The Void Wolf

“Calm down. They didn’t injure her from what I could tell, they just blocked her so that she couldn’t get to you.” The boy didn’t flinch under Ira’s hold, in fact, his body began to fade before he reappeared sitting in the chair Ira was in.

Ira did appear to calm down a little as he took a seat.

“You really are something...Quite obsessive.” The boy commented.

“I don’t remember you being this fucking talkative.” Ira retorted.

“Are you the only one that’s allowed to change? Any perceived change is most likely due to your consciousness spilling over to me.” The boy asked.

“What are you? I mean really...You’re real, I know that much, but what are you?” Ira changed the subject.

“...I’m just a remnant, a byproduct of a violent transition...Just ask the Wolf, he knows who I am.” The boy’s eyes continued to dance between yellow and red as he looked at Ira.

“Yeah, that’s really helpful, just incredibly helpful. I’ll just go get him right now.” Ira said sarcastically. “Can I go now?” He asked.

“I’m not the one holding you back…” The boy closed his eyes and went into thought before he opened them and spoke, “You’re in a preservation device, they must’ve used it to avoid the recoil that came from the Collapse.”

Ira laughed a few times before looked up at the dark ceiling above him, “I’m going to kill someone.”

“You aren’t at the stage where you can say that yet. Bide your time, grow, and then do whatever you want. If you really want to kill them just make sure to open the Storm Wall first.” The boy advised.

“Why?” Ira asked.

“If the continent of the Higher Races is on the other side then you’ll have plenty to consume...after you grow enough you can take a piece of the Storm Wall for yourself.” The boy said.

“Wait...A piece of it? Can I do that?” Ira asked with a visible greed.

“We still have some time here, so I’ll tell you a story.” The boy smiled, “As you already know, there was a Wolf who ate the Moon and then ate the Gods who came to kill him. Usually, when Gods can’t die, they resurrect albeit in a weaker state than before. The Gods who were eaten by the Wolf died permanently. When all the Divine Races and Gods found out, they chased the Wolf into the Origin Storm, the source of all power. The Wolf thought he would be ripped apart by it, until he found out that it could be eaten too.” The boy’s eyes flashed with an unfathomable intensity.

…

Meanwhile, the Higher Races looked at a crystal coffin-like container. Inside was Ira, who was clearly unconscious, the coffin holding him would prolong his state of comatose. After all, it was the very same thing Lyra’s group used to avoid any fatal injuries after the Collapse.

Gicae’s third eye began glowing as he opened his eyes, he turned to Lyra and spoke, “It’s possible to enter his mind, but as a precaution, I can only bring one of you along.”

“Then it’s Lyra...It’s too bad because his bloodline is interesting to me.” Thessia said.

“So what? Do you want to perform the blood rite with him? I doubt Kara’s descendants would approve.” Ustia asked.

“I said it was interesting, that’s all.” Thessia replied. “He’s not even twenty years old and is almost on par with me while I’m in this form.” She added.

“That makes him dangerous...Find out if he’s related to that Black Forest, whatever it is.” Myr said.

“Is it really that dangerous?” Kesver asked with skepticism.

“If we stepped foot in it we would all die in an instant. Even though we are resistant to mental ailments, looking at that forest made me feel as if my mind would break” Lua replied.

“Well, whatever he’s involved in, we’ll find out in just a moment.” Lyra stated before she nodded to Gicae.

“Listen, Ustia. If my heart rate increases rapidly or my eye goes dim, that means something has gone wrong. If you, Myr, and Lua all begin to heal me it should draw us out.” Gicae said with a serious temperament.

“Is he that dangerous?” Lua asked.

“I received an injury when I attempted to find his exact location, it wouldn’t be good to underestimate him this time.” Gicae said before he sat down in front of the crystal container and closed his eyes.

Lyra nodded to the Valkyries before she did the same. Waves of psychic energy began to flow out from Gicae’s turquoise eye before they covered him and Lyra. The waves danced for a few moments before they flew towards Ira’s head and sunk in.

…

Gicae was the first to arrive in a long dark corridor. “How?!” He looked around in a slight panic for some unknown reason.

Lyra appeared beside him and looked around but didn’t seem to be shocked by anything. “Is something wrong?” She asked.

“Wrong? You could say that...This isn’t the structure of a mind. If he was a Dream Walker it would make sense, but he’s not.” Gicae said while he constantly examined his surroundings.

“Calm down first...What does it usually look like inside of someone’s mind?” She asked.

“Not usually, always, it always appears as an almost fog-like web of memories and thoughts. Only those ancient Dream Walkers might have some sort of organized format, but nothing this complex.” Gicae explained.

“So you’re saying he did this?” Lyra inquired.

“No, he didn’t do this. This is...This is all subconscious, this was all made subconsciously meaning he isn’t aware of it.” Gicae began to walk forward.

Lyra followed close behind with cautious steps, it was her first time entering someone else mind and she had no way to defend herself.

“Here.” Gicae stopped as he opened a door.

Inside, there was a deformed silhouette moving around, he suddenly turned to face Gicae and Lyra.

“Hello!” A sweet voice emerged.

“...Is that a…” Lyra’s expression turned odd.

The reason for her behavior? It was most likely due to the giant talking pastry was standing in the room. Thankfully, it had no appendages or human features, but it was definitely the one who spoke.

“Come here! Let me give you a hug! You can always depend on me!” The pastry said while giggling.

Gicae shut the door and turned to face Lyra. The two wore odd expressions as they ignored the room and continued on.

“Gicae...Why was there a pastry in that room?” Lyra asked.

“Everything in here is a reflection of Ira’s thoughts, emotions, memories, and desires. I just didn’t think that it would reach the stage of personification.” Gicae said with a complicated gaze.

“Does that have some significance?” Lyra asked.

“Those of my race who are especially gifted can create mental constructs in their dreams. The fact that this was done in his subconscious mind is beyond my comprehension.” Gicae explained.

“I see.” Lyra said.

They came upon a stairwell and quickly descended and once they reached the bottom they were met with another doorway. Gicae cautiously opened it and entered a room with a stone altar. He and Lyra went to investigate it but the only thing on it was dried blood and rusted chains.

“What do you think this is?” Lyra ran her hands across the dry blood stains.

“A source of trauma maybe...There is an odd feeling coming from this room, we should move.” Gicae said.

Lyra nodded and the two continued to explore the room until they found a cellar. They opened it and began to walk down the stairs and about halfway down they realized they were walking up the stairs.

Gicae saw Lyra’s confused look and spoke, “It could be that we aren’t meant to go down there. It’s best not to stray from the obvious path or else we may cause his mind to defend itself.”

They reached the top of the stairs and were in a shrine room. A large iron statue of a woman holding a bowl stood in the center with dozens of little “offerings” in front of it.

“Isn’t that...Avery Thynne?” Lyra looked at the life-like metal statue in front of her. The “offerings” were all pastries which was a bit weird.

“What is she holding?” Gicae moved toward the statue of Avery and peeked into the bowl. It was filled with blood that gently rippled. “Hold on.” He said as he went to touch it. The ripples stopped and a memory began to play. It was the night Avery and Ira killed the assassins that were sent after her.

Gicae and Lyra watched for a while before understanding the situation. “It appears that this particular memory is something special to him.” Gicae said.

“Gicae…” Lyra pointed toward the statue of Avery which had turned its eyes to look at them.

As the duo backed up, Avery’s eyes tracked them with a realistic gaze. As they continued moving back, an incredibly small piece of iron fell from the corner of her eyes and hit the floor with an audible sound. An eerie stillness fell over the temple room and the statue of Avery stopped moving.

“That doesn’t bode well for us.” Gicae said as he scanned the room until his line of sight landed on the ceiling. A black liquid gathered before it dropped down with a vivid splatter. The liquid began to grow before it eventually took shape as a repulsive canine-like beast. It stood at twice the height of Lyra and Gicae and stomped forward with complete hostility.

“Run.” Gicae grabbed Lyra and began to flee from it which caused the inky monstrosity to give chase.

As they continued on, a well appeared and Gicae spoke, “Jump in.” he said before leaping in without hesitation. Lyra quickly jumped in as the footsteps behind her grew closer. When the duo finally reached the bottom they found that the end of the well was connected to the side of the wall.

“Gicae, what happened back there?” Lyra asked.

“My interpretation is that he’s devoted to Avery Thynne in the most extreme way possible...The statue might represent how he sees her as strong, but at the same time he wants to protect her.” Gicae stated.

“Then it was definitely the right decision not to hurt her.” Lyra said.

“I’m sure it’ll play a part but I doubt it may matter to him.” Gicae replied.

“What do you mean?” Lyra questioned.

“You saw the statue right? We didn’t even touch the statue itself and a piece of it came off. An unbelievably small piece of that statue broke, and that appears to be all that was needed to earn his hostility. What we saw was no doubt the subdued version.” Gicae said with a troubled gaze.

The two entered through another door and saw a room filled with writing on the walls. Thousands of indecipherable symbols were drawn in black ink and they even began to move and shift around in a periodic rhythm. When Gicae looked toward a wall, a choir of low whispers echoed in his ear as they filled his mind with temptation.

“Close your eyes!” Gicae shouted to which Lyra complied, she held felt the same thing as him when she looked toward a wall.

“For all the knowledge I have of the time before the Collapse, I couldn’t recognize any of those symbols.” Lyra's voice trembled.

“Just a brief look caused my mind to waver, there is no way someone should be able to have all these while keeping their sanity intact.” Gicae felt shaken to his core as they learned more about Ira.

They navigated their way across the room and grabbed a door handle and only when they closed it behind them did they open their eyes. They were met with the sight of a wide open field with a Red Moon hanging in a starless sky, in the middle of the field was a small shack, and next to the shack was a cage taller than fifty feet. The cage was covered by an enormous tarp that had a slight opening near the front of it.

“Stay alert.” Gicae said as they walked toward the shack.

“What pushed his mind to this state?” Lyra asked.

“I have no idea...There is no amount of trauma that could cause this. None of it should be like this...since there is no sign of Ira’s presence here that means it’s all subconscious thought, but you don’t understand how impossible that is.” Gicae responded in a low voice.

As they moved toward the shack, the cloth to the tarp swayed ever so slightly. Gicae and Lyra stopped moving to look and saw two glowing red eyes staring at them.

“Be careful not to trigger any response.” Gicae whispered without moving.

“I understand.” Lyra responded while keeping completely still.

The eyes remained locked on them for what felt like hours before they closed and the tarp moved to cover the cage.

They hurried into the shack and once they entered they found it was as large as a cabin.

“Eat up, Siegfried...Eat up, Siegfried...Eat up, Siegfried…” A faceless woman raised a spoon to an empty chair. She continued repeating the same sentence as the contents fell from the spoon and onto the chair repeatedly.

“Who’s Sieg–” Lyra caught herself as Gicae gave her a meaningful gaze.

“We must watch all of our actions from now on, we’re moving further toward something and the danger will only increase.” Gicae said. He wanted to leave immediately, but at the same time, he was fascinated and fearful of everything inside of Ira’s head.

They slowly walked around the woman pouring the liquid into an empty chair and arrived at a table with a rusted dagger sitting on it.

“Look around for another door or exit.” Gicae said.

Lyra nodded and began to search the room, other than a chest in the corner, there was nothing of note. She examined the chest and found that the keyhole was an odd shape.

“The dagger.” She called out to Gicae.

Gicae hesitated before he picked it up while keeping his eyes on the faceless woman. Seeing her remaining still caused him to let out a sigh of relief. He moved to the chest and inserted the dagger before twisting it, the chest creaked open on its own exposing a ladder that led down a dark hole.

There was a faint noise coming from the hole, but it was too far away to hear properly.

“I’ll go first.” Gicae said before giving one last look at the faceless woman and climbing into the chest.

Lyra followed behind him and the two once again arrived at a corridor that was far more narrow and ominous than the one they first entered. A rattling sound along with a muddled voice echoed throughout the entire corridor. The voice was a grating mess that sounded more like metal being scraped on a hard surface. The two moved toward the source and found that is was a rusted iron door.

“The Grass...Alive. The Trees...Alive. The Plants...Alive. The Animals...Alive. The People...Alive. Yet they...Die. They all...Die.” The voice that sounded like metal being forcefully ground together spoke cryptically from beyond the door.

Gicae’s hand hovered over the iron latch while he looked at Lyra. “Should we enter?” He asked.

“We’ve come this far.” Lyra responded.

The latch squeaked loudly as Gicae lifted before it made a loud click once it was set in place. Once the door was opened, Gicae and Lyra looked inside and saw a humanoid figure covered in a dark grey metal. The figure's arms were wrapped in chains that were attached to a wall and was blocked by rusty iron bars.

“They all...Die.” The figures head shot up and gazed at Lyra and Gicae.

They met its gaze and felt as if its black eyes were peering into their souls. A line of sharp and jagged teeth decorated its face like a crooked smile. Overall the figure bore a similar appearance to Ira when he fought Thessia.

The figures turned its gaze away from the pair and continued to speak, “Kill to eat...Kill to sleep...Kill to die...It is constant...Death belongs in the world...Just as much as life...To kill is to die...To die is to live...To live is to die...They all kill...They all die...They all live…It is constant...”

“...Are these Ira’s beliefs?” Gicae asked with uneasiness.

The chains shook as the figure looked up again and sniffed the air loudly, like a predator searching for traces of its prey. “You...You don’t have anything I want...Nothing nice...Nothing good...Nothing special...Nothing I want…Nothing he wants.”

“What is it that you want?” Lyra asked.

The chains rattled again as the figure began to laugh. Gicae and Lyra winced as the sharp laugh filled the room.

“Have you...looked at it? It’s...painful...and dark...you lose everything in it...but it gave everything...in return…” The figure said.

When Gicae saw that Lyra was about to speak again he stopped her, “Lyra, this is a manifestation of something in Ira’s mind, it probably isn’t a good idea to listen to it.”

“SMART!” The figure shouted before it jumped around violently.

It suddenly stopped and returned to its former position before speaking, “There isn't a...particular need for more knowledge right now…” The figure cackled which filled Gicae’s and Lyra’s ears with discomfort.

"It looks like this...thing, is preventing us from moving to wherever we go next." Gicae said.

"Maybe we have to find something it wants." Lyra stated as she looked at it.

“...It’s too bad your abilities...rely on...mana…” The figure said regretfully.

“Why is that?” Lyra asked.

“Because...I would have consumed you…” The figure gnashed its ugly metal teeth as it stretched the chains to their limits.