"… Loki… I don't think I'll ever be able to understand what was inside your heart," Lenneth Valkyrie said softly, fixing her gaze upon the glowing, light-blue soul she held in her hands. Closing her eyes, and lightly folding her arms in a crisscross over her shoulders, absorbing the soul within herself, she bowed her head. "I don't think I ever will…" she whispered a moment later.
Behind her stood the champions she had recruited to her cause; her newfound powers had enabled her, for the first time ever, to bring them all into material existence in time for her final battle with Loki. Assembled, the Einherjar were a motley sight, but a fearsome one – all low-level gods in their own right, now. Still, none of them showed any more signs of exulting than their mistress; even the usually cocky, outgoing Kashell was subdued. Feeling not only themselves, but the whole of existence, obliterated by the Dragon Orb, then being reborn through Valkyrie's might and battling Loki, was enough to bring even the most boisterous of souls to introspection.
"Valkyrie, shall we go?"
The voice of a young man shattered the silence. Lenneth turned, hands falling to her sides as she opened her eyes and looked up. "Lucian?" she whispered – but without any trace of surprise. She had known that this moment would come, ever since she felt Lucian's soul resurrected along with the rest of the world...
A moment later, he was stepping forward, and embracing her, her blue armour contrasting against his red as they hugged. "Mmmm," she murmured, drawing back just long enough, and just far enough, to look at him. Then, they were pressed against one another again, their lips meeting in a soft, gentle kiss.
When they finally broke apart, they were greeted by the sound of wild cheering and applause. Whirling, Lenneth flushed and Lucian grinned sheepishly as they remembered the presence of the Einherjar, looking on the couple with expressions of benediction ranging from Mystina's smirk to a few ear-to-ear grins. Even Arngrim's scarred face was split by a faint smile, his time in Lenneth's service having definitely changed him for the better – or had it just brought further into the open the side of him that only his brother had seen?
Slowly, the cheers died down, silence returning to the summit of Asgard Hill. It lasted barely a moment, however, before Belenus stepped towards Valkyrie, his voice ringing out. "All hail she who was once the Lady Valkyrie, now Lenneth, Queen of the Gods!" A fresh round of applause erupted, before slowly, the nobleman knelt, bowing his head in obeisance to Lenneth. Gradually, the other Einherjar followed suit, even Lucian, until Lenneth was alone on her feet.
"Th… thank you," she breathed, touched, as she looked over the gathered heroes. This was something new to her, indeed. It was a few moments before she could repeat, a little more forcefully, "… Thank you. Stand up, all of you. I could not have done it without you, my Einherjar, nor could I have survived the destruction of my soul without the aid of Arngrim and Mystina. All of you deserve credit as much as I…" She paused a moment, thinking. Those before her had all met their ends in unhappy ways, had they not?
"… Let us celebrate, and be happy!"
And those words applied to her too; even as the Einherjar whooped and cheered for the third time in a few minutes, she smiled at Lucian.
"I think together, we will be able to find happiness…"