"Orianne!"


    Reon suddenly shouted with a worried expression.


    "I know..."


    She was as concerned as much as him. Still, she composed herself, and observed.


    The black puddle under Orion had retracted to only a fifth of its size, only to expend again, this time, two times the size of the original one.


    Not only that, Sirius''s entire body disappeared into the puddle. Where he was laying, a large bubble replaced him.


    Dark tendrils erupted from the circle, before everything stopped still. The tendrils slowly fell on Orion, wrapping themselves around his limbs.


    Lifted in the air, Orion remained unconscious during the whole process, until suddenly, his eyes opened wide.


    At the same time, a large pillar of dark matter arose from the dark matter, that crashed into the ceiling of Horizon.


    <Bzzzt>


    The device''s screen suddenly froze, and stopped working, leaving the rest of the scene unavailable for the two to see.


    In frustration, both of them looked at each other, and silently waited.


    ''If the device hasn''t shut down completely, then he is alright.''


    Was what Reon thought.


    ...


    All living beings of the plane observed as darkness invaded the air, right after the Tree of Life had bloomed beautifully.


    Yet, no one felt threatened. Instead, they fell the instinctive feeling to respect it. It wasn''t an oppressive force like the corruption, but a more primordial energy, like the natural order of night and day.


    At the center of it, Orion, covered in dark energy, placed his feet on the ground. His consciousness hadn''t completely recovered, as he moved, controlled by the dark tendrils.


    Until the light in his eyes returned, the tendrils kept him still, as the moment he blinked, they released him. They returned into the void under his feet after that.


    "..."


    Orion clenched his fists repeatedly, before he looked at them.


    "Am I back?"


    He tried to look around him, but couldn''t see a thing thanks to the pillar of energy erupting from the ground.


    "Right."


    He placed a hand on his chest, located the source of the surge of magic, and closed it. With his other hand, he swiped the magic away, finally breaking through the pillar.


    Disintegrating into particles, the dark magic fell upon the plane as dark snow. It vanished upon touching the ground, or anything it made contact with without affecting it.


    A demonic Orion emerged from the pillar. His power had awakened completely, compared to his angel form.


    With two pairs of wings on his back, a tail and two horns, Orion appeared entirely different. The surrounding air was choking full of magic, and his overall presence asked for reverence.


    Internally, he was still himself. Nothing changed about his way of reasoning, or the way he saw others. If anyone wanted to show their respect, they could. Otherwise, he didn''t care.


    "Huh? Sirius?"


    His eyes fell on the bubble floating next to him. It was getting bigger and bigger.


    Orion felt a familiar feeling coming from it, similar to the magic he was using. For a moment, he frowned at the sight, but sighed and smiled instead.


    "Grrrrrrrr!"


    From the bubble, a loud growl was heard. Orion placed his hand on the bubble, before it popped like a balloon.


    A dark figure fell from the bubble, whose four legs stepped on the ground without problem. It elegantly stretched its lengthy body, and looked at its master with its pitch-black eyes.


    "I had no idea you would end up like this. Are you alright?"


    While the two of them observed each other, they understood everything about the other instantly. The magic they displayed was the same, their bonds stronger than ever before.


    Sirius, who was previously white, had taken a darker color. His fur turned as black as a starless night, while golden threads flowed between the darkest fur.


    His body, which was originally big, sized up greatly. He was a bit longer than a meter before, but now, he was larger than two meters. Not only did that, but he also became taller. From 60 cm, he now towered at a meter and half, gaining more than half his previous height.


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    A crown of fur surrounded his neck, with more golden accents toward the edges. Behind him, a bushy tail fell downward, ending up like the tip of a brush.


    Its long and thick limbs were very different from before. Just with a glance, Orion noticed how built he became. The neck area, in particular, was more muscular than he remembered.


    The previous dog that Orion knew was no more. Sirius evolved from a dog, to his more ancestral roots, a wolf.


    But, only when the Abyssal Sovereign was activated. When Orion returned to normal, so would Sirius.


    All in all, his dog became a terrifying and deadly hunter. A powerful and trusty ally that would help his master in his times of need. Yet, he exuded the same air as his master, a refined and worthy beast overall.


    *Snort*


    Sirius turned his head away while snorting, showing his discontentment.


    "I know. How was I supposed to know you would also undertake a trial?"


    Orion crouched next to him. The dog, or wolf now, was bigger than he in this position. Sirius looked at his master and licked his face.


    "I''m glad you''re fine, though."


    He began to ruffle the giant wolf''s fur, which felt incredibly smooth to the touch.


    Once done, Orion stood back up, and looked at his clothes. He touched his horns and tail, and flapped his wings, before nodding, satisfied.


    "Nothing wrong."


    His eyes fell on the bracelet.


    "Error?"


    Reading the barely visible letters on the corner of the bracelet, Orion tilted his head. He tapped on it a few times, before the words disappeared.


    "Oh. It seems like it''s good now."


    Inside the bracelet, the screen unfroze, making both of them sighed in relief after seeing their son and his dog safe and sound.


    Orion stretched his arms, before looking at Sirius.


    "Aren''t you curious about your new capabilities?"


    A gleam appeared in their eyes.


    As Orion was about to open a portal, Sirius snorted. When his master looked at him, Orion saw his friend slowly sink into his shadow, which turned into a puddle of dark matter.


    With a smirk, he shrugged.


    "That''s pretty useful."


    With the need to create a portal removed, Orion turned toward the training area.


    "Alright, let''s move."


    He bent his knees, flapped his wings, and activated his seals. Now that he could use everything again, his mood greatly improved.


    With the Fourth Gear activated, Orion threw himself forward.


    At first, he jumped a hundred meters quickly, but that wasn''t enough for him. That felt too close to his warp ability.


    So, he kept trying. He let his body do the work, and focused on his wings. They flapped, again, and again.


    Until something incredible happened.


    *BOOM*


    Orion broke the speed of sound. His ears began to ring from the sudden but absurd event. So, he stopped, and stood in place while feeling dizzy.


    "Did I... I feel sick."


    It took him a minute to feel better. This was how badly going faster than sound itself went.


    Still, there was only one thing in Orion''s mind.


    "I have to get used to it."


    With that said, he continued forward. On his way to the training grounds, he broke the sound barrier two more times.


    ~


    The sun was setting in on Triazils.


    "What a day."


    "I''m tired."


    The group of women living in Horizon finally returned. Karteira and Dramia were the first to walk through.


    They walked through the portal of Hocride back into Horizon with a smile on their faces, and bags in their hands.


    "What about you, Stella?"


    Tetra looked at the girl holding her hand. The bright look on her face couldn''t describe the joy in her heart.


    "I''m tired too."


    "Haha~ I bet. Shall we return home then?"


    *BOOM*


    Just when Tetra finished her sentence, a massive explosion shook the ground, and scared them.


    "I thought Orion was supposed to rest today..."


    Olivia frowned, remembering the words of the man himself.


    "You know him. Something probably happened, or he was bored."


    Amelia shrugged, yet she still glanced in the direction of the sound.


    *BOOM*


    Another large exploding sound came from the distance. They could see some sort of movements all the way from their spot, until a beam of dark matter fired from the ground toward the sky.


    "Eh?!"


    May exclaimed in horror.


    "What was that thing?"


    She asked, feeling that it was different from what Orion trained usually.


    "Isn''t there a portal that leads to the training ground?"


    Without being too affected by it, Deveralna asked.


    "There''s one, but not many uses it. It should be..."


    Amelia''s eyes began to search for the closed portal in the hub. She blinked, before they picked up what she was looking for.


    "There."


    Pointing in an empty space, they all blinked, confused.


    "Amelia, there''s nothing there."


    Tilting her head, Senia pointed at the same place too.


    "Oh. Right."


    What Amelia was seeing was what Orion was seeing. Other people couldn''t see the portals when closed, unless they possessed the void magic.


    "Well, just wait."


    She walked to the closed rift, placed her right hand on it, and focused her senses.


    *Brrrrr*


    A portal suddenly appeared from the empty space.


    "Amelia?!"


    Surprised, Henrietta called out to her daughter.


    "Hehe~ Incredible, right? I asked Orion to teach me how to open them."


    Everyone ended up speechless.


    "Let''s go?"


    With a smile, she pointed at the portal, before she entered it.


    "R-Right."


    Henrietta followed her daughter inside, before everyone followed suit.


    When they walked through, they noticed that Amelia had frozen in place, her gaze locked on an incredible scene.


    Their eyes looked past her, and fell on a man exchanging blows with a dark wolf, stepping on air.


    "Is that all you''ve got?!"


    *Slam*


    The draconic tail of the man slammed on the ground, before he leaped toward the wolf.


    With Orion approaching, Sirius jumped backward, his paws covered in dark matter that he used as a stepping stone to stay above ground.


    He turned his body into a dark wisp that flew toward Orion like a bullet.


    The two clashed, creating another shockwave.


    Sirius gnawed at Orion''s arm, while he smiled wildly, a dark orb in his hand.


    "Take that!"


    He slammed his open hand toward Sirius'' side, but the wolf released his master''s arm from his jaw, and vanished into thin air, only to reappear behind him.


    Suddenly, Sirius stopped and sniffed the air.


    "Sirius?"


    Orion noticed his dog losing interest in fighting, before also looking around him.


    "..."


    His gaze ended up on a group of women, their eyes, and mouths wide open.


    The large wolf noticed Stella, and ran toward her.


    Surprised, she took a step back without thinking, but blinked confused at the lack of fear at seeing such a beast approach her.


    Sirius, larger than her, sat in front of her in all his glory, and waited.


    "Is that you, Sirius?"


    She placed her hands on his chest, and began to caress his fur.


    "Eh?!"


    Drania exclaimed in surprise.


    "Sirius?!"


    She kneeled next to him and poked his side.


    "Wroof!"


    He barked like a dog, even though his appearance was closer to a wolf.


    "I guess I have some explaining to do..."


    Orion scratched his head, before approaching them.


    "O-Orion."


    As he walked, they couldn''t look away. His demonic form made them somehow conscious of their status.


    They felt the sudden urge to bow in front of him, but they repressed it.


    His ink black draconic wings, his curved horns pointing backward, and his thick tail that stayed perfectly still behind him.


    Everything felt so different, yet, they recognized Orion in instantly. His dry smile clarified it.


    "Well..."


    His transformation vanished, and he returned to normal. Sirius also returned to his dog form.


    "How was your day?"


    "..."


    Unable to establish a single thought, they blankly stared at him.