A never-ending cave. That was the place Orion and May fell into.


    Embedded crystals brightened his vision with their faint light, but otherwise, everything was bathed in darkness.


    A cool breeze could be felt emanating from further in, making the cave system safe to travel in.


    ''These crystals are similar to May''s. Is that the true form of an elemental? Crystals?''


    He looked at the wand, and at the crystals stuck in it.


    ''Are these elementals too?''


    Observing carefully, they looked closer to the jewel on his father''s ring, and less like the ones around him.


    ''No, they''re catalysts at this point? Are they holding magic capable of tracking the magical waves of elementals?''


    A big frown appeared on his face.


    ''Who in this world would be capable of creating such an item? Not only did it help us finding the gate to the fairy realm, but it also pointed us in the right direction for the elemental realm''s gate.''


    Orion was truly amazed. But now wasn''t the time for that.


    "Suuuu"


    He heard the quiet breath of May in his arms, bringing him back from his thinking.


    "Right, we were looking for the elementals."


    Looking around him, he found no indication to where he should be going, so he simply let his feet go forward, aimlessly.


    At the same time, he had to be careful thanks to the low visibility.


    While walking, he looked at the various crystals in the walls.


    ''There''s red, blue, green, yellow, and brown crystals. This is normal since there is supposedly only those five elements that are naturals. My three elements are called ''lost'' for a reason.''


    ''No records other our factions'' had any informations about them. Noah was the previous user of the light and dark element, and I am the second. I am also the only one with the void element.''


    Instinctively, he calculated the ratio of elementals. There was a few hundred elementals present on just one wall next to him, so it quickly gave him an idea of what elements were most present.


    ''Red crystals are very low in numbers. Yellow''s are right after, then blue, green, and brown last.''


    That was also the ratio of the elements used by Triazils'' inhabitants. The rarest natural element being fire, and the most ''common'' was earth.


    Orion kept walking with an unconscious May for a few minutes.


    ''It''s getting me nowhere, I need some light.''


    He stopped, and tried to open a portal.


    *Bzzzt*


    Nothing.


    ''What''s happening in this place? I haven''t been able to open a portal back to Horizon since falling getting swallowed by that fire vortex.''


    Frustrated to not be able to return home, Orion tried something else.


    ''I need light.''


    His thought went toward one his elements.


    ''Can you do something about it?''


    The one who answered his call was the light element. A ring of light appeared above his head, pulsing a bright light that dispelled the darkness.


    ''Great.''


    Now, Orion was able to see the path in front of him clearly, as he felt his magic diminish very slightly.


    "Alright, let''s continue."


    The cave was pretty simple. It was a long, narrow and curving line. But the longer he walked, the weirder it became.


    At first, the crystals were blinking a faint light, barely enough to illuminate their position on the walls.


    But the further in Orion walked, the larger the crystals became. They also continued to emit a very subtle light, similar to the previous ones.


    ''...''


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    Orion walked, and walked, and walked. At one point, he noticed continuous, yet faint whispering coming from his surroundings.


    These were too faint to understand, even for him. There was no tone, as if it was a different language altogether.


    ...


    Thirty minutes later.


    All of a sudden, the crystals stopped appearing on the cave walls.


    ''At least, something new.''


    The whispers stopped, freeing his mind from the constant noise that could bring madness to anyone.


    Letting out a sigh of relief, he looked at May.


    "You sure are taking it easy when I''m doing this all alone."


    ''Thank the world she wasn''t awake during that whole part. I''m pretty sure she would have gone crazy at some point.''


    With a smile, he continued on his way.


    ...


    Just a few minutes later.


    The cave opened up to a massive brightened hall like chamber with rocky pillars holding everything together. Orion stopped, his mouth wide open.


    It was what was in the distance that shocked him.


    ''I don''t know what to think anymore.''


    He shook his head, forcing his mind to focus.


    What seemed like statues made of crystals were laying all around him, on the ceiling, everywhere.


    ''This is strange. Why are they so strangely shaped? They look like the animals on our continent.''


    Half-embedded in the wall next to him was a crystallized fish. A very large fish, one Orion had never seen before.


    Since it wasn''t polished, still in its rough form, there was no way to know what to call it beside a ''fish''.


    Birds of various sizes, insects bigger than normal, humanoid creatures, everything came with various sizes and shapes.


    "What... am I looking at?"


    But his eyes ended up on something else at one point. Further inside the hall, at the very end of it, a white crystal illuminating everything around it.


    Its size was all but small. In fact, it was the biggest in the room. This white jewel was jutting out of the wall and ceiling, looming over the other bigger than normal statues under it.


    ''This is the brightest one. And there seems to be no other path to follow other than going near it.''


    Orion cautiously walked forward, keeping an eye on the statues.


    After a few minutes, he found it harder and harder to walk.


    ''This pressure...''


    He knew. It was coming from the white crystal.


    ''You want me to bend the knee and turn back?''


    Gritting his teeth, he continued. Closer, closer, each step felt heavier. Even May in his arms felt heavier.


    ''Don''t underestimate me! Second Gear!''


    A burning feeling he knew all too well went through his legs'' muscles. It made it easier to advance forward.


    "Gh!"


    And then, he arrived under ''it''. Under the giant crystal, surrounded by many crystals of various colors.


    "~~~~~~~~~"


    A rumbling echo shook his mind, before the pressure disappeared.


    Orion looked at May to see if she had been hurt in any ways, but she was the same as before. Fast asleep.


    ''That''s one good news.''


    With a glare, he looked at the crystal overlooked him.


    "So... what are you?"


    ~


    Back in Juvern.


    "Tom, I leave the rest to you."


    "Yes, my Lord. I will make sure our army makes it to Lahro."


    Florian and Tom were talking in front of the main gate.


    "Leave a voluntary here to supervise the city. I don''t want Laylah to try and get her claws on it."


    "Sure things. I already have a few candidates in mind."


    "Good."


    Adjusting his posture, Florian prepared to leave.


    "Alright, I''m taking this kid to Albriar for now. I''ll meet you in Lahro later."


    On his back was the daughter of Julian, who had been mistreated to such a point she was barely alive.


    "Are you taking her to your mother?"


    "Yes. I''m also thinking of checking on with Orion. I would like to get his help too."


    "This might be difficult to obtain his aid. Anyways, great work my Lord. Safe travels."


    Florian nodded. Lightning began emitting from his feet, all the way to his knees. The moment Tom blinked, Florian had already left for Albriar.


    "Such a tragedy for such a young child. May the world forgive us."


    Tom turned around with a saddened expression, and left with the army toward Lahro with the rescued lamias, and the captured humans an hour later.


    ...


    Two hours after leaving Juvern.


    ''We should be near Albriar right now. I had to lower my output quite a bit to avoid her constitution lower more than it already is.''


    He glanced at the young girl on his back.


    ''I will thank mother for this.''


    Albriar entered his line of sight.


    ''We''ve arrived. Let''s not waste time, and just rush home.''


    But even for him, it wasn''t that simple. He still had to stop at the gate, notify his arrival to his soldiers, and then could he finally go inside his city.


    At last, he opened the door to his and Lobelia''s house.


    "A visitor? Florian?"


    She heard the front door open without a knock, and immediately realized that it could only be her son.


    "I''m back."


    Florian removed the straps holding the girl on his back, and careful placed her on a comfy chair.


    "My son, I thought you were going to conquer two cities? When did you get a daughter?"


    Lobelia walked next to him, and looked at the young girl.


    "My! What a terrible state!"


    She immediately kneeled next to her, and began to look all over her.


    "Malnourished, bruised, unconscious... this child is..."


    Confirming his mother''s thoughts, Florian explained.


    "Julian''s daughter."


    "This is horrible. How could you treat your own child like this?!"


    As a mother, there was anger and confusion painted on her face. Even disgust toward the now dead Julian appeared on her face.


    "What are you going to do? I thought we would take care of her, but that was if she was in healthy. Like this... I won''t be useful at all."


    Tragically, she was a mother. A very simple mother, like everyone else in the world. She was unable to heal the girl, physically, nor mentally.


    "Don''t worry."


    Florian picked up the girl, and walked toward the study room.


    "I''m going to talk with Orion about that matter."


    "I''ll open the door for you. Be sure not to pressure him, he has nothing to do with this."


    With a nod, he walked inside the room, and through the portal leading to Horizon.


    ...


    When he arrived, at first, he was shocked by the size of the tree that wasn''t there the last time he came.


    But he ignored that for the moment, and directly went to Orion, Amelia, and Karteira''s house.


    He knocked, until Karteira opened the door.


    She explained that Orion was out doing something, and asked the reason for his sudden visit.


    The moment she looked at the girl, her eyes narrowed.


    "Bring that girl upstairs. First door on the left."


    Karteira pushed Florian gently, and ran past him, toward the giant tree.


    Inside, he noticed the sisters. They both narrowed their eyes too at the sight of the girl, but for different reasons. They saw her overall status.


    They both stood up and walked up to him, while introducing themselves. Florian, followed by Dramia and Drania, went upstairs like he was told, and made the girl lie down on the bed.


    Five minutes later, Amelia opened the door with Karteira right being her.


    "..."


    With just one glance, she knew what to do.


    "I''ll go make something nutritious she can drink."


    In Amelia''s care, her life would at least stabilize.