Asgard was vast, not just in size, but in presence.
Its towers of gold and storm-forged stone pierced skies braided with aurorae, and its halls rang with echoes of gods who had long outlived their legends.
Soren wandered through it all in a strange haze. He hadn't meant to explore.
He'd merely left the library to stretch his legs and clear his mind, still reeling from the shifts in his magic. Something had moved inside him.
His fingers twitched with excess energy, like the magic was racing ahead of his own comprehension and his latest insights into Asgardian spell theory seemed to be nudging his spellcraft….
But by the time his thoughts caught up to his feet, he found himself standing in unfamiliar streets, at the fringes of the city, where Asgard gave way to glimmering wilds and wind-swept cliffs.
"Gods." He muttered, blinking around.
"I got lost again?"
He ended up asking for directions from a smith, then a pair of children sparring with wooden spears, then finally an old woman carving runes into a floating stone tablet.
To his mild embarrassment, none of them seemed surprised.
"Happens all the time." The smith had laughed, pointing toward the spires of the central palace. "Don't worry."
"You outsiders always think Asgard's built like other cities. It's not. She shifts when you're not paying attention."
Somehow, that didn't comfort him.
By the time he made it back to his temporary residence, a quiet corner of a high courtyard flanked by silver-leaf trees, the sun had dipped low and risen again.
Word of Soren's misadventure reached the Golden Throne before he did.
In the high hall, Odin leaned forward on his seat, his single eye darkening. "He got lost?"
Thor rubbed the back of his neck, looking equal parts confused and sheepish. "Apparently wandered toward the Storm vault."
"Took him six hours to get back."
Odin exhaled sharply and slammed his staff against the floor.
"Unacceptable!"
"The boy is not some wandering spirit, he is a guest of the Realm Eternal, a guest who has shown both power and grace."
"And now we look like negligent hosts!"
"Shall I assign him an escort?" Thor offered. "I can have one of the shieldmaidens—"
But another voice cut across the hall, cold and sharp as moonlight on steel.
"No need."
The court stilled.
Freyja stepped forward from the gallery, dressed in her battle robes, but her voice carried none of the usual fire.
"I will guide him myself."
The silence in the throne room became almost tangible.
Odin raised a brow. "You're sure?"
"I am." Her tone left no room for argument.
"That's… unexpected." Thor gave her a sideways glance.
Freyja didn't look at him.
That man questioned everything I believe in… tore it apart.
Murmurs broke out in the chamber. Some whispered of courtship, others of rivalry, and more than a few powerful warriors clenched their jaws in jealousy.
Freyja wasn't just a goddess of war, she was a symbol of unattainable grace, and the idea of her personally escorting an outsider ignited every fragile ego in the room.
But Odin only nodded slowly, a knowing gleam in his eye.
"So be it."
"Let him see Asgard through your eyes."
The next morning, sunlight spilled like liquid gold across the polished floors of Soren's quarters. He rose early, mind already flickering with questions, he had barely skimmed the lower-level texts in the library, and they alone had transformed his framework for understanding magic.
How much more was there to uncover?
He washed quickly, dressed plainly, and moved to the door just as a soft creak echoed from the hinges.
"Squeak…"
He opened it, and stopped mid-step.
Freyja stood in the courtyard.
She wasn't armored, nor cloaked in celestial radiance as she had been when he first met her.
"…!"
She wore a simple white gown that fell elegantly around her, unadorned, but impossibly regal. Her silver-blonde hair was loose, cascading down her back, catching the early light like silk.
There was a subtle flush on her cheeks, as if from wind or something else.
"You're up early."
"Ah…?"
Freyja stiffened when she noticed Soren's gaze linger longer. Her face, already kissed by the early sun, flushed a shade deeper.
"…Cough."
Soren blinked, breaking the silence with a guilty throat-clear. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I was… surprised."
"Surprised?" Her brows arched.
"You… changed your clothes." He said, scratching the side of his neck.
"You look beautiful."
The compliment hung awkwardly in the air.
Freyja's smile flattened. "Is that so?"
She turned slightly, enough for the light to catch the fine silver threads embroidered into the hem of her gown, like starlight woven into linen.
Still, her tone held steel.
"You know, most men who say that think beauty and strength are opposites."
"I don't." Soren said quickly, steadying himself. "Not yours."
That earned him a glance. Her expression softened… barely.
"To what do I owe this unexpected visit?" He changing the subject.
Freyja gave a nonchalant shrug. "You got lost yesterday."
"Odin was… not pleased. He ordered someone to guide you around Asgard."
"Someone?" Soren repeated.
"And yet you came?"
Freyja looked away, but the corners of her lips betrayed her. "Let's say I volunteered before Thor could assign someone incapable of navigating their own boots."
A sudden laugh escaped her, genuine and fleeting. It startled Soren more than any of her battle cries.
Gods… the court must be buzzing.
If the war goddess who had turned down every suitor for centuries was now smiling like that… at him?
"Let's go." She said quickly, recovering her composure.
"I'm your guide now. Try not to get us both lost."
They walked side by side through the shining walkways of Asgard, where the buildings curved like flowing rivers and ancient banners whispered in the wind.
Freyja was unexpectedly thorough.
She pointed out each spire's purpose, recounted battles fought beneath certain bridges, and even named the star-forged creatures carved into the side of the Hall of Records.
Despite himself, Soren found it comforting… and a little amusing.
"You give tours often?"
Freyja scoffed. "Only to those who destroy my worldview with a single conversation."
"That's… oddly specific."
"Yesterday, you told me you cast taboo-level spells without guidance." She said, narrowing her eyes.
"I haven't stopped thinking about it."
"It's not that strange." Soren smiled faintly.
"To the rest of us? It's absurd." She stopped.
"You realize even the High Priests of Knowledge need a full triadic channeling circle just to prepare a taboo spell."
"And you… you just do it?"
He looked around. The path had led them to a quiet courtyard, lined with floating crystals and runes etched into the sky itself, suspended midair like a living scroll.
Soren made sure no one was around.
Then raised his hand.
A golden magic circle bloomed before him, massive, radiant, and terrifying in its intricacy.
It spun with layers upon layers of interlocking glyphs, each one pulsating with raw, compressed energy. Somewhere nearby, a bird screamed and fled the pulse of power.
Freyja stepped back instinctively. Her battle sense screamed at her to summon her blade.
But Soren simply held the spell there, suspended.
"I won't release it."
"If I did, we'd be picking the palace out of the mountains for weeks."
And just as suddenly as it had formed, it vanished. The wind swallowed the magic like it had never existed.
Freyja stared at him. Her voice, when it came, was quiet.
"…How?"
"It's not about memorizing forms or incantations."
"It's about understanding the will behind them. If magic is a language, then most people recite poems. I write my own."
Freyja looked at him like he was something carved from prophecy. "You speak like a… con artist."
"…"
"I speak like someone who's seen enough to know the difference between power and noise."
She exhaled, and for the first time since meeting him, Freyja's guard dropped entirely.
"Teach me."
Soren tilted his head.
"You want to learn my way?"
She nodded. "I want to understand."
"I want to know how you made the impossible look effortless."
A moment passed.
Then he smiled.
"Then come with me to the library." He said, turning toward the bridge of golden crystal ahead.
"I'll show you where to start."
Freyja followed without hesitation.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream