"Do we really have to walk? Couldn't we just fly to the building?" Akyo complained.
"Come on, don't chicken out. I'd rather you stretch your legs before we get there… considering what's waiting for you," Tachi replied playfully.
They had flown over Vatnajökull, then over the Norwegian Sea for quite some time. The sky had been glowing when they left Yggdrasil's branch, but now it was night.
They walked for a while. Akyo was deep in thought, 'What am I gonna say to her?' but he stopped when they reached the entrance of the large gray-and-white building.
"Ready to get jumped on?" Tachi asked.
"Usually I'd say no, but I almost died, so. Might be the only time I won't mind it." He took a breath, and stopped.
Tachi looked at him, confused. "What are you waiting for?"
"Can you actually go first?"
Tachi laughed and stepped ahead. "If you want."
They walked through the doors and entered the hall.
Tachi looked around. "No one's here?"
"Is it lunchtime?" Akyo asked, turning to glance at the sky one last time. "They might be sleeping. I don't even know what time it is. With that sky, it could be 3 a.m."
Suddenly, they heard a muffled noise coming from a hallway, the one leading directly to the cafeteria.
"Okay, they're not sleeping," Tachi said.
They made their way down the corridor and stopped in front of the door the noise was coming from.
"Is there a war going on in there?" Akyo asked, disturbed by the chaos inside. He placed his hand on the door.
"Go on," Tachi urged him, 'pretty sure he's thinking about what he's going to say to Ana.'
Akyo grabbed the handle and gently pulled.
The door ripped clean off its hinges and shot into a wall at lightning speed, barely missing Tachi's head.
Akyo turned around, horrified. "Shit, I'm sorry! I don't know how I did that!"
But Tachi could barely hear him over the noise coming from inside.
He looked at Akyo, then at the door embedded in the wall, then back at Akyo. 'There's definitely something wrong with his strength. But right now, I just want to relax.'
He sighed and motioned for Akyo to just go inside.
—----------------------------------------------------
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
"PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR POWERS!"
"DID YOU JUST BITE MY LEG?!"
"I'LL STOP IF YOU GIVE ME YOUR POWERS!"
No one had noticed that Akyo and Tachi were back. A massive crowd of soldiers had formed around what looked like some kind of battle, shouting and laughing.
Suddenly, from the middle of the crowd, a boy was launched into the air. At the peak of his jump, he brought his legs together and spread his arms in a spectacular pose before shouting:
"I, SŌSUKE, WILL PROVE THAT I AM WORTHY OF RECEIVING THE POWERS OF THE KING OF THE SEAS!"
He extended his arms into a diving position and plunged down at phenomenal speed into the cheering crowd of soldiers.
Akyo stared, unsure how to react. "What is even happening…"
He suddenly felt Tachi's hand on his shoulder. Tachi was pointing toward something and started walking in that direction.
"Sigurd!" he called out.
Hodr was leaning against a wall in the corner of the room, away from the others. He waved at them.
When they reached him, Tachi wrapped an arm around Sigurd's head.
"Surprised you didn't scream our names!"
Sigurd laughed. "I know the kids don't like too much attention." He slipped out of Tachi's hold and extended his hand toward Akyo. "Glad to see you alive, boy."
"Glad to see you too, and to be alive," Akyo replied with a smile.
Tachi, turning back to watch the chaos, said cheerfully, "Seems like Sōsuke's blending in pretty well!"
Sigurd laughed. "Yes. Not long after you left, I blessed his sword. Since then, he's spent the last eight days begging Njord to give him his powers."
'I slept that long?' Akyo thought.
But Tachi looked confused.
"Are you okay?" Sigurd asked.
"Did you say eight days? I didn't even leave for a full day."
Sigurd explained, "You left eight days ago. We waited by the front door for the first three days. Some people were starting to lose hope. I wasn't. But Sōsuke's personality has been quite the attraction, he brings everyone joy. He's always full of energy. One time he dressed as a luchador and wrestled Njord at lunch because I told him it would help with his new powers."
But Tachi wasn't listening anymore. 'Time must flow differently in Yggdrasil… Or maybe in Jotunheim? Or even in the realm of the Norns… If time moves differently in each world… how long has it been for Soren?'
Akyo muttered, "Am I tripping?"
Tachi looked up. Akyo was paler than usual, a bead of sweat on his forehead.
"What the hell is that giant monster staring at us through the windows?"
Tachi turned around and jumped. An enormous white creature filled the entire window frame, staring at a boy standing in front of it as if they were having a conversation.
"Sigurd, what is that horrible thing Magnus is talking to?"
"That's Njord's pet, Mastodon. It's a Hafgufa, a legendary creature. Apparently he's still young and quite fearful, so every evening for the past few days, Njord creates a stream of water from the sea up to the window in midair so the beast can be with us."
Akyo blinked at the name again. "Wait… isn't Njord the Norse god of the sea and winds? What is he doing here?"
Sigurd smiled.
"I see you were paying attention in class. More or less, yes. And yes, I brought him here, along with his wife. They're going to help us."
Tachi suddenly appeared with a plate of food in his hands, mouth full.
"If neex tu sho u somone."
"What did you just say? And where did that food even come from?" Akyo asked.
Tachi raised a finger, swallowed, then tried again.
"I made it fly over here while you two were talking. And I said, I need to show you someone."
"Who?"
"You see the guy in front of the fish? That's Odin. Long story, but the Odin who's in Asgard right now is actually—"
"GUYS! TACHI IS BACK, AND AKYO IS ALIVE!"
A soldier had finally noticed them and shouted the news at the top of his lungs.
Sigurd pushed himself off the wall and said with a smile, "Good luck, boys."
Then he disappeared by diving into his own shadow.
The entire crowd rushed toward them at full speed. Some were shouting with joy, others were crying as they released all their frustration, but they were all saying the same thing:
"We thought you we'd never see you again!"