Revamped!

[After all these Asgard chapters, I have decided to revamp Apollo's birth story - A Good King Goes to War. As of now, the revamping process has started.

Also, I have an Avengers Endgame prequel out now - Luminous Hope.

Fun Fact - I picked the crown to be in Vanaheim because I only know the names of five realms - Midgard, Asgard, Jotunheim, Hel, and Vanaheim - when I first planned this arc. And it just happened to be that Vanaheim is the future-telling realm].


Chapter 114: What Happened in Asgard Part Two

Seven Years Ago - Asgard

After running across the Bifrost and entering the palace, Apollo gently puts Sigyn on the ground beside his axe as he starts running forwards and yelling for his parents. Sigyn starts to come back to consciousness, her blurry vision seeing her reflection in Freya's calf armour. A part of her feels scared waking up to her reflection. She teeters her head upwards, squinting her eyes tighter as the lights get brighter. She sees the crown they found in the monolith on Freya's sword and a concerned look on her face as Freya kneels down beside her.

"Where are we?" Sigyn asks her.

"Back home," Freya responds softly, checking Sigyn's face for any other physically evident traumas.

"My head feels like it exploded."

"Sorry about that."

"Wait, what did you do?"

Instead of answering, Freya turns around and sees Apollo coming back with his parents trailing. She stands up and takes a step back, letting Apollo and his parents approach Sigyn. When Apollo and Sigyn lock eyes, she sees his look of pure parent-like concern that resembles his parents and all she can react from is current flashbacks of the crown's visions.

Suddenly, she acts as if she's having a seizure just by looking at Apollo, constantly trying to breathe and scream at the same time all while scooting back on her arms. Apollo stops in his spot as Jane quickly throws herself on the ground to try and calm her down. Almost immediately, Sigyn locks onto Jane and starts sobbing into her shoulder. Apollo stares at his mother and his cousin, feeling helpless. He looks over and sees his father talking with Freya, examining the crown they found but leaving it on her sword so they won't touch it.

"We got the crown from this monolith and Sigyn put it on," Freya explains to him. "Then, it was like the crown possessed her, showing her a vision. It radiated this bright white burning light but when Apollo and I finally got it off of her, it stopped and she passed out."

Thor looks at the crown for another second before giving Freya her sword back. He walks over to Sigyn and Jane, picking Sigyn back up on her feet like she was his own child. The haunted look on her face plagues him as if he were seeing it on Apollo.

"Sigyn, look at me," Thor says gently, holding her head up so that her eyes lock with his. "You have to tell me what you saw."

"The crown showed me nothing."

"Lies. You nearly exploded and fell unconscious."

"It took all my energy at once and Freya hit me."

" … I'm more than sure that you're hiding what you saw. Sigyn, you have to tell me. I had you get this crown because I thought it would help you and Apollo get out of your fates."

Sigyn looks away from Thor and everyone else, lowering her head a little. Tears start forming in her eyes at the thought of those visions. She wants to keep it inside of her because she knows that she will explode for real if the others knew.

"Just one word," Thor urges. "Please."

Apollo knows that truth is simple and singular because lies are just a mess of words constructed together to make sense. This is how he knows that Sigyn will be honest about what she saw. It would be impossible to summarize a lie in just one word.

Sigyn looks up at Thor and one tear falls down her face, stopping at the ridge where Thor's hand is holding the base of her head. She keeps quiet for a few more seconds before letting out what she saw in one word:

"Ragnarök."

Thor shudders and his grasp on her unintentionally loosens although he knows that Sigyn has nothing to do with what she saw except for saying it. He looks at Jane and sees her arms wrapped around herself in fear. The only ones genuinely confused are Apollo and Freya. They look at each other and subtly shrug.

"What's Ragnarök?" Apollo asks.

"The end," Thor says solemnly, having the same distant look in his eye that Sigyn had earlier. "The end of man, gods, and goddesses. It's a complex series of events that have been planned since the creation of our worlds. I had no idea the Serpent Crown - which is what's on Freya's sword - would show that. It could only mean that our generation is involved in some way - or yours, for that matter." He looks at Sigyn. "What about it did you see?"

"The answer to our fates is how to win," Sigyn responds.

Thor lightens, hopeful about that sight. "How?"

Sigyn swallows. "Apollo - Apollo kills me."

All hope is lost in the room. Everyone is silent once again, looking at Sigyn doubtfully but the pained expression on her face says that she saw that.

"That's not true," Apollo says, feeling like a ticking time bomb. "Those are just words."

"It's true," Sign confirms.

"Vanaheim is the future-telling realm," Freya reminds him.

"Don't side with her!" He yells at Freya. "It could be a fake artifact, a ruse one filled with lies that will only distract us from something of a greater threat."

"Greater than Ragnarök? Greater than the end of what we know?"

Apollo nods. "How can Fate expect me to kill Sigyn and that somehow prevents Ragnarök from taking its full potential?! It makes no sense!" Apollo looks at Sigyn. "You'd better not be lying…"

Sigyn sighs. "I wish I was."

"No, you're lying. I know you are. You've known your fate for so long and wouldn't be this silent unless something else much grander was at stake. What else happens at Ragnarök according to the Serpent Crown?

"It's our future. I don't know all the details, but there will be a battle. A final battle. We both die."

Apollo shakes his head in disbelief again. "That won't happen."

"But we win, Apollo." Sigyn smiles a little which surprises everyone, especially him. "The world ends and it begins again. It's our fates and it will never change. Our destinies are forever intertwined like the crown." She grabs his hands and for a second, her eyes spark brighter. "It will hurt you so much, but you need to be strong and do this."

Apollo says nothing. Learning about his death just took all the air out of him.

Sigyn scoffs a little. "Your silence is stronger than the thunder you summon. Life isn't meant to be lived alone. Two of us dying isn't lonely. If we'll die, might as well do it together. Welcome to the club of young people knowing how they die."

Sigyn laughs like a maniac until Thor and Jane shush her; the news of Apollo's apparent death at Ragnarök being a fright to them as well, even Freya for that matter. Apollo is now the one who looks horrified and for some reason, Sigyn is no longer paralyzed in her tears like she was just moments ago.

"Thor, is - is Sigyn right about the crown?" Jane asks with a shaky voice. "Is Ragnarök coming and do they die for us to win?"

"I'm not sure," Thor admits, "I've only heard of Ragnarök and not the full story. I only asked for them to retrieve the crown -"

Sigyn cuts him off. "Why send me to get it with Freya and not Apollo? Or just Apollo and Freya? Didn't want your little boy to see his death."

"Sigyn, stop," Apollo commands.

"Why? You all were so interested in me talking about it just seconds ago."

"You're becoming your mother, wanting me to kill you."

Sigyn is taken aback for a moment before her brows furrow together. "Excuse me?"

"All this is Amora reminding us that we belong to her, to Fate. We're nothing but pawns in her game and maybe this concept of Ragnarök is a part of it all. We made a promise to each other to escape our fates right before we left Midgard and now you're saying we can't? This is her doing although she's no longer around."

Sigyn simmers up. "How dare you?! Don't bring Amora into this! She's dead. We were both there when I killed her!"

"That is enough!" Jane exclaims, putting her hands out in front of Sigyn and Apollo in case they were to start hitting each other.

"Freya," Thor says, "bring The Serpent Crown to Odin's Treasury and lock it up."

Freya nods in obedience and turns on her heel to start heading over there but to her surprise, Apollo stops her by grabbing her sword directly by the blade. He cuts his hand but doesn't care because he has the crown. Apollo throws the crown at the nearest wall with all his strength and anger in hopes to break it but the moment it hits the wall, it lands on the ground without a single crack.

Once the crown is calm, Freya goes to pick it up but stops when a spotlight like when Sigyn put the crown on but to a lesser extent emerges from the round of the crown followed by a growing fog where the crown is. Suddenly, three goddesses appear in the light, taking one step out in sync and standing before them. The three goddesses are taller than them, each with the same boldness, icy skin, cloudy hair, and deep yet piercing eyes. They're gorgeous but unsettling all at the same time.

"They're the ones I saw in the crown…" Sigyn mutters almost inaudibly. "They're the ones who showed and explained everything to me. Who are they?"

"We," the middle goddess responds with her echoing voice, "dear child, are the Norn Runes."


[Who would've thought I would include the Norn Runes? I didn't]. [2020: That's the general thought process throughout all my WIPs].