At the very last second, Amelia's finger came to a stop right before firing her revolver.

Confused, the others turned to look at her.

Her hand dropped, and her transformation disappeared.

"This is not the time."

Opposing her, Orion smiled.

His consciousness had returned only a few moments ago, with his power rising to its full capacity in the process.

A low pulse captured everyone's attention in the midst of the singularity pulling them forcefully.

Their gazes turned to Orion, who kept Pleione firing at full power into the black hole.

"Indeed, it is not the time."

Opening their eyes widely, they watched the dazzling emergence of a new entity.

Ethereal wings, weaved by the finest strands of magic.

Glistening in the light of stars flourishing in the cosmos, a long veil analogous to the vast expense of space flowed like a cape behind them.

Orion, the Voidwalker, smiled at them.

'Hero of Nature' and 'Survivor of Fate' flashed in Titania's eyes as his last title wrote itself.

Voidwalker, Master of Void.

The true ruler of space and time.

But it wasn't only Orion. Titania also noticed the title forming next to Amelia.

Amelia, the Shifting Phantom.

Even though a sigil glistened above her pupils, she hadn't become a Remnant. Through her awakening, she obtained a power vastly different.

One that reacted and played in synchronicity with Orion's void magic.

It could be suggested that her continuous pursuit toward being his equal brought this to light. Or that her intense feelings toward him made it possible. Either of these options was a possibility.

Ultimately, they matched each other. From beginning to end, they needed each other, and nothing, not even the struggles of power, would bring them apart.

All members of the family obtained titles as well, but this would be brought up at a later date.

Presently, Orion was still finishing his transition.

His first, third, and last pair of wings attached themselves to his back. Like giant leaves of magic, they became extensions of his collarbones.

The second and fourth pairs remained detached, floating freely between the other pairings.

As the ten wings stretched behind him, his eyes went to the anomaly above him.

Then he released his grip on the trigger, stopping the feeding of void energy through Pleione.

As the beam thinned out, the black hole rapidly shrank.

Its pulling force became gradually weaker, until it became the size of a pea.

Orion warped from his spot, reappearing next to the smaller anomaly.

He grabbed the lower part of the intangible cape only he could touch and swiped it over the black hole.

The anomaly disappeared into it, swallowed into the vast landscape behind him.

While dropping slowly toward the ground, Orion broke the dome he had created with a single clasp of his left hand.

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The nine ghosts of Pleione vanished, and the chains crumbled into particles, freeing the group at last.

"Is it... over?"

All tension left Senia first thing as she watched Orion smile while placing his feet on the ground.

Before she could fall to the ground in exhaustion, Orion had already appeared to catch her.

"It's over. Thank you for doing your best."

Falling into his arms, she hugged his collar tightly while everyone began to crowd around him.

"Thank you, everyone."

One by one, he turned to his trusted and loved ones.

The internal conflict inside him had come to a stop. With the void element freed from its shackles and the Remnant power of 'Purity' under his control, the entire matter had been resolved.

He stood at his spot while they felt the urge to shed a tear after this terrible challenge.

This delirious state Orion turned into wasn't as bad as before, but the stern look in his eyes still caused them to freeze from the shock.

They wished to never see him look at them with those eyes.

...

After a while, Orion moved around.

Senia was able to gather enough strength to float around, while the others watched silently as Orion looked at himself.

"My hair..."

His wings flopped as his fingers grabbed a strand of his bangs.

"You're like me. Except it's even whiter."

Deveralna smiled with the same expression of dejection on her face.

"I quite liked my dark hair, though."

The entire group felt the same way, but Orion rapidly shrugged it off.

"I guess that's how it is. I'll just have to get used to it."

"That means that... too."

Orion glanced over his shoulder, his eyes settling on the wings attached to his back.

"Are there as real as Deveralna's?"

Amelia touched the wing in the middle. Her finger pushed on the thin membrane, and gently, she rubbed her finger alongside it all the way to the base.

"..."

A slight frown formed on his face as she did that, which was instantly noticed by everyone.

"Are you sensible?"

"Quite..."

"Oh!"

Realizing her mistake, Amelia jumped back and finished prodding his wing.

"Can we... touch it, too?"

With a light nod, Orion turned around. It wouldn't be fair for only one of them to enjoy the touch, so he coped with the new sensation.

It was a mixture of embarrassment and unease. As they all took a turn to feel his wings, he got used to it gradually.

"It's smooth, compared to mine."

"It isn't like ours, either."

Deveralna compared her wings, which were more scaly like a dragon's, and Nia touched her wings right after, feeling the difference.

"It's like touching a... cloud."

"Probably? I've never touched one."

Olivia and May looked at each other while imagining the fluffy sensation of a cloud.

In reality, a cloud was all but fluffy, but that was all they could imagine.

The cape behind his back could be removed and added at any time, but not his wings.

This caused a flurry of problems for him, who had none of those previously.

He turned to Deveralna, Mia and Nia, and Olivia.

"How do you guys manage to sleep with your wings?"

The question entered their ears before finally registering.

"Hmm..."

Olivia pondered while the twins stared at each other.

"We just..."

"Got used to them?"

Deveralna tightly wrapped them around her waist, perfectly layered over her clothes.

"Mine weren't much of a problem, but for you..."

She frowned seriously.

"Wait!"

Karteira suddenly thought of something.

"Can't you shrink them? You can use void magic, so I bet it could be possible!"

Proud of her idea, she pushed her chest forward, making her assets stand out.

Orion maintained his composure and took her idea seriously.

With little effort and focus on his part, the wings glowed lightly before shrinking considerably.

They were no longer than the width of his back.

A smile formed on his face as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I won't bump into anything like this. This could have made my life quite nightmarish for a while."

The ones with wings nodded at his comment, while those without marveled at the sight of his shrunken wings.

"I wish I could do the same with my tail..."

Karteira looked with jealousy in her eyes, her shoulders slumped, at Orion.

Suddenly, everyone turned to her with shocked eyes.

As if the tension had entirely dissipated, laughter erupted.

"W-What?!"

...

After the situation was entirely resolved and Orion returned to his senses, he went to thank the ones that came to help.

Elliott and Nylon each slapped his shoulders, smiling brightly at the sight of his awakening.

Marie, Eden, and Alice bowed deeply at his approach, feeling extremely lucky to not have died against him. One of them had stars shining in her eyes simply looking at his figure.

Henrietta and Titania shrugged it off, given that they weren't here to fight anyway. They were relieved nothing had happened to him and his companions, and that was all that mattered to them.

The last one was Stella. She was extremely frustrated to have been pushed out of the dome and was pouting cutely with her arms crossed.

With a little probing, Orion managed to console her, promising to take her outside in the near future.

With everything settled, he returned to his home with everyone, greeted by his parents.

At first, Orianne screamed in horror as Orion's hair had permanently gone through changes, but ultimately, she warmed up to it, as it was close to Reon's silvery hair.

His father had nothing to say on the matter, except telling his son that he looked good, without any sarcasm present in his tone.

Once they settled inside, Tetra asked him a question that was weighting in everyone's head.

"Orion."

Sipping a cup of warm coffee, he turned to her.

"Hmm?"

She leaned over the table and stared into his eyes, inches from his face.

"That black hole..."

"Is that a door to 'their' domain?"

All eyes were slowly drawn to her.

Henrietta placed her hands on top of the table, slightly shaking.

"By that, are you talking about the monsters that killed the Valkyries?"

Elliott, who had remained with Nylon for no real reason apart from his interest in this new Orion, frowned furiously.

"This is a topic I cannot ignore, you see. I want to enact vengeance with this sword-"

Before he could finish, Orion glared at him.

"You know as much as I do what revenge makes you go through. Give me another excuse."

The mood became sour as the two glared at each other for a few seconds.

"You win."

Sighing in defeat, Elliott lifted his arms.

"I won't lie to you. I still wish to avenge my mother."

Orion nodded.

"While I know this won't do much, I will make this horror stop. Who knows how many worlds they've invaded and destroyed?"

Satisfied, he placed his cup on the table before looking at Amelia.

"This is precisely what you think."

Placing a hand on Tetra's head, he lightly tapped the top of her hair so that she returned to her seat.

"Amelia and I are the keys that will breach the dimensions open."

"When the time is optimal, we will invade them."

With a determined look, Amelia firmly nodded.

"Who knows what's behind that 'door'? But seeing the determined looks on everyone's faces..."

He smiled warmly, his wings fluttering lightly.

"I know you will follow me. The trust you placed in me, I will never betray it."

Answering his smile, they did the same.

Returning to a more neutral expression, he picked up his coffee, staring into its blackness.

"Opening the 'door', even for a brief instant, could have caused them to notice us."

"That's why I'm glad Amelia refrained from firing at it."

Suddenly, a chill coursed through Elliott, Titania, Tetra, and Henrietta.

"Wait..."

Orion closed his eyes and placed the cup on his lips.

"Are you saying something made them aware of the Valkyries' existence?"

Slamming her hands on the table, Tetra looked down with bitterness.

"That, I do not know for certain."

"This is a question you should keep for them."

"But if that is the case..."

His eyes pondered quietly.

"Then we might have a bigger problem on our hands than the 'Devourers of Purity'."

As his silence carried heavy implications, Orion silently finished his cup.