Lost Drop - Imperial World Tree

Imperial World Tree

This one was from a bit earlier than even Shattered Veil. I was probably sixteen or seventeen when I started to write this? It’s, uh, it’s kinda bad? It’s also super interesting to me how some of my ideas showed up even way back here. If you’ve read Myth//OS, you might recognize something.

This was going to be a journey through the dimensions type story. The MC joins the Asgardian Legions and battles through all sorts of crazy dimensions for various reasons alongside the Norse gods. Sci-fi, cultivation, and fantasy all fall before the might of the Odin’s Warriors.

I even had a cool power system planned out based around tattoos, story telling, and myths. Oh, and the MC would’ve joined the Legion of Ratatoskr. But beware, not all is at seems in this setting. Or there was a massive plot twist planned out, anyway. Not that it really matters anymore.

— — —

Chapter 1

A girl of about sixteen or seventeen years raced through a filthy back alley. Her breaths came in short and fast pants as her feet pounded against the ground. White fog accompanied each breath as the cool night’s air burned at her lungs.

She carefully ran, her eyes blurred from drowsiness, dodging past loose rubble and debris that threatened to trip her. Under the guidance of the careless moon oh so far above, she ran with all her might on injured limbs.

With but a glance, the reason for her desperate flight revealed itself. Behind her, chasing with warped faces twisted in mad glee, a figure pursed closely. The light of the moon illuminated the abomination, showing its pitted skin and pock-marked flesh. 

The creature ran on two legs as its two arms swung rapidly. It’s two heads—both maniacally laughing—bore horrifying variations of grins. They showed off dagger-like teeth soaked in the blood of previous victims. The muscles bulged and deflated under their warped skin, appearing like thousands of worms wiggling about. The nightmare-inducing monster chased at the perfect pace to keep up, but not fast enough to catch up.

Her face, long drained of emotion since the start of the apocalypse, could be called a mess at best. A fresh wound laced down her cheek and to her jaw, intermittently dripping blood past a hastily thrown together bandage. Her hair, a frizzy mess of dark red locks, was slicked to her forehead with sweat. No emotion other than drowsiness leaked into her expression even as the horrifying chase continued.

Her hand slipped down to an empty holster at her waist. Ever since she left her shelter, her voyage had been a shit show wearing down her resources and stamina. Even now, she was on her final leg. Out of weapons. Out of supplies. Out of luck, it would seem.

From behind, a warped and demented voice came from one of the monster’s heads. “W-what—ohahahaha-ha—do a pursuing murderer and a- a victim have in common?”

The other head responded, its voice rippling with twisted laughter. “Pfft! What?”

”They’re both running for the same life! Kahahahahaha-HAAA!” Both heads roared with laughter, their voices joining together to cause the nearby windows to vibrate.

The girl ignored the maniacal monsters, just as she had the entire time they chased her. Their jokes were a well known mental attack amongst the survivors of the end. Giving them any space in her brain would only do her harm. 

She turned a corner, dashing down a different alley. This one was just as filthy as the last, though there was something that gave her hope. A fire escape dangled from the alley wall. It’s foundation had worn away with past explosions. Cracks and holes arched up from the bottom of the wall all the way to the roof.

More importantly, a soldier’s corpse lay pressed up against the fire escape with signs of decay visible under the moonlight. A plan formed in her brain as she shifted directions, aiming for the loose fire escape. If she was lucky, she’d be able to find a weapon of some kind on the corpse.

She had never been one to trust in luck though. It was fickle by nature. And her innate abilities ever since the apocalypse started only proved such a notion. 

The girl activated her Sight. The entire world faded into a dull gray shade. The dull gray spread out from her into a sphere stretching about fifteen steps. Beyond the edges of the grey world, a deep shadowy abyss lurked. 

Within the sphere, countless threads stretched out. They wove through everything, giving definition to the world around it. They strung in the air, creating a tapestry of copper, silver, and black threads. 

She looked around the countless threads, taking it all in. Her head pounded with an increasingly brutal headache as her eyes burned. The sphere slowly started to shrink the longer she held up her view of the threads. 

She glanced over her shoulder towards the monstrosity chasing her. A portion of the strings in the air originated from the center mass of the creature. Said threads gave them definition in an otherwise bleak view as they wrapped around their bodies. 

The threads wove through the two headed monster’s body, originating from a small spherical orb about the size of a tennis ball. The orbs, like the creatures being, were cracked and heavily warped. Most of the strings from the creature were copper and silver, with only a few black ones woven in between. 

She turned back, looking at the threads spilling out from herself. Several black ones lead down the alley, though a few arched up along the fire escape. A few copper ones entwined alongside the black ones leading up. She looked harder, catching sight of a silver brilliance tightly bound by the soul corroding darkness of the black ones.

Harder still she looked.

There, hidden under all of that, sat a paper thin golden string. It was so small and hard to spot she’d miss if it not looking for it specifically. The golden string, the reason she originally left her shelter and went out into the fallen city, led her ever onward. Toward the fire escape

The girl tracked the small golden thread as far as she could, though it cut off abruptly as it met the outer wall of the sphere. The rapidly shrinking sphere. The abyssal darkness beyond her vision lurked only ten steps away now. 

She tried to track it again, losing it amongst the countless threads. No matter. She knew which patch it led now.

She nearly stumbled as she deactivated her Sight. The blinding colors of the world returned, flash-banging her as she locked back onto the fire escape. Her head pounded. Tires welled up in her eyes, dying her vision… red? 

She swiped at her eyes to clear them, revealing blood pooling from the flesh. She couldn’t worry about it now though. Not with that abomination still following closely behind.

Using a nearby dumpster as a stepping stone, her severely drained muscles ached as she leapt for the edge of the fire escape. Even as blood welled from her eyes, nearly blinding her, she accurately gripped the lip of the escape and pulled herself up.

The thick calluses on her hands pulled in pain as anti-climb spikes on the metal dug in. She ignored the pain even as blood stained her hands, hauling herself up.

She raced up three flights of stairs, nearly to the top. Just as hope of escape hammered into her heart, she heard the monster’s voice call out cheerfully amongst broken laughter. “H-hey. Why do they call them flights of stairs?”

The other head responded through its insane laughter. “W-why?”

”Because people are know to fly off!” The creature grabbed the fire escape and shook it with its full strength.

The girl harshly slammed into the metal railing, feeling something in her side crack. The impact hit her tired mind like a truck, jostling it back into full awareness as she ignored the crazed laughter from below. 

“No fun! Y-you ruined my joke! Fly off and go s-splat!” The monster called up after her as she continued on toward the soldier’s corpse at the top of the stairs. Every step caused her chest to hurt. If nothing else, the end of her world had taught her pain tolerance though. She barely registered it as she pressed on.

The fire escape shook again, though this time it seemed unintentional as she glanced over the railing. The monster slowly pulled itself up onto the fire escape, causing the entire thing to shake under the thing’s weight.

She sped up even more, racing for the soldier’s corpse at the top. She rapidly searched for anything of value, withdrawing a round object. Grenade. It was good enough. It was too close to keep looking for more.

The wound on her face ached in the cold night air as she flicked on her sight once more, watching the threads weave back into a tapestry. Her eyes bled even more in the short glimpse she took, though it was enough.

Without hesitation, she started to kick a certain anchor point on the top of the wall. A point the silver thread had ended in. With each heavy kick, the already cracked structure weaved and shook. Combined with the weight of the monster, it wreaked havoc on the structural integrity of the fire escape. 

With one final kick, the cracked wall crumbled apart. The fire escape fell with it, bringing parts of the building down with it as the cracks spread down the wall. Everywhere the fire escape connected, the cracks widened until the entire metal structure fell with it into a heap.

She lout out a harsh breath and leaned over the stonework. Through the dust and debris billowing up the alley, she could still hear the distinctly crazed laughter of one of the heads. It was still alive. Though the other head was silent.

WIthout hesitation, the girl pulled the pin on the grenade and tossed it down to the monster. A few seconds later, it flashed on the ground, exploding into a fireball. The dust seemed to cause the fireball to grow exponentially. The entire alley lit up with the explosion. A shock wave hit her a second later, knocking her backward as a thunderous bang rang out.

She waited for a minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. No crazed laughter made its way up the alley. It was dead. Finally. She collapsed onto the roof, fully feeling the effects of whatever cracked in her chest. She groaned in pain and finally relaxed for the first time since she left shelter. Her tired eyes closed-

Her awareness snapped back as her sharp survivor’s intuition began to ring alarm bells of danger. Something else was approaching. She wanted to punch a brick wall at her stupidity.

She should’ve known the explosion would’ve brought something else over to check it out. The moment she relaxed was already a death sentence. It was only a matter of time till it reached her.

She glanced to where her intuition screamed at her from. Her ruined eyes, clouding everything in a read haze, caught sight of the danger. A fleshy monster with blood soaked wings and an armored body covered in viscera. 

It was too late to escape. Especially from a flying monster. Use her sight? No- it would only make her situation worse. Figures. The first time she’d ever seen and followed a gold thread, and it got her killed. Stupid. So stupid. Why? Curiosity always killed the survivor.

A final plan slowly formed. She would rather die than let these- these abominable invaders capture her. She’d seen what became of other captured survivors. At best they became horribly warped experiments wishing for death. At worse, they were twisted both physically and mentally into becoming hunting dogs like the previous laughing stocks.

As her muscles tiredly spasmed in complaint of overwork, she pushed herself back up. She stood tall and proud, her bloody stare catching the winged monster approaching her. With the final bit of strength in her body, she flung herself off the ledge and towards the shattered ground far below-

— — —

Chapter 2

Before she could fall more than a foot, a soft hand grasped her by the arm and stopped her descent. Her soul was instantly crushed when she felt the creature pull her back to solid ground. She twisted and punched, desperately trying to break free.

“Let go!” Her rough voice, gravely from being unused for so long, cracked sharply thanks to dehydration. She doubled down as she struggled for her life- er, her death. No way she would let this wicked beast take her with it-

“Calm, child. I’m no monster.” A voice, soft and melodious, called out. It was so beautiful, by far the most beautiful voice she’d ever heard. It had such a deep warmth to it too. Like the kind of warmth that she could’ve heard back before the end of the world ripped everyone she loved from her.

For once. Just for once. She wanted to give up. To approach the source of such a calming voice without suspicion. Then her mind finally cleared itself of its daze and her struggles renewed with vigor. “I won’t fall for your tricks!”

Something cold splashed over her clouded eyes, washing away the blood that accumulated in them. The liquid felt extraordinarily refreshing as part of her headache cleared away and the heat in her eyes faded.

Although her eyes were still injured, tearing up with blood, the cold liquid let her see the monster who grabbed her-

The girl’s breath left her in a gasp as she saw beauty not of this world. A woman with long tresses of silver hair neatly tied behind her head stood there, holding her arm in a soft grip. Glamorous armor covered her chest and legs, leaving muscular arms exposed. 

A set of radiant silver wings spread out from her back, seeming to shine with an invisible light. Every feather glowed slightly. They ruffled in the wind as a cool breeze blew over the roof. There’s no way someone so beautiful and angelic could be a monster, right? 

What were the wings anyway? Mechanical in nature? Or biological? Genetic manipulation was the newest thing before the end of the world, right? So maybe this woman was one of the successful results? But why was she here?

Just as quickly as she could see again, her vision clouded up with blood. “W-who are you?”

The figure raised her arm to her chest, offering a salute. “Ingrid of house Eir, in holy service of Lord Odin. May I know your name?”

”I-its Solis.” The girl froze up as her brain finally whirled into motion. She tapped the woman’s arm. “We need to leave before more arrive! The sound should have attracted more!” 

“Calm yourself, child. We are safe for the moment.” The woman’s voice held a strong twinge of wisdom, as if she had seen the entire surrounding area and knew for a fact nothing was near. It brokered no room for doubt.

Solis fell down and leaned up against the stone barricade surrounding the roof. “That’s a relief. Still, we should leave soon… sorry for leading them to you.”

”It is I that came to you.” The woman called.

Hearing such a line immediately caused the momentarily relaxed Solis to tense up once more. She stretched for her backpack- right, the monster knocked it off. Damn it! Her hand discreetly stretched for a loose stone. If only she still had her weapons. “Oh?”

“Fear not, child. I am not our enemy.” Ingrid of hours Ear—or whatever she called herself—walked over to an AC unit and took a seat. Her wings naturally lifted and flapped out of the way.

As if such a phrase could easily convince Solis. She wrapped her hand around the stone. She slowly positioned herself and got ready to spring back up. “Then what are you?

“A Valkyrie. In search of my Einheri. One who will take up a sacred oath and lift themselves to fight for the Endless Realms under Lord Odin.” She flicked her hand. In a flash of light, as if by magic, a spear materialized out of nowhere.

Solis blinked, only making her bloody vision worse as she tried to process what was going on. Was that magic? Like real magic? Magic was impossible- or at least that’s what she would’ve said back then… now? After the end of the world? After people mutated into monstrosities and she awoke the ability to see threads? Anything was possible.

The girl’s grip tightened on the stone at the appearance of the weapon. The winged woman before her seemed to emanate a strong pressure as she stood there with her spear. If only she could use her Sight one more time- no, wait, was this the golden thread?

”What do you mean?” Solis decided to play it safe and ask questions to buy herself time to process. There was too much going on all at once.

Instead of immediately answering, the self-proclaimed Valkyrie waved her spire out toward the ravaged city. No- to the ravaged world. Her voice twinged with guilt. “What happened in this world is truly a pity. We arrived too late to help.”

Solis froze. “What do you mean?”

“The Einharjar try to prevent tragedies such as this across the realms. By coming with me, you would join the ranks of proud warriors protecting the realms from destruction.”

Solis’s brain struggled to keep up. This woman talked of many realms. That was like string theory and stuff, right? Or the infinite reality theories? Becoming a warrior to protect all of that- “Why me? What about the other survivors?” 

“The Einharjar that’ve already arrived are working on resettling the survivors in a realm protected by Lord Odin and the Gods. A safe realm. If you refuse my offer, you may join them in the relocation process until this world is safely cleansed of its taint. There, they’ll be expected to take on odd jobs to support the war efforts.” Ingrid shrugged. “As for why you? You have what it takes to become an Einheri.”

“What do I get out of it?” It was always the most important question. Ever since the end, Solis had lived by the rules of self-preservation and calculation decision making. Her Sight made it easy. 

The Valkyrie shifted her wings from side the side. “Other than serve a noble cause? Einharjar are known to gain power through battle. Depending on which patron you chose to serve under, you can also gain great strength. Lord Thor is known for granting his warriors the ability to control lighting.”

Individual power… it sounded nice. It sounded really nice. Controlling lightning? Magic? Solis wouldn’t have to flee from a mere two headed monstrosity ever again if she had greater personal strength. Her only power was supportive at best. 

Leaving this hellish world though… It was so extremely tempting. Anywhere would be better than here, where the last remnants of humanity are hunted by warped perversions of the natural world. 

“What would I need to do?” Solis asked hesitantly as her grip on the stone loosened. It was a beautiful dream, but nothing ever came free.

“Return with me to Asgard. You’ll be put alongside other Einheri hopefuls and pick a patron to serve under. From there? It depends on which group you join.” The Valkyrie stood up, stretching out here wings. “Decide, child. My time draws short.”

Solis only had to think about it for a few moments. Go to a safe planet and integrate back into a society? Become just another cog supporting the war effort of cosmic proportions? Or go out into the wider cosmos as a protector. As a warrior. 

Even if she did go back to a normal society, would she even be able to blend back in and forget all of this happened? That she was one of the few survivors of the end? The things she’d seen… the things she’d done… No. Even if she went back, living a peaceful life as though nothing happened would be impossible. Over half her life had been spent surviving the wastes of the world.

There was no going back. At least not for her. Her heart had been forged and steeled in the fires of the world. “Take me with you.”

The Valkyrie offered a brilliant smile as her platinum locks swayed in the wind. “Good.”

The Valkyrie took something out from a pouch at her waist. It looked like a sphere with a bright internal fire in it. Ingrid shook the sphere, agitating the internal flame as a kaleidoscope of colors swirled around the edges of the sphere. Then, she offered a hand to Solis.

Solis, half blind from her injuries, took the offered hand. Then the Valkyrie through the sphere at the ground. The sphere shattered into a rainbow burst of light as Solis felt her sense of balance, depth perception, and spatial awareness go entirely out of whack.

— — —

Chapter 3

Solis stumbled as soon as she felt ground underneath her, gagging as intense nausea overpowered her senses. Bile rose in the back of her throat, though she had gone too long in hunger and thirst for anything to come up along with it. She choked it back, wiping blood from her eyes as she stared at the ground in shock. 

Gone was the ruined rooftop she just stood on. Now she knelt on ancient stonework, entwined together by ancient looking roots. Each stone was intricately carved at one point, though the carvings had been worn smooth over the years.

The roots hidden beneath the stonework were something Solis had never seen before. They seemed to glow with a white light shingling from their pure white bark. 

The ground below her seemed to be made of a mystical crystal, both see through and radiating iridescent light. Countless rainbows flowed through the crystal, shining brightly. There, hidden underneath the layers of rainbow, she could see shapes twisting and turning. Constantly moving. She could almost make out-

“Best not to look too deeply into the Bifrost.” Ingrid called as she helped the girl to her feet. “It’s been known to drive all but Heimdall mad. Ah, and welcome to Asgard.”

Solis stood with the help of the Valkyrie, casting her gaze around to take in her current location. She was in an entirely different place then where she’d just been. The drab concrete walls of the fallen city were replaced with resplendent stones and intricate golden carvings. 

She stood in a massive chamber- no that wasn’t quite right. It was like a harbor of sorts, with a seemingly endless rainbow bridge stretching out behind her. It was as though a harbor was built into a cliff overlooking a great void. 

Water rushed from around the cliff, spilling unendingly into the great void surrounding the Bifrost. The rushing waterfalls shone with an inner light as if the Bifrost had infused its rainbow glow into them.

Massive spires stretched up into the sky all around her, reflecting the iridescence of the- the Bifrost, she remembered Ingrid called it. Towers and fortifications surrounded the place harbor, with warriors patrolling around. 

Unlike the harbors she’d seen in her life, there were no boats. Instead, people and cargo came and went in flashes of rainbow light. They magically teleported in and out as people that looked like port officials led them around.

People constantly came and went, wearing all sorts of different clothes and with different looks. Styles from across the realms, if Solis had been correctly following so far. There were even beings that didn’t look human in the mix, though Solis was too distracted by the pure grandeur of this place to pay much attention.

There were those like her, staring around in wonder at the mystical harbor-like place. Some were covered in grime, guided by Valkyries just as she’d been. Others seemed to be old professionals at this, coming and going without any guide.

And the sky! Oh, the sky! It was covered in a constant aurora borealis. The lights reflected off of a twilight sky, most of the light coming from somewhere on the other side of the mountain that the harbor was anchored to. So many stars were lit up past the bright northern lights.

”This is Himinbjorg, the only entrance of Asgard. Come on, chosen. Let’s get you registered and sent to the Takhjol.” Ingrid didn’t offer any words to help the still dazed girl, instead opting to drag her along.

The next several minutes passed by in a blur to Solis. Everything was just so grand and extravagant that it literally overrode her head. Fantastical carvings and precious metals merged with gold inlays and iridescent stonework blinded her. 

And then there were the roots. Giant pure white roots speared through the stonework, supported by ornate pillars and arches. A distinct diamond pattern repeated across the white bark as it glowed faintly. It was almost like looking at a diamond reflecting light.

For over half her life, she’d only been around the war torn remnants of a fallen world, so this pure level of wealth hit her over the head like a truck. For several moments, she just stared in shock at how much different things were here.

And then, by the time she realized it, they had left the harbor overlooking the void and gone through the mountain that Himinbjorg sat in. They left the other side, arriving at a much more typical port. Gold encrusted boats sat at the dock, floating on gentle waters. 

Far beyond the port sat a vast stretch of water, with dozens if not hundreds of different islands scattered amongst it. Great bridges connected some of them, roots stretched out to nearly every island. Everything was obscured by a faint fog, hiding it from view.

The most noticeable thing by far was a gargantuan tree growing from the middle of the archipelago. It stretched up into the heavens, branching across the entire sky. It was so big that Solis had a hard time conceptualizing just how big it was. It easily dwarfed even the smallest of towers she’d seen back in her world. 

The entire tree looked pure white as it glowed faintly with an ethereal energy. Rainbow leaves covered the branches of the giant tree, shining faintly down onto the rest of Asgard. It, and the lanterns hanging from its branches, seemingly acted as the sun of this place.

Buildings and abodes hung from a few of the branches. Giant lanterns crackling with a golden fire hung alongside the occasional building. A giant palace at the base of the tree, reaching halfway up its trunk, caught Solis’s eye.

”Impressive, isn’t it? Yggdrasil, the cosmic tree of life. All of Asgard is built upon its roots…” Ingrid said.

Her voice snapped Solis back to focus. The girl stared around, gazing past all the wonder as her guard raised back up. This was an entirely new world; one that played by unknown rules. Now wasn’t the time to get lost looking around like a child. “Yes, impressive. Where is it you said we were going?”

Ingrid led the way onto a boat. As soon as Solis stepped onto the boat, feeling it shift in the unsteady waters below, her stomach started to roll slightly. It was the first time she’d ever left solid ground like this. “Takhjol. The hall of patronage. You’ll choose one of the lords to serve under, whether it be the ever famous Lord Thor, or a more subtle god like Vidar.”

“I don’t know any of these people-“ Solis stared.

”Gods.” The Valkyrie insisted.

”These gods. How will I know who to pick?” Solis asked. 

Ingrid frowned as the captain of the boat shouted. In mere moments, the boat set off into the massive stretch of water hanging on the roots of Yggdrasil and the waiting Asgard archipelago. “Just go with your gut… I won’t have time to tell you of every god in the pantheon.”

Solis looked around and her eyes landed on a small squirrel far away from the main ones.

— — —

I kinda of want to return to this one? I dunno. I like making my own settings and stuff, and I felt constrained by Norse mythology. That was also the reason I originally dropped this one, actually. That and writer’s block.

Probably the last one for today. I have a bunch of other ones, but I don’t know how many of them will get to appear here.