Ira didn’t know when he arrived at the center of the Black Forest. It simply happened with no reasonable explanation. The nucleus of the Black Forest had broken all of reality causing a storm to rage. The paradoxical and incomprehensible phenomenon were at their strongest. At times, light failed to travel properly causing huge inky black spots to appear in the air. Grey lightning struck every few seconds but it was incredibly slow. Instead of thunder, it caused a high pitch ring to reverberate off of the black trees. Sometimes ground split open and black rain would travel upward into the sky only to fall as lightning or glass.

At times, Ira could see a different version of himself standing parallel to whatever position he occupied. It might have been a mirror image but sometimes their reactions varied. There was one version where Ira looked to be full of blind hatred, he even tried to attack the real Ira before he vanished. It was just one of the many things Ira had grown accustomed to.

The most eye-catching thing lay where the Wolf first descended. A thirty-foot pillar of black mist that was held together by some unknown means. When Ira looked at it, he felt a sense of tunnel vision as his surrounding faded. The trance-inducing sway of the incorporeal yet congealed mass only drew him closer. He managed to maintain his awareness for the most part but overall he was in a calm and relaxed state. If the Black Forest was dangerous to him he would’ve died hundreds of times over.

When the Black Pillar appeared, the fabric of reality was torn causing the destruction seen at that moment. The laws of reality tried to reestablish themselves but it was impossible so the Black Forest was locked in an infinite loop. Time, space, distance, gravity, matter, anything and everything was susceptible to sudden change inside the Black Forest. It was smart for the Gods to be cautious of it since it was something they couldn’t control.

Gods excelled at creating their own domains which was a reality bending ability in and of itself. The key difference was, the Gods made use of the laws of reality while the Void rejected it. It was the Primordial Darkness that existed before existence. Naturally, it would transcend the laws which governed reality.

Ira understood that reality could be shaped by the Void but he never thought of the full extent. To be more specific, he couldn’t think of it. As one would expect, it was difficult to think of something he had no knowledge of. Then, there was also the limit of what Ira could do. If he wanted to reach the level of the Wolf he would have to give up his life. The current state of the Wolf was something neither living nor dead but it was far more powerful than the so-called Gods. It had very little if any emotion left and held a permanent indifference to all manner of things. That wasn’t what Ira sought to gain when he asked the Wolf for a blessing. He wanted to be powerful in order to prevent dying helplessly and now he wanted to be strong enough to protect those close to him.

Ira approached the black pillar and slowly reached out toward it. It was quite an irresponsible action on his part since he didn’t know what would happen. His worst fears could come true or maybe the opposite could happen. There was no way of knowing but he still moved his hand without hesitating. As Ira’s palm made contact with the pillar it sunk into the black mist before he entire body was pulled in. He felt a strong disembodying sensation tearing at his consciousness.

…

A familiar endless expanse of white greeted Ira when he opened his eyes. He was still recoiling from the shock that came from arriving so he only groaned while trying to get his bearings.

“...What is it that you are looking for?” The loud voice of the Wolf echoed. “Did you not receive enough already, child?”

“You know…” Ira started speaking while slowly climbing to his feet. “...I’ve been wondering what you actually do? Do you just sit around in here?”

“...The balance needs to be maintained,” The Wolf replied.

“The balance?” Ira furrowed his brows while looking around. He couldn’t find any signs of the Wolf being present.

“Did you think I was the only being this powerful? There are others, child.” The Wolf stated.

“Others like you?” Ira asked with surprise.

“...No,” The wolf answered. “That is none of your concern and I’m sure it was not the reason for your arrival. What is it that you seek, child?”

“I need to be stronger.”

“Is the Void inadequate to you?”

“No...I just don’t understand it enough...I can’t use it the way you did.”

“What are you willing to sacrifice?” The Wolf’s question caused Ira to remain silent. “Would you rip away your material form to become something like me? Everything you are now would be lost and all that would remain is the core of your being but in return, you’ll gain unimaginable power.”

“...There has to be a different way,” Ira objected. There was uncertainty in his eyes that caused him to seek other options. If he did as the Wolf said there would be no emotion or life left in him, making everything pointless.

“Maybe, but I have no inclination to search for it, child.”

“...At least give me a hint,” Ira grumbled.

“Haven’t you touched upon the concepts of the Void already? You devoured an entire city in a fit of rage and you still can’t comprehend it?”

“If I knew would I be here? I just want to be prepared to kill Gods if I have to.”

“I’ll offer you this small insight, child.” As the Wolf finished speaking a small black silhouette appeared in front of Ira.

“The nature of the Void is to consume and absorb everything. And although you may know that much already, you’ve grown accustomed to the confines of reality. That is the reason for your lack of advancement.”

“Confines of reality?” Ira repeated with a confused expression.

“You’ve acknowledged the vulnerability that is present in your current structure reality. All that is left is for you is to shape it to your will,” The Wolf said. “That is as much assistance as I’m willing to offer, child...Now return.”

“Wait–” Ira spoke but it was too late as he vanished before he could get another word out.

The silhouette stirred for a few moments before it spoke to itself. “He has grown faster than I expected.”

After it finished speaking it faded away leaving a plane of empty white space.

…

Ira appeared right outside of the Black Forest just as he did after exiting the Void for the first time. He lifted his hand and a faint black mist began pouring out of his skin.

“The confines of reality,” Ira whispered to himself. He closed his eyes and tried to block out everything he knew. Every small yet important detail that constituted his current reality.

Within a small radius, the scenery around Ira began to morph into strange shapes and the color faded away until everything was coated in a dull gray.

Ira himself began to slightly levitate above ground as gravity failed to hold him. A layer of black mist covered his skin and he remained motionless. In a sense, he was nullifying all of the properties of the Mortal Realm. Doing so would allow him to enter a state of power that the Gods couldn’t ignore.

Ira slowly placed his feet on the ground and opened his eyes. Most of his senses became useless and he couldn’t even feel the weight of his own body. He put more strength into his legs and took one step forward. First, space contorted and then there was a high pitched ringing. Immediately after that, an explosion of black mist that engulfed everything within one thousand feet of Ira. A deep crater was all that was left of the area affected and Ira stood in the center.

Things slowly returned to normal and Ira fell to his knees while trying to breathe. Black fluid poured out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as he coughed heavily. He felt exhausted beyond belief and his body couldn’t recover from the shock that came with his newfound ability.

Ira felt himself slipping into a state of unconsciousness but leaped forward into space before he passed out.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the Valkyrie Fortress and landed in the yard with a loud impact.

A few moments after, several Valkyries stormed into the yard to find an unconscious Ira dressed in tattered clothes with black liquid pouring from his face. His current state appeared life-threatening but the Valkyries assumed that he would regenerate as always.

“Stay here, I’ll inform Avery that Ira has returned.” A Valkyrie stepped away while the others watched over him.

“That’s strange.” One of the Valkyries watching him narrowed her eyes and she watched the ink-like fluid emerge from Ira’s face.

“What is it?”

“His body seems quite...weakened.”

“Do you think we should heal him?”

“His own regeneration should take care of him but I can try.” The Valkyrie approached Ira and began to use her healing magic before finding it was ineffective.

“It’s not working.” She was slightly puzzled but she wasn’t alarmed at all. The other Valkyries shrugged and she moved back to her former position while waiting.

Eventually, Avery arrived with Raveria in tow and they both approached Ira.

“Dad!” Raveria immediately became distressed and ran up to his body.

“...How long has he been like this?” Avery asked while examining him.

“He appeared in that state.” A Valkyrie responded.

Avery shook his body and attempted to get a response from him but he didn’t flinch.

“Let’s move him for now.” Avery gestured to one of the Valkyries and they helped her lift Ira up.

“I’ll help,” Raveria said with a worried expression.

Avery looked at Raveria’s bruised arms and was about to deny the little girl’s request but she gave up on that idea.

“Grab his leg, Raveria,” Avery said.

Raveria did as instructed and the Valkyries, including Avery, lifted Ira up. Of course, Raveria provided little help but she wasn’t aware of that fact. They carried Ira back into his room where he was placed on the bed.

Avery felt a foreboding feeling from Ira’s condition and tried to heal him with her flames to no avail. It seemed there was nothing she could do so she cleaned his face with a cloth before taking a step back.

“Is he going to be ok?” Raveria asked as she grabbed onto Avery’s hand.

Avery didn’t immediately answer but after a few moments had passed, she spoke. “Yes, he will.”

The two watched Ira for any change but he showed no signs of waking up.

...

North of the Grenitian Kingdom, High Chancellor Victor Orlov laughed gleefully. He twirled his curled mustache while his sharp eyes curled in delight. A little less than two dozen airships sat in front of him. Each one was an imposing sight since they were fully outfitted for battle.

“Are all of them finished?” Orlov asked.

“Yes, after using our first airship at the Summit we’ve learned quite a bit. These should be far faster,” An alchemist replied.

“Good...Good!” Orlov laughed again before waving to an attendant at his side. “Send word to the First Prince of the Grenitian Kingdom and inform him that we’re ready.”

“Yes, Sir.” The attendant bowed before stepping out of the room.

There was little way for the Grenitian Kingdom to predict the incoming danger since there would be no declaration of war. Of course, if it went bad for the Tel’vians they would have to pay but the chances of them failing were incredibly low. Even at that moment the Fourth Prince, Leonard, was just barely seeing the signs. No one could have predicted Prince Hayden’s abrupt change in behavior that would eventually lead to a shift in power.