The door swung open, and a heat wave blasted through the room. Ed and Zara’s clothes immediately began to singe, and their skin turned red and started to blister.

The sweltering heat reminded Ed of his time wandering around in Limbo.

The heat swept past them and flowed out into the open air, spreading across the compound and beyond.

Ed breathed out as he felt the temperature go back to normal. I can’t believe I dealt with that for so long back then.

Staring at the door, a towering, hulking figure crouched down and squeezed through. Heat pulsed from his body as rocks and magma fell off his body, leaving a burning trail behind him. A face floated in the bright blue flame, staring at Ed and Zara.

“Lord Ira.” Ed kneeled and said upon seeing him step through the door.

“Bah, enough with that nonsense. Just call me Ira.” Ira waved Ed’s actions off. “You’re Ed, right? Wilfred said you’d be here. Follow me.”

The ground pulled Ed through the door behind Ira and forced him to stand.

Before Zara could follow them through, Ira popped his head back out the door. “Sorry, but you can’t come in. This needs to be a private matter between me and Ed. You can explore the compound in the meantime. Someone will come and get you when we’re done.” He popped his head back in, closing the door on her.

“Guess I can wait.” She said to herself before wandering off.

Forced to his feet, Ed turned around to see that he was left alone with Ira. Trying to stay calm under the full attention of a god, he failed miserably. The only reason his legs weren’t shaking was because the very ground was keeping them still.

Why does it feel so suffocating? It didn’t feel like this when I was near Lady Invidia. Yes, I wasn’t alone with her, but she still felt normal... Like, I could talk with her just fine. This. This is too much. I can hardly breathe.

Trying to focus inwards, he felt his soul cower against the power ebbing off of Ira. His soul, which was arrogant and cocky when faced with the pressure Elaine willingly released, was now quivering like a scared dog.

“Relax, I won’t bite.” Ira said as he tapped Ed on the shoulder, instantly setting him alight. “Hmm. Weaker than I expected.” He mumbled to himself before extinguishing the flames.

The pressure coming off Ira started to wane, allowing Ed to finally catch his breath. But even then, it was still about the same as what he felt from Elaine when she was testing him. Struggling to speak, he looked around the room. “What a wonderful place you have here Lord Ira.” Ed said politely.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The room was simple and practical. There were several tables with various tools and pieces of machinery for making different things. There were woodworking and metalworking equipment, as well as the now familiar set off machines to turn raw materials into clothes.

Further into the room was a separate room which was used as the forge. Both rooms had plenty of ventilation purely for the benefit of outsiders, as Ira could withstand the heat and lack of oxygen just fine.

“You’ve seen Superbia’s palace, this is nothing. And enough with this Lord nonsense, just call me Ira.” Ira said while walking past Ed and further into the room.

Okay Lo... Ira.” Ed corrected himself.

“Good. Now tell me what you want Ed.” Forming a pair of chairs out of the ground, Ira sat on one and looked at Ed.

“I’m looking for someone to make an instrument for me.” Ed said, awkwardly taking the other seat.

“Interesting. I don’t get non-combat related requests often. Not much of a fighter, are you?”

“Not really. But I can get by in a fight. Enough to defend myself at least.” Ed said.

“Fair enough. What kind of instrument do you want?” Ira asked seriously.

“I’m still not really sure. Nothing’s really clicked for me.”

“Hmm, okay... I’m going to ask you a few questions so that I can figure out what I’ll be making for you. Answer them as honestly as you can.”

Okay. This isn’t too bad. He’s a lot nicer than I expected. He takes his craft very seriously. Ed nodded.

“First off, how old are you?” Ira asked.

“Nineteen.”

“Nineteen, a hundred and eighty-five centimetres, sixty-five kilograms.” Ira said to himself while looking Ed up and down. “How long have you been in Hell?”

“About a month now.” Ed answered.

The two went back and forth, with Ira asking questions ranging from what Ed’s last meal was, and past history with drugs and alcohol, to his home life and family. Ed skirted around the questions relating to his work, skipping over anything to do with the company, unsure if Buddie was listening in.

They sat in the room for what felt like hours. Ed’s brain started to feel numb under the endless barrage of questions.

I don’t think all of this stuff is necessary. I just want an instrument.

“Trust me when I say these questions are important. I need to know as much about you as possible so that I can make the right decisions.” He looked directly into Ed’s eyes. “And before you ask, no, I can’t read minds. I could just see it on your face.”

That’s fair.

“Next question. What is your relationship with that Angel?”

“How’d you know?” I’m sure she was hiding her wings.

“Do you seriously think I couldn’t tell?” He looked down at Ed. “Just answer the question.”

“She’s my girlfriend.” Ed answered.

Ira nodded. “And how long have you to been seeing each other?”

“A couple months I think.” Why is he asking me this?

“Okay. And have you two slept together?” Ira asked with a straight face.

What! How does this have anything to do with making me an instrument? Ed floundered.

Seeing Ed’s reaction, Ira couldn’t help but chuckle. “No need to answer that, I think I’ve got everything I need.” He got out of his seat and walked further into the room, to a door that was previously hidden. “If you would just follow me, please.”