Chapter 319: The Asgardian Aftermath
13th May 2013, Asgard
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
I had fought Entropy at even ground, while I still hadn't mastered my cosmic powers, but he was sandbagged as well.
Fuck, I needed a heavy hitter, and Dream was providing me with one. The question was, was I desperate enough to accept whatever strings that came with this offer that I don't know about?
The answer was clear. It's not like the other cosmic entities would do my job, "Yes, Lord Dream. I will train Loki Odinson in the arts of becoming an Avatar of a Cosmic Entity."
Finally, the being with Endless power smiled slightly, "I am glad to hear it."
Tension had drained from his shoulders, and he must have seriously been worried about it. I didn't know if it was to cover his ass or if he just liked Loki, but it was better than his impassive face that barely moved during our entire conversation.
He continued, "A bargain is struck. It's time for your dream to end, Morrigan. It's time to wake up."
Before I could process it, the world disappeared into smoke, and I woke up with a gasp.
I looked around wildly to observe my surroundings and I relaxed slightly. I was in a strange bedroom, but the architecture and decorations were obviously Asgardian in origin. It seems that they had taken care of me while I was exhausted and unconscious.
Grasping the fact that I was safe, I took a deep breath and stood up. It was then that I noticed that I was wearing some Asgardian clothes. Shrugging, I simply waved my hands and they transformed into my usual dark clothing and black cloak. I didn't care much about my appearance, being fully capable of changing my face and body, but my cloak was a part of me. I had replaced it even after I had given my old one back to Death. It was just so useful, an easy Shield to be enchanted, or even material to be transfigured if I need to. Although, I still needed to hone my reactions to use it instinctively, now that my old cloak and its benefits were gone.
I got up and noticed that my new staff was leaning on the wall next to me, the Space Stone glowing faintly. I summoned it and it leapt immediately into my hands. It was a powerful weapon, one that I forged in despair and hurry. I expected it to be a botched job, to be perfectly honest, but when I touched it, I could feel the weapon match me completely. Suddenly, the staff changed its shape, its golden color slowly turning black, and it became taller and darker. It was perfect.
The staff was intelligent, understanding, and had healed itself, even perfected its design to fit me as well as possible. I didn't know whether it was the remnants of Gungnir and the Odinsword, or if it was simply a basic consciousness that inhabited the Space Stone itself, only that it was welcoming me as its partner.
It was such a bright spot on an otherwise shitty day. I had won the fight, but at what cost? Sure, Asgard was free, and Those Who Sit Above in Shadow were banished to the void between universes, trapped in their realm, which is slowly shrinking until they inevitably die. It was a fitting punishment for those parasites. But I lost my part of the bargain, Odin was either severely hurt or dead; he was stabbed with the damn Necrosword, and I'd be surprised if he survived somehow. And to make things worse, Entropy was able to take the Reality Stone before escaping.
I slowly got out of the room, and into the Throne room. The Asgardian guards bowed and let me pass without any issue. As I entered the Throne room, I wasn't really surprised to see Frigga sitting on the Throne. I guess that Odin is dead, and Thor still refused to be crowned, deeming himself unworthy.
I bowed to the Queen slightly, "Hello, Frigga."
The Queen of Asgard immediately brightened, "Lady Morrigan, I am glad to see that you have recovered."
Shrugging, I answered, "As well as can be expected, I suppose. There are a few details that are missing. Do you mind filling me in?"
She nodded and stood up, "It would be better if we spoke of this in private…"
The Queen of Asgard walked out of the door, and I followed after her. We walked silently to the halls of healing and into what seemed to be a private room, where I saw two big golden beds. They were floating and filled with two comatose occupants. Odin and Loki seem to be very unconscious. Thor looked to be sitting, observing them as if they could disappear at any moment. Though to be fair, they could.
Frigga saw me freeze at the sight, and spoke up, "What happened? All witnesses only seem to remember the destruction of the Shadows' realm, and the All-Father getting stabbed in the back, and then nothing."
I nodded. It made sense, Entropy had probably used the Mind Stone the moment he recognized me, "What do you know about the agreement I had with Odin?"
"You would provide your aid with the Shadows, and in return, he would provide his during some conflict you had in the near future."
"An apt description, but one that lacks detail. A very dangerous cosmic being, that from what Loki told me, you call Endless, is planning the destruction of the multiverse. Lucky for us, Entropy – that's the entity's name – is weakened somewhat to avoid the retaliation of the other cosmic entities, but he is still very powerful. He seeks to use the infinity stones to destabilize the fabric of reality to spread his essence into the multiverse. For some reason, the Living Tribunal refuses to be involved, and thus, it's on me to prevent this. I asked Odin for his help during the final confrontation with him, and in exchange, I would help him to free Asgard."
Frigga blanched but nodded, "This is worrying, but I don't understand what this has to do with what happened."
"As you probably know, the Aether is the Reality Stone, and since Entropy sensed its presence, he came to collect it. Once the fighting ended, he stabbed your husband in the back using the Necrosword and used the Mind Stone, which was already in his possession, to mind control the survivors of the conflict to distract me enough for him to get the two infinity stones we had. I was able to knock them all out and teleport them home using the Space Stone, and ended up fighting Entropy for the Reality Stone, which he ended up escaping with."
It wasn't really an appropriate fight. Entropy had focused almost entirely on the Reality Stone and me on the Space Stone. The truth was that the stones were far more powerful than anything we could do on our own. Entropy was still bound by the laws of the Living Tribunal, and I simply didn't have enough raw power to negate an infinity stone, especially when used by someone that was already powerful. While the fight lacked our usual technicality and finesse, it more than made up for it in the creative use of the stones and raw powerful attacks.
Frigga, in return, gasped in shock, "The Necrosword?"
I understood her fear, it was a very fearsome weapon against Gods and Celestials. There were legends about the sword in every corner of the universe. Even when people tried to forge replicas, they caused a lot of damage with them.
I answered her, "Yes, the original one. I have to say that I am amazed that Odin is still alive. It was a serious wound, especially given the weapon used."
Frigga teared up, "Odin always was a fighter. No wonder the healers didn't know what to do. They said that the wound was cursed, and no healer could do anything," she then looked at me pleadingly, "is there anything you could do?"
I frowned but moved towards the comatose King. I pointed the butt of my staff at his wound, and carefully released the remnants of the Eternal Flame, the flames of the Phoenix Force, at his wound. The small fragment went through the wound and attacked the poison of the Necrosword. Life and Rebirth fought Death and Destruction, and somehow, with whatever remained of the Odinforce in the King's body, were able to cancel each other out.
Usually, this wouldn't have worked. From what I understand of the matter, Knull was stupidly powerful, and so was his sword. But Entropy was barely using the sword as a way to channel the infinity stones and the fact that the curse would allow him to kill immortal beings, so, the curse was able to be mitigated.
I looked at the Queen of Asgard and spoke up, "I was able to neutralize the curse, but he will keep fighting it for the rest of his days. He will need to heal naturally, and it will be up to him to fight. But I must warn you, Frigga, it is very unlikely that he will remain the warrior he used to be."
And wasn't that a bummer? One of my biggest trump cards was officially out of the picture. Thor will have to remain here to deal with his father's health, and I only have Loki left in the picture, who is currently still unconscious.
Speaking of the God of Thunder, he immediately ran towards me and enveloped me in a hug, "Thank you, Lady Morrigan."
I awkwardly waited for him to let go of me, and proceeded to walk towards Loki. I scanned him and fully understood what had happened. He had channeled too much of his new powers as the Avatar of Dream, without even knowing, and now his body didn't know how to handle it.
His body and mind were healing quite nicely, though, and I turned to reassure his mother, "He only needs to rest; his body and magic will do the rest for him. He's simply exhausted. He did something very reckless to escape the realm of the shadows, and now he's paying for it. He should be fine in a couple of days, as he recovers."
Frigga's shoulders sagged in relief. I didn't know how tense she was before. She must have been very worried about him. She looked like she wanted to say something but it was cut off in her throat somehow. In the end, she only said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. But there is something concerning Loki that I wish to ask about."
Frigga nodded, "What is it?"
"I wish to take Loki as an apprentice. An official one, that is."
Thor gave me a confused look, "Wasn't he already your student?"
"Yes, you were my students, but not my apprentices. My purpose was to teach you how to control your powers, but taking Loki as my apprentice would be me teaching him things that I wouldn't really consider teaching anyone else."
Frigga looked hesitantly, "I am not sure if this is wise…"
I shrugged, "Your son has unlocked a very dangerous power during the fight, one that could lead to him falling into madness. He would make what happened before looking like a picnic. I need to make sure that he's not overwhelmed. If you're very much against the idea, I will not press the issue, but I will ask him for his opinion on the matter either way."
Both of them reluctantly nodded and I continued, "One last thing…"
Frigga replied, "Yes?"
"Can you tell me what happened to Hela?"
"She's currently in the dungeons. Your bindings are still working."
I gave her a predatory grin, "I wish to speak to her about something…"
"Are you sure? She hasn't said a word ever since the battle."
I nodded, "Trust me, Queen of Asgard, I can be very persuasive, and the Goddess of Death will want to hear what I have to say."
As usual, I generally post four chapters a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. (The month is over, so I'm going back to the usual schedule)
If you want to support me, check out my Patreon. I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
Chapter 319: The Asgardian Aftermath
13th May 2013, Asgard
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
I had fought Entropy at even ground, while I still hadn't mastered my cosmic powers, but he was sandbagged as well.
Fuck, I needed a heavy hitter, and Dream was providing me with one. The question was, was I desperate enough to accept whatever strings that came with this offer that I don't know about?
The answer was clear. It's not like the other cosmic entities would do my job, "Yes, Lord Dream. I will train Loki Odinson in the arts of becoming an Avatar of a Cosmic Entity."
Finally, the being with Endless power smiled slightly, "I am glad to hear it."
Tension had drained from his shoulders, and he must have seriously been worried about it. I didn't know if it was to cover his ass or if he just liked Loki, but it was better than his impassive face that barely moved during our entire conversation.
He continued, "A bargain is struck. It's time for your dream to end, Morrigan. It's time to wake up."
Before I could process it, the world disappeared into smoke, and I woke up with a gasp.
I looked around wildly to observe my surroundings and I relaxed slightly. I was in a strange bedroom, but the architecture and decorations were obviously Asgardian in origin. It seems that they had taken care of me while I was exhausted and unconscious.
Grasping the fact that I was safe, I took a deep breath and stood up. It was then that I noticed that I was wearing some Asgardian clothes. Shrugging, I simply waved my hands and they transformed into my usual dark clothing and black cloak. I didn't care much about my appearance, being fully capable of changing my face and body, but my cloak was a part of me. I had replaced it even after I had given my old one back to Death. It was just so useful, an easy Shield to be enchanted, or even material to be transfigured if I need to. Although, I still needed to hone my reactions to use it instinctively, now that my old cloak and its benefits were gone.
I got up and noticed that my new staff was leaning on the wall next to me, the Space Stone glowing faintly. I summoned it and it leapt immediately into my hands. It was a powerful weapon, one that I forged in despair and hurry. I expected it to be a botched job, to be perfectly honest, but when I touched it, I could feel the weapon match me completely. Suddenly, the staff changed its shape, its golden color slowly turning black, and it became taller and darker. It was perfect.
The staff was intelligent, understanding, and had healed itself, even perfected its design to fit me as well as possible. I didn't know whether it was the remnants of Gungnir and the Odinsword, or if it was simply a basic consciousness that inhabited the Space Stone itself, only that it was welcoming me as its partner.
It was such a bright spot on an otherwise shitty day. I had won the fight, but at what cost? Sure, Asgard was free, and Those Who Sit Above in Shadow were banished to the void between universes, trapped in their realm, which is slowly shrinking until they inevitably die. It was a fitting punishment for those parasites. But I lost my part of the bargain, Odin was either severely hurt or dead; he was stabbed with the damn Necrosword, and I'd be surprised if he survived somehow. And to make things worse, Entropy was able to take the Reality Stone before escaping.
I slowly got out of the room, and into the Throne room. The Asgardian guards bowed and let me pass without any issue. As I entered the Throne room, I wasn't really surprised to see Frigga sitting on the Throne. I guess that Odin is dead, and Thor still refused to be crowned, deeming himself unworthy.
I bowed to the Queen slightly, "Hello, Frigga."
The Queen of Asgard immediately brightened, "Lady Morrigan, I am glad to see that you have recovered."
Shrugging, I answered, "As well as can be expected, I suppose. There are a few details that are missing. Do you mind filling me in?"
She nodded and stood up, "It would be better if we spoke of this in private…"
The Queen of Asgard walked out of the door, and I followed after her. We walked silently to the halls of healing and into what seemed to be a private room, where I saw two big golden beds. They were floating and filled with two comatose occupants. Odin and Loki seem to be very unconscious. Thor looked to be sitting, observing them as if they could disappear at any moment. Though to be fair, they could.
Frigga saw me freeze at the sight, and spoke up, "What happened? All witnesses only seem to remember the destruction of the Shadows' realm, and the All-Father getting stabbed in the back, and then nothing."
I nodded. It made sense, Entropy had probably used the Mind Stone the moment he recognized me, "What do you know about the agreement I had with Odin?"
"You would provide your aid with the Shadows, and in return, he would provide his during some conflict you had in the near future."
"An apt description, but one that lacks detail. A very dangerous cosmic being, that from what Loki told me, you call Endless, is planning the destruction of the multiverse. Lucky for us, Entropy – that's the entity's name – is weakened somewhat to avoid the retaliation of the other cosmic entities, but he is still very powerful. He seeks to use the infinity stones to destabilize the fabric of reality to spread his essence into the multiverse. For some reason, the Living Tribunal refuses to be involved, and thus, it's on me to prevent this. I asked Odin for his help during the final confrontation with him, and in exchange, I would help him to free Asgard."
Frigga blanched but nodded, "This is worrying, but I don't understand what this has to do with what happened."
"As you probably know, the Aether is the Reality Stone, and since Entropy sensed its presence, he came to collect it. Once the fighting ended, he stabbed your husband in the back using the Necrosword and used the Mind Stone, which was already in his possession, to mind control the survivors of the conflict to distract me enough for him to get the two infinity stones we had. I was able to knock them all out and teleport them home using the Space Stone, and ended up fighting Entropy for the Reality Stone, which he ended up escaping with."
It wasn't really an appropriate fight. Entropy had focused almost entirely on the Reality Stone and me on the Space Stone. The truth was that the stones were far more powerful than anything we could do on our own. Entropy was still bound by the laws of the Living Tribunal, and I simply didn't have enough raw power to negate an infinity stone, especially when used by someone that was already powerful. While the fight lacked our usual technicality and finesse, it more than made up for it in the creative use of the stones and raw powerful attacks.
Frigga, in return, gasped in shock, "The Necrosword?"
I understood her fear, it was a very fearsome weapon against Gods and Celestials. There were legends about the sword in every corner of the universe. Even when people tried to forge replicas, they caused a lot of damage with them.
I answered her, "Yes, the original one. I have to say that I am amazed that Odin is still alive. It was a serious wound, especially given the weapon used."
Frigga teared up, "Odin always was a fighter. No wonder the healers didn't know what to do. They said that the wound was cursed, and no healer could do anything," she then looked at me pleadingly, "is there anything you could do?"
I frowned but moved towards the comatose King. I pointed the butt of my staff at his wound, and carefully released the remnants of the Eternal Flame, the flames of the Phoenix Force, at his wound. The small fragment went through the wound and attacked the poison of the Necrosword. Life and Rebirth fought Death and Destruction, and somehow, with whatever remained of the Odinforce in the King's body, were able to cancel each other out.
Usually, this wouldn't have worked. From what I understand of the matter, Knull was stupidly powerful, and so was his sword. But Entropy was barely using the sword as a way to channel the infinity stones and the fact that the curse would allow him to kill immortal beings, so, the curse was able to be mitigated.
I looked at the Queen of Asgard and spoke up, "I was able to neutralize the curse, but he will keep fighting it for the rest of his days. He will need to heal naturally, and it will be up to him to fight. But I must warn you, Frigga, it is very unlikely that he will remain the warrior he used to be."
And wasn't that a bummer? One of my biggest trump cards was officially out of the picture. Thor will have to remain here to deal with his father's health, and I only have Loki left in the picture, who is currently still unconscious.
Speaking of the God of Thunder, he immediately ran towards me and enveloped me in a hug, "Thank you, Lady Morrigan."
I awkwardly waited for him to let go of me, and proceeded to walk towards Loki. I scanned him and fully understood what had happened. He had channeled too much of his new powers as the Avatar of Dream, without even knowing, and now his body didn't know how to handle it.
His body and mind were healing quite nicely, though, and I turned to reassure his mother, "He only needs to rest; his body and magic will do the rest for him. He's simply exhausted. He did something very reckless to escape the realm of the shadows, and now he's paying for it. He should be fine in a couple of days, as he recovers."
Frigga's shoulders sagged in relief. I didn't know how tense she was before. She must have been very worried about him. She looked like she wanted to say something but it was cut off in her throat somehow. In the end, she only said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. But there is something concerning Loki that I wish to ask about."
Frigga nodded, "What is it?"
"I wish to take Loki as an apprentice. An official one, that is."
Thor gave me a confused look, "Wasn't he already your student?"
"Yes, you were my students, but not my apprentices. My purpose was to teach you how to control your powers, but taking Loki as my apprentice would be me teaching him things that I wouldn't really consider teaching anyone else."
Frigga looked hesitantly, "I am not sure if this is wise…"
I shrugged, "Your son has unlocked a very dangerous power during the fight, one that could lead to him falling into madness. He would make what happened before looking like a picnic. I need to make sure that he's not overwhelmed. If you're very much against the idea, I will not press the issue, but I will ask him for his opinion on the matter either way."
Both of them reluctantly nodded and I continued, "One last thing…"
Frigga replied, "Yes?"
"Can you tell me what happened to Hela?"
"She's currently in the dungeons. Your bindings are still working."
I gave her a predatory grin, "I wish to speak to her about something…"
"Are you sure? She hasn't said a word ever since the battle."
I nodded, "Trust me, Queen of Asgard, I can be very persuasive, and the Goddess of Death will want to hear what I have to say."
As usual, I generally post four chapters a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. (The month is over, so I'm going back to the usual schedule)
If you want to support me, check out my Patreon. I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 20 chapters ahead as a bonus.
Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.
