WIEDERGEBURT Act VI: Chapter 16

Traveling sixteen kilometers in less than a second was a simple task for someone who had reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism with the earth element. Once a Spiritualist merged with the ground, they basically became one with the earth and could pop up anywhere in the world, provided they had enough Spiritual Power to accomplish such a task.

I did not appear before Skude quite yet. I merely tracked him as he moved through the trees, traveled under roots shaped like archways, and climbed onto branches so he could observe his surroundings. While I could have appeared at any time I wanted, I did not. My goal in all this was not just defeating him but showing him how wrong his assessment of me at the banquet was.

Frustrating him to the point where he got angry and made careless mistakes would be an added bonus.

With a small burst of Spiritual Power, I launched several spikes from an ironwood tree. The obsidian projectiles flew forward swiftly.

Skude spun around and presented his shield. I felt Spiritual Power surge through him and into the shield, which lit up with runes that created a powerful barrier. The spikes smashed harmlessly against the barrier.

“HAAA!!!”

Swinging his sword, Skude sliced into the tree where the attacks had come from. I sensed death energy in that attack. The death energy eroded the tree along a very thin line. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but then the tree, which was about twenty meters thick, tilted backward. With a loud creak, the tree fell backward. It slammed into several more trees, then toppled to the ground, producing a loud earthquake that I could feel vibrating the earth.

“Come out!” Skude shouted as he looked around, turning in every direction as if expecting me to pop out anywhere. “Come out and face me like a man!”

My answer was to create several more spikes. These ones were small, hardly noticeable, and they attacked only his feet. Unfortunately, there were runes on his feet that created another protective barrier. They could not penetrate.

Skude leapt into the air and swung his sword, unleashing a powerful crescent-shaped wave of death energy that slammed into the ground, tearing it apart. A scar nearly a dozen meters long appeared where the crescent attack struck. However, just like last time, I was not there.

Skude’s face was turning red as he landed on the ground, a snarl causing his lips to peel back.

“Where is your honor?! Have you no sense of pride?!”

Pride? I couldn’t remember a time where I ever truly had any pride. It didn’t matter what I had to do in order to survive and live to fight another day. What use did pride have when you were facing off against a horde of inhuman beasts threatening to destroy you and every single person around you? Nothing. Pride was as useless as the people who talked about it.

I attacked him again.

Spears shot from the ground, but he cut them down before they could harm him. Two hands formed of the earth and tried to squash him between them. Skude jumped back and unleashed another crescent wave of death energy that slammed into the hands, killing them. As the earthen hands crumbled, turning into piles of rubble, the earth beneath his feet collapsed. Skude fell only for a moment before his body began floating in the air. However, he was in the chasm. It quickly closed around him, trapping him within the earth.

***

“What kind of disgraceful fighting is that?!” Klaue demanded to know. His face was as red as his son’s as he slammed his hands into the armrest.

“I’d hardly call it disgraceful,” Fray admonished, secretly enjoying the sight of Klaue looking so frustrated.

“Then what would you call this farce of a display?!”

Fray looked back at the bildschirm just in time to see an earth dragon appear from the ground. It was a surprisingly realistic creation. Four thick legs. Powerful wings on its back. A head covered in a crown of thorns while boney ridges trailed down its back, all the way to the end of its massive tail, which ended in a spiked tip. Fray had not seen a drakvar in a long time, but aside from the brown and obviously earthen color of its skin, this could have passed off for one.

“I would call it using superior tactics to upset the enemy,” Fray announced to everyone sitting on the balcony with them. Not only Klaue, but Tyr, Tor, Sif, Baldr, Hod, Frigg, and Vidar all looked at her. She continued. “Eryk is obviously not treating your son like an opponent but his prey. He is treating him as an animal that he might hunt. Of course, he also knows being treated like this will upset Skude and cause him to become careless. To use the enemy’s own hubris against him is a brilliant tactic.”

Klaue’s already red face could not turn anymore red than it already was. His arms shook with rage as he clenched his hands around the armrests, causing them to crack. A breath so ragged and harsh Fray expected fire to pour out emitted from his mouth as his shoulders heaved. Fray didn’t think she’d ever seen this man so angry before.

It was quite the treat.

“This… this arrogant child is dishonoring the duel! He is besmirching an honorable duel between two opponents! How can you not see that?! He should be punished for fighting in a duel using such atrocious tactics!”

“Since when did we call this a duel?” asked Tor.

“What?” Klaue was stopped in his tracks.

Tor removed his head from his hand, placed his hand on the armrest, and began tapping it periodically as he watched the fight. There was an interesting smile on his face. Fray wondered what he was thinking about, but he spoke up before she could ask.

“I do not believe I ever said this was a duel,” Tor said. “It is a hunting competition in which the goal is for these two to hunt each other. Eryk is treating Skude exactly as he should. It is Skude who is not treating Eryk appropriately.”

Klaue looked like he might burst a blood vessel. His every body became bright red like all the blood was threatening to explode out of his poores.

Fray had never liked Klaue, who was not only arrogant but also the kind of person who would foolishly throw away thousands of lives for the sake of upholding his honor. She’d heard many rumors about how he took advantage of women. She had even investigate this matter before, but she was unable to find any evidence of his wrongdoings, meaning he was either spotless or simply covered his tracks far too well. The only person she’d discovered who might have a connection to him was a young woman named Lifa. However, Lifa had left Ásgarðr several decades ago and disappeared before she could get her answers.

Fray wondered if maybe she could ask Eryk to help her uncover Klaue’s wrongdoings, but for now, she went back to watching the battle. It looked like the fight--no, it looked like the hunt was about to get even more interesting.

***

While it might have looked to the average eye like all I was doing was harassing Skude, the truth was that I was actually gathering information on my prey. Reaction times. Reflexes. Power. Abilities. I was creating a profile of Skude’s strengths and weaknesses.

Skude could only use the Concept of Death, but he made up for that by having armor and weapons that were engraved with runes. I wasn’t sure how the runes flowed together. What I did know was that they were engraved into his gear and filled with Demon Beast blood. It seemed adding Demon Beast blood could create even more extraordinary effects than simply engraving runes into something.

The weapon in his hand allowed him to more easily channel death energy through it. I think it also gave him a greater level of control. Whenever he unleashed an attack, it could be massive like a colossal wave sweeping over a village, but it could also be small and concentrated like an intense beam that increased its power to slice through anything.

His armor was even more impressive. Those runes didn’t just create a powerful shield that could block physical attacks and spiritual attacks. There was a rune array on each piece of armor that absorbed Spiritual Power from the surroundings and recharged the shields. This feature only activated when the shields were not active, but that was more than enough to prove troublesome for the average Spiritualist.

“You damn lower worlder!!!” Skude shrieked as he cut down another pillow that rose from the earth. “Come out! Come the fuck out so I can put you in your place! If I can’t destroy and humiliate you, then my name isn’t Skude!!!”

I had already learned enough, so I guess it was time to end this. Emerging from the earth, I created a massive sword shaped like my Dragon’s Tail Ruler using a combination of earth and fire, and then I overlayed the weapon with death energy. This caused the weapon to have an almost translucent overlay appear on the surface. It only took a second to create, and once it was, I swung it with all the strength I possessed in a horizontal attack.

I had determined that there were two ways to defeat Skude’s armor. The first was to constantly attack without giving the runes time to absorb more Spiritual Power from the surroundings and thus drain the runes of all their power. The second was to attack with a single, overwhelming attack that overpowered the runes.

I had chosen the second option.

My sword slammed into Skude’s back before he even knew what had hit him. The barrier appeared in front of Skude, protecting him briefly, but it was only for a moment. My attack was far more powerful than the runes protecting Skude. Once I’d torn through the barrier like it was made of glass, my sword slammed into Skude, who screamed in shock and pain as he was lifted off his feet.

The attack was powerful enough that Skude broke the sound barrier as he was launched into the air, traveling perpendicular to the ground until he slammed head first into an ironwood tree. The tree shook and the wood dented. I walked over as he slid to the ground and sat up, not unconscious, but definitely dizzy. His armor was completely broken. Cracks spread across it as large chunks fell off his body.

The moment I got in range, I lifted my sword above my head, preparing to bring it down.

“I… I surrender!” Skude shouted, his voice high pitched and shrill.

I stopped my attack, lowered my sword to my side, and stared at the now frightened Skude. It was just as I’d imagined. This man was a coward. I’d noticed how he’d tried to give himself a way of avoiding harm the moment I showed confidence when suggesting we compete, suggesting he had an incredible aversion to pain. He did not have any courage. Even if he was older than me by a century, in my eyes, he was just an inexperienced child who had never confronted war and bloodshed.

“So you surrender?” I asked for clarification.

“Yes! Yes! I surrender! I give up!” Skude certainly was fast when it came to giving up, but I had expected this.

Once Skude confirmed his surrender, the world around us wavered, the trees vanished, and I found myself standing in the middle of the arena. I looked up at the crowds of people. Everyone was silent. None of them seemed to know how to respond to my victory. Maybe they thought I had fought dirty, or perhaps they were simply shocked that I’d defeated someone who had a reputation for being one of the strongest this generation.

“Everyone!” Tor suddenly stood from his seat and walked forward. “This competition has ended! The victor is Eryk Vanir!”

Once the announcement was made, Fray and Sif began clapping, which caused two more of the eight people sitting on the balcony clap as well. I didn’t know the two people, but one of them was a man and the other a woman. Both were wearing impressive armor. They were sitting next to Klaue and behind Tyr. On that note, Klaue was giving me a glare like he’d tear me limb from limb if he could.

Seconds after the four people began clapping, more and more people followed suit. It was not long before the entire stadium was clapping and cheering for me. I personally didn’t much care what these people thought, but I did know that it was better to have the people on your side than against you. So I raised my hand in victory and smiled at the crowd.

***

“What a great spectacle!” Tor laughed as we ate dinner.

It was several hours after the competition. I was sitting at the table in the informal dining room with Tor, Sif, and Fray. A large feast had been prepared for us. It seemed like way too much for just four people to eat, but I learned after watching Tor demolish four whole racks of ribs that the red-haired god could compete with Siv and Lin in the appetite department.

“You really impressed me, Eryk!” Tor continued in a cheerful voice. “I was not sure what to expect when you challenged Skude to a hunting competition, but now I know exactly what you intended. What a great way to put an arrogant child in his rightful place. I wonder if maybe I should do something similar to Skude’s father. Maybe we can teach them both a lesson! Ha ha ha!”

I was surprised he could talk when he was constantly eating and drinking, but the man had surprisingly decent table manners, speaking only after he swallowed whatever he put in his mouth. That said, he seemed capable of inhaling food within seconds.

“I was very surprised by your use of the seven elements,” Sif added with a polite smile. “Most gods have neglected the seven elements in favor of learning to master high level concepts. We are already born with a naturally high affinity for the elements anyway, so we do not believe we need to focus on learning them. Your use of fire and earth has made me consider learning how to use them instead of relying on my god given talent.”

“I’ve actually been wondering about that,” I began as Sif gave me the perfect opening to present my question. “I had assumed you needed to master the Fourth State of Spiritualism in order to learn high level concepts. Is that not the case?”

“It is not,” Fray said with a tender look in her eyes as she put more braised beef on my plate, telling me without words to eat more. “High level concepts have nothing to do with the seven elements. Low level concepts and even mid level concepts revolving around the seven elements are something reserved mainly for the lower realms because it is hard for those on the lower realms to master high level concepts. In fact, the only person I know from Miðgarðr who mastered a high level concept was Ask. This was also the reason he was able to become a Great Overlord and traverse realms like us.”

“I see. So someone who has mastered a high level concept can travel between realms.” I placed my chin in my hands and thought about this. A moment passed before I looked back up and focused on Fray. “Then would calling mastery of a high level concept the Fifth State of Spiritualism be inaccurate?”

Fray cocked her head to the side, pondering my question before answering me.

“I do not believe it is necessarily inaccurate, but you do not need to know how to use the seven elements to learn about high level concepts.”

This confirmed something I had been wondering about for some time now. I had been curious about why it was so hard to learn high level concepts despite having reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism. It was because this wasn’t a stepping stone like the difference between State Three and State Four. If State Four was taking the concepts of elemental manipulation you learn in State Three to the extreme, then State Five was the same as entering an entirely different realm. You couldn’t think of it as walking up a flight of stairs.

I decided to categorize the States of Spiritualism in my mind based on what I understood now.

State One: Producing a Spiritual Aura.

State Two: Taking the Spiritual Aura into yourself to strengthen your body.

State Three: Learning to transform your body into your elemental affinity.

State Four: Increasing your understanding of the element, completely mastering it.

State Five: Stepping into an entirely different realm by learning a high level concept.

There were a few more things I didn’t understand. For example, would State Five be complete mastery of a high level concept or would that be State Six. I decided to ask Fray.

“I believe State Five would be mastering a high level concept,” Fray said, then giggled. “Which means you aren’t quite there yet since you still haven't mastered the Concepts of Life or Death.”

I scratched the back of my head, unable to refute her words.

Dinner ended on what I believed was a high note. I was about to head to my room and get a good night’s sleep, but Fray stopped me.

“Would go on a walk with me, Eryk?” she asked.

I hesitated but nodded. “Of course.”

Fray gestured for me to follow her, and the two of us wandered away from the informal dining hall and eventually found ourselves walking through Fray’s garden. From far away, it looked like quite the marvel, but it was even more impressive up close. Strangely shaped flowers glowed brightly as we passed them. Glow bugs drifted through the air, providing more illumination, but more importantly, creating a calming atmosphere. There were no walkways in this garden. Everything was covered in a thick layer of soft grass.

We eventually came across a tree that was shaped like a bench. Fray sat down and gestured for me to sit with her.

“What do you think of the gods you have met so far?” asked Fray.

“Honestly?” I shrugged. “The Guddmoelig do not seem that different from humans. There are good ones and bad ones. Arrogant ones and humble ones. I have noticed that a good number of people lean on the more arrogant side, but I suppose that is natural for people who are born with power.”

“Yes, there are many of the God Race who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, despite the constant fight we’ve been waging against the Sekbeist.” Fray paused. “Klaue is a great example of the arrogance you speak of. He is one of Tyr’s four commanders. The commander of the Northern Division. Commander Klaue was well-known during the Great War as a man with an unbreakable will. He performed many admirable feats during the war, but when the war ended and we and the Sekbeists settled into this uneasy stalemate, he became decadent. Klaue believes that everyone in Ásgarðr should bend over backwards to accommodate him because of what he did in the past. It has caused… a number of problems.”

“What kind of problems?” I asked.

Fray did not say anything at first, but watched as a gentle breeze caused several petals from the trees to fall from their branches and flutter to the ground.

“The biggest problem is that Klaue takes advantage of his game to force stores and shops into giving him free food and supplies. We have heard rumors of him strong arming shop owners into supplying his division. This is why his division is the most well equipped of our four main divisions.”

Ásgarðr’s army was composed of eight divisions in total. The four main divisions were basically the ones who stood at the frontline of the Sekbeist threat and were controlled by Tyr and his Four Generals. They were the North, South, East, and West Divisions. Three other divisions known as the Blitz, Vanguard, and Defender Divisions were under the control of Tor. The last division was called the Valkyrie Division, and it was under Fray’s command.

Each Division was composed of 12,000 people, meaning the Guddomelig’s standing army was made up of 96,000 people. That was on the small side. However, the Guddomelig made up for their small numbers by being extraordinarily powerful. A single Guddomelig soldier was worth at least one thousand Sekbeist Slaves.

“However…” Fray took a deep breath and continued. “What really concerns me is that Klaue has been abusing his powers and authority to take advantage of numerous women. There have been so many rumors about how he raped several women, both single and married. We don’t have any proof, but rumors like that don’t spread for no reason, and all the people who could testify against him often disappear.”

Listening to Fray talk made me think about why she was telling me all this. I observed the stream several meters away, which flowed up instead of down. This stream led into the waterfall… no. That wasn’t right, was it? The waterfall technically led into this stream since the water was moving in reverse.

“I’m guessing you are telling me this because you’d like me to help you find evidence against Klaue?” I said at last.

“You catch on very fast.” Fray looked relieved that she didn’t have to spell it out for me. “Klaue is not only a man who abuses his power and preys upon women, he also knows how to harbor a grudge. Now that you have humiliated his son and therefore him, he will not let this go.” Fray set her feet upon the edge of the bench, wrapped her arms around her legs, and looked up. “To be honest, I had not intended to ask this of you, but after what happened at the banquet, I thought it would be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity. Of course, the choice of whether you want to help is yours. If you decide not to help, then I will do everything in my power to make sure Klaue cannot retaliate against you.”

I stood up from the bench and walked over to the stream. I really had to wonder about how this worked. It was like someone had taken the laws of gravity and reversed them. I knelt before it, placed my hands in the water, and watched as the liquid flowed around my hand. The water was warm.

Standing up again, I turned back to Fray.

“I do not mind helping you out,” I said at last.

“Thank you,” Fray said, relieved.

“However, in return, could I ask that you search for my wives in Vindenket?”

Fray placed her feet on the ground, stood up, and shook her head as she walked over to me.

“You cannot because I was already planning to help you find your wives whether you agreed to help me or not.” Fray gave me a tender look that honestly made me uncomfortable. It was a familial expression, which I was still not used to. I didn’t even like it when Empress Hilda looked at me like that. “Like I said, the only reason I have no already gone to Vindenket myself is because using the Warp Gates to traverse realms is no simple matter. It will be at least three months before I can activate it.”

“Why so long?” I asked.

“The Warp Gates require a lot of power to activate. We can activate them for a few hours every three months, which we do to send information back and forth between realms. This allows us to keep up to date on Sekbeist activity and send emergency aid if necessary.”

I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of having to wait so long, but if that was what it took to see Kari and Siv again, then I could hunker down and wait however impatiently I needed to.

Since Fray had gotten what she wanted out of me, there was hardly a reason for us to stay outside. The beautiful woman leaned up so she could place a kiss on my forehead. I froze, unsure of what to do, and thus ended up letting her do what she wanted. She must have noticed my reaction, because her smile looked strained.

“Have a pleasant night, Eryk,” she said in a gentle voice as she turned around and left.

I remained in the garden for a few minutes longer, just watching her disappear, and then snapped out of my stupid and made my way to my bedroom. After removing my clothes, I sat on the bed. My legs dangled over the edge as I placed a hand against my chest and sought out my connection to Kari, Fay, Lin, and Siv. I could feel them all through our connection. They were still alive.

“Please hold on for just a little longer,” I mumbled as I closed my eyes. “I’ll be reunited with you soon.”