I returned to the battlefield. To where I was before fighting that guy.

But it was different.

As I left, it had been a vicious fight between elves and the Imperial Forces. The forest was razed and burned to the ground, mostly ashes. But now it was suddenly restored.

That wasn’t the only difference.

In addition to the previous conflicting forces, there were two more parties.

One was familiar. In one direction, there was a group of people in martial artist uniforms, robes emblazoned with a familiar dragon insignia. The Heaven-Seizing Dragon Sect, led by that guy, Erik.

Opposite of them, there was a new group of people. Men and women with dark auras around them, almost the archetype of ‘bad guys’ with some people bearing horns, others with batwings, etc. Leading them was a handsome man with crimson eyes and black hair – Krozma – wearing a violet cloak over obsidian plate mail. Beside him were two people that I did recognize, the Ruby and Cobalt Archfiends, Eris and Moros.

A four-way stand off. That was what I found myself in the moment I returned.

It seemed that the sudden arrival of those two stopped the conflict between the elves and the imperial soldiers, neither side wanting to get caught off-guard by either of the new entries.

Glancing over at the elves, I saw that the other Titania had run over there, standing beside an elven man with short white hair and a crown-

Aultry

-Right. Aultry was that guy’s name. The King of Alvheim.

I didn’t know the result of the battle that occurred between the other Titania and Aria with the ones I knew, but it seemed like Saphira had taken the elven princesses along with Xinxin back towards the Heaven-Seizing Dragon Sect, standing close to them.

Blue light shone around both Aria and Titania’s hands as the pair of princesses tried to heal Xinxin’s wound.

Beside them, standing guard over that blonde emperor, were Nero and Eve.

Perhaps not knowing who to trust, Nero had his sword raised against the Demon Lord’s army while Eve had created a dark barrier blocking out the elves and the Imperial soldiers.

A tense scene, no doubt chaotic and startling. A sort of event where the slightest change could throw everything astray.

And that was when I arrived.

At once, all the eyes turned towards me. Reactions were mixed, as expected. The elves seemed hopeful but wary. Erik and the sect members seemed relieved. The Imperial troops raised their guard. And then that guy Krozma looked over, his eyes narrowed.

But that didn’t matter.

Ignoring everyone’s gazes, I walked over towards Xinxin.

Seeing that, Saphira looked at me and hesitantly called out. “Master Nowun?”

Off to the side by the elves, I heard a familiar but unfamiliar voice call out. The other Titania’s. “Lord Nazin?”

I ignored them both and came to a stop in front of Xinxin. Then I closed my eyes briefly to think.

Demon Lord Krozma.

Erik, the Heavenly King.

Aultry, the King of Alvheim.

And Elio, the Emperor of the Northern Empire.

A confrontation of forces and people that shouldn’t have met. A paradox formed by collapsed time and overlapping memories.

Right now they were on guard, the conflict at a temporary lull. But if nothing changed, a battle would erupt.

And this wasn’t the time for that.

I opened my eyes and then released my powers. Light and dark, equal parts order and chaos. Swirling around me in perfect harmony, I turned around to look at everyone and said, “This conflict is over. If anyone wants to fight, step forward now. Of course.” I smiled and said, “You’ll suffer a fate worse than death.”

Hearing my words, I saw the other Titania collapse to the ground, only stopped by Aultry holding her. The elves looked bitter, but lowered their weapons when Aultry waved them down.

Erik gave me a salute and shouted, “Yes, Grandmaster!” With that, the sect members stepped back as well.

Emperor Elio slowly staggered to his feet and turned to look at me. With a faint smile, he turned back to his troops and said, “Men! Stand down!” With that, the Imperial Troops and the remaining Braves withdrew.

As for the last party…

“Father!”

“Dad!”

Eve and Nero called out, pleading with him to stand down.

Krozma frowned, his gaze shifting between them and the Emperor before settling on me. After a tense moment, he gave a curt nod and motioned for his forces to stand down.

And thus the conflict was settled for now.

After making sure that was the case, I knelt down beside Xinxin.

Aria looked up, tears in her eyes. “Mister Nowun! Miss Xinxin is-!”

“She’s not dead yet!” Titania gave a fierce reply and said, “Don’t say that!” She looked at me and then grabbed my shirt. “You can save her, right? Like you did with Ari, you can save Master Xinxin, right?!”

Was it because she was that upset or because she was desperate? For once, Titania used contractions when talking with me.

“Move.” With only that as a response, I gently picked up Xinxin in my arms.

She was cold. Too much blood had been lost, and her pristine jade skin was like ice. Right now, she seemed more like a precious jade sculpture than a person.

Sighing, I stared at her face and muttered. “Stupid girl. If that was your dream, you should have mentioned it earlier.”

A small and realistic wish. A tiny house by a bamboo forest with a son and daughter.

“I would have agreed, you know? Something that simple… with how many times you saved me, it would have been the least I could do for my Faithful Companion.”

She didn’t respond. Even though I knew the truth, it didn’t change the fact that she wouldn’t be able to speak again. At least… that should have been the case.

I shifted my gaze to the bloody wound over her chest and lightly placed my hand over it. “Still, for having such bad karma, you seem to have great luck. Or maybe it was a natural result, considering who hurt you. That guy tried to take your heart out just like I did… Well, he did it with a sword, but the result is the same. Because of that…”

A memory from a world that no longer existed. Me, ripping out a young girl’s heart giving her a false one constructed from my powers to increase her strength.

“…Since I borrowed your heart back then, I guess I should return it, huh? Well, I guess I owe you some interest, but we can talk about that after you wake up.”

What was real and what was fake. Memories that persisted across time and ‘records’ that I had of what I did.

But more than that, the Authority to use the World’s Order for my own purposes and the power of chaos that served as the wellspring of creation.

Combining the two…

“Si…fu…?”

…Resulted in a miracle that erased the karma of a girl that threw herself away for the man she loved.

I sighed.