Wonderlands

by Kyvena

Alice Zuberg, a living mortal girl, is the eldest daughter to a wealthy family that specializes in VRMMORPG games, is caught in the game of pure survival. Sword Art Online. Finding pure freedom in this opportunity due to the circumstances of her real life that she found absolutely miserable was a blessing. Once released from the game, the lines of virtual and reality began to blur.

7. Wonderland Of Eternity

Chapters might be getting shorter so that I can fit in more and make more instances, it seriously all depends on me.

As always,

Enjoy!

~Kyvena

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~7: Wonderland Of Eternity~

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Inside of RATH, Kazuto held Alice's hand with his head slightly tilted down as the created Eugeo, who had been told everything concerning his life, now walked inside of the room with a frown before speaking, "Hey, dad… do you think that mom is going to be okay?" Kazuto still found it extremely odd that Eugeo of all people was his and Alice's Fluctlight child. In all honesty, he had been absolutely shocked over the news of Eugeo, considering the fact that he still felt like a child as well.

Sniffling and wiping his eyes before he stood up, Kazuto then cleared his throat multiple times before saying a single word in return, "O-Oh… Eugeo… Yes, I am sure that she is completely fine." Eugeo could only frown at this as he spoke aloud, "Dad, just know that I am here for you to talk to if you need to speak. Plus, mom and Akihiko should be back today, right? Well, before that time, I would like it if you introduced me to all of your gaming friends so that they know about me."

Nodding his head and turning, Kazuto then motioned for Eugeo to follow, to which he did after holding his mother's hand for a moment. Walking out to Kikuoka, Kazuto could only scowl, "Eugeo wishes to meet everyone inside of ALO. You can make that happen, right?" Nodding his head as thanks, Kazuto then motioned for Eugeo to follow him inside of a room. Kikuoka had been keeping everything concerning Alice and Akihiko to himself, while also holding a grander plan for the two.

Right as they entered, the two placed the AmuSpheres over their faces, only for Kazuto to instruct, "Lay back and relax. Once you have relaxed, close your eyes and call out "Link start", got it?" Eugeo nodded as he placed the headgear on, laid back, relaxed, and called out, "Link start!" Kazuto deeply frowned as he looked at this gaming headgear. After all he had been through inside of the Underworld, he wasn't sure if he could actually game ever again, but he would introduce his son.

Kikuoka now shifted his eyes to Kazuto, only to witness him place the AmuSphere on and call out, "Link start!" Turning his head back to Higa, he nodded, only for Higa to nod and answer a call from the Underworld that held the caller ID "Akihiko and Alice Kayaba", only for Akihiko to speak out, "So, you see, that is how Alice currently feels. She feels as if Kazuto has abandoned her, not to mention that my daughter loves it here." - "Well Akihiko, you sure did claim Kiriguya's prize swiftly."

Akihiko shifted his eyes towards Alice, who only smiled and nodded at him, causing for him to take his true intended wife's small hand as he spoke, "So, you see, Alice and I wish to stay inside of the Underworld. Just make sure to hook us up to liquid food so that we may live happily… as a family." - "Akihiko, Alice, to agree to your terms of letting you stay, I have a job for the two of you since you both are too stubborn." - "Which would be?" - "You are to bring new lives into that world."

Hearing Yuuki laughing and cackling, they then heard, "Well, then ya are asking for something that's already being done, mister shady Kikuoka. Mom is pregnant right now!" - "Well done you two. Now, many must be produced by the two of you so that I keep your relationship a secret from Kazuto. Do you both agree to my terms?" Hearing Alice giggle, Akihiko could only snicker once he witnessed her nod, only to reply, "Seems doable. Just don't speed the time up any more, got it?"

Nodding his head, Kikuoka sighed out through a breathy chuckle, "The time will not be sped up, you have my word. Okay then, I can make all of the excuses in the world to Kirigaya so that you two are kept under the radar. Now, I wish you both all of the happiness that this world has to offer." Akihiko then smirked and spoke in a slightly teasing tone as he slid his hand across the growing belly of his queen, "Thank you… mister shady Kikuoka. You have brought a smile to my wife's face."

Out of the blue, Alice then blurted out, "Kikuoka, I wish to have my son returned to me this instant! You thought that you could be sly by not telling me? Well, my husband has told me everything as a spouse should!" This made Kikuoka's face bead with nervous sweat since he had never told Alice about Eugeo being her son, causing for him to clear his throat multiple times, "I will speak with him to ask where Eugeo wishes to be, is that acceptable?" - "You make a valid point. Very well."

Hanging up the call, Kikuoka then placed a hand over Higa's shoulder while speaking, "Higa, they cannot be found out. The minute those two wake up, I will take Eugeo to the side and tell him that he may return to his mother's side. However, your job is to lock their accounts temporarily to give "proof", only to unlock them once there is no suspicion lingering. I had never told Alice about Eugeo being her son, though, before she had even chose to go back inside of the Underworld."

Everyone inside of ALO met Eugeo and accepted him fairly quick, only for Kirito to notice that the pixie Akihiko sat there looking as if he knew something. Figuring that he had misread the look, the two waved happily before they both logged out of the game. Higa's shoulder was then tapped by Kikuoka so that he was alerted, making him gain a drained acting face before shouting out, "No, no! Not again!" Kikuoka snapped around with wide eyes while shouting, "What in the hell happened?!"

Placing his finger over the accounts of Stacia and Vorpal before leaning and pressing the accounts to lock them inside of the game, "It's Kayaba and Zuberg number one!" Sounding angry, but merely acting, Kikuoka then growled out, "What in the hell do you mean?! Nothing has happened thus far, so why would something go wrong now?!" Higa pressed his glasses to the bridge of his nose as he replied, "My guess is that they both have been there for so long now that they now live there."

"Quickly! Hook Kayaba and Zuberg number one up to nutrients so that they don't die," Kikuoka barked out angrily. Selko could only bolt forward as liquid nutrients were being wheeled inside of the room that his sister, and the moved Akihiko, were diving in, yet knew that they weren't stuck and could log out at any time. Gaining a rather deep scowl, Selko appeared as if he were bitching this man out, but he was actually gaining information, "My sister chose to stay with Akihiko, didn't she."

Nodding was all Kikuoka could do before he spoke in riddles that he could easily decipher, "We don't know what happened. One moment, their accounts were unlocked, and the next, they were locked." Feeling Higa poke his arm, Kikuoka shifted his head over to listen to the whispering, "Since they are bringing a new life into the Underworld, they are now considered as residents of the realm. I've tried to unlock them, but Kayaba was the one who placed a lock over the characters."

Kazuto, hearing all of the yelling, then ran out with Eugeo by his side. Taking Eugeo's arm, Kikuoka began leading him away from his Fluctlight father. Stopping inside of his office, Kikuoka then closed the door and spoke, "Eugeo, only you may enter back into the Underworld. You hold a part of Alice's Fluctlight inside of you, which makes you the only one who can truly enter and return to the Underworld. If you wish to be with your mother, then all you have to do is ask me to go."

Peering into Kikuoka's eyes, he then shifted his eyes down, "She probably wouldn't accept me in the same manner that my father won't." Kikuoka then shook his head abruptly at this before smiling, "When I sent Alice back inside, she was told about you being her child. Honestly, I've never witnessed one girl so happy to know that she actually holds a son… and had been with her son from day one. She has actually asked for you to be returned to her immediately, but it's your choice."

Looking for any traces of lies, something then struck him as odd, "Hey, wait, Uncle Selko told me that he had figured out that he now holds part of mom's soul in the form of Sassa." Kikuoka then nodded at this explanation, "Yes, Sassa. It is a safeguard your mother put into play just in case she should meet an untimely death. Us using Sassa as Selko's way in wouldn't make your mother happy at all... but as I said, she wants you back since you are the prince of all of the lands."

Releasing a breath, Eugeo could only nod, "I would like to be with my mother again. So, my answer to you is, yes, I would like to be sent to mother." Kikuoka could only smile softly before swishing a digital screen towards the boy before speaking, "Akihiko had this god-tier account made precisely for you if you chose to stay with them, that is. Thus far, the human empire is thriving happily under the rule of your mother and stepfather. They are fair and just rulers that give love to all."

Walking to a hidden STL, Kikuoka then uploaded the character inside as he got on the table, only to continue, "Okay Eugeo, now I will quickly explain this character to you. Lord White…" - "As in the white rabbit?" - "Precisely. Lord White is the god of time. Those powers can even affect the outside world. So, should you slow time to go at a normal set pace, it will be done. Now, do not use these powers recklessly. You will only have a couple of times, four being the max, to shift the time."

"Now, I must ask once more… Eugeo, are you certain that you are wishing to do this?" Eugeo could only nod before grumbling, "My father isn't worthy of mother's love. So, I only ask this of you… if mother is happy, then keep her account stuck. Also, remove her ring and return it to my father. He took advantage of mom's love for him… making him completely unworthy of that gifted love. Now, take me back to the Underworld. No. What I meant to say was return me to mom's side."

---

With it being the same day that they had called in-game, Akihiko smiled softly once he hung the call up before he wrapped a single arm around his wife's hip tenderly with a single hand. Yuuki then shifted her head towards her parents with a tender smile before waving at the two parental figures while calling out the moment she began running, "Be sure that ya take care of mom, dad!" Shifting his eyes over to Yuuki, Akihiko could only smile softly and nod his head, "No need to ask."

Only a few months pregnant, Alice chuckled at her husband that she now wore one stunningly beautiful wedding ring for, "Sheesh Akihiko, can you not just say that you will do it?" Snorting out a laugh and rolling his eyes dramatically, Akihiko then followed his darling wife with his hand basically glued to the swelling skin of her belly. Snickering at her husband, Alice placed a single hand over his own before speaking with a gentle smile, "Akihiko, you know that I love you to death, right?"

As the two walked, the king of these lands then leaned his towering frame down to press his lips against the silky skin that his wife held on her cheek, making her giggle cutely once Akihiko snickered and nuzzled his nose against her kissed skin, "You had best believe that I am aware of how much you love me." This made Alice snort out a laugh as the two walked at a pace through the palace that the pregnant lass could keep up with so that she didn't grow exhausted in the process.

"So, where are you in need of going this time," he asked as he walked alongside his beautiful wife, making her shift her eyes up at his face before answering, "Well, I usually make my rounds around the entire kingdom so that I can greet all of the residents that reside within the lands we rule." This made Akihiko smile tenderly and nod towards his loving pregnant wife that he now accompanied as she made her rounds all over the now happily prospering kingdom that they held rule over.

All of the kingdom became rather stressed out when they didn't witness their loving goddess of a queen every single day. Alice made a point to go out into public so that she could see, and speak to, all of her subjects every single day. Sure, some only loved seeing her because she gifted their money to them each day, but there was also those who deeply loved the newest standing queen with all of their hearts due to them believing that she was an actual goddess that they praised.

With a long mane of silky soft platinum blonde locks coasting along with their movements catching Akihiko's eyes, he ran a single hand through those silky locks, making Alice even more tired the longer that he continued his loving gesture. Groggily, Alice spoke out in an exhausted tone of voice, "Akihiko, love, you are draining all of my remaining strength." Releasing a breathy chuckle, Akihiko then spoke out, "Awe, is little Asana making my Alice in Wonderland extra exhausted?"

Releasing a heavy scoff over the comment made towards her, Alice then rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she spoke in return, "Very funny." At that moment, Bercouli approached, only to burst into a chipper fit of laughter over his little girl's current expression, only to place a gentle hand over her growing belly before snorting out a laugh, "Sweetie, your face is absolutely priceless! I can only assume that little princess Asana is zapping away any and all strength from your body!"

Gaining a dry expression over being teased by two men, Alice could only huff out in a fury induced state of hormonal rage, "If you two are just going to tease me, then you both can leave!" Both men instantly pursed their lips to not burst into hysterical fits of laughter. However, it was apparent that Alice could magically sense the emotional disturbance that now lingered in the air, causing for her to stop walking before sliding to the ground while bursting into overly emotional tears.

Right at that moment, one other that ended up remaining in the Underworld, Vixur, approached the royal family appearing highly confused. Bercouli waved silently to his buddy that raised an eyebrow at his friend that swiftly leaned down and scooped the little lady up into his arms while chirping out, "Oh dear, little pregnant Alice has become overcome with hormonal tears!" Vixur, the personal guard to the king, then sighed out dramatically, "Bercouli, leave your daughter alone."

Akihiko could only manage to fan his hand in front of his face, almost as if telling Vixur that this happened frequently. Gaining a worried face over the queen's tears at that moment, Alice then reached out to him while whimpering out, "Un… Uncle Vixur…" That tone melted his heart into a pile of goo at that moment, to which Bercouli could now see. Showing Alice to him, Vixur gained a worried facial expression before Bercouli whispered out, "Alice doesn't give endearing titles to everyone."

Holding his arms out to carry the pregnant lass, Vixur could only internally gulp heavily until Bercouli placed the little lady in his arms for him to carry. The moment he took hold of her, his hand landed lightly over her swelling belly, making him swiftly jerk his hand away - even though he wanted to feel her belly more than anything. Peering up at his face, Alice smiled softly before taking Vixur's hand to place it over her growing belly that gained a flurry of happy butterfly kicks in return.

Noticing his sparkling eyes that showed his extent of joy first, Alice could only begin giggling happily over his expression. Shifting his eyes to meet her own, Vixur could only gain a teasing expression before lightly flicking her nose, "Behave little missy." Alice was now laughing so hard that she cried tears of joy, making Vixur release a heavy breath, "Why is it that I am the only one who doesn't make her cry? My lord, Bercouli, you two need to stop making my niece cry, or else."

Akihiko and Bercouli could only burst into laughter since Vixur had obviously never been around a pregnant woman before, making Bercouli lift his pale blue eyes out of sheer joy as he spoke, "Vixur, you do understand that little… er… round Alice cries at the drop of a hat, and at times it comes out of the blue for no given reason. Welcome to the line of tending to the pregnant queen. Most of the time, she clings to either Akihiko or me, but you apparently have those same qualities as well."

Lifting his brows at this comment, he then realized that the king and the queen's father were now staring intently at the silent lass. Shifting his eyes down, he noticed that Alice had fallen asleep in his arms while holding his shirt. Offering the pregnant lass to her husband, Vixur gained a look of surprise when Akihiko chuckled and fanned his hand back and forth before speaking, "Asana enjoys keeping Alice awake at night, so allow her to gain some much needed rest in your arms."

At that moment, Yuuki bolted up and pounced on Bercouli's back, making his head fly forward as she chirped out, "Hey grandpa!" Akihiko could only scoff a laugh out at this, making Yuuki appear dumbfounded as she draped over her grandfather's shoulders, "Dad, did ya actually just laugh?!" Abruptly clearing his throat, Akihiko then shifted his eyes away with a blush staining his cheeks as he stayed quiet, making Yuuki snort out a bright and bubbly laugh, "Oh my god, ya really did laugh!"

Bercouli rolled his eyes and adjusted the little lady on his hips while snickering out, "My, what an unruly granddaughter I have." Yuuki then laced her arms across Bercouli's chest happily while beginning to chatter to him without an off switch to be found. Attempting to reply, he found it to be a physically impossible task since his adorable little granddaughter that had already been born chose to no longer know when to hold her tongue so that another might be given the chance to reply.

Once he had made many attempts to open his mouth so that he actually could make a reply in return, Bercouli could only laugh and blow his bangs straight up. Born from Alice or not, Bercouli absolutely adored Yuuki to the moon and back in the same manner that he adored his obtained little girl that was currently pregnant. The longer she chattered without giving him any space to make a reply in return to his gifted granddaughter, the longer he laughed hysterically on the inside.

Feeling her thigh gently pinched, Yuuki jumped and huffed, "Grandpa, how many times have I told ya to not do that to me?!" Bercouli could only snort out a laugh at that as he replied teasingly, "Since you never stop talking, then you will have to continue reminding me until the day I die." Blowing her bangs up, Yuuki huffed while grumbling aloud in an overly teasing manner, "Well, that does make a ton of sense. I mean, ya are an old man, so I guess I'll have to keep reminding ya!"

Peering towards Akihiko, Yuuki could only huff out, "Dad, don't tell me that ya forgot that time here runs a lot quicker!" Akihiko could only lift a single brow in return as he replied, "Yes, I remember. Why bring that up of all things right now?" Yuuki gained an overly dry facial expression over the comment before grumbling beneath her breath. Out of nowhere, and like an attack dog, Yuuki barked out, "Dad, I mean that it will take little to no time for Asana to be born in this world! Ya get it?!"

Turning around to head back to the palace, all Akihiko could do was deeply ponder what Yuuki had just claimed aloud. The more that he thought about the subject, the more blanks that he continued to keep drawing over the subject as a whole. Reaching the palace, Akihiko then came to a slow stop with widened eyes and a mouth that had dropped wide open, "Oh hell! Yuuki, you're right!" This made Yuuki grumble softly before speaking, "Ah, so dad finally figures the dang riddle out."

With it now being time for the rulers to… well… rule, the king and queen, along with their guards, made their way to the throne room. Arriving, Akihiko held his hand out to his queen, making her smile and gently take his offered hand, only to be helped to take a seat at her throne before Akihiko took his seat. Instead of there being a taboo index, all crimes went by them and were judged fairly. Akihiko then motioned for the guard to begin bringing in those who had broken the law.

Nodding, the guard rushed out for the first to be brought in… a starving child that had stolen food from a vending stand, taking what was not their own to begin with. Alice held a kind soul, so when children were brought in due to hunger or losing their families so that they were forced to start stealing so that they could simply survive… they were never punished. It wasn't a crime to wish to survive this world. Helped to stand, Alice spoke furiously to the guard, "Release him this instant!"

Unshackled, the young boy rushed to the pregnant queen that now crouched to the best of her capabilities. Noticing her belly, he gently crashed against her while sobbing out that his family had been murdered. Looking horrified, Alice then turned her head to look at the wide-eyed Akihiko that seemed rather alarmed that the senators had not informed him of this. Standing, Akihiko made his way to the senators that reported all of the crime that was held inside of the human empire.

Once people began to notice that there was no longer a seal in their eyes, there was no taboo index, or anything… crime flew up the charts until the rulers would appear and calm the storm. Akihiko had to admit that his wife's looks alone were going to be the death of him due to how every man looked at her as if she were something that could be bought. No, his wife was more complex than that. You have to earn her trust, then friendship, and you must enjoy speaking with her.

Alice looked at the guard and smiled softly, "Please wait until his majesty returns to continue." The male swiftly bowed to her, completely giving his respect for all that she did, "Yes my lady." Vixur and Bercouli then rushed over to help her kneel, which she released grateful chuckles once helped down. Looking up with softly shimmering eyes, Alice then pinched his cheek playfully, "Bath first and then we will have a meal." Bercouli could only snicker out, "Someone else is hungry too."

Helped up as a maid took the young boy, he then stopped while crying, "Thank you, your majesty!" Alice could only chuckle at this after she had swatted Bercouli's chest lightly while he laughed, "Honey, I am taking you in until you find a trade that you wish to pursue. My name is Alice, but if you desire, you may call me mother or mom. Now, what might your name be?" The young boy smiled brightly as he answered, "My name is Ivaan, mother!" She then nodded, "Bath, and then eat."

Helped up, Alice could only chuckle softly as Akihiko returned while ruffling his hair, "Well, the problem is fixed now, but the past data files are corrupted. Let me guess… you took the child in. Honey, even Yuuki is starting to get annoyed by all of the kids that you are taking in. I wouldn't mind if it were for a few days, but then would find a suitable place for all of the children to go. We can even spare the royal funds to create a sorely needed orphanage if you are wishing to do that."

Frowning, Alice then nodded, "You make a good point, and that sounds quite acceptable." Releasing a breath that his wife hadn't been in one of her satanic moods, and had merely accepted it without a fight. Helping his wife ease down to her throne, he then sat down before motioning his hand forward to the guard to continue. With an adult brought in on some terrible charges, everyone then heard Alice's stomach growl, making her squeak out with a blush, "Sorry about that."

Akihiko was doing his hardest to not burst into laughter, Bercouli had his lips pursed as he snorted out soft little laughs here and there, and Vixur had to place his hand over his mouth as soft scoffs of laughter released. Right then, Yuuki bounced in and sang out, "Mom, it's time for ya to feed Asana!" Right at that moment, Akihiko finally cracked, causing for him to release an extremely rare fit of laughter, only to choke out, "You made our daughter a living alarm clock to feed you?!"

"Mom didn't make me do anything dad. I just paid attention to when she would eat and when she would get crazy cravings! I mean, I kinda want a healthy little sister," Yuuki chirped out to her father that was laughing brightly for once, making her cover her mouth while giggling out, "Dad, stop! Are ya trying to kill me?!" This made Akihiko lift a teasing brow at Yuuki before speaking something that would endanger his life, "Believe me, I considered that option rather frequently."

Yuuki's eyes were now wide with horror, only to blurt out hurriedly, "Mom, stop! I promise that dad was just kidding!" At that point, the mother lioness within her soul decided to emerge, considering she then clobbered the back of her husband's head, making it fly forward abruptly. Akihiko then held a single hand up to everyone except Alice as he called out sternly, "Leave us." Everyone, including both of their guards, respected their lord's wishes, and left the room for the time being.

Alice felt the harsh slams of her heart, her hands began trembling, and each time she made the attempts to speak… her voice couldn't be found until her last shaky attempt, "Akihiko…?" Silently standing, he began removing his top before placing it down and walking to his wife, only to abruptly yank her towards his bare chest for her to slam against before purring out in a tone that could be considered as sinful, "And why would you presume that a single punch would infuriate me?"

Noticing her bright red facial expression, Akihiko chuckled and stroked her cheek lightly, making her shift her head up so that they could stare in each other's eyes. Unlacing her dress to fall from her body, Akihiko then perched his queen on his muscular hips so that Alice could rush in and press her lips hungrily against her husband's lips. Reaching down, Akihiko then tugged his pants down just enough for him to abruptly enter his wife's needy body, not that his was any different though.

Hearing the heated moan that passed her lips drove him just about insane. Taking hold of her hips, he began thrusting while shielding his sounds by pressing his lips against her throat. Shifting his eyes up to witness his wife roughly biting her lower lip to keep in all sounds, Akihiko then swooped up to catch those lips, only for him to pause and softly chuckle while sliding his hand over her growing belly, making her giggle softly before mumbling out, "Asana is always in the way now."

Everyone inside of RATH could now see what was transpiring since Akihiko had allowed for the cameras to function when him and miss Allie were not holding play time. However, this time he had completely forgotten to disconnect the cameras. Only one person did not see this due to sticking right beside Alice no matter what. However, all of the people that were now witnessing this steamy duet were either worked up, or were completely jealous over what they were now witnessing.

With how feisty his wife was when she was with child, Akihiko now had sweat dripping from his bangs that slipped to splash against Alice's back. By some sort of miracle, the two holding a sexual battle had made it all of the way back to their room… a place that RATH could never see inside of for obvious reasons. With them now being a married couple, they didn't need people in the outside real world watching over their in-game skin-to-skin contact battles to make love to one another.

Making his final thrusts in a new position while gasping frantically, Alice could only smile softly and guide his head to her chest. With how long both of their endurance was, the two now felt as if they had been made of jelly due to how her heavily gasping body that now held his gasping form securely against her breasts. Out of nowhere, they both felt small furious kicks coming from Alice's currently swelling belly, only for that belly to gain loving strokes to calm down his little girl.

Breathing heavily, Akihiko rolled over and neatly tucked Alice in against his side as he panted out, "I don't think… Asana likes me… near you… with such an… intimate hold on you." Alice could only chuckle at the comment made, only to yawn heavily as she mumbled out, "I am quite sure that she will find a way to get over it. Besides, I would like for Asana to be able to feel that love with every fiber of her being." Akihiko could only release a breathy chuckle, "I think that she just did."

---

Inside of the Underworld many months later due to the time, Alice now walked with a full-term belly as Yuuki held her hand before chirping out, "Hey mom? What made you and dad want to stay?" Alice shifted her bright blue pools towards her daughter as she spoke, "Well, to be honest... I can't forgive what Kazuto did, and I am not ready to see him in the slightest." This made Yuuki nod since she had been told everything, making her sigh, "To be honest, I don't blame ya at all, mom."

Waddling up to the Swordcraft Academy, Alice panted heavily as if she had just ran a marathon, making Yuuki gain a worried facial expression before her concerned tone rolled out, "Mom? Are ya okay?" Holding her belly, Alice nodded while chuckling breathily, "You walk quite a bit faster than me dear, that is all." Helping her mother to a seat and easing her down, Yuuki then placed her hands on her hips, "Let me go and get dad for ya. It's clearly obvious that you need him here."

Shooting her hand out and taking Yuuki's hand, Alice gasped sharply, "Be fast, am I understood?! Dad?! Dad, help!" Yuuki now understood as Bercouli dashed forward before lifting Alice in his arms, only for her to comically yell the moment Yuuki bolted, making her chuckle playfully, "Son of a BITCH this hurts!" Hearing that coming from "his" daughter made Bercouli snort a laugh out, "Well, well. My little girl is now going into labor." - "Yes dad, I have noticed ever since it chose to happen!"

Taken to the birthing room and placed in a birthing attire, Bercouli then placed her on the bed before sitting beside her to hold her hand in the attempts to keep her calm. Right then, Akihiko bolted inside of the room appearing like a cat that had just been tossed into a bath, making Bercouli laugh hysterically at the sight, "Son, what did you think would happen? Once you impregnate a woman, yeah, they are bound to give birth sooner or later," he finished while cackling out joyously.

Not too happy that his "father-in-law" was poking fun at him, his eyes then snapped towards Alice the moment she reached out to him while whimpering, "Akihiko… love… glare later." Calming himself to a certain degree, Akihiko then approached before climbing into bed with her to hold her close to his heart and kiss the top of her head, making the queen calm down almost instantly as she slid a single palm against his own much larger palm that lightly held that dainty hand with love.

With Akihiko keeping her so distracted and calm by staring lovingly into her eyes while bringing her hand up to press his cheek against it, the child was then born rather effortlessly. A midwife then severed the umbilical cord before chirping out, "Congratulations your majesties, you gave birth to a healthy baby girl! Do you have a name for her?" Akihiko then nodded gently with tears sliding down his face that he was now… a father, "Yes, the queen and I have chosen to name her Asana."

Walking forward with the little girl, the midwife then looked down to freeze once her eyes fluttered open to see one bright oceanic blue eye, and one sparkling silver eye, along with her head full of platinum blonde hair with a mixture of her father's silver hair that was bound to hang around either sides of her face. The midwife then resumed walking while chuckling brightly, "Oh dear, my lord, you might want to keep a close eye on your second born daughter! She is extremely beautiful!"

Due to Alice falling asleep against his thigh, the child was placed in her father's arms first, only for Akihiko to gain tears in his eyes as he held this beautiful little miracle. Apparently, Akihiko even tearing up made Alice's eyes fly open before she tenderly placed her hand against his cheek while questioning in a worried tone, "What is the matter?" Shifting his eyes towards Alice, Akihiko leaned his towering frame down to press his forehead against her own, "Thank you for Asana love."

Tears began rolling down his cheeks at that moment, only for him to gain an ashamed face the moment he looked away, "Though, I suppose that I wasn't exactly your first choice to be having a family with." This made Alice gain a horrified face, but the silence only lasted a second until the blonde furiously grasped the front of his overcoat as fury burned in her oceanic pools, and as Gabriel had put it, almost as if great white sharks were far below the surface while preparing to attack.

Not having being healed yet, Alice furiously began to shake him while growing weaker and weaker as she yelled, "What are you insinuating?! The last time I checked, you did not stick a gun to the side of my head and force me to stay with you!" Akihiko, not realizing her weakness, could only retort, "You are wishing that it was Kazuto here… not me, and we both know that!" The midwife was now uncomfortable and turned to leave, only to see Alice now bleeding extensively, "My lord!"

Alice's eyes could only roll into the back of her head as she began teetering, only to end up cascading to her back. Once she landed, Akihiko looked down to see how much blood she was continuing to lose. Placing his daughter on the bed, Akihiko spoke in a panic, "No, no, no! Alice, honey, stay with me! I'm sorry!" As she spoke, it came out as if these were going to be her very last words in this world, "Akihiko… I chose to stay… for a reason. Our little girl… is so… beautiful… isn't she?"

Tears now flowed down Akihiko's face to tap against her face, making Alice weakly reach up and tenderly brush his tears away, "Do not… mourn my death… the children… need their bland ass father… around. I would have… used Terraria's blessings… but now I am too weak… and darkness now… surrounds me. Akihiko… I love you." At that moment, Akihiko realized how idiotic he had been for even bringing that up right after his beloved wife had given birth to their daughter.

He had been well aware that his wife was hot-headed for a long time now, and saying what he had would only rile her up. The midwife then approached before placing his newborn child into his loving hold before speaking, "It will be a miracle if she survives, but you have my word that I will do my best to help my lady." Stumbling away, Akihiko began to cry against little Asana's tiny chest that evenly rose and fell in a synchronized rhythm that assured him that she was definitely alive.

Walking away, Akihiko then stopped in front of Bercouli and handed him the darling little lass. Taking hold of this precious little miracle, Bercouli's eyes filled with tears while bouncing her tenderly, only to softly sing out since he was aware of the chosen name, "Hello there Asana, it's great that I finally get to meet you! Well done you two, I sincerely applaud the two of you for making this adorable little lady to grace us with her presence. You both made one hell of an adorable child!"

Right then, Yuuki bolted up and adored her new little sister, only to then question, "Hey dad? Where's mom?" Stiffening up completely, his shoulders then fell as he whimpered out, "Your mother had a rough birth, but the midwife is doing everything that she can do to help your mother heal so that she can raise all of you. Trust me Yuuki, we are doing everything that we can do. Yuuki heard that ashamed tone before kissing her sister's forehead and bolting as fast as she could.

Reaching the birthing room, Yuuki rammed the door open, only to see that one girl that she had been told about, Ronye. Walking up to the ingredients, Yuuki's eyes instantly widened due to each plant being extremely poisonous that would definitely result in the death of anyone, whether it be friend or foe. Shifting her furious gaze up, Yuuki then grabbed the hilt of her sword while internally thanking her mother for completely banning this thing that had been called the taboo index.

"Ya know what I hate more than murderers," she questioned out in an absolutely furious tone of voice. With nothing heard, Yuuki continued, "The people that try to hurt my family. My mom can't even defend herself right now, so… tell me… what honor is there in doing it that way? Oh, mom scares the life out of ya, and everyone follows her command, while you hold no authority to command the soldiers. You… are wanting mom's crown for yourself so that you can be crowned as queen."

At that moment, Yuuki began to laugh over that comment, almost as if she were saying, "yeah, that's never going to happen" in a snarky tune. Everyone loved and adored that her mother was their queen that actually cared about her people. So, once rumors got out that the queen had been slaughtered by this specific woman in the attempt to claim her crown… there would not even be a trial. Her death would be painfully slow, agonizing, and torturous… this, she knew for a fact and more.

"Now, get out, ya rat. I will tend to my mother," she barked out furiously in an all-too demanding tone of voice. Right then, time froze for everyone, except for the gods as Eugeo appeared where his mother was. Weakly turning her head, and though his glow had not died down yet, Alice reached a single hand up and pressed it against his cheek before choking out, "Eugeo, my baby." Raising his hands, Eugeo then leaned into that frail and dainty hand belonging to his very own mother.

"May I look," he questioned out, making her remember that he had been to the real world. Frowning, Alice could only stroke his hair gently while questioning, "So, what have you been doing during my absence?" Eugeo shrugged lightly, but did reply, "Well, for the day that I was there, father could not bear to see me… almost like flinching. He spends most of his time by your side. I didn't see a father when he finally would speak to me, he, most the time would not look or reply at all."

This made Alice tremble over this, only to clasp her hands over her mouth before coughing harshly, making Eugeo bolt to her side to stroke her back dotingly with a face full of worry, "Mother, please calm down. Well, while father chose to ignore the life that the two of you unknowingly brought into this world, I would hang out with all of the doctors and nurses. I wanted to make you proud of my accomplishments, so I began learning about your practices when it came to medical care."

Smiling weakly, her eyes began to slide to be closed, "Eugeo, you never have to prove yourself to me. I am already immensely proud to call you… my son." With that, Alice's eyes closed completely as her hands fell to the side. He knew that this would be cutting it close, so he worked as fast as he could so that he could save his mother's life. Once the operation was complete, all he could possibly do was wait. Though, he was more than just aware that his little sister had been born.

Newborns required nourishment, so he would provide. Milking one of his mother's breasts into a glass bowl, he stood and placed the milk inside of a bottle before walking out. Entering where Akihiko was, Eugeo waved, "Hey dad! I brought Asana some milk and possibly some good news for you. I gave mom surgery, and she seems to be resting peacefully. I don't know when she will wake up, or be up and about, but she's stable. However, dad, I thought you were the god of life and death."

Hearing Eugeo, Akihiko stiffened up immensely before looking up to see him winking and gently shaking the bottle of warm breast milk as he approached. Looking at the newborn, he just about melted, "Oh my god, she's so cute! What did you name her?" Rubbing his puffy eyes, Akihiko peered up and weakly reached up to take the bottle, only to choke out, "Thank… Thank you, Eugeo. We named her Asana Kayaba." Giving a playful wink, Eugeo chirped out, "Mom will make it, dad!"

Eugeo did not dare to release his time spell that surrounded his mother so that she could heal completely. So, each day, they would await to see if Alice would finally awaken from her rather deep slumber that kept her away from any and all people that she loved. With the time that they all had now, six in-game years had passed, and all they could do was wait while hoping and praying that she would one day awaken for her children that she loved more than anything in this world.

---

Groggily, oceanic blue orbs slid open before rolling out of bed with a massive crash. Standing and bathing, Alice placed a beautiful white dress on that almost reminded her of the Pontifex. Stumbling out of her room, Alice gracefully began making her way down the many flights of stairs, only to freeze the moment she witnessed an absolutely beautiful six-year-old girl with two different colored eyes and long platinum blonde hair that held two silver streaks framing her face laughing brightly.

Not realizing that she was now shakily making her way down the steps, everyone then heard an adorable, yet tiny voice chirp out brightly, "Daddy, who is she? She's super pretty!" Akihiko hadn't been the same ever since he believed that he lost his wife, so he lazily shifted his head over until his eyes met her own. Placing his daughter down, Akihiko scrambled to get to his wife that he missed so much, only for them both to wrap their arms around one another in a tight and loving hold.

Yuuki could only whistle sheepishly, making Eugeo shake a scolding finger at her, "Sis, no!" Yeah, when did telling her no actually stop her. Nodding her head and turning away, Yuuki called out, "Mom, dad hasn't been laid in six damn years, will ya help him out?" Alice could only shift to stare into her husband's eyes with tears sliding down her face because she had believed that he would have gone elsewhere for pleasure, "You… You actually remained faithful for an entire six whole years?"

Akihiko leaned his eyes against her shoulder and nodded to the question that had just been asked of him, "Um… yeah… is that wrong?" Shaking her head, Alice then jumped onto her husband's hips to steal his soul the moment that their lips connected. He had waited patiently for six whole years to have her again, so he began climbing the stairs before pausing and calling out, "Eugeo, son, I leave the kingdom to you until I get your mother back to bed so that she can rest!"

With it said, Akihiko rammed his wife inside of their room that he hadn't slept in for six years, only to delicately remove her clothing to not damage it for him to notice that his wife was ready to go. Turning his wife around, Akihiko then pushed down between Alice's shoulder blades so that she now leaned forward with her hands placed against the wall with a heavy blush staining her cheeks as they started showing love, all the while not knowing as to what their children now spoke about.

"Hey, big brother?" Asana chirped out in a questioning tone of voice, making Eugeo peer towards her with a gentle smile and nod, "Yes Asana?" Lightly tapping her chin, she then questioned, "Who was that? Daddy got super happy." Eugeo couldn't blame his little sister for not knowing, considering their father had stopped taking her to visit their mother years ago since all it seemed to accomplish was to make her cry. Smiling, he then answered his little sister, "That, Asana, was our mother."

Asana's eyes flashed with various emotions at that moment in time before squirming to get down before stumbling up the stairs, making Yuuki snicker out, "I think that you are forgetting what mom and dad are even doing." This made Eugeo's eyes widen immensely, only to stand and rush after his stumbling little sister while shouting once he witnessed her reaching up to what was supposed to be her father's room, "Asana, stop!" Just as stubborn as her mother, she didn't listen.

However, by the time the little angel entered, their parents were now beneath the sheets while curled up around one another, making Asana scramble forward and climb the bed before lightly shaking her father while huffing out in a rather sassy tune, "Ugh, daddy, move over!" With both parents shocked awake, Alice could only shove her husband away so that her daughter could curl up against her mother's soft bare body, only to begin scolding, "Daddy, why is mommy naked?!"

Eugeo, hearing this, began to crack up over his little sister scolding their father, only for it to sound so much like one of their mother's scoldings. This made Akihiko groan out the more he was scolded while having a sassy shaking finger shook at him, "Honey, can you assure our daughter that I didn't harm you?" Alice could only burst into laughter, only for her arms to wrap around their little girl to gently tug her against her own bare chest that she cuddled and snuggled up against.

Shifting her eyes down once there was silence, Alice's face softened to see Asana had fallen asleep squished between the safety of both of her parents. Noticing the little lady stick her thumb into her mouth, Alice lightly pulled the thumb out with a smile. Shifting her teary eyes to her husband's eyes, he could understand why she was so upset. She had six precious years of raising her daughter ripped away from her. However, she only raised a single hand to stroke Akihiko's cheek.

"I have missed you," she whimpered out softly, making Akihiko shift Asana to be on her mother's opposing side so that he could hold her as well. Squishing his wife against him, she then felt his hands trembling as tears slid down his face, "I said this once before, but I still believe it to be true. A life robbed of you isn't as colorful or bright. I'm scared that this is all just a nightmare that has been on a set of repeats for six years." Alice could only frown as she spoke, "Gain some rest honey."

By the time Akihiko woke up, neither Alice nor Asana were here. Figuring that he had just held one of his reoccurring nightmares, Akihiko rolled out of bed and got dressed. Looking at his reflection, he had to admit that he appeared absolutely miserable. Releasing a sigh, he exited his room sluggishly and began making his way down the stairs, only to hear Asana squeal out from the kitchen, "Mommy, no!" Snapping his head up, Akihiko bolted towards his child's sound of "distress".

Bolting inside of the room, Akihiko's heart throbbed the moment Alice slowly turned around to face him with a gentle smile, "Did you sleep well honey? You looked as if you could use the rejuvenation… I did not mean to stress you out by my absence, but our kids do need food to eat for dinner." Walking forward, Akihiko ruffled his long silver locks before stopping and leaning down to press his lips hungrily against her own to "verify" that she was truly here with him once again.

Akihiko stared into her eyes as he stroked her cheek, only for Yuuki to snicker out since her little sister knew just about nothing concerning their mother, "Hey mom, ya should sing in public tomorrow to let everyone know that the queen is still alive." Turning bright red, Alice swiftly shook her head while chuckling out, "If you wish to hear me sing, then I will. However, this song I will sing will be in no language that you will be able to understand. Now, come, it is time for dinner."

With the day following, the palace doors opened as the rest of the royal family stood outside with the rest of Centoria present as Asana perched in Akihiko's arms. Alice slowly began to exit the palace wearing a loose white attire that made her appear more than just pure. She took slow barefoot steps outside while beginning to sing in a language that only Akihiko knew. Gaelic. Shortly after starting, she began stringing a lute beautifully to go along with the words that she now sang.

Even though only one person could understand the words she now sang, the rest of the crowd stared in awe over how beautiful this sounded. For all they knew, this song was about blood, death, wars, and bodies of all ages being piled up for as far as the eye could see. However, the sound alone captivated all that now listened to the queen's beautiful voice that once again graced all with its presence again. Fully exiting, Alice took Asana in her arms and kissed her cheek tenderly.

Much later, Alice sat in a field and smiled softly as her daughters placed flowers in her hair after Yuuki had braided her mother's hair mid-way. As she sat there with Akihiko lying in her lap, she shifted her head down and smiled with eyes that sparkled brilliantly, "I honestly think a game holding history and mythology, along with it being life-like, would be more fun than this game where we do a whole bunch of nothing all day and night. It feels no different than being a housewife."

This made Akihiko chuckle, "You have a great intuition, as always. RATH has already started a life-like game called Eternity that's based on actual Viking history and mythology. There are no Fluctlights inside of the game yet though, so we can't send any testers yet." This made Alice's eyes sparkle brilliantly before taking her husband's hand in an excited manner, "Love, I want to go there so that I can fight again! I honestly cannot sit still and rule any longer, or I will straight up go mad."

Akihiko then released a heavy breath through his nostrils before sliding his shimmering silver eyes open to reply, "I suppose that you don't truly mind leaving Asana to fend for herself then." Alice could only place a gentle palm against his cheek before speaking in a saddened tone, "Akihiko… no matter how much we wish she were living flesh and blood… she is not. She might hold a Fluctlight, but still, she is no living and breathing human that has been born from my actual body."

Standing up, Akihiko brushed his clothing off before smiling softly, "I will be right back." Walking away as his daughters continued to place flowers in their mother's long locks, Yuuki could only release a soft snort by the time her father was no longer around, "As much as I love Asana, you make a good point. Before I died, you told me that I should never forget that I fought for my freedom, or something." Looking at Yuuki, Alice tilted her head, "What do you mean sweetie?"

Yuuki could only place her hands on her hips before huffing, "What I mean is that I miss fighting other opponents! Monster, person, or Fluctlight… I miss it all. I fought for my freedom, so I will never forget that I won the battle." Her daughter made a point in all of this. She had fought for her freedom as a human… to become a program. However, this never seemed to honestly bother her chipper little Yuuki. She took each day on like a challenge that she could overcome victoriously.

Akihiko walked into the woods before making a call to Higa. Inside of RATH, Higa almost spewed a drink out the moment he witnessed the caller, only to answer, "Akihiko?!" - "Yes?" - "Oh geez, I just had to make sure! Boss, Akihiko!" Kikuoka dashed over and began speaking in a hushed tone, "Akihiko, why are you calling?" - "Alice and Yuuki have grown bored with how there's no leveling. My body can only handle so much of her own battling my own. So, is Eternity ready to test yet?"

Hearing all of that, Kikuoka's jaw just about dislocated before internally shaking his head and whispering harshly, "You damn well know that Eternity is ready, but the Viking Era was nothing to sneeze over. You have to think about honor, glory, death on a battlefield, and more! Eternity is even more lifelike than the Underworld!" - "I am well aware. I was the one who made the coding for it. Alice and Yuuki will just have to find out the hard way that this is a true game… of death."

Kikuoka hummed softly for a moment before uploading four god-tier class characters, "Akihiko, I'm giving you four god-tier class characters of your creation so that her highness doesn't bitch at me for Eugeo's Fluctlight and Yuuki's light cube getting damaged, or erased. I will be sending you two at the start point in Norway. That should give her plenty of time to change her mind. Do warn her that this game can actually damage her own Fluctlight. Do you four need anything else?"

"Yes, do make sure to send Bercouli, Vixur, and Asana along with us." - "Akihiko, you should know that Asana's Fluctlight is too young to be moving her to a new game. Until she is old enough, we will keep a close eye on her. However, Bercouli and Vixur are fully capable of going as well. Though, you are forgetting someone." - "Who would that be?" - "I mean Amayori! We will load her in with you in the form of a black wolf for her to keep guard over your children." - "Thank you."

Clicking to end the call, Akihiko took notice in the account that he was now being given, "Odin..." This made him wonder who else had been uploaded, so he opened the program list for his eyes to widen, "Frigg…" Alice stood up the moment she gained a call, only to walk away and answer, "Yes Kikuoka?" - "Alice, you have no idea how lifelike Eternity is. That game even beats the Underworld by leaps and bounds. Should you die, then your very own Fluctlight could become damaged!"

Huffing, Alice then allowed for her teeth to grind together, "Listen, if you do not wish for me to play that specific game, then you might as well log me out!" - "It's not like that, and you know it. For all of your safety, I'm sending you in on god-tier accounts. You have Frigg, she was…" that's when he was cut off by the literal golden child, "She was the Old-Norse Pagan goddess that was married to Odin and was the representation of marriage, prophecy, clairvoyance, and motherhood."

"Well, at least you know some of your mythology concerning the gods of that area and time period," he sighed out before releasing a heavy breath of air. This made Alice confused since he had claimed "some of", making her scoff aloud, "She was also the mother to the favored twin siblings, with the eldest being the most favored. Baldr and Hodr. The younger, Hodr, was blind and was tricked by Loki to pierce Baldr's heart with a spear made from the branch of a mistletoe. Am I wrong?"

No answer was being given, and just as Alice went to bark furiously at Kikuoka, he spoke almost remorsefully, "Then all I will say is say goodbye to the Underworld now." This confused her half to death, making her tilt her head in the most puzzled manner, "What do you mean by that?" Nothing else was said as the call ended and the world that surrounded Akihiko, Yuuki, Eugeo, Bercouli, Vixur, Amayori, and herself began to fade away as if they had never been there in the first place.

---

Waking up feeling as if she had just been to hell and back, all Alice could now see were many weapons pointed at her face before passing back out. Akihiko then dashed in appearing panicked, "Get away from my wife right now!" All peered towards Akihiko before bowing their heads, "As you wish Lord Odin." Carrying the lass towards his hut that had been made due to him arriving much sooner than everyone else, he then eased her body down to all of his furs that made his bed.

Sitting down and chewing on his bottom lip, all he could do was mumble out, "Thank god that they placed her on Frigg's account. I have persuaded everyone that she is nothing more than a seer, or a priestess, that will speak to the gods for them. However, I haven't seen Eugeo, Yuuki, Bercouli, Vixur, or Amayori yet." Without Akihiko's knowledge, Kikuoka had sent everyone else inside of ALO until everything appeared more or less safe for those particular Fluctlights due to their value.

By the time Alice actually woke up, she sat up, only to crawl between Akihiko's thighs to lean against his chest. Akihiko wrapped his arms lightly around Alice's chest before kissing her cheek and chuckling, "Everyone believes that you are a seer, or priestess, that has been sent to them by the gods," with it said, Akihiko held up the attire that had been made for her to become this village's damn priestess, making Alice scowl, "Akihiko, love, I want to fight with the rest on the battlefield!"

"Get some sleep," he coaxed while stroking her hair, which made the current platinum blonde pass out almost instantly. Removing his attire, Akihiko then crawled beneath the fur pelts before burying his face into Alice's sweet scented ankle long locks. Sliding his hand across her soft belly, he then tugged the lass as close to him as possible due to how damn cold it currently was outside since snow now blanketed the ground to witness, making all believe that this was the doing of Hodr.

Waking up the next day, Alice silently slipped away from Akihiko's warm body, only to shift her eyes towards the gifted attire with an internal rant of fury ongoing until her stomach released a loud growl of hunger. Internally swearing as she made the morning meal, Alice stirred the pot with a scowl on her face, only for Akihiko to tiredly sit up and pull her to him, "Ah, my beautiful wife, you asked to come here, so no grouching." Leaning her face to his neck, she sighed, "Yes, I am aware."

Eating their meal, even Alice had to admit that this game was so lifelike that it was almost terrifying. Yes, you could taste the food in a normal VRMMORPG… in this game, you could even feel the temperature and taste the texture. This was more or less like traveling to the distant past that they could only speculate about, or make a hypothesis over what had honestly happened long in the past. This was more like a living simulator to access the Viking Era with how lifelike it actually was.

Shifting her eyes to the attire gifted to her that she was expected to be wearing, she began softly swearing over any and all matters that she now had to deal with. Grudgingly placing the attire and jeweled headpiece on, Akihiko could only snicker softly over his wife's current displeasure over the attire that she was now being forced to wear. Alice then huffed and flicked Akihiko's forehead before exiting the home to instantly fold her arms in the attempts to warm her body as she shivered.

A woman then approached and smiled as she placed a white fur lined coat on her while speaking with a soft smile, "This way, my lady. The gods will surely be pleased that we now have a seer to relay their messages to us!" Blandly nodding her head, she was then taken to a temple of the gods. Entering, Alice then placed her hand against the stone to slowly slide it down, only to turn around to see that this woman had not taken a single step passed a certain golden line on the ground.

Thinking got her nowhere. She knew that the temples in Norway were normally for everyone to enter… so why was this woman not entering when she clearly wished to? Again… thinking got her nowhere. Holding her hand out with a smile, Alice spoke a well-hidden lie aloud, "The gods have spoken to me! All wishing to enter the temple, may do so. They claim that they wish to feel everyone's admiration and hear all of their prayers to them, not just the prayers of a single priestess."

Walking outside, Alice called out for all to hear, "As your priestess, I now deem the temple open to all that wish to pray!" Akihiko smirked with his arms folded as he thought, 'Well done Alice. Well done.' Noticing no one walking to the temple out of fear, Akihiko approached, only to stop at Alice and nuzzle his face to her own before turning around and also calling out, "Your priestess does not dare lie to you! Us gods speak to her because she is one of our own. Frigg has come to help you!"

All of those around immediately got to their knees and lowered their heads out of respect, making Alice internally sweat drop over the matter at hand. Taking a deep internal breath, Alice could only hold her hand out with a smile as she spoke, "Again, all of those wishing to pray are more than welcome inside of the temple." Thanks to her parents, she knew that she held Scandinavian blood - Norse to be specific - so she had taught herself some of the songs used in Pagan prayer.

By the time night was upon them, Alice sat on her knees while staring up at the beauty that the sky held as Akihiko watched her from a distance until noticing that her knees were turning purple from kneeling in the snow for too long. Just about to go and retrieve his wife, he stopped abruptly the moment he heard her chuckling out softly, "I… uh… cannot move. It would be much appreciated if you carried me home." Akihiko snickered as he approached his wife before scooping her up.

Taken back to their home, they both undressed before curling up with each other. With how tiny his wife was, she shivered frantically before shifting her head upward to now be staring into his eyes, only to speak softly with a tint of sorrow laced with each word, "Akihiko…? Do you only see me as a wife in-game, or do your feelings echo out into the real world as well." Hearing this made his eyes slightly widen, only to tug her closer as he replied, "I think you already know that answer."

Inside of RATH, Higa slapped his palm to his forehead dramatically, making Kikuoka shift his gaze over and question, "Higa, what's wrong?" Blowing his bangs up in a frustrated manner, Higa replied softly, "I forgot to load in all of their godly gear. Not to mention that I had meant to start them off as children once I did as asked of you and sent everyone else to ALO." This made Kikuoka snap furiously, "What?! You gave them no gear that would help them?! Restart them this very instant!"

Higa could only nod abruptly before pressing two buttons at once to relocate the two with their gear and names. Inside of Eternity, the world blurred before a young Alice and Akihiko manifested. With it still being the snowy seasons, little Alice bounced up and squeaked out in a panic as she hurriedly dressed in a white dress with a jeweled headpiece, only to then rush out while hopping to yank on her brown boots, "Sheesh, I'm going to be killed for missing my priestess training!"

Noticing a longship pulling up to the docks, Alice tugged on her white long-tailed coat holding fur around the cuffs and hood, only for that same fur to be on the entire inside of her coat and hood. Akihiko, two years older than the lass, then jumped out of the longship to help with all of the plunder until interrupted. Happily, Alice dashed towards Akihiko before wrapping her arms around his much taller abdomen so that she could give him cuddles as she chirped out, "Akihiko!"

Teenaged Akihiko then chuckled and stroked her long platinum blonde locks as he spoke teasingly in return to the endearing little lass, "Alice, no priestess training for you today?" Her face, now drained of any and all color, could only jump back before beginning to run as fast as her little legs would carry her, yet turned as she bolted and waved, "I will see you later inside of the longhouse!" At that moment, all he could do was wave in return before turning to unload the longship.

Inside of RATH, Kazuto barely shifted his eyes up to notice that Alice's STL now held the new nametag of "Frigg" instead of it being "Stacia". Furiously standing up and exiting the room, he first and foremost noticed that his son was nowhere to be found. The second thing he noticed… was a more lifelike game than the Underworld. Slamming his palm down beside Higa caused the poor man to begin choking over what he had just taken a drink of, only to pale once he noticed who it was.

"Tell me right now! Where in the hell did you send Alice and Akihiko," he demanded to hear the answer furiously. Higa began swishing and swaying his hands in front of his face, "Kirigaya, Zuberg number one demanded to be taken to a harsher world!" Rinko then sighed with folded arms as she spoke a verbal bitch slap, "Honestly? You allowed for another woman to freely use your body. How can you sit there and claim to love her after the woman almost succeeded in killing Alice?"

Kikuoka then approached with folded arms as well as he spoke, "They are in the newest game that we made. It's called Eternity." Kazuto eyed this man that looked at Alice and him as if they were toys while gritting his teeth, "If Alice is still diving, then tell me why I have this," he barked out while holding up Alice's engagement ring, only for Kikuoka to reply with a slightly eerie tone, "If you can't figure that out by yourself, then I will throw you in Eternity to see how you fare against her."

Standing up straight, Kazuto nodded sternly, "Take me." Kikuoka was actually happy for Akihiko's current happy mood, so he planned to screw this teen over. Giving a glance to Higa, Kazuto's account was swiftly uploaded with everything being the same… including his age and thoughts. Once lying down, Kikuoka used only words to damage this teen's heart once he turned away, "Sinon was right. You merely only seem to harm her heart, while Akihiko seems to heal those pained emotions."

Kazuto tried his hardest to block that comment out as the STL took him straight to Eternity. Landing in a wooded area, he could hear a village close by, so he headed in that initial direction. When he was close enough to the village, Kazuto's eyes widened immensely the moment he witnessed an adorable mini-platinum blonde waving while giggling out, "I swear that I'll be back tomorrow for more lessons so that I can become this village's priestess! I promise that I won't let you down!"

'That can't possibly be Alice,' his thoughts screamed aloud for his mind to hear, yet one thing quickly changed his mind. "Alice, it's time for a clan gathering inside of the longhouse," Akihiko shouted out, making the mini-platinum blonde skid to a grinding halt before darting forward once Akihiko held his hand out to her, making her happily hug him before claiming his hand as her own. Walking and chattering happily to one another as they walked, he then came to a slow stop at the door.

Opening the door for the precious little lass that was to become his wife once she came of age to be married off, making her laugh brightly and tug him through the door with her. Kazuto swiftly ran through the doors before they could close and relocated to a corner that he wouldn't be seen at, only to lean against the wall with his eyes that appeared closed, but were barely cracked so that he could see mini-miss Alice run up to the leader of the clan that he guessed that she was in.

Alice's hips were then grasped gently before she was lifted to stand on the table as the clan leader boasted, "I told you all that we would win! Many of you doubted in my words, yet even more of you did not believe my words to be true!" - "Um… papa?" - "One moment dear… Now, the only reason that you bastards stand here alive is because of my daughter, the next priestess and seer of this village who was no doubt blessed by the mighty Frigg herself who gifted her power!" - "Papa!"

Hurriedly turning towards Akihiko as a battle began waging, he was swiftly motioned forward before his shoulders were grasped by the clan leader, "Akihiko, you are to get Alice to safety. I know that you are a more than capable fighter, but she is all that matters! Her gift of prophecies, along with your capabilities as a fighter, will lead us to the future as a guiding light. Now, go Akihiko!" Placing a fist over his heart, Akihiko could only give a respectful bow towards the leader of the clan.

Holding his hand out with panic in his eyes, he spoke quickly, "Allie, come on! If we don't leave now, then all will be for nothing!" Feeling her back lightly nudged to go, Alice rushed forward and clung to Akihiko desperately. Opening the door, he swiftly ducked and pushed her head down as well. It was a massacre that made his eyes widen in horror. Shifting his eyes to the side to see a horse, he took Alice's hand again before bolting, yet they were noticed, "There she is! The priestess!"

Getting the missy on the back of the horse, Akihiko was quick to saddle up behind her. Snapping the reins, the horse began bolting through the forest as he spoke, "How did they even know about you?! It's not as if we go around telling everyone that we have you!" With a vision coming to her, Alice panicked, "Akihiko, stop!" Tugging the reins and tilting his head, Alice closed her eyes… fully comprehending that this wasn't going to feel good, but it had to be done to keep Akihiko safe.

Jumping down as rivaling clan members approached, she took Akihiko's hand with a hurting facial expression as she whimpered softly, "Akihiko, no matter what… don't come looking for me." Slowly, her hand slipped from his as she began gracefully making her way forward. Once she was close enough, she bargained, "Should you allow for him to live, then I will come without a fuss. Think about it, I am much smaller and easier to hide from the likes of you. Now, do you agree?"

Behind her back, she motioned for Akihiko to leave now, making him slam his eyes shut as tears slid down his cheeks, only for him to snap the reins to make the horse bolt away from her small form…all the while thinking that yeah, he would come looking for her once he was classified as a dangerous and deadly man to face in combat. Now, he promised to all of the gods that he would become stronger just so that he could rightfully take back what was his responsibility to begin with.

---

"Bind and tie the bitch to your horse. I should not even have to tell her what will happen if she attempts running," a man from her own clan spoke aloud, making her eyes slightly widen. This man was Akihiko's own father, which was why she appeared so shocked. Having her wrists tightly bound, she was then tied to someone else's horse as the leader jumped down to see her big oceanic teary eyes as he pulled his sword out, "You speak with no true honor. Nor do you hold any valor."

Witnessing what was going to happen, Alice's eyes widened immensely, "Ax… Axel, watch out!" Before he knew what was even going to happen, Akihiko's father, Axel, gained a look of shock the moment that he was then impaled right in front of the little lass… splattering his blood all over the little lady before his weapon was taken and thrown, "You will not be going to Valhalla for such a betrayal towards your own clan and kin. Now, it is time for us to begin sailing the open seas."

Appearing mortified, Alice dropped to her knees before lifting Axel up into her tiny arms, making everyone peer questioningly towards her as she began softly crying, "Be… Be at peace now with the gods. I just wish that I could have married your son first." Without anyone seeing, she had taken a ceremonial dagger out and placed it in his hands, making him gasp out, "Alice… please forgive me. I know that Akihiko won't stay still when it comes to you, so just wait and be patient for… him."

With his death, Alice cried hysterically until the male's horse that she had been tied to jumped up, "We ride to the port to head home now!" As the horse began moving too fast, Alice could only trip and fall forward, making the male yank the reins so that she could stand again. Standing up with soulless oceanic eyes that continued to drip with tears, she began to walk as the horse began trotting forward for them to make it to the harbor so that they could leave these lands for good.

As of now, Akihiko rode as fast and hard as he could before screeching to a grinding halt the moment he came across a ban of mercenary Vikings that were well-known for how merciless they were in battle, only to tell them what happened to the village before explaining what he wanted in return since his home was no longer a threat to them. All he wanted in return was to be taught how to be as ruthless as they were while in battle. They agreed, but only for his prolonged participation.

Stepping forward, the clan leaders of the mercenaries could only frown and tap his pointer finger against his muscular bicep before releasing a saddened puff of air, "Our scouts witnessed what happened. If it is the priestess that you are after, then do not even try. Ragnar Ragnarson, one of the warlords, now has her. If he does not take a fancy in her, then she will be made to become nothing more than a slave. If he does take a fancy in her, then know that she will be well taken care of."

Kirito was much different though. He had allowed for himself to be captured alongside little Alice. Making it to the longship, the male jumped down from his horse and noticed how stiff she was, causing for him to lift a dainty brow as he spoke, "Let me guess. Since you were to be the next priestess, you were not allowed to learn how to fight, go into battle, or even get onto a longship." Alice stiffened up at this before meekly whispering out, "I never wished to become the priestess…"

Shrugging at this, he then lifted the little lass before setting her in the boat, only for him to jump in, "Therefore, I will raise you as my own and teach you how to fight effectively." For some reason, despite her entire clan being dead behind her, she was happy that she would finally be of some use to Akihiko on the battlefield. She just never knew where they were heading to begin with, nor did she know the destination, which would make this hard to even deal with in the first place.

"You will now be known as Alice Ragnarsdottir from this point henceforth," he spoke out sternly, making her peer up to him and sadly nod. Once they were out in the open seas, Alice appeared a tad more than nervous, making her rush to Ragnar out of fear before taking his much larger hand with her own tiny hand. Looking down at the adorable little lass, he picked her up and perched her on his hip so that she could see what he was now seeing, which was only a massive body of water.

Looking surprised at such a tender hold, Alice wrapped her tiny arms around his neck to stare out in absolute awe that the world held this much water. Ragnar watched those big and beautiful sparkling eyes as she held onto him securely. Finally, her shocked tone rolled out, "Wow, there is so much water!" This made him chuckle before giving her cheek a playful smooch before he began nuzzling his nose to that kissed skin tenderly. In his blue eyes, she was truly now his gained daughter.

With the passing of three weeks, mist had now blanketed the top of the ocean, making it hard for them to navigate. Gaining a vision, she had to tell someone about it, so she told the one that she was now closest to… Ragnar, "Daddy, there is a huge rock in our path. Turn to the right!" - "Starboard, my dearest angel," he corrected, only to thank her and call out, "However, I do thank you for letting me know sweetie. Listen to my little girl, you dogs! Now, turn on the starboard side!"

Passing the rock safely, everyone except Ragnar gaped that she hadn't been lying over this. If their leader trusted her, then they might as well do the same before it placed them in danger. Ragnar smiled at Alice and lightly tickled her, "Dear, will you do us the honors in singing for us?" Alice nodded nervously and began singing one of her most favored songs, that was in a different language of Gaelic due to holding a deep knowledge, in one of the sweetest tunes that they had ever heard.

Time on the water was all they held. Ragnar held and played games with Alice as often as he could. All of the slaves, such as Kirito, had a bouncing mini-Alice come to them and give them food and water after she adorably scolded Ragnar over the matters that they weren't on the battlefield to give their enemies an honorable death to enter the realm of Valhalla. Giving fresh water and food, Kirito began to speak quietly to the adorable little angel that graced him with her presence.

Even though she had been listening, her head popped up the moment she heard a fight over trusting her being a mistake, only to see a man punched so hard that he flew off of the ship. Jumping up, and not letting Kirito finish, Alice bolted to take Ragnar's hand, "Daddy, it's okay... I'm used to being talked poorly of. Your hand is bleeding, though." Grabbing bandaging and taking a seat with Ragnar, Alice began to tenderly bandage the injury up so that his skin did not become infected.

Shifting his gentle eyes towards her, Ragnar frowned deeply while choking out, "Your birth parents allowed for you to be talked poorly about?" This made Alice frown and lightly shake her head, "My father did not even want me, so when he realized that I held Frigg's blessings, I suppose that made having a daughter more tolerable since he would rarely see me…" This made Ragnar scoop the little lass up, "Well then, I suppose that it's a good thing that you are now my daughter."

Gaining another vision, Alice blinked rapidly as she clung to Ragnar, "Huh? Land?" Ragnar covered Alice's ear while pressing her head against his chest, putting her to sleep until he shouted out, "Friends, we have reached our home! Alice witnessed land!" Even though he was yelling, Alice continued her professional, and undefeated, snuggle game on once they docked. All exhausted, they got out of the boat to stand as Ragnar's wife furiously ran up, "Explain why you are doting on this girl!"

Kept asleep by the sound of Ragnar's steadily beating heart, Alice snuggled up closer as Ragnar explained everything to his wife that made her eyes widen immensely. With the description given to her, she now knew that this girl was more important than any other clansmen that were lounging about inside of the camp. Holding no say in the matter that this little girl should become their priestess… which in her eyes, she should become their sacred priestess and seer for the gods.

Groggily awakening the next day, Alice sat up to see Ragnar had stayed with her for so long that he had drifted off to sleep, only to stand and lightly shake his hand, "Daddy… Daddy, wake up." Through some sort of miracle, Ragnar awoke and chuckled at this darling little lass before hearing her stomach growl. Lugging his body up, Ragnar then lifted Alice into his protective hold before exiting the safety that his tent held for her while speaking, "Oh my, it is time for my little girl to eat!"

Wrapping her arms lightly around his neck as he exited the tent, Alice was swift to notice that all eyes were now glued on the two, making her slump against the clan leader. Sat at a table, Ragnar began walking away until anxiety flooded her system. Rushing towards Ragnar, Alice took it securely while giving an unsure smile towards the man that had decided that she was now his beloved daughter, making her peer up, "Daddy?" - "Hm?" - "I promise to never sully our family name."

Swooping the little lass up with a bright smile, Ragnar then leaned his forehead against her own gently while taking her hand in his own, "Alice, my dear, I know that you won't sully our family name. Worry not about all of the hostility in the camp, for it will soon become a memory of the past. They might give you the looks right now, but once you begin saving them on the battlefield, then I am sure that everyone will begin accepting you. Now, you need to eat before training for the day."

Eating, Alice was taken to change into an attire, unknowingly to her, had mirrored a much smaller version of the Pontifex's attire. Before she left, Ragnar smirked, "Ragnarsdottir, hold your head up high with pride as the clan leader's daughter." Nodding her head, Alice smiled preciously, "Yes daddy!" Feeling his heart just about melt, he lightly tapped her backside, "I will meet you on the training field that I already showed you. Your first lesson begins here and now on this day."

Walking out of the tent with one of Ragnar's facial expressions that commanded and demanded respect. Stopped by men, Alice took an internal deep breath before speaking, "Is there a specific reason that you now stand in my way?" Hearing many lame excuses, Alice scowled, "And you expect for me, Alice Ragnarsdottir, to believe the nonsense that you now speak?! Stand down this very instant!" Ragnar stood around the corner while smirking at what had been said by Alice.

Exiting his hiding spot with his gear on, he could only fan the others away before taking Alice's hand, "Come now dear." Nodding with a bright smile, she figured fighting couldn't be that difficult, so she followed him as he spoke honestly, "Alice, I will not lie… many times, you will end up a bruised and sore mess. Now, are you prepared to begin? Once you have collected yourself to hold nothing except focus, then you are expected to begin without me giving the say so! Am I understood?!"

Holding a wooden blade, Alice nodded and closed her eyes to see what was bound to transpire. Oceanic pools flew open at that moment before she dashed forward and instantly slid between his thighs, only for him to snap around and whack the back of her head with a mirroring wooden blade. She might have seen it coming, but the wooden blade was heavy for someone who had never done the talking with their blade before, making her give a fake wince and tone, "Owwie daddy!"

Snapping around with widened eyes, Ragnar knelt down, only to be met with the crafty work of this little lass due to her wooden blade meeting his throat while winking, "I gotcha daddy!" Snorting out a laugh, he swiftly scooped her up to begin tickling her belly, "That was dirty, little missy." Giggling was all she could do at this silly way of "punishing" her. Many years would pass them by when she could effectively use that blade in a deadly manner that not many crossed paths with.

---

At the age of eleven now, Alice was now gaining more combat training. Ragnar, the age of sixteen, and still awaiting for his wife to bless him with a child, then picked up the little lady that his father had obtained three years prior… only to die shortly after so that only he was left to raise her. Everyone had believed all of this to be Ragnar's doing, but it had been his father's. He had merely met her at the boat when his father had dropped her off to him before turning around to die.

"What are we going to learn today," she questioned adorably, making Ragnar internally snicker over how damn cute she actually was before answering her question, "Well, you seem to have mastered the art of wielding a blade, so we will be moving onto archery. After archery, you will then be learning about the art of hand-to-hand combat." Alice brightly nodded at this comment before gaining a dry expression and stating aloud, "We need to go hunting for the entire clan, don't we."

Her current face was too much for him to handle, causing for Ragnar to burst into a fit of laughter, "Oh fuck, Allie, your expression is going to kill me!" Alice's expression only became dryer at that point, as if fed up. Comically tossing her hands into the air, Alice gave one hell of a dramatic and drastic sound in the form of, "Ugh, you have to be kidding with me!" Watching her explosive nature, all Ragnar could do was burst into a fit of bright laughter over her overly dramatic manner.

At this point, no one had ever witnessed Ragnar laughing as brightly as he was now. It took a long time, but little miss Allie was now fully accepted by everyone inside of the Ragnar Clan. Ragnar was normally not this bright and chipper… and it was all thanks to the precious little life form that they had managed to snag as their own to keep. Reaching the archery range, Ragnar demonstrated his stance for her, "You will need to keep the string back until it simply slips from your fingers."

Nodding her head, Alice got into a perfect stance while stringing an arrow back as tight as she could. Shifting his gaze to the little lady, Ragnar then pressed down on her stiffened up arms to gain a bright smirk as he spoke, "Allie, make your shot." Allowing for the tight string to slip from her fingers, the arrow was then loosed before slamming right in the center of the target. The second that she looked at Ragnar, he began to clap his hands, "That was the most perfect shot Allie!"

Smiling preciously, Alice continued to practice by making continuous perfect shots so that she would impress Ragnar. As impressed as he was, Ragnar started taking notice that the sun was now setting, making him swear aloud, "Fuck! Allie, want to go hunting with me?" Alice's eyes gained a brilliant sparkle once she nodded while holding a bright smile, "Of course I will come along!" Playfully flicking her nose, Ragnar then winked, "Whoever strikes first does not have to carry the kill home."

Grinning, he took out his bow with a lightly laced arrow in place, making the lass peer at him to copy him while nodding, "Well, then be ready to lose!" Taking gentle steps through the forest that were as silent as possible, both of their eyes continued to scan what they currently could see in their line of sight. Alice, noticing a lone boar, silently crouched to the ground while raising her weapon for the sharp point of the arrowhead to be perfectly aligned to hit the animal's heart.

Without Ragnar even noticing, Alice let that arrow slip from her fingers to pierce the heart of that boar. Out of nowhere, Alice bounced up while chirping out happily, "Looks like you are going to be carrying daddy!" Appearing rather perplexed over the matters at hand, he shifted his gaze over, only to chortle out, "Allie, you might be classified as an assassin! I didn't even hear that you had loosed an arrow! You are right though. You struck first, so I get the honors of carrying the kill home."

As they made their way home with little Alice's kill, Ragnar groaned, "Damn Allie, are you trying to break my back with how massive this boar is?!" Alice could only burst into a chipper fit of laughter over this comment until making it home. Alice sat down and helped Ragnar with the tedious task of skinning the boar. All commented over the beast's size, and also thought Ragnar had killed it, only for him to huff out, "No, it wasn't me who caught it. That was the doing of adorable Allie."

Making a marinade for the meat, Alice drenched all of the meat as Ragnar questioned, "What in the hell did you just put on the meat?" With no such things as a marinade yet, Alice hummed before replying, "Well, when I was younger, my father would make this blend before placing it over the meat. It always made any meats taste super tender and packed full of flavor!" Lifting his brows at this, he let her continue until it was time for everyone to gather together inside of the longhouse.

With the evening meal ready, Ragnar looked as if he were in Valhalla just by standing beside the food. Giggling, Alice plucked a piece of meat before outstretching her hand towards Ragnar, who then leaned forward for his lips to brush over her fingers, making her blush heavily until he boasted, "Allie, this is absolutely delicious!" Ragnar smiled and stood before walking outside to begin ringing the bell to notify all that the evening meal was now ready for all to enjoy and slowly savor.

Serving everyone a delicious smelling meal with a body as small as her own was quite the daunting task to accomplish, and she was still serving as Ragnar ate and drank his fill of spirits, only for him to huff out, "I don't think we show little miss Allie our appreciation for all of the meals that she has made for us." Alice shifted her gaze over and smiled, "Oh, I don't mind doing things like this if it makes everyone happy." Turning away, all he could see was that mass load of platinum locks.

Finished serving everyone else, Alice took her food to sit all alone for once. Hastily eating her food, Alice stood up and gave a cute wave, "I'm going to head to bed now! I hope that everyone enjoyed the meal tonight!" Everyone turned their heads and thanked the little lass for cooking for them again, only for Ragnar to wipe his mouth and clear his throat before speaking aloud, "Allie, you have more archery training tomorrow!" Looking up, Alice softly smiled and nodded, "Of course daddy."

Yeah, she didn't need any more training, and he damn well knew this to be a fact and more. Alice held a perfect stance, and could make accurate adjustments towards a target before she fired with deadly accuracy. More training could be considered as more of a hinder than help. With the day to follow, Alice was dressed while patiently waiting for Ragnar. Noticing him bickering, Ragnar approached her and took a breath, "Hey Allie, you ready for more archery training today?"

Right as Ragnar went to lead Alice away to practice her archery for the day, that she honestly didn't need to practice at all, a man rushed up to him so he could hurriedly begin to whisper in a panic, "Jarl Ragnar, Jarl Ubba has been calling for not only your aid, but Alice's as well." Nodding his head, all he could think of doing was fanning the messenger off so that he could have the chance to speak to Alice concerning these drastic matters. Nodding, the messenger turned around and bolted.

Groaning over this, Ragnar then took a knee to look Alice in the eye before uttering a single word, "Allie, there is a battle that I must attend. However, Ubba is currently camped there. Normally, one doesn't speak to him, but he specifically asked for you." This made Alice tilt her head in an overly puzzled manner before speaking aloud, "He didn't ask Storri for his prophecies?" Ragnar could only blow his well-maintained spiked locks up, "It doesn't make a shred of sense to me either."

Picking Alice up, he then perched her on the top of his saddle, only to sling his leg over to be right behind the little lass. Covering Alice's ears, Ragnar then called out to everyone, "We move out now to head to Ubba's camp!" Everyone who could fight then saddled up and began following after their Jarl. All of those who didn't know how to fight could only kiss their loved ones goodbye before wishing them a swift gained victory while they remained home to tend to all that was needed.

Weeks on the back of a saddle didn't particularly feel too good, so once Ubba's camp came into close view, Alice hopped down and ran forward while hollering to a man that absolutely adored her, "Uncle Ubba!" No one had ever witnessed this man dart out of his tent as fast as he had, only to scoop the little lass up and twirl her around in the air while basically singing out, "Allie, you're here! You, little missy, know that I only listen to the gods, and you are directly connected to the gods."

Alice had only been gifted the nickname of "Allie" by everyone once they all noticed that Ragnar always called her the nickname, and she would end up giving a bright smile when she would turn around to happily reply in return. The moment Ragnar realized that everyone was now stealing, and using, his nickname that he had given to her, you had best believe that he gained an internal flurry of jealousy. Allie was his nickname for the endearing little lass, not a name for others to use.

Ragnar, seeing this, scrunched his face up because of the fact that Alice was no longer glued to him. Jumping down from his horse, Ragnar walked forward to Ubba, only for the both to smirk while shooting their hands out to firmly grip one another's arm in a matter that was filled to the brim with trust and compassion. Ubba could only give a firm nod, "Welcome brother. The other Warlords are here as well so why don't you go on and greet all of them before the battle is to begin."

Now peering his bright blue eyes towards Alice, she could only smile brightly and nod at the suggestion that he should not have to be babysitting when there was a war to be fought, making Ragnar release a breath of air and nod before walking off. As he walked away, Ragnar could only begin pondering long and hard over the matters. If there was one person that Ubba would never harm, that person would no doubt be Alice due to the gifts that she had been blessed with by the gods.

Taken inside of Ubba's tent, Alice shifted her gaze to meet Ubba's, "Uncle Ubba?" Shifting his gaze lazily towards the young lass, he nodded, "Yes?" Twisting her hands together, she just had to ask, "Why did you call for my abilities when you are not even making the attempts to use Storri's prophecies?" Ubba could only chuckle softly before replying, "Storri might hold some of those abilities, in a sense. Yet, those abilities are not as strong as the gifts that the gods have blessed you with."

Knowing what she was supposed to do, Alice approached Ubba before taking his hand in her own and closing her eyes. Sifting through various outcomes, all ended the same way, making her release a soft hum through her nostrils. Opening her eyes, Alice nodded to him while holding a bright smile, "All of the outcomes are in your favor with little to no death on your part, Uncle Ubba." Ubba then stood and smashed the little lass against his abdomen, "Sheesh, you are the best Alice!"

Humming softly, Alice then peered up, "Do know this, though. The future can change by the smallest action that has been made by another, so please be safe." Squishing her even tighter to him, Ubba snickered and teased, "Little lady, you worry far too much for someone as tiny as you are!" Giggling and hugging in return, Alice then noticed all of the Warlords entering the tent, including Ragnar, causing her to jolt out of her funk to make the great attempts and failures to escape from him.

It was rather obvious that Ubba wished to hold Alice's prophecies for this battle that was bound to happen. As all of the Warlords concluded speaking about their plans, and all but one had now left, Ragnar took a knee in front of Alice before tugging her into the safety that his arms held before speaking tenderly, "Allie, if things become too dangerous, then I want you to leave instantly so that you remain safe. Do you understand what I now speak to you? Speak it back right now."

Frowning, Alice spoke softly, "If… If things become too dangerous, then I am to flee instantly." However, even she knew that she had just lied. She would never be able to live with herself if she ran while he was killed, and she didn't plan on fleeing when she knew that she could be of some sort of aid to him. Kissing her forehead, Ragnar could only close his eyes as he pressed his cheek against the crown of her skull for a long-lived moment of time, realizing that he didn't wish to release her.

Forcing himself away from the lass, Ragnar stood and took her hand while winking as he spoke, "Don't cause too much trouble while I'm away." Alice could only nod with a quivering lip, freezing Ragnar in place. Lifting Alice to his hip, she scolded, "Ugh! Daddy, I'm not a baby! I'm just going to miss you is all." Placing Alice down while blowing a blonde braid that Alice had braided for him to the side, Ragnar chuckled and held a single hand up, "I know that you'll be good, no matter what."

---

Watching as Ragnar left, Alice waited until there was no one to be witnessed, only to bolt to find a quiver of arrows, along with a bow. She was going to protect her daddy and uncles no matter the cost. Perching herself on top of a large hill, she was now happy that she had done this because of the militia that had just arrived. Grabbing an arrow to ignite and setting it on fire, Alice hastily drew back to aim at Ragnar's bicep that would turn him around and notice the reinforcements.

Firing that single blazing arrow, Alice watched hopefully until that arrow struck his tattooed bicep. Once his arm had been struck and tingled from the heat while blood began sliding down, Ragnar knew this crafty work all too well. It was Alice warning them. Snapping around, Ragnar yelled as loudly as he possibly could, "Allie, take them down!" Stringing back multiple arrows, Alice then fired to strike down many of the reinforcements until she ran out of arrows to use against others.

Twirling her two lightweight blades out with a sharp snap, Alice dashed forward in her adorable attire to begin attacking the platoon of soldiers all by herself with no mercy to be found. Ubba then shifted his gaze to witness little Allie taking down foes left and right, making his mouth gape in a rather dumbfounded manner before yelling, "Ragnar! Your daughter is fighting an entire troop of soldiers by herself!" Ragnar could only snicker teasingly before yelling in return, "Yes… Yes she is!"

Ubba's mouth further gaped as he continued to fight and yell, "If you don't help her, then I will!" This made Ragnar laugh even harder as he yelled through tears of joy, "She's eleven, but despite that, she can still shamelessly kick my ass with ease! You worry too much about my precious little Allie, Ubba! Just watch her work her magic!" Ubba could only snort out a laugh over this as he yelled in response, "Ragnar, what magic? All I see is a troop that has been murdered by a child!"

Shifting his head to the side slightly, he witnessed Alice happily waving to him, making him burst into laughter, "Hot damn! I taught Allie well!" All of the Warlords were now laughing hysterically over this comment, and their weak opponents. It was apparent that his little girl had snatched someone else's quiver of arrows, considering an arrow flew alarmingly close to his face to strike down a target before hearing a sassy, "Daddy, if you have strength to laugh, then you can still fight!"

Snapping towards her to bark out furiously, Ragnar roared in a flustered manner, "Dammit Allie! That was way too damn close to my face! Are you trying to scar my face up just to make me ugly?!" Alice could only mumble beneath her breath, "I don't think that's even possible to make you ugly…" Shaking her head, she then sassed in return while firing arrows to keep Ragnar safe, "For the love of all of the gods! Well, then I suppose that it's a good thing that I didn't hit you, you idiot!"

All of the Warlords were laughing hysterically at how Alice was verbally kicking Ragnar's self-esteem down at this point, making him furrow his brows and yell in return, "Will you stop feeling and speaking as if you are a goddess due to your Uncle Ubba being around?!" Alice could only scowl at this comment before yelling furiously in return, "Then stop arguing with your child, ya idiot! A child holding a temper tantrum with their parent wouldn't make them laugh if you didn't respond!"

Ragnar's mouth dropped wide open at that moment due to realizing that she was absolutely correct, but was just as hot tempered as the little lady, only to yell in return, "Dammit, can't you ever just say yes sir?! I do believe that any other child would've had the manners to know better! I'm fighting right now, yet you find it acceptable to be distracting me! Apparently, you are wishing for my death!" He couldn't see it, but he had just made Alice cry until he motioned for her to leave.

Furious at this point, Alice snapped away and slowly began to walk away from all of the fighting. Appearing as if she were some prominent young lady that would help them gain a rather handsome ransom for. Alice's arms were then grabbed, making her panic, "What are you doing?!" The opposing Vikings continued to drag the lass before speaking, "You must be a daughter to a lord of the lands. So, which one?" Alice scowled and growled as she tried getting away, "None! Let me go!"

Even though they had witnessed her prior in the day, they didn't put two and two together as they spat to the side, "You're worthless to us then." Feeling a knife plunging into her skin, the men simply dropped her face down and left her to die. As they began walking away while laughing, Alice stubbornly clung to life as she tried crawling towards the hill. Leaving streaks and smudges of blood as she began to crawl over the mass amounts of bodies that she had personally slain by herself.

Not even halfway to where her father could see her weakening body, Alice's sight began fading in and out of consciousness. Finally passing out after what she had felt had been many various hours of the time spent, blood began to pool her body to stain her clothing and the lower half of her platinum blonde locks. With the battle finally coming to its grand conclusion fairly quick, everyone began to plunder. Alice normally helped him plunder, just in case she found something that she liked.

By now, the battle had long-since been concluded, along with plundering, and Ragnar grumbled internally while carrying a beautifully crafted jeweled headpiece holding diamonds as an offering of peace between the two, so Ragnar began calling out when he realized that he couldn't find his daughter, and she hadn't moved into the fortress, "Allie?! Allie!" With widened eyes, Ragnar came to a slow stop the moment that he noticed a mass load of platinum blonde hair and a pool of blood.

Shakily taking a step towards her, Ragnar now held tears in his bright blue eyes while shakily reaching out to her, "Al… Allie?" The same Vikings that had done this to one of their own then stopped and scoffed, "She isn't worth any money. Trust me, we asked." Ragnar wasn't processing any of this as he finally bolted to her before crashing to his knees, "Allie, don't you dare die on me!" Alice then weakly cracked her eyes open before shakily reaching up to him, "Daddy, it hurts so much."

Leaning down and easing Alice into his arms, he could only press his cheek against her own, "I've got you sweetie. I'm so sorry." Alice smiled weakly before passing out into his arms. No one had ever witnessed Ragnar as furious as he currently was, "You two, follow me." Easing Alice back to the stronghold slowly to not lose any more blood as he kept pressure on the injury, the sickening sight of Alice's blood covering his hand made him feel like the worst father the world had ever seen.

Ubba then darted out of the stronghold at that moment with wide eyes, "No…" The Vikings that had injured her were under Ubba's command, only for one to speak, "Jarl Ubba, what's so damn special about this girl?" Ubba's sharp gaze then met theirs before grinding out, "Which one of you bastards hurt Allie?" That's when the nickname finally clicked, "Oh… Oh my gods, you don't mean Ragnarsdottir, do you?! If we would've known, then we honestly wouldn't have harmed her at all, sir!"

Taking Alice inside of his room and sitting down on his fur pelt bed, Ragnar then eased her body down between his open thighs while softly shedding tears that tapped against her face. Bandaging her injury up, Ragnar held her close to him again while whispering, "Don't you dare die on me, Allie." That night, he woke up periodically to make sure that she was still alive, which thankfully, she was. By morning, Ubba sadly entered Ragnar's room to notice both asleep while holding hands.

They had planned to go raiding for the good of their clans while taking little miss Allie on the adventure too, but now they were at a halt due to the little lady being so badly harmed. Ubba knew that Ragnar was probably, and most likely, blaming himself for what happened to his daughter due to frustrating her to the point that she had furiously stormed away, so he had to get him away from the healing little lady before giving him a pep-talk to uplift his obviously broken spirits and heart.

It took six months for Alice to truly, and physically, wake up. Easing her body up after such a long snooze fest that she hadn't even known had been long, Alice, now twelve years of age, sat there in a rather bland fashion. Right then, Ubba walked inside for his mouth to drop wide open in shock, "Al… Allie?!" Weakly, and blandly, turning her head to see who was calling to her, she spoke out in a dry and cracked tone, "Un… Uncle Ubba… do you think… that you can… get my daddy… for me?"

Walking out and finding one melancholy Ragnar, Ubba slapped his back roughly, "Your little girl is finally awake and asking for you." Ragnar had been subjected to this prank one too many times by others, so he only placed his chin in his propped up palm while making the great attempts to not cry. Ubba huffed and tossed Ragnar over his shoulder before walking to his room, only to then toss him in abruptly. Ragnar basically flew into the room before his face slammed against Alice's chest.

There was no way that he had just run into his daughter's… bare… chest, because she would have to be sitting up for anything to show. Tossing aside that she was half nude, Ragnar coiled his arms tightly around her while placing his head over her heart to cry, "Al… Allie! I thought that you would never awaken!" Cusping her face, he sniffled before chuckling softly while shedding tears of joy. Threading her fingers through his silky based locks, Alice snickered, "You do see me now, right?"

With a few weeks of rest and recovery, plus the additional weeks to get her body's muscles back up to par, they were now ready. In one of her adorable attires that she was starting to outgrow, Alice bounded up to Ubba with a smile, "Uncle Ubba, you needed to see me?" He nodded before snatching her hips and placing her on his lap, "We are needing to go pillaging. Do you mind checking your sight about this?" Alice lightly shook her head and checked her visions, only to hum aloud softly.

"The gods favor your odds as of now," she exclaimed with a smile, making him grin and scoop her up before standing, "After everyone witnessed you demolish an entire militia by yourself, I don't think anyone would mind you tagging along for the ride." Right then, Alice was startled half to death by Ragnar the moment he approached silently from behind before abruptly scooping her up, making her fist shoot straight out to slam across his face, shocking her completely over the matters.

Watching his face fly to the side, Alice paled completely, "Oh… Oh my gods! Daddy, I'm so sorry!" Ragnar silently raised one of his hands to grasp his chin and cheek tenderly before roaring out through a fit of laughter, "It's good to know that your back up to strength!" That was the thing though… She actually didn't feel back up to strength, and actually felt incredibly fragile for one who did most of her talking each day with her blade. However, she should've known that he would notice this.

Appearing worried, Ragnar stroked his daughter's cheek gingerly as he spoke, "Honey, even all of us adult men would've been rendered as useless against two men that held us back. Though, I am surprised that you didn't gain a vision over something that just about killed you." Alice then peered up at him with a frown as she began explaining the entire ordeal to Ragnar, "Because they knew that I'd survive such brutality… nothing more, nothing less. Daddy, I… I want to go home."

Frowning and nodding as Alice wrapped her arms around the back of his neck so that she could cry hysterically, he held her close and hushed her before giving her forehead a tender kiss, "Calm down Allie, we're going now. Just let me give Ubba command of my soldiers so that they bring home bounty for us." Shaking her head and sniffling, Alice jumped down before hardening her expression, "Forgive me, daddy. I didn't mean to create an uproar over my internal feelings. I'll be fine."

Both men sighed heavily over how she was now acting, knowing what she was now feeling all-too well. In order for her to feel strong again, she needed to shed the blood of another. Ubba could only whistle to everyone inside of the stronghold, "Let's go raid! C'mon move!" Ragnar placed Alice down, but her hand remained glued to his own the entire way down to the docks, and even jumped at the same time as him so that her hand remained glued to his once they entered the longship.

---

As per usual, Alice sang as his forces rowed in synchronized rhythms. However, it was different this time since Ragnar had acquired a lute to play as she sang. Though, many people had begun picking up on the language that she sang due to them asking for her to teach them the language. Those who had learned the language now sang along with little Alice that was now held a maturing voice that still sounded as if the Valkyries were now coming to retrieve his soul to deliver it to Valhalla.

"Monastery, right ahead Ragnar," a spotter called out right as Alice finished singing, making Ragnar smirk and call out, "Take us in!" Pulling up to the monastery before Ubba could even catch up, Ragnar blew his horn before scaling the side of the boat to hurriedly get everything first for his clan, "Let's hit the bastards!" Alice flipped off of the front of the longship before bolting. Pulling her two blades out and beginning to cut people down swiftly, she then began hearing the frantic yelling of, "The Zealots!"

Swiftly turning her head towards this man and his army… made Alice smirk while making graceful barefoot steps forward. Twirling her blades sharply in her hands, Alice bolted forward when many others were running away from this. She slayed one army already, and knew exactly how to win this fight with much ease. Sheathing her blades and hiding them behind her back, Alice skipped forward while twirling out a knife once leaning down to pick a flower, only to skip to the back.

"I picked you a flower for good luck," she chirped out happily while offering the flower up. This man looked down, and since Alice had been so well educated, no accent could be heard coming from this little lady. Leaning down just far enough for no one to take notice, Alice rammed her knife into this male's throat while shooting off a deadly whisper, "Don't ever presume that I am some innocent child. Tell me, what child would still be here during an invasion of their homes? None."

Looking up in a panic to act, Alice's perfect acting came into play as she screamed in horror, only to gag internally as she made the sign of the cross before questioned by the leading Zealot, "Did you see where it came from honey?" Shaking her head, she sniffled as she answered, "No, I was facing him to give him a flower." The only place behind them was a massive forest, making the leader point his blade towards the forest, "Go and find them! They are hiding somewhere in that forest!"

Leaving ten good men, Alice noticed that one of their eyes continued to sparkle as he watched the Vikings doing whatever they wanted. Lightly tapping this soldier's hand, he looked down to her hardened orbs as she spoke, "Step away and I will speak to my father about you wishing to join." That made him confused until she motioned to Ragnar, making his eyes widen. The moment he took a massive step away, Alice pulled out both of her blades to begin a graceful one-sided bloody war.

This soldier looked entirely dumbfounded that they all had just been played by a child, and it had worked. Looking at a stained glass window holding "their god", Alice hurled one of her blades through it as the soldier that she had helped fought anyone that weren't the Vikings. Ragnar had witnessed Alice speaking to this man, so he figured that something was up. Jumping through the window, her bare foot made contact with a sharp piece of glass, slicing it open to the point that she fell.

Clearly in agony, a monk rushed forward with a worried facial expression, only to call out, "Goodness! Child, are you okay?!" Biting her lip to not burst into tears, she then motioned outside, "Please, you have to help my daddy! He's out there all alone and needs help!" The monk then rushed forward and opened the door for Ragnar to be standing there with a smirk until noticing Alice's foot. Rushing forward, Ragnar patched the little lass up before picking her blade up and sheathing it.

"Why do you never wear any damn shoes," he questioned furiously, making her snort softly, "Because I don't wish to wear shoes, that's why! Besides, why didn't you wait for Uncle Ubba?! You know that his rowers are much slower than our own! We could've just rammed the door in if Uncle Ubba had been here!" Groaning at his sassy daughter, he then pulled out a pair of knee-high black stained leather boots that held a tiny heel so that she could still fight in, only to tug them on her feet.

By the time Alice was fourteen, she jumped off the longship that they used for raids, only for the sound of boots to hit the wood as she called out, "Get some rest guys! Once you've regained all of your strength, then we are going out again! Until then, rest, recover, and love on your family." This was something that the raiders loved about Alice leading their raids. They were built upon tactics that worked brilliantly, and once she noticed that they were growing tired… she gave them time off.

All thanked Alice profoundly and waved happily at her as they went to their homes, or the bunks, to rest their weary bodies. Alice waved in return before beginning to unpack all of their plunder so that it all was momentarily placed on the docks. Using a ribbon to tie her hair up into a high ponytail to show that it was extremely hot outside, she then jumped out and nodded to the two others that had stayed behind to help the little lass, "Right, just like that," she chirped out to the others.

Ragnar had been just about to rush up to her and scoop her up into his arms, that is, until he noticed all of the sweat glistening on, and down, her muscular and soft skin, causing for him to freeze entirely so he had the capabilities of eyeing her body without being shamefully judged for eyeballing her. Alice had been gone for roughly a year and had just returned. This only meant that by the time she was thirteen, she knew how to lead a longship just by watching his actions as a leader.

That wasn't only that the raiding crew now recognized her as, because they now looked to her for leadership in the same manner that they did for Ragnar and his wife… who was now ailing from an illness. This could only mean that they held no judgement when it came to who Ragnar chose to marry next. They could all tell that their Jarl absolutely loved little Alice more than his own life, which was actually proven one day that he had been leading all of the raids that they had been on.

She had been growing with a beaming radiance of beauty, making Alice one prime subject to marry. During that specific raid, Alice had tripped over a dead body to land on her backside. This made her magical eyes fill with tears that threatened to escape at any moment. Ragnar, witnessing what was about to happen to her, rushed over to shield Alice as fast as he could until his eyes widened, only to cough up blood the moment that he had a sword pierced in a non-vital area of his body.

All Vikings shifted their head over the moment Alice released a squeak of surprise due to Ragnar scooping her up into his arms. That's right… all Vikings in the Ragnar Clan now hoped, wished, and prayed to the gods for Alice to marry so that she was their next standing Fru. Once the current standing Fru passed into the realm of Valhalla, Ragnar was fair game for all women to take as their own, but they continued to pray that Alice was chosen due to how clever she was over strategizing.

Twirling the little lady around in a circle with a bright smile, Ragnar flawlessly acted, "Look at how big and strong my little girl has become! A raid leader and a commanding officer is nothing to sneeze over missy, because only the strongest and smartest people are given that honor!" Scoffing a laugh, Alice playfully flicked Ragnar's nose before doing something else that she normally didn't do IRL, "Oh, knock it the hell off, I earned that title. Besides, I thought you'd be with a concubine."

Setting Alice down with not another word to be said, Ragnar unnoticeably lowered his head as he walked away to hunt for the entire clan. What was even more shocking was the fact that he hadn't asked for Alice to join him so that they could hold one of their goofy little competitions. The fact that he hadn't asked her bothered her as well, so she asked for the other two if they could finish up unpacking due to how distressed, miserable, and heartbroken that her father had appeared.

Peering over to the raid leader's fidgeting form, the two nodded towards her before one smiled as he spoke, "Of course. We will get the job done." Nodding as thanks, Alice swiftly turned before bolting off as fast as she possibly could. As she ran, Alice ditched her shoes that people were used to find lying around at this point, only to swiftly grab her hunting gear. Slowing down at the lining of the forest, Alice came to a swift and extremely frozen halt all because of what he now spoke.

Soft sniffling and crying could be heard as he spoke in a pain-filled tone of voice, "Damn my father to hell for doing this to me! By all of the gods that I praise, I swear that I love Alice more than anything in this wretched world! If she weren't here, then I'm sure that I would have been dead many times over, not to mention her beauty and gorgeous sounding singing voice! He did this so that I would never even be given the chance to try!" With a throbbing heart, Alice slowly backed away.

Now having to act as if she had never witnessed Ragnar, she sat inside of the longhouse that now felt uncomfortable due to what she had heard him speak aloud. Right as Ragnar took a seat to act as if he hadn't said any of the words that he had, a messenger ran inside before speaking a message, "Jarl Ragnar, I have an urgent message from Jarl Olaf! Are you wishing to hear the message here and now," he questioned, only for Ragnar to nod lazily as he propped his chin up in his palm.

Nodding, the messenger did as told by delivering his gained message to gift to another, "Jarl Olaf has heard of all of Alice's achievements on all of her raids as of late. With how capable Alice is as a fighter, along with her connections to the gods, has made him ask for her to accompany you alongside him in the battle that's to come, should you answer his call for aid." Fanning the messenger off as he noticed many men flirting with the beautiful and desirable little lass, made him whistle.

Peering up from her ale and meal, Alice giggled before excusing herself from the table. Standing up with her cup of ale still glued to her hand, Alice approached Ragnar while taking a drink of ale, only for her to then hiccup and giggle out, "I was given a drinking challenge, so don't blame me." As if he actually cared about the drinking game. It was the fact that she had actually considered it to begin with. With his brows furrowing, all he could manage to accomplish was huffing.

Tilting her head for her mass amounts of platinum blonde locks to sway to the side, Ragnar subtly kept his eyes trained on those magical appearing long locks before clearing his throat multiple times, "Allie, are you and your troops ready to move out? Your Uncle Olaf has asked for us at a… bridge? Well, that's new. Anyway, have your troops ready by the light of the next day." Turning around, Alice scowled while shouting, "All of those in my company, be ready to move out this instant!"

Respect was given where it was due, because not even he, the Jarl, was capable of making his troops move as fast as Alice just had. All placed their gear on before equipping their finely sharpened weapons. Walking out to her specific longship that was normally held for raiding, Alice then hopped inside while holding no protective gear, except boots, in the slightest and jumped up to take secure hold of the back of the longship while calling out, "On this day, the Anglo-Saxon's will burn!"

Arriving at their destination, Alice shifted her sharp gaze towards Olaf with a slight scowl. Telling her raiders to remain where they were, Alice jumped onto a dock, holding a scowl as she made her gentle and graceful way towards Olaf. The moment he exited his tent to greet the savage little lass, Alice reared her arm back and swiftly punched Olaf across the face as she spoke, "I refuse to place my raiders and platoon through harm. So, you will be doing this my way, no matter what."

Nodding while holding his nose, Alice then motioned for those in the longship to join her. Looking at them sternly, she instructed, "Since I can perfectly speak the language, you all are to remain here until my father arrives. Once he is here, you all are to fall under Ragnar's command while I go behind the scenes to figure out all of the flaws of the city so that we can, with much ease, find out how this city is to fall. Though, I have already gained a vision over how the entire city is to fall."

Alice then left, and with much ease, gained access to the city of Lundenburgh as Ragnar finally pulled up and jumped onto the dock as the longship was tied up to be secure. Olaf walked forward while still rubbing at his swollen cheek as he spoke, "By the gods, your daughter is just as hot-tempered in the same manner that a living and breathing Valkyrie would be by punching me across the face over a plan that apparently would place all of her raiders and troops in danger."

Shifting his head around in confusion, Ragnar had to ask this before he managed to have a mental breakdown, "Olaf? Where exactly is my daughter." Grabbing the front of his attire with a grip that was overly angered at this point, causing for each and every single knuckle to crack and pop as he yelled out furiously since he hadn't even wanted to come to this battle, "You're going to tell me everything that I want right at this very second, am I clear?! Now, where is my daughter?!"

Hearing that tone that commanded and demanded respect now being hurled his way, Olaf stiffened up since he had just recently been punched by one furious little lass, making him hurriedly answer, "Keep in mind that all of this was her planning, not my own. I continued telling her that you would most definitely not approve of her going all on her own, but she refused to put any and all troops in danger by volunteering to go in all alone due to not holding an accent when speaking!"

As the men continued to bicker, and Ragnar also punched this man across the face for letting his daughter go alone, a massive explosion forced both of their heads to snap to the side to witness the bridge that had deliberately been destroyed right where the drawbridge had been, only for ropes to be tossed out so they were attached to the longships. With mouths dropping wide open, all they could say at the same time was, "She actually accomplished what she was going to do in there?!"

---

Now the age of sixteen, Alice sat high in a branch of a tree while hunting beside Ragnar, who no doubt noticed her narrowed orbs at the group of soldiers sworn to the king of this land heading their way. Most of the time, Ragnar would be caught with Alice more than he would be witnessed with his very own wife. Peering towards the beauty that she held, Ragnar could only internally gulp harshly. He had raised this girl… and shamelessly found her to be the most beautiful girl he had seen.

Humming over this predicament, and releasing a longing breath through his nose, he couldn't fathom as to why her beauty of all things was frustrating him entirely when he, indeed, had raised her. Ragnar had never known that Alice of all people would become one of his most deadly fighters, only to whisper out, "Allie, can you check the future to see how it would go either way?" This was something that she adored about Ragnar… he didn't simply demand for her to use her gifts for him.

Nodding silently, she shifted through both of her foresights before peering up, "They are here to take our camp down… dad. Both sights show that we will be victorious." Lifting his brows, he then grabbed his horn, only for Alice to grab it before it reached his lips, "As long as we are covert about it, that is. Get ready to jump to a different branch." Agreeing, Alice drew the string of her bow back until there was no more slack, allowing for the arrow to be loosed and take a soldier down.

Jumping to another branch and waiting, Ragnar then fired at the same time that she did, only for both to swiftly move again. Looking down to see all of the soldiers dead now, the two slid down a rope for Ragnar to begin laughing, "You even took a massive buck down too?" Alice then giggled out and waved, "You're carrying since I struck!" Seeing nothing more in her visions, Alice rushed back to the camp that homes were now being built at, only for everyone to wave happily at her.

"Lady Alice, you have made it back in one piece. I'm glad that you're not injured," her personal bodyguard… Kirito… spoke aloud with a smile. Not caring about this teen, Alice skidded to a halt the moment her visions showed her something else that terrified her. Bolting back from whence she came, Alice abruptly tackled Ragnar to the ground, making him groan… yet noticed a blade had been deliberately thrown to behead him, only to release a heavy breath over her saving him again.

Reaching up and taking hold of the hilt of the blade, Alice hurled the blade straight back and soon heard the male that had thrown the blade to go down before helping Ragnar stand and brush his attire off, "Dad… you have to be more careful! What if I hadn't held foresight, only for you to get killed in the process?! What then," she fumed as tears began sliding down her face, making him snicker out, "Well, I guess then you wouldn't have me around to pester your cute ass anymore!"

Smudging the buck's blood across her cheek that was all over her white attire at this point, Alice slapped Ragnar upside the head while yelling through her tears of emotion, "You idiot! You mean the world to me! If it weren't for you, you might as well bury me with all of the others!" Alice hurriedly snapped away and began rushing somewhere secluded so that she could cry. It wasn't fair that she had to call this man dad when she loved him more than anyone else… or so she thought.

Ragnar stood there in a paralyzed fashion until the sun began setting, making him jolt out of his funk before picking the buck up again to make it all of the way back to the camp. Alice looked at her blood-stained adorable white attire that Ragnar had gained for her, only to sigh heavily and stand to go and bathe. Making it back to a waterfall holding a pool of water at the bottom, Alice undressed and placed her attire in the water with the hopes for all blood stains to be completely removed.

With how bloody he was from skinning the buck, Ragnar headed to the same place as Alice, only to stop with widened eyes the moment he heard her speaking all of her pain, "It's not fair that I have to call him my dad when I love him so much!" Not knowing that his body had taken the initiative to remove his attire and enter the water, Ragnar internally blew his bangs up in an overly frustrated manner before slowly easing his bulky arms around her firm and soft body that stiffened up.

Knowing who this was, Alice slammed her eyes shut as if in pain as he turned her around and stroked her cheek while she tried covering her chest, "Allie, don't hide your beautiful body from me." Stubbornly remaining as she was, Ragnar then ghosted his fingers over skin so soft that he could barely register that it was there, only to slide his fingers against her pure entrance. Her eyes flew open at that moment for Ragnar to lift her on his hips for her thighs to squeeze them pleasurably.

Hearing a soft groan from him, Alice's eyes fluttered open the moment Ragnar's lips pressed to her own tightly. Keeping that kiss in contact, and holding her still against him, all he could think about was his wife that he truly couldn't care for in the slightest. His wife couldn't seem to ever conceive a child, much less carry it full term. So, he planned to leave his barren wife so that he could make Alice his wife, should the gods favor their pairing together, "Allie, do the gods favor our union?"

Peering towards Ragnar, Alice then checked her visions of the gods to see that it was not Ragnar, but someone else that she had never met before… yet could take a wild guess who it was. Frigg was married to Odin, and she held Frigg's sight to wield as her own. Tilting her head as if she were a puzzled puppy over the matters, Ragnar watched as her brows slightly furrowed in concentration, only to chuckle sadly, "Well, I suppose that's my given answer to my question right there."

Alice knew that if they went any further, the gods would not be in their favor at all. Placed down and having her forehead kissed tenderly, she desperately took his hand before whimpering, "Let me stay with you on this night… please?" Ragnar nodded through a sigh as he leaned down to pick her attire up, "You, better than anyone, should know that blood doesn't wash out of clothing." Picking his new shirt up, he bundled her up, making her eyes soften immensely over the gesture.

Walking back to her home, she placed a new attire on that matched her prior attire, only to give Kirito the shirt and speak, "My clothes became bloodied, so I need for you to take my father his shirt." Nodding, all Kirito could possibly do was do as he was told while thinking, "She says father, but she isn't fooling anyone due to how swollen that her lips now are." That's when his internal comment truly clicked in his mind, "Wait… Alice… kissed that ancient bastard who is already dead IRL?!"

Making his way to Ragnar, he cleared his throat, "Jarl Ragnar, Alice sent me to give your attire back." Placing the attire down and turning away, Kirito let him have it, "Not that it is any of my business, but everyone witnessed Alice's swollen lips. You might want to come up with an excuse to the entire clan to let them know why her lips were so swollen." Ragnar knew how much Kirito loved Alice, so he narrowed his eyes, "You will never be given permission to marry my daughter."

Thankfully, Alice had already come up with an excuse by saying when they were hunting and attacked, one of the men that she had been up against had kissed her through some sort of miracle. So, when Ragnar entered the camp, no one gave him a look of disgust for kissing the beloved girl of the village that was now being built. Shifting his head to see Alice laughing over something that had been said by another clan member as she prepared this evening's meal, he could only smile.

Reaching Alice, he slung his arm around her shoulder while winking, "What's so funny, my dear?" Turning her head and smiling, she replied through a giggle, "Oh, I'm just being teased about the enemy we faced earlier that had accidentally stole my first kiss." Ragnar then teasingly flicked her nose before bringing her in close to give his love and adoration to her, "Boy, whoever gets you first as their wife is one lucky bastard. Whoever wants you, has to go through me to claim the prize."

Inside of RATH, Alice's soul now had to wonder at this point over how many first kisses that she had gained so far, making her STL begin fluctuating with power since her soul was now doing the thinking, and not herself in-game. Selko then took a step forward with folded arms as he spoke almost venomously, "I see what you guys did. With there being a soul in that "game"… per say, you have basically made a portal of time. I guess a dorky way of putting it is you made a time machine."

Kikuoka and Higa now appeared nervous that Zuberg number two had actually figured it out, making him continue, "Another way of putting this is that you were hoping that my big sister would get bored in the Underworld and ask to be taken somewhere that held more of a challenge. Knowing that Alice wouldn't go anywhere without Akihiko was just a bonus. Now, this is just a guess, but should they start a family there… then they will no longer have a choice to return. Am I wrong?"

A heavy sigh was then released by Kikuoka before he had even thought of replying, "I won't sugarcoat this at all then. Kirigaya is fully capable of logging out as he is now, but should he hold intercourse and impregnate a woman, then he will no doubt lose that button to log out. Yes, it is how you said it to be. One's soul holds many different aspects to consider, which would also include each and every thought that you've ever had, or any topics that you enjoy reading about to study."

Swiftly snapping around, Selko then made his way towards the headgear version of the STL, "Wherever sis is, that is where I want to be. I presume after a prolonged period of time; you will have to force us to awaken." Kikuoka then shook his head, only to give a reply that shocked Selko, "Selko, all three of them are already beginning to merge with history," with that, he opened a history concerning Vikings, only for Selko to witness Alice, Kazuto, and Akihiko's names with wide eyes.

Hating that he was the one having to explain this to Selko of all people, Kikuoka released a heavy sigh, "Selko, you need to understand that if even one of them starts a family, their bodies will simply vanish due to this no longer being their time period. Akihiko had made this "game" for Alice. He claimed that she never seemed happy unless she was stuck somewhere else entirely. If you wish to go, I won't stop you, but why not watch and see how this is going to pan out first."

Selko snorted heftily over this entire situation before grumbling out, "Then how would Kazuto even fit in the timeline when he still holds all memories concerning this time period that holds technology and firearms? I don't exactly see that working in the slightest." Higa then snapped his fingers at the golden-haired teen brightly, "You are absolutely correct Selko. Time will not flow correctly in the same manner as it actually should be due to his obtained knowledge from this day and age."

Humming, Kikuoka then nodded towards Higa, "We do not wish to interrupt the timeline, even should Alice save people who were meant to meet a cruel or harsh death. It's not the same as giving knowledge that would benefit him… especially when Alice and Akihiko were sent in there with only the knowledge that they came from Norway, yet now live in the lands of Britannica. Higa, remove all current world data from Kirigaya's soul this very instant. If need be, we can return them."

---

Waking extremely late the next day, Kirito now could only remember back to when he had begun to play the game, minus anything that had been said. Pressing his hands to each side of his head, Kirito could only groan in pain as the door was kicked in, making him weakly shift his head towards Alice, who now gazed at him in one worried expression for him, "Kirito, are you okay?!" Nodding his head with a nervous look since he could sense that Ragnar was now getting close to them.

Once Ragnar made it inside of Kirito's home, he glared harshly due to the look that Alice was now giving the former black swordsman. Noticing Kirito's face, Alice shifted her head over, "What's up… dad?" Snapping out of his funk, Ragnar could only release a heavy breath of air to calm himself down before folding his arms securely across his broad chest, "The last I checked, you were my daughter's personal guard, yet you were not there for many hours, so she has been glued to me."

Jumping out of bed in a hurry, he heard Alice squeak while covering her eyes, her face now stained in the deep shade of crimson. Ragnar couldn't see what she had, so he shifted his head before scowling, only to grab Alice and smash her face to his abdomen so that she did not have to see what she just had, yet he froze the moment he heard her gagging harshly, "Oh gross, that is something that I will never unsee ever again," right as her grossing out stopped, Ragnar began laughing.

Gaining a dry face, she peered up with a cat-like smirk plastered on his face, only for him to gain a puzzled expression until his eyes began sparkling the moment that she whispered to him, "The gods might not approve of our union, but they don't seem to mind if I am to birth you children. However… will that not just make me a concubine of yours? I do not wish to merely be your whore." Ragnar then tugged Alice out of the home while speaking, "You hold no duties today. Gain some rest."

Out of the home now, she was then taken to somewhere secluded… the longhouse… before taking her to his room, closing the door, barring the door from intruders, and slamming her back against the wall before lifting her to his hips, only to smirk as he spoke in a feisty tone, "Oh, my love, she will be thrown to the side just for you to sit by my side… without the official title, that is. You will more or less be my second wife, yet you most definitely will be treated as a queen."

Noticing her unsure gaze, he shook his head lightly, "Allie, if you are not ready yet, then all you have to do is say so." Both instantly stiffened up the moment that a harsh cough was heard by the current ailing sleeping wife to the Jarl. Alice left in a hurry, only to enter her own room and bar the door before checking the Jarl's wife's future. Three days was all she witnessed, making her exit her room with a glow, yet her face held a grim expression over the death that was going to happen.

Exiting the home, she laced her hands around the dip of her back with her head lowered before walking away from everyone to enter the forest. Many gazed at the platinum blonde lass with worry, now wondering if it were actually a wise thing to allow her to do alone, or maybe they should've gently spoken to her in the attempts to make her emotional dam break free so that she would finally crack under all of the pressure just to show her all of the love and respect in the world.

Deep in the woods now, Alice came to a stop before crying over believing that all of this had been her fault. As of now, Ragnar chewed his bottom lip while sitting on his throne as he blindly listened to the pleas of his people, only for some people to begin shouting furiously, "Are you even listening to a thing that any of us are saying?!" Shifting his head forward in a serious matter, Ragnar then spat out, "To be truly honest, I remember every word that all of you have spoken to me."

Once three days had passed as Alice's last batch of tears rolled down her face for her to stand up and turn around before heading back to the longhouse. With bloodshot oceanic orbs now looking utterly surprised once she noticed the two different strands of a soft gold and blue due to how she unknowingly absorbed her character from SAO and ALO, yet had no clue where the sudden surge in power came from. Rubbing her eyes tenderly again, Alice then entered once a breath was taken.

Ragnar, noticing her obvious distress, bolted straight towards her. Flinching at the abrupt action, and prepared for the worst, her eyes then lifted in a tear-filled surprise the moment his arms wrapped around her as he spoke out, "You have not been harmed, have you?" Alice shook her head, before Ragnar motioned his head towards his bedroom door, "She wishes to see you." Nodding, Alice entered for the Jarl's wife to reach out to her weakly, making her bolt and gently take her hand.

Kneeling down, this wife who had raised her then ran her fingers through Alice's hair weakly, "Honey, I'm so sorry if I was overly strict with you… I knew that I was getting sicker by the day, so I had to teach you as much as I could in a timely fashion. I only ask this one thing… Alice, watch over your… father," right then, Alice's eyes became mortified over what was being asked of her, but the manner that she had asked it made it a bit more than conflicting to agree to the terms.

Standing and stumbling away, her body basically was put in autopilot as she blacked out once she passed Ragnar due to the name that had been given to her. Noticing the look in her eyes, Ragnar didn't dare go anywhere near her as of now since he knew what she would look like when she had blacked out to this degree. With her head lowered, Alice stumbled far into the forest so that she could have a private moment to break down over the second mother that she was going to lose.

Three months later, and now seventeen, Alice looked up to the sky that held no northern lights. She could only release a gentle breath of air as Ragnar approached her to bring her close to him, "Allie, stop blaming yourself." Leaning her face against his chest, she shockingly pushed him away while tears flooded down her face, "What if I never give you any children?! Would you feel relief over my death in the same manner as well?!" Shocked at this outburst, all he could do was gulp.

About to explode over this, Alice then heard him taking in a deep breath while deeply staring into her beautiful eyes before making an even-toned reply that told no lies in the slightest, "Allie, nothing could possibly make me want to toss you to the side. You are one of the most important people to me, so I would never be able to toss you to the side as if you meant absolutely nothing to me in my life. I saved you for a reason, and I think that this was the very reason that I did so."

Not believing what he had said, she absolutely refused to be tossed to the side as if she were yesterday's garbage, making her push him away even harder until he gripped her wrists and toppled the two over so that he now hovered above her. Leaning his face down, Ragnar pressed his lips tightly against her own, only for him to feel her attempting to make a desperate move towards him. Gently releasing her, Alice eagerly pressed her lips against him in an overly desperate manner.

Responding fairly quick, Ragnar felt as if his skin had been set ablaze, causing for him to unlace her top and her ankle-long silk and lace skirting before tossing both to the side. As this happened, Alice began removing Ragnar's attire with a heated blush stained upon her skin, making him snicker at her. Taking her hands, Ragnar leaned down to begin kissing up the silky skin that her throat held while mumbling, "Deep breath Allie." All she could do was ask, "Will it hurt?" - "Not if you relax."

A deep breath was taken before her barrier was breached, causing for her to tightly clench his hands in return while holding her breath as tears began rolling down her face. Ceasing all movements to allow her time to adjust to his rather impressive size, Ragnar could only begin softly hushing her as a way to calm her body that had just violently reacted to his own entering her, "Allie, you must breathe, my love." By the time that she had relaxed, he began to thrust pleasurably.

Wanting for this love to run for a long time, no matter the outcome, Ragnar made slow and deep pushes inside of Alice. The actions made had her arching tightly against his body, making Ragnar go just about insane. With him releasing one of her hands, Ragnar used his free hand to begin gripping her hip to plunge even deeper inside of her. Now that he entered further inside of her, Alice gasped harshly before her legs coiled around him as if she were an anaconda catching its prey.

No longer needing to hold her hand for support, he knew that she needed tender love as of now, so he slid his free hand across her silky firm breasts to marvel at. Noticing that she was no longer making sounds of desire, Ragnar got onto his knees while pulling her along with him to be on her knees as well, yet her back now faced his chest. Slipping back inside of her, Ragnar gave an abrupt slam inside of her, making her cry out in absolute pleasure… which confused him to no ends.

Women who had just had their hymen broken normally wished for their sex to be gentle and full of love. His new woman just had to go and defy all logic, though. Tilting her head back against his broad chest to peer up at him while panting heated breaths, only for her to begin thinking silently, "Even if he raised me, he was only a few years older than I was when he took me in, so this is completely understandable." She snapped out of her thoughts once both of her breasts were grasped.

Skin slapped abruptly against skin as he continued thrusting inside of the inviting and enticing body that she held. Leaning his towering frame down, Ragnar brushed his lips against her neck sensually, causing for her walls to begin tightly squeezing his manly attribute. Holding her even tighter against his sweaty form, Ragnar began to hurriedly slam inside of her dripping entrance. Reaching up, Alice brushed the sweat from his face and hair tenderly, only to pull away from him.

Appearing confused that she had pulled away from him, he was equally as shocked the moment she rammed his back against the ground. Straddling his hips, Alice sucked in a sharp breath of air the moment she pushed him back in, only for her to grasp his shoulders so that she could honestly get the work done. Honestly, she had witnessed too much sex during her younger years. Ragnar took hold of her hips at that moment to begin helping her slam her off and back over his member.

By all of the gods, he loved this girl with all of his heart and wished that the gods would approve of their union, which was proven the moment he slightly sat up and lovingly pressed his lips to her own. Feeling his emotions, tears began sliding down her face before releasing a hiccupping laugh, "I love you too Ragnar." Giving a naughty grin, Ragnar forced her to help him finish until he began sucking in sharp breaths of air, "Allie, with how sharp you are… I thought you knew how I felt."

Noticing how exhausted that Ragnar was, she slipped off of him to become a missing puzzle piece in the puzzle of Ragnar, only to take his hand in her own with a smile. Shifting his gaze down after a while of not hearing her speak, Ragnar witnessed her sleeping face smashed against his rock-solid abdomen due to how much shorter she was, only to smile at the precious sight. However, what he didn't know was that she had conceived, and now carried, his long awaited child.

Picking her up, Ragnar then carried her back to the longhouse the moment he had pants on. Entering his room, he placed Alice down to witness her blindly searching for him. Chuckling softly, he then got into bed after removing his pants, only to wrap a single arm around her before falling asleep swiftly. The next day, Alice bathed and dressed before slowly making her way back into the forest. Still, each person wondered if they should ask her if she was okay, yet they never chose to.

As hours passed, Alice sat in the same spot while crying, her dull eyes basically told the world that she was not in the here and now. Once he had awoken, Ragnar became nervous and began looking everywhere for her, but the back of her head had been struck so that she could be sold, but she would be sold for a high price due to this being the priestess that is talked about so frequently by everyone, the one who can predict another's future. This is where the tug-of-war began.

Needing to wake the high priority gal, she was shaken and shaken while having her name called out to wake sleeping beauty. It took a long time for her focus to be regained, only to clear his throat before tossing her a new attire. Smiling softly, she then changed into the flashy attire that he had commissioned precisely for her. Changing into the gifted attire, Alice was then led to be sold off for good. Walking out in what he had given her made that price magnify by a tenfold.

With eyes full of tears, Alice began to cry softly. How could one day go from sorrow, only to become absolute misery. With a disgusting husband, that had bought her now always lurking about, Alice had considered taking her own life just to no longer feel that man's eyes gaze fixated upon her. Dressed in the finest silks each day, she continued to defy the man she called her husband to the point that he began to make up the excuse of 'she must remain a virgin, or she will lose her gifts.'

Nine months later from when she had held intercourse, Alice gave birth to a strikingly beautiful son that she had named Aesir Ragnarson - in the same manner that one type of the gods were called. Her son emerged appearing beautiful and almost god-like with the way he held his mother's eyes, father's hair, and skin appearing as if he were a living and breathing mini-god in the making. Being raised by his mother, you had best bet that he began picking up on her quick temper.

---

Time in Eternity worked much different than how it had worked in the Underworld. It was sped up just enough for those who had logged in as children to appear as they had in the real world, yet it had been slowed to regular time once she reached her real world age, making Alice now eighteen. Alice, now that age, sat behind a curtain in sheer boredom. She now held the title of being the "Shadow Queen", yet was also fully capable of defending herself should the need ever arise.

Wearing a loose two-piece dress, all she could do was heavily sigh when she was called for - just not by name. Slowly making graceful barefoot steps out, she walked to this clan leader before placing a gentle hand on his arm. Witnessing his future, Alice's brows furrowed before slightly lifting. Making her way down to this man that appeared harder than any stone or metal… or perhaps he was simply unwilling to show any of his emotions to her that he currently held as of now.

Stopping in front of this man that held long silver locks and striking silver orbs, she stepped closer to him before humming, only to step so close that she now pressed against him before her oceanic and gold eyes met his sparkling silver eyes. She couldn't fathom as to why she felt so close to a man that she would only see for a short while, so she slowly took his hands to scan through his history. Placing his hands over her heart, she witnessed everything, making her eyes fly open in alarm.

"That's enough. What did you see," she was questioned, forcing her to slowly place his hands back before walking back and speaking as she peered back at him, "He is the one to trust. He now searches for his love that was taken from him." The clan leader then flicked his hand to dismiss her before speaking, "A man fighting for his love is truly an honest man that trust should be given to." As the clan leader spoke, Akihiko couldn't help but stare at the "Shadow Queen" for her beauty.

Shaking his head and filling his mind full of thoughts concerning Alice, Akihiko then cleared his throat, "Two queens. You must be living large." The clan leader could only snort a laugh out, "Ah, the Shadow Queen is only here to give prophecies of the future, along with scanning one's past to give me their true goals or intentions. Nothing more. Should one defile her innocence, then she will lose her gifts." - 'If who I just witnessed was Alice, then I call bullshit over the lost innocence part.'

Hearing about a battle, the clan leader whistled sharply, only for Alice to walk out again. Told that she needed her blade for combat, all she could do was nod in a docile manner before basically speaking a whisper, "As you wish." Grabbing her blade, yet not a shred of armor, she then walked out before her wrist was grabbed tightly as he grit out through a mumble, "If you tell him who you are, then he will not be given a second chance for work. Understood?" - "Understood… sir."

As she went to continue walking, her son was handed off to her before he spat out, "Take your bastard of a son with you. If he dies, you will be held at liberty." She could tell that this man was actually wishing for her son to die, so she finally snapped, "Even should my son die, I will never birth you a child. So this entire farce is futile!" Grumbling, he then took the beautiful babbling and clapping little boy back into his arms while grumbling, "Get it done." Thankful, she then exited.

With her white mare being brought out, Alice hopped up for all of her mass amounts of locks to flurry, only for her arm to be grabbed without anyone else witnessing, the clan leader growled out, "If you run, then I will make sure that my armies go after Ragnar, am I clear?" With the threat of Ragnar's life being on the line, Alice tearfully nodded, yet didn't know who she was going up against in the slightest. Without her checking, their opponents were in fact, the heart broken Ragnar.

Silently riding to the destination now, Akihiko shifted his head towards her with a gentle smile, "Pardon my rudeness, but my name is Akihiko. Might we be told what your name is?" Alice, remembering the warning given to her, caused for her to lightly shake her head over this question as she softly replied in return, "Forgive me, but I am not given the permission to speak my name aloud." If this had honestly been Alice, she wouldn't have been able to stop speaking, or take a breath.

Nodding his head as she went silent again, Alice could only stare straight forward in a lost matter as she continued to ride her horse as if she had come from a different clan. Each clan held their own little kinks and quirks, and her particular style of riding did not match the people from the clan that they had just been at. From where he stood, she appeared as if she hailed from the specific Ragnar clan. If she weren't, then she rode her horse in a similar manner. Only time would tell.

Many days of riding passed until the small group of mercenaries arrived in front of a massive Viking army. Shutting her emotions off and jumping down from her horse for her holstered twin blades to clink against one another. No one could tell, but all, except one, of the opposing eyes were now massive due to their vicious tiny enemy. With long locks fluttering in the wind as she began taking slow steps forward, a single man darted to Ragnar, "Jarl Ragnar, urgent news. It… It's Alice."

A look of clear shock became plastered onto his face before nudging his horse forward to actually witness Alice's long flurrying locks. Jumping down, Ragnar dashed forward while in tears, making the mercenaries shift their head towards Alice the moment she choked out, "He… He sent me on purpose. How… How cruel can one man be?! I… I have to do this, or Aesir will be nothing more than a memory of the past." With pain twinging her facial expression, all she did was pull out her blade.

Dashing forward at a terrifying speed, Alice raised her blade to Ragnar's throat as tears streamed down her face. Feeling as if she couldn't move a muscle, Alice could only whimper out, "Ragnar, you… you have a son. His name is Aesir Ragnarson." Ragnar's eyes filled with tears at that moment as his arms lifted, "If you are attempting to save our son's life, then go ahead." Her Osmanthus Blade from SAO began trembling terribly at that moment, "Ragnar, don't just let me do this! Fight!"

Hearing a hefty snort, Alice wiped her eyes as Ragnar began to speak, "Then let's go and retrieve our child." In all honesty, one wouldn't think that a portal that took one straight to the past would correct Alice's properness problem, yet it miraculously had, "It isn't as simple as that!" Ragnar snickered and pressed his lips to her cheek, "Sure it is, so don't tell me that it isn't." With it said, Ragnar scooped the lass up and placed her on her horse while winking, "We were never here."

Jumping onto his own saddle, Ragnar approached before blinking rapidly and looked at all of the mercenaries, "Ah, you all must belong to the clan of mercenary Vikings that I've heard so much about." Noticing all of that silver hair, something seemed oddly familiar about this man, making Ragnar begin pointing towards Akihiko, "You seem familiar. Have we met before?" This whole time, Akihiko had been wondering the same thing, causing for him to shrug, "If you're alive, I doubt it."

Cackling out while motioning for his army to advance, Ragnar pointed a finger towards him, "I like this one! He's amusing as hell to speak to!" Akihiko could only smirk in return as he replied, "Why thank you, princess." Ragnar was roaring with laughter to the point that Alice had to begin patting his back while sassing out, "Ugh, Ragnar, you are fully capable of breathing! And I now realize… that this is the most that I've freely spoken aloud to another adult. I mostly only speak to Aesir."

This made Ragnar calm down almost instantly, his face that of horror, "Allie, you are telling me that you have only spoken to our child this entire time?" Relaxed due to Ragnar's presence, Alice tugged her horse to be close to Ragnar's, making him scoop her up with tears in his eyes, only to shakily whisper to her as he tied Alice's mare to his horse, "By the gods have I missed you. Each night I would pray for you to be returned to me, and here you are. All I need now in my life is my son."

Hitting the boundaries of territory that she did not want, a vision came to her clear as day, only to look terrified, making Ragnar take notice almost instantly, "Allie, what did you see?" Looking up, Alice's lips quivered, "Go! Our son is being abused!" Alice jumped to her mare, untied it, and spoke, "Stay with your troops… trust me, this asshole makes me furious." He nodded and chuckled, "C'mon, at least let me actually kill the bastard that is hurting my child. Now go, my love!"

Snapping the reins for the horse to begin bolting, weaving through people perfectly until skidding to a stop. Alice jumped down and furiously made her way forward until walking inside for him to give the same lame excuse of, "He forced me to defend myself! The child is mad!" Tapping her foot and releasing a single chuckle before walking forward, Alice could only pull her blades out, "Don't mess with my foresight! Now, give me Aesir, and I will leave, if not, all I will say is… good luck."

His eyes mirrored that of a deer caught in headlights. He only became unfrozen when Alice, out of instinct, ducked for the swing of Ragnar's blade and axe to behead him. Alice, hearing whimpers of fear, looked around a corner to see little Aesir before putting her blade away and holding her arms out. Aesir darted towards his mother instantly, only for Alice to scoop the little man up to begin carrying him while calling out, "Ragnar!" Finishing off an enemy and turning his head, he saw it.

It being that this darling little lad was obviously half him and half her. Carrying her son forward, Alice playfully tapped his nose while chirping out, "Aesir, remember why you asked that you didn't have a daddy? Well, guess what, I actually did find your daddy alive and well!" Alice then slightly turned her back, but enough for Aesir to see Ragnar. As fate would have it, an enemy bolted up to him so that he could make the great attempts at slaying Ragnar, one of the Viking Warlords, hah.

Inside of RATH, Higa's mouth dropped wide open after spewing coffee out once the moment that this alert had even popped up on his monitor screen, only to shoot his head towards the testing room, but didn't see anyone. Whirling around, Higa then called out to Kikuoka, "Hey boss, you will want to hear this shocking news. About nine months ago, Zuberg number one and Kayaba both made themselves permanent residents inside of Eternity to stay! That's something good, isn't it?"

All that were still awake now watched the massive monitor to witness a child of Alice that was obviously made from Alice and Ragnar. They now knew what Ragnar had looked like due to this portal into the past, yet that was when they noticed that Alice was no longer on Frigg's account, she now was using her account that held the appearance, minus the wings, from ALO… held her gear from SAO, ALO, and the Underworld… and her stats were based from all of her time gaming in all games.

There was one difference though from the rest of her stats, that being the fact that she held the gifted abilities of Frigg, but could also heal injuries should she be in the need of saving her life, or someone else's. It was not only that, though. Since she technically wasn't a goddess, she no longer had to marry Odin. Alice was now fully capable of gaining a union with anyone that she wished to be with at that current point in time, that is, if they held enough love for the favored blondie.

It was a given that many people held plenty of love for the lass at this point in time. Who she would stay with was the important part to be noted within history though. That wasn't even the half of it since Alice was now a very important person of the past that was even fully capable of bringing the dead back to the living, should she ever feel the need to do so. She was now truly a woman of the past that was worth making note of by the person that wrote about the Viking Era.

Back inside of Eternity, Ragnar took down his enemy before scooping his long-awaited birth child into his arms to let him help take people that wished to gain the reward for taking a Viking Warlord down, making Alice smile softly over the sight. It was a given that Alice gave their child all of the knowledge that he could absorb into his tiny body as of this moment. However, Alice told Aesir that it was his father's job to teach his child the art of combat once he was old enough to hold a blade.

By the end of the battle, Ragnar kept his child perched on his hip as he motioned to the silver-haired male of the mercenaries, "I'm going to guess that you are the leader of this group of mercenaries." Akihiko nodded his head at this comment, making Ragnar continue, "Well, then I have an offer for you, Viking to Viking. Join our growing settlement under my command. You don't have to make it permanent, but it would give you the time that you need to rest, recover, eat, and drink."

All of the mercenaries gave their leader an almost pleading facial expression as if they could use a few days to rest, recover, eat, and be merry. This made Akihiko give a breathy chuckle that almost couldn't be heard, only to give a lazy-fared tone of voice, "That doesn't seem like such a bad deal. It would be an honor to stay with the famed Ragnar Clan for a bit, if not for good." Chuckling, Ragnar nodded once Alice did, "This is the best thing for both of our clans, and the gods wish for it."

Akihiko peered towards Alice at that moment… not once forgetting what her name was. Alice then checked her union visions, only to witness that it had changed due to her character becoming what it was before taking Ragnar's arm to whisper out, "The gods now approve of our union." Ragnar's eyes instantly began to sparkle over the words spoken to him, making him happily twirl the mother of his child, and his child, around joyously, "Are you being serious with me right now Allie?!"

Chuckling while nodding through tears, Alice buried her face against Ragnar's throat, only to nod, "I'm being completely serious." Laughing happily, Ragnar lifted Alice onto her mare as all of the homes around them inside of the village burned while him and his son perched on the top of his stallion's saddle, only to motion his hand forward while yelling out, "Now that this is complete, it's time for all of us to return back home to hold a feast and drink before gaining some needed rest!"

As they began moving, Ragnar teasingly reached out to playfully flick the jeweled headpiece that laid across Alice's forehead, "Don't you look cute." Turning bright red, Alice could only swat his hand gently while scolding, "There's no need for you to tease me, so behave." Ragnar could only give this gorgeous woman a teasing expression as he honestly spoke, "We both know that will never happen in this lifetime, nor the next." Alice could only blow her bangs up over this, "Yeah, yeah."

---

Arriving in the settlement, all mouths dropped wide open over Alice finally returning after all of this time gone. However, they were also quick to notice the child that their Jarl now held looked almost exactly like a mixture of Ragnar and Alice. Placing her mare in the stalls and hopping down, Alice turned to see all of the people kneeling to her almost instantly, making her blush over the fact that they were now looking at her as if she had been the wife to their Jarl this entire time.

Once all residents gave her a big hug and happily welcomed her home, Alice grabbed all tools needed to go hunting while smiling brightly and waving lightly. Remembering that there was an entire clan to feed, this being mostly for her child, Alice grabbed all of her archery weapons for hunting as Ragnar looked away. Alice waved to everyone else and rushed out of the forest before hunting a kill for this night's evening meal without anyone ever realizing that she had gone to the forest.

With the next day upon them, Alice now realized that Ragnar basically kept his eyes fixated on her the whole day due to sheer and utter panic on his part. Once she could even make it to the line of the forest to hunt, Ragnar bolted up and winked, "I have completely, entirely, and utterly missed competing in all of our hunting competitions." Chuckling, Alice nodded with saddened eyes once she noticed his trembling hands, "It's understandable that you're panicking to the extent you are."

Holding her hand out to him with a tender smile, had Ragnar take her hand while releasing a heavy breath of air that he hadn't realized that he had been holding, "Allie, what happened to you for all of that lost time?" Raising a hand to press her palm against his soft cheek, Ragnar then held that dainty hand pressed gently in place as she frowned, "I was knocked unconscious, sold to the highest bidder, was forced to marry the same man, but I would never go and lay in the same bed."

This explanation merely served to give Ragnar's expression an absolutely horrified face. With so few capable of knowing what his expressions had meant, all they could do was speculate, yet while all of those who knew him from a personal level that would go from start to finish to just know. So few knew of these expressions that it might have well been a damn secret due to how well that he actually hid the fact that he was physically capable of making facial expressions since he hid it.

Well, she hadn't known that it was going to make him this distressed, considering he snapped away and began to bolt. However, it wasn't the explanation that had made him distressed, it was for some other unknown reason. Groaning and asking for Kirito to keep an eye over her child, he swiftly agreed. Right as the Aesir problem was handled, Alice began to run as fast as she possibly could now that she knew that she had an honorable set of eyes that always remained glued on her child.

Bolting while snapping her head back and forth rather anxiously, Alice would come to a stop every so often to check each direction possible as she yelled, "Ragnar! Come on Ragnar, answer me!" Even as she ran around while looking and hollering like a lunatic, Alice began to think… causing for her to sift through places they frequently were at together, finding only one that matched the agenda that required seclusion from other individuals so he could just simply release his feelings.

Slamming on the breaks, Alice came to a stop before redirecting herself to begin bolting to head west, claiming that she simply adored watching the sunrise from this location. Well, and the fact that there was almost a gift given from the gods with how all animals would come to this area. She absolutely loved this area because this place was their gifted spot to spend time together with one another. They absolutely adored spending time with one another, so this would remain as their spot.

As Alice ran, a pair of deep brown eyes narrowed towards this girl that now ran as fast as she could. She had witnessed Ragnar enter the forest earlier in the day, making her snap around and walk inside of her home to prepare a mixture of herbs for a dark incantation to place over the returned lass, causing for her to chant out for herself to hear, "I hope that girl dies a gruesome death for her wicked sins of witchcraft. Only to hear all of the gods completely furious with all of her actions."

Panting softly for the abrupt marathon she ran; all she could do as her breathing regulated was place her hands on her knees so that she could instinctively peer up to hear sounds of sorrow as she closed a single eye when sweat entered that orb. With her single eye, Alice noticed that he had never cut down the ropes that led them to their hunting spots in the trees and smiled softly before climbing up her original rope. Once both were in the trees, Alice glanced over to notice puffy eyes.

Peering worriedly at Ragnar, Alice scooted over to him, and guided his head to her chest. Almost instantly, Ragnar wrapped his arms around her tiny frame to hold her close by burying his face against her breasts. Frowning, she believed that she could blame fate for all of this, but lightly shook her head and scowled as her way of thinking as she stroked his hair gingerly, only for his emotions to crack at the seams for once to burst into soft sobs in a muffled tone, "Allie… I'm such an idiot!"

Nodding her head was all that she could think of doing until this specific test, for her, was completed. Releasing a soft giggle, the platinum blonde could only poke fun at Ragnar right then, "Ragnar… don't tell me that you're just now figuring that out!" Abruptly shaking his head against her chest, he then held his breath, causing for Alice to gasp sharply before roughly patting his back to make him literally speak something that froze her entirely, "I meant how I married someone else!"

Pulling away for her hand to slowly drop to her side, Alice's shocked tone rolled out through a fragile whisper as her hand dropped to rest at her side again. As of now, neither Alice nor Ragnar could fathom that they had been placed under a spell that did more than what was outspoken by the caster. For Ragnar, this woman had placed a curse on him to believe that they were married. Even should his soul reject the spell, it would merely make him highly dislike her being his spouse.

Horrified now, Alice moved away with no words to be heard coming from her mouth, making Ragnar abruptly reach out to her and tightly take hold of her bicep in a panic. This grab was no normal grab, this one held frozen, stiff, and borderline aggressive fingers, which was no courtesy of the spell placed on them, "Allie, listen to me for once in your damn life! I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve, yet you won't even give me the chance to explain to you as to why I did so to begin with!"

Releasing her the moment that she began scowling, Ragnar could only witness Alice about to try and sneakily reach her hand down, making his aggressive nature take over thanks to this spell. Ragnar shot his hand out to tightly grip her bicep in a hold that would no doubt leave deep black and blue bruises plastered onto her porcelain doll skin that would leave a constant reminder for months that he, Ragnar, would remember that he had been the one that had harmed the endearing lass.

Alice could only begin wincing over the pain that he was now being forced to bring her, only capable of creating the most pathetic sounds of actual pain that felt as if Thor might strike her down for not holding the strength where it was needed. Opening her eyes for a moment, she saw that his eyes were now filling with tears the more he heard that he was the one bringing so much physical harm to the loved little lass of the entire village. She hated hurting him, but it had to be done.

Raising her elbow up slightly, but unnoticeably, he finally took notice in those sparkling duo-tinted orbs that held a narrowed and sharpened gaze. Scoffing and rolling his eyes over this sudden change, he honestly should've known better. Abruptly slamming her elbow into Ragnar's gut, she was released as he began to cough non-stop. The moment that Ragnar began to cough harshly, almost as his breath had been stolen, Alice reached down, grabbed the rope, slid down, and ran.

Feeling that spell ram inside of her body by force, Alice came to a rather abrupt halt with widened eyes, considering that she knew that she just had a dark spell casted upon her. Well, she didn't commit the act of witchcraft, and the gods obviously were not furious with her. If the gods were furious with her by any means possible, you'd best believe that she would know through their actions in the real world, along with their voices that she could hear. But something about her was wrong.

She had just been used for a dark magic ritual, and felt absolutely disgusting now. Before she bathed, Alice gathered some ingredients that were small and very simple, only to enter the bath once she had grabbed the small leftovers that had fallen to the ground into a bowl. It was worth helping her mind. Tossing the bath salts into the warm water that would purify Alice from the dark magic that surrounded her. Removing her attire, Alice then got into the warm relaxing water.

Bathing herself quickly, but effectively, while pondering long and hard over matters. Under the influence of a spell should be counted as a free pass, right? Once finished bathing, Alice stood before taking swift notice in the hand print bruise that now plastered her skin. Honestly, she wouldn't know how she felt about the subject of yes and no until she was face-to-face with Ragnar. It was rather shocking, and obviously conjured up nonsense. The rest, she had to figure out her life for herself.