Her gaze fell, shoulders slumping low beneath the weight of grief.

  “My… son. Silka.”

  Orion, who had just finished recalling the last moments of the Remnant named Silka, closed his eyes solemnly. Through his words, he chose to honor Silka’s memory, painting him as the man he had been rather than speaking with detachment.

  “While his sacrifice was… like this, a part of him stayed with me. It might be a fragment of his soul carried with the source, but it isn’t him. What remains are only instinctive echoes, reactions to very particular things.”

  His expression soured.

  “The only time I’ve ever seen it stir was recently—when I first laid eyes on you.”

  Carmillya lifted her face, tears tracing her cheeks. The faintest gleam of reassurance shone in her eyes.

  “Truly?”

  Orion gave a small nod before continuing, recalling what he and Titania had once discussed.

  “Silka’s soul is in the hands of the Remnant of Life and Death. She’s been working tirelessly to restore him. Nothing has borne fruit yet, but we know it can be done.”

  Carmillya brushed the tears from her face and straightened. Her resolve gathered.

  “You can bring someone back? Is that even possible?”

  Leaning against the table, Orion answered steadily.

  “It is. But to do so, we need the original body. That’s why reviving him has been so difficult. His body was devoured by corruption. Without it, we have nothing to anchor him to.”

  Her face dropped, a loose strand of hair falling across her cheek.

  “Then even if you tried to bring me back through this Remnant, it would fail. My body too was destroyed… consumed.”

  Orion nodded.

  “From what Titania taught me, a body is a vessel crafted for one soul alone. It’s a perfect symbiosis—the body the mold, the soul the content. One cannot exist whole without the other. Without the original body, placing the soul back is nearly impossible.”

  He touched his chin in thought.

  “The true problem is how to recreate the perfect body. With Titania’s mastery over life, it should be possible. Analysis could allow us to bring him back—but as someone new.”

  His voice lowered.

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  “In truth, it might be easier to create a newborn than an adult. That was the direction we considered.”

  Carmillya caught the frown shadowing his face.

  “There’s another problem, isn’t there?”

  “Indeed.” Orion closed his eyes. “Titania is not human. She is a Remnant. Beings like her cannot birth humans. At most, she can create children of her own kind through synthesis. And we cannot simply ask some woman to carry such a child without thought or consent.”

  Silence stretched as Carmillya fell deep into thought. Orion sipped from his cup, giving her space to process.

  Then she spoke, hesitantly but with hope glimmering beneath her words.

  “What if… the soul itself could pass through that process?”

  Orion froze. His cup trembled faintly in his hand.

  “What?”

  The shock on his face told her enough.

  “Ah—I know it sounds impossible. I just…” Her smile faltered into something dry and fragile. “I only thought it would be enough… to have my little boy again.”

  Orion set his cup down, pressing a finger against his chin.

  “Every idea has worth. Let me think.”

  Her eyes widened. She had expected dismissal, not consideration.

  Orion turned his gaze to the shimmering veil of stars beyond the glass wall. Their blinking lights drew his thoughts into forbidden places.

  The idea of a soul bearing another is absurd. Nature herself would curse me for even entertaining it…

  But… what if I did? What if we dared to break the rules?

  The grim lines on his face melted into a smile—one that made Carmillya’s breath still.

  “What if we created a temporary body, hosted your soul within it, and drew Silka’s soul into the same vessel? Titania can replicate the seeds of life with ease. We wouldn’t even need the other half of the process.”

  His eyes gleamed, carrying both mischief and resolve.

  I do love tormenting her with wild notions like this. If it works, she cannot punish me.

  But beneath the thought came the truer impulse: the desperate need to help the broken soul before him.

  “I’ll protect your soul until this is done. That, I swear.”

  Carmillya’s expression wavered between surprise, hope, and fear. She could not settle on any single one.

  Orion’s gaze hardened.

  “There is one condition. Your son’s return must be through your own will and choices.”

  Her spine straightened.

  “I’ll pay any price. If I can save Silka, take everything I have.” Her brow furrowed, regret flashing. “I cannot give you my purity. Forgive me.”

  Orion let out a dry laugh.

  “I wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway.”

  They both chuckled softly before silence reclaimed them.

  “Would you surrender your title as Valkyrie?”

  The weight of his request bent him forward, his head bowed.

  “I know I ask you to abandon what has defined you. But I must ask it, shameless as it is.”

  Carmillya laid her hands upon her thighs and tilted her head, a tender smile breaking through the solemnity.

  “Of course. My duty as protector is long past. I no longer need to be a Valkyrie.”

  In that instant, light blossomed across the dome above.

  “Oh… how beautiful.”

  She lifted her eyes, wonder gleaming as the heavens erupted.

  “A supernova…”

  Its explosion of blues, greens, and reds painted Orion’s eyes, slowing the beat of his heart. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling something stir within.

  “Thank you for entrusting me with your glory.”

  Still watching the skies, she asked softly, “And who will you give it to?”

  Her words carried a strange certainty, as though she already knew the answer.

  “This may surprise you, but I have nine wives,” Orion said truthfully. “Not all of them are related to Valkyries. I’d like to share your legacy with one of them. Her name is Deveralna. She is the most powerful, regal woman I could ever hope to find.”

  At the sound of the name, Carmillya’s eyes fell back upon him—but what she saw was not Orion. Her gaze pierced beyond, into the soul-bond itself, where a woman of reptilian grace awaited.

  Through that link, Carmillya’s power flowed, choosing its new bearer.

  And thus, after thousands of years, a Valkyrie was born again.