Victus was unable to react. His gaze blurred, he could faintly see a bright light shining above him, shielding him from the blast of lightning that was about to end his life. In his eyes, the angel protecting him appeared as Duncan, who extended his hand with a welcoming smile. Victus slowly reached out to him. It was then that his eyes healed enough to reveal the truth.

Lily was hovering above him, taking the full brunt of the attack. Though she trembled while the electricity endlessly coursed through her body, she smiled when she saw him reach for her, a tear escaping her right eye. Her lips mouthed words that he could not hear; his ears had not yet recovered. Still, it was clear that she spent her final moments telling him something. Gently shutting her eyelids, she gradually fell forward, evaporating into a black dust that the wind carried away.

Suddenly, a speeding vehicle blindsided Magni, ramming his body into the concrete corner of a nearby building. The wall had broken instead of piercing Magni's back, and he was flung into the building. Afterwards, the car door swung open, and an injured Emmet fell out. He held his side as he struggled to stand up, limping over to Victus. The sight of his bloodied physique almost made him retch, but he endured, dragging Victus out of the crater Magni had created.

"Come on..! This would be so much easier if I had two arms.."

The wall on the side of the street broke open with a burst of electricity. Magni stepped out, holding Mjollsverd. He walked towards Emmet, speaking in a threatening tone, "How many more times will you fools rescue this murderer from death? If I must burn through you as well, I will not hesitate to do so."

"Sorry not sorry, but this guy saved my life, so I owe him. Besides, I'm sick of obeying you gods, kings, and anyone else. You can't just keep pushing us around! You were supposed to protect us, to provide. Ironic how it's starting to feel like the other way around."

Magni snarled, "Ungrateful mortal! You will bow your head and beg for mercy, or else!"

"I'll bow my head down to no one!" Emmet's hair lit aflame, and his eyes glowed a fiery orange. "Not anymore!"

"Hmph. What an insignificant show of power."

"Fuck you say?!"

"Allow me to elucidate," Magni centered his sword in both hands, charging it up. The runes along its edge began to glow, releasing a shockwave that rocked the ground. "Witness! For the first and the last time: true power!"

As he raised his electrified sword and swung it around, multiple shadow clones of Alyza suddenly ambushed him, whacking and smacking his body with their bows. One of them jumped onto his back and put him into a headlock with her bow, tugging as hard as she could. He rampaged, unleashing a burst of electricity that instantly incinerated the shadows. The sword's energy depleted and its runes stopped glowing.

"Damn," he fell to one knee, stabbing Mjollsverd into the ground so that he could lean against it. "Who dare interrupt me?!"

A couple of arrows flew into his shoulder, and he turned his head toward the archer.

"Leave them alone, Magni!" Alyza shouted, nocking another arrow. "I'm the one you want!"

He ripped out the arrows in his shoulder, unfazed by the rush of blood that flowed out, "You? Nonsense. Only my uncle saw value in such a weakling."

"Not that!" She fired another arrow and he caught it, snapping it between his fingers. "I'm the one who did it. I killed your brother!"

There was a brief moment of silence that followed, only interrupted by the cold howling wind. Magni slowly stood, gripping Mjollsverd tightly. Even though his eyes looked like they belonged to that of a devil, Alyza did not avert her gaze. She felt more guilt than fear, especially as a single tear fell from his left eye.

"..And if you don't put an end to this, I'll kill you too," there was an unsure breathlessness in her voice.

"Unlikely," Magni pulled Mjollsverd out of the ground and hurled it at Alyza. She immediately fell back so that the sword would fly over her, but Magni moved like lightning and reappeared in the sky above her. Rolling aside as he launched himself downward, she just managed to evade death. The shockwave sent her back, and though she bounced off of the asphalt a couple of times, she quickly recovered to her feet.

"Get Vick out of here!" She commanded Emmet. He nodded, trying his hardest to pull Victus over his shoulders, then he started running.

Alyza readied another arrow, replicating herself so that a row of clones fired alongside her. Magni recalled Mjollsverd and spun, slashing a major horizontal slice that cut all the arrows out of the air. Recalling tricks that Victus would pull off, Alyza punched at the ground, pushing herself high into the air with a strong blast of wind that Excelsior expelled. The slice of wind flew under her, destroying all vehicles and structures in its path.

The foundations of a large building crumbled and it slowly toppled over, sinking towards the street Alyza quickly found herself falling towards. Swiftly, she turned and punched the air, haphazardly launching herself onto a rooftop that wasn't in the building's path. The area became shrouded in a huge cloud of dust that blanketed the area. At this point, screams of terror riddled the streets as citizens finally started fleeing for their lives, disregarding Loki's curfew.

Alyza slowly got up, crawling to the edge of the roof. She peered over it to check if Magni was defeated, instead seeing Loki's men chase after civilians that were running away. Those that were captured had begun to fight back, resisting. Once the first shot was fired, many guards unholstered their rifles and aimed at the crowds.

"Return to your rooms at once! All those who resist will be put down immediately! This is for your own safet-"

An arrow abruptly flew into the side of the guard's neck, forcing his head to jerk from the impact as he choked on his last words. Grasping at the arrow, the guard fell over, a puddle of crimson forming around his lifeless face. Alyza panted heavily, standing on the roof with tired eyes.

"There! A sniper!" A guard shouted, and the other guards aimed their guns at the roof. She turned and ran while bullets flew past her, destroying small bits of concrete on the edge of the roof. "Split up! You three, pursue her! The rest of us will take care of these civilians!"

"Yessir!" They nodded, heading down the alleyway in pursuit of Alyza.

* * *

"You are positive that she came this route?" Davon held a torch out to illuminate the dark path ahead, revealing torn draugr bodies scattered upon the ground. "Ugh, how I despise dead things.."

"That's what Vackerie said," Agnes stayed close to him, weary of the dungeon's dangers. "She could have been more specific, that girl.."

"I'm sure she was as specific as she could have been in that condition. Besides, she was in no shape to fight," Davon continued walking.

"Neither are you. Those bones still broken?"

"Of course, but the analgesics will suffice should we enter combat. Not that we will. It seems that Fang is only interested in killing those Victus cares deeply for. No offense, but that doesn't include either of us."

"None taken," she sighed. "He obviously doesn't see me as his grandmother. Who can blame him? All because of his damn mother, I didn't get to help raise him! What's with this stupid Fang woman anyway? Wanting to kill his friends..It sounds like they've got some history."

"She intends to break his spirit. It's a common tactic for those seeking to deliver the utmost revenge they can on someone," Davon spoke casually, like he's experienced similar things in the past. "However, if he were to upset me that much, I'd rather just kill him and be done with it."

"Hey watch it, pretty boy. He's still my grandson, and I intend to protect him," Agnes shuffled ahead at a higher pace, disapproving of Morelli's morals as much as Victus. "The nerve. Haven't you ever had someone to take care of you?"

"No. From the day I was born, I was cast away by unloving parents. Growing up in an orphanage isn't easy, you know. But my little Lily made it all worthwhile.."

"Was that the slutty chick Vackerie was telling me about? It's kind of weird that you refer to her as that.."

"She is not a slut nor anything in comparison! Victus was the one to corrupt her with his vile theatrics! I do not know what she sees in that sorry excuse of a man, but clearly she's.."

"Eh, some girls just like guys that are overdramatic. And taken."

Davon sighed, "As I was saying, before you so rudely interrupted me..I met Lily at the orphanage. She was the sweetest little girl. When it was time for bed, she would tell me to read her a story. Apparently, that's what her mother would do for her every night before bed. You should have seen her come winter. The sound of sleigh bells would excite her so..It's a shame we could never afford to attend the sleigh races in town."

He thought back to his time at the orphanage, tucking a small, dirty human girl into scraps of cloth filled with hay and feathers. She smiled up at him as he wiped the grime off of her forehead, taking his hand at placing it on her head. He patted her soft, frizzy black hair.

"It seems that even though she lost her family, she was too young to really miss them. And I didn't even know my family. By nothing short of a miracle, we'd both been adopted during our teenage years. Our new parents were caring, kind people. They'd even adopted a few other brothers and sisters."

"I'm guessing something bad happened," Agnes waddled along, expecting this sort of thing from a backstory.

"Correct. I suppose father had some debts he hadn't the money for, and, one fateful night..The house was burned down. Manglyeong."

"Who?" She had never heard of the name.

"Masks. They were a group of thugs that had control over most of Kamren. Apparently Victus and his guild took them down, but he used some sort of disguise to appear more intimidating. It worked, I suppose. Anyhow, that night was when something awakened inside of me. A bloodlust, not one born from justice but rather..Hatred."

He stopped, staring at the fire atop the torch in his hand. Just as vividly as he recalled his memories of Lily, he recalled slaughtering the masked thugs outside of the burning house. His face appeared just as cold and lifeless as it often does now. His white pajamas were almost entirely stained red.

"After I killed them, I ran inside to save her. Unfortunately, my Lily had already perished. In a moment of panic, I took her body and ran as far as I could. I didn't get very far before I collapsed on the road. There, a witch found me, and I suppose she felt sympathy for us after hearing our story. She told me she could revive my sister, but she would have to use demonic essence during the ritual. Too weak-minded at her age, my sister's form took that of a monster."

"Is that why you dragged that chest around when we arrived in Freyrun?"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Davon nodded, "I carried her around in that chest for years and years, looking for another answer, wondering how I could return my sister to the way she once was. The witch had told me two ingredients were required to return my sister to a relatively normal state."

"What were the ingredients?"

"A human essence, willingly," he stopped in his tracks, finally arriving in the room with the unactivated portal mechanism. "And true love."

"..Oh, love," Fang was sitting atop the device, swinging her legs back and forth. "How sickening, the word."

* * *

"She went that way!"

A group of guards ran past a dark corner, where Alyza hid in the shadows. She gave a sigh of relief, exhaling a puff of smoke. It was only getting colder. Checking to make sure that they were gone, she dashed in the direction that they came from, then turned a corner in hopes that she was heading in the direction that she sent Emmet and Victus in.

Emmet sprinted with heavy breaths due to the weight upon his back, chugging along until a foot suddenly stepped out of a corner and tripped him. He fell over, dropping Victus and hitting the ground with his chest, "Oof!"

"I should have expected your return," Loki kicked him onto his back, holding yet another cane that he pointed to his neck. "Emmet, was it? Captain Phineas always spoke highly of you, in the defense of being Midgardian and all."

"My real name is Ember," he glared. "Captain said that the name didn't sound Aesir enough to you. Makes sense, though, that you'd forget you're the one who named me. All you've ever cared about is yourself, not this stupid city!"

"I must say, that tone of yours is really starting to irritate me."

Loki swung his cane across Ember's face, staining the golden end with his orange blood.

"Consider yourself lucky, mortal. I've run out of ones with blades in them."

Ember leaned over and spat more blood onto the street, feeling weak. Loki scowled, then walked over to Victus's body. He sniffed, then inhaled sharply, grinning as he exhaled.

"I knew it! Demonic essence. How rare to find in such a place as this," Loki waved his arm out, chanting a spell that formed a spectral green claw around his hand. He knelt forwards and reached for Victus, a violent swirling energy emerging from the half-elf's back. "Finally, I shall be rid of you. Once the essence has been removed, not only will I become stronger, but you will cease to disappear, you half-witted, insi-"

A pair of arms wrapped around Loki, interrupting the ritual. He side-eyed the Midgardian.

"I won't let you!" Ember shouted. "That guy's kid deserves a father! I'm not about to let you take that away!"

"Know your place, mortal!" Loki struggled, then backhanded Ember with the spectral claw. He was sent flying through the window of a general store. "You should have stayed down.."

He turned back to Victus, surprised to see a child standing across from him, "Who the-"

"Tas ve ahn," the kid fired a blast from his shotgun at him. Loki flinched and held his hands up, somehow managing to block the spread with his claw, but his concentration on the spell broke in doing so.

"Agh!" He fell to his side, rattled and confused. "How did an Aesir child.."

"In need of some help, brother?" Valhera arrived at the scene, standing atop Jörmungandr's head. There was a smugness in her voice.

"Finally!" Loki got up and turned around, pointing at the boy and Victus as he ran away. "Kill them!"

The giant serpent growled. It raised its head and dove towards the street, opening its mouth wide as its bottom jaw tore through the asphalt, dragging along it. Just as the snake was about to eat Victus and the boy, it was stopped with a major shockwave. Heimdall's golden body shined dull before them, and the young kid even shot at his back again.

The spread bounced off with sparks as Heimdall turned his head, "Get out of here, boy! This is no fight for a child!"

"Pbbttt!" He blew a raspberry, reloading his gun before aiming upwards and firing.

Valhera scoffed, creating a wall of ice to block the attack, while Heimdall struggled to hold the giant snake back.

"I said go! And rescue that young man who stood up to the villainous Allfather!" He spoke in the same tongue as the boy. Surprised that the god knew his language, he looked up at him and nodded, then ran in the direction of the store. Suddenly, Valhera jumped through the wall of ice she created and ambushed Heimdall, kneeing him in the chest and dragging him far back along the street.

Jörmungandr finally became free and devoured Victus in one huge gulp, slithering upwards into the sky. Loki watched with a wide smile, shouting, "Yes!!"

While the ventral of the giant snake was exposed, a streak of lightning suddenly flew into it, plunging its giant blade deep into the beast's belly. With the crackling of thunder, Magni dragged Mjollsverd down, gutting Jörm's soft golden flesh. He split the wound open with his hand, shouting, "Not yet! I shall be the one to kill you, angma! And then your love will know my pain!"

A large wave of red emerged from the wound, and Victus lunged out of it, covered in golden blood. He grabbed Magni by the neck, his face looking angrier and crazier than ever. The two descended rapidly towards the ground, chased by the golden rain that spurted out from Jörmungdandr's body.

"Tell me!" Tears were streaming down Victus's face. "Tell me what she said, you son of a bitch!"

Magni gripped Victus's forearm with both hands, attempting to break his arm, but Victus headbutted him before he could. He punched him in the face over and over as the two spun around, until they finally landed on the street. The giant snake's body exploded into golden particles of light just before it could land on them, causing Loki to fall to one knee.

"Damn it," he held his side as the golden snake ring reappeared on his finger, panting heavily.

Just as Victus climbed over Magni before he could get back up, Valhera did the same to Heimdall. She wrapped her hands around his throat and started to freeze it, his golden neck barely cracking slightly before an arrow plunged into her eye. She stood, crying out in pain as Alyza stepped forward in the distance, nocking two more arrows. The goddess of death ripped the arrow out and glared at Alyza. Her eyeball quickly regenerated.

"You're going to regret that, mortal wench!"

"I regret nothing," she took aim. "I'll kill every god standing in my way."

She eyed Ember in the distance, who was limping away with the assistance of the boy. They turned a corner and disappeared.

"You're welcome to try!" Valhera dashed forwards like an animal, forming giant chunks of ice around her forearms.

Alyza fired both arrows into her eyes and then ducked as she leapt over her. The goddess laughed, listening for her movements while crouched, sweep kicking Alyza off her feet. She rolled aside as Valhera slammed ice chunks where she was, then kicked her in the ankle, firing another arrow into her neck. Valhera coughed and staggered back, pushing the arrows out while she quickly regenerated.

"Not good enough!" She formed a sword made of ice as Alyza backflipped to her feet, parrying each slash with her bow, until her bow was sliced in half. A look of worry washed over Alyza's face, but she quickly composed herself, furrowing her eyebrows. With a punch to the gut, she unleashed a surge of wind from the ring, Excelsior, launching Valhera into a distant building. Loki saw this, shrieking when Alyza shot him a glare, then got up to his feet, limping away.

She almost reached for another arrow, remembering that her bow was now broken. That's when a crash interrupted her train of thought.

Victus and Magni punched each other's fists at the exact same time, creating a thunderous clap that shook the very ground.

Alyza gasped and ran towards them, but a weak, kneeling Heimdall held out his arm, blocking her path.

"Don't..You'll just get hurt."

The two kept swinging and jabbing at each other, but it looked like Vick was gaining the upper hand. He parried his fist and elbowed him in the throat, palm-fisted his chin twice, then kneed him in the stomach, uppercutting him with enough force to stagger him backward. Quickly taking out his revolver, he fired a couple of times, sending bullets through Magni's shoulder and side.

"I gave it my all!" Victus gripped the gun. "I tried every chance I got to be a better man, to be the bigger person!"

Magni held his hand out and Mjollsverd came twirling into it. He slashed downwards, but Victus sidestepped flawlessly, using his last bullet in the chamber to shoot his hand, disarming him. While the sword was still stuck in the ground, Victus quickly dropped the gun and trapped Magni's arm, breaking it. Stunned, Magni's chest was met with a series of chain punches that knocked the air out of him, then, gripping Mjollsverd, Victus shouted, "But you didn't fucking listen!"

The yellow bands of cloth wrapped around the sword yet again, and Victus pulled it out of the street, swinging it, slicing Magni's leg clean off. The god of power fell to his side, holding his thigh in extreme pain. He rocked back and forth as blood heavily poured out onto the broken asphalt, "Agh! You monster!"

"You're right," blood was dripping down the blade. "I am a monster..Even after everything you've done, I can't bring myself to do it. Every fiber of my being is telling me to, but I won't. Because you don't deserve to be let off so easily."

He stabbed the sword into the ground next to Magni's body, the yellow cloth magically loosening off of the blade onto Magni's leg, wrapping around it. The yellow band acted as a tourniquet that would painfully stop the bleeding.

"Damn..You..Angma.."

"What did she say?" Victus asked.

"Who..?"

"Lily! The demoness that was accompanying me before you..You.."

Magni scoffed, inhaling sharply, "As if I was listening to anything that filthy bitch said.."

Victus clenched his fist, gritting his teeth tightly. His eyes were still glowing, and the aura emanating from his body was so strong that it was visible as a dark shade of red. Alyza walked up next to him, accompanied by Heimdall, "Vick.."

He didn't look back at her. His breath was shaky, "..Home..?"

"Yeah..We should go already, okay..?" She felt sorry for him.

"Alright.."

They began to walk away. As Alyza passed Magni, she spat on the ground. If she had her bow, she would've finished the job for him. The three regrouped with Ember and the boy, and they fled the city on an odd vehicle that Victus remembered was beneath the Allfather's building. It had a large fan at the end, and instead of tires or wings, the vehicle used a soft, inflated material. Journeying the sands, they headed towards the bifrost station that Victus came from.

"What about those in the city?" Ember asked, shouting over the loud fan that blew bits of sand at them.

Heimdall replied, "I'll do what I can to keep civilians safe. Chances are, the guards will round up the survivors and return them to their homes, if they have any."

"So that's it, then? Things will go back to the way they were?"

"Asgard has been ruled over for centuries by incompetent gods. Perhaps I will create a new system that allows the mortals more freedom."

"Yeah, but what about us? What if the existing gods come after us? Aren't you worried about Valhera or Loki trying to kill you?"

"I won't let that happen. As for you all, I will shut down the Bifrost, permanently restricting travel among all realms. That should keep you safe for a while."

"Only a while, you say..?" Alyza looked worried. She looked at Victus, who had been quiet the whole time.

"Long enough for you to raise that child. Congratulations, by the way," Heimdall smiled, for the first time in a long time.

"H-How did you know?" She became even more worried, looking back at Victus to see if he heard. He gave no reaction, which kind of disappointed her.

"Hahaha!" Heimdall laughed. "I was in love once. I know that look. I'm sure you two will make fine parents," he was looking at Alyza and Ember, prompting them to quickly wave their hands in disagreement.

"I-It's not mine.."

"Oh! My apologies, I thought..Ah, well.."

They finally arrived at the station. Heimdall activated the portal, and they all said goodbye to him and the silent boy. Beyond entering, the portal closed behind them, leaving them in the dark dungeon. Victus looked around, seeing the lifeless body of Agnes and Davon lying next to each other. His eyes widened, and he turned around, "Alyza!"

Fang stabbed her jagged dagger into the back of Alyza's shoulder, and she fell to the ground in what felt like slow motion. Ember immediately tackled the attacker and wrestled with her, until she stabbed him in the abdomen and pushed him aside. Quickly getting up, she grinned at Victus, "Finally, you've arrived. That leaves just a few more, right?"

"Y-You..I'll kill you..!!"