Will.

**Birger's POV**

As I woke up from my slumber I saw both Malum and Isaiah staring at me with shocked expressions.

"What? Don't tell me anything of my past. I do not remember nor do I want to. I became human and I will keep it that way."

I leaned against the couch to get more comfortable as they continued to stare at me. It was slightly uncomfortable seeing my two brothers stare at me with shock, sadness and fear. I placed my fingers on the bridge of my nose.

"I know God dammit. I don't remember shit but I damn well know it was bad. Just as Malum has changed so have I."

"Brother… what we saw was… pure evil." Malum said quietly. "It was co-"

"Stop." I said in a pleading tone. "That wasn't me. Not anymore."

I turned to Isaiah who flinched when I looked at him. "Fuck me, man! I fucking warned you! I bet Malum warned you as well before he showed you!"

"Yeah… it's hard to take it all in." Isiah said quietly.

"Well, you wanted to know." I sighed. "That's the reason I gave up everything. I was tired of the pain. Tired of the sadness. Just tired…"

Just then Malum's wife came down the stairs. She looked around for a moment before her eyes fell to Malum and softened. "Honey? The kids are waiting for you… go put them to sleep, okay?"

"Very well." Malum said as he stood up. "Isiah, do not read into it. Birger has done terrible things but he has already redeemed himself. I am still the God of Redemption, so I can tell you with certainty."

Isaiah nodded as Malum started to walk away to the stairs.

"Have fun with them, dear! I will speak with your guests while you're busy!" She said as she turned to us. We both stood up and stuck out our hands.

"Nice to meet you finally!" She said while looking at me. "You've done right by Malum. You're welcome here at any time!"

She shook our hands and we introduced ourselves before sitting down.

"Malum has said a lot about you, Birger. We dark elves have a lot of gratitude for you."

"Dark elves?" Isaiah asked.

"Yeah. The Darkin became dark elves along with their king- Malum." I said with a smile. "They forged a history with the Norse pantheon and created a realm for themselves."

"Does that mean Malum is a dark elf as well?" Isaiah asked.

Hollie responded this time. "Yes. When he ascended to godhood he became a dark elf, and as the king of our people we evolved with him."

Isaiah nodded.

"Isaiah?" I asked him in a tentative voice.

He grunted.

I sighed and slapped him on the back of his head. "You can ask questions, dumbass!"

Hollie laughed as Isaiah grimaced while he held the back of his head.

"That fuckin' hurt, man!" He said in an angry voice.

"Shut up! You fucking hurt my eyes!"

"What? When did I do that?"

"Literally every time I look at you."

"You fucker!"

"Yeah, I fucked your sister!"

"Okay, ew! I don't wanna know about that shit!"

The three of us laughed Before Isaiah sighed. He leaned back against the couch and pursed his lips.

"Are you human?"

"Yeah. Totally human."

"You have… powers or something?"

"Hmm… not powers per say… when you get old enough you can exert your will unto the universe. It's kind of like magic but way more difficult. It requires an understanding that goes beyond atoms or incantations or anything for that matter. Most gods can't even do it."

"Okay… So you ARE a human. You have powers that can rip through the fucking fabric of reality. And you're strong?"

"Pretty much. I have better senses as well. I can hear better, smell better, the whole shabang."

"Okay… so what's with the red eye?"

"It's… a gift."

"Your eye is a gift…" he said slowly. "Did you get it from Flora?"

I inhaled sharply at the mention. "I… did…"

Isaiah and Hollie leaned forward.

"Who was Flora, anyway?" Hollie asked.

"You let him name your daughter after her and you don't know who she is?" I said with a pointed stare.

She blushed suddenly at my remark. "Well… he did mention something about the two people who helped him out. He spoke a lot about you but not much about her."

I didn't want to talk about this at all. Flora was…

"Pure evil." I said quietly.

"What? Flora was?" Isaiah asked in a shocked tone while Hollie reared back.

"Yeah. I was completely fucking psychotic when I first met Malum… I remember bits and pieces from back then but not nearly close to everything… One of the main reasons I went into the Void was because I was slowly going insane. Turns out-"

"Flora was a deranged animal." Malum finished for me as we walked down the stairs.

"Yeah… she was also my first wife."

"Your first wife? What… happened to her?" Isaiah asked softly.

I looked down at my hands. God's what I would have done to fix this broken reality. She was a good wife until I realized it was all bullshit. She betrayed me. It still hurts whenever I think about it.

"I killed her." I said in a broken voice. "She was insane. I didn't understand the concept of love. This was a time before I met Malum. When she would whisper sweet nothings into my ear I would trust them. Why would she lie to me? I slowly fell into madness until I couldn't tell if it was me talking or the sickness I had inside of me."

"She… tried to control you?" Isaiah asked sadly.

I nodded.

"But… why?"

"I wanted to say it was because I was strong. But the reality was, I wasn't. I was weak. Sure I was strong physically, but psychologically? I was a complete wreck."

"So… that past you that we saw… it was her doing?"

"We split the blame fifty-fifty. She fooled me and I got fooled."

Just then there was a knock at the door and Malum stood to answer it.

*James must be back.* I thought.

I stood up and motioned for Isaiah to follow me. As we walked to the front door from the living room I heard whispered voices. One was obviously frantic while the other was calm.

*It's not James?* I questioned as I looked down at my watch that read ten thirty.

As we rounded the threshold of the living room and got a clear view of the door I paused. It was a male dark elf! Unlike Malum, dark elves don't have horns. They look similar to your stereotypical elf but with dark skin and white hair. This particular dark elf had hair so white it was shining like silver!

As we turned the corner Malum motioned me outside and held his hand up to stop Isaiah from following us. Malum and I stepped outside and he shut the door.

"My king! We've not the time! Please!" The dark elf whispered in a frantic tone.

Malum sighed before turning to me. "Gild is saying that the frost giants are attacking our kingdom."

"Haah? Frost giants? You guys had a peace treaty with them!" I turned to look a the dark elf, Gild. "What did you guys do? They wouldn't attack without provocation!"

Gild sneered as he turned to look at me. "Human? You've no idea of our plane! Stay out of this you disgusting thing!"

Malum reached his hand up to grasp the top of Gild's head before yanking down hard enough to slam his head into the porch which broke on impact. It created a hole large enough for the dark elf to fall into. "You… you… dare?" Malum shook with rage. "You speak to my brother as if he was below you?"

Gild crawled out of the hole slowly with a broken arm and shattered skull. He was bleeding and it looked like his right eye was shattered. Despite the injuries he still stood back up with his head bowed.

"You will live without your arm and eye for the rest of your life. That is my verdict." He leaned down and placed his face inches away from Gild's. "You will not speak of my guests."

I shuddered. "Remind me not to make you angry."

He sighed. "This fool had it coming! I leave for five decades and they think they know everything! Open the portal."

"You leaving? Want me to tell Hollie?"

He sighed again. "If you would… She will be upset with me."

"No worries, man. I'll let her know." I patted his back. "Come back safe. Oh! And I would appreciate it if you would tell Ymir I said hi!"

"I don't understand why you even like that fool but I will."

He stepped through the portal and I turned around as the door opened.

"Birger? Where did Malum go?" Hollie asked.

"He had to take care of something." I said softly.

"Yes, he tends to do that a lot." Hollie said. Her tone was laced with anger. "He asked you to tell me, huh?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, he'll be back soon."

Just then Isaiah stepped behind her. "Are we leaving? I had another question, if you don't mind."

"What is it?" I turned to him as Hollie stepped out of the doorway.

"You said you could exert your will unto the universe? Could you not do that before you became human? What exactly made you become human in the first place?"

I laughed through my nose and motioned for him to come outside while Hollie was at the door. "Lovely to meet you, Hollie! Take care of Malum, won't you?"

She nodded with a smile and closed it. I turned to Isaiah as it started to rain. The smell mixed with the asphalt of the street.

"Well… the fact that I can do such things like Willing should be impossible as a human. Willing is the act of forcing your will unto the universe as previously mentioned, however," I stuck my finger up. "It isn't just difficult. It requires a strong will, more than just strength. As you age, your will becomes absorbed into the universe, into reality itself. Magic is a form of this but instead of using your will, you use a medium to make an agreement with the universe instead of forcing it. The universe will take whichever power you practice as payment, similar to how wizards use mana. Whatever medium you practice- wether it's mana, chi, prana, and the list goes on- are substitutes for will. I used will before I became human and even now I use it, albeit an extremely weaker version. You can practice the art of Willing but it's very hard and will take a long time. Even for me it's difficult. As for why I became human…"

I sighed and shook my head. "Flora, as you heard, broke me. After I killed her I felt… nothing. I remembered that someone offered to help me become human and so I took him up on that offer. I wanted to… live- not just exist! Many years passed and I fell in love with my second wife, Aegur. She taught me of love and happiness and joy! After she died I remembered Flora and I understood that… regardless of her and my actions… I still loved her."

"I see…" Isaiah said while his eyebrows twitched in thought. "This… will… can I practice it as well?"

"Anyone can. McCoy uses it, actually. Impressive considering he is only around two hundred years old!"

"McCoy? The SCO enforcer?"

"Yeah. Wizards dedicate their life to understanding mana and when they become proficient enough in mana they tend to move on to things like will and the such. McCoy is a very rare exception to the rule of will."

Just as Isaiah opened his mouth a portal appeared in the street which James stepped out of.

"You're late!" I called to him.

"Yeah, well Morgan was pretty upset about the whole crushing her hand and almost choking her to death thing." He looked at me with irritation.

"Bitch had it coming." I snorted. "Go on, Isaiah. I'm gonna stay back. Got someone I need to meet." I turned to James. "Should have some info for you later if it goes well."

Isaiah scoffed while James tilted his head.

"Who?" James asked me.

I chuckled without answering them as they entered the portal. Hopefully he doesn't try to kill me this time!