Chapter 73: The Second Beginning

Unknown Place

Unknown Date, Unknown Time

–

"And finally, from the 'sacred gear' section, I want the Annihilation Maker."

Dr. Nord said with finality. In his humble opinion, the use of the Annihilation Maker show in the novel was a very poor one.

"Oh! I see what you are doing there."

Mr. Morten said to Dr. Nord. He had read Dr. Nord's life on his 'file' and knew of the man's passion about the micro world and its micro monsters. Now he really wanted to see what the man that had a huge positive karma for saving billions of lives would do with the 'know how' of his past profession and the supernatural ability to create monsters from his imagination. Dr. Nord smiled at the man. He was not bothered at all at having his combo being discovered.

"You are aware that since you had not chosen the timeline for you to be born, you will be sent to a time where no one was owning the Annihilation Maker, right?"

Mr. Morten asked Dr. Nordm who nodded his head in confirmation.

"Yes, Mr. Morten, I am aware."

Dr. Nord replied to the manager.

"And that because of this choice, you will be, at least, half-human?"

Mr. Morten asked again to Dr. Nord.

"Yes, Mr. Morten, I am aware of that too."

Dr. Nord replied.

"Good, then let me just note everything down on the contract."

Mr. Morten said and started to write down on the paper that he had printed before. After noting everything down on it, he then passed it to Dr. Nord.

"Please, revise everything written on it, and if you agree with it, sign at the designated place on the bottom of the page."

Mr. Morten said to Dr. Nord, who took the paper and started to read it. Some minutes later, Dr. Nord saw that everything was as they had discussed and then took the pen that Mr. Morten had offered before and signed on the designated place. After that, Mr. Morten signed as the 'contracted' part. He then took the signed contract and deposited it in a box that read 'OUT' on it. The contract disappeared as soon as Mr. Morten let it go inside the box.

"And that's done. Now come on, follow me. I'll show you off to your next journey."

Mr. Morten said and stood up from his chair, walking to the door of his office. Dr. Nord stood too and followed after him. The duo walked through all the desks where the attendants were attending the other dead people until they arrived at a section of the room that had various red doors with a plaque that read 'EXIT ONLY'. Dr. Nord noticed that all the red doors had no locks on them, and while they were walking to the place, he had seen a person walk to the door and just touch it for it to open and then pass through it. Mr. Morten then walked to the side where there was a door that had a lock on it. It was an electronic lock that would only open for the right card.

"Here it is, the dorr that will take you to your next life."

Mr. Morten said to Dr. Nord, who stood there, just looking at the red door.

"Any questions before we send you off?"

Mr. Morten asked Dr. Nord, who then woke up from his daydream.

"Actually, yes. How much can I change?"

Dr. Nord asked while turning to look at Mr. Morten's face.

"Anything. The Universes that we disponibilize, as you have been told before, are not the original ones. Meaning that you can do anything that you want there. Of course, you will end here when you eventually die again and you will have to pay for it, like any other soul."

Mr. Morten replied to Dr. Nord, who nodded his head in understanding. Mr. Morten then took his hand and picked a card from an internal pocket of his suit and was going to swipe it before Dr. Nord spoke again.

"One last question?"

Mr. Morten looked at Dr. Nord and nodded his head in agreement.

"How was CURE received in my old world?"

Dr. Nord asked Mr. Morten.

"Well, your stunt of linking your vital signs to the release mekanism in the cloud was very successful. Five minutes after your heartbeat stopped, all the surveillance footage of your death was released to every kind of press in your world and to the general public too together with the instructions of how to find the CURE stashes that you had hidden. Initially, the government tried to stop the spreading of the information and recover the stashes first, but it was too late. As soon as the first stash was found, CURE entered the person's body and started to do its work: maintain, reproduce and spread. In three months, CURE had spread through all the globe. It caused a lot of panic initially because it behaved like a virus. But then, people who were sick for all their lives started to heal, and no more new cases of diseases were seen in the hospitals. With those results, you were hailed as a hero by everyone. The people responsible for your death were, basically, dead men breathing. They couldn't step on the sun without being recognized by the people. The pharmaceutical company that ordered your hit went bankrupt. But they were only the first ones. Pharmaceutical companies all around the world that lived on producing medicines closed their doors because there were no more diseases to cure. The ones that survived were those that produced things to treat physical wounds. With the health situation taken care of, the planet would soon enter in a new development phase, having its resources being allocated to new places. Your CURE basically started a new era for the planet, a new golden age."

Mr. Morten replied to Dr. Nord, who had listened to all with a smile on his face. Mr. Morten then swiped his card on the electronic lock and a 'beep' sound was heard with a led light on the lock going from red to the green color. He then opened the door to Dr. Nord, who was looking at it with curiosity. Inside the door nothing could be seen. It was all completely white. Dr. Nord approached it and stood by the entrance while still looking at it with curiosity. Seeing this, a mischievous glint passed by Mr. Morten eyes.

"Be careful from where you step~"

Mr. Morten warned Dr. Nord, who looked at the ground where he was stepping.

"Wha-"

He tried to said, but was then shoved through the door's entrance by Mr. Morten, disappearing in the white inside of it. Mr. Morten was smiling mischievously as he closed the red door again, with the led light on lock going from green to the red color signaling its locked state again.

"Good luck, Doctor."

Mr. Morten said in a low voice while looking at the locked red door. He then turned and walked back to his office.

–

Village without a name, north of Scotland

October 31st, 982, 04:42 PM

–

A man was walking from side to side nervously in the lounge of a wood house. In the adjacent room, his wife was giving birth to their first born.

"Calm down, Agnar."

A tough looking man said to the one who was paving nervously, now identified as Agnar.

"How can I become calm right now, Bjorn? You are only telling me this because you never had a child."

Agnar said to the rough looking man, now identified as Bjorn, who chuckled at him.

"Not that I know at least…"

Bjorn commented. That had helped Agnar take his head out of his woman in the adjacent room.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Both men had heard the female yell. It had come from the adjacent room. Agnar was looking at the door with a face full of concern for his wife and unborn child.

"UEHHHH, UEHHH!"

Both men were now hearing a child cloud cry. Agnar's concern was instantly washed away from his face, and he now sported a wide smile on it. Bjorn laughed loudly at that and walked to Agnar. He then clapped a hand on Agnar's shoulder and squeezed it.

"Congratulations, Agnar!"

Bjorn said to Agnar, who smiled even wider at that.

"Thank you, brother."

Agnar said back, smiling like a loon. As the two brothers-in-arms were having a moment, the door to the adjacent room was opened, making both men look at it. From inside, came a dignified looking woman who had stormy gray eyes and white hair. She was wearing a deep purple robe and had a sword attached to her waist.

"Congratulations, Agnar, you are a father."

The woman said to Agnar. Her expression was unreadable. Agnar looked at the woman right in her eyes.

"By your expression, I assume that my child is a boy."

Agnar said.

"Indeed he is."

The woman said and walked out of the house without saying anything more.

"Brother, your mother is scary."

Bjorn commented after the woman exited the house. Agnar let out a sigh.

*sigh*

"Valkyrie Gondul was never my mother. She was always my half-sister's mother."

Agnar said, with some sadness in his voice. At the beginning, he was angry. He had developed hate for her mother, but after growing up and witnessing some stuff, he learned why she acted differently with him than with her sister. It all came to his sex. As a male, he was not a Valkyrie. He would live longer than normal mortals because of the blood that ran in his veins, but not that longer than a mortal. His half-sister, because she was born a female from a Valkyrie, was a Valkyrie too. She inherited all their mother's gifts and would live a very long life. His mother didn't want to attach herself emotionally to him. She had seen friends almost go crazy as they watched their sons wither with the actions of time, and she didn't want that for her. Because of that, he had to pay the price.

Valkyrie Gondul had reached to him when she discovered that he was going to be a father, she was expecting a granddaughter, and offered to take care of his wife during the labor. Now that the child was born, and since it was not the granddaughter that she was expecting, she was gone. Agnar let out another sigh when he felt Bjorn's hand squeezing his shoulder again.

*sigh*

Agnar then, cautiously, walked inside the adjacent room. There, laying on the bed, was the tired sight of his wife. She was holding a small bundle in her arms and was smiling gently at it. She looked up from the small bundle, at Agnar.

"Come, husband. Come and meet our son."

She said to Agnar, who then walked to her side. Agnar looked at the bundle and inside it, he saw his son. He had stormy gray eyes, like his, and an orange-reddish tuft of hair on his head, like his mother. Agnar was smiling widely at his son, who was looking around with eyes full of curiosity.

"What will we name him, Agnar?"

Agnar's wife asked her husband.

"I was thinking of Erik."

Agnar replied to his wife.

"Erik, son of Agnar and Aria. I like it. Erik it is."

The woman, now identified as Aria, said while looking at her baby, Erik.

"Is Valkyrie Gondur already gone?"

Aria asked Agnar without taking her eyes out of her baby.

"Yes."

Agnar replied to his wife.

"And it will probably be the last time that we see her. That is, if we don't have any other child."

Agnar commented, letting out in his voice a bit of his discontent for the Valkyrie. Aria sighed at that. She knew that her husband and his mother had a complicated relationship, but she had never seen it until now. Suddenly, Erik started to cry and the fired clay jug that was by the bedside exploded in dust, spreading water over it and the ground. Agnar and Aria looked at the place that used to contain the fired clay jug of water with shocked faces. Then, Aria's face morphed to one of glee. Her son had the same gift of magic that she had.

"There, there, my little wizard."

Aria softly said to baby Erik. She then took a breast out of her robe and put its nipple on Eriks mouth. The baby immediately stopped crying and glomped on the nipple and started to suck the motherly nourishment out of it. Aria was looking tenderly at her son while he drank her milk.

"Drink it up, my little wizard. Drink it up so you can grow up and be as strong as your father and mother."

She said sweetly to the baby in her arms. Agnar, who was still smiling like a loon, just prayed in his head. Prayed that he could stay a little more with his son. He, as a nordic warrior, was very prone to go to battle, and he knew that not always they could return home. He just wanted time to at least teach his son how to hold a sword.

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