Chapter 247: Curtain Call

The calm waters of the ocean became turbulent. Pieces of land rose from underneath the sea and began to attach itself to the city until it was enough to classify it as a sizable island. After the newly formed land settled, a thick fog began rolling out, obscuring the island from view. Vegetation quickly sprouted and gave the empty rock signs of life. Then, birds with black feathers suddenly appeared and began to fly around the island.

Every event that took place happened through Ira’s manipulation. Though, he didn’t suddenly create life with the birds that appeared. They were just life-like shells that he used as another set of eyes.

After Ira saw to the creation of the island, he isolated himself and his eyes turned pitch black.

…

Ira found himself in a cave with grey stone on all sides. He slowly walked through it until he stopped in front of a large black wolf that appeared to be covered in shadows. It felt Ira’s approach and its eyes slightly opened.

“...You have adjusted to your role well.” The Wolf’s tired voice echoed throughout the cave.

“I’ve tried but there are some things that I still need to know.”

“Then ask, Ira.” The Wolf blinked slowly.

“That woman, I know she’s dangerous but I need to know just how much.”

“Woman? You are referring to the one who controls chaos?”

“I am. After everything I went through I won’t sit by, so tell me everything about her and anyone else that might be out for me.”

“Make no mistake, I have not discerned the true nature of those Elder Beings, but the one who controls chaos is the one you should be the most cautious towards.”

“Why?”

“Because chaos is everywhere. Creation itself is a result of chaos and the only way to stop it is through complete stillness. Where nothing can exist or live.”

“When I first met you we were in an empty white expanse where nothing existed...was all of that to avoid her?”

“Her and many other beings.”

The Wolf slowly raised its head. “Do not think of them as enemies you’ve faced before, it will not help. You must either defend yourself or attack them, but you cannot kill them. There is no such thing as death for Elder Beings. You can force them to sleep for a period of time but even that is a trivial occurrence to them. That is the only advice I can give you, Ira. Now...let me rest...”

The Wolf’s lowered its head and closed its eyes.

“...Thank you.” Ira chose not to disturb The Wolf any further and vanished from sight.

…

The Keeper’s City, as it began to be called, began to expand shortly after its arrival. The world they resided in mostly contained humans as the Valkyries, as well as Zella and Juliana, found out. Although Ira would have thrown himself into the fray and began conquering everything with ease, he chose to enact a period of isolation. The flow of time on the island became dramatically slower than everything outside of its boundaries.

He chose to let his family and his people train to become more accustomed to life without the Origin Realm. Everyone was instructed to train themselves during the isolation and there was to be absolutely no contact with the outside world until Ira deemed the time to be right. The only exception was Ira’s envoys, Zella, Juliana, and dozens of others who had died during the journey only to be resurrected by him.

So, while years passed in the single digits within The Keeper’s City, decades passed outside. Of course, training wasn’t the main focus as Ira wanted his family to be happy. Even though he didn’t need to eat, he ate meals with his family daily and spent time with each of them. On the surface, it appeared that all he did was spend time with them. There were only a select few, including Avery, who knew of what Ira had to constantly be on guard against, but for the moment, he had peace and he enjoyed every second of it.

“Raveria?” Ira roamed through detailed stone hallways of the Fortress before stopping in front of a study with the door left ajar.

“Yes?” Raveria who had entered the early stages of adult answered. She seemed to have been reading but she showed complete attention when her father called for her.

“You aren’t training with Casimir?”

“Oh?” Raveria buried herself in her book once more. “He doesn’t want me to bother him, his words.”

“Don’t get upset with him over something so small.”

“I’m not upset with him!” Raveria slammed the book shut.

“Right.” Ira’s skepticism was clear to see.

“All I want to do is help him and all he does is get mad at me for trying. I care about him but he just shuts me out.”

“You know that he’s frustrated with himself more than anything.”

“Yeah, but…” Raveria became deflated as her anger waned. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good.” Ira smiled and continued his walk.

“And get ready for dinner,” his voice trailed off as he moved deeper within the fortress.

Ira suddenly stopped walking and stretched his hand to the side. A moment later and a strong gust of wind blew through the hallway before coming to an abrupt stop.

“Hey?!” Nephele shouted while dangling in the air helplessly.

“You really have to stop doing that, Neph.” Ira shook his head as he placed her on the ground.

“But I’m soooo bored! When can we leave this island? I want to explore.”

“Soon.”

“You always say soon,” Nephele said with a pout.

“And I always say not to move through the halls and yet here we are.” Ira smoothed out her messy hair before giving her a pat on the head.

“I’m too old for that, Dad.” Nephele frowned but made no attempts to stop him.

“Sure.” Ira nodded along. “Now, get ready for dinner and no-”

“Ok!” Nephele shouted as she rushed down the hall while bringing a heavy gust of wind with her.

“...Running.” Ira sighed.

He could’ve stopped her before she even thought of running but he found that constant use of his power would distance himself from his family if anything. After all, if he solved every problem and issue as soon as it occurred they would never grow and would definitely view him differently. As a result, Ira made very little use of his power when he interacted with his family.

“Keeper!” A set of human females wearing dark red armor knelt as Ira approached.

In the center of the knights, was Liliara who wore a long black dress covered with silver adornments. And atop her head sat a silver tiara with a single black gemstone in its center.

Liliara’s face lit up as she approached Ira.

“Papa-” She stopped to look at her knights before hiding the emotions on her face. “Ehem, Father.”

“Ah, if it isn’t the Little Empress,” Ira slightly bowed with a warm smile on his face.

“You shouldn’t do that, Father, even if you aren’t serious. You’re a God to the people of this city.” Liliara admonished her father.

“Right, of course.” Ira’s expression warped into a cold scowl. “More like this right?”

“Be serious, Father,” Liliara shook her head but still looked at him with loving eyes.

“Anyway, it’s time for supper, Your Highness.”

“I’ll go right away, Father.” Liliara made a formal bow before she and her knights went off toward the dining hall.

As Ira walked toward a sparring room, he began to hear two different voices and softened his steps as he took a peek inside.

“Could you show me again?” Suvi, the youngest princess of the Dark Elf Empire was receiving sword lessons from Valeryn.

“Sure,” Valeryn nodded with a faint grin on his face. “You’re suited to making use of natural elements so there’s no need to focus on the strength of your attacks.”

Valeryn used his hands to adjust Suvi’s posture while she held the sword which caused her face to flush red.

“Y-Yes.” Suvi nodded as her pointy ears turned a shade of crimson. “L-like this?”

She raised a dainty short sword and made a few light swings which earned an approving nod from Valeryn.

“You’ve gotten better,” Valeryn said.

“It’s all because of you,” Suvi quickly replied.

As silence began to fill the room Ira made a timely intervention.

“Hello, Princess,” He said while giving a glance toward his son.

“Ah, Keeper, I didn’t notice you.” Suvi bowed.

“I only just arrived so you wouldn't have. I’m only here to tell Valeryn to get ready for dinner, but will you be joining us, Princess?”

“My mother wanted me to attend a meeting with the faction leaders today but I’m sure she’ll understand if I miss it.”

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“Great, Valeryn could you escort the princess to the dining hall?”

“Yes,” Valeryn nodded before gesturing toward Suvi.

After seeing them off, Ira began the search for the remainder of his children. He absent-mindedly strolled through the hallway before stopping in front of a suit of metal armor on display.

“Zephyr.” Ira greeted the metal armor

“Father,” A muffled voice replied from inside of the armor.

Suddenly, the burst into metallic dust before it all gathered inside of a pouch tied to Zephyr’s waist.

“Could I show you something?” Zephyr asked.

“Of course.” Ira waited with an expectant gaze.

The metallic dust slipped out of the pouch and turned into a gauntlet that wrapped around Zephyr’s arm. He waved his hand and a long blade extended from the gauntlet before it shrunk into a bracelet.

“What do you think?” Zephyr inquired nervously.

“Amazing!” Ira answered honestly.

“Really?”

“Sure, make sure you show Valeryn. You know how he loves swords.”

“Alright, have you seen him?”

“The dining hall, we’re having dinner soon.”

“Oh, I’ll hurry up and go then.”

“Yup, see you there, Zephyr.” Ira watched his son rush down the hall until he disappeared around a corner.

With three of his children still unaccounted for, Ira’s search continued. He came across a worn wooden door and began to frown as he opened it.

“Erel and Elora, you two just can’t seem to go without causing trouble,” Ira spoke sternly toward the twins who were in the middle of carving figurines from a wooden log.

The twins seemed completely innocent of any wrongdoing from an outsiders perspective. Both pairs of their sleepy eyes stared at him but neither of them protested their innocence.

“Father is no fun, Elora,” Erel spoke in a languid whisper.

“Indeed, he is not,” Elora agreed with her brother in a similar whisper.

“Say whatever you want but I’m taking those figurines.” Ira waved his hands and the wooden figures vanished from sight. “Now, you two need to head to the dining hall. It’s time for dinner.”

The twins stood up and began to move but Ira hurriedly spoke as the two began walking toward a wall.

“No more walking through walls.”

Erel and Elora stopped just as they were about to walk into a solid stone wall. They diverted their path and stepped through the open doorway.

“Alright, just Casimir left.”

Ira’s headed to the most distant corner of the Fortress where he could hear the sound of fighting.

“Casimir, can we just take a break, please? I’m tired of fighting.” A boy with raven-colored hair and green eyes pleaded.

“No! Again!” Casimir shouted.

“Easy there.” Ira entered the room and stopped Casimir from swinging a large halberd.

“Father?” Casimir muttered confusedly.

“Ah, Uncle Ira.” The green-eyed boy smiled excitedly. The son of Aldis and Amy, Alden obviously was related to Ira in some way.

“Alden, is Casimir forcing you to train with him again?”

Alden glanced at a very agitated Casimir before responding. “...No, I wanted to train with him.”

“Then I’m sorry to interrupt but it’ll have to end early. It’s time for dinner, you see. Are your parents joining us?”

“I don’t think so, Uncle Ira. They’ve been busy with stuff in the city so I’m not sure.”

“I guess they’ll be late then.” Ira shrugged. “You go on ahead, Alden, I want to speak to Casimir for a bit.”

“Okay,” Alden gave a short bow before leaving Ira and Casimir alone.

“I didn’t force him to train with me.” Casimir dropped the Halberd which landed with an incredibly loud impact.

“What is it that you want to prove, Casimir?” Ira asked with a serious expression. “You’re strong enough-.”

“I’m weak!” Casimir shouted.

“You can lift that Halberd when it would take two half-dragons just to do the same.”

“You know I don’t mean it like that! I’m the weakest of the family and all of you always treat me so carefully like I wouldn’t notice!”

“You aren’t weak, Casimir. You have my blood in your veins so there’s no way you’re as feeble as you think.”

“Then why can’t I move as fast as Raveria or Nephele? I can’t use a sword like Valeryn. I can’t do anything crazy like Zephyr or Liliara. And the twins?”

“Don’t compare yourself to your siblings, especially the twins.”

“How can I not?”

Ira sighed upon hearing his son’s frustrations. “Whatever power you have, it’s sleeping inside of you, that’s all.”

“You always say that but I don’t believe you. I did everything I could and nothing changed.”

“It’ll happen in due time, Casimir. You can’t force it, alright?”

“I...I understand.” Casimir hung his head dejectedly.

Ira smiled as he hugged his son, “Now, let’s go. Your mother is probably at the dining hall already along with everyone else.”

“...Alright.” Casimir’s anger died down but he remained in a bad mood.

Ira remained patient as he understood his son’s worries. The two quietly walked to the dining hall which was filled with familiar faces. The jovial mood of the room seemed to slightly infect Casimir as he couldn’t hide the smile forming on his face. He moved to sit with his brothers who examining Zephyr’s bladed gauntlet in awe.

Ira took his seat at the head of the table and took the entire scene in while a few more people began showing up.

Everything that Ira ever wanted was right in front him and no matter how long had passed, he never grew tired of it.

“Ira.” Avery’s voice snapped Ira out of his stupor.

“Hm?” Ira answered softly.

“Are you going to tell them?” Avery asked.

Ira blinked a few times before he noticed he had everyone’s undivided attention.

“Oh!” Ira stood up and cleared his throat.

“Since you’re all gathered here, I think this is the best time to tell you that I’ll be ending our isolation in a few weeks.”

“Yay!” Nephele jumped out her seat and began cheering.

The reactions of everyone else were positive but far more tame in comparison.

“I know you all have questions…” Ira spoke while giving a meaningful glance to Nephele. “But they will be answered later, for now, let’s eat.”

Ira gestured toward the attendants who carried a feast to the table. The room became filled with conversation around the subject of the city’s isolation ending. Nephele was the most eager as she began writing down a list of things she wanted to do once she arrived at a new continent.

Ira kept a bright smile as he watched everything that happened. It didn’t matter what threat or enemy loomed in the background as long as he could find happiness with his family.

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