Hollowreaper 93: How better to threaten Loki a little bit :D I wonder if your guess is on point...
Ronmr: Never bad to sow the seeds of future arcs early ;) Fun fact the devil he met was in canon he just had no name so I decided to give him one.
FateBurn: Thanks
reality deviant: No, not many Norse stories end happy lol. Exactly, it isn't AS bad as usually portrayed in media if you go by the Poetic Edda...but not a place many Norse warriors would want to end up either.
Slayer Cross: A good question, the answer is yes with enough focus he could form weapons out of the ice though the more complex requires more time and focus. As for your second question...keep reading ;) And thank you once more! Seeing you continue to enjoy each chapter brings a smile to my face :D
CaedmonCousland: Loki is troublesome alright, even in canon he was the villain in the EX series featuring Issei's future kids. I mixed his anime and LN versions in terms of what he's capable of. We don't see everything, but being able to plant a curse in someone's mind (anime only) is a pretty versatile ability. And in terms of what you said about the Pantheons...you hit the nail on the head. Odin even in canon would say how they need to change or risk dying out and in my story Freyja takes that a step further with the Crossroads, allowing each member group to see how the others work. They can update their ways to survive. And I won't spoil...but there is indeed one other devil family with that title we know of... ;)
fanficcyberman: Thank you! I hope you like my plans :D And yes, she's been doing great, my little inspiration to help me think when writing :D
WinterRuneWolf: Oh that is cool! I know that feeling, Lord of the Rings was my first (no need to read it...I was young and it has not aged well XD ). I'll try to check out yours too and most certainly will keep going on this ;)
OBSERVER01: Indeed it does :) Who knows where the next path might spread...
GunBlade2020: I left a hint to that, when Rossweisse thought that after her seal was FULLY formed it would be impossible...meaning he got out just before ;) I will and hope you enjoy every page!
michael68: Rossweisse: Oh no...he's become a cliched fanfiction protagonist!
And with that...ONTO THE SHOW!
"Marvelously done boy," Hela clapped her hands like a teacher proud of the project completed by her class. He had recently returned with Zaebos in tow. Hela took the ranting devil to his own chamber assuring him that in time his mind would return...sooner or later. "I knew you had what it took. You didn't have to rescue those trapped Einherjar, they would have worked their way out of that spike trap in a week or two."
Dorian slumped into a chair, the exhaustion from the trek, battle and continuous use of Alfheim's light taking its toll. Even Iggy's materialization with a comforting pat to his back did little to alleviate the drain the realm seemed to have on him.
"I would love to know how a devil got here," he groaned with a crack of his back. "He wasn't exactly in a coherent mood."
"Let's just say that some interested parties showed him to my hall. I opened my table to him as I do with all wayward souls in this land of ice. I am sure you are well aware of the rivalries between houses."
"Without letting his family know?"
"It's not as if I have any contacts in the devil world," she retorted. "Once you are here, your status out there means little unless I deem it so."
I need a nap.
"If I may," he stood to his feet shakily. "I believe I will get some rest."
"Not quite yet," Hela stood, walking up to him. Her proportions confused the young man as before she had been barely a bit shorter than he yet as she approached seemed to grow until she was two heads taller. "You had to depart so soon before you never got the grand tour."
"Perhaps later?"
"Now," her tone brooked no chance at debate. With a muffled groan, Dorian got to his feet, Hela's expression suddenly brightening as if she actually enjoyed the duty. "You have seen the ground floor, now we head up. This will be your home now; you may as well get used to it."
She led the pair up the winding reflective staircase, everything around them expressing the dichotomous décor of extravagance and death. She showed off the piano room, despite Dorian's protests that he didn't know how to play she assured him he could with the time allowed. Iggy curiously poked several keys, smiling serenely at the sounds produced.
"If only I had my lyre."
"You play?" Hela was liking his skill set more and more. "Then you two shall perform together some time once adequately practiced, I insist!"
She is so excited, Dorian could not help but smile upon noticing how almost-bubbly she was acting.
Moving along, the library was as large as they imagined but was less spectacular at the realization that most of the books were frozen in place untouched for years. Dorian's eye twitched thinking of the chiseling required to claim even a single tome.
"You'll never want for sparring partners," Hela continued. "Simply ask and I can bring in many heroes of yore to fight. Get stronger and maybe even I can enter the fray. The observatory is quite large and could suffice for a field."
"Observatory?"
True to her word, on the highest level of the castle in a side wing was an enormous telescope pointed to the stars. Dorian was quick to seize the scope, turning about to look into the sky. To his surprise, a rainbow aurora borealis effect could be seen, quite a departure from the pale mists hanging above.
"An afterstream of the Bifrost," she explained. "It lingers high above the mists; nothing can view it save for this."
"It's beautiful," Dorian shared the view with Iggy before turning upward. "What is that?"
"Him?" Hela saw to what he was referring. "That is Hraesvelgr, he has been here since before I arrived and will likely be here long after."
Perched at the highest peak of the castle sat an enormous bird towering high above all else in Helheim. At almost hypnotic intervals, his wings would beat sending a renewed wave of freezing air across the realm reinforcing the frigid ice encompassing all. Hela explained this to her new guests even though Iggy was well informed by her mother. Dorian vaguely recalled the myths, but little had survived to modern days.
"So, he's the one keeping everything cold like this?" Dorian asked at length. "Keeping everyone placid and lethargic?"
"He is, and his roost is forbidden if you have any plans to visit. If you have something to say then speak it," Hela commanded, sensing the leading tone of his question.
"Things aren't like they used to be," the words flowed from his mouth, any thought of remaining tactful lost in his exhaustion. "People don't go rushing into death in battle, for so many to be here just because they sought a long life…"
"Then they should have picked other gods," she cut him off. "Our ways have never been kind."
"And where has that led? Numbers of believers dwindling every year," he remembered Freyja and Odin's qualms well during his days in Asgard. "Odin and Zeus are adjusting their people to change in a modern world with modern ideals. Perhaps the rules here could adjust as well? Already they have changed adopting ideas of the angels and devils who have picked up changes in kind."
"An idealist, how adorable," she grinned mischievously. "Should we open our gates and let all depart?"
"No," Iggy spoke up this time as they finally departed the observatory. "But maybe the pull of Helheim could be more honed to the actions across life rather than just the immediate means of death?"
"You said it yourself some would like it here," he added on. "Those who just want to keep going on without change. And some deserve to be here, sort them more fairly."
Take pride in my station? What a funny notion, oh how long it has been since that happened. It is true my influx of guests had decreased as of late, is that why I started accepting their offerings from other myths?
She did not reply, merely gliding until they reached her own chamber. With the tour concluded, she slipped inside commanding them to follow. As the goddess spoke, she shed her gown, causing Dorian to turn out of propriety, trading it for a large surprisingly fluffy robe.
"Sleep in tomorrow," she suddenly commanded. "Can't have you working to death, there is just one more duty for you to perform this day."
Will this never end?
It was only then Dorian noticed that Hela's robe was just a bit looser than usual, a generous amount of cleavage being flaunted in his direction. The sleeves were a bit too large but failed to hide her arms, the sash half-tied so that a leg could be seen poking through shifting between a decrepit corpse and smooth skin a model would be jealous of. With a finger, she beckoned he and Iggy, his soulmate trying to hold him back as the manacles pulled him closer.
"It has been…so long since I had real living company," she licked her lips. "If I don't take this opportunity now, who knows how much more of a dry spell I must go through."
Crossroads Tower…
"Suit up ladies," Freyja commanded, allowing her worn and sweat-soaked robes to slump to the floor leaving her utterly naked. She did not have time for modesty, motioning towards the lineup along the wall.
The other Valkyries; Mistry, Herja, Brynda, Thrud and Rossweisse followed suit, the silver-haired genius more hesitantly than the rest. The college trio had arrived when summoned while the senior Valkyries had only recently departed Baldur's chamber with Son Wukong having taken over full control. They had breathed a sigh of relief at his assertion; Baldur was out of danger and his body would recover in pristine shape for his soul's eventual return.
"Lady Freyja…we couldn't!" Herja gasped at the gifts presented but still moved forward to inspect them all the same.
Along the wall were a series of armored bracers, belt and charm meant to slot into their existing armor. Thrud's eyes were full of stars while the others were in a state of wonder at the gifts granted; upgraded augmentations for their Valkyrie armor. Raising their hands high, the women summoned their respective attire, the metal clinging to their bare curves as it materialized into being. Their gear was stored in another dimension just out of sync able to be called at will, however anytime adjustments were required, there could be no interference with the new additions. That included their normal clothes.
"These will become more standard in the coming months," Freyja explained as she claimed her own. "You all shall wield the first prototypes."
"Grandmother, you spoil us," Thrud placed the charm into the slot above her breasts, feeling a warm pulse of energy into her. "How much have they been improved?"
"At least two times the energy output towards your seals and strength. It won't be enough to face Hela directly, but it will even the odds against her minions."
"Thank you," Rossweisse closed the bracers, lighting up a series of additional runes across the surface of her armor. She gasped somewhat at the power she was feeling, the belt clasped at her waist glowing bright. It would take some time for her to adjust but it was worth it. "We can head out as soon as you are ready."
"We'll get him back," Thrud crept up behind her friend, seizing her hips and with a single pull tightened the belt augmentation into place. "You finally got yourself a boyfriend, it wouldn't be fair to let him go now."
"Thrud…" She glanced away with an uncontrollable smile.
"You get him back; Grandmother and I will knock on the front door. That should give all the time you need." Her voice fell to a whisper only for Rossweisse's ears next. "Give him a punch for me too."
"As the Valkyrie love proceeds to rescue beneath the cover of night," Misty whispered to her friends believing too low to be heard. "She who yearns for his touch storms the gates granting the chance needed to achieve…"
The overly dramatic Valkyrie found herself silenced with a final muffle as Brynda and Herja slammed their hands over her mouth. The sudden rise in static electricity coupled with an incorrigible smile from Freyja to cause the three to hurriedly finish their upgrades before fleeing the changing room.
"Those three," Rossweisse shook her head with smile, the expression flattening upon glancing at Thrud. The woman whom was stronger than any she knew, had helped her to not lose hope in her failing personal life…was blushing.
Thrud?
"W-we have the numbers for the knock, correct Lady Freyja?" Thor's daughter grew more stern in an effort to change the subject. "We can't exactly use our army after all.
"For that," the goddess smiled. "We got more than ample volunteers…"
Crossroad Tower Lobby…
"Did…I come at a bad time?"
Seekvaira Agares had no sooner entered the Crossroad Tower before being greeted by a rather odd sight. Her future teammates were all arrayed in their various armor brandishing weapons as if ready for war. The Sword Sister Trio had summoned forth Durandal, Excalibur and Monster's Bane already powered up for the fight ahead. The devil heiress had planned to take it easy for her first few days among the team, but it seemed as though those hopes were dashed. Bennia was more than happy to fill her in on the situation in detail.
"So, yea, we're going to bust in a world of the dead," she concluded. "Care to join?"
"I fail to see how this will accomplish anything," Seekvaira crossed her arms stoically. "Other than plunging your realms into conflict."
"We got a plan," Hecuba explained. "We just need to get to Hela; she loves her deals, so we'll make her a new one involving her father. We may not have his soul, but she may find his body and that information interesting. Interesting enough to release Dorian and Iggy from their enslavement."
"And if she says no you get booted again or worse forced to join him," Azazel shook his head having been behind the desk during the planning stages. "Your Queen Freyja has gathered quite the group, but whether Hela will appear to bargain is anyone's guess."
"Whether she does matters not," Freyja boomed as she and the other Valkyries emerged from their preparations. "One way or another, she will hear us out."
"You are endangering your little project," the practical Grigori leader warned. "Last I checked the Crossroad's purpose was to bring the various myths together, how will it look for them to be storming the realm of an ally?"
"I knew you were cold Azazel," she turned with a confident smile masking her knowledge that every word he said was true. "But I never took you for one to back down, however will you learn more about the Sacred Gears if Hela has her grips on one so mysterious?"
"Heh, you certainly know what makes me tick my lady. I am afraid my people cannot get involved officially but if you need extra volunteers…"
"Hello, HELLO, is this thing on?" A rippling, echoing voice of a familiar troublemaker boomed into the house from parts unknown. "This is your friendly neighborhood squirrel giving you the scoop live and uncensored!"
"Rat?" Thrud glanced up at the sky, realizing he must be communicating from the Roads. With Dorian gone they had no means to open a path. "What are you doing here?"
"I bring messages from Don Dorian Juan from the other side," this caused everyone to focus on his voice as well which suddenly had shifted to sound exactly like the young Einherjar. "To the closest woman to my heart, gamble that I will find a way out and not to worry about me."
"A little late for that," Xenovia flatly remarked. "His imitation is quite good."
"Don't worry about me, I am doing fine dreaming of you and the nights of fun we'll have when I break outta there. Be sure to clear your schedule."
"H-h-he said that?" Rossweisse's face turned several shades of red with such a proclamation in front of everyone.
"Thrud, you are an amazing instructor. Trust that I'll put this body to good use along with my mind. And if you wanted to join Rossweisse and I on some cold nights…"
"I will find a way to reach you," Thrud threatened, knowing both statements could not have been Dorian's words despite being in his voice. "And when I do, I'll be ripping out more than just your tongue."
"Um…well to the other ladies!" Ratatoskr quickly changed the topic. "I wanted to say how honored I am to have served alongside every one of you. Irina, knowing you helped me open up more than I can say, and the rest are closer than family. Leading you has been the best experience of my life despite how brief." Ratatoskr bounded onto the shoulders of each one, whispering the individual messages of farewell and maintaining hope in each of their ears.
"He says to gamble on getting out yet leaves THAT?" Bennia dabbed a welling tear with her cloak. "If he's still alive in there I'm killing him myself!"
"I'll have him reciting every psalm!" Irina flushed with a pout, her resolve to barge into Helheim burning strong.
"Ratatoskr," Freyja interrupted with her ever-official demeanor. "Is there anything else? If things keep up, he will delay his own rescue."
"The cavalry is coming? Hot damn! Just two messages left. He wanted to make sure you and Baldur were happy…and to mention he met a guy in here, a devil apparently." He explained what Dorian had told him, of the Glasya-Labolas heir discovered and his cryptic words of madness.
"Zaebos is in Helheim?" Seekvaira was shocked along with Azazel at the mention of her former childhood friend, the two growing up in a pseudo-rival relationship between houses. "It's true they never located his soul; it was assumed he'd been relegated to a lower level of the underworld but to be sent to another realm entirely…he can't have died by a simple accidental cave-in. I'm coming with you in this endeavor."
"Indeed," Azazel grinned as if the full plan was flooding into his head. "But Helheim would be the perfect place to hide away a soul you didn't want found for a while if at all. And you said he mentioned a Duke?"
"The kid made sure for me to specify that, it wasn't too hard considering most of the nutty bastard's words were in verse."
"Is there a Duke of prominence in Hell?" Irina asked curiously, her studies with the church not covering such titles.
"Not A Duke," Seekvaira explained. "But high-ranking devil families of the 72 Pillars are given titles denoting their place in the hierarchy. Agares for example were granted the title of Archduke for our service and discovering the substance used to create evil pieces."
"And Duke is pretty high itself," Azazel continued knowing full well how the system works. "The most well-known Duke family is the Gremorys, but if they had anything to do with this, I'll rip off my own wings." Seekvaira was already glaring at him intently, pushing up her glasses in a moment of absolute focus.
"There is another particular family which holds the rank…"
"That there is," he grinned almost sinisterly as the wheels finally clicked. "If you could get a message to your family back in Hell, I need to give the Old Man Odin and Ajuka a call. A lot of questions just suddenly started making a whole lot more sense."
Helheim…
"I did not expect you two to last so long," Hela sighed contentedly as she leaned back onto her grand bedspread.
"We have been through much," Iggy confidently explained, spreading out on the soft sheets. "It will take more than this to best us!"
"Alas for your companion, it seems he has already been sucked dry…"
Hela was sitting on her bed, Iggy and Dorian not far across it all wearing similar robes facing a large cinema-sized television on the wall. On the screen, a pair of lovers were embraced in a kiss, the culmination of the last two hours of the romance flick Hela was fond of. It had been so many years since she had company to enjoy the film with and had dragged Dorian with Iggy into watching with her. Dorian was snoring with a head on Iggy's lap, not having lasted to the end before sleep took him.
"It was nice while he lasted," Hela dabbed a tear from her eye. "I would have loved his opinion. That scene gets me every time, if only Ricardo hadn't been so afraid of the future."
"It was a long day," she defended Dorian, stroking his hair to keep him from stirring. Sheepishly, she pulled out another tissue, offering it to the goddess who accepted it gladly. "It turned out well in the end did it not? Why are you crying?"
"They wasted so much time," The goddess of death pointed out. "If they had just not been so blind and gotten down to business then they could have lived together so much longer." She only then realized how open she was acting with the daughter of Yggdrasil. "What you saw never leaves this room." Iggy raised her hands defensively, assuring her that would be the case.
"I know that frustration," she admitted with an awkward glance to Dorian. "But the payoff is well worth it."
"Are you the same way little sapling?" She leaned forward, kicking her feet up in the air like a curious sister. "Biding your time for the perfect moment to bloom?"
"I don't need to bide my time," she answered without a hint of regret. "I've been with Dorian this whole time after all and will remain with him his entire life."
"That is a long time, Einherjar can live for centuries with the right lifestyle and who knows how much your presence adds to that. Will you be but an observer all that time?"
Just an observer? Is that what I appears as? I don't want to just watch everything fall apart again...again? When was the first time? She suddenly felt a great sense that she had forgotten something, her head spiking with pain when trying to recall. I must be mistaken.
Without answering while showing off surprising strength for a woman her size, Iggy lifted Dorian into the air in a style like how a bride may wish to be carried. "I will take him back to our room, thank you Ms. Hela. I am sure Dorian would last through the entire film when not so tired."
"Sleep tight," Hela waved them farewell with wriggling fingers smiling coyly at the girl's blushing cheeks. "He's yours while here so feel free to do as you wish until that day you take root into a World Tree of your very own. Who knows, you may even grow tall enough to see the Bifrost for yourself above the clouds."
The young woman didn't know how to respond to that, long having pondered when she may take after her venerable mother. Being gentle so as not to wake him, she made her way back to the room granted when they first arrived in Hel. The topic held her focus so intently that she did not notice the slight eye twitches behind Dorian's eyes alerting to troubled dreams growing troubled still.
Underworld…
"Asia will feel safe for the night," Akeno assured Rias as they strategized over the upcoming match. "She's with Issei, I doubt she feels so secure anywhere else."
"I suppose," the Gremory heiress considered her options on placement and tactics available against what little they knew of his peerage. In the back of her mind, she knew that her second Bishop and Pawn would be fast asleep, sharing the same bad as always while she was forced to miss out for the night. "I have a bad feeling about tomorrow."
"Bennia told me of she suspects Diodora may have tried to do on the train, between that and the surprising power of the last match it is obvious he likes getting his way."
"I saw when I turned down his offer," Rias knew with absolute certainty, fury restrained beneath the surface. "The way he looked at Issei, that contempt and superiority. It's no better than our kind used to be, what the Old Satan Faction believes is the status quo."
"It certainly shows with his peerage," she handed over a sheet of papers. "Here is what I could find on them."
"Courtesy of our friends in the Grigori?" The coy smile of Akeno's the only answer she needed. Rias scanned over the list provided by Zepar, eyebrow raising at the common nature that stood out. "Former holy women? Every single one of them?"
"That is right, apparently he managed to recruit an entire team of women who originally served the biblical faction's various faiths. He likes bragging about it in his more personal circles," not even Akeno could mask her sense of disgust well at his viewership of them as trophies.
Some families are still set in the old ways, makes me not want to even think about why they act so lifeless like that.
"He gives higher devils a bad name," Rias finally resolved with an extended yawn. "We can't lose tomorrow, not just for Asia and the match but to show the underworld that manner of thinking has no place any longer."
"The terrain of the battlefield will be standard," Akeno pointed out once more going over what they could. "There is a castle on the far edge, the team that reaches it will have the advantage defensively."
"We should keep them from it as long as possible," her King retorted. "None on our team have particularly effective powers for defensive tactics. There are ruins and other structures in this portion of the Dimensional Gap. We should draw them into those where our offensive capabilities..." she yawned wide from the hours they had been compiling the information and strategies. "...can be put to best use."
"You get some rest Rias," Akeno laid gentle hands on her shoulder. She knew full well that Rias pushed herself harder than was healthy, such was the burden of being the heiress to a great devil family. "Spend some time with Issei, you'll be rested, I hope," she winked at the flush of red across her King's cheeks. "If you want to have any chance to hear Issei call your name you need to keep Asia from getting too far ahead."
With that harem idea of his you find so admirable you have some leeway, but don't let that make you complacent.
"N-now is not the time to be thinking of that," she spun in her chair and heading out in the direction of Issei's room. "But some rest does sound…" she paused before answering, "Nice. You be sure to get some too."
"Of course," she bowed politely, the two sharing an understanding smile born from years of knowing the other's hearts. Akeno may be her queen but would always be the sister she never had. "Hmmm," she contemplated with a soft grin," I wonder how late it is in the Grigori territory, too late to make a quick call?"
Not Far…
Rias and Akeno were not the only members of the Gremory Peerage unable to sleep. Slipping out of the hotel room set up for the participants of the upcoming game, a young Nekotama sought out a friend she could tell was in need.
"You aren't very good at brooding in secret," Koneko informed Kiba, finding him as expected sitting outside on his own. "It could be a default face setting."
"I am not brooding," he replied calmly with a hint of insult grinning at his long-time friend.
"Really? Cause you were getting awfully chummy with that knight," she sat down beside him. "You and Xenovia thinking of making it an open relationship?" An accomplished grin crossed her lips as even the stoic knight looked uncertain how to respond.
"It's not like that," he finally replied. "She just seemed different from the rest of his peerage. She looked like…"
"Like you?" Kiba wasn't surprised at her astuteness, he could never hide anything from her. If she hadn't convinced him back when Xenovia and Irina first arrived, he would never have accepted hers and Issei's help to hunt the Excaliburs. He still remembered Koneko's sad eyes begging him to not destroy himself.
"I want to help her, if that is even still possible. When we fight tomorrow, please let me take her and do not interfere."
"Understood," Koneko glanced up at the stars alongside him, taking his hand with a comforting squeeze. "I hope our roomies aren't messing up the house while we're gone."
Kiba smiled at her jest, clearly just a means to cheer him up. "It'll only be a few days, what's the worst that could happen while we're out?"
Gates of Helheim…
The Bifrost erupted before the gates, shattering the ice where it impacted. None across the realm could miss the clouds part as it passed through, sealing once more the moment it closed. Lady Freyja adorned in her armor with Thrud by her side shining gold approached, a collected force mixing across the nine realms marching behind.
"Knock knock," The golden daughter quipped as a colossal of a giantess ducked beneath the gate to face the invaders.
"It's been so long since I fought in a war," she grinned, hefting a twin-headed axe as tall as her over a shoulder with ease. "Has Asgard ridden to battle?"
"Not Asgard, me," Freyja asserted, drawing forth her legendary blades once more. "I come as myself, not a queen, to speak with your mistress. Bring her hither."
Beloved, you allowed us entry with the Bifrost and that shall have to be enough. If you come, then Asgard will be unable to avert official war with Helheim.
"Then where comes this army if not our venerable Allfather?"
"Volunteers," a grizzled Einherjar near the front smiled a toothy grin. Ragnar and Ygritte had been told of what occurred, grabbing those who had seen Dorian's battle with Modi or heard of his exploits besting Ragnar himself at a drinking game and lifting a replica of Mjolnir. With such legendary accomplishments, the numbers behind them extended far into the distance. Nearby included Modi, gripping his mace with a growl of anticipation.
"Mistress Hela has a point to not greet invaders. Get thee gone, if you cross this gate there will be war. A pact was made upon this very ground which cannot be broken." A wave of lumbering troops fell into formation behind Mooguor many times larger than that of the volunteers of Freyja. They remained behind the gate, a clear warning of what would transpire should they cross the threshold; a battle between the living and dead.
"We come for a new one," Thrud took the forefront, stepping ahead of the army. With a single swing, she planted Gulbjorn at her feet confidently. "So how about we both avoid a war, go run along and bring Dorian here. Where is he?"
Mooguor sneered at the question, preferring to throw her opponents off-balance before crushing them in combat. The emotion in Thrud's words were not as well hidden as she thought, a certain tone caught by the ageless giant.
"I believe I last saw him beckoned to Lady Hela's bedchamber with expressed instructions not to interrupt until morning light…possibly later. I saw no resistance from the young man."
The entire army fell utterly silent, a few scattered gasps the only sound at Mooguor's flippant insinuations. Ragnar glanced to Ygritte whose jaw had dropped wide, both thinking the same thought in that moment.
The mad lass just signed her death warrant AND paid for the funeral in one sentence…
The mightiest Einherjar, sturdiest giants, fairest elves and warriors of renown including her younger sibling each seeking glory on the battlefield all took a single wide step backwards, giving Thrud room as her right eye twitched ever so slightly.
"Grandmother, let me have this one," she cracked her neck with a satisfying crunch as her smile grew more manic each passing second. "I rreaalllyyy need to burn off some steam." Without awaiting her reply, she pulled Gulbjorn from the ice, twirling it about herself almost in a dance she had long-since grown accustomed to.
"So, your family claims the title Giant's Bane once more?" The titanic opponent stomped forward just as eager for combat as the golden Valkyrie. "Your father would be so proud."
"Especially if I fought you," Thrud complimented her foe politely despite the growing desire to bash her skull in. "I heard all about your ancient missions growing up from mother, I'm pretty sure they still have a statue of you at the Tafl challenge in Jotunheim."
"I'm flattered," she crouched into a stance, finally gripping the haft of her black ice-forged battleaxe. "None are to interfere!" She roared to her army. "Do them no harm unless I am slain, or they cross the gate!"
"My kind of fight!" Thrud released a bellowing war cry, blasting towards Mooguor giving enough time for a defense to be brought to bear. She did not even consider utilizing strategy or tactics, so totally intent on seeing what the Guardian of Helheim was capable of.
Their weapons clashed, rippling lightning repulsed by a wave of shadows that seemed to emanate about the dark construct in Mooguor's hands. The powers pressed against each other, neither succeeding in breaching the other's aura. The resulting match of strength blasted their respective energies high into the air, a terrifyingly beautiful display booming like thunder visible from miles around.
Do what you need to Rossweisse, we got this. With a display this glorious every eye in Helheim will be on the gates!
Not Far…
"Welp, I think that is a solid fuck you to negotiations," Herja sighed as the sonic boom and vibrant visuals from the explosive burst reached them.
"As if we would have had any fun otherwise nya," a black cat curled atop Rossweisse's shoulder purred playfully.
The entire force of the Crossroads minus Thrud had broken off in a small, barely noticed, pathway obscured by the greater Bifrost's entrance. While Freyja and Thor's daughter kept Hela's armies occupied at the gate, they would utilize the lesser known back-ways into Helheim to locate Dorian with Seekvaira also interested in Zaebos' fate. Rossweisse fidgeted awkwardly as Brynda explained their plan to sneak inside far from the gate.
"Oh yea, every Valkyrie in training knows this little fence to hop," she winked with a nod of agreement from Herja and Misty. "Just like the backdoors to visiting the Einherjar of Valhalla, we have a few ways to get to hang with the ones of Helheim."
I didn't know about it… Rossweisse internally mused sadly.
"They can be quite eloquent," Misty admitted. "The ones who settle well into the area make the most of it, I once courted a miller's son here…his thighs were incredible."
"Aaaannnd before our leader has a stroke," Bennia raised a hand high as Rossweisse and Irina facepalmed. "How about we keep moving, shall we?
"The winds are light so far from the eagle," Misty explained. "The mists broken at the edges act like a sort of motion sensor. So, if we move in at the right moment…"
"We'll enter where a perceived lack of wind would go unnoticed?" Xenovia finished the thought. "But will living not be sensed in an afterlife easily?"
"Leave that to me," Kuroka winked before reverting to her true form. "A little illusion, a touch of slowing your life energy aand…."
A haze covered the collected women, as it cleared, they no longer looked the same bein warped utterly in appearance. Instead, each came across as a shriveled, more mummified-like akin to the others living in Helheim. Misty and Irina especially looked horrified, touching the numerous wrinkles creasing their skin. Bennia on the other hand was having far too much fun pulling on her fake flesh.
"There," Kuroka snapped a finger, turning into a terrifying black cat. "Now you look AND feel the part."
"And why do you get to become an animal instead?" Rossweisse asked with a raised eyebrow of doubt. She looked as emaciated as the rest, her armor appearing rusted and aged.
"Are you kidding? Me looking like that?" She motioned towards the group. "I need to look my best when we rescue Dorianya from his certainly terrifying fate."
Hela' Castle…
"Dorian!?" Iggy shot up in the bed they shared near Hela's throne room. He had looked so exhausted she didn't want to risk waking him by entering his mind, opting to snuggle close wondering if that is how Rossweisse felt. That was no longer the case as she pulled back, finding the bed empty. "Dor…? Where are you?"
The young sapling spirit got to her feet, clothes materializing in their splendor along with sandals. Being bound to Dorian's soul, she could sense his basic direction, the sheer distance felt between them unsettling her greatly.
Why would he head upstairs? He was so tired; I haven't seen him like that before. I thought Alfheim would keep the mist at bay. Has he been succumbing?
Wandering about, relying on her pull to the young man she'd known her whole life, Iggy made her way upstairs. In her physical form, the cold of the halls chilled her all the worse alone.
"Hello?" She asked while stepping around a corner, finding only empty air once more. She was growing more nervous by the moment, her connection to Dorian pulling her to parts of the castle Hela had not deemed to show them during the tour.
Finally, her search led to an inconspicuous wooden door chiseled in the same architecture of the rest of the building. It was simple but on closer inspection looked off from the rest of the splendor Hela clearly had worked hard to maintain. The frame was old, cracked and chipped as if from long years without any upkeep, the door was painted but contained no ornate designs or depictions as the others did. As if to confirm her knowledge that Dorian had passed by, the door was slightly ajar to reveal a dim light within. Steeling herself, Iggy stepped inside.
Her heart skipped a beat as the room reminded her like something out of the horror movies Thrud adored forcing the others to watch. Inside were dozens of sheets thrown over large objects spread from one end to the other. They were of varying sizes and shapes giving her the feeling of a storage room long untouched based on the dust covering many of the items. With hesitant steps she crept through, confusion overtaking her as the trail ended at a large covered portrait.
What is this? She thought upon flinging the white fabric to reveal the image beneath.
Loki was prominent looming from bottom to top adorned in the same extravagant robe he had worn back in Asgard. The God of Mischief sat tall upon an ornate chair covered in gold and gemstones, hand resting on the child atop his lap. A young girl covered in splotches of decay was smiling innocently without a care in the world despite her appearance. In her own arms was a small sleeping pup whose features could be no one else but Fenrir. The family moment was rounded out with a long serpent wrapping around the rest several times before rearing up almost as high as his father; Midgardsormr many years before in different times.
They look so happy, did Loki ever smile once in Asgard? Iggy lamented their father's shift in perspective of the world. Her eyes drifting to the last person in the frame.
A woman towering over even he was standing beside with a soft but stern smile. Clearly a giantess, her hair matched Hela's hue when alive perfectly. The toddler Goddess of Death kept a strong grip on her mother's skirt giving off a nervous ambiance common for children her age.
The stories never talk about Loki's wife. Was he ever married? He was a Jotun after all, did he know her before becoming a god? With a curious hand, she reached out to touch the frame still retaining its luster after the many centuries.
A shimmer at the edges caused her to jump back, a light illuminating the room while the painting moved, shifting to the left and revealing an opening behind it. The reason for Dorian's presence being so strong becoming obvious at the sight of stairs leading upward beyond even the top floor observatory. Swallowing her doubt and fear in the face of what could have happened to him, Iggy rushed up the steps to the gale of Helheim's winds raging louder than ever at such altitude. She did not get far before hearing a crash ahead like a door battered down, forcing her to quicken the pace. Sure enough, a reinforced bulkhead was found ahead bent inward by someone with incredible strength. It was only upon staggering out into the whirlwind that she realized where the long pathway had led them.
Hraesvelgr's Nest, we are not supposed to be here!
The eagle towered over the young woman; the spires of Hela's castle visible on all sides with nowhere further up visible on either side. They had reached the peak, a familiar silhouette several yards ahead walking with shuffling steps toward the gargantuan bird.
"DORIAN!"
The shape, clearly his, turned back to her with an unsettling smug grin she'd never seen him wear. The true reason for her discontent took a moment to determine but was obvious when she looked closer. His normally calm grey eyes now shone with an unsettling amber glow.
"You wait right there," he reassured in a condescending tone as if talking to a child. "You'll get front row seats to this."
Holding out his hand he generated a rune diagram she had never seen, a mass of ice from Helheim coalescing within it and forming a long-jagged javelin. Rearing back, he aimed the immense instrument towards the supernatural giant's breast.
"NO!"
It was too late, releasing the projectile it soared with incredible speed, sinking deep within its chest piercing a weak point known to only a handful with a spurt of blood. A soul-shattering shriek caused the beast to falter, wings slumping down as it fell with a crash and shaking the entire castle. The effect was immediate, the raging winds suddenly dying down and calming. Above, the clouds started to part to reveal the previously unseen sky above, the ice-covered walls already starting to glisten as the temperatures started to rise.
Helheim was melting. Summoned by the destroyed balance, Hela emerged in her full wrath from thin air itself. She had been sleeping soundly until the cataclysm assailed her senses, the first peaceful night she had gotten in years. It was a beautiful sight to those not aware of the ramifications of such a change. Helheim had been born from Niphlheim, realm of mists and cold. Hraesvelgr's wings created the frozen landscape that would become Helheim as far as the winds could reach. In ages before history this had become where the dead pulled from Valhalla could be claimed. Without those winds and the barrier of ice, the residents would spill out into Niphlheim lost to the endless labyrinths of mist and shadows.
"How…dare you!" She roared, generating untold levels of energy in her hands. "Were you so self-righteous and shortsighted over the treatment of the dead that you decided to damn them to a worse fate?"
Laerad Ragnarok emerged on Dorian's hand, Iggy doubling over in pain as her power was used forcibly without her input. The azure portal opened, dropping a still-chained Fenrir down upon the battlefield tethered through the opening. Hela's attack meant to obliterate the Einherjar from the surface of her realm struck his back, dispersing harmlessly. With an almost confused expression, Fenrir glanced between his sister and Dorian.
"Your army is now mine," Dorian remarked to Hela, shocking her not just with his tone not in his own voice but Fenrir tenderly lapping at his face. Besides herself and Midgardsomr, there were only two others she had seen her big brother react that way towards...and one was long dead.
"I see reports of your incarceration were somewhat exaggerated," Hela stood her ground, a single bead of sweat the only sign of her uncertainty at the recognition of Dorian's new amber eyes. "How many years has it been since you deemed to visit my place of work father?"
Thrud and Allmother Freyja assail the gates of Helheim with their force of volunteers bent on keeping Hela's forces focused upon them. In secret, the rest of the Crossroads embark towards the goddess of death's castle to barter for Dorian's return. Unbeknownst to our heroes, their very target has become a puppet of Mischief threatening to bring the realm of the dead down around them. Until next time I hope everyone Reads and Reviews...but most of all Enjoys! :D