Chapter 51: A Helping Hand

850 years ago.

Even one hundred and fifty years after the Collapse the world remained in shambles. In one spot, a silhouette stood, withstanding a heavy downpour of rain. Occasionally, the ground would shift and geysers of molten lava would erupt, causing a loud hiss as they hit the wet ground and rapidly cooled. Even still, the figure stood unmovingly, focused on the large mountain in front of it.

The identity of the figure was none other than Kara Thynne, dressed in a makeshift and tattered armor. Holding a short spear in one hand and a sword in the other. Her wings showed some damage and wounds decorated her body, causing massive amounts blood to cascade down her armor before being washed away by the rain.

She paid no mind to her wounds and only focused on what was in front of her, a mountain...No, it looked like it a mountain due to the rain the continuously battering the land. The mountain was a towering creature with dark, shale-like, skin and four furious red eyes, each with a black X-shaped pupil. One horn on its head curled upward, while the other had been cleanly broken off. Two large tusks, protruding from its face, were untouched. The creature was without a doubt the tallest living organism on the planet as it stood around 4 miles high.

The behemoth of a creature had many wounds, that were relatively small when compared to the rest of it.

All of a sudden the creature roared. It was so powerful that the air around it rippled, and even the rain stopped temporarily. When finally finished, Kara remained rooted to the ground. As if taking offense, the behemoth moved to swing its arm with the intent of crushing her.

Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, a sense of clarity appeared in her eyes. She dropped her short spear and broke out into a sprint before her wings fluttered and she took to the air, easily avoiding the Behemoth’s hand.

Kara, like many others, believed that once the level of absolute was reached that there could be nothing left, but the level of absolute was nothing in front of the Behemoth.

A pure silver radiance emerged from Kara’s body as she closed in on the Behemoth. She had left the bounds of absolute and transcended onto what could only be described as the Zenith. As her sword made contact with the Behemoth’s chest all sound faded. For a moment time seemed to completely stop before a bright light and a massive shockwave set everything in motion. The ground shattered into huge segments, swallowing the Behemoth.

As for Kara, there was no trace of her. The only thing left was her sword which was buried in the Behemoth’s massive chest, although without extraordinary eyesight it was close to impossible to see.

For the next few days, the land stirred and shifted. It was hard to believe that the area used to be a part of a sea that would be long forgotten. After another few days, a young woman with purple hair and wings descended toward the area, it was Kara’s only daughter, Lauren. She observed the remnants of energy that caused the desert to become chaotic. She then grabbed a handful of sand while looking on at the landscape.

“Mother.” A hint of admiration ran through her eyes as she let the sand fall between her fingers.

…

Ira stared at Avery. The changes in her appearance couldn’t escape his eyes at all. Her sharp features had become more defined, but not overwhelmingly so. The softness of her skin could be seen from just a quick glance. Her silver colored eyes which normally were completely indifferent seemed to communicate satisfaction. If that wasn’t enough the edges of her mouth curved upwards ever so slightly.

Avery stared at Ira. His appearance hadn’t changed much, with the exception of his hair which had grown a bit longer. Contrary to Avery’s almost imperceptible smile, Ira wore an obvious grin filled with excitement.

For a brief moment while two people stood at the entrance of the Valkyries Hall and silently stared at each other.

As expected, the first one to break the silence was Ira.

“Avery,” Ira said.

“Ira,” Avery responded.

Ira’s gaze broke away as he seemed to briefly contemplate something. Avey’s current outfit consisted of some rather light training robes. Ira then smiled as if he realized something before taking off his coat and disappearing and reappearing in front of Avery. He held it open for her and then gestured with a nod for her to put it on.

Avery humored him and put her arms into the coat, only to watch it change into a mercury-like state as it readjusted itself. Within a few seconds, it became a sleek black armor that clung to Avery’s body in a way that wouldn’t hamper movement.

“It’s amazing.” Avery said before continuing, “But what about my old armor?”

“I’ll give it away or something.” Ira shrugged.

Avery nodded as she wasn’t too attached to it, to begin with.

“Unfortunately I don’t have anything for you,” Avery said. Not that she expected Ira to want compensation since they were married.

“It’s fine. If you really want to pay me back you should come with me to that Summit.” Ira responded with half-jokingly.

Avery thought to herself for a few seconds before speaking, “Alright.”

“Really?” Ira’s eyes widened.

“I should be able to. Due to the phoenix heart, my control over my mana has advanced quicker than the others, so I should have fewer restrictions. When is it?” Avery asked.

“In a week or two,” Ira answered happily. “Oh yeah, I have something to show you.”

Avery’s eyes showed interest as she looked at Ira, but all he did was look around. They were currently standing right outside of the Valkyrie’s Hall. If he were to demonstrate his newfound abilities it could end up damaging something.

“Well?” Avery looked at him.

“Well...I can’t do it here. I don’t want to break anything.” Ira said with disappointment.

All of a sudden Lauren and Casey appeared with visible expectation on their face.

“Ira.” Lauren greeted as she moved to stand near them. Casey also nodded as she stood next to her mother. They both looked at Avery’s armor but decided to ask about it later.

“Judith told me that you have an index in your possession,” Lauren said.

“I do.” Ira waved his hand and the index in question appeared.

Lauren and Casey immediately went to examine it. After channeling mana through it for a few moments, Lauren spoke, “It’s true…”

“Have you used it yet?” Casey asked.

“No. I can’t even use mana.” Ira said with a shrug.

“What do you mean?” This time Avery was the one to speak.

“I don’t know how to really explain it. I can cancel magic so maybe it has to do with that.” Ira explained nonchalantly. He didn’t really care if he could use mana or not. Channeling mana and casting spells seemed laborious from his view, it would be much faster just to punch someone in the face.

“The ability to cancel out magic,” Lauren whispered to herself before she focused on Ira. “For now, we’ll begin the process of reactivating the index. When it’s done we’ll call for you.”

“Alright.” Ira nodded.

Just as Lauren moved to fly Ira off the mountain, Avery began speaking. “Grandmother, I would like to accompany Ira for a period of time.”

Lauren looked at Ira with a slight smile before giving her approval, “I see nothing wrong with it, Avery. I’ll let you take him back down to the manor.”

“Take care,” Casey said as she also smiled at the pair.

Though it was rare, the Valkyries of the Thynne family possessed some semblance of emotion. It was just buried underneath a layer of cold pragmatism and underlying violent nature.

“Are you ready?” Avery asked as two large dark purple wings emerged from her back, both had faint reddish-orange veins covering them.

“Yeah.” Ira grinned brightly as he placed his arm around her waist.

Avery’s wings fluttered and within moments they were in the air. Ira suddenly had a thought and began speaking and since they weren’t moving that fast it wasn’t difficult.

“Couldn’t you drop me on someone from this height?” Ira asked.

“What?” Avery responded.

“Since I can change the way gravity affects me wouldn’t dropping me onto someone cause some damage?” Ira repeated his idea once again.

“That could...work, Ira,” Avery said as she furrowed her brows in contemplation.

“Yeah? We gotta try it out sometime.” Ira said as they arrived at the Thynne Manor.

“When is it?” Avery asked. Ira showed a blank look until he realized what she meant.

“Oh, two weeks,” Ira said.

“Ok,” Avery responded as she turned to leave.

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“We’ll have to make up for lost time!” Ira said enthusiastically.

“Two weeks, Ira,” Avery said with a charming laugh before she flew away.

Ira stood and watched her until she could no longer be seen and then went into the Manor. When he entered he was greeted by a few servants and just as he was going to walk past them he checked his current attire only to notice it was a bit worn out.

“Is everything ok, Sir?” An old servant asked.

Ira narrowed his eyes weirdly when he was called “Sir” but he ignored it and spoke.

“Can you take me to Aldis’ room?” He asked.

“Yes, Sir.” The old Servant wanted to ask why but was told that Ira’s status in the house should be treated just as high as the Valkyries.

Ira was led through the Manor until they stopped at Aldis’ room. The servant peeked over his shoulder and looked at Ira before knocking on the door.

“What is it?” Aldis' voice resounded as he opened the door to see a servant and Ira.

“You have some clothes I can borrow right?” Ira smiled as he walked into Aldis’ room.

He looked around to see that the room was surprisingly neat. Without wasting any more time, he opened a wardrobe and put on a black jacket, a white shirt, and a new pair of black pants.

“Thanks, Aldis,” Ira said as he left his old clothes on the floor before exiting, leaving Aldis behind with a questioning expression.

As Ira left the Manor there were coachmen ready to take Ira back to the Capital.

One of them began to speak, “Sir, would you need-”

“Nope.” Ira interrupted as he did a light stretch. He then lowered his body toward the ground before leaping forward and leaving a thin cloud of dust behind him.

The Coachman coughed while holding a revering looking in his eye as he watched Ira disappear into the distance.

….

Amy was sitting alone in a dimly lit, cold, damp, cell. A wooden cot and filthy looking toilet were her only decorations. It seemed like the Guards tossed her into a random cell and forgot about her, but it wasn’t really their fault. Incidents of crime had been steadily rising after the Red Moon and Golden Aurora appeared.

“Don’t you wish for something more?” A voice that spoke with an indescribable allure echoed in her head as her arm metal arm showed a green translucence.

“I do,” Amy muttered in a defeated voice. At some point, a voice appeared in her head, but she didn’t think she was going insane. It was obvious to her that the voice was the cause of the green fire she used to kill her attacker.

“Don’t you wish to be like...Ira.” The voice spoke again. It was none other than a demon of Envy and possibly one of the first Demons to manifest itself in the mortal plane.

Luckily enough for the demon, Amy’s arm served as the perfect medium to make contact while feeding off of her desires. Amy’s mental state was fragile, to say the least, so the Demon had been able to grow quite rapidly to the point where it could read some of her memories. The most prominent memory wasn’t the death of her mother, but her memory of Ira and Avery. In its mind, Ira was another potential target if he could possess Amy’s body.

From the memories, it was clear that Ira’s mental state was far from healthy and his strength and abilities were more than adequate. Avery, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of a target for the Demon. Her cold personality indicated a certain strength of spirit and iron clad mentality which would be very dangerous. For example, if the Demon attempted to reach out to Avery in its current weak state, she could most definitely overpower and destroy it.

“If you want...I can make you just as powerful as him and maybe even beyond that.” The Demon said as it tried to tempt Amy.

“...All I have to do is say yes?” Amy asked with a bit of disbelief. While Amy was desperate, she knew it sounded too good to be true.

“That is all you have to do. Will you allow me to give you power?” The Demon asked. It was clear Amy would agree with a little more goading, at that moment the Demon’s mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Ira. From what he could see in Amy’s memories, Ira had incredible physical strength and senses coupled with the ability to teleport. Normally, he wouldn’t be considered a target, but his unstable mentality made him a perfect candidate in the Demon’s eyes.

“Then…” Amy went quiet as she contemplated harder. The depressive fog that was clouding her mind made it hard to really consider her options. At the current moment, it seemed like everyone had given up on her.

Without warning, the loud sound of footsteps echoed through the corridor, rousing Amy’s “neighbors” into a commotion.

“Hey, Handsome. Bail me out and I’ll show you something you might like.” One woman said.

“Forget about that old woman and take me instead. I’ll spend all night looking at those pretty yellow eyes.” Another woman said.

“Yellow...eyes…” Amy whispered to herself before she hurriedly stood up to fix her somewhat haggard appearance.

“Shut up you harlots!” An authoritative voice bellowed causing all the previous shouts to trickle into to murmurs.

The distinct sound of keys could be heard as the footsteps moved closer and closer, giving Amy a growing sense of hope.

Several Guardsmen appeared in front of Amy’s cell and blocked the view. They parted to the sides and gave Amy a clear view of someone she hadn’t seen in awhile.

“...Ira.” Amy said as she tried to hold back tears.

“Amy, this isn’t what I meant when I said the academy wasn’t the place for you,” Ira said with a chuckle.

“Is this the girl you were looking for, Sir.” A guard asked respectfully.

“Yeah.” Ira nodded as he looked at Amy. Her hair was messy, dark circles were under her eyes, and her arm…Ira focused his gaze on the arm he had given her for a brief moment before he looked back at Amy.

“Hmm? Was I wrong?” The Demon felt as if it were in danger for a split second before it went away. Just to be safe, it reduced its presence. Once Demons possessed something in the mortal plane, it became nearly impossible to freely leave without the proper strength.

“Alright. Let’s go, Amy.” Ira waved his hand and a set of armor flew toward Amy.

The Guards looked shocked to see such a casual use of spatial magic but refrained from saying anything.

Amy grabbed the armor and wiped her tears before she spoke, “How did you find me?”

Ira shook his head, “I’ll tell you on the way.”

Amy stood there and looked at Ira and he, in turn, looked back at her.

“I need to change, Ira.” Amy finally said.

“Oh.” Ira shrugged and turned around. He noticed the guards were looking at him oddly and began to talk, “What? So you guys want to watch her get changed?”

The Guards showed forced smiles as they also turned their backs, allowing Amy to change. If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t behave like they did, but they had long since heard of Ira and knew his status was even higher than most nobility.

“I-I’m done,” Amy said with an embarrassed expression.

“Ok, I'll tell you the story on the way,” Ira said.

Amy nodded in response and stepped out of the cell with a renewed vigor. The guards then escorted the pair out.

…

In the far North, Harper breathed heavily as one of her arms hung limply to the side. Her normally pale blue hair was stained with blood that was most likely her own as she was injured in multiple places.

Currently, she was leaning against a tree with a fatigued posture. She looked off into the distance and could see a childlike figure holding a scythe in its hands. Its body was covered in a black cloak which made it hard to discern what was under it, but Harper seemed to remember one of the cultists she interrogated saying that the main figure of the Emissaries was around her age.

“It’s him.” Harper huffed angrily as she clenched her teeth. In her moment of distraction, a cultist had snuck up on her.

“I found her! Over here!” The cultists shouted wildly.

Harper summoned her spectral chain and threw it around his neck before pulling the cultist to the ground and stomping on the back of his neck, producing a loud snapping sound. Although she reacted quickly, it wasn’t quick enough as several figures, including the short scythe-wielding figure, converged on her position.

Harper examined her injuries and decided to run away at a speed no one present could match, leaving a faint blue trail behind her. She needed a day or so to recover from her injuries as they could be considered somewhat light when compared to the strength of her regeneration. The sun was beginning to set which was even more beneficial to her as she could be empowered by the moon. Since it was winter, both moons would be able to be seen and at that point, her lunar empowerment would allow her to recover even faster. Thinking of it, Harper even managed to giggle a few times as she disappeared into the cold wilderness.

...

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