Ira and Kara arrived in the Tainted Lands causing the latter to react in a worried manner.

“It’s dangerous!” Kara shouted as she braced for a sudden death but it never came. She opened her eyes only to see Ira looking at her with confusion.

“What?”

“You Gods have domains right? Just think of this as my domain which means, as so long as you’re with me you won’t be hurt...Well, just don’t wander too far away and you probably won't receive an injury.” Ira’s voice turned into an uncertain whispered at the end.

“What?” Kara obviously took her own life serious and Ira’s lack of assurance didn’t help at all.

“It’s fine, we’ll only be here for a few moments at the most.” Ira produced a flickering black ball of flame in the palm of his hands. He slowly guided it to the ground before dropping it.

“What is your goal with this?” Kara stayed close to him while watching his actions.

“To make a distraction.” Ira gave a vague answer, paying more mind to the task at hand.

The black fire fell into the soil that had a similar color and ignited the small area around Ira and Kara.

“Ah!” Kara avoided the flames before remembering Ira was able to control them.

After a few minutes, the black fire slowly began to spread until it reached the edges of the tainted land and Ira finally flashed an approving smile.

“That’s it, I'm done.” Ira grabbed Kara and they vanished once more before appearing further away.

Kara gave up on asking Ira about what he did and observed the border of the tainted lands. She watched, unable to see a change except for dark flames which burned energetically.

“Wait...The boundary of the Tainted Lands is spreading!” Kara shouted in disbelief. “What have you done, Ira?”

“The way I see it, the fewer Gods I have to fight at once the better it’ll be for me in the end.” Ira shrugged.

“This will incite the anger of even more Gods than the ones who already wanted to kill you,” Kara retorted.

“So? Half of them will probably be too busy trying to stop the spread of the fire while the other half will come for us. As long as they’re split up it won’t matter.” Ira explained his reasoning.

“But are you really set on burning away the Divine Realm?” Kara asked.

Ira was about to answer when he noticed the world froze over. Everything except for the black flames, which continued to burn eagerly, remained completely still and Kara was no exception.

“Explain yourself, child.” A white ball of light manifested itself in front of Ira, it's demand for an answer was absolute.

“Explain what?”

“Do not feign ignorance, you know the consequences of your actions as I've warned you previously about destroying either of the Realms.” The entity became imposing, threatening to attack Ira at any moment.

“You mean the fire?” Ira pointed his palm toward it and it began to move backward as if it was under his command. “It isn’t permanent. As soon as I 'restore the balance' I'll retract and everything will go back to how it was.”

The entity became silent, its thoughts remained unknown so Ira could only wait for a conclusion.

“Do not test me, child. If the destruction goes too far I will interfere and dispatch you.”

“I got it, I got it.” Ira nodded.

After their exchange, the entity faded and everything resumed just as it had before, leaving Ira in contemplation. Kara waited for him to answer her question, completely unaware of what just occurred.

“Well?” Kara urged Ira on and it was only then he remembered what she asked early.

“It won’t be permanent.” An unconvincing smile emerged on his face. Beneath his grin, a brewing scheme was clear to see no matter how one looked at it.

He vanished once more with Kara in tow, heading off to find another target.

…

Meanwhile, the news of the boundary of the Tainted Lands growing spread almost instantly. Above the Divine Realm, near the Origin Realm where Gods could freely come to observe the storm caused by the Origin Forces, Xandes accepted the news with a grim expression.

“Do you all now see the threat the Avarus poses to not only us but to the entire realm?” Xandes spoke grandly, addressing hundreds of Gods who came at his behest due to the nature of the situation. “Even Kyridian, one of the strongest among us was easily killed, not even a trace of his divinity was left...Do you know what that means?”

The Gods remained silent, the implications were so clear that it didn’t need to be said but Xandes continued anyway.

“The Avarus can destroy our divinity and he seeks to while destroying this realm along with us. The only way to stop him is to kill him. That is our goal here, anyone with a divinity centered around smithing or forging should join me in an attempt to refine a weapon from the Origin Storm.”

Xandes ambitious plan drew comments in response with most Gods being skeptical and a few others not wanting him to be the one to possess such a power.

“I know what you may be thinking but when that darkness encroaches on your domain or when the Avarus erases your divinity, you will wish that you agreed. Those who don’t wish to participate can leave now, but if there comes a time where you need our assistance, do not come back. Even if you threw away your pride and begged you will still be left to deal with the Avarus alone.”

His words were clever, instilling the idea that he was acting on behalf of the Realm rather than for his benefit alone. Coupled with his age and wisdom that was acknowledged by all, the Gods became convinced. Even those who weren’t completely in agreement were forced to show they were or else they’d be left without allies should Ira come to kill them. That was how much of a threat Ira became due to the activity of the Tainted Lands.

“Gods who can shift terrain, manipulate water, or control natural elements should try to delay the spread of the Tainted Lands. Gods who excel at combat and battle should form a group to hunt the Avarus. Gods who boast of clairvoyant abilities should support them and search for the traitor, Kara Thynne, since she is likely to be with him. Everyone else can assist us in refining a weapon from the Origin Storm.”

With little need for persuasion, Xandes increased his influence over the Gods immensely. If they succeeded in refinement he would earn a weapon made from the essence of the Origin Storm and would use it to dissect the secrets from Ira’s body. Inwardly, he was thankful for Ira’s actions as it increased the solidarity of the Gods as a whole, pushing him one step closer to reaching his goal.

“If there is nothing else, we shall begin!” Xandes shouted with the bearing of a wise leader.

The Gods quickly moved, some turning into streaks of light or changing their shape at will. Their destinations varied but their end objective was to deal with Ira and stop the darkness from swallowing the Divine Realm.

…

Unaware of the plan formed against him, but fully expectant of something like it, Ira held a God in his grip.

“Nature and life, huh?” Ira examined the crown made of branches and leaves. “Don’t you treasure all beasts and plants?”

“All except you, filthy abomination!” The God who should’ve shown some sense of neutrality to Ira instead used venomous words.

“That isn't true, you let the Avarus die without a second thought. You aren't much more than a coward.” Ira’s expression turned cold.

“You would not understand, ignorant creature! If I helped them what would have become of me? What would have happened to all the other creatures and animals I watch over if I were to die?”

“I guess we'll find out now, won't we?” Ira plunged his shadowy hand into the chest of the God.

A drawn-out painful groan emerged from the God's mouth as his divinity was plundered away. And as soon as the little sphere left his chest his body was filled with black flame, consuming him in an instant.

Ira tossed the fading body away and turned to Kara as he devoured the divinity. “Let’s go.”

No matter how many times Kara watched him do it, she could never quite get used to how easily he could kill most Gods once he got close enough. Since he was effective in keeping his abilities somewhat hidden, most Gods were unprepared when he approached which earned them a quick death.

Kara put her stray thoughts away and nodded. She felt as if she could see why Lauren would’ve let Ira marry one of her descendants. It would be better to stand with him than against him just based on his ruthlessness and lack of hesitation he displayed. She shuddered to think about what would've happened if she didn't bear some relation to him.