*Slam*


    Reon stood up and slammed both hands on the table, baffled. Slowly, his head turned to look at Orianne.


    "..."


    He opened his mouth, but no sounds managed to escape. While trying to calm his confused thoughts, he pointed at the screen, which showed Orion in a relatively similar state as him.


    Orianne looked a little more composed, yet she was also at a loss for words.


    "I-I thought... our bodies turned to nothing... after that large scale magic!"


    At last, words managed to escape his mouth.


    "I thought so too, but I suppose we were terribly wrong, Reon."


    A sarcastic smile on her face, she looked at the screen, and at her own body stuck in the crystal.


    "This really is me... there''s no mistake about it. It''s in the same state I was during our final stand against Elliott... or Miasma, as it was all along."


    Seeing the cuts on her legs and arms, and the wound on her cheek, she felt as if it was only yesterday that she fought for the last time.


    "..."


    This revelation was too much for Reon to process.


    "Calm down. It doesn''t change much for us-"


    "You don''t understand!"


    Orianne felt anger emanating from his words, but it wasn''t directed at her.


    "What don''t I understand?"


    She raised an eyebrow.


    "Think for a second! Our souls are inside the bracelet, and our bodies are still in Triazils!"


    While he was shocked, this was the first thing that came to his mind. He was still a great inventor at heart.


    "..."


    Rapidly, she pieced everything together.


    "Orion is probably going to find a way to revive us..."


    "But tell me, is it forbidden? If the opportunity is here, why not grab it? We''re not ''truly'' dead, and if our little lie to the world wasn''t authorized, this bracelet of yours would have been destroyed long ago."


    *Fuuuu*


    Exhaling air for a moment, Reon calmed his nerves. Once he was able to control himself again, he sat down.


    "Our story ended when we lost against Elliott. What can we bring to this world nowadays? We don''t have a legacy to pr-"


    "We have Orion."


    "The angels and demons died, there''s nothing we can-"


    "Not everyone died, and you know it!"


    "Stop cutting in."


    "Sorry."


    *sigh*


    Feeling the exhaustion follow after that burst of adrenaline, Reon placed his face inside his hands.


    "If your body crashed near the north part of Eogis... then mine is in the-"


    "Frigoria Plains, right?"


    He looked through his fingers and sighed.


    "Sorry, again."


    "No, I''m just... exhausted, I guess. This wasn''t what was written in that book."


    The book Reon was talking about was the instructions on how to create the magic spell, and the risks placed on the users.


    What he forgot was that the spell itself was something Henrietta, helped with an oblivious Tetra, created. Of course there would be countermeasures in it.


    But to know more, he had to talk to Henrietta, which was impossible currently.


    "It sure wasn''t, but I won''t complain. You''re the one who don''t understand, is what I think."


    "Enlighten me, please."


    He was too drained to play along.


    "It won''t be a bother for Orion. He probably won''t make it his first priority. Knowing he can recover what''s left of us will be good enough. Or so I hope."


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She looked at the screen with sadness as Orion was caressing the crystal.


    "Amelia, we return immediately."


    "What about your mother?"


    "Don''t worry about that."


    They both stared at the screen in silence, observing his next move.


    Orion opened a portal for Amelia and himself, before snapping his fingers. Doing that created a large opening in space that engulfed the crystal containing Orianne''s body.


    Since the bracelet was tightly wrapped around his wrist, it didn''t move much, luckily for them, making the view stable even though he moved his arm a lot.


    After entering Horizon, he warped to the Spirit Altar. There, he snapped his fingers once again, and transported the crystal where he wanted it to be.


    "See? I told you he wouldn''t leave me there."


    "What now? The first thing he''s going to try is-"


    "Ghh!"


    "I knew it."


    Orianne felt a rather unpleasant feeling pulling her consciousness away.


    "Wai- Wait! It''s not going to work that easily!"


    "That''s what I told you."


    Orion was using his void magic on the bracelet to force the Orianne''s soul out. He was trying to return it to her body.


    "Well, it''s not going to work, though. I never heard of a person reviving someone else so far."


    "I''m starting to get used to that weird feeling. It feels like I''m falling asleep or something."


    After enduring it for a few minutes, it wasn''t bothering her anymore.


    "I''ll give him that, he was quick to find you inside the bracelet. I hope he doesn''t go looking ''too far'' in."


    "Yes, that would be troublesome."


    With a nod, they looked at Orion sighing in disappointment.


    ~


    "I guess I''ll have to do something about the crystal around her first, and improve my control over the void magic too."


    "I''ll have a little talk with Tetra later on. She might be able to help me get the hand on how to use magic related to ''space''. Maybe I can do something with ''time'' too."


    He gave one last look at his mother. She was in her demon form still, dragon horns on her head, a reptilian tail, and scales all over her body. It felt very strange to see his mother in the flesh, and not inside the bracelet.


    "I''ll find a way, you can be sure of that."


    After giving up on reviving his mother for the moment, he returned to his house. There, Amelia had already explained everything to Karteira.


    "Orion, is that true?! You''ve found your mother?!"


    She grabbed his shoulders with a worried look on her face.


    "We did. I''ve already secured it."


    "Thank the world! I''m so glad."


    Seeing the expression on her face, he could only smile.


    ''Being so shaken up for my sake...''


    He began to caress her hair.


    "I am too."


    When he turned his head, he noticed Olivia watching him.


    "You guys want to see my mother?"


    "I do!"


    From the living room, Tetra''s voice was heard. He smiled and opened a portal. Though, he went to pick up Stella upstairs before going.


    ...


    "So that was Lady Orianne. Truly unbelievable."


    Olivia said, looking inside the cup of coffee in her hands. She had many thoughts after seeing another demon, and even more seeing the legend that she was.


    "Yes, just like I remember."


    With a saddened expression, Henrietta agreed.


    Right now, they were all sitting at the dining table, Stella on Orion''s lap as usual.


    "What about your father?"


    Curious, Tetra couldn''t help but ask.


    "He''s somewhere in the Frigoria Plains. I won''t be looking for it though."


    "Why?"


    "Because Elliott is searching for what crashed over there instead of me. This will definitely surprise him though."


    With a smirk on his face, Orion imagined his reaction.


    "You''re putting a lot of faith in him. What tells you he won''t just finish the job?"


    Still doubtful about him, Amelia waited for his answer.


    "If he does that, I''ll have a reason to k-"


    He looked at Stella, who was balancing her feet rhythmically with a cup of cocoa and a smile on her face.


    "To settle everything with him."


    ''Nice.''


    They all thought in unison.


    "Alright, then what?"


    Tetra continued.


    "I was hoping you could help me figure out a way to place her soul back into her body. You know a few things about spacial magic, don''t you?"


    "You should ask Enri for that. I haven''t used much magic, and only a little bit. She knows what I''m truly capable, since she returned multiple times using my power as a Remnant of Space and Time."


    But Henrietta only remained silent.


    "Mom?"


    Only Amelia''s voice seemed to force an answer out of her.


    "I don''t think what you''re looking for can be found in what I know. I only know magic that will kill the user. Useless to you."


    She shook her head in disapproval.


    "I agree. Please, don''t look to use the same powers as me."


    Orion blinked a few times, confused.


    "I was only asking if you could help me master my control over the void magic, since you seemed to understand its concept more clearly than me."


    Henrietta and Tetra stared at him before looking at each other. They smiled as if they had understood something, and shrugged.


    "You should have said so from the beginning. If it''s only that, then I should be able to help."


    Confirming with a nod, Tetra''s worries were lifted, knowing that he wasn''t trying desperately to find a way to shorten his own life.


    In response, Orion nodded too.


    That was how he got himself a second teacher. If Dylan taught him everything he needed to know about the crossbow arts, the hunt, and the few abilities related to that, then Tetra will become his teacher in magic.


    ''Tia, you''ve been manipulated again...''


    Placing her hand on her face, Henrietta shook her head. But she remained silent, since her friend looked happy anyways.


    "Amelia."


    "What is it, mom?"


    Instead, she called her daughter. She had something in store for her.


    "I''ll be helping you, Karteira, and Olivia. I''ll think of some ways to improve your power overall. And please, for the love of the world, stop with the weird names when you use an ability!"


    "Never! I''m not stopping what I like!"


    "..."


    Stella looked with curiosity at the two bickering next to her.


    "Papa?"


    "What?"


    ''Papa?!''


    Surprised by the sudden status he was given by Stella, he still listened.


    "Why are you never angry at me?"


    "Are you giving me a reason to get angry?"


    "No..."


    Orion closed his eyes and caressed her hair.


    "There will be one day where you''ll make a few mistakes, it is bound to happen. I will maybe get angry sometimes, but that is it."


    "Even though they''re angry, they still love each other. You don''t have to worry, I will always forgive you."


    Henrietta and Amelia looked away with a slight blush on their faces.


    "Right."


    Seemingly happy with the answer, she grabbed the cup of cocoa from the table with both hands.


    But maybe she went for it too fast, or maybe it slipped from her hands, the cup fell to the ground. Closing her eyes, she was prepared to hear the loud crashing noise of the cup on the floor.


    Yet... nothing. When she opened her eyes, the cup was in Orion''s hand.


    "It happens. Here."


    She tightly grabbed the cup with trembling hands.


    "T-Thank you. I''m sorry."


    With a heartwarming smile on their faces, all the women around the table watched the interaction between Orion and Stella.


    Slowly, but surely, he was changing, and it was noticeable. Orion himself was oblivious to the changes, but he was opening himself to those around him.


    ~


    Around that time, somewhere south of Noctelagia.


    "I''m starting to feel the cold."


    Elliott was pursuing his journey south, entering the coldest area of the continent.