“So Ragnarok already happened?” Alyza asked, sitting across from Loki at a long refectory table. She was wearing a dress now, much different from the one she wore in Midgard; it was made of a silk brocade, designed with complex golden floral patterns against a beige backdrop. She also had frills on her wrists and collar, and her hair was tied up into a bun at the upper side of her head, topped with a small decorative headpiece.

“If you believe Ragnarok was just some predictable events finally coming to fruition, then yes, Ragnarok happened,” Loki replied, sipping on fancy red wine.

“But, wasn’t that supposed to be the end of the world?” She looked around at the elegant dining hall. It was much larger than any banquet hall she’s been to, “Or, the end of all worlds?”

“It would have been,” Loki sighed, “If not for the noble actions of my brother. He perished so that the realms could go on, but not without consequence. I’m sure you’ve only been alive for only a couple of decades, but Midgard was not always full of monsters. In fact, one could say that your world ended centuries ago.”

“How do you mean..?”

“Mortals, especially humans, are much more adaptable than you’d think. Many persisted with the assistance of the primordials, and over time, they rebuilt the world you know.”

She sat in her room, the same one she awoke in a couple weeks ago. This place was some sort of fancy prison that only reminded her of home, but at least there were new books to be read. Still, it was hard to focus when all the things Loki told her kept replaying in her head. There was a knock at the door.

“Ally? Are you in there?” A voice called from beyond the door, and when she opened it, a cute woman was standing on the other side. She was blonde, wearing a bright, frilly yellow dress.

Her stylish clothing implied that she was the one who helped Alyza with her Asgardian wardrobe, “Oh, hey Myrian. How can I help you?” Alyza sounded apathetic.

“Oh, don’t be so formal. I was going to go out shopping tonight and asked the guards if you could come along.”

“Haven’t we done enough shopping? I’m kinda tired..”

“Honey, we got you one outfit. That’s not nearly enough, not in Asgard,” she took her hand, “Accompany me, won’t you?”

Alyza sighed, nodding. Myrian smiled and led her out of her room to the elevator, pressing the button that would take them to the bottom floor, “..You’re mopier than usual. Is something the matter, dear?”

“I’ve got a lot on my mind..”

“Oh. Still worried about your father?” Myrian smiled.

“It’s not just him. If I can’t leave unless I open the Malefistone, I may as well say goodbye to Midgard. I had friends there, too, ya know..Wolfe, Clyme, Vackerie.." She refrained from mentioning Victus, as if uttering his name would send her into tears.

“These friends of yours sound lovely.”

“Heh, I think you and Vack would get along..” Alyza couldn’t help but smile briefly, and Myrian teased her for it. The elevator came to a stop with a soft ding sound, followed by the black scissor gate shuffling open. They left the building and got into Myrian’s vehicle. She sat in the passenger seat, shutting the door. The window instantly became opaque, “Ugh, this bloody fog. Has it always been this dense in Asgard?”

“Ever since I was a child,” Myrian started the engine, and out from the vehicle’s muffler came a large puff of steam, while a fan underneath the automobile began to spin. Soon, they were lifted off of the ground, above the fog, as mechanical wings sprouted from the vehicle’s sides. “Buckled in?” Myrian pulled a lever, and the wings flapped, moving them forward at high speed.

Even though this wasn’t her first time riding with her, Alyza found these car rides exhilarating. Never has she moved faster than this, especially not in the air. The sight of tall golden buildings reflecting evening sunlight, the factories that produced even more steam into the golden sky, the much slower cars that drove on the foggy roads, each with headlights that created small dots of light in the thick fog, she felt she’d never grow tired of it.

“Enjoying the view?” Myrian asked, only glancing at her. She had to keep her gaze focused ahead of them, so that they wouldn’t crash into any buildings or blimps that might be in their way.

“It’s such a large, beautiful city,” Alyza replied. In many ways, she felt more at home here than she ever did back in Midgard. Part of her didn’t want to leave, even if she gave Loki what he wanted. But then she caught a glimpse of the ring Victus gave her..

“Mhm. Wanna stay?” Myrian teased, aware of her situation. Alyza rolled her eyes. “Only jokes, dear, only jokes. We’ll be there soon.”

* * *

Victus leaned on the ship’s railing, looking out to sea with a heavy sigh that made a small puff of smoke due to the cold. He’d begun to notice that the only person on his mind was Alyza, and though someone had finally replaced Duncan from dominating his thoughts, he didn’t want to be stuck in a state of worry any longer. Magni joined him, “Ah, there you are.”

“Need something?” He asked, dismissive.

“I’m not used to how much slower time moves in Midgard. Will we be in Freyrun soon?”

“It’s only been about a week. We should be there soon, so long as we don’t run into any problems.”

“Problems, eh? I can sense a powerful creature roaming these waters. Let us hope we steer clear of it.”

“Y-You’re kidding?” Victus became nervous. “What kinda powerful creature? Not a sea monster, right?”

“A sea monster would most certainly be the case, yes. Are they uncommon in Midgard’s oceans?”

A sailor atop the crow’s nest called out to the crew, “Oi! I spot something in the water, starboard!” Victus and Magni turned to the other side of the ship, and distantly they saw a large set of blue and white tentacles arise from the foamy water.

“Holy Hel! That’s an Agathuron!” Victus shouted, fearfully knowledgeable about such monsters. The beast’s gigantic pale head peeked out from the raging ocean, as large as the ship, no, larger. Its head lacked a face, substituted by a horrific eye that opened vertically.

“I shall bring it down!” Magni unholstered Mjolnir from his belt, raising it high into the air and shouting, “Lynzula!” A giant bolt of lightning came crashing down upon the beast, angering it. Its tentacles reached towards them, latching onto the ship, slowly pulling it closer.

“Now you’ve done it!” Victus glared, running off to go find Vackerie. She was already running up to the main deck, staff in hand. Davon was next to her, no longer ill.

“What’s happening?” She looked around, noticing the sea monster they were slowly moving towards. “Oh my Gods, what’s that?! Why aren’t we sailing away from it?!”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“You can blame that idiot with the hammer later! For now, we’ve gotta find a way to get the tentacles off of us. Think your magic’s strong enough?”

“I don’t know..I can try..”

“Man the cannons!” The captain commanded, shouting loud enough for all passengers to hear. “If you’ve working hands an’ you wanna live, get to bloody firing!” Passengers did as he said, working with the crew to attack the Agathuron. Victus and Vack met up with Magni, and the three of them got to work.

“I really wish I had Excelsior right now..But we’ll just have to make do!” Victus stood near the railing, pointing at the tentacles that were grappling the ship. “Alyza, target the tentacle at the ship’s stern! Magni, focus on the one at the bow! We have to get free so we can sail out of here!”

“You know, if I could get close enough, I could simply kill the vile thing,” Magni suggested, holding up his hammer.

“And take us all down to the depths along with it?” Victus shook his head. “No matter what, we have to get free of its grasp. Just stick to the plan for now, alright?”

“As you wish, Master Vick for Short-”

“Would you quit with that already?!” They all got into position and began their assault, barraging the tentacles with blasts of fire and strokes of lightning that lit up the dark, cloudy sky. The beast growled and whined in pain, its grip on the ship starting to loosen. “That’s it, keep it up!” He encouraged them.

“This is getting tiring, Vick!” Vackerie took a small breather after casting a large fireball on the tentacle closest to her. She lost her footing for a moment, barely catching herself. Magni didn’t let up, however, continuing to unleash strike after strike upon the sickly tentacle, until it finally let go of the ship.

“Haha! At last!” Magni looked over at Vackerie, “You need some help over there?!”

“It won’t..let go..!” Vack blasted another fireball at the tentacle, and it finally reeled back, slowly rising into the air. Then it came crashing downwards at intense speed, like a falling cliffside. Victus ran towards her and dove.

“Look out!” He tackled her out of the way just as the tentacle slammed into the ship, rocking it so roughly that many passengers were flung off into the ice cold ocean. They screamed for help until they hit the water, where the shock sent them to their deaths before they even had a chance to swim back.

“Victus, this is going terribly..”

“I know, just..! I’m coming up with a plan as we go,” he was holding her by one hand, his other hand hanging from the edge of the ship. Although his muscles were incredibly strained, he didn’t allow himself to let go, lest he accept his fate. He looked down, noticing that there was a window in front of Vackerie.

The captain’s cabin.

“Vackerie! Your staff!” She looked at her staff, noticing the window in front of her. With all her might, she swung at the window, breaking it.

“I got it!” She shouted, looking up as Vick’s grip on her forearm loosened, and she slipped from him, falling downward. “Vick!” She flailed, trying to grab his hand with her other one.

“Vackerie!” He shouted, unable to grab it. Fortunately, Agnes grabbed Vack’s arm just as she fell past the window, pulling her up with immense struggle.

“Th-Thank the gods..” She shivered as she climbed through the broken window, panting heavily. Her eyelids became heavier, and she immediately collapsed to the floor. Agnes knelt over her, trying to shake her awake to no avail.

Victus looked back ahead of him, grabbing at the railing with his other hand and climbing up. Before he could pull himself onto the surface, the ship rocked again and both his hands slipped. Of all people that caught him before he could fall, it had to be Morelli. The entitled bounty hunter pulled him up with ease, dropping him onto the deck, “You valiant fool!”

“Just when I think I’ve been freed of your insults, you quite literally drag me back in. Are all bounty hunters giant dicks?” He carefully stood up, making sure not to slip.

“Let’s just say I have a personal vendetta against self-righteous cretins such as yourself,” Davon fired back. The Agathuron opened its eye widely, its iris shifting from blue to a bright pink. A beam of psionic energy flew out onto the ship’s main deck, hitting any sailors that got caught in the blast.

“That can’t be good..”

The sailors held their heads in anguish, crying out in pain as their eyes turned pink. They all suddenly stopped, appearing to be in some sort of trance. Slowly, they limped towards Victus and Morelli, walking up the stairs. The captain kicked his door open, unsheathing his cutlass.

“Back off, you mindless fiends! Return to your stations at once, or I’ll toss you overboard!” He shouted, but his men didn’t listen. They groaned, reaching for him. “Don’t come any closer!” He took a step back, gripping his sword. Victus watched from above as the captain panicked and impaled one of his own men.

“No!”

The sailor fell to his knees, blood flowing down his abdomen. The pink trance faded from his eyes, “S-Sorry sir..We failed you..” Shocked, the captain let go of his sword, watching his loyal sailor slump over. More brainwashed sailors surrounded him, until Victus landed in front of the captain and punched one of them.

“Get to the helm! We need to sail out of here!” He got grabbed by a sailor, breaking free by headbutting him. More were walking up the stairs, groaning like the undead. The captain nodded and ran up to the helm, gripping the wheel. He spun it and the ship made a slow but sharp turn, knocking Victus and a sailor through brittle railing onto the main deck. They wrestled for a while, until the sailor had pinned him down, choking him.

He couldn’t pry him off no matter how hard he tried, annoyed with how familiar this had begun to feel. Strikes of lightning could be seen lighting up the sky, outlining the madman’s silhouette. His vlinder blades were easily within reach, but he refused to use them, even to save his own life. His vision slowly began to fade, until Davon’s boot came into view, kicking the sailor’s head so that he would finally let go. Victus gasped for air, blood splattering onto his face. A few teeth landed onto the deck.

“Next time, pry their eyes out,” Morelli helped him up.

He noticed the bounty hunter was holding his rapier, its shiny blade stained with blood. Victus looked back at the sailor that had gotten knocked away, reaching out towards him as one of the sea monster’s tentacles slammed down onto the deck, crushing him into a red paste, “No, damn it..!” More sailors surrounded them, pulling out weapons.

Davon scoffed, standing back to back with a weak Victus, “They just keep on coming. I only wish more had fallen off earlier.”

“..Don’t kill them.”

“I’m sorry, I just saved your life and you’re telling me what to do? Little backwards, isn’t it?” He scanned the area, noticing that the tentacle was remaining in place. “That’s your chance. Go. I’ll hold off these stupefied bastards.”

“..Don’t kill them.”

“I heard you the first time!”

“Magni! We could use some help over here!”

The demigod stopped striking the Agathuron with lightning, hurrying over to Victus when he saw the tentacle, “Great! Now you just have to weaken it, and I’ll finish it off!”

“Question is how,” Victus was suddenly picked up by Magni, who tossed him onto the tentacle, “This isn’t what I had in mind!” His feet landed on the slimy appendage, and he slid across it until Magni brought his hammer down onto the tentacle, launching Victus high into the air.

“Shit! Think, Vick, this is it!” He pulled out his vlinder blades while he soared through the howling sky, stabbing them into the beast's eye when he landed on it. With a gut wrenching screech, the monster reeled back, flailing its gigantic tentacles around. Holding on, he ripped one blade out at a time, climbing the slimy slope until he could run, jumping off of the Agathuron’s pale head onto a nearby tentacle, stabbing his blades into it so that he would stick.

Magni caught a tentacle as it was about to destroy the damaged ship, hugging it. He grunted, tensing his godly muscles. With all of his might, he lifted the entire sea monster over the ship, suplexing it onto the other side of the ocean with an enormous splash. Victus let go of the tentacle as the Agathuron was flipped over, landing on its underside.

He slid for a moment, shouting, “Fenrir!” As the large wolf flew out before him, he jumped onto it, riding past the Agathuron’s gigantic beak. Thunder rumbled throughout the dark cloudy sky as Fenrir leapt off of the sea monster, breaking Vick’s fall when they landed on the ship, reverting into his ring. Still, the impact knocked him out, and he remained unconscious on the wooden floor.

The curse inflicted upon the surviving sailors that Davon was still fighting finally wore off, their eyes returning to a normal color as they fell to the ground. Davon huffed, sheathing his sword. He turned to Magni, “Go help your poor friend. I’ll steer this ship back on course.”

“What happened to the captain?” Magni asked.

“I saw him unfit to lead. Not that his life mattered, the crew was to stage a mutiny before we arrived in Eircrest. If the half-elf asks, tell him he fell overboard.”

“Of course. Mortals are so petty..”