They had all left the white room, heading toward the cafeteria.
They entered, it was still early, and only a few soldiers were already there. Tachi was waiting for them at a table where the plates were already filled and set in the right number.
They all sat down. "So, how are you all doing?" Tachi asked.
"Good. Where were you?" Akyo asked.
"I saw an old friend. Nothing important," he replied.
Njord and Skadi exchanged a glance. They understood that he had failed to rally Leif to their cause. Both of them looked saddened but said nothing.
They all began eating, especially Sigurd, who was demolishing his plate as if there were no tomorrow.
Sōsuke stared at him. "Is this some sort of training? Do I need to do the same?"
He grabbed his fork the way he held his sword and began trying to match Hodr's speed.
Akyo, however, barely ate. He stared blankly into space.
Ana, who was sitting beside him, noticed. "You okay?"
He snapped out of his thoughts. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry."
Gellahan joined them, for the first time since his arrival, which surprised more than a few of them.
"Spencer! You should've seen it! Sigurd and Njord started fighting seriously, it was crazy!!" Sōsuke shouted with his mouth full, spraying food into Skadi's hair.
She immediately hit him on the head. "Don't talk with your mouth full!"
Spencer laughed, a plate was placed in front of him, but he didn't even notice.
"How are you doing?" Tachi asked.
Spencer pulled out a notebook and opened it. "Very well, thank you. But I've been thinking these past few days about your assault on Asgard, and I would like to ask Mr. Njord a few questions."
The sea god turned toward him. "Which ones?"
"Well, we talked about the enemies you might encounter there, but it seems we may have overlooked some," the historian said.
Njord thought for a moment but couldn't see what he meant. "Who?"
Spencer showed him a page. "It says that glorious dead warriors are sent to Valhalla to fill Odin's army, the Einherjar. The other half of these warriors join Fólkvangr, the palace of the goddess Freyja. Do they not exist?"
Njord leaned back in his chair and buried his face in his hands. "I assumed Odin was with us, but it's true that the Einherjar are probably following the usurper without even knowing it."
Everyone at the table turned toward him.
"So… it's going to be even harder?" Akyo asked.
Gellahan continued, "But if the Einherjar truly exist, how many are there? They're described as thousands, but if the Valkyries have been bringing warriors for millennia, their number must be enormous."
"Not really," Skadi said.
Everyone listened the goddess as she explained, "The number of Einherjar has been stable for a long time. Many centuries ago, the Valkyries disappeared."
Silence fell heavily over the table, especially on Gellahan and Sigurd's side.
The god of darkness thought, 'An entire faction of gods that important just vanished?'
Gellahan exclaimed, "How? They were so important!"
"Honestly, I have no idea," Njord said. "From what we were told, they simply vanished, which of course is impossible. So I don't know. Because of their disappearance, Odin's fear of Ragnarök pushed him to bring the army of Sessrúmnir into Valhalla, creating one enormous army, and leaving Freyja without warriors."
Gellahan quickly wrote the information down in his notebook.
Tachi thought, 'Thirteen fewer Valkyries to fight. I won't celebrate their disappearance, but it helps us.'
Akyo then said, "But the Einherjar will still cause us problems,"
"Almost all of them won't," Njord said. "They're still humans. But I've heard some of them are capable of rivaling a god."
"How is that possible?" Tachi asked. "They're not able to kill us anyway."
Skadi corrected him. "Don't be so sure. They're humans who brushed against godhood thanks to Odin."
"I'm still not convinced, but who are they?" Tachi asked.
"I don't know exactly how their army works," she said, "but there are more than ten notable ones. I know five of them who stands far above the rest: Helgi Hundingsbane, Sigmund, Ragnar Lodbrok, Beowulf… and the strongest of them all, Sigurd the dragon slayer."
Sōsuke raised his head. "Damn, you're one of them, Sigurd?"
Hodr sighed. "We just have the same name, idiot. It's a common name. The legend of Sigurd is very popular… but I thought he was only a legend."
"I mean, we're part of those legends," Njord said.
Sigurd laughed and resumed eating. 'he's not wrong,'
Tachi had just finished his plate. "Thank you, Gellahan. Now we know what to expect." He stood up. "Enjoy the afternoon. We leave tonight at 7 PM."
—--------------------
The helicopters had taken off, the entire team was silent, even Sōsuke didn't dare speak.
Akyo was thinking about Ana, while the more experienced gods mentally prepared themselves for the coming battle.
Especially Tachi, who knew the fight he was about to face was the most important one. A defeat against Tyr would probably be fatal for all of them.
They were heading toward Galdhøpiggen, the most convenient passage point to reach the Bifrost.
Tachi, who had already used it once, asked Njord, "Are you sure Heimdall will open the bridge? Isn't he supposed to see and feel everything in the worlds?"
Njord laughed. "Don't worry. Heimdall isn't what he used to be. He's no longer capable of that kind of feat. And he's far too lazy to regain that ability."
'He really doesn't like him… wow,' Tachi thought with a smile. "Do you hate all of them as much as him?"
"Not at all. I like most of them, the others are hypocritical and liars. We're not going to fight only bad people, they're being manipulated. But the gods are so proud that the only way to make them understand they're wrong is to beat the hell out of them!" Njord exclaimed.
In the second vehicle, Akyo was stressed about something, "Sigurd, are you sure he'll be able to protect the base?"
Sigurd le fixa, "Lugus? Don't worry, he's a lord after all, and clearly not the weakest in a one on one fight. Don't worry, the base is in good hands." He reassured him.
They flew for several hours before reaching the mountain, where they found a flat enough place to land.
The helicopters left after they all got out.
"It's cold. Can we get to the top quickly?" Sōsuke asked.
"You wouldn't last three minutes in Niflheim if you think that's cold," Tachi replied.
They climbed higher and higher toward the summit.
Akyo noticed that Odin had been silent. "You okay, Magnus?"
He snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh—yeah, sorry. Don't worry," he said briefly.
'He must be scared. It's his first battle after all,' Akyo thought. "Don't overthink it. Everything's going to be fine."
They finally reached the summit. Skadi took a horn out of a bag and handed it to Njord, who blew into it once.
The horn produced a massive sound.
Njord waited a few moments, then blew again.
The younger gods stood behind the group, while Skadi, Sigurd, and Tachi stood next to Njord.
They all looked relaxed, but deep down they were boiling with anticipation, especially Tachi, ready to redeem himself for the young god he had allowed to be captured.
Suddenly the air cracked, and a rainbow portal appeared before them.
Sōsuke stepped back. "What's that…?"
"So, that's the Bifrost," Akyo murmured.
No one had stepped into the portal yet, and Tachi shouted, "It's going to be difficult, but we won't lose! We will restore Magnus to his throne and free this pantheon from Loki's madness. Don't forget, we are fighting to prevent the end of the world!"
Sigurd smiled.
Njord cracked his arm. "Can we go now? I'm itching for it. I've got some scores to settle."
He turned around and walked toward the portal.
Akyo stepped forward toward Tachi, they looked at each other and thought the same thing.
'We're coming, Soren!'