"Now that you have an idea to who we are, there is no reason for me to keep quiet. Thanks to this brainless friend of mine, you will learn things I would rather not speak about."


    "Brainless?! Who are you callin-"


    Henrietta shook her head.


    "That also goes for you. These are events you wished you would have never learned about."


    She looked at Orion straight in his eyes, and then Amelia.


    "You could even go crazy just from learning it. I apologize in advance."


    With a quick bow, she began.


    Orion and Amelia readied themselves, while Elliott simply listened, making himself as invisible as possible.


    "Orion, how many times have you died?"


    A sudden question was thrown to him.


    "I haven''t ''died'' since I''m here talking to you, but I went to the border of life and death two times."


    With a quick nod, she continued.


    "Then, how many times do you think I''ve seen you die?"


    The air grew still instantly. A bad feeling took hold of him, while Amelia tried to make sense of it.


    "Like I said, I haven''t died. But you wouldn''t ask such a question randomly..."


    "More than a billion times at this point."


    "..."


    A long silence fell in the room. Orion and Amelia blinked, while Elliott squinted his eyes. Tetra looked at her with surprise.


    "Wait, I thought you only knew about predictions of events, but you''ve..."


    Tetra placed her left hand on her face, her eyes peaking through her fingers. She looked troubled the moment she realized.


    "How many times?!"


    "Too many."


    "..."


    She remained quiet after that.


    "Alright, where do I start from there?"


    Henrietta looked at Orion.


    "Orion, another question for you. Do you remember what happened on your way to Auro?"


    He closed his eyes and reminisced on that moment.


    ''On the way to Auro. That was after leaving Albriar, right? On the way...''


    "The glade?"


    "Yes."


    She nodded.


    "I still don''t know what that was. That picture is still embedded in my mind."


    "What picture?"


    Amelia asked him, since he never talked about such an event before.


    "..."


    He looked away from her.


    "A synchronization with another timeline happened. A line where you, Amelia, died in his arms. I remember that day clearly."


    Orion gritted his teeth in anger.


    "So that''s what it was!"


    He slammed his fist on the table, making it crack slightly.


    Amelia stared at her mother with anxiety.


    "You''re not serious? I died?"


    But she only made it worse for herself.


    "More than you could think of. Even Karteira, your dearest friend."


    Despair appeared in her eyes, as she imagined such a situation happening.


    "Not only you, but Orion died more than both of you combined."


    A small, tattered notebook appeared in her hand.


    "This little book is full of my own memories.


    She opened it and began to read it.


    "The day Orion synchronized to was... yes, this one. The group arrived a little too late to defend Albriar. The city fell in the hands of Julian, Florian fell to corruption, Karteira lost her life and was ripped to pieces."


    "Amelia tried to save her, but she lost one arm and a leg in the process. In her rage, she summoned the dragons, Monolavir and Ruminona, on the continent, who ravaged everything. The power surge made her lose control of her magic, frying her brain and one eye."


    "Orion took her far away, in the glade where he appeared, but it was already too late. Amelia died in his arms, and he threw himself to battle alone after that. Orion died not long after, killed by Layla as he went to Eogis."


    Blood dripped from Orion''s mouth, as he bit his lower lip too hard. While he was trying to calm his emotions, Amelia was crying next to her mother.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Enri, enough."


    Tetra placed her hand on the notebook.


    "No. You asked for it. They need to know."


    ...


    The truth. The terrible truth that they wished they never learned about.


    Orion died so many times from various events.


    He lost against Apostles, lost control of his magic and exploded tragically, sacrificed himself after losing his friends... these were but the more tamed of deaths.


    "You''ve never managed to get past the Southern Invasion."


    For him, this felt like a nightmare. How many times did he lose everything he held dear? Only now did he realized that he was blessed to have them with him, and that he truly felt horrible to learn what happened to them.


    "Orion, the worst death you had... are you ready to hear it?"


    He closed his eyes and nodded, anxious.


    "It comes from the third timeline before this one. Amelia, prepare yourself, this one is going to be hard."


    Amelia was only beginning to get used to the horrible stories, yet, she wasn''t ready for the next one.


    "You fell to corruption. Miasma managed to take over your body on the road to Hocride. It''s a timeline where you haven''t managed to find the fairies, so it was only you and Amelia."


    "As you began to lose yourself, you begged Amelia to slice your throat."


    Just imagining that, Amelia began to tremble in shock and extreme sadness.


    "Just before you lost control completely, your head rolled on the ground. Amelia let out a cry of anguish, and blew up the whole Parsmata Desert, before unleashing once again the dragons on the continent."


    "The five elements in a berserk state, she went to Eogis, single handedly killed Layla, and broke the seal, only to get killed by Elliott. His sword pierced your chest, ripped your limbs apart, and laughed as he ravaged your dead body."


    Orion stood up, and grabbed his collar. His face was hidden by a darkness so opaque his eyes only showed his grey pupils full of hate and anger.


    "Calm down, that was not me acting like that. I wouldn''t do that."


    Trying to ease Orion, he lifted his hands in the air.


    "That also sickens me, so calm down."


    It was true, Elliott found this part extremely disturbing, and even some anger mixed with his current expression appeared on his face.


    "Mom..."


    "What?"


    Tired, Amelia asked the only question she could think about.


    "Was there a time where we were happy?"


    Orion let go of Elliott''s collar and turned slowly to Henrietta, still angry.


    "..."


    But she shook her head from left to right.


    "Not a single time? W-Why?"


    "Because Orion is a ''Hero''. Just like we couldn''t save Noah, it is near impossible to save Orion."


    This time, Tetra slammed her hand on the table.


    "How many times have we failed him?"


    "Probably as much as Orion. I couldn''t force myself to change his life after managing to hurt Miasma, which led to his inevitable demise."


    "And before you accuse Nature of doing that, remember that a title is given by the world itself. She has nothing to do with it."


    Tetra glared at her.


    "I''m not stupid. You are the one with the power to influence destiny. You''re the one responsible for their life. What events they go through, what life they will lead, even the encounters they will have. You managed all of that!"


    Orion and Amelia looked at each other. Just doing that calmed their troubling mind a little. He sat down and breathed in and out a few times, while Amelia kept her eyes on him, thinking that if they arrived so far, maybe this timeline was the one.


    "I''m not that omnipotent! Sure, it''s me who gave the power to send Orion in the future to the demons and angels!"


    "But I also tried everything before that! His parents were so close to win against Elliott, but since they were only powerful individuals, and not ''Heroes'', they always died!"


    "I tried to form a new hero in this timeline, but they couldn''t even fight a single corrupted beast without dying. What choice did I had?! Orion was the only one capable of holding his ground against the corruption!"


    Henrietta talked faster and faster, leaving no room for Tetra to say anything.


    "I saw him go alone on his journey at first, but after seeing him die times and times again, I thought it would be better to give him a goal. Even with the seven elements in his body like Noah, he was unable to get far! He had no time, and he was alone."


    "So, I thought of giving him some help. But no one on this continent was capable of holding the power of the five elements. I searched in vain as I saw him die more than a hundred times again. Then, I gave up. But again, another idea came to me!"


    "If I can''t find one, I''ll make one! So I gave birth to my daughter! Do you know how hard it was to see her die, or watch her despair that many times?! I had to kill my own heart to continue on my goal to bring peace to our world."


    "But even with Amelia, it was impossible! Orion kept dying! He kept failing, because this world just functions like this! I had to ask you to die each time I needed to send my memories back in time! I explained it so many times, but you always laughed it off."


    "I didn''t know what to do anymore! I''ve seen so much! I''ve failed so many times! I''ve lost them too many times... I''m tired."


    Elliott understood everything now. All of this happened because of his own weakness. If he had resisted his father''s corruption from the very beginning, none of this tragedy would have happened.


    "I''m sorry."


    Those were the only words that left Orion''s mouth.


    "..."


    Henrietta placed her head between her hands, exhausted.


    "If only I had been stronger, none of this would have happened to you."


    "You don''t understand."


    Tetra shook her heads, and for the very first time, came to understand her friend''s deepest desire.


    "She''s tired of sacrificing people for her goal. Now I understand. I always had my doubt about Noah''s death, but now I get it. You couldn''t take it anymore, right?"


    Bringing her arms around her friend''s back, she pulled her for a hug.


    "I''m sorry too. Even though I told you to say everything to me, I guess I wasn''t ready to learn the truth at all."


    Amelia smiled at this heartwarming scene. Maybe this timeline was really the one.


    Tetra took the tattered notebook from her hand and placed it on the table. Curious, Elliott and Orion looked inside.


    "!"


    <Noah sacrificed his life for us again, but this time, he managed to hinder Miasma by injuring him.


    I made sure Tia created an opportunity for the future Hero by saving the twins accompanying him.


    I can''t believe I''m writing this, but I''m glad this is finally over. Though, I know Tia is going to return in tears, and I cannot console her whatsoever. I''ve robbed her of her loved one, and I will not pretend around her.


    Tia, I''m very sorry. If there had been another way, and if my mental strength had been stronger, I would have tried many more times. But I can''t.>


    They noticed the dark stains on the paper.


    ''She probably cried while writing this.''


    Orion placed the book on the table, and stood up.


    "Elliott, come with me for a second."


    "What a coincidence, I also wanted to talk to you."


    Both men nodded to each other and exited the room. Amelia noticed them leaving, but decided to console her mother instead with Tetra.


    ...


    "Your proposition."


    "I will accept it. If I can get stronger, I will even accept you as my training partner."


    In the middle of the corridor, Orion spoke those words.


    "Sure."


    "..."


    "Orion."


    "What."


    They exchanged a silent gaze, until Elliott spoke his mind.


    "Even if it never happened, I''m sorry for what happened in that timeline. I''ve done only horrible things to you, and I have no ways to make up for it in any ways."


    Orion knew what he talked about, because he was still incredibly pissed about it. But the Elliott in front of him was definitely not the same as the one in the past.


    He was quite sassy sometimes, and incredibly irritating, but he wasn''t a ''bad'' person. Orion acknowledged that, that''s why he gave him a chance.


    "I want to avoid creating more pain and despair around me. I want to protect what is important to me. Do you have something like that? Someone important?"


    Elliott shook his head.


    "My mother is dead, and my father became a monster thirsty for revenge. I''m also all for revenge, but not that much. Maybe I''m closer to you on that front."


    "But yes, I don''t have anyone I wish to protect. Maybe one day."


    The two men looked at each other. Orion moved his left hand in front of him, and reluctantly went for a handshake.


    "Haha~ you don''t have to force yourself. I know you hate me."


    He grabbed his hand and shook it nonetheless.


    An alliance between Orion and Elliott formed that day, with both working toward returning the world to its rightful form.


    One of peace, and tranquility, where conflicts finally will be brought to rest.


    But for that, they had to deal with the current threat, Miasma.


    With a new objective in mind, they both entered the room.