Chapter 2302: Wisdom
With powerful tremors spreading through Asgard, it wasn't long before the Realms protectors, consisting primarily of Valkyries and Einherjar, began to rally in an attempt to uncover the cause.
Fortunately for Muninn, Odin ordered Heimdall and Tyr, the Norse God of War and Justice, to stay alert on the surface while she and the members of the White Raven Community handled things underground.
Following the path of destruction wrought by Fenrir, it wasn't long before Göll and Geirölul discovered Vahn and his retinue hovering in the air with a disheveled-looking Loki.
With Göll and Geirölul acting as beacons, Muninn, Vor, and the rest of their group were able to teleport over. When they saw Loki bound in golden chains, Muninn's usually stoic expression immediately paled as she inquired, "You...I mean, Your Imperial Majesty managed to capture the real one...?"
Without taking his eyes off of Loki, Vahn answered, "I have my methods." before shifting his gaze to a seemingly empty area of space and adding, "Don't tempt me..." in a threatening tone.
Though others might not be able to detect such things, Vahn had become increasingly aware of the presence of foreign intentions. Even if someone were to peer across space and time using an advanced form of divination, he would be able to sense them.
In response to Vahn's threat, several of the intents keeping an eye on him immediately vanished. Those that remained were predominately the result of the various forms of omniscience ever-present within the Little Garden, specifically Laplace, Shiroyasha, a few similarly powerful individuals that had little better to do than spy on others.
With most of the peanut gallery departed, Vahn surprised nearly everyone present by releasing Loki from Enkidu's embrace, explaining, "I've severed your contract with the Ragnarok Community. I recommend you lay low for a bit and avoid antagonizing me in the future. Next time, I won't be nearly as merciful."
"Your Majesty...!"
Knowing how dangerous Loki could be if allowed to traipse about, Muninn attempted to interject. Unfortunately, Loki wasn't regarded as one of the most tenacious Gods because of their durability. The moment Vahn let them go, they immediately teleported away without so much as a quip or barb.
Shifting his attention to the understandably incensed Valkyrie, Vahn's expression remained calm and relaxed as he said, "It's not my job to clean up the Nine Realms Community's messes. Loki may have targeted me and my people, but so too did your Community's Thor. The right to spare and or release them is mine, not yours."
Though she 'really' wanted to argue, Muninn remained silent for several seconds before exhaling a tired sigh and muttering, "I understand..." in a sullen tone. She couldn't find fault in Vahn's perspective on the matter, so there wasn't much else she could say.
What Muninn didn't know was that Vahn had no intention of allowing Loki to simply roam free. Much as he had back in the Tower, he placed a curse within their body that would activate the moment Loki attempted to take advantage of a 'protected' class of people. At that point, Loki would have no one else to blame but themselves.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Vahn snapped his fingers to revert their surroundings to their original state. Sis had created a 'snapshot' of Asgard's underground long before Loki revealed themselves, so it was a simple matter for him to undo the devastation wrought by Fenrir's charge.
Seeing everything spontaneously return to normal, Muninn opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something. Instead, she exhaled another sigh before adopting a faint smile, shaking her head, and muttering, "As expected of the Sage Dragon Emperor..."
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Though he would ordinarily greet guests while seated atop his throne, Odin made an exception for Vahn by choosing to wait for him near the base of the stairs separating the palace from the Bifrost.
While everyone else bowed towards the Chief God of their Pantheon, Vahn made his way over with Sis and Fenrir in arm, saying, "It's good to see you again, Odin."
Adopting a grandfatherly smile, Odin resisted the temptation to inspect Sis with his penetrating blue eye. Instead, he maintained eye contact with Vahn as he replied, "Indeed. I trust my children have not caused you too much trouble?"
Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a smile of his own as he stated, "None worse than my own. While most of my children are good-natured, there are quite a few prone to mischief."
"Mmm...speaking of which, rumor has it that the Little Garden has been blessed with a new generation of Moon Rabbits. I'm looking forward to the restoration of the Moon Palace."
With Odin mentioning his and Black Rabbit's kittens, a far more sincere smile developed across Vahn's face as he mused, "I am very fortunate." while pulling Sis and Fenrir close.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Odin cast his gaze over the two animalistic beauties, remarking, "Indeed." in a sincere tone of voice. Even without scrutinizing them, he could sense the unfathomably vast quantity of energy contained within the two women. Sis, in particular, gave off an impression similar to the World Tree, Yggdrasil.
Seeing through Odin's surface thoughts, Vahn somewhat surprised the elderly God by inquiring, "Thinking of which, how is the World Tree faring? I trust the Panacea I provided functioned without issue?"
While discreetly increasing his mental defenses, Odin nodded his head and replied, "Better than expected. In fact, as far as we can tell, the tree has already made a complete recovery. We were simply waiting for your visit before declaring it to the public."
Unsurprised by the revelation, Vahn maintained a relaxed smile as he said, "That sounds about right. Then I presume the reason for this invitation was to discuss a union of sorts between the Nine Realms and the Aldrnari Empire?"
Gesturing towards the interior of the palace, Odin suggested, "We should move someplace more comfortable to speak in private. As I'm sure you're aware, Valhalla is more than hospitable towards those worthy of entering its halls."
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn replied, "Sounds good." before releasing his hold on Sis and Fenrir, adding, "I'll meet the two of you back at our room. If anyone gives you trouble, be sure to return the favor."
Punctuating his words, Vahn planted kisses on the duo's foreheads before shifting his attention to Muninn, briefly narrowing his eyes as he said, "Try not to lose them this time."
Feeling a shiver run up her spine, Muninn stood even straighter than usual as she hastily replied, "Understood! We won't fail you a second time...!"
Nodding his head in approval, Vahn exchanged a telepathic message with Sis and Fenrir before accompanying Odin into the silvery-golden palace of Valhalla.
As could be expected from a structure that was visible from nearly 150 million kilometers away, stepping into Valhalla was like entering into an entirely separate world. The distance between the floor and ceiling, at least at the entrance, was close to 50 kilometers, while the room Odin escorted him to had a literal mountain range visible in the distance.
Fortunately, even an average human would be able to wander the halls of Valhalla without getting lost as, much like the Bifrost, the floor would glow with a rainbow hue before moving you to your destination. It was nowhere near as convenient as instantaneous teleportation, but that wasn't exactly an option for most people.
While eyeing a few mountain-sized figures walking around in the distance, Odin broke the silence between him and Vahn by revealing, "I viewed the battle between you and my son, Thor. What you said to him near the end; I must admit, I didn't expect it..."
Though he was briefly confused by the elderly God's words, it didn't take long for Vahn to realize Odin was referring to his comment about wanting power so that he wouldn't need to use it.
Seeing no reason to keep silent, Vahn nodded his head and explained, "As much as I enjoy helping people and improving their lives, I've been forced to acknowledge there is no actual reason behind such actions. I will never stop trying to make the world a better place, but eternity is an unforgiving mistress. I've come to realize that even a single moment spent with the people I love has greater meaning than the countless I've spent trying to ensure fairness and equality in the world..."
Turning towards Vahn, Odin's singular sky blue eye blazed with an intense light as he calmly remarked, "You have great wisdom. Mimir himself could not have said it better."
Returning a somewhat sad smile, Vahn softly retorted, "I have everything except the things that truly matter. For their sake, I will stop at nothing to draw even the concepts of fate and identity into myself..."
Sensing the passion contained within Vahn's words despite his tone, Odin felt fear for one of the few times in his life. The former wasn't threatening him or anything, but he got the impression not even the sum of Creation could prevent Vahn from reaching his goal. There was only a singular fate awaiting anyone that got in his way...
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After escaping Asgard and retreating to the Seven-Digit Gates, Loki took several moments to collect themselves before pulling out a fiery red orb and contemplating whether or not to contact Surtr, the current leader of the Ragnarok Community.
Though Vahn had said that the contract between them and the Ragnarok Community had been nullified, Loki didn't immediately believe him. Even they could not annul a contract established through the Central Network without something like a Gift Game, so it wasn't easy to believe they had been liberated so easily.
Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Loki activated the fiery red orb and waited for it to connect to Surtr. Instead, the orb flickered a few times before turning pitch black, seemingly broken.
Groaning in frustration, Loki droned, "Seriously...?" before smacking the orb against a nearby wall. Somewhat surprisingly, this actually seemed to work as the orb immediately regained its luster, revealing a woman with raven-black hair, dark green eyes, and pale, almost snow-white skin.
Recognizing the woman as one of their children, confusion briefly marred Loki's expression as they asked, "Hel? Why are you answering instead of Surtr? Don't tell me you're sleeping with that ancient piece of charcoal..."
Scoffing in response to her faux father's words, Hel explained, "Surtr has been severely injured, and the entire Community is in complete disarray. What happened between you and the Sage Dragon Emperor?"
Blinking in surprise, Loki asked, "Injured? How...?" in a genuinely confused tone of voice.
Furrowing her brows, Hel answered, "How am I supposed to know? There was an explosion, and then we discovered Surtr unconscious in his throne room. We also checked on you, but you were nowhere to be found. At this point, everyone is assuming you're the one responsible."
While others might be surprised by Hel's words, Loki appeared relatively calm as they remarked, "It certainly sounds like something I would do..."
Shaking their head, Loki preempted their daughter's enraged response by explaining, "The Sage Dragon Emperor was somehow able to pull me into Asgard through my connection with my puppet. I don't know how, but he was able to completely ignore the wards placed by my father and the fact I am prohibited from entering Asgard directly. He is far more capable than we expected."
Understanding that her 'father' wasn't capable of defeating Surtr even with their full strength, Hel was one of the few people that didn't think Loki was responsible for Surtr's injuries. Vahn, however, was more than capable of performing such a feat.
Exhaling a sigh, Hel took a moment to consider her words before saying, "It matters not. Return to Muspelheim and await further instruction. If what you say is true, we'll need to devise a counterme-"
Interrupting before Hel could finish, Loki supplied a curt, "Nah." before promptly smashing the orb against the ground. If Vahn had the power to take out someone like Surtr without having to make an appearance, there was no way in Helheim they were going to face him. More importantly, the fact they could refuse their daughter's command was more than enough evidence to prove they were free from their contract. It had only been a few months since their resurrection, and they weren't going to squander it trying to poke a Dragon that wasn't even asleep...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Not my problem...','True wisdom...','Loki be like, "Fuck this shit, I'm out~"')
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