Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Shadows

Chapter 196: Shadows

9^th March 2012, Asgard

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

Odin stiffened in realization, “This means that they are restricted as well, they will not be able to plan properly. This is a chance we’ll never get again.”

I nodded, “This is why, I want to add something to the deal. Midgard is still off limits until Entropy is defeated. After that it’ll be under your supervision. I will also help you free yourself and Asgard from their hands, and in exchange for all of this, I’m expecting your personal help and the help of all of Asgard in the coming crisis.”

“You mean that…”

“Yes, if you agree with this, I’ll help you get rid of ‘Those Who Sit Above In Shadows’ permanently. For the first time, you’ll be free, Asgard will be free.”

The man was gaping at me, disbelief on his face mixed with a hint of hope. He probably never thought that he’d ever be free of his burden, of his minders, of his slavers. He looked at me, his eyes wide, “Is it possible? Can you truly break the cycle?”

I snorted, “Of course not. The cycle itself is a price paid, a natural aspect of reality, a gear that allows the universe to turn. But the way that it’s been cannibalized isn’t.”

He had a thunderous look on his face, “Explain.”

I nodded, “It’s quite simple really. The cycle itself existed ever since the first Asgardian King, in the first cycle. I believe it was your grandfather, Buri. He created the foundations of what Asgard became later while his son Borr, and his grandson Odin ruled. But he wasn’t satisfied with it. He wanted his civilization to survive the test of time, so that its might, its glory, be known everywhere, throughout the entire universe, until time itself runs out.  And so, he went on a foolish quest to find a shard of eternity, to bargain. He was able to find the shard, and eternity granted him audience. He agreed to fulfill his wish, but only for a price. Asgard will never die, but it will be reborn in a realm, outside the universe, and yet connected. Asgard will be destroyed, yes, but it will never die. It’s a rule of the universe, that everything that is created in this universe will inevitably be destroyed as well. So, in order to circumvent this, he wouldn’t stop Asgard's destruction, but allow it to be reborn, along with the other realms, the souls remaining separate reincarnating in every cycle. Death and rebirth over and over again. The energy of the destruction of Asgard, of the nine realms is then used by the universe to keep expanding, to grow and propagate even further. It’s supposed to be a natural cycle, with no one aware of it, ever, until the end of time itself. That was the bargain your grandfather made, and it has been paid fully. Buri then used the power of the Bifrost to lock away the access to eternity deeming the access to the cosmic entity to be too dangerous.”

Odin looked flabbergasted at this, “But who are they? Who are my slavers?”

“They do not come from this universe. They integrated themselves in a small realm, hidden from everyone’s view, and absorbed the energy at the end of every cycle, Ragnarök. It’s a horrible thing. They try to do their best to accelerate it, to attain more energy, manipulating you, like a farmer does its cattle, growing more powerful with every iteration, with every time Asgard is destroyed. They’re versions of Asgardians from another universe that travelled here to escape their Ragnarök, choosing to cannibalize it, than die and reincarnating once more.”

Odin looked pensive for a moment before asking me, “Then why do I remember? Why me?”

I shrug, “You’re the most powerful man in Asgard. The only one who could possibly oppose them. When you performed your ritual, when you gained the knowledge of runes and the workings of the universe by sacrificing your eye. You could start perceiving them. You didn’t sacrifice enough to do it, but it was a close thing. You remembered your past lives, your past deaths. They usually suppress them, but they’re weakened, very weakened, in fact.”

He perked up at that, “How?”

“It’s a bit of a complicated story. When I say that this is the best time to free you of them, I wasn’t kidding. They have lost most of their raw power, and now the only trump card they had, which is their Seer. The path to the future has been blocked, and now, they are blind. They couldn’t even stop you from remembering your past lives. And that’s all because of your blockhead of a son.”

“Thor?” he exclaimed, surprised.

I chuckled, “Yes, but not this one. The previous one. I was barely more than a thousand years old when he crashed to Midgard, having sacrificed both his eyes for knowledge. You had died, by then, at Fenrir’s hand and he was alone, fighting battles left and right, so he decided to go the same path you did. But, he sacrificed both his eyes and hung himself. He went further than you and saw everything, the past, and the future. He told me about them, your slavers, he told me about the origin of the cycle, that he planned on destroying them, but that wouldn’t be enough, but that it would weaken them. I promised him that I would help his future counterpart in freeing Asgard from its prison, and free you. He had planned on finding them, and temporarily blocking their connection to Ragnarök’s energy. He planned on sacrificing himself to destroy them. I don’t know what happened to him, but from I could gather, his gambit worked. And now, we have a chance to do this.”

For some reason, Odin actually looked proud, “Thor. He could be the greatest King of Asgard there ever was.”

I nodded, “He was. Rune King Thor almost stopped Ragnarök, the last time round. But he found no purpose from doing so. Asgard was in ruins, and almost everyone was dead. Instead, he did his best to make sure that his next iteration would have a better chance. And when this Thor finally understands his place in the universe, truly starts to see the depth of his power, when he is deemed worthy, then his power will return to him.”

“And yet you refuse to have him fight Entropy.”

“If it was Rune King Thor, then I would have accepted in a heartbeat. The only issue will be that while Thor will regain his true power, his original power, he will not have his knowledge and skills. He will grow by himself, as a man and as a king. Don’t deny it, we both know that imprisoning Hela in Nifleheim is weakening you greatly. You will not live past a century.”

He looked sad for a minute, “She’s my daughter. I couldn’t kill her.”

I shrugged, “It is your prerogative. But please make sure that Thor is ready when you do. I will deal with Hela when she escapes, but Asgard’s affairs will be your son’s business.”

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“Thank you.”

I snorted, “I’m trying to imagine the moment you regained your memories and realized that Hela was your daughter in this iteration.”

He snorted, “I will admit that I didn’t take it well. I might have been somewhat distant with her. When I remembered, I chose to stop the bloodshed. She did not take it well, and as you remember, she wasn’t exactly stable when you fought her.”

“I will still say that using your own life force to imprison her was a terrible idea.”

He looked severe at the implied accusation, “What I do with my family is not your concern.”

I shrugged, “Fine. Although, speaking of family, I want to speak about your youngest son.”

The All Father sat down, defeated, “I tried my best. I might have been distant with him, but I was never cruel, I never made him do something he didn’t want to, and Frigga adores the boy. Even I have grown quite fond of him. I should have seen the betrayal coming.”

“You have to take into consideration how much of it was his doing and how much of it was due to the Shadows' manipulations. I know for a fact that he wasn’t in his right mind when he invaded Midgard.”

He suddenly jerked towards me, “What are you speaking of? Loki is trained against all types of mind magics.”

“Well, during Midgard’s invasion, he was holding a scepter that had the Mind Stone in it, although he didn’t seem to know what it was. I entered his mind, briefly, he was under a very complex compulsion. He wasn’t fully controlled, but the scepter kept bringing out the worst in him. All his insecurities, his darkness, his pain and suffering, always in the front of his mind. He wasn’t in his right mind. In the previous mess, you have to admit that Loki almost killing his brother like that, for the throne was a very simple minded scheme that you would have seen through in a second after you woke up. It wasn’t the work of the God of Mischief. You’ll need to be careful with him until we deal with your slavers, but don’t blame him for everything. In a twisted way he wanted to make you proud, to see that he is worthy of being a king as well. The Shadows used that and twisted him into the man that he is now.”

Odin started thinking about it for a few seconds before nodding, “I’ll keep him in the dungeons until the Shadows are dealt with. He can be very dangerous, especially if his mental faculties are impaired. I don’t think Frigga will mind either. I’ll make a special cell just for him, so that she could visit him whenever she wants to.”

I nodded, “That seems to be the safest option so far.”

He then straightened up, “So, what can we do about the Shadows, so far? When do we attack?”

“Do you agree then, to my deal?”

He nodded, “Yes, I do. Asgard will help you against the cosmic entity and stopping the Mad Titan. In exchange, you will help free Asgard from the Shadows’ control and will give up your supervision of Midgard. I have been meaning to ask you, why did you give up Midgard so readily? You knew that I would agree just for the promise of Asgard’s freedom.”

I gave him a complicated look, “I'm old enough to know that a longer life isn't always a better one. In the end you just get tired. Tired of the struggle, tired of losing everyone that matters to you, tired of watching everything turn to dust. For the first time in their history, humanity is finally starting to grow up and see their place in the universe. With that comes their independence. So, after spending so much time protecting this little planet from itself, I’m retiring. If they think they can sit on the adult table, then they will. I’m washing my hands of them. And since Midgard is technically under your supervision, then you’re the one I’m leaving it to. Do with it what you wish. When I’m done with Entropy, I’ll probably go to a paradise planet or something, relax for a few centuries at the very least. I have a feeling I’ll need it.”

“I can understand the attractiveness of a vacation. I have been thinking of doing the same with Thor. The only thing that stopped me is that I’d be leaving him to the Shadows’ mercy, and he isn’t ready for that. For now, let’s start planning on freeing Asgard.”

I nodded, “First things first, we cannot attack whenever we wish. We do not have access to the realm, and even the Space Stone cannot send us anywhere, if we don’t its location. There’s only one time when their location is vulnerable and that’s during the convergence.”

The King of Asgard’s eyes widened in realization, “Use the breaches to attack them. And without their Seers they wouldn’t be able to see it coming.”

“Yes, and we cannot fight them on even ground in their realm. Weakened as they might be with Thor’s blow, they’re still mighty in their territory. We’ll need a weapon, something that would sever their realm from the world tree completely. We could use the space stone to power it. It should work properly. We’ll also need Nidavellir’s help in forging the weapon. And the moment we can locate them, the moment they least expect it, we use the weapon, removing their realm from the universe, locking them away in the void with practically no energy left, where they will starve and weaken until they fade from existence.”

Odin looked very interested in this, “I can see a few flaws, but the convergence isn’t due for almost a year now. We’ll have time to iron out the details. For now, let’s celebrate this occasion with a feast.”

I stifled a groan; I usually didn’t mind celebrations, but Asgardians can get pretty rowdy at times, especially during feasts. I just enter Odin’s mind with his permission and lock the conversation we had away, so that the Shadows won’t we be able to access it.

I then sigh and prepare myself for the long evening ahead of me.

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