Chapter 33

At that moment, Skuld entered the Tea Room. She showed signs that she was still recovering from Torvald's possession of her mind and Hild's not too pleasant removal of his spirit. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and squeaked, "Can you guys hold it down a little, I'm trying to get a little sleep." In her groggy state, she didn't recognize Kami-sama or Istvar's presence in the room.

Istvar whipped around to see the petite Goddess and erupted "So all THREE of the Norns are down here? Kami-sama! How did you allow THIS to happen!" They need to go back to Heaven immediately!"

Kami-sama debated with himself whether to try and explain to a clearly irrational Istvar why all three of the Goddesses of Time were down here on earth, but decided against it. "Istvar. It's not important for you to know why they are here. Their presence has nothing to do with the matter at hand."

Istvar responded, "I disagree wholeheartedly! The presence of all three Norns here on Earth, especially Urd and Skuld has everything to do with the matter at hand. They aren't field goddesses!" He spat out "field goddesses" with an extra dose of vitriol. "They aren't cleared to be here. Skuld doesn't even have her Earth qualifications completed. Their presence here is one of the things that has caused disruptions and weak spots in the Interface Layer for the past four years! Even Belldandy's presence here for such a long time is a factor. Field Goddesses aren't supposed to be on such long term assignments. They appear to the client, grant the wish, and move on. Not stay around and play lovey-dovey games with their clients."

With a note of pride, Istvar continued, "Fortunately for you, Kami-sama. My team and I have been able to keep track of and correct the greater disruptions and spare the Interface untold amounts of damage. Not that you or any of the other ignorant beings in Heaven would notice, much less care."

Urd said,"Wow for someone who spends most of his time down in that hoodoo-voodoo hole you call the Interface Layer, you certainly know a lot of things that don't pertain to you."

Istvar, recognizing who was speaking to him said with a surprising calmness, "Yes, Urdie. I do know about what goes on outside of the Layer. The Layer forms the core of Yggdrasil. Everything that goes on with Yggdrasil affects the Layer. The Layer is Yggdrasil, and Yggdrasil is the Layer. Just because my team and I don't choose to mingle with the simpletons in Heaven's general population does not mean that we are ignorant as to what goes on Upstairs. If anything, it's the other way round. The general population hasn't a clue about what we do. And we prefer it that way. We'll keep the lights on, and Yggdrasil from doing nasty things to the Universe, while you and the rest just go on blithely living off of our labors. We don't want you Upstairs folk coming down to us and asking stupid questions and getting all underfoot."

Kami-sama said "Okay, Istvar. You've made your point. We now know that you and your team pay attention to what's going 'Upstairs', as you so succinctly put it. Will you now please explain how the presence of the Norns on Earth negatively affects the Interface Layer, as well as why Keiichi's ring forbids you from sending him through Belldandy's connection to clean up this mess?"

Chapter 34

"It's in the runes engraved on the ring." Istvar said. Turning to Belldandy, he said. "Belldandy, can you tell me what the runes on Keiichi's ring mean?"

While everyone looked on, Bell opened her mouth and tried to speak, but try as hard as she might, no words came forth. Her lips moved, but nothing came out but stunned silence. She became more confused, and frustrated the more she failed to provide an explanation.

Istvar taunted, "What's the matter, Goddess? How does that Earth saying go, cat got your tongue?"

Keiichi ignored Istvar's rudeness and talked to his wife. "Belldandy, are you all right?"

She answered, "I feel okay, Keiichi, but I cannot answer Istvar's request to explain the ru…" She abruptly fell stone silent.

"Don't bother trying to get her answer you, Keiichi." Istvar mocked. "As soon as she tries to say anything about those runes, she goes silent."

Keiichi grabbed Istvar roughly by the collar of his robe and whispered ominously, "Istvar, if you've harmed her in any way, I'll…"

Istvar calmly removed Kei's hands and said, "I have nothing to do with Belldandy's problem. The runes are a topic that comes under Special Significance. I believe you may have heard about that from the time Marller succeeded in separating Urd's Goddess half from her Demon half."

Keiichi did remember. He said, "So the function of the runes is of such importance that it is sealed inside of Belldandy and she cannot speak about it."

"You're a quick study, Keiichi." Istvar said. "It's not that she forgot, she just couldn't tell you even if she wanted to."

"So. If she can't tell us about them, how about you, Istvar? You seem to know a lot more than you're letting on."

"I'd love to translate the runes for you, Keiichi." Istvar said sarcastically. "But the problem is that the translation comes in two parts. There are the runes on the outside of the ring, but there are also runes on the inside too. They both go together, and each are useless without the other. And…"

Keiichi finished Istvar's sentence. "Because I can't take the ring off, you can't read the complete text."

In mock triumph, Istvar shouted, "Correct!" Tousling Keiichi's hair, the insolent programmer said, "You're not nearly as stupid as you look, hybrid!"

Keiichi took a few minutes to think the puzzle over. If he couldn't get the ring off, he couldn't translate the runes, which may or may not hold the key to stopping whatever impending disaster was looming. After a few moments, an idea formed in his head.

"Belldandy." Keiichi said. "I'm going to ask you a question about the ring. You don't have to say a word. Either nod your head for yes or shake your head for no. Is this ring made of gold?"

A nod.

"Did the gold in this ring come from Heaven?"

A shake.

"So it came from Earth?"

Another nod.

Keiichi gave Bell a sweet kiss and thanked her. Istvar looked as if he was going to be violently ill.

Concentrating on the ring on his finger, Keiichi closed his eyes and reached deep within himself. He visualized the spell he wished to cast as an algorithm just as he learned to do when Bell and Urd first taught him how to cast spells. In a flash, the algorithm compiled into the desired spell.

Allowing his third eye to open, Keiichi continued to focus his concentration on the ring and let the desired words of Power form in his mind. He didn't force them. He just let the words flow as a silky smooth flowing river of magic merely guiding them in a voice not entirely his own. As he recited the words, everybody in the room just looked on saying nothing and letting Keiichi work his spell in peace.

Kami-sama spoke quietly in an approving voice. "Now he's getting it. He's coming into his own." To himself, he said, I think might have made the right decision.

Belldandy looked on with pride as she witnessed her husband working high level First Class magic. Much higher than a still newly minted First Class god should be able to perform.

Even a cynical and jaded Urd couldn't help but be impressed with what she was seeing. Our little Keiichi is growing up right before our eyes. She thought to herself. "You're not helping him, Belldandy?" She said aloud.

Bell shook her head. "No, We haven't used our Sacred Coupling for a while now."

Urd looked to Kami-sama, he also shook his head. "He's doing this all on his own."

Istvar snorted with mild contempt.

Ilse remained silent, while Skuld went back to bed.

Keiichi's mind was transported into a space that appeared as a citadel of concentric high walls surrounding an object of unknown power. The bricks in the walls represented various wards and spells designed to protect whatever was in the center.

The magic bound within the citadel initially resisted Keiichi's efforts to break through. It was powerful magic that threw numerous spells and blockages before Keiichi. As Kei set about using his Earth magic to breach the fortress, for every block he destroyed, another slid into place. Who or whatever wielded this magic's objective was to try and frustrate Keiichi. It didn't attempt to attack him, but sought to wear down his will and force him to give up.

But as strong and resilient as this magic was, it had not counted on Keiichi's greatest power, which lay not in performing magic, but in his bloody-minded determination to not give up on a task once he set his mind to it.

That steely obsession to see his objective through no matter what, made him into the toughest racer in the Motor Club. It gave him the ability to protect and defend Belldandy when she was afflicted by Hild's Hell's Lightning spell. It gave Belldandy the desire to appear before Keiichi and grant him his wish, and ultimately allowed him to become a God, as well as her husband.

Many times during the casting of this removal spell, the ring's magic rose up against Keiichi hitting him with barrage after barrage of defensive barriers. Wards flew up like walls of energy, assembling and reassembling every time Keiichi broke through to the next ring, trying to come between the young God and his goal. But while he was being knocked back in the occasional defeat, Keiichi's will grew stronger and slowly overcame. He told himself that he would never be vanquished. Too much was at stake. The universe, the Earth, his family and friends, but most of all, his love for Belldandy. Even though he had been assured numerous times that he and Bell would never be separated, he could never be completely sure. He could not imagine life without his beautiful Goddess. She completed him in so many ways. And he completed her. They had no problem sacrificing themselves for the other, which made them such a formidable combination. To take on Keiichi and Belldandy in any sort of collaborative endeavor was to invite defeat.

Time slowed to a crawl as Keiichi methodically worked his way through the ring's magical defenses. Although it had only been a few minutes since Kei started the spell, in his mind, it felt like he had been wrestling the magic for hours. But unlike other times when he tried to work high level First Class magic, and had collapsed due to the enormous toll the effort had placed on his mind and body, he did not feel his strength wearing away this time. If anything, he felt like he could keep this spell up all day long. He was drawing energy from a source outside of himself. He didn't know where this endless reservoir of energy came from and at this point, he didn't care. All he wanted to do was to unlock the secrets behind this ring, and to do that, he had to get the damn thing off his finger.

Meanwhile, the rest of the deities in the Tea Room were watching in rapt attention as Keiichi battled through the ring's magic. To a person, they were all impressed with how he had attacked this problem and how much he had grown in his magical development. Except for Istvar. He didn't seem too impressed by much of anything, much less how a hybrid mongrel like Keiichi became a God through the entreaty of a powerful First Class Goddess via the Song of the Goddesses. Bell and Urd remembered those early days. When it took so long for Keiichi to get the hang of casting spells. How they had to watch him work so hard to find his element. And once he found it, how he took to it so easily. The Earth element was supposed to be among the hardest elements to master, and Keiichi took to it like a duck to water. It was like he was born to that element. Like he was proud to be a Rockhead, as Urd so playfully put it. The Goddesses could not have been more proud of their protege.

Keiichi didn't try to consciously control the magic that was driving him forward. He fell into a natural rhythm casting spells with increasing speed. The walls fell faster and faster, and were slowly lagging behind Keiichi's attack. It was as if the powers told him to stand aside and trust them to complete the work. Wards shattered and barriers broke as they fell before Keiichi's onslaught of power. Seeing the success of his efforts, Keiichi pressed on. After what seemed like hours, the final barrier fell and with the way clear before him, Kei's mind drifted forward slowly towards the goal.

Floating within a sea of destroyed blocks of defeated defensive spells was a golden sphere of power. At its center, was what looked like a white-hot molten core. The core pulsed and vibrated in time with Keiichi's heartbeat. It looked like a small sun, with boiling gouts of lava erupting from its surface.

Keiichi allowed his mind and spirit to venture carefully towards the sphere. He kept a respectful distance to gage the sphere's reaction to his presence.

It turned out that he had nothing to fear, for the sphere seemed to welcome him into its presence. In a kindly voice not unlike Kami-sama's, the sphere's voice flowed into Keiichi's mind, bathing him in comfort and reassurance.

"Keiichi Morisato?"

"You know me?"

"I do."

"Who are you?"

"Not who, what."

"What are you?"

"I am Arvid. The spirit of this ring. I protect its secrets, and only reveal them to those whom I consider worthy. By breaking through my citadel, you have proven your worth."

"So, you know why I am here."

"I do. You wish to remove the ring and translate the hidden runes. You've been told that the runes hold the secret to solving the problems involving the Interface Layer. "

"That's right. What must I do?"

"I must ask you to make a very difficult decision. One that will impact your life from this moment forward. One that will require you to make a powerful sacrifice."

"This sounds like the challenge Torvald posed to me when he gave me the God Killer and told me to kill one of the three Norns to set the other two free."

"And you acquitted yourself well in that challenge. You chose to sacrifice yourself to preserve the Norns."

"How do you know so much about me?"

"From the moment you accepted the ring from Belldandy as a token of your love for her, I have been watching your life through your eyes. I have seen everything, I know everything. I have seen your triumphs and your tragedies. I have seen how you love your Goddess. I have also seen how you love your human family as well. Which makes this choice even more difficult."

With the slightest hesitation, Keiichi said. "Whatever I am asked to do, if it will save the Universe from destruction, I will do it." He hoped that whatever was asked of him would not require him to give up Belldandy.

"I sense hesitation in your voice. Are you truly prepared to do what I ask?"

"I am."

A long period of silence followed. It felt as if Arvid was looking deep into Keiichi's soul to find out whether his resolve matched his words.

"Keiichi Morisato. In exchange for the ability to remove the ring and to translate the runes engraved thereupon, I must ask you leave your family and friends behind on Earth, go to Heaven with the rest of the Goddesses, and never again return to this planet."