Chapter 320: Life to Death

Chapter 320: Life to Death

13thMay 2013, Asgard

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

“Yes, you were my students, but not my apprentices. My purpose was to teach you how to control your powers but taking Loki as my apprentice would be me teaching him things that I wouldn’t really consider teaching to anyone.”

Frigga looked hesitantly, “I am not sure if this is wise…”

I shrugged, “Your son has unlocked a very dangerous power during the fight, one that could lead to him falling in madness. He would make what happened before look like a small weekend. I need to make sure that he’s not overwhelmed. If you’re very much against the idea, I will not press the issue, but I will ask him for his opinion about the matter either way.”

Both of them reluctantly nodded and I continued, “One last thing…”

Frigga replied, “Yes?”

“Can you tell me what happened to Hela?”

“She’s currently in the dungeons. Your bindings are still working.”

I gave her a predatory grin, “I wish to speak to her about something…”

“Are you sure? She hasn’t said a word ever since the battle.”

I nodded, “Trust me, Queen of Asgard, I can be very persuasive, and the Goddess of Death will want to hear what I have to say.”

(Hela Odinsdottir POV)

Hela wasn’t used to be overpowered. Yet, it happened exactly five times in her long life. The first time was when the Morrigan defeated her thousands of years ago. She had thought to use Midgard as a base for her glorious conquest of what she had thought was her future empire. Soon after, she was bound and imprisoned by her father to Nifleheim, but even then, she was still recovering from her fight with the Midgardian witch.

As for the last three moments, they happened in the mere minutes after she was able to get free from her prison. First at the hand of her younger brother, then she was controlled by that abomination, before being again easily wiped out by that damn Morrigan woman, something that she was begrudgingly glad happened. Not being in control of herself was just wrong. She never wanted to feel this vulnerable, this weak.

Which brought her to her current predicament. She was bound with power nullifying chains and tossed into the dungeons. To be completely truthful, the worst thing was the fact that she was effectively erased from Asgard’s history. No one knew who she was. She was supposed to be their future queen, and yet no one remembered her.

The sad thing was that she was glad to be in this dungeon. It was better than Helheim, that’s for sure. She was alone then, in an empty world, always weakened and drained. It was horrible, and seeing people alive around her, even if they’re sneering at her from outside her cell, was far better than the emptiness that she lived in for thousands of years.

Hela accepted the fact that she wasn’t going out of her cell for a very long time, but it was better than before. Odin would soon wake up – he was hurt far worse than anything like it during their conquest days – and he will probably either banish her again the Helheim or execute her. Not that even he knows if he could kill her. Her connection to Asgard was still there, just very muted. And so, the goddess of death chose to enjoy her time in Asgard for whatever time she had left.

She missed this place, the golden floors, the glorious architecture. She almost forgot what Asgard looked like. She even forgot what it smelled like; Hela was used to the light sulfuric smell that existed throughout Nifleheim.

Nevertheless, Hela was prepared for the end. She wished that Odin would execute her and not banish her to this place. Helheim truly was monstrous, but it was the fact that it is a barren wasteland that doesn’t stop draining her energy that made her so very reluctant to return. She preferred death over another couple thousands of years of solitude.

However, for the first time since she got here, the cell doors opened, and a figure entered. It was the Morrigan. She conjured some sort of seat and looked and the bound Hela. With a wave of her hand, the goddess of death’s shackles disappeared, leaving her completely unbound.

Hoping that the witch was being arrogant, Hela prepared to conjure a few weapons, and yet nothing appeared. She tried once more, and again, nothing happened.

Hela heard a snort from her captor, “That’s not going to work. I bound your powers, your very connection to Asgard. They’re still there, simply muted.”

With another wave of her hand, another seat appeared. The witch then gestured to the seat and rightful heiress of Asgard glared at her, then sat down, “Are you here to gloat? To laugh at my misfortune?”

The Morrigan let out a few chuckles, “Why would I ever do that? I am not that petty. Well, sometimes I can be, but only if there’s something personal involved. No offense to you, but we do not know each other enough for me to for an attachment to your fate. I wouldn’t care if you were to die right now, or if you were to escape this prison cell and the realm all together. No, my dear Hela, I am here simply to speak.”

The goddess of death shuddered at the apathy in the woman’s voice and steeled her nerves to reply, “Then what do you wish to talk about?”

“We can talk about many things, but first I wanted to ask if you knew the people who freed you from Helheim. Did you have any idea who they were, what they had done?”

It wasn’t the question she expected, but she still didn’t mind answering, “No, I did not.”

And she was telling the truth; Hela didn’t know who these Gods of the Gods were, nor why they waged war with Odin. She didn’t expect much; Asgard was built on the way of the warrior. Battle was in their blood. The All-father fighting some obscure entities wasn’t that unusual in her time. She only cared for her revenge, to fulfill the purpose that she had given herself when she was banished.

The Morrigan must have believed her because she answered, “I thought so. If you had known what they had done, you would not have accepted the offer. After all, they failed you as well.”

“Who were they, really?”

“They didn’t lie to you. They were the Gods of the Gods. You father called them Those Who Sit Above in Shadow, and they have enslaved the Asgardian race for millions of years, with only your father knowing what was happening, yet was incapable to resist their influence as well.”

Hela scoffed, “Asgard was built thousands of years ago.”

Strangely, the Morrigan nodded at her statement, “Yes, this Asgard has. But there has been countless Asgards in the past.”

“I don’t understand…”

“Ragnarök,” the witch simply replied.

That single word made her shudder in fear, “What does the end of the world have to do with this?”

The Morrigan gave her a sad smile, “Everything. Ragnarök is not the end of the world, nor the beginning. It is an endless cycle of Death and Rebirth. Asgard is born, rebuilt and then destroyed, over and over again, like an endless machine. Your soul is old, Hela, as is that of every Asgardian. You’re far older than you realize, you simply have forgotten who you used to be. These Gods of the Gods cannibalized the cycle, turned your lives into plays, turning you into puppets that dance to their tunes, in the hope get the maximum amount of the energy released by Ragnarök. They have done so for millions of years and planned on continuing until heat death of the universe. Only Odin understood what was happening when he performs his ritual, even then he’s already too much under their control to do anything.”

The ritual! That must be why he was so different afterwards, why he advocated peace. He must have remembered his past lives. No wonder he acted so differently afterwards.

Slowly digesting all of this, Hela finally realized what the woman in front of her was getting at, “So, they did this to me?”

The witch shrugged, “Normally, I would say yes. It does sound like something that they would do. They liked to use you and Loki to bring about Ragnarök. And keeping you imprisoned would help cultivate your resentment on Odin. But during this cycle, they were severely weakened by the previous version of Thor, so their influence over Odin, while still existing, was less forceful. Odin could have wanted to banish you, or maybe he had no choice but to do so. We don’t know, and we may never know.”

“Can’t the Old Man tell you when he’ll get up?” Hela asked incredulously.

“We don’t know if he’ll ever wake up, Hela.”

“He’s survived far worse wounds than a single stab.”

The Morrigan gave her a sad look, “My dear, your father wasn’t stabbed with an ordinary sword. It was the Necrosword.”

Hela gasped. Of course, she had learnt about the Necrosword; she had though to emulate it in her conjuration by combining her magic into a curse in every one of her blades. It still was nothing compared to the legends of Knull, and his mythical sword that slaughtered thousands of celestials by himself. She had admired him once, but now, she could only curse him. That blade might take any chance at her getting her answers.”

“So, he really could be innocent, then?” Hela muttered to herself.

The Morrigan must have heard her because she answered, “Yes, he could. Odin can be ruthless, and a control freak, I will admit that. He was a warmonger in his youth, he always is in every lifetime, and he did have a tendency of banishing his own children to teach them a lesson. But he wouldn’t just banish you to a place like Helheim if he had any hope or any love for you. And you were his child, and Odin does love his children. Although, I did have a laugh imagining his reaction when he realized you were his daughter.”

Hela growled, “Why did you?”

“Well, you were always Loki’s daughter, not Odin’s. He must have shat himself when he realized that you were his daughter in this incarnation.”

Hela snorted and suppressed a chuckle. That must have been an amusing sight.

The Morrigan continued, “Alright, now, the reason I’m here is to make you an offer. Your brother and his mother have given me their blessing, so don’t worry about it much. I know you Hela, you’re a creature of war and battle. And I am planning on fighting a war with much higher scale than ever seen before. My enemy is stronger than anything you have ever faced before, and even then, his pawn and his lieutenants are no joke. We are fighting a war against the very end itself, against an Endless being, and should you help me and survive the fight, then all your crimes, all your failures will be forgiven. You will be welcomed back to Asgard as a princess.”

“Endless? Do you mean…”

The woman nodded, and Hela gulped. She was right, this was a fight far above her, and yet even now, she craved combat and conflict. The idea of returning to Asgard as a free woman was enticing but she couldn’t help but ask, “Why should I help you?”

The woman gave her a knowing glance, “Because he’s the one who took over your will and stabbed your father in the back.”

Hela stiffened. She remembered the feeling of weakness and wanted nothing to do with it. She ignored the pain in her heart when she saw her father being stabbed. In the back of all places, what a dishonorable way of fighting. No matter what happened, she could not let her father’s potential death stay unavenged, “I agree.”

The Midgardian witch nodded, “Good. What about your father?”

“I’ll assume that he was under the Shadows’ control until he wakes up. When he does, I will confront him.”

The woman nodded, “Don’t expect much, Hela. Mind control or not, Odin is still an asshole at the best of times.”

Hela stifled a snort at this. Yes, that was an apt way of describing Odin.