Far away in the cosmic sea, in a gray, desolate plain under a bruised, starless sky.
A light suddenly pierced through the dark purple clouds.
This light was formed from three colors: red, green, and blue, with red being the most dominant.
Anyone familiar with Norse mythology would immediately recognize it.
The Bifrost.
The burning rainbow bridge that connects the realm of the gods, Asgard, with the rest of the nine realms.
BOOOOM!
The landing of a god shook the entire dead world as the light solidified into a shimmering, arching pathway that descended from the heavens, and from it stepped a figure whose presence seemed to warp the very air of the dead world. He was an old man, tall and broad-shouldered, draped in a dark blue cloak embroidered with silver runes that seemed to shift and writhe like living things.
His gray-bearded face was hidden by a hood, but beneath the shadow of that hood, a single, brilliant eye burned like a captured star, a piercing gaze that saw through flesh and bone to the very soul.
Odin, the All-Father, had arrived.
His gaze swept across the barren landscape, past the skeletal trees and crumbling ruins, until it landed upon the two figures waiting for him. One was the former fire goddess Augusta—now known only as Madam X the collector—standing tall and proud in her black business suit with a thick cigar in her mouth. Her single red eye fell on the Norse god with a matching coldness.
The other was a Valkyrie—or so she appeared—bound in chains of shimmering light, her white wings drooping, her head bowed in feigned submission.
Morgana, in her Valkyrie form, played her part perfectly. She trembled, pulling against her ethereal restraints, her feigned fear a masterclass in deception. Her silver hair fell over her face, obscuring her features.
'Hehe~ there you are, you old fart.' Keeping a straight face was a challenge. Morgana really needed to thank Lilith for the Mask of Silence; without it, her divine aura would have screamed 'TRAP' at the top of its metaphysical lungs.
Augusta stepped forward, her posture respectful but her stance firm. She was about to greet Odin when suddenly another figure appeared behind him.
He stood half a head taller than a normal man, with a powerful, muscular build. He was covered in a similar dark blue cloak, with his face shrouded in shadow, only his bright golden eyes visible.
"!!!" Both Morgana and Augusta trembled when those golden eyes fell on them. It was like being stripped naked, not physically but metaphysically.
Well... Morgana would not mind being stripped naked, but she would very much prefer to do it by her own will.
"Ah!... Madam X." Odin's voice was a deep, gravelly rumble, like stones grinding together. "It has been... a while."
"All-Father," Augusta replied with a slight, respectful nod of her head. "An honor as always."
Odin took a step forward, his single blue eye fixed on Morgana.
"Hmm." Augusta narrowed her single red eye when she saw that Odin's steps paused for a fraction of a second before he spoke again.
"I was... surprised by your message," Odin said, his gaze still locked on Morgana's trembling form. "Our deal was to find that silver-haired bitch's world, but to actually capture one of her loyal servants? And offer her to me? This is... unexpected."
"Consider it a gesture of goodwill," Augusta said, her voice smooth and professional. "And a way to... expand our apology for the long delay. The world of the silver-haired goddess is out of reach, and we lost one of our collectors when we tried to locate it."
"Ah!... my condolences," Odin said, but the lack of any emotion in his voice told Augusta that he couldn't care less about the dead collector.
Odin's gaze then shifted to Morgana, who was still playing her part perfectly, her body trembling, her head bowed.
"So this is the... gift?" Odin asked, a hungry gleam in his single eye. "She is... beautiful. I'll give you that, and her blood is purer than my Valkyries."
He took a deep breath as if he was tasting her scent from a distance.
Augusta had to fight the urge to roll her eye. Of course he was more interested in the 'gift' than in her.
'Pervy old fart,' she thought.
"Her essence is… remarkably potent," Odin mused, taking another step closer. The runes on his cloak pulsed with a faint light. "Uncorrupted by the modern realms. A true daughter of the old ways."
He reached out a hand, not to touch her, but to hover near her silver hair, as if feeling the heat of her divine energy.
"Where did you find such a prize, Madam X?"
Augusta exhaled a slow stream of cigar smoke, the gray plume curling in the still air.
"In order to find a lead about her goddess's location, we had to pay a 'visit' to one of her friends." She took another drag from her cigar. "We found this one hiding in that friend's domain. A small goddess of harvest, I believe. The bitch put up a good fight, but in the end, she was no match for us."
'A good fight? Pfft... Lora would faint if she saw a spider,' Morgana thought, fighting the urge to giggle. She was glad that Augusta didn't name Lora, or else she would be in deep shit.
"A goddess of harvest, you say?" Odin asked, his interest piqued. "Interesting. I wasn't aware of such a connection."
He leaned in closer to Morgana, his single eye scanning her from head to toe.
Then he did something that really pissed both Augusta and Morgana.
He leaned in and sniffed her hair.
"Mmm... yes. The scent is unique. Like a freshly baked pile of... SHIT!" he suddenly let out a mighty roar, and out of nowhere, a dark silver spear appeared in his hand. Gungnir. The spear that never misses.
But he didn't throw it.
He just thrust it towards Morgana's heart.
"!!!" Alarm bells screamed in Morgana's head as she saw the spear coming at her.
Without hesitation, she dodged by throwing herself backward, but she wasn't fast enough.
The tip of the spear grazed her side, tearing through her armor and flesh, leaving a deep, burning gash.
"Agh!" Morgana cried out in pain, her body hitting the ground hard.
"You lowly insect..." Odin roared, his single massive eye blazing with fury. "Do you think I am a fool?! That I would not recognize a trap when I see one?"
He was about to throw his spear, but Augusta was faster.
"O Flame, heed my call!" she chanted, her hands blazing with an intense crimson light. "Rise from the ancient fires, consume mine enemies, and shield me beneath thy burning wrath!"
A massive wall of dark-red fire erupted between them, shielding Morgana from Odin's wrath. The fire wasn't a normal fire. It was Augusta's divine flame, a power that even a god like Odin would think twice before facing.
Even if she was a former goddess who lost her world and status, Augusta was still a being of immense power. Her divine flame was one of the few things that could harm even a god.
After all, she fought against the void in the past; even if she lost, she was still a veteran of the cosmic war.
The All-Father snarled, reining in his spear just as it was about to collide with the wall of fire. The tip of Gungnir sparked against the inferno, the divine energies clashing in a silent, violent struggle that sent ripples through the dead world's atmosphere.
"Morgana!" Augusta materialized in front of Morgana, her hands glowing with power. "Are you okay?"
"It's just a scratch," Morgana grunted, her form switching from the Valkyrie back to her original self. The wound on her side began to heal; however, she could sense that it was slower than usual.
That spear carried more than just physical power; it had a divine authority that was actively suppressing her regenerative abilities.
"How the hell did he know?" Morgana demanded, her crimson eyes glaring at the wall of fire that was blocking Odin's view.
"How the fuck should I know?!" Augusta shot back, her voice tight with anger and frustration. Then she suddenly recalled something.
"Heimdall!" she exclaimed. "That one-eyed prick's watchdog! He sees everything! He must have warned him!"
"You mean the guy behind Odin?" Morgana asked, her eyes narrowed. "And how the fuck does he see everything? Can he see through walls? See through my panties!"
SMACK!
"Focus, you idiot!" Augusta smacked Morgana on the back of her head. "He's not looking at your fucked-up holes! He sees souls! Auras! He can probably see the lie in your soul from realms away!"
'Fuck... so that's why,' Morgana thought, her mind racing. She had underestimated the Norse gods. She thought they were just a bunch of arrogant, old fools sitting on their thrones. But she was wrong. They were powerful, cunning, and they had ways of seeing things that she couldn't even comprehend.
"What should we do now?" Augusta asked, her hand already glowing with dark fire, ready to fight. "Fight our way out?"
"No," Morgana said, shaking her head. "We can't fight them both. Not here. Not now. We need to retreat and rethink."
"Sigh... you really are a pain in the ass." Augusta sighed, then she tapped on her collector's bracelet, opening a portal.
"Eh?"
Except the portal didn't open.
"What's wrong?" Morgana asked, her heart starting to pound in her chest.
"I... I can't open it," Augusta said, her voice trembling slightly. "He's... he's blocking me. He's using Gungnir's authority to seal this realm."
"He can do that?!" Morgana exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Looks like the old bastard is more serious than we thought," Augusta said, her face grim.
Morgana shifted her focus back to Odin, who was now standing motionless, the spear in his hand pulsing with a dark, ominous light.
She slowly stood up. A dark living armor started covering her body. It was Hunger, the living armor, a gift from her wife Lilith.
"Then..."
In her right hand, she held a long double-edged sword crafted from her own blood.
"...we fight."