Ira found himself standing on a barren expanse of land that went on for miles. The only source of light was the dim stars above him and the colorful auroras that moved in a very lifelike manner.

“Hello.” Ira looked around for the boy but didn’t see any signs of him. Just when he decided to go searching, a small ball of white flame appeared in front of him.

“Uh…” Ira showed a puzzled look and couldn’t help but to look around.

The ball of flame started to tremble before it grew in the blink of an eye. Its shape silently contorted and writhed until it resembled a huge dragon made of flames. The white flames seem to defy reality as they turned morphed into semi-solid scales.

Once the body finished forming, the dragon opened its scarlet eyes and gave a low growl, “Forgive me for the delay...it has been quite a long time.”

“...I’m not sure why I’m here?” Ira stared up at the dragon.

“I see.” The space around the dragon seemed to tremble as it closed its eyes before opening them a few moments later. “You’re giving off faint hints of my bloodline, yet you are not one of my kin...I guess I should inform you that you are currently in a memory passed on through my blood, meant for those who were able to unlock it.”

“A memory?” Ira questioned.

“Yes…” The dragon replied in a rumbling voice. “...An artificial memory...It is was a way to pass on wisdom to the best of my descendants...Only, you are the first one to make it this far and you aren't even related to me which means you possess something much greater than my bloodline within you.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Ira pinched the bridge of his nose while gathering his thoughts. “If this isn’t real, how are you talking to me? And I don’t remember eating a part of you so who are you exactly?”

The dragon looked to be thinking of a response and only spoke after some time had passed. “...I am the lesser ego of my former self...I possess some form of intelligence which is why I am able to respond to you, but a countless amount of time has passed and my mental strength is...less than what I would prefer.” It seemed that the reason for the long pauses was due to the dilution of the original bloodline which hampered the original traces of the First-Flame.

“As to who I am? I am the progenitor of the bloodline you gained access to...The only name I held was the First-Flame, for reasons that are most obvious.” The First-Flame seemed to gesture to its fiery body.

Ira wanted to ask if the First-Flame just made a joke, but thought it was more important to understand the situation first. “Alright, so why am I here?” Ira asked.

“I’ve told you...You possess the qualifications for me to impart some of my own experience within you.” The Dragon said solemnly.

“I’m not one of you though,” Ira said doubtfully.

“I’m aware.”

“...Then say I want to kill one of your descendants, what happens then? Do I need to swear not to harm them first?”

“That doesn’t concern me. I am neither real nor obligated to protect anyone who bears relation to me. The replication of my bloodline was done on a whim and seeing as no one of my descendants could get to this memory means that they aren’t strong enough or don’t possess enough potential...If the first one to get this far isn’t even related to my former self then my bloodline could already be considered dead.” The First-Flame stated indifferently. “Now, do you wish for me to impart some of my own experience within you?” It asked.

“Yes,” Ira answered excitedly.

The First-Flame stared at Ira, assessing his current abilities and skills.

Minutes passed before the First-Flame finally spoke, “You cannot use magic, but you have advancements in manipulating matter, gravity, kinetic energy, space and...something else within that I can’t understand.”

Of course, the artificial memory of the First-Flame had no knowledge of the divine realm and no way of knowing what the Void was.

“So, since I can’t use magic you can’t give me anything?” Ira showed a slightly disappointed look as he sighed.

“I never said that...Watch closely.” The First-Flame raised its claw before swiping into the air. For a brief moment, a vacuum appeared and Ira felt a strong force pulling him forward, but it stopped. The First-Flame swiped its arm again and a ripple slowly traveled through the air, uprooting dirt and stone alike before stopping and pulverizing them into dust. It waved its arm once more and a formless pillar traveled forward, creating a small ravine. Again, and a bubble of energy appeared that moved forward while causing an equal amount of destruction. Again, and several tears in space occured stood without moving.

“I’m sure you’ve touched on some of these concepts already, but you haven’t yet learned to create them without a use of a medium. Once you’ve gained adequate control over them, imbue them with that unknown thing within you and create something more. You should ” The First-Flame finished its display and focused its attention on Ira who looked to be completely captivated.

Ira was in fact so happy he began to laugh. “This is good. This is really good. Oh, this is really good.” He only expected to receive a physical strength boost from Thessia, but ended up receiving guidance from the First-Flame. Ira had the innate spatial manipulation traits of the Avarus Lupum coupled with the Void’s influence, but he didn’t have anyone to instruct on him. It was akin to someone being a talented fighter, but never having a teacher to show them how to use a weapon.

The First-Flame waited for Ira to calm down and only spoke when he finished laughing. “In addition to inheriting my experience regarding space, you should gain some physical resistance to fire, though without magic you won’t be completely immune to it. You should be able to store your own memories within your bloodline and pass them down to any offspring born after receiving the ability. There are also a number of non-magical dormant traits that you may be able to receive from other dragons that mixed with my bloodline. While they are most likely inactive because they aren’t considered strong or beneficial to someone with my lineage, they should be of some use to you.”

Ira couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face as he listened to the First-Flame continue to speak. If Thessia was there to witness what was happening she would try to kill Ira on the spot. Meeting the Lesser Ego of the First-Flame was an indescribable honor. In fact, even dragons with no relations to the First-Flame would be envious of such a thing.

“Thank you,” Ira smiled.

“I did nothing except give what you were already entitled to the moment my blood entered your body and didn’t kill you…” The First-Flame said before continuing, “You hold something inside of you that I can’t recognize which makes me suspect that you come from something that doesn’t belong in this word... If that's the case then I want you to listen well. Even though you aren’t at that point yet, once you reach the qualifications to enter the Divine Realm you’ll be forcefully removed from the Mortal Realm. You must be cautious and remain aware of your abilities at all times if you want to make preparations before it happens.” The First-Flame warned.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Ira nodded as he recalled the boy saying something similar.

“Then our time has come to an end. When you awake, my memories relating to the concept of space should slowly appear in your mind. If you panic and resist them too much you may lose some vital information.” The First-Flame said before it raised its claw and brought it to Ira’s forehead. With a gentle tap, Ira found himself fading back into unconsciousness.

His body disappeared, leaving the First-Flame alone on the barren land. Just as the lesser ego was about to perish, a strong surge of life appeared in its scarlet eyes.

“So he is the one they are looking for. I wish you a quick ascension as I look forward to meeting the last of the Avarus Lupum. ” The First-Flame said in a voice that resembled nothing of its previous self, it even had a slightly divine quality to it.

The First-Flame began to fade and soon after the scenery around it disappeared with it.

…

Rhys found herself in a very odd situation. She was helping Avery carry a naked and bloodied Ira to the bath. When Rhys first listened to Avery say what she needed help with, she had to admit that she may have misunderstood and expected something totally different. Something involving a conscious Ira that wasn't boiling alive from the inside and bleeding from his pores. They carried Ira over to a tub and placed him in, only to watch the water quickly reach a near-boiling state. Although he could hold his breath for more than an hour, Avery held his head above the water while wiping the blood from his face.

Rhys sat in silence without knowing what do while the steam rising from the tub made it quite uncomfortable for her to wear her mask. Since the only people in the room and saw her face without the mask, she decided to remove it temporarily. Avery sent a glance toward Rhys before turning her attention back to Ira. Due to Avery’s lack of supervision, Rhys found her eyes trailing toward Ira’s lower body before she came to her senses and tried to focus elsewhere. Suddenly, Ira’s body began thrashing in the water as more and more blood continued to spill out of him.

“Rhys.” Avery gave a meaningful nod, but Rhys made a confused expression.

“Electrocute the water,” Avery said with a slightly annoyed tone. “All you need to do is slow his heart rate and make his muscles contract,” she added.

Rhys nodded before she slightly placed her hand in the water and did as instructed. She couldn’t help but wince in pain when she felt how hot the water was. Still, Rhys persevered and sent low currents of electricity through the water which caused Ira’s body to stiffen. Rhys continued on for some time and after what felt like an hour, the water cooled and Ira’s complexion began to return to normal.

“That’s enough,” Avery said as she moved to heal Rhys’ hand which had been submerged in water.

Rhys exhaled in relief as she felt the pain dissipating, in addition, the blistered skin on her hand returning to normal.

Avery drained the water and grabbed a nearby cloth before wiping the traces of blood away from Ira. With the cloudy water removed, Rhys had a clear view of Ira’s body in its entirety. Her eyes traced over him until they arrived at his face and at that point, she jumped in shock because Ira was staring blankly at her.

“I didn’t know you were that type of person, Rhys.” Ira gasped as he made exaggerated motions to cover himself.

Even though she was aware he was joking, Rhys couldn’t help but become a flustered. It wasn’t her fault that his clothes were removed, but she was the one who chose to look in an undisguised manner.

“You can go now, Rhys,” Avery said indifferently.

Rhys opened her mouth to speak only to remember that she couldn’t. She awkwardly nodded toward Ira before putting on her mask and leaving with a brisk walk.

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Avery observed Ira’s smile that seemed to be a more cheerful than usual as she continued wipe the blood away from his body.

“Well, one reason is that you’re in front of me,” Ira said with a warm laugh.

“And the other?” Avery raised her brow in curiosity.

“I got a lot more from that dragon’s flesh than I thought,” Ira said before continuing, “I’ll tell you all about it, but before that, I’m feeling a bit too energetic right now and need help calming down.”

Avery looked at Ira’s smile which seemed to reflect a different desire and couldn’t help but grin as she started to unbutton her shirt.

…

Harper, Aldis, and Amy walked through a damp cavern following behind a large group of mercenaries.

“I’ve never actually seen mana crystals,” Amy said.

“I have,” Harper said proudly.

“I also have,” Aldis added which caused Harper to look at him with some suspicion. “My family sent a few of my cousins to clear out a mana crystal mine before,” Aldis shrugged.

Harper’s pride slightly deflated as she lost out on being the one with the most experience.

“Listen up. This isn’t a mine or a quarry, it is the habitat of various monsters and creatures until they are all killed. There are nearly a dozen levels to this particular site and only those confident in handling the more dangerous foes should venture to the bottom. I shouldn’t have to remind anyone, but the concentration of mana is higher the deeper you go which means the danger increases. It also goes without saying that anyone that attempting to retrieve mana crystals without the proper equipment is dangerous and illegal. Those who are found attempting to smuggle them out will be arrested immediately. One more thing to keep in mind is that there are several reports of monsters becoming more powerful after the Red Moon and Golden Aurora.” The man who served as the Site Operator intoned in a rehearsed manner.

“If you all understand, you may proceed, but you all are responsible for your own safety. The duration of this job is set for the next few weeks and no one will expend any effort to find those who go missing.” The Site Operator added before stepping to the side.

“Let’s go,” Harper said excitedly and she moved through the crowd of mercenaries.

“Hold on, Harper.” Amy and Aldis quickly followed behind her.

Toward the back of the huge group of mercenaries, there stood one person Avery would surely recognize.

“Randolph are you sure about this?” Clark asked.

“I’m probably as strong as Yellow-Eyes right about now, you said it yourself. I just need more training and the only way to get it is to do stuff like this,” Randolph said eagerly.

“I told you that his name is Ira, and I doubt he would take too kindly to that nickname,” Clark sighed, but he had to admit that Randolph looked to be as strong as Ira.

In reality, Clark had only witnessed Ira’s strength during his earliest stages. The current Ira was already considered a monster by the Higher Races who were incredibly strong in their own right. Perhaps Randolph assumed that Ira had become the strongest mercenary in the Kingdom because he had obtained mastery over some form of martial arts or swordsmanship. If that was his line of thought, Randolph would be in for a harsh experience.

“Well, lead the way,” Clark said as he lifted up a large shield.

“Right,” Randolph gave a determined nod as he tightened the grip on his sword.

...