"Chaos… is the least of our worries?"
King Odin's quiet, but reverberating voice echoed throughout the hall; his eyes, unwavering as they traveled back and forth between Van and Latanya. And after a few seconds of the somber silence persisting in the air, King Odin let out a short but deep sigh.
"I have known you for a long time, Queen Latanya," King Odin then muttered, "It does not suit you to jest. Even if the little boy is as strong as the Allmother prophesied, the fact remains that he… is just a little boy; a life comparable to a single blink of my eye."
"And a blink is all master Van would need to wreak havoc. Even now, look at where we're standing; a hall used for eating, now totally wasted," Latanya then snickered as she looked Odin straight in the eyes, "And don't jest, you don't know me at all, gramps."
"…Gramps?"
"And with me by his side, then the number of beings he needs to be wary of in this world now goes down to zero."
"You're joining the boy?"
"Did you miss the fact that I have been calling him master several times now?"
"…"
The two continued looking each other in the eyes, with none of them breaking their glares. Given the position Latanya held, she did have enough authority to question Odin. But authority and power were two completely separate things.
King Odin always held power above all; keeping everyone in check. The Vanir were the closest with the Aesir in terms of power; after all, they could be said to be one and the same. And the only reason why Asgard was still the ruling Realm was because of power– raw unhindered power.
But with the appearance of a single boy, that unfair balance was beginning to tilt. King Odin did not want to admit it, but Latanya's words had merit.
The two continued to stare at each other. And as for the individual in question? Van was currently staring at Latanya's companion– Skylar.
The last time he saw her, she was in a cage; being kept by Evangeline as she was completely indoctrinated by the Circle. Seeing her now without a crazed look on her face, Van could not help but notice her striking resemblance to her daughter, Andrea.
Since both of them were in New City when the explosion happened, then there was a chance that they were transported almost at the same time. Could the two have had the chance to spend time together?
Did… Andrea have a mother in her final moments?
"…" Van then quickly nodded his head as soon as he met eyes with Skylar, who let out a small smile and nodded in return.
"…She's also somewhat of a Seraph, right?" Van then slightly leaned closer to Athena, "Do you think she knows where Evangeline is?"
"We could ask," Athena replied, "But her strength and Evangeline's are like Olympus and Earth, it is doubtful she would know where Evangeline is if she does not want to be fo–"
And before Athena could finish her words, Latanya, who was previously having a staring match with King Odin, suddenly kneeled in front of Van.
"Master Van," she muttered, "My loyalty remains forever to you, even after an eternity."
"Please stand up, Latanya," Van said before letting out a small but deep sigh. He had already seen her act like this before everything went to shit, and he truly didn't like it, "I already told you before we separated; I still prefer the you before… you woke up with the memories of the staff."
"I remember, Master Van," Latanya chuckled as she slowly stood up, "I am still the same, but that doesn't change the fact that you are my master, and I am only an object for you to wield."
"That's–"
"But we can still do this!" Latanya then suddenly placed her arm around Van's shoulder before once again letting out a chuckle, causing her colossal bosom to jiggle and hit Van's face several times.
Athena, who was standing beside Van, could not help but twitch an eye as she saw what Latanya was doing. But after calming down her breaths, she only slightly shook her head before turning her attention towards Odin.
"As you can see, King Odin. We now have the sovereign of Vanaheim on our side. With this, we would have no trouble asserting our dominance and building the 10th Realm," Athena calmly said as she stepped forward, "You can stop us, but your mightiest warrior had already lost to none other than our King. Whatever attempts you may try might only lead to waste."
As soon as Thor heard Athena's words, he immediately looked to the side, shrugging his shoulders as he noticed his father's gaze on him.
"But if you yourself, King Odin, wishes to challenge our King, then you may do so. As a matter of fact, I encourage you. But if you lose, you lose everything."
Athena's words struck like lightning through Odin's ears. His hands were already shivering with rage, ready to strike with his lance at any moment's notice. Never in his very long life had he been bullied like this, by a boy nonetheless that was even smaller than some of his proteges back in his orphanage.
Odin then scanned the other Aesir in the hall. If he chooses to fight now, they have numbers by their side. Van's speed may be unprecedented, but the same could not be said to his companions. If he could just first incapacitate Latanya, then there was–
"You're not going to win, King Odin."
And mid-way through his thoughts, Van's voice once again echoed through his ears.
"We may be outnumbered, but you're outmatched… and will be even more as the fight progresses."
"You think building a kingdom is easy, boy?" Smoke almost fumed from Odin's nose as the tone of his voice contained not a single meekness, "It took thousands and thousands of years before I established Asgard as the ruling Realm, you think… an outsider like you could do something like that?"
"I think we'll be fine," Van said as he waved his hand, "I plan to take some of your so-called history with us, after all."
"…What?"
"Raise your hand if you want to be part of the birth of the 10th Realm."
And as soon as Van said that, Thor raised his hand without any hesitation.
"…Son?"
"Sorry, father," Thor could only let out an awkward chuckle as he received his father's stern glare, "According to everything I heard, I feel like the opponents I would face by the little man's side would be crazy strong."
"You sure?" Van then said with a small smirk on his face.
"Of course," Thor nodded with a smile on his face, "This way, one of my hammers will still be within my proximity. I'm all in. What about you, brother?"
Thor then looked towards a man that was almost as tall as he, but a couple of muscles skinnier. Seeing Thor's gaze upon him, the tall man looked towards Odin, before proceeding to shake his head.
"Wise choice, Tyr," Odin muttered, his voice filled with a sense of satisfaction. Although Thor was undoubtedly the strongest warrior of Asgard besides him, there were still many more who could probably suppress and subjugate a Realm all on their own.
One of them was Tyr, dubbed the God of War, and second to Thor when it comes to pure raw destructive power.
"I am loyal to Asgard, brother," Tyr then said as he looked Thor straight in the eyes, "Even if Ragnarok comes, I shall forever remain loyal to– blood?"
Tyr then touched his face as he felt a small feeling of warmth trailing down his face. And it wasn't only him, almost everyone in the room felt a drop of blood landing on their skin; obviously coming from the huge opening that Odin made when he obliterated everything in the mess hall.
A small wind then breezed through the opening, causing more droplets of blood to rain down upon them; and soon, the sky darkened.
A loud snap in the air then cracked; the floor, slightly trembling as a silhouette suddenly landed inside the hall. It was then followed by an echoing beat, similar to the thump of a heart. The beat then turned into the flutter as colossal wings seemingly made of blood emerged in front of everyone's eyes.
"What… is that a monster?"
And soon, the colossal wings stretched open and disappeared, revealing a woman that was awfully familiar to Van; a face that he would never forget. After all, even with all the goddesses he had met, the woman still held a beauty that one could not dismiss.
The woman's eyes then traveled across the wrong, only stopping as they landed at Van; and as soon as they did so, the woman let out a long and deep sigh that whispered through everyone's ears.
"Long time no see, boy."
"…Miss Sarah?"
"That's right," Sarah then let out a smile as she slowly approached Van, "What took you so long? Don't you know your sister waited for you even in her final breaths?"
"…Sorry."
"…" Tyr, whose words were cut off before they could finish them, could not help but look at the woman who suddenly appeared before them. His eyes, traveling up and down several times as they looked at her from head to toe.
"I…" He then muttered; his eyes still fixated towards Sarah,
"I think I want to see the birth of the 10th Realm after all."
