Numen
Long Time Creeper
- Location
- Canada
What's more outrageous is that Odin is eating all of his ice-cream. Kraaa. Unfair!
VAINGLORIOUS (Worm/Thor)
- Thread starter Numen
- Start date
What's more outrageous is that Odin is eating all of his ice-cream. Kraaa. Unfair!
- Location
- South of North
Yeah, Doctor Mother, it fucking sucks to be blindly manipulated by a force you can barely comprehend and have things you love dearly torn from you with the unfeeling casualness of a force of nature, doesn't it?!
Karma's a bitch.
...that isn't to say that Odin is any less of an unfeeling and un-empathetic asshole who really should have learned an important lesson or two from this whole thing, but karma's still a cast iron bitch.
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- Location
- England
Should be 'have' not 'had'.
ScottotheUnwise
Verified Crack (fic) Dealer
- Location
- Mulberry, Fl
That or remove 'did'
How the fuck is he chauvinistic. His wife did overthrow him.
Anyway, haaaaaaaaaaaaa. Get fucked cauldron. Karma is a mother fucking bitch.
The entities being celestial makes a lot of sense tbh. And the decapitation laser makes much more sense than a fucking crash killing an almost omnipotent being.
Anyway, haaaaaaaaaaaaa. Get fucked cauldron. Karma is a mother fucking bitch.
The entities being celestial makes a lot of sense tbh. And the decapitation laser makes much more sense than a fucking crash killing an almost omnipotent being.
- Location
- Elsewhere
"Well, pretty good plan. It mostly worked!"
zhuull
SB still lying to protect Racists what else is new
I'm now desperately curious to know just how jealous Huginn is of Muninn's snazzy hat collection.
31. Interlude— “Genesis”
Numen
Long Time Creeper
- Location
- Canada
Interlude— "Genesis"
A titan armoured in silver and red floated through the vast interstellar void, massive technologic ritual-tools orbited her colossal body. She stood 2,000 Midgardian feet tall. She held aloft a mighty staff with a diamond prism embedded at the tip. Her eyeless head had only a mouthless jaw and a blue blaze of energy emanated from a massive teardrop shaped gem embedded in her forehead. This being was known in some distant corners of the cosmos as Edinnu the Thinker.
Behind her flew her constant companion, an even more titanic being, a humanoid entity of gold and purple armour at well over 20,000 Migardian feet tall, flying in her wake. His helm had five eyes, three on one side and two on the other— they were circular in shape and glowed with arcane energies. His gauntleted fists were all the equipment he needed to fulfill his function. This being was known as Siyyon the Warrior to those scholars who study the ruins of dead dimensions.
Siyyon was not especially bright by the standards of his kin. Fortunately his partner did enough thinking for both of them. She did enough thinking for all of their kind, her brilliance was unsurpassed, if unappreciated by her conservative kin. She pushed the limits of the Power Cosmic, and she strained the precepts of the Purpose to the extreme. The Great Celestial Hosts called her a heretic.
She proudly declared herself a Visionary and set out on her own path, with her loyal partner in tow.
They were a pair of Celestials who few have heard of, and fewer have encountered. Few worlds have lores that involve them. Fewer still were those that have survived their visitations. All that was known by some diligent scholars was that they were radical in their behaviour, even by the standards of the enigmatic Celestials.
The pair came upon a distant corner of the cosmos, nearing the world known as Earth by the indigenous species and as Midgard by their little gods.
They were noticed almost at once by the Inheritor. A scion of another, arguably even more radical, Celestial, the legendary Ymir the Progenitor.
The Inheritor of Ymir created a projection to interact with them.
The one-eyed old man floated in space before the two Space Gods.
[QUERY] The one-eyed inheritor asked, straining to communicate his mind in a manner preferable to the greater beings before him.
[EXPOSITION] Edinnuu replied, the wavelength of information rich energy slamming into the projection before her.
The Inheritor was taken aback by the force of the blow, and his astral form flickered as he tried to maintain the connection and comprehend the message he had received.
[CONSIDERATION]. The Inheritor stalled.
[NEGATIVE] Edinnu signalled back. [MANDATE]
[COMPROMISE] The Inheritor bargained.
[NEGATIVE] Edinnu reiterated. [MANDATE].
The Inheritor did not find that acceptable. He channeled the power of his world and a massive surge of golden entropic energy sped towards the two Celestial across a spatial tunnel that originated from the Inheritor's homeworld.
[ANNOYANCE]. Edinnu decreed. Her forehead shone brightly with blue light and suddenly the spatial-temporal paths around them twisted and was pinched shut, cutting off the flood of power, leaving only a bare trickle to sustain the astral projection in front of them.
The Inheritor looked physically pained at his defeat. He could do more, he could doubtlessly use more power— but to what end?
Against both Celestials, especially against the might of Siyyon himself, the Inheritor would fall. The Inheritor knows this.
[DEFEAT. COMPLIANCE.] The Inheritor signalled, bowing his head.
[AGREEMENT] Edinuu stated.
The Inheritor paused, then signalled again. [RECOMMENDATION]
[QUERY]
[EXPOSITION]
Edinnu barely even had to think about it.
[AGREEMENT]
A bargain was struck. An unbreakable oath was sworn by the Inheritor, his very mantle binding him to an agreement that he could not renege. The inheritor could not act against them. In exchange, the Inheritor's home world was spared. Edinuu made no promises as to whether she would spare the other realms the Inheritor administrates. Her experiment may require additional data after-all.
And in this corner of the cosmos, the Inheritor was the only being whose metaphysical weight actually mattered. With him no longer an obstacle, their plan could proceed.
[DESTINATION] Soyyin supplied helpfully, eager to be on their way.
[AGREEMENT] Edinnu confirmed. [TRAJECTORY]
[AGREEMENT] Soyyin replied. [QUERY]
[AGREEMENT] The Inheritor accepted.
[AGREEMENT] Edinnu replied.
The Inheritor faded away and did not bar their path anymore. Not that he could have done anything about it.
Edinnu flew into one of the spatial-temporal paths, followed by Siyyon. These ancient pathways branched across space and time like that of a tree, for all that it was impressive, it was nonetheless built by lesser beings. The two Celestials traveled along the eddies of gravitational waves towards their target world.
As they approached the target world's solar system, the Thinking Celestial raised her staff and focused. The blue stone on her forehead blazed brighter, expanding outwards into a halo of light around her featureless head.
Edinnu extended a beam of light from her forehead towards her staff. When it hit the prism atop her staff, the sapphire light refracted, and along with it, the entire solar system partitioned into a hundred thousand realities, a kaleidoscope of the same world-system, nestled within a bubble of space.
The properties of every phenomena within this space was stretched, manifesting in myriad ways, probabilities suspended and given form.
The only exceptions were those objects and entities of great metaphysical weight, whose essence could not be diluted. Those remain singular even as the world became many.
The rest of the Universe remained unchanged save this one bubble of space and time that slowly sailed across the cosmos at the natural pace of the Star at the heart of it.
Edinnu cut off the flow of her power. The seeding would now begin.
Siyyon continued towards the destination world, opening his helmet to reveal a swirling vortex of crystalline energy. He began to shed modules of himself, scattering them over the world's many refractions.
Edinnu did the same, seeding her corner of the kaleidoscope with numerous modules.
As usual, they focused on the main refraction and left the others as control groups. Some worlds they sacrificed as additional energy reserves to power certain modules, or as future experimental locations.
Indeed, some of the modules were so powerful that it was fuelled by many refractions that had to be permanently burned from the Sea of Possibilities— drained of its metaphysical energy forever. Sparks of probabilities stolen from the dreaming of the ur-deity, the One-Above-All.
The one world that the pair of Celestials always left alone in every great cycle was the Core World, the very anchor of their little kaleidoscope. They saved it for last.
They seeded various modules onto their current experimental world, to encourage conflict and experimentation with the various modules. Sometimes the subjects surprised them, finding new ways to use the modules. This method was radical by the standards of the Hosts, but the basis of Edinnu's entire research.
And she has done this for innumerable kalpas, cycles after cycles of the same experiment.
In each cycle there were smaller sub-cycles. They had thousands of refractions to draw upon, so they only ever focus on a certain amount at a time.
When a sub-cycle reached its declining stage and suffered from cataclysmic war and disasters, they pulled the plug on the experiment. All modules were recalled and the involved refractions— the primary experimental world and all of its associated control worlds— were sterilized. But this still left thousands of worlds to work with.
The two Celestials would then travel to another Refraction and repeat this process. They were aided by the Inheritor, who sometimes had experiments he would suggest they conduct— he even inspired several new modules. This was all part of the bargain struck.
The Inheritor and his ilk was nonetheless, forbidden from entering any of the experimental worlds, as per their agreement. The sanctity of the experiment must be kept. This was what Edinnu had explained to him.
This was welcomed by Edinnu, for she and the Inheritor understood the threat the True Enemy represented. Siyyon did not really care. The Avatar of the Cosmic Heat Death would do nothing to the Celestials, except burn their gardens, although Edinnu was deeply attached to her gardens.
After sterilizing their latest experiment, the two celestials shifted through space, transitioning between dimensions to enter another Refraction.
Their target world this time was the Core World. For this was the last sub-cycle. After this, the cycle as a whole would be completed and this entire system would collapse and entropies as the loss of their Core World shatters its metaphysical essence.
Suddenly, Edinnu noted something was off. [RESISTANCE]
Something had created a Ward around their target cluster, the worlds nearest to the Core World were protected from external intrusions— modules were deflected from the surface of all nearby refractions as they tried to enter the orbits of those worlds.
The Warring Celestial found this unacceptable and yet also lamentably pathetic— this was the best the primitive species could muster?
His partner was more enthusiastic however.
The Thinking Celestial was somewhat impressed that their chosen species developed extra dimensional energy manipulation to this extent— she did however, note that this was viable only for select members of the target genepool. Disappointing, but they could work with that.
She signalled her partner. [DISSOLUTION]
[AGREEMENT].
Siyyon raised his hands and clapped them— a golden wave exploded out of space, invisible to the sight of lesser beings and swept through the planet— tearing apart the orange ward that had protected the Core World and its myriad sub-dimensions.
With a gesture, he had undone a thousand planetary cycles' worth of dimensional manipulation—
The shield immediately regenerated.
Siyyon paused.
[TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED]
Edinnu scanned the planet, and concurred with Siyyon's sensors.
[HYPOTHESIS: TEMPORAL MATRIX]
She paused for a moment. [AMPLITUHEDRON DETECTED]
She raised the alert level. An indigenous specimen was able to manipulate one of the structures of the Cosmos. They may need to apply more power than usual.
Suddenly, space twisted around them into a crude inter-dimensional vessel as a singular and very small being stepped forth from the twisting matrix of dimensions— a female of the host species, it stood before a static field of space. The small female was insignificant next to the vastness of the Celestials— but around her neck hung a green amulet that glowed with infinite temporal energy.
[SUBDUE SPECIMEN] Edinnu ordered, alarmed at the unexpected presence of the Infinity Stone. [CAUTION: INDIVISIBLE TEMPORALITY CONFIRMED]
Siyyon hastened to obey, for against one of the Pillars of Creation, no amount of caution was unwarranted. He thrusted one arm forward to grab the specimen. His hand phased through several layers of dimensions that the specimen had wrapped around herself as protection.
The specimen unleashed powerful bolts of entropic energy that tore away at Siyyon's fingertips, but the Warring Celestial was undeterred. He wrapped his colossal hands around the specimen and squeezed, collapsing the dimensions around his target and killed her with the pressure of the gravity generated between his fingers and his palm. The lesser being was pulverized almost instantly.
[TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED] Edinnu warned her partner.
The specimen had rewinded time around herself— again!
[AGGRESSION] Siyyon stated, before he swept the space in front of him with a golden beam that drained all energy from the space in front of him—
[TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED] Edinnu once again warned him.
[AGGRESSION] Siyyon stated, before he swept the space in front of him with a golden beam that drained all energy from the space in front of him—
[TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED] Edinnu once again warned him.
[AGGRESSION] Siyyon stated, before he swept the space in front of him with a golden beam that drained all energy from the space in front of him—
[TEMPORAL ANOMALY DETECTED] Edinnu once again warned him.
She paused.
[TEMPORAL ANOMALOUS INFLUENCE DETECTED]
She allowed alternative awarenesses in sidereal space to filter through both of their perceptions, at once grasping that something was very wrong with the admittedly relative flow of time.
Siyyon understood— the two Celestials were caught in the specimen's temporal rewinding power, applied to the entire solar system thanks to the Pillar of Indivisible Temporality, what lesser beings might call the Time Stone.
Edinnu moved ahead of him, advancing across space towards the enemy.
She meant to do battle with the Time Stone wielder.
Siyyon was alarmed. [QUERY. CONCERN]
[INDIVISIBLE SPATIALITY] She signalled. [CONFIDENT].
Siyyon was mollified. For Edinnu too held an Infinity Stone, and she had the greater metaphysical weight to wield it than the lesser being standing in their way. He had faith she would prevail. Though she was so much smaller than his own bulk, she always had a way to deal with threats, for she was the Thinker.
Her forehead shone with a bright light and fired out towards the specimen's vessel of folded dimensions.
Green light expanded everywhere creating a shield of time. But the light of space rippled around the shield and the willpower of the defiant specimen was not enough. The specimen was overcome, her will breaking before the might of a Cosmic Being. The specimen's soul screamed as she was incorporealized and exorcised from the local space— sent hurling back to the blue planet through a transdimensional pathway. Her vast dimensional presence diminished almost immediately and faded to a tiny flicker in the endlessly blowing ethereal winds.
Then from the same path that the specimen used to retreat, a massive surge of energy cycled through time for millions of years blasted outwards, punching through the beam of space distortion— right into Edinuu's forehead.
Siyyon was not very bright, but he understood warfare. It was a trap. A maneuver meant to bait Edinnu into the firing line of a deadly chronoplasmic ritual; likely the last of the Time Stone Wielder's reserved energies.
Edinuu screamed, her warbling cry shook the fabrics of space around them as nearby planets quaked with her pain. Her helm cracked even as her head was knocked back by the blow, breaking her neck. For a moment, the Celestial struggled and then her head began to right itself, almost instantaneously healing itself from one moment to the next.
Or it would have, had something not intervened.
A burst of rainbow light decapitated Edinnu in her moment of weakness, the burst of energy speeding off into one of the refractions of the world below.
Edinnu's headless body lost its metaphysical presence without her Brain sustaining it, and the myriad modules of her armour began to automate her functions. The automated defence systems would have protected her body had not the time attack from prior begin to randomly freeze her various modules, leading to catastrophic incapacitation.
Her massive body drifted into the same rainbow bridge and was pushed along by its inertia— tumbling towards the distant world ahead as she fell through hundreds of dimensions and burned several refractions from existence. The damages to her now powerless body compounding with every world she crashed through.
Promptly the spatial anomaly flickered and then ceased to be, for the space that formed it had pinched shut.
All of this happened in mere moments, or no time at all, given the strange chronological energies at play. Faster than Siyyon could have acted, faster than he could have understood.
Siyyon was confused. He lacked the fine instruments to truly decipher the incident, for his purpose was overwhelming power, and the protection of the Thinker. Something had happened between all the flashes of energy and twisting of space and time, something bad.
And Siyyon did not know what to do.
[QUERY] He called out across space and time.
He received a short reply a moment later. [CONFIDENCE. RESTRUCTURE]
[RELIEF]
She was functional and repairing herself. Siyyon was relieved. He was almost happy, if such an emotion could be possible for their kind.
So he proceeded with his half of the plan, alone— knowing that his partner would rejoin him soon enough. He created a projection of himself in the likeness of the subject species and inserted himself into the Core World.
It was later— much later, when he saw the uncontrolled modules that had belonged to his partner falling through the orbits of several nearby refractions, mutating and acting without presence, that he knew the terrible truth:
The Thinking Celestial was dead.
Or what passed for dead for their kind. That was to say, the homeostasis of purposeful activity had become destabilized, and the presence diminished to an unrecoverable degree.
And he had no way to find out where her head or body was, for he was no master of Space. The Space Stone had vanished with Edinnu. And even if he found her drained corpse, what could he do? His purpose was power, and nothing else.
Power and Protection.
And now there was only Power, for the purpose of Protection no longer remained relevant.
Siyyon did not know what to do. There was no purpose to anything anymore.
So he wandered and sometimes his avatar consulted with the Inheritor, who had taken to residing on the Core World for some odd reason.
And he still willed his avatar to minimally fulfill the role once envisioned by Edinnu's plans, that of a guiding figure and a controller, carefully maintaining balance so that the experiment does not end too early due to the unforeseen utilization of modules by the host species.
But there was no purpose to anything. He knew nothing of the intricacies of Edinnu's experiments, or how to collect the Modules. The experiment was no longer truly relevant. He was not a thinker. He was a Warrior.
He was not the least bit concerned when outsiders and non-host species began to interfere heavily in the Core World, contaminating the experiment beyond any reasonable degree of tolerance.
He cared not, for there was no purpose to anything.
But soon, something strange occurred. The myriad realms beyond the Core World were exposed through a powerful and uncontrolled convergence of dimensions. And although it was soon stabilized by some unknown means, the rift remained, and exotic energies flowed into the Core World, overloading the world with energies and mutagens foreign and dangerous.
And though Siyyon was tempted to ignore the rift, he felt he should investigate, if only to save the miserable specimens from instigating unwitting doom or uncontrollable evolution upon their own world.
This world was still her Garden, even if she was gone. He would preserve it, for now. For no purpose, but for the sake of her memory.
So he turned his attention towards that part of the world.
Through that rift, the fabrics of this realm were thin, and he saw finite refractions beyond, shadows clinging to the metaphysical weight of the Core World.
One world in particular flickered with metaphysical weight, shining brightly against the dull-ness of its normal presence.
The Thinker's Corpse.
Siyyon had no wish to gaze upon it, for she was dead and there was nothing he could do.
Then against his better judgement, Siyyon looked upon Edinnu's corpse. And the wound that was her undoing.
A wound that was dealt by a weapon whose metaphysical scent was clear as day.
The Inheritor had betrayed them. Somehow, Ymir's spawn had found a way to betray them without explicitly breaking the Oath it had sworn in their bargain.
Siyyon knew only [BESERK], and he began to summon his True Body into the Core World, right into the Convergence.
The Power Cosmic was released from the furnaces deep inside his Armoured Vessel, channeling his presence in hyperspace deeper into the corporeal realm.
Long silent nodes surged to life as power circulated in the titanic form of the Celestial.
Ancient War Modules not used since the War in the First Firmament began to reactivate as radiant energy was funnelled to them by veins of impossible living metal.
Dream-Engines spun threads of formulas that warped space and time, and bio-reactors evolved soups of living matter into all forms of deviant and fearsome organisms.
The spawns of Ymir would burn, Siyyon judged. All of them. Their worlds will be smouldering cinders in the oceans of space, a fitting funeral pyre for the Thinking Celestial.
For although Celestial kind had no true understanding of love, or even of grief; of destruction they were intimately familiar.
_________________________________________
Author Note
Siyyon: Hebrew ציון, "ṣiyyôn" (Zion).
Edinnu: Akaddian, from the Sumerian Word, Edin, meaning Plain or Steppe. Becomes the root of the Hebrew Eden, גַּן־עֵדֶן, "gan-ʿḖḏen" (Garden of Eden). Eden is also argued to be derived from an Aramaic root-word meaning, "fruitful, well-watered".
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So, Siyyon is utilizing [PATH TO FUCKING UP THAT FUCKER WHO FUCKED WITH ME. AND HIS DOG.]. This should be be good.
Also, BERSERK, not BESERK?
- Location
- Washington, USA
Guy's too stupid to curbstomp. He'll probably be met with by 2 or 3 infinity stone users, depending on how the stars align.
- Location
- atlantaa
hopefully by now Hela has been healed. Odin cant help that much considering he still under the master effect the entity put him under.
Is it wield that I wamt Amy to devlope a crush on Hela? Amy is praticly a god of life (all life) and hela is a god of death. Its a match made in heaven
Is it wield that I wamt Amy to devlope a crush on Hela? Amy is praticly a god of life (all life) and hela is a god of death. Its a match made in heaven
Psyraptor
Polania Player
- Location
- Canada
Why not BEESERK even?
32. Taylor XI
Numen
Long Time Creeper
- Location
- Canada
Taylor XI
I let myself breath again after the blackhole dissipated and nothing of Laufey's head remained. His headless corpse, still titanic in stature fell to his knees, sending waves of water into the air.
The motion sent me flying from the blade of Excalibur (now extra large— oh and my decapitated arm was still attached to it) to crash into the sea.
I let my head break the surface of the dark waters in time to see the kneeling body of Laufey collapse sideways, which then flopped onto his back and floated above the ocean surface.
Was it really over?
Nitrite filled my nostrils and the static hum of electricity told me that the Aesir had approached me, striding across the ice covered expanse of the ocean surface. There were massive holes everywhere of course, and great cracks between plates of ice as the waters reclaimed the surface from Laufey's assault.
The Aesir stretched out a hand, and there was a whistling sound as a Hammer broke the surface of the ice and slammed into his hands.
"Nice catch." I told him.
"Well, fought, Dark Elf."
I looked over at the man I was like 99% sure was Hookwolf and asked the question I was thinking about for awhile— between all the punching, stabbing, and pulling of triggers that is.
"Are you really that Thor?" I asked tentatively even as he held out a hand.
I stared at the hand warily, and then made my decision.
Well he probably didn't want to try and kill me. Hopefully.
I grabbed his hand and he hauled me up out of the water, allowing me to clamber up over the ice.
I sat down on my legs and sighed. I was too tired to stand up.
My body was tired. My brain was tired.
My soul was tired, if I had one, which I know I don't, instead I have a pillar of creation in lieu of one. Yeah, slightly more impressive than the Scarecrow's bran, pins and needles for a brain and all that.
"Yes, I am that Thor, a Prince of Asgard, at your service." He gave a dramatic bow and smiled radiantly at me— I had to admit, Thor was very easy on the eyes. I mean, just think of the muscles! And the golden hair. Ugh. He was more beautiful than I was prior to my resurrection.
Back to the Hookwolf thing. Laufey had recognized him as Thor Odinson after all, and I thought I had misheard, because that was insane. Hookwolf was Thor?
And people called my people the Nazis. Jesus.
"Why—"
"Why was I Hookwolf? That's...a long story, Dark Elf. Suffice to say, I didn't have my memories of Thor prior to my— well, prior to Hookwolf's death." He grimaced at that.
Ah. Some sort of avatar? Why any god would choose a Neo-nazi as an Avatar is beyond my understanding, but the Aesirs you know….they're bloodthirsty warmongers that way.
I looked over at the corpse of Laufey as the shining beacon that was Legend descended from the sky beside us. Moments later, Alexandria followed suit, having arrived back from wherever Laufey had punted her in the furious melee.
"Well done, Dark Elf!" Legend smiled. And I admit, I smiled with pleasure at the praise. He was Legend. THE LEGEND. And he was praising me.
"That was amazing." Alexandria said, slightly limping. She looked like she got messed up bad.
Now her praise made me feel faint. This was Alexandria after-all.
"I agree with Alexandria, well done, godling!"
I gasped as Eidolon joined the praise circle and delivered unto me praise. Aw yeah.
The Triumvirate was complimenting me, thanking me for this glorious victory.
I can die happily on this day.
"Well, we wouldn't want you to be tortured as dark matter forever, Dark Elf. Let's not be hasty." Thor laughed.
I blushed. Oh my god, did I say that last part out loud?
"Yes the bloody Dark Elf fought well, she's a great warrior, blah blah blah, and all that, but can somebody get me the fucking hell down from here?" Hela roared in the distance, still hanging from the giant blades she had summoned to pin Laufey in place.
"Can't you jump, Hela?" Alexandria yelled back.
"I am tired. My muscles hurt. And I don't want to swim. Because in case you haven't noticed, it's all water down there!"
A Green Dragon-suit roared overhead and floated next to Hela. "I got you, Hela."
I swore I saw a red and a blue one too, when they defended me from Laufey. Was Dragon operating a bunch of Dragon Suits remotely. I glanced quickly upwards and saw a Yellow and Black Dragon Suit flying over head, patrolling the airspace above us.
"Thank you, Dragon." Hela said before she climbed onto the back of the suit.
Dragon ferried the Goddess of Death over, and she dropped down on shaky knees. "At least someone knows how to treat divinity."
She gave Dragon a little pat on her metal hindquarters— Dragon shifted away from the touch. I had the feeling the suit was conveying the sensation of being uncomfortable.
I too would feel uncomfortable if an Aesir touched my butt.
Thor snorted, "Heh, divinity? You've seen nothing yet—"
"Who the fuck are you, wearing my Uncle's mantle and wielding my hammer."
Thor paused. "First of all, this is my hammer. And I am Thor Odinson. But you might know me as Hookw—"
"Odinson!? What the fuck, but that means...oh, oh no." Hela's face morphed into one of incredulous horror and disgust.
Wait, wasn't Thor like her brother or something? Guess she must have hated him or something.
"War isn't over." Green Dragon stated, shutting Hela up. "The Jotuns are still outnumbering us, significantly. And in addition, there's that."
She pointed her segmented dragon tail at the inter-dimensional rift in the sky.
Ah yes. That.
I can see many shifting vistas from beyond, many distinct portals that formed and merged with each other. One of the most obvious landscapes visible was Jotunheim, which meant—
"Damn, all that power from Jotunheim is gonna make the rest of the Jotuns a bitch to take down." Hela analyzed, before she sat on her bum with a groan. If she felt as tired as I was, I wouldn't blame her.
"We can take them." Thor declared.
"I really don't think so...Hookwolf." Legend said, "Last I heard from Commander Calvert, we are in full retreat from this region of Australia. Only our naval elements and the bulwark of infantry we set up on the coast are holding them back. The Jotuns have us outnumbered and encircled."
"It's Thor, by the way. And not if I go destroy them!"
Dragon shook her head. "Our priority should be the refugees. And there's too many to kill. The reinforcements from Australia are still pouring in, in their countless thousands. Possibly millions."
"Is there a convenient thing we can destroy to make all the alien invaders keel over and die?" I asked.
Everyone turned to stare at me.
I quickly clarified my reasoning. "I mean, that's always the case in the movies."
"If that was the case," Eidolon said, "Then the Jotuns would have been finished the moment Laufey died, or the Casket was destroyed. Unfortunately, it seems that like everything else in real life, there's no convenient weaknesses."
Well, schnitzel sticks!
"We could remove their temperature advantage by setting the atmosphere on fire." Hela helpfully supplied.
"No!" Six different voices cried out simultaneously, my own included.
"It wouldn't stop the energies of Jotunheim from pouring in here anyway." Eidolon declared, and turned back to glare at the rift. "We need to stabilize the rift before it reaches a critical point."
Yes, it was getting larger wasn't it.
"I am kind of concerned." I admit.
"I got this." Thor declared. He looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and then shouted.
"HEIMDALL!"
I blinked. "Was something supposed to happen?"
Thor looked concerned. "Well…I was hoping a Bifrost would come down, take me to my Father, and then I could tell him about the rift threatening Midgard and—"
He paused, and glanced at the rift again. And then he gasped and jabbed his finger at the rift.
"Asgard!"
I turned towards where he was pointed.
He was right.
Asgard was visible through the rifts. Or some of the tears in space and time that shifted around anyway.
"I can fly over and get help?" Dragon supplied.
"Brilliant idea, Dragon. Let me help." Hela said, standing up and smiling. She looked...quite eager. And then of course, I remembered all of the stories my mother told me about the legend of Hela.
"Oh hell no!" I said, "My mom told me about you. Something about Asgard empowering you with the souls of the dead. And being a psychopath."
Hela snarled at me and tried to lunge at me, but Thor stepped in front of her, hammer raised to block her strike.
"Hela, that's enough. It's obvious you are an ancient Aesir warrior, suffering from delusions and trauma, and imagining all kinds of fantasies."
Thor paused. "Perhaps my Father can verify the truth of your claims, if any are true. Goddess of Death, never even heard of that title before, why I—"
Sirens sounded in the distance, and I turned to see hovercrafts dashing across the ice and sea towards us.
"It's the PRT." Legend said.
The nearest hovercraft drifted to a stop, and disgorged armoured troopers from a ramp.
To my surprise I found a mostly human Lung ramble down the ramp behind them, practically naked. Nice muscles though.
They must have picked him up form wherever he was blown off to by my immobilization spell on Laufey.
One of the PRT troopers walked towards us, a commander of some sort— I can tell by the slightly fancier body armour and the fact he had a Jotun finger-bone as a lucky charm around his neck; because battlefield promotions quickly became a thing I will bet.
He saluted Legend, and nodded respectfully at the other two Triumvirate members.
"Legend, sir! We need you to help us back up our forces. Commander Calvert has called for everyone to fallback."
"Why—"
The PRT commander gestured to the horizon. "The Jotuns are attacking the main refugee gathering point."
"What! Why have I not heard of this?" Dragon demanded.
"Communications was down. It should be back up soon, we have Tinkers working on it, though most are tied up with fighting, but we need to reinforce those positions before a massacre happens."
I was too tired to stand. I just want to sleep.
But too many lives depended one me.
A hand rested on my shoulders. I looked up at Thor's understanding face.
"Rest, Dark Elf. I will do the fighting. You have done more than enough."
I shook my head and forced myself to stand. "No, we have to stop the rift. And save the refugees. There's too much to be done."
I gestured with my hand, and the frozen sword still impaled in Laufey's corpse shattered (along with my giant-frozen-decapitated arm), and out of the splinters of ice, a normal sized Excalibur swung through the air to fall into my outstretched hand.
"Let's go kick some ass."
The PRT trooper invited us to make use of the hovercrafts that were on their way to reinforce the refugees, but Eidolon shook his head.
"No need."
He opened a portal onto a snow covered street, and with my superior vision, I could see frozen buildings, flashes of gunfire, and in the distance, the open sea— Icebergs approaching ever closer, some already ashore, unloading thousands of Jotuns every minute.
I closed my eyes and steadied my breath.
I gave a roar and was first through the portal.
First into the fray.
Last to retreat.
For I was a born warrior, and the war was not won.
The sound of gun fire, screams, and roars assaulted my ears almost immediately.
Moments later, the comms came back to life now that I was back in range.
Static was rife, but I could hear panicked shouts, orders to retreat, and cries for help. The myriad noise assaulted my ear.
The calm voice of Commander Calvert— if tinged with desperation and fatigued— order troops to and fro.
It wasn't going well, I could tell.
I have to change the tides, somehow.
Alas, Dragon got the first shot in. Her three remaining suits unleashed a terrible cacophony of energy weapons at a charge of Jotuns that had broken through a wall of Capes projecting shields of all kinds. I thought I saw Narwhal as she split a Jotun in half with a sideway plane of her force field
Armsmaster seems to be supporting them from a line further back, firing what looked like an experimental tinker rifle at the Jotuns, backed up by a row of the sorcerers that Eidolon had brought with him.
The magic users were providing artillery support and what I assumed was energy buffs to keep the troops from tiring, or were shielding the shielders.
The Jotuns couldn't get close to him and his artillery, but they had already broken through the wall and were starting to go after the refugees.
That was bad enough, but there were already Jotuns all over the place, possibly attacking from Canberra, from the coast, from thin air for all I know.
The entire place was over-run, and this was supposed to be a safe zone, somewhere for refugees to gather before we could figure out where to relocate them.
Hopefully the powers that be could figure something out.
Me? I am a simple Elf. I let my kill count do the talking.
The Jotun trying to corner a screaming family didn't have time to look up before I took off his head with my naked fist, and my sword making short work of his legs below the knees.
"Raaarrrgh!" Thor roared and blasted a street full of Jotuns into the air with a burst of electricity, and then he smashed Mjölnir into the concrete, shattering it and toppling a Squiggoth into the cracks that formed underneath the Jotun squadron trying to reinforce their comrades.
Alexandria buried her arm into the skull of a Squiggoth about to trample a school bus full of refugees, escorted by capes, local militia, and PRT troopers.
Lasers that exploded into miniature suns all over the battlefield told me Legend was providing artillery barrage.
I saw Jotun warriors pinning a squad of Australian Soldiers down behind a destroyed storefront, using spears of ice to prevent them from escaping with the refugees the soldiers were sheltering.
I roared and charged at them. I must have subconsciously used the Aether, because I burst through the ranks of Jotuns as if a breeze or a shadow, and found myself standing between the Jotuns and their prey, Excalibur deflecting all of the ice spears in mid flight.
Shattered ice spears hit the ground even as I channeled the aether and materialized a Particle Pistol in my free hand.
"Oh shit." One of the Jotuns muttered.
"Is that Dark Elf?" A soldier cried.
"Oh thank Allah."
Ignoring the commentary behind me, I smiled at the Jotuns.
"Hello, boys. Miss me? You should know that Laufey is dead."
"You lie!"
I vapourized his head with a single shot.
"Not lying, and I'll send you to Hell so you can verify it for yourself, assholes!"
Then I charged them, and then jumped, twisting in the air to decapitate the Jotuns with my sword as I passed through their ranks, before landing on one knee.
Without looking, I pulled my trigger once and shot the last living Jotun in that group who was too slow to even react.
These Jotuns didn't even stand a chance. Seriously, even tired as I was.
After going toe to toe with a true god like Laufey, these regular mooks don't even rate a good workout.
And I was sufficiently experienced in my powers now. Every instinct, every sensation, all of it perfectly coordinated to bring death to my enemies.
I was the Aether itself, and reality (at least in close proximity to myself) was how I defined it. My problem was more one of wariness, like my mind had been stretched thin trying to channel all of this cosmic power through myself.
Hopefully my fatigue doesn't cause me any mistakes.
I charged another group of Jotuns, cutting off their attempt to reinforce their comrades engaged in a gunfight with a group of Blasters.
They failed to last even five seconds.
I removed my fist from the chest of the dying Jotun underneath me and glanced over at how the others were doing.
Lung was wading through a pile of screaming Jotuns, whose brute rating rapidly approached zero in his pyrokinetic radius of flaming death.
Overhead, Eidolon waved a hand at a trio of Jotuns mutilating the corpses of dead capes, and they turned into butterflies, which he promptly set on fire.
What utter bullshit.
Seriously, what the fuck.
He then upped the bullshit meter by pointing at a group of dead soldiers, and they stood back up, necromantic energy surrounding their scent.
A fucking Necromancer too?
"Did you just steal my portfolio?" Hela yelled in outrage as she felled the Jotuns around her, black blades manifesting into existence like it was going out of style.
She slammed her fist on the street and sickly green bolts of energy bursted into existence around her, slithering into every corpse that was in close proximity.
Immediately, an army of the dead climbed to their feet, some with intestines spilling out of their bodies, others with limbs missing, some with their eyes glowing green— if they had any eyes.
"Are you guys trying to traumatize people?" I yelled at the two sorcerers.
Seeing your loved ones and comrades get back up as decomposing zombies— even if they were on your side— could not be good for morale. Or mental health.
"He started it!" She pointed at Eidolon.
The Triumvirate-turned-wizard (I was very curious how that happened) was currently roasting Jotuns alive as they attempted to burst out of the man-holes. Were there Jotuns underground? Where did they even come from?
Eidolon shrugged before zapping a Squiggoth with a bolt of lightning.
I could feel Thor glare in his direction.
"All tactics are valid to preserve the living. Too many have died already." Eidolon finally explained.
Okay, I could see his point. Still, seeing dead people dog-pile Jotuns and trying to bite their throats out was seriously disturbing.
I raised my particle pistol and shot down the Jotuns trying to ambush a group of Tinkertech Snipers on the rooftops. One of the soldiers gave me a wave of respect, before disappearing behind his scope.
"How are we doing Dragon?" I yelled at the Yellow Dragon Suit, who was providing cover to a Search and Rescue squad carting away the wounded on stretchers, hoverboards, and a Go Kart of all things.
In the distance, the Black Suit and Green Suit was strafe bombing the Jotun landing zones.
"Bad," Dragon answered.
"We have nowhere to retreat to." Tattletales' voice came over the comms. "The Jotun numbers are too high, the highways and other routes are unreliable or seriously blocked by frozen terrain, and the Jotuns on their mobile icebergs prevent us from any conventional way to relieve our forces by sea. I am getting reports that our Naval Elements are tied up with a sea battle against an Armada of icebergs further out."
Damn.
And then suddenly Crawler— motherfucking Crawler— tackled a Squiggoth.
"Hello, kids! Sorry we were late to the party. We came as soon as we could! Oh mine, oh mine, such carnage."
I looked up, and saw Jack Slash and the Slaughterhouse Nine standing on a nearby rooftop. They were posing, like the Sailor Senshi or something.
Oh shit.
Um, they were on our side, right?
At the same time, a loud reverberating horn blew and the horizon glowed with the brilliance of the dawn.
I paused as I felt the magic sound shook my very being.
The horn blew again, this time I looked towards the light, towards the dawn and my enhanced visions saw a silhouette form at the edge of the world.
And all fighting nearly stopped, so stunned was the mortals and the Jotuns by the unexpected and magical sound.
The Horn blew a third time and Thor gave a whoop of delight.
"That's an Alfheim war-horn!"
The horizon was now as bright as day.
It was like a second sun had shone into existence on the edge of the world, beyond the horizon, at the fringe of the sea.
And then I saw them.
Faster than the wind, a comet of Light Elves charged towards us. They rode atop the most wonderful, beautiful and majestic horses I have ever seen. The horses ran on the surface of the sea, their hooves parting the surface of the water with ease. It was stunning to behold.
So sue me, somewhere deep inside my fake heart, a little girl who liked ponies still thrived.
If I survive this war, I am gonna ask my dad for a horse.
"RIDE NOW!" I heard a voice boom across the land, echoing with metaphysical power.
"FOR AVALON!"
"DEATH!"
"ALFHEIM!"
"ENGLAND!"
And then the Army of Light was upon the bulk of the Jotun's rearguard. I swore I heard a loud crack as the the first vanguard of mounted knights charged straight into the icebergs.
Icebergs were flipped as the supernatural speed of the charging cavalry smashed into their ranks, causing micro-explosions of force that released flashes of light.
The icebergs the Jotuns had relied upon as troop transports were literally tossed into the sky to crash back down in pieces.
Chaos reigned briefly as the entire rearguard of the Jotuns collapsed from the sudden onslaught.
"ASGARD!" Thor roared, not to be outdone. A tide of lightning swept an entire flank of Jotuns, reducing them to blackened corpses.
"FOR A PURE ASGARD!" Hela roared, grinning from ear to ear, as an ocean of blades erupted amongst the already panicking Jotuns.
"EARTH BET!" Someone, most likely human, roared. The cry was echoed by other capes and soldiers.
"EARTH BET!"
"VICTORY!"
"HOORAH!"
"FOR THE EMPEROR!" Shouted a power armour wearing Tinker, who unleashed exploding bolts. Huh, which Emperor was that, the Japanese one?
Well, gotta be proud of our planet and all. Can't be outdone by these aliens. Yours truly, being an exception.
And then the first light elves reached us.
They were beautiful.
Their horses were even more beautiful.
They wore armours of white and gold. Banners of red dragons and Celtic symbols were displayed proudly even as they visited death upon every blue-skin.
Jotuns died from Knights slashing their throats with longswords, and pulverizing their rib cages with morning-stars.
Light Elf stallions trampled Jotuns underneath their hooves.
Their lancers did short work of attempts to form ranks amongst the Jotuns.
A single warrior, wearing a familiar Crown and regalia, ran down Jotuns on a bleeding spear.
Next to him, dressed like an Amazonian Goddess was Nimue, the Lady of the Lake.
Seeing them in the Spirit Realm was one thing.
Seeing them in the flesh, as shining embodiment of the nobility human souls can achieve in death was spectacular.
I wondered if the Einhenjar of Asgard was anything close to the perfection of the Light Elves.
King Arthur slaughtered his way towards me, his noble steed crushing a dying Jotun underneath its hooves. A cadre of Knights followed. Jotun corpses were strewn everywhere behind them.
"Taylor Anne Hebert." He nodded at me.
"King Arthur." I said.
Should I kneel?
I heard gasps from some nearby humans as they registered our exchange.
Yeah, legendary King, I know.
"King Arthur? What the fucking hell is the world coming to...." Alexandria muttered from behind me.
"Frost Giants. And now Elves." That was Tattletale over the comms.
"Son of a bitch." Calvert replied. "There are too many aliens."
"Are they friendly, though?" Tattletale wondered.
I glanced behind to see that Legend and Eidolon, and even Thor, were approaching as well.
Nimue urged her horse to approach us— I am so jealous, seriously. Of the horse. Not her beauty.
She nodded at me. "Ah, Taylor. Well done. I saw Laufey's corpse."
I smiled. "I had help."
I looked at the others who helped me defeat Laufey.
King Arthur reached out a hand.
"Well done indeed, ah, but I need Caliburn back."
Oh right. Caliburn. That was Excalibur's other name.
It was rental only.
I gaze upon the ancient looking sword in my hands, moving my fingers over the socket for the missing Power Stone, and the intricate runes engraved upon it.
I would miss this fine blade, but I had the Aether, unlimited ammo, and tons of guns. I will be fine.
I held the sword up with both hands and respectfully handed it to the most noble King Author.
He grabbed the sword by the hilt and lifted it, examining it. He smiled and nodded respectfully to me.
"You have put it to good use I see. It has fed well on the blood of powerful enemies. I think you exceeded my kill count as a mortal King, Taylor."
I laughed.
"Dark Elf!" Tattletale sounded alarmed through the voice-comm.
And then King Arthur stabbed me in the chest with Excalibur.
What.
Immediately, I could feel the liquid Aether that was my very blood being pulled towards the blade, towards the socket that once held an Infinity Stone.
I tried to move, but I couldn't. I could only watch as my blood drain into the blade, whose edge now took on the shifting properties of the Aether.
"I— you— why?" I gasped as I dropped to my knees. No. This couldn't be happening. King Arthur was a hero! And Nimue was my mother's friend, how could they betray me?
"Treason!" Thor yelled in outrage. I noticed through the haze of pain I was in that he had lifted his hammer, Eidolon seemed to be gathering energy into his hands.
Storm clouds began to gather above us, though with difficulty, as if the false dawn of the Elves was undoing the storm magic.
"If you fight, I will drain her dry immediately, lightning boy." Arthur stated, still gripping the hilt of the sword impaled through my chest.
Immediately, my allies froze. It was good to know they cared about me.
Or maybe it was the thousands of Light Elf spears levelled at us, at the soldiers, and at the refugees. The Jotuns weren't given any quarters. The slaughter continued in the background.
Nimue looked at me, her eyes were full of pity. "She's the living Aether. An Infinity Stone. And Excalibur was created exactly to contain and utilized the power of an Infinity Stone. Now, I don't want to have to kill her. We don't want her power per se. We just need to negotiate from a position of strength. Avalon do not play second fiddle to any polity."
Perhaps too late did I remember that Arthur was a hero of the ancient world. And that was very different than the hero of today.
But Nimue. Why?
It was as if she knew my unspoken question. "Oh Taylor. I wish it hadn't come to this. But the Age of Asgard is over. And Midgard isn't ready to rule by themselves just yet. You know how the world was, how bad the economy was. It needs a guiding hand, from an elder race."
Oh Nimue, you bitch. Seriously, the Light Elves want to do that Imperialism bullshit too?
I mentally moved her up my shit list. She was well above Emma Barnes on the traitorous bitch list now.
"Yes, a strong guiding hand." Arthur agreed. "Democracy? What a joke for silly peasants. I am the only authority they need. The King of Mankind, ready to take humanity to the stars."
The Once and Future King glared at everyone around him. "For too long, Midgard has been mired in squabbles and ceaseless war, and these….these parahumans, have made everything worse."
He took a deep breath. "But no more. I will unite Mankind underneath my banner, and we will destroy all threats to our prosperity. Beginning with these Jotun invaders."
The ancient King spat on the corpse of a nearby Jotun.
Alexandria stepped into view, a raised fist clenched in defiance. "You can't decide that, King Arthur or no; you're just another parahuman warlord with delusions of grandeur."
"Indeed, you are no better than the Jotuns." Thor declared. "And Midgard is under the purview of Asgard. Avalon is a colony of Alfheim, no? Are you rebelling against the All-Father, elf?"
Nimue smiled.
"I don't think the mortals want to be under Asgard's thumb anymore than they do Jotunheim or Alfheim. But Avalon is a Kingdom of Midgard, for all that we are not of the same species. Midgard will do better under our rule."
"All Realms will do better under our rule." Arthur rectified.
What, this was….
"Is that a declaration of war against the Asgardian Empire, Elf?" Hela snarled.
"What Empire?" Nimue leaned down, taunting Hela with her words. "Asgard the Empire hasn't been a thing for millennia. These days, I hear, Odin barely even keeps his enemies in check, all over the Nine Realms, insurrection and alien invaders threaten the security of their constituents. Why Vanaheim seems to be more bold than ever in asserting their sovereignty. And Alfheim has reached out, offering their armies to support our cause."
The King of Camelot smirked. "Asgard is a pitiful failure of a State at the moment."
The Lady of the Lake nodded, "Oh yes, Indeed. The Age of Asgard is over, Aesir. Admit it! This is the Age of Avalon."
And I had a feeling that I was going to play the part of a Nuclear Weapon for these idiots.
A new voice entered the verbal fray.
"Oh fuck the hell no it isn't, not unless we stop the goddamned out of control convergence of realms in the sky, you idiots!"
A dapper one-eyed old man stepped out of a door in the air, a glowing blue stone in his hand.
He was flanked on one side by a woman in a white lab coat wielding a Black Axe, and by what looked like an accountant armed with a knife on the other.
"Father?" Thor gasped.
"YOU!" Hela screeched.
"Odin!" Nimue snarled.
'"Nimue, you treacherous bitch. I should've known." The King of Asgard stepped forth. He walked...not quite like a god. More like a tired old man.
That wasn't a good sign.
Or maybe that was a good sign, depending on who wanted to kill me more.
"Don't ignore me, dad!" Hela screeched. I glanced at the goddess of death, and was taken aback by how….insane she looked. Her eyes were glittering with madness.
Aw shit, please don't go berserk right now.
Unless she goes berserk at the right targets of course.
"What?" Thor gasped, "But she...but I—"
He paled. I wonder what that was about. Did he thought he was an only child?
"Hela, not now." Odin rebuked his daughter before turning back to the Light Elves.
"As painful as it is for me to say this, let's negotiate, King Arthur, perhaps we could split Midgard amongst ourselves."
"What!" Legend sounded alarm when the aliens talked about how to divide your planet.
Well, I guess I could understand; having your country divided by two alien polities was not a good sign, historically speaking. Let alone a whole planet.
I don't know about the other countries, but Uncle Sam was not going to stand for that. If anyone was doing the dividing and occupying, it was America.
Nimue interceded before her king could reply. "Why should my King negotiate, hmmm? You are weak as of late, All-father, so-called King! You reek like a mortal. You're almost drained, aren't you?"
"Indeed, why should I negotiate?" Arthur gestured at his army. "I have you outmatched in every way. In fact, you are basically my hostage. Effective immediately."
"You dare!" Thor thundered.
"Shut up, boy!' Nimue snarled at Thor. She turned back to Odin. "You and what Army, Odin? I know Midgard Prime is obfuscated from Asgardian sight by the fact that Frigga has usurped you—"
She was interrupted by the rainbow light that slammed into the ground somewhere behind us, unleashing what looked like the Aurora Borealis on ground level.
When the blinding prismatic light faded, it left behind rows and rows of majestic golden armoured warriors. There were thousands of them.
I recognized the legendary army immediately.
Sadly without any horses. Well, except one.
At their head, a young man wearing a wicked horned helm sat astride an Eight Legged Horse. White. Majestic. Probably a spider.
"Loki!" Thor whooped in triumph. He smirked at King Arthur. "Oh you're fucked now."
Loki looked around and spotted his family. "Father, Thor!"
Odin had what I could only call a shit-eating grin on his face. "Loki, good boy! Nice to see that you brought back up, and I couldn't have timed that entrance better myself, even with precognition!"
Odin then turned back towards Arthur, but before he could open his mouth to taunt the Elves, someone beat him to it.
"Loki! The Pointy Ears want to usurp Asgard!" Thor complained— yes, I can hear the whine in his voice. I was also slightly offended by the Pointy Ear comment. But considering the goddamned Pointy Ears had betrayed me, I was of similar sentiment.
"What! Those bastards." The God of Mischief snarled, eyes narrowing anger.
"No, let us negotiate—" Odin begins.
Nobody bothered listening to him.
"AVALON!" Arthur roared, lifting his spear. Because Excalibur was still buried in me. The cry was taken up by his Army of Light.
"Ride now! For death and ruin!" Loki roared. "Ride now, for ASGARD!"
The roar was picked up by the Golden Army of Asgard.
And the two army charged at each other.
With refugees between them. With helpless humans between them.
The motherfuckers.
But there was nothing I could do. I was still wounded, paralyzed by the one weapon designed to contain my very essence.
I could only watch the horror unfold.
The Light Elves were faster and they charged towards the Asgardian ranks.
Some tried to take down Odin, but I saw him raise the blue stone in his hands and banish the heads of the first row of Knights to reach him, disappearing their brains into some other dimension or planet.
Stragglers of Elves found knives in their throat courtesy of the Accountant guy.
The Doctor woman screamed and ducked behind the accountant, dropping her axe in her panic.
Thor sent bolts of lightning smashing into the Elves.
"Taylor!"
Alexandria reached for me, but was smashed aside by King Arthur.
He snarled at her, "Mortal filth, stand aside from my property."
His property? He was going to die.
King Arthur was set on fire immediately by Eidolon, "Don't you talk to her that way, asshole!"
He punted the ancient King away with a purple mandala with serrated edges.
Eidolon, I will buy all of your merchandise, I swear.
I saw the Asgardian archers form ranks and begin to fire arrows of light into the Elven army even as they charged towards the Asgardians on horseback. Many Elves died, struck down by the arrows that punched through their armour and brute ratings like nothing.
Asgardian Spearmen halted and formed what I vaguely recognized as a phalanx of some sort, protecting their archers from the Light Elves bearing down upon them. They raised their spears, like the pikemen of old.
The Light Elf Cavalry smashed into a wall of Aesir spears, many being felled instantly. But enough broke through, only to be struck down by Einherjar swordsmen in the backline.
I thought I saw Crawler and the Siberian chewing through the endless tides of Elven warriors. Jack Slash rode on Crawler's back, flicking his wrist left and right, followed by nearby Elves screaming as their throats were slit open in arterial sprays.
They disappeared beneath the mass of gleaming armour and horses that was the melee building up in the middle of the battlefield.
Eidolon suddenly stopped in front of me.
"Let us get that out of you."
He grabbed Excalibur and began to pull.
I screamed. "Stop! You're going to pull it out."
I paused.
"The Aether I mean."
"Obviously." He didn't sound amused at the inappropriate joke I just thought up. The pain was getting to me, okay? I couldn't even blame the combat drugs this time.
"Let's try something else." Eidolon said, as he grabbed an amulet on his chest with one hand. "My teacher left me this, knowing her end was near. We must resolve this betrayal quickly, for there is a graver threat to come."
He twisted both hands around it, forming a mudra with both hands, and then a green glow emanated from within.
And suddenly I was whole, and free of Excalibur sticking through my chest. I was also standing.
"What." I felt my chest. No wound or anything. And Excalibur was inexplicably in my hands.
Eidolon elaborated. "I reversed time, for your personal causal field specifically, while leaving your mind untouched. The mechanisms are quite fascinating actually, I—"
He was interrupted by an Elf who tried to take off his head, Eidolon twisted out of the way and turned the Elf into a confused toad before turning it into a wet smear on the concrete with his boot.
Brutal.
And then Excalibur was ripped out of my hands by an invisible force.
My gaze followed the sword as it landed in Nimue's hand, stretched above her, like...well...like the Lady of the Lake.
She was no longer on horseback, instead she stood like the eye of the storm, surrounded by clashing steel and dying warriors.
None bothered her, it was as if her very presence held them at bay. Some sort of spell perhaps.
Or maybe it was because she smelled like a treacherous whore.
"Taylor Hebert."
"Bitch."
She betrayed my trust. I wouldn't forgive her.
"Let us talk about this, sweetie." She crooned, as she approached.
I materialized a Particle Cannon.
"Yes, let's talk."
I opened fire, but she formed a shield of light that blocked the salvo of deadly energy, turning their deadly payload into mere ripples on a plane of light.
She scoffed. "Child, I am an ancient elf sorceress. You think that—"
Vista appeared right in front of Nimue, well within her magic shield, pointed a handgun right into the Elf's crotch, and pressed the trigger.
I was left gaping as Nimue was sent sprawling backwards with a scream of pain that was absolutely delicious.
Vista stepped into existence next to me. "I can't stand traitorous bitches. Especially when they monologue."
"Me neither, Vista."
We gave each other a high five.
Nimue stood back up, I could see her wound was already healing as she steadied herself. She looked ridiculous with a bloody hole in her dress though.
Her eyes screamed murder.
Lifting Excalibur, she began to chant.
In the heavens, a sun bursted into existence.
And it began to descend.
Oh shit.
Eidolon began weaving intricate layers after layers of magical shields above us, but Nimue's magical sun tore apart those defences like tissue paper.
Suddenly the Sun halted, and I could see Nimue's eyes widened in surprise.
She glanced towards the roof, and I followed her gaze to see Sundancer with both arms above her head, as if she was struggling with a great weight.
Jesus Christ, was she holding back the magical death sun Nimue had summoned with her parahuman power?
Not wasting the opportunity the distraction afforded me, I leapt towards Nimue in a bust of speed, and slapped her so hard with my aether covered palm that I melted her face off.
She collapsed to the ground with me on top.
"Taylor, wait—"
I punched her, breaking her nose.
Now she looked like a ugly bleeding, skinless victim of extreme violence.
Just the way I like my traitors.
"Shut up, bitch."
I wrestled Excalibur away from her and stood up, pointing the blade down at her throat.
"Don't do this, this wasn't personal, I—" She pleaded.
I stabbed down— but the sword once more was wrested from my hands.
It flew across the battlefield, and it's true master snatched it out of the air.
King Arthur and his steed approached, surrounded by his royal retinue. Probably Knights of the Round Table, all of them legendary heroes in their own right.
A squadron of Einherjar tried to rush the King, but they never even got close.
The Knights of the Round Table blurred into motion and soon, body parts splattered the ground around them.
I didn't even see them move.
I gulped.
I stood up and readied myself to face King Arthur and the fucking Knights of the Round Table.
I materialized a particle pistol.
"I challenge you to a duel." I declared.
One on One, I might have a chance.
Arthur stared at me like I was insane.
And then he laughed. A mocking laughter that boomed across the battlefield. This caused the battle around us to pause as people wondered who the hell was laughing.
I gritted my teeth in anger.
"Kings challenge me to a duel. Rivals for my throne. Knights. Right and proper warriors. Maybe great gods. What are you, to challenge me to anything, hmmm? You are a filthy dark elf, and my honour doesn't require me to accept a trial by arms with an abomination."
I liked this supposedly great King less and less.
And then a new voice declared:
"But you will accept a challenge by a Claimant to the Metaphysical Throne. The Pendragon Spirit will allow it."
Soldiers were shoved aside as a new group of elves appeared on horseback, about a dozen riders, one of them covered in a heavy cloak that obscured his face.
"Sir Tristan, what is the meaning of this?" Arthur's eyes had narrowed dangerously, "Is this nonsense why you were missing from the muster at the Thames?"
I looked at Sir Tristan, who rode on yet another amazingly great looking horse. And damn, that was a good looking man (still doesn't hold a candle to his horse).
He also looked like a teenager. Weird for a knight of the Round Table, unless he was that young when he died? Or the Elves could look younger because they can, I suppose.
The Knight sneered at the King. "Well, Arthur, it occurred to me a long time ago that you had lost sight of your humble human origins, given your half-mad rantings in your death state. Though near the end of your mortal life, I had my suspicions. So I had a contingency plan."
The King scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. There are no Pretenders to Camelot."
"But there is a Pretender to England." Tristan rebutted.
"The House of Windsor? Pathetic mortals, they—"
"No, I refer to the House of Denmark."
By now the battle around us had completely stilled, as people realized that something of political significance was happening.
Tristan, seeing that he had everyone's full attention, begin to elaborate.
"We all know that Sigurd was a scion of the Völsung clan, who were descended from Sigi, son of Odin. Thus God-blooded.
"Brunhilde and Sigurd had a daughter, Aslaug. Aslaug, also known as Kráka or Kraba, had four sons by the legendary Viking, Ragnar Lodbrok. One of these sons was Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, also known in Old Norse as Sigurðr ormr í auga.
"Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye's descendants include Harthacnut (Canute III), King of Denmark between 1035 to 1042 and King of England from 1040 to 1042. When Harthacnut died without issue, his half-brother, Edward the Confessor ascended to the Throne.
"Harthacnut supposedly died childless and the godblooded line of Aslaug— and thus of the Völsung, mortal scions of Odin— was thought extinct by the gods of the world.
"In addition, Edward the Confessor also wielded Curtana— a sword which was once wielded by myself, a Knight of the Round Table. This sword was passed to him by Harthacnut.
"A replica of Curtana today is part of the British Crown Jewels, as the Sword of Mercy. A ceremonial sword. It is not that same sword, but it's metaphysical weight is the same.
"For you see, in reality, Curtana was also Gram— the Sword of Sigurd himself, also known as the Sword of Chastity, for it was placed between him and Brunnhilde on their funeral pyre, before Odin resurrected Brunnhilde to save her from eternal torment as all of the Völsung ancestors do, suffering from Fafnir's geass.
"This blade was passed to Sigurd's descendants to this very day, and although the original sword has withered into nothing, it's metaphysical presence remained.
"Only the awakened line of Aslaug's living blood could wield the sword and access its true powers."
Everyone was staring at Tristan.
Arthur snorted. "So? Who gives a damn. The House of Denmark is extinct, it was dissolved in 1042 upon the death of Harthacnut. His half-brother, Edward the Confessor was no blood of that House either, for his father was Æthelred the Unready of the House of Wessex, no descendant of Sigurd. And even if he was, Edward had no issue either, dying without heir."
"Not so. The House of Denmark is extinct, that's true, but the blood lives. Harthacnut had descendants. In secret." Tristan smirked.
"Who!?"
Tristan nodded at me.
No way.
Then the Knight of the Round Table turned towards the cloaked figure next to him, "Isn't that right, Danny?"
What?
The hooded cloak came off of the mysterious rider, and my tired looking father, the unmistakable face of Daniel Hebert, smiled at me.
"Taylor."
"Dad!"
I bursted into tears.
I know. It's embarrassing. But it felt like a lifetime ago since I saw him. Never should have gone on that joyride to Canberra.
"Good job on the war, everyone is talking about you back home and on TV." Dad said, pride and love clear in his voice.
I glowed with pride even as I wiped tears from my face.
"Also, you're grounded for the rest of my life."
Aw shit.
Arthur snarled. "A mortal? Hahahaha. He has no right—"
"The Blood of Kings of England has a claim to the metaphysical throne of England, you know this as well as I. You can feel it, can't you, the truth of what I say? The claim is there."
The King of Camelot was furious now. "He is not fully God-Blooded, he has not the right, even if he could survive a duel with me."
Tristan acknowledged this. "That's true, Daniel Hebert is not god-blooded. But neither were you, Arthur."
The King of Camelot looked like he wanted to murder Tristan right there and then for that insult.
I was starting to panic.
Tristan wanted my dad to fight King Arthur?
This was a disaster! King Arthur would murder him. Oh God.
Sir Tristan continued, to my relief. "But no worries, Arthur. There is a God-blooded descendant of Harthacnut III right here amongst us."
Everyone turned to look at me.
I started panicking again.
"Don't do it, Arthur!" Nimue cried out, still sprawled on the ground. "England isn't worth it! Think about the rest of the Universe. It is our time to rule the Nine Realms."
Arthur hesitated, staring at Nimue, and then shook his head.
"No, I am the King of England. It is my right."
He glared at me, "I will fight that duel."
Ah, so his pride was his undoing.
"Taylor." Dad called me. I turned around as he approached me on foot.
"I—"
I didn't know what to say.
So I grabbed him and hugged him, crying into his chest.
"There, there, little Owl."
"Can we start fighting?" Arthur demanded, having dismounted.
Dad flipped King Arthur the finger. Nice one, dad.
Then he unstrapped a bundle from his back and handed it to me.
"Sir Tristan and his allies robbed Westminster Abbey to retrieve the replica of Curtana for you."
If you go back to Dragon I chapter, recall people reporting that elves broke into Westminster Abbey? Yes. Chekov's gun.
"What am I gonna do with a replica?" I wondered.
Tristan approached and smiled.
I blushed. Dammit, hormones. And adrenaline. And drugs. And stress.
"Taylor, you are a rightful wielder of Curtana— of Gram."
"Well, isn't this your sword?"
"Well yes, but you also have the right to wield it. The metaphysical presence of the sword has never faded from the world, in part thanks to my own legends and that of Sigurd and even of Edward the Confessor. Now, do the impossible, and summon it into the world. You are the Living Aether. Will it be so."
And so I will.
I opened the bundle, and when I grabbed the replica, it transformed before me and formed a magnificent blade that glowed with power.
I lifted the glowing sword up to my eyes and nodded.
I looked at Arthur straight in the eyes. Dark Elf to Light Elf. Soul-less abomination to a recycled dead human raised to godhood.
"One on one, Arthur. Let's go. For the Throne of England."
But really, this was an elaborate trap designed to defeat Arthur and force the Light Elves to surrender.
Devious indeed, Sir Tristan.
Nimue moaned in horror. "No, Arthur, don't! Can't you see the trap for what it is, you fool!"
Ah, Nimue was so wise. Unfortunately for her. Arthur was a vain fool. Being half-dead for so long have eroded his humility I think. And his humanity.
This was going to be fun.
A wide circle was formed as the soldiers surrounded us, giving us plenty of space.
Odin was muttering on the sidelines. "Ymir dammit, I can't believe a Dark Elf is my Sigi's heir."
"She's my cousin?" Thor wondered.
Oh yeah right, it hadn't sunk in for me yet. The Royal Family of Asgard were my relatives. Jesus Christ.
I caught Hela looking at me with intrigue in her eyes.
Somewhere Loki was struggling to get off of his eight-legged horse, his foot was caught in the saddles, but he was also staring at me.
Oh man, my extended family is...something I will have to think about later.
Sir Tristan cleared his throat.
"King Arthur of the House of Pendragon, Lord of every Kingdom of the United Kingdom, and Master of Camelot specifically, as well as King of the Polity of Avalon, metaphysical or otherwise— and Taylor of the House of Hebert, a pretender to the metaphysical Throne of England. Taylor of House Hebert will now contest King Arthur for part of his divine domain— specifically, England. May the best contender win. On a count of three!"
I tested the blade by swinging it a few times.
"Three!"
Arthur held up Excalibur, eyes closed as if in meditation.
"Two!"
I took a deep breath and closed my own eyes.
I am the Aether.
I am Reality itself.
"One!"
I gripped Curtana tighter. I tightened the muscles in my calf.
"Fight!"
I leapt.
I swung.
I opened my eyes, and knew in my guts that King Arthur was dead again.
A moment later, I heard his corpse slump to the dirt, granted the mercy of an annihilated soul.
Nimue sobbed.
"The King is Dead. Long live the Queen!" Sir Tristan declared to a deafening roar of cheers.
______________________________
Author Note:
Look it up, it's all true, except the part where Harthacnut (Canute III) had secret descendants, and Curtana is definitely not Gram. Yes, I did my bloody historical research ages ago, just for this moment! *scream in triumph*
Odin Allfather
Sigi, son of Odin
Rerir, son of Sigi
Völsung, son of Renrir
(many generations of the Völsung Clan)
Sigurd, scion of the Völsung, husband of Brunnhilde
Aslaug (Aslög, Kráka or Kraba), Daughter of Sigurd and Brunhilde, third wife of Ragnar Lodbrok.
Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, son of Aslaug and Ragnar Lodbrok.
Harthacnut I of Denmark (semi-legendary, Son of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye according to the Ragnarssona þáttr)
Gorm the Old
Harald Bluetooth
Sweyn Forkbeard
Cnut the Great (Cnut Sweynsson)
Harthacnut (Canute III), half-brother of Edward the Confessor*
*Edward the Confessor, according to legend, wielded Curtana, the Sword of Sir Tristan
EDIT: The Westminster Abbey break-in was in Dragon I, not the PHO Interlude.
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TimeDiver
Herald of Dis Lev
- Location
- In-between the parallel worlds...
Ah, treachery abound; the sheer contempt Arthur and/or Nimue (Vivian?) have for the modern day isn't too surprising... hindsight being 20/20. But are Odin and Asgard (as a whole) any better, really?
If going by Thor: Ragnarok, the All-Father once went on a conquest spree, then coverered up the past (albeit not THAT well), up to and including removing any and all mention of his (eldest?) daughter.
Addendum: Fucking knife-ears... yet another fictional example of overly-arrogant jackasses with messiah complexes.
If going by Thor: Ragnarok, the All-Father once went on a conquest spree, then coverered up the past (albeit not THAT well), up to and including removing any and all mention of his (eldest?) daughter.
Addendum: Fucking knife-ears... yet another fictional example of overly-arrogant jackasses with messiah complexes.
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CinnabarSage
W̵̯͚̭͍͕͜o̷͈̥̙͖l̨͟҉̹o͕̼̝̜l̩͈͡o͙̼͚̗
- Location
- WA, USA
so does that mean she has two swords now? dual wielding legendary swords from arthurian mythos? Auntie Hela might be on board with this development.
Cape KaosMage
Hyped Lurker
- Location
- South Africa
God damn, what a chapter.
I salute you, brave author for slogging through the mire of the internet to find a plausible explanation.
👏
Long Live the Queen!
I salute you, brave author for slogging through the mire of the internet to find a plausible explanation.
👏Long Live the Queen!
Hylas
Veni apud me, Frater!
No, of course not, but momma dark elf, le Jotun Queen, and Brun are all coming to fix that.