Chapter 10

The memory playing before them faded away as it reached its end, leaving Ordria stunned at the sudden revelation. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a soft voice, tears trailing from her eyes as she looked at her husband, guilt forming in her as she stared at his bloodied form.

"Because you loved her" came the response as the chains wrapped around her vanished. "You told me how much you loved her and how she was like a mother to you" he continued after wiping the blood off his face with the back of his hand "And when I saw what she did for you, her willingness to be hated by you as long as you were alright, I couldn't let you hate her." He proceeded to squat and cup the water from one of the puddles made by Ordria's tantrum. Freezing the water, he placed the ice against his face, his eyes fluttering in relief as the cold touched his skin.

"I let you believe that I was the one who knocked you out and took you away. I would rather you hate me than hate someone who loved you that much" he sighed, only to be tackled to the floor by Ordria.

"You idiot" she sobbed; her hands wrapped around him in a tight hug, "Why didn't you tell me" she cried.

Unnerved by his parents display of heavy emotion, Ozymandias crept away with Synd, heading towards the area that his mom had designated for magic practice. It was roughly a mile away from where he practiced physical training, surrounded by enough trees that served as stationary targets for whatever spell he wanted to practice. Hanging from a few trees by ropes were several targets that swung with the wind. They were supposed to train him to hit moving stuff, but his mom said that he wouldn't use them until he had mastered the basics and raised his casting speed.

"Hey Synd you wanna see something cool?" Ozymandias asked as he watched Synd dart around and examine everything with childlike wonder.

"Sure!" she nodded enthusiastically, sitting down on the floor to witness whatever it was that her charge and in a sense her brother wanted to show her.

"Alright, prepare to be amazed" he told her as he pointed the index finger of his right hand at a sturdy looking tree four meters away. Blocking out everything in order to focus like he had been taught, he let his kjarna flow to the tip his finger while trying to rewrite the laws that governed their world in order to bring cast his spell. For three to four minutes, Synd watched in excitement, then boredom as Ozymandias just stood there and pointed.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to tease him, her hair suddenly stood up on end as a ball of blue electricity the size of her brother's head burst to life at the tip of his finger. Adjusting her position to give her a better view of what he was doing, she watched in awe as the ball collapsed on itself, until it was the size of a small pebble and had even taken on a red hue. Once it was complete, Ozymandias fired the crackling mass of lightning at the tree in front of him, wincing as the clap of thunder accompanied its release.

The bullet slammed into the tree, tearing through its two-meter thick trunk with ease, arcs of electricity scarring it with burns as the projectile drilled into the tree, dissipating before it could emerge from the tree. "That was amazing!" Synd yelled in awe as she looked at his finger before flying off to check the hole left in the tree, her purplish red eyes examining the smoking hole and scorch marks.

"Yeah" he halfheartedly answered while staring at his finger in disappointment, mentally berating himself at how long it took him to create and fire it. Thinking back to how fast the fight between his mother and the people from the Temple went, he knew that as he was now, he was nothing more than a burden.

"Can you teach me how to do it?" Synd's voice brought him out of his self-loathing thoughts. Looking at her pleading face which was highlighted by her miniature form, he pushed aside his thoughts.

"Sure" he agreed, only for her to suddenly throw her arms and wings around him, increasing her size to ensure that she could properly hug him. Due to him never interacting with anyone aside from his parents, he had absolutely no idea how to respond to her action, resulting in him standing there with a confused expression on his face.

"You can let go now" he gently peeled her arms off him, maintaining careful control over his strength in order to avoid hurting her. Free from the hug, he cleared his throat and began to explain how to perform magic he way his father did since it was easier to understand than his mom's explanation.

"First off you have to draw out your kjarna" he started, mentally nodding as he saw that Synd was just as confused as he was when he first heard the term. "Kjarna is the energy that flows through all living beings" he explained as his body began to release some sort of energy that distorted the air around him while causing him to give off an air of royalty. "Each person's kjarna feels different due to it being a combination of a person's personality and life experiences" the energy retreated back into his body.

"So how do I get mine" she asked as she stretched her wings, eager to try.

"First you have to close your eyes focus" he explained, watching as Synd closed her eyes, her face scrunched in concentration. "Clear your mind and look deep down inside yourself" his voice drifted away as she delved deeper into herself, losing all sense of direction and time as she floated in a dark void which was occupied by a giant gate that was covered with ornately carved shields.

"There's a giant gate here" she called out to her brother from the depths of her subconscious, her voice somehow reaching Ozymandias.

"That is normal" Ozymandias's voice assured. "All you have to do is open it"

"What do you mean open it?!" she called out as she floated towards the gate with uncertainty.

"You simply push it open" came the reply, his voice laced with frustration. "Behind the gate is your kjarna. All you have to do is open the gate and you get access to it. It's really simple"

"Fine," she mumbled under her breath as she grabbed the handle of the door and pulled cautiously. The doors swung open violently as the energy behind the gate surged forward in the form of a wave of water, forcing her back to reality as her kjarna filled the clearing and washed over Ozymandias. Synd's kjarna made him feel happy; that time he and his parents had a snowball fight, or the time when his mom had brought the flames in their fireplace to life in order to act out one of his favorite stories. Aside from that, she made him feel safe, like she was a sturdy pillar that would support him through the darkest of times.

"This feels amazing" she exclaimed, enjoying the feeling of power coursing through her body. "Do you feel like this all the time?" she asked, feeling like she could take on the world and come out on top.

"Every time" he confirmed, feeling proud that she was able to open her gate on the first try due to his excellent teaching. "Next is using your kjarna" he said, his voice snapping her out of whatever fantasy she was having. Walking over to a boulder in the clearing, he wrapped his arms around it as best as he could and squeezed. Synd watched in awe as cracks started to appear on the boulder. Encouraged by the look on Synd's face, he channeled more kjarna to his arms and continued to squeeze until he finally managed to break it to pieces.

"Teach me!!" Synd all but begged as she flew over from her perch to examine the remnants of the boulder.

"Sure" he agreed immediately, simply glad that he had someone his age to interact with, the fact that she had just been made a few hours ago was completely ignored. He had simply chalked it up to how children were made. He then began to explain how to channel kjarna in order to increase not only her physical strength as he had just done, but also how to use it to increase her speed and the sharpness of her senses.

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Tilting her head to the side to avoid the tip of the spear, Guðrun grabbed the shaft with her right hand and yanked it forward, pulling Skye along with it, the rings attached to the spear creating a din as they sounded against one another. Grabbing him by the collar with her left hand, she tore his spear out of his hand and threw it aside before hoisting him into the air. Seeing this as a chance to let out some of her anger, she slammed him to the ground; or would have if a hand didn't suddenly emerge from his torso and crash into her nose, breaking the soft cartilage.

Letting go of her quarry to clutch her broken nose, Guðrun watched through tear filled eyes as Sky emerged from Skye's body. "This is why I hate Eins" she thought as she shoved her nose back into place. For reasons unknown, identical siblings were regarded as one being by the world, resulting in them not only being able to experience what the other or others were experiencing, but also being able to merge together, allowing them to catch opponents off guard like they did her.

Growling in rage, she spread both her palms and let her kjarna flow unrestrained. Free of its restraints, her kjarna roared through her body, causing the temperature around her rapidly fall as her skin started to turn blue.

"That's enough lítill risi" Yfirprestur Torvald's called out, snapping her out of her rage. Turning to where his voice came from, she saw him at the edge of the field, his disheveled appearance along with the bags under his eyes causing worry to grow in her. Dropping to their knees with their faces to the ground, the trio waited in silence as Yfirprestur Torvald took slow and heavy steps towards them. "Rise" his tired voice commanded as he finally reached them.

Once they got to their feet, he spoke; "I have disturbing news" he said in a grave voice "But first, I want to introduce you to the reinforcements that I promised." With a wave of his hand, the space around them began to distort and fold on itself, depositing four hundred men and four hundred women a hundred meters above the field, filling the quiet field with screams of shock and fear. Those who were unable to recover from the disorientation that came with their first spatial travel in time slammed into the floor, reduced to paste.

Those who recovered in time but lacked the skills necessary slow their fall or survive the impact met the same fate as those who were unable to recover in time. There were some however, who were able to survive the fall by using spells, using their physical bodies or relying on their gjöfs to survive.

"Four hundred and thirty" Yfirprestur Torvald counted the survivors who were either digging themselves out of the craters they had formed with their bodies or undoing whatever they had done to survive the fall. "Still too many" he sighed "Still too weak"

"I thought I was only supposed to receive two hundred" Guðrun complained to Yfirprestur Torvald as she pulled a finger that belonged to one of the failures unable to survive the fall, ignoring the screams of pain and cries of those mourning their dead friends.

"You will receive the two hundred as promised lítill risi" he responded, collapsing the space around those who failed the test, putting those who were still alive but had failed, to death. The bodies then vanished as they were swallowed by space, transported to an unknown location.

"You are all here for one reason" he started, causing everyone to look at him. Before he could continue, he was interrupted by multiple screams of and the mournful cries of those who were staring at the corpses of their friends. Annoyed at the interruption, Yfirprestur Torvald looked through the crowd with cold gray eyes that showed complete disregard for human life. "Silence" he commanded, causing majority of the crowd to shut up. Those who refused to be quiet suddenly clutched their heads in pain as blood flowed down their nose and eyes. Seconds later they all dropped dead as their brains were forced against their skulls by a growing bubble of solidified space. The bodies were immediately swallowed by the space around them, taking them to an unknow location.

Seeing that everyone was silently looking at him with fear in their eyes, Yfirprestur Torvald continued "As you all know, we recently lost one of our own to a heathen." Hearing his words, Guðrun growled in anger as her hatred for Ordria grew. "Priestess Grid gave her life for what she believed in and has earned her place in Valhalla. It falls to us to not only avenge her, but to rid the world of a great evil." Multiple replicas of Ordria formed behind him, accurate to the smallest detail.

"This is Ordria Heiðnir Sigrarinn, the one responsible for the death of Priestess Grid" he explained, "And the reason that I have gathered all of you here. She is one of, if not the most dangerous person in the world."

"Are you joking!" a large muscular woman shouted as she pushed her way to the front of the crowd, an equally large man and woman that looked identical to her -her siblings- followed after her; the remnants of her team. Following after them were twenty other individuals, all of them furious over the loss of their teammates. "I and my teammates have been through Hel and back together and you killed them!!" she walked over to Yfirprestur Torvald and repeatedly poked his chest with her finger, forcing him to take a step back with each poke. "Now, what makes this Ordria woman worth the lives of not only my teammates, but also the lives of everyone you just killed?" She asked in anger "And once you tell us that, you're going to step down and appoint me as Yfirprestur, or else" she threatened, letting her kjarna run wild.

"What's your name?" Yfirprestur Torvald asked as he motioned for Guðrun to stand down, unbothered by the kjarna that emanated from the woman in front of him.

"Hildegard" she responded, a confident grin on her face as she thought that Yfirprestur Torvald was giving in to her demands.

"Are all of you of the same mind?" he asked the men and women that stood with Hildegard, "It's not too late to apologize. I'm a forgiving man after all" he said, giving them all a chance to change their mind. In a show of refusal, everyone took a step forward to intimidate him.

"I see. If this is how you all feel, then I will oblige you all" he said, taking a few steps back in order to create space between them. "Hildegarde asked a very good question but made a stupid demand" he said aloud for all to hear. Suddenly Hildegard screamed in pain as the finger she used to poke his chest suddenly exploded. Her teammates and the other individuals who came along with her rushed at Yfirprestur Torvald, their weapons drawn and murder in their eyes.

"They never learn" he sighed before causing their knees to explode, their screams causing the witnesses to be filled with fear. "You asked me to step down as Yfirprestur when this was the limit of your strength" he scolded as he cleanly separated her feet from the rest of her body with a blade of compressed space, forcing her to her knees. "It seems like you need to be taught your place" he smiled warmly at her the same way a grandfather would smile at their grandchild.

"Hildegard, it hurts" a female voice cried out, causing Hildegard to pale due to fear and blood loss. Turning her head, she saw blood drip down her sister's nose.

"Stop it!" she yelled at Yfirprestur Torvald who looked at her with the same loving expression.

"You need to learn. Every action has a consequence, and this is the consequence of yours" he lectured her in a tone similar to that of a grandparent lecturing a grandchild. With that, the head of Hildegard's sister and teammate suddenly exploded, spraying everyone apart from Yfirprestur Torvald with blood.

"Hilde!!" Hildegard and her brother cried out, their voices filled with pain and grief.

"Three thousand people applied for the title of Yfirprestur" Yfirprestur Torvald began, ignoring the cries of the people on the floor, popping another head as he talked. Squatting next to Hildegard who looked at him with anger, fear and grief, he flashed her a happy smile as he ruffled her hair lovingly. "Only half survived the first test" a scream of pain filled the air as Hildegard's brother began to bleed from his eyes, nose and ears as a ball of solidified space formed in his head and began to slowly expand. "The other half were killed by me. I earned the title of Yfirprestur and have kept it for the past sixty years. You wanting my position with this level of strength is nothing more than a joke"

"Now you're going to get up, get back in line and obey every order like a good girl. Do you understand?" he asked with a cheerful grin on his face as Hildegard's brother screamed and begged for the pain to stop.

"I understand! Please just don't take him away from me! Please, I beg you!" she cried, ignoring her wounds in order to kneel and press her forehead to the floor in a show of submission. Seeing that he had disciplined her, if not outrightly broken her spirit, Yfirprestur Torvald ruffled her hair happily and stood up, dissipating the orb growing in Hildegard's brother's head.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" he asked before motioning for someone to heal Hildegard. A Healer whose name he couldn't be bothered to remember rushed forward, picked up Hildegar's severed feet and knelt next to Hildegard. Placing the detached limbs on her stumps, the healer let her kjarna flow into Hildegard, reattaching the severed feet to the main body. Standing up, she placed her hand on Hildegard's brother and healed him as well before putting him to sleep with a spell. Just as she was about to heal the others, she heard Yfirprestur Torvald's voice telling her to stop. "Not them. Leave them to bleed. If they survive, then the gods still have use for them." Nodding in obedience, she retracted her hands and scurried back into the crowd at full speeds, unwilling to earn the Yfirprestur's wrath.

"Ordria Heiðnir Sigrarinn" he started, ignoring the bleeding people on the floor, "Is a menace that must be stopped at all costs. You have all been brought here in order to put an end to possibly the most dangerous creature on the planet. You have all been brought here to put an end to Ordria Heiðnir; The Bloody Star, The Monster of the Battlefield, The Beast of Hel"