Chapter 18:

The Stranger

Göll's footsteps echoed through the hallway. She tried to catch up to the Valkyrie, hoping that maybe this time she would be fast enough.

The last fight kept repeating itself over and over in her head while she ran. The feeling of victory and then that horrible feeling of it being taken away, unjust and unfair. How dared Viviane to do that!

Göll forced those thoughts out of her head. She had to reach the doors. Deciding to put in the last bits of her strength, she kicked into higher gear.

She barely turned around the corner when she heard the sound - the heavy thud of the doors closing.

Too late.

Her pace slowed down and she exhaled deeply.

In front of her the spotless set of doors appeared and as always they remained closed to the world.

The doors had an elegant tree engraving running between them, both sides of the door reflecting on half of the tree. There was no keyhole or handles for the doors. They seemingly responded to touch, and touch only.

And the only one who could open them was Brunhilde and she was now inside this barred room. For reasons that still eluded Göll the Valkyrie insisted on entering and leaving this room without anyone by her side.

The room had remained a mystery to Göll, one that she slowly grew more interested in as the matches progressed.

At the end of each match she would go to this room. Her gaze would become distant and she usually adapted that porcelain mask of hers. She coerced Göll to leave her alone and retreated behind the 2 heavy doors.

By the time she exited the room she would look visibly distraught, though she insisted that she'd have to do this by herself.

Why do you torture yourself so much? Göll stared at the doors. No sound came from inside, it was as if she had been swallowed whole by the door.

Göll made the impatient decision to test her own patience and wait outside for Brunhilde to emerge again. Maybe she could confront her or get a peek inside this strange room.

Just as Göll came to that decision she heard a set of footsteps coming from down the hall. They were light and gentle, like a breeze that had learned to walk.

She turned her head around and saw a man in butler's outfit calmly pass down the hallway. Every part of his facade and appearance radiated calmth and control. But Göll had seen the god's eyes during the battles of Ragnarok. When he thought no one was watching him, and all the eyes were directed at the stage, Hermes' eyes were filled with lust and hunger for battle. Even more so than his brother Ares, the god of war.

These eyes that could contain so much cruelty met Göll's, though they were warm and gentle this time. Hermes smiled politely and came to a halt.

"It seems I missed Brunhilde, " he concluded, staring at the closed doors.

"What do you want?" Göll asked coldly.

"I wanted to discuss something, but it can wait." Hermes tapped the door lightly. "It's rude to wait here, you know?" Hermes said, an edge clearly present in his calm words. "She just lost a very valuable fighter, she'll have to deal with that grief on her own."

"Wh-"

"Although," Hermes pondered. "Maybe she should try getting more used to that feeling."

"You bastard." Göll clenched her fists. "Just wait until we kill another one of you gods."

Hermes chuckled lightly. "Maybe next match, we'll see. Well if you insist on waiting you can pass on a message from Zeus to your dear sister."

Hermes cast his eyes up for a brief second, as if sending a prayer. But just as he did that, Göll noticed those little sparks of cruelty. "Tell her the world will be against her." the gods lips split into a grin for a fraction of a split second, and then it turned back into a serene smile.

Hermes nodded, self satisfied, and walked past Göll.

"Good luck," she heard the messenger of the gods say, right before his footsteps vanished alongside him..

"What was that about?" Göll wondered.

Click!

The door opened and Göll backed away.

"Sister Herm…" Gölls words died down in her throat as the person who left the room wasn't her sister.

A man, or at least he looked human at first glance, emerged from the black behind the doors. He wore a lab coat that had vague orange and red stains on it. Despite the coat he didn't look anything like a true scientist.

The details of his facade were hard to catch, despite nothing seeming to be odd at first glance. He had dirty blond hair, a handsome yet sketched face, the beginnings of a beard. He was handsome in every way possible, except that he felt off. Like someone that had undergone too much surgery. It felt like she was looking at a snake wearing human skin.

Their eyes briefly met and Göll's heart froze for a second.

A blue eye stared into her soul. A brown eye joined it. Heterochromia wasn't unusual amongst gods, but a third, green eye was unusual.

"Hmm," the man gave her a short passing glance before walking straight past her. In only a mere glance he had already passed on his judgment and deemed her apparently not even worth a second glance or…well a second anything.

Göll turned around to look again at the stranger. He didn't look like a god, but then again, he didn't feel human either. Something caught in between, yet neither.

"Göll," Brunhilde's face suddenly emerged from the doors.

The youngest Valkyrie turned her gaze back to the door. Behind Brunhilde she couldn't see much. The room was too dark. The only thing she noticed was a lonely candle on the ground, casting a soft glow into the dark.

And then the door was slammed shut. Brunhilde joined Gölls side and looked at the stranger.

"Did you see that man enter the room?" The elder Valkyrie's eyes were narrow and focused.

"N-no I didn't! I was waiting here the entire time but no one entered."

Brunhilde clenched her fist, annoyance washed over her face. "Fuck, I knew it. No one should be able to enter that room."

"Who was that man?"

Brunhilde moved her hand to her face, she cupped her own head and grinned. "I don't know. I don't know at all. My records have nothing on him, or his people. He's an absolute ghost."

"What did he want?" Göll asked.

Brunhilde giggled, a childish giggle that sounded wrong. "Well, he proposed an offer. They want to represent humanity in the next fight."

"And who are they?" Göll felt very nervous.

A small sheet of paper was pushed into her hands. A white business card. A black logo was printed on the cover. Black text was printed underneath it. The words meant absolutely nothing to Göll.

Secure. Contain. Protect.

A/N And so we continue the fight. Thanks for the people who are interested, sorry if I update late. But hey, I am a busy moon and I really really tried finding a way to fit Malenia into this fic, but sadly she can't represent either the gods, or humanity. Such a sad day.

-CaptainMoonShine-

(Reviews)

Alice Fairchild:

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll be sure at least one of them will be useful : 3

Shadow Joestar:

Yup, can't wait to see what comes next either (sadly I have to write it)