After sending Lauren and Lyra to Yeramesh, Ira returned to his home. As he entered the garden of the Valkyrie Fortress, Ira was immediately hit with Raveria’s pitiful gaze. Avery stood off to the side with her arms crossed and watched on indifferently.

“Dad!” Raveria cried out while swinging a short sword. Her arms were slightly reddened which showed she had been swinging the sword for a while.

“Ravi?” Ira looked to Avery for an explanation.

“Discipline,” Avery said.

“Ah, what did she do?” Ira asked while pitying his daughter.

“Instead of going to where she was told she went off on her own.”

Ira furrowed his brows while looking at Raveria. Although the Underground City was safe, she was still too young to wander off when she pleased.

“So how long is she supposed to practice her swings?” Ira asked.

“Ten thousand times,” Avery answered.

“Ten thousand? Isn’t that a little much?” Ira seemed to object but Avery nodded toward Raveria.

“Again, Raveria.” Avery said.

Raveria groaned with a tearful expression before she raised the small sword up with one hand. Then, the air around her vibrated as her movements sped up. There was a small burst of energy that emerged from her body as she swung her sword one hundred times within a few seconds.

Raveria drew in a deep breath and looked at her arms which began to slowly bruise even more. For some reason, she couldn’t properly reverse her injuries or fatigue so it became harder for her to go on.

“How many more?” Raveria droned out exhaustively.

“Twenty,” Avery responded with no hint of pity.

“Mom!” Raveria began to tear up.

“Again.” Avery maintained an unmoved expression.

Raveria gazed at Ira pleadingly, but he forced himself to look away.

“It’s for your own good, Ria.” Ira forced himself to speak words that provided him no comfort. Even with that being so, he still had to force himself from picking Raveria up and asking Avery to be more lenient.

“Did you notice, Ira?” Avery inquired.

“Notice what?” Ira responded dejectedly.

“Her own abilities can wear down her body and if they do she can’t recover as easily.” Avery voiced her observations while ignoring Ira’s exaggerated expression of melancholy.

“...So what is it that you’re saying?” He asked.

“It means I’ve found her current limit. If she were to fight someone with at least half of your strength she’d lose. It’s something you would know if you trained her properly.” Avery made her satisfaction known.

Raveria had stopped to take a break while she thought Avery was distracted but the latter immediately noticed.

“Nineteen, Raveria. Again,” Avery said.

Raveria huffed out a breath and swung the sword once again, easily reaching one hundred swings in the process.

“Listen, I’m not done training her, it’s just…” Ira trailed off while thinking of an excuse. “I have to go to the Black Forest. There are things I still need to get an understanding of.”

There was something else he didn’t add and that was his plan to go back to Yeramesh for a day or two. The reason? Altharth mentioned a Sea Serpent that the Naiads were in control of. Ira assumed that it was something on the level of the Behemoth and if that was true then it was destined to be eaten by him.

“Fine. I hardly understand the nature of your power but I’d ask that you finish as quickly as possible.” Avery sighed before turning to Raveria once more. “Eighteen. Again.”

Raveria issued an unintelligible plea for mercy but Avery didn’t blink at all.

“This level is still bearable, Raveria. It’ll only last as long as you make it.” Avery gave some slight words of encouragement while keeping on the mask of sternness.

Inwardly, even Avery felt like comforting Raveria but the Valkyries were unwavering in their “tough love.”

“I’ll uh...Go get started on that right now.” Ira couldn’t watch Raveria struggle any longer so he quickly departed.

“Hurry back.” Avery sent him off before returning her attention to Raveria.

…

“Ira.” A familiar voice called out to Ira as he was about to exit the fortress.

“Yeah?” Ira turned to see Casey approaching.

“There’s someone by the name of Casper who’s here for you,” Casey replied. “He’s only arrived recently but it’s surprisingly hard to find you at times. There was also a spectacled human woman by the name Samantha who asked for you not too long ago. Not to mention Aldis, he’s been looking for you for quite some time.”

“Right, I’ll sort it all out soon. For now, can you point me in Casper’s direction?” Ira realized that his life had become far busier than before but found that it was still manageable.

“In one of the guest rooms. It’s the only guest rooms being used at the moment,” Casey responded.

Though there were guests rooms they were mostly for show. The Valkyries were an extremely closed off bunch. The only people allowed to stay would either be Sylun and her children, Lyra, Ustia or someone Ira invited.

“Thanks.” Ira nodded before he moved to walk away.

“Ira!” Harper yelled as she barreled down the hallway.

Ira inwardly hoped that she wasn’t bombarding him with more things to do.

“...Yeah,” Ira answered with caution.

“It’s a boy!” Harper said excitedly.

Suddenly, a look of panic emerged on Ira’s face. “Did Rhys give birth already?!”

“What?” Harper’s face filled with confusion. “No, Ira. Raveria said that she was having a boy and you said Raveria could predict stuff.”

“Oh!...Ok, good.” Ira held his chest while calming himself down. Since he could feel when Raveria was about to be born it would be strange not to feel his own son’s presence.

Ira ruffled Harper’s hair and smiled, “Thanks, Harper.”

“It’s not a problem, Ira,” Harper hummed proudly.

“So, I’ll go see Casper first then I’ll go see Rhys. And then...I’ll be gone for a few hours so I really hope there’s nothing else.” Ira looked at Casey and Harper to see if they had anything more to say.

When neither of them spoke up his face showed a look of relief. He said his goodbyes and then headed off in Casper’s direction.

…

Two Valkyries stood outside of the “guest” room which made it look more like a prison cell than anything. As Ira approached they greeted him before moving to the side. Ira nodded to them before entering the room without even knocking. Lucky for him, Casper was lying motionlessly on the bed with a pale expression.

“Casper.” Ira smiled.

“Ira.” Casper looked at Ira with some resentment. After all, with each day that passed his mysterious affliction grew worse.

“What is it you wanted to talk to me about?” Ira asked. He didn’t have much time to waste so he got straight to the point.

“First Prince Hayden is working with the Tel’vians. He plans on overthrowing the current King with their assistance. He’s already convinced many nobles to join him judging of how many people joined his faction. That’s just a guess since they rarely a word about the prince even when they’re alone.” Casper spoke while scratching at his chest.

“Hey...What is that?” Ira pointed toward the black veins crawling up Casper’s neck.

“It’s that damned soul contract I agreed to. I thought you were dead so I contemplated selling the information. I didn’t even get to before this...whatever this is, starting spreading.” Casper spoke with clear aggrievement but Ira felt nothing for him.

“So you thought of violating our agreement because you heard I might’ve died? Sounds like it’s your fault.” Ira shrugged.

“It’s my fault and I’m sorry! Now please fix this.” Casper spoke with urgency.

The exhaustion from the journey to the Underground City paired with the pain from his condition left Casper thoroughly worn out. It had to be said, getting to the Underground City was incredibly difficult if one didn’t have the proper skill. Casper was a capable individual but his ability centered around shadows. So when he entered the barren and nearly shadowless desert region that the Dark Elves called home, he struggled quite a bit.

Ira snapped his fingers and then a black wisp flew out of Casper’s chest giving the latter a sense of comfort.

“Right, I’ll send you back to the Free City now,” Ira said before raising his hand.

“Really?!” Casper asked with renewed vigor.

“Yeah...though I should probably kill you,” Ira mused to himself. “You know where I live now and you might know the layout. Who knows if you snuck out during your time here? I also have my children to worry about.”

As Ira went on the reasons to kill Casper piled up.

“Y-You don’t have to worry about that, I was too injured to move around even if I wanted to,” Casper explained nervously.

“I’m joking, relax. Well, not really, but I won’t kill you since I’m in a pretty good mood.” Ira smiled.

Casper forced a smile while sweat appeared on his forehead. He knew that Ira was a person who could change his mind at the drop of a coin.

“Really, I’m a man of my word...sometimes.” Ira ignored those “few” times he lied and continued. “Anyway, see you later, Casper.”

Ira clapped his hands once and Casper vanished before he could even realize it. If Ira was accurate in his spatial manipulation then Casper should be near a small pastry stand. If not, he would find himself in the Free City’s large bay.

“Alright, now where to next?” Ira moved to leave the room and headed toward his next destination.

When he arrived at Rhys’ bedroom he found that she was sleep. There was a blissful expression on her face as she slept on her side. Not wanting to disturb her, Ira looked around before spotting parchment and an inkwell and began to write. It was nothing special just a message that read “You were right” with a crude drawing of a wolf at the bottom. The only reason it couldn't be mistaken for a dog was the fact that Ira labeled it as a Wolf which made it seem as if he doubted the quality of the drawing.

Ira placed the parchment back on her desk before he took a step back and vanished from sight.

…

When Ira next appeared it was near the Black Forest. More specifically, right on the border of the Black Forest. Since the time of its creation, the enigma known as the Black Forest had only grown more dangerous. Sweet echoes were carried on the breeze that could mesmerize any wayward traveler. What remained without change was the edge of the Black Forest. It never expanded outward like it was locked in its position. Another one of it’s strange qualities that couldn’t be explained.

Ira took a deep breath while enjoying the nostalgia before he turned to face the forest. The soil was black and petrified with the texture of glass. Bursts of mists exploded into existence as if invisible geysers were present. The black trees could evaporate without a moment’s notice before falling to the ground as stone or turning into lightning that traveled horizontally. There were places where space was distorted, causing the ground to sink in heavily. The most surprising part was the wildlife. Well, it was a stretch to call if “life.” The corrupted manifestation of skinless animals with eyes made of blue flame couldn’t be called living beings. They literally popped into existence for a few moments, repeating actions they may have performed while living like clawing at the dirt, before disappearing.

Ira squinted his eyes and peered deeper into the forest and found that he couldn’t see anything. Anything further than a few hundred feet was total blur even for someone with his vision.

“...My home,” Ira said without his usual smile.

He clenched and unclenched his fist before taking a step forward and crossing the boundary. As soon as he stepped over, it felt as if he entered a different world entirely. In reality, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he did. The Black Forest was an entirely different realm after the Wolf’s touch. If Ira could learn to utilize the same abilities then there would be no words to describe someone as dangerous as him. The Gods couldn’t understand the Black Pillar which even breached the Divine Realm.

Ira put those thoughts away and continued into the forest, unaffected by all the phenomenon which could instantly kill any being in the Mortal Realm.