All eyes strayed and covered the surrounding scenery.

  A radiant white sky bathes the world in an unnatural glow.

  The blueish color of the sea, which was a normal occurrence in their world, was nowhere to be seen here.

  Only light white water spread in every direction, creating a surreal feeling for those who stared at it.

  Deep into the depths of the oceans, far into the distance, the lights of a city sank to the bottom and revealed themselves.

  It was beyond normal, but it was resplendent.

  As Orion breathed a heavy sigh of relief, he looked at the maid in his arms.

  Then he turned to Libranil before looking at Tetra and Henrietta's direction.

  "I'm fine. We're all fine."

  Seeing the heavy frowns on the women's faces slowly disappear, the tension gradually returned to normal.

  Still, an increasingly growing sense of danger kept a hold of their minds.

  'We're in uncharted territory. We need to be extremely cautious.'

  Looking around him, Orion scanned the surroundings.

  Anything could be hidden, especially in the sea.

  "..."

  Marie noticed his worried but calm demeanor and silently waited.

  'Nothing. I cannot sense anything.'

  His eyes wandered toward the city lying under the water.

  'Except this place. This place is infested with life.'

  The feeling coming from that place was similar to a breeding ground of despair and a cacophony of screams.

  "There's not a single trace of land in any direction."

  Hearing Henrietta, Orion removed his attention to the dreadful place, which by itself caused cold sweat to drip along his spine.

  "There's only one place we can go..."

  Tetra also felt a torturing feeling from that submerged city. But it was the only lead they had.

  "You're right."

  Nodding with the faintest movement, his face turned to her.

  "Where are the others?"

  Suddenly recalling something missing, Marie asked.

  She was correct. Aside from Orion, Henrietta, Tetra, Libranil, and herself, the others were missing.

  Lifting his face to the sky, Orion closed his eyes and fell into a deep state of plenitude.

  After a moment of calm, he opened them again.

  "They're all alright. But we've been scattered all around the planet."

  "Seriously?!"

  Knowing that everyone was fine was a considerable relief, but knowing that they had been separated—who knows where—was not reassuring.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Yes. Give me just a moment."

  As Void magic covered his body, Orion focused on his source.

  "As expected, any power coming from Triazils and Horizon has been shut off completely."

  Silka's source was unresponsive, and the core power of the Remnant of 'Purity' was almost completely inaccessible.

  But the void magic residing in his soul, thanks to him being the 'Master of Void', kept working perfectly.

  Just as he confirmed this part of his power worked, he nodded firmly.

  "Alright."

  He leaped into the air with Marie in his arms and landed on Libranil's back, who appeared as confused as everyone else.

  "But Orion..."

  Staring at him with a pained expression, she explained what was on her mind.

  "Now that we're here, I realize that we're useless. I can't feel the Remnant energy inside me."

  In fact, she and Henrietta felt empty. Not a single drop of energy remained in them, turning each breath into a suffocating action.

  "It shouldn't be too much of a problem. Don't worry."

  With a smile, he tried to appease his hurting and worried wife.

  "You're with me. Isn't that a good thing?"

  He knew exactly what to say. The time they spent together as one was an unforgettable experience that shaped each interaction.

  "Hmm~"

  Looking downward, she agreed.

  "Libranil, can you move forward?"

  The dragon's neck moved to the side until its left eye stared at him.

  Exchanging one simple gaze, Orion received the confirmation he wanted.

  With the water moving aside as she used her entire body to swim like a water snake, Libranil effortlessly moved forward.

  Orion finally placed Marie's feet on solid ground. As she stepped on the dragon's back, she faced him.

  "Thank you."

  "It was nothing. I'm glad you're alright."

  Her wobbly legs finally gave in, and she sat down abruptly.

  "Ha-Hahaha... I can't find the strength to stand up."

  Laughing dryly, she remained powerless.

  "Take this opportunity to rest. Such a fall would break anyone. Just breathe in and out slowly."

  This advice was also for the other two. Listening to his advice, the three of them closed their eyes and took a moment to recover from the eventful entrance into this world.

  At the same time, Orion crossed his arms, his eyes wandering into the distance.

  'Can everyone hear me?'

  —

  The second group to fall down the sky consisted of only three people.

  "My power!"

  From the first second he breathed the air of this world, Elliott noticed the difference.

  "Just like he said!"

  Following from high in the sky, his hair moved in every direction as he clenched Vanitas in his hand.

  The sword was slowly losing its luster, but it had still enough energy to be used.

  Forcing his body to pivot in free fall, he looked above him.

  "!"

  Two other people were falling just as fast.

  One of them was Layla, while the other was his father, Blanc.

  "Layla!"

  Screaming the name of his companion, Elliott extended his hand in her direction.

  "Elliott!"

  Doing the same, she began to reach for his hand.

  As the ground was still ways ahead of them, they reached each other rapidly, beginning their descent together.

  But Elliott couldn't let his father die such a worthless death. Even far away from the land that gave him the Remnant power of 'Chivalry' and 'Knighthood', his soul yearned for honor.

  With the remaining strength left inside his mother's sword, Elliott went into motion.

  "Calamitas!"

  An invisible whip appeared in his free hand as the blade of Vanitas emerged from the scabbard by itself.

  The blade began to glow vividly, gathering everything it had for one big struggle.

  With a swift movement of his wrist, Elliott moved the invisible whip toward his father.

  It caught the man's chest and wrapped around his body multiple times, securing the rescue.

  After moving through thick clouds, the ground finally appeared. A field of red extended widely under them, with no way to determine what it could be.

  "Not yet..."

  Layla hugged his chest even stronger, prepared for the worst.

  "Not yet!"

  But at the very last second, she stopped worrying.

  As Elliott prepared for a deadly gamble, she aimed her right hand toward the ground.

  "Clam!"

  "Crescent!"

  At the same time, they screamed the name of an ability.

  The knockback of using a powerful ability pushed them upward, resetting their velocity altogether. His attack met the ground, causing a large explosion of dirt and dust.

  But from that same spot, a large creature, similar to a gigantic clam, opened its mouth to devour them.

  Falling into the mouth of the beast, not even a crash echoed in the surroundings.

  After a few minutes, the energy dissipated, reducing it to a large puddle of water.

  In the center, three people struggled to stand up.

  "I can't... breathe!"

  "Me... neither."

  Catching their breath from the stress-inducing situation they were in, they sat on the wet ground with little care for the cleanliness of their clothes.

  "I'm alive..."

  Blanc, sprawled on the ground like a starfish, stared at the white sky with a shocked expression.

  "As if I'd let you die like a dog. Have some self-respect, damn it."

  Walking toward him, Elliott extended his right arm right after stopping in front of him.

  Without giving it a second thought, Blanc grabbed his son's hand, who immediately pulled him up.

  "Nothing broken?"

  "I'm fine. What about you two?"

  A genuine frown of worries formed on his face as he asked Elliott.

  "Beside the lack of energy and difficulty to breathe, we're doing alright."

  "That's a good start, at least."

  Sharing a small joke to remove the pressure left from being separated from everyone, Elliott turned around and faced Layla, who had recovered her composure.

  "Where are we, anyway?"

  "Some form of flower garden?"

  As Elliott asked, Layla shared the first observation she made.

  "No civilization in sight."

  "You're right."

  Blanc gave another obvious but needed statement.

  "And the others are nowhere to be seen."

  "As expected."

  He placed both hands on his hips and stared at the sky. After letting out a heavy and tired sigh, he smiled.

  "What a predicament."

  At that instant, a voice echoed in their heads.

  'Can everyone hear me?'

  —

  "What in the world?!"

  "Help us! / Help us!"

  "My dress!"

  A group of four people were spewed out of a ripple in space. They instantly began to feel the pull of gravity dragging them downward.

  "Don't worry about your dress! Worry about our situation!"

  Nylon shouted at Celeste, who did her best to hide her underwear from the eyes of the others.

  Only the waist-high stocking could be seen, but she could only protect so much.

  "Just... make invert your position!"

  "!"

  Immediately, she moved her body in such a way that her face fell first instead of her feet. Her dress followed the principle, tightly closing on itself like a flower as she fell down.

  "Help!"

  Chelsea and Kelsea, screaming for help behind them, finally caught their attention.

  "Crap!"

  With one glance, Nylon noticed that only Chelsea had retained her consciousness. Kelsea was unconscious in her sister's arms, but she was tightly secured.

  "What kind of situation is this?!"

  Feeling the pressure reach his thoughts, he felt overwhelmed.

  'How am I going to save everyone?!'

  As the question kept turning endlessly in his head, the ground also came closer and closer.

  Only one thing was left for him to do.

  Bring everything he had and do something impossible.

  "..."

  Noticing his hesitation, Celeste grabbed his shoulder with difficulty.

  "Do you need my help?!"

  Glancing at her, he nodded.

  "I do."