"Alright." Odin accepted the request, and they left together for the medical wing of the base. They reached the door, Tachi put his hand on the handle, paused slightly, then finally opened it.
He entered first, Odin following behind him. Ana was there, sitting on the floor, her hands holding Akyo's. She lifted her head and saw the unknown young man.
"Who's that?" She stood up. "Answer me. Who is he, what's he doing here?"
"Hard to explain, let me handle this." Tachi replied. "So, what do you think, old man?"
"Old man? He's a kid, who is this guy, answer me!"
Tachi didn't reply. Odin was examining Akyo's motionless body, he stepped closer.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!? Tachi, say something!"
Her brother approached her and pulled her away from Odin and Akyo. The young man placed his hand on Akyo's chest, and a green glow escaped from the contact between their bodies.
He stayed like that for a few seconds before pulling his hand away and collapsing.
'Damn.' thought Tachi. "You alright?" He bent down and helped the young man sit up.
"Sorry…" he whispered. "I tried using magic to heal him, but I'm way too weak. I can't do anything for now…" he explained.
'It's already miraculous that he has memories, and that he knows about his powers. Hard to ask him for more… but if only he could've saved Akyo.' he thought.
Ana looked at Akyo, hoping maybe it had worked after all. But nothing had changed.
"Explain to me what's happening, please." she asked.
Tachi sighed. "This young boy is Odin."
Ana got angry. "Odin?! But he's the one who sent them to kidnap Soren, right?!"
"Yes, but no… he is Odin, the real one." He gestured toward the boy. "The one on Asgard's throne is an impostor, manipulating the entire pantheon for his own ends."
'An impostor taking the place of a powerful man to control strong warriors? That vaguely reminds me of something…' thought Ana, who stepped toward Odin.
"Hey kid? What's your name? You're young, if you were raised outside your pantheon, you must have a name, right? We're not calling you Odin, only eccentric gods like that."
He lifted his head. "Yes. My name is Magnus Åkerlund,"
Tachi looked at Ana. "You wouldn't be aiming at a particular pillar by saying that, by any chance?" he asked with a slight smile.
"You know I can't stand that old Japanese dragon. He may be centuries old, but that's no reason to be that unbearable."
'What are they talking about?' wondered Magnus.
"I totally agree," replied Tachi, while thinking, 'I could've asked the kid's name earlier… I was so fixated on his divine identity that I forgot he's currently more human than divine.'
While they talked, Magnus was thinking too.
'But of course!' He suddenly stood up. "I know!"
Tachi and Ana wondered what was going on, but before they could ask, he continued:
"I know how to save him."
Ana's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"What?" exclaimed Tachi. "Explain."
"There's a place where any wound can be healed. A distant place, hard to reach, but if someone could take him there,"
"I'll do it." Tachi said. "Tell me about this place, I'll take him there, alone."
"It's not in our world. Its name is the Well of Urd. It lies in a world lost within the roots of Yggdrasil." he explained.
"Yggdrasil? How do I reach it?" Tachi asked. "Some Nordic gods told me about it. Yggdrasil isn't a tree like the Eddas describe, it's a place connecting different worlds, more like a portal. Unfortunately, the ones who told me never talked about an entry point,"
"I know one. Far, off our coasts, in Iceland. In Vatnajökull National Park, there is a tree of rare beauty. It's a branch of Yggdrasil, a passageway to enter it,"
Tachi didn't lose a second and turned around.
"I'm leaving right now."
"No, wait! That's impossible, Ehecatl. As strong as you are, going without knowledge will make it impossible."
Tachi stopped. 'He's not wrong,' He turned back.
"Tonight, you'll explain everything I need to know. I'll leave tomorrow for Vatnajökull. I can't risk waiting too long, for either Akyo or Soren." He walked toward the doorway.
"Where are you going?" Ana asked.
"I'll be back tonight. I need to do something before I leave. Ana, ask Nicolo to find a room for Magnus." Tachi said as he left.
Both of them watched him go.
"No problem…" Ana muttered, before contacting Nicolo.
—---------------------------
Tachi left the base and shot northward at full speed.
'I need to find him quickly,' he thought as he cut through the air, flying above the clouds to avoid being seen and hoping not to run into any planes.
He was already far from the base, flying over the Norwegian Alps, the gathering of the country's highest peaks.
Suddenly, while flying, a multicolored flash blinded him for an instant. It seemed to come from the highest of all the peaks, even though it was very far away.
'What was that?' Tachi wondered. He hesitated to go check, but finally gave up.
'I don't have time for that,' and he kept flying.
After a while, the mountains beneath him turned into forests, then plains. He finally reached what seemed to be his destination, the great grassy expanses of Forollhogna.
'It should be around here,' he thought. Tachi descended, flying lower than before, searching for something.
After a moment, he saw a cabin, and outside it, a man waving at him.
'There he is,' thought Tachi with a smile as he landed.
"Sigurd!" Tachi exclaimed, arms wide open.
"The European Pillar, wow, to what do I owe the honor?" the man replied, laughing.
They greeted each other.
"Don't call me that, you know I hate it!" Tachi said. "It's freezing here…"
"Still not used to the weather of my beautiful country? Come on, get inside." Sigurd said, opening the cabin door.
Tachi sat at a wooden table in the middle of the room. Sigurd was lighting the fireplace.
"I see you grew a beard," Tachi said.
Sigurd chuckled.
"Aha, yeah. I don't need to look presentable when I'm here, so I indulge a little."
He was tall, with short dark hair, wearing very common human clothing Tachi noticed.
'Quite a contrast with the other Nordic gods…' he thought. "How's your vacation going?"
"Perfect. I stay here alone, and when I need company, I go back to see friends in Røros," he explained, sitting down across from Tachi. The fire was lit, warming the room.
"But let's stop talking about that. You wouldn't disturb my vacation without a good reason, right?"
"No, I wouldn't dare," Tachi replied. "But, something serious happened."
"Like what?"
Tachi told him everything, from Jormungandr's resurgence, to his kidnapping. The Nordic gods' assault, the impostor on Asgard's throne. Then he talked about Akyo, currently between life and death.
Sigurd listened, and as the story went on, his anger grew. When Tachi finished, the atmosphere had turned heavy.
"That bastard Loki…" he growled.
Tachi saw Sigurd's rage whenever Loki's name came up.
'As Hodr, he probably hates Loki more than anyone… He's never explained why, but I imagine his reason for staying away from his pantheon has something to do with the trickster.'
"So he went after the kid… How's your sister doing?" asked Sigurd
Tachi lowered his head.
"She stays by his side. No one's doing well at the base right now."
"I can imagine, especially you. Losing your two protégés so suddenly and being unable to do anything, that must be rough. So, what do you want from me, Tachi?"
"Odin, the real one, told me about the Well of Urd, a place where I can heal Akyo. I'm going to have to leave the base, but I don't know how long it'll take. Please, Sigurd, can you take my place while I save Akyo?"
Sigurd laughed.
"Of course, my friend, I won't let you down just because I'm on vacation, aha!"
He laughed again.
"But after that? From what you told me, Odin thinks Loki wants to trigger Ragnarok, right? What are you planning to do?"
"Yeah, that's what he thinks. If that's really Loki's plan, then Soren is still alive. I'm going to storm Asgard and pull him out."
"Storm Asgard?" Hodr burst out laughing.
"Strong as you are, do you really think you can handle all those gods alone? I don't know the current state of their relationships, there's always trouble up there, tensions everywhere. But I know there's one god who's much stronger than the others. Tyr. He'll be a nightmare to deal with, on his own turf, and with all his allies. You don't stand a chance. I'll come with you."
Tachi lifted his head, shocked.
"But Sigurd, that makes no sense, what if—!?"
He cut him off.
"I know, I know. More than anyone, I'm tied to Loki's plan. I'm one of the missing links to trigger Ragnarok. I don't believe in it, and even if it were true, I'm tired of being the one who gets tricked and ends up killing his brother blindly." Hodr explained.
"You forget that, contrary to what the writings say, I have eyes. But you see, he's missing something else to accomplish his stupid prophecy. My brother, Baldr. He's a wanderer, who like me and others, gradually drifted away from Asgard. It's been a long time since I last saw him," he said. "Anyway, I'm coming with you."
Tachi stood up and shook Hodr's hand. "Thank you. Seriously. Let's leave now."
"Wait, wait, calm down. I need to do something first. Go back to the base, it'll take me about a day. I'll join you there, don't worry. Go back to your friends." he said, getting up.
He grabbed some clothes and put them on. "I'm leaving now too."
"Alright, but hurry. I'm afraid Akyo won't hold out much longer…" Tachi said as he walked out of the cabin.
"We'll meet at the base," he said before taking off at such speed that the ground shook.
"He's always in such a hurry," murmured Sigurd with a smile, watching Tachi disappear into the sky. A sound like an explosion echoed above, showing he had already broken the sound barrier.
Sigurd turned toward his cabin. 'I'll miss you,' he thought, before starting to walk away.
'Heading to the coast… I have some old friends to visit.'