"What? The machine is already fixed?" shouted Fiora before covering her mouth, realizing that Alastor was still sleeping in the next room. To her surprise, her grandpa has come in the middle of the night, bearing wonderful news of his accomplishment. But it wasn't something Fiora wanted to hear, not now.

"Yes. It has been difficult but I finally did it. So the moment I confirmed that it's functional, I rushed here immediately. But... he still hasn't woke up yet?" asked Vincent.

"No...." she gave out a long tired sigh.

Two days have passed since the Monochrome's invasion on Europia. People have begun to go back to their daily life as reconstructions were on the way. Fortunately, no attack has been made since, allowing for a speedy recovery. But not everything could just go back to the way it was. This attack was unlike any others, correlating at a total different scale of its own compared to those in the past. The military could no longer conceal the truth like they did before. Right now, protests and manifestations have occupied government buildings as the people were demanding an answer for what exactly has happened. But so far, no public response has been given yet. They no longer had the option to give a pathetic excuse like before as thousands of videos about the unknown creatures have been spread among the public. Everyone knew about the existence of the Monochromes now. There was no denying it. And they demanded the truth.

But none of that was of concern for the Esper Fiora. What has occupied her mind the recent days was Alastor; he still hasn't woken up since then. Even more worrying was that she couldn't give an explanation to why he stayed that way. His health and physical condition were perfectly fine. There was nothing wrong with his body so why he hasn't woke up yet? Could it be some kind of magical phenomenon that technologies of this world were unable to detect? If then, how was she supposed to help him?

Little did she know, this was a natural symptom for Alastor as this happened every time he absorbed a God' soul. This overload of exuberance and power would have killed any normal man. But Alastor was no man nor was he normal. Still, it left him paralyzed and inert as his body was trying to regulate this sudden surge of power. Like the prophet Nyx once said, Alastor has gone through some abnormal states, growing in power too quick and too unnatural for his body to keep up. It was already a miracle that he didn't die from the shock if not because of his lineage and Lilith's blood that helped subside the side-effects. But it made one wonder how long could this body of an eleven years-old continue to endure?

However, the poor girl didn't know that. All she could see was an unconscious Alastor who could not wake up for some reasons. She did her best to stay awake the whole time, just in case he could wake up anytime. The girl was afraid, afraid that if she was not there and something happened, he might just...drift away, just like her parents did. Because of that, she hasn't stepped out of her room even once since then, barely had a decent meal for the last two days, surviving with only what she had in her small apartment. A needless, illogical hardship but somehow perfectly understandable. For humans were creatures who were the very embodiments of irrationality. Because we were ruled, driven by our emotions. We could do things we would never normally do in the name of love, for our family, for our loved ones. Would you sacrifice the life of the person you loved to save the lives of an entire country? One live in exchange for millions. Some would, gladly. But there were those who wouldn't. A small percentage perhaps, considering how that choice could affect not just you but the entire race. Perhaps, we could reform the question: how many would hesitate when confronted with such a choice?

Did you see a difference? Indeed, many would choose to save millions of lives instead of one. But among those people, a lot would hesitate before they could make that choice. Why? If such a choice was the utmost logical response that rationality drove us to choose, then why would we hesitate? Because emotions were still there, our irrationality still there. It tried to fight back, to no avail. But that was not important, which side won. What was important was there was still irrationality living inside us even though many claimed that we were logical beings. It was not the final choice that made us logical but our way of thinking, how we ended up with that choice, defined who we were. And such was what drove Fiora to behave this way. For she was suffering from the ultimate condition of irrationality: love. What pushed one to love another? Could we simplify love to only a question of physical attraction? A question of compatibility? Or the primitive drive to reproduce or simply pleasure? To leave behind healthy offspring for the next generation as an instinct of survival of our race? Who knew?

"I see...What about you, Fiora? You look so thin...Have you been eating properly?" asked Vincent out of concern. He already had an idea about what she did. Just the look she had when Alastor fell to the ground, how she constantly checked on him....it was so obvious to him.

"I am alright. But Alastor, he still..." sobbed Fiora.

"Now, now, don't cry! I am sure he is fine. We checked everything we could. He is just sleeping. I am sure he will wake up soon." He comforted her.

" *hic hic* I hope so." She wept.

"I brought you some food. Do try to eat them! You have to take care of yourself too."

"I will.."

"Alright, I guess I will leave you to it then. When Alastor wakes up, can you relay my message to him?" asked Vincent.

"....Yeah. What about you? What are you going to do now, grandpa?"

"Oh...just some research. That's all. Anyway, take care of yourself!" The old man moved to the door. His robot assistant was already outside has opened it for him.

"I see. Good bye, gramps! You take care too."

Now sitting all alone by his side, Fiora caressed the boy's face, fixed his hair so he would not be bothered by it.

She was so tired now she could sleep with her eyes opened. But something brought her back to the waking world.

"I....." a tiny voice uttered softly.

"Alastor? Are you awake? It's me, Fiora! Can you hear me?" the girl hustled.

"Ik..." Alastor still hasn't waked up yet. He was just talking in his sleep. But still, hearing his voice was reassuring for Fiora. She approached her eyes to his face in order to hear him better. "Ik..Ikarus"

Stunned by the name, Fiora dropped down to the ground in dismay. Alastor has once told her about the person called Ikarus among the many things he divulged to her about his life. He didn't say anything specifically but Fiora could see the ecstatic, the calming, and the happiness he showed on his face whenever he talked about Ikarus. Alastor loved that woman, her and her only. Not Fiora.

The two were people of the same world. They have known each other for quite a long time, at least much longer than the few days Fiora has spent with him. Together, they have surmounted challenges and obstacles, defeating Gods and monsters. It was inevitable that the two would fell in love with each other. Fiora understood that. But as irrationality dictated, understanding and accepting it were two very different things. The problem was, sometimes, refusing to accept reality could lead to disastrous consequences.

At that moment, a thought came to the blank mind of the poor girl. What if Alastor never woke up? He wouldn't go anywhere. Instead, he would be here, by her side. They would be together, forever....

"NO NO NO NO! I can't think like that" She screamed at herself. "I am a terrible person. Please forgive me, Alastor! For having that thought for even one second. I must...I must not be the chain that shackles you. I must...let you go! But it's so hard *cry*. " Fiora wailed in despair.

The cries of the young woman resounded in this small dark room, breaking the enduring reticence of night. Sitting on the ground, she pushed her face between her bending knees. Her tears were pouring out of her red dark eyes, trailing from her rosy cheeks down to her legs. Her hands covering her head were pulling on her hair, straining them, hurting her, making her feeling the pain. But right now, that pain was the only thing that still held Fiora to the real world. For as long as there was pain, it meant we were alive and helped us distinguish the fain barrier between dreams and reality, which sometimes might not be that different from each other. Life in itself could be called a dream...but also in many cases, a nightmare, one that we could not wake up from.

What was she supposed to do, aside from holding back her feelings? She had no right to intrude between them. What if he hated her for it? What if....or so she thought. The feelings of guilt, for all the things that didn't even take place yet but might happen if she did so, were killing her from inside. The woman just didn't know what to do, how to suppress her emotions anymore.

And such, such was the tragic fate that killed so many Espers before her. Having this incredible power and survive the first stage was already a miracle in itself. But that didn't mean that an Esper was safe for the rest of their lives. For being an Esper equalled having an unstable mind and psychological state. Like a switch or a coin, they might flip at any second. The only difference was that instead of changing to another face or state where they could simply revert back, there was no way back once the boundary was crossed as only one thing awaited at that end: death. After all, the mind was what gave them the power in the first place. And what ruled the mind? One's emotions. If your emotions went berserk, so would the mind. And what happened when the mind went berserk? The power went out of control. What happened when the power went out of control? Two possible scenarios: in their luckiest day, only the Esper died. In their worst day, they took down everything around with them. Right now, Fiora was right on the verge of crossing that point of no return. Just one more little push, like a cup of water on the verge of overflowing, that was all it would take. The mind would shut down and she would simply drift away.

.....

"I am sorry!" A gentle voice echoed in the mind plunging in darkness as a pair of hands lifted the woman's face up. "It's my fault that you end up like this."

"A...A..." Fiora could barely speak. Her throat was badly hurt from all the cries earlier. Her hands were trembling, even pinching herself to see if she was dreaming. Did she die from an Overload? Was this heavens perhaps? Was it why she could see Alastor all awake and well right now? If that was true, perhaps dying was not that bad at all...or so she thought.

"I am here. So don't cry anymore or I will be very sad!" Gently embracing her, he laid her head for it to rest on his chest. "Shhh now now! Just stay like this for a while, okay?"

Fiora nodded.

.....

"Have you calmed down?" asked Alastor. It has been an hour since he was in this position without moving. He didn't mind at all. The boy has noticed her feelings for a while now but he didn't want to say anything. He didn't think it was this serious and thought that when he went back to Astora, she would be fine again. Only now, Alastor realized how wrong it was. So he waited, patiently for her to stop crying as he lightly brushed her hair and patted her head like a child. The scene was kind of funny but heart-warming at the same time, to see such a small boy comforting an adult like that.

"I..I am sorry for showing you this ugly side of mine." She sobbed.

"You don't have to be sorry about anything. It's me who should have make thing clear from the start. I am sorry for everything I put you through, Fiora. But I already..."

"No, don't say it. I already knew what you want to say. I know that you will have to go back to your world one day.... All these times, I have been running away from it ...But you don't have to worry about me anymore. I am fine." Fiora forced a smile.

"I know a fake smile when I see one." He gave a soft smile at her. "You are really bad at lying, Fiora! Honestly, I don't even know what you see in me. If I have to say, you have a bad taste in men" Alastor jested.

"Who knows? Perhaps I like younger guys like you. Hihi!"

"You bad girl!" laughed Alastor.

.....

"Grandpa wanted me to tell you that he has fixed the machine that will allow you to go back to Astora..." Fiora muttered.

"I see...."

"When will you go? It's ready whenever you want it to be." She asked.

"...Tomorrow."

"...I see."

"I am sorry for not being able to stay longer. But I must return to my world. There are just too many things I need to do. So..."

"I understand. You don't have to explain yourselves."

"Thank you, Fiora, for being so understanding!"

"But I want something in return... Can we stay like this till morning?"

"I don't mind but my knees are getting sore though..."

"Then how about we continue in the bed?"

"....ehhhh"

"Don't worry! I won't do anything." She grinned.

"Please don't eat me!"

* * *

The time has finally come for Alastor to say goodbye to this strange world and to go back to Astora. Currently locating in an underground room together with Fiora, Kennedy, Jora, Edmur, Pat and doctor Vincent, Alastor was standing in front of a white spherical structure that looked like a metal ball with a small entrance. Inside there were two seats and a control panel that looked completely outlandish, accompanied with some light leds and hundreds of buttons, none of which made any sense to Alastor.

Taking a look inside, Alastor asked the doctor. "Old man, I am not sure I know how to use this thing...Looks far too complex for a simple-minded like me."

"You won't need to do anything. Unless you want to change the settings and parameters, which I don't recommend, just pressing this button once you are inside would transport you back to Astora and vice versa." Vincent explained.

"Vice versa? You mean I can return here whenever I want. This is not a one time travel?"

"Who do you take me for? My machines are top-notched in term in security and safety as well as energy consumption. I can assure you that even in a thousand years in your timeline, this thing will still work and make wonders. Also, a present!" the doctor took out a gadget which looked like one of their telephone but with only a button. "This is a radio that allows you to talk with us whenever you want. Simply hold the button and it will connect to the one we have! Fiora begged me to give you one so here it is. Just like the Orbis-Exeo, this thing's battery will last for at least a couple of thousand years." The doctor handed it to Alastor.

"You are too kind. Thanks, old man...and Fiora too!" he smiled at the girl.

Fiora stepped up and took Alastor's hands before putting them on her chest "Take your time and do whatever you must! Once done, do try to visit us sometimes! Remember that you are always welcome here!" Fiora said.

"I will." Alastor clenched his hands "I promise!"

"See you, Alastor! Do bring us something next time you come back!" said Pat.

"It has been a pleasure to make your acquaintance!" said Edmur.

"...Have a safe trip back!" said Jora.

"Alastor, you have proven yourself to be a capable soldier, much more than anyone I have met. It has been an honour to fight by your side, no matter how faint it might be!" Kennedy shook the boy's hand. "I also have a present for you." The veteran brought out a wooden box. As he opened the box, he revealed an unusual gun that looked like a revolver used by the police but much bigger. "This is the hand-cannon that has been passed down to me by my captain after I left the service of the military. We call it Faith. One shot is capable of piercing even tanks. Although I know that compared to your magic, this is nothing much but take this as a memento of this world!"

The weapon was almost as big as Alastor's arm but he still managed to hold it firmly with just one hand, though it looked kind of ridiculous to see a child holding a gun the size of their limb. "WOW! This looks cool! Thanks!...Now you make me look bad. I didn't have any time to buy any present for you guys...not all but only for one of you anyway." Alastor looked at the surprised Fiora with her wide open eyes. She didn't expect him to give her anything at all.

"Hahaha! No need to worry! I didn't give you this and expect for something back. Go ahead and give her that!" Kennedy laughed out loud.

"Kennedy? You know about this?" asked Fiora.

"By coincidence, I swear. Anyway, go ahead Alastor!" the man urged.

"Alright alright! Chill down, guys! Ehem....oh...ah...well here it is!" a magic circle appeared in Alastor's hand as he pulled out an azure necklace adorned with tiny strings made from crystal adorned with a big crystal gem in the form of an eight-petals flower. Each petal, translucent like the rest with a light colour blue, took on the shape of a triangle attached to the centre.

"Alastor!!! This is...." Fiora uttered.

"I didn't know what you like so I kind of make it to my liking...Hope you like it." He said.

"I LOVE IT!" she jumped at him, drowning his face in her chest. "THANK YOU!" It was only after the others saw how Alastor was being suffocated by her bosom that she finally let him go.

It was time. Stepping inside the Exeo-Orbis, Alastor sat down on the cloth chair and attached the belt from the side. With the door slowly coming down, he shouted.

"I won't say goodbye as I promise I will go back to see you after I take care of my affairs. Rather, see you later, everyone!"

"See you later, Alastor!" the group shouted back.

The metallic door has closed down. Through the small glass window, Alastor could see Fiora and everyone else waving at him. His stay was short but he has made wonderful memories in this place. There were revelations ,mysteries, drama, all of those he knew that he would miss after going back to Astora. But the boy held his words: one day he would come back to see them again. Perhaps even inviting them to Astora. The two worlds both had something they could learn from the other but most importantly, it was the connection, the friendships he made with the people of this world that would stay forever.

"System online. Connection established. Commencing sequences in 5...4...3...2...1...Transporting!"

The sphere began to shake heavily as the Orbis-Exeo shined brightly. And then in an instant, it was gone. Where the machine used to stand was now an empty space.

"And off he goes." Said Edmur.

"I will miss him." Pat sneezed in a tissue.

"We will all do. He is our saviour after all." Jora commented.

With Alastor now gone, Fiora felt a certain emptiness in her. As she thought, it wasn't so easy after all, to forget one's love. But it would be okay. One day, Alastor would come back. Time in Astora flew differently so that day might not be that far after all. But until then, she must change, she must strengthen herself, to face her past so that one day, she could face him again.

"Grandpa..." Fiora turned to Vincent. "Do you think I can stay at your home from now on?"