Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 608: DCVIII. The Culprit

"You and the old wizard are not my disciples, nor those of my son or other Aesir of Asgard, this is evident" Odin interrupted, bringing back the silence.

"However, the magician is striving to help me, telling me the truth about the ancient manuscript that speaks of the most important of prophecies, while you... you can't mask your true nature, can't you, Fenrir's disciple?" Odin continued, while his rabid blue eye stopped at Thyrius, whose legs and arms began to tremble compulsively. 

"No, no, my lord! I humbly apologize, I didn't want to be insolent! Mine was a simple question, I didn't want to take anyone's place! Just... why to believe the words of this old wizard? They could be mere lies!" Bloodfang replied, who tirelessly was again trying to deceive the Alfather.

"You're just making your situation worse, I suggest you be silent. My patience is not unlimited, I too am old. I'm sure that's the truth because the Shieldmaiden and the archer didn't say a word during Kranus' speech. I saw how they ran to check on their partner's health, this is the greatest proof of loyalty to me. I trust their judgment" Odin replied, justifying his point of view to Bloodfang, who ran out of tricks to persuade him.

Thyrius remained silent, merely looking down and waiting for the God to deliver his verdict.

"Alfather!" the only female voice among them exclaimed.

Odin turned his gaze towards Freydis, noting that the young Shieldmaiden had just caught his eye with tears in her eyes.

"What's going to happen to Dag now?" she asked, hoping Odin's response wouldn't hurt her feelings too much.

"As I told you, now the Frostsinners have too much information about him. I will take Dag with me, away from this kingdom" Odin replied, who despite realizing that the girl who was talking to him was the woman of the subject in question, was willing to proceed with his plan, which included Dag.

Those words were so heavy that they triggered a sudden silence among the four warriors around him, who looked at each other, unable to believe what they had just heard.

As if he didn't want to waste any more time, Odin stepped forward towards Dag, approaching his body slowly.

Freydis, caught in a sudden whirlwind of conflicting emotions, knelt at her God's feet, stretching her arms to the ground and showing him her submission.

"Alfather, please, listen to my prayer... I have worshipped you all my life long and I will continue to do so as long as my heart will continue to beat. I understand that your decision has already been made and cannot be changed, but... tell me, will I see Dag again?" Freydis asked desperately, raising her eyes filled with sorrowful tears at Odin, whose divine heart was saddened by that moving scene.

"Dag will come back" he exclaimed, adding no more details and continuing to speak in a very enigmatic way, without making anyone understand what his precise plans were for the young warrior of Okstorm.

Dodging Freydis and continuing to walk forward, Odin arrived at the foot of Dag's body, on which his most loyal ally, Reidar, was kneeling, hoping that he would wake up from sleep.

Odin raised his Gungnir spear and placed it behind his back: straps of his armor wrapped the divine weapon, which as if by magic was locked in its position.

Immediately after that gesture, he too lowered himself towards Dag and, with very slow and delicate movements, placed a hand under his neck and one under his legs, lifting him off the ground.

Kranus and Bloodfang stepped back and continued to look at the scene in silence, as did the warriors who were admiring the Alfather's magnificence from afar.

"I... I don't want to lose him again... please, Odin..." Freydis whispered, while her voice was stuck in her throat because of the pain that trapped her soul at the thought of never being able to see her man again, who after a thousand adventures had managed to find her.

Reidar approached the Shieldmaiden and helped her get up, clutching her in a fraternal embrace and making her realize that Odin's decision, however poignant to them, was immutable.

Without adding any words of comfort or encouragement, the Alfather turned the other way and looked up at the sky, at exactly the same spot from which the luminous portal had allowed him to travel into space until he arrived on Skjold.

Some crows popped out of nowhere, began one at a time to twirling around him, and at the same time, clouds began to melt and rotate in the lower layers of the atmosphere.

The swirling motion of the gaseous bodies continued until, within them, the same circular-shaped light portal appeared in the sky, firing a strong light beam at Odin and Dag, unconscious in his arms.

Freydis's cry, despite the girl beginning to scream in desperation, not accepting Odin's selfish decision, did not stop him and he and Dag, as soon as they were wrapped in the flock of black crows, suddenly disappeared within the light beam, following a fast upward trajectory.

The ray of light vanished in the night and the portal closed, bringing the clouds back to their initial stage and leaving room for sunrise, with a new false Sun about to rise onto the horizon.

"Noooo! Let him go! Daaag! Daag... Dag..." 

Freydis fell to the ground again, kneeling and unable to do anything to bring her man back.

"Hey, Freydis... listen..."

"Let me go! He took him away, Reidar... Dag's gone again! I hate my life! It is full of sadness and pain! How can I continue to live without him, who is all I have?!" she exclaimed again, writhing from Reidar's arm, ready to help her get up.

Not winning, the young archer grabbed her arm again and gently put her back on her feet.

"Did you hear what Odin said... do you realize? Odin himself was here and took the Captain with him! You should be happy! Our Dag has officially become a divine warrior, able to summon the most powerful of the Gods! The Primal Thunder is back!" Reidar exclaimed, trying to highlight the positive aspects of that affair and calm his friend, in despair.

Hearing those words, the old Kranus also decided to approach the young Dag's two allies, somehow trying to help.

"It's all your fault, you old man! If you hadn't said anything to the wise Odin, none of this would have happened! If you hadn't told him about that stupid prophecy, now maybe Dag would still be here with me! Fuck you!" the Shieldmaiden shouted, who with a sudden snap tried to get dangerously close to Kranus, but was stopped by Reidar, who blocked her arms as she wriggled.

"Freydis, listen to me. Calm down, I..." 

"I said fuck you! Get out of my sight! I lost the love of my life again because of you! He helped you win your stupid war and what did he get in return? Exile, once again! Dag's endured this kind of thing all his life, that's enough! I don't care about this stupid prophecy and these magical weapons that lie somewhere... I just want to be with him, you mother fucker..." Freydis continued, who as she spoke lost her strength and gradually stopped wriggling in Reidar's arms, who stroked her shoulder trying to contribute to her calm.

"I understand you, girl. Really, I understand your pain, and I'm very sorry that Dag's not here anymore. Just look at the faces of the warriors who are watching us from afar to find that your feeling is shared. However, your man has an important task to perform and even without my words, the wise Odin would still take him with him. If Dag had stayed here on Skjold, he would have endangered the lives of all of us, beyond that of himself. More Frostsinners would have arrived, even stronger than the one he just defeated and, without Odin's help, he probably wouldn't have made it." 

Kranus's sensitive words, who spoke to Freydis as if she was his grand-daughter, made her calm down for good, although her gaze remained fixed in the void, immersed in her sad thoughts.

"It is evident that Dag's destiny is not only to save Klorr... he must save all Skjold, he must free us all" Kranus said with conviction, also surprising Bloodfang, who after witnessing what had happened, finally began to believe the prophecy, of which, before the battle, he knew absolutely nothing.

Without any haste, the four of them who had remained close to Dag during his last moments on their planet, headed to the castle, to join the rest of the soldiers of the two Clans, confused by what had happened.

Klorr's square had been totally destroyed and the top of the castle had collapsed, as well as some of its inner walls.

"It looks like we're going to have a lot to do here, don't we, men?!" Bloodfang exclaimed when he arrived in front of the Claws Of Fenrir, trying to distract them and cheer them up.