Chapter 34: Between Life And Death

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

There was a loud and terrible screaming. Hundreds of thousands of voices all congealed into one tangible scream filled with, anger, hate, sorrow, grief, and fear.

Ira looked around the room to see Avery sleeping on the bed and Harper sleeping on a couch. While he sat in a chair next to Avery's bed. The reason they were still sound asleep in spite of the screams was, the screams could only be heard by him. Clinging to the edge of nothingness, showing a stubborn unwillingness to part. Remnants of the dead all bound together by one will, one wish, one desire, and that was to break the mind of their murderer.

They continued to scream, allowing him no rest.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

It was a pity, as Ira desperately needed the rest. Turning into the Black Wolf, calling the third moon from the void and devouring a city all caused an incredible amount of physical and mental stress. His aging immunity was even temporarily rendered inert under the stress and as a result, he looked noticeably more mature. Which could be considered dangerous, if those with immortality began aging it was a sure sign of them dying. Luckily, his regeneration had resumed, and his body was completely fixed, but he couldn't reverse his age, needless to say, the current changes would be permanent.

His mind, on the other hand, was not able to be repaired by his regeneration. He could go a couple weeks without a full sleep if he were in prime condition, but he needed to restore his mental awareness. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!"

He looked at the ceiling before closing his eyes. He could do nothing but continue to listen.

Currently, they were inside of a small inn. After he had dropped Avery and Harper off, he went to report to the Governor, who also gave him some clothes. His story was that the Diavol used a strange sacrificial magic to annihilate the Fortress walls and as a result caused a strange black "creature" to appear. The Governor personally went to the Fortress to see for himself before he came back and delivered the news to the Kingdom which spread like wildfire. It was a tragedy, only Commander Belmond and four of his men survived. As for the Golden Aurora and the Red Moon, Ira gave no answers. A few people already knew he had the blessing "Keeper of The Third Moon.", so if he spread the information that the Diavol summoned the red moon, he would obviously be found out.

He couldn't think straight which made it hard to consider the situation.

"Ira."

Harper's voice immediately caused him to open his eyes, not that he was sleeping. He looked at her and noticed her eyes were entirely blue, which meant she was using her Spectral Vision. As she looked at him, the Black Circle on his chest had expanded, thousands of little pale blue lights were clinging to the edge of the black circle. Ever since the Golden Aurora shown, her powers seemed to be very different. She could sense the blue lights were wrong, but she wasn't exactly sure why.

What Harper didn't know was that the blue lights were remnants of fallen souls. The massacre of thousands of innocent lives was bound to have repercussions. If the inhabitants of the city weren't devoured by Ira and instead left to rot, it would've polluted the surrounding environment with death and caused far more damage. The reason he was faced with the tortured screaming now was on account of his lack of control over nothingness. If he had thoroughly sent them away into the void, he wouldn't be facing his current predicament. 

"There sticking to you."

She said as she stood up and walked toward Ira.

"...I know."

He made a weak smile, which illustrated his exhaustion.

"I can stop them."

Her blue eyes continued to glow as she stared at him. Ira thought for a second before nodding and closing his head. Harper raised her hand and placed it on his chest, and began using her spectral manipulation. The little blue lights were slowly absorbed by her. Each one seemed to slightly empower her by slight increments. A visible blue glow seemed to overtake her as she continued to siphon the blue lights. The room began to slightly shake as she continued.

"AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhh!"

The screams in Ira's head began to slowly get quieter and quieter until they faded into whispers and then finally stopped.

Thump!

Ira fell unconscious in the chair, and Harper fell to the ground.

....................................................

They both reappeared in a foggy woodland. Thin black trees surrounded them, each one barren of vegetation. The ground itself was hard black dirt.

"Where?"

Harper spun around as she evaluated the surroundings. Ira stared forward, trying to peer through the hazy fog.

"You should know where this is."

The fog parted as a woman's pleasant voice echoed throughout the woodland. Far ahead was a white ivory table, with three seats. One was occupied by a lady wearing a black dress. Her skin was completely white, it was the epitome of the complete absence of color. Her hair was a fluorescent blue even brighter than Harper's, but her eyes were completely white.

"Oh? So you're able to look into my eyes."

The pale lady smiled as she saw Ira staring at her. Ira was slightly confused but turned to look at Harper and saw her in a daze.

"Hey."

He tapped her shoulder, and she jumped awake from her stupor. Ira looked at the pale lady curiously as he walked to the table. Harper followed behind him but refrained from looking at the woman's face, when she made eye contact the first time she grew disoriented and confused. The woman continued to smile as she watched them sit down.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

He asked.

"I am the collective will of those between life and death and I want nothing from you."

The lady replied. She looked over at Harper and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Is she not the one who brought you here?"

The woman asked.

"Purgatorial Embodiment."

Ira quickly drew an assumption and spoke aloud. Harper looked at him and then sent a quick glance to the pale lady. Harper had a skill that related to purgatory, but it was very much sealed the last time he checked. It seems whatever she did to lessen the screams he heard was directly related to that ability.

"Ah, yes. It seems the souls clinging to you helped unlocked her ability. She must have absorbed them, and as a result sent both of you here, granted it was likely pure coincidence."

The woman paused as she looked at Ira as she began to realize something.

"...You've killed thousands of people."

Her eyes widened in surprise, though it was hard to tell on account of the fact that they lacked both irises and pupils.

"Not only that but your soul is...That's why the barrier was torn down. You!"

The woman stood up in surprise as the fog slightly stirred.

"Barrier?"

Ira ignored the woman's outburst and focused on the barrier.

"You don't know?"

She asked as she sat down and regained her calm. Ira shrugged in response. The woman thought for a moment and then explained.

"...Think of it this way. The forces that empower the mortal plane were obstructed by a wall. I believe your actions are probably the reason behind its removal...Even now I can feel something emanating from you...you were carrying a large amount of death, but also something much more frightening. Frightening enough to warrant an event such as the barrier removal."

The woman could feel the void's influence on Ira but wasn't familiar with what it was.

"When you say my actions are 'probably the cause' what do you mean?"

Ira thought it was strange the Will of Purgatory wouldn't know about his situation.

"I am not sure. I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am no God, I am one of many Sub-Planar entities. I operate under the mortal realm, if God's entered the Plane of Purgatory after they died, I would be far stronger than I am. I have no way of knowing what occurs beyond the Mortal Realm because that is the place that powers Purgatory. Immortals and such are the bane of my existence."

The woman began to get off track, but she then suddenly realized if Ira was the source of the barrier being removed, it meant he would be a target. She looked Harper and made a guess of her origin.

"What is she exactly?"

The woman couldn't help but ask. Ira chuckled as he shook his head.

"My sister."

He ruffled Harper's hair while she kept her head down and swung her legs.

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"I ask because she is still living and this place is only accessible by the dead. Well, when the barrier had been in place the weaker Liches, Wraiths, and Banshees were unable to enter. But now..."

"Now what?"

Ira asked casually, slowly he was getting interested in the events.

"Now, all sub-planes should be primarily accessible. What couldn't enter now can, and what couldn't leave..."

The woman left the rest to Ira's imagination.

"You can guess what happens next and if you are the cause of this event, you can expect plenty of things to show an interest in you."

The woman smiled. Ira had looked at the woman in silence before he began laughing.

"Hah! So why are you helping me by telling me this?"

He asked.

"I have no qualms against you, in fact, you're helping me out in a way. A little over three hundred and fifty thousands vengeful souls were brought here. You didn't think your sister could possibly store all of them, did you? What she received was one five hundredth of the total amount. The rest..."

The woman raised her arm and gestured to the foggy surroundings.

"So while we aren't allies, we aren't exactly enemies, no?"

She looked to see Ira remaining unconvinced, so she continued to speak.

"I'm sure that as long as you remain alive, the deaths of others will follow, and I'm also sure they won't be pleasant at all. So in exchange for these ever-hateful souls, I can impart some of my knowledge onto your sister. Does that sound satisfactory?"

As the woman made the proposal, Harper looked at Ira, it seemed she only cared to hear Ira's opinion on the matter.

"...I'll agree for now, but I don't exactly trust you."

He continued to be a little skeptical of this Sub-Planar Entity, but there was no reason to distrust her as her continued existence was solely based on the death of others.

"Nor I you, I find you to be very dangerous, but as a show of good faith I will give her a substantial amount of access to Purgatory, she'll be able to manifest her consciousness here should she choose to, and if she does I'll teach her what I can."

The woman raised her hand and sent some of the fog into Harper's chest. Ira waited until she was finished and stood up. Harper briefly looked dazed before she stood up herself.

"How do we leave?"

He asked as he looked around.

"She knows. Oh, and I look forward to our future cooperation."

The woman smiled beautifully. Ira smiled in response and tapped Harper's shoulder. He believed there was another motive for the woman working with him, but he knew it was pointless to ask.

"Let's go, kiddo."

Harper nodded in response and closed her eyes.

...........................................

"Ah."

Harper exclaimed as she sat up. Ira just looked at her curiously, he had experienced something similar to this before and mentally moving from Purgatory to the Mortal World didn't affect him much. In Harper's defense, it was her first time having an out of body experience such as that.

"I'll assume you enjoyed your rest."

Avery's indifferent voice surprised Ira. He looked at her and chuckled happily.

"You could've died you know?"

"Of all people I think you're the last one who should be saying that."

She retorted as she climbed out of bed. She still wore her black training tights, which now had a few small holes in them, showing the wounds she received.

"Isn't too early to be moving."

Ira asked as he stood to help her. She raised her arm to stop him, before placing her arm on her abdomen. A faint silver glow radiated from her hand and slowly healed her wounds.

"My bloodline is awakening."

She said without much surprise. She guessed the exact cause was because of the battle, she wasn't aware of what took place after she was unconscious. Her own mother awakened to her bloodline in the middle of a fight, much to the distress of her opponents.

"What happened to the fortress?"

She asked as she finished healing her abdomen and began treating her face.

"Well..."

Ira began explaining in detail what exactly happened after the fortress fell and even included the parts about him devouring the city. He added the recent information of the meeting with the Will of Purgatory and learning about the barrier removal.

As he thought of the city, he may or may not have understood that he was a monster. Something akin to what his parents were in his own eyes. There was no excuse for his actions, and he would have no choice but to stomach them. The screams were stopped, but he swore he could still faintly hear them.

As Avery listened she quickly absorbed the information and began contemplating.

"Your actions are nothing short of genocide in the eyes of the world, if anyone finds out, you'll have to face the consequences."

Avery stated as she looked in his yellow eyes.

"I know."

Ira smiled, but it wasn't out of happiness. Avery could see that it wasn't, she could see the unique sign of separation from the world. One she had long since experienced.

"I need to correct myself. We'll face the consequences. Am I not also to blame?"

Avery raised her left hand to show her wedding ring. Her statement may have seemed romantic, but it was close to the truth, she'd be seen as a culprit for not stopping him. Harper nodded in agreement, she could understand what some of the conversation was about.

"Avery..."

Ira was at odds on how to respond. Any of his problems would also fall upon her, he began to realize he needed to tell her some of his secrets to help her prepare for what was to come. 

"...After we get to the capital, we should talk about a few things."

He chuckled, but once again his eyes told a different story. He already began thinking of using the black book to find some way to make Avery stronger. Avery nodded in response and then surveyed the room.

"We should go see my Grandmother and plan the next move. Chances are she'll be wanting to speak to you too."

Avery grabbed the cloak from nearby and threw it on.

"Let's go."

She said as she made her way out the room.

...............................................

The trio made their way to to the teleportation and departed from Greensborough, as they arrived in the Capital, a large group of people were waiting there.

"Ah, Ira, we are happy to see you in safe health. We received the report from the Governor and wanted to know if we could hear your personal account of the incident?"

A man in a dark green uniform spoke in a friendly tone as he saw Ira appear. Ira looked at the people around him who seemed to be guards and smiled.

"Pay me first."

He laughed as he walked past the friendly man. Two guards stood in front of him but had no choice when they saw he wouldn't stop, and moved out of the way. Ira, Avery, and Harper all left under the watch of the guards in the room. The mages and alchemists didn't even stop to check them as the atmosphere seemed strange.

"Director."

After seeing the trio leave a guard spoke up.

"He knows something."

The friendliness retreated from the man's face as he stared at the exit. He noticed the matching rings on his and Avery's fingers and began to assume the worst. If they were involved together, it would be much harder to get to Ira while he was under the protection of the Valkyries.

"As if the problems facing the kingdom weren't enough already."

Director Samuel sighed, he felt as if his work was cut out for him.

.....................

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