Chapter 102: Moment of Clarity

Chapter 102: Moment of Clarity

Ira performed a Spatial Leap and landed in front of his house instead inside to avoid damaging anything in it. Just as he was about to open the door he turned to see consecutive strikes of lightning raining down followed by heavy thunderclaps. Without a word, Ira vanished from where he stood and moved toward it. It was obvious that Rhys was the one creating the lightning, so his first thought was that she was in a fight.

Ira appeared in the air above where the lightning continually struck to see a burning building in shambles and people nearby running away. He let himself fall through the curtain of lightning while searching for Rhys. Needless to say, he was struck a few times but continued on as if nothing had happened. nove(l)bi(n.)com

Ira found her pretty easily, the area around her was mostly ash as the lightning had burned everything it touched. Sparks continued to emerge from Rhys skin, even so, Ira lifted her up and began to move her. He was about to move when he noticed her mask and picked it up before finally disappearing from sight with Rhys in hand.

...

Ira reappeared somewhere in the Great Forest and as soon as he touched the ground he was struck by lightning. He covered Rhys ears as quickly as he could before the impending sound of thunder arrived.

Fuck! Thats loud. Due to Iras senses, his hearing was at an incredibly high level which meant he wouldnt be spared from loud sounds. Iras ears bled as lightning struck him continuously, burning through his shirt and skin, though his regeneration quickly repaired the latter.

Ira stopped wasting time and nullified the torrent of lightning until it had slowly stopped. After the last bolt struck all Ira was faced with was the sound of Rhys breathing heavily.

This was a new shirt, you know. Ira sighed as he removed his shirt that was nothing more than threads at that point. He sniffed the air and moved toward the closest source of water and after several jumps he arrived at the edge of a lake.

He placed Rhys down softly before moving toward the waters edge and gathering a handful of water.

Wake up, Ira slowly poured water on Rhys forehead before wiping away the grey ash that gathered.

Rhys brows wrinkled as she slowly came to, she opened her mouth to speak but realized she was no longer in that place with Gicae.

Still, Ira could see that she mouthed his name and smiled, Who else would it be?

Rhys slowly sat up and evaluated her surroundings, her first response was to look for her notepad, but it was missing. She recalled what happened and touched her face only to notice her mask was gone.

Im holding onto it for you, Ira eased her worries before continuing, Hold on. He stood up and ran off before returning with a large boulder that he tossed into the middle of the lake.

Rhys used her finger to write a message in the soil, [I have questions]

Ira knelt down to read her crudely made writing, but understood the gist of it, Let me guess, what are you doing here? What happened to you? Why did I move that boulder?How did we get here? Did you kill anyone?

Rhys nodded as he correctly guessed a few of the questions she had.

I should be asking you what happened, Rhys. Ira narrowed his eyes as he searched her expression. Her face darkened which told him she didnt want to speak about it.

Yeah? Just tell me whenever you want. I have things I dont like talking about either, so I dont blame you. Ira looked off toward the lake before shaking his head and laughing.

For a brief moment, Rhys thought she saw something in Iras empty gaze that was far from his usual self.

Come on, you gotta wash all the dirt off, Ira tapped Rhys on the shoulder before pointing to the lake.

Rhys looked surprised at his request, but Ira explained to prevent any misunderstandings.

The boulder is for privacy, He added before teleporting to the top of the boulder, Sorry but youre known to stare at others while they bathe. Ira hugged himself as if to ward off her perversions. Before Rhys could respond, he removed his boots and jumped behind the boulder where he presumably removed his pants as well.

Good thing it's not deep because I cant actually swim. It's my greatest weakness...After ancient magic...and curses...and loud trumpets, Ira spoke from behind the rock.

Rhys shook her head with a smile before she removed her damaged clothes and entered the water.

Woah, Ira raised his hands in surprise but laughed, You dont need to hold on to me to teleport He stopped laughing when he noticed that Rhys shoulders were quivering and his shirt was being soaked.

Iras expression turned into a complicated smile, as he hugged Rhys. There was no way that Ira was stupid enough to miss some obvious signs of affection, but it could be said that Amy acted the same way. She grew embarrassed when Ira held her metal hand to examine it when it was occupied by the Demon, but that was due to her inexperience with males. Ira would always remain as her benefactor and an ongoing inspiration for her to grow.

As for Rhys? She told him where they stood herself, so it was obvious that he would assume any gesture she made stemmed from him being her only friend.

...Are you scared of being alone, Rhys? Ira asked as she continued to silently sob into his chest. She clutched his shirt tightly as if answering him. Ira could definitely understand her since he spent a significant portion of his life in the Void. Thats why he always seemed friendly and was willing to do so much for the people that were close to him, but it also contributed to his inability to care about people he wasnt close to.

I get it, but were friends so dont worry so much, Ira smiled cheerfully.

Rhys looked up at him with tear-stained eyes and thought that his smile was the brightest thing she had ever seen. Her fears and worries were suppressed and she felt that if she died in that moment she wouldnt regret it. It was then Rhys understood that she really loved Ira. It didnt matter if certain people saw him as a monster because she felt that there was some type of pure-heartedness in his actions that couldnt be faked.

Eventually, they separated and Ira spoke, Come on, you can have dinner with me, Harper, Amy, and Aldis before you go.

Rhys contemplated telling Ira about Gicae, but she was worried about causing trouble for him so she decided to put it off until a later time. If his reaction to her losing control of her ability was anything to go off of, then saying that Ira would be upset with Gicae would be more than an incredibly massive understatement.

Rhys gave a nod to Ira to show her agreement before putting on her mask.

Ira laughed in response since he could tell her mood improved by the smile he could hear forming underneath her mask.

Ira opened the door to his house and was instantly grabbed by Harper.

Stop running, Ira! Harper clung to his neck before she began to sniff him, Who is that?

She looked at Rhys with curious eyes which caused Rhys to shy away as if she had done something embarrassing.

This is Rhys, Ira answered as he lightly pinched her cheek.

Ira...Oh Aldis had come to greet Ira but was taken off guard by the presence of Rhys who was clearly wearing Iras clothes. They both had wet hair which only added to the oddness of the situation.

Is that Ira? Amy had followed behind Aldis and showed an equally perplexed expression.

They began to form a certain thought as to what mightve taken place between the two, but it quickly dissolved. Ira didnt have a lascivious nature or else they wouldve known. Then there was the fact that Ira was incredibly devoted to Avery. It was more likely that the two had a sparring session or perhaps encountered a monster that wouldve warranted a wardrobe change.

Ira showed no reaction to the ever-evolving expressions and spoke, This is Rhys, shes having dinner with us.

Rhys?! Amy gave another look toward Rhys with a gaze of admiration. Since she was a Mercenary she had obviously heard of Rhys. Even Aldis was impressed since she was the strongest Mercenary before Ira appeared.

Ive heard a lot about you, Amy reached out to shake her hand to which Rhys obliged.

She cant speak...Come to think of it, dont you have a notepad, Harper? Ira asked.

Harper shook her head reluctantly, No!

Just let her use it for today, her house kind of burned down. Ira placed Harper onto the ground.

...Just for today, Harper grumbled as she ran upstairs to retrieve it.

As Rhys watched Ira interact with everyone, she felt that she was correct and that Ira couldnt be the person Gicae described.