The endless deserts of Asgard stretched far and wide, howling winds hurling small grains of sand at their faces and eyes now and then. On foot, each dune was a steep slope that they had to dig their hands in just to make sure they didn't slide down (Lily was exempt from this due to her natural ability to fly). They followed the boy, who trekked through this wasteland as if it were normal for him. Even though they could see the walled-in city beyond, the length of this journey was really starting to get to Victus.

"Damn you, Magni. How did you get to the city so fast? He had enough time to warn that other god, too.."

"Maybe he can fly?" Lily suggested.

"No, that can't be it. He couldn't fly back in Midgard, so I doubt he can fly here. We're missing something.."

Victus stood atop a large dune, looking around at the miles of sand they still had to cross. Even if they got to the city in a timely manner, there's no telling what would happen when they got there, or how they'd get past the wall. They needed to think this through if they wanted to rescue Alyza properly.

"Hmm.." Victus put his hand to his chin, lost in thought. The kid looked back at him with a bothered expression, impatient as ever. Desperate for a solution, Vick reached into his pocket, pulling out the amulet Andarius gave him. It was glowing an ominous white light. "Odd. I didn't have to use this to activate anything when I went through the portal. It was already open since Magni got there before me..I wonder if.."

"What are you thinking of, darling?" Lily asked.

"..Both of you, stay close to me," Victus held up the amulet. "Heimdall!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of white, and the three of them disappeared into small particles of light that slowly faded away.

* * *

Loki's footsteps moved at a quicker pace, louder than usual. He led Alyza to the rooftop of the large building, where the air was thinner and the entire city could be seen. In the center of the rooftop, there was a circular structure with mysterious runes engraved into its golden interior. She could sense that the device was made for this exact event.

"We've no time to lose," Loki took out the pyramid, handing it to Alyza. Hesitantly, she took it, then threw it off of the roof. It stopped in midair, then floated back to her. "Now is not the time for jokes, my dear."

She groaned, taking the pyramid once more, "It was worth a try. Will you still wipe my memory of this from my mind?"

"I promise," Loki made a short bow. With a heavy sigh, Alyza began twisting and rotating the artifact, undoing the puzzle as if it were a children's toy. Its runes and creases glowed the closer she got to solving it until the pyramid finally opened. Inside, an orb of black energy that swirled with mystic, cosmic power. "Finally! The Malefistone is mine to behold!"

"Just hurry up and do it, Allfather," she handed him the artifact, which made him so excited that he didn't mind her sarcasm. With some mystic incantations, his hand became shrouded in a spectral green claw. With the claw, he grabbed the powerful orb, ripping it from its holding place. Carefully, he walked over to the circular device, continuing his chants.

"Omni, umbra, estus, vul nox verde luxus, noctis Valhera Helheim!" As he chanted, the runes on the structure began to glow various colors, reacting strongly with the Malefistone. A small tear in the fabric of time and space formed in the center of the circle, and when it did, he hurled the orb into it. The tear stretched and warped, spiking and swirling into the edges of the large device. After a while, the portal began to stabilize, humming with cosmic energy. "I've done it..I've saved you, sister.."

"Loki," Alyza reminded him. "The spell."

"Oh, right, you're still here," he poked her forehead with his cane once again, sending her into her subconscious.

The world looked largely the same, though the further the city went, the more desaturated it became, with bits and pieces of the wall floating off into a void of nothingness. She could see herself opening the artifact for Loki, then handing it to him, as she did just moments ago. Quickly, she stepped forward, unsheathing her rapier. There was little hesitation this time.

She raised her blade with tired eyes, but as it came downward, it was met with the sparks of a similar blade that blocked it. Her eyes widened. She looked up at the person who blocked her attack: it was herself.

"Wh-What..?"

The cognitive Alyza stared back at her with the same tired eyes, except her irises were violet. With a swift motion, she parried her rapier to the side and shoved her back, "You know this is wrong."

"..H-How could you say that?" Alyza gripped her sword. "How can you even speak at all?"

"I'm you, Alyza. We're the same. Deep down, you must know. And you must agree."

"No!" She slashed at her again, but her cognitive self parried and parried, blocking so that there was a moment of clarity between them.

"Have you forgotten who you really are? Where you're from?"

"Shut up!"

"Your friends. Your family. Your lover."

"You're not me!" She pulled back and thrust forwards with her sword, but her cognitive self quickly stepped to the side, shoving her to the ground. The real Alyza dropped her sword.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I am! Do you hear yourself?!"

"You don't know anything," Alyza slowly grabbed her sword, not wanting to look back. "If you really were me, you'd know that we can't keep on waiting. You'd know how terrified I've been, how I haven't been able to sleep for one second without dreaming of him, of our friends, our family.."

"I know you're afraid, Alyza. I know you miss them more than anything. But this isn't the way to do it..I'm sure he's on his way.."

Alyza stood up, glaring back at her, "You don't believe that..!"

"..."

"I know you don't believe that. Because you are me.." There was a deep sadness in her voice.

"..You don't really love him, do you..?"

"What..?" Alyza looked at the ground. "Of course I do.."

"If you did, you'd believe in him."

"I do love him, but even he can't do the impossible.."

"Has he given you any reason to think otherwise? Victus is always defying expectations."

The cognitive moonlight's distorted reflection rippled in a puddle on the rooftop.

"But.."

"You're a mess, Alyza. You need to pull yourself together. After all, wouldn't he say something like that if he could see you right now?"

"..You're right," the real Alyza approached her cognitive self. "Let's pull ourselves together."

The cognitive Alyza smiled, outstretching her hand, "Not even the gods of Asgard can stop us."

"We'll watch them fall from grace," she vehemently took her hand. They both nodded and spoke at the same time.

"Straight down!"

Alyza returned to reality with a flash of white. A ring had formed upon her right middle finger, encrusted with black crystals. Loki took a step back when he saw her, realizing that her clothes had changed to a black and purple color scheme. Her hair became silver, and her irises became purple. She glared when she saw him, "You were trying to erase all of my memories, weren't you?"

"No," Loki lied. "I was just trying to make you more appeasable, you see-"

Using Vick's ring, she ripped his cane from his hands with a surge of concentrated wind, catching it. Quickly, she snapped the cane in half, breaking its sword too. It seems that her strength has been amplified.

"Wow, that was easier than I thought."

Loki glowered, "Are you aware of the trouble I went through to get that? You are going to regret this."

"No, I'm not," she extended her right arm towards him, "Evolution, Gemini!"

The ring upon her middle finger burst into shards of black that formed a shadow-like twin of Alyza. The twin ran at Loki, rapier in hand. Once it was close enough, it disappeared and reappeared behind Loki, thrusting its blade through him. At the same time, multiple clones of the shadow Alyza were created, all performing the same action.

"Gah!" Loki staggered, coughing up blood. He fell to one knee, "Dammit! I'll show you an Evolution!" The god of mischief held his hand out, a gold ring shaped likelike a serpent upon his middle finger, "Jörmungandr!"

The ring shattered into shards of golden light. From below, a rumbling and roaring could be heard. Out from the thick fog, a giant snake with golden scales appeared, slithering around the tall building. The serpent's head was nearly half the size of the entire rooftop, and once it saw Alyza, it lunged forwards at her. With a heavy crash, a puff of smoke and debris clouded the top of the building...

* * *

Moments earlier, Victus and the others reappeared in a large room. The metal floor beneath them was of rusted grillwork, and behind them was a large sphere of colorful light. The walls and ceiling consisted of erratically-shaped pipes, some releasing puffs of steam in small spurts. It was refreshingly warm, but that comfortable feeling didn't last. Footsteps fast approached and Victus turned a second too late, getting tackled against the wall.

"Argh!" He held the metal rod back as much as he could, but the attacker kept it held against his neck. Looking forwards, he could see that his foe was an elderly man with a gray beard and long, gray hair. His perfectly straight teeth looked to be made of gold, and his amber-colored eyes matched them flawlessly.

"You shouldn't have come here!" He shouted fiercely, his voice sounding as old as he looked. Victus looked past the man, seeing the boy aim his shotgun at them. Lily didn't grab him fast enough, the spread from the gun bouncing off of the man's back and ricocheting around the metal room for a short period. Steam hissed at them as the tall man slowly turned his head, side-eyeing the others. His white shirt had holes in it now, gold shining underneath.

"I won't let you hurt them!" Vick's eyes glowed red, and he managed to push the man back while he was distracted. He attempted to rip the rod from the man's hands, but the man returned his attention to him.

"You are strong, for a Midgardian. But not strong enough!" He headbutted Victus, knocking him down to the floor. At one end of the rod, there was an oddly shaped axehead made from gold.

He raised the axe, but Lily then shouted, "Charm! ♥" and a metaphysical heart-shape flew out at him. He quickly dodged the spell and hurled his axe at her in retaliation. Victus immediately dismissed her before she could be hit, and luckily the child was so short that the axe flew over his head into the wall. Steam spurted out from the pipe the blade punctured, and the room became hotter.

Vick rolled to his feet just as the old man tried to stomp on him, shouting, "Get out of here, kid!"

The boy nodded and ran towards the one corridor that the room was connected to, making his escape. The old man didn't bother chasing after him, only interested in the half-elf icon. He approached him as Victus took out his blades, "Playing hero won't score you any points with me."

"As if I'd want to be on the good side of yet another shitty god," Victus lunged forwards, slashing at him. The man evaded his every attack with ease, then punched him in the gut. It felt like a sledgehammer had been knocked into the hero, and he fell to his knees, coughing up blood. "Ach..!"

The old man picked up Victus by his neck, lifting him above the floor, "Do not compare me to those incompetent fools! Before you stands a real god, one tasked with keeping the realms safe from another apocalypse! Unlike them, I act of my own volition!" He noticed Vick's glowing eyes, sensing their power, "..Frigg?"

Victus planted his feet onto the man's chest, pushing himself off of him so that he could break free. With a backwards somersault, he threw his blades at the god. They ricocheted off of his body into more pipes, releasing additional steam into the small room. They were both starting to sweat now.

"A fruitless attempt," the god stepped forwards, easily tearing off his shirt, revealing his muscular body to be made of solid gold. "I am the mightiest! The invulnerable, undefeatable Heimdall!"