The abyss trembled, causing the Crimson Greatsword mark to flicker. Yet, disappointingly, there was no response. With no other choice left, Aerialia braced herself and dove into Orion's consciousness.

Entering someone's consciousness required their direct permission. It was considered taboo to do so without consent, as it could reveal their deepest desires and true nature. Aerialia had never done it without permission before, but she felt compelled to do so with Aurora, given their unique connection.

However, this breach of privacy was necessary to reach Orion.

Aerialia vanished from her current location and reappeared beyond the Crimson Greatsword mark as she delved into Orion's consciousness.

..............

Outside the Orion's Cities

Boom!! Boom!!

Anara sat on the branch of a massive, 50-meter-tall tree, holding Grace securely in her arms. She gazed at the once-dead forest below, gradually being brought back to life by the other tree nymphs.

The area was surrounded by trees and bushes, with streams coming from within the Orion's Cities and flowing outward, nourishing the growing vegetation.

She had never imagined she would live to witness the revival of a barren land she once feared to even approach. Yet here she was, ensuring the dense vegetation grown by the tree nymphs spread across the floating island, transforming the desolate landscape into a lively, flourishing paradise.

Anara glanced to both sides, spotting Dariya and Malaia, each perched on similarly towering trees.

They were handling their tasks, ensuring that the work assigned by Orion and the other key leaders was perfectly executed. There was no room for errors, so they took their time to ensure that every patch of soil was fertile enough to support new growth.

Suddenly, Grace began to squirm in Anara's arms.

Anara turned her attention to her. "Grace, are you feeling okay?" she asked, her brows furrowing in concern as she observed Grace's strange movements.

"Mom... I don't feel alright," Grace responded, her eyes locking onto Anara's, her face contorted in pain.

Anara observed Grace's condition closely and decided to perform an internal examination to determine the cause of her distress. She quickly discovered that Grace's internal organs were contracting and spasming abnormally.

"It hurts... Mom," Grace murmured, her voice strained with pain before she suddenly lost consciousness, slumping into Anara's arms.

The massive 50-meter tree suddenly stopped wreaking havoc on the surrounding trees, snapping their branches and scattering their leaves.

"Grace... Grace, can you hear me?" Anara's voice trembled with concern as she gently shook Grace, trying to wake her.

She reexamined Grace's body, searching for any clue she might have missed. Everything seemed normal except for the erratic contractions of her internal organs as if reacting to an unknown catalyst.

The challenge was figuring out what that catalyst might be.

Grace had been by her side the past few days as usual, so if something unusual had caused her current state, she believed she would have noticed it earlier. However, she couldn't make sense of what was happening now.

"Grace, wake up this instant! If this is some sort of game, it's not funny!" Anara's voice was filled with frustration. She continued trying to rouse Grace, but she was unsuccessful.

At that moment, Anara realized Grace wasn't pretending or playing a prank. Something truly unnatural had occurred.

An overwhelming wave of worry and helplessness washed over Anara. She had no one to turn to for answers; being the only tree nymph who had given birth, she had no peers to consult about this strange situation.

The image of Greta suddenly appeared in her mind.

'Greta must surely know what to do, or maybe even Seraphina,' Anara thought, frightened. She tightened her arms around Grace as she stood on the tree branch.

After facing the direction of the Orion Cities, she leapt into the air, unconsciously shattering the trees into splinters, catching the attention of the tree nymphs, especially Dariya and Malaia.

They both frowned, noticing Anara's bizarre and sudden actions.

"Clierifi and Eridina, you two should handle the progress from here until I'm back," Dariya delegated her work to her two trusted subordinates below her.

She then turned around and leapt into the sky, following after Anara. Malaia did the same, also.

Despite sensing that something was wrong, as it was usual for Anara to suddenly lose control of herself, they both hoped everything was okay.

..........

Third Border City

Garden

As Aerialia appeared within Orion's consciousness, she was immediately greeted by a blinding bright light. It took her a while to get used to it before she realized that she was within the Village, flying above it.

However, the strange thing was that there weren't any of Orion Cities; instead, there was merely the Village in the centre, with the farm on one side and the two Strongholds on the edges of the territory.

Aerialia narrowed her eyes at the view before her, understanding that it was within Orion's consciousness. She couldn't help but wonder why there was only the Village instead of the Orion Cities, which were undoubtedly one of Orion's most outstanding achievements.

Aerialia withdrew her gaze and looked around, scanning the entire territory to search for Orion. She finally succeeded in locating him after a few minutes.

"There you are!" Aerialia said, immediately flying towards his position.

As she approached his position, she witnessed Orion standing in line with a few other people his age, standing before an unknown man carrying a black crystal orb.

Among them were the Village Chief, the Village Chieftess, and a few important individuals whom she had seen a few times in the past. Most of all, she recognized the black crystal orb as something Naka had created to test the Villagers' potential to grow stronger with the Vylkr energy.

'Is this his most important memory?' Aerialia asked, her mind reeling in confusion as she quietly observed Orion stepping forward towards the man with the crystal and placing his hand on it.

After a few seconds, the crystal orb shone brightly, and four bright shimmering stars appeared within it.