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MIDGARD ARC

"Chapter IX"

The Book of Níðhöggr

Spica stood amidst the remnants of the tattered dining hall, intent on getting a glass of water. Among the caved ceiling and fallen debris, Spica managed to find a clay pitcher and a couple of ceramic cups that had not been broken by the explosion. She was well aware that it wasn't the most proper use for a wall decor, but she considered this more suitable in comparison to the shattered china and chipped glass lying about.

Kneeling towards the broken pipes spewing crystalline water - filling the pitcher with as much as it could hold - she couldn't stop her doubts from running rampant; manifesting like a plague within her heart...consuming her thoughts:

~Flashback~

After a while of roaming about the room, concerned for both the butler and the young sleuth, the two girls noticed the aggravated wind begin to pacify - slowly dying out until it dissipated into thin air. Spica, already at wits end with worry over her two sons, finally released the fixed grasp she had on the ring; allowing its splendorous form to reach the curious gaze of the amber eyed girl.

"Spica," Mayura asked in a daze, her sight never once leaving the ring's gleam, "What is that?"

Spica, confused at first for the sudden question, watched as the human girl approached her and touched the ring on her neck. "Oh, this? This is a gift I received long ago...Whenever I'm distressed, just having it in my hand calms me. Lovely isn't it?"

However, it wasn't the ring's beauty that had captured the girl's attention - at least, it didn't seem to be that way.

"Mayura?" Spica called out to the dazed girl.

Brought back from her reverie, in a whiplash fashion, Mayura looked at Spica's obsidian eyes and smiled, hesitantly - her gaze lost within the recess of a heart astray. "It is...v-very lovely to look at..." the girl stuttered, befuddling the Gygr* profusely.

Why had the ring caused Mayura to look so...lost?

"Is something the matter?"

"No...um..." Mayura's hands trembled, and her face was getting paler by the minute. To Spica, it seemed like the girl was choking on her own words.

"Mayura, are you really okay? You seem rather...ill...Would you like some water?"

"I'm fine, Spica..." Mayura insisted, despite the increasing paleness on her creamy skin. "You said it was a gift, right? From who? What store did they buy it from?"

Spica shook her head, very much aware at the incessant questions the girl posed. "Actually, this trinket was handmade by my most beloved friend - the one I spoke to you of - and she made it for Loki...Unfortunately, after she passed, Loki gave it to me and was reluctant of getting it back..."

"So...this friend of yours knew Loki as well?" Mayura's eyes widened, showing a bit of surprise at the sudden revelation.

"Yes...you see, Loki and I grew up together, so we knew each other as children...He met her a few years later...and afterwards presented us to one another...It was only a few days, but I felt that I had met my soul sister...at least, I considered her as such..."

Mayura couldn't help the forlorn gaze that gleamed in her amber orbs; and Spica noticed that.

"Why did Loki want to get rid of it...so badly?" There was hesitation in her voice at the chosen words.

"I suppose he did not wish to keep her memory...the way she died was heartbreaking enough to listen to...but to have experienced it in the flesh...no one would be able to withstand such agony...not even him..." Spica's eyes were downcast as she grasped the ring with her trembling hand, once more.

"Loki...witnessed it?" Mayura asked, a choked sob escaping her lips.

Spica nodded sadly. "Yes...and he dare not speak of it to me..." Twirling the ring in her hand and staring at its gleaming blue gem, Spica looked up at Mayura and was startled to see tears running rampant down her face.

"...has to be...Loki..." the strawberry blonde muttered.

"Mayura?"

"The ring has to be with Loki."

Spica noticed the hazy look of the amber eyed girl.

"The ring has to be with Loki!" Mayura insisted, the tone of her voice raising with each word, though her body remained still - as if some unknown force were controlling her consciousness. "The ring has to be with him, it has to!"

"Mayura, what's wrong?" Spica resorted to shaking the girl roughly in order to bring her back from whatever spell was cast over her.

"If the ring is not with him, he'll -!" But the aggressiveness of Spica's actions jolted the girl from her state, bringing her back from that haze, and making her aware of what had occurred.

"Mayura, what has gotten into you?" Spica asked, concerned.

The ebony haired maiden watched as the human girl covered her face with her hands, fearfully questioning her own level of sanity. "I don't know! I don't know! What's happening to me?!"

No more was said afterwards as Spica figured that giving the girl her own space, and getting a glass of water in the meantime, was the best help that she could be at the moment.

But it made her doubt just who the girl truly was.

~End of Flashback~

Spica recovered from her reverie when the water began to overfill the jug. Taking it back and setting it down on the floor, her mind began to focus back onto the topic that swam in the darkest recess of her heart.

Reincarnation was not as well-received in the the higher realms as it was in Midgard; mainly due to their long lifespans. If anything, the other realms believed that there was nothing beyond their current life and Helheim. You were born, your fate was decided, you lived by their decree, you died, and you forever spent the rest of your spiritual life trapped in the dark, icy chambers of Helheim until Ragnarok - end of story.

However, after witnessing that little episode in Loki's bedroom, the thought of it presented itself in her mind.

Could reincarnating from a previous life be possible for a being that was not human? She wasn't sure, but if it was...

Could this girl really be who she thought she was?

Carrying the jug and cups upstairs, Spica silently shook her head, internally conflicted with her heart and her mind. She thought it better not to fill herself with pointless hope. It could have all just been a fluke of some sort.

A misunderstanding of a wishful heart...

But what if it was not?

Halting abruptly at the top of the staircase, Spica allowed hope to brim within her frozen heart.

She had to find out. Even if there was a high percent chance that it was all just wishful thinking, she had to find out. Until then, this little (probable) discovery would be her own, well-kept secret...because if it was all really just a misconception on her part...

The heartbreak she could cause Loki and the others would be too tragic to speak of.

~S.O.V~

Mayura stood in the center of Loki's office, all thoughts and emotions jumbled together, as she watched the embers glowing within the ashen fireplace. Vexed and confused, and partially grateful to Spica for not asking any more on the subject, Mayura had escaped the room - hoping that the familiarity of his workplace would ease away the gnawing emotion consuming her heart.

Falling back on the leather seat, Mayura took a deep breath - allowing Loki's cologne (which she often thought was too manly for a boy his age) to imbue itself into her lungs, aiding her in forgetting the prior incident.

Honestly, she didn't know what had happened in the sleuth's bedroom. The situation itself was as inexplicable as her beloved mysteries.

Somehow, the inner voice that pervaded within her mind, which, up until now, had been calm and almost non-existent, grew abruptly louder - stronger - to a degree in which it vibrated against her eardrums and vocal chords. She had tried to keep it locked away as she spoke to the ebony haired girl, inwardly afraid that she would consider her strange and abnormal if she revealed the truth, but it was gaining control over her; and before she was aware of it, her entire body had frozen.

It wasn't until Spica started shaking her, did Mayura realize it was her own voice screaming out her thoughts. Mayura could do nothing but fervently deny her own sanity afterwards - covering her eyes and clasping ears to will away all sight and sound - especially that which reverberated within her heart.

It was at this point that she became conscious of the fact that all of her actions had revolved around that ring, but it did not explain why she reacted so strongly. It was just a little trinket, no bigger than the circumference of a finger. It should not have caused such a disruption within her...!

But it did.

In fact, she felt like she was suffocating when she first came into contact with it.

Beautifully crafted, the handmade piece of art was truly a sight to behold. A strange, ice-like gem - which appeared to contain a thousand stars in its blue splendor - was surrounded by a glistening band of silver...or was it platinum...white gold?...She wasn't really sure (jewelry was never in her line of expertise), but such a unique item - crafted by an unnamed artist that had formed a past with the emerald eyed boy she loved and the ebony haired girl she befriended - was so painfully familiar to her.

And it made her doubt, once more, who she was.

Sighing, with her forehead resting against the edge of the mahogany desk, Mayura stared at her hands, frustration furrowing her brows.

Where was all of this leading her?

The voice, the familiarity of - otherwise - unfamiliar territory, the mixed emotions, the...longing for something...

For someone...

Standing and walking away from the chair, upset and intent on returning to Koutaro and Spica, Mayura felt the leathery skin of the book she had brought, on the desk. Taking the book from its inanimate position, Mayura glanced once more at the white pages. Closing it with a loud 'snap', eventually glaring at the intricately designed, reptilian cover -she felt internally divided, blaming the odd book as the harbinger of the calamity surrounding her and her friends.

She silently wished that she had never taken it in the first place.

Truth be told, she hadn't exactly mentioned, with detail, of how she came across the book. Omitting the most important parts from her conversation with Loki, and seemingly leading him away from asking further on the subject, Mayura had kept rambling on and on to avoid arousing his suspicions.

Especially because said boy was quite a keen lie detector.

The book had originally been found in the hands of the Class Representative in her school room. As far as she chose to listen to his non-stop detail of proper cleaning of reference materials and such, the Class Rep had been at the School Library aligning the books (by reference number, size, and color), when he heard a mysterious 'thud' from the bookshelves on the "Restricted" area. Since he had full access to the library, (being in the Library Committee and all), he came across the finely detailed book. Of course, after finding such a strange, and oddly decorated hardback with no reference number or donation sticker, he chose to take a peek inside the book's contents. Once realizing it was just an incomplete anthology of Norse Gods and Myths, he opted on taking it to the Public Library for safe keeping.

Honestly speaking, something - way out of her conscious control - had tempted her to take the book from the unsuspecting nerd. She wanted to believe that such low actions had been induced by her "Detective Instincts" advising her that the book held the Greatest Mystery of All Time. Even more so when she found more questions, and less answers, within the wood-bound book. Nonetheless, after witnessing the unnatural disasters surrounding her and the inner voice urging her of something, she realized that there was more to the whole book - the whole WORLD- than she originally thought.

Placing the book back on the desk, Mayura stared at her hands - feeling something strange emanate from the hardback cover. Again, mixed feelings surged within her.

Part of her was annoyed.

Annoyed at the fact that she was fighting a losing battle against her own self to a point past self-recognition. Another, more abysmal part of her, wanted to provide the answers she sought to the questions she feared, however, that one remained hidden - a distant echo - like a buzzing mosquito amidst a cheering crowd at a baseball game.

Indecipherable.

Almost non-existent.

But still there.

Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she lifted her hands and wiped them away, feeling the warmth of the droplets against her fingertips.

She may not be able to distinguish between reality and fiction anymore (when did she ever, when mysteries were her primary focus in life?), but this warmth was proof enough that she was still alive. If anything, it was the only thing she could hang on to right now.

She could hear the distinct voice of a man, echoing down the hall, yelling out for her. "Mayura! Mayura, are you here! Answer me!"

It was her Papa!

Running out the door to reach the main entrance, Mayura abandoned Loki's office, eager to see that her father was safe and sound...leaving behind a strangely pulsing book.

~S.O.V~

A wooden mask clattered against the stone path in the sleuth's backyard, revealing a sickly beautiful woman, with wavy black hair and heterochromia (one eye color, ruby, the other gold), in tattered, burnt robes of silver and blue.

"Thoust be strong indeed..." She hissed under her breath as she looked over her shoulder. "It was fortunate that I held the Ambrosia, otherwise, my life would have perished then and there...and by the enemy's kin, no doubt..." Looking down at the glass vial, filled with a honey-like substance, she remembered her brother and the past that they had lived.

She considered it fortunate (to a twisted degree) that the war had ravaged their land. If such a war had not existed in the first place, her brother would not have accumulated such power - enough to revive an entity that lived long before Odin himself - and place it within Odin's own kin; whose light was as strong as Balder's*. She was also aware that she was special to her brother; so much so, that he had been willing to sacrifice his wives and children to the Aesir and Vanir...

But not her.

Never her. Which was why she had survived alongside him after his supposed 'death'.

She had loved him, loved him far more than a King, and far more than a sister. Even now, that still held to be true. Even now she still remembered the moment hope rekindled within her about the feelings she continuously suppressed. It was after their awakening (which had come along by some unknown force), and after telling her of his plan, that he had grabbed her hands - her dark heart skipping a beat - and kissed them, telling her that once it was all over; and the Aesir and Vanir payed their due, they would revive their clan once more.

Together.

No doubt in her heart, she had considered the war to be a stroke of luck for their happiness and, though highly frowned upon, she had hoped.

That was, until she heard what the basilisk and wolf had to say of her brother and Lord Viduus.

It seemed that Carr the Dark Magician's plan had gone awry, but it would not be enough to deter her of her mission.

Resting against the bark of the pine tree, which stood beside the living room of the house, the female could see the destruction made to the kitchen-like area in front of the manor. Her brother must be buried under all that rubble.

Looking twice at her surroundings, ensuring that she could not be spotted by the giants, and noticing only two ravens - with ruby red eyes - perched on a dead tree, she made her way towards the wreckage and debris.

~S.O.V~

Mr. Daidouji was ecstatic and relieved to have his daughter safe and sound in his embrace.

Although, he couldn't help but feel something was amiss.

Slightly releasing his smothering hold on the trembling girl, he scanned her from head to toe, ensuring that she truly was alright. Apart from a slightly disheveled appearance, he was greatly relieved to find no wounds on her body.

Nevertheless, he could sense a strong aura emanating from her hands - as thin as a veil of steam.

"Mayura, is everything alright? I thought I heard a man's voice-...oh!" Spica had rushed out from the room, after finding Mayura missing and hearing the loud yelling of an unknown male, only to find said girl happily embracing the stranger. "Is he someone you know?"

"Oh, yes! Spica, this is my father, Misao Daidouji...Papa, this is my friend, Spica."

"A pleasure to meet you." Mr. Daidouji bowed politely, Spica curtsied in return.

"My pleasure as well."

Mr. Daidouji then took one look behind him and spoke urgently to the girls, telling them that a full out Armageddon was occurring at the moment, but not going too much into detail for fear of scaring the young maidens. "I don't like the look of any of this - we need to get to the closest governmental building! See if we can get the Japanese Army, the Navy, or the Air Force to do something about all of this! They stopped Godzilla that one time-!"

"Mr. Daidouji, the best thing we can do is stay here...the manor is the safest place at the moment." Spica replied to the almost hysterical man.

"I'm sure you believe that this place is safe and all, but we can't-!"

"We must stay..." Is all Spica had left to say, and it was apparently enough for him to shut up.

Mayura would have looked upon her father quizzically, (partially concerned over the abrupt silence from the usually rambunctious, man) if it weren't for the sharp pain that infiltrated her at that precise moment.

Apparently, Mr. Daidouji had felt it too.

"Is something the matter?" Spica asked when she noticed the sudden flinching of both humans in front of her.

"N-Nothing. It's nothing." Mayura reassured, believing the question to have been directed towards her only, "We should probably head back to Loki's room and check on Koutaro."

"But," Spica tugged on Mayura's sleeve, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me...and about what happened earlier...It really was nothing. I guess I was just overwhelmed by all the mysteries going on..."

Spica nodded in understanding, even though she did not believe a single word from the strawberry blonde.

Following Spica towards Loki's room, Mayura advised her Father to stay put and not go back outside if the situation was as bad as he said. Mr. Daidouji nodded in affirmation, and once the coast was clear, rushed towards the living room - intent on contacting the local police station and advising them of what had occurred.

Unfortunately, he had completely forgotten about the mysterious disappearances with the majority populace. Once realizing his crucial mistake, and after slamming the Western Electric phone against the receiver, Mr. Daidouji sat on the lounge chair and grasped his hair in exasperation.

What he had seen out there was more abnormality than what any human being could take on a large scale.

Worse to show was the inexplicable familiarity with that emerald eyed stranger.

Honestly, when he first came into contact with the crater, he had assumed that the shadow-like aura he sensed below belonged to the child detective; and boy was he surprised! The young man he met was most definitely not Loki...but then, why did the auras seem so connected to one another? As if it belonged to the same person? Not to mention, when he met the auburn man - he noticed, by a side-glimpse, the people surrounding him.

Two males, also just as familiar as the young man, were dressed strangely (probably coming back from some cosplay convention, and being unluckily caught in the storm's path) along with a gorgeous blonde who sported the same, albeit more feminine, costume as them.

One young man, however, stood out from the crowd, within the dead center of the group - writhing in pain and agony. He knew by the many times Mayura spoke to him and of him, just who exactly he was.

Narugami.

Although, he had to admit the boy looked much different than the last time they met.

Especially with such piercing, bloodthirsty eyes.

Before he realized what had occurred, his feet had taken a life of their own; and sprinted him out of the war zone in a mad dash that would put any Olympic Athlete to shame. He was well aware that he was an uninvited, and unwanted, guest in their domain (the idea reinforced by the foreign object that had shot between him and the auburn haired man he was arguing with).

The incident itself explained why he felt such animosity from the group, but truth be told, it was the insistence behind his inner voice that cautioned him of two things:

1) He should not be anywhere near those within the crater

2) Whatever he was searching for was extremely near him, so he had to keep moving

Sighing heavily from exhaustion and weariness, he stood up, aiming to join his daughter and her friend, when a loud pulse rang through his veins, numbing his arms from the shock.

It is the book...listen...

Again, the pulse rang loudly - echoing within his inner core.

"So...its here?" Mr. Daidouji questioned incredulous.

Who would've thought?

He followed the rapid palpitations towards the third room on the second floor - the sleuth's office. Part of him was afraid, afraid of finding out something he just knew he should not. The other, more insistent part (which he attributed to the persistent voice within him) was actually anxious about this entire ordeal.

Opening the door, ever so cautiously, and feeling the increasing beat of his heart with each 'creak' of the wooden frame, he carefully made his way into the Victorian room - ensuring that no one was following him.

So far there was nothing visible in sight, but the palpitations increased, so he knew he was near.

After a few, mouse-like steps, he felt it.

There, upon the sleuth's desk, was an intricately styled book. Though absurd, the familiarity he felt from seeing the book was overwhelming him to a suffocating point. Taking deep, deep breaths, Mr. Daidouji beheld the sight of the book once more; stomach churning in bile and revolt.

He was well aware that there was nothing physically wrong with the book, but the emotions that emanated from it were far too gruesome and appalling to withstand for someone with such spiritual sensitivity.

Approaching the bizarre item warily, Mr. Daidouji extended his hand towards it - the pulsing sensation getting louder and stronger, so strong in fact, that he felt the room shake with its tremulous palpitations. After a few minutes, when the trembling ceased and the anxiety fled, Mr. Daidouji cautiously opened the cover and flipped among the pages to find something - anything - that could provide the answers he sought...but to no avail.

There was absolutely nothing he did not already know.

"What is all this? Norse Mythology? Is this a joke some ghost was trying to play on me? I let myself be led around by the nose for this?!" Angered at the turn of events, Mr. Daidouji threw the book against the chimney, where a few bits of burning coal lightly glowed, and watched as it bounced off right onto the small embers.

He watched, astounded, as one of the glowing bits fell in between two blank pages.

At first, he believed that the page itself was catching on fire, but in all actuality, the small flame was burning foreign words (or at least they seemed like letters from a foreign vocabulary) from the glowing embers burning the paper - etching themselves onto the blank pages.

Grabbing the book from within the chimney, Mr. Daidouji took a good look at the charred markings.

"I don't understand this..." He stated while watching the many symbols turn from a deep, glowing red, to an obscure black.

Read them... The voice stated cryptically.

"I would if they were Japanese characters, but-!"

Read the passage...

Mr. Daidouji did not understand what had occurred at that precise moment, but he began to chant out - in the same tone with which he did his morning prayers - a passage in a language long lost from any and all civilizations:

The Future that was written in lore

On the night the Past was hidden

Has become no more

By a sacrifice forbidden

In the Realm of the Gods.

Thus with the powers granted

To prevent the Realms from dying

The Present was then enchanted

In the lands crying

To save them from all odds.

The time has come to revive that which was lost

and to save all - MAN, GOD, BEAST - from the forthcoming holocaust.

The book dropped in an unceremonious 'thud' against the wooden floor. Black, Cassiterite eyes glowed bright gold, until they turned into a soft, honey-like Hazel.

"I...I remember..." Mr. Daidouji fell to the ground, heavy tears streaming down his face.

~S.O.V~

Picking up piles of wood and brick with her only arm, the Elven female pushed aside as much as she could to find the body of her only brother. After a few more bits of debris were parted from him, she finally came into contact with his pierced body. Extending her hand to caress his cheek, she was frozen on the spot as she felt his strong grip against her wrist.

"Lord Brother, art thoust in any pain? Did Lord Viduus do this to thee?" She whispered, concerned, as she helped him lie against the pile of rubble behind him. He nodded painfully, resting against the debris behind him and watched as she ran towards the spewing pipes to get him some water. When she returned with a bit of water in her hand, Carr the Dark Magician slapped it away.

"Alva...The Ambrosia...Where is it?...Give me the Ambrosia of the Gods..." He coughed, black blood spitting from the gaping hole in his chest.

Alva, as such was the female's name, had intended with every bit of her being to give him the Ambrosia that lay safely in her dress pocket, but something stopped her, something she could not put a name to, "I have lost it after my battle with Loki's kin, Lord Brother..."

What possessed her to say such thing, she did not know...but a part of her hesitated to give him that which would heal him.

"Thoust have lost it?!" The hatred behind those golden eyes spoke louder than the choked words.

She clenched her hand against the item in her dress, ensuring that her brother did not see such action. "Yes"

As instant as his anger had been, so was his calm...and she was momentarily unsettled.

"No matter..." Said Carr the Dark Magician, "Get me more...water...I apologize...for throwing...the earlier...away..."

Alva nodded, happiness filling her, and searched for a container to carry water in.

Carr the Dark Magician watched his one-armed sister roam about eagerly, searching amidst all the debris for a container. When she managed to find a wooden bowl, she brought him back the water - spilling bits on her way.

Placing the bowl in front of him, she offered a small smile and pushed it towards his weakened body. "Thee must drinketh slowly, Lord Brother..." She watched, concerned, as he lifted the bowl and drank from it - water spilling outside his opened wound.

Alva frowned.

"Did thoust...kill off the humans?" He asked softly, rested his head back against the bricks.

"No, Lord Brother. The children sired by the Trickster God intervened...I managed to escape with my life, but at the cost of my arm..." She showed him her missing limb. He nodded in understanding, watching her from his resting position.

"What of thy...powers?" He asked.

"The powers granted by thee, Lord Brother, are still intact...However, without the mobility of both arms...I am powerless..."

"In other words, thou are useless..."

She nodded, ashamed, listening to the distant echo of the distorted hammer thundering in the horizon.

After a few minutes of silence between the Elven siblings, Carr the Dark Magician stared straight at her. "Alva...thoust have been the only...family I saved that day many eons ago...dost thee know why?" He asked in a soft voice, while caressing the woman's cheek. "I let go of everyone and everything else...mine brides and children...mine throne and people...yet, I could not bear to part with you...dost thee know why?"

She shook her head.

Carr the Dark Magician slid his hand behind her neck and pulled Alva closer to him so that her ear lay directly near his lips.

"Because I gave my heart to thee..." He whispered tenderly.

Alva blushed. "Lord Brother..." She responded sweetly, a smile lovingly planted on her beautiful face. "Carr, I've always lov-!"

"And, It's about time I take it back..."

A sudden pain shot straight through her chest. Eyes widening, she looked down, slowly, only to find his arm straight through the center of her breasts. "C-Carr..." she spluttered as he pulled out the beating organ from within her chest.

An evil smirk lightened his features as he devoured the pulsing heart before her frightened eyes.

The repair to his wound was immediate, and the power surging within him just as instantaneous.

He looked behind him at the distant lightning. Cracking his knuckles, he knew it was time to give the Aesir, Vanir, and the Dark Lord their due payment. Before he left, however a cold hand reached out from the ground and grasped the edge of his ankle. Looking down, he found Alva choking in her own blood, staring up at him with pleading eyes. He kneeled towards her, moving the strands of black hair away from her face. "Thee was such a fool to loveth me too much...Thoust never realized I was saving you for the proper moment..."

"Carr..." she sobbed as darkness consumed her eyesight and she lay against the rubble, unmoving.

Carr looked upon his sister with indifference.

"Such a useless wench..." he sighed and flew away.

~S.O.V~

While watching over the unconscious youth on the bed, Spica continuously (and discreetly) glanced, every now and then, at Mayura - attempting to find some form of similarity with the ghostly image of her past. Indeed, just as she had originally thought, there was no semblance whatsoever that vaguely resembled the grace and beauty of the sister she loved. Everything, from the way she scrunched her nose when thinking to the odd quirks she did when speaking screamed that it wasn't her!

However, hope still remained within her. Especially after she beheld how the girl's eyes glowed as she took the lad's hand in her own, a softness all too familiar to the obsidian eyed girl, reflecting off the amber orbs of the human woman; and that, that facial expression resembled her soul sister to an alarming degree.

Could it be? She thought, not realizing she had been staring a little too openly at Mayura.

"Do I have something on my face?" Mayura asked, crossing her eyes to look at the tip of her nose.

The girl's action caused the ebony haired lass to throw herself in a fit of girlish giggles. "No, it's not that...s-sorry..." Spica continuously laughed. Mayura smiled and joined her in the act.

Her laugh, too, resembled hers.

Oh, if this be true, Spica thought as her smile widened, Happiness will thaw the heart your parting froze.

Spica noticed the moment the girl stopped laughing and watched as she abruptly stood. "Mayura?"

"Sorry," the strawberry blonde apologized quickly, "I need to go to the bathroom..." Before Spica could even blink, Mayura was already out the door.

Turning her attention back to the blonde asleep in the bed, silently musing over Mayura's quirks, Spica's peripheral vision caught sight of an object sky-rocketing onto the wooded area behind the manor, crashing with a hideous crack into the ground.

~S.O.V~

At this point, she didn't know how many times she roamed about the manor, but if there was so much as one splinter removed - she was sure she'd be able to distinguish it on the spot. Clenching her chest, she felt the earlier sensation begin to tingle atop her left breast. Her heart was pulsing rapidly, and it seemed to ransack every nerve in her body.

In truth, it wasn't the bathroom excuse that had gotten her out of the room, but a goosebump-like sensation that advised her something was wrong in the premises.

Opening the door of the wrecked kitchen, she was shocked to find the same woman, who had tried to murder her with a bus and which had attacked Koutaro, lying in a puddle of black liquid; a gaping hole on her back. Moving away from the body, horrified, Mayura grasped the handle of the door, intent on leaving the gruesome sight - when she suddenly heard a soft moan. Turning back to the woman, she realized that the girl was still alive.

Hesitating between doing what was right or running away from the weakened assailant, Mayura opted in approaching the girl warily. Once she was but an inch away, she saw the woman turn towards her and cough out the same black liquid she was surrounded by.

Black blood.

"To have thee, human wench, see me in such a disgrace...thee must be laughing at my expense..." Mayura could not comprehend the hissing vocabulary* the woman spat, but understood that her presence was not well received by the female. Bending towards the girl, who continuously hissed, despite the painful wound on her body, and brushing away the strands of hair sticking to her face alongside the black blood, Mayura noticed the girl's pointed ears.

Startled by the revelation, she jumped back, propping on her elbows to maintain her balance on the ground. If it were the Mayura prior to these events, she would have been jumping about, reveling on the fact that she had found a real elf...

But that was no longer the case.

She watched, sadly, as the elf's life began to fade. "Why?..." tears streamed down her face, startling the Elven female who wondered why the girl cried at the sight of her wounded enemy.

Why? The inner voice cried too, Why must they suffer for the greed of others?

Alva watched the human woman, silently wondering why it was that - at the hour of her death - she could see a beautiful light shining within the girl. It emanated a heat unlike any she ever felt.

It did not burn.

It did not singe.

It just felt...warm.

While in her distressed state, Mayura failed to notice the Elven female pull a glass vial from her dress pocket, pushing it weakly towards said girl's lap.

"Take it..." Alva whispered.

Mayura stared at her quizzically, then at the vial with a honey-like liquid inside.

Though she did not understand the foreign language, she understood the meaning implied in her actions. Gently taking the vial from Alva, Mayura wondered why the elf (which had previously tried to kill her) was giving her the glass container.

Noticing the unspoken question reflected in her amber eyes, Alva made a movement with her hands to drink it when in dire need of it.

Mayura, somehow, understood.

The Ambrosia of the Gods - cures any disease and heals any wound... Mayura's conscience whispered.

"Ambrosia?" She wondered aloud. Alva smiled and nodded in affirmation. "Then, you should take it!"

Alva was truly surprised at the way her enemy had reacted. She wanted to save her? Even though she had tried to kill her and the human boy that was with her? Honestly, humans were such sentimentally strange creatures...but, this warmth that emanated from the human girl was a pleasantness she had never felt before.

"Even if I did drink...it would do no good...I have no heart to heal..." Then grabbing Mayura's hand, which held the vial, said, "Thoust must stop Carr...stop him before its too late...and Viduus too..."

"I'm sorry," Mayura apologized, "I can't understand you...Maybe, Spica can-!" but the elf's grip on her hand was strong.

Shaking her head, Alva pointed at the human girl and said, "Thoust have a light in thee that saves others...even creatures of the dark...Thank you...for crying for this foolish me..."

Before Mayura could call out to Spica, Alva's body slumped against the ground and began to disintegrate into black dust.

~S.O.V~

When Spica noticed the figure crashing towards the ground, she hesitated on whether or not to go investigate. It would be foolhardy for her to abandon the barrier, and leave Mayura and the boy unattended; only to search for the object within the existing battle occurring outside.

But worry consumed her.

Especially after recognizing the wine red coat the person, sported.

Running down the stairs and out the back door, in a mad dash, it was no longer a surprise to her when she came across her wounded ex. Urgently approaching the groaning Aesir within the broken tree limbs and caved floor, Spica brushed away the dirt staining his handsome face and gently slapped his cheek - ensuring that he was regaining consciousness.

"A-Angr...boda?" Loki questioned weakly as he opened his eyes, and attempted to move from the uncomfortable position he lay in.

"Loki! Oh, Loki, are you alright?!" She cried, brushing his auburn hair to the side as she helped him up from the rubble that lay beneath him.

Once he was standing, and well put together, Loki looked upon the girl angrily. "What the hell are you doing out here? I specifically told you to stay within the barrier!"

"You told me no such thing! Besides, I had to make sure you were alright!"

"You idiot! You have no powers in this realm, what if something bad happens to you out here? You'd be completely powerless! It's not safe for you! Go back home and stay there!"

Enraged by the attitude of the male towards her, she stood at par with him and punched him straight on the nose, causing the auburn man to fall back into the crater he had created. "I came out here because I was worried about you, you chauvinistic pig! Besides, I thought I had warned you to do something about Viduus, and did you do it? No! You and your sentimentalism with that foolish Aesir Prince have caused both of my sons to be out here fighting 'who-knows-what' to help your sorry arse!"

Wiping away the blood from his nose, Loki stared at the girl standing before him in such a majestic way. "Look, I'm sorry, Angrboda...I couldn't help but take out my frustration on you, I apologize..." The maiden looked upon him and helped him up. "Its just that right now I need to find the best course of action to release the boy from Viduus' control!"

"I do not care if you have to leave him looking like Swiss cheese until Viduus releases his body! That boy, possessed by the Dark or not, needs to pay!"

"You know that I cannot do that!" Loki sighed, exasperated.

"Why, in Helheim's name, not?"

"Because he was important to her, and you know that! Besides, if there's anyone that has actually maintained any semblance of faith in me since I was cast off, it's him! I will not abandon the boy, Spica!" Loki was unrelenting with his decision, and the ebony haired girl had no choice but to reluctantly accept his argument.

"Even so...this cannot continue, Loki." Spica said, clutching his coat and fixing his white shirt. "Mayura will begin to suspect about all that has happened...Apparently, another Dark Elf has appeared - a female - and she was intent on killing Mayura and the boy that accompanied her..."

"Boy?" Loki was quick to react, which Spica noticed.

"Yes, a handsome young man named Koutaro who was accompanying Mayura...Currently, he is lying unconscious in your bed due to a wound he received when protecting Mayura...or at least, that was all the information I received from him before shock and exhaustion took its toll on the poor boy...Mayura, however, is more alert about her surroundings. I honestly have no idea why you are hiding the truth from her, but it will not come without consequence, Loki..."

The emerald eyed man said nothing and instead opted with making a high pitched whistling sound that carried on in the air. Soon after, the black wolf and large basilisk appeared before the two.

When Fenrir noticed the dent on the ground and the disheveled state his Father was in, he was quick to growl at the female. "What did you do to my Daddy? You're gonna pay for this!" Before Loki could stop the wolf, he lunged at the Gygr, who looked upon her eldest with sadness. Obsidian orbs brimming with unshed tears.

Jormungand, unlike his Father, had seen through his brother's intention and coiled itself around the Gygr to prevent the wolf from attacking her; earning a bite mark on his neck in return. When Loki chastised Fenrir for his action, the wolf moved away from his younger brother, and watched as the snake sank towards the woman, hissing to see of any damage done to her.

It peeved the wolf to see the basilisk act so concerned over the well being of that woman, when she wasn't even there for them as children.

"How could you protect her?! Don't you see she abandoned us? That she hurt Daddy?" Fenrir barked at the snake.

"Fenrir, you're mistaken. She did not hurt me, she came to help me!" Loki stated, upset.

"Hating her won't make the pain reside, Brother." The snake hissed, well aware of the blood dripping from the bite mark he was given, "It is not what our Mother wanted...That was why she constantly reminded us that this woman is our Mother...She may not have been there for us when we needed her, but she is still the woman that gave birth to you, to me, and to Hel..."

"Shut up, four eyes!" Fenrir growled angrily.

"Enough, Fenrir!" Loki scolded his eldest son while placing a spell on the basilisk, healing its wound. "Right now I need the both of you to focus! Viduus has gotten stronger, much too powerful to be subdued by the Aesir and Vanir alone. I am going to need the both of you out on the battlefield as well...Spica, you must stay here with Mayura and Koutaro, and I'm assuming her father arrived as well, no?" Spica nodded, "Very well...I know that you cannot use much power, so I'll fortify the barrier, but you must stay within the premises of the manor, otherwise, you'll be swept into the calamity..."

Spica gave a slight nod, watching as her children transformed back into their mortal forms and approached Loki for further orders. Concern, worry, and pride swelled within her heart at the sight of the two men and the pup. Unconsciously, she grasped the ring on her necklace, and abruptly remembered Mayura's cryptic words.

It has to be with Loki...

"Loki, wait!" She called out to the auburn man before he left with her sons, "Take this..."

Handing him the ring itself, Spica watched as hesitation, anger, pain, and sadness reflected off his emerald orbs. "Angrboda...this ring is-...I can't-...!" but she interrupted him, holding the hand that clasped the ring.

"She made it for you...Have you ever wondered why?"

"She would've been happy if it were with you..." Loki whispered, attempting to stray from the subject. Agony was written in his eyes; reluctant - once more - of keeping the item. Yet, she could feel the hesitant tremble of his fist within her clasped hands; battling an internal conflict within him that, both, wanted to keep the memento close...or burn it to the ground so that no ash or dust was left of its cremated remains.

"Perhaps, but I know that this ring, rather than a trinket to keep for memory-sake, was meant for something more...especially towards its intended owner..."

Loki wanted to glare at the Gygr in frustration, but he couldn't. Spica was right.

She was always right.

Feeling the light quiver of her small hands in his own, obsidian eyes begging him to take back his ring, he momentarily remembered the beautiful young girl who gave him the ring in the first place...

...and then, it clicked.

Taking the ring from her, in a sudden jolt that startled the girl, he looked upon the markings etched onto the inside of the silver band.

"Uruz*, Eihwaz*, Algiz*, Mannaz*, Dagaz*..." he muttered, making the three spectators stare at him in confusion. He suddenly hugged the unsuspecting maiden, spinning her around in his embrace. "Angrboda, thank you...You've given me the answer I needed...Please, go back inside and take care of those three for me, will you?"

Seeing the gentle smile she believed long lost, once more, made the maiden feel joy brim within her heart. The ring was finally with whom it belonged. "I understand. Then I'll return to the manor at once," Spica replied, but before leaving the forested area, quickly turned around and said, "Please be safe my sons...Loki..."

Jormungand and Loki nodded.

Fenrir looked away from her.

With a heavy heart, Spica turned the other cheek from her eldest's obvious discontent. Regardless of how much hate and contempt he held for her; he was still her son...

...and she would love him until her very last breath.

~S.O.V~

During the ordeal between the Gygr and the Trickster, a shadowed figure crept amidst the shadows of the darkened halls, taking this crucial moment to infiltrate the sleuth's bedroom. Upon entering the antique room, his hazel gaze fell upon the comatose blonde that lay, unperturbed, in the extravagant bed. Approaching the unconscious youth, he looked down at the young man, sadly.

Placing his hand on top of the lad's forehead, the figure began to chant his incantation; all the while gazing at the inert youth.

"I wish you could remain in deep sleep, forever, my friend...but the time has come, and we can no longer wait upon it...The memories which were sealed will return...Forgive me, for doing this to you, but we can no longer avoid our fates...The beginning of the end is upon us...and it stops for no one..."

Lifting his hand from the lad's forehead, he witnessed three runic symbols - ancient and sharp - appear on the sun-kissed skin.

"When you awaken, that which you've lost will be returned to you..."

He looked upon the sleeping boy, ruefully.

Please...Forgive me...

~S.O.V~

Koutaro felt cold.

It wasn't the kind of cold that would require a blanket and a cup of hot cocoa, mind you, but rather the freezing sensation that needed you to be set on fire to at least feel warmth.

Opening his drowsy eyes to the numbing sensation invading his chest, he was shocked to find himself amidst a field of white.

Naked.

Why was he naked?!

Looking around, alarmed, he noticed there was no one in sight. In fact, it was safe to assume there was nothing, absolutely nothing, around him. All he could see, from miles and miles round, was a white field getting covered in freshly fallen snow.

Not even the horizon was visible in such bleak weather.

How did he end up in this predicament? Where was the crazy, alien witch? The big, black dog? The pretty girl? The butler? Loki?

Mayura...Where is Mayura?

No longer fazed by his nudity, and more concerned about the subzero temperatures that were paralyzing half of his body, Koutaro decided that moving around was the best option at the moment.

Feeling the crunching of the achromatic* ice beneath him as he heavily lifted his legs forward, one by one - with no specific route in mind - Koutaro questioned this dreamscape and its almost realistic impressions overwhelming all five senses. Nevertheless, the pale scenery covered with falling snow, dancing amidst the wind, like cherry blossom petals in mid-Spring, was vaguely familiar.

It was nostalgic...

and forlorn.

As he furthered his journey down the monotonous path, Koutaro abruptly felt his muscles begin to spasm, numbing in place; and the lack of change in the unvaried background forwarded a vertiginous drop within him, paralyzing his body completely. No longer in control of his own limbs, Koutaro allowed gravity to pull him back into the soft, feathery snow, with a silent 'thud'.

Was this it? Was this how his life would end? To die within a dream, if he could even call it as such?

Looking up at the pale sky, unable to sense more than half of his body at this point, his mind began to wander.

As a child, he knew there was a reason for his existence. Whatever that reason was still existed, but it seemed to him that somewhere along the line, he lost sight of it. He always figured himself to be the valiant knight rescuing the princess from her captive tower. Why? He supposed it was because he preferred rescuing Rapunzel from her fate over saving Cinderella from her poverty, but that was just a childish dream his innocence kept alive...until he grew up; and realized the world was not a fairytale ending.

Reminiscing on the past, he realized he always strove for perfection - whether in grades or appearance - assuming that it was to glorify his family name and the parents he knew only in writing.

Speaking of his parents, he didn't remember ever once meeting them in person. Not even remotely bothering about ever meeting them.

Why was that? He often wondered to himself within the silence of a lonely mansion. Wouldn't a normal child be concerned after not seeing his Mother and Father for nearly two decades? It wasn't like they were lost or dead...he was well aware of their living status and busy schedules - through emails and letters sent bi-weekly to his residence.

But...

Were they even, ever, real?

"Stupid, of course they were real," He mentally berated himself, "How else can you explain how you were born?"

You weren't born...at least...not like them...

"That's strange," he thought as the freezing cold befuddled his mind, "I didn't think that."

Get up...Koutaro...Get up! His own voice yelled back at him, startling the pensive youth.

"Just who the hell are you? Stop using my voice, and stop getting into my head!" He mentally argued, allowing sleep to engulf his mind.

Get up! Get up, I say!...GET...UP! But Koutaro couldn't.

The dream was swallowing him whole, taking away his conscience from within his unconscious state.

Somehow, within the midst of darkness and shadows, of fear and pain, swallowing him in that forsaken scenery - a melody, like a song bird's lullaby, reached his ears; alighting his way. Using all of his renewed willpower, he fought against the shadows entrapping him in desolation. Craning his gelid neck forwards, he pushed his frozen muscles - intent on moving away from his frigid tomb.

Move...Farther...Farther...Reach out for the light...

He stretched his frosted arm forward, into the icy wind; searching for something, anything, that could help him escape this cold. Moving his hand left and right, blindly searching for his invisible salvation, he was utterly surprised at the feeling of a warm hand grasping his own. Frozen eyelids opened to the sight of a beautiful, angelical figure standing before him.

With hazy eyes, he looked at the woman dressed in a gown, whiter than even the snow falling from the sky. She was so beautiful, even if he was unable to see her face due to the frost covering his eyelashes.

Gentle hands reached out towards his cheeks, caressing him with such tenderness that he momentarily believed he was seeing the Holy Mother.

"W-Who...a-a-are...y-you?" He asked, trembling from the cold.

Unable to see her figure anymore, he allowed the exhaustion to propel him towards her embrace, feeling the warmth of her body against his own. Opening his eyes one more time, he could see beautiful, pale pink wings embrace them both, covering his nudity from the glacial weather.

Please, Forgive me...

Jolting from his momentary sleep, Koutaro searched around him.

The scenery had changed - no longer that of a field draped in sheets of white - into a room made out of icy glass.

Immediately he looked down, only to find himself wearing the same uniform he had before leaving his house. Moving around, checking his body for any abnormalities, he soon realized two things:

(1) He no longer felt cold, despite being surrounded by ice.

(2) The wound he had in his arm was gone.

"What is all this? Am I going to be stuck within my own dream? Nightmare?"

Before panic could set in, Koutaro noticed that - though obviously reflecting one another in a mirror-like fashion - none of the icy walls reflected him. Approaching the one that stood out from the rest - facing a position that could only reflect him - Koutaro noticed that the glacial mirror was covered in frost. More curious about what the previous dream had done to him, he began to wipe away the frost from the glass.

As he moved his hand in a circular motion, he noticed something was extremely odd with his reflection.

If it even was his reflection.

For sure, the height was more significant. Passing his own 5"9 by 5 more inches. The body was also more sturdier than his own lean one.

But by far, it was the face that surprised him the most.

A young man, maturity beyond his years reflecting off of those familiar honey eyes, stared back at him.

"G-Great Grandfather?!" Koutaro jumped back in shock.

The young man in the reflection placed his hands on the glass and spoke, but his words were pure silence in the human boy's ears.

"Great-Grandfather, what are you doing in my dream?" Koutaro asked, approaching the glass. Again, the young man spoke, but no matter how loud he appeared to be speaking, Koutaro was unable to understand him.

Placing his hands in the same position as the foreigner before him, Koutaro felt a mind-shattering electric current run through his body. Biting back an ear-splitting scream, Koutaro looked at the person before him, only to find the foreigner in the same pain as he.

Memories flooded into him, like a rampant blizzard amidst a clear winter sky.

Memories that were not his.

But as he saw the reflection morphing in front of him, he realized they were his memories...

...and that person he thought a reflection...that person he thought to be his Great-Grandfather...

Was actually him.

Terms & Definitions

Gygr - Female frost giant.

Balder - Norse God of Light

Hissing Vocabulary - To humans, the Niflheim ( Niflheimr)and Svartalfheim (Svartálfr) dialects sound like the hissing of a snake.

Uruz, Eihwaz, Algiz, Mannaz, Dagaz - 5 of 24 Runic symbols; Each one stands for the following:

Uruz - Strength; Virility

Eihwaz - Protection, defense; also withdrawal or barriers

Algiz - Defense, Protection

Mannaz - The self, humanity

Dagaz - Sunlight, enlightenment

Achromatic - without color (white)