Atalanta POV
"I'm starting to think we made the wrong choice."
"Quiet." I shushed Achilles, putting my hand against the branch of the tree.
"Seriously, we have no idea where we're going."
"Shush, I need to concentrate." I finally put my ear to it, the rhythmic thumping reverberated faintly. "Move two feet back."
"What?'
"Shut up and just listen to my direction, move two feet back." I hissed.
Achilles silently moved two feet back and silently waited. The branches' rhythm changed slightly.
"Turn clockwise 30 degrees."
"Half a step to the right."
"Kneel down with one knee pressing against the branch, and put your right hand eight inches to the right of it."
"Alright, you're just fucking with me now." Achilles snorted. "What're you even doing? This makes no sense."
"Obviously it doesn't make sense, this is a Magic Tree that's equivalent to Tartarus in existence, what sense do you expect it to make?" I scoffed.
"Then what're you doing?"
"An Ancient and Primordial being it may be, but it is wild and filled with nature. I met and was blessed by Pan when I was younger, it was one of the reasons I survived the wilds as a child before meeting Artemis." I answered, listening intently to the changes happening. "This place has its own rules, and the rules change as often as we breath. We must adapt, not the other way around." I was about to say something more, but then I felt something important coming. "Stab your spear backwards, now!"
Achilles, thankfully, didn't argue and summoned his spear, stabbing it behind himself.
What should have been empty space now forced his spear to stop as it was sticking from a Branch of the tree that was not there a moment prior.
It was not only that branch either, there were now quite a few that appeared, and they seemed to be leading upwards, almost like stairs.
"Okay, how." Achilles balked. "No way that some random blessing by Pan let you understand that."
"Don't look down on my skills." I snorted again, pointing at several spots of the branch we were standing on. "See those, the bark there is lighter."
"…Sis, I'm looking right at it, and even after you pointed it out, I can barely tell the difference."
I rolled my eyes, lightly kicking his butt. "That means it's recently grown, as in, there has been enough traffic here that it needed to be regrown. Obviously this is a path that something or someone often takes. It was just a matter of finding the correct path from this spot."
"…I'll stick to stabbing things with my spear." He grunted. "But why couldn't we see the Branches before?" He asked, hesitantly stepping up on the newly appeared one.
"It was always there, we just weren't in the right 'spot'." I shrugged. It was hard to understand the wild nature to someone who didn't experience it for themselves. The Old Nature's rules didn't coincide with regular Logic.
Both Achilles and I quickly ascended the Branches. They weren't always perfectly laid out, and it was fairly obvious they weren't intentionally a sort of staircase, but I noticed continued signs of use as many things came and went from this path.
Regardless, it wasn't worth worrying about as it was the only path 'forward' that we had at the moment.
Achilles was first to reach the 'top' so to speak, or rather where these specific branches ended. He disappeared upon stepping on the last Branch and in a small bit of worry, I moved quickly to catch up.
However, I met him standing there dumbfounded but what laid out in front of us.
It was a meadow, seemingly an entirely different world we had just stepped onto.
Clouds hung high above, and towering Branches jutted each and every way. The meadow itself stretched out far beyond what we could actually see. I would almost akin it to the Garden of Hesperides from the stories that Herakles told me.
It was…..inordinately peaceful.
However, our sudden intrusion caught the attention of the current residents.
There were dozens of Deers and Does' with the most striking red fur that I've ever seen on such animals. They had all varying sizes, some ranging from something 'normal' to the size of houses. They all looked at us with clear suspicion and wariness, even if they didn't immediately run away.
I guessed that they weren't used to 'visitors'.
"Oi, Sis…"
"I see them, Rider. Just….don't make any exaggerated moves and make yourself look as small as possible." I whispered.
I was unaware of what these animals actually were. The Knowledge of the Grail did not fill in every detail of the Norse part of the world.
I would not like a situation like Odysseus where I anger a God by harming or annoying one of their sacred animals.
After a few moments, a tiny Doe slowly made its way towards us, only stopping a few feet away.
I was thankful in this moment for the gift that Berserker's Master gave us, being able to store all sorts of items away so we did not have to carry them.
I produced an apple in my hand, and slowly knelt down to offer it.
The Doe, once more, slowly approached to the point where I could reach out and touch it if I so desired. It licked the apply once, looking up at me as if to ask for permission.
"Go ahead." I offered a smile.
It nipped off a piece and happily ate it, its body language changed drastically, and it was must less on guard now. Perhaps due to its perceived youth it didn't quite register the potential danger as even the others did not yet let down their guards.
But taking the opportunity, I lightly rubbed its head to show I meant no harm. I glanced to the others around and they began to slightly ease up. A predator would have taken the opportunity it was given and happily been satisfied with this bounty. The fact that I was not harming the young Doe meant I was not planning them harm to begin with.
Achilles joined me and we gently pet the young animal as it feasted upon its prize.
"Hello, little one." I greeted as it finished up, looking at me curiously. It had far too much intelligence in its eye to be treated as a 'normal' animal. It pushed its little head into me playfully.
It continued to push its head into me playfully.
"She desires another apple, if you would be so kind."
Achilles and I both stilled. We had no idea where the voice was coming from as we didn't sense the kind of presence that spoke.
"We apologize for intruding, Elder." I immediately knelt down, offering an apology, and Achilles followed suit.
There was a small chuckle, and it seemed like the world shook. "It's quite alright, child of the Wilds. If you were unwelcome, you would not have been able to come. Not even Ratatoskr can come here without my permission."
"Thank you for your benevolence" I quickly offered thanks as well. I had learned very early on in life that anything of this kind of status you needed to pay upmost respects to and stay on their good side. "Do you require anything of us, Elder?"
"No, merely my own curiosity as you approached. Forgive me, I listened in to your conversation, and it answered the questions I had. Blessed by Pan, welcome to the hidden Grove. The Wilds welcome those who respect them. Find peace and tranquility among my Children. I am Duneyrr, last of my siblings. I apologize for not showing myself, but it would be difficult in this situation."
"We are honored to be welcomed here, Elder." I answered back. "Unfortunately, we cannot indulge in your hospitality for too long, we are on a quest by the All-Father to seek the Highest Branch the King who sits upon it."
"Ah Odin." The Voice rumbled and the meadow shook one more. "All the commotion I could hear, and the painful cries that whispered upon the leaves….it seems the end is upon us. Do you seek the King above to aid you? I fear your quest will end in failure, young Wildling."
"Even so, we must see it through to the end."
"Hræsvelgr dislikes Asgard and will most likely deny any request for aid. His is arrogant, looking down upon the Nine Realms as though the conflicts below are beneath his notice. I can feel it, the Fires that come from Muspelheim move with a purpose, and the Colds of Jotunheim follow suit. Something evil creeps up from the Roots, and Death openly walks amongst the living as their enemies. Tread carefully wildling."
"Elder…..would you lend your aid as well?" I hesitantly asked.
An amused sound erupted from the surroundings, something akin to a laugh but it was hard to hear as the ground shook. "I am old. I am neither God nor Jotun. Tell me, what is my spot in this conflict?"
"This is your home."
"….home" The Voice said wistfully. "I am the last of my siblings. They were hunted for sport and for pleasure. My Children are in danger once they leave my protection and will suffer the same fate. Why must I align myself with those who would do them harm?" It let out a sigh. "Go, fullfill your quest then return to the lands of Gods and Jotuns to fight your battles, I will await whatever conclusion that comes. Either way, our ends will be the same."
"Coward." Achilles spat out.
My eyes widened and the ground trembled.
"What did you say….?"
"I called you a coward!" Achilles stood up, shouting.
Dammit Achilles!
We both felt the looming presence bare down on us. It's clear this thing…..whatever it was, it wasn't a God, perhaps some sort of Divine Beast?
It was not to be trifled with, that was for certain.
Apparently, Achilles did not take that to heed.
All of the Deers and Does looked at us rather….angrily at this point, all except the little Doe pushing me.
"What would you know!?" The voice rumbled.
Achilles slapped his chest plate. "I willingly walked to my death in the hopes of Glory and Honor, so that my name would last for thousands of years. You…..you won't even fight for your home? I call you a coward." He spat out again.
"You don't know what you're talking about." The Voice said dismissively.
"This isn't even my home. I'm Greek." Achilles snorted. "But I was asked to help. Make any excuses you want, deny it, it doesn't matter. I'll be going to save your home in your stead while you cower away here and everything you know turns to ash."
"This is all we have left!"
"Then fight for it!" Achilles shouted back, throwing his arm out angrily. "You're sitting here while your entire world is being destroyed when you can do something! And instead, you're whining that you're the only one left? What's the point in even lasting this long if you're just going to sit here and die because you're too much of a coward to fight for your right to live?!"
The entity, whatever it was, it roared something intelligible, the ground beneath us shook more violently than ever, yet Achilles stood impassibly with his words.
It quieted down a few moments later.
Achilles snorted disdainfully. "Come on, Sis. Let's go and do actually something useful. We have a job to do that involves saving this place."
I let out a sigh. It's not like I didn't understand Achilles' standpoint, but I supposed it just struck his nerves more than it did myself. I couldn't understand sitting and watching as my whole world came burning down around me.
This person just seemed…..defeated and waiting for death. Perhaps that's why Achilles' was pissed off, he hated when other people give up before they even try.
"Leave, this grove no longer welcomes you." The Voice rumbled.
"I apologize for my companion." I bowed my head towards where I believe the voice originated. There was no need to be additionally rude. As I was about to leave, the young Doe grabbed onto my skirt with her mouth. "Child, I must leave. Here, you may have one more." I handed over another apple to satiate it, but it didn't even look at the treat and continued to pull on my skirt.
It made some sounds, and I could not understand what it wanted.
"…..you are young, you know not what you are speaking."
The Doe held its head up, and made more of its immature noises, almost defiantly.
The voice let out a tired sign, vibrating throughout the ground. "Very well. Child of the wilds, I will make a path for you towards the Top Branch, my youngest will also be your guide. The King above will atleast not be hostile if he sees you with my child. This is the only aid I will give you."
"Thank you for your assistance, Elder." I bowed my head once more. "Any help you provide is greatly appreciated." Because frankly, it was going to be a headache to keep moving upwards if this was the kind of thing we had to constantly do.
I questioned what It meant by opening a path, I thought, perhaps he would create a literal pathway from this grove of his….but no.
The Branches, the towering Branches that looked to be great trees themselves that pierced the very clouds, they trembled and moved.
Moss and Bark shook off, ancient vines that wrapped around them fell off as they slowly began to move to the side. And from underneath the foliage, a white hue shined through.
…..the reason we couldn't sense nor find the being speaking to us….we were standing on its body. The towering trees and branches, they were its horns.
I could picture it from another view, this was it tilting its head to allow us to move upwards.
Achilles also swallowed as he realized who he was chastising only moments prior.
The little Doe didn't seem to mind whatsoever and impatiently tugged on my skirt. I decided it was a wise decision to leave as quickly as possible.
[***]
The red Doe galloped across the tree branches, and I would almost mistake it for a mount goat the way it hoped from one branch to another.
It was able to keep a speed that required us to be mindful of.
The further we went, the more I realized what was meant by the 'highest branch'.
The sky was no longer an indication of height. We had long passed the clouds and still continued upwards. It was as if we were ascending Olympus itself with the Constellations lighting our way amongst the stars.
I realized we were close when one a stray bird flocked away, leaving behind a feather in its haste.
It was the first time I had seen a bird during our ascension.
The Doe did not bother with it and continued on, moving quickly through the brush and branches. Leaves became more apparent and thicker with each passing moment.
More and more birds began to appear. There was no defining type either, it seems like Birds from every corner of the world were represented here.
Most of them looked…..normal and without that hint of intelligence to them that the Doe had, but every so often there was one or two that looked startled and surprised to see us and not just an instinctual reaction.
"Intruders, Invaders!" A squawk resounded from within the thicket.
"Intruders!"
"Invaders!"
"Intruders!"
"Invaders!"
The myriad of voices echoed the words.
The Doe besides us let out its own noises as if to speak in our defense, but it was drowned out in the shouts of the Birds above our heads.
"Alert the King!"
"Alert the King!"
"Alert the King!"
"Stop the Invaders!"
"Stop the Invaders!"
"Stop the Invaders!"
The Birds all flew away, except a large shadow loomed overhead. The starlight that illuminated the area was blocked by large wings.
"Trespassers will be dealt with swift!" The Bird's voice boomed, and Feathers shot down from the sky. They were like arrows, piercing into the ground as I grabbed the Doe to dodge out of the way.
"Oi, we're not invaders!" Achilles shouted back. "I'm gonna get mad real soon!"
"The King's Orders, Invaders are dealt with swiftly!" I barely got a look at it now, it was definitely a Large Eagle overhead, and many more of its kind joined in.
They all flapped their wings, the winds carried upon their wings wewaponizing their own feathers, shooting down towards us.
I set the Doe down and summoned upon my bow, pulling back the Bowstring.
I met each of theirs with an arrow of mine.
I leapt up the branches until I was above the immediate canopy. Pulling my bow string back, I pushed more Magical Energy into my next Arrows. They soared through the air, destroying any obstacles in their way and struck their targets true.
The wings of the Eagles were pierced, and they fell to the ground.
It wouldn't be something they couldn't heal from, but I was with Achilles and annoyed that they immediately struck first.
Achilles was alright upon them, spear pressed against what appeared to be the leader's neck.
"Right, how about we do this again." Achilles said in clear annoyance. "Hey, how's it going. We were here to talk to your King. We didn't invade, we simply walked up here and didn't have a chance to say anything before you started attacking."
"It doesn't matter, all trespassers are to be killed." The Eagle didn't back down despite the spear to its neck.
It wasn't until the Doe came running out that the tension eased a little and the Eagle looked at it in confusion.
"One of Duneyrr's…?" The Eagle looked in confusion. "What are you doing up here?" There was a certain….amicableness when associated with the Doe.
"That's what I would like to know." A Voice carried upon the winds, and it felt similar to the one below when he spoke. Rather than being on top of him and shaking the ground, this time, it seemed like the very air vibrated with the words.
The stars in the sky were blotted out as a shadow filled the sky.
We were told that the King of the Highest Branch was large.
That description did not do him justice.
A single one of its talons could have rended the ship we flew here on asunder. Its body was larger than the Giant we met in the previous battle. And its wingspan was easily three to four times that in length.
Hræsvelgr was here.
[***]
Thorum POV
"Lady Jinn, are you sure this is the correct way!?" I held onto the mast of the ship as we were on hurled downwards into a black abyss.
"Nope!" She answered back with a cackle.
"It was kind of Wilhelm to leave us the Ship." Sasaki Kojiro stood there with a smile on his face. How he did not fear for his safety, I did not know.
"Aye, I only wish he was here to…..control it." I forced a smile. Lady Jinn was a magnificent woman and I enjoyed her company, but…..I do not believe she should be left in control of such things.
"I'm not controlling it!" Jinn shouted. "When the Captain is gone, the First Mate is in charge!" She pointed to Wilhelm's Rabbit sitting on the front of the ship along with his mate.
"…..I am questioning my decisions."
"Don't think about it too much." He pat my shoulder. "Instead, we should worry about those things." He pointed up in the distance.
The light was lacking here, but there was enough to vaguely make out the red hue of a group of creatures approaching.
"They look like bats?" I tilted my head.
"Yup, big ol bats." Jinn agreed.
"Hoh…" Sasaki unsheathed his sword and jumped to the bow of the ship, holding it up. His blade flashed out with such skill that the flying creatures had their wings cut clean off, and their bodies landed upon the deck.
"Eww." Jinn poked one of the twitching bodies. "They're big though. Fully organic, lacking any noticeable reproductive organs. A metaphysical container to facilitate the circulation of Magical Energy within the environment. Calculating the degree of organ failure through blood loss, biological make up indicates a short life span of roughly three months." Jinn spoke with a blank look on her face. "Hmm, they're artificially created and disposable." She kicked it off the ship. "We're detected, they're scouts."
"Ah?" I turned to Sasaki. "What happened?"
"Don't worry about it." He laughed. "Get ready for a fight though."
Many red dots blanketed the pit we were descending into. Hundreds if not thousands of them appeared in the distance, their eyes glowing in the dark.
"Front cannons, fire!" Jinn ordered, the magics within them accumulated and intense fires spewed forth, colliding with the oncoming wave.
She was having fun.
Even Wilhelm's mighty partner began to release Lightning Magics in their direction, disintegrating large swathes of them with ease.
I joined Sasaki up front, Gram entered my hands and I swung to cut one in half. It was not too difficult, they were not strong, but there were many more of them and I feared they would simply drown us in numbers.
Regardless, I swung and swung, sending many of their number to the bottom of the abyss with each passing moment.
My fellow swordsman was making quick work of them just as much if not superior than myself. For every one I felled, two or three were cleaved in twain by his Ebony Sword.
"Softer movements." He glanced my way. "You're putting too much energy in your swings, you're going to tire yourself out. Use your body for each swing, but let the momentum carry you. You're not hacking through a tree, your sword is merely gliding through the air."
I was surprised by his sudden advice, but I knew when to listen to my betters.
I tried it his way, instead of forcibly chopping down, I simply swung through the air, predicting their movements. It was true, they were quite easy to fell, and I did not need to put overly much effort into each new carcass that piled up.
"Haha, that's it!" The armorless man laughed, picking up his pace. "But, this doesn't look too good, they're surrounding us quite easily."
"Lady Jinn!" I looked back as Wilhelm's Lady was doing well to hold off any that approached her with swirling Magic Circles, showing such an amazing mastery of Magic that I was left in awe. "Do you believe these creatures to be of low intelligence?"
I cast my own magics, letting Gram be set alight with fire, and waving it around to push them away somewhat as their numbers made it difficult to continue slashing.
"Yup, dumb minions!" She shouted back. "You wanna take care of them or I can, I just didn't want to do something too big."
"Allow me." I took a deep breath. I have never used this Shout on such a large number of enemies before, and I particularly did not like using it, but this situation, I found myself with a clear conscious. "Raan Mir Tah!" I bellowed out as loud as I could as the Draconic Words reverberated through the air.
The Shout of forcing Animal Allegiance.
The hundreds and hundreds of bat-like creatures all simultaneously made a screech, forcing us to cover our ears amidst their noise. However, they slowly began to regain their earlier energy, but no long swarmed the ship, but rather flew around it as if waiting for orders.
I let out a breath of tiredness, I had not ever used the Thu'um to effect such a large number of entities before, It was not a pleasant experience.
"Good job, Thorum!" Jinn cheered for me.
Ah, her cheerfulness was always contagious and never failed to make me smile.
"You honor me, Lady Jinn, you could have just as easily dealt with such creatures on your own." I scratched my head embarrassingly.
"Are you controlling them?" Sasaki Kojiro asked.
"Aye, they listen to my orders." I looked up. "Follow us into battle!" I held up Gram pointing forward.
The Bat-like creatures screeched in acknowledgement and the Ship continued forward.
"Looks like we're about to hit some kind of threshold." Jinn warned, looking a mite more serious. "Those were just to dissuade intruders, as well as act as outer scouts I believe. We're about to enter Hel, if I'm not mistaken."
Wilhelm's Familiar zipped through the air, landing upon Lady Jinn's shoulder with his mate joining him quickly.
"You heard the Rabbit, full speed ahead!" She shouted.
As we got deeper, strangely, it began to get brighter, a light at the end of the tunnel.
Very quickly, it became clear what we were flying down into. It almost looked like….water in aspect, but more murky and hard to see into.
The Ship collided with it without stopping, the threshold of some manner fought against us, the ship pushed forward, and once more like water, it pushed past the surface, breaking free. I expected us to be submerged in some way, prepared to cast my own spells to make breathing possible, however, once we were past, and the strange grip on us disappeared, we were no longer descending downwards, rather, we were now in the sky above a vast plains bereft of any life.
Towering rock spirals that pierced the sky, chasms below that had a similar water-like substance that flowed through them. And there was a melancholic feeling that hung in the air with strange emerald and sapphire colors dancing amongst the stars.
It reminded me of the domain of the Soul Cairn but….it did not feel…wrong in the way that place made your soul feel. Aye, it felt like I was not supposed to be here, but this was not a place against my own feelings.
It was truly a realm of the Dead, I believe such feelings were normal for a living person.
"Careful of Ghosts and Wraiths, we have no idea what's going on here." Jinn warned us.
I looked around and it seemed like a strange mist began to sort of…gather at our presence. I could hear whispers, voices speaking to me from within. They beckoned me, telling me to join them, to accept my place among their kin.
This was not Sovngarde, this was not where my end was to be had.
I respected the Dead that laid here, but this was not where I would take my eternal rest.
"I am by no means a master of Magic and such, but is this mist supposed to be doing this?" Sasaki Kojiro asked and I too was taken by surprise by the sudden 'assault' this effect had upon us.
The Mists swirled around us aggressively, blocking any vision we had beyond the ship an the surrounding creatures that flew at our side.
"Lok Vah Koor!" I shouted, my words reverberated out.
The Mist dispersed, as all weather phenomena was cleared by my hand.
With us at the center, the Mist was pushed away with a sudden boom. In the sky, and upon the lands, everything became clear as the day.
And that is when we saw what lay below in true. A sprawling castle with its own towers and defenses. The home of the person we sought, for better or worse. But with our sight now clear, it showed the enemies that too waited for us.
Sprawling formations of undead. Hundreds of thousands, and I could not begin to count them all. The Necromantic Magics that held them together made them light up amongst the decrepit stone earths they stood upon.
"That is a lot of Draugr." I noted.
"Sure is." Jinn agreed.
"Are we flying right in?" I asked, perhaps knowing the answer to my own question.
"No point in being cautious, we're already seen." Jinn smiled. "Full steam ahead!" The flying creatures around us became erratic and acknowledged the undead as their own enemies just as well due to my connection.
Just as we made the decision to fly forth, a protective barrier began to manifest around the Castle.
The sprawling towers also lit up with their own great Magics, and a hail of Magical Fire was launched towards us.
It was perhaps the first time we felt a sense of danger.
The first one hit the Ship, and our own protective Magics fended it off, but the ship shook something fierce.
Jinn quickly jumped to the front, and Magic Circles appeared by the dozens with her movements, many different layers of shields protecting us from the onslaught of the enemies' attack.
"Keep going, I'll hold off their Magic Attacks, we need to push through. If we get stuck fighting so many undead in this open field, we're going to be in for a bad time."
"Aye." I nodded, her words had sound logic to them. I would find it unwelcomed to be struck by such destructive magics if Undead swarmed us in such numbers. "Go!" I command the creatures under my thrall.
Hundreds in comparison to hundreds of Thousands below, but we merely needed an opening.
"The Gate." Jinn's eyes glowed. "It's both the entrance and the weak spot in the barrier."
"On it." I moved my hand, and the Bats swarmed forwards, as if to make us a path.
Numerous they may be, but Undead were not intelligent, nor were they strong individually. Some unknown command forced them to close ranks, to position themselves infront of our approach, but that was the extent of their team work.
The Bat-like creatures collided with the first line of Draugr, shattering their initial formation and delving deep into their numbers.
Unfortunately, Undead also do not feel fear nor weariness. Despite their kin falling by the hundreds, they did not waver one bit.
The Cannons at the bow of the ship continued to fire as well. I cast my own Magics, as pitiful in comparison they may be, and the ship burst through the front lines with the opening our fallen comrades had created.
Jinn walked towards the front, and in her hand, was a familiar glowing sword. "I've always wanted to do this." She said lightly with a smile, holding up the Sacred sword. "Dawnbreaker!" She called out, swinging it down, and a blinding wave of light followed.
It destroyed any Undead in its path, it treated them as a mere hindrance and collided with the gate of the castle. The Magics holding it together wavered and shuddered under the strain. Perhaps if she used it once more, it would not hold up, but the blast only could do so much in comparison to the tens of thousands of enemies it slayed and the strain it put forth onto the barrier.
There was now an open path forward, however, and the ship did not stop, but further increased it speed
I grabbed onto the railing, because I knew what was coming next.
The ship collided with the castle, bursting through the front gate and shattering the Magics preventing our entrance. The Ship suffered some minor damage, but the castle gate shattered, stone and splinters flew in every which way upon our arrival.
The ship came to an abrupt stop as well, it hit the ground rather hard, digging itself into the dirt.
I was not quite sure what I was looking at once I caught my bearings.
There were Ghosts, many – many Ghosts of varying degrees, but they seemed to be shackled in some way. And there were Giants, some big, some…..less big, but still rather large. And there were bones and flesh in a large pile while the Giants were stuffing the Ghosts into corpses.
They stopped for the most part once we entered, but it did not take one long to understand the process.
Sasaki Kojiro jumped off the Ship, sword drawn. "My turn to have a bit of fun."
Aye, I would let him handle it, he was not able to provide much support for the last battle.
Instead, I looked elsewhere, a strange feeling calling to me.
"Oh, I think that's her!" Jinn held up a hand above her eyes, looking only a bit further away as a woman was bound and chained to a chair. "Are you Hel!?" Jinn shouted, running over to her.
The woman herself, she had long white hair, and two horns coming from the side of her head. Her ears also were pointed like an elf's, but her eyes drew my attention the most. One was pink in color, the other was yellow, both equally….striking. They contrasted her complexion quite well, as half of her body seemed darker than the other.
"Greetings, we are here to rescue you, Lady Hel! We hail from a quest by the God, Odin!" I greeted.
They looked up at us in bewilderment. "Save me…?" She blinked. "Someone actually came to save me?"
"Aye, I apologize for the late arrival, we only just learned of your imprisonment!" I nodded.
"It's nice to finally meet you! I'm Izzy's Harem sister, and I'm happy to meet one of her friends!" Jinn cheerfully added.
"Izzy?" She looked confused. "Do you mean Izanami?" She looked surprised. "Right, she got a boyfriend." The Goddess chuckled to herself. "Aren't you a sweet thing."
"Izzy knew that you wouldn't 'betray Asgard' or whatever." Lady Jinn spoke. "Let's see, how do we get you out…?" She looked over the chains.
Lady Hel snorted in annoyance. "Betray Asgard?" She rolled her eyes. "No, my father tricked and bound me here after I refused his ridiculous scheme. As you can see, he's been using my subjects to fuel an army." Her voice drawled. "I don't know why anyone would think I would willingly use Undead Zombies. It's so cliché that it physically pains me to even acknowledge. But unfortunately, it's a rather simple and productive solution. With myself bound, he can force my residents into a false body and control them that way."
"It's okay, our friend is cleaning up your jailers, then we can get you out swiftly, Lady Hel. We can accompany you back to Asgard and seek retribution and clear your name." I affirmed.
She looked at me. "I'm sorry, who are you? I don't recognize you, even if I know her." She meant Jinn.
"I apologize for my late introduction, I am Thorum. Wilhelm is my friend, and I am here to assist him in saving your home." I smiled. "Do not worry, I will not allow any harm to become you."
She lifted an eyebrow. "You have a strange soul."
I met her gaze and looked away unconsciously.
She let out a laugh. "Does my appearance disturb you? I can take on a more seemly appearance once I'm free, unfortunately, I am unable to use my power in this state."
"N-no, Lady Hel, I was merely taken back. You have very beautiful eyes…." I awkwardly answered. "Fear not, your jailers will be no problem. Lady Jinn, how do we remove these chains, even I can feel the Magics around them, and I fear doing something harmful."
She tilted her head and a smile slowly grew. "You won't be able to undo these Chains. Father decided to get particularly creative. These are the chains forged by Hephaestus to chain Zues to his throne, hence…" She looked down at herself. "He also wanted to torture me by making me watch my realm be used for his war machine in person. Which is why I'm sitting here rather than inside my palace. But I digress, it is not possible for Mortals to unlock these chains. And Father decided to take an extra and particularly malevolent step to curse the actual key. Any God who uses it to open these chains will trade their life for my freedom. But that is not important, my 'jailers' as you put it, were mere riffraff. My true Jailer has not appeared."
"Oh, are these Giants not important?" Sasaki Kojiro walked up, the corpse of a Giant hitting the ground.
"You are a spirit." She blinked, shaking her head. "As impressive as it is to slay them with such ease….I fear you do not know what you walked into. This was a trap laid to bring Odin despair." She looked off to the side. "He should already know you're here."
"Is he hiding within those mountains?" I looked over yonder.
"No…." The mountains moved. It was then that I understood, that it was not a mountain, but a beast that uncoiled from its rest. Two eyes glowing amidst the sweeping mists of this death realm. The Two yellow eyes, each one that could be counted the size the our vessel. "That is my Jailer. Jörmungandr, the world Serpent. "
It was a serpent, vaster than any I have ever laid my eyes upon.
And I also felt a strange sensation within my chest, and a desire from within mine sword.
"Fear not, Lady Hel." I drew Gram within my hands. "Tis a mighty beast and larger than any I have seen, but it is a Dragon. And if there is one thing I am confident in, it is slaying Dragons."
[***]
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.
Achilles POV
That was one big fucker.
How many times would I have to stab him to take him down? He didn't feel like the strongest thing I've ever stood before, but yeah…that's something I would have to go all out to fight. Probably have to use my Shield to really take him down cause I wouldn't have enough power otherwise.
"We greet you, King of the Highest Branch." Sis always was better at this stuff than I was. Kinda funny considering she grew up in the wild.
The Giant Eagle seemed to nod at her atleast. "I require…..an explanation."
Well, not immediately attacking, that's a good thing I supposed.
The little deer that came with us started jumping around and making more noise infront of the giant bird. Frankly, I had no idea what was going on there, but Big Bird seemed to be listening intently.
"Is this true?" The large Bird asked. He swept his gaze around when no one answered.
I raised my hand. "Uh, we don't speak…..that language." Almost said something I probably shouldn't have.
The large bird narrowed his eyes. "This Child of Duneyrr speaks in your defense. She says that my own had attacked without warning and attempted to harm herself and you both."
"That is correct." Sis said firmly.
"My king!"
"Your orders –"
"Intruders – "
The Large bird threw up one of its wings, silencing them. "Go back, we will discuss your actions later."
The other large eagles, well, comparatively smaller…..the arrows sis hit them with didn't do any real harm aside from their pride. They looked hurt, at best. But they removed them and were able to get back up in the air and flew away to who knows where.
"You did not kill any of my people even under their foolishness, thus you have my favor. You have a child of Duneyrr with you, thus you have my attention. And for the mistake of my subordinates, I will give you a proper response. I did not order them to kill anyone who approaches, but it seems that my order was taken out of context. The child speaks of you favorably, now I will hear what you have to say as an extension of an apology."
Well, made sense I guess.
"Great King, we arrived here with a request for aid from the All-Father, Odin." Atalanta bowed her head. "Ragnarök has started, your might is needed to defend all living beings of the Nine Realms. All around you, the enemies of – "
"I am aware." He interrupted.
"Then you will answer…?"
"Report back to Odin that he and his can settle their own matters." The Large bird swung its wing dismissively.
"You can't be serious…." I replied.
Sis looked at me with annoyance, but I couldn't help it.
"Silence." The winds around us whipped about. "I knew what you were here to ask already. I only allowed this audience due to my subordinate's folly. We do not concern ourselves with what happens below. If any dare approach, they will suffer my wrath." He swept his wings, producing a near hurricane of winds that both Sis and I had to brace ourselves against.
"Please reconsider, we – "
"I have given my response, return to the ground."
Sis looked at me and let out a sigh.
"So you're just going to bury your head in the sound? Should I call you an Ostrich rather than an Eagle?" I snorted.
The look she gave me told me that it was my turn. Sometimes being nice and polite works, sometimes you gotta provoke them.
I'm good at one, Sis was good at the other.
The Massive Bird stopped its wings flapping and its eyes bore down on me. "My good will has run its course. Return from whence you came, tell Odin that he can fight and lose his battles on his own."
"So you know that he's going to lose, so you're just waiting for your own deaths, huh?" I threw my hands up behind my head. "I get it, you know you're fucked either way, so you may as well watch from a good spot, eh? Like that coward below, you're just waiting for your death to come all the same."
"Your attempts at angering me into action are futile." He snorted. "You are not worth my time nor attention."
Well shit.
I thought a big guy like that would have an equally large ego to match. If I ran my mouth to one of our Gods…..
"Alright, then let's make a bet." Plan B then.
The large Bird looked at me for awhile then laughed, flapping its wings, and rising up into the air. "Return while your antics still amuse me. There is nothing you could offer and nothing you could 'compete' with me in to become worthy of my notice."
It didn't even give me time to respond before it shot off into the distance.
I looked at sis, and she looked back at me.
She let out a sigh. "My way failed, handle it how you see fit. If we fail, we fail."
That's all I needed to hear.
I did a few leg stretches back to back, then took a runner's stance. "Don't worry, I know exactly what I'm doing."
"That's what I'm worried about." She said dryly.
No faith.
I shot off after Big Bird.
He was fast, very fast. I can say that as the Fastest Hero alive, he was impressive. However, I am Achilles.
It took me a few moments to catch up, how far I ran, I don't really know. But the look on the Bird's face when I caught up, that was something special.
I summoned my shield, and threw it.
The massive bird got smacked right in the face, the satisfying clang of it was music to my ears. And it knocked the thing right out of the sky.
I had to slide to a quick stop at the earthquake that rumbled out as it hit the ground.
The Bird was no worse of wear, but I didn't expect much, I just wanted its attention.
My shield came flying back into my hand, and I slammed it into the ground, making the entirety of the High Branches shake. "My name is Achilles, son of the Goddess Thetis, son of the Hero Peleus!" I smacked my chest. "The fastest Hero ever. Do you dare to take my challenge, King of the Highest Branch?"
The bird looked at me differently. "What are your terms?"
"We race, if I win, you and yours fight with Odin. If you win…." I looked down at my shield. "This is yours."
The Bird looked down at my Shield with a certain greed in its eyes. Yeah, my Shield was a treasure that anyone would want.
"Very well, I will accept this challenge."
"Achilles." Atalanta hissed, clearly seeing the end of our little wager. That little deer of hers was running at her side "What're you doing!? You're wagering your Noble Phantasm, are you crazy!?"
"What's wrong?"
"What do you mean, what's wrong? We barely have anything to do with these people, why are you going so far?"
"Really, isn't it obvious?"
"Then explain it to me!"
"How many people are gonna die down below?"
She was silent, and I didn't really expect an honest answer there, because frankly, I didn't know myself.
"You forgot something important, Sis."
"What's that?"
"I'm a Hero." I smiled.
"Idiot…." She whispered. "Do what you want." She grumbled.
"If you're done squabbling, I will prepare our stage." The bird lifted its head up and let out a thunderous cry. As if a hurricane was created and swept to every corner of the earth.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Birds blanketed the skies a its called. Some of them were ordinary, some of them were bigger than horses, and some of them were bigger than houses.
"My subjects, your King has been challenged!" He cried, and the ensuing cries from all the other Birds was loud. Big bird swept his wings, and the hurricane-like wings gathered, condensed into a long path that seemed to extend into the starry sky.
I walked onto the path he created, it was made of wind, but it was solid. I kicked it a few times to get a feel for it.
I took my spot at the starting line.
The Big Bird himself flapped his wings, and visibly shrunk in size, just about matching my size as it landed next to me.
Well, let the best Hero win.
[***]
Wilhelm POV
My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. My immediate instinct was to grab my weapon at the foreign surroundings, but….the aching on my side stopped me dead in my tracks.
I looked down to see my clothes were off, mostly. But my stomach was wrapped up tight with blood having seeped through some of the wrappings.
My Aura was still there and working, but closing my eyes, I could feel the wound I got. It was on a level more than something physical.
{Be at ease, you are not in danger.} Musū Tengai's voice rang out in my head.
It was reassuring to hear, and I let my body fall back down onto the bed I was stationed on.
My head hurt something fierce as well.
Using the Shikai ability of Musū Tengai in such a blunt way in that situation met with a large backlash. It was stupid, but it was a decision I couldn't give me thought of at the time.
I took this moment to look around the room I was in, it was small, a bed, a wooden table with a bunch of books and what looked like a primitive Alchemy station set up and a couple of wooden chairs.
"Should I be happy that I'm alive atleast?"
[Don't be melodramatic.] Ddraig grunted. [You did good for fighting two opponents that you would have a hard time winning against a single one. And besides, you won.]
Right….we won.
As in, we stopped their plans, whatever those were.
The Box – Pandora's Box, was inside my Ring.
It felt utterly disgusting and I wanted nothing to do with it. If it weren't such a volatile thing, I'd have tossed it away already.
I wonder if Mama Pandora would want it?
I hadn't seen her in a while, I needed to stop by.
Or would that be offensive if I gave it to her…?
I didn't have time to ponder that question, because the thin fabric that acted like a door was swept to the side and someone walked inside.
It was a man…if going by human standards, someone who just entered their later years. Wrinkles showing up on their face, hair shifting to white form blonde, a weathered look about them, even if they still appeared to be in pretty good shape.
But that was by human standards.
This person had long pointy Ears.
"Please don't tell me I landed in the Fae Realms after some convoluted Bullshit." I groaned, despite the pain at doing such.
"I find that offensive." The Older man said dryly. "We don't like to be talked in the same breath with our…..cousins." His lips thinned.
"Sorry, you're right, that was rude of me to do."
He nodded with a small smile. "It's fortunate to see that you're awake."
"Was I in that bad of shape?" My eyes widened at the insinuation.
"No, I'm just happy to have my bed back tonight."
"….oh."
He chuckled, finding the wooden chair and plopping down. He let out a tired breath, leaning back. "Do you remember how you arrived?"
"It's mostly a haze after Ratatoskr…." I muttered.
"Mmm, that darn Squirrel is going to be the death of me, I just know it." He grumbled. "I found him some five hundred years ago, he'd mouthed off to something he shouldn't and got pummeled for it, rightfully so." He harumphed. "But I couldn't let him just be, so I nursed him back to health. Now, it seems like I'm his personal healer whenever he needs."
{Don't let his tone fool you, he put in a lot of effort to treat you as best as he could.} Musū Tengai replied.
"Thank you for your help, Elder." I bowed my head and offered my heartfelt thanks. "Honestly, after getting saved by Ratatoskr, I don't recall much, I felt in a daze and things went fuzzy."
"You got a nasty cut on you." He pointed at my bandages. "And your soul took quite the shock. I'm not surprised you went out cold as soon as the adrenaline went away. Unfortunately, I could only heal you physically."
"Which means….?"
"Hmm…" He rubbed his chin. "I had to use some magics to analyze the state of your soul, and based on what I found, you lost about 700 years of your lifespan. The residual energy on that cut seems to devour vitality. It took me awhile to clean that away."
{Don't worry, I did not allow him to dig too deeply. But he speaks the truth, that attack by Kronos was with a very condensed application of his Authority over Time. You lost 719 years of your lifespan.} Musū Tengai stated. {The shock of that happening all at once, combined with your Aura taking a significant blow, you went into....I do not know what to call it except the equivalent of a soul-based Heart Attack and you passed out.}
That….
700 years? Just gone like that?
I knew I was going to live a very long time, but that was still….significant, and it was hard to wrap my mind around.
{Was it worth it?} Musū Tengai asked.
Was what worth what?
{Sacrificing 700 years for people you don't even know? For a cause that you have no stake, and for something you had no business being involved with.}
...I didn't know how to answer that because I felt something in my heart waver at his words.
"I came with someone else, is he…?"
"Odin is already up and about." The Elf stood up, stretching his back. "He's outside." He walked over, pulling the curtain open so I could see a bit of sunlight.
With a long breath, I moved over to let my legs fall off the side of the bed and then pushed myself up off the bed.
Definitely sore, but it was far from the worst I've had.
I nodded politely to the Elf and walked outside to see Odin not far away sitting on a tree stump.
I admired what he was looking at, a small stream, as if untouched by civilization, some of the most pure water I've ever seen in my life.
Odin himself…..he wasn't looking good.
He was wrapped in far more bandages than I was, and even then, he looked bad.
"Don't stare at me like that, I'm not going to shatter like glass." He harumphed.
"I'm sorry I couldn't grab your spear in time." I noticed his particular lack of walking stick.
Odin merely grunted in response. "Did you get the box?"
"Yeah, I got it. I'm kind of scared taking It out, so just believe me for now."
He nodded. "We won, that's good."
"Good is fairly subjective at the moment. You're not in good shape."
"Hah, you should have seen the other guy!"
I gave him a dry look. "I was there."
His smile gradually faded into something melancholic. "To be honest, I didn't expect to live."
"I didn't say anything before, but you were getting weaker as the fight went on." Because the All-Father should have been able to bring much more strength to bare than that.
"Ah, you noticed." He merely said. "When I said that mutt was suppressing me, I meant it literally. We're connected by fate. When we're close to one another, fate will conspire for us to fight, and it will lean everything into the Wolf's favor. My strength waned because I was supposed to die."
"That's bullshit."
"You think I want to be a feeble old man when I finally kick it!?" He grumbled. "But I didn't retreat, and I survived, I should thank you. I also said that I had a sliver of hope to overturn fate, it increased a bit because I survived our first encounter."
"Why not just kill it earlier?" I probably knew the answer, but it was better to double check.
"Brat, I would have loved nothing more than to grab my sons and jump it while it was chained up and beat it to death. But there is a price for so blatantly messing with Prophecy and Fate, it was very likely that a worse situation would have occurred. So, I did the most logical thing and tied it up so it couldn't escape."
"We walked into a bad situation. Not just the Wolf, Kronos, and Hyperion, they were prepared for me. Not like they were expecting me there and then, but the way they fought."
"Brat, how old do you think they are? They have more experience than you could imagine, you're twenty something years old to their thousands."
"That's not what I meant. I can admit that played a role in it, but it was more. They knew more about me, they fought in a way that didn't let me make use of my abilities to their fullest. Kronos never utilized his Authority except in modest and constrained ways so I couldn't use my own to turn the tide by sealing or overturning his. And they never opened themselves up for a situation where I could gain the advantage with my Zanpakutō. It felt like they studied me for awhile." Frankly, my fight with Indra showed off a lot of my cards…
"Is this the first time you've fought someone that knew all your tricks?" Odin looked at me.
"I…..I think when you say it like that, it's a yes." Granted, I had one or two things still up my sleeve, but they weren't applicable in that situation. "I've always had something to surprise my opponents with. Susanoo, Indra, etc. They didn't expect me to wield an Authority of my Zanpakutō and had no context for it. I think I was relying on that too much."
"It's a good learning experience."
"Yeah, it's good to realize that now." I admitted as well. "Thanks for finishing my spell too, I was having trouble altering the Spell sequence properly, and now it's completed."
He waived it off. "It's a good spell. You called it Vanaheim?"
"Mmm, I have a set of spells correlating to the Nine Realms and Yggdrasil. I have a feeling you'll be seeing them soon."
He nodded. "I have this for you." He reached into his pocket and took out a vial. "The Elf scraped this out of my wounds, it's saliva from the mutt. Figured you might have some use for it."
"This is very valuable to me, thank you." One more thing to add to my newest Sword. I need to make a plan first, because it can't absorb something like this right away or it'll probably break. It needed some time to build up to something this strong. "Wait….the Elf fixed you up, relatively speaking, Fenrir's anti-Divine, Anti-Magic saliva and all. He fixed me up, citing that he removed Kronos's residual power. Who the hell is he?"
"Hmm? Oh, that's Folen."
"Thanks, that answers everything." I deadpanned.
"He's the former Elf King."
There it is.
"Probably one of the best healers in the Nine Realms too." Odin nodded to himself.
Alrighty then, putting that aside. "Where's Ratatoskr?"
"The Elf said he left before I woke up. I wasn't faring any better when we arrived." Odin let out a sigh. "I'll need to apologize to the rodent; I owe him big time."
"What, are you going to give him two pairs of Freya's panties?" I rolled my eyes.
"Hey, don't knock it. Do you have any idea how rare those are?"
"What, are you going to tell me they're circulated like some kind of currency?" If so, I was going to lose a lot of respect for Asgard.
"No, I meant they're rare because she barely wears any!" He slapped his knee, laughing.
Well, it's good he's in a mood like this. Looking through my ring, I took out the vial from back in Skyrim. The one that contained the last two drops from the Peach of Immortality, and I handed them over to the All-Father. "Drink up."
Odin looked at it and me for a long moment. "Fine, I won't hold back." He took it and downed it quickly.
"Are you going to be back up to full strength?" And I wasn't talking about his wounds.
"Full? Probably not. But give me a little bit and I'll be back up into fighting shape. But as long as that Wolf is still alive and while Ragnarök is going on, I'm not going to recover to my peak."
Annoying, but better than I anticipated.
"So, what's the plan?" I finally asked. "I don't think we'll survive a plan I make at this point."
Odin snorted. "It's time to head to Asgard. We stopped Loki's scheme, but it's unlikely this is his only winning card. That Titan bastard gave away a lot, so we know that Loki didn't expect us there, and he expected us at Asgard right away. I say, let's go pay him a visit."
"Well, I hope the others are having better luck than us. Where are we anyways?" I think that was a pertinent question.
"You are in Alfheim. Atleast at the very edge of it." A certain Elf strode over.
Odin looked at him with eyes narrowed. "You have your Bow, what's wrong?"
The Old Elf did in fact have a bow strapped to his back. "The Nearby village was attacked, you're going to help me."
"Uppity Elf." Odin snorted but he stood up and didn't reject it. "Forcing an old wounded man into war."
The Old Elf rolled his eyes. "You're fine enough to wave around a spear. Just don't over do it."
"Bah, get me a spear first."
"I got you." I took out Gae Bolg, handing it over. "This should serve you well."
"Oh?" Odin happily took it, spinning it around a few times. "Yes, this will work perfectly.
Well, no rest for the wicked.
[***]
A/N
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m
I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name.
Yggdrasil ARc just ended over here, and we're getting a PHO chapter next!
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT