The day before, after Orion left Elliott and his father together.

  What was supposed to be a warm, heartfelt reunion simply remained a heavy confrontation.

  "A disgrace! You are such a disgrace! I should have killed you instead of putting up with it."

  "Elliott..."

  Once Orion had left, the emotions were too great for Elliott not to let them out.

  "Can you even understand what I went through? Manipulation, unconditional slaughter, despair..."

  "This is only a fraction of what I went through."

  While angrily glaring at Blanc, he walked toward a desk and dropped Vanitas on it.

  "Orion said something interesting."

  Turning around in a fraction of a second, he leaned forward and appeared in front of his father and punched his cheek with enough power to break his jaw.

  Flying to the side, Blanc crashed into one of the broken pods in a spectacular burst of dust.

  "I should settle this grudge with one punch. Then I can let go of this outrageous feeling."

  Moving his wrist from left to right, he felt a pain that wasn't coming from any form of damage.

  The pain of hurting his father and the guilt of having such feelings were clashing inside of him.

  "You're still a Remnant at the end of the day, even if you gave your source to Orion. I believe this wasn't enough to cause you trouble."

  Walking toward him, Elliott finally extended his hand toward the man.

  Slightly confused, Blanc stared at the hand that waited for him to grab onto.

  "Father?"

  Blanc finally understood. It took everything out of him to accept that this would be the only punishment he would receive.

  Grabbing Elliott's hand, he straightened while wiping the blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.

  "We'll never be even with just that, but I'll make do with it. You have been given a second chance by someone far more understanding than I gave him credit."

  "For giving him the experience to forgive others, I do need to thank you for that."

  Walking toward Vanitas, Elliott continued after recovering his mother's sword.

  "Thank me? It was never my intention."

  "I know."

  Sitting on the desk's edge lightly, Elliott frowned.

  "That egotistical goal of yours was imprinted in my mind very vividly. Everything you've done was to cause the greatest calamity ever achieved in this world."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "You've worked hard, but not in the right way."

  Looking at the ground, Blanc accepted those harsh words.

  The loser had to listen to the winner. It was incredibly simple.

  "Still..."

  Lowering his guard for a moment, Elliott sighed.

  "I made the choice not to slice your core. You are here because of this decision. It would be far too unfair to turn back on that decision."

  A sigil flashed in his eyes, far too weak to be observable. But Blanc managed to notice it, given that he knew what it actually was.

  "You've acquired it."

  A faint smile appeared on his father's face.

  "Thanks to Orion, who recovered it from you."

  "This power that should've been mine after that day was stolen by you. So many issues arose from this missing function."

  With a deep frown, Elliott closed his eyes.

  "Justice. A world without one turned out to be one where factions fought each other for no reasons."

  "Or, in that case, where one faction hunted down practically all others."

  "But you know all of that."

  Blanc nodded.

  "Now, let's talk about something that will probably open your eyes to why your plan to decimate all life on this continent was a waste of time and resources."

  Opening his eyes with the fiercest look, Elliott crossed his arms.

  "I believe Orion is aware of this. The other Remnants might also be in the know, but I haven't asked them."

  Seeing how serious his son was, Blanc decided to remain quiet and listen.

  "Our power, the Remnants' functions, work only in Triazils."

  "What?"

  The abruptness of this piece of information was too great for Blanc to accept.

  "For better or for worse, Horizon is still 'somewhere' on the main continent."

  "Every form of breach through space ultimately ends up being connected to Triazils."

  —

  "So Horizon is just a space sealed in a pocket of space?"

  Orion frowned.

  "It's way more complicated. The only way I can explain this is like this."

  "After opening the first instance of Horizon in Kamala's house, this space permanently existed alongside Triazils."

  "At first, the air we breathed came from the continent. Now, it's being generated through the system after absorbing wind magic."

  "This place is a complex layer over the continent. Obtaining this power made it considerably easier to understand, but at the same time, impossible to explain with words."

  Pondering, Elliott ended up nodding. Orion took this to conclude this topic by introducing one that was deeply connected.

  "If I were to completely seal this realm from the main land, you would all lose your power."

  "..."

  The absurdity of this thought made Elliott freeze.

  "Don't look at me like that."

  Orion snapped his finger. At the same time, he separated Elliott's existence from Horizon for a brief instant, enough to make him understand.

  A thin layer of energy covered him, completely separating him from the source of his power.

  "Ugh!"

  All forms of energy were drained from him. Vanitas rapidly stopped vibrating, finally turning into a simple blade with no will behind it.

  As Orion snapped his fingers again, Elliott's energy was restored, and Vanitas recovered.

  "So it's not a lie."

  "The truth is always difficult to swallow."

  "What about you?"

  With a smirk, Orion nodded.

  "I'm unaffected. The position I have is far superior to those of Remnants, even those with the Primordial attribute."

  "My situation is closer to being a regulator than an actual function like you are."

  "With responsibilities that are on par with Nature herself, since this power is part of hers directly."

  Hearing these words from his mouth was a difficult pill to swallow. There were already far too many unknowns concerning Nature, but now, Orion was also one of those unknowns.

  Although not as problematic as an invisible system, Orion was still on another plane of power than anyone else. But the responsibilities on his shoulders were far greater.

  "My job is to be the shield that stops other beings from infringing on our world. Not just Triazils."

  "The source of this power is independent compared to yours."

  "If you were to leave this continent for another, you would become weak. The knowledge of swordsmanship would remain, which makes you a formidable opponent already, but the energy flowing through your veins would vanish."

  "Magic is inherent to Triazils. You would not see it on other continents."

  "Just like you wouldn't see those 'Great Heroes' from that one continent."

  That information came from a book that Kamala gave to Orion, telling the tales of that continent. It came straight from a merchant ship coming from that place, which was fascinating for Orion.

  But Elliott was intrigued by one piece of information.

  "Then how can we fight outside our territory? Aren't we supposed to battle the 'Devourers'?"

  Orion smiled.

  —

  "That's his job. He rules over space and the borders between one place and another."

  Blanc's eyes almost fell off his head. His mouth gaping, he painfully swallowed.

  "Of course, he doesn't control time. You won't be able to ask him to send you back in time."

  "Hearing from his experience, what happened last year was a singularity between his void magic and Tetra's source."

  "This will never happen again."

  The idea never came to Blanc, but this made sure he could never wish for it.

  "Orion still needs time to perfect his control. There is a difference between knowing how to use it and mastering it."

  "I can understand, actually."

  "I also need time to get around this power."

  The Remnant source in his core was burning with desire to make its wielder stronger.

  "You'll be helping me."

  Pointing at his father, Elliott smiled.

  "If my knowledge can help you, I will. Gladly."

  Moving forward, Elliott stretched his hand toward Blanc.

  "We'll let bygone be bygone and move forward from our different. Though, keep in mind that you have a commitment to turn a new leaf."

  Grabbing his hand firmly, Blanc stared into his eyes.

  "I understand. Whatever you need of me, please ask."

  They smiled at each other before Elliott let go first and walked away, making his way out of the room.

  "Elliott!"

  Right before he could move past the broken doorway, he turned around.

  "Are you really going to fight Frey?"

  He paused and looked to the side. Then, with determination, he gave his answer.

  "This creature isn't mother anymore. Her essence was devoured."

  "I'm ready to pierce its chest, if that means bringing peace to her memories."

  "With her blade, I'm going to make things right."

  "But for that to happen, I need to get stronger."

  A fire lit in his soul.

  "'We' need to get stronger."

  Leaving his father alone, Elliott returned to his other half, who was waiting for him.