''This is the first time I''ve ever seen him like this.''


    Amelia and Karteira watched a shook up Orion as he double checked the hourglass.


    He tapped on the glass again.


    -20-


    "..."


    Orion fumbled toward his bed, dropped the hourglass on the floor, and grabbed his head in defeat.


    "What happened? Why did the time lower this much? Last time I checked, it was more than a hundred days."


    The girls remained silent. They didn''t know if they should dismiss it as a irregularity, or a mistake brought by the artifact itself.


    His fear began to take over him, as the final day approached way too rapidly.


    "I''m not ready. I don''t have what it takes to beat Elliot. I''m far from the level my parents were when they fought him, and they barely managed to buy some time."


    "I''ve been wasting the precious time they gave me!"


    He slammed his fist on his knee. Ignoring the pain, he gritted his teeth.


    Emotions raged inside him. He found himself lost, his heart trying to find the right answer to this sudden news.


    Amelia sat on his right side, while Karteira took the left. Lost in his mind, he didn''t notice the two hands over his.


    The tension lessened all of a sudden. Orion looked at the doorway and noticed Stella peeking through the door, holding herself on the wall from her lack of strength.


    He gazed at her without any particular emotions. The girls emotionless eyes met Orion''s, and both remained locked for a minute, until the girl walked inside the room.


    With difficulty, she walked up to him, and picked up the hourglass from the ground.


    "H-Here."


    ''She doesn''t know. Of course she doesn''t. She doesn''t need to know.''


    Amelia removed her hand, as Orion opened his to receive the artifact. The moment her fingers touched his hand, he felt Stella''s heat through them.


    Stella nodded, before turning around. She didn''t know what to say, as she was a total stranger to him.


    But she didn''t like to hear him depressed. That was what pushed her to walk out of her room.


    It took her a lot of courage, as she didn''t knew how they would react. She never went out of her own room before finding herself in this house.


    "Thank you."


    Orion tightened his grip on the hourglass, and thanked the girl.


    She glanced at him from the doorway again.


    "Hmm."


    Before returning to her bed.


    "..."


    ''Three months, three weeks... It doesn''t change what I have to do. If it comes to that, I''ll seclude myself in Orion for years if it can help.''


    He placed the hourglass on the bed, and held Amelia and Karteira''s hands.


    "Sorry."


    "You don''t have to apologize. We don''t have the same burden as you, we just help as much as we can."


    "Even if you lose, we''ll fall with you."


    Orion shook his head.


    "I would prefer that everyone stays alive. I want to see the future. A future where all of us can live in peace."


    "But it''s not an easy task."


    He smiled dryly.


    "We knew what the end was going to be the moment we decided to follow you."


    Orion stared at the ''-20-'' engraved in the hourglass.


    ''Twenty days. What can I do to make myself stronger?''


    Even through sheer focus, he couldn''t find anything to improve. His abilities relied too much on the Key and the Shackles.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    His ''Magic Lock'' was stuck at the fourth unlock. He knew that the sixth one was the ''Multi-weapon'' ability, but unless he unlocked the fifth one, it was locked away, and Ego wouldn''t authorize another unlock, as it could kill both Orion and Amelia.


    To begin with, he was missing something crucial, and he knew what it was. Something his parents had, but not him.


    ''When am I going to bring out my racial traits? Why don''t I have horns or a tail like mom, or wings like dad? Why am I so... human?''


    ''I''m supposed to be a demon and an angel, but I haven''t displayed any resemblance to any of them.''


    ''Are you trying to imply that I am too weak still?''


    Even after doing that much efforts, rescuing good people, fighting powerful individuals and winning, being blessed by Remnants, and finding the lost factions, and training like a madman, there was still no clear improvement.


    His Third Gear was unlocked, but as usual when unlocking a new ability, it was almost impossible to use efficiently. The Arm Overdrive was indeed powerful, but that was also not enough to deal with a powerhouse like Elliot.


    If he couldn''t kill him with one arrow, then the fight would be over for him. That was how strong Elliot was from his assessment.


    ''And even then... I can''t rush things. Even if I train for days, only my stamina will improve. How long I fight doesn''t matter if I''m defeated in ten minutes.''


    A crossbow, versus a sword.


    Sure, the advantage goes to the crossbow. Unless the sword is irregularly powerful. That was the problem here.


    ''Fine. Let''s stop here. I have things to do.''


    He stood up from his bed after releasing the girls'' hands.


    "I am pretty hungry, can we eat soon?"


    With a smile, he turned to Amelia, who nodded immediately.


    "Yes, I was about to prepare dinner."


    "Count Florian, Dylan, and the sisters. Tonight will be noisy. Oh, and a chair for Stella. We can''t let her alone."


    "I''ll take care of the girl."


    "Thanks, Karteira."


    Orion helped the girls stand up by offering his hands.


    Then, Amelia and Orion went downstairs, while Karteira helped Stella go downstairs by lifting her in her arms.


    After finishing the preparations, everyone met up at the dining table, Stella comprised.


    She introduced herself with shyness, but even then, she was positively received by everyone else.


    The sisters were quite fond of her, even Dramia. May thought she was incredibly cute, and Florian was relieved to no end knowing that she was safe, and even more when he learned that she wasn''t Julian''s daughter.


    He kept hidden the fact that she was a Remnant, as this was Orion and the sisters'' secret for now. There was no need to pressure the girl when she didn''t knew herself that well either.


    Until late at night, they discussed many things, from the less important, to very important matters.


    Between Florian''s plans with the two cities, his loyalty to respect the agreements with the lamias, and the treatment of criminals, to Orion''s future plans in the next few days.


    And that would be a very, very, important matter for Amelia.


    "So you think it''s time?"


    "Yes, tomorrow, we''ll bring down another Apostle. There''s no more time to lose left and right."


    "Good luck then, this man will mostly not be as easy as the others."


    Florian and Orion talked together while the women were having their moments together.


    "Don''t worry, we will be ending Kelvin''s life successfully."


    "As you''ve seen already, many people from his city have fled because of the border''s outbreak, so it will be easier to deal with him. Though, his army is still one of the best out there. They are mostly magic users, so you should be careful."


    "I''ll keep that in mind. Though, I already have an idea on how to deal with it. Tomorrow, the city will become a ghost town."


    His plan in mind, all that was left was to strike at the best moment, and that was in the middle of the night.


    ''Just you wait, I''ll make you pay for what you did.''


    A darkness on his face, he was ready. Amelia managed to eavesdrop on the conversation, and thought that she would help him.


    What she didn''t knew was that she was part of the plan.


    The conversation stopped abruptly when Orion heard a knock at the front door.


    ''Was that Sirius?''


    He stood up and opened the door. Behind it was Sirius with his bowl in his mouth.


    "Oh, you''re hungry. Sorry, I didn''t notice."


    The dog entered the house with a happy face. He turned to the dining room, and to the kitchen.


    Stella noticed the dog, and left her seat, following the it to the kitchen under the careful watch of Orion.


    ''She might have never seen a dog.''


    He smiled and followed them to the kitchen area.


    Sirius dropped his bowl on the floor, and turned to look at the little being behind him.


    *woof*


    He barked quietly, surprising Stella who took a step back.


    "You don''t have to be scared. He probably asked you to give him food."


    Orion placed his hand on her back to appease her surprise. She looked at him, before staring at Sirius.


    "C-Can I give him?"


    "Sure. You like dogs?"


    "I don''t know."


    She shook her head, as Orion crouched and picked up a can of dog food from under the counter.


    He opened the can, and took a spoon.


    "Like this. It''s really not hard. You can give him the whole thing, he eats a lot."


    With a smile, he handed the can to the girl. She was lacking strength, but she still managed to empty the can into the bowl.


    "Good job. Now, you just have to place the bowl in front of him, and he will eat it."


    Doing as he said, she lifted the bowl and placed it right in front of Sirius. He looked at Stella, before eating his food.


    "He''s similar to you. He found his way in this place when he had no one to care for him. He was hurt, and very hungry. We''ve decided to make him part of our family, and now there we are."


    "Family..."


    The girl shyly brought her hand to the dog''s head. Carefully she touched his white fur.


    Sirius continued to eat his food, but he also began to move his tail at the same time.


    Orion watched this scene with a tinge of sadness in his heart.


    ''I can''t... I shouldn''t think of adopting her.''


    He stood up and looked at Amelia and Karteira.


    ''It wouldn''t be fair to them.''


    Just as he thought that, they looked at him and smiled brightly.


    ''Really, it is unfair.''


    He smiled in return.


    ''I''ll keep it in mind for now. When the time to goodbyes arrives, maybe I''ll have my answer. For now, we''ll care for her.''


    Stella continued to pat Sirius with a happy expression until he finished his food.


    He then moved to a corner of the room, and laid down there. Before anyone could notice, him and Stella were fast asleep, with the girl peacefully sleeping with him.


    ''Children shouldn''t be kept awake late at night. I''ll remember that.''


    Orion brought a cover, and placed it on her while making a mental note.


    "It''s hard to be a father, isn''t it?"


    Hearing the joking tone coming from Amelia, he shrugged.


    "I have no experience, so who knows."


    With that, the night came to a stop for everyone. May returned home, Florian slept on the couch, and everyone returned to their room.


    A peaceful night, yet, the next day''s night would be all but peaceful.