Offer

Erik and Mia stood side by side with tense bodies watching Valeria with wary expressions. Her graceful descent, calm demeanor, and lack of immediate hostility left them unsettled. Why wasn't she attacking them directly? They had been expecting a fierce attack from behind when they engaged in the relentless assault from the mob. Yet here she was standing before them with calm air, while holding that pulsating black orb in her hand.

It didn't make sense because she is their enemy.

Erik's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. His body remained ready for action, but something about the way Valeria was behaving made him hesitate. It was as if she had no bad intentions at all, and that only made him more suspicious.

Mia glanced at Erik from the corner of her eye, feeling the same confusion. They couldn't let their guard down. This could be a trick and neither of them could afford to be caught off-guard again.

Valeria's cold gaze moved between them, her wings slowly folding behind her. "You don't need to worry," she said calmly. "There's no need to fight right now… unless you insist."

Her final words were sharp and delivered with a serious expression that left no room for misinterpretation. Erik and Mia understood instantly. She was offering them a choice: if they didn't attack, neither would she.

After a tense moment Erik and Mia exchanged a brief glance. The unspoken decision passed between them. They slowly lowered their weapons and easing the tension slightly from their stances. But their guard remained firmly in place. They can't just fully trust Valeria.

"What do you want?" Erik asked. His eyes narrowing as he watched her every move.

Valeria's lips curled into a small smile. "Good. Let's cut to the business. I'm here to offer you help."

Erik and Mia exchanged another quick glance, this time filled with suspicion.

"What help?" Mia asked. "And why do you think we need your help? You're the one who made this innocent people into mad mob, didn't you?"

"You think they're innocent?" Valeria replied. But then she waved her hand in dismissive manner. "That question don't matter right now. I will instead tell you this, If you don't need help, then perhaps your friend who's lying in Asgard's bed right now is the one who needs it?"

The moment the words left her lips, Erik and Mia's eyes widened.

Erik's entire body tensed and his jaw clenched so tightly it felt like it might snap, and he took an angry step forward, his hand twitching toward his sword. "How dare you bring Liam into this while he's suffering?!"

"Calm down now," Valeria said, her voice eerily steady. "I'm here to offer you help."

Mia's face flushed with rage now. She couldn't contain herself any longer.

"But you're the one who made him like that, you bitch!" she screamed, her eyes blazing with fury. Her voice echoed in the cold air. The memory of Liam lying pale and still on his bed in Asgard flashed through her mind, fueling her anger.

Valeria didn't flinch. She met Mia's enraged gaze with cold eyes. She understood their pain. Seeing one of their own – another warrior, a brother in arms – suffering due to Ragi's curse must have been agonizing. But to Valeria, it was all necessary. She had her reasons, and no amount of fury or grief from Erik or Mia would change that.

She had already spoken to Ragi about the cure for the curse, and she would give it to them if they wanted it. There was no more need for manipulation or deception. She was done with ploys. These young warriors were mere pawns, blindly following Asgard's dogma, and she was offering them a way out. A chance.

"Yes," Valeria said, her voice calm and measured. "He isn't dead, is he? That's because I wanted to give you two a chance. A chance to break free from Asgard's lies."

Mia's teeth ground together in frustration. "You don't know the truth," she spat. "What Asgard does is for the greater good!"

Valeria threw her head back and laughed, a cold, mocking sound that echoed down the narrow streets.

"Oh, yes, that old reasoning again. The greater good. I've heard it a thousand times and I'm sick of it." Her laughter faded as she fixed her icy gaze back on them. "Now, let's stop wasting time. Do you want to save your brother, or not?"

Her expression darkened as she took a step closer. "If you do, then join my forces. Leave behind your blind loyalty to Asgard and I will give you the cure."

Erik and Mia exchanged a glance, their minds racing. The offer was impossible to ignore, but the price...

Erik and Mia exchanged a long, silent look. The weight of the decision pressed down on both of them. They wanted nothing more than to see Liam cured. The image of their friend lying in pain with his body weakened by the curse, flashed through their minds. Thor, Sif, and the others hadn't found a cure yet, and who knew how long it would take? Days? Weeks? Could Liam even hold on that long?

And now, before them, stood Valeria—holding the answer to his suffering. But at what cost?

To accept it meant betraying Asgard, the realm they had sworn to protect, the gods they had trusted their lives with. Could they really turn their backs on everything they believed in?

Mia's heart pounded in her chest, torn between loyalty to Asgard and her desire to end Liam's torment. She glanced at Erik again then searching his face for some kind of answer. That's when she noticed it, the change in his expression. He was swallowing hard, his jaw tense, his eyes flickering with the weight of a terrible decision.

"Erik, don't tell me..." Mia's voice wavered, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Erik's face tightened as he met her gaze. "We don't have a choice," he said, his voice low and burdened with guilt. "You know Liam needs this. Every second he's feeling that pain. You heard it yourself before. He's suffering... every moment."

Mia clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. She felt the knot in her stomach twisted. She looked deeper into Erik's eyes, hoping that he would change his mind. But all she saw was the same conflict, the same grim resolve.

"Shit!" Mia cursed. "Fine, then," she muttered, her eyes burning with emotion. She couldn't let Liam suffer any longer, even if it meant crossing a line she had sworn never to cross.

Erik gave her a small nod, the tension in his shoulders easing only slightly. He turned to Valeria, his voice firm but laced with bitterness.

"Alright, Valeria. We'll do it. But you promise us the cure."

Valeria's lips curled into a soft and kind smile, not one of malice or triumph, but of understanding as if she saw the two of them finally free from the shackles she believed Asgard had placed on them.

"Of course," she said gently. "You have my word, young warriors."

For a moment, the cold wind was the only sound that filled the space between them, carrying with it the weight of their fateful decision.

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