Before Orion returned to Horizon, Elliott left Noctelagia. He recovered Vanitas, his mother''s sword, and like he said, prepared to travel to the cold region of Frigoria.


    But before he had left.


    -


    "Elliott."


    As Elliott was walking near the front gate of the castle, he heard Orion''s voice calling from a window.


    Something flew straight at him, until he caught it.


    "Take this with you. It''s one time use, so choose wisely when to use it."


    A smooth double terminated crystal made of void magic. It was a catalyst to open a portal anywhere to Horizon.


    "Do you trust me enough to give me something so precious? Isn''t it dangerous for you?"


    He stopped and turned his body to speak with Orion.


    "I created this since you''re going to the south. Either if you find yourself in danger, or learn something about the light that fell in the area, use it. No one other than you can hold into that."


    Orion closed the window and went somewhere, leaving Elliott slightly confused.


    But he gripped the crystal and gazed at the gate.


    ''Thanks.''


    With that, Elliott made his way to the Frigoria Plains.


    -


    The dragon''s were sent back to their nest with a portal, as to avoid creating unnecessary uneasiness for the citizens. They gratefully accepted, leaving Noctelagia too.


    All that left was his friends.


    None of them had particularly urgent matters to return to, so they asked if they could go with him, to which he agreed.


    The only one that was about to be left out was Olivia. She hurriedly ran around the castle to speak with her servants, and Marie, the head-maid.


    As she said before, she gave the full power over Noctelagia to her. She was her most trusted friend until now, she knew she could count on her to follow the same ideals.


    So right before Orion opened the portal to Horizon, Olivia was ready with a suitcase in hand, sweating a little bit from the exercise she went through.


    No one was against her following, which made things easier on her. That was how everything in Noctelagia was settled, for now.


    Orion, Amelia, Karteira, Dramia, Drania, Nylon, Senia, Deveralna, May, Kamala, Florian, Eric, and Olivia. They all began their new journey.


    ~


    "This room is a little too crowded."


    Way too many people were inside the living room. There was not enough seats for everyone, as a couch allowed only three individuals to sit on them. They were fourteen and total, with only nine seats available.


    Even though she was struggling with staying moisturized, Senia decided to stay instead of returning to the sea.


    Deveralna had her duties as a Queen, but she completely ignored them and gave them back to her mother. Actually, her people kind of understood that she was moving around for their sake, which was a little far from the truth, but who cared, they blissfully believed that.


    No place was left unsupervised. Hocride had Timothy, Lahro had Palarvina, Albriar had Lobelia and Tom, Turric had Caroline, and Noctelagia had Marie.


    While their Lords were absent, everything was in good hands.


    That gave a lot of freedom to them who were usually swamped in paperwork. Even if it was a little bit, they would be able to learn about the next step of Orion''s journey.


    "What can we do, the guest house isn''t done yet."


    Answering Amelia, Karteira thought about the half finished building next door. Probably everyone noticed it by now, and it was left like this for quite a few months already.


    "I''ll take care of that now that I have some free time. The other house will be finished in no time."


    Orion nodded to himself, finally feeling the urgency of the hourglass leaving his mind.


    "Anyways, let''s discuss about the what''s coming next."


    A terrifying smile appeared on Orion''s face.


    "Miasma is our common enemy. What do you think it means?"


    ''That smile... please have mercy.''


    Everyone who knew it looked away.


    "I''ll have every single one of you except Amelia, Karteira, Tetra and Henrietta train. If you want to help, you''ll have to become stronger. Fighting Elliott made me realize how underpowered we are. Not only Miasma, but whatever comes our way, we have to fight it at some point."


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    His expression relaxed.


    "It''s fine if you want to return home. It won''t disappoint me, because that is your choice. It is your life that you will put on the line this time, so the choice is yours. Most of you know what it means, so I don''t have to explain it to you."


    He looked at the four Apostles, the twin sisters, and May. Then, he glanced over at Deveralna, Nylon and Senia.


    "You three have the choice to return to your everyday life, leaving us the dangerous part. Think over it for now, and give me your answer later. If you really can''t make up your mind, I''ll fight you. That will help you realize what I expect from you."


    The three kept their gaze on Orion. They seemed to have made up their mind a long time before this moment.


    ''I like that determination.''


    He closed his eyes and smiled.


    ''I really don''t want them to die, but more help is always welcomed at this point. That''s why...''


    "I''ll train you to be ruthless fighters. Be prepared."


    Olivia placed one hand on her cheek with a dreamy look on her face. The more she knew about his personality, the crazier she became about him.


    This side of him was definitely influenced by the demon blood in his vein, which aroused her quite a bit. Though, Amelia and Karteira were there to keep her in check.


    As they both looked at the drooling woman, they were ready to step in if she tried to jump at Orion again. But their worries were for naught, as Olivia returned to normal a few seconds later.


    She wiped her mouth, and focused herself on what was said.


    ''At least she CAN contain herself. That''s good.''


    Was what both thought.


    "Olivia."


    Suddenly, she found her name being called out.


    ''I''ve been found out?! But I''ve contained myself!''


    She thought Orion was about to scold her in front of everyone.


    "I want to see your full potential, so you''ll have to fight either me, Amelia, or Karteira later."


    "Heh?"


    Olivia tilted her head and looked at Orion with a confused expression.


    "You want to help, right? If you want to stay in this house, you''ll have to do your part."


    "Aaah~"


    Her face instantly reddened, and a hazy mist fogged her eyes.


    "Yes. I''ll fight you."


    ''She''s got a screw lose.''


    Everyone who watched her could only think like this. But, she was a kind person at heart, she was just a little too into Orion. That''s all.


    "Great."


    He looked at the other three Lords.


    "Kamala, work on ''that''. I know you will one day recover your true strength."


    "I''ll work on it. Could I ask Amelia to help me?"


    The woman nodded, knowing what he meant by ''that''. He meant the form she took when she felled her own mother who fell to corruption, and who better than Amelia to help her.


    "Florian, we both need to work on controlling our new power. You''ve mastered your element, but you can''t control it well, right?"


    Adjusting his glasses, Florian smiled.


    "Of course you would know. Yes, I can''t use that power for very long. But I would like to request a spar with your friend over there if possible."


    His eyes went to Karteira, who smiled wildly the moment she noticed. Fighting was one of her hobbies, refusing would be pretty stupid of her.


    "Eric."


    "Yes. I think I know what you expect of me. You want me to use that ability until it doesn''t affect me, right?"


    "It will be hard, but when you wish to use it, come and get me. I''ll heal your mind so that you don''t lose your memories."


    Eric clenched his fists, and looked at Orion with a hopeful gaze.


    "Thank you. I''ll do my best."


    The man was very thankful. He was scared of his own power, so having a way to negate his fear helped him make up his mind.


    After that, Orion turned his head.


    "Dramia, Drania, you two are going to work harder than before. You won''t be able to avoid fighting me at full power. We have to break those weaknesses of yours."


    "..."


    They both remained silent. There was no way they could say ''no'' at this point, but they still felt as if they weren''t worthy of fighting by his side.


    "Noah, right?"


    "!"


    With a shocked expression, they looked in his eyes. No more words were exchanged, but that was enough to help them make up their mind.


    "Fine, I''ll throw you a bone and follow you in training."


    Dramia crossed her arms and looked away.


    "Haha~ Sis, can''t you be more honest?"


    While mocking her, Drania grabbed her stomach from laughing too much.


    "What about us?"


    Tetra asked.


    Orion placed his index finger on his chin and thought.


    "Well, I would prefer if you stayed out of danger, but if you want to train, then you''re welcomed to fight either of us. Though, you''re not the fighting type, right?"


    He smiled at the pink haired woman.


    "You''re right about that. Compared to Elliott, our mothers never taught us how to fight."


    Henrietta said, slightly happy knowing she wouldn''t have to fight anyone.


    "Then everything''s settled. I will leave the portals to your home open for the time being. If you want to train, just cross over."


    They all nodded.


    "What about you?"


    Asked Drania.


    "I''m going to Eogis for a little bit. there''s something I need to check over there. Amelia, you''re coming with me."


    "Yes."


    "What about me?"


    Karteira pointed at herself.


    "I will leave you here. Sorry."


    Looking a little disappointed, she began to pout. But she remembered that she wanted to learn more about the light element, so she ignored that feeling and pumped herself up for training.


    "Alright then. Have a nice trip over there."


    With everything said, they all returned to their own place. The only ones remaining were Orion, Amelia, Karteira, Olivia, Tetra, Henrietta, and the recently awakened Stella.


    *GRRRR*


    "Hungry?"


    "Quite."


    Amelia asked Orion, since his stomach growled rather loudly.


    "Then let me prepare something. I had forgotten, but its getting pretty late."


    Looking outside, it was indeed night time.


    "Stella, can you open the door for Sirius?"


    Sitting on Orion''s lap, she nodded. She jumped down and walked to the door. She opened it and looked around in the darkness.


    "Sirius?"


    "Woof."


    He barked so that she knew he was here, and joined everyone inside.


    The first night in Horizon for Olivia, Tetra, and Henrietta came by quickly. Tetra took over Orion''s room, Henrietta took Amelia''s, and Olivia obtained the last room that wasn''t used upstairs. The one in front of Stella''s room, and next to Karteira.


    It had to be cleaned so Amelia used her wind element to remove any dust in the bedroom. They changed the sheets, and finally gave the room to the new member of the house.


    The one who obtained the last forgotten element from Orion.


    They went to sleep rather early, as they were exhausted.


    ...


    "Orion."


    Amelia''s voice entered his ears as he was trying to sleep on the couch.


    "What is it? Can''t sleep?"


    He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.


    "Thank you for helping my mother."


    Hearing the sound of shuffling next to him, he knew what was about to happen.


    "You don''t have to thank me."


    In the darkness, he felt something heavy on top of his chest, followed by a soft sensation on his lips.


    "I love you. So much I don''t know what to do with all of it."


    She continued to kiss him for a few minutes. When she finally stopped, they both gasped for air.


    "Who knew you were this wild while kissing."


    Orion hugged her body with one arm and placed the sheet on her with the other.


    "I have a few years of affection to let out, give me a break."


    "Haha~"


    They both hugged each other lovingly.


    "I love you too. I''ll fight the world if that means getting more time to spend with you. But let''s sleep for now."


    "Yes."


    With Amelia laying her head on his chest, they fell asleep.