After an hour of lying in bed, Orion glanced toward the door.


    Once all of his ideas formed in his head, he simply enjoyed the comfortable sensation of his mattress.


    But footsteps disrupted his leisurely time alone.


    *Knock*


    A single knock.


    This was a strange action, as almost anyone he knew usually did it twice or several times.


    He sat straight on the edge of the bed, shuffling the sheets.


    While pondering as to whom it could be, he stood up and walked to the door.


    "Yes?"


    Opening the door, Orion looked at the figure standing there. A man with silver hair was patiently waiting with a neutral smile.


    "Dad?"


    Reon nodded at his baffled son.


    "I thought we could talk for a bit."


    Orion opened the door wider and invited his father inside.


    "Sure. It''s still difficult for me to get around the fact that you are alive."


    Closing the door, Orion pointed at the table further inside the room. Reon reached for a chair and sat down.


    "I will let Henrietta and Titania tell you what happened later. If I were to tell you everything, they would have nothing to explain."


    With a smile, he brought a hand into his pocket.


    "Orion."


    Listening, he stopped before reaching the table.


    "What is it?"


    Out of his pocket, Reon pulled out what appeared to be a repair kit with many tools protruding out of a plastic cover.


    "Your bracelet. It was damaged during your battle against Miasma, hasn''t it?"


    With a quick glance toward the nightstand, where the bracelet was resting, he nodded.


    Rapidly walking to it and grabbing the device, he clenched it in his hand.


    Then he walked toward his father and placed the bracelet in front of him.


    "Here."


    "Thank you."


    Immediately, Reon took it in his hands and began to carefully and meticulously observe for any damaged surfaces.


    "..."


    Orion silently sat in front of him.


    ''I should probably ask him now that I have the chance.''


    His thoughts focused on one matter. It was something he needed to hear directly from him.


    "Dad. Why did you seal the survivors of our faction inside the bracelet?"


    Reon suddenly stopped everything and opened his mouth wide.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    For a moment, he remained in a shocked state, trying to confirm what his son actually said.


    "When..."


    "In the past. I survived thanks to their help."


    Noticing the lack of judgment in his tone, Reon understood that Orion had brought this conversation simply to obtain an answer.


    Following a nod, he returned to repair the bracelet while answering his question.


    "That''s something even Orianne doesn''t know."


    "I intend to tell her in the incoming days now that you are also aware of it."


    Orion placed his back on the chair and listened intently, while Reon pulled out a small stand with various motorized hands and metal picks to hold the bracelet.


    "Let me ask a quick question before answering you truthfully."


    "Isn''t it our nature to fight against devastation? Me, you, your mother, even your companions and friends."


    "Haven''t we all tried our best to avoid total destruction?"


    Reon picked up a metal stick from the pouch and held the two broken rings, normally holding the chains together.


    "That''s simply what I tried to do. An attempt to protect what we took so long to build and create."


    "Just like we did for you, I sacrificed a lot of time I could have spent with Orianne to save those who weren''t fighters and those who chose to protect those civilians."


    "For your information, I have no regret doing so. These people, stored preciously inside this bracelet, are the reason we fight. Or were, I suppose."


    With a faint smile, he replaced the broken ring with another one, bending a thin piece of metal into a ring with other tools.


    "I''ve done a lot of research and only came to succeed thanks to the knowledge of that final spell."


    "Behind everyone''s back, I built a large construction that absorbed their souls and directly fired it into the device, in a place deep into it so that no one were to even suspect a thing."


    He kept repairing the bracelet, removing any scratches, and repairing the word ''Orion'', which had been damaged over time.


    "I had hoped that one day they would be able to be brought back."


    Reon frowned.


    "But their bodies have been destroyed. Even if they were intact, it has been so long since then. Only bones would remain, unlike us, who were in a crystallized form."


    With difficulty, Orion nodded. He knew that even with all the knowledge in his possession, he could do nothing for souls without their bodies.


    "This is simply too daring to do. I made a mistake and sealed them for eternity inside this little box."


    Guilt was painted on his face as he finished the reparation.


    "I''m sorry, everyone. I wish I could do more for you."


    Handing the device over to Orion, Reon closed his eyes.


    "Again, you are incredible, dad."


    Orion picked it up and immediately attached it around his left wrist, where it had been since his birth.


    "The chain is even modular."


    Pulling slightly on the chain, it matched perfectly his wrist, not causing any discomfort.


    Reon opened his eyes as Orion once again showed admiration toward him.


    "I wish I was half as great as you."


    "Aren''t you putting me too high on a pedestal?"


    But his son shook his head.


    "It''s me who thought too highly of myself. Going into the past was a learning experience."


    "Meeting Noah was what made me realize what I was missing."


    With a faint smile, Orion bumped his right fist over his heart.


    "Compassion, kindness, mercy."


    "In other words, a heart."


    Having meditated for a long time, Orion had time to reflect on his actions.


    "Everything that happened went far too fast. In a single year, I was thrown into the chaos of this continent."


    "The accumulated stress made me blind. Pressure built up, forcing me to only see what was in front of me, unable to realize what was truly important."


    "I made it difficult for all of them. Amelia was the one who suffered the most thanks to my selfishness."


    His gaze dimmed.


    "I still cannot forgive myself for threatening Amelia and Karteira. Even if they forgive me, I cannot."


    But his expression immediately relaxed.


    "Humans, beastmen, fairies, arachnea, kelpies, dragons... who cares? In the end, we are all part of the same ecosystem. We live on the same continent, sharing the same land."


    "It is obvious factions would sometimes fight against each other. I learned that fear drives most of those conflicts."


    "Not understanding the other is what makes it terrifying. This is what we need to change."


    He placed both hands on the table.


    "Even if my hatred was justified, not every human is an enemy."


    "Kamala, Florian, Eric... Those three proved to me that humans weren''t all corrupted. Even the people under them were good people who truly cared for other factions."


    "In the end, all that hatred needed to be pushed on one being, and it was Miasma."


    Reon agreed to this.


    "Our death was caused by Miasma. The Apostles came to be at the hand of Miasma. Corruption spreading and creating corrupt beasts was Miasma''s fault."


    "We can''t reject every single problem upon him, but to say that he had no part in all of it would be a mistake."


    Father and son were of the same opinion.


    "I have learned that everyone needs the same chance. It doesn''t matter who it is."


    "It doesn''t make criminals any less responsible for their actions. They exist in every faction."


    "Those who suffer the most... are usually the normal people. And I have the power to make it safer for them."


    "To help them develop into what they were meant to be."


    Noticing the white light in his eyes, Reon couldn''t help but ask.


    "Are you planning to use Miasma... no, Blanc''s power?"


    "I do."


    Orion frowned while looking at his hands.


    "How I should use it, I still don''t fully understand."


    "It is too complex to be understood yet."


    Closing and opening his hands multiple times, he still couldn''t control the purity itself. He couldn''t even see it yet.


    "These things will take time."


    Reon began to pack his tools. Rapidly, he turned to the door.


    "Your mother is coming."


    Without even hearing her footsteps, Reon knew Orianne was looking for him.


    He stood up from his chair and walked to the door.


    "I''ll leave you alone. You probably want to enjoy a bit more of your time after returning. Your mother will have to wait for her turn."


    With a smile, Orion nodded.


    "I intend to speak to mom, too."


    "You should. She''s been craving affection lately."


    "Haha~"


    As Reon opened the door and walked outside the room, he suddenly remembered something.


    "By the way, your mother and I have taken a room on the first floor. I hope you don''t mind."


    "I don''t. Feel free to continue using it."


    "Thank you."


    With a smile, Reon closed the door. Moments later, he heard hurried steps running up the stairs.


    "Reon! Where were you? I looked everywhere for you."


    "I went to repair something."


    "Was something broken?"


    "Something important. Come on, let''s go."


    "Ah! Sure."


    Their voices began to diminish as they walked downstairs.


    ''It''s going to be even more lively around here.''


    With a warm smile, Orion leaned on his chair.


    *Warp*


    Suddenly, the area behind him began to warp.


    "Hmm?"


    As he looked over his shoulder, all he saw was a strand of pink hair.


    Something warm and smooth touched his lips.


    Tetra''s face was close, and she had pressed her lips to his. For a few seconds, they stayed like that until she pulled her face away.


    "I told you. I''m going for it, and I won''t hold back."


    She placed a finger on his lips and winked with a certain charm that made his body heat up.


    "See you later."


    Then she disappeared as fast as she came, leaving Orion to deal with his raging emotions.


    "..."


    He straightened on his chair and looked at the ceiling.


    "What am I supposed to do if you simply barge in here and kiss me?"


    Placing his hands over his eyes, happiness took over his entire body.