Chapter 57

One thing that seemed to take me by surprise, was out intimate the 'ritual' to pass down the Primordial Runes was. Very little was known about Primordial runes, even between me and Zelretch, who boasted knowledge that some people couldn't fathom, we knew striking little. Yet, that was still leagues ahead of mages in the modern era.

First off, we were naked.

I may have had something to say, perhaps she was just messing with me?

No.

She was serious, that kind of look you get when you know not to mess around.

Every action she performed, every movement she took, they were precise, calculated, and done with the upmost sincerity.

We started off with a sacrifice, to Odin.

To say the gods of old are gone is a bit…..wrong. Yes, the Age of Gods has ended, and all divine spirits that remained retreated to the reverse side of the world where fantasy still reins, but that didn't mean they were technically gone. Even with those ones who actually died in history.

Manipulation over the world-axis.

It was something divine beings were capable of. Well, I suppose the more powerful of the lot were. You wouldn't see a mountain god or something like that from the east having the kind of power to manipulate the world line.

The time axis was the same.

Yes, gods of old could reach across the time axis to mess with the current era, it wasn't a good idea because of the counter force retaliating, but it was possible.

Well, this place might be a tad different, it was pretty much separated from the normal world, interference here wouldn't even garner much attention of the wrong sort.

She didn't explain exactly what was going on, but I could only assume she was trying to win the Norse god's favor or blessing. Perhaps it was rather automated, like certain systems back in my old world, or maybe it requires actually grabbing the god's attention so he can send his blessings across the time-axis?

Several fires, pyres, were set up to burn offerings. We had no 'living beings' to offer up, and I think we both would vehemently refuse a human sacrifice, but there also weren't any animals around to give up either.

Instead, we would be appealing to the war god aspect of Odin, for the ritual, we each hunted prey, captured them, and offered those up.

Undead that could fight servants.

Not win, mind you, but they could trade some blows with beings of that caliber before getting crushed.

I guess that only served to add the immensity of the whole situation. I know for a fact she would have gloated or made fun of me for getting 'less' than her. No doubt she had quite the easy time finding several while I only brought back one.

Did I mention we were naked?

It was weird, I didn't' understand the exact reason, but I could tell it was a necessity here.

After we grabbed our 'living' sacrifices, we added more things. I was advised to add 'knowledge' unto the offering, secrets I could part with that the god would find worthy. An easy enough thing, I supplied knowledge from worlds outside the One-eyed god's purview, that should give him something to look at.

There were other things, certain ideas and items that corresponded to his particular authorities, his domains of influence.

Fear, War, Death, Poetry, Warriors, Magic, Wisdom, Rage, and many other domains he can claim as his own.

Symbols were drawn on our bodies with blood, lines, words with meanings have been lost to time. After she was done, most of our skin was completely covered with these strange things.

We sat down, my back facing her as she placed a hand on my back.

It was only at this point that I realized what it meant for Primordial Runes to be passed down.

She was engraving them onto my soul.

It was painful, different than most would experience pain. She wasn't harming me, wasn't mutilating my soul, it was more like a tattoo. And each time she moved, the blood on my body was absorbed, seemingly connected to her writings.

As she finished the first one, I now understand many things that were lost on me previously.

Primordial Runes, they were basically purer concepts. They come infinitely closer to the 'truth', that is to say, they draw their power directly from the Root.

Almost like cheat codes to reality.

It was a bit more than that as well, they were basically imbued with Odin's own Authority. When he sacrificed his eye in the well to gain his wisdom, he developed these Runes, this language that allows one to fundamentally alter the world around them. It made sense why they had to be passed down in such a manner, to be literally inscribed onto my soul.

The materialization of concepts, it was the most apt description of their use.

The modern runes, the ones derived from these, the version I was familiar with, I could see just how hollow they were in comparison. To say they were mere knockoffs, it didn't do it justice.

It was like taking a masterpiece of Art and comparing it to something a toddler threw paint on.

It was beautiful.

But they weren't omnipotent, despite their obscene power.

Equivalent exchange.

There was a reason that even Scathach didn't use them lightly, and stuck to the derivative version, the ones called 'modern runes' for most situations.

How long did she work? I don't know, I got too lost in the process, looking inward to see her draw each and every Primordial Rune onto me, even being careful to work around Ddraig that was housed right next door.

I could hear her heavy breathing on my skin, her arm on my back putting on more weight to prop herself up.

"Finished." She said lightly, the words barely registering my ear as the last rune as added.

Almost on que, she practically fell over, I caught her, bringing her to her feet, making sure she didn't kneel over.

Her legs wobbled as she braced herself on my shoulders. "I'm fine lets –"

Something shifted, something was happening. Scathach looked up at the sky, being indistinctly connected to the realm, she probably knew what was happening more than me.

I could feel something, I didn't know how to change it, but something was coming.

The clouds in the sky began to swirl, shift and change until they began to form a face.

One that bared right down on us.

"All-Father, King of Gods, Odin." Scathach, shouted, with an amount of respect in her voice I had yet to see. "May I ask why you have graced my realm with your presence?"

My eyes widened at the proclamation.

I dared not utter a single word, his presence was heavy, just merely existing in this minimal capacity, his gaze on me, I couldn't help but shudder under the 'weight'.

He didn't speak for a moment, just merely looking until his 'head' the projection of his face in the sky abruptly turned towards a very familiar mountain.

*BOOOOOOM*

The peak of the mountain I climbed, it shattered, a massive black hand, seemingly made entirely of shadows and death shot out towards the sky.

The King of Gods stared, contempt clear on its face. "Wretched thing, die with some dignity at least." He snorted. The words echoing every corner of this desolate realm.

As the words rang in my ears, the mountain disappeared, a massive crater now in its place.

The thing that gave me pause, possibly a divine creature that was killed and or sealed under the mountain, was seemingly destroyed with but a thought.

Odin, King of Gods.

A head of a pantheon, he was unfathomably powerful.

"Witch that resides in the shadow lands." Odin's voice reached our ears again, his eyes turning back to us. "Another pitiful existence, do you also wish for death?" His words lacked the obvious contempt from before, it was almost like pity, but he didn't elaborate.

He visibly shifted from Scathach and looked at me now. "Child from another world." He spoke with no small amount of interest. "Wielder of your age's great Magics."

"What have you come here for, Odin?" Scathach stepped infront of me, grabbing his attention once again. She was still respectful in her tone, but more direct.

"Unknown knowledge drew my attention." He seemed…. amused by Scathach's frankness.

Scathach summoned her spear, I didn't understand what was going on, but she seemed ready for battle. Even with her face flushed red, sweat dripping down, and her breathing ragged, she would dare point her spear at the King of gods. "He is my student." She declared. "You cannot have him."

Oh….shit, that's what's happening.

"This is not for you to decide." He narrowed his 'eyes'. "I have granted my blessings for the ritual."

"We have provided remuneration, offerings of every kind."

"Hmph." He snorted; the realm literally shook. "Undead creatures and trinkets. I will take my price, you may stand to the side, witch." As soon as he spoke, a pressure fell down on me, like something was drilling into my body.

"Begone." Another voice joined in on this already absurd situation. A familiar golden light erupted from inside me.

"Meridia?" I said quietly, looking at a new figure that bore the full brunt of Odin's 'touch'.

When, how? As much as I wanted answer, now clearly was not the time.

"Foreign god, you dare?" Odin's voice filled with anger, the sky changed color, the ground rippled. "A mere blessing stands infront of me?"

A blessing, she blessed me without me even knowing. A small amount of power that activated to protect me, did she assume that another 'god' would focus on me at some point and did this without my knowledge?

I looked at Meridia, she was…. lifeless. I don't think there was any kind of sentience, more like a protection protocol hardwired into this bit of divine might.

Odin showed obvious anger, yet he didn't make a move. I don't think he was here in any capacity that could overcome Meridia's own 'power' that was currently enveloping me. He was projecting himself from a different time period, that in of itself must have drawn an insane amount of power and effort to accomplish. It was unlikely he could do much more than that in this current situation.

No, he was already pushing his 'permissions' if he tried to do more than this, I don't think the world would stay silent, even if this was the Land of Shadows. The small strand still connecting this place to the world made certain actions…undesirable.

The giant face in the sky basically sneered. "I shall have what I desire, even if I must take a different route." He looked towards Scathach.

He wanted the things I knew, why?

I didn't know any secrets that could possibly sway him this much….I couldn't even begin to understand how this god thought.

I looked over to Scathach again, she was barely standing up, my heart sunk.

My eyes turned up towards Odin, I felt a rage inside that I hadn't in many months.

"Ddraig!" I shouted, the gauntlet appearing on my hand.

Something came for her, probably so sweep her up and perhaps use her as a negotiation for whatever it is he wanted since he couldn't take it from me by force.

"Pierce" I growled shooting whatever magics or divine power were coming towards Scathach, my conceptual attack strong enough to disperse whatever it was he was doing.

"Mortal." He gaze once again turned to me. "A dragon in a gauntlet, thou dares raise arms against me?"

'Meridia' did nothing, almost just like a shield. She wasn't truly here, just a wisp of power to protect me that will probably only react to an attack.

"Child don't do –" Scathach tried to speak, but I cut her off.

I took another step forward, clearly between her and the god in the sky, drawing a metaphorical line in the sand.

"Ddraig, how powerful is he." I said quietly, but I had no doubt Odin heard me because the face contorted in anger. The only reason he didn't try to smite me right there and then, was Meridia watching over me.

The amount of power this sliver of him possessed, it was clearly limited.

[I would have torn apart this divine projection with ease in my prime, unfortunately I don't know if you would be able to even with Balance Breaker unlocked.]

Doesn't matter, I refuse to allow her to come to harm, if I must fight a god, so be it.

I took a deep breath, staring right up at the god who looked down on me. "I, who am about to awaken…."

[You've barely awakened balance breaker, if you try to force this too…..brat, juggernaut drive isn't something the current you can handle, it's a death wish, this won't be a repeat of you forcing balance breaker like before.] Ddraigs words echoed in the back of my mind.

But an invisible force seemed to carry along with my words, like a pressure of its own to match what was already emitting from the sky.

A god of wisdom, he could understand my intentions immediately, to see through what I was about to do.

What caught me off guard, was the fact that the god began to laugh. It was hearty, almost whimsical in a nature as he let out his long bellows.

"Mortal, you amuse me." He final spoke, and the pressure he was emitting almost immediately disappeared. "Take my blessing." The eyes on the projection lit up, and something shot into my body.

Nothing harmful I could assume, as 'Meridia' did not move either.

At that, the clouds dispersed, whatever was peering over the vast distance of time and space had gone with it and the realm returned to its peace.

When the god disappeared, so too did the fake Meridia that stood in my presence, but try as I did, I could not find any source of her divine touch inside of me. Something to think about for later.

"Foolish boy!" Scathach grabbed my shoulders. "Do you understand how close you have come to death just now!?"

"Yes….but how could I live with myself if he did something to you?" I said quietly.

"You….silly child." Her expression softened considerably, only for her to shake her head. "A god's greed is not something so easily dissuaded. I should have considered such a thing, to present unknown knowledge to a god who rules over 'wisdom'. The only thing that can stop it is their own fickle nature, if you hadn't earned his approval by daring to challenge him….if he was in a different mood the same actions could have just as well condemned you."

Yeah, many 'ifs' were there, many things could have gone wrong, but there wasn't really any chance to think things through.

Scary.

I don't ever want to be in a situation like that again, to feel my existence continues only at the whim of another being.

My thoughts were broken as I quickly went to catch Scathach who almost fell to the ground, her spear escaped her grip, landing on the cold soil below.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing still just as heavy, almost swaying in place.

She was very much overextending herself. To even have considered defending me in this situation…..it made my heart beat just a little faster.

I picked her up, cradling her gently in my arms and keeping her spear in my ring for now. I took her back to her castle, finding the master bedroom, almost completely untouched. I laid her gently in the bed, pulling the covers over her.

"Stay." A hand gently grabbed on my hand. I saw her eyes half opening, peering into my own. "Please." Her voice was gentle and sweet in a way I had trouble processing. She looked so vulnerable, completely different than how she normally portrays herself.

The ritual must have taken so much out of her to perform, even ignoring what came after and the stress that she probably felt at the time.

I didn't need to speak, I think I answered her back with my actions. I slowly climbed into the bed with her, I felt her arms wrap around me, her face burying in my chest. Her heartbeat could be felt, and her breath tickled against my skin.

I couldn't help but push a few strands of hair out of her face, and she made a noise I doubt she was conscious off.

Why was she so cute like this?

She fell asleep almost immediately, and I wasn't far behind her.

***

Another chapter is here. Primordial Runes, Woot! But some uninvited guests appear, and let me be clear, the gods in nasuverse and like 99% assholes. So my thoughts right now are Odin wanted the Eye of Magnus and knowledge related to it for 'reasons' that may or may not involve words like 'lost belt'. Whether i use that plot point in the future, i'm still unsure. And a surprise Meridia appears, if only a small little divine blessing. Sneaking a little bit of her power into him when he didn't notice. Mc threatening to use juggernaut drive and trade with Odin's projection across the time axis, seemingly brought respect from the old god, and they are rather fickle creatures. And hey, having the personal blessing of one 'odin' couldn't possibly cause any issues in other worlds, right?

Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or just support me visit my pat.reon.com/astoryforone.