Hello everybody and welcome back to "To Eternity, My Witch". Hope you all are doing well in 2022 so far. We're two weeks into this year and I am looking forward to (hopefully) a better year.
I DO NOT Own any of these as they are and were created by their respective creators. Marvel is owned by the late Stan Lee via Disney. Phantom of the Opera (PotO) is owned by Andrew Llyod Weber. LofZ : TP and OofT by Shigeru Miyamoto. Fire Emblem by Shouzou Kaga. Black Butler by Yana Toboso. And finally, Inuyasha by Rumiko Takahashi
Please enjoy this next chapter!
Chapter 19 Fire Temple
James' POV.
I stood on the edge of the Aetherworld ridge I was on, staring out into the apiece of the realm of Vanaheim. This Aetherworld was a blend of each realm. Though it had more elements of the realms covered in Twilight. The Hero's Shade was on another floating ridge directly above the ancient ruins which the Skull Kid had led me to. The melody I had howled sounded ancient, The Hero's Shade having commented on each song as there were past muses from Link and Zelda's world had written. This one he called the Song of Time, one that still had power in certain situations. The last three had names as well; the one in Alfheim was the song of healing and the two earlier in this realm in twilight was the requiem of spirit and the song of healing.
I howled the song again, this time feeling the power of the song in my bones. It was an ancient song, this Song of Time, one that had power unlike the others. The Hero's Shade howled it back to me and the music accompanying it kicked up. Once the music faded, the Hero's Shade spoke again, "Let teachings of old pass to you… Take sword in hand and find me."
I was again back in the real world, Wanda patting my shoulder again. Memories of when I was in HYDRA came roaring through my brain causing me pain as I came back to reality. I growled in pain, fangs bared as I remembered the torture sessions and the memory sessions. All those sessions had caused searing pain when they had happened, just like fire would do if it touch flesh. Too many horrible memoires flashed through my head and that caused me to fall unconscious in the cave Wanda and I were in when we had followed one of the beasts containing a drop of light.
I don't know how long I was unconscious, but as I woke up, I heard sounds of battle. I growled weakly and sat up slowly from the floor. I was in a smaller crevice with Wanda, who was shaking in fear as she clung to me. A faint barrier was at the entrance and beyond it was the battling forms of two rather large fire demons who were rather angry. They spoke, but their words were foreign and sounded distorted as well from all the heat of their fiery battle.
I licked her face and Wanda stopped shaking, hiding her face in my fur, "James! Thank God you're awake. I thought I'd lost you! You acted as if you were dead!" She cried into my metal shoulder, causing me to be surprised that she was using it as a comforting thing.
I licked her ear, thinking to her, Don't cry Wanda. I am here. I'm still here. Her crying settled some as I spoke in my mind to her. How long was I out? I probed hesitantly.
Wanda didn't raise her head as she spoke quietly, my ears picking up her voice clearly, "You were out for about four hours. Those demons have been fighting for about the last hour while you were out, but they have slowed down their fight quite a bit."
I looked out and noticed that the demons were indeed not as active as they were a few moments ago. Perhaps now is the time to try to sneak by them to the spring?
"Yes. I doubt that you will be seen by them as they are still occupied by each other and we're rather concealed by how low this crevice is on the mountain. Plus, with the twilight covering the realm, I would suspect they wouldn't see us at all. I know where the last of the drops of light is. It's about a half mile northeast of here in a ravine." Wanda pulled away from my shoulder as she spoke. I nudged her to get on my back as I stood.
She was much less worried and fearful now that I was awake and unharmed. And from the fact that she was not alone worrying that she was the only one to complete the mission of undoing this disaster. As I made my way cautiously out of the crevice, I felt Wanda adjust herself to lay across my back, neck, and the base of my skull. I had grown to love the feeling of her there since this disaster started, it was… intimate, loving. Peeking out of the crevice, I noticed the fire demons moving away from Wanda and I. Good our invitation to leave… I turned towards the way the twilight beasts Wanda and I had dubbed shadow insects.
I slowly moved through the valley, doing my best to avoid being discovered by the two fire demons. Fortunately, the demons were not in the way of getting to the drop of light, cause soon I was trotting safely away undiscovered with Wanda on my back to the location of the last drop of light. I doubted they could see us even due to the veil of Twilight over Muspelheim.
When I killed the shadow insect that held the last drop of light, the vine flash and instead of having to travel the four leagues to the spring, the vine transported Wanda and I straight back to Eldin's spring, avoiding all potential and dangerous encounters with fire demons.
Once the twilight was lifted from the realm, I was changed back into my human form, a process that was as painful as becoming a wolf. Eldin charged Wanda and I to the southwest five and a half miles away to the temple, which was inside an active volcano call the Magmora's Vale. I changed into the tunic and trousers that Stefan provided before I paused to eat dinner with Wanda at the edge of Eldin's spring.
Afterwards heeding Eldin's advice, much to Wanda and mine objections, she and I rested for a night hidden amongst the many hollows around his spring preventing a nearby fire demon from discovering us. One of the hollows, I discovered the Hero's Shade wolf. He taught me another sword technic, the shield attack, not only that, he provided me a grappling hook that had a long strong rope attached to it. It also somehow had the fire infinity barrier woven in its threads. The Hero's Shade mentioned, "That grappling hook was mine from when I was still quite young. It is an example of many that have been used by my race to do a coming-of-age journey when we were faced with getting our dragon's eye from a dangerous volcano, Mount Ravencrow.
"A dragon's eye is a dragon's most treasured gem. It becomes an anchor for the dragon to enter heaven once they pass away, and if the dragon comes to pass 100,000 years of age and has had a revelation to serve Christ fully, the gem transforms into a redemption stone. The dragon is then given a new dragon's eye that is pure white and indestructible. The redemption stone then has the purpose of redeeming anyone, human or of any other sentient race, they choose. However, only 29 people have ever had their dragon's eye transformed into a redemption stone and only one has been chosen and given such a gift. And if one reaches the age of 225,000, their second dragon's eye becomes an indestructible redemption capable of redeeming up to seven people. But enough of that! Now get going and get the Fire Temple complete."
The following day, Wanda and I took the better part of the day traveling to the temple, hiding and avoiding the fire demons and other fiery denizens of Muspelheim on our way to the fire temple as I called it because the Hero's Shade mentioned it as such. It should have been a simple two-hour tramp, but it took the better part of the whole day to arrive, the fire demons and other local beasts having forced Wanda and I to hide almost consistently.
It wasn't until evening that Wanda and I arrived at the fire temple's entrance, hiding in a grotto of dead trees as a fire demon left the trail. A second fire demon passed our hiding spot, unaware of my presence. After waiting a few moments to make sure both were gone, I made a quick and quiet dash to the temple's cave entrance and dodged inside. Seeing a ledge that looked safe and hidden enough to rest on without being discovered, I climbed its face and sat down, inquiring, "Wanda, how about we take the time to rest and eat. Do you still have the stew from Vanaheim?"
She huffed and in her hair hand, it appeared, "Here we are." She also brought out a bowl for each other them with utensils. I set the cauldron on the edge of the ledge we were on and surprisingly the stew heated up from the lava below as Wanda and I chatted. The heat from the volcano I could feel, but the tunic and trousers were doing the trick. I could feel the heat, but the tunic and trousers seemed to be counteracting it and creating a comfortable environment around me and Wanda as we both ate the stew.
I looked down to my arm and noticed it was getting rather dirty. I looked at the rest of me and realized how dirty I was and the state of which my armor was from the last week. I needed a shower since Brunhilda offered me one in Alfheim over four days ago. Perhaps taking a gaunt to Vanaheim I could get another shower in Tofte. All the gates were all now connected to each other in the Bifrost so I could travel there.
I sighed as I ate the stew. So much pain and suffering came of this disaster. From Ragnar. Like Thanos, Ragnar caused too many people's deaths or have been injured and now Amelia was suffering from his hands. Tortured. Whipped. Perhaps she was even suffering emotional and psychological trauma and torture.
"What's wrong my Bucky?" Wanda's voiced sang out quietly.
I opened my eyes, sighing as I looked to her, "I want all this horribleness to be done Wanda. When this all started on our wedding day, I thought I finally had the peace to settle, not disaster. I've seen too much evil…"
Wanda sighed, "We'll soon have peace. I know it James. Please just a little while longer."
I smiled weakly, "Very well." I finished up my stew and Wanda did as well before snapping her fingers, making it all items disappear into her pocket dimension. I stood and assessed the temple's layout from the ledge's high view. It was a dangerous place. I got down from the ledge, moved through the main room, and I started around the temple. After several hours of chasing around different items to get to the guardian's room, a large group of stalfos chased Wanda and I to a dead-end hallway with only a door as an escape. I quickly shook my head and opened the door. Inside, Wanda and I discovered a room exactly like the one which contained the fiery spear held by the icy warrior. Though now we were trapped in, and we were face to face with its evil fiery twin.
Though the spear that the monster held was almost an exact replica of the fire spear, the only difference was that it was letting off icy tendrils from its blade. The battle with this fiery warrior was going to be quite different when I faced the ice monster. The warrior growled out a fiery breath and charged at me. I dodged easily, but the creature's left arm did contact my right arm bracer and scorched it and burned my arm underneath. I grunted in pain. The blow negated the repair that Brunhilda had done a few days prior. The creature slammed into the wall and its limbs when limp a moment.
I took out my boomerang and put out the creature's fiery limbs, allowing me to hack at its left arm until it was at the point of breaking. However, the creature recovered, and it erratically wheeled around and collided with me. I felt the fire of the creature burn my arm further, but surprisingly, fortunately, the flames didn't harm the rest of me.
I pushed the creature off me with my left arm, which remained unharmed by the flames the creature produced. I twisted my arm to its weapon status. I rarely ever used it in its weapon form apart from when I was in HYRDA, but it would come in handy here with this monster. I watched and circled the creature as it circled me.
It charged in a more haphazard way forcing me to dodge at the last moment only to push it to the wall with my arm, inadvertently cracking its hard-fiery shell of armor with my arm's strength. The monster's arm I had cracked before completely dissolved and the fire that made up its heart was exposed.
I smiled and retreated as the monster recovered and roared in anger. It now was acting chaotically. It moved with jarringly hard movements. It charged at me several more times and I used my arm every time before the bats it let out distracted me and Wanda shouted, "Look out!"
I wheeled around and was thrown back when the creature's spear hit me in the ribcage. Fortunately, it didn't pierce skin because of my armor, but the pain it caused was great, bringing back memories of the memory wipes during HYDRA and of several kills I had done. Pain spiked through my skull as I remember the torturous pain of those sessions and emotions behind those kills. Of me being forced to rape Amelia against our wills. The pain spread through the rest of me, causing the rage and other emotions I felt from those time to come out.
"Make it stop!" I roared in pain, reliving the memories played out, and retaliated in turn by grabbing the spear's handle. The creature fought with me, but I was into much of a rage and lost to my memories to let go, too far gone as I struggled to distinguish between what was memories and what was reality. My strength far stronger than the creature's, I pulled the spear from its grasp and playing with it, thrusting its blade into the creature's cracked chest, ending it in an instant. The memory of killing my parents with a spear raging through my mind as I killed the undead fiery monster.
I breathed heavily, trying to calm down and come back to reality, though still too engrossed from the memories to do much more than that. My teeth were clutched, my body tense, my arm was at the ready. The soldier was near to the surface, fighting to come out and kill anything, though if I remained calm, I could force him to stay asleep. Wanda stayed away for a few minutes before coming closer. Only when I heard Wanda's quiet, cautious, tentative voice after those few minutes did I finally feel like I was calming down, able to force the soldier to sleep again even as he fought to gain control.
"J-James…? Are… are you… you alright?" Wanda appeared near me, approaching me slowly as if talking to a raging bull.
I breathed heavily for a few minutes without answering, too tense to answer. She slowly placed a comfort hair hand on my left shoulder and rubbed her hair hand in small, delicate circles. Surprisingly it eased my tension much more, scaring off the memories. The soldier calmed, though he feared Wanda. He disappeared, asleep again in the dark cave her needed to me. All memories faded, except the one of Amelia and me.
It was fresh in my mind… too fresh… something I had to tell Wanda. It would cause much chaotic fire in our relationship. How ironic that the memory that's going to cause fiery issues would be in the fire temple… I breathed in a few more calming breathes before I said anything.
"Physically Wanda, I am alright. Just a burned arm and a few bad scratches. But my mind is all in turmoil. Memories of… of when I was… was in tortured captivity… of when my mind was wiped and… and when I was tortured… But the memory most on my mind is of Amelia…"
Wanda stayed silent, knowing that I didn't need words to encourage me. She wanted me to tell the story on my own time without her probing. She simply came close to me to try to embrace me, silently letting me know she wouldn't be judging me or turn away from me no matter what I said about Amelia and I. She trusted me, loved me so deeply, something I still was learning since HYDRA.
"Amelia and I were both tortured captives of HYDRA. She having been captured five years prior to when I was. She and I were good friends during my military training with the US after I was drafted. However, during HYDRA, I… I was forced… to torture her… beat her… I…" I closed my eyes at the memories.
Wanda smiled, put her shadowy hand to my check, "James, knowing Amelia, her heart is too pure, even with what she and you have been through. With all that she's been through, she's already forgiven you. I forgive you for that. I…"
"But there is one thing left that I haven't told you…" I interrupted her, too quickly. Wanda went tilted her head in confusion. I felt much shame and self-loathing again in me as I continued.
"And what would that be?" She asked, shadowy eyebrows furrowed.
"I… HYDRA forced… me to… to rape Amelia… as my second to last test of loyalty…" My eyes dead and all courage leaving them. Wanda's eyes went wide for a second before she infused herself into me.
Wanda's POV.
James' eyes were dead, emotions of shame and self-loathing filling him at the memory. I could barely believe it in the moment. Why had he? How could he? But then… how could I reject him? He was my husband and what he had done during HYDRA was forced on him. Something that he would never would have done because of his character and his friendship with Amelia before HYDRA. He was forced to have done it. How could I withhold forgiveness if Amelia had forgiven him? How could I with all I had done, knowing I was forgiven by James?
"James, who am I to judge you? You are my husband. You are a hero. An overcomer. Look at what you have done to get to this point. You are not what HYDRA made you. You are the man you were. I forgive you wholeheartedly, as Amelia has forgiven you." I said with all the conviction I had.
James broke down at my words, the feelings of happiness and confidence rising. I infused myself with him as I was a Twili. He sobbed, finally feeling freedom from his time with HYDRA and knowing he had a new life and future. Forgiveness was what set him free from his burdens. But it was overshadowed again when the fire temple's ground shuddered underneath his feet. We both felt the winter soldier within shrivel down, fading more at my forgiveness. Seems with forgiveness and time of facing his memories down with help, the winter soldier inside James had less and less power each time. This time it seemed the winter soldier lost much of his power. He wouldn't be coming out at all unless summoned or something really got to James to wake the soldier up.
His tears ended, and he soon whispered to me, "Wanda, you have given me infinity. Thank you, my love."
"You are beautiful, and whole my darling James. I love you. To infinity." I whispered back with everything I had for him. He returned the feelings equally and even more. We felt beyond physically one, we were mentally one.
Soon the moment passed as the mountain heaved again, this time with a tad more force. I sent an overflow of love and pride to James, prompting him to be able to continue with the temple's fiery depths. However, during the entire time, I stayed fused with him, I felt his courage grow as did his confidence. Something I had known he had when we met, but only now it grown tenfold since then.
The Triforce of Courage was resonating greatly. Especially now, as my Triforce of Wisdom was resonating and combined with the Triforce of Courage, their combined power was awe-inspiring, almost overwhelming. It was almost like handling the Eternity Gem. Who knew what kind of power these two held when they were joined with the Triforce of Power? When it was a completed Triforce?
When he approached the guardian's lair, a rather massive quake rocked the volcano. It caused the lava below to surge greatly before it settled and several large boulders and a plethora of smaller ones to fall from the ceiling. "James let's get this piece and head out. It's getting beyond dangerous here," I whispered.
James smiled his typical Brooklyn smile, "As always, doll." Cautiously, James crept near to the doorway and read the text on the wall. This sign, hastily written and with poor writing, next to the guardian's doorway had a warning to warriors who dared enter that Volga was waiting with fiery wrath and corrupted not long ago. He used the boss key to open the guardian's room, which had been in the same room with the sub-guardian. The lair looked as if it were the center of the volcano's throat. Over a large and deep chasm with an active pool of lava, an iron, steel, and diamond grid platform with a center hole hung from four major heavy-duty chains at its corners.
The ledge James and I were on a bridge that extended out to the hanging contraption to allow people to step out onto it over the lava below. Four ledges above them could be reached via the grappling hook by four thick beams of iron that had somehow impossibly been thrust deep into the cavern's walls.
Third Person POV…
James cautiously moved forward, the ice spear on his sword harness with the fire spear. Once he stepped onto to the floating platform, an appendage from some unknown creature swung from below and destroyed the jetting ledge that he and Wanda had just been on. From below an ear-splitting roar sounded and soon a massive creature looking eerily like a mutated crustacean crossed with an Asian dragon. It had two over-sized claws, several sets of prehensile legs on each side below then. However, its head was different. It had one solid eye that was a fully formed human eye set in a face that was in a fusion of a dragon's skull and a human's skull. Volga.
Volga's outer skull flared out in a hardened shell, his mouth opened in a fiery roar as he held onto the grid's rim with his smaller legs staring at him and Wanda with his hissing mouth. Volga roared and came forward at James, who barely dodged its charge. Losing his balance, Volga fell over the ledge of the grid, doing his best to try to cling to the grid's links with his many legs. As he tried to right himself, the fire demon breathed out fire in a rage, screeching and growling. James winced at the heat combined from Volga's flames and from the lava's heat below them, despite the fire tunic's magically embedded fibers.
Getting his balance, James rushed over with the ice spear in hand and swung the icy bladed spear across the monstrous Volga's two claws which held onto the grid, freezing the claws and causing Volga to let go and crash onto one of the four large, jagged rock formations below, stunning him. Volga's monstrous shell gained a network of cracks on it. Volga roared, righting himself, and dove into the magma below, disappearing below the surface. He clearly could handle the heat and pressure and toxins from the magma.
Wanda shouted, "Careful James! He could be anywhere down there." She became his shadow to prevent from getting snatched by Volga.
James nodded, careful to keep to the area of the grid between the edge of the grid's center and outside ledge. He kept a watchful eye down below, waiting for the monstrous Volga to rear his ugly head. He and Wanda didn't have to wait long as Volga appeared off to his left, crawling up the cavern's wall fast. And he was molten hot, having been submerged in the magma. He raced up the wall and circled the grid, growling at James as he reached out his long centipede and dragon like body and griped the grid's chain closest to himself.
Seems the fire tunic's magic has adjusted! I can barely feel the heat now. James sneered at the creature, setting his feet and doing his best to keep his balance on the swaying grid. The monster Volga growled at him, swaying his large head back and forth.
Volga brought his long tail up, intending to crash its magma hot shell on James, but as Volga did so, James dodged the fiery tail and thrust out the spear to cut as he did so, cutting a long, deep wound on Volga's tail and freezing it as it went by. Volga screamed in pain and again lost his balance at James' blow. James rushed over and swung his spear down hard onto its claws. Volga fell again against the rocks below, his hardened shell cracking further, before disappearing into the magma again, stunned into its heated depths.
Moments later, Volga reappeared and splattered molten pieces of magma all over the grid as he came up and over the grid in a chaotic rage, forcing James to use the spear to ward off several of the flying dead traps. The icy blade instantly cooled the molten stone and shattered it. The monster jumped from the wall to his right, hitting the grid's edge and surface, causing the grid to swing violently at its weight. James was thrown off his feet, somehow slicing his arm with the blade of the spear; however, it only caused a shallow wound. Not caring about his wound at all, James hung onto the grid in a death grip, preventing him from sliding off the edge and to his death below, waiting for it to stop swinging so wildly.
Volga roared and moved on the wall around and about the grid causing James much frustration at trying to charge at him. James barely managed to get up after several seconds and he glared up at Volga as he clung to the wall. The grappling hook… I could use it to bring the monster's eye forward to attack it! James thought as he pulled out said item. He swung it around in his hand and aimed for Volga's large ugly eye.
It caught on the monster's eye ridge, and he smiled in victory and jerked hard against its head. Volga, not expecting this, lost his balance against James' strong arms and he fell forward into the center of the grid's hole and hitting the edge. The monster fell right into the rocks below a third time. Volga roared in pain, moving sluggishly and the hard-exterior shell he had, shattered as he flexed out. Volga came racing up the wall and jumped onto the grid, making it swing wildly again. James, somehow, someway, kept his balance as he stared at the monster wide-eyed.
James' eyes widened further as Volga came at him, his black body soft and glowing with fire. He pulled out the ice spear and slashed at Volga as it battled him. After several more solid hours of battle, Volga fell across the grid in his full length, breathing heavily, his fiery body now smoking with the ice spear's quenching his inner heat. James jumped into the air and let out a warrior's shout, bringing down the spear into Volga's forehead.
The spear clearly started to freeze Volga's head, causing him to roar in pain. Before he died, Volga's eyes went back to a beautiful, yet oddly blue for a fire demon and he let out a mourning call to James and in part to Link, "Go… Take the fused shadow piece hero of realms… Link saved me last time from a life of forced servitude to a demon slayer… Thank you for saving me from that bastard's curse… James… GO! Save us all from his tyranny!" His last words left his mouth and he breathed out his last, and the great fire demon Volga died.
James took the spear and ripped it out of Volga's body, which blackened further and then shattered into Twilight specs. The specs then coalesced into another piece of fused shadow. As the adrenaline wore off, James felt his exhaustion coming over him, his legs failing him as he fell onto backwards, flailing.
It was the longest and hardest battle yet. His body hurt, something that he usually didn't acknowledge since HYDRA. He groaned in pain when he moved his right arm. Wanda appeared and sat on him after she grabbed the fused shadow and pulling it into her pocket dimension, "James… you did it. You defeated that monster."
James gave a silence nod, his throat too parched to say anything. "Come let's get you out of here and to the spring, James. You need water and rest." Wanda nudged him and helped him sit up. James slowly, and rather painfully, stood from his position, groaning. With the last of his strength, he limped painfully and unsteadily over to the portal Wanda made and just as she started to transport them, the cavern started to shake. The last thing they both show before getting safely away was the raging roar of the monster's partner raging through the chamber.
When James finally stood in the spring, he crumpled. He ended up floating in the spring's waters as the healing flow stitched together the shallow wound on his arm and all other wounds and bruises as well. Somehow, he floated in the spring's foot and a half deep warm water, even with his armor and weapons on his persona. Even with his vibranium arm. Perhaps Eldin was keeping him afloat?
Speaking of… Eldin appeared in his bird-like form with his claws holding the ball of light, "Seems you have one last fused shadow to gather youngling. Good job at getting the one from Volga. He was one of the most powerful fire demons here. Perhaps even the strongest of them all. Yet he was also the tamest, most reasonable, and rational of them all. Seems Ragnar corrupted him because of those reasons and that he was the guardian of the fused shadow piece."
Wanda appeared, shaking in fear, "You weren't kidding, Eldin. Volga was a nightmare. He almost killed James several times. I…"
Eldin interrupted her, "Yes, I know, child. I was watching; however, I was unable to help you defeat him. But that is a discussion for another day. I suggest you two rest here in my spring for the next day after your battle with Volga. Many of the fire demons are rather agitated at Volga's defeat. There will be quite a few more patrols on the path to the gateway to look for their leader's killer."
James groaned out, weakly mumbled, "Even if I had the energy, I wouldn't go out there into that mess. As much as I would like to get going back to Asgard, I need the rest." He sat up, armor and clothes soaked from floated in the water of the spring. His hair was sopping wet as well. He shook his head, water droplets going everywhere.
Eldin hummed, "There is an off-shoot cave to my left. It's about 20 feet deep, but it should hide you both lest any fire demons come here to check for intruders. Though I doubt any will come. Many, if not all, avoid my spring because of the water and because of me. There are supplies in the niches there from when Stefan came earlier and a thermal vent that will keep you warm. Plus, if you want some time alone, it's a private space. Go, I will stand guard as you get rest, James and Wanda." He gestured to the cave before disappearing.
James worked his right arm, realizing it needed some more time to heal. He got up using his left arm, now acting as if it were his normal flesh arm. Wanda encouraged him as he limped over to the cave. Getting out a bedroll from a niche, he sat on it with Wanda on his right. Taking out the supplies Stefan had left for them; they ate a much-needed meal. Soon after their meal, Buck took off his armor and clothes, not at all uncomfortable being fully unclothed in front Wanda. She was his wife after all. Wanda blushed unbeknownst to him, but secretly relished the view.
Wanda curled on James' chest and abdomen after he laid down, thinking. What are we going to do when we get to Asgard? Once this is all over? Will we finally have peace? Will Bucky and I ever be able to live peacefully with our daughters? She looked up to James and realized he was asleep. His breathing indicated that. She smiled weakly. Good he needs the rest. She usually slept while hiding in his shadow. It was like getting a free ride on a very smooth train. She got up and spread out his clothing, making sure it was in the breeze of the thermal vent.
Soon she went back to curl on James' chest again, finding she was tired even as she was a Twili. Within moments she fell asleep on James' chest.
~Ragnar's POV…~
I approached the depths of the ruined temple in Svargelfheim, chilled at the ominous feeling in the air. Even I, with the power of my master and the fused shadow, I felt small here. I took out one piece of the Mirror of Twilight as I approached the monster guarding the portal to the underworld and I growled out, "Hear me, Charon! I bring you an offering!"
A dark emaciated man appeared from the darkness beyond and smirked in indifference. He breathed out, "Who are you to call me, wretch? You approach the gateway to the dead."
I swallowed back my fear as I faced the guardian to the gateway to the dead, "I need this piece of the Mirror of Twilight to be guarded by your pet, Bongo-Bongo!"
Charon smiled in a sickly, sweet way, "You realize that no one can command me and that you are fighting against the plan of the Infinite?"
I sneered, "I don't care what HE thinks Charon! DO AS I SAY! Or there will be consequences!"
Charon smirked, taking the mirror piece, "I don't do this for you, Josiah. I do this to continue the Infinite's plan… Now be gone! I have business to attend to!"
I hmphed in annoyance and finality, knowing he would do as I said. His warning about the Infinite and His plan bothered me to the moon. I am worried this plan will fail and my master does not see it. I thought as I made my way out of the temple and to the portal back to the Bifrost. As I teleported back to Asgard, I thought to Amelie's advice and doubted my master's words again. I shook my head and left for Vanaheim again to plant the last piece of the Mirror of Twilight.
Hope you all are enjoying the story! Please, leave a review or a like for my stories, which means not just this one if you like other stories as well.
Until Next time!
WS. Z.
