Percy Jackson: Shadows Rise

by SkyRunn3r

An ancient civilization revived, plots amongst the Gods and a new prophecy all amidst the second gigantomachy could herald the end of the Era of Gods and Olympus as a whole. With Percy sacrificing himself to Nyx, the remainder of The Seven struggle to save their friends and family without him. Sacrificed, but not dead… How far is Percy willing to go in order to save his family?

26. Chapter 26: The Day The World Broke

Chapter Twenty Six: The Day The World Broke

Comment Responses:

Tarelectro: Lol nice way of putting it haha. Ty for the review and enjoy the chapter!

Aspect of Stories: Well that's always good to hear, I kinda hate cliffhangers too but they can work in certain instances. I'm glad to hear this was one of them. lol , Enjoy the chapter!

Roryrex: Love these long reviews man! Gets me very hype whenever i see a paragraph or more lol. Really glad to hear you liked it, and equally looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this one! Enjoy the chapter!

Uh Oh: Thanks for the review! Honestly, I read your review and went back to look over the chapter and I wasn't super happy with some of Kolasi's interactions and ended up changing a few things. Because I felt like you were right, some of the interactions were a little cringe. My only excuse is that it's a new character and I'm trying to refine her personality. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Whoof: Ty for the compliments, of course I love seeing reviews and follows/favs (I'd be a liar if I said I didn't) but I'm not super concerned about popularity. I just want to put out something quality and if people want to read it I'm happy to write it. Thanks for the reviews and enjoy the chapter!

Wow: Lol reading those reviews was like a little roller coaster of emotion. That made me smile, not gonna lie. So thanks for that, it's been a long ass few weeks. Sorry it took so long to get another chapter out but it's here now! So enjoy!

MinervaStar: haha I'm glad you liked that fight, it was a lot of fun to read. And Wow all 25 in a week, that's impressive. I'm sorry you had to wait so long for the next chapter, rough few weeks between work, school and life in general. But it's here now so enjoy it!

Randofox: Tell that to my wrists lol, carpal tunnel here I come! Enjoy the chapter hahah!

Guest: yea I know I tend to be late pretty frequently, It's not intentional I swear. I would love to write more but I got to work to pay the bills sadly. I really appreciate that you like the fic tho, and going forwards I'm going to try and be on time a little more. Enjoy the chapter!

Apex: Lol ty! Brings a smile to my face to hear you like it so much! Enjoy the new chapter!

Jujp: Ty for the review! Lots more angst to come lol, enjoy the chapter!

Pre-Note:

Lots of new terms introduced in the 2nd and 3rd Pov. Terms are in the Author notes.

Annabeth 4 Days and 5 Hours & 50 Minutes After Eripus

"Is that really how you greet your grandmother?" Gaea asked nonchalantly as she slowly walked towards the center of the room, admiring the cracked pillars and crumbling mosaics that once adorned the walls of the throne room with vague interest.

"Answer the question" Hestia all but snarled through gritted teeth. Even from where she stood, Annabeth could see the sweat drenching the Goddess' face as all around her flames roared to life. Swirling and trailing across the floor as Hestia stood tall against the primordial. Yet still, the sheer power Gaea was exerting with her mere presence was astounding, Annabeth had been driven to her knees almost the instant the primordial stepped into the throne room.

"Your brother is clearly a resourceful man. I hadn't thought he had the gall to double cross me at first, and when Sally Jackson did not arrive…I was enraged. Yet those thoughts were dispelled when what I required was hand delivered to my children by none other than a son of Zeus himself" Gaea said with a sigh as she turned her gaze from Hestia to Zeus.

"I had assumed Hermes would be the one you sent if anyone at all, but then again, Apollo always was your willing lapdog," she said offhandedly, smirking at the beaten, struggling Zeus, "My children were just as surprised when the Sun God handed over what I needed. Not that it was the wrong decision, he possesses the sight, and clearly knows my rise and victory is inevitable."

Not one of the Gods made a sound at Gaea's declaration, not that it would have mattered; Annabeth had no doubt every word Gaea was saying was true. The Gods had shown they didn't care for anyone but themselves. These thoughts raced through her head as Annabeth stumbled towards the other demigods. All of whom were in similar states of confusion as they tried to get away from the primordial who had suddenly appeared in their midst. Piper and Hazel both looked terrified as they watched Gaea walk towards Hestia and Kolasi, both of whom were watching her warily.

In an instant the room was filled with flashes of light, the very air itself felt like it was alive with power. Hera and Demeter vanished from their thrones with a flash of golden light, only to reappear beside Hestia. Meanwhile Aphrodite and Hermes vanished from the throne room entirely in the blink of an eye. Drawing a deep rumbling laugh from Gaea, as she looked at the empty thrones.

The Goddesses weapons were drawn and their faces grim as they glared at the primordial. Hestia however seemed more concerned with the Gods who were currently groaning on the floor in pain, namely Poseidon and Hades. "What did you do to them!?"

"Nothing much really, it's their own fault. Their domains are experiencing some sudden and unexpected fluctuations….They just don't seem to have what it takes to keep them under control" Gaea said darkly as her eyes took on a blank look for an instant.

Annabeth noticed that Gaea's attention seemed elsewhere and immediately forced herself forward with a burst of speed. Drawing her bronze dagger as quickly and quietly as she could, while motioning for Thalia and others to get up. "We need to get out of here, this is going to get ugly really fast." Annabeth half whispered to Thalia as the girl stood up beside her, while Annabeth gestured towards the doors of the throne room.

Suddenly Hades and Poseidon screamed in pain and Annabeth whipped her head around, only for her jaw to drop in shock at what she saw. Hades was seemingly consumed from the inside by shadows. They poured from his mouth, eyes and nose, seeping out to cover the ground around him as his form grew wispy and shadow-like—before he disappeared entirely, vanishing from the throne room in an instant.

Poseidon, however, was sweating visibly and looked like he had swapped places with Atlas under the sky, as the color drained from his face. "I….won't let you do this!" he grunted out in pain as his aura weakly flickered around him.

"I don't believe you have the power to deny me anything grandson…a valiant effort no doubt, but futile nonetheless. After all, with your brother's aid, I have what I wanted, and as foretold by the fates themselves, I sleep no more." Gaea said with an almost affectionate smile as she looked around the room.

Hephaestus moved forwards to stand alongside Hera and Demeter. They stood together with weapons drawn, their gazes locked on Gaea. Even so, looks of fear and uncertainty were clearly present on their faces. For a few moments, no one moved an inch, none of the Gods wanted to make the first move and Gaea took advantage of it.

"I offer you this one chance, give up this struggle before it becomes a war. Zeus has bought you time to prepare yourselves…after all. A deal is a deal. Sally Jackson for a ceasefire, however I still plan to fix the infestation of humans on my planet. They have done far too much damage for me to allow them to continue as they have, and if you stand in my way…I will crush you like bugs." Gaea added with a note of irritation in her voice.

It only took Annabeth a minute to put the dots together. Poseidon held many titles, the Earth shaker among them. More importantly, it seemed he was trying to stop Gaea from doing something, something that directly affected one of his domains.

Which led Annabeth to the only plausible conclusion; Gaea was causing earthquakes, which was powerful enough to bring Poseidon to his knees. Not that she had much time to think, as the throne room continued to crumble around them.

"Gaea what are you doing!" Hestia shouted as she dashed forwards, her hands and arms trailing fire behind her and the temperature sharply rose, Kolasi unleashed a blast of fire to rival that of a rocket launch, Demeter and Hera both leveled their weapons in her direction and unleashed their attacks, the beams of power converging upon the primordial with an explosion of power, and a wave of heat courtesy of Kolasi.

"The humans are under our charge, you will STOP!" Hestia shouted out in anger as Hestia lifted one hand and unleashed a torrent of flames to rival Kolasi' own. The combined power of the blast shook the throne room, the energy crackled around her for a moment before dissipating to reveal Gaea, her robes steaming slightly as she held on hand extended. Her body was surrounded with a brilliant green aura of shimmering light as she took a step forwards and grinned..

"No." Gaea replied simply as the entire throne room began to shake. The sound of cracking pillars and crumbling walls was almost drowned out by the pained scream from Poseidon as he began to glow a dull sea green, struggling to his hands and knees, his teeth grit in pain as he locked eyes with Gaea.

"I will kill you….!" Poseidon groaned out as he lifted a hand, sending a torrent of water towards Gaea. She simply narrowed her eyes and suddenly it wasn't just Poseidon screaming as he crashed to the floor, the water splashing against the primordial almost harmlessly. Following Poseidon's collapse, the earthquakes around them intensified so much that Annabeth was tossed from her feet. Her dagger slid across the floor as she slammed her head into the marble floor hard enough that she saw lights. Then as fast as it had started, the rumbling vanished along with Poseidon, who completely dissipated into water.

Annabeth glanced around the room in a daze, coughing as dust filled her lungs with each breath. It was only when the dust had cleared that she noticed that Hestia was shaking like a leaf, her eyes alight with flames as she stumbled, unsteady on her feet, a look of hatred plastered across her face as she looked at Gaea.

Demeter looked at Gaea in shock, before her face hardened into a deep scowl and a flash of light enveloped her. Revealing the Goddess to be clad in a burnished bronze chest plate with matching greaves and helmet, a large gold spear with a green tip clutched in one hand. Meanwhile Hera was similarly adorned, no more was she the Queen of Olympus in her robes and jewelry. She looked every bit the warrior that the Gods had described her in their talks about the Ardwyr war, clad in a gleaming golden cuirass with a matching shield and spear.

"... by Chaos… what are you doing…." Hestia barely managed to whisper out as she swayed where she was standing, looking like she was seconds from passing out. Gaea simply looked at Hestia and smiled almost sadly before she walked forwards. "Bringing some balance back to the world. You have let the humans infest this world like maggots on a rotting corpse. You have misguided them and stood by as they killed each other in the millions. How is what I'm doing any different?" Gaea said as she tilted her head slightly and another fierce series of rumbles shook the ground underneath Annabeth's feet.

Annabeth could hear the other demigods around her drawing weapons, but they were all too slow. The very earth was their foe, Gaea looked at them and in a split second the ground underneath their feet was alive, as hands and arms began to explode out of the surface. Sending Annabeth and the other demigods into a panic as they frantically hacked and slashed their way through the field of limbs and grabbing hands.

"Get to the doors! We have to get out of here!" Frank shouted out over the din of battle as Hestia and Hera launched themselves at Gaea. Meanwhile Hephaestus had summoned himself a massive hammer, and with a few words, Annabeth watched in awe as it nearly doubled in size and ignited. Flames burning so hot it glowed like a miniature star, before he charged forwards.

Kolasi had joined in alongside Demeter, blasts of fire and green bolts of energy lashed out towards Gaea as she smirked once before lifting a hand. In response a wall of rocks and loose earth erupted out of the floor, deflecting the blasts out to the sides, where it tore holes right through the walls of the throne room.

Meanwhile Annabeth was rapidly realizing that the hands and arms had bodies. Gaea wasn't just animating the earth, she was summoning her Earthborn army. Here, on Olympus.

"Fuck..." Annabeth all but groaned as she redoubled her efforts, her bronze sword flying back and forth in a blur as chunks of earth and clay went flying in every direction around her. All the while the Gods' battle grew more and more intense not fifty feet away.

The sounds were horrific, and it only got worse as Hephaestus smashed the wall apart with his hammer, sending rocks and debris careening towards Gaea, who merely cackled once before turning into sand. The sand was scattered across the room in an instant by the debris from the wall as the hammer passed through where she had been standing moments before and slammed into the floor. Sending cracks out across the floor in a spider web like pattern as Hephaestus ripped it free and whirled around looking for Gaea.

"GET HER!" Hera cried out as she pointed her spear at the slowly reforming body of Gaea and blasted it with crackling blue energy. The resulting explosion sent shockwaves across the already crumbling building as it gave a final groan of protest before a horrendous cracking sound began under their feet, followed by a groan, as if the mountain was tearing itself apart.

Gaea reappeared with a grin as Hestia and Demeter launched another series of attacks at the primordial, blasts of green and blue energy slammed into her in rapid succession as she stumbled backwards. Only for Kolasi to appear behind her, her arms spread wide as her entire body glowed white hot. Kolasi wrapped her arms around Gaea in a bear hug from behind, a wild grin on her face.

Then a blast of fire erupted from her body, dwarfing everything the Gods had thrown at Gaea so far. The entire throne room shook with the force of the explosion. It felt like all the air had been drawn from the room, and it was unbearably hot as Annabeth stumbled backwards blindly before she stumbled over some rubble and crashed to the ground.

She blinked the haze from her eyes as she peered around her through the dirt before she screamed "EVERYONE GET OUT!" panic rising in her chest as she watched a series of cracks start to run across the floor, even as the groaning intensified and more chunks of marble rained from the ceiling. Annabeth wasn't even sure if she was the one screaming anymore, everything sounded faint, which meant whatever magic Hera and Kolasi had used blew out her eardrums.

Another thing she had to thank the Gods for, on top of dodging crumbling marble and power blasts from a bunch of homicidal maniacs. All these thoughts and more were racing through her head as Annabeth struggled to get to her feet and move towards the doors, she didn't notice the pillar falling towards her.

"ANNABETH!" Hazel screamed out from somewhere behind her as a sudden blast of lightning filled the room. Annabeth was blind, she couldn't see and she couldn't hear, all she knew was that it hurt, she had been flung to the side, burning pieces of shrapnel stinging against her skin as she tried to get the ringing in her ears to stop.

Ever so slowly, her vision was coming back and it was only then that she saw the shattered pillar where she had been standing moments before. Her gaze traveled backwards until she locked eyes with Thalia who was standing behind Hazel. Her hand extended, arcs of electricity still jumping between her fingertips, the girl was panting like she had just run a marathon as steam wafted off her skin.

Annabeth went to say thank you, but a sudden scream was heard as Kolasi went flying across the room in a ball of fire, before slamming into one of the larger mosaics depicting the Odyssey, shattering the entire piece like glass. She dropped to the ground groaning in pain as she clutched at her stomach, while a trickle of silvery orange blood dripped from her lips..

Hera and Demeter were a blur of motion, their spears working in unison as they tried to fend off Gaea. Who was commanding the rubble in the room to fly about like missiles with one hand. All the while she caused spears of rock to fly out of the ground with the other.

Annabeth was in awe, the skill the two Gods were displaying would have put her own mother to shame as they destroyed every projectile Gaea sent their way. However, the mistake was so minor that Annabeth almost didn't see it. Hera had extended her spear just slightly too close to Gaea, and faster than Annabeth could process what she saw; Hera cried out in pain as Gaea reached out and grabbed the spear, yanking the Goddess in towards herself as she lashed out with her free hand.

Smashing a matching gauntlet into Hera's face and lifting her clean off the ground with the force of the blow before she crashed to the ground with a dull boom. A spray of ichor followed the blow as Hera groaned in agony on the floor underneath Gaea, who snorted in contempt before tossing the spear aside casually.

Hephaestus was the next one to shout, but it was in confusion as Annabeth watched his leg sink into the floor. A look of panic crossed his features before he was suddenly forced to block a massive spear of stone that had fired out of the ground at him.

With a horrendous grinding of stone on metal, the projectile was sent flying across the room, leaving a deep gouge in the head of Hephaestus's hammer. But the God had more problems to worry about as Gaea manifested on his other side, ready to strike him down. A sudden blast of vines and plant growth sprung outwards from Demeter, only for Gaea's laughter to fill the room, as they immediately turned around and raced back towards Demeter, grabbing her and ensuring that the Goddess was in her own trap as the vines began to squeeze. Then she turned around to look at Hephaestus once more with a wide grin on her face.

Unfortunately for her, she was met with a blast of fire from Kolasi, the rolling wave of orange flames fully engulfing Gaea and Hephaestus. Shrouding both figures from view as they bellowed in pain, Annabeth couldn't help but wince as the flames seemed to intensify following the sound.

Annabeth turned to watch as Kolasi strode forwards, the marble under her feet cracking and popping as it glowed cherry red. Her entire figure was wreathed in flames as she looked at Gaea cautiously. It was only then that Annabeth noticed Kolasi's torn dress and bruised face.

Which was confusing seeing as Hephaestus hadn't been able to lay a finger on her not an hour earlier. However, she didn't have time to worry about that now. Whatever surprise they had over Gaea was long gone, and a sudden explosion revealed a massive pillar of earth slammed into Hephaestus's chest and sent him soaring backwards across the room only to crash into the base of Poseidon's throne with a resounding boom.

"What part of this has not gotten through your thick skulls!?" Gaea roared from within the blazing inferno Kolasi was maintaining. "None of you can beat me! I am awake and you will bend the knee or die!" Gaea roared as dozens of rocks and chunks of marble ripped themselves free and flew across the room towards Kolasi.

She threw her hands up to cover herself and a wave of fire rushed out around her, dissolving the shrapnel. But in the split second Kolasi had been busy, Gaea had rushed forwards, her fist leading the way, a strange rock like gauntlet covering her hand. It appeared like a living second skin, and was studded with gems. However it quickly became clear that this was no mere gauntlet when it crashed into the pair of spears that seemed to materialize from nowhere with the force of a bullet train, absorbing the impact.

In the instant before Gaea had hit Kolasi, two figures, moving so fast they were no more than a blur in her vision, seemed to materialize beside Kolasi. Their spears extended into an X shape as both Hera and Hestia —who was holding Demeter's spear, blocked the blow.

A surge of power followed the fist making contact with the spears, the ceiling above them was ripped clean off the building as Annabeth screamed, ducking low to avoid the rubble that went flying away from the group like speeding bullets. Ripping apart pillars and punching holes in more than one section of the wall.

Before Annabeth could celebrate that miraculous save, Hera was sent flying away in the blink of an eye. Her cuirass dented in with a fist sized imprint, courtesy of Gaea, as ichor dribbled from between her lips.

Hestia however suffered a worse fate as a large spear of earth rushed towards her, causing the Goddess to block the blow. Only for Gaea's real attack, two smaller earthen spears which had sprung from the ground behind Hestia struck .

With an awful wet squelch and a crack, Gaea's projectiles drove themselves clean through Hestia's knees from behind. Sending the Goddess crashing to the floor in an instant.

"Gaea… please… stop…" Hestia all but moaned out from the floor, "The humans have no part in this!" Hestia groaned as her aura of flames began to flicker. Drawing a laugh from Gaea as she looked down on the Goddess of the hearth.

"If only you knew what was coming for them… you would thank me for what I'm doing now." Gaea said darkly as she slowly raised her hand. Pulling rocks and marble from around the room into the air above Hestia. "I do pity you though granddaughter… the pain you must be going through. I've killed millions by now, I can only imagine what it must feel like as each of those little families are snuffed out." Gaea said with a slow smile spreading across her face.

"Hey dirt lady! What are you doing to Hestia!?" A voice called out from the side as a blast of fire exploded out from the within cloud of dust and slammed into Gaea from behind. Drawing a cry of shock from the primordial as she stumbled to the side, before whipping her head around and launching the floating barrage of rocks towards the direction of the voice.

Another mosaic this time depicting the Trojan war was obliterated in an instant, but that wasn't where the voice had come from, or at least that's not where he was now as Annabeth let out a sigh of relief when the familiar and short figure of Leo appeared.

He was standing tall, well as tall as he could. Right by the doors with a ball of fire in one hand as he was casually tossing it up into the air. "What do you mean killed millions!?" Leo said as his face was warped and twisted by anger. All the while gray smoke wafted from his clothes and cinders floated from his hair.

Gaea simply looked at him before laughing sharply and looking back at him. "I see you still like playing with fire? It's been a long time since we last talked little one" Gaea said softly as she watched him. "But to think, you had this power…Had I known then you had the potential for this, well, you never would have left that shop alive." Gaea said fiercely.

At her words Leo exploded into flames as he launched another series of fireballs towards Gaea, unfortunately compared to what Kolasi and the other Gods had hit her with, Gaea barely seemed to notice his attacks.

Laughing slightly as she brushed the fire off her body and looked in his direction. Without so much as a move the ground shattered around Leo, sending him flying backwards with a pained scream as a dozen pieces of shrapnel ripped into his chest and arms.

A scream of rage came from the side as Hephaestus, stood there in anger as he stared at Leo, a look of horror painted across his features, the young demigod lay deathly still on the floor, blood already pooling around him as the flames on his hands and arms flickered.

"You want to know what it is I'm doing? Truly?" Gaea said in a flat voice as she looked at Leo whose only reply was to groan in pain. "Then I'll show you" She said before spinning around and waving a hand through the air as Annabeth felt a surge of power and watched the air ripple strangely for a moment.

Then as if they had called upon Iris herself, a large image appeared before them. A large bronze statue loomed in the foreground, tilted off to the side. It had at one point been a man riding a horse, yet now resembled a twisted hunk of bronze.

Annabeth looked on in horror as explosions rocked the city in the background, buildings crumbled and dust filled the air while the screams of thousands was overlaid by the howling of sirens, as the city of Houston burned before their very eyes.

Then the image shifted. The CN Tower in Toronto lay broken on its side, dozens of skyscrapers collapsed one after another and the sky was filled with ash and dust. Then the image changed again, The London bridge half collapsed into the Thames as the river's water churned and boiled like it was alive. The ground heaved and cracked as Big Ben made a horrendous clanging sound, before it ripped itself free of the ground and crashed down onto the palace sending a cloud of dust billowing outwards.

Beijing, Cairo, Paris, Vancouver, Berlin, Sydney, New Delhi…with each flash Annabeth witnessed another city crumbling and burning. The ground tore itself apart as Gaea destroyed everything, and she did it all from here at the top of Mount Olympus, seemingly without breaking a sweat.

Piper let out a choked sob from beside her as Los Angeles flashed before them, the entire city a broken mess and barely recognizable. All around her the other demigods were watching in horror as the full gravity of what Gaea had been doing was revealed.

That was when Annabeth noticed Zeus across the room, the shadows that bound him had slowly begun to dissipate, but given the rapidly deteriorating situation in the throne room, they didn't have the time to wait. The King of Olympus strained against his bonds frantically, fighting to get to his master bolt which lay not far away. That's when Annabeth made the decision, glancing once back at the doors which promised escape, then once more towards the fight.

It was clear the Gods were losing, Kolasi was still on her feet as were Hera and Hephaestus. Hestia meanwhile seemed barely coherent as she lay on the floor twitching occasionally, letting out groans of pain as her aura of flame flickered weakly. Kolasi and Hera clearly couldn't fight Gaea alone and as much as Annabeth hated the thought of freeing Zeus, neither she nor any of the demigods present stood a chance in Hades of fighting Gaea and winning. Which meant they needed to get Zeus free, all things aside he was still the strongest single Olympian present at the moment.

As Annabeth turned around and called out to the other demigods. "We need to free Zeus! The other Gods need his help!" Annabeth called out as quietly as she could. The warrior who had led the Gods against the Titans, that's what they needed right now.

"Fuck that!" Piper shouted out as she ran towards Annabeth, coughing and sputtering on the dust in the air as she pointed her knife at Zeus. "All of this is his fault! Hades is out of commission and Poseidon is as well. I say we just leave him."

"How can you even think of saving him Annabeth…after everything we've learned over the last few days…" Hazel said as she looked at Annabeth angrily.

"It's not about saving him… but look what she did to Leo, to Kolasi even… none of us stand a chance at stopping her, none of us except the Gods and I'm not going to pretend he's not one of the strongest Olympians!" Annabeth snapped back.

"And Percy is who knows where because of Zeus! Fuck Gaea is here because of him! You heard her, Apollo even helped her! Why should we do anything for them" Frank muttered angrily as he dodged a falling piece of marble.

"Because it's what Percy would have done! And it's what we should do!" Annabeth said coldly back. "I'm not letting any of them get away with this Frank, but someone has to stop her before she kills even more people, and none of us can do that!" She added as calmly as she could, taking a breath as she tried to steady her nerves.

Her comment was met with a sullen glare from Piper, Frank and Nico but she didn't care, she wasn't about to let millions more die out of spite if there was even a chance that Zeus could tip the tide.

At the same moment Annabeth watched as Demeter struggled against the vines binding her, Sending out a shockwave of energy and ripping herself free of the plants. With a shout of triumph as she landed back on the marble floor and charged forwards at Gaea.

Summoning her spear from where it lay near Hestia, with one hand as she leapt into the air and thrust it downwards in the blink of an eye. Gaea however, reacted simply by lifting her hand and sending a barrage of earthen spikes upwards in an instant. A dozen if not more, pointed lances of earth and rock rushed towards Demeter.

The Goddess responded with surprising agility, spinning and smashing her spear clean through several of the earthen spikes. Creating a cloud of dust and rocks as she landed on the other side of the Primordial, a grin on her face for a moment before the smile vanished from her lips. Then Gaea's fist smashed into Demeter's face.

With a resounding boom Demeter was sent flying, smashing into the wall, sending cracks across the surface. Annabeth could only watch in horror as Gaea simply appeared in front of Demeter, materializing out of the dust and dirt in the air. Then Gaea grabbed the Goddess as she fell down towards the floor, holding her aloft easily, a puzzled expression on her face as she slowly tightened her grip.

"Is this all you have? The might of Olympus? How could you even think that you could fight me, let alone the Giants alongside me, as you are now?" Gaea said with a chuckle as she dropped Demeter, sending the Goddess crashing to the ground in a heap.

All around the room roars of anger erupted from the Gods still standing as Hephaestus charged forwards. His mace swung towards Gaea, alight with flame like some meteor. At the same time, the demigods prepared themselves to fight the rapidly increasing number of earthborn crawling out from the ground. Weapons flashed in the light of the fading hearth as the sound of war cries and battle filled the room. "AS IF PEACE WITH YOU WAS EVER AN OPTION!" Hephaestus shouted, as his hammer swung towards Gaea, and a resounding boom rang out through the air as Gaea summoned a massive pillar of stone to block the blow.

Annabeth could only continue to sprint towards Zeus, watching as the other Gods rushed towards Gaea once more, led by Hera this time. Not that it seemed to make much of a difference, a dozen or so more earthborn had erupted from the floor, catching Piper, Leo, Frank and Reyna out and separating them from Annabeth, Hazel and Thalia.

Unfortunately Annabeth couldn't slow down in her mad dash across the room towards Zeus. What was worse was that Hera and the others were not winning either, as Gaea proceeded to launch Hephaestus across the room with a kick. Sending him flying through a pillar before he slammed into one of the large braziers and collapsed to the ground. Leaving the God lying a twitching groaning mess on the floor, ichor leaking from his mouth.

The other Gods were in various states of uselessness, Hestia included. So Annabeth and the others were only able to watch in horror as the Gods fell one by one.

"G-Gaea stop this! You can't just kill them!" Hestia gasped out between breaths as she struggled to stand, ripping the earthen spears from her legs with a pained scream as ichor pooled on the floor about her.

"Oh I can do exactly as I please! Far too long have the lot of you sat here and done far worse. I'm not manipulating them, if anything I'm saving them from all of you… and the fate you have condemned them to" Gaea growled out.

Hera charged forwards and the moment her spear pierced Gaea, the primordial dissolved into dirt which swarmed around Hera briefly before solidifying once more into the primordial, who now had Hera in a stranglehold with one hand as the other wrenched the Goddess' spear free and tossed it aside.

Then with a quick spin Gaea threw Hera into the doors of the throne room, sending her crashing straight through them and down the steps leading back to Olympus proper. Then she turned around and leveled a glare at the remaining Olympians.

"Plagues, famines, deaths, diseases… all of these things are within your power to fix. Yet instead you allowed them to kill each other and destroy the planet they live on. MY PLANET. So don't you dare sit there and attempt to lecture me on what I must do granddaughter." Gaea added with a small smile.

"You brought this upon them all, in fact if it weren't for the mess you and your siblings made of the world, I wouldn't have to act. But as it stands now, I cannot and will not allow you to make a mockery of my mother's sacrifice." Gaea all but snarled out.

Another wave of Gaea's hand sent cracks running across the throne room of Olympus as the place filled with dust and debris. "You guided them here, their filthy gazes are locked onto this realm and they will come for it like a swarm of hungry locusts… and why might you ask?" Gaea said as she pointed at Kolasi, who lay in a crumpled heap beside the two pillars she had crashed through.

"Because you felt the need to have a family my dear" Gaea said calmly as she looked down on Hestia. "As blessed as you were, the Goddess of Hearth and Home… even when the fates denied it, you felt the need to have a child of your own."

"Of course, you cared not for the deaths of millions that would follow, nor could you know the height of your idiocy! Every breath she takes, every time she conjures that damned will… she draws your doom ever closer!" Gaea all but spat as she walked towards Hestia. "The arrogance of a Goddess of Hearth and Home, to have killed thousands of families to save your own. Yet you think you deserve to pass judgment on me!?" Gaea shouted in anger as she kicked Hestia in the small of her back. Sending the Goddess crashing to the floor in an instant.

Gaea whirled about, her eyes dancing with madness as she looked at the various Gods, "You all claim some moral high ground, as if the atrocities you commit pale in comparison to the crimes of those before you. They do not." Gaea snarled, "And while none of my siblings are willing to put an end to you and the mortals you have corrupted, I do not share their sentiment." Gaea said as she suddenly seemed to calm down, regaining her composure.

"I believe it's time for the mortals to begin again, a few thousand years of living in caves should purge them of any influence you once had upon them" Gaea finished, her voice booming across the throne room

Annabeth continued to move towards Zeus as quickly as she could, reaching his side along with Thalia and Hazel as all three of them set about cutting away at the shadow tendrils binding him. Each breath felt like raw sandpaper as she choked and wheezed on the dust in the air, her eyes watering as she clutched at the shadow tendrils.

It felt like her blood was freezing in her veins, just holding onto the tendrils was painful. Not that she had time to worry about that, Gaea was on a rampage and within a few moments, the three of them managed to cut through many of the remaining tendrils binding Zeus.

Yet still a dozen or more covered his body, however Zeus took one look at them, his expression strange. Sad, and almost pitiful as he suddenly began to crackle with energy. "Get to the Oracle and leave! We cannot risk losing her if Apollo is compromised. Gaea no doubt knows where he is but until we know he is safe, the Oracle is the only one who can receive guidance!" Zeus all but shouted as he suddenly surged to his feet. Ripping clean through the shadow tendrils as he locked eyes with them

"We don't owe you anything…" Annabeth all but snarled as anger flashed across Zeus' face momentarily before he nodded. "Very well, do as you feel you must then". With a roar he stood ripping the shadow tendrils apart as dashed towards his master bolt. The instant his hand made contact he vanished in a blast of electricity while the skies above them rumbled ominously.

Gaea heard the rumble and turned, looking towards Annabeth, Thalia and Hazel as a wide grin split her face. "So you freed him, and he ran?" A loud and deep laugh broke free from her lips as she looked at the Olympians scattered about the room.

"Why should you serve them? After all, isn't this their mess?" Gaea said in a low voice as she walked towards them.

"Get the fuck back you dusty bitch!" Thalia growled out as she stood up, lightning crackling across her fingers as she stepped in front of Annabeth and Hazel.

"Such language, but you misunderstand me, child. Our fight is over and done with, I am awake and your chosen seven failed in their quest to stop me. As they were destined too, if only you could see things from my perspective." Gaea said sadly.

"Your Olympians were defeated easily, and they think that fighting a longer war against me will win them the war? No, it will simply wet the earth with the blood of thousands of demigods. So I will make you this offer now, I will not offer it again. Join me. Fight against these corrupt weaklings and when the war is done I swear that no harm shall befall you." Gaea said calmly as she held up her hand.

"And we're supposed to believe you won't kill us? What about the mortals you are murdering in cold blood!" Thalia shouted back.

"They have been corrupted beyond hope by the petty feuds your Gods have waged, they kill without mercy, destroy without thought. They are beyond saving… but we share blood, as distant as it may be. I do not wish to see you all die, but the humans must be culled, and your Olympians will bend the knee or I will break them one by one." Gaea said calmly.

Annabeth looked past Thalia at Gaea, she could feel the rage boiling in her chest as she looked up at the primordial, her face calm and serene. She had destroyed the lives of so many people, all in the pursuit of Olympus' downfall. And now that she was awake, she didn't even consider them to be worth fighting.

"Go fuck yourself." Thalia added as she flipped off Gaea, before she pointed her hands towards her and sent a bolt of lighting roaring out from between her finger tips. Gaea didn't even look surprised, simply swatted the lightning bolt and sent it smashing into the ceiling.

"A pity, I see your father has already corrupted you beyond saving" Gaea said sadly as she extended her hand towards them, the ground trembling and shaking, Annabeth tensed the muscles in her legs to dive to the side, already knowing that in mere moments the ground would erupt into shards of rock and marble.

After having seen the wounds on Kolasi and Leo, Annabeth had no desire to experience it first hand.

However Gaea was immediately blocked from view when the entire area around her exploded into a pillar of flame. The heat so intense the marble cracked and a blast of hot air roared past her as she looked to see Kolasi whose dress was torn walking towards Gaea with a furious look on her face.

"I WILL KILL YOU SLOWLY FOR THAT YOU LITTLE ABOMINATION!" Gaea screamed out as she frantically tried to get back from the flames which hissed and crackled like some sort of living creature.

"I have a name… And I don't care what you think I am" Kolasi all but snarled out as the flames in the room began to intensify, "Not you, not my mother and certainly not anyone else has a right to decide what I do!" Kolasi screamed as Annabeth found herself gasping for air, it felt like her lungs were boiling.

Then Kolasi extended her hand, and a series of explosions rang out while Gaea screamed as Kolasi continued to manipulate the fire that swirled around her.

Almost immediately following this, a flash of lightning filled the room, as Annabeth saw Zeus reappear, his form illuminated from behind as he stood at the doors of the throne room. The sky behind him was alive with lightning and rumbling thunder as his eyes crackled with power. In rapid succession, he sent several bolts of lightning flying into the raging inferno Kolasi had created. Each one detonating with an incredible amount of force, shaking the foundations of the already battered throne room even more.

For a moment, Annabeth was almost blinded by the flashes of lightning and the white hot flames Kolasi was manipulating. And finally, after nearly thirty seconds of continuous attacks, both Kolasi and Zeus halted their barrage.

The whole area was glowing white hot, and steaming as the floor and the ceiling had been superheated to the point of liquefying, if only briefly. However, Gaea was nowhere to be seen.

But slowly her hearing came back to her, alongside her vision as she looked around the room in a panic, trying to spot the primordial.

"You have grown soft Zeus…. All of you have…" Gaea's voice called out contemptuously as it echoed around the room. "So consumed by your petty little squabbles, and so mindless of the damage you caused…".

Suddenly she simply seemed to emerge from the floor, like one might step out of water, appearing almost from nowhere as dust and rocks fell off her body. Before anyone could stop her, she stood over Hestia, one foot casually on the Goddesses' back as she looked around the room.

"If this has failed to make you see the folly of fighting me, then nothing I do will change your minds." Gaea said with finality. Her once pristine robes were scored with scorch marks and her peaceful expression was twisted into a contemptuous scowl.

"You are not welcome on Olympus Gaea…." Zeus growled out as a flash of light revealed Hera, battered and bruised but very much alive and very angry looking. Another flash of light roared out as Hephastus appeared, leaning heavily on his hammer but standing nonetheless. "I honored my end of the deal… Now honor yours!" Zeus growled out as the sky crackled with lightning behind him.

"So you can rally thousands more to die by my hand before you finally admit defeat to save yourself like the coward you are?" Gaea replied in a laughing tone. "So you can go back to toying with the humans for your own amusement?"

Across the room Demeter forced herself to her feet, ichor dripping from her mouth as Hephaestus did the same. Both of them turned their gaze back towards Gaea as weapons quickly reappeared in their hands.

"Because you swore an oath to our fool of a brother, and this world is ours to protect Gaea… and you are the one killing humans, not us." Demeter added angrily.

However, Gaea simply laughed in response. Her form already dissolving into dust and dirt. "You think this is over? No, this is but a taste of the destruction I will wreak upon you. I gave you and your siblings a chance to surrender peacefully. I gave you the chance to live, so you will have your peace. But once I assemble my armies I will return and I will do to Olympus what I should have done thousands of years ago." Gaea said with a glare as her form dissolved into sand.

Annabeth paused for a moment, listening for any hint as to where Gaea was, but only the faint cracking of the marble roof and the groaning of the support beams filled the otherwise silent throne room.

Then, Annabeth heard it, a deafening roar like the earth itself was tearing apart, it was louder than anything she had thought possible. Gaea was nowhere to be seen as large chunks of rock began to rip themselves free of the mountain floating into the air above Olympus and hanging there menacingly. That's when Gaea made her reappearance, rising from the floor with a grin on her face. She was surrounded in a pulsating green aura, the power of which was unlike anything Annabeth had ever felt before.

"For now though, I'll settle with casting down this monument to your vanity.." Gaea said as her voice boomed with power.

She watched them for a moment longer, then with a shout of triumph Gaea threw her hands out to the side, and in an instant Annabeth's world was a blur of motion as everyone and everything in the throne room stumbled and was tossed about like ping pong balls.

The rubble in the air rained down onto the roof and walls of the throne room, like meteors as they smashed holes clean through the building. The nearly constant explosions caused by their impact left Annabeth half deaf as she scrambled across the floor, desperately trying to avoid the rocks raining from the sky.

However, with a horrendous groan the walls and roof finally began to tear themselves free of the foundation. The roof ripped itself open with a screech like some giant bird, and with the last of the structural support gone, the throne room walls began to collapse down the sides of the mountain. Sending sheets of rock and rubble raining down into the city of Olympus below them.

Yet it was only with the walls gone and the wind howling around them at full strength that Annabeth saw the full extent of Gaea's destruction, first hand. New York was aflame far beneath them, buildings crumbled, slowly crashing to the ground and sending up plumes of dust and debris as Annabeth watched one of the worlds greatest cities collapse under the power Gaea was exerting.

Parts of the island were already submerged underwater as massive waves buffeted the entire region. Another series of colossal impacts drew her attention back to the battle raging behind her.

Zeus and Kolasi launched themselves at Gaea, slamming into her as they unleashed a fierce barrage of blows. Lighting and fire lit up the night sky as the storm above them intensified.

A blast of debris and rocks was scattered out across the ground and Annabeth heard a scream of pain from Thalia off to her left. As several large stones slammed into the ground all around them, knocking Annabeth off her feet as she screamed out and covered her head. Wincing as sharp shards of marble sliced her hands and arms.

The instant the rubble stopped crashing to the ground Annabeth scrambled across the floor, trying not to slip as she made her way over towards Thalia and Hazel. Thalia was pale as a ghost and sweating as she tried to maintain her footing. A large gash and a steady stream of blood dripping from a large wound on her scalp.

Hazel was unconscious on the ground beside her as Thalia simply watched the battle between Zeus, Kolasi and Gaea with awe. Each blow rocked the ground underneath them, and as powerful as they were, Kolasi and Zeus barely seemed to be keeping Gaea at bay let alone winning the fight.

Zeus had taken a step back, channeling his aura as the air around him shimmered with blue light for a brief moment before suddenly a crack of thunder ripped across the sky as a massive bolt of lighting dropped from the skies to slam into Gaea, blasting her back towards the edge of the ruined throne room.

He stumbled forwards, his skin steaming as he looked around wearily. His bruised and battered body was covered in dozens of new wounds. Meanwhile, just opposite him stood Kolasi who was equally battered. It was clear that Gaea knew something that the other Gods did not about the wills, and it was evident that Kolasi had no idea what to do about it, if the look of enraged fury on her face was anything to go by.

Annabeth gestured to Thalia and together the two of them managed to drag Hazel to her feet as they supported her limp body between the two of them. Not like they could do much else, they couldn't leave her lying there. Not with the battle raging so nearby.

Annabeth could hear the screams from Olympus below them, as well as the sound of the Olympian Army, their horns and trumpets blaring alongside the heavy clank of armor as she watched a veritable sea of warriors began charging up the path leading to the throne room.

Turning her attention back to the Throne room, Annabeth watched as the Gods, all injured in various ways slowly got back to their feet, ichor and broken armor falling to the ground as they locked gazes with Gaea.

For a moment Annabeth thought that the battle would begin anew, as she felt the power in the air, each immortal drawing on their domains as they prepared to unleash their divine forms. Annabeth could see the gold glow appearing underneath the Gods' skin, the way their veins lit up like Christmas lights as they slowly enveloped in light.

Then just as the Gods were about to transform something both equally terrifying and strange occurred.

For a moment there was the faintest sound of a drum rapidly banging, before a gust of wind rushed over the top of mount Olympus.

Annabeth felt something brush her mind, an entity or force of unimaginable strength, her very soul felt bare towards it and in the instant its gaze was upon her Annabeth felt all the strength fade from her body as she collapsed to the ground, Thalia and Hazel right behind her.

She didn't see the other demigods fall, but she heard the clatter of weapons on the marble floor and several thuds from behind her. Annabeth couldn't move a muscle, and raw panic clawed at the back of her throat as she struggled in vain to so much as move a finger. Luckily when she had landed she could still see part of the battle unfolding before her.

The Gods themselves stumbled backwards, the traces of divinity they had gathered about themselves were scattered like leaves in the wind as all of them looked around in absolute shock and fear of the unknown and unimaginable presence.

Gaea however didn't look surprised, she looked enraged as she spun around to glare at the heavens themselves. "YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS MEDDLING IN MY AFFAIRS!" The primordial screamed at the skies as she gestured upwards and unleashed a blast of energy unlike anything Annabeth had seen before. The brilliant green energy crackling and sparking with power continued unabated for nearly ten seconds before Gaea stopped. Panting with exertion as she looked up at the skies.

Annabeth couldn't move, it felt like her body weighed thousands of pounds, and she could see based on the strained expressions on the faces of the Gods that they were facing similar expressions.

"Enough…" a voice boomed out, seemingly from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. As Gaea screamed at the skies in frustration, "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! THIS DOMAIN IS MINE! THIS REALM IS MINE!" She added as Annabeth watched temples and buildings in Olympus below them collapse under the relentless earthquakes.

"Do not test me sister… begone" The voice rang out once more as suddenly Gaea appeared to be hit by something. The Gods themselves were unaffected, regardless of how close they might have been.

But Annabeth saw it all happen, almost in slow motion.

Gaea stood firmly in front of them as what appeared to be a blast of air hit her, however instead of simply stumbling back, Gaea screamed in agony as a spray of silver ichor was thrown into the air, all the while Gaea was pushed backwards. Her robes a tattered mess, all the while she tried to stay on her feet as she came to a stop inches from the edge of the mountain.

"YOU DARE STRIKE AT ME!" Gaea called out once more as she started to gather her power unto herself, her aura intensifying as she suddenly started to glow a silver color.

"I said… ENOUGH, I care not for these little Gods, but you shall not continue this rampage of yours against the mortals of this realm Gaea!" The voice rang out once more before another blast of air slammed into Gaea, except this blast drove Gaea to her knees, smashing apart the ground she was standing on and driving her into the side of the mountain.

Gaea screamed out once before her voice drowned out amongst the crashing and booming as mount Olympus began to collapse all around them. Chunks of rock crashing down off the mountain as it shook under the tremendous force of the blow.

Annabeth felt her vision begin to blur as a thousand questions assaulted her mind, she barely even felt the pair of arms scooping her off the floor. Nor did take notice of the voices screaming all around her and the flashes of golden light.

It was like she was in a daze, who or what was that voice? What had it done to Gaea? How had it done that to Gaea? Annabeth felt her consciousness slipping away and the last thought to race through her mind was a grim one. Regardless of what had happened to Gaea, Whatever it was that she was planning, Annabeth had no doubt that the primordial was just getting started.

Ren 4 Days and 5 Hours & 50 Minutes After Eripus

Tokyo, Japan

"Ren, this clearly isn't the kind of place where we are going to find out anything! Kids our age aren't supposed to be down here!" came the angry voice of Tsu as Ren marched forwards down the street, in front of several 'adult' hotels and their rather prominent signs.

It was in a shadier part of Tokyo, and Tsu had spent the majority of their journey, glaring at any male who had left their gaze lingering on Akiyama or herself for too long. Not that they had needed his help, she and Akiyama were perfectly capable of handling themselves.

But watching Tsu terrify mortals with a "wolf stare" was a genuinely entertaining experience, and even if it wasn't a power on the scale of her fathers gifts or Akiyama's fire manipulation. Tsu yon's mental abilities were in a league all their own.

"Oh for the love of… grow a pair Tsu! If Ren says it's important then I trust her!" Akiyama said with conviction from beside her as the girl grinned and threw a wink her way. "Although, I would have much rather gone and spoken to Yami… why are we here of all places?" she added as looked around at the signs with some vague interest.

"Yami might toe the line when it comes to the Onmitsu and their laws, but he would never openly defy them. The minute he hears that the elders themselves are trying to put these rumors to bed, Yami's mouth will be glued shut." Ren added with a sigh, Yami was a lot of things, but only a fool crossed the Onmitsu. That, or someone strong enough to scare the Onmitsu. Ren happened to know exactly that kind of entity.

"Well this sucks, we could have had some quality bonding time!" Akiyama added with a sigh.

"I think you mean, get drunk on sake with Yami while I'm left acting like a babysitter so you two don't start a war." Tsu muttered angrily.

"Oh come on Tsu.. that's not really fair, we aren't that bad!" Ren added indignantly as she scanned the street, looking for the right building.

"Alright… so ignoring the fact that Akiyama burned six different warehouses and set fire to two fuel tankers with her little "distraction" last week. But you have in fact, ACTUALLY started a war, or are you forgetting what happened when you pissed off the Yokai Gyangu. We spent two weeks cleaning up that mess, and the Onmitsu had spent millions covering it up." Tsu-yon finished angrily as he looked at them.

Akiyama had simply stopped and had a look of concentration on her face, "Is that the one that they blamed on the escaped convict?" Ren added curiously as she had finally spotted the alleyway she was looking for, nestled between two buildings at the end of the street.

"Yes.. that's exactly the situation I'm referring to" Tsu added with a huff as they quickly cut across the street, dodging the slow moving traffic as they went.

"Okay, well yeah you got us there I guess. But Akiyama is right, this is important. I wouldn't have dragged you two out here with me if I didn't think it was a big deal. More importantly this is a secret, and you two have to swear to me that you aren't going to talk about what we do here." Ren added softly as they entered the alleyway and continued deeper in between the two buildings.

"See, it's important Tsu.. Don't be so judgmental" Akiyama added with a snicker as she moved up to walk alongside Ren.

"No… you just didn't want to be in the lockdown at the institute anymore than Ren did… be honest…" Tsu said in a tired voice as they turned down a secondary alley within the first. The lights of the city and the sky above, lost to the darkness as they walked between the buildings.

"No, and for the record you're here with us Tsu, why aren't you back at the Institute if following the lockdown was SOOOOO important?" Akiyama added as Ren came to a halt at the end of the Alleyway.

"Someone had to look after the two of you… but, point taken… Ren, where are we?" Tsu said softly as he looked around at the small box corridor hidden between the buildings.

The area Ren had led them to was a box corridor, it might have at one point been a plaza, but as of now it was fully boxed in by buildings and required one to march through several alleyways to reach it. However, Ren knew as much as was possible about her home city, this place was very private, but more importantly. Hidden away in the back corner was a manhole cover.

Ren knew almost everything there was to know about Tokyo, mortal and spiritual. This included how to get into the subway and sewer tunnels, and more importantly that this specific entrance had a secret. One that she had happened upon by mistake when hunting a Yokai through the subway tunnels.

The experience had nearly killed her, as she had been forced to take cover in a rusty abandoned service tunnel to avoid being flattened by a train. If she had known how close she was to death then and there, she likely would have taken her chances with the train.

But given the way it had played out she wouldn't change a damn thing.

She had unknowingly stumbled across a place where the veil between the mortal realm and Yomi-no-kuni was thin, and that place had been claimed by none other than a Shinigami, for lack of a better word they were Death Spirits, however, some could be incredibly powerful and more often than not they were said to be evil.

She had intended to continue her hunt for the rogue Yokai immediately, but that was made difficult seeing as the second she had stepped within the abandoned maintenance tunnels below, she had felt the presence of the Shinigami.

Every instinct had been firing a thousand times a second, telling her to run, but the door had shut behind her and tried as much as she might, she couldn't pull, cut or blast it open. Which had left her with one choice, to venture deeper in and see what sort of monster was waiting.

Kobayashi had been less than accommodating originally, and the second he had appeared, she had felt the instant desire to fall onto her own sword, every sad memory, and pathetic hope born from the mind of a child raised as a warrior had come rushing to the surface in an instant.

What scared her more than anything was that for an instant her hand had twitched towards her sword before she had snapped out of her daze. She wasn't sure what had brought her back, be it a sudden will to live, or something else. But seemingly by sheer willpower alone, Ren had resisted the compulsion.

However, that intrigued Kobayashi. So much so that he had deigned to not only show his form to her, but to converse with her. He wanted to know why she had been able to resist him, why she hadn't fallen on her sword. Not that she had been able to answer that question herself

As it turned out he knew her father, as did many of the divine beings alive. After all, Raijin did not tread lightly. A trait she inherited from him. What had begun as an attempt to kill her slowly transitioned into a conversation, one in which Kobayashi had confirmed the previous Yokai's involvement with killing the mortals.

They had spoken for what had felt like hours, and in the end Ren promised to help him, by offering a prayer in his name before each kill she made. A pact she had kept since she had made it, in return he had promised to continue to speak with her, and from that, a friendship had blossomed. A strange, deadly friendship born on a pledge to commit murder, but a friendship nonetheless.

He had shown her then and there how to call to him, and the circular black tattoo around a red dot on the inside of her forearm was his mark. One she had kept carefully hidden under clothing and away from prying eyes, over the last few years.

Ren and Kobayaschi had parted ways, and in the two years since, she had taken the time to visit him often. The Gods did not speak directly with mortals, and Ren wanted to know more about her father and the other Gods as well. But mostly her father. She idolized him, and so regardless of Onmitsu law, regardless of the danger, beings like Kobayashi and Yami drew her like moths to a flame.

The legends of her father were just that, legends. But from their mouths she could hear the story from those who were there. Regardless of their heritage, Ren valued the information they provided, and given that they treated her like a friend, she returned the favor. All of these thoughts rushed through her mind as she struggled with the decision before her.

She could ditch Tsu-yon and Akiyama. After all, Yami was one thing, he was a Tengu, only half demon truly. Kobayashi was a shinigami… and Ren had no way of knowing, not only if Akiyama and Tsu would be able to resist his compulsion, and even if they did, she had no way of knowing how they would react, or how he would react.

After all, associating with any beings from Yomi-no-kuni was strictly forbidden by the Onmitsu, however they never spoke up as to why. Only that it was a task for the Shinshoku alone, not for a warrior.

Finally she felt a hand on her shoulder as she casually looked in Tsu's direction, seeing his eyes wide with worry as he looked at her. "Ren, are you okay?" He asked cautiously as she shrugged him off and walked towards the service entrance, fishing a key out of her jacket as she did so.

"Nothing's wrong… but listen. Where we are going, the person we are going to meet. They can answer the questions we have, the ones that the Onmitsu won't." Ren said passionately as she turned around and looked at her two closest friends.

Before Tsu-yon could even speak, Ren cut him off, "Don't tell me you believe a word of that bull crap… straight to our faces, we were told that those were Oni.. that we had been mistaken and that those weren't Greek monsters." Ren added angrily.

"Ren… you could have made a mistake, we all could hav-" Tsu started to say before he faltered under Ren's glare. "And you heard Yami… he told us it was Greek they were speaking. Don't act so ignorant, you know what the council is like."

"It's bullshit, I serve them willingly, I have no problems being their sword but I will not be treated like a child. If they don't want to tell me what's going on, I have other ways of getting that information… but you need to promise me that no matter what happens, once we go down that entrance you remember you are Oniwaban, your mind is a fortress that only you have the key to." Ren added cautiously as she turned back towards the door and opened it in a smooth motion. "Come on, you both know something is going on here! Whatever it is, I just want to know before it rears its ugly head."

"Ren… what the fuck is down there…" Akiyama added as she peered past Ren into the gloom.

"It's not so much down there as that's where we need to meet, and if I told you who we were meeting I highly doubt you would follow me down there" Ren started to say before she noticed the wild look in Aki's eyes and grinned. "Okay correction, I don't know if Tsu would follow us down there, I'm pretty sure this breaks a dozen or so of the Onmitsu rules.'' Ren finished with a chuckle.

Tsu simply glared at the pair of them before walking past and casually lighting several glow sticks with a loud crack before he tossed one to each of them.

Ren was about to make a comment about how big and strong and brave he was before he turned around and leveled a look at her "Not a word" he all but hissed before he stormed down the stairs grumbling under his breath.

Ren couldn't help but grin as she followed Tsu and Akiyama down into the tunnel, quickly walking ahead of them as she led them deeper into the twisting maze of service and access tunnels.

After a while they reached a large circular room where Ren stopped, glancing around slowly as she let her eyes adjust to the gloom.

The place was for all intents and purposes a dead end, there was no exit from the room and it was clear that no one had been down here since the last time she set foot in the place. Likely the work of the mist, it kept mortals away from places where the realms crossed over.

Exactly like here.

"Alright, both of you stay still and stay quiet. And whatever you do, don't step inside the circle." Ren said with a cheery smile before she walked into the center of the room, taking off her jacket and casually tossing it to the side as she stretched.

Ever so slowly she withdrew a Tanto from the sheathe on her hip as she knelt down in the middle of the room. In a smooth motion she sliced her palm open and held her fist up, letting the blood run down her arm over the tattoo and drip onto the floor

"R-ren what are you doing?" Akiyama called out as she went to take a step forward. Ren didn't even have to react, she knew that Tsu understood what was going on even if he didn't know who she was calling.

"Aki!" Tsu called out as he grabbed her and dragged her back to the edge of the room, "Whatever she's done it's too late now… she's established contact with whoever she's calling… it's too dangerous to try and stop it now" Tsu said in a half snarl as Ren closed her eyes and focused on the blood dripping between her fingers.

"Kobayashi…" Ren said in a quiet voice as she focused on the burning pain in her forearm, it felt like a hot iron was being pressed into her arm as the temperature in the room dropped drastically.

The air around her dropped to temperatures below freezing as the blood from her hand slowly began to pool on the ground in front of her. Looking almost black against the dark stone floor as Ren slowly stood up and backed away. Watching as the blood pooled into a perfect circle, nearly two feet across. She simply stood there waiting, blood dripping down her fingers as suddenly the room was filled with an aura of malice so palpable you could choke on it. This was followed immediately by clouds of black and gray mist spewing out of the pool of blood on the ground in front of them.

"... Okay REN! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!? " Tsu snarled as she turned to see him with his bladed staff at the ready. Looking like a cornered animal as he refused to take his eyes off the pool of blood.

"Relax, I've got this Tsu.. sometimes you need to break a few rules to get some answers" Ren replied as light heartedly as she could.

"A few! REN YOU SUMMONED SPIRIT! THAT'S MORE THAN A FEW BROKEN RULES!" Tsu shouted back all the while Ren rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Good thing it's not a spirit I guess…" Ren replied quickly as she heard a sound not dissimilar to ice cracking, all the while she watched the look on Tsu's face morph from anger and confusion to shock and horror as he looked at the dark black smoke all around them.

Ren knew Kobayashi knew they were in the tunnels, but she hoped that he would wait for her to speak before the Shinigami misunderstood the situation. After all, few supernatural beings who had to enjoy the company of Oniwaban continued their stay on the mortal plane after the encounter.

She wasn't sure where he was exactly, shadow travel made dealing with him a bit of a nuisance as he was prone to simply vanishing and reappearing out of thin air. But Their breath misting in front of their faces was a good indicator that he was close, even more so was the ice forming on the damp walls.

"... Ren…. now is about the time where you start explaining what's going on…" Tsu said in a stern voice, but even he couldn't help but keep the quiver of uncertainty from it.

Which Ren knew was from Kobayashi not from Tsu himself. For all her jests and mocking, Ren knew that Tsu would jump into a dragon's den if it meant he had a chance at keeping herself or Akiyama safe. She would never question his bravery, just his strange commitment to following the rules.

Akiyama let her hands catch fire as she looked around the room, the light from her flames seemingly being engulfed by strange black smoke, plunging them all into darkness, save for several feet of dim light created by Akiyama's flames..

"This is our welcome mat, apparently Kobayashi is in a bad mood….." Ren said sourly as she tried to gauge how bad of a mood it was. After all, he didn't exactly have control over his aura, and she didn't need Tsu and Akiyama catatonic and depressed.

"Who the hell is Kobayashi?" Akiyama said in confusion as she looked between Ren and Tsu, as if expecting the silver haired boy to answer.

"A friend of a friend…. Or so I thought…. Why did you bring these Oniwaban here Ren? "a raspy voice called out from the darkness as Tsu immediately snarled, his fangs clearly on display as he looked around in the dark, his entire body ridged with concentration.

"OKAY, REN NOW IT'S TIME TO TALK!" Akiyama called out from behind her, "Monsters, blood, guts I got you… I DON'T DO DISEMBODIED VOICES" Akiyama finished off shrilly as she created a large ring of fire on the ground around them.

"And I don't enjoy my home being invaded by spirit killers… begone.." The voice added once more as Ren felt a sudden rush of negative emotions rush over her. It was followed immediately by a choked sob from Akiyama who collapsed to her knees, her eyes wide in horror as tears streamed down her face.

Tsu however looked enraged, his silver eyes glowing like lanterns in the dark as he shook like a leaf, struggling to stay under control all the while his canine teeth looked to be nearly twice the size they had been moments before.

"Okay, okay let's all calm down!" Ren shouted out as electricity arced through the air around her. "Kobayashi, can you calm down… why would I bring them here if I was going to try and send you back? We both know I could do it myself, and that I would do it myself. But we also both know I don't break my word…. So let up with the gloom and doom already… I came here to talk Kobayashi, it's important.

For a moment it was a tense standoff, as Ren had Tsu gripped by the shoulder with one hand, while the other still dripping blood rested on the hilt of her Katana.

Ren could feel the air take on a slightly warmer tone almost instantly as slowly the infinite darkness around them receded. Revealing the abandoned junction in the sewers they were standing in.

The air was still chilled, like the inside of a fridge. But at the very least the depressing aura that Kobayashi had been projecting, had died out. Leaving her feeling rather light and happy if she had to be honest with herself.

"You normally come alone Ren, forgive my suspicion, but given the events transpiring I just yet." Kobayashi whispered in his dry voice as he seemed to melt out of the shadows, appearing before them in an instant.

"R-Ren what the hell is that thing…" Akiyama stuttered out as her hands burst weakly into flames, all the while she stared at Kobayashi with wide eyes.

"Ren… this isn't just breaking a few rules, we both know the council would kill you if they found out about this! You can summon spirits, let alone a Shinigami!" Tsu-yon raged as he looked at her. "Do you have ANY IDEA what kind of position you just put us in!?"

"One where we are going to find out what your grandfather has been hiding… I'm sorry Tsu, but no one else would have told us what we needed to know. I swear he's a friend, I would never lead either of you into something I couldn't get you out of." Ren said with sincerity as she looked at Tsu and Akiyama.

Towering over them at close to nine feet tall, Kobayashi's lanky pale frame was nearly doubled over in the tunnel, his hands resting on the floor beside him as he looked at Ren and smiled. Revealing a mouth filled with razor sharp teeth, all the while his black eyes seemed to twinkle almost merrily.

Ren heard the breath hitch in Tsu Yon's throat as he stood behind her frozen. Meanwhile Akiyama had yet to get up off the floor, instead staring at the Shinigami in front of her, eyes wide as dinner plates.

"You kept your deal, as you always have. It pleases me to see that some still remember the old ways, when we were honored. Not feared. But that was long ago, and I care little to dwell on such ancient problems. What can I help you with, oh wise and powerful Daughter of the Dragon?" Kobayashi said in a low voice as he inclined his head in her direction.

"Ohh come off it, I've got what you want…." Ren said with a sigh as she reached into her jacket and fished out two bottles of sake. Sake she stole from the institute's kitchens.

Immediately the Shinigami's eyes lit up as he looked at the two bottles, before he licked his lips with his strange snake-like tongue and turned his gaze back to Ren. "As i said, Wise…." He added with a grin.

"I assume you have questions?" He muttered quickly, his gaze constantly skipping back to the Sake bottles and around the room, all the while wisps of shadows seemed to float off his skin.

"You can say that again...Here" Ren added as she tossed one of the bottles to the Shinigami, watching with a grin as he caught it and slashed the neck of the bottle in one clean motion. Before he drank deeply, letting out an appreciative smack of his lips as he enjoyed the burn of the sake.

"You know me well… Now what can I help you hunt today?" he added quickly as he seemed to focus on Ren once more. "Best make it quick we haven't much time to speak …." he added distractedly.

"It's less a hunt, and more an intelligence operation. I need to know why the Onmitsu would cover up an invasion by Greek monsters." Ren said quickly. "And what do you mean we don't have a lot of time? Why not? I can deal with the Onmitsu they won't ever know I was here" Ren added as she looked at Tsu and Akiyama.

The response from Kobayashi was instant, he froze and looked at her in confusion. "Greek?... A-are you sure?" He added with a slight stutter, which was all the proof Ren needed.

"SO THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON!" Ren shouted in excitement before she turned around and gave Tsu a gentle shove. "Told ya…" she added with a grin before she turned back towards the Death God.

"I want to know everything Kobayashi! I mean it, and if you tell me what I want to know I promise you there are a dozen more bottles with your name on them!" Ren said with a wide grin.

"This shouldn't be happening…" Kobayashi muttered as he almost seemed to float away from them, so smooth and seamless were his motions. As he moved farther away from them down the tunnel. "I had assumed you came for me… but now I realize that fate has other tricks in store…" He added with a grimace, bearing his fangs as he looked around the room.

"... what are you talking about Kobayashi? Look, none of us are going to tell the Onmitsu about you I promise! I just want to know what's going on!" Ren shouted as she looked at the Shinigami. He had never been so distant or cold with her before, and to make matters worse something was clearly bothering him. He was twitchy and anxious, traits he had never displayed before.

Akiyama and Tsu looked at her uncertainly as they slowly reached for their weapons all the while Ren held her hands out wide, "Relax… I got this…" Ren whispered softly as she looked back at the pair before she strode forwards and stopped right behind the Shinigami.

"Kobayashi what's wrong… why did you think I would come here for you?" Ren asked in confusion as she looked at the Shinigami, whose form was wavering between solid and shadow.

"I could sense the deaths, so many deaths and still more with every passing moment. I assumed given their bias the Onmitsu would blame my kind, but it appears as if the disaster has yet evaded their knowledge. That won't be a problem for much longer." The Shinigami replied hesitantly.

"What do you mean deaths? We came down here a few minutes ago and everything was fine?" Tsu said in confusion.

"She is awake, spirit killer, and she is angry." Kobayashi said as he closed his eyes and fell silent for a moment. "It won't be long before it is upon us, you need to be above ground when that happens Ren." Kobayashi added

Ren looked around in alarm, Kobayashi wasn't one to joke and if he said that Ren had no doubt in her mind that the three of them were likely to face genuine mortal danger soon.

"I can feel the magic failing, the barrier that has so long kept us safe…. I fear an era of war is upon us, Ren, an age which has not been seen in thousands of years." The Shinigami stated as he slowly gathered the shadows in the room around him.

"Who is awake?! What barrier!?" Ren called back as she reached out and grabbed ahold of his arm, ignoring the freezing chills that ran up her body as she did so. "Come on Koba! Just tell me something!"

"... the earth mother herself has woken from her slumber, as we speak millions are dying Ren… I can feel their souls passing from this world to the next with each passing moment."

Ren just stood there stunned silent, neither Tsu or Akiyama made a noise as they all stared at the God of Death in shock. "Wait, you said it was coming here? What is it that's coming?" Ren called out as suddenly the shadows that had clung to Kobayashi exploded outwards enveloping them all.

Almost at the same moment, Ren felt the ground tremble underneath her feet, but not some minor quake, it continued to build in intensity as chunks of the ceiling started to collapse downwards.

Akiyama screamed and went to run as Tsu grabbed her and dragged her back from the doorway, moments before it caved in.

"REN WE NEED TO GO!" Tsu shouted out through the dust filled air as the earth all around them flexed and cracked.

"Fear not Ren.. I will not let you or your friends die here… it is not time for your spirits to depart this realm!" The Shinigami roared as his shadows suddenly condensed around them, leaving Ren feeling like someone had just dropped her into liquid nitrogen as a scream tore its way free from her throat. Yet the pain lasted for only an instant before she was suddenly caught off guard by the sights and sounds of her familiar Tokyo.

Along with an incredibly strong wind buffeting her Ren could feel the storm brewing above her as dark black clouds roiled in the sky and crackled with lightning and thunder. The four of them now stood on a skyscraper overlooking Tokyo bay.

Ren struggled to focus as her senses screamed out in protest at the sudden shift in location. The urge to vomit was so intense Ren refused to so much as open her mouth.

"Our time is short Ren, but listen carefully. This is not a creation of the Onmitsu, they simply sought to protect the secret as your Gods instructed. But it appears as if the time for their secret is long passed." Kobayashi said quickly as Ren could hear Tsu-yon vomiting behind her somewhere.

However before he could continue a blast of fire roared right past Ren, as Kobayashi clouds of black shadow swallowed it up in short order. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO TSU YON!" Akiyama raged as her entire body was wretched in flames.

"Nothing… it was shadow travel, but unfortunately his heritage doesn't agree with the realm of shadows.. His mother is a being native to Gin kiri, the very antithesis of my realm.. But that is besides the point. Your friend will be fine in a few moments. However, If any of you are to live to see the sun rise tomorrow you must prepare yourselves." Kobayashi said as he pointed out to the harbor.

Turning around to follow his gesture the sight Ren beheld left her more terrified than anything she had ever felt before, the entire harbor was emptied of water, leaving boats sitting on the muck at the bottom.

However in the distance Ren could just make out a wave, larger than anything she had seen, rushing towards the city with the force of the entire ocean behind it.

Ren turned to Kobayashi, desperate for a plan or some last minute device to save her city, to save her people. Yet before she could even open her mouth the Shinigami simply shook his head, "There is no stopping what she has put into motion, all you can do is prepare yourselves. If the barriers truly are failing, this will be nothing compared to the devastation of another Dawn War." Kobayashi added with a grunt of pain as he fell to one knee, grabbing at his head in pain.

"Kobayashi!" Ren called out as she looked between the Shinigami, Tsu yon still vomiting on the floor while Akiyama tried to get him onto his feet and the massive Tsunami bearing down on them with enough force to level most of the city.

"Ren what do we do!?" Akiyama called out from the side as she looked up, Tsu was still shaking like a leaf and pale as a ghost in her arms as the sound of roaring water filled Ren's ears. Followed immediately by warning klaxons as the ground started to shake with even more ferocity.

"Get him over here Akiyama...We're leaving." Ren shouted out as she started to gather as much energy inside herself as she could. "Kobayashi, I need to know who is doing this and where I'm going to find her!" Ren screamed out as several nearby buildings slowly started to collapse under the strain of the earthquake.

"She is everywhere Ren, She is the earth mother and her reach spans the globe… but those monsters you saw, what did they look like?" Kobayashi asked quickly, his voice stained as he seemed to struggle against something.

"Uhh big, ugly, they had one eye! I don't know Kobayashi, we're a little pressed for time here for you to be asking me shit like this." Ren shouted at him in frustration as her gaze kept being drawn back towards the Tsunami rushing towards them.

"Cyclops…They hail from the lands under the sway of the Greek Gods… If there are answers to be found as to why they were here, and what started this series of events, that is where you will find them."

"What do you mean Greek Gods!?" Ren asked in shock as she looked at the Death God.

"There are more Gods than you could possibly know Ren, and for thousands of years they have been kept separate, hidden away from each other. However, now it appears as if that separation is coming to an end. If the earth mother is awake then we must prepare for war. Your father will be amongst those who will stand for the mortals that the earth mother is killing." Kobayashi added as the ground was rocked by a particularly violent quake. "It will mean war"

"But there are others who will stand alongside him, Gods of strange people, and strange lands. But they are Gods all the same, the ones you seek are Greek Ren, but their reach is long. These are no simple Yokai, you must be careful if you wish to uncover what woke the earth mother from her slumber, or caused her to enact such wrath upon you all." Kobayashi finished.

"Then I'll be careful" Ren said through gritted teeth as she watched the front of the wave crash over the shore line. Buildings immediately crashing down backwards under the titanic impact as Ren could hear the screams of thousands filling the night air. "But whoever is responsible is going to pay for this' ' She added as lightning crackled about her form.

She grit her teeth in frustration as transformers exploded, in the distance, the flood of water slamming into the building they stood on as it shuddered dangerously. Already starting to tilt to one side as hundreds of windows shattered and rained glass down onto the streets below.

Tokyo was falling, after everything she had done, all the sacrifices she had made. A wave and earthquakes were going to level the city while she stood by and watched. So she did just that, refusing to tear her eyes from the spectacle unfolding before her. She would burn this sight into her brain so that she would never forget.

Just as the building began to collapse properly Ren casually reached out and laid one hand on each of her friends shoulders, then she called upon the powers of her Father, drawing on the power of the storm raging about her as she felt the air crackling with energy.

In an instant a bolt of lighting dropped from the Sky, slamming into the spot where they were standing as a blinding flash of light filled the air. Ren felt the energy crackling through her body as her very veins felt like they were on fire. She had never tried to move so much weight so far in a single lighting ride. But she didn't have a choice, if they stayed where they were all that was waiting for them was death.

So regardless of how badly it burned, and how much it felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest Ren dealt with it, and all of this happened in a split second, but it felt like minutes before it was over.

That didn't stop the righteous indignation burning in her gut as she felt her feet hit solid ground, depositing the trio in the courtyard of the Edo institute. She had been forced to run away while her city crumbled to the ground underneath her, even now the ground still shook and trembled violently as she stared at the large entrance to the training complex that had been her home these last 17 years.

But more importantly the secret that lay beneath it, one of the archives of the Onmitsu. These archives were the safest and most secure facilities that money could buy. And were hidden away under some of the institutes to serve as vaults of knowledge, and places to keep artifacts and scrolls that were too dangerous to see the light of day.

The third branch was hidden below the Edo institute, and Ren knew If there was anywhere in Tokyo safe from the tsunamis and earthquakes Ren had no doubt that it would be within the third branch.

It was just an added bonus that it would also have all the information she needed on these foreign gods. If the Onmitsu knew about them the information would be in the records and she sincerely hoped someone felt like telling her they were off limits.

At least, that was her plan.

Then the exhaustion of carrying two people with her over five kilometers in a singular jump was something she would have never attempted in her wildest dreams.

Her body ached, and every breath was a struggle.

But she was Ren Takahashi, Daughter of the Dragon and she refused to fail here. She stumbled forwards, managing to keep her balance even as her vision blurred slightly. However instead of heading for the main building she turned and made her way towards the shrine near the main entrance.

Reaching the shrine she quickly passed inside the doors and approached the main altar at the rear. Her ears were ringing as she finally fell, collapsing to her knees against the wood floor as she looked at the steps leading to the prayer altar itself.

She didn't know where the mechanism was, but she sure as hell knew where the staircase was hidden.

So with agonizing slowness she forced herself back to her feet, ignoring the concerned calls from Akiyama or the panicked shouting of Tsu. She ignored the blaring sirens warning that a Tsunami was approaching, the crash of buildings.

She drowned it all out, and basked in the silence for a moment as she reached out and gripped Sutōmukōrā tightly in both hands, drawing on her fathers powers as she felt the blade begin to thrum with energy.

Ever so slowly she inhaled, focusing all her energy into the tip of her sword as she called upon the other half of her fathers powers.

Thunder.

With blinding speed she swung Sutōmukōrā down, slicing clean into the steps as the energy within the blade was released.

A roaring boom echoed out as the steps were torn away by a surge of energy.

Cleanly revealing the hidden staircase underneath the shrine, which led deep into the ground beneath them. However after about fifteen feet the stairs were blocked by a large iron door.

Ren was about to launch another attack with a blast of fire flew past her and slammed into the metal door, melting slag as Akiyama walked past her, one hand extended while the other supported Tsu-yon.

"Let's go Ren…." Akiyama snarled out as the fires flared brighter and the door fell over with a loud clang. Revealing the staircase descending even deeper.

Ren turned to nod to Akiyama, but was surprised when instead of her friend's face, Ren saw the floor rushing towards her.

Not that she had time to register that thought, she was unconscious before she hit the floor.

Asbjorn 4 Days and 5 Hours & 50 Minutes After Eripus

Somewhere in Norway

His world was nothing but a whirlwind of white and gray, and an ever present cold which numbed his extremities and dulled his senses. The wind screamed about him, threatening to blow him over and send him tumbling back down the mountain. But he braced against the wind and trudged forwards. Ignoring the chill as he forced his exhausted body to move.

He could hear his five companions behind him, the crunch of their boots, the squeak of the leather belts and straps long frozen by the cold. Even the clank of their Iron weapons and armor was a reassurance, deep down he honestly questioned if what they were doing was really for the best.

It had started several months ago, when the Seidr had called upon the Clan leaders, to grace them with words from the Halls of Valhalla themselves. Yet when the Clans had gathered the vision which the witches saw was not a pleasant one.

It spoke of blood and fire, and the death of the world. Then just like that the Seidr was speechless, the vision gone, and try as she might she could divine no more meaning from their vague words.

So naturally the clans had devolved into infighting, with several of them claiming that it was time the Vikings be united under one leader, like in the times of old. While others, most notably Clan Saelinger claimed that all signs point towards the war to end all wars, The Ragnarok.

As outlandish a claim as it was, their voice was slowly gaining support among the other Clans, after all their Gods had been silent, not that Asbjorn spoke with his father on a regular basis. But even the more sociable Gods had been noticeably absent. Most distressingly, the presence of monsters had increased tenfold, what had once been monthly raids were becoming a far more real and constant threat.

Which only complicated the issues between the clans further, in an attempt to find some semblance of common ground, The Seidr had tried to call upon the Asgardians. Her hope had been to gleam some ray of insight from this message, one which might allow for a way to unite the clans. However, she claimed that she had failed, that the Gods no longer saw fit to speak through her.

She had told any who visited to leave, and she had taken a vow of silence months previous. Yet after the last attack on the Munso clan's holding, a group of clansmen had been dispatched, desperate for any guidance from the Gods and their appointed Seidr. However when her cave had been checked she was gone, which had led to an immediate uproar across the lands of Scandinavia as news of the Gods abandoning them spread far and wide. Asbjorn and his company had spent the last month trekking back and forth, tracking the witch across the width and breadth of Norway, While other companies had no doubt done the same all across the north.

However, it was going to be Asbjorn and his company that found her. It had all led to this point, they had finally tracked her down. in no small part thanks to Nina and her brother. Not that it had been an easy journey by any means, Galdhøpiggen's peak lay just out of sight.

Asbjorn knew it was a powerful and mystical place, but it was also a place where mortals were forbidden to tread. The real peak of Galdhøpiggen was hidden by magic woven long ago by the Asgardians. It was the closest place a mortal could get to the Gods, supposedly.

Which meant this was a genuine crime punishable by death if the clan leaders ever found out. Or rather, if he came back with bad news. Not that Asbjorn was really concerned, after all, how much worse could the news be than what he already had to share.

In the last month alone, nine of their companions had been graced by the Valkyries and were now departed for the halls of their parents. However, that did little to settle the indignation that he felt over the entire situation.

With the Asgardians gone, and the monsters across the realm seemingly taking the chance to attack, the Vikingr were hard pressed, but they were the defenders of the north. The literal children of Gods in some cases, not a boy or girl among them, was afraid of death.

But the time for answers had come, Clan Munso's holdings had been leveled to the ground, and in a titanic fight against some sort of dragon-like creatures. Asbjorn and several other more experienced Vikingr had been hard pressed to put it down.

They had come out of nowhere, a tunnel in the ground had opened up, suddenly spilling two of these creatures loose in the forests outside of Uppsala. Immediately they had taken to the field, trying to stop the creatures who were hellbent on getting into the temple.

Their scales were hard as iron, their blood acid, and they breathed fire in great gouts like some spawn of Niddhoggr. Yet they were unlike any dragon that Asbjorn had ever seen or heard of, and stranger still they had been accompanied by a few giant-kin. Strange one-eyed creatures that had been put down easily, their dragon companions however?

They had laid waste to the fort and had burned down half the forest before he and several other veteran Vikingr had arrived to put them down.

The pools of acid and blood mixed on the frozen ground, hissing and spitting all the while the stench of burnt flesh carried on the cold air. It was something Alex doubted he would ever forget. Worse still when the dead were tallied, Bregan Af Munso was horrified, he had lost nearly twenty clansmen, and no one had any idea as to why these monsters had attacked or where they had come from.

Which is why Asbjorn had volunteered to lead the expedition. It was true he wasn't a clansman from the Munso holdings. But he was well respected by most of the clans, he had led a company into the heart of Nifelheim itself and traded blows with the Jotun king in order to ensure the Frost-fell stayed where it belonged. Off of Midgard.

So the clan leaders would be willing to turn a blind eye to this blatant transgression against the Gods as long as he came back with good news. Which meant, when Asbjorn found the Seidr he was going to get answers. It was that or face death alongside his remaining five companions when they returned empty handed and missing more than half their company.

"Asbjorn…. Are we good at making the final ascent?" came a melodic voice from his side as he turned to look at Nina. A daughter of Ull, which had immediately marked her for greatness amongst Clan Munso. But she was beautiful, almost beyond comparison, Silken sheets of gold colored hair tumbled down her back, and her eyes were a brilliant shade of sea blue.

She held herself with the bearing of a queen, and fought like a warrior possessed on the battlefield. Her brother Kjokran was a different story, he was a legacy, seeing as Kjokran had been born to his mothers actual husband. Not Ull like his sister, yet surprisingly Kjokran never held a grudge against his sister, and in fact. They had a great relationship, and with his sister being a great hunter, yet many of her successes were won due to the teamwork of brother and sister.

Kjokran looked almost nothing like her, his black hair was gathered in a single braid that ran down his back, he was constantly on alert, his gray eyes ever roaming. He wore similar leather and furs to Nina, however in place of a sword on his hip and a bow, Kjokran held a large spear, and several daggers belted to various reachable places.

The others behind him were still pretty ragged, Halsinger a son of Tyr and a giant of a boy at nearly 6'6" he was a physical force to be reckoned with and had followed Asbjorn everywhere he had gone for nearly the last decade. They were brothers in all but blood, and he knew without a doubt Halsinger had his back.

Erik and Freyda served as huskarls for house Munso, meaning they were the children or grandchildren of demigods. They might not have been as strong or possessed the powers that a demigod did, but they were trained by the same instructors and put to the same grueling tasks during their youth. Which gave them a fierce reputation for being brave warriors, to face the horrors of the north, without the blessings of the Gods to aid them.

The pair wore matching mail hauberks, carried a pair of handaxes on a belt loop at their waist as well as a sword and shield. Their armor was covered by large blue cloaks adorned with the golden raven of Clan Munso.

All in all the six of them were all that remained of the fifteen strong company that had set out from Uppsala the month prior, and the dangerous trek they had taken across the mountain ranges of norway was now marked with nine stone cairns. One for each of their fallen companions.

Finally Asbjorn let out a sigh as he squinted against the glare from the snow and stared up at the mountain peak. At the top of which he suspected they would find the seidr, after all, why would she have walked halfway across Norway and climbed this mountain if not to head for the top.

"Lets go Nina" he said quickly, pulling his cloak around himself once more and turning towards the others, a quick wave of his hand was all it took for the weary warriors to resume their trek upwards.

The mountain itself seemed to fight against them with each step they took, the wind grew more fierce, the snow felt like shards of glass cutting away at their faces in the howling gale. But they were the children of the north, this was nothing if not expected. It was just another trial, one that separates the weak from the strong, and the dead from the living.

"Asbjorn, how far up is the top?" Nina called out to him from the side, her voice almost lost in the wind as they trudged upwards.

"I don't know, It's not like there's a map or anything!" Asbjorn called back indignantly.

"Even if there was a map, it's not like it would help you Asbjorn, you could get lost in a hallway." Halsinger called out from a few feet behind him as he let out a booming laugh.

Nina glared at Halsinger meanwhile Kojkran and the two Huskarls were too far back to be heard, but Alex was pretty sure that they were laughing as well. The tales of his lack of direction were pretty prevalent, not that he agreed with their choice of wording. He preferred to say he found alternative routes, but that's why he brought two skilled trackers along.

They continued upwards for a few minutes trudging along in silence before they reached the peak of the mortal mountain. Which was surrounded in a deep swirling bank of mist, completely obscuring the plateau. It seemed completely unaffected by the storm raging around it as the company came to a halt one by one. Simply watching the phenomenon cautiously.

"Well that's not disconcerting at all is it?" Nina said cautiously as she carefully tossed an arrow through the mist, But if it made contact with anything they couldn't hear it.

"Last chance to turn around…" Asbjorn said in a light hearted voice as he tightened his grip on his axe and shifted the position of his shield on his forearm. Slowly trying to loosen up his joints and muscles which ached after the long march.

"Fat chance, If we walk through there we will be the first demigods, Hel the first mortals to walk there in generations. It's the entrance to the land of the Gods! I can't pass this chance up." Halsinger said with a wide grin as he hefted his massive hammer up onto his shoulder.

"Well sitting here isn't going to get us anywhere" Nina said with a sigh as she walked forwards and disappeared into the mist.

"... God what a woman.. come on, can't let a shieldmaiden outdo the heroes of Norway now can we?" Halsinger added with a laugh as he walked forwards into the mist, vanishing without a trace.

"Hey that's my sister you asshole! Watch what you're saying!" Kjokran called out sharply as he stood behind Asbjorn, his gaze locked onto Halsinger who was simply grinning back.

"Enough! Get in there and sort this out later when you have a drink in hand" Asbjorn barked out as he stepped forwards into the mist.

The instant he stepped through the mist, his breath caught in his chest. If the other side of the mist had been cold, this side was downright frigid. Already he could feel the numbness setting into his hands and feet as he struggled to breathe through the pain, but he just couldn't seem to catch his breath.

Part of that might have had something to do with the change of scenery, gone was the storm and the mountain peaks in the distance. Instead they were replaced by a clear and uninterrupted view of the night sky. Stretching out above them, seemingly close enough that you could reach out and touch the stars themselves.

They stood on a large flat section and below them stretched the massive sides of the mountain. The base of which was long lost to the clouds below them. Meanwhile, stretching out high above them was a massive mountain peak, stretching as far as the eye could see into the heavens above them.

Yet what they sought was nearby, carved into the base of the peak. Perhaps one hundred feet from them was a large double door, engraved with Nordic runes, and flanked by two massive statues of Asgardian warriors.

The doors were slightly open and from within Asbjorn could make out the flickering yellow light of a fire. The top of the doorway bore Odin's mark and Alex let out a sigh of relief when he noticed a pair of footprints leading towards the doors.

However as his eyes followed the clearly human footprints, he noticed two additional sets of prints. Having intersected with her footprints before turning and heading towards the temple entrance.

Instantly Asbjorn was on high alert as he drew his axe and gestured towards the tracks as the rest of his company went completely silent. Following his gesture with their eyes until they saw the footprints.

They all knew it was Giant-sign, they just didn't know what kind of Giants there were going to be fighting.

"Get into positions, I'll draw whatever they are out. And whatever you do keep your eyes peeled for the Sedir.. This will be a waste of time and lives if we don't get her out of here in one piece." he finished quietly as he moved towards the doors. Knowing that his companions would take up positions exactly as he had asked, they had done this a hundred times before.

After all, killing giants was something of a pastime in the north Asbjorn thought with a grin as he picked up his pace to a slow jog. Reaching the doors as he gently twirled his axe, getting a feel for the leather grip as he reached out and pulled the great door open slightly.

Inside was a large hall, covered with pillars and decorated with runes and paintings. A roaring fire crackled away in a large pit in the middle of the room casting shadows across the walls.

Yet what drew his attention were the two massive figures standing in the middle of the room. Their grayish skin covered in ragged chainmail, and their most distinctive feature being that each of them sported a pair of heads. The giant-kin would be nearly twelve feet tall at full height, but crouched over as they were they looked far smaller.

Ettin's.

Of all the giant-kin he had to encounter right now… Ettin's were pretty far down on that list. They were considered lesser giants and were often employed by other Jotun as troops, their ability to breath fire and clouds of poison made them deadly foes to the inexperienced Vikingr. The ettin's were just to stupid to be a real threat in most cases.

What complicated matters more was the prone human sized figure on the floor between them. Even from the distance he was at he could make out the robes of the Sedir.

That was all the information he needed as he threw the door open in an instant. Slamming it off of the door frame with a resounding bang as he took a deep breath before shouting at the top of his lungs.

"OIII! KORKAD!" Asbjorn shouted out as he slammed his axe off of his shield once, the resounding clang of metal on metal ringing out sharply alongside his voice as it echoed about the temple.

It was almost comical how all four heads managed to turn around at the same time, each with equal looks of bewilderment on them.

"Is you's talking to us?" one of the ettins remarked in a gravelly voice as it looked at Asbjorn, its confusion and shock slowly giving way to anger as a growl started in the back of his throat.

"... who else would I be talking to…" Asbjorn all but groaned out as he looked at the two ettins, immediately regretting his previous concerns over their possible intelligence.

"We is gonna squish you flat!" One of the heads roared out as the ettin on the left hefted a massive hammer in both hands and charged across the temple with surprising speed. Meanwhile the second ettin, picked up two large axes and began to slowly lumber forwards, his corpulent bulk jiggling with each step.

Asbjorn leapt backwards, a bark of laughter escaping his lips as the ettin swung his hammer only to miss and hit the ground with a resounding crash. Sending snow and ice flying in every direction

He could see the rage rush across its features as he laughed at it, and he was forced to dive to the side to avoid a blast of fire from the Ettin as it opened its mouth and let loose a torrent of flames.

The wall of fire erupted to his left, scorching the hairs from his forearm as he grit his teeth and let out a cry to Odin. Then Asbjorn charged forwards, throwing his shield over his head just in time to block the giant's hammer, which had been swung down at him with the force of an industrial press.

His shield rang like a bell as the muscles in his arm and shoulder screamed under the sudden strain, but he simply grit his teeth and pushed forwards through it, the muscles in his legs stood out like iron cords against his skin as he deflected the blow.

Sending the etttin stumbling backwards as he drove forwards swinging his axe in a vicious arc towards the ettins' exposed stomach. Opening a deep gash he followed through by slamming the rim of his shield onto the ettins knee, before spinning to the side out of its reach as it went crashing to the ground.

However the second ettin had exited the temple and charged forwards, only for Kojkran and the two Huskarls to leap from the cliffs behind him onto the ettin. Immediately setting to work with axes and swords as they hacked away at its unprotected heads.

However disaster struck when the ettin they were fighting tried to use both its poison breath and fire breath attacks at the same time. Which resulted in a massive fireball that sent his three companions crashing to the ground, steaming and groaning as they lay in the snow.

Asbjorn went to rush to their aid, but before he could make any headway he was forced to block another colossal blow from the massive iron hammer. Before he had to retreat, ducking under the lightning fast attacks the ettin was launching at him. Each blow sent ice and snow flying in all directions until finally. A lucky blow sunk through, clipping his shield before slamming right into his blow sent him stumbling to one side as he quickly turned that stumble into a dive, his senses screaming danger as the snow exploded all around him. Asbjorn tumbled to a stop several feet away to see one of the temple doors smashed into the snowy hillside where he had been moments before.

"NINA! WHAT'S THE HOL- OH FUCK!" Asbjorn shouted in panic as the ettin's foot connected with his already bruised rib cage and he was sent tumbling head over heels down the side of the hill, until he slammed into the back of a large boulder. Blasting the air from his lungs, Luckily it stopped his descent before he plunged back through the mist and over the side of the mountain.

The two massive ettins glared at him stupidly, their two heads and four sets of eyes locked on him as they approached. One of them reached out and ripped the door free of the ground as he looked at Alex and grinned evilly before lifting it and taking aim at Asbjorn.

Asbjorn was pretty sure he could find mud puddles with more intelligence than your average ettin, which is what made these two so strange. Both of them wore well crafted armor, and carried real weapons, yet both of them were just as dumb as any other ettin he had ever met.

Which meant one thing, they had a patron.

And now here he was, about to be turned into a viking-kebab by a pair of ettins, worse yet.. ettin goons working for someone else. Definitely not a death worthy of Valhalla.

However the ettin never threw the door, as suddenly a dozen arrows sprouted from his face causing him to scream in pain and drop the door, which immediately crashed down upon his own head. Immediately following this a nearly endless barrage of feathered shafts flew out from the left side of the temple amongst the trees. The hammer wielding ettin let loose a roar of anger and hefted his hammer in both hands as if to throw it in the direction of the arrows.

Asbjorn responded instantly, throwing his shield with all his might at the ettins head, taking pleasure in the wet squelch as the shield slammed into the side of one of its ears, accompanied by a roar of pain from the monster as its head snapped back.

This combined with the creature's arms being flung upwards sent it reeling to the side, completely off balance.

This gave Asbjorn the opening he needed as he dashed forwards, gripping his axe with both hands as he leapt into the air and swung the weapon down onto the creature's leg, his axe biting deep into the soft flesh of its tight as the creature howled in pain and lashed out blindly with its hammer.

The blow caught him in the side and threw him backwards. Sending him tumbling backwards to slam into the sides of Galdhøpiggen. The impact blasted the air from his lungs as he fell to his knees by the doors and groaned as he felt his ribs groan in protest with each breath.

"Playtime is over, that fucking hurt!" Asbjorn wheezed out as he forced himself back to his feet. Tossing aside his shield in contempt as he started walking towards the ettins. "Who sent you?" Asbjorn asked in a loud voice as he looked at the two monsters grinning at him stupidly.

"We was sent to find da rock! And we did found it!" The hammer wielding ettin grunted out with pride. "We's found that witch as well and when she hears what we dun, she-" The ettin started to say before his companion punched him in the side of one of his heads. Stopping him mid sentence.

"OI! The vikingr don't need to know nothing. We's gonna eat him anyway, and she'd kill us both for letting them go… food don't need to know what we doing here" The ettin said with an evil grin.

"Ohhh hes a tricky one isnt he, a spawn of Loki me think! Ill kill you gud for trying to trick me!" The hammer wielding ettin roared out in rage as he charged forwards!

Asbjorn didn't waste a moment, crouching low as he prepared himself, his axe held loosely in one hand as he waited patiently for the ettin.

Finally when the monster was bearing down on him, its hammer raised high Alex stepped to the side slamming his axe into the back of the creature's knee as it rumbled past him, causing the creature to crash to the ground mid stride.

Without breaking stride Asbjorn rushed past the fallen giant and slammed shoulder first into the second ettin. He blasted the air from its lungs as it stumbled back away from him, only for his axe to flip end over end and slam into one of its faces. Splitting the monster's second jaw clean in two as the other head howled in pain.

The monster turned to him, opening its mouth and spraying a blast of poison gas in his direction as Asbjorn dove to the side, and as he landed he flipped onto his stomach. Raising his hand and calling his axe back to him, and for a moment he feared it would be too late before it suddenly slammed into his hand and he grinned before Slamming his axe into the snow and ice, to halt his slide. The muscles in his shoulder and arm screamed in pain as he yanked himself back to his feet and looked up, ready to go another round with the monsters.

However, he was immediately less enthused when the two ettins turned around and leveled a hate filled glare at him coming from four sets of eyes at once. Asbjorn wasn't sure if he should laugh or take it seriously.

"We eat gud tonight brother" One of the ettins barked out with a grin, as its other head licked its lips.

The other ettin went to nod in agreement, before suddenly the sound of bones breaking filled the air, and the monster tumbled to one side.

"ABOUT TIME HAL" Asbjorn roared out as he burst into a sprint, rushing straight towards the towering figure standing beside the ettins, a massive two handed maul in his hands was responsible for shattering the ettins leg.

"NINA CHECK ON YOUR BROTHER AND GET TO THE SEDIR! WE'VE GOT THESE TWO" Asbjorn bellowed out as the Axe wielding ettin crashed to the ground in a heap.

He wore a large hauberk not dissimilar to Asbjorn's own, however the similarities between himself and Halsinger ended there.

The boy was a giant, towering over him at a healthy 6'6", and the size and strength of the son of Tyr was impressive. The most impressive part being the hammer he swung about with ease. A single blow had shattered the ettin's left leg, twisting and snapping it like a twig as the ettin started to tumble backwards.

Faster than the eye could follow the hammer snapped back upwards, crushing one of the ettin's faces into boneless mush as the hammer swung upwards clean through its lower jaw. Sending a shower of monstrous blood high into the air before the ettin crashed to the ground with a resounding boom.

Asbjorn let out a coarse laugh as he rushed the other ettin, not even sparing Halsinger a glance as the boy's hammer rose and fell with a fierce tempo to match the war song he shouted out with reverence. Praises to Valhalla and the Gods flowed from his mouth like water as each hammer blow was accentuated with another Valkyrie's name. Each phrase was followed with another blow from his hammer as the ettin was slowly reduced to a twitching barely recognizable lump of flesh.

The other ettin screamed in anger and swung his large hammer downwards towards Asbjorn, except this time he was expecting it. Sidestepping the blow as his axe swung out and sliced several fingers clean off the ettins hand.

The creature roared in rage, as Asbjorn grinned. The air around him thrummed with power as his booted foot slammed into the ettins stomach and in the same smooth motion his Axe was placed in the loop on his belt. Meanwhile the ettin stumbled backwards away from him, the fear and hate clear in his eyes as he looked at Asbjorn..

"You really picked the wrong mountain… you know Galdhøpiggen is off limits to your kind and mine Jotun…. Why are you here?" Asbjorn said in curiosity as he looked at the ettin, before he casually walked over to the fallen hammer. Lifting it off the ground with only a slight strain as his muscles bulged against his skin..

It was heavy for sure, far too heavy for Asbjorn to want to use in combat, but he couldn't deny the fact that he would love to crush something with a weapon this big.

"Hey Hal! Guess what?" Asbjorn shouted out over his shoulder as he looked back at the son of Tyr who was casually wiping blood from his face as he walked towards Asbjorn and the remaining ettin.

"What Asbjorn…?" Halsinger said tiredly as he looked at him.

"... mines bigger…" Asbjorn said with a large grin as he tossed a wink in Halsinger's direction and hefted the large hammer up onto his shoulder for a moment. The ettin looked between the two of them dumbfounded. But that didn't last long as Asbjorn took a step forwards and spun, swinging the club with all his might.

It rushed around in a wide arc before smashing into the first ettin's face, blasting it clean off its feet and sending it crashing to its back in the snow. One of its heads reduced to nothing more than a bloody pulp.

The ettin let out a gurgled cry of pain and confusion as Asbjorn walked towards its prone body, tossing the large hammer aside and pulling his axe free from the loop of his belt in a smooth motion. As he spun it over once before slamming it down into the ettins remaining head, ripping it free as the monster twitched for several seconds before it began to dissolve into golden dust.

For a moment Asbjorn and Halsinger just stood there in silence breathing heavily before Halsinger started to chuckle. "You should have seen your face, when that fat bastard threw the door at you." Halsinger said as he wiped a tear from his eye, his whole body shaking as he laughed.

"I would have paid good money to have that moment captured in a photograph… hahaha, the great Asbjorn, looking like he was about to wet himself. And his foe? A mighty door!" Halsinger howled with glee as he turned and started to walk towards the temple.

"Go fuck a goat" Asbjorn replied in mock anger as he punched Halsinger in the shoulder, wincing slightly at the fact that his friends shoulder felt like an iron wall.

However their light hearted mood was lost almost instantly when Alex heard Nina scream out from within the temple.

Both he and Halsinger broke into immediate sprints as they raced towards the doors, yet as they came close the ground itself started to rumble underfoot.

Asbjorn immediately whirled about looking for the source of the rumbling, no doubt some giant or other monster charging towards them. However, he saw and sensed nothing.

Yet the tremors and quakes in the ground grew more and more intense as boulders started to tumble down from high above them. Smashing into the deep snow like bombs as ice and dirt was sent flying in every direction.

"What in the name of Hel is going on?" Halsinger muttered as he stumbled to one side and steadied himself on the doorframe of the temple.

"No idea, don't care, lets get the Sedir and get the fuck out of here!" Asbjorn shouted out as he rushed inside and immediately set to looking for everyone else. Which didn't take long, yet what was more confusing was the fact that the Sedir was standing before the large runestone at the back of the hall holding a sword as she brandished it towards the rest of his companions as if to ward them off.

Meanwhile Nina was nursing a cut on her hand as she glared at the Sedir hatefully.

"What the fuck is going on in here!?" Asbjorn shouted out as he looked between them all.

"This crazy bitch wants to stay in here! Says that this stupid runestone thing can be left unguarded" Nina shouted out as she grabbed her bow and ripped an arrow free of the quiver and in one smooth motion drew the string back and set it. 'Get off the platform, we need to leave NOW!" Nina shouted at the Sedir.

The girl, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old looked at them, a furious expression on her face as she shouted back. "You do not command me! I speak for the Asgardians themselves! My visions called me here, and they showed me him." The Sedir said as she pointed right at Asbjorn.

"... look, we don't have time for this.." Asbjorn said the ground rocked under his feet, "if we want to have any chance of getting down this mountain alive we need to go now!" he finished as he gestured towards the door.

"No! The signs were clear, you were fated to find me just as I was fated to be here when you did! There are no coincidences Asbjorn Vargrrson, Son of Ægir. The Norn's will have their way regardless of how you struggle." The Sedir added with a sly smile.

"You realize you risked life and limb, trekked halfway across Norway and were almost eaten by ettins… right?" Halsinger added in a doubtful voice.

"But I wasn't, because your friend here arrived, just as I saw he would in my visions." The Sedir replied as the floor rumbled loudly and dust rained down from the ceiling.

"Okay great so I'm here and I rescued you, I saw the big rock.. NOW LET'S GO!" Asbjorn shouted out as the ground underneath his feet shook violently and a rumbling sound started from outside.

"Oh no Asbjorn, it's far too late for that. The fates called you here, Son of Ægir. You will bear witness to what it is the Norns have to say and then you will walk free from this place. I have seen it." The Sedir added with a smile as the entire room started to shake and rumble violently, sending both of the huskarls crashing to the floor as Asbjorn and Halsinger eyed down the Sedir for several tense moments.

"Fine!" Asbjorn said with a sigh as he tossed his hands in the air and fell backwards, landing on his ass and sitting down on the floor. "You wanna sit here and die in an Avalanche, we sit here and die in an avalanche, or a cave in. Who knows…." Asbjorn said with a groan as he heard Halsinger crash down to the floor nearby.

"ASBJORN!" Nina shouted, her face red with rage as she looked at him. "THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO MESS AROUND!" She finished as she stormed towards him, lifting the bow above her head.

"Nina! He's not messing around… relax. If the Sedir won't leave we can't go home without her. And she's right, its way too late to outrun an Avalanche so we may as well just sit tight." Halsinger groaned out from the floor. "Although some ale would make this far more bearable.. Or some food… anything really" Halsinger sighed out.

"You're too easy to please, but you're not wrong" Asbjorn sighed as his stomach rumbled.

"The two of you are mad…" Kjokran said in a dull voice as he looked at them sadly. "What the fuck are we going to do once the avalanche buries the entrance and traps us all in here?" he added, a note of panic creeping into his voice.

"Shut up." Asbjorn added in a serious tone of voice as he looked at them all.

"You volunteered to come with me, and we buried nine brothers and sisters on the way here. All to rescue the Sedir. If she wont move willingly and wants to wait, then we wait. And once she's ready to move her holier than thou self, we drag her ass back to Uppsala to tell the Ting Meet what she knows. Because she clearly didn't walk halfway across Norway for shits and giggles!" Asbjorn finished as he looked back at the Sedir and her runestone.

"Smarter than you look Asbjorn. Perhaps the rumors about you are true." She finished with a smile as she looked over the group.

"If you know anything about the rumors, then you had best start talking. I want to know what the hell that thing is and why you needed me here." Asbjorn replied, a dangerous note in his voice as he looked at her. He wasn't one to argue with the Asgardians, the scars he bore on his back were a reminder of why he didn't.

But the Runestone was clearly something important, the very air in the temple was charged. The runes carved on it weaved strange patterns and were made up of some combination of sigils in both norse and other dialects that he didn't know.

He was so interested in the runestone he barely noticed the screams from the two Huskarls as a massive mound of snow slammed into the ground around the entrance and the room around them shook even more furiously.

All the while the runestone hummed gently and the writing on it began to glow a golden hue as the Sedir looked at him and grinned once before turning back to the runestone and laying her hand on it.

"Come Asbjorn, let us find those answers you seek." The girl added with a wide grin as her eyes flashed with power.

Asbjorn grinned back, things were getting interesting.

Authors Notes:

Terminology:

Yomi-no-kuni: it is the japanese realm of death

Sedir: Norse version of an oracle (very cool look it up)

Ettin: A two headed giant from norse mythology

Niddhoggr: Brother to Fenrir, fated to burn the roots of Yggdrasil during the ragnarok.

Galdhøpiggen: Norway's tallest mountain

Shinigami: A death spirit from japan, their presense is said to inspire despair and suicide

Clan Munso: A historic clan from Sweden

Clan Saelinger: a historic clan from Norway

Gin kiri: Land of the silver fog, (japanese spirit realm)

Sutōmukōrā: Stormcaller

Onmitsu: Nine Eldest or most powerful members of the Oniwaban

Oniwaban: Elite Ranked Demigods

Korkad: Swedish word for someone stupid.

Ull: Norse God of Hunting

Tyr: Norse God of War and bravery

Ægir: Jotuun and Norse God of the Northern Oceans and Strength

Norns: The Norse Fates

Okay, so it's finally done…

I'm really sorry that it was so late guys, I swear to god it's like life itself was conspiring against me. Everytime i tried to get some writing done something work related would come up and I'd have to put it off. As such I will be rolling back my updated schedule. And will instead promise you guys 1-2 chapters a month.

As I've said before, I want to stick to my schedule as best I can, but I also refuse to put out a poorly finished chapter for you guys. So i know it sucks waiting so long but i really appreciate y'all having the patience and waiting this out.

Lots happened in this chapter, obviously we have the Gods refusing to bend the knee to Gaea's demands and getting their asses handed to them as a result.. Until someone or something steps in to stop her? Gaea verbally tears Hestia a new one and you see the divisions starting to form amongst the demigods in regard to the Olympians themselves.

Then we have some new information from the Japanese demigods, given Yami's reaction and the new information from Kobayashi perhaps the Onmitsu knew about the existence of other Pantheons and covered it up? Ren doesn't seem like the kind of person to give up what she wants, or the kind of person to forgive. So I wonder what's in store for her as she tries to figure out what caused the earth mothers rise and subsequent rampage.

And finally I've wanted to introduce them for a while, but here they are now! The Norse demigods! Say hello to the heroes of Norway: Alex Asbjorn Vargrsson, Nina af Munso and Halsinger Broki.

They join the cast and crew as Gaea's earthquakes rock the earth to its core, causing damage even as far away as Norway. What was that large stone that they saw within the temple, and why was the Sedir so intent on seeing the stone, evening knowing the danger they were in.

I'm sure there are other questions people have. But its 1:53am as i'm finishing this and my brain no longer functions. So i'll try to keep this short and let you guys ask the questions in the reviews lol.

As always thanks to everyone who follows/favs the story it always helps to keep me motivated to write, knowing there are people out there who want to hear what i've got to say. Additionally if you leave a review thank you! I appreciate feedback of any kind and read each and every one of those reviews (usually more than once lol) If for whatever reason i didn't reply to your review just shoot me a PM here or on the discord.

As always guys and gals, until next time!