Ira told his recollection of the Summit while leaving out the parts that weren’t meant to be talked about. Leaving out all the schemes and plotting, the events made for a captivating tale even though Ira didn’t add any narratorial flare. From the Tel’vian Officer insulting Rhys to the fight against two of the strongest warriors from the other human countries and the Elf of the Great Forest. Then there was the Dark Elves who practically worshipped Ira which was hard to believe but easily proven by his status card. Ira left out the part about the Higher Races since there was no gain in telling Harper, Amy, or Aldis about them at the moment.
Harper, on the other hand, informed Ira of what happened while he was away. Her time in the North, the complete eradication of the Cult, and a few messages from the Will of Purgatory. They sounded cryptic to everyone else unaware of the Entities existence, but Ira seemed to understand.
After they finished summarizing the events, Harper spoke with a pout, “You had so much fun without me, Ira."
“Yeah but that’s why I came here as soon as I could. I’ve been meaning to ask if you, Aldis, and Amy wanted to come with me when I go visit the Underground City.”
“Yes!” Harper answered just as Ira finished speaking.
“I want to go as well,” Aldis said.
“Me too,” Amy added.
Lance, Sarah, Valerie, Clark, and Randolph looked as if they wanted an invitation from Ira, but it never came. Ira instead watched the campfire burn with an odd glint in his eyes. His silence became infectious and everyone gazed at the campfire with different thoughts on their mind.
Ira suddenly stood up and looked directly at Lance, “I think it’s about time, Harper...Come on.” After he spoke he began walking toward the darker corner of the wilderness.
Harper hopped to her feet and quietly followed behind him. Lance, Sarah, and Valerie shared a look before they all rose and moved toward Ira with hurried footsteps.
Ira stopped at an empty space and sat down before Harper appeared and sat across from him. Lance, Sarah, and Valerie stood a few feet away from them with nervousness flowing through their bodies.
Ira waved his hand and the bodies of Gerald and Zella appeared along with a faint black mist that dissipated.
Sarah covered her mouth as she looked at the bodies of her friends that were literally soulless puppets.
Ira ignored their reactions and spoke to Harper, “Whenever you’re ready, Harper.”
“Ok,” Harper nodded before closing her eyes and placing her hands on Ira’s.
At first, nothing happened, but a blanket of white fog slowly gathered around the area. Lance and the others grew alarmed as they heard a faint sobbing in the distance. The fog grew thicker until all signs of consciousness left Ira and Harper.
…
When Ira opened his eyes he found himself standing next to Harper in the familiar plane of Purgatory. Harper guided Ira to the usual area since he seemed to be deeply contemplating something.
“Ah, I haven’t spoken to you in a while.” The Will said as she rested her chin on her palms. Her colorless skin and empty-white eyes went against her friendly tone. “I’ve held the souls of your friends back from entering the deeper levels of Purgatory, but it has cost me more than I’ve gained. I would appreciate it if you could speed up your goodbyes.”
Gerald and Zella stepped out of the fog with listless expressions that slowly gained a sense of clarity.
“I’m not here to say goodbye.” When Ira finally spoke, he showed an incredibly bright grin.
The Will raised her eyebrow as she waited for Ira to state his intentions.
“I’d rather speak to you in person,” Ira said with a laugh before black mist poured out of his body.
“What are you doing?!” The Will raised her voice in complete shock.
Ira disappeared from sight before he reappeared, except his physical body was actually moves from the Mortal Realm to the Plane of Purgatory.
“Impossible!” The Will widened her eyes as she listened to the Plane of Purgatory rumble. She was in control of it, but the instinctive response was to remove all living beings. It was a response that she suppressed while causing the plane to briefly shake with instability.
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Ira had imbued Void properties into his normal Spatial Leap which allowed him to teleport himself to the Plane of Purgatory. Although he didn’t show it, it consumed a great deal of energy.
“Not impossible, just me,” Ira said with a chuckle before he waved his hand before producing a sealed container and a black orb made of glass.
“I want to put their souls back where they belong...I don’t know if that’s hard for you or not, but I’ve got something to trade.” Ira tapped the container which held a fetus floating in an ominous liquid.
It was the unborn daughter of Glenn Marbot, the one that Glenn wanted to revive by using Ira’s blood. For some reason, Ethel entrusted Ira with her daughter before she committed suicide.
“...What am I supposed to do with those?” The Will looked at the container and the black orb with confusion.
“I’m glad you asked…” Ira smiled like a crafty merchant, “What you have here is a way to make a physical form. The body is the vessel and the orb is...Well, the orb is also a vessel...Anyway, when you combine them you can plant a soul into it.”
“How do you know it’s possible? Have you tried it?” The Will asked with obvious interest as she grabbed the glass orb and examined it.
“That’s what I’m attempting to do...with them.” Ira pointed to Gerald and Zella.
“There is a chance their souls may be ripped apart.” The Will stated solemnly, “If this vessel works, I could place my physical form in the Mortal Realm, but if it doesn’t I’ll perish.”
“W...wa...wait…” Gerald finally spoke.
“Hmm? Something to say, buddy?” Ira asked.
“I-It’s...too...dangerous…” Gerald began to shiver.
“Dangerous?” Ira furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, “You do realize you’re dead, right?”
“Enough. We have a deal, your sister should be able to transfer these souls into whatever medium you’ve prepared in the Mortal Realm, but I won’t ever do such a thing again. Now, tell me how to use this...orb so I can send you back.” The Will ignored everything else and focused on the chance to leave the Plane of Purgatory.
“Place it inside of the body and it should show some signs of life. All you have to do after is...place a soul into it.” Ira sounded unsure at the end but gave a confident nod anyway.
“May I ask how you created this method?” The Will inquired with a gaze that carefully studied Ira’s expression.
“It’s not something I created, but rather something I stole.” Ira smiled strangely.
“No matter, I’ll follow your instructions and contact the little one if I have any questions.”
“Sounds good,” Ira shrugged before turning toward Harper, “You ready?”
“Yeah,” Harper said eagerly.
The Will raised her hands and Gerald and Zella turned into two small darts of fog all while screaming in protest. The fog found its way into Harper’s chest and she made a pained expression before returning to normal.
“That concludes everything, take care, little one.” The Will clapped her hands together and Harper disappeared.
Ira stood there and silently looked at the Will who seemed to have forgotten that he arrived in his physical form.
After a period of silence, she spoke up, “You should be careful of going against the laws of this World. The consequences are too much for anyone to bear and even someone such as you would be hard-pressed to survive.”
“Eh? It wouldn’t be as much fun if I did though,” Ira responded with a mischievous grin.
“Is enjoyment all you seek?” The Will asked curiously.
“No.” Ira’s grin faded as he looked at the Will with an intense gaze, “I don’t really like how this World is at the moment. It’s not the place I want my child to see, so I’m going to change it a little.”
The Will was taken aback by the madness that appeared his eyes but regained her calm, “This isn’t a trade, is it? You want me to be able to access the Mortal Realm so I can help you, right?”
Ira answered with a laugh before mist began to pour out of his body, “I’ll see you in the Mortal Realm.”
He vanished from sight and as soon as he did the Plane of Purgatory returned to normal.
…
A powerful shockwave erupted as Ira returned to the Mortal Realm. He fell to his knees and coughed out black blood.
“...Shit,” Ira instinctively knew he wouldn’t be able to teleport for the next week or so until his condition improved. The thought of not being able to return to Avery at a moment’s notice was very disconcerting for him.
He looked up to see Harper standing in front of Gerald and Zella with a look of concentration, while Lance’s group gave him a look that seemed to want answers.
“I went to…” Ira began coughing violently, “...To go get their souls back.”
“What does that mean?” Valerie asked. Out of everyone else, she had the most knowledge in the field of magic and knew that necromancy wasn’t able to actually bring the dead back to life.
“It means...you’re welcome.” Ira spat out a black fluid as he finally stood up with a tired look on his face.
“Thank you, Ira,” Lance spoke with a tone that indicated he was on the cusp of tears. Sarah was no different and Valerie’s expression shifted to an apologetic one. Since Ira seemed to be immortal and had strength and abilities beyond normal comprehension they had long since stopped thinking about his safety.
“Ira, it’s done,” Harper said as she stepped back and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Everyone focused on Gerald and Zella who began to blink repeatedly. They stumbled around and evaluated their surroundings with obvious panic.
Zella began to breathe heavily as she looked at the black orb in her chest and then to her friends.
“Calm down, Zella, It’s going to be ok.” Lance inched forward with his hands out.
Zella looked at him with fright before she opened her mouth and let out a bloodcurdling scream.