Orion leaned toward Layla.

"Let me help you. It's partially my fault for not noticing."

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he closed his eyes.

Repeating the same process, he removed the affliction the Remnant source caused.

"Now that I think about it, it was pretty obvious."

Orion opened his eyes, showing the lingering white hue over his iris. A genuine look of guilt appeared as he turned to Elliott.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Three months. She slowly began to lose her voice over that time frame. For me, only a few days ago."

Layla smiled powerlessly as she let Orion cleanse her core.

'They most likely never asked me because they never thought I could do something about it.'

With a slight pain in his chest, Orion watched as the woman felt a weight lift off her body.

Her throat seemed to unclog, and as she looked toward Orion, words finally escaped her mouth.

"Th-Thank you."

With a smile, Orion nodded and removed his hand.

"You are welcome. I suggest taking a day or two to completely recover. If complication returns, immediately check with me."

"Even if I'm busy. Understood?"

Layla, a hand on her throat, nodded as she felt better.

"Now, it's your turn."

Orion walked around the table and extended his hand toward Elliott.

"You don't mind?"

"We're past questioning everything. Just shake my hand."

Elliott sighed in resignation, grabbing Orion's hand.

"I'll never get around how you've become kinder to me."

"Shut it. It's in the past. I'd rather drink with you again than come for your throat."

"I guess those were good times. I wouldn't mind doing that again."

Removing the loss of sensation in his fingers, Orion stared at him with a neutral expression.

They were still a little cold toward each other, but they preferred it this way. Not overly friendly, nor overly distant.

A simple rivalry that could be appreciated by both men.

"I'm done with you."

Letting go of his hand, Orion walked to the side.

"..."

Elliott looked at his hand and clenched it multiple times. Then he walked toward the table and slid his fingers over Vanitas' scabbard.

When his hand touched the tip of the scabbard, a faint smile appeared on his hand.

"Thank you, Orion. I can feel the sword once again."

"It's nothing."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Turning his gaze toward Layla, Orion smiled.

"Watch over her. Not that I need to tell you."

"If anything happens, I'll come find you."

"Please do."

Orion walked toward the door and waved at them. As he closed the door behind him, he went somewhere else.

...

The first stop was Hocride. He wasted no time in finding the twins, Chelsea and Kelsea.

Both were afflicted with a powerful need to gather funds. The power to propagate money across the continent came with this powerful curse.

Now freed from it, they felt freed from the shackles of greed.

Grateful, they gave Orion a trading route through them to share goods between his realm and Triazils with no fees whatsoever.

...

Then came Keleanos' turn. Moving to Albriar, Orion found him at the same place Henrietta did in the past, atop the tallest building in the city.

Keleanos' main problem was that the man could never enjoy food again. Every consumed item lost its flavor, making every meal a stale item.

For the man who cared for agriculture and food in general, this was again ironic. Orion quickly noticed that the counter for their power was the loss of said joy that came with it.

As Keleanos took a bite of jerky he carried with him, a relieved smile appeared on his face. His moist eyes stared into the distance before thanking Orion from the bottom of his heart.

In exchange for his help, Keleanos shared rare seeds with Orion, which could be planted by the arachnea. Pumpkins, cucumbers, and many other great vegetables that weren't easily found in markets were in his hands.

The greatest one was the seed of a berry everyone liked but was never found in Triazils.

Strawberries.

...

The next stop was Turric.

Heto, the man with the most tragic power, enjoyed the cold city the most.

Finding the man walking around aimlessly, Orion pulled him inside a bar. After talking to his power, Heto agreed to let him remove his curse.

Relieved of the power to create disaster by his simple presence, Heto could feel the source in his core calm down.

There was little he could do for Orion, as his powers weren't all mighty. Still, he swore to protect Horizon in case something unexpected happened.

As the realm grew from its master walking the path of Divinity, no one knew what could happen.

With Heto, the fear of an event destroying the realm like what happened to the fairy realm would be gone.

And that was enough for Orion, who never offered help to receive something in exchange.

Enjoying a drink with the gentle giant, he learned more about him and what he went through. Both discussed their experiences and rapidly bonded.

...

"Henrietta, Titania, Elliott, Layla."

"Chelsea and Kelsea, Keleanos, and Heto."

The four Remnants in Horizon and the four Remnants in Triazils.

"The remaining ones are Silka, whose source I've already cleansed when I absorbed the 'Seed of Divinity'."

"Tetra, who was cleansed after we've returned."

"And me, with Blanc's source as a Primordial Remnant."

He pondered for a moment.

"I shouldn't forget about Stella. That is ten Remnants."

Walking from the portal hub to his house, he pondered. This time was always great to think about various topics he couldn't while being surrounded by his wives.

"Ten Remnants... Ten invaders."

Suddenly, his footsteps stopped. Turning around, he walked toward the opposite direction.

...

"How are you doing?"

Orion stared at a large bird protecting five large eggs. They were a pristine white, trembling lightly from time to time.

"..."

The griffon opened its eyes and stared at Orion, the man who brought her into this safe haven.

Her eyes showed gratitude. As an intelligent beast, it was obvious she had recognized him as her and her children's savior.

"Do you mind if I pet you? I always wondered what a griffon's plumage and fur would feel like in more detail."

Approaching his hand lightly, he waited for the beast to acknowledge his request.

Slowly drawing her beak toward his hand, she lightly poked it.

"You don't mind?"

Orion rubbed the griffon's beak with his hand with a smile.

Taking a few steps forward, he began to touch the wings gently.

"I was quite shocked last time. Since we needed to help you lay those eggs, my mind wasn't focused on the feeling."

Showing great care for the beast's body, he rapidly went around the places he wanted to feel.

"Even your tail is fluffy. It looks like a lion's tail. I wonder what your progenitor was thinking when he created your faction."

Carefully putting her tail where it previously was, he finally stopped in front of the eggs.

"I'm not going to touch them, so don't worry."

He crouched in front of them and observed in silence.

"Aren't they a little cold? The sun isn't going through this thick forest's foliage."

Snapping his finger, Orion created a rift above the griffon. Light poured down as if the rays of the sun themselves were striking her.

"That should help you and your children."

Satisfied, Orion stood up.

"I'm going now. When you feel better, there's the perfect place for griffons. You will find it easily."

Turning his back to the griffon, he was prepared to leave, but the griffon thought overwise.

She grabbed Orion's collar from the back with her beak and pulled him toward him. He fell backward and fell on the beast's fluffy fur.

"Oof."

Looking up, he smiled frustratingly.

"Only a bit."

Staying in the warmth of the large griffon, Orion closed his eyes.

~

A few days passed.

Orion spent most of his days moving about with his wives, taking the time to grow closer to them.

While this was happening, another form of trouble happened somewhere unexpected.

Two dragons were standing in front of their nests, growling loudly.

"Isn't it too early?"

"Mono..."

Ruminona and Monolavir were witnessing an unexpected event.

Their eggs, which should have taken tens of years to hatch, were already cracking open and maturing after just a year.

"I don't get it. What happened?"

Ruminona looked with sadness at her eggs. For those rare cases, it was usual to have imperfect dragons or even sickened dragons. This happened when the area was saturated with magic, which boosted their growth.

In exchange for this rapid growth, they were born with malformations. What both were afraid of was that those three eggs were going to birth powerless dragons.

Two mutated dragons coupling brought another factor into the equation. What would happen to them in that case?

As they were expecting the worst, the first egg to the right had its cracks widen.

"Groa!"

A little white dragon gently popped its head from the top and growled cutely.

"White?!"

Monolavir leaned his massive head toward his first child.

The baby escaped the egg and stumbled forward before rubbing its head on his nose.

"What..."

Instantly, all questions and doubts left his mind.

"My... child."

The baby climbed his nose and sat on top of his head.

"Graa!"

Roaring cutely, it moved its tail left and right.

Right then, the second egg on the left side cracked open.

A black tail broke the shell and swiped the rest of the egg away, revealing another strange dragon.

This time, Ruminona felt something strange.

"A black dragon? Mono..."

"Roooo."

This chaotic dragon, wider and different from the others, looked like a turtle. But the black dragon's small, underdeveloped wings were proof of being a dragon.

"Something is very strange about these babies."

They were happy, but they also questioned why they were different. Normally, babies would inherit one of their parent's elements.

This time around, something went differently.

As Ruminona watched her second child try to climb Monolavir's nose, the last egg hatched.

*CRACK*

The entire egg exploded, sending shards in various directions.

"..."

"Orion!"

Ruminona turned around and immediately screamed the name of the man she thought responsible for this happening.

She plunged her head into a portal and roared.

Her voice boomed inside the realm as a dragon with black and white scales and star patterns on its stomach stood on its hind legs.

This event was the birth of three new dragon types.