Soren opened his eyes slowly. He was awakened by an icy cold. He was lying in the snow, or at least, that was where he had been placed.
"What the hell am I doing here…" he thought, placing his hand on the white ground.
He sat up. In front of him sat Freyja, her back turned to him. "Hey! Where are we–"
A massive sound echoed, deep and powerful. Soren covered his ears to lessen the noise. It stopped.
"I told you, no need to call him again. He heard. He's just a lazy man," said Tyr. He stood a little farther ahead, facing Freyja, standing straight with his arms crossed. He was speaking to Loki, who held a horn in his hand, probably the one he had just blown.
Soren moved closer to Freyja. It might have seemed illogical, but 'If I try to run, I'm screwed,' he thought. "Hey, you! Can you tell me where we are?"
The woman didn't turn toward him, but still gave him a brief answer. "Gladhopiggen."
"Gladhopiggen? What is that?" Soren asked.
"To return to Asgard, we must pass through the Bifrost. Gladhopiggen is the highest peak in this land. It's where the Bifrost can be summoned most easily," she explained.
'I hadn't noticed, but she looks about my age,' Soren thought. She was the only one of the three he didn't want to decapitate, though that fantasy was clearly beyond his reach.
His thoughts were cut short when Loki blew the horn again.
—--------------------------
In Asgard, the sound of the horn echoed. A man exited an immense building at the end of a massive golden bridge.
"Alright, I'm coming…" He dragged behind him a gigantic sword, its blade nearly the same size as his body. The tip scraped against the ground, creating a sharp, unpleasant sound.
"You can't even take a piss in peace in your own kingdom anymore…" complained the man with long black hair. He wore a white shirt, covering a chain mail, on his shoulder laid a fur, as black as his hair and his leather pants. His poorly shaved beard was complemented by several piercings across his face. He walked lazily until he reached the end of the bridge, which led to a round platform where a magnificent fountain stood. The water shimmered in rainbow colors, revealing its true nature.
The man walked to the edge of the platform, facing total emptiness, though it wasn't dark, more like a sky.
He raised his sword and ran his hand along the blade, activating white runes all over it.
He then sliced through the sky, leaving two white cross-shaped trails. Electricity crackled from the breach, and the air was suddenly sucked in, strong enough to make his hair fly.
"The passage between worlds is open," he murmured, walking toward the fountain.
"All that's left is to infuse the Bifrost's energy into the rift…" He sounded tired. He reached the rainbow water and pulled a water gun from his pocket. He opened its small tank and filled it.
Turning back toward the torn sky, he extended his arm and pulled the toy's trigger.
The rift absorbed the trail of magical water. "Much more practical than an arrow," he said with a slight smile, revealing a golden canine.
The rift suddenly stopped pulling in air and then exploded, a rainbow shooting out at tremendous speed. The man sat on the edge of the fountain, waiting.
A few seconds passed before four loud impacts echoed. "Here they are," he murmured, watching the base of the Bifrost trail, where a hand materialized, a hand wearing a golden gauntlet.
Tyr arrived first. Loki followed closely, and Freyja came last, carrying Soren under her arm.
The man stood up. "Oh? So that's him, Jormungandr? You took that long for such a small kid?"
Tyr looked at the man with disgust, the same look he gave Loki. "Shut your mouth, Heimdall."
"Mister bravery doesn't look very happy, as usual," Loki said, laughing.
Heimdall laughed with him. "Don't say that, he'll spank you," Heimdall replied, causing Loki to laugh again.
'He's always acting tough when he's not alone, but that idiot never says a word face to face,' Freyja thought.
"There was a time, Heimdall, when you were a man. And he was your greatest enemy. Now you're just as despicable as him. Your former self would have been disgusted by what you've become," Tyr declared, turning away. 'Vermin,' he thought.
"Oh, here we go, the old man wants everyone to get along now," Heimdall replied.
"moron," Tyr muttered. "Return to Himingjork. We no longer need you."
"As you wish," Heimdall said, retreating while dragging his sword behind him.
Tyr looked at Soren. "Is he still asleep?" he asked Freyja.
"The Bifrost's energy knocked him out, but he was awake before entering," she replied, flicking Soren on the head.
"Ow!" Soren woke instantly. "Hey, let me go!" He struggled in Freyja's arms, but she didn't budge.
"Let him go. It's not like he can run anywhere, the Bifrost is closed," Tyr said, stepping in front of Soren and kneeling to meet his gaze. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid, kid."
Soren felt a rush of heat. His body reacted instinctively to Tyr's presence, which was terrifying despite his calm tone. "It's not like I have a choice," he murmured.
Tyr smiled. "Good. Freyja, Loki, go report to Odin. I'll take Jormungandr to the judge."
"The judge—?!" Soren thought, but at that moment Freyja dropped him, and he hit the ground. She flew off immediately. Loki transformed into an eagle and followed her. "He turned into a bird?!" Soren stared, mouth wide open.
"Get up. We have to go," Tyr ordered. Soren obeyed, not knowing why he complied so easily.
They began walking, for a long time. They passed by the immense building Heimdall had come from. Soren was impressed and asked Tyr, "Where are we?"
Tyr, walking ahead of him, replied, "We are in Asgard. That building is called Himingjork. It is Heimdall's dwelling. We are in his realm."
"His realm?"
"Asgard is made up of several realms. They are the homes of the gods. Heimdall's realm consists only of his manor, allowing him to activate the Bifrost quicker, the bridge between your world and ours."
'The Bifrost, Asgard, Heimdall, Himingjork… There's no point asking questions, I'll never remember all this shit,' Soren thought, choosing to simply follow Tyr.
Along the way, Tyr still gave him information, things Soren hadn't asked for, but he didn't have the nerve to tell him to stop.
So he learned, more or less, many things. After Himingjork, Asgard split into two paths. At their center lay a realm called Gladsheimr, where the gods gathered.
Tyr and Soren took the right path, where the realm in which Tyr resided was located.
"What the hell is this…" Soren stopped. Before him stood an immense manor, far more impressive than Heimdall's. "This is where you live?! Are you gods competing over who has the biggest place or what?!"
Tyr chuckled lightly, surprising Soren. "I live here, but this realm, Thrudheim, does not belong to me. It belongs to a brother, and I promised to protect his home."
Soren listened. 'This man punished Loki for what he did to Akyo, he guards a realm for one of his brothers… He seems like a righteous man,' he thought. "Hey, old man!" Soren shouted. Tyr turned around. "Earlier, you said Loki killed my friend. Well, you're wrong. I'm sure he's still alive, so you'd better prepare yourselves. They'll come looking for me," he said, full of confidence in Akyo and Tachi.
Tyr crossed his arms and declared proudly, "You do not measure your words, but I hope you're right. Ehecatl's gaze betrayed his desire to counterattack. I'll be waiting for him. I am the only one who can stop him."
Tyr's confidence, combined with his massive build, made Soren think, "Maybe he's not lying after all. Maybe he really can stand up to Tachi,"
After that, they resumed their walk. They crossed Thrudheim and climbed higher and higher within Asgard. The farther the realms were, the higher they stood. Below them lay the immense plain of Gladsheimr. Soren couldn't help looking at it, even though it gave him a horrible feeling. "I think I'm afraid of heights…"
They crossed Ydalir, a realm apparently belonging to someone called Ullr, whom Tyr also called Oda, but who wasn't there. The manor was surrounded by a dense forest, rich in wildlife. A perfect hunting ground.
They passed through it, and Tyr announced, "We're here. Welcome to Glitnir."
The ground of the realm was paved, and at its center stood yet another manor. This one was half stone, half wood. Unlike the others, they entered it.
"Wow…" Soren thought. This wasn't really a manor. It was a single, massive hall. Far ahead, at the top of some stairs, stood a man. He came down.
"Tyr! I was expecting you."
He was tall, not as tall as Tyr, and less muscular. His hair was brown, medium-length, and curly. He wore glasses and surprisingly few clothes. A strange red mark covered his cheek
"it's lowkey embarrassing. It's like I'm walking into his private space." Soren thought, realizing he was inside a stranger's home. A stranger who was almost naked.
"I'm bringing you Jormungandr, Forseti," Tyr explained.
Forseti looked at Jormungandr. "I expected something more… more monstrous. Anyway, should I take him to dungeon?"
"To the dungeon?" Soren exclaimed. When the words sank in, "NO, DON'T LOCK ME UP!" He ran, but Tyr grabbed him by his red cape and threw him at Forseti's feet.
"Sorry, kid. It's a temporary measure until all conditions are met," Tyr explained.
"What conditions?!" Soren asked.
Forseti answered, "Odin wants to do things properly. He's waiting for the return of one specific person before dealing with you."
"And how long will that take?" Soren asked angrily as Forseti grabbed his arm.
Tyr began to walk away. "I haven't seen him in nearly a century. Who knows when he'll return… I hope your friends will arrive before him," he said, leaving the manor.
'A century? A CENTURY?!' Soren struggled as much as he could, but Forseti dragged him along.
"You're a real devil, you know that?" Forseti said, leading him elsewhere. They descended deep stairs. There was less and less light.
"Where are you taking m—?!" Forseti threw Soren into the back of a cell and slammed the door shut. Soren rushed to the bars and tried desperately to break them.
"You're wasting your time. These prisons were made by the dwarves. You won't escape easily," Forseti explained, sounding almost bored. He left, climbing the stairs back to his manor.
"Hey! Let me out!" Soren shouted. 'It's useless, I can't do anything.'
He turned away, kicked the wall, it didn't move. "Fuck!"
He sat down in the shadows. 'I hope Akyo is really alive. I had friends yesterday, and now I'm alone…'
Soren was desperate. Being isolated alone for possibly over a hundred years was surely one of the worst things that could happen to him.
Suddenly, as he drowned in these dark thoughts, he heard a chuckle coming from the cell across from his.
"Is someone there?!" Soren asked.
Something moved, chains scraping against the stone floor. Then a man spoke, smiling,
"Interesting… It's been a long time, little brother."