บท 600: Sovngarde

Surtr and the rest of his men charge up to the roof of the temple but pause just as they exit, spotting Michael standing before the burning corpse of the Dragonpriest.

"Huh, you guys are finally here?" Michael wonders aloud as he puts the fire out with a frost spell and collects the Dragonpriest mask.

"We'd have been faster if you'd fought with us, Michael!" the Dragonborn growls.

"You didn't notice me fighting the dragons while you dealt with the undead? Or you did and you'd rather me punching draugr than killing dragons?"

...

Surtr shakes his head, deciding not to argue on this right now. "The priest is dead, where's the path forward? Where's the portal!?" he asks, looking around the unassuming rooftop.

Michael nods, collecting the priest's staff and stabbing it into an indentation on the floor, causing the group to lower and reveal a huge shimmering portal. "Good luck, Dragonborn." he states as he begins walking towards the steps where the rest of the army was arriving from.

"W-What!? Aren't you coming to slay Alduin!?" Surtr exclaims as Paarthurnax, Durnehviir, Illococoo, and the one other remaining dragon lands heavily on the roof.

The answer to his question was obvious for Michael, first, Alduin's soul couldn't be taken meaning he wouldn't get any divinity or even EXP from the fight. Second, if he followed then his friends and companions would feel compelled to come too.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, Sovngarde was located in Aetherius from what Michael could tell, meaning he'd be very vulnerable to the influence of the Divines, meaning that if any of them had the barest grudge against him, they may just act on it... Which wasn't impossible considering the fact that he'd locked most of their influence out of Nirn.

...

There was also his spite against Surtr to take into account. He wasn't going to risk his life for that douchebag. Especially since he could hop worlds with everyone if the guy spectacularly failed.

He almost chuckles at the thought of stealing almost all of the available dragon souls and leaving Surtr with only those who'd fallen in his lap.

"This is your destiny, Dragonborn, I'm not interested in claiming any of the glory. You can have it." he says, waving his hand at the portal. He then spots Tiff standing with Megumin and the Crimson Demons and starts walking over.

"Y-you can't stop now! What glory!? What destiny!? The world is at stake for Oblivion's sake!" he shouts, the soldiers around him sharing similar sentiments.

"Are you a tyrant now, Dragonborn? Will you force him to fight your battle for you? Are you his Thur?" Durnehviir rumbles. "Are we replacing Alduin for you?"

Surtr scowls, "WE'RE AT THE LAST STEPS OF OUR JOURNEY! YET YOU WISH TO TURN BACK NOW!? ARE YOU A COWARD!? DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME!?"

Michael rests an arm around Tiffania's waist, causing her to blush. Saeko then wraps a casual arm around his elbow, "You're the Dragonborn, Surtr! You've got this!... Alright, let's go." he says, looking to those he'd brought, the Eredar, Volkihar clan, and Crimson Demons.

He, with the assistance of Tiff, opens up a Teleportation Gate and allows those who wish access directly to Winterhold. Some of the soldiers under Surtr even take the offer, leaving the Dragonborn seething. The only group who is actually hesitant to leave is the Eredar...

"Michael, are you sure this is the correct choice? Are you not letting emotions cloud your judgement?" Irarus asks.

"I am, come on, let's go."

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When the last person steps through and the gate closes, Surtr is left standing there with a dumb expression on his face... He simply couldn't comprehend what'd just happened, and why Michael would just abandon the quest just as they were nearing its end... Not to mention, who wouldn't want to see Sovngarde?! The Nordic Heaven!

Even Durnehviir and Sylphid(Illococoo), had left

"W-what do we do now!?"

"Alduin's still out there and we've just lost two dragons and a hundred more men!"

"WE CARRY ON! DO NOT LET COWARDS STOP US! WE'LL TAKE ALDUIN'S HEAD AND SAVE THE WORLD WITHOUT THEM!" Surtr shouts, but the cheers he's expecting are far quieter than he hoped, leaving him quietly and somewhat awkwardly walking towards the portal.

"Paathurnax, are you going to flee too?"

"No... I will help end this, I have to face the eldest." the old dragon states in a somewhat tired and reluctant tone.

With a nod, Surtr jumps into the portal, followed by his loyal soldiers who also fling themselves into it like a line of lemmings.

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Everyone is deposited on a large stone staircase decorated by even larger statues, the awkward landing causing a few soldiers to tumble down the staircase without being able to digest the scenery.

Everything shined with a slight purple, illuminated by the mesmerizing sky, the sky of Aetherius... Surtr glances at Paarthurnax who was looking over down the path, which seemed to have a large group of people standing before it.

"The mist, Alduin's doing..."

"What is it?"

"It devours the souls of any who step into it, empowering him. I fear we won't be able to remove it..."

Surtr sighs but quickly perks up as he spots something in the distance over the fog, a huge hall with a bridge made of bone... "Shor's Hall, home of heroes. We can recruit men to help us fight there, Alduin won't stand a chance."

"Hmm, perhaps. I am unsure if the Rah will allow it, destiny is as fickle as the gods themselves."

Surtr shakes his head and makes his way to the group standing before the fog, "Stay back! Once Alduin is slain you can find your glory with Shor!"

"Gods! Is that Torygg!?" a soldier nearby exclaims as he points at one finely clothed man in the group.

"High King Torygg..."