Since the Mana Quarry was cleared, the Mercenaries headed back to wherever they came from. For Ira and those with him, that destination was the Capital. It had been more than a week since they traveled and Ira had shown extreme impatience at the speed everyone else moved. Not even Harper could match the pace he wanted so it was no surprise the others couldn’t either. Ira’s mood continued to deteriorate up until he regained his ability to perform Spatial Leaps.

“Gather up!” Ira suddenly shouted causing the group to gravitate toward him.

“Yes?” Harper was already at Ira’s side so she was the first to speak.

“It’s time to go,” Ira clapped his hands as if urging everyone to quicken their steps.

The entire group gathered with the exception of Randolph and Clark, they had split off early on after Randolph’s “disagreement” with Aldis. It could be considered a good thing for Clark who was spared from the affectionate glances Amy gave to Aldis. On the other side of things, Gerald and Zella were still adjusting to their resurrection. They would often look at Ira with complete awe whenever they recalled the recap of events they received from Lance.

The group made a circle and Ira bent the space around them, there was a muffled shock and then…

“We’re here,” Lance said with disbelief as he met the gazes of the startled onlookers.

Ira had moved them right in front of the Mercenaries Union without a caring about the reactions of others. “Harper, go with Amy and Aldis to sort out the job details with Samantha. I’ll meet you at home.”

“But…” Harper gave an unwilling pout.

“I’ll meet you at home, Harper” Ira smiled as he stepped back from the group.

“Ira!” Harper shouted but all she received in return was the sound of space bending.

Harper huffed out in frustration as she turned toward Aldis and Amy, “Let’s go.”

Ignoring the crowd slowly gathering around, Harper entered the building with Aldis and Amy with Lance’s group trailing behind them.

…

Ira’s destination was obvious, he appeared in front of the Valkyrie’s Hall with the characteristic sound of his spatial leap. Since he was hurried in his movements he ended up stumbling as he landed.

A group of Valkyries stood outside the hall dressed in weapons and armor that made it seem like they were going to battle.

The Valkyrie at the head of the group eased up as she saw Ira’s appearance. “Hold on, It’s Avery’s husband.”

The Valkyries greeted Ira with a slight bow before they resumed their guard. The leader of the group silently moved to escort him. Ira returned their greeting with a nod while picking up on her intention. The two moved forward but stopped briefly as Ira nullified the barrier before he entered. As they went deeper inside of the Hall he noticed that every Valkyrie he came across was dressed in armor and standing guard.

“Did something happen?” Ira asked.

“You could say that...It’s nothing to be concerned about, but its best if you see it yourself.”

“Alright,” After hearing what she had to say, Ira was relieved and didn’t speak too much but grinned excitedly.

“Here,” The Valkyrie guiding Ira stopped in front of iron double doors sitting outside of a huge chamber. Four Valkyries stood on each side and guarded it with a stoic expression.

Ira opened the door and saw a bedchamber that seemed to be made for royalty. It was strange when considering that the Valkyries didn’t enjoy opulent items. The real reason for the expensive looking furniture was that the objects in the room had to be reinforced to withstand the discharge of energy that came from Avery. When considering that, it was obvious that the material used wouldn’t be cheap and simple at all.

Ira slowly entered with slow steps and arrived in the center, but saw no signs of Avery. It was only then that he realized there was an entrance to a balcony covered by two black curtains. Ira pushed them open and stepped into a garden area similar to Lauren’s stone garden, but it was filled with flora instead of plain rocks. Even though the Valkyries had no taste for it, they invested time in procuring things to brighten up the area and make Avery’s surroundings more comfortable.

Ira saw her sitting in the middle of the garden while resting a hand on her abdomen. It was an image that he continued to observe with the purpose of ingraining it into his memories. Avery felt Ira’s presence and turned to face him. He moved to stand in front of her and showed a slightly confused yet happy look at the child’s quick development.

“We could tell when you arrived,” Avery took Ira’s hand and placed it on her stomach.

“We?” Ira asked as he closed his eyes to listen to the heartbeat.

“Yes, we...Somehow our senses briefly overlap from time to time and we experience the same thing. Even when I’m sleeping we share the same dreams,” Avery spoke with furrowed brows that indicated her uncertainty.

Ira’s smile brightened immensely as he heard the sound of three powerful heartbeats. The first two were, of course, from Avery and her Phoenix Heart while the remaining heartbeat was from his child.

“Dreams of what?” Ira opened his eyes.

“You, all their dreams are of you. Sometimes I appear in them with you, but the fact that it’s you never changes.”

“It’s the Genetic Memory,” Ira was obviously satisfied by the news.

“I know that, but…” Avery hesitated.

“What?” Ira noticed Avery’s hesitation which was a rare thing for her.

“There are some dreams that concern me, ones where I can’t see or hear whatever it is they’re dreaming about, but I can feel it through our child,” Avery voiced her concerns.

Ira instantly knew that Avery was describing visions of the Void or at least his child attempting to interpret his own memories of it. He briefly panicked, but he calmed down in that same moment. Without receiving the blessing from The Wolf who granted him his power in the first place, there was no way his child would be affected by it.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” Ira kissed Avery before taking a seat.

“So…” He started calculating the time left until she gave birth based on how much the child had developed, “There is about one month and three weeks left, right?”

“That’s what my Mother and Grandmother think too,”

“Hey, you think of a name yet?” Ira asked excitedly, “I was thinking Avira if it was a girl and Avir if it was a boy.”

“It’s a tradition in my family for the women to name their daughters,” Avery intentionally left out the part where the women named the sons too. Up until the most recent point, all of the Valkyries husbands were men who weren’t seen as being equal to them so they didn’t get much of a say in the development of the child.

“Really? You already have an idea?” Ira didn’t really mind it.

“You just gave me one...Raveria,” Avery grinned. It was clear that they were thinking of one another when they thought of the names. Ira obviously put Avery at the forefront of the name while she did the same for him.

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“I see that you–” Ira was interrupted by the wave of energy that passed through him. Although it appeared to be harmless, the flowers in the garden that were closest to Avery slowly began to wilt before stopping and returning to the state of blossoming. Even Ira was affected, his hair slightly grew as if two weeks passed before it reverted to its previous state.

Ira’s eyes widened as even he had a hard time understanding what happened, “Was that from our kid?”

Avery nodded, “I assume that each time it occurs it means they are adjusting to the power they have.”

“Now I get why all the Valkyries are on guard,” Although Ira didn’t think anyone would attempt to harm Avery, that thought only applied to the lesser races. He couldn’t speak about the group of Higher Races and he wasn’t confident in fighting all of them at the same time just yet. Even if he forcefully summoned the Red Moon, Gicae could transport everyone else away before he could do anything meaning he would be in a weakened state while they would be unharmed.

Avery seemed to read his thoughts through his expression and spoke, “Are you any closer to getting through that Storm Wall?”

“Not even an inch,” Ira answered honestly. Although he was aware of his own capabilities, he wasn’t able to utilize them just yet which may have been a good thing. He needed time to figure out how to stop himself being forced out of the Mortal Realm once he grew too powerful.

“Wait…” Ira looked at the black sigil on his hand. The final one depicted a wolf attempting to consume itself...Or maybe it was just chasing its tail, there was no way to be certain. If he created his own he could restrain his power indefinitely. The complicated part was, to create one he would need greater control over the Void which he could only get by releasing the last sigil.

Ira’s thoughts became tangled as he realized something. After he unlocked the last sigil he would need to create a new one within an impossibly small window of time.

“It’s good to see you, Ira.” Lauren’s voice entered Ira’s ears.

“Oh, hey,” Ira stood up and greeted Lauren.

“I know you’ve just arrived, but I need to ask you to do something important,”

“I’m all ears.”

“Since it’s unknown exactly when Avery is due, the need for a birth companion to assist her is urgent. We haven’t found any reliable people in this Kingdom and it’s too much of a headache to create a soul contract without any loopholes. That’s why I want to ask you to ask Sylun to provide people to help Avery,”

“No problem,” Ira easily agreed.

“Good, I’ll speak to you about later. For now, enjoy your time with Avery.” Lauren faintly grinned before excusing herself. Her good mood had been constantly increasing with each passing day. She held an almost child-like anticipation at what Avery and Ira’s child would be.

…

Meanwhile, Rhys was sitting in her house with a worried look. She hadn’t heard from Ira since they arrived at the Capital and although she never expected him to drop anything to help her, she still was anxious as to whether or not he would at all. Luckily for her, Ira had already made it up in his mind to assist her. Still, she had no idea he did and would continue to worry in the meantime.

Rhys gave a mute sigh before she moved to her bedroom and plopped down on the bed. She had grown tired and decided to rest. Although she had a few recurring nightmares of when her abilities awakened, she still held hope of better dreams.

She slowly stirred before drifting to sleep with thoughts of one person in mind.

…

Her consciousness came back and she found herself in a simple wooden room.

“Hello,” A familiar man greeted Rhys.

Instead of happiness, Rhys’ face showed tension as she had seen the same man before. It was Gicae a member of the Lares who held psychic abilities.

“You may be confused about a few things so let me address some of your potential concerns before we begin. Firstly, this is a fabricated space I created inside of your mind so you can speak while here. Secondly, If you are wondering how I arrived here then I should mention there is a brief opening in everyone’s mind right before they sleep. Now, the third and most important point, I am not here to harm you. I simply want to discuss a few things about Ira with you, but I’m not in the position to offer you a real choice in the matter.”

“What…” Rhys covered her mouth as she heard her own voice. If she the situation was different she might’ve broken down in tears on the spot.

Gicae was slightly surprised as he didn’t expect Rhys’ to have a soft yet clear voice.

“What do you want?” Rhys asked with a trembling voice. It was only at that moment she noticed that Gicae was missing an arm.

“Ira is dangerous, in fact, I believe he is the most dangerous thing in this world. We attempted to look into his mind and I ended up losing my arm. I wanted to ask you if he has spoken to you about his past?” Gicae’s eyes seemed to narrow as he gazed at Rhys. Without her being aware, he was searching her mind at that moment and if any thoughts relating to Ira’s origins appeared in her head he would instantly see them.

“I don’t know much about Ira,” Rhys answered with the truth as her anger began to build. The more she heard her own voice the more she became reminded of how she lost it and of how she hurt her family.

“Nothing at all?” Gicae seemed disbelieving even though he knew she was being honest.

“I haven’t known him that long,” Rhys responded curtly as she glared at Gicae.

“You made a great effort to protect him from us after his fight with Thessia, though.” In Gicae’s eyes, Rhys’ actions were inconsistent with the facts which made him think she had some sort of protection over her mind. Just as he was about to thoroughly search, several memories appeared in her head and gave him a sense of realization.

“Oh, you have some affections toward him, but he doesn’t appear to reciprocate them...You’re scared, aren’t you?”

“You don’t know anything,” Rhys’ expression began to show a slight sadness. She assumed Gicae was making a guess and had no idea that he was reading her mind.

“I see why you would be scared, he has a wife and once you tell him the truth you think that he’ll distance himself from you,” Gicae continued.

“That’s not true,” Rhys’ began to breathe heavily as tears filled her eyes. She began to feel that something was off about Gicae's apparent "guesses."

“Ah, you want to show him your family in the hopes that once he sees you open up to him, he’ll do the same for you,” Gicae spoke with mockery.

“...Get out of my head!” Rhys screamed as she tried to call lightning down to strike Gicae, but nothing happened.

“I’ll tell you this now, I’ve seen what’s inside of his head and I doubt he’s capable of any real compassion for someone such as yourself. You seem to care about the lives of others unlike him and the Valkyries. While the Valkyries yearn for constant battles, Ira is different...His mind is twisted beyond what words could describe. You’re fearful for the wrong reasons...If you tell him how you feel he will corrupt you. He’ll erase whatever you are now and replace it with something he’s comfortable with, I’m willing to bet that he’s done it to someone already,” It had to be said that Gicae would be considered right in the eyes most people.

Harper was one example of Ira’s handiwork, but she would obviously disagree. Before Ira saved her, she was tortured and experimented on by Glenn Marbot. Her parents died from a similar fate and she would’ve too if he hadn’t appeared. Even if Ira didn’t adopt her as his sister and introduce her to killing, she would’ve ended up in a similar position.

After she was placed in an orphanage, the Kingdom would’ve most likely discovered her strength and she would’ve been adopted by some noble family and trained as a knight. Comparatively, Ira’s motives were far purer as he wanted Harper to have power for herself so that she would never end up as a tortured captive again. Though Ira's methods were questionable when one considered the common ethic and moral standards across the continent.

“...You’re lying...You don’t know anything about him.” Rhys cried while clenching her fists.

“You’re saying that you know more than I do? I want to remind you that I’ve seen what’s inside his head. I can show you right now if you want but don’t blame me if all of those feelings you have of him disappear the moment you see what’s behind his smile.”

“No,” Rhys’ face showed horror as she took a few steps back. She wanted to tell Gicae that he was wrong just as she told Avery, but a sense of dread washed over her as a question formed in her mind. What if he was right? If he was, she wouldn’t be able to look the one who brought her so much comfort in the eyes. The only person she had grown close to since she was a child would disappear in an instant.

Gicae nodded as he watched Rhys’ reaction. Her growing anxiety of Ira separating from her was due to him. The more her fears grew, the easier it was to force those thoughts and memories to the front of her mind.

“If you want the best for Ira, then you’ll keep a close eye on him. As long as we have some sort of assurance that he’s not a threat we won’t interfere with him.” Gicae lied through his teeth. He planned on killing Ira, that was what he decided the moment he lost his arm. He was willing to forego the chance to get through the Storm Wall as soon as Ira became too much of a worry. He couldn’t forgive himself if he was to let Ira run rampant on his home continent.

“Leave!” Rhys’ eyes widened as if she couldn’t even comprehend the thought of betraying Ira.

“Think about it and if you ever want to see the evidence first hand just go into the Great Forest and make a beacon with your lightning abilities.” As Gicae finished speaking, the surroundings began to darken.

…

Rhys jolted awake while being covered in sweat. She took deep breaths as she tried to shake the fear that nestled in her heart, but nothing seemed to work. Tears began to pour as Rhys clenched her chest before realizing she was hyperventilating. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to catch her breath or calm her emotions. Sparks of lightning emerged from her body which did nothing but increase her panicked state. The intensity of the lightning grew and began to spread its reach across the room.

Rhys squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted to reign it in and for a moment calm took over. At least that’s how it would appear to the outside, less obvious flashes of blue filled the air. Then the illusion of composure shattered and lightning rained down from everywhere.

Outside of Rhys’ home, bystanders fled as they watch lightning rip apart a house. Dozens of lightning bolts struck with nothing more than a second between them. The loud deafening sound of thunder threatened to rip the eardrums of any who listened.

It seemed that the lightning would continue to strike as if attempting to communicate its grief for an unknowable amount of time.