In the place where Elina and Odin had been standing only moments earlier, strange shadows began to emerge from between the trees and rocks, as though darkness itself had taken the form of living, conscious creatures.
Those shadows spread throughout the forest with unsettling speed, carefully searching for any trace of the target they had come to find.
After several minutes of meticulous searching, one of them stopped and said in a low, raspy voice:
"The target has escaped."
A brief silence followed, then the shadow continued firmly:
"We must find them immediately and inform the Demon King that the one with the Dark Heart—the person we were ordered to search for—has finally appeared."
The moment he finished speaking, the shadows scattered in all directions.
Some began tracking any clue that might lead them to the owner of the Dark Heart.
Others rushed back to the demonic continent to deliver the news to the Demon King.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince of the Human Empire stood by one of the windows of the newly rebuilt imperial palace.
The new palace was even larger and more majestic than before, crowned by a massive circular dome that reflected the empire's grandeur.
The prince gazed silently at the horizon while using a magical device to eavesdrop on the demons' conversation.
He listened to every word and continued observing them until they dispersed.
When the eavesdropping ended, the prince frowned and fell into deep thought.
Only one phrase echoed in his mind:
"The Dark Heart."
The moment he heard those words, he remembered his uncle, who had betrayed the empire and all the races of the continent of Mira in order to obtain that legendary power.
In the end, however, he had died at the hands of Forn after a long and painful ordeal.
The prince recalled all the information Forn had once revealed to his father and remembered that she had never found the Dark Heart.
A dangerous thought flashed through his mind.
If the Dark Heart had not been found back then, that meant someone else had obtained it and had already fused with it.
His eyes widened, and his expression darkened.
He thought anxiously:
"I must inform my father immediately."
"If someone carrying the Dark Heart has appeared within the borders of our empire, the dragons will never spare us."
Without delay, he rushed toward the throne room to inform the emperor of everything he had discovered.
Far away, deep within the demonic continent, the Demon King sat upon his enormous throne.
His massive body resembled a dark mountain pulsing with power and terror.
He listened silently to the report from one of his followers about the appearance of the one who possessed the Dark Heart on the continent of Mira.
The moment the report ended, a cold smile spread across his face.
Then he let out a low laugh that made the air around him tremble.
He thought to himself:
"I hope this person appears in the coming war."
"If that happens, the battle will become far more interesting."
But after a moment, another idea flashed through his mind.
"Why not recruit this person to my side instead of facing them?"
The more he thought about it, the wider his smile grew.
Having someone with the Dark Heart in his army would dramatically alter the balance of power and make many difficult matters far easier.
He raised his head and called to one of the servants standing nearby:
"Go and tell the Demonic Saint that I want him here immediately."
The Demon King chose the Demonic Saint rather than his daughter because he trusted his powers of persuasion hundreds of times more.
He was convinced that the man would be best suited to draw the owner of the Dark Heart to his side.
What the Demon King did not know, however, was that his hopes had already collapsed before they even began.
The target he believed was still on the continent of Mira had already left it.
Far beyond everyone's reach.
To a legendary island hidden beyond the vast seas.
Asgard.
The home of Odin.
And the place where Elina's new life would begin.
Odin continued flying for several full weeks across the seas and skies, covering enormous distances until he finally reached Asgard.
Although the journey was extremely long, it did not tire him in the slightest.
When Asgard finally appeared on the horizon, Odin let out a relieved sigh as he looked at the little girl, Elina, sleeping deeply in his arms, unaware that she had already begun a new chapter of her life.
Odin landed quietly on the soil of Asgard and gently set the child on the ground.
In the next instant, his body transformed into a black raven and flew away.
But that had only been a remote-controlled duplicate of Odin.
Only a few seconds later, the real Odin appeared and lifted Elina back into his arms.
Then he carried her toward the village where he lived with his brothers and family.
Just before reaching the village, he saw his young son—the boy who had recently awakened the power of lightning—running toward him with great excitement.
The child waved his arms and shouted happily:
"Father! Father! Look at my new trick! I managed to—"
But the boy stopped abruptly in the middle of his sentence.
His eyes widened in shock, and his face froze in utter disbelief.
He looked at his father.
Then at the sleeping girl in his arms.
Then back at his father once again.
Raising a trembling finger, he pointed at Odin and then at Elina and exclaimed in a stunned voice:
"You... you had another daughter?!"
In the next instant, he lost his balance from sheer shock and from a mysterious gust of wind, and was blown backward into a massive tree, shattering it on impact.
Odin sighed as he looked at his son lying on the ground and said coldly:
"Stop this nonsense."
Then he lifted Elina slightly and added:
"This child is not my daughter. She is a new warrior of Asgard. Do you understand?"
The boy sat up while rubbing his aching head, then nodded quickly and said:
"Yes, yes... You are right, Father. This girl is a brave warrior."
Odin looked at his son and noticed how completely he had changed his opinion after colliding with the tree due to the wind Odin had secretly created.
He sighed inwardly and decided that he would intensify the boy's training so that his personality would become stronger.
Odin entered the village while carrying Elina.
When the warriors saw him, they exchanged astonished glances.
Some began whispering to one another:
"I've never seen this child before."
"Could it be that Lord Odin secretly fathered another daughter?"
Another whispered in response:
"But how? If that had happened, we would have known."
The warriors looked at one another with growing curiosity and confusion.
Odin heard every one of their whispers.
He sighed inwardly and thought:
"These children have grown into powerful warriors... but they still possess the same irritating curiosity."
He decided that he would punish them later for meddling in matters that did not concern them and for spreading baseless rumors.
But before he could do anything, he heard a thunderous shout behind him.
He turned quickly.
There he saw Poseidon running toward him in agitation and disbelief, pointing a trembling finger and yelling:
"You! You had another daughter?! How? Why didn't you tell me? And who is her mother?!"
The moment Poseidon shouted those words, a number of rulers from throughout the village gathered around.
Within moments, everyone was speaking at once.
"Did Odin hide this from us?"
"Who is the child's mother?"
"Did he kidnap her from outside?"
"Is she really his daughter?"
In a matter of seconds, the area descended into complete chaos filled with questions, accusations, and rumors.
As for Odin, he stood in the middle of it all, holding the peacefully sleeping Elina in his arms, while a cold smile spread across his face.
It was clear to everyone that a severe punishment awaited anyone who had chosen to interfere in matters that did not concern them.
(Author's Note):
Hello everyone! Thank you for your continuous support of this novel; your comments and interactions mean the world to me.
Stepping away from our story here for a moment, I wanted to share another project I've been working on with great passion. I have started publishing a webtoon (comic) on the Webtoon platform titled "Me and the Wolf."
It is a [Comedy / Fantasy] story about a miserable young man and a cunning wolf who is constantly getting him into trouble! If you enjoy my writing style and the way I build scenarios, I promise you're going to love this comic.
I would be so grateful if you could go check it out, subscribe to the series, and let me know what you think in the comments there!
🔍 Search on the Webtoon app for: [Me and the Wolf]