The woman stared at him in silence, a deep frown etched on her face. Orion's eyes widened as he recognized who she was.
Suddenly, the woman's two large wings unfurled in the space around them as she hovered, turning her body around.
"Who art thou? Where is my child?" she demanded, her face contorting with anger.
Orion sensed the gravity of the situation and took a step back. He furrowed his brows, questioning how the goddess before him was still alive and why she had appeared right in front of him, even though he was no longer in the trial.
Despite the confusion, with the goddess awaiting his response, Orion quickly composed himself.
"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are or what you're talking about," he said, feigning ignorance as he met the woman's gaze.
As Orion pondered if there was a way to escape this place, his eyes suddenly landed on the bloody plane once more. Staring at it, a foreboding feeling gripped his heart as he observed the curved shape of the bloody plane before him.
At that moment, the image of a four-meter-long crimson great sword flashed in Orion's mind.
He gulped down his saliva, refocusing his attention on the winged goddess in front of him.
The tall winged goddess spoke with intensity, "I will ask thee this question once more, so 'twould be wise for thee to respond, unless thou dost wish to rue thy silence in the presence of this goddess."
Her face contorted in anger as she swiftly appeared inches away from him, wings flapping behind her. She fixed her gaze on Orion and demanded, "Where is my child, and what hast thou done with him?"
As Orion contemplated taking a step back, it felt like he had lost his foothold and tumbled backwards. Right on the brink of collapsing onto the ground, the world around him suddenly plunged into darkness.
….…...........
"Haaaa… Haaa..." Orion woke up from his sleep, sitting up straight as he breathed out loudly.
His head turned from side to side as though he was trying to find out what was happening, or if what he had just experienced was merely a dream.
However, after looking all about the room, Orion didn't notice anything or anybody escaping from his naked and scantily clothed partners, all lying close to him.
"...Orion, are you alright? Is everything okay?" Sura asked as she stirred up from her sleep due to the sudden disturbance and looked at Orion.
Orion turned his head to his left side to look at Sura, who was pushing herself up to sit upright, concern etched across her face.
Orion nodded in response, stretched his hand towards her, and gently rubbed her cheeks.
"Yes, I'm okay. I want to walk around a bit before I go to sleep, so don't worry about me. Go to sleep and rest for tomorrow," he said.
He watched as Sura nodded in response before she laid back on their mat and closed her weary and sleepy eyes.
Orion then gently stood up from his mat and went outside the hut, closing the door quietly to avoid awakening the rest of his women from their sleep.
Sura's eyes flickered open once more as she looked at the door, a look of concern etched within her eyes before she calmly closed them again and went back to sleep.
Meanwhile, Orion strolled along the wide, lush green grass, absorbing the breathtaking scenery of the towering trees in the distance. His gaze then shifted to the radiant moon hanging in the sky, casting a soft glow on the surroundings.
Suddenly, he felt an itch in his right hand.
Initially, Orion thought it might be a bug and instinctively reached to scratch the spot on his arm.
However, upon recalling the absence of animals in this world, he frowned and removed his hand to examine the itching spot more closely.
To his surprise, Orion discovered a tattoo-like shape resembling a crimson great sword with a cross guard on his arm. The ends appeared almost as sharp as a real sword.
Deeply perplexed, he extended his hand to scratch the area, but the itch persisted, intensifying rather than subsiding.
'What in the world is this?' Orion pondered as he observed the crimson-coloured tattoo on his arm, witnessing it gradually illuminate until the surrounding area was bathed in its light.
Just when Orion believed the pain couldn't intensify further, it abruptly ceased, replaced by an unexpected weight in his clenched fist.
He stared in disbelief at the four-meter-long crimson greatsword now in his possession.
As the glow from the tattoo subsided, he noticed it had become faint, as if he could wipe it away with a single sweep of his thumb. Nevertheless, recognizing it as a futile attempt, Orion shifted his focus to the massive greatsword in his grasp.
Despite its apparent weight, it felt as light as a feather, resonating with a weighty sound as it sliced through the air.
Just as Orion was about to explore further the capabilities of the greatsword, an eerie, spine-chilling voice echoed from behind him.
"Art thou finished, mortal?"
Orion found himself frozen in place, a warm tingling shiver coursing down his spine and reaching every inch of his body. A gulp resonated in the air, accompanied by the sound of saliva.
Slowly, Orion drew a deep breath to steady his heart before turning around to confront the speaker.
His pupils constricted to the size of a needle as he beheld the figure who had uttered those words.
Aerielia!
She's here!
Why was she here?
"What are you doing here?" Orion questioned abruptly, quickly widening the distance between him and the winged goddess.
He observed the winged woman with long white, shimmering, waist-length hair hovering in the air before him, her upper body covered only by several long pieces of cloth that left her stomach exposed, and a long white skirt of unknown material covering her smooth, fair legs, stopping just above her ankles.
