The Void Wolf

Ira went back to the Underground City while carrying Juliana’s unconscious body on his shoulder. And surprisingly enough, the first thing that greeted him was Avery’s sword. Sylun and a few other Dark Elves stood in the background unsure of what to do and unwilling to come between the husband and wife.

“You’re too impulsive, Ira. You didn’t know what would’ve happened if you returned and yet you still went without discussing it with me.” Avery pointed her sword at his throat but Ira didn’t even flinch.

“I’m not dead am I?” Ira casually pushed the blade away from his neck but Avery’s frustration didn’t diminish. “Anyway, I understand what’s happening now so it’s fine.”

“You think that because you’ve gained more insight into the situation that risking your life so pointlessly was worth it?

“I don’t think it was pointless.” Ira dropped Juliana on the ground as he finished speaking. “I know that Gods what me captured. I know that weird stone sphere can’t be used just yet. I also know that this girl serves as a way to communicate with the Gods.”

Ira tapped Juliana with his foot before looking at Avery who was speechless.

“...And you plan on speaking to the Gods?”

What Ira wanted to do was unprecedented in a way. If the Gods were to interact with mortals they would be the ones to initiate it. No one in existence was arrogant or insane enough to actually believe that they could speak to the Gods. It was a topic that had never come up as the Gods were seen as exalted figures far beyond the reach of mortals.

“Yeah, I do. I’d at least like to speak to the people who want me captured.”

Of course, with Ira’s newfound knowledge on the laws of the Mortal Realm, he knew that speaking with the God’s wasn’t a direct taboo as they were using Juliana as a vessel of communication. It meant that they were the ones probing into the Mortal Real rather than Ira forcing his way into the Divine Realm. The simplest way to describe it was as if someone intercepted a letter meant for someone else.

“Could you take her somewhere safe?” Ira spoke to Sylun and the Dark Elves who stood close by.

“As you wish, Keeper.” Sylun gestured to a few of her guards and they carried the unconscious girl off.

“Keeper, we’ve also arranged a place to stay for that...pale woman as Harper requested.” Sylun thought back to the unsettling appearance that the Will of Purgatory had. There was absolutely no one inside of the Dark Elf Empire who could look upon her without feeling disturbed.

“I’ll speak to her at some point.” Ira shrugged. “We’ve got more important stuff to do, right? I killed Gavreel so they should be pretty mad at me. We’ll have to speed up our preparations.”

“I understand, Keeper.” Sylun bowed before departing.

After being left alone, Ira spoke to Avery once again.

“Now…” Ira clapped his hands together. “Do you want to eat dinner, Avery?”

…

The entire continent was in an uproar over what happened. Painting Ira as a monster was difficult without any explicit proof and even if the majority went along with it, there was a sizeable amount of people who remained skeptical. Attacking the Grenitian Capital, Randolph who was known as the Champion of the Gods, and kidnapping an oracle and an Angel all contributed to a new understanding of Ira. To everyone outside of the Dark Elf Empire, Ira was pure evil. No one was concerned with why Ira did what he did since there was no way they would change their minds.

Angels, beings who were an extension of the Gods, were seen as a general symbol of good. If someone attacked them then what could they be other than villainous.

As for what Ira thought about it, it was safe to say he wouldn’t be interested in what other people thought of him.

Instead, Ira stood atop a chair with mooncakes in his hand.

“Zeph!” Ira shouted before breaking off a piece of the pastry and tossing into the air. It drew an arc before Zephyr caught it with his teeth and began chewing.

“I did it!” said Zephyr as he finished chewing. He laughed delightfully which became infectious for Ira.

“Ravi!” Ira tore off another piece and threw it but Raveria jumped into the air and caught it before it could go very far.

“That’s how you do it,” Raveria said gloatingly.

“Are you finished now, Ira?” Avery asked as she watched the scene take place. She inwardly wondered if his behavior would rub off on the children but decided that it didn’t matter much if it did.

“This is the last one, I promise.” Ira smiled as his youngest son. “Ryn.” Ira tossed the last piece of the mooncake but Valeryn didn’t make any motions to catch it. It simply bounced off of his head and fell onto the floor.

Ira’s jovial mood simmered in an instant and was replaced with concern. “Are you ok, Valeryn?”

“...I thought you were to going to help me make a sword,” Valeryn said dejectedly. In all honesty, he expected his father to start as soon as the attack on the other countries was finished.

“Oh, I am.” Ira stepped down from the chair and approached his son. “It’s just some things came up and I won’t be able to put all the time I want into making it. You’ll have to wait a little longer but I promise it’ll happen, ok?”

“Ok.” Valeryn formed a smile and Ira couldn’t help but do the same.

Suddenly, a Valkyrie burst into Ira’s dining room and shouted. “Ira, that girl you’ve brought is acting strangely. Queen Sylun is insisting that someone inform you so you can go as quickly as you can.”

“Ah, alright.” Ira frowned but understood the importance of the situation. Gavreel’s memories allowed him to know that Juliana exhibited strange behavior when she received messages from the Gods. Alternatively, Gavreel was able to force Juliana to act as a beacon so that the Gods knew that the former sought their guidance. Since Ira didn’t have any Divine Power inside of his body he couldn’t do the same as Gavreel.

Ira said a quick goodbye to his family before rushing to Juliana’s location. Since he didn’t know whether or not he would get enough chance he chose not to waste any more time.

After arriving in one of the lower levels of the palace, Ira ran into Sylun who stood near an iron door.

“I didn’t want to disturb you so soon, but the girl began to act very strangely, Keeper.” Sylun said before stepping out of the way.

“It’s fine.” Ira waved his hand. “You can’t be blamed for it.”

A guard opened the iron door and behind it, Juliana trembled with her head tilted backward. A faint golden light filled her eyes and she whispered an unending string of incomprehensible words.

“Let’s see here,” Ira mumbled as he reached toward Juliana.

The principles behind communication with the Gods were vague at best. For someone without Divine Power, Ira would be undertaking a slight risk with communicating with the Gods as if it went wrong he would be the one to suffer.

He placed his hand on Juliana’s forehead and closed his eyes. A faint cloud of black mist began to emerge from his hands and Ira felt his mind being pulled to somewhere else entirely.

The next thing Ira was met with was a blinding golden light that obstructed his vision and a strange disembodying feeling that came with it.

Before he could get his mind around what happened, a loud and thundering voice rang out.

"Who are you?!"