Heirs of the Void

Heirs of the Void is the saga that takes place in the aftermath of The War of Worlds saga, and is told from the perspective of White and her few allies seeking to put an end of the threat of Itami and his remaining pawns once and for all. This arc is closed for participation unless one's characters are already part of the cast, such as the numerable Heirs, all of which can be found here.

Please speak directly with Axis of Destruction prior to making any plans to participate in this story arc.

Heirs of the Void 000: Precursors to Annihilation
Vulkas finds the entirety of the last few moments flashing before his eyes, recreating itself over and over again. "''I cannot let it end here, I cannot let all of this be finished by someone else, I need to act.!" ''Before he is sent away, he opens his mouth. "Wait! Before I am sent away with you others, you must listen to what I have to say. I understand if you do not believe me to be worth giving an ear to, but I assure you, it is in your best interests to listen."

Strangely, he feels as though he had not even been budged, and slowly he sees White, in front of the now confined and immobile girl, turn toward him, an ironclad expression on her face.

"How and why are you still here?" She says in a low voice, her voice carrying an incredibly deadly omen of barely restrained wrath.

Vulkas breathes in and out deeply. "Perhaps I am destined to speak with you here. I understand your anger but..." Vulkas stares back with extreme strength. "I cannot let you walk away from this alone. I ask, and insist, that I accompany you."

Her eyes narrow. "What possible reason do you have?" She points to the bound girl. "Do you feel some kind of misplaced sympathy for that thing? Or despite the fact I went out of my way to save you, no, everything at my own expense, you do not trust my intentions? ...Or perhaps you fancy that you can service your desires of flesh with it?"

Vulkas shakes his head. "Please, cease the assumptions. One, any sympathy I could give that thing is minimal. It is born of murder and destruction, and every waking moment near it makes me...rather furious." He moves closer. "And as for trust, I thank you for saving me and my allies but a single act of kindness does not a trusted friend make. I will not even adress your final accusation for its absurdity." He breathes. "I wish to continue the fight. While I am tired of today's events, I understand that the battle isn't over, there is more to be done that I assume you will continue. I wish to assist you."

She looks at him now as if she desperately wants to be angry at him, but is struggling to muster the energy to do so.

"...A positive spirit, Duty, are you not?" She seems to grimace with the words.

"Indeed, I need not indulge more in what I am then." He puts his hands behind his back. "But please, consider my words and if you accept, I assure I will be a valuable comrade."

She seems to take on an exasperated expression. "...Figures. Duty never deviates, no matter how obtuse they require themselves to be in order to make sure their duty in life is followed... ...what a pain in the ass."

She briefly looks toward the girl. "We have rules here, and you will follow them. Break them, and I will exile you for real next time, or you will die. Am I understood, Vulkas Iradrek?"

Vulkas nods, moving one hand forward and extending it. "I understand every word, do not worry."

She turns her head toward him. "You may not aknowledge that thing as a person, or even specifically as having a gender. To do so will aknowledge it as an individual, and I have no intention of preserving its present state of being. I need only keep it alive for that time in which I must prepare for my brother's return. I will not and you shall not offer it any kindness, not matter how draconian my actions may seem toward it. Its bindings may never come off under any circumstance, unless you feel the need to be responsible for the ensuing apocolypse this world eater will bring.

Furthermore, at the risk of your own life, you are to obey my instructions to the letter and either purge or slay those I designate. Not a single mark may be left unattended. Also, do not interact with the being in any capacity, or I will hamstring you."

Vulkas blinks, breathing again. "I have memorized everything you have said, if need be I will run through it every day to prove my understanding."

Her eyes narrow slightly again, before she turns and sits down before the girl. "Uuuuugh. Leave me be for the moment. I need to decompress. After a while I'll call for you. Are you familiar with spacial shaping?"

He creates his Shift of Planes. "I've never had the need to attempt such a thing, but If I must I shall try."

"Create a dwelling within this void then if you can, and excuse yourself. I need to be alone." She pauses, before smiling faintly. "And don't worry, the Void here obeys me, well, at the very least, it won't eat you immediately. Just don't stare too deep..."

Vulkas nods, before walking away as he begins to play. As he walks, stone like material begins to form around him, and after a moment a medium sized castle like home is created, with him walking inside and closing the door with a final, sharp note.

Once he has departed, she seems to lose her ridged air, and breathes a soft sigh. "...Forgive me brother, I hope in whatever form you do exist... ...that this does not cause you pain. ...Hang on, at least for her sake..."

Vulkas sits down inside, and three orbs of light in different colors begin to dance around him rather frantically.

She isn't heard from for a very long while, in fact things are incredibly quiet outside.

Vulkas eventually gets fed up and waves the orbs away, standing up and going upstairs, going to what appears to be a balcony.

He eventually gets a summons from White to return.

Vulkas leaves the balcony and eventually walks out of his home.

Heir of the Void 001: Sanctified Archer
"FWhite sits kneeled before the bound Child, not turning as he approaches.""Are you ready to put yourself to the test? This will determine if you are worth teaching and following in my path." She intones.

Vulkas squints. "As ready as I can be, what is it that I must do?"

"As you may have gathered, we have won merely a battle, not a war. In order to subdue their most prized avatar, I had to disperse the power of Itami and Alpha across the realms. Pieces of them have now awoken in those they had long before selected, their Heirs, so to speak. I was once such a Heir, before I... ...well that's not important. The point is, our task is to either purge or destroy the Heirs. If they do not consent to being purged, then they must be eliminated. No mercy."

She looks back upon the Child. "You may think my treatment harsh, but the truth is that thing is the Primary Heir. If released, Itami's power will flow back into it once again. In order to keep his power fragmented, the Primary Heir must not be destroyed or otherwise purged of its contamination until all other Heirs have been neutralized. That is why we must wage this campaign. Your first target is one whose status as a Heir has recently awoken. I need you to infiltrate this facility."

She creates a spacial diagram of a massive flying fortress, at the very center in some kind of vault is a biosignature highlighted compared to the others.

"The occupants there will view you with hostility most likely, so do not let yourself be captured or noticed. Break into the secret vault, purge the newly awakened Heir, and then bring her here. ...Oh, and she looks like this."

Another diagram replaces the first, showing a woman with long white hair, deep in slumber inside a strange giant laboratory tube, curled in a fetal position. Her face seems vaguely similar to White's.

Vulkas tilts his head. "They have a rather large resemblence to yourself, but I assume the reason for that is not important. In the off chance that I am noticed, am I allowed to use as much force as possible to make sure that my mission isn't detoured?"

"Correct, you are. Dispose of bodies and do not allow them to spread an alert throughout the fortress. You may very well die if their full numbers march upon you."

"I understand. Must I return within a specific amount of time or just soon?"

"Return as soon as you are able, but do not rush, stealth is required here."

Vulkas nods. "I am ready to begin my mission then. Anything else you must tell me?"

"...No." A silver - black portal appears behind her.

Vulkas walks through the portal, taking out his Twilight Siphon as he goes through it.

His vision warps and distorts in a sea of greys, whites, and blacks, before he finally appears at the fortress, miles upon miles into the atmosphere. The fortress appears incredibly beautiful and ornate, silver and white metals adorn its features, with hints of diamond. Upon a brief inspection of his surroundings, he appears alone but he feels making rash assumptions could get him in trouble fast.

Vulkas spends little time admiring the fortress after taking his quick glance. He remembers the diagram White originally showed him, knowing he has to make it to the center. He quietly scales up the fortress, looking to find a way in that isn't the front door.

A rush of wind nearly knocks him over as what looks like a demonic-angelic dragon surges overheard, with what looks like an angelic winged humanoid riding it with a long spear.

Vulkas cocks his head, somewhat curious before he continues scaling the fortress.

The dragon and its rider appear to be making another pass.

Vulkas quickly creates a seal in front of him, which seemingly melds him to the wall hes scaling.

When he gets to the top, he find a huge battalion of angelic soldiers patrolling the courtyard.

Vulkas takes his time to form a plan, sitting down as low to the ground and out of sight as possible, and has his astral self quickly move across the courtyard, invisible. When he reaches past the courtyard, he calls his body to him, which instantaneously comes out and back in of existance, appearing where his astral self is.

A few of the soldiers seem to look around, as though feeling a disturbance, but not in a manner that indicates he has been noticed. He is now closer to the center of the complex, where a massive central tower looms. He catches a glimpse of a batallion entering a concealed elevator, heading down, nearby the central complex.

Vulkas quietly heads across to the elevator, entering the shaft and hanging on the wall, looking around to make sure he hasn't been, and wont be spotted.

Without warning, the elevator drops at unholy speeds straight toward the ocean, making a sonic boom as it travels.

Vulkas eyes bulge in surprise, barely able to hold back any noises that would give him away. He recovers, getting used to the speed quickly though.

The elevator keeps barreling down, and far below, he can start to see the bottom. And the elevator shows no signs of slowing down.

Vulkas keeps his conviction. "I doubt their elevators are methods of execution..."

The Elevator slams into a base of water, sending a massive waterspout almost all the way back up, drenching him and deeply rattling him from the impact force.

Vulkas still hangs on, ableit now extremely annoyed.

The elevator has stopped, leaving Vulkas to freely curse the psychopath who designed the elevators.

He does so in his mind, quickly leaving and creating a symbol where no one is around, melding himself to the wall as he looks around to gain an idea of his surroundings.

He appears to be in a deep interior labortory section, filled with human sized lab tubes, many filled with the shadows of humanoid beings inside. According to the map he was given, this section of the fortress is where he will find his mark.

Vulkas leaves from his observation point, gazing at the various lab tubes.

They appear to have some sort of humanoid beings, some in various stages of some sort of transformation. Some look like meager dolls without any form of identifying features, while some sport red or white hair, and six wings from their backs, like the angelic beings outside. However, he senses his mark is much further in.

Vulkas eyes each being with a sense of whimsy, continuing his search for his mark.

Far deeper within, he soon runs into a wall where there should be an entrance to the chamber described.

Vulkas looks around to the closest thing to a door.

There is no sign of any door. However, a series of three dragon statues, each with a different colored crystal in their mouths can be seen. The wall he is faced with appears to have similarly sized holes.

Vulkas inspects the statues, particularly the crystals as he eventually removes one, placing it into one of the holes.

The crystal does not seem to achieve anything, but does not react in any way. Listening closely however, he hears a mechanical noise sometime later, suggesting a mechanism is engaged.

He does the same for the other two crystals.

Surprisingly he is able to solve the puzzle, and a release mechanism engages, beginning to pull the wall open.

After the wall fully opens, Vulkas slowly walks in.

He walks into a central large chamber with sealing runes across the whole circular room. At the very center is a console with a huge tank filled with liquid. Inside, he finds the woman he had been enlisted to find. He notes an odd red crack in her side spreading to her stomach and right side of her chest. She appears asleep.

Vulkas inspects the crack from afar, being eventually looking to see if he can find a console of sorts to let her out.

As he looks, she opens her eyes, and they seem to be the same pinkish red as the Child. He finds  the console right in front of the tank.

Vulkas eyes the console before attempting to release her.

The tank's glass implodes, sending huge waves of liquid surging onto the floor, her body tumbling onto the floor, being drug along the floor.

Vulkas walks over to her body, creating a symbol on her body that covers her with a robe. He picks her up, starting to leave.

After the shattering of the tank, alarms begin to blare in great numbers, and the crack begins to glow, yet the woman's surroundings grow darker and darker. She seems to shift in his arms, her arm extending toward his face.

Vulkas doesn't notice her arm at first, as hes caught up with the alarms going off before looking back down.

She grabs his face hard, and forces herself free from his grasp, and flings him into a wall. She gets up, though is slightly hunched over, a trance like expression on her face as her eyes glow unnaturally with the strawberry red color.

Vulkas quickly recovers, stretching. "I apologize if you have been deeply disturbed. Im only here to help you. If you do not allow me to do so, the both of us will be in a mess that would stop the both of us from digging ourselves out of." He looks around, wary over both the alarms and her expression.

The crack in her side begins to grow rapidly, and he begins to feel the same sensation from her as he did the Child when in battle with it. Her side itself is turning into pure red energy, which oozes from the site outward to the rest of the body. The very center of the opening begins to form a poreclain white skin with hardening scales, and as it travels down her leg, begins to turn it dragonic in form, with a similar skin color. He realizes that the corrupt force inside her is altering her at a drastic rate.

He remembers what White had said: ''Purge the awakened Heir, and then return her here. ''His trial had begun in earnest.

Vulkas' eyes widen before he charges up a wave of pure positive energy, flinging it towards the clone as he coats his arm in it.

She ducks under the wave, manifesting an unstable blade of negative energy and slashing at him.

A blade of his own, made of positive energy emits from his arm, clashing with her blade as he covers his other arm with it, attempting to grab her wrist.

The two blades violently react to each other, bucking and tearing at each other. She makes a strong attempt to evade his grasp.

He steps forward, moving her blade out of the way as he fires a close range blast of positive energy at her wound.

She screams in agony as the energy begins to circuit through her body, disrupting the flow of negative energy.

Vulkas gets rid of his blade, grabbing the wrist that her blade is on. He then pushes her to the ground, surging more positive energy into the wound.

She squirms, trying to break free, her strength nearly overwhelming.

Vulkas increases the amount of positive energy hes using as a response.

She blasts him away with a massive burst of negative energy that heavily singes him.

Vulkas grunts in slight pain, healing himsef with his own positive energy as he moves in again, creating a whip of positive energy that he swings, trying to wrap around her leg.

She doesn't notice, as the corruption continues to spread, both legs are dragonic and now a tail is beginning to sprout.

Vulkas uses her not noticing to his advantage, pulling quickly with all his strength to throw her off balance.

She tumbles down with a heavy crash.

He rushes over to her and holds her down, creating claws of positive energy, ripping into the wound, and starts to pull.

She screams as the corruption furiously fights back, attempting to hasten her mutation into an avatar, her lower half fully compromised.

Vulkas grits his teeth, using more positive energy to strengthen the claws as he continues to dig and pull.

The corruption begins to lose ground.

Vulkas rips out the corruption, blazing both the corruption and the exit wound with positive energy to finish the job.

The woman lets out an agonized howl of pain as the corruption is ripped out of her, collapsing on the floor, her wet exposed body dripping water and blood onto the floor, unconscious.

Vulkas takes a moment to collect himself. "That corruption was far too vile..." He picks up the robe he had created for her earlier, picking her up and covering her as he starts to leave after healing her wound to stop the bleeding.

Her breathing begins to settle as he walks, but he can start to hear the footsteps of soldiers.

''You're short on time. Get out of there.''

Vulkas quickly makes his way back, avoiding the soldiers and using symbols to warp around.

A pillar of jagged ice erupts in front of Vulkas, he feels a presence above him on a terrace.

Vulkas stops in his tracks, quickly glancing above him to see the source of the ice.

He sees a silver haired male with pale blue eyes staring down at him, an aura of cold surrounding him.

"Explain yourself."

Vulkas creates a dark shroud over his mark's face. "I am not here to disrupt or do harm. Nor do I wish to engage in combat." He eyes the area to scout out his escape.

A ring of ice blades erupt around him.

"That is not an explanation. Shall I call the soldiers who are currently hunting you down over?"

"...I came here to retrieve something. Its nothing of importance to you or anyone here."

"Do you speak of that woman? Do you take me for a fool? What is her significance?"

"If she was left here untreated, it was likely that this fortress would have fallen to her and her corruption. I am removing her from the premises for both my sake and yours."

"...Who sent you? And how could you known of this place, let alone that chamber?"

"It seems you overestimate the loyalty of those around you. Not that it is compromising. It was one of your own, but it was done for the right reasons."

"..." This information seems to cause some manner of pause. He tosses some manner of sigil at Vulkas, after which the ice disappears, with him leaving soon after.

Vulkas catches the sigil with his spirit hand, and inspects it while on the move.

He isn't able to discern anything from it immediately.

Vulkas looks for the portal he came from.

He sees it open in the distance, toward the edge of the fortress.

He darts for it, diving through it.

Heirs of the Void 002: Children of Destiny
Vulkas arrives from the portal, his mark in his arms and the sigil given to him seemingly pocketed in his robes. He takes a moment to catch himself, slowly walking as he looks down at the woman. "What could have happened if that corruption was left to fester?"

''A new avatar would be born, and Earth's demise assured. Our cause would be held back from the effort to destroy her. Better to purify before that point.''

A rumbling voice responds, both White's voice and entirely not. The voice surrounds him from all directions, and his eyes seem to imagine the lurking shadows of dragons amidst the endless darkness. This fades as White reemerges.

"Well done."

Vulkas seems somewhat taken aback by the initial voice, but shakes it off. "Thank you. However I must be honest. Unfortunately, I do believe I gained unwanted attention."

"Not a concern. It would have been unlike his character to enduldge violence in this instance."

"Would it be within his character to give a stranger something without reason?" Vulkas shows her the sigil. "I assume not."

She gives him a smile. "That knowledge is not important at this time. It would unfairly grant you an advantage in your destiny."

Vulkas squints but decides to make no resistance. "Very well. As for her..." Vulkas nods towards the person hes carrying. "What shall be done?"

"I will take care of the rest. You on the other hand..." She stands aside, revealing the unbound, slumped over Child. She appears sprawled helplessly on the 'ground', her strawberry red eyes wandering aimlessly.

"I need you to oversee its bathing and general stability. You know, so it doesn't cause another apocalypse?"

White smiles mysteriously. "No pressure."

She disappears in a wave of black rippling energy along with the woman Vulkas retrieved.

Vulkas blinks. "Im sorry im to do what?" He looks around, realizing White has gone and left. He slowly walks over to Child, rather wary.

''Watch for a maw on the belly, its stomach growling, or it trying to gnaw on you. If persistent in the third or immediately after the first time, inform me. And don't be too rough or you'll make it react, ranging from increased difficulty in your objective to an intense outburst.''

''Obviously don't be a pervert. I will gladly end you.''

By this time, the unintelligent being awkwardly manages to look at him in a gawking manner.

Vulkas nods, once more creating a robe and gently putting it over the being, picking her up and walking to the home he made for himself earlier.

The Child jumps out of her skin, his touch causes her pores to jolt out as if in freezing water. Her sense of touch only recently permitted overwhelms her primitive mind. She doesn't attempt to flee, but has gone statue still.

Vulkas is seemingly confused by this, but makes nothing of it. He enters his home, walking to the bath in which he begins to fill with water.

The Child shakes noticably, though regards the water curiously.

"A-Aoyu~?" The phrase seems to be just babylike gibberish.

Vulkas shakes his head. "It is called water. It cleanses the body and soul." Vulkas creates a small orb of water in his hand and molds it around.

She definitely doesn't understand him.

Vulkas looks a little dissapointed but says nothing, instead he gets rid of the orb of water and creates a symbol that creates soap. He takes the robe off her and gently starts placing her into the bath.

The cold sensation of water against the skin makes the Child flinch and squirm.

Vulkas makes the water a little warmer to calm her down. "Do not make this any harder for me, that is all I ask."

After a mild tantrum, the Child appears to settle down, sinking a fair bit into the water.

Vulkas lets her settle before he rolls up his sleeves, grabs the soap and what appears to be a brush, wetting both and putting some soap on the brush. He then begins to gently scrub her down.

The next hour is a virtual wrestling match due to the brush itching her skin, but he finally accomplishes his task. She lays in the bath, panting.

Vulkas wipes sweat from his forehead as he sets the brush down, getting rid of the water as he creates a towel that he uses to dry her.

I see you two have had a lovely time, White remarks in his head, her tone makes it hard to tell if she is teasing him.

Vulkas rolls his eyes. "Of course. The constant fidgeting and occasional splashing was absolutely wonderful."

''Good, then that means you will bathe it every week. Dry it off and meet me outside.''

Vulkas makes a huff of contest and finishes drying her off, putting the robe back on her and picks her up, heading outside.

As he walks, he notices the Child seems to be gumming his wrist, he can feel her teeth touch his skin but almost no force behind it.

Vulkas doesn't pay it any mind other than finding it only slightly annoying.

The Child regards him with a meek look.

He raises an eyebrow, somewhat curious but continues walking.

The Child begins to press against him, trying to more securely wrap her legs and arms around him, this proving difficult, she appears to be trying to make laying against him easier and more comfortable, making him feel the opposite as she continues pressing herself against him. She also lightly puts her mouth on him again.

Vulkas sighs, before finally giving in and giving up his own comfort to allow her to take a much more comfortable position. "There. Happy?"

"Bouuu?" Another unintelligent response is his reward.

He just looks at her, somewhat squinting his eyes. "Vulkas. Vool. Khas." He points to himself.

She nibbles his shoulder, this time he can feel the teeth.

He gives up communicating with her, leaving his home to finally find White.

He finds White and the woman from before, now clothed, her hair styled, and awake, standing over her. White appears to be studying a strange multicolored orb, before finally dismissing it with a wave and standing up to face him. She seems to gesture as though she wants him to hand the Child over.