Prologue

Winter Solstice, December 21, 2022

It was a dreary and cold midnight in the forests north of Uppsala in Sweden. The frigid wind howled at the US Navy V-22 Osprey that flew above the trees.

There were 24 operators on board sourced from DEVGRU, more commonly known as SEAL Team Six.

The youngest of them was named Erik, who had served in the Marines for a few years before attempting BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/ SEAL) and graduating from Seal Qualification Training with distinction.

The red-haired 21-year-old Caucasian man was experiencing his first official mission after a month's break from the final Task Group Training that familiarized him with operating out of an Osprey.

Erik was a bit anxious and remained silent until one of the senior operators, Jester, called out to him over the noise of the engines and wind, jokingly saying, "Hey, Gamer, How are you liking Sweden?"

Another SEAL, Anchor, interjected the banter and said, "When we asked you what video games you played, you should've just said Call of Duty or something, instead of those nerdy games like Crusader Kings. We'll be calling you 'Gamer' for a long time."

The pair laughed at the new guy's expense, and Erik tolerated the bit of hazing until their team captain appeared from the cockpit.

Jester continued the banter and asked, "Cap, why the fuck are we in Sweden during the holidays? I can already hear my wife complaining, and I'm freezing my ass off."

Anchor commented, "Bad guys don't have schedules, Jester. But I agree we don't have much info to go on even after the briefing. So what gives, Cap?"

The other SEALs in the Osprey, including Erik, waited attentively for an answer, then the captain explained, "This mission is top-secret because the higher-ups don't know what we're really up against. Numerous civilians have been reported missing and dead around this region for almost a month now. The Swedish government had kept the lid on the issue, but they're scared shitless. They've already sent a small army worth of men deep in the forest, yet none of them have returned."

Jester interjected the captain and proudly stated, "So they got the best team to bring home the bacon!"

The other SEALs hollered in agreement as modern warriors themselves, but the Captain retorted by saying, "Our mission tonight is one of unknowns. We'll have computer and logistics support from the US Carrier Group in the Baltic Sea but be ready for anything."

It's been more than ten years since SEAL Team Six killed Osama Bin Laden, so it was natural for them to accept the opportunity to pursue their glory in battle.

Erik relaxed after feeling the camaraderie shared by everyone on his team but mentally prepared himself for whatever was to come.

-------

Half an hour later, the Osprey hovered over a clearing in the vast forest with enough space to allow the SEALs to exit the vehicle via rappel.

The Team Captain rallied the men and said, "Night vision on, and for god's sake, do not miss the rope."

Their only visibility in the pitch darkness was their equipment, but it was still up to the operator to utilize their kit effectively.

Erik instinctively double-checked his MK-16 SCAR Rifle was on safety before lining up to wait his turn to rappel down the Osprey.

It wasn't too difficult for Erik to perform the routine action, but rappelling with an 80-pound rucksack was typically challenging on its own.

The Joint Special Operations Command couldn't estimate the length of their mission accurately, so the team was equipped to spend a week gathering information on the missing Swedish soldiers.

The Captain waited for his men to successfully land on the ground before ordering, "Gamer, you'll be on point. The last known location of their forces should be two klicks due west of our LZ."

Erik had no qualms in accepting responsibility from his senior and professionally obliged by using hand signs to direct his compatriots.

Light noises of snapping twigs and crunching leaves echoed through the forest while Erik's team systematically made its way through the vegetation.

They had made good progress after forty minutes of traveling, yet there was no sign of any military forces in the surrounding area.

Erik kept his wits about him as he led the team and traversed the rough terrain, but then he suddenly heard soft unclear murmurs.

"Stop."

"Bad."

"Leave."

He immediately raised his hand and took a knee, resulting in all 24 SEALs doing the same, before Erik seriously asked through his comm systems, "Cap, do you hear anything?"

The team leader replied, "Only the wind. Tell me what you hear."

Erik honestly answered, "I hear a woman's whisper warning us from moving any closer to the target location."

Jester overheard the conversation on the radio and jokingly said, "Gamer, don't go chicken on us all of a sudden."

The operators shared a short chuckle, but not too loud to attract much attention, but Anchor disagreed and said, "I'm with Gamer on this one. I feel some very bad juju from this part of the forest."

Erik dutifully inquired, "What are your orders, Captain?"

The Captain ordered his men to hold while he contacted headquarters for a situation report. He procured the newly issued and upgraded 5G Field Radio and said, "This is Task Force Blue. Does anyone read me? Over."

It took a few seconds until he heard a reply, "HQ can read you, but the reception and quality are waning. Where's your team? We can't find it on any of our GPS systems. Over."

The Captain was dumbfounded as the weather wasn't too bad to affect coordinates, then he said, "My team is within a klick of our target. We've seen no signs of civilian or military presence in the area. Over."

A few moments later, the captain ordered his men, "HQ wants us to continue until we've found traces of any survivors. They'll send a Global Hawk to get some eyes on us, but it will take an hour or two."

Erik steeled himself and followed orders despite the cautionary whispers flowing through his mind.

They finally found Swedish military gear scattered near their last known location, but it was eerily empty, with not one person in sight.

The Captain ordered his team to take a knee while contacting HQ, but his every attempt at establishing communications had failed.

Special units within modern militaries train their soldiers to notice small environmental changes to gain an edge over their enemies.

Erik glimpsed branches moving and hand-signaled to notify his teammates of a potential combatant.

The young SEAL observed the target's unusual and seemingly unnatural movements as it steadily approached where the team was hiding and holding fire.

When it reached ten meters from Erik, it noticed the pack of operators and immediately charged at them with reckless abandon.

The Captain gave the authorization, then Erik instantly downed the assailant with a suppressed shot on the head.

Erik went ahead and identified the body while the rest of the team secured the area against any other suicidal individual hanging around in the forest.

Erik examined the body and noted the cult-like robe and the extremely old axe that the assailant wielded.

The Captain approached Erik and the body, then asked, "Did you find any clues to what the hell is going on here, Gamer?"

Erik carefully retrieved the axe from the ground and showed it to his captain and comrades. Upon closer inspection, they could clearly see elaborate engravings on its wooden hilt.

The Captain examined it for a moment before handing it back to Erik and saying, "Gamer, I remember you were at the top of your class in foreign studies. What can you make of these engravings?"

Erik carefully analyzed the hilt and said, "It's difficult to be sure looking through my night vision, but the styling should be Old Norse from the 8th Century. Why someone would attack us with it in the middle of the night, I don't know."

The Captain remained on one knee and told his men, "We can't contact HQ to update our sitrep because of weird interference. Protocol dictates that we reestablish communications first, but we've already encountered someone in this forest area and might be close to survivors. It has been 48 hours since the last Swedish detachment went missing, and we may be their last chance."

Erik confidently stated, "I'm with you, Captain."

Anchor nodded in agreement, and Jester added, "We all are."

----------

The deeper the team traveled the forest, the clearer the whispers Erik could hear in his mind.

"Death awaits you here."

Erik shook his head and calmed himself while taking point. They found more and more Swedish military gear and killed a handful of the rabid civilians armed with old weapons until reaching a wide clearing with a small earthen hill in the middle.

They moved closer to the hill, and Erik recognized its design, explaining, "It seems like a Viking Burial Mound, but I've never heard of any as big as this."

Anchor apprehensively said, "It would be great if we could go around the burial grounds, but whatever is happening in the forest might be connected to it."

The team was astounded to find a deep underground path when they entered the burial mound.

The complex tunnel branched out occasionally, but Erik and the team remained on the main path, not risking splitting up.

They traveled deeper and deeper into the tunnel system until hearing a man's voice chanting in an unfamiliar language.

Erik followed the voice with his comrades trailing him from behind until a bright light from the end of the hallway blinded him through the night vision goggles, like someone waving a flashlight in your face.

"Argh!" Erik closed his eyes in defense.

He immediately turned off his ENVG-B and warned by taking a knee and saying, "There's a light source down the path."

The Captain responded, "That's probably where the creepy voice is coming from. Were you hearing the same chanting from the forest earlier?"

Erik nodded and honestly answered, "No, it was a woman's voice I heard."

The young SEAL had succeded in selection and qualification because of his effective use of the five senses. Erik was much farther forward than his comrades and noticed the smell of Acetone or some other organic compound coming from the front.

Erik motioned to his gas mask, and the other operators behind trusted his judgment before wearing their own.

Anchor confirmed it was Chloroform floating in the air using a military-issue gas monitor from his rucksack.

While the captain was deliberating what their next move would be, the team heard violent screaming from a man and a woman as the chanting continued like normal.

All the SEALs suddenly realized the severity of their mission, much more than just a missing detachment and a few crazy LARPers running around the forest.

The Captain instantly got up on his feet and ordered, "Everyone, ditch your rucks and follow me!"

Erik and the team picked up their pace and moved much quicker than they had been since arriving at the forest an hour earlier.

They could slowly see a lit ornate burial hall at the end of the underground path as the pair of violent screaming persisted.

Erik was first to clearly identify close to a hundred people wearing various clothing lying unconscious in the open hall while a masked man used a knife in each hand to torture his victims as he chanted.

Erik and his comrades were sharp enough to assume the cultist had somehow gassed the Swedish military personnel, and he was performing a ritual.

The cultist leader noticed the incoming arrival of uninvited guests, finished the chant as he killed the two victims, and said, "I will not let you thwart me from achieving immortality! Stop them, my minions!"

Mindless people wearing cult attire began swarming the operators from the various pathways that led to the burial hall.

That statement was a good enough reason for the captain to authorize lethal force, then Erik showed no remorse for the cult leader as he shot a bullet straight through his mask.

The hall descended into chaos as a seemingly unending frenzy of cultists swung swords, spears, and axes toward the SEALs, though the operators held their ground in the middle of the hall.

The team was steadily winning the chaotic engagement until Erik noticed the unconscious bodies near the entrance began moving like the cultists and sprinted towards them like zombies.

"There had to be a reason for these peoples' mindlessness," Erick thought while eliminating cultists with his MK-16 and finding a way out of the situation.

The team was losing ground and ammunition, but they were doing alright considering the odds until more of the civilians awoke in delirium.

It only took a few minutes until half of their team had succumbed to the mindless mob, and the remaining SEALs were fighting for their lives.

After the grueling minutes of hearing his comrades die violent deaths, Erik finally recognized what seemed to be relics of the Old Gods of Norse Mythology seated at the center of the sacrifice dais.

The two relics were a common-looking Ash Tree branch and a magnificent dark age sword. Erik thought on his toes and dashed towards the podium to remove the relics from the pedestal.

He could hear Anchor, Jester, and The Captain attempting to hold the line. "Gamer is making a play; cover him!"

"You fuckin' bastards!"

"Come at me!"

Erik was halfway to the podium until he felt a searing pain in his mind.

"Argh! What the fuck?!"

In the modern world, most people categorize mysticism and magic to be parlor tricks and TV content like David Blaine.

No one in this world understood the effects of true evil mystic arts, but Erik understood one thing: he was the last hope for the team's survival.

He gritted his teeth as he fought the feeling of weakness and frailty with the resolve in his heart, slowly but surely closing the distance.

Six SEALs remained against dozens of newly converted thralls, and it didn't look pretty one bit.

Erik focused on his responsibility as he cried tears of blood from the evil mystical power forcing him away from the pedestal.

Soon, only Anchor, Jester, and The Captain were fighting against the thrall hoard to buy Erik time to stop the madness.

Erik fell to his knees from the pain and began crawling up the podium as he overheard the few remaining SEALs prepared to die to fulfill their mission.

He finally arrived at the foot of the pedestal and reached out to grab the sword with all his strength and resolve.

"Ahhhh!", Erik gripped the sword tightly in his right hand, then swung at the tree branch with pure might.

He wasn't sure if his actions would change the course of the battle. Instead, he trusted his instincts and destroyed the corrupted relic.

The underground system shook as an explosion of sound and light echoed throughout the burial hall.

The blast was so loud that people living in Stockholm and Oslo heard it in the middle of the night.

The following morning, a dozen helicopters from the US Navy Carrier Group arrived at the scene but only found the wreckage of the explosion.

------

Erik could not hear, see, nor use any of his five senses and felt like he was in the void of nothingness.

"I failed.", he thought to himself.

If he were dead, then so too were his comrades.

Before accepting his fate to live an eternity in darkness for his failure, Erik heard a woman amicably say, "On the contrary, child. You have saved the people from a terrifying curse. You ignored my warnings, yet you still lifted the curse in the face of adversity. I am truly grateful for what you have done and willing to reward your heroic deed in kind."

Erik wasn't too keen on remaining in the void forever and decided to entertain the woman's offer.

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