Elinor waited for a second in the ensuing silence, keeping careful track of the man’s shaking right hand, lightning dancing out of Mjölnir; when he didn’t engage her, she walked the opposite way to meet and support Sari’aél.

“I understand you have a hot temper, Champion of Asgard, and of the people I knew, your honorable way of life and my own are similar. If you need time to think then—”

“I need to findest my brothers—gah, wilt thou coverest thyself?!” he barked, half-turning before looking away again.

Hmm? A weakness I can exploit is not something you put away, Odinson.

“How… can I help, Empress? What is this… feeling?”

Just remain calm; the fight is over… for now. Rest. It will pass when we are done.

“How about we make a truce, Thor? I promise to try to find something—although, heh, doubtful—to wear in this… underground desert, and you tell me who Erra took. Fair?”

“Humph…” He forced himself to turn, face a tad flushed. “I wouldst not be made a fool by thy promiscuity; if thou desire to present yourself as such, so be it!”

“Haaa… I’m not your enemy, Thor,” Elinor growled, rolling her eyes as the little, green snake around her throat hissed at him. “My servant here cannot go far under the watch of Astarte’s gaze, and, by your earlier statement, do you mean to tell me this is the Astarte of your Existence… a Lady of Múspellsheimr?”

A short grunt came from the man as Sari’aél used her wings to block his sight of her when she neared; it was likely the Seraph wanted to shield her from him rather than anything involving decency—of course, she had been living among the humans for a good while now—so perhaps it could have been.

“Very well, hideth behind thy ang—”

Lifting an eyebrow, Elinor leaned around her Seraph’s struggling wings to see Thor divert his gaze again. “I’m not hiding—relax your wings a bit, Sari’aél… No need to stress yourself; certain types of Infernal energy are very oppressive to the Divine, which yours mirrors in some respect.”

“Are we… to make peace with this Thor person?” she questioned, spreading a few of her feathers to peer through a gap at him.

“If he’ll even speak to us; hehe, he seems a bit shy and—understandably—upset.”

“Hmm… Very well, but be it by thy word that we begin!”

Relieved things had worked out, and figuring that this was the reason Sylez wished to prevent others from viewing this conflict, Elinor sat beside her Seraph to allow her to rest against her shoulder; a quiver ran down Sari’aél’s body at her touch, making Elinor chuckle.

How does it feel to be so weak that you need to rest against my shoulder?

“M-My hearts won’t stop thumping—stronger than I’ve ever felt… My body burns and aches… My mind is in a haze… If only you were not in danger, Empress…”

Savor the feeling, Elinor prompted. I doubt you will experience being this weak for some… Sari’aél?

Looking down at the woman, she chuckled as she saw her full lips parted in sleep, chest slowly rising and falling.

Did you pass out on me? What a Warlord I have.

Keeping her stable, Elinor mentally prepared for the conversation that would follow.

“I was in the middle of a trial to determine if Ishtar deserved to have the Wellspring of Eternities returned to her. We fought through 10,000 lives without memory and power but what we were able to glean from the High Heavens, yet on this—the last conflict—something happened that seems to have forced together dozens of Existences.

“Eh… by the Code of Conduct you spoke before—does that make you a Primordial?

“Ugh… I am a Primordial.”

“Excellent. Now that I have an answer to that, hmm-hmm, here I sit, naked, speaking to a type of God I know nothing about. You?”

“Hmm. Hath thou see the pattern in the heavens—pass through a Crystal to enter this new world?”

“Similar… yes. You entered with Erra?”

“The betrayer…” he cursed, fist striking the earth again. “He doth invited us to partake in his home—to drink of his spirits—and upon our arrival, he befriended the people, only for another foe to appear… It twas then… Thou seest the result.”

Elinor studied the gem between Sari’aél’s rising and falling breasts as she pondered the story. “I still don’t understand how he overpowered you.”

“Mmgm…”

Intrigued by the hiss and tone, Elinor carefully shifted the Seraph to lay against her chest to see Thor above her shoulders. “Do not tell me… Loki is one of your brothers?”

“Mmgm.”

“Did he betray you?”

“What foolishness! My brother may be a trickster, but he wouldst never turn his blade against Asgard!”

“I mean no disrespect,” Elinor said with a small smile at his outburst. “Perhaps he is different from the Loki I knew; in any case, how does Loki play into this surprise attack?”

Electricity started to spark from his sky blue eyes as his muscles flexed. “Erra wished to explore more of this world, or so he claimed, yet the moment he created a portal, his minions attacked my brother—Baldr managed to make it through before the rift closed, but I… I hath been stuck battling my way through armies of insects for the past week!”

Recalling the insect swarm that had almost overwhelmed Noa in her almost century-long conflict—and how such attacks had been nowhere to be found since her first encounter—the story lined up.

“If it is Baldr, then it should be nearly impossible for most to kill him because of his mother’s quest—at least, in your own Existence—it may be utterly ineffective here since the elements of each Existence have mixed together.”

Thor’s wild hair weaved with his shaking head. “Baldr is more resilient than I! Still, I cannot find a trace of their released Essence; if their mortal forms are shed, then Erra must have bound them in some restraint.”

“True,” Elinor muttered, vision falling to the Seraph’s open back and smooth skin. “None of the gods on this planet will risk killing another because of the possibility they regain their full might upon release. How did you end up in a mortal body?”

Thor sat back, giving her a slight glare before looking up at the giant, unblinking, bulb-like eye. “I do not trust you to speak of my family and people.”

A small, amused smile lifted her lips; understanding the logic and customs of the Asgardians in her Existence, it stood to reason there would be some overlap that she could exploit.

“Why don’t we make a bond of familiarity then; I will tell you of my way of life and family. If possible, I would even invite you back to Nethermore—the city I have founded—to partake in our food and drinks; I’m afraid it will be a few more weeks before any beer is produced, but we have plenty being brewed.”

His hard eyes widened at the word and offer; the best way to a Nordic God’s heart was in the brew, and it seemed this Existence’s were no exception. “Tell me of thyself, Fake Ereshkigal.”

“Ugh…” Pulling the Seraph’s gleaming hair to the side, Elinor gave him a pointed stare. “Can we dispense with the ‘fake’ name-calling?”

“What name best fits thee?”

“You may call me Irkalla at this time.”

“Acceptable,” he grunted as he sat on the ground, leaving his hammer by his side, looking her spear. “Thou art aligned with the Transcendent?”

“Hmm? You know of Ap… heh, I suppose you would know him by another name; the Blood Sun?”

“Ah… yes, my father hath spoken of him and hath shown respect for his neutrality; if thou hath gained the trust of such a renowned being, I wouldst put more weight in thy words. So… thou seekest friendship, Irkalla?”

“I do, and in doing so, I will tell you what I know of Erra; first, allow me to explain that he and I are not, nor ever will be, married.”

Thor leaned forward a bit with a grin. “Oh? Thou art quite different, indeed! Doth thou rule as the Great Queen in High Mesopotamia?”

“I am the Supreme Goddess and Jailor of Eternities.”

“Mmh, much as Hel… yet I sense another spirit in thee now that we speak.”

“I suppose,” she shrugged, shifting the Seraph in her arms; it would be best to fill him in on the Erra she knew and her disdain for the rotten man. “We can start with my knowledge of Erra since the one we have met seems to be both our enemies. Erra is… humph, a temperamental coward.”

“Haha! I like thee more by the minute, Irkalla!” Thor chuckled, slapping his knee. “Thy temperament is reminiscent of my youngest sister, Eyia—I knew her only at the tender age of five before… Well, hehe, I will say the fire thou holdest within is something I admire—akin to Sif, my wife.”

“Interesting… you and Sif?” Elinor hummed, recalling one of the most lovely, golden-haired goddesses of their pantheon. “I did not see that union; if High Yoruba and Greek pantheons were not unified to destroy High Asgard, I would have loved to attend the ceremony.”

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Thor’s expression darkened. “Olympus… Continue thy story, Irkalla.”

“Hmm, where was I… Oh, right, Erra…” A lilting tone came on as she returned to their shared enemy, and Elinor chuckled. “The man is nothing but a bottom-feeder; how I would ever marry something as vile as that is… beyond me. What of the Erra you knew?”

“The Erra I speak of is of the Nine Realms,” Thor muttered, making Elinor’s flaming emerald irises narrow.

“Nine Realms…” Knowing Erra had the same type of energy as her and not this unusual Primordial force, she asked, “Did Yggdrasill connect nine Existences?”

“A Grand Existence—a unity of powers, yet… Nay, it is too soon.”

Figuring he still wanted to know more, considering she hadn’t said much in her playful jabs, Elinor decided to stop wasting time now that she knew Erra’s origins; he had the answers as to why she married such a coward.

“I have three children, from two fathers, and I left Irkalla in their care when I offered this chance of redemption to Inanna. Now, she prefers to go by Ishtar after overtaking our parents and subjugating the High Heavens, but I enjoy getting under her skin by referring to her as her young, childish self.”

Thor’s face softened at the mention of her kids. “Thou hath a good relationship with thy children?”

“Hehe. If you can call it that!” Elinor hoisted Sari’aél higher to have the Seraph’s chin rest against her shoulder, and the little snake coiled around her neck again to lean out to look at her, his tongue flicking out. “Hmm-hmm. I am the First of the House of Snakes, and this little guy was likely slipped through the Heavenly Gates when they cracked open…

“A gift from Ninazu, my middle child that inherited my temperament with the spiritual serpents; do you have any children?”

“Haha! I do—his name is Lóriði—and my boy takes after Sif and I!

“I’m happy to hear; he must be worried about you.”

“Nay! He knows his father to be of sound mind and body! What of thy other children; is Sukkal your First Attendant?”

“Oh? You know my eldest? He currently runs Irkalla’s everyday affairs.”

“A son, and thy eldest? How odd. We’ve met, yet it is rare for Primordials to venture to one of the lower Existences.”

So, that’s how it was, hmm, and it seems Sukkal’s spirit was born to another Goddess? Primordials ruled over the lesser Realms, and Asgard connected the Higher to the Lower; something must have broken their version of me, but what is the question.

“He was not thy son, but earlier… didst thou mentioned thy sister?”

Elinor’s lips tightened. “Ishtar was Sukkal’s mother? That’s… And he was my—your version of me had him as her First Attendant?”

Fingers tightening around the hilt at his side, Thor shook his head. “I rarely saw thee, so I know not; what I do know to be true is Erra ruled Irkalla.”

Nose twitching at the very statement, Elinor felt her little angel’s wings flutter; she was waking up. “I find that… challenging to accept.”

“Thou offered thy sister a chance at redemption; did she not slay two of thy previous husbands?”

“Humph… Yes, well, it was a true accident; also, Gugalanna was my ‘only’ husband—my Sukkal’s father was Enili, lord of wind, air, earth, and storms. Hmm-hmm. Truly, he was a powerful man with whom I had many… exchanges in our earlier days, yet flings such as that die over time.

“As to Gugalanna… Yes, he was slain during my sister’s struggle to dominate Heaven and Earth, but it ended in him resting in Irkalla—it isn’t as if such a thing as death is an issue for me—but it was a demonstration of my little sister’s ineptitude,” she grumbled as the Seraph’s glowing golden irises cracked open.

Half delirious as she rested against Elinor’s chest, the angel whispered, “S-Such harsh words, Empress… Is she… not your sister?”

“I cannot deny reality, even for my sister, and to bring her conflict into the mortal realm because—ugh… because she fancied a rather powerful mortal that knew she was trouble and rejected her—mmgm. Yes, well, she puts a bad name on all Goddesses, and there is no getting around it.”

“Haha. I can see the resemblance in that,” Thor roared. “She has quite the… appetite—many have even compared her to a man in such regards!”

“I… do not doubt it.”

“Mmm, Empress… did… you get to be with Gugulanna again…”

“Hmm-hmm. Gugalanna, and yes, I rule Irkalla.”

“Right…”

Rubbing the Seraph’s back and knowing damage could be done to her if exposed for an extended period of time to this Infernal gaze, she puffed out a long breath. “Ishtar thoughtlessly released her uncontrollable bull—she never did learn how to tame Divine Beasts—on the man that rejected her.

“Gugalanna is a kind man, he didn’t judge her harshly in the least for his death… It did spark all of this, however…”

Elinor gestured at herself. “Innana—ah, hmm-hmm, I sometimes fall back into old habits… Ishtar proudly marched into Irkalla—on the day I had a celebratory feast for my husband’s continual place at my side—and had the nerve to demand her forsaken right returned.”

“What did you do?” Sari’aél breathed, struggling to push herself off to look into her eyes; she was fully engaged in the story, despite her weakness.

“What else? She committed a sin and came into my Realm… mmm-heh, where sin is judged—as I said, she was quite arrogant.”

“Is there no exception for the Gods, such as the Olympians?” Thor mumbled in clear disdain. “There were many such exceptions made by Erra.”

Elinor rolled her eyes at the mention of the pantheon and growled, “I, mmgm—we are not the Olympians! I enjoyed stamping out that cesspool.”

Her comment elicited a grin from the man.

“No, I had her stripped naked—as are all those brought to view their own sins—cast before the Divine jury, split her guilty soul from her immortal body, and stuck the thing to a pike on Irkalla’s walls for all to see my sister’s hubris—mainly so she could see it…”

“Honor and law above all?” Thor hummed.

“Balance. I have a duty, and if I make one exception, then my word is worthless.”

“Commendable. The… last child you spoke of?”

Elinor’s voice and rosy face pepped with life in a motherly way at the mention of her daughter; her lovely face could chase away any stormcloud.

“As for my littlest spirit—hmm-hmm… the Princess of Irkalla, and the apple of my life—I let Nungal handle her aunt’s cage—she’s such a treat, and she takes after me the most; when she challenged me to be the Warden of Irkalla, I couldn’t have been happier!”

“Heh, sounds like a fine daughter—once again, thou hath reminded me of my youngest sister… Eyia should be a fine young Valkyrie now.”

Sari’aél’s eyes grew big, still stuck on the tale. “Did she win?”

“Pfft-hehe! No. I stripped her down and threw her off the walls onto her rear, but she proved to me she could handle the job; she’s never stopped trying to take my place, though, and her brothers haven’t been able to win a single fight against their little sister to boot!”

Slapping his knee, lightning danced around Thor’s frame, he roared with laughter. “Thou—thou stripped thy daughter naked and—haha, and threw her off the wall! I now see my beloved Sif in you—a ferocious mother and honorable warden of Irkalla…”

Thor got to his feet, holding out his hand for the runic weapon to fly into his grip. “I have determined thee to be a worthy ally, Irkalla; I will tell thee of myself, yet I must know of thy intentions… Will thou journey with me to free my brothers of Erra’s prison?”

Having already made her determination to face the corrupt ruler and bring their Irkalla under her own flag, Elinor nodded as she stood.

“I will, but—”

“Remain unseen, Woman!” Thor blustered, turning away as she giggled.

“Such a proper man; Sif is a lucky woman. In any case, I must first resurrect my sister; I have given her a chance, and through her efforts, she has earned one more trial. I understand you wish to make haste to retrieve your brothers, but I must set my affairs in order. Is that acceptable?”

“If thou wouldst clothe thyself from thy nakedness! I cannot in good faith see my beloved and look her in the eye if this behavior persists!”

“Haha. So bashful and faithful; it is an adorable combination!”

“Stay your lusts, Woman!” Thor mumbled, backing away as if she’d jump him as Sari’aél laughed at the more accepting atmosphere.

“Do you not recall I am happily married myself, Thor; still, hmm-hmm, I can appreciate a cute trait, can I not?”

“In thy eyes, I fear they hath the temptress gleam… same as Freyja!”

“Oh? Hehe. I’m sure our journey will be very fun, Odinson.”

The fire in Astarte’s eye began to fade as Thor told his story, and an incredible tale it was; a colossal Existence, shared between three major pantheons, yet one grew greedy, and the result was the collapse of everything they’d built.

Loki, in his infinite wisdom—more like improvisation—performed a rather experimental magic to save them from this all-consuming force outside of Existence called Null-Void. The Grand Existence Bead breaking apart many years before it should and, caught in the maelstrom, the trickster managed to form a shell to save them.

Traveling in the current, they were pulled into this cyclone as the rest of their kind traversed through a safer evacuation route—the Rainbow Bridge—into another Grand Existence. This would be a war unlike any they’d seen for their people to survive and carve out a place in this new, off-limits place, yet they had no other option.

Thor wanted to hastily return, but the three heroes on a quest had found themselves in dire straights, and, to escape the Eldritch Fiends in the outer edges, Loki came up with another brilliant plan—as he always seemed to have—and suggested they compress their Essences into the tight shell of a mortal’s.

There was a powerful barrier around this vast Existence Singularity—multiple, in fact—that prevented the interference of higher beings except for extreme circumstances and small holes that could be exploited in creative ways, such as Loki’s.

Faced with nightmarish fiends and other such Null-Void entities on the outer rim, they snuck into the Singularity’s center through Loki’s magic to be met by these Seeds of power and Erra, and it was here that everything fell apart for them.

They couldn’t even be sure how much time had passed since their Existence’s collapse, to entering this one, but Thor had faith in his father’s wisdom and foresight; he would make it back to his family and wife.

For now, he had a personal mission to ensure his brothers—and any other from the Primordial Existence’s—lives were protected. Elinor resonated with that mission, and she had to pay Erra back for trying to pit them against each other.

Sylez came from that Primordial Existence, which explained his atypical feel compared to typical Demons. She could understand his desire to restore Astarte to her throne of power and carried with him her Essence; the Hell Lords of this universe would be seeking to eliminate the threat since he needed one of them to revive her.

The number of entities that had collected on this planet with a long, rich history was incredible—too incredible—and Thor agreed. Fate, Destiny, and Karma’s revenge; there was no shortage of sides and special interests seeking their own agenda.

In this war, she had found a worthy ally.

Astarte’s eye closed after two hours before withering and going into hibernation, unable to sustain herself, and Sylez offered a showy bow from above, Sari’aél now mostly freed from the Infernal pressure pressing against her.

“I have played my part, Lord of Thunder, Great Queen of Night Relief… I pray my contribution is noteworthy for the future. Hehehe!”

In a swirl of Hellfire, all traces of Astarte’s eye were eaten away, leaving nothing but the scarred space-time in its place, and he flicked and was gone.

Thor glared at the place the 100-meter tall Demon had been. “To believe I wouldst be aided by a World-Destroyer… Humph. Times have changed.”

“Indeed, they have… Now. I need to greet a certain salamander princess that will be coming to my lands, and tomorrow, I go to war.”

A half-smile lifted Thor’s lips. “Oh? Hmm. Interesting. I will be able to witness thy feats first hand, and this is thy attempt at cracking Heaven?”

“Not High Heaven, unfortunately, but it should be able to act as a bridge point for me to speak to my children. Want to join?”

“Mmh. I will wait for thee to execute the plan thou hath laid before me.”

“Humph. Suit yourself, but my daughter is really something,” she teased, floating behind her Seraph’s wing. “Maybe our children could meet, hmm?”

His grin becoming forced, the God of Thunder rubbed his left, muscular shoulder. “Freyja… what did I tell thee…”

“Do you mean the union, Empress?”

Hmm… To be honest… she lifted an eyebrow while looking the man up and down in their flight back to Nethermore; he allowed the Seraph to carry him. I’m only half-joking; if his son takes after him and Sif… He’d be a golden-locked stud with the genes of one of these Primordials. I could think of worse options. Hmm-hmm-hmm.