A large group of people stood in the middle of an open field.
The grass swayed gently as the wind caressed it, and the sound of the distant waves crashing on the southern shores echoed through the place.
As a large shrine covering the sky with a pillar of light fell into the sight of the ones present, a low rumble replaced the calmness.
Picking up, the wind crushed the blades of grass against each other.
Darkness swallowed the area, removing the food source of those plants in but an instant.
A dark sphere, as dark as the deepest abyss of the sea, grew exponentially and began to pull everything toward it.
Growing to an immeasurable size high in the sky, matter itself vanished inside of it.
Molding this power with perfection, one man stood alone, surrounded by his most trusted and loved ones.
"I need your help."
Orion, holding the power to create black holes with the void magic, glanced over his right shoulder.
The ones who received his request were the Remnants, who nodded without a hint of hesitation on their faces.
Tetra, standing behind Orion with an uncommon seriousness, was the first to be present by his side.
She gave him a warm smile before turning her head toward the giant sphere of pure blackness.
Then, his daughter took the other side, focusing on her duty as a Remnant instead.
After those two took positions on both sides of Orion, the rest followed.
Henrietta and Titania were the closest ones of the Remnants group. They both walked past the man's wives and settled next to both women.
Next to Tetra, Henrietta glared with determination, while Titania joined Stella to support the young Remnant.
"We have your back."
"Trust us."
They gave firm nods, which Orion acknowledged.
More people walked through the grass and joined them next to Tetra.
"This is terrifying, -/- But we will do our best!"
Chelsea and Kelsea, holding each other's hands, stared at the dark matter with intent.
"Don't worry, I'm here if anything happens."
With a faint smile, Keleanos stopped next to them. He avoided looking at the twins directly, but his intentions were true.
Walking next to Titania, Heto crossed his arms.
"..."
He kept a straight face and focused on the black hole instead of talking. To him, this was the closest event to a disaster, and he could feel it firing alerts in his mind.
Lastly, Elliott and Layla walked behind him, stopping a distance away to cover his back.
Orion glanced backward, and as the two men looked into each other's eyes, he smiled.
"I leave my back to you."
"Leave it to me."
Turning his head to glance in the other direction, he stared at Layla, who was deeply focused on him.
She gave him a smile while adding something.
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"I'll do my best."
Having his back in good hands, Orion focused forward. As he closed his eyes, a different power than magic seeped through his body.
As his wings opened wider, a flash of light formed over his head.
The sigil of Silka, Remnant of 'Language' and 'Culture', appeared to support his endeavor.
Every Remnant present joined his attempt to subdue the devastating singularity, releasing their power to its highest potential.
Threads of energy escaped their skin and were pulled toward the black hole. Devouring every ounce of energy without greedily, no changes appeared on the surface of the anomaly.
Slowly, pained expressions appeared on everyone's faces.
"Ack!"
Feeling the air itself being pulled from their lungs, the twins Chelsea and Kelsea gasped for air while pushing themselves to their limits.
Layla and Henrietta's knees began to shake lightly as the energy that composed their core vanished without leaving a trace.
Orion carefully observed and focused on multiple matters at once.
With the help of 'Calm Analysis', he observed the black sphere's reaction, the state of the people helping him, stabilizing their footing so they wouldn't be dragged into the singularity, and used his Remnant power to affect the sphere.
Struggling grunts echoed all around him.
'The situation isn't improving.'
Seeing the state of the Remnants, he weighted the options.
'Should we stop? I can't have them deplete their energy.'
As a Remnant himself, Orion knew that a Remnant with an expended source was walking a thin line between life and death.
But as he was about to lower his hand and return the black hole into the scenery of his cape, a revitalizing aura covered all of them, giving them a second wind.
"You'll thank me later."
Tetra winked at him sensually as he turned to her. Using her power to restore their body to its prime before being exhausted, she also pushed herself past her limits.
"..."
With a smile, he focused forward and became even more determined to succeed.
The smile disappeared, turning upside-down.
He lowered his face, gazing into the devouring singularity.
'More...'
Slowly, the black hole began to sparkle. The energies the Remnant released finally began to saturate the anomalous sphere, rapidly turning its properties around.
'Not yet.'
After a few minutes of molding the energies and containing the violent power inside the black hole, Orion felt cramps forming in his hands and arms.
"!"
In what seemed to be less than a microsecond, everything inverted.
"Wha-!"
Up became down, and the pulling force turned into a pulling effect.
Having their feet leave the ground, everyone began to panic.
But Orion was already prepared for it.
He glanced toward Mia, who was waiting at the ready.
Giving him a nod, she immediately clapped her hands.
The Dryad's power, even by herself, was enough to manipulate the entire ecosystem around them.
Roots emerged from the ground, wrapping themselves around everyone's ankles before pulling them down.
Still, everything felt inverted. Blood circulated rapidly toward their heads, as if they were flipped.
With everything happening, the first changes appeared to the singularity.
From the deepest darkness, spots of pure white began to ripple freely, replacing the dark color at a fast pace.
The Remnants finally stopped feeding their life force to the devouring sphere, breathing a sigh of relief as they did.
Orion, still focused on obtaining full control of the sphere through sheer willpower, moved his hands in front of him.
Each movement caused the sphere to rotate faster, slower, or accelerate its transformation.
But it wasn't what Orion was searching for. Of course, he was glad to be able to control it.
Yet, what he was looking for was a way to stabilize it entirely.
A single spot of the sphere remained black, which meant the process wasn't done.
Grimacing, he continued his lone struggle.
'Why has it stopped?'
Not everything was under his grasp. The understanding of singularities was still beyond him.
Only through experimentation could he truly come to understand the nature of this monstrous matter.
'!'
The last piece Orion needed to complete his plan. Finally.
Using 'Purity' as a catalyst, he turned the last spot of blackness into the purest white.
A blinding light unraveled across Horizon, depriving everybody of their sight entirely.
The area returned to its normal gravity, rendering the roots useless. Mia finished her duty and pulled them back into the dirt.
"It's not going away!"
Hearing the voices of the maids in the distance, Orion turned his face but couldn't see anything, not even his hands.
"I can't see."
"That's fine, me neither."
Then he heard the voices of his wives, Mia and Nia.
"Orion! Where are you?"
Rapidly, the worried voices of his loved ones filled his ears.
"Orion!"
"I'm here."
A hand touched his arm the moment he spoke.
"I'm right here, Amelia."
Pulling her closer to him, he hugged an invisible person.
"It's so white. I've never seen something like this."
"Honestly, it's terrifying."
Olivia and Karteira spoke lightly, betraying the tension the others felt.
'Something needs to be done.'
The world couldn't stay in this state. Eternal blindness was too cruel a punishment for trying to protect everyone.
"Amelia."
"Yes?"
Answering his call, she lifted her head but couldn't see him. Still, she recognized his warmth and listened.
"I want you to follow my movement perfectly."
A blinking light in the form of a shooting star broke free from his cape and began to move around them.
"Can you see a light moving around?"
As he was able to see it, he asked her if she could also observe the light.
"I can!"
"Great. Can you follow it?"
"..."
"Don't worry, I won't let go of your hand."
She gave a nod after being reassured and followed the light.
Her feet took her just two steps to the left, right in front of Orion.
"I need you to fire everything you have into the sphere."
"But... I can't see anything."
Hearing his voice close to her, she glanced over her shoulder instinctively.
"Are you going to guide me?"
"Every step of the way."
Orion also gave her a nod, but as expected, no one saw it.
"Alright."
Feeling the void magic awaken in her through the link between their souls, he waited.
A slight fluctuation in the blinding light told Orion that Amelia's weapon was ready to be used.
He moved his hand along her arm, carefully checking if the gun was in her grasp.
"Is it time?"
Lifting her arm from under, Orion answered.
"It is."
Amelia followed Orion's instructions and aimed directly at the white hole, which rendered sight entirely useless.
"Right there."
"..."
Without questioning his order, she pulled the trigger.
*BANG*
An overwhelming force pushed them backward, affecting everyone with ripples of energy.
Both scrapped the ground with their shoes as a massive howling noise, echoing into a disturbing whistling, spread into the surroundings.
Then...
Time stopped.
But only for a split second, as light returned.
At that very moment, when the scenery appeared once again to them, the sight of a beam of energy piercing the white hole revealed itself.
The next instant, everything had vanished, and time was working again.
"Have we... succeeded?"
Asking this question to Orion, Amelia lifted her head to see his face, as her back was pressed against his chest.
"..."
The smile on Orion's face betrayed his lack of words.
Lifting his left hand in front of Amelia, he spoke those words.
"Rift Walker."
A gigantic vortex cracked space and appeared in front of him in a 2-dimensional plane.
Blue and green crashed into each other, but no destination appeared at the end of it.
"The link has been made."
His smile immediately vanished, and a murderous glare fell into the vortex.
"Prepare yourselves. We're going in."
At last, the reverse invasion was about to start.