit.

"Tetra..."

At the voice full of anxiety, she turned her gaze away from Orion. As her shoes touched the ground since forever and all her senses returned to her, she smiled.

Henrietta, her closest and only friend, carefully walked up to her.

"Isn't it Enri I see with a weird frown? How are you?"

"..."

Without answering, Henrietta sat next to her with the same expression.

"What? Why aren't you saying anything?"

While she was putting up a front to avoid worrying everyone, the exhaustion on her face was plain as day.

"Stupid..."

Unable to contain herself, Henrietta hugged her friend with everything she had.

"H-Huh? Enri?"

Even though she was used to being called such names, she couldn't understand the tone that followed it for a brief moment.

She couldn't even register the hug, as it wasn't an action Henrietta would have done.

"Losing you was eye-opening... I'll never make that mistake again."

Tetra finally began to gather her thoughts. Her face dropped, and the smile on her face turned into a restrained and painful one.

Wrapping her arms around her friend's back, Tetra finally stopped acting as if she were fine and welcomed the warmth she hadn't felt until now.

"I can't believe... the same Enri is actually hugging me."

As Orion replaced Henrietta next to Titania, he breathed a sigh of exhaustion and looked at her.

"What do you think?"

At his question, Titania activated her abilities. Her eyes shone a green color, displaying the sigil that made her entire power.

"Let me see..."

Having the power to see the lives directly in everyone through her ability to control 'Life and Death', Titania carefully observed the movement of Tetra's soul.

Seeing through her constitution, she watched as threads securely wrapped around the anchor of her soul were slowly building up.

After a few seconds, she confirmed that her soul was slowly getting reattached to her body, and her core was reforming.

The sole magic container in her soul was also healing, which was unprecedented for a Remnant to this day.

"You have outdone yourself. That is all I can come up with..."

Astonished by the miracle Orion had brought, she couldn't help but remember Layla's case either.

But somehow, she was satisfied. With the memories of her past interaction with them, she understood that Orion wouldn't let anything move past his control anymore.

"Control..."

"Hmm?"

Hearing her speak a word he wasn't used to hearing from her, he glanced toward her.

At the same time, Titania activated every ability she possessed.

"!"

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A nauseating feeling suddenly pushed her back. An intense sense of fear appeared on her face as Orion's full identity revealed itself in front of her.

"You..."

"Are you looking at me? Or are you looking for something else?"

With a neutral smile on his face, he turned to look at the warm scene in front of him.

"Haa~!"

She exhaled the air she kept for too long in her lungs and looked away. Orion's words managed to free her from the terror she was feeling, and with that, she apologized.

"I am sorry..."

"You don't have to. Even though this power is in my hand, I still don't know how to use it well."

A smile she was more used to appeared while he explained something else.

"I am still myself, so you don't have to be afraid of what I could do."

After breathing a bit more to calm herself, Titania finally nodded.

"I know. I believe I understand you quite a lot."

"And I appreciate that."

Giving back a nod of his own, Orion leaned against the wall.

Titania kept her gaze on him as he closed his eyes to rest for a moment.

'I wonder what will happen in the future. With the power of 'Purity' in his hands and that title...'

'Also, I worry about the corruption still present in his body.'

What she was certain of was that Orion was truthful in his words.

Both the power of 'Purity' and the void magic's full potential were running unchecked inside his body.

The only thing blocking a burst of power out of his body was the corruption in his magical veins.

With the curse still ever present in his body, Orion was avoiding the worst. But the instant he would purge his body and clean it entirely...

Destruction beyond belief would surely devour Horizon.

This was what terrified her the most. The idea that they had brought a ticking time bomb made her doubt everything for a brief moment.

But she trusted him nonetheless.

"Orion."

Amelia and the others approached him, careful as to not make his exhaustion worse.

"Yes?"

He opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward them, a warm smile on his face.

They could tell that he was genuinely delighted to hear their voices and see their faces.

"Is it weird if we ask you what's your relationship with Tetra?"

"That's right. We've noticed the gaze she gave you when you walked away."

"It was the kind of gaze... we give you."

Amelia, Karteira, and Olivia all looked to the side. They were slightly apprehensive about questioning him after his return.

"It's something I was going to explain to everyone anyway. It's nothing you should be worried about."

As Orion began to take this opportunity to rest his mind, he explained what had happened between them during the time he spent in the 'Corridors of Time' and the six years in the past.

Then he told everyone that he gave Tetra a chance to finally let go of her unrequited feelings.

Instead, he grew fond of her and decided to accept her advances.

...

"I guess... it's fine."

Amelia looked at Tetra with mixed feelings. The entire group felt strange at the idea that another person would join their ranks.

But was one more person a problem? Someone who has already lived with them in the past?

While Tetra and Henrietta were discussing what had happened, Orion ended up doing the same.

"Well, everything would have been worse if she weren't there, right?"

Deveralna recalled the beginning, where Orion almost became a shell of himself.

"Loneliness..."

They all turned to Orion as Senia spoke that single word.

"If she's the one who protected you, who are we to push her away?"

May shrugged.

"I can't believe she was with you this entire time!"

Pouting cutely, Dramia walked closer to Orion and stared up at his face.

"Sis, you know why he couldn't tell us."

With a defeated smile, Drania came closer and tried to pull her sister away.

"I'll keep my promise to you, Mia. Even if I kept a few things hidden, I was truthful to you two."

Hearing her human name again, she shuddered.

"Don't... call me by that name."

"Why?"

The faint blush over her ears gave it away instinctively.

'She's embarrassed.'

Then, Orion appeared surprised out of nowhere.

'Oh... That's right. I can't hear here anymore.'

He was so used to hearing Tetra in his mind that now that she was back in her body, he felt lonely.

As his back left the wall, he placed a hand on Mia's head.

"Your real name is Mia. Yours is Nia. From now on, you should get used to hearing it."

"I don't know what the others will choose to call you, but I've decided to keep it that way."

Not forgetting Nia, he gently ruffled through their grass-colored hair.

"What about that wolf?"

Nia looked up, ignoring his hand blocking her sight. She grabbed his hand and dragged it to the side, wanting an answer to her question.

"Procyon?"

"Yes. You told us you would do something with her, but she never returned after that."

Orion nodded.

"That's something we'll have to do later. Until Tetra feels better, she's fine-"

"I'm fine, too."

Held by the arm by Henrietta, Tetra approached the group.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not at my hundred percent yet, but I can at least help you bring her back."

"Tetra..."

A concerned frown appeared on Orion's face. He shook her head and crossed his arms.

"It's not a priority at the moment. Until your body is stable enough, I won't risk damaging your soul."

"I need you at your peak, or else it will be useless."

Tetra also frowned in return but rapidly sighed in defeat.

"So protective..."

"That's only the beginning."

Without saying anything else, he walked past everyone and left the room.

The others were about to leave too, but suddenly stopped.

"Welcome back."

"And thank you for helping Orion."

They all bent their heads down, showing appreciation for the woman.

As they left the room, Tetra opened her eyes wide.

"You have a bit of work to do before being entirely accepted as one of them, but that's already a good start."

With a genuine smile, she nodded.

"I'll do my best."

...

Everyone decided to let Orion alone for a while.

The man walked upstairs and stopped in front of his room.

'I haven't been in this room in so long.'

Placing his hand on the door handle, he slowly turned it.

He was ready to see it dusty. As the door opened silently, he was surprised at the sight.

After entering the room and closing the door, Orion smiled.

'It's clean.'

Everything, going from the furniture to his clothes, was perfectly clean.

Even the sheets of his bed were new, freshly placed prior to his return.

He sat on his bed and looked outside the window.

'I'm back.'

Caressing the cover slightly, memories shared with everyone slowly returned.

With it, the slumbering power of Silka reawakened. But this time, Orion was in full control of his desires.

He wanted to embrace them, but after all this time, he knew how to control this feeling.

But simply remembering Amelia, Karteira, and Deveralna in his bed during their heated moments made him yearn for something more.

The need to advance his relationship with everyone became Orion's priority outside the duties he had now.

He pulled out the bracelet from his pocket and placed it on his nightstand.

At the same time, he picked up the hourglass and laid down in bed.

"So much happened."

"I've gone through so much."

The start of his adventure across the continent felt so distant yet so vivid in his mind.

"I made so many allies."

An image of his companions and friends flashed in his mind as he turned the hourglass around.

"Many people stood in my way."

His enemies, starting with the Apostles and ending with Miasma, came to mind.

"And I managed to save many others."

Three beastmen appeared in his mind, then Elliott and Layla, and lastly, Noah.

Many others followed, like the sirens, the arachnea, the fairies, and even humans.

Glancing at the bracelet, he smiled.

"Some even supported me through my darkest times."

The entire angel and demon faction sealed inside the bracelet, smiling, flashed in front of him.

"And where does everything lead me to?"

His eyes focused on the ceiling. A white form covered his eyes as he grinned.

"Back here."

Lifting his hand toward the ceiling, he continued.

"Prepare yourself, beasts. I won't let you touch the women I love."

"I'll hunt you down, even if I have to invade your world."

Grabbing air, Orion readied himself for his next tale.

"Devourers of Purity or whatever."

"You will all regret threatening our lives."