Tachi had been gone for a little over an hour. Sigurd, not knowing what to do, had stayed seated in the refectory. Magnus and Nicolo had left with Skadi, they had asked for her help to gather as much information as possible about Asgard.
Njord had stayed with him for a while, but eventually left as well, saying he had something to take care of.
'Forgot how boring it gets when you don't have a mission…' He twiddled his thumbs for a while longer, then finally decided, 'Might as well go have some fun in the training room.'
He stood up, walked down the corridor leading to the massive door of the white room.
"I forgot how ridiculously huge this place is," he muttered.
As he approached the door, he heard a scream coming from inside. 'Huh… someone's here?'
He opened the door. In front of him was a young boy with blond hair tied up in spikes, punching the wall repeatedly.
"RAAAAAH!" He kept unleashing punches on a wall that, no matter what, would not budge.
'Is he screaming to let it out, or because he's in pain?' Hodr wondered, doubtful about Sōsuke's method.
Sigurd approached the boy. "Hey! What are you doing?"
The boy turned around, visibly surprised to see someone there. "Nicolo told me this was where we train, so that's what I'm doing. Who are you? Never seen you before."
Sigurd puffed out his chest and proudly announced, "My name is Sigurd. I am the Lord of Scandinavia. You must be new to the Foundation, you would've known who I am because of those splendid earrings," Sigurd explained, pointing at his ear.
"You've got nothing on your ear, man."
"Huh?" Sigurd touched his earlobes. 'What? Why can't I feel my earrings?'
He thought for a moment. "SHIT!"
'What's wrong with this guy?' the blond boy wondered.
Sigurd facepalmed, his other hand resting on his hip. 'I took them off for vacation and forgot to put them back… Nicolo's not gonna like this. Not the first time either.' He lifted his head and let out a deep breath. "Alright. What's your name, and what exactly are you?"
He approached Sigurd, "My name's Sōsuke, and I don't know what I am. The guy with the fringe said he didn't know either, but that my blood is divine," Sōsuke explained, bragging a little, even though he hadn't believed it until recently.
"The guy with the fringe, must be Tachi. That's strange, He's usually not bad at sensing that kind of thing," Sigurd thought. He crossed his arms, "Listen, Sōsuke. How about we train together? A small sparring match, just to see what you're worth."
Sōsuke broke into a wide grin. "I'm down!" He immediately took a stance, ready to attack.
"Perfect. Then give it everything you've got. I'm waiting, kid!"
"Here we go!" Sōsuke charged straight at Sigurd at full speed, arms forward to grab him. Sigurd dodged by leaning backward, so far that his head almost brushed the floor.
Sōsuke turned his head. "How is he still on his feet?!"
Sigurd straightened up in an inhuman way and turned toward him, pointing a finger. "That's how you plan to fight? Jumping at me like an idiot?"
Sōsuke exhaled and charged again. He reached Sigurd quickly, who closed his eyes. "Is he trying to show off or what? You're gonna regret this!" Sōsuke unleashed several blows, all of which Sigurd dodged calmly.
"He dodges all my attacks without even looking?!" Sōsuke changed posture and went for an uppercut.
Sigurd dodged again. His movements were slow, yet impossible he was to hit.
Sōsuke followed with a straight punch. "I'm gonna get you!" His fist came dangerously close to Sigurd's face, but Sigurd vanished.
"What?!" Sōsuke finished the motion and felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, Sigurd was behind him and flicked him with his finger.
"Ugh!?" The flick sent him flying several meters backward, but he recovered acrobatically.
He stood back up and shouted, "How did you do that?!"
Sigurd chuckled. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't mess with me! You disappeared right when I was about to hit you! And how are you that strong?" Sōsuke exclaimed.
"You really know nothing. I'm a god, that strength is natural to me. And I simply dodged. You just need to be faster," Sigurd explained. 'I'm lying a bit about the dodging part,' he thought.
"Natural strength…?" Sōsuke murmured. 'He's way stronger than the guy with purple hair, it's insane. Even that guy beat me easily, damn it!" He clenched his jaw in anger. 'Why are they all so strong?'
"Tell me, have you ever used any kind of power?" Hodr asked.
"A power?" Sōsuke thought for a moment. "Oh yeah. Last time, I made some kind of sword appear from the ground. I don't know how I did it, it was the first time."
"A sword coming out of the ground? Interesting. But if it was your first time, there's no point asking you to do it again. That'd be too complicated. I need to find something else—!?" Sigurd suddenly looked up.
Sōsuke was pulling a massive weapon out of a red circle on the floor.
'He did it again that easily?! That's prodigious.'
Sōsuke lifted the weapon. "Oh yeah, guess I did it again," he said casually.
'He doesn't realize how impressive that is… He's got insane potential,' Sigurd thought, smiling.
"Alright. A lesson is in order, Sōsuke. Do you have any idea what kinds of powers gods can have?"
Sōsuke lowered his weapon. "No idea. I saw one guy fly, and another with crazy physical strength. That's about it."
Sigurd crouched down. "A god possesses aspects they are masters of. I am Hodr, the Norse god of darkness and winter."
He placed his hand on the ground, and his shadow instantly expanded.
The shadow crept toward Sōsuke. He stepped back. "What is that?!"
"These are my darkness. I control them, and I turn them into my territory," Sigurd explained as he stood back up. "Step into it."
Sōsuke hesitated, but obeyed. One foot stepped into the black ground, then the other. "Huh. It's not that bad, actually."
Suddenly, it felt like the ground disappeared. He sank into the darkness, then felt like he was being launched upward.
"AAAAH!" He screamed in panic, then opened his eyes again. He was standing right in front of Sigurd.
"Did that scare you?" Sigurd asked.
"No. Not at all," Sōsuke replied, blatantly lying.
"I just made you travel through my darkness. That's how I dodged your attack earlier," Sigurd explained.
Sōsuke frowned. "But I would've seen it if the ground had turned dark. That didn't happen."
Sigurd smiled. "You're right. But the reason is simple: to move myself, I don't need to release my darkness. I can simply disappear into my own shadow, then reappear from yours."
'From my shadow?!' Sōsuke thought. 'That's lowkey broken!' Then he asked, "But if you go into your darkness thing and there's no shadow, you're stuck, right?"
"Theoretically, yes. But wherever there is light, there is always shadow," Sigurd replied.
He then made the darkness beneath his feet disappear. "Alright. Show me your sword real quick." He held out his hand.
Sōsuke looked at his sword. "Oh… yeah, here."
He handed it to Sigurd. As he took it, he was surprised by its weight and almost dropped it. "Oops…"
He examined the weapon, placed his hand on it, closed his eyes, and focused for a moment.
"That should do it," Sigurd murmured.
Sōsuke didn't understand what was happening. "What do you mean?"
Sigurd opened his eyes, stared at him with a smile, and said:
"Tell me, Sōsuke, do you want to have my powers?"