Ira adjusted his black long coat as it was slightly uncomfortable. The coat had a banded collar and four silver buttons that ran down the middle. It was overall an uncharacteristically formal piece of clothing.
The coat seemed to sense he was uncomfortable and turned into a liquid metal before adjusting again. It was apparent that his coat wasn’t ordinary and that was because it was the Formless Armor that was previously worn by King Dietrich. The armor, while in its current form, wouldn’t be as strong as the infinite metal variations Ira could’ve chosen.
As Ira looked out of the carriage window, he noticed the expedition team had long since collected everything of value from the ruins and the first teams were heading back while most of the researchers, alchemists, and Mages stayed. The body of King Dietrich was being brought to the capital for lengthier examination, it wasn’t every day that one could view a body that was more than one thousand years old.
Ira had very little interest in any of that stuff, he was more concerned with his new abilities. The ability to use the potential energy of the sword was dubbed “Kinetic Swordsmanship” by Charles, who was currently mumbling in the corner of the carriage. Another ability Ira had unlocked was using his sword swings to alter gravity. It was a close combat ability that allowed him to place gravity wells in his immediate vicinity. Of course, it had its flaws such as being highly noticeable, short-ranged, and able to even affect Ira. For example, if Ira was to use it to increase gravity, a small crater would appear on the ground even if gravity was invisible, anyone could see his attack.
“You got anything, Charlie?” Ira asked as he rested his chin on his hand.
“Incredible...I can’t even begin to comprehend the principles behind such a thing.” Charles murmured to himself.
Ira just shook his head, Charles didn't even seem to be fully aware at the moment so it was no point of asking about anything else.
The expedition team was a week away from the Capital, it took nearly three weeks to get to the ruins and two weeks to get back. The team would miss the New Year's festival, but no one minded it because they had stumbled upon a jackpot. More than half the Mercenaries would retire, but the others would buy expensive weapons. It had to be noted, weapons could go up to hundreds of thousands of Gre depending on the attributes. So in order to make money as a Mercenary, one would have to spend money.
As evening arrived, the caravan stopped. The expedition Guide told everyone to rest but kept heavy security on the artifacts and indexes. That security happened to include Ira, though his interspatial storage caused him to be placed quite a distance away from the actual things he was supposed to protect. Rhys was allowed to stand closer, but she approached Ira who sat on a tree branch. She dragged her legs through the knee-high snow and arrived at the base of the tree. She then looked at Ira before writing on a notepad.
[How is your physical condition?]
Ira read it and chuckled, “What are you worried?”
Rhys’ eyes emitted seriousness as she looked at him.
Seeing her continue to maintain a stern temperament, Ira shook his head. “I’m fine, remind me who was the one who broke their ribs?” He responded with a bit of sarcasm.
Rhys suffered significant damage in the fight against Dietrich, but the healers on hand helped to repair most of it.
[I’m sorry about your friends.] She wrote.
“What for?” Ira asked out of genuine curiosity. Their deaths were avoidable and he would’ve prevented them if he could. Well, he attempted to by telling them not to push forward, but they continued on anyway.
[Doesn’t it upset you?] She asked.
“...I’m not sure.” Ira looked off into the distance as he exhaled a visible breath. Looking back on it, their deaths were inevitable unless they broke the limits of humans. Though, Nihility wasn’t a valid excuse to the lives of humans. Not many people held the mentality of “I’m going to die anyway so nothing matters.” even if they did, there would always be an innate fear of dying.
Ira had lacked that fear that all living beings had. In fact, he lacked several qualities of living beings that stretched beyond just his bloodline. If one were to peek into his head they would immediately be alarmed by his dangerous mentality.
He killed people to establish himself in what he thought was the natural order. Morality and other constructs of honor and justice weren’t things he was concerned with, not just that, but they didn’t register wholly in the first place.
Rhys stared at Ira while wondering what pushed him to be the way he is.
………………
“It’s just one a little girl! Kill her!” A murky shadow yelled at a man dressed in black robes.
“As you command.” The man bowed with a fearful expression. As soon as the shadow dissipated the man let out a sigh of relief.
“Harper!” The man clenched his teeth as he seethed with rage. She had been cornered in one of the Emissaries’ hideouts, but instead of fighting, she escaped. From then on she picked them off one by one whenever she got the chance. It was annoying, no matter how much they planned to ambush her she seemed to be a step ahead. She killed a man named Kyle who was a big part of their plans for expansion. While power was one way to get people to join them, they needed money to keep themselves going. Kyle’s death had a ripple effect as the Merchants who were willing to join brought up the issue of security and refused any further interaction. Death threats didn’t deter them as they would suffer a fate worse than death if Harper got her hands on them.
“Harper!” The robed man cursed once again.
“What is it?” A little girl’s voice resounded in the dark room, which put the man on high alert. He turned around and was met with the end of a metallic staff that knocked him onto his back. Harper hurriedly conjured a phantom chain and wrapped it around his neck and hoisted over a roof support. The man didn’t even get a chance to use his powers before he was hung up, his legs swung wildly as he gripped the chain placed around his neck. His eyes looked as they were popping out of his head as they turned bloodshot. After a few more spasms his body went motionless, Harper recalled her chain and let his body fall to the floor with a thump. She walked past the lifeless body and squatted down to look at the bone shrine. It was one of the ways the higher ups of the cult communicated with their members.
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Over the past few weeks of Harper’s guerilla tactics, she gained a better understanding of her abilities due to the instruction of the Will Of Purgatory. She channeled mana into the shrine and activated it again.
“What is it? It’s you!” The shadow seemed to recognize her.
“Yup!” Harper said as she attempted to place a mark on the consciousness of the speaker. Since the communication between two parties depended on their minds, there was a way to trace someone’s memories. She was attempting to use her illusion abilities and find out where the main base was by rooting the consciousness of the one talking.
“You shouldn’t play with forces beyond your control.” The shadow said as it assumed Harper was doing the same as them and that’s where her powers came from. How would it know that all her powers were due to her bloodline?
Harper remained silent as she looked for an opening.
“Your tricks won’t work!” The shadow caught onto to what Harper was attempting to do and pushed her out of its mind. It continued, “No matter how much effort you expend, we will always be the true Emissaries of Death.”
“That’s a dumb name.” Harper shrugged, she turned to leave when the shadow called out.
“Wait! Let’s end this game. There is a small town a few miles Northeast of that hideout, that’s where you’ll find him. The chosen wishes to meet you.” The shadow spoke with reverence when he mentioned the “Chosen.”
Harper wrote it down in her notebook and then noticed a note on traps and a warning not to fall into them, “Hey! Is this a trap?”
The shadow stayed silent for a few moments before speaking, “Don’t you want to end this chase?”
Harper’s eyebrows came together as she thought hard about the situation. Would Ira go? Would Avery and her cousins go? The answer to both those questions was yes. Ira disregarded most danger and went head on to face it, while Avery and her cousins were akin to a military force before they awakened to their bloodlines. They would systematically wipe out all the cultist as quickly and as efficiently as possible. But Harper wasn’t as strong as Ira or Avery.
“I’ll go.” Harper nodded.
“Good.” If the shadow had an expression it would be a wide grin. All they had to do was kill Harper and restore order within their ranks.
………………………
Once again the Island, that was little more than a remnant of an old era, buzzed with activity. Inside of a cave, a group of Higher Races gathered at a table.
Lyra, the Sidera, began speaking. “Have we found the one we’re looking for?” She asked as she surveyed the table. The question was mostly directed at the Lares named Gicae.
“I can’t pinpoint that person’s position. There is a...haze that around them that is distorting everything and it’s stronger than before.”
“Could he have discovered us?” Thessia, the Ancient Dragon asked.
The three Valkyries at the table showed interest. Valkyries of the past era loved to hunt, fight, and kill worthy opponents. It was a desire that never disappeared even after the barrier was put up. Ever since the person who caused the barrier to be removed was mentioned, they had a barely suppressed desire to hunt them down and force them to submit.
“I highly doubt it. It doesn’t seem like an active ability is being used to block me since I can locate that person’s general position.” Gicae said. Being a Lares he had a selection of powerful psychic abilities, he could even peek at glimpses of the future, but looking too far into the future exacted a toll on him.
Kevser, the Naiad, one of the races with the highest affinity with water spoke, “ If we find him we may have a chance to open the Storm Wall. I went to investigate and it’s gaining more and more power.”
The mention of the storm wall caused them to look grim. The fact that they could be the last of their races caused them to feel incredibly pressured. If any of them died it would be considered extinction for the race as a whole. Not only that but most of them had families before the collapse. They wanted to know if they were safe after all the chaos.
“Perhaps in a few decades it would collapse in on itself, but if there are any on the other side they may not even have that long to live,” Lyra said.
Silence pervaded the room at the statement. Eventually, Gicae spoke up.
“There are two important things I need to tell you all. One, there are traces of Valkyries among the ranks of the lesser races.” He said solemnly.
The three Valkyries immediately stood up and their leader, Ustia, spoke hastily, “Tell us where and we’ll meet with them.”
“Let him finish,” Thessia said cooly. Ustia gave her a sharp glance before sitting down.
Gicae nodded before continuing, “In less than a month the races will convene and something troublesome may happen. I couldn’t see any details due to the rest being distorted.” Clairvoyance was an amazing ability, but it had its restrictions, if it didn’t it would be omnipotent. There are countless alternatives to any given situation and they could change at any given time, just by knowing of them. By looking at the future it would be altered in some way. That alteration usually occurred after the whole event was seen. Gicae’s ability was hindered due to the fact that the end scenario was constantly changing because of the appearance of one person.
“That person will appear there?” Lyra’s eyes widened.
“I have to assume so.” Gicae responded, “After I attempted to see what the summit would lead to, I was stopped by the presence of that person and took some damage. I won’t be able to see into the future for a few weeks.”
“Without your ability, how will we find him?” Lyra asked.
“No need to worry, I’m confident I’ll have my abilities restored before the time for that comes,” Gicae said with an assured tone.
“Now what of the Valkyries?” Ustia asked impatiently.
“I suspect they are of Kara’s blood since she was the only one to go to that continent.”
“Disgraceful. To abandon her own kind and lay with lesser races.” A Valkyrie near Ustia complained.
Gicae made a weird expression, but continued, “There is a Kingdom which is centered in the Midwest of the continent. That’s where they should be.”
“We’ll go,” Ustia said. It came across as a declaration rather than her volunteering.
“Ustia…” Lyra started, “Even if you’re upset with Kara you shouldn’t harm her kin. In addition to that, they may have information on the person we’re looking for.”
“I understand,” Ustia said, but it didn’t sound convincing.
Pure-blooded Valkyries were fiercely combative by nature. Their origins stemmed from virgin females dying in battle. With every death, it was an incredibly small possibility their bodies would be reborn and inhabited by a spirit of war, which would then produce a Valkyrie. Though, there were a set of nearly impossible conditions that needed to be fulfilled before that could happen. So as one would expect, the total number Valkyries was always low, when compared to other races, and never seemed to go past 100 over the entire history of the world.
“Their cooperation may be key to breaking the Storm Wall, I urge you to consider that fact well,” Lyra warned once again with the indication of a subtle threat. It was a threat she could definitely carry out since she was apart of what was arguably the strongest race in the history of the entire world. If it was 1000 years ago, she would’ve shown superiority through force, but being reduced to the same level as the so called lesser races after the collapse had a way of humbling her. She was no longer idiotic enough to believe that just by being alive she could overcome anything.
Ustia nodded before she left with the two other Valkyries in tow. As they exited the cave one of the Valkyries spoke, “Do you plan on following through with her wishes?”
“I’ll show appropriate consideration,” Ustia said as wings emerged from the back of her armor. Her answer was too cryptic to be considered acceptable, but she didn’t elaborate. One of the Valkyries gave a cold smirk in response.
After a few moments, they all flew away, heading towards The Grenitian Kingdom.