- - One Week Prior - -

"So, uh..." Alexander muttered. "Am I the only one that doesn't know what the God Crystal is?" he asked the other Virtues.

None of them responded.

He nodded in understanding.

All the Virtues sat in the unnecessarily large couch that barely fit in Archibald's office. Archibald had removed it a few months ago, but he brought it back for some reason.

Anastasia dropped her head into her hands. "Why is that man always late?" she groaned.

"Uncle Charles is always busy," Gabriel interjected. "Just wait."

The door nearly crashed open as Archibald burst through. "Look at that. Came at the exact second you guys were talking about me," he said with a smile.

Archibald wasn't wearing his regular white jacket, but rather a plain black suit. The black blazer was torn and ripped so he immediately threw it off. His white shirt was stained with pale blue fluid.

Alexander decided not to ask what that was.

Archibald let out a breath and loosened his tie. "Sorry," he muttered in between his breaths. "I had to handle a dragon. Well, a wyrm."

That explained the blue stains.

"But whatever," Archibald continued. "What are we talking about today? The crystal?"

Gabriel nodded.

"Perfect, perfect."

He extended his arm to the side, and the jacket he had just thrown down began to float to his hand. "Can't believe I almost forgot," he mumbled to himself.

From the torn jacket, he pulled a silver rectangular device.

The same holographic projector Archibald used for each mission briefing or any topic requiring explanation.

He set it on the table and pressed a few buttons on the side.

"So," Archibald said, clearing his throat. "This is the God Crystal."

As always, the room's light began to fade. Except no image showed up from the holographic projector.

"Oh, damn, it's not working," Archibald mumbled. He reached over the table and gripped the device. "Anyone know how to fix something like this?" he asked.

He extended his hand to Anastasia.

"What?"

"Well, you have lightning magic. So, could you just..."

Anastasia sighed and grabbed the device. "That's not how it works," she muttered. And with that, she flicked the silver rectangle.

With the flick of her finger and a slight burst of electricity, the device began to glow with pale light.

"Guess that is how it works," Alexander said.

"Does that mean you charge a phone?" Leonard asked.

"I'm not charging your phone, Leonard."

Archibald cleared his throat as he grabbed the device. Again, he set it down onto the table and pushed a button on its side.

A large black diamond appeared in the light.

"This..." Archibald said. "...is the God Crystal."

"I see, I see," Leonard muttered, slowly nodded as he squinted at the image of the crystal.

Giovanna stared at him in confusion.

"So anyway... This crystal is Anti-Magic. It can absorb, negate, and nullify magic energy. If you touch it, it'll absorb your magic. So by itself, it isn't very dangerous. But... If you apply the energy of pure Anti-Magic itself..."

He continued, "It would be devastating. Its power can be used to make weapons, devices, a whole bunch of things that can be damaging as a whole for inter-realm society. And so, we have to find it. Because a lot of people are looking for it. Especially the Golden Dawn." Archibald smiled and spat out a sigh. "Imagine what they could do with the singular source of Anti-Magic."

"The details of its continual existence aren't entirely known. But what we do is... At a certain point in time, it will peak, in terms of Anti-Magic energy. Before that point in time... it will have to be destroyed. Once destroyed, it won't peak, and the energy will simply dissipate."

From there, the image of the crystal shifted to a grand landscape of pure green. It zoomed out and beyond, displaying buildings, fortresses, structures, and waterways scattered throughout the image.

"This is Vanaheim. The location of the God Crystal. The Magecraft Association doesn't know where it is. But someone on Vanaheim surely does. And so, that's where I'm sending you," the Paladin declared.

"This isn't a simple mission. It's a quest."

From there, the Paladin smiled. "So... How would you all like to go on a quest?"

The room fell into contemplative silence. In the week prior, Archibald had mentioned the God Crystal to them maybe a dozen and a half times. This was the first real explanation. And now...

Now, they would be going on a quest for it.

Alexander was boiling with excitement.

Still, an audible sigh left Giovanna's lips, as she spoke. "No. No way. We're all in the Academy. There are like four and a half months until the next demon, so there's no reason to-"

"If we don't get stronger, we'll all be killed. Even after six months, it took all seven of us to kill Asmodeus. At this rate, death is certain for us all," Alexander interjected.

Gabriel smiled, "I'll take the opportunity. I'll go on the mission. And I'll do it... Alone."

Archibald stared at him. "...No, this is a group thing. You'd die alone. This is the kind of thing that would require a Paladin. Still, I trust that you can handle it. As a group."

"Let's go," Alexander said, a crooked smile growing on his lips. "We... We'll destroy the God Crystal."

- - Present Day - -

Late November

The Virtues stood before a gargantuan pillar of blue light. The tower of light was dug deep into the ground and reached into the sky, past the clouds, and past all else.

That pillar was a branch of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. All branches appeared the same, all of them being immense columns of pale starlight.

This branch was one of the few that led to Vanaheim.

Surrounded by other towering, pastel-colored buildings, the Virtues stared at the light. In just a few minutes, they would depart and enter Vanaheim.

Shoveled snow sat at the base of the surrounding buildings and within the cracks between the stone bricks of the walkway. That was winter in Copenhagen, after all.

Thick layers of pale clouds covered the sky and blocked out the sun leaving nothing more than grey light onto the city.

And still, Anastasia simply wore the same black hoodie as always. Unfazed as always, she stood in still silence, her black hair flowing in the slight gusts of wind.

Alexander stared at her for a moment, as he tightened the straps on his bag. Emilia stood by his side.

"Wow, you're really creepy, huh?" she said.

He turned to her. "Shut up," he muttered.

Emilia simply stared at him and laughed. "You're just weird, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know," Alexander said, letting out an exasperated sigh, pale mist leaving his lips.

Alexander stared at his sister and grinned. Even under three or four layers of jackets, she was still shivering and fidgeting.

"You're only gonna be gone for a few days, right?" she asked.

"Yep. Unless I die," he said.

"Don't even joke about that!" she laughed.

Alexander stared at his watch. "It's almost time. Stay safe. I'll see you later," he said. Immediately after, he patted her head before she could react and messed up her hair.

"Don't do that," she pouted, as he retracted his hand. "How long are you still gonna treat me like a kid?"

"Until I die," Alexander smiled.

Of course, it wasn't as if Emilia actually hated it. She looked around, worried if someone had seen that. As she fixed her hair, she smiled at Alexander. "See you soon."

And with that, Alexander smiled as he walked over to the others. The grand lights shone brilliantly onto them and their surroundings.

"God, could you imagine living here?" Leonard asked. "The World Tree must keep people up all night or something."

"No, they just cover it with a tarp," Lumiel said.

"Wait, really?"

Lumiel simply smiled as they stared at each other.

"Goddammit," Leonard said, letting out a sigh. With his breath, pale fog was let out into the air.

Alexander shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jacket and smiled. "Can't believe we're actually going to another realm, though," he said, staring up at the branch.

"Have you seriously not been to other realms?" Gabriel asked, turning to Alexander and the others. "Like other than Earth?"

"Y'know, inter-realm travel isn't that common, dude."

"Whatever," Gabriel muttered. He turned and stared at the nearby belltower. It was built of orange bricks and stood at the opposite end from the World Tree.

And soon enough, the bellowing of the ringing bell echoed.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Travel through the World Tree wasn't always completely safe. There were always possibilities of danger, failure, or interference. And so, in order to be certain of the branch's security, specific times were scheduled.

Now was that time.

"Look at that. It's time," Liam said, stepping in front of Gabriel. "Let's go."

"Yep," Gabriel said, taking another two steps and getting in front of Liam. "Let's get started."

And so, this continued on for almost a minute, the two of them getting in front of each other and glaring at one another. Until...

Alexander and Anastasia simply walked past them and into the light.

For a moment, all there was the brilliant azure light. The blue glow began to fade, until the light became pure white. And with that...

They were on Vanaheim.

The World Tree had left the Virtues on a small hilltop, staring down and around at the almost infinite woodland that covered the realm.

"Jesus Christ, it just got a hundred degrees hotter immediately," Leonard complained, pulling off the layers of sweaters he had on.

As usual, Leonard exaggerated. After all, the weather on Vanaheim couldn't exactly be considered warm. And so, Alexander took off his fist jacket and remained with just a black zip-up hoodie as usual.

The other Virtues were already doing the same.

Lumiel quickly swiped Alexander's jacket from his hand. It disappeared.

He stared at her in confusion. All that was in her hands was a pale cube.

Alexander stared at it and squinted. "...What?"

"It's a spatial seal," she said with a smile. "You put stuff inside, you seal it, and that's it. It's a whole lot easier than carrying a jacket around on a quest. It's just how people store stuff, y'know?"

"Although instead of using it for weapons, we're using it for jackets," Gabriel said.

"You say that like it's a problem," Lumiel responded.

"..."

Gabriel simply stood in silence and handed her his jacket.

Lumiel smiled at her cousin and grabbed the jacket, quickly putting it into the cube.

And from there, Alexander stared out onto the realm. He swallowed his saliva in awe.

"Well damn," Anastasia muttered as she noticed the same scenery.

What stood before them was a vast, seemingly infinite woodland of every tree conceivable.

Palm trees and flowering plants growing alongside pine trees. And in the distance stood rolling hilltops, still covered in trees and flora. Mountains in the distance, running with rivers and streams, leading to massive lakes all spread across the land. All gleaming under the rising sun of Vanaheim.

The massive orb of golden yellow made the realm seem just like Midgard, but once they looked up, the Virtues understood that that could never be the case. The sky of Vanaheim was far darker than Midgard's, tinted with a purple glow all throughout.

Gabriel stared at them as he arrived. "It's just a forest."

They turned to him. "Yeah, but it's Vanaheim," Alexander said. "Still awesome."

"Exactly," Anastasia agreed.

Frankly, Gabriel was right. Even so, Alexander delighted himself as he faced up at the lavender sky.

The sound of a man clearing his throat reverberated across the trees.

The Virtues all turned to the sound.

"Hello, brave Virtues of Midgard," a man said. He smiled and took a bow before them.

"You may call me Erling. I am the attendant of the King of Vanaheim. Per your arrangements for your mission, you'll have to meet with him first. And so, if you'll follow me... I will lead you to him," he said with a smile.

He stared at the Virtues and took another bow.

"Yeah, Uncle Charles mentioned him," Gabriel said. "We gotta go with this guy," he continued, letting out a dejected sigh.

Alexander went ahead first. He didn't know why Gabriel's sigh was exasperated. He simply tried to contain the joy of being on Vanaheim.

And so, he led them down the hill and they followed him across the forest.

They walked behind the glowing pillar of pale light that was the World Tree and continued, trekking along the rest of vast woodland.

Erling was a young man with golden hair. He had pale skin and even paler eyes. He was noticeably muscular and wore a colorless and sleeveless robe above a pale blue tunic.

To tie it together, he wore a golden belt. And placed on his hip, was a leather pouch containing a single book. Other than that, he wore dark pants and black, open-toed boots.

Lumiel snickered at that before pointing it out to Alexander.

He didn't understand.

"I mean, it's funny," Lumiel began to explain.

"Like... what's the point of wearing boots if they expose your toes? Makes no sense," she declared. Lumiel smiled as she stared at Alexander. "It's like... It's like when you wear cargo shorts," she continued, unable to keep herself from chortling.

Alexander looked down. He was wearing cargo shorts. "Damn, I'm wearing cargo shorts again," he said, letting out a sigh.

Again, Lumiel smiled and tried to hold back her laughter.

Alexander never understood their collective dislike for cargo shorts.

Erling continued to walk and lead them through Vanaheim.

As they continued, they encountered a marketplace. There was no grass, and the trees had been separated into thin vertical rows, almost perfectly aligned to create space for the vendors.

Colorful carts and huts stood there, selling plants, fruits, vegetables, meats, wood, tools, and just about any conceivable material, ingredient, or anything that could be sold.

Conversations and chatters were heard as the Virtues continued walking down the strip of land. Erling would smile and wave at the many that were there, continuing and walking along.

And from there, they walked into a clearing of the forest. Behind the endless, towering treetops stood the still mauve-colored sky.

Alexander's eyes quickly met the ground. What sat there was an almost perfect oval of a leaf. A massive one.

"Get on," Erling said. "All of you, please."

Alexander stared at him.

"The leaf," he clarified.

He stared back at the leaf. The immense leaf filled the clearing with its massive circumference. And so, Erling was the first to get on it.

The Virtues followed, stepping onto the leaf just as Erling did.

"Excellent," he said with a smile. With a snap of his fingers, the ground began to rumble.

Well, what rumbled wasn't the ground. It was the leaf. Alexander looked over the side. It had begun to float.

"The King will transport us," Erling said with a smile.

Anastasia turned around. "Don't tell me we're gonna fly on this thing," she said, staring down at the leaf as it hovered just a foot off the ground.

"Well," Alexander said, letting out a sigh. "Looks like it."

"Nope." She shook her head. "Nope. Not doing this," she muttered, walking towards the end of the leaf to jump off while she still could.

Alexander grabbed her shoulder. "It's gonna be fine," he told her. "Just... Just sit down. And don't look down. It'll just a minute."

She stared at him with those same stale dark eyes. Anastasia spat out a sigh and walked past him, back to the center of the still floating leaf. She smiled at him. "If anything happens, I'll blame it on you."

Alexander simply smiled back.

Lumiel stared at them, a wry smirk growing on her face. "Lots of physical contact going on between you two, huh?" she said.

"Shut up, Lumiel," they said in unison.

Lumiel's grin only widened.

At the same time, the leaf hovered to a higher height. Now above the treetops, the Virtues could see the vast realm of Vanaheim.

All except Anastasia, of course, who shut her eyes and crouched down on the leaf.

Nearly the entire realm was covered in verdant grass and hills, with countless trees filling up every space leaf. Dozens of rivers ran through the vast forest floors.

Alexander smiled and took in a deep breath. "Oh, yeah," he said. "That's that good air."

Leonard stared at him in confusion. "...What the hell does that mean?"

"What?"

Their conversation was silenced as the leaf picked up speed, passing through the sky even quicker than before.

With the wind blowing in their ears, all the Virtues could do was stand and admire anything and everything they passed by.

Gabriel actually smiled, taking in a deep breath.

Running across the rivers were grand boats of all sizes. Rowboats, sailboats, and even entire fleets passing by all kinds of waterways.

And still, people could be seen walking around. And appearing in the gaps of the trees and branches, Gabriel could see buildings. Tall structures and edifices scattered across the land, almost entirely kept hidden by the treetops.

Those were towns, weren't they?

The homes of the denizens. Cities and towns built within and below those vast, immortal-like trees, living among nature itself. From there, cities, towns, and villages were raised from the earth.

Erling noticed what Gabriel noticed.

"It's just like what you saw with the marketplace," he said to spark conversation. "It was a town center. And yet, it didn't seem that way, did it?"

Erling smiled and spoke with pride. "We've actually passed by a few other towns. Most of the trees are tall enough to obscure them. Vanaheim is generally safe and has an incredibly low rate of violence and war. Still, if we were to be attacked by outside forces, our people would be safe."

"Still..." he repeated. "If we were attacked by outside forces, we wouldn't lose."

As he spoke, the leaf's movements began to slow. And from there... They saw it.

The majestic sight that even made Anastasia turn to it and stand up. The mountain-like structure that burst past the enormous treetops and hills.

"The Vanir Palace," Erling had called it.

Mumbles, mutters, gasps, and breaths were let out by the Virtues as they stared at the palace.

It was an unnecessarily massive castle built of carved marble. Dozens of turrets and spires covered its vast tiled roof. Countless towers surrounded it on each end, being connected with its monumentally tall walls connecting them for hundreds of meters worth of land. And the center of the fortress sat a golden dome.

All of it, glistening under the sun.

Alexander swallowed his saliva. Frankly, he found it amusing. The architecture wasn't anything he had expected. After all, it was surprisingly human.

Liam cleared his throat. He had been standing close by Erling. "You said the King would transport this," he said. "So this is his doing, huh?"

Erling's smile grew. "You're correct."

He continued, "The King of Vanaheim is a direct descendant of the original Vanir. And thus, his lineage bears more divine blood than any other in the Nine Realms. The fact that we're floating now is the product of his vast, near-divine magic. This magic of his covers the entirety of the realm, you see.

Gabriel swallowed his saliva and stared at Erling in disbelief. 'The entire realm? That can't be possible, right?'

"I understand it's difficult to believe," Erling continued. "But it has been nearly two millennia since the ending of the Age of Gods. And so, each generation of kings since then has held dominion over the realm. All in other to keep peace and to protect this realm's people."

He resumed, "This has encouraged the existence of a realm with such deep, rich energy. A civilization that doesn't just rely on magic, as humans do on Midgard, but one that is connected with magic. One that is connected to the energy of life."

"Well, damn," Alexander muttered. His eyes were lit up with awe as a smile grew on his face. He turned to Erling. "It's crazy to think that there's just one guy that maintains the entire realm," he said.

Their guide laughed in agreement. "Yes, you're correct," he said, stepping away from Liam and approaching Alexander. "That's the way it's been until now. Still-" His smile faded. "There's no way of knowing what the future holds."

He continued, "And so... There are things that must be done. All for the sake of peace."

Alexander stared at him and squinted. "Hm?"

Erling snapped his fingers and drove his fist into Alexander's chest. The sudden force was enough to knock him off the floating leaf.

But for a second, Alexander didn't fall. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape as he simply floated next to the leaf.

In reality... it was much less than a second. The others had hardly moved in response, still slowly turning to Erling. It was within the same instant that a yellow flash of electricity burst from his hands, striking Gabriel, and knocking him off.

Alexander stared at his hands. Still floating. "What the-"

His words were cut off as some rapid force yanked him off to the side. Towards the castle.

And the same strange force that gripped Alexander did the same to Gabriel.

Liam immediately lunged at Erling, his nails shifting into golden claws, his dark skin being cloaked in an orange glow. "Bring them back, Anastasia!" he ordered.

"O-on it!" she shouted back, thrusting out her hands. If they were to get out of her range, she wouldn't be able to retrieve them.

Erling stepped to the side and glared at him with his pale blue eyes. He gripped Liam's wrist and simply stared. With his free hand, Erling once again snapped his fingers.

The leaf stopped floating. And with it, the Virtues fell.

Between the cries of confusion, shock, fear, and scorn felt and shared by the Virtues, only Giovanna mobilized fast enough.

Giovanna thrust her hand to the side. And with that, the surrounding trees burst upward. Leaves appeared in greater numbers and denser structures.

And with that, they safely landed onto the treetops.

Anastasia coughed and clenched the side of her chest, with her other hand gripping the leaves and branches she stood on. Her eyes were wide and her breaths were shaky as she remained fixated on the leaves that supported her.

Giovanna looked for the others. They had all fallen onto different trees. And as for Erling...

Erling simply floated in the air, staring down at the rest of the Virtues.

'How... How the hell is he floating?' Anastasia asked herself, forcing herself to raise her head.

Erling stared at Giovanna, pausing and thinking of what she had just done. Within the span of a second, the same instant they began to fall, she used her magic to raise and strengthen the trees while softening the leaves for impact.

He appeared right behind her and glared. "Well, that's an intriguing use of that magic," he commented.

'There's no time for fear!' Anastasia urged herself as she forced herself to stand. She shouted out, "Giovanna!"

Giovanna understood and immediately jumped off to the side. And with that, a bolt of lightning flew at the stone she stood on.

But Erling simply smiled and stepped to the side.

With a breath and a faction of a second, he appeared beside Anastasia. "Well, that's no good," he told her. "What's the point of using lightning magic if it's... so slow? You can do better than that, I'm sure."

Anastasia took in a sharp breath and launched another at Erling. Within the steam of bursting energy, Anastasia hid herself and teleported away. 'We don't stand a chance with scattered attacks,' she told herself. 'We need a plan.'

And just as she appeared at Lumiel's side, a ball of flames burst in Erling's face. Black smoke rose from the impact.Leonard only grit his teeth, and continued more and more bursts of fire at him. And it was precisely because of the unrelenting barrage of flames and smoke that Lumiel managed to get in close.

She had jumped from the trees the same instant that Leonard's flames exploded.

Of course, Erling could sense her energy. But that didn't matter. All Lumiel had to do was just be fast enough. And with the palm of her hand glowing with light, she smiled.

The light shifted and glew into a thin sword. And with that, she raised the blade to the sky and slammed it down onto Erling.

Erling only smirked as the blade of light crashed down onto his arm, leaving nothing more than a thin cut.

But not just that... Lumiel was floating.

She hovered away from Erling.

Anastasia swallowed her saliva. 'When did she- How-' All she could do was stare in disbelief as Lumiel hovered above them, her blade of light still shining in her hands.

Using light magic in such a manner...

Lumiel had tried to mimic what she had seen from Arnhild just weeks beforehand. The technique was still imperfect. But now... it might be enough.

And so, Erling raised his head and stared at Lumiel, her pale blonde hair flowing in the wind as she surrounded herself with the energy of light.

He understood what she had done. She had materialized her own light and strengthened it with even more magic. 'A rare and powerful magic... That's rather beautiful.'

Once again, he began to smile. "Very well," he said, his hands beginning to crackle with yellow lightning.

"In this case... I will deal with you in earnest."