章 140: Orange Runes

While Asgard continued its battle against the monstrous machine, back in Vanaheim, the scene was still and eerily quiet. Loki sat few meters beside Erik and Mia, his breath forming small clouds in the chilly air.

The snow crunched under their foot but the once-blinding blizzard had ceased. The skies above were clear, leaving only the unmoving unnaturally pale body of Valeria lying on the cold ground with her eyes and mouth still wide open.

Erik and Mia averted their gazes. They don't want to look directly at the sight. It was too unsettling. Those black empty eyes and the frozen scream on her face. It wasn't the aftermath of a battle they were used to, it was something far worse, an echo of a power they didn't want to understand.

Awkward silence hung in the air. The two of them felt a growing discomfort around Loki. They had seen his ruthlessness firsthand, how he turned Valeria into a seal for some unimaginable power with eyes that cold and devoid of mercy as he worked the runes.