bookpower Chapter 95: Festivities in Asgard
Chapter 95: Festivities in Asgard
third person p.o.v.
palace of valaskjalf, training yard
"wow~ look at this..." darcy exclaims in amazement as she circles the strange phenomenon.
"i never thought something like that was possible..." jane adds, not taking her eyes off the thing.
"magic..." eidolon deadpans.
everyone is looking with different levels of amazement at the tree-like object in the middle of the yard.
but it is not a tree, it's frozen lightning! the lighting is encased in ice, and the electricity that spreads around is also frozen, like branches.
that was the result of the clash between the mjolnir and the leviathan axe.
'as expected of something from the god of war universe...' hector thinks, some items that he gained are a little above his weight class, because they are external helpers. the mjolnir is a really strong weapon, he is surprised that the leviathan axe is on the same level. he is not the only one...
"it's impressive that your weapon can go toe-to-toe with the mjolnir, rare are the ones that can do the same." fandral comments, observant.
"like the allfather spear, gungnir." volstagg adds
"those inscriptions look familiar, almost like dwarvish runes." lady sif says as she looks at the axe in eidolon's hand.
"so you noticed... i acquired this one in the nine realms of another universe." eidolon lies in an even voice as he raises his hand to show the axe.
that's his cover story about his powers and items in case anyone asks. that and saying that he made them. but the leviathan axe is above his skills to make, and it's not like those people care about it.
the most important thing that he needs to hide is the existence of the gacha. power manipulation and multiverse travel are secondary after that...
he also has that theory that maybe he is simply playing in a new game+, and his original self already traveled around the omniverse and got everything he is gaining through the gacha the hard way. but this will only be proved when he reaches the peak.
"another universe?" sif asks curiously
"wait! the multiverse theory is real??" jane interrupts, her voice filled with shock.
"yes and yes." eidolon answers calmly "this one..." he shows the axe "... it is the leviathan axe made by the dwarves from there. things are different there... thor is fat and has red hair, odin is a control freak, and lady sif is blonde. this axe by the way belonged to loki's father, that is his mother there." he tells pieces of god of war lore to them.
they asked a little more about it, but he answered vaguely. hiding the part that sif and thor are married in the god of war universe, he is wise enough to not touch this subject.
"so you can travel to other universes?" jane asks, it seems that is the one thing that interests her the most.
"where did you think i trained?" eidolon turns to her "martial arts, science, magic... in the multiverse, there are infinite possibilities and infinite things to learn. i learned all i could before i donned my mantle. i didn't start being a hero at a whim."
"respect." darcy fistbumps his chest.
"but how did you travel? do you make a portal? do you have a specific power to that?" jane seems really interested.
well, to be fair, any scientist would be interested.
"all of those are possible." eidolon continues with vague answers
jane keeps pestering him and he gives the basics of the multiverse situation.
"some words, the parallel ones are not that different... sometimes only a small change, others derail a lot. remember that those are the parallel ones. certain universes are completely different from the beginning... like one where the inhabitants are pizza or another where only energy exists." eidolon points to thor's hammer. "the mjolnir, for example, siphons energy from another dimension filled with thunder."
"really?" jane looks interestedly at the hammer "like a gateway to the energies there?"
"i always thought the power came from the hammer itself." darcy comments
"i remember my father telling me about it." thor adds he doesn't seem to care that much, to be honest.
eidolon addresses jane "i will not go as far to say that there's no 'infinite energy'... but is a little naive to think that hammer would have it. the other dimension on the other hand... well, almost infinite, or at least close enough to not make any difference." the hero shrugs his shoulders "some metas also siphon their powers from other dimensions... like the hulk with gamma radiation." 'or cloak and dagger...'
"makes sense..." jane nods "if dr. banner had as much radiation as the hulk emits normally but hidden in some part of his body he would die."
"it's kinda cool." darcy says
eidolon chuckles remembering some interesting curiosities "i recently met a meta that is connected with the ice cream dimension. she can make any type of ice cream..." he says, but his tone is strange.
"now this is a power i would like to have." darcy points
now eidolon can't contain his laughter.
"what?" everyone looks confused
"it's just that... she... emits the ice cream through the... normal human exit." he facepalms
"hm?"
"..."
"..."
"...."
realization slowly downs on them.
"you're lying..." jane accuses, she doesn't want to believe it. she doesn't even want to say it out loud.
"she shits ice cream?!?" darcy doesn't have her problem and shouts with her mouth agape.
"yep... haha, 100% edible ice cream." he adds
"gross." they show different levels of disgust.
"did you ever try it eidolon?" darcy teases him
"heck no, but i saw someone trying it and he said and i quote 'the best fucking ice cream that he ever had'."
jane's face scrunched even more while the guys started laughing. after the gross part, you can only laugh.
"i bet she would be the dream girl to certain guys with that... shitty fetish." darcy comments with a funny face
eidolon has to agree 'soft serve is probably the product of some writer not-that-well-disguised fetish.' he thinks, remembering how weird this world is.
after they joke a little more thor finally says "the festivities are about to start..." he looks at the three midgardians "why don't you three change your clothes in something more... asgardian?" he suggests
"no. i'm good, thank you." eidolon shoots down the idea immediately
"why not?" lady sif asks "you would wear well our garbs." she gives him a look from top to bottom.
"...thanks, but my answer remains the same."
"you are not even gonna take off your mask?" she asks she hasn't commented till now, but is a little weird that he kept it all this time.
"that would destroy the point of wearing one to begin, right?"
"we are between friends here." thor says
"yes, i know that. any asgardians here would not care about my secret identity. ms. lewis and dr. foster here also can't recognize me anyway..." he concedes on this part "buuuut... what if someone searches their memories for my face and finds my secret identity? or did someone use some power like clairvoyance to check here while i'm now wearing it?" but he does not accept it in the end.
it's not that big deal and asgard looks like an okay place to go around without the mask, disconnected enough from earth. but the batman on him would not allow that.
"you're kinda of a paranoid guy, you know that?" darcy looks at him strangely
"i've been told that." he deadpans "if i show my face, i would need to erase your guys' memories... and then it would be meaningless, right?"
"hm." darcy appears to be thinking about that... even if only for a second, maybe is worth it...
"anyway, i bet you two would be lovely in asgardian clothes, better go choose a good one." he changes the subjects flawlessly
"and then we can go eat at the feast!" volstagg speaks loudly while rubbing his huge belly
"ice cream?" darcy asks mischievously, making everyone's faces change a little. volstagg suddenly lost a little of his appetite. but they laughed afterward.
"ice cream will never be the same to me again..." jane sighs while glaring at eidolon. "certain things are better not knowing..."
"c'mon, dr. foster... how can you say that? you are a scientist." he teases, making them laugh.
they start leaving the training yard, only to come face to face with a certain someone who is just arriving... balder.
"balder!" thor greets his brother with his usual enthusiasm. lady sif, volstagg and fandral also do the same.
but there's a little problem...
"..." they noticed the situation suddenly became a little awkward
the last time eidolon and balder met, they left on bad terms, so a certain unsettling silence reigns when the two look at each other.
but eidolon is not just anyone... he is the enemy of awkwardness, and he likes to confront those situations head-on.
"hello balder, do you still resent me for what i said last time?" he asks, going straight to the point.
"....."
everyone's eyes widen a little. some would call eidolon tactless, but he couldn't be bothered with drama right now. if balder doesn't want to be his friend or even if he doesn't want to talk with him, he prefers to know beforehand. this way he can blend in the background and let the others talk normally.
"i'm not one to keep resentment." balder answers in his strong voice and truthfully. despite being at odds, eidolon has to concede that balder is a good guy overall.
"you should learn to keep some, it can prevent you from being hurt in the future." eidolon advises
"..."
"about what i said... i will not apologize for it. i still stand behind my words." eidolon puts the cards on the table. he really wants to solve this now "but maybe i was too harsh in how i said it, so it's okay if you don't want to have anything to do it me." he still hasn't apologized.
"i'm not that childish." balder says while narrowing his eyes.
his words make eidolon smile. there's a hidden shot in balder's words, and he found it funny. balder can be sassy too. "so i am childish, huh? hehe. maybe i'm a baby to your standards but i am not the one being led by the nose by my first crush."
everyone is wincing a little, it seems history is repeating itself, but eidolon stops it before it escalates...
"whatever, you long-lived people can see things differently. try to fix her for all i care." he can't say much about that part, he is the 'i can fix her guy', what bothers him is how he allows himself to be manipulated "i will just repeat the advice i gave loki... do whatever you want, but try not get hurt or hurt the people that genuinely loves you." with those last words, eidolon walks away "thor, you promised to show me the library!"
............
"whoa!" it's unclear which of the two midgardian women exclaimed, maybe the two. the library of valaskjalf is like everything else in the palace, big and fancy.
books that fill shelves so high that they would be able to block some buildings' view back on earth. and it goes till where the sight can see.
"so, what i can't read?" eidolon asks calmly while looking around
"hm, nothing here is prohibited." thor says while thinking, a small frown on his face "i think if something is prohibited, it would be on my father's personal study."
the hero gives him a look and smiles so clearly that is possible to see even with the mask.
"well, if you excuse me then..." then he takes off, zooming away, leaving only a black blur that stretches around the library.
eidolon starts reading at super-speeds, opening books, going through the pages and even stopping to watch some magic books that create visions and other effects.
all of this happens at incredible speeds, jane and darcy can only see the blur and the after-images flickering, it's like he is everywhere reading.
"i so wish i had this power too." jane bemoans.nôv(el)b\\jnn
..............
now it's night on asgard, and a huge banquet is happening in commemoration of both the convergence and the re-establishment of the peace in the nine realms.
"c'mon, eidolon! drink! drink!" volstagg has his arm around eidolon's shoulders while trying to pressure him to have a taste of the fine mead from asgard.
'i bet my mother would never imagine that the pressure to use drugs would come from nordic gods...' hector deadpans
"i don't think is a good idea... i can't underestimate your guys' alcohol after all." he says diplomatically
"you're goddamn right!" volstagg shouts and laughs together with others
eidolon eventually concedes and with a shrug, downs the whole tankard in a gulp.
"ooooooooooooohhhhhhh~" the vikings go crazy.
*bam* he slams the cup on the table and says in an even voice, not affected by the alcohol "again."
the vikings go crazy again and another aesir fills his cup.
he acts unaffected because he is really not affected. he is using one of his powers to store the alcohol in an extra stomach, the alcohol will stay there harmless till he pours it out.
hector already doesn't like drinking and he will never lower his guard, for many reasons, but especially because he is keeping an eye on jane and darcy.
there are many more people here than expected, or maybe he should have expected it... he even met other brothers of thor too, briefly greeting them. once again he remembers how many obscure characters exist... tyr, hermod, vidar, vali, bragi, honir... he was able to gauge their personalities, and a part of one or two that were arrogant, they are not evil.
there is another, ullr, who is a mysterious guy that he didn't meet.
he also knows about aldriff, or angela, because of his meta-knowledge. funny how the only one that he remembers is the one that is not here and few people know of her existence.
'should i throw the bomb? say that i saw in another universe? and there's a high chance is similar here?' he ponders but in the end, decides against it.
one thing at a time. he doesn't even remember about her arc... she only knows of angela/aldriff because he thought that she was pretty cool and clicked on her page on the wiki.
"..." eidolon turns to her, to have a good look at her face "what a pity... i would love to make you fall for me." instead of answering her question, he suddenly sighs and says those words.
"what??"
"nothing, just thinking that thor is a lucky guy... and met you first." he chuckles 'now that i think about it, childhood friends always lose, huh' "even when you like him, you want to see him happy... even if it is not with you. you're a nice woman, lady sif. very caring, i'm a little surprised. i thought you would be more haughty, serious, cold, no-nonsense, and unapproachable..."
she doesn't know if he is complimenting or insulting her, but she finds it funny nonetheless and is a little flattered.
"hmpf. i thought something similar of you." she scoffs, smiling a little
"is that so?"
"obviously, do you even look at the mirror?" she looks at him in disbelief "you have all this aura of a dark warrior. cold, silent, dark, expressionless, scary... looking at everything like it's a threat." she explains with a playful smile "but you are all caring and thoughtful. i saw how you treated that assistant woman, and everyone else. even right now, when you are thinking about our possible future... any other man would jump at the chance of sharing a bed with me, and here you are... thinking about a hypothetical relationship between me and thor in the future, and how this night can impact that."
"..."
"you are a soft-hearted man!" sif says with an expression of almost disbelief like she just discovered a secret and is teasing him about it. poking him with her elbow and all that, but she gets a little more serious and compliments him "my eye for people is quite good..." she smiles beautifully at him.
"..." he sighs again "you are really making it difficult to maintain my ideals, woman." he exaggeratedly acts sad for not giving in to her advances. it's another way of complimenting her.
the two laugh a little before he explains himself with a shrug.
"you are not that wrong about the scary part... back in midgard, i have a reputation for being scary, but only to the criminals. it's a good deterrent, you know, here there's no need to put up on airs to intimidate everyone."
"i see... and i can understand the principle behind it." she nods. even the allfather keeps a stoic visage, she has no doubts that his presence and appearance are enough to strike fear in the hearts of many dissidents.
"i was inspired by a quote back in midgard 'a devil make itself beautiful to deceive others, and an angel make itself scary to ward away evil'. to me, having a scary reputation and giving bad first impressions is a small price to pay to prevent bad things from happening."
sif stares at him and nods to herself "i'm really not wrong about you." she praises him again and he accepts it with a polite chuckle.
after seconds of comfortable silence, eidolon answers the question he ignored before "i don't know..."
"what?"
"about if they will last..." eidolon looks at jane and thor "i don't know." he repeats himself.
"..."
"i can't tell you how to deal with this sad situation, you are in a bad spot. loving someone who is already in a relationship is always painful. i will also not counsel you on how to act. people are different, some would not like being the second option even if the two don't last. some would gladly wait for them to break up..."
"..."
"my only advice is to think about them the less possible." he stares into her eyes deeply "don't let your happiness depend on other people, lady sif. it's out of your hands how their relationship will go or end. and i know that you are not going try to separate them just to have thor for yourself."
"i would never do that." she says immediately. she is not like that. lady sif is a woman with a great sense of justice, she would never do something uncouth like that.
"i know. so i can only say to you to leave the future to the future. be happy with yourself... who knows? maybe you will find another love, maybe they will break up when you less expect, or maybe you will discover that you are happier alone." he says while shrugging. "you are more than a maiden that loves thor, right? you are a strong and honorable woman. beautiful and with a good personality. are you gonna sit and wait for an unsure future or are you gonna do another something that you enjoy?"
eidolon believes that people should search for self-improvement, and this is not only about constantly improving or becoming the better version of themselves. it's also about being happy with yourself.
and if you are not happy with yourself, try to become a version of yourself that would make you happy. without depending on other people... when someone can do that... they will become really strong.
lady sif was a little moved by his words. yes, she is more than those feelings of jealousy and sadness that she is having because of thor.
"... are you sure that you don't want to come to my room?" she asks in a half-joking tone, raising an inquiring eyebrow.
that made eidolon audibly laugh "please don't tempt me more. i"m almost folding." he begs in an equally playful tone.
the two share a moment, making jokes and laughing together on that balcony. the two can't deny that more than once the mood shifted to something a little more than a talk between friends.
but with the better understanding that they have of each other, none of the two act on that and they had a good and free talk.
"...then the guy punched me with his new super-strength and broke his hand." eidolon tells a story of one of his captures, making sif laugh "and then i took him to the hospital."
"pffft! hahahahaha!" she throws her head back and laughs loudly "he was all cocky with his new strength and still needs to be tended by his enemy!"
"hm, he was not my enemy..." eidolon says "he was just going down a bad path and i stopped him. i hope he calms down and can do better."
"..." once again sif was a little impressed with eidolon's way of seeing life "you are a nice guy, eidolon."
"damn, i went from almost sleeping with you to 'nice guy' in less than an hour... what a downgrade." he says in an exaggerated sad tone.
"is that a midgardian joke?" she tilts her head, not catching the reference
"yes, and a pretty funny one. a pity that you didn't understand." he chuckles.
"maybe i should visit midgard again, i saw that a lot changed." she comments, curious about the world from where eidolon came from, and thor visits so much.
"i bet you would like it... the good parts at least." eidolon nods "i can show you around. or as eidolon or maybe i can disguise myself if you want to have a normal experience."
"disguise? can't you simply remove your attire?" he looks at his hero suit.
"hmm, complicated... people can still trace you and find out about my real appearance." he says
his words make sif pause "can i see your face, eidolon?" she asks seriously "i promise that i will not tell anyone."
"...like i said, someone can see your memories." he denies
"no one will look into my memories if no one knows that you showed me your face."
"that's... a solid argument." he thinks about it. and as "eidolon", his facial features are a little different from "hector's" anyway.
he thinks about it a little more... he is lightyears away, no one would know... should he try? if leaks, it will be a small leak he can control. it can even be a good experiment.
maybe he can make a civilian persona that looks more like "eidolon" to be bait when he goes back to earth... and is not like he gonna tell her his name.
he remembers that episode of justice league where luthor switched bodies with the flash and checked his secret identity only to say "who is this?"
"fine, come here." he agrees and goes behind a pillar that will hide them from the party below. not that anyone is paying attention to them.
lady sif was surprised by his acceptance, she asked just to ask. she still finds the mask a little weird, she wants to give a face to her friend in her mind. but she would respect his decision.
"don't be disappointed." after they are hidden from view, eidolon turns around and his masks slowly recede from his face.
like he said, there's nothing much. no beard or scars, just some moles close to his mouth and eyes. the lower part of a face doesn't reveal much anyway, but seeing everything finally shows how handsome he is.
everything is in the perfect place that it should be, it's harmonious, almost perfect. even as hector, some things are hidden, like his eyebrows and eyes.
now lady sif is seeing him at full glory, after many powers and assimilations that made him flawless.
"oh..." her eyes widen and she releases a soft sound "you are very... *ahem* very handsome eidolon." her voice squeaked a little and she needed to clear her throat to continue.
"thank you. my mother and grandmother always said the same." he jokes, making her laugh. his small smile mesmerized her a little.
she pauses again, debating with herself, hesitating... but lady sif is no coward. she steps forward, raises her chin, and says
"eidolon... give me a kiss."
"what?" he recoils a little in surprise.
"just a kiss. we become friends today and i feel that it will last for a long time, hopefully, as long as we live. to remember this day, to remember this night... kiss me. i swear that we will stop with it." she says strongly, her blue eyes on his and she walks closer.
"..." 'well, a kiss is nothing much...'
to him, a kiss is not that big deal. he kissed some other ladies in the one piece world, beyond yamato and hiyori. ladies he didn't make anything official. ladies that he liked enough for a kiss, that he liked enough to be willing to carry that memory for the rest of his life.
lady sif pass the requisites.
after making up his mind, there's no hesitation on his part. he pulls her by the waist and neck and kiss. sif was surprised for only a brief second before she started reciprocating, kissing him was surprisingly super good to her. it ends up being not as brief as they expected, but brief nonetheless.
it was like an explosion of passion where the two use that small time frame to satiate whatever lust they have for each other. they feel each other bodies, mashing them together, eidolon even grabs a handful of her toned ass.
after things start getting a little too heated, they stop.
"well... friends?" he raises his hand, as always tackling the awkwardness headfront.
"yes, friends." sif laughs and takes his hand
after another bout of laughter, they disengage even more and sif decides to say goodbye.
"i'm not gonna try anything anymore... i don't want you to think i'm a desperate or easy woman." she starts walking away with an easy smile and a little bounce on her steps.
"i would never think that of you." he shakes his head "good night, lady sif."
"good night? i'm still gonna drink!" she turns back to say, almost outraged "it's your fault, you sobered me up!" she accuses playfully
he shakes his head again while smiling, a smile that disappears because his mask covers half of his face again.
"and here i thought that you are more like an amazon. you are a viking through and through." with that, they say their goodbyes.
eidolon watches her go all the way till she disappears from his sight. lady sif is not wearing her armor or a dress, she is wearing something that hector can swear he saw some female characters wear in the witcher game. a loose blouse and tight pants made of leather of some unknown animal.
now that he is seeing from this angle, he can see how nicely those pants hug her figure. amazons always have incredible lower bodies...
only after she disappears from his vision, his calm expression disappears... he almost cries.
"i turned down a hot amazon." he covers his mouth,
he is half proud of himself for his self-control and half sad for fumbling the woman who is really his type. and she is nice too... at this moment, the two would be shaking this palace together, but no...
"i disappointed all my nerd brothers." he looks at the ceiling "but you guys understand from where i came from, right?" he pleads for forgiveness.
he playfully clutches his chest, like he is in great pain.
"gacha... hurry! give me xena or wonder woman next so that i can soothe my aching heart!"
.............
alfheim
alfheim is the real of the light elves. it is considered the most peaceful of the nine realms, its inhabitants are friendly and live happily in this realm that is close to yggdrasil. nothing lacks here, and the light elves had few conflicts with other realms and races through the years.
maybe because this race is very diverse already, being composed of many tribes like the sea elves, moon elves, cat elves, and so on. the light elves in general really live up to the good stereotypes given to them.
but right now, this realm is not peaceful at all. the dark elves are ruthless and suddenly invade the unprepared alfheim, seizing the capital ljosalfgard.
"you are not getting away with it, malekith." a relatively young-looking woman stares at the darl elf leader with extreme displeasure in her eyes.
even this mild-mannered light elf, the quen aelsa got angry ebcause of his actions. she looks young despite being older than even thor, her features are as one would expect. of an elf, pointy ears, white skin, and white hair. her body is slim and graceful, but she doesn't appear ashamed of that, because her dress is very tight.
"i don't plan on getting away from anything." the dark elf answers with a haughty face "when i'm done, i will fear nothing! no retribution or consequences will reach me."
"you delusional man! i will enjoy watching you fail and we will celebrate years for years to come." she taunts
"why so? i was hoping that you would ally yourself with me..." malekith says with a small mocking smile.
"in your dreams. you are really a delusional man, i pity the people who follow you.
to her words, malekith's smiles turn mysterious. right at that moment a hand shoots from behind aelsa and grabs her head.
the queen of the light elves opens her mouth and widens her eyes in surprise, but no sound comes to her. her eyes shine with strange colors before she faints and falls limply on the ground.
"it's done?" malekith looks at the fallen queen without pity in his eyes
"yes, don't forget your part of the deal." the person that suddenly attacked malekith reveals herself, it's a beautiful woman.
"a promise of mine is worth gold. when we attack asgard, we will free your sister amora." malekith answers dismissively
"i will trust you." lorelei answers, but her eyes narrow while she pays attention to malekith's every move. this alliance was not born from trust, only interest "when she wakes up, you will be able to command her." lorelei finally stops looking at him to look at the sleeping aelsa.
"excellent, then we should prepare the ceremony." the dark elf says emotionless.
"..." lorelei only looks at him with impassive eyes. thinking that malekith is really a scum.
he will take the queen of the light elves hostage and force them to be the spearhead in attacking asgard. his two enemies kill each other first. but obviously, she doesn't care.
"when are you gonna start your plan?" she asks, curious
"the earlier the better. so after amassing those disgusting light elves troops... we will attack tomorrow."
............
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