The Heavens
Eden
Mountain Biome
"…Why?" Metatron whispered as the pain faded.
"Does it matter?" Arthur asked. "There are far more important things right now, like stopping that monster and saving Michael and Hades."
"…Michael is here?"
"He is." Another boom echoed in the distance. "Now let me focus. The quicker you're on your feet, the quicker we can save him."
Metatron lay his head back and closed his eyes.
Far away, Michael's barrage smashed harmlessly against Brisingamen's stars.
"You are nowhere near your full power," Odin said, the voices of Yggdrasil speaking in perfect, yet cacophonic, harmony. He flicked Gram's point at Michael, and Brisingamen rocketed at him. "A being like you would have been worthwhile had your father not sealed your powers."
Michael slammed his palm into the ground. The soil around him immediately bubbled and erupted, summoning a wave of lava.
"That is useless!"
The stars pierced through the wave.
"It's not a barrier!" Michael yelled. He twisted his palm across the ground."Bāʿē Arʿā Məsīḵtā! (Molten Earth Seeker)" The wave split into dozens of glowing tendrils, flying towards Odin-Yggdrasil. The stars flew out of the lava, but Michael kicked off the ground and flew up, dodging them. He aimed his left palm straight down. "Teviʿtā Yaqīrtā! (Heavy Demand)" A wave of gravity collided with the stars, smashing them into the molten soil.
Odin swung Gram and Gungnir at the oncoming projectiles, knocking them out of the air.
Michael darted towards him, aiming his right hand at him and curling his fingers. Odin-Yggdrasil started sliding across the ground. "WHAT?" Then immediately flew up.
Michael smashed his fist into the Egil helm, firing him back to the ground with a monstrous crash.
"I am the eldest son of the Sancti!" He roared, barreling straight down into a dive. "And as such, I will never let you near my family again!" His fist slammed the earth, and three trails of metallic blades burst from the soil. "You took my sister's beloved from her and turned my family into outcasts!" The blades reached Odin-Yggdrasil, stabbing against his body and shooting him skyward. "You haunted my home, and for that…" Telluric currents flowed from the soil and lava towards him, making electricity spark across his olive-toned body and tattered robes as his messy black hair stood on end. "I will put you out of our misery! Rāʿmā d'Arʿā (Thunder of the Earth)!" He clapped his hands, and a bolt fired from his fingertips.
Odin-Yggdrasil, without looking, swung Gram into the bolt and cleaved it in two. He froze in mid-air and slowly rolled to face a shocked Michael. He flicked Gungnir, and Michael felt the earth shake below him. He jumped away just in time to avoid Brisingamen as it tore through the soil beneath him. The stars flew back to their master, circling him.
"Even in a weakened state, your power is…adequate. A shame." He raised Gram. "All shall yield, even the Earth." He swung down.
Vidarr and Siegfried appeared next to Michael, the latter raising his sword. His blade collided with a monstrous unseen force, and he braced against it.
"Siegfried?!" Michael yelled.
"Get him to Hades!" Siegfried yelled. "I got this!"
"Are you insane?!" Vidarr yelled, staring up at the monster that was once his father. "That thing's not even Odin anymore!"
"That's why you need to get Mike to Hades! Völund can…bypass the limit on your powers…right?!" His feet skid a little, but he parried the unseen force to his left. It cleaved through the valley and bisected the mountain behind them. "Get Hades back to Arthur, heal him up so those two can Völund!"
"What about you?" Vidarr asked.
Siegfried took his sword in both hands, staring down his foe.
"Don't worry. I'll be here when you get back."
Vidarr nodded, and the pair vanished.
Odin-Yggdrasil tilted his head and leered. Slowly, he descended to the valley floor, landing gently a dozen meters away.
"The Primordial Vessel…" The monster whispered.
"Is Odin I know still in there?" Siegfried asked as he planted his sword.
"He is, but he is not involved in this affair anymore."
Siegfried threw off his striped coat, revealing lean muscle under his yellow shirt.
"Concede, Siegfried. You have a role, and you must fulfill it."
"What do I get out of it?" He tied his platinum blonde hair back in a ponytail.
"A quick death free of fear and pain, unlike the rest of Creation."
Siegfried pulled his sword out of the ground. "That sounds pretty nice, but that includes Hilde, so I decline."
"You assume you have a choice." He flicked Gram, sending stars at Siegfried.
"There's always a choice." His gentle aura flowed out. Odin-Yggdrasil felt a familiar chill as Siegfried took his double-edged sword in both hands. As if they were feathers, Siegfried tapped the stars with his sword, guiding them along its flat and parrying them away.
What…is he? They thought.
"You hurt her…and I can't let you all get away with that."
"And you'll make us 'pay' with a simple piece of orichalcum?"
Siegfried's breath calmed as his hair floated up. "Doesn't matter what it's made of. With any sword, I can cut anything."
The stars flew back, encircling Odin-Yggdrasil. He planted Gungnir and moved Gram to his right hand, brandishing it.
"…Show us."
Siegfried came face to face with him, his sword already raised. Dread raced down his spine as Sieg's piercing, dilated gaze bore through him.
"Keep up."
Siegfried swung down. Odin-Yggdrasil raised Gram to block, but Siegfried's blade already reached his shoulder and cleaved through his body, splitting him in half. Pain fired through his whole body as Draupnir's spectral arms pushed his two halves back together, instantly fusing them into one piece again.
"Did that hurt?!"
Odin-Yggdrasil slashed, but Siegfried rolled under it and cut him in two at his ribs. The Draupnir arms pushed the two halves together as more blood poured out. He rocketed away and soared high above the valley.
"You asked me to show you!" Siegfried yelled.
They leered down at him and saw it.
"Do you see it?!"
Somehow, it was not until those two simple swings that they realized what stood below them. Not who. What*.*
Corpses of all shapes and sizes, the valley full of them. All covered in lacerations. Some dismembered. Some decapitated.
What…is he? They thought.
"You see it." Siegfried's gaze cooled.
Is this the power of the Vessel? Or is it his? We cannot fight haphazardly anymore.
Odin-Yggdrasil's head went limp.
All four of us acting in tandem is hindering us. Who wishes to go?
Suddenly, it jerked, and he leered at Siegfried.
"He is mine." A deep bass voice spoke. "I will not allow another swordsman to disrespect Gram and me."
He is yours. Show him the might of the real Odin.
He rocketed down, crashing into the valley. He started twirling the wicked blade between his fingers. His spectral arms vanished into his body, and the stars landed across his chest and back.
"We did…" He spoke.
"Good! You're not the type so drunk on power you can still see death. A lot of them didn't." Siegfried's smile turned wicked.
"Don't show your ego, half-breed pup. I created the idea of the sword." He brandished Gram.
Siegfried inhaled and instantly entered his space. "Neat! That means you'll be a challenge!"
Far from the fated exchange, buried deep in an impromptu mountainside cave, Hades struggled to raise himself off the rubble beneath him.
"Damn," He rasped, struggling to keep his grip on Desmos. "Not even Desmos could match him…what are we fighting?"
"Hades!" Vidarr shouted from the cave's mouth. "Are you in there?!"
"I…am…" Finally, he got to his feet. Vidarr and Michael rushed in, seeing his beaten and bruised body. His white pants and purple vest were torn to tatters, and there were traces of blood in his white hair.
"Good Heaven, you're alive?" Michael said. "How are you standing?"
"Because…I have a responsibility." His legs buckled, but he propped against Desmos. "And why…are you here?"
"Same reason. Again, how are you alive?!"
"Pure stubbornness," Vidarr said, his gold eyes scanning Hades' injuries. "Týr was in better shape after Fenrir!"
"I imagine so. That means I cannot dally." Hades' ears twitched. He could hear the faint clang of metal against metal from far below. "Who's fighting Odin?"
"Siegfried," Vidarr answered.
Hades's left hand shot up and grabbed the fur trim of Vidarr's armor. "Are you mad?! You brought the Primordial Vessel right to them!"
"But he's also the best chance we got until you're healed!" Michael said. "Sieg's got a sword!"
"…What does that even mean?"
"Not important! We need to get you back to Arthur to get healed!" Vidarr interjected, looping his arm around Hades' torso.
"Stop, Vidarr!"
"But—"
"There's not enough time to get me healed." He looked over at Michael. "Do you…remember how to do Völund?"
"And you say I'm mad?! Look at you!" Vidarr yelled.
Hades stepped away from him and faced Michael.
"Do you?"
"…I do," Michael nodded.
"Good. That settles it." Hades offered Desmos' shaft. "Take hold of it, and we shall perform Völund."
"…You're barely standing."
"And yet the fight must continue. If we leave Siegfried alone down there, he will eventually fall. And I for one…" Yama and Týr flashed through his mind. "Do not want to let sacrifices be in vain."
Michael sighed. "He is my brother-in-law…I guess we don't have a choice"
Hades nodded. "Before we do this, I need to know something."
"Is now really the time?"
"…It is. Michael, why are we, the oldest brothers, born first?"
Michael froze, and the world went silent. For the briefest moment, he saw their faces. His brothers. His sisters. All of them, dead and alive, happy. He saw his father, fighting against the grief his son knew was too much for him.
He saw the inside of his cell. The darkness, the chilled air. The confining, near-claustrophobic hole that was his home for a millennium and a half. Even now, in that cave, he could feel the fire burning in his stomach from Hades' words.
"We are born first because we're the ones who're supposed to protect the others. We are not told to. It is our mission from the start."
Michael grabbed Desmos' shaft.
"For our siblings," He whispered.
"So they may never know the hells at their doorsteps."
Yellow light enveloped the pair.
VÖLUND!
Michael vanished, and resting in Hades' hand was a monstrous, ornate axe. Its stone head was polished to a pristine shine and wrapped in ornate gold weavings. The shaft was a deep purple, but the pommel was now solid gold and formed a sharp point. Golden gauntlets formed over Hades' battered arms, and a yellow-and-purple bracer encased his right arm and wrapped across his chest. A purple ram's horn with gold tips sat on his right shoulder, and a single purple-and-yellow metallic horn rested on the right side of his head.
Pisté Adelfé
Axe of Faith
"Get us down there."
Odin stepped in and slashed to the right. As he swung, an invisible force carved through a mountain far behind his foe. Siegfried stepped back and swung his blade under Odin's, hiding it under Gram's wide blade. The tip barely missed his armor, and he swung back. Siegfried ducked the mountain-cleaving strike and thrust at his sternum. Odin took one small side step and swung down, carving through the valley again. Siegfried sidestepped the swing and slashed at his neck. Odin crouched under the slash and backstepped.
"Don't run!" Siegfried yelled, stepping forward and shooting a one-handed thrust. "Not after all that talk earlier!"
A vein rose on Odin's brow as his head slipped past the thrust and he shot his own. Siegfried pulled his sword back and parried Gram to his left.
"Not happy? Not used to fighting someone who gives you a challenge?" His sword flew up, but Odin sidestepped right and swung. Siegfried barely moved back, Gram's point gliding in front of his eyes. He snapped his right hand at Odin's wrist, but Odin slammed Gram's pommel into his chest. Siegfried stood his ground, snapped his left hand on Odin's wrist, and kicked his chest, sending him skidding back.
I need to stay close! Siegfried thought. If he gets too far away—
Odin stopped and swung at him. Siegfried crouched down to his knees, feeling the raw force of Odin's swing fly over and tear through the mountains far behind him.
He rose and dashed.
Odin started another swing.
Siegfried kicked off the ground and slashed.
Their swords collided with a heavy and cacophonic clang. Siegfried pushed back, sliding his blade down to Gram's strong just above the guard.
Both bared their teeth.
"A challenge?!" Odin roared, gripping Gram in both hands and pushing back. "I have slaughtered armies of Gods stronger than you!"
"Must be easy to kill those weaker than you!" Siegfried shot an uppercut into Odin's chin, knocking his head back. He felt Gram give way and stepped back. He raised his sword and swung down.
Odin raised Gram and blocked the swing, letting out another deafening clang. Siegfried grit his teeth and flexed his muscles, driving Odin down. Odin's eyes widened as his knees bent.
This strength! He thought, tilting Gram to the left, sliding the blade down. Where is it coming from?! He twirled Gram in both hands, pushing the edge with his armored hand towards Siegfried's neck.
Siegfried's left foot stepped outside Odin's, slipping him outside as another attack cleaved through the valley floor and mountainside. He slammed his shoulder into Odin, pushing him back. His left foot spun on its ball, and he thrust at Odin's armpit.
Odin panicked and lowered his shoulder, letting the blade glide against his pauldron and the back of his neck. He leaned left and rammed his shoulder into Siegfried's chest. He tumbled back as Odin twisted and thrusted Gram.
Not bad! Siegfried parried the thrust away as another hole bore through the mountains. He swung again. "Got to admit, you're kind of scary!"
Odin stepped back and took Gram in both hands. He could feel something trickling from his neck into his armor.
Suddenly, he smiled. That wicked smile, hidden by Egil, set Siegfried's hair on end.
"I do not understand your power, but it makes sense! Only someone like you could bear the might of our Runes!"
Siegfried took a few steps and stopped, both in each other's range. "Someone like you would never understand where my power comes from, but I'll take the compliment!"
The ground around Odin cracked and crumbled. "It has been too long since I crossed swords with someone of your caliber!" He twitched and shook. "I bleed! Only one, one, ever achieved that distinction!"
"There'd be more of us if you weren't trying to kill us all!" He rushed Odin, thrusting his sword. Odin sidestepped, but Siegfried stopped mid-dash and redirected his attack.
Odin slipped under it, but the sword already returned and thrust again. He's picking up speed! He ducked and weaved around two thrusts. He stepped back, but Siegfried kept pace with him. Four more thrusts. He's as fast as Metatron— One thrust grazed his neck and another his cheek. No, faster! Gram bolted out as Siegfried stabbed, grazing Siegfried's collarbone.
Cripple him and end this! The other voices roared.
Odin sighed. Damn you all. He vanished before Siegfried's thrust pierced his eye.
"Wha—" Siegfried performed a perfect split just as Gram slashed at the back of his neck. Siegfried thrust back, but Odin jumped away.
Calm yourself! The other voices spoke. We cannot kill him! He is necessary for our return!
"What a shame…" Odin whispered, standing tall. "Our goals hinder me. What I would give for a battle to the death with you. I am, once again, denied a worthy foe."
He dodged and countered even that?! Odin thought. "Siegfried!"
"Not in the mood to tal—!" He answered, closing the split.
"You and Hades are strong! Strong enough to deserve existing! If I allow you to keep Brünhilde, will you join us?!"
He stopped, staring incredulously.
"Keep? Don't make her sound like a pet!"
"'Pet?' No. Gods are beneath even that. Just like then, they are nothing more than failed experiments of the soft-hearted. Why humor a species that couldn't survive on its own, Siegfried? Because they exist? Nonsense."
Gram started glowing.
"They could not survive us without Gǫllnir and his weak-willed band pitying them. Which reminds me."
"Wait!" Siegfried roared. Suddenly, Brisingamen's stars rushed from Odin's chest, blocking him.
"I brought silence to cities with just a word, Siegfried. I'll make sure to spare her…if she's strong enough."
"NO!"
"Then join us."
Siegfried froze.
"You made your choice. Yggdrasil: Vöxtr"
A radiant force erupted from Gram, flying towards the sky. It branched out into countless beams of light, flying out of the valley and illuminating the pair.
"No….no HILDEEEEE!"
Odin lowered and pointed Gram at Siegfried. "Now, where were-"
"Persephone-Atlas," An echoing voice spoke.
Suddenly, as the lights arched over the surrounding peaks, an unseen force smashed down on all of them, pushing them into the range.
The floor under Odin bubbled and rumbled. Heat permeated and smoke rose from below as Brisingamen rushed back to him. Siegfried felt something pull him on his back, and he flew away.
"Persephone-Typhon."
Lava burst out of the ground, enveloping Odin and flooding the valley.
"What's happening?!" Siegfried yelled. He slowed down, landing on a mountain spur.
"Didn't mean to pull you so hard," A familiar voice said. Siegfried turned around, finding Hades. "It's my first time using a Völund."
"Hades?! How?!"
"I should ask you the same, but for another time."
Odin roared below them. Lava sprayed everywhere as he rose out of the pooling lava, His lower half covered in burns and melting armor. Draupnir's spectral arms snaked out of his back and rested on top of the lava, instantly cooling and forming a platform for Odin.
"How is he still alive?" Siegfried asked.
"The Treasures of Calamity: The branching Sword Gram, able to decimate the landscape with a swing or thrust. Draupnir, the Bracelets able to alter the structure and state of anything it touches. Brisingamen, the ultimate shield and projectile, and Egil, the helm that amplifies or negates any force the user wishes. Such monstrous abilities, and yet they are barely a fraction of Yggdrasil's true power."
"That fraction was enough to survive a volcanic eruption!"
"Barely, but yes." Hades twirled his axe. "Siegfried, hold fast for reinforcements. We will take it from here."
Odin and Hades locked eyes.
"By the way, Siegfried. I saw your display earlier," Hades said.
"…"
"That love you feel for Brünhilde? I can see why Týr did what he did."
"…Huh?"
"He was lucky to have a friend like you." Hades stepped off and dropped. He landed in the lava feet-first and walked towards Odin, his battered body illuminated by the lava's glow.
"Interloper!" Odin yelled with multiple voices. "You dare?! After what we did to you?!"
"Of course." Hades slammed Pisté Adelfé pommel in the magma. Hundreds of small spheres of lava shot out and floated around him like a sphere of molten stars. "Even if I take my last breath, I will not stop being the Eldest Brother and a dutiful Husband." Telluric current sparked up from the lava, wrapping around the spheres. "Persephone-Astraeus!" The molten stars, wrapped in lightning, arched away and soared across the flooded valley.
"Useless!" Odin yelled, waving his hand to bring Brisingamen in front. The stars started vibrating. "All fail before us!"
"Really now?!" Hades twisted his free hand, and the oncoming barrage splintered apart before impact, snaking around Odin's barrier. More electricity arched around his feet, and he shot like a bolt across the lake.
"YES!" Egil vibrated, and all the spheres broke harmlessly against his armor. "WHY DO YOU FAIL TO UNDER-"
"Reason has no place here!" Hades dropped Pisté Adelfé's head in the lava. He skidded to a halt and swung up, sending a wave up to Odin. "Persephone-Typhon!" He crouched down and jumped straight up. A stream of lava followed him and coalesced around the axe, and immediately cooled into diamond.
"THEN DIE A FOOL'S DEATH!"
Odin moved four stars each above and below him, and all eight vibrated as the wave collided from below.
Hades took his titanic crystalline axe in both hands and swung down. "Persephone-Adamas!"
The pincer attack collided with the stars. Odin strained and bled from every opening on his face to keep the attacks from crushing him.
"This…is child's play!" Draupnir's arms stretched out to grab the axe head and the wave. The axe head turned to dust and crumbled while the wave cooled and broke to pieces.
"It is! Persephone-Atlas!" Gravity smashed into Odin and sent him down to the lava below. I'm going to try something, Michael. Hades thought. Can you keep the damage to the surrounding area to a minimum?
…You're not… Michael spoke
I am. Hades aimed the axe towards the sky.
…I'm rusty, but I'll do my best!
"Vidarr! Now!" Hades yelled as he swung down.
Back at the mountain, Vidarr appeared behind Siegfried, grabbed him, and the pair vanished. Odin exploded out of the lava lake, Draupnir freezing it around him as Brisingamen pushed it way. He snarled and looked up towards Hades…and froze.
He could see it getting closer. The small, burning speck that was flying towards him, slowly growing bigger.
Bigger.
BIGGER.
BIGGER!
"You are insane!"
"I said it once! I'll say it again! Reason has no place here! Persephone-Atlas!" Gravity slammed him down again. Egil vibrated, and Odin slowly rose.
"Persephone-Aegis!" The decimated mountains surrounding them grew and rose towards the sky. And now…"
Vidarr appeared in the air next to him, nose pouring blood, and grabbed him.
"Persephone…Diáttōn Astḗr."
The pair vanished.
The meteor flew into the gaping maw of the mountains, blocking out the sunlight. Only the lava's glow gave Odin enough light to see the oncoming destruction.
"Daaaaaaamn youuuuuu!" They roared.
Hades and Vidarr reappeared several kilometers away next to their group as the meteor finally made impact. Smoke, dust, and rubble ejected towards the sky as cracks raced across the raised mountains. All of Eden shook as if the world was falling to pieces around them.
Hades! Keep it together! Michael shouted.
Hades released the axe and stabbed his hands through the dirt. He clenched every muscle in his body and felt the impact surge through his body. His cuts reopened, and blood poured from his mouth and nose. I…am not…letting this happen… He thought.
"Arthur!" Vidarr yelled. "We need you over here now!"
Arthur and Set raced over to the pair. Arthur knelt beside Hades and placed his glowing hands on him, trying to keep him together.
The earth continued to shake and rumble. Vidarr and Set watched as the mountain range crumbled and broke, falling away as chunks of the meteor rained down on the land. Lava poured out through the mountains' cracks and onto the fields and prairies.
Hades continued to push back against the necessary destruction. The force he wrought was to stop a greater threat than even his father. The world slowly went dark and quiet, and he collapsed. The axe vanished, and Michael lay sprawled out next to him, unconscious.
The destruction that pair created…came to an end. The shaking stopped. The lava cooled and began to smolder. A massive dust cloud hung in the air. The rock slides and rubble still rolled, but the worst of it finally stopped.
Or so they thought. Something darted out of the cloud and landed atop the rubble. Set and Vidarr could barely see it, but they both felt it.
"There…there's no way," Set whispered. "That could have killed Ra!"
"How did they survive that?!" Vidarr shouted.
"Primordial Gods are a different breed, you two," Arthur said, focusing on Hades. "Even with all that, nothing's guaranteed."
"Then what do we do?!"
"Nothing. It's not our fight anymore." Arthur looked back to the dust cloud. "It's theirs."
Odin, covered in dust, burns, and missing pieces of armor, walked towards the decimated prairie. Egil still rested on his head, now covered in cracks.
"When…we find them," He uttered. "We will…make them wish we killed them…" They wore us down. We cannot keep this level of effort up.
Cowards! A familiar voice spoke. You are the bringers of destruction, and you worry about a war of attrition?!
Silence.
The voice vanished.
He is no use to us anymore. This vessel will reach its limit soon…
Odin looked ahead and came to a stop, snarling.
Standing opposite him, several meters away, were Siegfried…and Metatron.
"Sir, you were right," Siegfried said. "Not even that would put him down."
"It did not before, and I doubted it would work," Metatron answered. "But I am glad to see Hades proved me wrong."
"You…" Odin snarled. "Where's your other half?"
"Not needed anymore." Metatron took a deep breath. "Just like you."
"We…are done with this." Odin brandished Gram as Draupnir's arms appeared behind him.
"So are we. Siegfried." Metatron extended his hand. "Time to put an end to this, and I don't believe anyone else, but you, should do it."
"Sir." Siegfried extended his sheathed sword, and Metatron gripped it. Bright light shone from the union.
"I am sorry it took me so long to get back here, son." The light grew brighter, enveloping them. Odin rushed in, swinging Gram.
"You're right on time...but Hilde will be upset! Kind of comes with the territory!"
"Let us get back to her then."
VÖLUND!