"We're heading to the Bifrost," said Tyr as he stood up. "Take the kid," he told Freyja.
"Alright," she replied, walking toward Soren.
"Don't even think about carrying me like you did ear—"
Freyja struck Soren in the neck before picking him up under one arm.
Tyr had walked up to Loki.
"You finally stood up? Hard to breathe without your lungs working, ain't it?" he said.
"Bastard…" Loki growled, hiding his rage toward Tyr, afraid of how he might react.
"Let's go," their leader announced.
Freyja walked ahead of Tyr, and a massive silver wing appeared on the left side of her back. She took off into the air. Tyr turned his head toward Loki. "So, what are you waiting for?" he asked with a slight smile.
Loki sighed, then began a transformation, and within a few seconds, he became a bird.
"You seriously think you can carry me in that form? I want a dragon," Tyr said.
'I hate you…' Loki thought, before taking on a draconic shape.
"That's much better!" Tyr climbed onto the dragon. "Come on, faster. Freyja is going to outpace us."
They took off, trying to catch up with the winged goddess.
—---------------------------
'That's done…' Nicolo thought as he stepped out of the room. 'I can finally go see An—'
Nicolo collided with a group of soldiers running somewhere. 'What's going on?'
He followed in the same direction, and another group of soldiers ran past him.
"Where are you going like that?" Nicolo asked.
One of the soldiers turned around.
"Go get the chief! There's a god at the entrance of the base!"
'What!? A god here?'
He wasted no time and ran straight to Tachi's office.
He opened the door, the room was dark, shutters closed, lights off.
Tachi was slumped over his desk. He lifted his head.
"What?" he asked shortly. He clearly didn't want to be disturbed, his tone made that obvious.
Nicolo explained, "You need to come right now! There's a god at the entrance of the base!"
Tachi stood up, and the air grew heavy.
'Maybe it's one of them.'
He got up, and they headed for the base's entrance.
They arrived at the large hall where the entrance was located. Hundreds of soldiers were there, all forming a circle around someone. All of them were pointing their weapons at a man, shouting commands.
"Stay here," Tachi said to Nicolo, before lifting himself into the air to pass over the crowd. He landed in front of the man at the entrance.
The man wore a black cloak covering his entire body. His head was hidden under a hood.
"Who the hell are you? Now's not the time to show up like this," Tachi said.
'He's too small. He's not one of them,' he thought.
The man raised both hands. "I am not hostile," he said. He brought a hand to his hood and lifted it. Under it was the face of a high-schooler, with heterochromatic eyes whose gaze, unlike the rest of him, emanated ancient wisdom.
Tachi stared at him, stunned.
He had already felt this sensation once before, when looking into the eyes of a man. An old man sitting at the top of the Norse pantheon.
'Impossible…' he thought.
The young man spoke.
"I know you figured it out, Ehecatl. I am the man you're thinking about. I am Odin."
Tachi stepped closer until their foreheads almost touched. His jaw was clenched.
"Don't fuck with me, kid. I've already dealt with that old bastard Odin, you're nothing like him. And he wouldn't dare show up like this after what he did," Tachi shouted in furious anger.
"I understand your anger. But I am not lying, I am Odin. The man sitting on the throne in Asgard is an impostor," he began explaining. "Let me show you…"
Odin raised his hand toward Tachi. "What are you do—!?" As soon as his thumb touched Tachi's forehead, a vision appeared.
He saw through Odin's eyes, a man approaching him. Odin embraced him, then was stabbed by him. The man turned around, his appearance shifting completely, revealing his true appearance, ginger hair.
'Him!?' Tachi realized, and the vision ended.
He came back to himself and stepped back. "Did you just share one of your memories?"
"Exactly. You just saw a fragment of my assassination. But I'm too weak to show more…" Odin explained, placing a hand over his heart.
'So he's not lying,' Tachi thought.
He turned toward the soldiers behind him.
"You can all withdraw. Even if he had bad intentions, he couldn't do anything. Return to your posts," he ordered.
He turned back toward Odin as Nicolo made his way closer, taking advantage of the dispersing crowd.
"The man who killed you, I've seen him before," Tachi said, clenching his fists.
"He's the one who did that to Akyo…" he growled. 'I should've finished him when I had the chance.'
"That man is Loki. I assume I don't need to explain who he is. He has always been an ambiguous being, never too good, never too bad. But, for reasons I cannot explain, he tipped entirely toward the wrong side. I'd like to reclaim my throne myself, but as you can see, I am far too young and far too weak for that," the young Odin explained.
Nicolo then asked, "One of ours is 19 years old and hasn't even recovered his first memory. How is it that you already know your own past death? And aside from that, how can you know Loki is impersonating you in Asgard?"
"Well, let's say I didn't arrive here alone. Three figures from my previous lives discovered the truth. But they were too weak and feared being assassinated by the Trickster. So they searched for me, and when they finally found me, they sped up the process, and thus, my memory returned," he explained, before kneeling in front of Tachi.
"But like them, I fear Loki. So I ask you, Ehecatl, help me. With the recent appearance of Jormungandr, and his kidnapping, I fear the worst."
'What could scare him that much?' Tachi wondered.
"I fear Loki's goal is to trigger Ragnarök."
"Trigger Ragnarök?!" Nicolo exclaimed. He turned around and started walking away. "Well, I'll leave you to it. The end of the world isn't exactly my problem. Good luck, guys," he said as he walked off.
"What is it with these gods all being complete lunatics," he muttered.
A question was stuck in Tachi's head. "If you were killed 18 years ago, that means the Odin I met was already Loki. How do you know who I am?"
"When you met the impostor, he was not alone. The three who saw through his deception, they were all there. You met them."
'I met them?' he wondered. He put his hand on his head, trying to remember that day. 'Who was there with us?'
'Wait—!' he remembered. "The tall woman, Frigg, your wife, if I'm not mistaken. As for the other two, I have no idea,"
"The two ravens," Odin interrupted. "Huginn and Muninn."
"The ravens? Wow. You Scandinavians really have issues, respectfully, of course."
"They're the ones who told me about you. They didn't go into detail, but apparently you left quite the impression on them."
'It's true I may have been a bit intense that day…' Tachi thought, recalling the events.
"Listen, I'm willing to consider helping you," he announced. 'Whatever happens, I have to save Soren. But I can't go against an entire pantheon alone. And by the time the Foundation mobilizes, I can't be sure Akyo or Soren will still be alive,' he thought.
Tachi continued aloud, "But I have one request first."
Odin stood up. "Anything you want," he said.
"When they kidnapped Jormungandr, Loki attacked the one who protected him. I want you to see him."