Death was cold. Unforgiving. The world became dark, and desaturated, and time seemed to come to a halt. The voice asked, “Are you satisfied?”

Victus couldn’t answer.

“There is still so much to do. To give up here, why, that would be most unfortunate. Don’t you deserve another chance?”

He tried his best to move, to no avail.

“This time, you will have the tools you need to deliver justice, and to protect the weak at all costs. You will have unbridled power like never before, and you will harness this power. You will grow it, through your experiences and the bonds that you create.”

His hand subtly flinched.

“Do you accept these conditions?”

Barely able to speak, his voice came out raspy and pathetic, “..Ye..Yes..”

“Then the contract is sealed. You are born once more.”

A mysterious ring suddenly appears on Victus’s ring finger.

“Until death do us part.”

Time resumed. “Pack it up. And keep an eye on the girl, we don’t want her slipping away,” the leader said. Victus could see that Auburn was crying, staring at him. It took everything he could, but he managed to slowly reach for the ring that appeared on his finger. He gripped it.

“Evolution,” the voice spoke once more.

“Ev..Evo..” He muttered weakly. The leader turned back to Victus, surprised to see that he was somehow still alive. He slowly approached him, clenching his fists. “Evolution!” Victus shouted proudly, ripping the ring off of his finger. The piece of jewelry shattered into several shards of light, with swirls of bright green energy flowing around him. The shards stuck to his body, enveloping him into a silhouette of white. He hovered above the ground, immense cosmic power surging through his veins. His outfit changed; his drab leather coat became a vibrant shade of green, repaired, and a tattered yellow scarf formed around his collar.

“What the Hel’s goin’ on?!” The leader backed away from such an ominous sight, a shiver being sent down his spine once the hero’s feet finally touched the ground. He stood straight, glaring at the bandits with his sharp, vibrant red eyes. Behind him, a large spectre formed, taking the shape of a translucent green wolf. The beast was almost the size of a house. “Fenrir!” Victus shouted, waving his arm, “Attack!”

The wolf howled, and charged through Victus at the men. All but the leader turned and ran; he was petrified. The beast pounced onto him, pinning him down. He snarled and growled, while Victus gave a sadistic smile, as if the man’s fear gave him some sort of sick, twisted satisfaction. He wanted nothing more than to tear him to shreds, until he saw Auburn staring in fear, just as afraid as before. He quickly commanded, “Stop!”

Fenrir ignored him. He opened his carnivorous mouth to reveal large, drooling canines. Just before he could bite the bandit’s head off, Victus shouted again, “I said stop!” The wolf closed his mouth, giving an annoyed growl. He turned his head to look back at Victus, then faded away into a green mist. The ring he previously tore off had begun to reform as the wind carried the mist towards him.

The leader of the bandit group lifted himself up off of the ground for a moment, then fainted. Auburn ran over to Victus, tackling him with a hug. He braced for the pain of impact upon his bruises, but to his surprise, it felt like they were gone. In fact, he was completely healed!

“Sorry if I scared you,” he patted her head.

“I was scared, but..You’re not like the bad guys mama warns me about,” she looked up at him in admiration.

“Yeah, your mom would probably be pretty mad if she found out I almost got you kidnapped,” Victus knelt down again, “Let's just keep this a secret between us, ‘kay?”

“Okay!” She nodded, happily.

“Alright!” He stood, smiling. “Now let’s get you home! Fog’s cleared a lot by now, so let’s just follow the trail.” Victus grabbed his pouch of coins from the area before leaving.

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* * *

“Bloody weather! It's cold as Helheim outside,” Victus shivered, rubbing his arms. “It’s a good thing we got back to town before it started raining.”

“Helheim?” Auburn asked, tilting her head in curiosity. They’d taken shelter at a well-known tavern, sitting across from each other in a creaky, wooden booth. They were let in before business hours, so no one else was around. A couple of empty plates were in front of them, each riddled with crumbs from a finished breakfast.

Victus realized she was probably too young to be taught about the realms, that is, if her parents even believed them in the first place. Helheim was one of seven realms. A blistering cold city where the immoral dead would go, to suffer for an icy eternity. At least, that’s what many believed. He’d always been skeptical about such things. Virunia was within the realm of Midgard, a place where mortals resided.

“Uh, want some more juice?” Victus deflected her question.

“Mhm!”

“Hey, Gunther, we need some more grape juice over here!”

The dragonborn standing behind the bar sighed, already preoccupied with cleaning a glass. He was a tall man, broad and built, with scaly blue skin and a scar across his left eye. He went over to their table and placed a full cup next to the empty one, crossing his arms. “So should I put it on your tab, or is the girl paying?” Gunther teased.

“Hey, it ain’t my fault Fang double crossed me again! She really seemed different this time,” he slouched. “I really thought she had changed..”

“Vick, you’re giving her too much credit. Someone like that listens to nobody,” Gunther sympathized. The two had known each other ever since he started staying in town.

“I know, I just..Wish things were different.”

“Nice new coat, by the way,” Gunther tried to cheer him up.

“Thanks! I, uh..Found it.”

Auburn lifted the cup of juice, gulping it down. Gunther chuckled, “So, Auburn, you got a last name?” He smiled at her, and she nodded, placing the cup back down.

“Ashflower.”

Gunther rubbed his graying beard, searching his mind for anyone he knew with the same last name, “Ashflower, eh? Do your parents ever come into town? What about your dad?”

She shook her head, “No. I don’t have a dad.”

“Oh..My apologies.”

“It’s okay, mama said he’s in Val..Valala?”

Valhalla. Victus knew what that meant. Her father must’ve joined the military and died on the frontlines. The Kingdom of Stultus controlled most of the continent, ruled by King Genos. At the end of every skirmish, couriers would be sent out to deliver letters to all the wives of fallen soldiers.

These letters, all written the same, would inform these women that their husbands died gloriously in combat, and that they would surely be sent to Valhalla: a holy place within Asgard, one of the seven realms. Asgard belonged to the strongest gods, like Odin and his sons, Thor and Baldr. Valhalla was the afterlife for the dead that died fighting for what’s right.

What’s right, however, was up to interpretation.

The war mainly took place in the windy deserts, far to the north, where soldiers would fight under the scorching hot sun. There, exists a walled-in city made up of Kobolds and Genasi, known as Lurdor. The people that live there denied the kingdom’s claims that their land was already owned by King Genos. Upset, he responded by declaring war for the territory.

Nearly half a decade later, the fight was still ongoing. Despite their small numbers, Lurdor has managed to hold off the kingdom’s army for so long thanks to their environmental advantages. Victus had his own opinions on such things, but he refrained from expressing them in public.

“Know any Ashflowers?” He asked Gunther.

“Nope. Chances are her mother will come into town to search for her as soon as possible,” Gunther walked back behind the counter, resuming his busywork. “Best you two stay put till then.”

“What?!” Victus sat up, “Can’t you watch her? I have to go and find Fang before she gets too far.”

“Didn’t you just say she’d kill you if you followed after her?”

“Yeah..Your point?” He crossed his arms.

Gunther sighed, shaking his head as he cleaned the glass. Victus sighed and slouched down again, “Guess it doesn’t really matter anyway..”

“..Are you mad?” Auburn asks, innocently.

“No. Not at you, anyways.”

“..Okay..”

Victus looked down at the ring on his finger, thinking back to all that had just happened. He was still in disbelief. Had he really died and returned? He could vividly remember getting his neck snapped, and the coldness of the air in-between. Then, that mysterious voice, and the sudden, immense power that came afterwards. All because of a word he’d never even heard of before:

Evolution.