Sage began running into the house, calling out to his mother, but she was nowhere to be found.
He looked around the main room, then the kitchen, then her chambers. Empty.
"Maybe she went to the forest."
Woof!
"Come on."
Sage and Hati ran toward the forest. As they did, lightning struck the sky, and something fell from the tear in the clouds. It was followed by two more figures plummeting down.
"What is—"
A shockwave exploded outward from the impact point. Sage was lifted off his feet and sent rolling backward. His back slammed into a tree, and his vision blurred. Everything spun.
He felt something wet on his face. Hati was licking him frantically, barking over and over.
Sage groaned and pushed himself up. "What was that?"
He heard voices in the distance. They were loud but muffled, like he was underwater. He couldn't make out the words, but one voice cut through everything else. He recognized it instantly.
'Mother.'
He began running. "Mother!"
He reached the nearest tree and tried to climb, but his hands slipped. He caught himself on a lower branch and pulled up. He jumped to the next tree, his foot barely catching the edge. His heart pounded in his chest, louder than it had ever been. Fear made his movements sloppy, his balance unsteady.
But he kept going.
Finally, he reached a high branch where he could see them clearly.
Four people stood in a clearing below. One of them was his mother. The other three were men, strange men.
Two of them stood in the back. They were unnaturally pale, almost grey. Something was off about them. They felt empty, like they weren't fully there. Both carried large axes and had dark tattoos covering their arms and necks.
But the third man was the one who commanded attention.
He was tall—as tall as his mother. No one was ever as tall as his mother.
His hair was wild and orange, matted and unkempt like he had been through hell. His clothes were torn and stained. And most strikingly, he was missing his left arm. The stump ended just below the shoulder.
"I finally found the rat that ran away," the man said. His voice was rough, maddened, like he was barely holding himself together.
For the first time in Sage's life, he saw clear emotion on his mother's face.
It wasn't love. It wasn't confusion or sadness.
It was hate.
Her eyes burned with it. He could see it in the way her jaw clenched, the way her entire body went rigid. He could feel it radiating from her.
"Last time we faced, it didn't end well for you. And I was carrying then. Now it won't be any different." Syra's voice was low and seething, every word dripping with venom.
The wild man laughed. "Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You didn't defeat me. And things are different now. You don't have your mortal strength anymore, do you? Poor you. But your little stunt cost me my position at home. It's time I claim my honor back. Your head."
Sage's body tensed. He was about to move, but his eyes caught his mother's. She looked directly at him and shook her head once.
'What is she planning? Who is this man?'
Suddenly, an axe materialized in his mother's hand. It was massive, double-bladed, and covered in runes that glowed faintly.
"I've been waiting for this moment since—"
"Since what? Since I took that filthy giant's head off? Hahahaha! He deserved to get cut down by me. Getting killed by me was an honor for him. And now it'll be yours."
Sage watched as his mother's skin began to glow with a red aura. It spread across her body like fire. He had always known they weren't human, but this... this was something else entirely.
'But who are they talking about? Is it... no. It can't be. She would have told me.'
His thoughts were cut off by a loud scream.
Syra's rage erupted. She charged at the wild man, her axe raised high above her head. She leaped into the air, bringing the weapon down with all her strength.
Sage watched, breath held.
The wild man casually waved his hand. It connected with the side of Syra's head and sent her flying like she weighed nothing.
"MOTHER!!"
Syra crashed through two trees before hitting the ground and rolling to a stop.
Sage didn't think. He dropped from the tree and ran toward her.
One of the pale men moved. Sage didn't even see him coming. A foot slammed into his stomach.
BANG.
CRACK.
Ribs broke. Multiple ribs. The pain was instant and blinding. Sage was lifted off the ground and sent flying. He hit the dirt hard, rolling several times before stopping near his mother.
His chest felt like it was caving in. He couldn't breathe. Every attempt sent sharp, stabbing pain through his torso.
He turned his head and saw his mother looking at him. Her eyes were wide with fear.
"No... no... Sage..."
The wild man looked down at him.
"Is this your offspring? With that filth?" He tilted his head. "So that makes it filth too."
Suddenly, a long weapon appeared in the man's hand. It was a bident, a two-pronged spear with a long shaft.
Sage saw his mother's eyes go even wider. Her rage exploded again.
"Recognize it?" the man asked, grinning.
Syra grabbed her axe and screamed. She charged at him with everything she had.
He caught her by the throat mid-run.
"I've been waiting for this moment. Since I killed your filthy giant lover. Since you took my arm. I made a vow I would take your life with his weapon. Poetic, no? And they say I'm not as smart as my brother." He lifted her off the ground. "After I kill you, I'll have a statue made of me in this world."
Sage watched his mother struggle. She clawed at the man's hand, but it didn't move. The pillar of strength he had known his entire life was helpless.
"Mother..." he whispered.
"After I kill you, your son will be next."
She tried to speak.
And then he drove the bident into her abdomen.
Blood spilled from her mouth. Her body went limp.
The wild man pulled the weapon out and threw her across the clearing like garbage. The bident remained lodged in her stomach.
Sage found his strength. He didn't know where it came from, but he stood. Ignoring the agony in his chest, he ran to her.
"Mother... Mother..."
He fell beside her and carefully lifted her head onto his lap.
"Ma... Mother..."
"Sage... my...b- boy..." Blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
Sage looked down at her. For the first time in his entire life, his mother's face was soft. Her eyes were filled with warmth and pain and regret.
Was this a dream? Was this a joke? The only time she had ever shown him this kind of affection, and it was now?
"No, Mom, please."
"Come closer."
He leaned down, and Syra whispered into his ear.
"I love you. I want you to live. Don't... chase... don't chase re—"
Her eyes went pale.
"No... no, no, no." Tears poured down his face. He pulled her close, hugging her body. "Come back. Mama, come back. Please don't leave me. Don't—"
"Ahhhh, this is taking too long. I came here for an exciting battle to redeem myself after losing an arm, but I feel like I lost more. She just looks so pathetic."
Sage felt something in his hand. His mother had slipped a ring onto his finger while she whispered. There was also a small stone pressed into his palm.
But he didn't care.
He was sick of listening to this man.
"SHUT UP!!!"
BADOOM.
Lightning struck the ground as if the sky itself had shouted those words.
Sage looked up at the wild man. The wild man looked back.
"Oh, the little cub has some bite."
"AHHHHH!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Sage stood and ran at him. Thunder roared overhead.
He threw the hardest punch he had ever thrown in his life.
The wild man held out his hand and caught it. The impact sent him sliding back a few feet.
His eyes widened.
'That's right. I'm going to kill you.'
He was sure he could beat him if he was able to push him back
But the fake surprise on the wild man's face turned into laughter.
"Ahahahaha! What? You thought you did something? You thought that after I killed your mother, you could rise up and beat me?" His hand tightened around Sage's fist as his voice got more deeper and menacing. "Did you really think you could rise up against me? ME? Son of Thor, Móði?"
His eyes lit up with anger.
In an instant, Móði swung Sage's body. He lifted him off the ground and smashed him into the earth. Again. And again. And again. Like a rag doll, Sage's body was slammed repeatedly into the dirt and rocks.
Finally, Móði threw him near his mother's body.
"I am a god. Cower before me, you worthless shit. Come on, grovel and kiss my feet. Beg for mercy."
He walked slowly toward Sage.
Sage couldn't hear anything clearly. His vision was blurred. Sounds were distorted and distant.
Suddenly, something leaped out of the forest and stood between Sage and Móði.
Sage didn't need to see clearly to know who it was.
'Hati... no.'
He wanted to say it out loud, but the words wouldn't come.
Móði paused and looked at the wolf in front of him.
"Piss off, mutt."
He kicked her.
Hati exploded into blood and gore. It sprayed across Sage's entire body.
He knew what had happened. He couldn't move. Couldn't scream. Couldn't do anything.
Only tears fell from his eyes as he watched everything he loved destroyed.
Móði looked back at the two men and spoke. "See? I can handle this. You can go back and report to him. I'll see this to the end."
The two pale men looked at each other and nodded, their bodies disappearing
He then looked back at Sage.
He lifted him by the neck, pulling his battered body off the ground.
"I've faced many opponents. You and your mother were the most disappointing ones..."
Suddenly, as he spoke, the rock in Sage's hand began to glow. He had been holding onto it despite all the pain. Runes appeared across its surface, and it cracked apart.
The runes transferred to Sage's hand, glowing brighter.
"Now..."
Móði tightened his grip around Sage's neck and pulled back his fist. The punch came forward, connecting slightly with Sage's nose.
But just as it landed, Sage's body began to dissolve. He turned into points of light that scattered and disappeared.
Móði watched, his fist still extended. He frowned and looked around the empty clearing.
"I'll just tell him it's done. I don't want to be doubted again." He looked down at himself. "I'll just say i burnt his body."
He walked over to Syra's body and grabbed it by the arm.
Suddenly, a beam of light came down from the tear in the sky and surrounded him. In an instant, he was gone.
The tear in the sky began to close, sealing itself until there was nothing left but normal clouds and fading daylight.
The clearing was empty except for blood on the ground and the lingering smell of lightning in the air.