You are... Astrid!?

The night was particularly dark tonight, the clouds were blocking the moon and the stars.

English garrison had assembled outside the forest quietly, archers to the front ready for the orders to fire. Firewood was burning in front of them. Lighting up the arrowheads would increase lethality.

It would've been impossible to aim in this darkness, but igniting the first arrowhead would help them trace its trajectory and correct the next few shots.

"ARCHERS... LOOSE!!", and so they did, at the general location of their enemies.

Like a rain of fire falling from the sky, sound hundreds of arrowheads through the wind, the melody of death was sung louder than the cheers and laughter of unsuspecting Scots.

Many fell, some didn't even realize how they died before their souls already departed to the next world.

Hearing the cries to death, the English archers nodded in satisfaction, then quietly prepared the second arrow.

However, just at this moment, a gust of cold wind carried a whisper, "####", in some foreign language, almost inaudible, making them doubt, yet anyone present here clearly heard it as they looked at each other in confusion.

Then the fire went out. What little light illuminated the darkness was snuffed out.

It sent them into a panic.

"Witch! They have a witch."

"These heathens seek help from Devil worshippers..."

"This is a witch's work."

But as the commander of the garrison, one valued by the king, Valence was not incompetent, "Formation! GATHER UP MEN! Knights... Foot soldiers! CHARGE!!", he quickly issued the commands.

But it was already too late. They not only underestimated the enemy but had insufficient information.

A few knights further back, "Knieheehe!!", were torn apart together with their horses, "Aahhhh!", cries of agony sounded throughout the field as blood rained on those ready to charge.

Valence looked back in shock, and along with the sound of an object through the wind, what greeted him made him unable to hold on to his horse. He fell off heavily, quite disgracefully.

He cursed, "DAMNATION!!", and turned to look at what dare smash into him, only to keep staring at it wide-eyed. No words could come out of his mouth.

It was a man, one of his soldiers that he surely recognized. The man was still... somewhat alive, even as both his legs and half his torso were gone, guts spilling out as he tried to use his hands desperately struggling to stow them in. But his actions only slowed down over time, and eventually, the last spark of life left his eyes.

It was no battle, but a massacre was happening.

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.

Prince Edward II led hundreds of knights under the dragon banner, from small villages to big towns, and none who lived in the territory belonging to Bruce or his subordinates were spared.

Men were slaughtered, along with children too young, and those who could walk, and all the women were violated, played with, and killed. Simply inhumane.

This was something beyond what could be described with the word, "cruelty". However, we must remember that at the end of the day, it is only human beings who can be truly inhuman.

Thankfully, it did not last long.

After the fiasco with Valence, and under the careful guidance from Astrid, Bruce finally understood the implications of English raising the dragon banner, and decided to do things differently from his standard attitude of chivalry.

Astrid and Bruce set up an ambush in a forest, completely defeating the inexperienced prince with his army.

This time like before, no mercy was shown. Astrid completely ignored Bruce's plea to capture them alive for negotiations, and after slaughtering the English army, she took her anger out on the prince, making him beg for death, which was not granted.

In the end, he was kept alive with a spell that tied his soul to the lump of flesh that was left, and sent home with a teleportation spell to deliver a message to his father - To prepare for war. Queen Astrid of Himinnheim declares war on him and everything he represents.

King usually wouldn't take it seriously and send a legion or two to deal with the situation. However, this time, the person who delivered the message to him was his son.

Both his ears were cut off, half his face was burnt off, along with the limbs that were chopped off. Only a dozen or so swords that had impaled him were now also holding him up.

The whole thing looked like a piece of art, grotesque yet creative.

After the prince finished delivering the message, his body started squirming as rodents tore through his insides and ran out.

This was the first time the king regretted persecuting witches in his kingdom. Now he had no way to deal with this situation and could only watch. If he had listened to the Church's suggestions, then maybe now his hair could be saved from this sorcery.

But alas, time could not turn back, and regrets could not be made up.

What happened after was obvious. The furious King Edward led his army with all his might to hunt down Queen Astrid, and destroy her kingdom.

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.

Scotland 1305

In this world, only one branch of Christianity existed. However, clergy in different regions of the world were in charge of the Churches of their own regions, and they were quite competitive.

Despite that, they all recognized the Pope as the supreme pontiff, or sovereign pontiff, the bishop of Rome, and the head of the worldwide Church.

Different clergy in charge in different regions of the world not only set a tight noose around their necks, but despite the ever-present rivalry, their common faith kept them more centralized, thus easier to control.

So the disappearance or weakening of the Scottish Church was not in the best interest of Himinnheim.

This was why, in the beginning, Kol looked the other way from what Astrid was doing in Europe.

However, completely destroying the English would mean unpredictable consequences for the flow of history. This was not something that Kol wished to see.

After all, this was still 1305. The room of adventures was still being developed by Qetsiyah, and Kol had not yet gone to the Marvel universe to acquire Temporal energy and Kolforce. He could not see through time.

So naturally, he did not allow Astrid to continue any further, ordering her to stop, then deploying enough manpower and resources to resurrect people important to history who had died because of Astrid, and then compelling them to continue on to their lives to play their roles effectively, with a few changes here and there.

Now, from Astrid's perspective.

She was over 300 years old and powerful enough to play with the world at her fingertips. Astrid rarely ever had to compromise, and even if so, only temporary before always getting her way. She never had to worry about consequences, or things she couldn't control, because they didn't exist.

Now all of a sudden the situation developed in this way and she was told that the thing she most wanted ever in her life could not be achieved because of variables she could not control.

Astrid and Kol did not yet have children. It is not that much of a stretch to consider that Astrid would perhaps develop some maternal feelings for that girl, and getting revenge for her was Astrid's way of honoring her memory.

Without revenge, she wouldn't be able to close that chapter of her life and move on.

So it wasn't that she didn't understand, but despite that, she chose to prevent Kol from putting things back on the right track for history, or in this case, the future.

From Kol's perspective.

Their love for each other never diminished, but despite that, they were growing more and more estranged over the years. He knew why, yet still avoided amending it.

Sometimes, fear of apparent implications is more difficult to overcome than the real scenario.

Kol only looked at Astrid's behavior and didn't even try to understand why.

The clear blue sky was suddenly covered in dark clouds as thunder and lightning brought the promise of the end of times.

Along with the shower of rain that drenched everyone present, a booming voice full of majesty and endless anger sounded, "ENOUGH!! STOP IT, THIS INSTANT! LEST I TAKE BACK ALL YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN AND SMITE YOU IN ETERNAL DARKNESS!!", it sounded like the voice of the world itself, but most people present here recognized it clearly.

It was the voice of their king, their God, Kol Mikaelson.

However, at this moment, Astrid only felt endless shame and anger, but most of all, betrayal.

This situation was like this - Your mother nurtured you for nine months in her belly, and your father took you to watch games. After all those years of financial, moral, and emotional support, along with the fact that they brought you to this world if they suddenly told you that none of it was real, that you were nothing but a tool, an investment, how would you feel?

Because that's what it feels like if this is what you're told after being with each other for nearly three centuries.

That's what Astrid felt.

"Have been given!?", Astrid decided that from this moment onwards, she'd choose her own path. She'd accept none of the things that have been given.

She decided to forsake everything and go out on a journey to seek strength. She wanted to defeat Kol and make him take back his words and apologize to her.

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England 1510

'Polaris Scintilla' was called the first royal restaurant of England.

This term restaurant is derived from the French word, "restaurer", which literally means, 'restore to a former state'.

The food served here was the best in the world, and could only be described by the word, 'heavenly'. The ingredients came from all over the world and were somehow kept fresh, and most of the dishes were never even heard of before.

But this mysterious, magical restaurant that seemed to have come out of a fairytale wasn't run by fairies, but a ruthless woman.

If rumors were to be believed, she was a close relative of the royal family. People rarely saw her, but the rumors circulating around her still terrified the masses.

One time, one of the customers, a governor got particularly curious. So he sent his guards inside the restricted area to investigate.

But they came back and reported that they found nothing unusual. When they went back home, these guards who were trusted by the governor murdered him and his whole family, then killed themselves.

This was clearly the work of witchcraft, yet no investigation was conducted and the whole thing was soon forgotten like it never happened.

There were many such unexplained deaths that happened around Polaris Scintilla, yet it was undeniable that it was one of the most famous places in all of Europe.

Not only was it quite expensive for even the wealthiest of people, but in fact, even commoners could dine here. It didn't matter if they didn't have the gold. They just needed to offer their most valuable of possessions, something sentimental with an interesting history. If the lady inside approved, then they could get a table here and dine without restrictions, as long as they could eat.

"Your majesty, it's the King. A messenger has announced his coming here.", a waitress lightly informed the woman sitting on the only occupied table by the window.

On the table were not dishes as one would expect, but various objects, some clearly of value, but others insignificant little things.

The beautiful brunette was holding a bronze pendant in her hand and her eyes were closed.

After the waiter's reminder, she opened her eyes, which were completely black, pupil, iris, and sclera, as black as night, purest of darkness.

But the darkness slowly faded, replaced by human eyes with glowy green iris.

This woman looked at the pendant in her hand. It was made of bronze, not really valuable, but she possessed the power of Time and could therefore view this object's history.

"Yes, this is it.", the woman spoke to herself. The history of this object was enough to satisfy her. Either she gained some useful information through it, or she was entertained by its story.

She waved her hand at the waiter, "This pendant. I'm quite satisfied. Put it away and invite the owner.".

It wasn't just the meal. No matter how good the food was, most people wouldn't want to part with their most valuable possessions just for that.

If you paid for it in gold, then you could only eat and go. But if you offered something that was approved, you could ask her for a favor. One favor, one wish, no matter what it was, it could be granted depending on how satisfied she was.

The woman continued, "I know he's coming. I've been expecting him. Bring him Genie's blood cocktail, and some wine for me. This talk is long overdue.".

A man soon walked in. He had shoulder-length black hair and shiny purple eyes.

He came in and stood across the table where the woman was sitting. The two observed each other with scrutiny.

The man exclaimed, "Are you... Astrid!?", he seemed confused, completely clueless, "This... how could it be? You changed... your body!".

Astrid replied, "It's just skin... Sit down. We have a lot to talk about.".

Kol had no idea what was happening. He hesitated, trying to find the right words, but then he just sat down, deciding to let her talk.

Astrid took a sip of wine and asked, "You returned for more than half a century, what took you so long to find me?".

Kol appreciated the taste of Genie's blood cocktail and relaxed, "Well, I knew I made a folly, you're usually quite reluctant to letting go resentment. It may take a century, or a few, I just had to be prepared.".

"I don't get angry anymore... Over the years I realized it's a waste of time, a flaw in character, and an indication of a weak mind.", Astrid replied calmly.

Kol nodded, he understood, "And we both know how you despise vulnerabilities.".

Then he took a sip of his cocktail, and continued, "I've always found you so irresistible when you're angry... anyway, what's going on with this new look?".

"After you left, I used the room of adventures... and went on to my own little adventure. Naturally, not without aim.", she replied.

Kol shook his glass and savored another sip, "After coming back I went to see my siblings. Nik was going to release his curse, but the doppelganger escaped and turned herself into a vampire.".

Astrid raised an eyebrow, "Escaped?", and gave him a suspicious look, as if asking if he had something to do with it.

To this, Kol denied it, "I had nothing to do with it. I even made him a gift to make him stronger after the curse breaks, and promised to tell him when and where the next doppelganger would be born.".

"A gift that took you 50 years to make?", Astrid asked suspiciously.

To this, Kol replied proudly, "It's a spell to merge his wolf form with the wolf, Fenris I found during my travels. But it's useless unless the curse is lifted.".

When he was in the Marvel world, Kol visited the ruins of Asgard and procured the corpse of Fenris. Then after coming home, he researched a spell especially designed for Niklaus to empower his wolf form by merging it with Fenris.

After seeing Kol's proud expression, Astrid knew he was definitely not lying. He could only get like that around her. Even after so many years, they were still soulmates, and that was the eternal truth.

But even still, Astrid decided to burst his bubble, "I have devoured the Titan of Time, and the God of Heaven, Thunder, and Lightning. Both the king of Titans and the king of Gods.".

Kol was instantly speechless, "How!?", he was content with creating a spell that took 50 years, and she managed to do all that in such a short time? This... no wait, it doesn't make any sense.

Kol asked, "But you don't seem that strong. Which version of them did you devour?".

Astrid explained, "Naturally, I can't just devour such powerful being in one go. These things take time to complete.".

"How did you manage to pull it off? I can't think of anything...", Kol asked.

"The spell of life and soul concept.", Astrid replied.

Hearing this, Kol was surprised and started thinking about this possibility. It was a strong spell no doubt, but it had some serious limitations.

Astrid seemed to find amusement in how she managed to baffle Kol. She savored a sip of wine and waited for him to speak.

After much contemplation, he spoke, "That's impossible... no matter what attribute you add or what conditions you set, you can not absorb Kronos or Zeus. they are living beings, not to mention higher forms of life.".

"Yes, because a soul can not be an attribute of another soul, not to mention the souls of a Titan and a God.", Astrid spoke just exactly what Kol was thinking.

However, she continued, "But I didn't have to absorb them both, did I? Kronos could devour Gods.".

"Because he is a Titan. Even if you somehow managed to get some of Kronos abilities, you can't become a Titan.", Kol spoke.

"Oh, but I am becoming... not a Titan, nor a God... but something more... I can feel it. Even as we speak, I am evolving. It will only take a few centuries and I'll be stronger than what you currently are.", Astrid spoke.

"How? Don't just keep me waiting. Tell me.", Kol urged her.

And so Astrid explained, "I looked through all the worlds where travel was possible and chose the one labeled as 'wrath of the Titans', mostly because the power level here was highest, and the information available would make sure I wouldn't die as soon as I entered.",

"Now, I needed a plan, and for that, more information. But even with help from the witches, it was very difficult to stay concealed from the Gods. So I started searching for a way to get all the information I needed in one go.",

"This led me to a girl named, Io, cursed with eternal youth for rejecting a God's advances. She was a few centuries old. Not only did she have all the information I needed, but this body used to belong to her, only it was a lot less attractive because I drank the Elixir that reduced its age and brought it to its best physical fitness.".

[Images]

Astrid continued, "I made a deal with Io, getting her knowledge and body, then used my original body to go to the world labeled as, 'edge of tomorrow', and enhanced Io's body by giving it the power to control Time.",

"Then I used the spell of life and soul concept on myself and went back to 'wrath of the Titans'. With Io's body, I didn't need to worry about prying eyes.",

"I traveled the world, gathering allies and making enemies, ultimately found the sealed up Kronos, and did the spell of life and soul concept once again, but this time on him.",

"Remember, this spell can only be used once on one person, and once in one world. After I used it on Kronos, I managed to devour him.",

"I then used the newly gained powers to take the Divinity of a few Gods. Among them was Zeus. I merged with it.",

"I now have a gift for Siya for when she comes back. Hades' Divinity is just too suitable for her.".

"That is amazing...", Kol was indeed speechless for a while. He didn't even think of using this spell in this manner.

"What happened to your original body?", Kol asked after a short silence.

"It got destroyed in the process... I encountered a lot of resistance. It wasn't an easy task. If I didn't have my newly gained Time powers, It would've been impossible.", Astrid replied with melancholy in her voice.

Hearing this, Kol also went silent. She was clearly downplaying it. It must've been very difficult.

But soon Kol's eyes lit up as he thought of something, "Astrid, tell me something, do you have Hephaestus' Divinity?".

She replied, "I do indeed. I knew you might want it.", then she took out a ball of orange light from her bracelet that Kol only now just noticed, and pushed it inside Kol's chest.

At first, nothing happened, but soon Kol felt his power rising. It wasn't about which God was weak or which was stronger, but which Divinity was most suitable for him.

As soon as Astrid pushed Hephaestus' Divinity inside Kol's chest, it started merging with his soul. He could feel it. He was now infinitely close to breaking through to the next stage. Just one more death should do it.

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The next chapter is all about Astrid's adventures. By the way, the Gods were weakened in the movie series. It is clearly explained that they used to be universe-level existence.

So Astrid, who was only as strong as General Zod in her original body, was simply committing suicide if she wasn't careful.