Chapter 322: Nostalgia

Late Afternoon - Early Winter (northern hemisphere) : The Banvænn Sea

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"Um.. Brother?" Krystallo's voice trembled slightly with nervousness as we glided over a seemingly endless expanse of open ocean. 

"What's up? Are you okay?" Quickly checking the air around her with a bit of concern, I made sure it was still breathable before easing my nerves.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. I was just wondering... Was that patch of desert we passed part of the Banvænn?" She gestured her tail toward the distant horizon behind us as she spoke.

"It was. Why do you ask?"

"Isn't Siratha near the western border of that desert? Weren't we heading there?" Her furrowed brow suggested she thought we were lost, her mind likely racing to figure out how to guide us back.

But, of course, I knew exactly where we were. "Haha, while I did say we're going to Siratha, we aren't going straight there. There is a place I want to show you first."

Her anxiety was almost instantly replaced by a sparkle of excitement.

It was truly an adorable sight. -I wish I could've taken her to the Eastern Oasis. It would have been fun to introduce her to some humans and maybe grab a barrel of piotita while we were there, but even though my aura theoretically shouldn't kill humans, what good does visiting do if everyone is unconscious...- Turning back to the horizon ahead of us, I promptly centered Krystallo on my back and began thinning the vacuum magic around us. -In any case, this place should be enjoyable too...-

Finally beginning to slow down, the very edge of a shoreline began emerging over the horizon, with distant towering, cloud-covered mountain ridges quickly following behind it. -Those clouds must never dissipate...-

The place I was taking Krystallo was The Scar, but rather than taking her to its summit, I was simply taking her to see it and show her around the Acardi wreckage I had found there.

Not feeling comfortable bringing her into outer space or, frankly, introducing her to Hera without talking to her privately first, I planned to just skirt the edge and try to verify if Hera's aura was at the peak before continuing to show Krystallo around to the unbelievable views and vista's of the mountain ranges.

But before I could even get to the closest beaches, I had to switch gears.

-Tch...- I felt two presences moving toward me at a speed far beyond the limits of living flesh. -Of all the times for gods to come make trouble...-

Noticing the change in the air around me, Krystallo immediately started to get anxious, but as she opened her mouth to speak, everything stopped.

*Vwoom* Creating a bit of liquid divinity, I held its constant flow nearly to a halt, and in perfect sync, time seemed to freeze.

It confirmed my theories about how liquid divinity worked almost instantly, but my focus was elsewhere at that moment.

About a kilometer behind us, there were two goddesses - one familiar, the other a stranger.

However, while the foreign face threw herself into a fearful bow the moment I set my eyes on her, she had a hint of confusion on her face.

"So, who's this? Did you make a friend?" Looking toward the goddess I recognized, she immediately jolted before starting with a stutter.

"Y-You can't go to the Holy Kingdom!"

I was instantly taken aback. "What do you mean?" -Is she.. flustered?-

"You can't fight the Aesir yet! You need more-" Finally noticing Krystallo on my back, her panic screeched halted.

"I'm not after the Aesir right now. I literally just woke up from a dragon sleep where I got repeatedly pummeled for over a hundred years... I just want to relax a little..."

The other goddess, unknown to me, seemed baffled before the other spoke up again. "Ah, t-then good." Finally getting a hold of her nerves, her usual confident air started to slowly return.. but somehow, it didn't feel the same as it once did. "Ahem. In any case, since we're here, allow me to introduce the new face."

But as she motioned toward the slightly transparent woman next to her, my eyes didn't budge. "I think you are the one due for an introduction, actually..."

She instantly tensed up.

With the recent fusion of my soul and body, memories from my past dragon sleeps had become vivid again, but with it, my suspicions of the goddess skyrocketed. -She has helped me a lot since then, but I can't just overlook it all...-

However, while I expected her to be a little reluctant, she complied quite easily. "My name is Grace, a goddess not from this world."

My mind instantly stuttered. -G..Grace?- It was a name foreign to this world but somehow familiar to my ears. -Grace... Grace... Grace...- Instantly digging through the fuzziest of memories in the deepest recesses of my mind, I tried to find where I knew it from, and before long, I found it. "You.. you're from Earth, aren't you..." Although I couldn't remember the specifics of how I knew, I was confident.

"That name... It sounds familiar..." Her eyes widened as she slowly looked up at me. "Where did you learn it..."

"It's the name of the planet I originally came from, or at least a part of me did..." My gaze remained fixed on her, trying to read her reactions until I confirmed it. "Were you.. an angel?"

And that was when the focus in her eyes blurred as if a wave of memories struck her in the head.

-Holy shit...- To me it was nothing short of a revelation. -Earth is really connected to this world somehow...-

Thinking the other goddess could be another angel, I looked toward her, but she looked more confused than anything.

However, the moment she noticed my gaze, she threw herself into a bow. "I-I am Skuld, the Goddess of Oracles!"

"Hoh?" -Isn't that the name Tyr yelled out?- "What's your connection to Grace?"

"She invited me to work beneath Your Majesty... Saying that you would be forgiving..." She paused before deepening her bow and exposing the core of her soul through her back. "I apologize for my rudeness, Your Majesty! I sincerely apologize for the transgressions I made in the past and wish to make it up somehow, even if it means becoming a slave!"

She spoke with a surprisingly genuine tone. -I see...- Still struggling to wrap my head around the situation with Grace, I quickly brushed Skuld off. "Just work well with Grace, and if you ever see something happening to the Ragnarok family or related to the Aesir, report it to me... Do you have a way of finding me already?"

"O-Of course! Your majesty's presence is impossible to miss!"

-So, my presence to the gods is constantly being exuded now, huh... It must really be tied to liquid divinity as well...- Looking back toward Grace, I found that her expression softened slightly, but rather than looking like a weight having lifted off her shoulders, it was pressing down on her even more.

"Was I.. an angel?" Still zoned out, she mumbled something under her breath before a pair of large black wings unfurled and revealed themselves behind her. "I.. was..." As focus slowly returned to her eyes, her tone shifted as if she was on the verge of tears. "But why don't I.. remember anything..." Distraught was woven deep into her voice, to a nearly palpable extent.

All I could do was let out a gentle sigh, deciding to give her some time to sort things out. "Take your time, Grace. We'll talk when you're ready." I paused as I turned my attention back to Skuld. "As for you, Skuld, as long as you remain loyal, we won't have any issues... Although I do wish to speak again in a few days. When you feel my presence go up to the top of the mountain over here, come find me." -I have a lot of questions I need her to answer still...-

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty," she stammered slightly, but a mix of hope and determination filled her voice.

With a final, momentary glance at Grace, I released the hold on my liquid divinity, and time nearly instantly started flowing again. *FWOOOM*

"Brother? Are you alright?" Krystallo instantly continued her statement as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah, I just got lost in thought for a second," I spoke with reassurance. "In any case, we should be coming up on The Scar. Have you learned about it yet? I believe its typically called Bahamut's nest." -At least that's what some texts in the Library seemed to call it...-

But she still simply shook her head.

-Hoho... Looks like I'm in for a treat...- Almost immediately, some anticipation started to build, and the turmoil within my mind began to calm. It still took some time, of course, but once it all finally settled and I could give Krystallo my exclusive attention, coming up on the mountains turned into a really wonderful experience.

The few minutes we approached the base of The Scar were honestly amazing, Krystallo's adorable expression of awe and wonder was simply priceless, to the point I wish I had a camera to take pictures even though I knew such memories would never fade.

"Are those tiny things down there wyverns?" Pointing below toward the massive ice spikes around the base of the sprawling mountain ridges, Krystallo's eyes were filled with fascination.

"They are indeed. When I was here last time, they were nesting in or around those big ice spikes, and there were simply tons of them. Some were pretty big, too, but they just look cute from up here."

"Hehe, I wonder how many I could kill!" 

"Pfft-" The conflict between her tone and words caught me insanely off guard. -The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, huh...- With a smile, I glanced back at her. "If you want, we can go down and raid a nest."

She immediately looked toward me with excitement simply oozing from her. "Is this what you brought me here for?" There was a happy flick in her tail as she spoke.

"Haha, not quite." With a soft chuckle, I motioned my head forward. "What I actually wanted to show you was this."

"Hm?" Straightening her posture, her gaze followed my indication, but she froze the moment it landed. "WOAAH!"

Trotting up toward my neck with a sparkle in her eyes, she never pulled her gaze off The Scar, its unfathomable scale and indescribable beauty turning every emotion she had into awe.

-Even still.. after having already ventured to it's peak.. it's truly a sight to behold...- And as if to make the vista even more incredible, at the very peak of the mountain, the faint glow of an aura was visible, glowing like a beacon left to guide me. -But I need to save visiting her for later...-

Turning my attention back to Krystallo, we continued gliding around the base of the mountain for quite a while, relishing in the joy of sharing the moment together even after she had begun asking me all the questions that filled her mind like a barrage that flowed endlessly.

But, with each question filled with a limitless, childlike wonder and curiosity as it did when she was younger, I simply answered them as best as I could, savoring every passing moment I could.

But before long, the day began to wane, the sun dipped below the horizon and the sky was painted in hues of orange and purple before being blanketed by the night sky.

As night finally settled, I gently steered us southeast, following the rugged contour of the mountain range sprouting from The Scar. The next destination was the Acardi wreckage.

By that time, I had started simply giving Krystallo a lesson on science and the stars as she gazed up at them, attempting to use the nigh unfathomable scale of The Scar to put space into perspective.

But whether she was really understanding me or simply enjoying the moment, reminiscing over our childhoods, I couldn't tell. All that mattered was that she was enjoying it.

However, I didn't expect that once we arrived at the wreckage, we would have someone interrupt our evening.

-Someone.. is in the wreckage?-

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