Yggdrasil's Trial?

Vali who had just stepped through the doorway, could hear the crunch of leaves underneath his feet, wind whistling around him and the smell of wood overwhelming his surroundings. It seemed like he was in some kind of a forest, as that was all he could see.

As he kept his guard up and walked forward with caution, he expanded his senses looking for any living being in this place. He had to assume that the trial had already started, since he didn't find anyone 'receiving' him at the entrance.

He walked through the forest for hours, or maybe days as he felt his perception of time a little warped. Suddenly he had a feeling of déjà-vu, as if he had been in this forest before.

If he had to accurately describe what he felt, it would be 'home'. Not Asgard, it just felt like it was the place where he truly belonged. This sensation made him voluntarily relax his guard, but inwardly he was sweating as he fortified his mind.

He assumed that this was some sort of sorcery to catch people off-guard, so he kept up with the appearances of easing up. Just as he was about to back off from this place, he found himself in a completely different space.

It didn't seem like teleportation, as it felt like he was just pulled here through superior means. This space was white and hazy, as if he was in the clouds until he saw a jaw breaking sight. It was a huge tree that had no end, that he could see, in fact he could only see one side of its branch which signified that it was an Ash-tree.

He soon understood where he was, and what he was looking at. It was a projection of the world tree, Yggdrasil. As if to confirm his thoughts, he heard a dreamy voice in his surroundings speak, "Not bad, my child. Your thought process is interesting to say the least, but you should relax as you're in my world now. No one can harm you, little one."

Vali upon seeing that his mind was laid bare, tightened his grasp over his mindscape but found no intrusions. As if to answer his internal questions, the voice spoke calmly, "In my world, nothing can be hidden from my senses little one. I'm sure you'd have a chance to reach such a point in the future, as your eyes assure it."

"I am Yggdrasil, also known by different names, such as the World Tree, the Celestial Axis, the Tree of Life and a lot more. My roots pass through all the nine realms; ten in some realities, as I am the vital for the stability of every universe." said Yggdrasil, with its dreamy motherly tone.

Vali soon calmed down after realising that he had no other choice. He heard the line about his eyes, and when he questioned her, he received no response making it obvious that it was 'above his paygrade.'

As Vali was listening to the tree's introduction, tiny humanoid beings resembling fairies with insectoid wings came out of nowhere and started circling him. A few buzzed around his ears and he had the chance to take a closer look at them. They were light skinned and resembled elves, with obvious magical fluctuations around them.

"So they found you. They must have recognized your scent, as they rarely forget scents throughout their immortal lives. Since, it has come to this, I must welcome you back home as well, child!" spoke Yggdrasil in a slightly jovial tone.

Vali who had clear suspicion written on his face, pointed at himself exclaiming, "Who? Me? I don't really understand what you're on about!"

Before he could drone on, Yggdrasil replied with a mysterious tone in its voice, "Where do you think the other half of your soul was, when you were outside, lost drifting in the omniverse? I was the one who released your other half, when I foresaw your arrival."

"You were a tiny little irritable soul that stayed here for millions of years, without any intelligence. You would instinctively fight back against those little fairies, when they troubled you. But you stopped, when you realised that you couldn't harm them. Well, don't you remember anything about this place?" the dreamy voice continued, as it left Vali flabbergasted.

Vali who had come across these revelations was deep in his thoughts processing everything he had just heard. He didn't question the validity of those statements, as it had no reason to lie, but he still kept his guard up as usual. He suppressed his thoughts in the core of his mindscape, to prevent any of it from getting out.

He had always wondered how his other half was doing, and when he was born in this life, he wondered how he had arrived right on time when his other half was coming into existence. So, it made sense when the tree told him that a part of him lived here for a million years supposedly.

This also answered why he was feeling quite at home since he arrived here, when he was close to this place in the forest. As for his other half being annoyed by these fairies, it seemed more and more like him.

These tiny fairies seemed harmless, but their magical fluctuations said otherwise. They also seemed to constantly chatter with unintelligible voices, that sounded like rats squeaking. He could see himself going mad having to endure these 'flies' for a million years.

Just as he was about to ask the tree about something, a fairy beside his ear used some magic on him, which seemed to jolt his memories, as he froze in his spot. He could see memories of his other half, like a slide, and he saw himself getting cranky instinctively as soon as he saw those fairies.

Scenes flashed by as he saw a tiny ball, which was his soul floating away from these tiny beings. They only stopped when he intruded into the space of an abnormal fairy, which was completely different from them. It was silent and never bothered him, so he started living there.

Scenes changed, as he also saw his other-half resting, by going into a permanent slumber. As he was jolted back into reality, he felt fresh, and was stunned before he exclaimed, "What did these beings do?"

"They excel at magic, they cured the tiny tears in your soul, that wouldn't have healed any time soon. Hmm, their presence and magic also seemed to have jolted a few of your other memories." said Yggdrasil, after analyzing what had just happened.

He was surprised as he went through his memories attempting to find anything related to them, and he came back with nothing to show for it. He shook his head, and thought of the more important things now.

"When do we start the trial? I'd like to get it over with as soon as possible." asked Vali after composing himself.

After a period of silence, he heard the Yggdrasil say in a kind tone, "There is no trial for you, my child. I normally wouldn't give anyone a gift, as I'm a completely neutral being. But you're my child and I hope to help you on your journey, little one."

"I had already prepared a gift for you, meant for when your soul was whole again."

Vali, who was a cautious person, couldn't really accept something for free from such a higher existence. Though he wanted probe her reasons, he knew that he couldn't hide his surface thoughts from her in this place, greatly irking him.

"So, I form a deal with you? Or some other contract?" said Vali with tension clearly visible in his tone.

"A contract? Forming a contract with a being, that could possibly embody the law of Karma in the future? I might not be able to predict your future, but I can make assumptions based on what I've seen till now. Any being that signs a contract with you would be on the losing end, essentially allowing you to null all contracts when you reach a level close to mine." replied Yggdrasil with clear mockery in her tone.

"My gift to you, is with no strings attached, and to simply remind you that I once helped you on your journey. It's something you definitely would not refuse, once you know of its purpose." said Yggdrasil while inwardly having several thoughts.

'Getting on his good side this early on, would mean that I'm more or less safe, as I've known of his true form after taking care of his other half for so long. If I include the mark in his eye, and if it was given by who I think it was, he would have a chance to reach my level. If the futures I've seen are any indicators, there would be no loss by helping him out.' thought Yggdrasil while calmly going through her thoughts.

"It's called the seed of Yggdrasil. A seed with unlimited potential, a juvenile internal world that could grow a lot bigger than the universe itself. It will fix your lack of magic, which will allow you to draw magic from its source when it fuses with your soul."

"The internal world would also nourish your soul, making it grow stronger faster. It has a lot of other advantages that you wouldn't expect but I'd rather let you explore. Simply put it would make your father's odin-force seem miniscule."

What Yggdrasil didn't tell Vali was, extracting the seed from the itself would severely weaken it for a period of time. It was something that no sane being would do without benefits, especially beings at her level. But funnily enough, she was sure that Vali would recognize her loss in the future, and recompense her with a lot more.

"I'll leave you to your thoughts, as my presence seems to have made you suppress your thoughts on purpose. Let me know, once you're done processing everything I've just said." said Yggdrasil as her presence vanished, and Vali didn't have a reason to doubt her yet.

Vali who had kept his thoughts sealed, by only receiving whatever the tree said, was shocked by everything he heard. He processed everything he had just heard, and he knew that he had just hit the jackpot.

An internal world? That would be a vital component on his path to a higher level. It also raised him from a magical cripple, to a being with potentially unlimited magic. Other beings drew their magic from some sources in the form of dimensional energies, life force and some other forms. He wouldn't have to worry about all that, with the seed in his body.

Vali who had also heard about what she had said about contracts, was left flabbergasted. He knew that his future path would include karma, as all he could use now decently was the property of wrath. And even wrath couldn't be used to its full potential, because of the limit of his body.

He could also seed that the tree for some reason or the other, was extra good to him. He didn't know of the value of the 'seed' for cosmic beings like the tree, but he was sure that the tree was attempting to get on his good side, leaving him puzzled and annoyed at the unknowns.

He had always been pissed off deep in his mind, for being scammed by the strange being in the void, back when he was just a soul. The formless being had given him 3 sloppy wishes, starting with a perfect memory and complete knowledge of his previous life.

After he had built his mindscape, he had more than a perfect memory which allowed him to realise how big of a scam the deal was. And he was confident that he could've kept his memories or got them back on his own.

The second involved a supreme talent in the mind arts, which he could have already possibly had considering how well versed he was at it, even in his mortal life even though they didn't involve the supernatural. But he left those thoughts to the side, as that was just guessing.

As for the final wish, regarding the eye, by this point he was confident that it had nothing to do with that cheap bastard. It had to have been altered by someone else, or it mutated because of the completion of my soul, the later being what he hoped for. He had these thoughts before, but he knew that he wasn't strong enough to obtain credible answers.

The only reason that being wasn't put on his hitlist, was because of it sending him across the several places, to this universe. But even that based on what the tree said, was going to happen eventually.

Now that he knew that he could make that contract disappear, he felt a tiny portion of the burden in his soul, lifted for the first time since he was born. He had always been on the edge with everything he had to accomplish, and things like these made a huge difference.

**********************

[A.N]: OP upgrades incoming. Where TF is the trial? Guess only his brothers have to suffer lmao.

Hand over the power stones! NOW!

[ P@ treon.com/7rox ] or [ buymeacoffee.com/7rox ]

Won't be posting any advanced chapters there, though you can donate 3$ and buy me a cup of coffee for the time I've spent writing, if you're interested. Peace.