Ymir had tuned out the world; all the noise turned to silence and the light turned to darkness. The only image he could see was Ira, and even she had begun to fade away.

Everything is so... dark...

A decrepit hand pierced the fog before him and reached out, stopping in front of his face. “Of course it’s all darkness... That’s where you live now, Ymir!” The sickly looking fingers began to bend, stopping right before they snapped back, flicking Ymir in the forehead. “It’s time you accept it.”

There was no pain and the force applied was minor, but Ymir still fell backwards as Pestilence’s laughter echoed throughout the void.

Am I powerless?

The light of day began to break through Ymir’s clouded mind, forcing him to regain his senses.

...or is this true power?

He took one step, then another. The ground began to rot beneath his feet.

Is this for revenge?

He sifted through the crowd, paying no mind to the blades that sliced his skin as he passed by.

Is this fate?

The Mark of Shadows began to engulf his arm, eating away his flesh and replacing it with a raven-black, exoskeletal limb.

No... Not right now at least.

He extended his hand toward Erelia.

This is war.

●

Experiencing a feeling of weightlessness and unable to move, her eyes scanned the darkness. Ira’s arms had been spread straight across and legs pointed downward. Her body hanging, slanted at an angle to face the ground, though there were no signs of such a thing below her.

“This is... a web?” She struggled to free herself from this suspension; however, the web only bounced and vibrated with her vain efforts. In another effort, she attempted to conjure her chains, but they would not obey her command. “Well, this is proving to be quite troublesome.”

As Ira contemplated what she could do to escape, she felt slow, subtle movements stressing the tension of the web. “Who’s there?!”

There was a reply, though it was not vocalized. She felt her skin being caressed -- it was not a familiar sensation; it was the touch of something more inhuman than not. It felt as if there were hundreds of small bristles of fur running across her body.

“You and I are one and the same, Ira...” The gentle voice needed no sound to be heard within Ira’s head. “Skittish and fragile, yet lethal. Patient, but willing to exact revenge.”

“What are you?” She asked, still unable to move her body from its current position.

“I am you, Ira. I am all of the emotions you had decided to bottle up. I am all of the words you had decided to swallow. And I am all of the desires that you had decided to leave unfulfilled.” The web vibrated as this thing spoke, moving around ever so slightly.

It continued to shift around the maze of silk until Ira could no longer feel its presence. Only a few seconds had needed to pass for her to let out a deep sigh of relief.

What the hell was--

Before Ira could finish her thought, six massive, arachnidan eyes lit up in front of her face, reflecting a color that could only be described as a purple abyss. Its massive body was a dark rainbow of the most beautiful, yet most dreadful pigments. Like a moth to a flame, Ira was enchanted by this living reminder of mortality.

“Whether by silk or iron -- whether by your chains or my web, we are all entangled in this latticework named fate.” This titanic spider raised its head, bearing two colossal fangs, each of which secreted a venom-like fluid. “Remember my name, child of chains, for I have dwelled inside the depths of your soul since your conception. I have tasted your hatred and wept in your suffering. Call on me when your revenge matures with the sweetest of aromas, and I, Areaxxna, shall grant you my strength as the Avatar of Vengeance.”

Without any moment for contemplation, Areaxxna’s barbed fangs fell, eclipsing over Ira, and piercing deep into the nape of her neck.

The world was a blur as her eyes opened, taking a moment for her vision to begin to focus; the ringing within her ears subsided as the clamor grew ever louder.

Ira’s mind still in a haze, she let out a quiet “Where am I? What’s going on?” while coming back to her senses.

Stumbling to her feet, Ira saw Ymir standing across from her mother.

“Unforgivable...” Ymir’s whole body was shaking with anger as he spoke. “ERELIA, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

Erelia couldn’t help but cover her mouth as she scoffed at Ymir’s remarks, “Heh, you actually expect me to acknowledge the words of a low-class, unsophisticated country bumpkin? You are naught but a damned fool who knows nothing of the ways of this world!”

“You’re exactly right...” Ymir gazed deeply into Erelia’s cold eyes. “I don’t know a single thing about this broken, defective world. I do, however, know that you are one of the many reasons that this world is as corrupt as it is.”

“Be that as it may, I have my own reasons... not that you have any business knowing them. Regardless, this all could have been avoided if you would have just surrendered yourself.” Averting her attention for just a moment to the ongoing conflict behind Ymir, Ira had to do a double take, noticing something she could not ignore. She looked to her rear at Falxis, “If you would be so kind as to take care of that...”

Falxis nodded and made his way to the anomaly that had made itself known in the background.

Ymir’s eyes narrowed into a hostile glare behind the fringes of his hair. As if in synchronization with the anger welling up inside of him, the air around him began to become tainted with a noxious, green miasma.

Clenching his fists on the precipice of losing what little patience he had left, “I’ve heard enough of your words. It’s obvious that you refuse to change your ways.”

The two of them prepared themselves in anticipation and, in the blink of an eye, they charged at the other in what would be the conception of a maelstrom of violence.

With the fires of battle set ablaze all around her, a torrent of thoughts poured into Ira’s mind.

It’s happening again... Am I only a burden to those around me? Am I really unable to protect those who need me？ Am I really this powerless?