It's just a normal day, until it isn't. There is nothing to differentiate this from any others, nor any sort of clue that this will be the day Volterra's world ends. It is not remarkable in any way, and the titan is caught unawares by the events that transpire.

It happens all at once; Kaos erupts, and he brings death. The warlord watches, numb and dumbstruck, as allies and friends and strangers alike are turned to dust. Tae. Parelia. Areli. Ode. Shit, Argen! Ampere, too, and this is when the warlord finally shifts into action, his senses awoken by the death of his Sultana. What kind of beast can kill so easily, with the mere twist of the earth? There is no way for any of them to fight back; no notion of a fair battle, with both combatants equally suited. "You coward," snarls the stallion, and his entire massive frame shifts to face the false God. The rest of the Gods arrive, and Volterra's heart soars at the notion that they haven't abandoned their subjects after all. His dragons whirl around him like a tornado of red and gold, picking up his intentions from his mind; they are in full agreement that they will take Kaos down or die trying, because it is just not fair that the foul beast should be allowed to win this easily. He thinks of his children; their mothers can surely tend to them if their father dies in battle, and they will know that he died bravely, fighting for their home, fighting for their freedom, fighting for their future.

But then the Gods are slaughtered. Then, Aithniel falls. And then....

"ISOPIA!"

It is a roar of passion, of raw, unadulterated feeling; in that one bellowed word is a thousand unsaid things, a thousand whispered nothings, a thousand futures that he can never have with the love of his life. In the back of his mind he's aware of somebody else shouting something similar, some other man daring to think that he has the right to care about the Mountain - normally jealousy would ignite like a forest fire inside his bones, but there's no space for anything else next to the gaping chasm that used to be his heart.

"No, no." It's the stages of grief all jumbled together; this is the denial, because Isopia cannot be dead. Volterra's best friend, his lover, the mother of his strong twins, his past, present and future, cannot be dead. It is not possible. She is power personified, she is of the Earth's seed, she has her strong dragons and her magic and her glorious warmth, her knowledge, her love, her life, his heart. That can't all be gone. It just can't. His companions' howls mingle with his own; Vadir screams for Babel, because even though she'd temporarily left Helovia to dally with a wild gold, he was never far from her thoughts. Vérzés's bellow is for Hubris, his friend, his comrade; and for Isopia too, because she made Volterra better.

No matter how hard he tries to believe that this is all a horrendous dream that he will wake up from, it is impossible to hide from the truth. She is dead, and he is going to die too. He, the warlord, the Indomitable, is going to crumble Kaos to dust; he is going to be the one to end the heathen monster, and he's going to do it with Isopia's name on his lips like a benediction, a war cry.

Because for Volterra, the stage after denial isn't grief - it's rage. The longer he can focus on his desire for a swift revenge, the longer he can put off the inevitable realisation that Isopia is dead. His best friend, his lover, his Mountain, is gone forever. Maybe he's the coward here, because he's not ready to face all that, not yet. It's far easier to shroud himself in armour made of fury, and march into battle with a sword made from his broken heart.

He lunges forwards. He can see Isopia's body fading away, illuminated like the northern lights; she is beautiful even in death, but the weak, feeling part of him laments that he will not have a body to mourn. The rest of him cares only about Kaos's destruction, until....

Until he sees Valdis. The filly looks lost among the crowd, blind and maimed; easy prey for Kaos. Like a bucket of cold water poured onto his blazing fire, Volterra sees sense. He cannot abandon his children. Their mothers are capable, yes, but they are not him. They are not Indomitable. They do not have the means to protect their offspring at all costs, at any cost. For them, he must survive. For them, he must go to the Rift, leave Helovia behind. Leave Isopia behind.

He'll avenge her, though. If it's the last thing he ever does, he will avenge her.

His stride halts, and with a final snarl he turns away from the heathen God and towards @Valdis . "Come, szerelem." His voice is strong, despite everything that rages inside. He pushes his muzzle towards the blind filly, guiding her towards the gaping portal that he does not want to go into, and he tries to scoop up his other children as well, and their mothers. He will live, for them. He will survive his grief, for them. He will usher in a new era of greatness for them, and for her.

As he moves reluctantly towards the portal, he looks towards what remains of Isopia. There's not much left now; her consciousness will be gone, swallowed by the inevitability of death. Nothing he can say will change things, and she no longer has the means to hear his proclamations of love - it would be shallow and meaningless to say them now, knowing her ears no longer exist to absorb them. She knows, though - he reassures himself that she died knowing how much he loved her, and that thought gives him enough strength to try and face a life without her in it. "Kis hollo...." he murmurs, and for the first time in longer than he can remember, a tear slides down his cheek. Gone. "Yours. Always." That is all he says as he attempts to touch his nose to where she stood last, as though he can still feel her skin warm against his whiskers.

Volterra the Indomitable stands tall, then. He casts a glance back at Kaos, at the destruction he leaves behind, at his first and only home; there is no room for nervousness, only feral anger at the false God and a hellbent desire to bring him down. Once he is sure all his children are safely through, the beast bellows a command to his dragons and he is gone, too. Red and gold and black dive into the portal, allowing it to twist them through the dimensions to somewhere else.

There's a piece of him that will always remain in Helovia, though. That piece belongs to Isopia, and it always will do.

________

TL;DR: Is crushed about Iso and goes to enact immediate revenge on Kaos. Seeing Valdis changes his mind, and he tries to usher her and the rest of his children/their mothers towards the Rift whilst vowing death upon Kaos. Feel free to PP him pushing you towards the Rift!

In other news, my poor feels D:

szerelem = love