As Midas leaves his sleeping quarters, brushing a comb through his hair and straightening it, he begins looking around for Astra.

"She said she would be waiting for me on the beach." He mumbles to himself with a yawn following after. "But I'm not sure if she's still there as I don't know how long ago she gave the note to Jonesy."

He quickens his pace, not wanting to keep the girl waiting any longer than she may have already been. Things seemed somewhat quiet around The Sanctuary, with guards that weren't currently fighting in Condo Canyon patrolling the area.

The ground beneath Midas' buckled shoes soon changes from lime green grass to the soft sandy beach, the sound of the calm waves lapping against each other, the tide coming in and out constantly.

Midas stuffs his hands into his pockets, admiring the ocean with the sunlight shining across the sea as he walks across the sandy beach. The sight of the sea and beach made a few thoughts run through his mind.

"The beach sounds like a nice place for me and Jones to just unwind and relax for a day." He mutters to himself. "Maybe when the war's over, we could take some sort of vacation to the beach. I know I could do with one myself."

As Midas walks past a palm tree he finally finds Astra sat under it. She was holding her little staff, clutching it tight with one hand and making a concentrated face while stretching out her other one. He couldn't help but notice how her outstretched hand had a warm orange glow to it slightly.

"Busy there Astra?"

She jumps in surprise. However, to both of their surprises, a ball of fire forms in her outstretched hand which catches both of them off guard. A big smile forms on her face as she gets up.

"Yes! Yes, I did it!" She giggles, spinning around excitedly.

Midas raises an eyebrow, somewhat impressed.

"I see someone's been discovering new things about themselves." He says, a small smile on his face. "So, what's with the sudden flame power?"

Midas takes a seat under the palm tree and Astra quickly joins him, clutching the flickering flame.

"Well, after figuring out the whole light thing I did a few weeks ago I wanted to see if I could do more than just a beam of light from my eye socket."

She leans back against the tree.

"So I started experimenting. And a couple days ago I somehow manifested some kind of fire magic. Pretty cool right?"

Midas chuckles.

"It is. Who knows, maybe it'll come in handy someday."

Astra grins, her cheeks a soft pink colour.

"Anyway, Jones left me a note this morning saying that you wanted me to come find you. Is something the matter?"

She quickly turns back to Midas.

"Oh yeah. The thing is I haven't been able to find any more clues about these memory flashes. And now they're becoming less frequent."

"I see."

"I want to go straight to Orelia and ask her personally. I feel like she's purposely hiding my past from me for some reason, and I want to know why."

"And you want me to take you to her because you believe that I have the power to with the help of Oro's staff?"

She nods. Midas takes pity on the girl and pats her shoulder.

"Well, I've never tried teleporting straight to the palace before. But I'll certainly give it a try."

As they both get up from under the tree, Midas holds out his hand, his sceptre appearing in it. However before he can make any attempt at teleporting away, someone else intervenes.

"Midas, what are you doing?"

He and Astra turn around to find The Origin making his way over to them.

"Forgive me Origin, but I wish to help my friend here with a problem."

"That will have to wait. The Foundation wishes to talk to you as he may have plans in you joining me and Imagined for the fight to reclaim Condo Canyon." He says, ignoring Midas.

The mastermind sighs, folding his arms while holding his staff.

"Well tell him to give me 5 minutes. I'm not going to leave Astra without the answers she seeks."

As the staff begins to glow Midas holds on to Astra's hand and begins concentrating on where he wants to be teleported to. The Origin however clenches his fists and grabs the staff as Midas taps it on the ground.

"No! Don't you DARE-"

And just like that, both are whisked away to the palace with The Origin in tow.

---------------

The three of them land inside the palace garden. The place seemed to be in an even worse state than last time with the gate doors completely gone, plants dead, plus statues and walls crumbling.

"Huh. We actually ended up in the right place." Midas hums, somewhat surprised.

However, The Origin immediatly grabs him by his white tuxedo and pulls him close.

"Midas I DEMAND you take us back to The Sanctuary this instant!!" He booms.

"Will you calm down for just a second Origin. They won't even notice we're gone." Midas groans. "Besides, don't you recognise this place?"

The Origin turns around and all at once, his temper softens a bit. He puts Midas down and looks at his surroundings. Astra stands beside him, looking up.

"You remember this place...don't you?" She says.

He folds his arms, looking away.

"Yes. But it's been a very long time since I saw this place."

All heads turn towards Orelia who golden bones have a little less shine and glow to them now. She looks at Origin and flicks her hair off her shoulder.

The Origin sighs.

"I go by Origin now, Orelia. That title has been dead for a few decades."

She asks, turning to Midas and Astra who promptly approach her.

"We came here because we want your help. Astra's been have these strange flashes in her mind and they seem to depict memories of the past that she has no recollection of." Midas explains. "She was hoping you could help. If she can't remember, then maybe you do."

It's hard to tell, but a look of fear washes over Orelia's face. She puts her skeletal hands together, sighing softly.

She pauses, Midas and Astra, plus a slightly curious Origin listening.

" She explains.

Astra's eyes widen at this reveal, her face and tone of voice becoming more panicked.

"W-What? But...why don't I remember them?!"

Orelia begins gathering magic within her hands.

------

The goddess disappears in a flash of light and the scenery around the others changes from the palace to the outside of a small house in a suburban neighbourhood. Astra peeks through the window before Midas taps her shoulder.

"It's an illusion Astra. Whoever's in there won't be able to see or hear us."

The three of them phase through the wall, The Origin folding his arms.

"I don't know why Orelia even included me in this. All I'm gonna see is The Last Reality probably destroy this place." He huffs. "Probably just to spite me."

Midas shushes him as their eyes fall upon three individuals before them. A wife, a husband and a young girl who looked to be 15 at least. She had the same hair and face as Astra, minus the missing eye of course.

"Is that...me? And are these people...my family?" She murmurs as the adults begin speaking.

"Remember that we'll always love you Hope. No matter what happens."

"Your mother's right sweetheart. We may not have much financially, but as long as we stay together we'll be okay."

Midas looks over at Astra, then the girl now identified as Hope. The resemblance between them was uncanny. Hope and Astra were the same person, and these truly were her old parents.

"I believe they are your family Astra. And your real name was Hope." He says, looking down at her.

She smiles a little upon finding out that she had a family. The Origin, tired of the situation he was in, grabs both of them by their wrists and drags them back through the wall they came through.

"Alright. You figured out her past. Can we... leave now..."

They stop in their tracks upon getting outside. The town had completely changed to a barren wasteland. Smoke and mist filled the air blocking out the sun and sky, making it impossible to see anything. Houses had been destroyed and, as the trio turned back around, so had the one with Hope and her parents inside.

To Origin's surprise, there were no Cube soldiers in sight. Instead there were tanks scattered everywhere. Midas approaches the side of one and his eyes widen as he sees an all too familiar emblem.

"Origin... This place... It wasn't invaded by the Cubes. The Imagined Order did... They destroyed everything in this reality..."

A terrified scream rings from behind them. A petrified Hope is lying on the ground, blood staining her slightly tattered dress. What's more horrible is that nearby are the dead bodies of both parents.

The tank's cannon begins to move, aiming at Hope. Before long the cannon fires, and the girl's screams are silenced. Midas' heart felt heavy as he looked at Astra who had tears running down her face.

"The I.O... k-killed me... and my parents...my whole reality..."

As the tank turns around and drives away, a flash of light floods the house's remains. Midas gasps to see Oro and Orelia appear. They both look around at the destruction the I.O has caused.

Oro tuts, folding his arms.

Orelia hums.

Oro goes to pick up Hope, holding her close and not caring about the blood that drips on to his robes. He places her on the broken couch and stretches out his hands, magic gathering around them. Orelia turns around just as the wounds on Hope begin healing.

After her injuries heal, Oro places a hand on her head.

Orelia warns him.

As Oro says that, his magic fades and Hope's eyes fly open.

"What? What happened?! Where am I?"

However, he decides to refer to her with a different name.

She looks at him for a second, then smiles.

"Oh, Oro! My apologies for not recognizing you for a second, my king. My memory is slightly fuzzy." She chuckles. "May I ask what's going on here?"

The past Astra smiles, understanding.

"Okay, my king. Let us go back to the palace and get to work!"

And without another word, all 3 of them disappear along with the townsfolk. At the same time, Midas, Origin and Astra are teleported back to the palace and find Orelia there.

She sighs.

With that she sends the trio back to the island, not a word being uttered.