The forest beneath the roots of the World Tree remained motionless for a long time after the moment Drakar rose from the ground, because even the wind that had previously slid quietly between the branches of the ancient trees and whispered the old songs of the forest through the leaves suddenly fell silent so abruptly that it seemed as if nature itself was trying to understand what exactly had happened in this place, where a mortal who only a few hours earlier had lain on the edge of death after a battle with the god of thunder was now standing on his feet again, and the power flowing through his blood was no longer the same as before, for now it carried not only runic magic and dragon blood, but something far deeper, older, and far more dangerous.
Selene watched him carefully, and although outwardly Drakar had barely changed — the same dark strands of hair falling over his shoulders, the same cold and focused gaze, the same black chains quietly clinking near his hands — his presence now felt different, deeper and heavier, like the shadow of something enormous standing beside him yet remaining unseen.
She felt it immediately.
His aura had changed.
Not simply stronger.
It had become… deeper.
As if the one standing before her was no longer merely a man.
But a being that had only just begun to remember its true nature.
"Do you… feel it?" Selene asked quietly, though there was a careful tension in her voice she tried to hide.
Drakar slowly clenched his fist.
The air around him trembled faintly, as though the fabric of reality itself had tightened for a brief moment.
"Yes."
He looked down at his hands.
The runes beneath his skin now glowed steadily and confidently, no longer flickering chaotically as they had before when the different forces within him fought against one another.
"They're no longer fighting."
Selene tilted her head slightly.
"What do you mean?"
Drakar raised his gaze toward the sky, barely visible through the dense crowns of ancient trees.
"Before, every power inside me tried to dominate."
He paused briefly.
"Thunder."
"Fire."
"Dragon blood."
His voice grew quieter.
"Now they listen."
A chill slowly ran down Selene's spine, because even she was not certain whether that was a good sign.
And in that very moment Drakar suddenly froze.
His eyes narrowed.
His gaze sharpened.
"Something is moving."
Selene immediately tensed.
"A rift?"
Drakar shook his head.
"No."
His gaze was fixed far beyond the forest, past the mountains and beyond the horizon.
"A god."
At the same time.
In a place where there was neither sky nor earth, nor the direction of time.
Among the endless roots of the World Tree.
Inside the Hall of Pantheons.
The gods were silent.
Because in the center of the hall stood a figure many believed already dead.
Perun.
The thunder god of the Slavic heavens.
His massive body was covered with cracks of lightning that ran across his skin like glowing scars of power, and his eyes burned with a cold fury older than the storms themselves.
"So…"
His voice rolled across the hall like thunder over mountains.
"This is the mortal."
Zeus watched him carefully.
"We thought you were dead."
Perun slowly clenched his fist.
Lightning exploded between his fingers.
"I was."
The hall froze in silence.
Then he continued.
"But gods do not die so easily."
His voice grew darker.
"My body was destroyed."
"My power was torn away."
"But my spirit returned to the World Tree."
He looked downward.
Toward the endless roots of Axis Mundi.
"And the tree did not allow me to vanish."
Odin nodded quietly.
"Regeneration through the World Tree."
Thor crossed his arms.
"You mean to say…"
Perun turned his head.
His eyes flashed.
"I returned."
The silence in the hall became heavy.
Then Veles laughed quietly.
"Interesting."
He leaned forward.
"A mortal killed a god…"
His eyes narrowed.
"And yet the god returned."
Perun answered coldly.
"Not for long."
His gaze darkened.
"Because the debt is not yet paid."
Zeus frowned.
"What debt?"
Perun answered with a single word.
"Blood."
He slowly turned his head toward the world of mortals.
His voice became quiet.
But filled with rage.
"He tore my power from me."
"He broke my throne."
"He made my name whispered among mortals."
His eyes flared with stormlight.
"I want his head."
Thor smiled slightly.
"I almost did it."
Perun answered coldly.
"But you didn't."
His voice lowered.
"Now I will."
And in that moment even some gods felt a chill.
Because the vengeance of a thunder god was a force not to be underestimated.
Far away in the world of mortals.
Drakar was still staring at the horizon.
Selene stepped closer.
"What do you see?"
He answered quietly.
"A storm."
Selene frowned.
"Thor again?"
Drakar shook his head.
His voice grew colder.
"No."
He slowly raised his chains.
The runes ignited with golden light.
"Older."
And somewhere far beyond the mountains the sky suddenly darkened.
Lightning cut across the horizon.
But this lightning was different.
It was rougher.
Wilder.
Older.
And the voice that rolled across the sky was filled with fury.
"DRAKAR!"
Selene felt a chill.
"That's…"
Drakar smiled.
But this time his smile was calm.
"Looks like…"
His eyes burned with golden light.
"The god I killed has returned."
And somewhere far across the sky thunder roared again.
Perun had returned.
And this time he had not come to judge.
But to take revenge.