The Void Wolf

In front of the entrance to the Valkyrie hall, the air trembled before Ira and Avery suddenly appeared. The loud shock that accompanied them caused several Valkyries to emerge with their weapons drawn.

“Who are you?!” A Valkyrie shouted as she moved forward and swung her blade toward Ira.

“Easy there.” Ira easily stopped the weapon by pinching the flat of the blade.

“You don’t recognize my husband?” Avery asked coldly.

The Valkyrie blinked a few times before realization dawned on her, there was no one who could’ve forgotten Ira’s distinct features.

“Forgive me I was neglectful.” The Valkyrie apologized as she took a step back and sheathed her weapon, “I’ll inform the matriarch.” She dismissed herself and quickly went to find Lauren or Casey.

In a few moments, Lauren appeared in front of the hall and gave Ira an evaluating glance. It was obvious she sensed his growth. Then she looked at Avery and found something was off, it was hard to tell, but her mana seemed to be slightly unstable. She assumed it was due to the nature of the Phoenix Heart and put it in the back of her mind.

“You didn’t fly here?” She asked.

“No, Ira has the ability to instantly teleport over large distances, Grandmother,” Avery replied.

Lauren showed visible surprise before she spoke, “You never cease to amaze me, Ira.”

She looked back to Avery and continued, “Did anything noteworthy happen during the Summit?”

Avery took a moment to gather her thoughts before recounting the events that happened, adding that the Dark Elf Queen sent her regards. At the mention of Sylun, Lauren’s expression changed ever so slightly from its usual seriousness to something more...emotional. Though the only one to catch that brief change was Ira who didn’t see a reason to comment on it. When Avery told her of the agreement between Ira and the Higher Races her face became much colder, but it loosened when she learned of what he gained from Thessia’s blood. Then, Avery came to the most pressing detail which was the ritual Ira wanted to perform which would enhance Avery’s abilities even more.

“This...ritual, are there any details you can give to us so we can prepare?” Lauren asked.

“I can’t. If I talk about it you’ll get the urge to rip your skin off to stop the trumpets from playing,” Ira responded.

“I almost died.” He added with a laugh.

Although everything he said made no sense, Lauren could tell his hesitations were sincere. She nodded before speaking, “Well if it could kill you then I should be wary. I also have good news for you, the index is fully functional and if you would like to use it right now, I can have someone bring it out.”

“I’d like to perform the ritual before anything.”

“Is it something that could be accomplished that quickly?” Lauren asked curiously.

“It’ll take a day or so, but it isn’t that complicated. Especially since…” Ira stopped himself there and shook his head. “I can’t say it aloud, but it shouldn’t be too difficult.” What he wanted to say was that Helion is dead, but he didn’t want to take the risk that came with sharing that information.

“Also, I don’t think anyone should watch me perform the ritual. If they remember the details of it they’ll probably end up dying.”

“We can create an isolation barrier to prevent that from happening, but I want to be present in case something goes wrong,” Lauren said.

“Alright,” Ira nodded in agreement before he looked around, “We can start, but it will work better if we can get to a higher altitude. Is there a higher point on this mountain?”

“There is...but to get there we’ll have to disable a few of the magic security measures in place. This place wasn’t meant for anyone other than Valkyries.”

“Is it Ancient Magic?”

“No.”

“Then you don’t have to disable it. I can nullify regular magic, it's just that anything old is a problem.”

“Are you certain?” Lauren inquired.

Ira nodded in response as black mist slowly seeped out of his body. The entrance to the Valkyries Hall was protected by a thin barrier that was barely visible, but it would attack all who weren’t Valkyries once they passed through. Lauren watched as Ira took a step through the barrier causing it to ripple before it settled down.

Lauren’s opinion of Ira rose so high that it was impossible to go any higher. If she were to describe it, Ira was the ideal son in law. Even her own grandsons paled in comparison to him as if it wasn’t obvious enough. Ira was the future of their entire family in a way so she placed her hopes with him.

“Follow me,” Lauren smiled as she led the way.

…

Near the Mountain's Peak was an empty stone garden. It was Lauren’s personal space, but also served as a good representation of her personality. There were no flowers, statues, or decorations just chunks of grey stone.

“Is there anything else you need?” Lauren inquired.

“A chisel...Well, a few knives would also do if you don’t have one.”

“I'll be back in a moment.” Lauren left in search of what Ira requested while Avery removed her cloak.

Ira grabbed a few stone slabs and began to stack them until they could function as an altar. After he finished he turned to Avery and spoke, “You’ll want to remove your clothes for this,” He said it with a straight face, but his eyes were obviously projecting a different image.

“You seem too excited for this,” Avery said as she began removing her clothes.

“You’re imagining things,” Ira said as he kept his gaze glued to her.

Lauren came back and sent a strange gaze to Ira who hurriedly turned away and began to cough, “...Uh, you can wear the cloak until it's time, Avery.”

Avery narrowed her eyes at Ira as she covered herself with the cloak.

“Judith is our blacksmith so to speak, she gave me some tools she didn’t need,” Lauren handed over the tools to Ira and then took a few steps back.

“This should do,” Ira said as he knelt near the stone slab and began to carve small intricate symbols into the stone, “Don’t look at them,” he added.

As Ira continued inscribing the symbols his body began to move on its own as if he was possessed and that was due to the strange familiarity he felt while performing the task. Ira’s movements were largely based on muscle memory, but he made no errors. After an hour of carving, he finally put down the tools and took a step back to evaluate his work. The set of sun-shaped symbols were on the outer edge of the stone slab while several small lines were dug out in the shape of a human body.

“Ok, Avery...It’s ready.” Ira went over to Avery and moved to guide her toward the stone altar. “Make sure you don’t look at it.”

“I understand, Ira.” Avery removed the cloak and closed her eyes before letting Ira take her to the stone altar.

“This is a good time to make an isolation barrier,” Ira spoke to Lauren with his back turned. Ira’s hands trembled as he raised a small blade to make small cuts several places around Avery’s body. His breathing even grew unsteady as he recalled some old memories he attempted to force to the back of his head.

Avery seemed to notice and spoke softly, “Calm down, Ira.”

“...I’m fine.” Ira’s hands finally steady as he continued on.

When he finished, Avery’s blood began to move on its own as it went to fill the lines he inscribed into the stone. The blood took on a vibrant red shade as it silently pulsed with life. The Sun beamed down on the mountain far more intensely than before and the symbols on the stone began to glow.

“I need you to create a barrier to block your ears, Avery.”

Avery complied with his instructions and created a magic barrier that dampened all outside sound. Once it was in place, Ira began to chant a variety of unknown words in a ritualistic manner. It went on for a few hours, to the point where Ira thought his jaw would’ve fallen off but he finally recited the last few words.

The blood that was pooling on the stone suddenly caught on fire and traveled back to Avery’s veins as if it were flammable before her the surface of her entire body was covered in flames.

…

Avery opened her eyes and found herself floating in darkness. Stars burst into life all around her and allowed her some visibility. The Sun, Helion, appeared thousands of miles away from her but slowly moved closer. It eventually arrived at the point where even if she attempted to look up she wouldn’t be able to see the entirety of it.

Avery felt the strong desire to raise her hand for some reason and so she did. In response, the sun began to shrink in front of her until it was the size of an apple. It drifted to her and landed in her outstretched hand, and once she held it, she wasn’t burned by its intensity.

Then her hand moved on its own, bringing the sun toward her chest where she accepted it without resistance. Her body remained still until her skin cracked and fire burst out. She was briefly alarmed but felt no pain from what occurred so managed to remain calm.

After everything was burned away, a humanoid made out of pure fire remained. From her hair to her wings, it all was converted into flame.

If she could be seen by ordinary people in that moment, she would be mistaken for a Divine Being. Her fiery wings extended themselves and she began to fly forward. It was different from when she lost control of her Phoenix flames back in the Colosseum and they went ablaze. Her wings at the current moment were pure fire with none of the original bird-like feathers remaining. Avery felt an overwhelming power running through her and sought a release. As if responding to her thoughts, her burning form compressed slowly and became stagnant before it burst out in an explosion on a world-ending scale. It was as if a star collapsed and the fire soon burned away all other light in the space she was in until it was the only thing left and even then it eventually consumed itself. Avery was left by herself in the stillness of space, floating in the darkness.

…

Ira watched Avery closely and Lauren did the same from behind the barrier. On the outside, the flames on the surface of Avery's skin faded and she appeared to be unchanged, but Lauren could feel the massive amount of mana going toward her. Avery’s mana capacity grew to a nearly infinite level. The closest comparison would be an Ancient Dragon such as Thessia who also held an almost limitless capacity for mana. The difference was Thessia’s abilities stemmed from her bloodline while Avery had obtained a power that could allow her to ascend to the Divine Realm far faster than Kara did.

Avery opened her eyes and sat up before healing herself, “It’s done.”

Ira laughed happily and Lauren was about to let out a sigh of relief when she noticed something. Avery’s mana, while powerful, seemed to be even more unstable than previously. She wanted to say something, but she had to keep the barrier in place until Ira signaled for her to remove it.

Ira handed Avery her cloak and she accepted it as she stood up and stepped away from the stone altar. Ira lifted the stone before slamming it onto the ground and crushing it until it the symbols were completely gone.

He turned to Lauren and nodded which caused her to immediately remove the barrier.

“Avery,” Lauren called out in a solemn voice.

“...Yes, Grandmother.” Avery answered, not realizing the developing crisis.

“You need to be careful in these next few moments, your mana is very unstable,” Lauren said.

Ira furrowed his eyebrows as he spoke, “The ritual was done perfectly and I don’t think I made any errors...Maybe her body is adjusting to it?”

“No, it was unstable even before you started it. I noticed it early but I assumed the fluctuations were due to the Phoenix Heart,” Lauren explained before continuing, “How do you feel, Avery?”

“I feel…” Avery began to speak but her vision became blurry, “I...feel...I…” She stumbled forward and collapsed but Ira had already moved to catch her.

“What’s wrong with her?!” Ira shouted as he looked at Lauren with a desperate expression.

Lauren remained quiet as she knelt down and placed her hand on Avery’s head, sending a pulse of magic through her.

She withdrew her hand and sighed, “There’s no need for alarm, it’s just that…”

“Just what?!” Ira questioned with urgency.

“It’s just that you’re going to be a father,” Lauren smiled.

The peak of the mountain became totally quiet in that moment.