A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter! Your feedback helps me in making this a better story! So please, continue to read and leave me messages! They inspire me so much...

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Chapter 2

"Will you not address the Lord Odin," a female voice asked. The bright light faded, and Ash could make out the figures of a large man lounging in a golden chair, and of a blonde woman clad in a lively green floating nearby him. Realizing his position and who the people were, he bowed his head close to the floor and said, "I am very sorry, my lords. Please forgive my insolence." The large man, Odin himself, moved forward in his throne to look at the young man groveling on the ground. Amused, the big man chuckled, shaking the halls of his spacious castle as he did so. "Rise, Dark Warrior. You have earned your place here in the halls of Valhalla. Now state your name."

"My name is Ash of Artolia, my lord."

"My my, the Valkyrie chose one that is very well-spoken. And what have you been using as a weapon all this time, young human," the female, obviously the Goddess Freya, interjected. Ash searched around his waist in search of the whip that the King had bestowed upon him when he first assigned the task of being a spy. He found it within one of the large pouches hanging on his belt. "This is what I have been using, my lord." The goddess teleported in front of Ash, observing the whip to a very fine detail. She giggled, covering her mouth when she finished moments later. "Even for a human construct, this weapon will hardly be useful in the battles to come. However, it is the Valkyrie's decision as to what to do about your armaments." She teleported back to the side of the Lord Odin, whom was now smiling at the interaction between the woman and human. "If you don't mind my intrusion, may I ask as to what I am doing in the presence of His Majesty," Ash asked as he put his whip back in its respective satchel.

The large god put a hand under his chin and tilted his head as he reclined more into his throne. "Freya, would be kind enough to explain the situation at hand," he demanded kindly. Nodding in agreement, Freya began to talk about what was going on. "As you may know, we are currently at war with another god known as Loki. Lord Odin believes that one of the ways that we can defeat him without expending all the resources of Valhalla is through some of his artifacts. But many of them have fallen into the human world. We were planning to have the Valkyrie retrieve them, but we need her to recruit more souls for the battle at the end of the world. To make matters worse, a human by the name of Lezard Valeth has been taking the sacred artifacts, using them in experiments that he claim will make him a god. Your job is to get the artifacts back, and to punish Lezard accordingly."

"Ah, I see." Ash raised a hand to his chin, much in the manner of his god. It seemed natural that the gods would want someone with experience in the world of espionage to perform an assassination mission. Because of the disease he once had, he wasn't able to go through with his duties as he had liked to at the time. Now it seemed like he was given another opportunity at the work that he aspired to do since he was a little boy. "I thank you, my lords, for giving me this wonderful chance. I shall not fail you." Freya smiled as Odin worked up a big grin. "I have no doubt that you shall succeed, Dark Warrior," Odin complimented, "now I believe it is time for you to meet with the Valkyrie. She's waiting for you outside of the castle doors. Once you get an upgrade on your weapons, you will begin with your mission."

"Thank you, my lord. I will not fail you."

And with that Ash turned around and went through the double doors, leaving the gods to talk over other matters in private. How ironic, he thought, that seconds after his death that he would be performing the same type of work that he did before he got sick. "Asgard must be in some real trouble," he believed as he spotted the armor-clad Valkyrie upon a hill. She looked at him sternly as she yelled "hurry, Dark Warrior. Time is one thing none of us have." With that command Ash picked up the pace to stand in front of the Death Goddess, only to have a silver bracer pushed onto his torso in a forceful manner. "This is an artifact from the Goddess Freya herself. She commanded that I pick this up ahead of time. Use it well, Dark Warrior." Ash looked at the shiny trinket oddly, trying to send body signals to the Valkyrie that he didn't know what it was. She, on the other hand, just stared at him blankly. "So, what does it do," he asked finally. Instead of answering him, she put one hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. When she reopened them, Ash had vanished. "We are counting upon you, Dark Warrior..." were the words the Valkyrie muttered as she entered Valhalla.