After a while the pulse stopped.


    Orion, who was tightly holding May''s shoulders, lifted his head.


    "..."


    The two prisms that contained the pure light and dark elements were lighting up gently now that the ritual had been completed.


    But his eyes went into the white pearl. The pearl he obtained from his trial inside the elementals'' realm.


    Inside of it was now two spinning elements, rotating around one another. They were small still, representing the two elements that were now shared to the world.


    "Is it... over?"


    Feeling her breath return, May opened her eyes and looked at Orion. She watched him as he nodded.


    He released her from his grasp and walked forward toward the altar.


    "So that''s what it was. The vortex is calming down too."


    Lifting his head to look through the glass roof of the shrine, he observed the vortex. The previous state it was in had been completely lifted, now back to its neutral state.


    "The whispers. They also stopped."


    "Completely?"


    He turned around and looked at May.


    "I don''t hear any. It seems like it."


    Breathing a sigh of relief, she wanted to drop on the floor and rest. She discreetly gazed at Orion.


    ''His he alright?''


    She noticed his irregular breathing, and the way he sometimes stopped moving.


    ''He used too much magic?''


    Panic began to take over her emotions, as she thought that he went ''overboard'' as he stated before.


    "A-Are you alright? Did I make you do something that put you in danger?"


    With hurried steps, she stopped in front of him and placed her right hand on his chest.


    Taken by surprise, Orion instinctively tried to move away.


    ''No... I''m won''t run away from them.''


    He grabbed her hand after making up his mind.


    "I''m fine. I might have pushed a little bit, but I only have a little prickly pain in my chest. You shouldn''t worry that much."


    His smile made her thoughts stop to a still. As she blankly stared inside his grey eyes, she could only see herself in them.


    She had been roughed a little by the pulse earlier. Her disheveled hair was in full display, but she didn''t care.


    "Of course I worry! It''s you we''re talking about. Not only do you jump in dangerous situations mindlessly, but you don''t watch after yourself enough. How can I not worry?"


    Not able to contain it anymore, she let it out.


    "We could have waited until you were fine to do it. It''s not like we were pressed by the elementals, and there was no dangers coming from the vortex. Why did you not tell me to wait?"


    May looked sad.


    ''His he throwing his life away again? I don''t want to...''


    Remembering his state after fighting Elliott, she looked down.


    ''See him like that ever again.''


    At that time, all she could do was remain silent as she confusion was the only thing on her mind.


    -


    A man she never met before. He saved her during the invasion of corrupted beasts at the southern border with the Frigoria Plains. It should have remained as is.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    But fate told her otherwise. May felt threatened by the man''s power, but his demeanor helped her understand that he was a good person. Saving Eric from his affliction was what made her feelings change.


    She had no interest in the man. Her own problem was too much of a burden to share, so she remained distant. Until a snowball came crashing in the back of her head.


    This was the very moment her heart began to change. Even if her heart doesn''t beat anymore, her feelings could change. He accepted her condition, same as Eric.


    They went to the elemental realm together, and returned with knowledge no one knew about. The man, who smiled while dodging beams of colored light with a huge smile on his face grew on her. She began to get interested in him.


    But then, as she was thinking about her own feelings, a dark pillar of magic energy suddenly erupted from afar. Knowing the story from Amelia, she understood that the time had come.


    Perhaps because her heart wasn''t ready, she couldn''t help but be worried. Yet, she was confused. Why did she care about him at that point.


    As she was thinking over her feelings while dealing with her duties, she felt the need to check on him. Luckily for her, the portal to Horizon was still functional.


    She ended up tagging along everyone else, even knowing she wouldn''t be able to be of any help. The explosion they all noticed led to the realization of her own feelings.


    Thinking that he had died, she felt the world lose its shine. Until the end, she had done nothing to help him. She simply followed the flow of things, and it was too late.


    Seeing Orion, lifeless on the bed, was a sight she wasn''t prepared to acknowledge. She wanted to flee, to escape this situation. But she couldn''t.


    His consciousness returned and his body healed up, but she still couldn''t bring herself to speak to him. Guilt slowly ate at her emotions as she returned home after everything.


    Until she once again found herself in front of Orion, her emotions slowly shaped themselves, and before she knew it, she had learned that he was important to her.


    -


    "I don''t want something like before happening to you. I can''t bring myself to accept that you endure our fate alone."


    Orion shook his head.


    "I am not alone. At least now."


    She felt his hand drop on her hand. She looked up and gave a puzzling look to Orion.


    "Huh?"


    "I have Amelia and Karteira. Dramia and Drania, Deveralna, Olivia, Senia, and of course, you too. Followed by many friends I trust."


    "Me? But I''ve done nothing?"


    "No, you''ve done a lot for me. Opening the path to the elemental realm and translating their language to me was more than enough. You''ve been a huge help. Even today, I was waiting for you to help."


    Feeling bashful, she twirled her fingers together.


    "Really? You''re not lying?"


    "I have no reason to. You''ve helped me find their faction, and you were the key in making those new elements a reality in our world."


    Orion was honest. She really was a huge help to his ambitions. He really wanted to find the elementals, and she had been the one to show the path.


    "It''s not about what you''ve done, it''s about you being here. Nothing would have happened if you weren''t here. That''s why."


    Suddenly, she felt her body being lifted up. She blinked and found her face rather close to his.


    "W-Wh-What are you doing?"


    Asking with embarrassment, she grabbed his collar without resisting.


    "I''ll show you something."


    A few steps forward and Orion warped away, leaving the Elemental Shrine in peace. Everything had returned to normal, proven by the silence.


    ...


    "This is..."


    May stepped inside a part of the house that did not exist previously. Right after going up the stairs, she looked around and noticed four new rooms.


    "A new area of the house."


    "Are they bedrooms?"


    "They are."


    Orion nodded and walked toward the room on the right, in front of the twins'' room.


    ''For what reason?''


    Following him, she couldn''t see a reason as to why he brought her here. In front of the door, Orion smiled at her.


    "I would like it to be your room."


    "..."


    The look she gave him was a mixture of surprise, confusion, and happiness.


    "I know you already have a house in Turric, and that you duties are to lead its army. I''m not asking that you leave everything behind."


    "But from time to time, I would love to spend more time with you."


    He placed his hand on the knob and opened the door. As he was placing his foot inside the room, he felt a pull on his sleeve.


    "Look down."


    Hearing her voice, he did as he was asked, he looked toward her.


    *kiss*


    May grabbed his collar and went for something she thought was impossible for her, she kissed him.


    "I also want to spend more time with you."


    She whispered next to his hear. When she released him, she wiped her lips and looked away. Orion touched his lips and smiled.


    "Cold."


    "Of course they are!"


    "Haha~"


    With that, May officially became his lover. When she returned home later, she went to Eric''s house and discussed with him and Caroline.


    They were both very understanding, and allowed her to do whatever she wanted. Eric relieved her of her function with a smile, and breathed a sigh of relief.


    "I was waiting for a day like this."


    "Why?"


    "Because I never wanted you to become a soldier to begin with. You simply couldn''t ignore the debt you had toward me, so you asked to be of use. I had no choice but to ask you to lead our men."


    "That''s... right."


    She bowed as far as she could.


    "Thank you very much for everything. Not only did you save my life, but you''ve given me both a reason to continue to hope for a better future, even with a body like this."


    Eric and Caroline smiled at each other.


    "Return anytime you want. Turric will always remain your home. We will always welcome you in our house."


    Caroline approached May and hugged her head.


    "Y-Yes. Thank you."


    You could hear the sadness in her trembling voice. She was leaving the ones she considered family at last.


    "Do your best. Once everything in Turric is settled, we will join Horizon for that training session we were requested to take a part in."


    Standing from his chair, he joined his wife and held his hand toward May.


    She looked at him and grabbed it. They exchanged a handshake, before Eric ended the conversation.


    "You should pack you things today. You don''t want to be away from him, don''t you?"


    He understood her feelings. He was the same with Caroline.


    "Yes! Thank you. And I''m sorry to leave the army like that."


    "Don''t worry, there was a soldier that wanted to be promoted anyways. I''ll be sure to train him to be as good as you."


    With a nod, she finally walked on the path she chose for herself.