The night air was crisp. Orion looked up to find a clear, dark expanse glittering with stars instead of the swirling purple haze of the Veil. Just seeing that familiar darkness stretched across the heavens made him breathe easier. It felt like the world had finally steadied beneath his feet again.
As they exited the alleyway and walked down the quiet street, Orion's mind was anything but calm. The conversation between him and Bastion felt endless - more like a Q&A session than a casual chat.
Orion fired off question after question, trying to make sense of the chaos he'd been thrown into. Yet somehow, the more he learned, the less he felt he knew.
"So, that scary redhead - Elena, right?" he began, glancing sideways at his mountain of a brother. "What's her deal anyway? She looks like she could burn someone alive just by glaring at them."
Bastion chuckled, shaking his head. "She probably could. She's one of the Seven Supremes after all."
Orion blinked. "The seven what now?"
"The Seven Supremes," Bastion repeated, his tone uncharacteristically reverent. "They're the most powerful exorcists in the world - each one oversees a continent. Think of them as generals of the spiritual world. If an ordinary exorcist is a soldier, the Supremes are the legends of the battlefield. Each of them could level a city if they wanted to."
Orion stared at him like he'd just told a bad joke. "You're kidding, right? She's that strong? That tiny firecracker?"
"She's one of the youngest to ever become a Supreme," Bastion said seriously. "Her raw power is… absurd. Honestly, the only reason you're still alive is because she decided you weren't worth turning into charcoal."
Orion swallowed, remembering the moment Elena's fiery eyes had locked onto him. "So… she's stronger than you?"
Bastion didn't even hesitate. "Without question."
Orion whistled. "Wow. That's kinda sad, big guy. All those muscles and you're scared of someone not even half your size?"
Bastion glared, but there was a hint of amusement behind his eyes. "You don't even have any spirit energy, and you're running your mouth already? Once you awaken it, you'll understand. She's like a walking nuclear bomb."
"Yeah, yeah," Orion muttered with a grin. "If you say so. She's still short."
Bastion gave him a look, the kind that said you're digging your own grave, but he let it go.
As they continued down the road, Orion couldn't help but notice a man walking toward them on the opposite side of the street. The moment the stranger spotted Bastion, he froze, then quickly crossed to the other side, pretending to check his phone.
Orion burst out laughing. "You big roid head, you're scaring everyone!"
Bastion raised his arms innocently. "What? I've never taken steroids in my life. This-" he flexed, muscles bulging under his jacket, "-is all natural, baby."
"Yeah, and your ego's about as big as your biceps," Orion shot back.
Bastion grinned. "If people are scared, that's their problem. He shouldn't be out this late anyway."
Their laughter echoed down the empty street, breaking the eerie silence that had hung in the air since the Veil. For a moment, it felt like things were normal again, just two brothers walking home after a long night.
Then, Orion's stomach growled loudly. He winced. "Ugh, right. I never even got to eat thanks to that stupid pizza ordeal."
"Let's just grab some food and head to Granny's. I need something greasy before I pass out," he suggested, despite how late it was.
Bastion laughed. "Now that's a plan I can get behind."
As such, they continued onward. Orion found his thoughts drifting. The chaos of the day - demons, exorcists, near-death experiences - it all felt unreal. Yet one thing stayed with him more than anything else: the fear he'd felt when he couldn't find his grandmother during the outbreak.
'You really only know what you have when it's gone… or at least when you think it's gone,' he thought, glancing up at the night sky again.
He'd taken her presence for granted - her cooking, her nagging, her warmth. He'd been so focused on his own life, his own frustrations, that he hadn't realised how precious those small, ordinary moments were.
But now, after everything, he'd made himself a quiet promise.
He was going to spend more time with her. Protect her. Show her the appreciation she deserved.
And if fate had anything to say about it, figure out how to survive in this new world of demons and spirit energy without getting turned into a pile of ashes by that fiery short stack...
"How far is it from home?" Bastion eventually asked, his heavy footsteps echoing along the quiet pavement. For once, the towering man sounded like the one complaining.
"One klick, according to that Kalen guy - whatever the hell that means," Orion replied.
"A klick?" Bastion raised a brow. "Who even talks like that anymore?"
Orion chuckled. "Apparently, silver-haired exorcists who think they're cooler than they are."
Bastion snorted but didn't argue. The night air was crisp and quiet, the hum of the city around them faint, and for a moment, it almost felt… normal. Almost.
Orion glanced at his brother. "So, are you friends with that Silver guy and Elena?" He remembered the way they had spoken to each other - not quite equals, but definitely familiar.
"I wouldn't say friends," Bastion said after a moment's thought. "And I definitely wouldn't go around calling a Supreme by her first name if I were you. But yeah, we know each other quite well. It's… a long story."
"Long story, huh," Orion echoed, his curiosity flickering - but not enough to dig deeper. He had too many other questions swirling in his mind.
After a short silence, another thought popped out of him before he could stop it. "Couldn't you, like… use that healing thing of yours on anyone who's sick? You could open a hospital or something. Cure cancer. If you can close wounds that fast, surely you could regrow limbs or heal blindness too, right?"
Bastion blinked, caught off guard. Then, defensively, he said, "I'm not a healer, alright? I'm a combatant."
"Could've fooled me," Orion muttered under his breath.
Ignoring him, Bastion continued, his tone firm. "Either way, using Spirit Energy outside the Veil is forbidden by the Order. And it's dangerous."
"How does that even work?"
"The Order mostly operates within the Veil," Bastion explained, rubbing the back of his neck. "When someone uses Spirit Arts here - in the human realm - it tears at the barrier that protects us. Even small uses can create openings, little rifts that demons can slip through. The more energy used, the bigger the tear."
"Huh. So basically, using power here is like poking holes in the wall that's keeping the monsters out."
"Pretty much," Bastion confirmed with a nod.
"Well," Orion said, recalling the golden glow around his body and the incredible warmth that spread through his body, "guess that explains why you don't go on a healing spree."
Continuing onwards, the streets quickly grew more familiar, and the tension of the night began to ease slightly.
They stopped by a takeaway - some small corner shop still miraculously open despite the chaos earlier. The smell of fried food hit Orion like a nostalgic punch to the gut. He ordered far too much, and Bastion didn't object.
With bags of food in hand, they continued toward Orion's neighbourhood. But soon he was in for a massive shock...