The Void Wolf

The Gods convened in order to speak to Gavreel once more. The location where they met was a golden hall filled with splendor beyond imagining. Its appearance exceeded any architecture that mortals could dare to create. Within the radiant walls, Gods of different sizes and appearances were gathered en masse.

There were many Gods that mortals had no knowledge of. Some had lazy and carefree disposition with no interest in fighting at all. Others were non-violent in nature with the steady belief of letting things run their natural course which meant even if they felt bad for mortals dying they wouldn’t be the ones to interfere. The more kind-hearted Gods were the weakest ones and none could be considered Primary Gods, thus they were mostly powerless to act.

The strongest and smallest group among all the Gods were the ones who had lived since the time of the Avarus Lupum. All of those particular Gods had a vested interest in Ira. They didn’t fear him like they did Indras but saw him as a key to higher power. Once they had him they would be free to spend millennia peeling away each secret kept within his body. Sadly, it was a grave underestimation of their target due to a level of greed fitting for godly beings.

As the Golden chamber began to fill, the Gods who felt the strongest about their actions within the Mortal Realm rose to speak.

A man with aetherial beauty rose and spoke in a sonorous tone. His eyes were clear and blue while his brown hair swayed like fine silk.

“There is no need to waste time on small courtesies for ones such as us. The Avarus is on his way and will be cornered and captured soon.”

“Then why are we here?” A horned man with deep blue skin asked. His face was rough and savage-like which matched his temperament but the speaker reacted as if it was ordinary.

“It’s doubtful that the Avarus will come along willingly. If he was to end up breaking another taboo, Divine Possession will be possible and descending to the Mortal Realm isn’t out of the question.”

“Coward.” A woman with silvery hair and eyes that matched spoke.

“Are you unsatisfied with something, Kara?”

“Do you plan to pretend until the very end? How can you call yourself a God?” Kara spoke with clear disdain but an old man next to her interrupted.

“Kara, calm down.” Due to his seniority, she chose to show him some respect.

Xandes sighed bitterly as he watched Kara visibly boil with anger. He wanted to say she was justified but there were things he had done that and things he planned to do that wouldn’t allow him to act in such a hypocritical manner. At least, any more hypocritical than he already was as he supported the capture of Ira.

For some reason, Xandes couldn’t help but glance at Ionus, the being who chose to release the moniker of a God and refer to himself as a chronicler of events.

‘Do you know how this will turn out, Ionus?’ Xandes asked himself.

“In short...” The speaker got back on track after seeing that no one would interrupt him further. “We need to decide who will take on which role and if a more active approach is needed based on the report from a high-ranking Angel, Gavreel.” The speaker gestured to his side and a milky-white light shined.

It was flashy, sure, but it was the highest summoning the Gods could enact. It essentially meant that a projection of Gavreel would be given an audience with the Gods. It wouldn’t be her real body but the act was seen as an incredible honor was usually meant that the person receiving it would gain a higher rank as an angel.

As the light grew, something odd began to happen. Blotches of darkness began to pollute the light as if someone spilled drops of ink on a piece of parchment. It was thoroughly unsettling to the Gods who watched it because it was something unknown to them. It was hard to explain how hostile most of the Gods were to things that were unknown. The root cause of their apprehension was their inability to accept they couldn’t understand something. Hence, why most of the Gods who knew nothing of the Avarus wanted to capture Ira when they found his relationship with the Black Pillar.

“What is…this?” The Speaker was at a lost for words as the ceremony didn’t go to plan.

A pitch-black blob began to form and as it took shape, a recognizable silhouette was formed. It was as if shadow came to life as the outline of darkness resembled a humanoid figure with two faint yellow orbs that served as its eyes.

“Who are you?!” The Speaker bellowed with authority. No matter who it was, if their strength was below a God’s they would be compelled to answer if their souls didn't get destroyed first, that is.

Instead of answering, the shadow looked at its hands and then to the Gods.

“So...this is the Divine Realm.” Ira’s quiet statement echoed throughout the chamber.

Oddly, the Gods were silent as they were experiencing something that had never occurred before. An unknown presence appeared in the realm and even though the intruder didn’t have a physical form it didn’t subtract from the absurdity of what was happening.

“Identify yourself!” Xandes stood up and a burst of divinity rippled causing the shadow to dissipate before reforming.

“You should know, right? All of you should know? Isn’t that why you’re gathered up here?” Ira gave three questions in response with an indecipherable tone. “You even let me break all of those laws without saying a word. Though I guess you did leave some pretty big hints that you were paying attention.”

“The last of the Avarus Lupum!”

Some Gods gasped in surprise while others held relaxed smirks as if they were interested in the development occurring in front of them.

“What happened to Gavreel you filthy cur?” The Speaker asked grimly.

“Dead.” Ira gave a curt response while looking around the room.

The Divine Realm certainly had an imposing quality to it as even the floors looked stronger than any material in the Mortal Realm except Godsteel.

“Yeah…” Ira nodded his head as he finished his evaluation of the chamber. “I’m going to kill you.”

He spoke calmly without much rise in his tone so it didn’t even register as a threat in the ears of the Gods but his next words changed that impression.

“To the ones who want to hunt me, it might be all of you or it may be only some of you, I’m going to kill you.”

“Know your place you mortal filth!” A God spat arrogantly but Ira continued on in a slightly chipper voice. “You speak as if you have power but appear in the form of a projection.”

“You might think that it’s far-fetched for me to make a statement like that but isn’t the fact I’m here in some form just amazing? You should be able to understand that I have the ability to make it this far so who knows what my limit is. That’s why I ask you to please think about this moment until I get to this place, and I promise will get here.”

“Idle threats serve no purpose, Avarus. If there is anyone you wish to protect it’ll be best if you sacrifice yourself for them and come along quietly.” Xandes replied justly.

“You...You look familiar.” Ira ignored his words and the yellow eyes within the darkness seemed to take in every little detail of Xandes’ body. “In fact, a few of you look very familiar, just you especially old man.”

“That’s it!” Ira shouted with a short laugh. “Does the name Indras ring a bell?”

Xandes, who boasted of a divine level of willpower, slightly trembled at the mention of Indras. It was so incredibly faint that it was hard to spot but Kara witnessed it in perfectly.

“Who are you?!” The Speaker shouted in a fluster. His voice shook the walls due to the sheer power within it but none of the Gods were disturbed.

“A father, a brother, a friend. He was one of those things, or rather, all of those things to me.” Ira spoke nostalgically. “Gods took away everything he loved and the fact that there are some of you left alive bothers me. So please wait for me, I’m begging you. Just wait for me to arrive so I can eat every single fucking one of you bastards.” Near the end of his sentence, Ira’s words became a vicious growl, spat through clenched teeth and laced with venom.

Ira’s figure began to blur and he suddenly clicked his tongue. “Looks like that’s it.”

He gave one last look to the Gods to show he thought nothing of them but his eyes stopped on Kara’s face.

“Lauren?” Ira tilted his head before he remembered the statue that was in front of the old Thynne Family Manor. Its appearance was almost identical to the woman who sat within the group of Gods. “No, wait, that’s not right...Kara Thynne?”

Just as Ira called out her name, he disappeared leaving the Gods to briefly contemplate things.

“This is an embarrassment to all of us.” A Goddess who clearly paid no heed to Ira’s threats spoke. “I now see the need to capture that Avarus.”

“I agree but more importantly, it appears he knows of the taboos of the Mortal Realm. Luring him into breaking another will be harder than ever.”

“How exactly did a mortal gain knowledge of the laws that govern that realm?”

The Gods who exterminated the Avarus didn’t go around telling others about Indras’ ability to absorb the knowledge and memories of those he consumed. It would obviously increase the number of those who wanted to use Ira to gain more power.

The Speaker noticed the dangerous direction of the conversation and hurriedly steered it away. “Whatever the case may be, that Avarus has stained the dignity of the Gods and needs to face a swift punishment. The Oracle in the Mortal Realm will no longer be able to communicate our desires to the Angels so we’ll have to figure out another way to reach them.”

“No need, the highest-ranked Angels will have methods to reach out to us.” Xandes chimed in with a sharp look. His wise and impartial appearance that was shown previously was replaced with the hardened look of a godly and cold-hearted warrior.

‘Perhaps this was his true nature all along.’ Kara maintained a stoic face but reflected on what happened. It seemed that the Avarus knew of her to some capacity and knew the name of her daughter which meant he likely ran across her family at some point. She would’ve never guessed that Ira was actually her great-grandson by way or marriage.

“As for the taboos? We can have someone lure out the last Primeval Beast and lead it to him. It won't be hard for us to do. There are countless ways to entrap the Avarus.”

“Once the Angels reach out to us, we must tell them to speed up their attack. It would be unfortunate if that Avarus found some way to escape.”

Ira’s short interaction with the Gods only caused them to place more importance on him. It meant that the Angels would move faster. It was bad enough that Ira’s second attack would cause the soldiers and civilians to move more earnestly, but the Gods, who didn’t rush Gavreel, would now tell the Angels to take a more active approach.

Angels could heal and relieve fatigue easily, cutting down a week’s delay to a day or two. Add in the fact that the words of higher ranked Angels had a charming effect on people who were already willing to risk their lives and what Ira had on his hands was a mess.

Unknowingly, Ira cut down the three weeks of preparation needed for the unified army needed to assemble to a measly three days, excluding the march to the Underground City.

Still, even if Ira knew he wouldn’t change anything he did. He’d probably do something far more drastic in order to lessen the time for the enemy approach even lower. His anger and contempt for the Gods who sought him out was immense.

…

Randolph held a handkerchief in his hands that had the initials of Juliana Fairfax sewn into it. He knelt in front of an Angel with eight wings. Unlike Gavreel, it was clear he was a higher rank and his wings were covered with a golden luster. He stood as seven feet tall and his massive wings, even when folded, took up a large amount of space. As one looked at the Angel, the differences between him and Gavreel could be seen clearly.

After Gavreel had abruptly vanished she was quickly replaced by another.

In comparison, Gavreel appeared to be far more friendly than the Angel in front of Randolph who had an iron-like expression but the latter didn’t seem to mind.

“...Lord...Harith.” Randolph trembled with rage at his own loss so he didn’t notice just how unfriendly the Angel looked. “Is there a way we can get Juliana back?”

Desperation filled Randolph’s voice which caused Harith to frown but he knew that the former was an important asset to the Gods so he replied.

“It is doubtful that Ira would have killed her but we won’t be able to find her location. If you truly want me to reach her you need to bring back a dozen individuals with pure hearts.” Harith spoke as he looked down at Randolph’s flinching figure.

“What will you do with them?” Randolph couldn’t help but ask. He sensed that the answer was something he didn’t want to hear but he needed to resolve his curiosity.

“They’ll become invaluable sacrifices that lead us closer to ridding this world of Ira. If you wish to save the one you love, difficult decisions like this one must be made. The ones chosen are but instruments to allow the guidance of the Gods to reach us.” Harith spoke softly but the cold look in his eyes seemed to be ingrained permanently. And although he basically said he would be killing innocents, his words worked wonders on a physically and emotionally injured Randolph.

“I...I understand…Lord Harith.” Randolph’s face darkened but he hadn’t considered another option for a second.